Check out the above-embedded video -- it's fantastic stuff, produced a few months ago by Causecast. It elicits goosebumps. It's inspiring. It's upbeat without being sugary; and it's intense without being angry. It is a "fuck yeah" video. It's the kind of thing that makes you want to run down to Harvey Milk Plaza tonight at 5:30 to participate in the Eve of Justice protest. more ›

"Everyone has to be ready to have difficult conversations NOW," said Kate Kendall (Exective Director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and one of the architects of the No On Prop 8 campaign) at an event last night that was a hybrid of town hall, panel discussion, and mass-group-therapy. She was talking about having challenging talks with potential allies who still need some winning-over, but she might as well have been referring to the event itself. It was, by the standards of consensus-happy San Francisco, a pretty tough room. more ›

We dare you to watch the Courage Campaign's Fidelity video and not get all weepy. We were able to keep it together until it got to the big crowd shots around the end, and then suddenly there was something in our eye. more ›

Geoff Kors, Executive Director of Equality California, has decided not to an invitation to attend Obama's inauguration. Why? Because of the Obama administration's decision to have evangelical pastor Rick Warren deliver the invocation. Warren, you see, worked to get prop 8 passed, which allowed discrimination into the California state constitution. An odd choice, indeed. more ›

The gays (AKA the GLBTQQ[Q?] community) received a well-deserved tax break today - one afforded to heterosexual married couples for years. Domestic partners in the Golden State won the right yesterday to have the same property tax breaks as male-female couples do under state law, when they a loved ones dies. According to the Gate: more ›

Update: If you're a get-up-and-goer, you can write to the governor here, or donate to Equality California here. more ›

From the genius who popularized the Hummer came two separate gubernatorial bitch slaps yesterday: first, he vetoed AB 866, which would have added "sexual orientation" to attributes (such as age or race) in a voluntary pledge that allows politicians the option of stating that they won't permit appeals based on negative stereotypes in their political campaigns. Despite having successfully existed for some time, the pledge was declared by Arnold to be "unenforceable" (um, yes, that's what the whole "voluntary" part is about) and, oddly, argued that politicians (such as himself) should not have the option of pledging to practice "decency, honesty, and fair play," because only voters ought to determine which negative stereotypes aren't ok to exploit. Read his vague statement here -- adding insult to injury, it's in PDF. more ›

Well just look at that big goofy smile on Mark Leno! He's had a good day today, and so have all of California's queers. (And who, in this state, isn't just a little queer in one sense or another?) Assembly Bill 849, which would grant marriage equality to same-sex couples, passed its last hurdle to being considered by the state senate. Although a similar bill lost by five votes a few months ago, this one has an excellent shot at being passed next week; but it'll have an even excellenter shot if you remind your pesky legislators how keen it would be if gay couples didn't have to make air-quotes whenever they say the word "marriage" anymore. Equality California makes it easy to give a gay-is-great shoutout to whomever represents you, so you've no excuse for not weighing in. more ›

Hey, remember how we were just babbling about how Equality California gets stuff done for gay Californians, while The Human Rights Campaign mostly sits around hosting overpriced tea parties? Yeah, well, EqCa just announced that The California State Conference of the NAACP and the Anti-Defamation League are supporting equal marriage rights here in CA. That'll make a huge difference later this month, when the state assembly considers AB 19. The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act is sponsored by EqCa, and was written by local dreamboat Mark Leno. It's a huge deal that these other major civil rights orgs are getting on board with this marriage equality thing -- the ADL in particular has a great record of getting huffy at homophobes. more ›

Would you like to come over to our place for dinner? You would? Hey, that's great. It'll be $195 per head, please. more ›

The event is being hosted by the amazingly productive Equality California - just look at their busy event calendar! Do these folks ever sleep? Which reminds us - just what's the local chapter of the Human Rights Campaign up to these days? Oh, look, according to their website, their only upcoming event is a monthly cocktail hour at slimey-trendy Lime. Huh. Do these folks ever...do...anything? We're starting to feel less guilty about not contributing to the HRC this year. more ›

Is CA the new MA? Well, almost; it ain't marriage, but it's better than nothing. The NCLR and EQCA have released a handy-dandy guide (in PDF, dammit; HTML version will be forthcoming as soon as Google spiders it) to the exciting ins and outs of queer partnership-law in the year 2005. Inheritance! Adoption! Death! Taxes! Fertility! Prison! It's all there. This is uncharted legal territory, of course, so nobody has all the answers - hence the guide's tendancy to answer some questions with "maybe" or "it depends." But what it all seems to boil down to is that couples will be guaranteed fairer treatment, which obviously means that Vital Institutions are being redefined by Activist Politicians, and that Society has been brought to the Brink of Collapse. All in a day's work! more ›

reported last week that a dozen same-sex couples have filed suit against the state for the right to marry. The plaintiffs cite language from a 1948 California Supreme Court ruling that affirms the "freedom to join in marriage with the person of one's choice," in a case that deals with racial barriers as opposed to sexual orientation. more ›