Sean Penn accepted the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 81^st Annual Oscar Ceremony on Sunday night for his portrayal of Harvey Milk in the filem “Milk”. Mr. Penn told those who supported the California ban on same-sex marriage that, “it is a good time … to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes”

Thank you. Thank you. You commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns. I did not expect this, but I, and I want it to be very clear, that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often. But I am touched by the appreciation and I hoped for it enough that I did want to scribble down, so I had the names in case you were commie, homo-loving sons-of-guns, and so I want to thank my best friend, Sata Matsuzawa. My circle of long-time support, Mara, Brian, Barry and Bob. The great Cleve Jones. Our wonderful writer, Lance Black. Producers Bruce Cohen and Dan Jinks.

And particularly, as all, as actors know, our director either has the patience, talent and restraint to grant us a voice or they don't, and it goes from the beginning ...   more »

Dustin Lance Black accepted the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay at the 81^st Annual Oscar Ceremony on Sunday night. He gave a personal and impassioned plea for equal rights for glbt people.

Oh my God. This was, um, this was not an easy film to make. First off, I have to thank Cleve Jones and Anne Kronenberg and all the real-life people who shared their stories with me. And, um, Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn, Emile Hirsch, Josh Brolin, James Franco and our entire cast, my producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen, everyone at Groundswell and Focus for taking on the challenge of telling this life-saving story. When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California, and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life. It gave me the hope one day I could live my life openly as who I am and then maybe even I could even fall in love and one day get married.

I wanna thank my mom, who has always loved me for who I ...   more »

LISA LEFF and VERENA DOBNIK | 20090213 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Same-sex couples seeking to wed showed up at marriage license counters nationwide Thursday to highlight a right they don't have in 48 states, part of an annual protest that took on renewed urgency given recent election setbacks.

In San Francisco, where same-sex marriage was legal for nearly five months last year before California voters approved a ban, many couples who came to City Hall had already tied the knot but wanted to express their gratitude and to show they're still part of the fight.

"All of our marriages are under the cloud of Proposition 8," said Stuart Gaffney, 45, referring to California's ballot initiative banning gay marriage. "Equality is an unfinished business in California."

In Las Vegas, couples gathered outside the downtown marriage bureau with signs that read "Don't hate my love" and "No laws on love." In New York, activists wore signs that said "Just Not Married." They were turned away empty-handed in both places when they asked for marriage licenses.

"We could get married in Massachusetts or Connecticut, but we'll wait a little and see what happens in New York," Matt Flanders, 37, of Brooklyn, said after he ...   more »

2009–02–15 | Brett Anthony

Chicago, IL — Valentine's Day was the backdrop for a planned protest by the Gay Liberation Network (GLN) and the Chicago chapter of the Join the Impact part of a nationwide Freedom to Marry Day event aimed to promote and advocate same-sex marriage.

Seven protesters were arrested Saturday when they refused to leave the Cook County Marriage License Bureau in Chicago after clerks said they would not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

When Buddy Bell and Dale Fecker were refused a marriage license, they were joined by Dan Ware, Danielle Karczewski, Jeff Graubart, Erica Chu, and Nick Ferrin for a sit-in at the Bureau located in the Cook County Building, 118 N. Clark St.

"The law divides society into groups and assigns one group rights while giving lesser rights to the other group. The laws violate the equal protection guaranteed for all citizens under the Constitution," said Ferrin.

Meanwhile, about 400 protesters rallied outside the Bureau and then marched to the Bureau's doors with a chant that's been popular here since last spring, "Obama, Obama, let mama marry mama."

The Chicago protesters saw their action as a way to help sway the California Supreme Court to throw ...   more »

From “A Blueprint for Change” – HRC.org

For the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, the election of a fair-minded president provides vast opportunities to advance equality in material ways on an accelerated timetable. This results not only from new leadership and vision in the White House itself, but from new management of the entire executive branch as well. These agencies recommend and implement policies related to violence, health education and research funding, family benefits and other areas that are critical to the well-being of LGBT people. 

Through the power that our Constitution provides the president and executive branch, the incoming Obama/Biden administration can institute much-needed changes in federal policy without congressional action. The president has the power to appoint officials who are receptive to civil rights, and judges who respect fundamental constitutional principles and enforce legal protections for all Americans. The president is also empowered to direct administrative actions that will improve the lives of millions of LGBT people.

• Federal Workplace Non-Discrimination: As leader of our nation’s largest civilian work force, the president may institute non-discrimination, healthcare access and other policies to establish the equal rights of federal LGBT employees.
  
• HIV and Health: The administration, and its secretary ...   more »