Cross Post of the Dallas Principles

NOTE this is a cross post, These are my views alone, They are not the same as Michael’s view..

Who are the founders of these Principles,
On May 15-17, 2009 in Dallas, Texas twenty-four thinkers, activists, and donors gathered to discuss the immediate need for full equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender people in the United States.  Collectively they prepared The Dallas Principles. Click here to see the list for yourself.

1. Juan Ahonen-Jover, Ph.D.  - Miami Beach, FL
2. Ken Ahonen-Jover - Miami Beach, FL
3. John Bare - San Franciso, CA
4. Jarrett Tomás Barrios - Boston, MA
5. Dana Beyer, MD - Montgomery County, MD
6. Jeffrey H. Campagna - New York, NY
7. Mandy Carter - Durham, NC
8. Michael Coe - Washington, DC
9. Jimmy Creech - Raliegh, NC
10. Allison Duncan - San Francisco, CA
11. Michael Guest - Washington, DC
12. Joanne Herman - Boston, MA
13. Donald Hitchcock - Washington, DC
14. Lane Hudson - Washington, DC
15. Charles Merrill - Palm Springs, CA
16. Dixon Osburn, Washington, DC
17. Lisa Polyak, Baltimore, MD
18. Barbra Casbar Siperstein, Edison, NJ
19. Pam Spaulding - Durham, NC
20. Andy Szekeres - Denver, CO
21. Lisa Turner, Virginia Beach, VA
22. Jon Winkleman, New York, NY
23. Paul Yandura - Washington, DC

So who is the 24th person,, this person isn’t listed on the site, MMM why? So what are these very so-called important Principle, one might ask they are below,
The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action.  In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

1. Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now.  Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.
2. We will not leave any part of our community behind.
3. Separate is never equal.
4. Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.
5. The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.
6. Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.
7. Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.
8. Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.

FULL CIVIL RIGHTS GOALS
Being united by common principles and engaging in united action, we will achieve the following goals:

1. DIGNITY AND EQUALITY. Every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person has inherent dignity and worth, and has the right to live free of discrimination and harassment.
2. FAMILY.  Every LGBT person has the right to a family without legal barriers to immigration, civil marriage or raising children.
3. ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY.  Every LGBT person has the right to economic opportunity free from discrimination in employment, public housing, accommodation, public facilities, credit, and federally funded programs and activities.
4. EDUCATION. Every LGBT child and youth has the right to an education that is affirming, inclusive and free from bullying.
5. NATIONAL SECURITY.  Every LGBT person should have the opportunity to serve our country openly and equally in our military and foreign service.
6. CRIME.  Every LGBT person should enjoy life protected against bias crimes.
7. HEALTH CARE.  Every person should have access to affordable, high quality, and culturally competent health care without discrimination.

---

First off Health Care is not a real LGBT issue since over 40.6 millions of Americans don’t have health insurance.. Care is never the same at all, those whom can pay always get the best health care in this country. All Crimes are commit on some form of bias, the poor guy steal from the rich guy, is this a hate crime? Education is again not a LGBT concern, those who are Bully have the power to stop it, all they have to do is to Stand up to the Bullier. Once the Bullier see that he can no longer bully you they often will leave the person alone. If you have the strength to come out of the closet then you have the strength to stand up to protect yourself. We all have the same Economic Opportunity, we just have to apply ourselves to achieve those opportunities. No Family unit is perfect there for this one is null and void. National Security, this one is not a LGBT solely item, there are many who would love to serve their but are not allow to do so. Last but not least Dignity and Equality, Please we don’t even have these things within our own community, so how can we except the str8 to give us this things as well.
Let see what others are saying about The Dallas Principles,

NGBOLG, had this to say

Granted the "Dallas 24" have only been so for about two weeks, but when you have a bunch of self anointed demigods claiming to represent the LGBT community, establishing a set of principles and goals, and a cute little widget and logo they want you and me to add to our blogs for free, the skeptic in me says, not so fast, guys.
So far, all I've seen from this bunch is videos posted on YouTube and blogs on Huffington Post and Air America; which is okay, actually. They're getting the word out and that's a good thing.

Queer Equality Revolution had this to say,

The "idea" of full federal equality is great, BUT -
I believe we cannot "demand" anything and get what we want without wielding some kind of POWER, and the ONLY power we have is our tax dollars.

The OutQ News Blog had this to say,

There are critics of the effort– some grousing that the group was self-selected and provided no advance notice to or access by the media.
Others say the groups membership was dominated by politicos from big coastal cities, and still others express concern that the group did not have sufficient racial diversity.
But C. Dixon Osburn –one of the 24 activists— says the group was just a group of friends trying to inspire the gay movement.

Osburn: “We don’t want to be an organization. We don’t say that we speak for the movement. We see The Dallas Principles as an invitation the entire community to adopt them, to incorporate them into their personal lives, incorporate them into their volunteerism, and by doing so, hold accountable political and appointed leaders and organizations.”

For better or worst, this group might do some good, but I fear that more damage will be done then good. When you have a group of people who think they know what is best for our community with the community input first, things often go wrong, infighting starts.

CA Prop8 glass half full

Prop8 stands, and so does the 18,000 same-sex marriages, Half a victory..

Over at Pam's House Blend, There is this,

Oh boy, now the Obama administration will have to take its head out of the sand as the stakes have been raised by an outfit called the American Foundation for Equal Rights.

Two of the nation's top litigators who opposed each other in the Bush v. Gore election challenge in 2000 have joined forces to seek federal court intervention in California's gay marriage controversy.

Theodore B. Olson and David Boies have filed a U.S. District Court lawsuit on behalf of two gay men and two gay women, arguing that the California constitutional amendment eliminating the right of gay couples to marry violates the U.S. constitutional guarantee of equal protection and due process.

Now I have to wonder what would happen here in North Carolina???

The Decision on PROP 8 in CA

Wow the Time as come finally to find out one way or another.. Will our Communities in CA and across the US be ready for this Decision?

The California Supreme Court has announced that it will issue an opinion in three cases challenging the constitutionality of Proposition 8 at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. (Strauss v. Horton, S168047; Tyler v. State of California, S168066; City and County of San Francisco v. Horton, S168078.) Tuesday at 10 a.m., the opinion will be available on the California Courts Web site at this link: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/opinions/.

Seminar Works

Info on an up coming event in Raleigh, NC

The LGBT Community Center of Raleigh
Wednesday, May 27, 2009 @ 7:00
Boylan Board Room
401 N. Boylan Avenue Raleigh, NC

Eddie Sartin will be speaking on the strategic plan for the LGBT Community Center of Raleigh, where they are currently in this plan and what the immediate future plans are over the next several months. The LGBT Community Center of Raleigh seeks to b an inclusive organization serving various LGBT organizations in Raleigh, the Triangle and Eastern North Carolina regions. In Addition the Center seeks to unite our community in a single voice to advance the rights of our community. Therefore, he will spend most of the time seeking feedback from those attending.

Please RSVP with Deana @ 919-844-7993

Gay Pol. hopes to Oust Virginia Foxx

Virginia Foxx,who claim that the death of Matthew Shepard was a Hoax, hope to stop the advance of the Federal Hate Crime bill named after Matthew Shepard. She made the remark while Mrs Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother was setting in the gallery listening to the debate.

Since that remark, Ms Foxx as apologies to Mrs. Shepard, but the damage has been done, to late to unring that bell.

Now a gay Pol hopes to oust Ms Foxx from her seat in the Senate.

Matt of Q-note has done a great time writing the piece Click here to Visit Q-notes, also see the post on PFLAG had to say to Ms Foxx, as well

Virginia Foxx

This Woman, Virginia Foxx need to be ashamed of herself for calling Matthew Shepard  death a hoax while discuss the the Matthew Shepard’s Hate Crime bill in the house. While Judy Shepard was in the gallery of the House.

This woman has brought shame to North Carolina. I can only hope in 2010 that someone will unseat her in the house.

Victory! NC Senate Passes Safe Schools Bill

5/7/2009 - Yesterday afternoon the North Carolina Senate passed S.B. 526, the School Violence Prevention Act, on the second of two votes. The bill now goes to the House for consideration. The Senate's action is a huge step towards making all students, including LGBT students, safer in their schools.

The bill would require school districts to adopt strong, research-based anti-bullying policies that have a definition of bullying that clearly protects students from bullying and harassment based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity, among other categories.

"The NC Senate made history, standing up for the safety of all students, and for the first time passing legislation that includes sexual orientation and gender identity," said Ian Palmquist, Executive Director. "Although the House has passed similar legislation in the past, we must all keep working hard to get this bill to the governor's desk, as passage is far from assured."

Equality NC is a leading member of Prevent School Violence NC, a coalition of organizations working together to pass this bill and make all students safer in schools.

"We couldn't have achieved this victory without our amazing coalition partners, our incredible staff, and our dedicated volunteers and activists across North Carolina," said Palmquist.