Today the California Supreme Court upheld proposition 8. They also ruled to recognize the 18,000+ marriages that occurred before a bit over half of California lost their collective mind and struck down same-sex marriage in the state last November.

We're not going to take this. There are day of decision protests happening all over the country today.

But I'm pissed off. And I'm upset. This should not be up for debate. Just let us marry who we like.

And, honestly, one of the things that pisses me off the most is how self righteous and self congratulatory the right wing is going to be about this.

ETA:
There are day of decision protests happening ALL OVER THE COUNTRY. Check out if there's one nearby:
http://www.dayofdecision.com/

IF THERE ISN'T, all is not lost. We're organizing one at my school right now. Get creative and go viral.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

PRESS INQUIRIES:
Shane Windmeyer, Campus Pride
704-277-6710 or [email protected]

Campus Pride Summer Leadership Camp in Full Swing for this July

[Baltimore, MD May 26, 2009] – Campus Pride announced today the list of national speakers and artists to be featured at its third annual summer leadership camp, affectionately known as “Pride Camp.” The camp is the first-ever for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and ally college students from colleges and universities across the country. The camp will take place from July 21 to 26, 2009 and will be hosted on the campus of Towson University in Towson, Maryland. Registration is available online at http://www.CampusPride.org/camp.asp.

Keynote highlights will include Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard; Mitchell Gold, editor of the new book CRISIS: Growing Up Gay in America; Rev. Dr. Jamie Washington, President and Founder of the Washington Consulting Group; Cuc Vu, Human Rights Campaign Chief Diversity Officer; Patrick Davis, Chief Executive Officer of Patrick Davis Partners; Mara Kiessling, National Center for Transgender Equality President; Jessica Pettitt, Social Justice I am Trainer and Consultant; and Shane Windmeyer, Best-Selling Author and Executive Director of Campus Pride. Artists and entertainers booked for camp include national slam master and author Emanuel Xavier, acclaimed singer/songwriter Randi Driscoll, and southern camp drag diva Buff Faye All You Can Eat among others. Wolf Video will also sponsor a special movie night screening of the critically acclaimed, multi-award winning film “Were the World Mine.”

As the spring semester comes to an end for college students, many young adults will be returning home for summer employment to save money for the upcoming school year. For GLBT students, it may be creating anxiety and thoughts of distress of possibility returning to a homophobic environment. Going from an accepting area to an uncomfortable zone, may cause students to become very depressed and think ill rational thoughts. Not being surrounded by your peers, could make for a long summer away from college. GLBT students may find themselves working more hours, being isolated from family and friends as well as not being able to enjoy summer. The emotions attached to homosexuality can cause a student to remain and the fear of controversy with loved ones. Here are some suggestions to help the GLBT students through the summer months.

1 Be Yourself (have confidence in who you are as a person)
One of stressors for many GLBT students may be pressure to act a certain way in front of their family because of their views on homosexuality. The thought of having to portray oneself as straight, less feminine or butch can be very uncomfortable but because they want to keep the peace with the family. As a result, they feel obligated to keep up the charade.

2 Keep a Journal
If you have never kept a journal, it might be an excellent time to start one. Writing your thoughts down a regular basis can help GBLT Students work through their anxiety and distress. Now, it does not have to be every day, but maybe a 1 or 2 times a week, jotting down a couple ideas down can really help students during challenging times.

3 Exercise Regularly

I think I may have discovered the most amazing third grader in this country. His name is Ethan McNamee and he is from Denver. For a class project, Ethan arranged a rally for same-sex marriage. This kid has an amazing heart. "He was concerned about the issue after hearing about anti-gay remarks on the playground and then learning about a same sex couple in his neighborhood that couldn't get married." He believes that love is love, no matter who it is between.

Not only that, but what a great teacher and school to allow him to do this. I am sure many people would have htought it too controversial to do, and just not allowed it. To read the full article about Ethan click here.

You know I usually do all the traveling. Seldom do I have someone or a group come visit Campus Pride in our home office of Charlotte, NC. But this week, Campus Pride had the pleasure of hosting Chris and Potter, the two young adults going state by state Driving for Equality (http://www.drivingequality.com).

Both Chris & Potter are really quite amazing. Driving Equality is a 100-day, 16,000-mile, 48-state trek across America to collect stories from LGBTQ people in an effort to raise awareness of the various forms of discrimination faced by our community in each state of the nation. Highlighting the differences in rights, laws, and amendments between the states will shed light on the current social standing of queer individuals today.The goal is to create a dialogue about the disparities across the nation, and what can be done to end discrimination for all.

During the 100-day trip, Chris and Potter meet with LGBTQ community organizers, activists, and any citizens willing to talk. While they were in Charlotte, NC, I organized a meeting with Qnotes, our LGBT Carolina news source and our LGBT Community Center. You can follow Chris and Potter online at the Driving for Equality site (http://www.drivingequality.com). There is actually pics from our visiti and a small video clip sneak peak. Check it out!

The final project, after the 100 days, will culminate with a Driving for Equality documentary.

Well, Campus Pride wishes Chris and Potter safe travels and appreciates them dropping by the Carolinas! You should look up their map and email them if you want to meet up! Campus Pride gave them rainbow cookies for some queer junk food along the way!

Barack Obama met with Matthew Shepard's mother, Judy Shepard, today in Washington DC to discuss federal hate crimes legislation.

Judy Shepard has been a vocal proponent of federal hate crimes legislation since her son Matthew was killed over ten years ago.

There's been a lot of protests and rallies lately.

The protest at the APA Conference demanding a revision of the inclusion of Gender Identity Disorder in the next DSM.

The same sex marriage rally in NYC.

Protests and rallies in Singapore and Moscow

But you know what makes everything better?

I have been getting a lot of questions about why I am so involved lately, so I decided to share my story with all of you blog readers.

All of my involvement started when I was in eighth grade. I was very involved with a few organizations at my middle school, and one of the advisors selected me to go to a conference put on by the Anti-Defamation League. She also selected which workshops we were going to attend. One of the workshops I attended had to do with LGBTA issues. This was the first time I heard the word gay or anything of the sort.

The only activity that I remember that day was an activity called Count Your Losses. What we had to do was take index cards and then they told us what to write down on each. They were things like your best friend, your favorite place to hang out, down to you hopes and dreams for the future. The facilitator then went through a had coming out experience. Your friends do not support you, so you tear up that card and watch the pieces fall to the floor. One by one all of the cards were torn up. The story ended with the person you “were” being attacked and killed in a parking lot. So you then take the cards with your hopes and dreams for the future fall to the floor. I remember them talking about Matthew Shepard at one point.

I was really confused and bothered by this activity. I could not believe that people would have to go through this just because they liked someone who was outside of the norm. After sitting with this information for awhile, I finally figured out what I could do to get involved. By this point I was at the high school, so I joined the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA). I started getting very involved. Come senior year, I was the co-president of the club.

Last year Lawrence (Larry) King was shot by a classmate purportedly because King had asked the boy out earlier in the week. Now a judge in Ventura, California has ruled that King's parents, who he did not live with, can sue the foster home that he lived in because they allowed him to wear make-up and high heeled boots and to otherwise express his identity.

To express oneself should NOT post a danger to anybody, including the person doing the expressing. To help a person express their identity is not a crime.

I'm not sure if you all heard about the trolley driver in Boston who was texting his girlfriend and crashed the trolley. Apparently the noteworthy part of this case is not that he crashed the trolley. It's the fact that he was trans.

I know, the world is ending. Trans people are driving public transportation - WHAT HAS THE WORLD COME TO?

Here's the press release from the Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition: