Tag Archives: LGBT

Tell Southwest to apologize for kicking lesbian couple off flight

Leisha Hailey and Camila Grey weren’t expecting anything out of the ordinary when they boarded their Southwest Airlines flight last Monday. Camila kissed Leisha — just a typical “I love you” peck like any couple might share.

Apparently, this was not okay with their flight attendant, who came over to explain that two women kissing was not acceptable, because Southwest is “a family-oriented airline.”

Leisha and Camila were extremely upset. The flight attendant wouldn’t back down. The conflict escalated. And Leisha and Camila were kicked off their flight.

Jeremy Sharp is a college student and a fan of Leisha’s — Leisha was one of the stars of the TV series “The L Word.” Jeremy started a petition on Change.org demanding that Southwest apologize to Leisha and Camila. Please sign Jeremy’s petition to Southwest today.

Southwest claims to be a supporter of LGBT rights — and, as corporations go, Southwest has excellent anti-discrimination policies. It’s even the official airline for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD). But now that those policies are being put to the test, Southwest is failing miserably.

In multiple statements, Southwest has refused to accept responsibility for the actions of its employee, and has instead blamed Leisha and Camila for bringing this discrimination on themselves. But Leisha and Camila would have had no cause to get upset if they hadn’t been targeted by their flight attendant for their sexual orientation.

Eradicating homophobia means more than saying the right buzzwords and sponsoring the right organizations. It means making sure that LGBT families are treated equally every day. If Southwest can brush this incident under the rug, what’s to stop other well-meaning companies from doing the same?

Southwest has already received an avalanche of bad publicity for both its employee’s discriminatory behavior and its failure to accept responsibility for the incident. The airline’s executives need to understand that potential customers aren’t going to let this go until Southwest issues an official, meaningful apology.

Please sign Jeremy’s petition asking that Southwest apologize to Leisha and Camila:

http://www.change.org/petitions/tell-southwest-to-apologize-for-homophobic-employees

Thanks for taking action,

– Eden and the Change.org team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Obama Administration provides some relief to immigrant communities

08/22/2011 Nativegrl77

DHS’s announcement:
All current deportation cases to be reviewed

For the past few months, you’ve called and petitioned the White House and the Department of Homeland Security asking for them to show some courage and protect our immigrant communities. Our demands have been heard and the Administration has taken a step in the right direction to fixing our broken immigration system.

Yesterday, senior administration officials announced that all 300,000 cases currently in deportation proceedings will be reviewed by DHS, one-by-one, in an effort to focus purely on “high-priority” cases of criminals and individuals who pose a serious threat to the US. Cases deemed “low-priority” will be completely removed from the case log and, non-criminal immigrants once facing deportation, will have the possibility to obtain work permits.

The announcement is the first pro-immigrant procedural change that will provide some relief to DREAMers, LGBT spouses, victims of domestic abuse, and other non-criminal immigrants currently in deportation proceedings.

While the announcement is complicated, we’ve summarized the procedural changes DHS has announced they’ll make.

This is an important step in the right direction. We urge the Administration to enforce this policy vigorously and follow it through to its full logical and moral conclusion: suspend deportations of all those who work hard every day to create better lives for themselves and their families.

Congrats on this victory, and thanks for all you do,

Marissa Graciosa
Reform Immigration FOR America

Click here to learn more about these policies and share with friends and family.

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we only need 12 more people from Washington

08/18/2011 Nativegrl77

Hundreds of straight allies have already stepped up to help us fight the radical right and to protest the anti-LGBT witch hunt they want to start. We’ve extended our deadline to join HRC until midnight tonight because we’re so close to our goal of signing up 2,000 new members – and I know you can help us fight back, Carmen.
We just crunched the numbers, and we only need 12 more people from Washington to join HRC right now to hit our goal. I hope you’ll pitch in.
Stand with us now. Until midnight tonight ONLY, you can join HRC for $20 – a 43% discount – and still receive a cold cup tumbler as our thank-you. We’re offering this discount because we want to be able to count you as a valued member at this critical time.
Still on the fence? Well, the radical right isn’t sitting back on its heels. In just the last few weeks, several of the GOP presidential candidates have signed onto a pledge to support a constitutional ban on marriage equality – and to launch a commission that will investigate pro-equality advocates like you and me for “harassment” of anti-LGBT antagonists.
We can call out disgusting lies like these and fight back, but only thanks to our members. If love is going to conquer hate and tolerance is going to overwhelm prejudice, it’s going to take the true commitment of straight allies at moments just like these.
Take a look at Joe’s note below and then make your membership gift now.
– Ann Crowley, Membership Director, HRC

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URGENT: Anti-LGBT McCarthyism? … Joe Solmonese, Human Rights Campaign

08/16/2011 Nativegrl77

We’ve come to expect GOP candidates to call for a hateful constitutional amendment banning marriage equality. But we never expected them to support forming a commission to investigate pro-equality advocates like you and me.

I’m not making this up. Several of the GOP presidential candidates have now signed a pledge to appoint “a commission to investigate harassment” of anti-LGBT activists. It’s part of a years-long effort by right-wing groups to protect their mega donors from being held accountable for their hateful views – and it’s picking up speed. Fast.

This witch hunt commission would usher in a despicable era of anti-equality McCarthyism – and it’s a sign of just how radical the right has become. We’re fighting their hate with a grassroots campaign targeting anti-LGBT rhetoric, a media operation to debunk their lies, and a red-state bus tour to promote equality across the nation. But we need 874 more new members to reach our goal of 2,000 by Wednesday if we’re going to pull it off.

www.hrc.org

Every day, our groundbreaking work in schools and churches advances tolerance and acceptance. Our “Call it Out” campaign is targeting anti-LGBT hatred in local communities across the nation, and all eyes are on Maryland as the next target for marriage equality. We’re battling anti-gay attacks from right-wing zealots and politicians alike, and walking the corridors of Capitol Hill to push for a repeal of the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act.

But at a moment like this, we need to go big. That’s where our bus tour comes in – and where you can make all the difference.

We started this multi-city tour in the backyard of the Mormon Church in Salt Lake City and we’re continuing onward to other red states throughout the Midwest and South where it’s often tough for LGBT Americans to live openly. We’re going state by state to deliver our message loud and clear: There is no community where intolerance is welcome. There is no slur we won’t call out.

And – most importantly – there is no chance we’ll let a hateful fringe tear down all that we’ve accomplished together in the last years, especially in New York where marriage equality is already under attack.

we can’t afford to cede an inch. But only the support of thousands of straight allies – at a pivotal moment like this – will give us the strength to drive this movement forward.

www.hrc.org

As we’ve learned time and again – from hate crimes legislation to DADT repeal to New York marriage equality – if we keep standing together, we’ll get to our destination sooner than we think.

Let’s go big,
Joe Solmonese
President

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

What has four wheels and loves equality?

08/03/2011 Nativegrl77

HRC is hitting the road, taking our message of equality cross-country.

Join our “On the Road to Equality” tour at a stop near you »

You can also download and proudly display these signs supporting LGBT rights everywhere.

Dear Carmen,

It’s been an exciting couple months. We’ve won marriage equality in New York, secured new protections for transgender people in Connecticut, and watched as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” crumbled into history.

Americans’ support for LGBT equality issues is at an all-time high, but there’s still a long way to go in fighting discrimination and educating the public at large.

Carmen, we are at a crossroads and we need to drive as far and as fast as we can toward fairness.

So, we’re hitting the road – and we wanted you to be one of the first to know. Ten days from now we’re launching “On the Road to Equality,” our 12-week, 15-city, nationwide bus tour to spread the message and promote equality. We’ll be working with local communities to educate the American public and empower LGBT people to become advocates for fairness all over the country.

Join us on this exciting journey. Come meet us at a stop near you or download one of our four fun “road signs for equality” to display your support everywhere you go:

This tour will bring us to the reddest of red states where legal protections for LGBT Americans are severely limited and living openly can be incredibly difficult. We’re starting it off in Salt Lake City – where less than a year ago one of the Mormon Church‘s top leaders called same-sex attraction “impure and unnatural” in the days following a rash of teenage suicides.

We’ll be traveling then to Omaha and Little Rock and Birmingham and beyond – carrying our message to states with few, if any, legal protections against discrimination. We’ll be holding workshops and forums to help local LGBT communities empower themselves even in some of the nation’s most conservative areas. Achieving equality isn’t just for LGBT people in cities or on the coasts. It’s got to be everywhere.

Even if you don’t live near a tour stop, you can still join this ride for equality by downloading and displaying these pro-equality signs in the window of your car or home.

Our bus tour launches in just 10 days and we want to see your support on display as we travel the country. You can also follow all of the action at www.hrc.org/roadtoequality. If you do join us along the way, you’ll get to visit our one-of-a-kind traveling exhibit and share your own story and experiences with our very nifty video sharing tool.

We’re excited to have you on board.

Bags packed,

Joe