Tucson Observer

On Tuesday, August 25, the nation lost one of its leaders with the passing of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ senior Senator, Edward Kennedy, at the age of 77 due to brain cancer.

For 47 years, Senator Kennedy served the residents of the Bay State as well as those downtrodden and oppressed across the nation, including the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community.

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Almost four weeks ago, Wingspan’s Board of Directors announced changes that would alter the structure of our community center.

Some were shocked. Some were dismayed. Many saw the vision of what Wingspan could become, despite these economic hard times.

Together we rallied to form committees to handle the day-to-day operations, to recruit volunteers to fill positions needed to help Wingspan rebuild, and to reach out to you, the community, for various types of support.

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Since Wingspan had to relocate to new premises, the Tucson chapter of GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Educators Network) has moved their meeting location.

Until further notice, GLSEN-Tucson will be meeting in the Martha Cooper Branch Library, 1377 N. Catalina Ave, in Meeting Room B.

Even though the meeting location may have changed, the date and time have not. On the first Thursday of each month, these meetings will take at 4:30 p.m. For more information, go online to chapters.glsen.org/cgi-bin/iowa/tucson/home.html.

“Turnabout for TIHAN” is an annual show put on by Tucson’s GLBT clubs and their bar staff.

Each club and bar’s staff request donations from their friends and customers in order to do a “turn-about” from male to female (or vice versa) and put on a fabulous show to benefit the work of TIHAN, the Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network (tihan.org)

So get ready for the glitz and glamour, the pumps and passion for this year’s “Turnabout for TIHAN” benefit show, one of the biggest drag shows of the year, and takes place on Sunday, September 6 at the Doubletree Hotel at Reid Park (445 South Alvernon Way, Tucson, Arizona). The doors open at 5:00 p.m., and the show starts at 6:00 p.m. Tickets are only $10.00 in advance or $15.00 at the door. The evening also features a raffle with some great prizes.

Join us for Turnabout, featuring emcees Bunny Fufu and Janee Starr, along with your favorite bar staff in drag from your favorite participating bars: Woody’s, IBT’s, Coyote Moon and Colors.

Tickets are on sale now through the TIHAN office (credit card orders can be taken – (520) 299-6647), or at participating bars. For more information about the event, or to volunteer, contact Scott Blades at scott@tihan.org.

T-Squares, Tucson’s GLBT square dance club, is celebrating their 25th anniversary with a dance on Saturday, August 29 at the Therapeutic Recreation Center at Reid Park, 1000 S. Randolph Way.

The T-Squares club is a member of the International Association of Gay Squares Dance Clubs (IAGSDC) and the local Square & Round Dance Association of Southern Arizona (SARDASA). T-Squares’ diverse membership is open to all regardless of age, race, gender, religion, ethnic background, or sexual orientation.

The T-Squares club dances every Tuesday evening at the Cornerstone Fellowship Social Hall at 2902 N. Geronimo Ave from 6:30 to 9:00 pm with a crash course slated for September 15th for anyone interested in taking square dance lessons with a uniquely Gay flair. For more information about T-Squares, email them at T-Squares@azgaydance.org, or visit azgaydance.org and click on “Tucson, AZ”

Welcome to OZ, Tucson’s newest LGBT/LGBT-friendly mixed bowling league had a wonderful inaugural summer season with 39 bowlers (thirteen teams), and are looking to carry the momentum forward and expand for the upcoming winter season.

Welcome to OZ is housed at Tucson Bowl, 7020 E. 21st Street (22nd & Kolb Rd) and will bowl on Thursday nights, practice at 6:45 p.m. and bowling at 7:00 p.m. The Winter league will begin on Thursday, September 10 and is a 34 week leaguer ending on Thursday, May 20, 2010 with a banquet held on Thursday, May 27, 2010.

A league meeting will be held on Thursday, September 10, 6:00 p.m. with our season beginning at 7:00 pm. Teams will consist of three bowlers each. Come as a team of three, a double or a single, we will assist in making teams. Let’s continue the fun, so for more information contact us at: welcometoOZ09@gmail.com.

Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer are a gay couple who live in California and have been together for more than 10 years, filed a federal lawsuit in 2004, when, in an effort to have their relationship recognized by the government, went to the County Clerk’s office in Orange County, to get a marriage license and were denied.

Their lawsuit made it to the U.S. Supreme Court in 2006 and wasn’t heard, the high Court declining to review the appeal.

They married during the window of opportunity in California in 2008, when the state Supreme Court said gays and lesbians could marry, then shutting it later by turning down the court challenge to California’s Proposition 8, narrowly approved by voters in the election that year.

Smelt and Hammer’s case against the state of California and the federal government proceeded, with an initial ruling by U.S. District Judge David Carter, stating that their lawsuit against California was nullified because their marriage is still valid in the state but the federal portion of their lawsuit will get its “day in court.”

With that backdrop, on August 17, the U.S. Justice Department, filed their legal papers in this case, raising the hackles of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) rights organizations, as well as LGBT journalists and online bloggers and writers, criticizing the Justice Department for their legal actions in this case.

So were the Justice Department’s actions worth criticizing as well as Smelt and Hammer for filing the lawsuit in the first case?

In the case of the U.S. Justice Department, they represent the United States in all legal matters, including cases before the Supreme Court and whether the Attorney General of the United States agrees with the federal legal statute in question that is being challenged in court or not, they are mandated to defend all actions taken by Congress and the President in the judicial branch of government.

This directive also applies to all fifty, state’s Attorneys General, County Attorney’s and City and Town Attorney’s as well, existing across these United States. Was there a protest against Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard at the Equality Arizona dinner, held this year, when his office had to defend Arizona’s then law banning the recognition of same sex marriage in the case of Standhardt V. Superior Court in 2004?

When it comes to the lawsuit by Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, LGBT rights groups, journalists and bloggers haven’t been so supportive either, for example in 2006, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and Equality California (the state LGBT rights organization), asking the Ninth U.S. District Court of Appeals to dismiss their case.

If the LGBT community didn’t have people such as Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer, making an effort for equal rights for LGBT citizens in the only venue where the LGBT community has had any modicum of success, the legal branch of government, over time, what success that has been achieved wouldn’t have taken place.

On the federal level there was Romer V. Evans, the 1996 U.S. Supreme Court’s decision overturning Colorado’s Amendment 2 that prohibit local measures protecting the rights of LGBT citizens and Lawrence V. Texas, the 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning state sodomy laws and Taylor V. Rice, the 2008 legal challenge overturning the U.S. State Department’s ban on hiring individuals who are HIV+.

In the state courts there have been many legal advances for LGBT citizens, including:

Baker V. Vermont, the 1999 case prohibiting same-sex marriage was against the state’s Constitution, resulting in the Court mandated that the state legislature institute laws recognizing same-sex marriage, or implement a policy affording similar rights. To comply, the legislature created a system of civil unions, whereby same-sex couples could receive many of the same civil benefits afforded heterosexual couples.

Fricke V. Lynch was decided in 1980 by a court in Rhode Island, in which the Judge in the case ruled that the school must allow students to bring dates of the same-sex, and that the school must provide enough security and oversight so that LGBT students are not harassed.

Benitez V. North Coast Women’s Care Medical Group was decided by a California court in August 2008, in which a lesbian Californian resident who sought infertility treatment from her doctors, conservative Christians, denied giving Benitez the treatment and argued that their individual religious beliefs could not support LGBT people serving as parents, despite the fact that California has a statewide anti-discrimination policy that encompasses sexual orientation but the court unanimously ruled in Benitez’s favor, sending a message that individual religious beliefs cannot supercede statewide anti-discrimination policies.

Goodridge V. Department of Public Health, the 2003 case in which Massachusetts became the first state in the country to recognize same-sex marriage.

Without such individuals such as these, LGBT and HIV rights would not have been advanced, discussed, tolerated and hopefully accepted and without the legal branch of government doing what it is mandated to do, by law and the elected officials upholding the U.S. and state Constitution’s, our society just wouldn’t exist.

Reveille Chorus has got a whole weekend of fun, August 15-16 at Woody’s, 3710 N. Oracle.

Saturday, August 15, 7:00 -10:00 p.m.: Reveille Recruiting Party! Join us at Woody’s to meet the guys and learn more about Reveille Men’s Chorus. We’ll have CD’s for sale, a 50/50 raffle, and video of our last concert “Make ‘Em Laugh, Comedy in Music.” Have a friend who sings in the shower? Or, do you have a penchant for humming show tunes? With our new rehearsal night of Mondays 7:00 – 10:00 p.m., beginning August 24, we are anticipating an increase in membership and we want you!

Keeping everyone in line (and in stitches!) is Mistress of ceremonies, Tucson’s own Black Cat, Miss Ajia Simone. Remember, it is Saturday August 15, from 7pm-10pm. Happy Hour goes until 8 p.m. so get there early and down a few with us!

Sunday, August 16, 2:00 – 9:00 p.m.: Reveille Burger Bust and Ajia’s Kitchen! Come to Woody’s again the next day for Burger/Beer Bust hosted by Reveille from 2-7pm. A freshly-cooked burger plus 6 draft beers for only $8! Tip your Reveille cook well, and our “friendlier” members may return with a favor… The coolers will be on the patio, so brave the heat with some cold beers and the Reveille men.

Then from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. have a home-cooked meal better than at Ajia’s Kitchen. Ajia will be slinging it out high and low, so watch where that yummy soul food ends up! Appropriately enough, Karaoke begins at 9pm, so stick around because I’m sure a few of us will be sloshed enough to sing. Many thanks to Frank, Dave, and all of the crew at Woody’s for allowing Reveille to host our weekend of fun!

Join TIHAN for a night at the Tucson Toros baseball game on Tuesday, August 11. This benefit supports the work of the Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network (TIHAN) and its services for people living with HIV/AIDS. Since 1994, TIHAN has provided support services free of charge for people living with HIV and the purpose of this event is to enjoy a Toros game and support the work of TIHAN. The benefit takes place at the Tucson Toros game against the St. George Roadrunners on Tuesday, August 11.

With the generous sponsorship of The Law Offices of Laura Schoenfeld, tickets for this special benefit game can be purchased in advance from TIHAN for only $4 each. This game takes place on the Toros’ special “Two for Tuesdays,” which means if you buy one hotdog, soda, or bag of chips at the game, you get one of the same items for free. We ask you to gather a group of friends and family members to spend an August evening enjoying the great American summer pastime which also benefits one of your favorite charities–TIHAN.

The game is scheduled to start at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at Hi Corbett Stadium at Reid Park. This is a child and family-friendly event for people of all ages. Tickets are available now by calling (520) 299-6647 (credit card orders can be taken by phone).

As the number of people living with HIV increases and public funding for them decreases, there is a growing need for TIHAN’s services, including our free monthly lunch program, emergency assistance for bills or memorial expenses, CareTeam support, and care packages of toiletry and household items not covered by food stamps for people living with HIV/AIDS.

The Tucson Interfaith HIV/AIDS Network (TIHAN) is a coalition of individuals and faith communities committed to an informed, compassionate response to HIV/AIDS: preventing the spread of HIV infection, providing compassionate care for those infected and affected, and catalyzing the religious community to provide an informed and compassionate response to the AIDS crisis. For more information about TIHAN, visit tihan.org.

U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announced that the Senate Armed Services Committee is agreeing to hold a Senate hearing on the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in the Armed Forces this fall.

“This policy is wrong for our national security and wrong for the moral foundation upon which our country was founded,” Senator Gillibrand said in a press release. “I thank [Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman [Carl] Levin (D-MI) for agreeing to hold this important hearing. Numerous military leaders are telling us that the times have changed. ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is an unfair, outdated measure that violates the civil rights of some of our bravest, most heroic men and women. By repealing this policy, we will increase America’s strength – both militarily and morally.”

Nearly 13,000 service members have been discharged for their sexual orientation since 1993, when the policy was first instituted. The Government Accountability Office estimates that the policy cost the Armed Forces approximately $95.4 million in recruiting costs and $95.1 million for training replacements for the 9,488 troops that were discharged from 1994 through 2003.

According to a Gallup Poll from May of this year, 69 percent of Americans favor military service by openly Gay men and Lesbians.

So what’s the problem then?

H.R. 1283 is the only proposed legislation introduced in the 111th Congress to repeal the 16-year-old policy. Former U.S. House Member Ellen Tauscher, D-CA, was the initial sponsor and lead for the measure and since Tauscher has been appointed a position with the Obama Administration, Democratic Pennsylvania Congressman and former Iraq War veteran, Patrick Murphy, took up the lead on H.R. 1283.

U.S. Representative Murphy has launched a national, multi-city campaign to push for a repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. Murphy and the other repeal advocates will tour the country, holding press conferences and town hall-style meetings, through September.

A total of 164 Members of the U.S. House of Representatives has cosponsored H.R. 1283 which was referred to the House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel.

No version of this bill has been introduced in the U.S. Senate, as of press time.

Senator Gillibrand had stated previously her intent to offer an amendment to the Defense Authorization bill, S. 1390 to put a moratorium on discharges based on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” for eighteen months but didn’t, citing the U.S. Senate’s need 60 votes to do anything, any more policy of cloture. Super majority, who needs that?

Also, hearings on the issue are being held by the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, chaired by Michigan Democrat Carl Levin, which is admirable despite the fact no bill, no companion measure to H.R. 1283 has been introduced and yet where there is a bill, H.R. 1283, no hearings have been held or the legislation considered by either the House Armed Services Committee, chaired by U.S. Representative Ike Skelton, D-MO or the House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, where H.R. 1283 was assigned by Skelton and chaired by U.S. Representative Susan Davis, D-CA.

Defense Department Secretary Robert Gates, reported on previous occasions in various news outlets, has been looking into ways to implement a stop loss measure in regard to “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” or even delaying the discharge procedures.

Former Secretary of State, Colin Powell has called for a review of the policy as well as many former officers with the Military Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Sam Nunn, then a Senator from Georgia who was one of the elected officials in Congress who drafted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has called for hearings on the issue.

One would think that with the public, purportedly behind repealing a policy that has cost the nation in more ways than it can afford, especially during these times, that action to repeal this 16-year-old law would be swift, direct and forthright, so hard can this be then?

On Thursday, July 16, the U.S. Senate, approved an amendment, by a vote of 63-28, inserting the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act to S. 1390, the Defense Department Authorization Bill.

This amendment to the Defense Department Authorization Bill would give the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the department with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person’s actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

All the Democratic Senators present, as well as independent Senators Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Joseph Leiberman of Connecticut voted yes, and were joined by five Republican Senators. Twenty-eight Republicans voted against the amendment, including both Arizona Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl.

Opponents of the Hate Crimes measure, led by Alabama Republican Senator Jeff Sessons, offered three amendments to the Act Amendment language, on Monday, July 20, in an attempt to scuttle the proposed expansion of current federal statutes. All three were approved (the first two by voice vote and the third, by a vote of 92-0).

Session’s three amendments (in the order the Senate considered them and approved) would:

Add the death penalty as a provision to federal hate crimes laws;

Require the Attorney General to promulgate guidelines with “neutral and objective criteria for determining whether a crime was motivated by the status of the victim and,

Create a new federal criminal offense for cases involving assaults or battery of a U.S. service member – or a member of the service member’s immediate family.

On April 29 of this year, the U.S. House of Representatives passed their version of the Matthew Shepard Act, H.R. 1913, known as the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, by a vote of 249-175.

Once the Senate votes on the final Defense Department authorization bill it will go to a conference committee with the House – appointed by the House of Representatives and Senate to resolve disagreements on a particular bill and is usually composed of the senior Members of the standing committees of each House that originally considered the legislation.

A conference report, combining the language of the two proposals, taking out extraneous material and amendments will be created and then submitted to both bodies for consideration.

There is no debate on a conference committee report and goes directly to each floor for a final vote and since the Senate version is a budget reconciliation bill, it cannot be filibustered, as per the 1974 Congressional Budget Act, limiting the Senate to ten hours of debate.

Current federal statutes (18 U.S.C. § 245) permit prosecution of hate crimes committed on the basis of a person’s race, color, religion, or nation origin when engaging in a federally protected activity.

A total of 45 states and the District of Columbia have statutes criminalizing various types of bias-motivated violence or intimidation (the exceptions are AR, GA, IN, SC, and WY).

Each of these statutes covers bias on the basis of race, religion, and ethnicity; 32 of them cover sexual orientation; 32 cover disability; 28 cover gender; 13 cover age; 11 cover Transgender/gender-identity; 5 cover political affiliation.

Arizona’s law, on the books since 1997, covers race, gender, age, national origin, religion and sexual orientation.

Fellow Citizen Blogger Carolyn Classen, a straight ally extrordinaire reported the initial news of Wingspan, Tucson and Southern Arizona’s LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community center that is moving due to financial circumstances in lieu of the current economic situation Tucson as well as the nation faces, and faces closure, something that would be tragic for Tucson’s LGBT community but for everyone in general.

(Claussen gave the link for the letter but in the sake of Wingspan, a link doesn’t do the letter, the appeal and the inherent need, justice. So from Wingspan Board President Cynthia Garcia her open letter to the community re: Wingspan, it’s Executive Director and its current financial straits it is facing. So please read and please donate, because the organization serves so many and this town doesn’t need to face another closure, such as this 21 year old organization. Thank You – Mark Kerr.)

Times are tough. We’ve all felt the effects in our pocketbooks and portfolios.

Your LGBT community center is no exception. Wingspan is making some big changes. We must take these bold actions now to preserve our core services.

I wanted to tell you what’s happening and ask for your help.

First Wingspan is moving.

Beginning this weekend, the Wingspan community center and staff offices will consolidate buildings with the EON Youth Lounge. This is a smaller building just across the street from Wingspan. Wingspan will be open Saturday July 18 and then close Sunday, July 19. Wingspan will remain closed next week (July 20—24) during the transition and reopen Monday, July 27 in the new space.

I’ve listed further details at the end of this letter about new hours and what this will mean.

There are more big changes ahead.

I want to also let you know that as part of a strategic plan to conserve resources by cutting all staff positions that are not grant-funded, Wingspan’s Executive Director Jason Cianciotto has offered his resignation. When Jason saw that his resignation was a necessary part of cost-saving measures to preserve core services, he came to the board to recommend that he resign. We reluctantly accepted.

Jason has volunteered to continue as executive director, with only a $1 salary until July 31. Jason will write to you soon himself. Jason has given complete devotion and passion to his leadership of Wingspan over the last 18 months. We are grateful for his service, leadership, and generosity.

And finally, in place of the annual community dinner held in September, we are going to do something different this year. At this time when every dollar counts, we don’t want to spend any money that doesn’t go directly to support our programs and staff.

Various activities are being planned in the coming months for the community to gather and support Wingspan. We will continue to keep you informed and encourage your participation in these events.

I realize that this is a lot to take in. And it’s happening fast.

It’s been difficult for the board to make these changes. We are available to answer your questions and hear your concerns and ideas.

Now more than ever Wingspan needs you. This is our community. It’s our center.

We’ll need volunteers to do many things that paid staff used to do. We’ll also need your financial support to ensure that Wingspan continues.

Wingspan has a strong history of community involvement and leadership. Wingspan began as an all-volunteer organization. Wingspan’s roots actually go back to the late 1970s, when local community members offered their homes for a weekly youth support group.

In the late 1980s Wingspan rented a tiny office space. And in 1998 Wingspan hired its first paid staff. It wasn’t until 2000 that Wingspan had an executive director.

Now, it’s time to return to our roots.

In the very first newsletter of Wingspan, published in the late 1980s, the volunteer leaders wrote why they chose to call the community center Wingspan:

“The word Wingspan represents the enfolding of wings around us, cradling us in our struggle for survival,” they wrote. They went on to explain that, “It expresses our desire for freedom; the freedom symbolized by a bird in flight. And it represents the spreading of our own wings, as each of us reach beyond our limits.”

It’s time to spread our own wings. To reach out. To stretch beyond what we thought was possible.

Your gifts of time and leadership are needed now. And your financial support is imperative.

For Wingspan to continue we must raise $125,000 by October 31, and find 1,000 new monthly donors who commit to giving $25 or more each month. And we need your help to do it.

Every donation counts. Nothing is too small. We need every person who cares about Wingspan in Southern Arizona to stretch and do their part.

Giving online is the quickest and easiest way for us to process your gift. Please go online today to www.wingspan.org and give as much as you can. Ask your friends to do the same.

Times are tough for everyone. But I know that we have an amazing community. The board of directors have already personally pledged $20,000 toward our $125,000 goal.

This is it. This is the critical moment to offer your skills and support to Wingspan. Wingspan needs you to continue offering critical, life-saving services and to speak loudly and proudly on behalf of the freedom and equality of the LGBT community in Southern Arizona.

Thank you in advance for your sacrificial giving. And for all that you will do to ensure that Wingspan continues.

Sincerely,

Cynthia Garcia

Wingspan Board President

P.S. If you have questions or ideas please feel free to email me directly at canngarcia@gmail.com or the board vice president Karyn Prechtel at kprechtel@mac.com.

We’ve tried to anticipate some of your questions below. But please contact us if you have more questions.

What will the transition be like next week?

The anti-violence hotline will remain available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week during the transition. The number is 520-624-0348 and toll-free 800-553-9387.

The EON Youth Lounge will remain open next week during its regular hours, 3 to 8 pm  for youth ages 13-23.

Staff email is currently down due to the transition. We hope to have this back up and running smoothly by the close of business Saturday, July 18.

The Wingspan website will remain up during the transition. The web address is www.wingspan.org.

The new combined Wingspan center and EON Youth Lounge will be open at its new location July 27.

What will the new center be like?

The new center hours will be Monday — Friday. Wingspan and EON will be closed on the weekends. From 11 am until 2 pm the community is welcome to come and use the cyber center, library, and the one available meeting room.

Wingspan will be closed each weekday from 2 pm to 3 pm to allow for a daily transition to an all-youth lounge.

EON Youth Lounge will remain a youth-only safe space from 3 pm until 8 pm Monday—Friday. Only youth, SAGA and some Wingspan committees will be able to use the space from 3 pm to 8 pm.

What will the new Wingspan look like?

Wingspan’s outreach, support and advocacy will continue with paid staff through the following programs: EON Youth Lounge, Anti-Violence Programs, and the Southern Arizona Gender Alliance.  Wingspan’s community education programs will also continue with leadership by volunteers. These programs have been the crux of Wingspan’s 21-year legacy of providing national leadership in LGBT education and advocacy.

Wingspan’s finances will remain professionally administered through a financial management contract.

Volunteer teams of community leaders will take the lead on organizing volunteers, fundraising, and Wingspan’s public advocacy. Already volunteers completely run many of Wingspan’s work such as our community Senior Programs. Wingspan began as a volunteer organization. By engaging the many gifts and talents of our community and returning to our roots as a volunteer organization, Wingspan will continue to promote the freedom, equality, safety, and well-being of LGBT people in Southern Arizona.

My group used to meet at Wingspan: Where else can we meet?

Tucson’s public libraries and city council offices have free meeting spaces for the public. Both have offered their spaces for groups that used to meet at Wingspan.

See these websites for more about reserving rooms at a library near you:

http://www.library.pima.gov/services/meetingrooms/
http://www.library.pima.gov/about/policies/meetingroompolicy.pdf

http://www.library.pima.gov/pdf/MeetingRoomApplication.pdf
I want to help. What can I do?

If you can help pack boxes, come to the center Saturday, July 18, starting at 9 am.

If you’d like to give a donation the easiest way is to go online to www.wingspan.org and donate online.

If you have ideas or would like to volunteer to write grants, do data entry, sweep floors, answer phones, host a fundraiser, or lead a new outreach program for instance, contact board president, Cynthia Garcia, canngarcia@gmail.com or the board vice president, Karyn Prechtel at kprechtel@mac.com. Jason will also be available until July 31.Thank you. Together we are Wingspan. This is our community. And our center.

When the American Foundation for Equal Rights and former Bush v. Gore attorneys, former Solicitor General Ted Olson and David Boies, had teamed up to file suit (May 22) in federal court, the Ninth U.S. Circuit, located in San Francisco, California, challenging California’s Proposition 8, on the grounds that it violates the federal Constitution, specifically the Fourteenth Amendment and the equal protection clause when the California Supreme Court, in its ruling, said Gay and Lesbians could be treated “separate but equal” under the law, LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) rights groups reacted with disdain.

This “premature” legal challenge, in a statement, on May 27 by the ACLU, GLAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Defenders), Lambda Legal, National Center for Lesbian Rights, Freedom to marry, GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), the Human Rights Campaign and the National Gay Lesbian Task Force “may well not win the right to marry back in California.” and that a legal defeat “would likely set back the fight for marriage nationwide, and hurt LGBT parents, employees, and students all over America,” but now more than a month later, these groups have filed a legal brief asking to be a part of this legal challenge.

Jennifer Pizer, Lambda Legal’s national marriage director, said in an interview that their full participation is vital now that U.S. District Court Judge Vaughn Walker has put the Proposition 8 challenge on a fast-track to trial. “We think it will be very helpful to Judge Walker and the ultimate resolution of the questions in the case for the litigation to have the benefit of the presence of the community in all its diversity,” Pizer said.

Chad Griffin, the Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights, called the legal maneuvering, “too late” since the same groups originally criticized a federal civil rights claim as premature.

“You have unrelentingly and unequivocally acted to undermine this case even before it was filed. Considering this, it is inconceivable that you would zealously and effectively litigate this case if you were successful in intervening,” Griffin said in a letter to the groups. “Therefore, we will vigorously oppose any motion to intervene.”

More lawyers, Griffin continued would “delay and unnecessarily complicate the proceedings” but the public interest groups were welcome to continue participating as consultants, something the groups should do since they were initially loath to join this legal challenge, something they now see as a possibility but “if you snooze, you lose!”

Protecting and advancing equal rights through legal and policy advocacy, for all Americans is the reason, according to their website (equalrightsfoundation.org) why the American Foundation for Equal Rights was formed. For more information about this case, the American Foundation or to support their efforts, go to their website.