Equal Junction

Remember there are people you do not even know yet who love you.  As you continue your life, may you love yourself and have fun learning about the ones you love and will love you in return.

According to reports:

“A Pentagon spokeswoman says recruiters have been told they must accept gay applicants, following a federal court decision striking down the ban on gays serving openly in the military.

The Department of Defense issued new orders via email late Thursday afternoon informing all five branches of the military that they must comply with an injunction ordered by a federal judge  on enforcement of “don’t ask, don’t tell,” according to Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.”

For MORE CLICK HERE

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Tonight there will be a vigil for the LGBT youths who took their own lives after being bullied. May they rest in peace and teach us to respect one another.  If you or someone you know is having a personal crisis right now, please dial 911 or speak with a counselor at The Trevor Project or dial 1-866-4-U-TREVOR

VIGIL WILL BE AT THE WEST HOLLYWOOD PARK
JUST SOUTH OF THE ABBEY
OCT. 5TH 7PM-8PM

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL TO REMEMBER THE LIVES OF:

PLEASE JOIN US IN REMEMBERING OUR LGBT TEENS THAT WE LOST TO SUICIDE. LET’S SHOW SUPPORT TO OUR YOUTH……. SHOW THEM, THAT LIFE DOES GET BETTER! AND HOW BEAUTIFUL LIFE IS! PLEASE BRING A CANDLE, BRING A COMPANION, AND COME SHOW COMMITMENT TO END BULLYING, HATE. AND TO HONOR THE LIVES OF THESE INNOCENT LGBT TEENS!

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October 4th, 2008. We became one and were married at the Sunset Marquis in Hollywood, CA. We cannot believe its already been 2 years, it has moved so quickly, and the politics and environment have done the same. Still, as evident by the recent losses of youth, we have a lot more to do.

We never thought our marriage as an ‘at last’, but a new beginning to be one of the pioneers for the future of our community. Yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt, it will get better. We wish we could have the ears of every LGBT person and say things are going to be just fine. There will be some turbulence, but eventually we will land safely and arrive at a destination where RESPECT will be there to embrace all of us!

Keep on fighting, keep raising the bar, and cope and deal with the obstacles that may come our way.

In Pride,

The Cermak-Ochoa’s

If I remember correctly, when we used to live in Chicago, the Windy City times hit newsstands every Thursday.  This week marks their 25th anniversary and is Chicago’s oldest Gay & Lesbian newspaper.  The Windy City Times started in 1985 with a small voice, but a long-term dream that LGBT topics would not only come from The Windy City Times, but that their own newspaper would continue, as other media, to have our news stories and issues mainstream.

Co-founder and current publisher Tracy Baim says “25 years is an important milestone because the modern gay rights movement had just begun its strongest push in the 1960s and 1970s.”

She says now that gay issues are covered better in the mainstream media, niche publications are crucial for covering the community in more meaningful ways.

Check out their online site HERE

Photo Via Wiki Commons

This Sunday, we will be at the First and Hope Supper Club (photos above and below) where they have opened their doors to the ‘Friends of Project 10′.  On the 26th, Friends of Project 10 will hold an event “Broadway Matinee” in the Fedora Cabaret Lounge.  There will be live broadway performances and leaders who currently fight for the LGBT youth of Los Angeles.

Founded in 1984 by Dr. Virginia Uribe, Friends of Project 10 are dedicated to providing educational support services to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and questioning youth who attend public school campuses.  Project 10 currently has groups or contact people in the majority of LAUSD’s high schools. Over the years it has expanded to include middle and continuation schools. Portions of the Project 10 model are replicated in schools across the country.

First and Hope Supper Club is located at 710 W. 1st St. on Bunker Hill.  It features modern American comfort food, handcrafted cocktails, and live entertainment.

Having attended First and Hope Supper Club, its an artistic dinner experience. As soon as you walk in the supper club, you are transcended into the charm of art deco, musical delights, and food to comfort your hunger.

For more information, please contact Robert St. Genis at (213)-291-6971.

To learn more about project 10 CLICK HERE

Today, the winds of change could come for a our soldiers.  Seventeen years ago, President Clinton enacted the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy which put into law that no soldier could serve openly as a Gay man or woman. The senate has the power to vote to repeal and that vote is today.

We want to take this vote, and put it into a brief description.

To vote to keep DADT would be DISCRIMINATION.

To vote to repeal DADT would be JUSTICE

President Clinton stated a year ago while appearing on Anderson Cooper 360 that he regrets enacting that law. Exclusive here on EqualJunction.com, Clinton stated that in 1993, he was an old man, and he acted on old man views.

Yesterday, Lady Gaga stated “Equality is the prime rib of America,” she said, urging Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to share “the greatest cut of meat that my country has to offer” with gays and lesbians in the military.

“Equality is the prime rib of America,” she said, urging Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe to share “the greatest cut of meat that my country has to offer” with Gays and Lesbians in the military.

To keep DADT, simply put, is keeping segregation alive. President Obama should have enacted a stop-loss order so that the military would not lose qualified, intelligent men and women who want to serve our country.  Erasing DADT would be a step in the right direction.

WHAT YOU CAN DO WHILE THERE IS STILL TIME…

Please call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and make sure they support the REPEAL of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Do it before tomorrow’s vote! Thank You

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“I’m sorry” Seymour Pine said. Although staying true to his orders, Pine stood behind the raid on that hot night in June 1969 at the Stonewall Inn.

Pine died last week at the age of 91. There are some who would say good riddance, but in 2004 he remarked on the raid and stated that he did not know what ‘Gay’ was about and that he was ’sorry’. Again, here is a point where the lack of education regarding your fellow citizens can start a revolution or evolution that will forever change things.  We would not want to say ‘good riddance’ but more importantly, we could say ‘thank you for your major misunderstanding’. Where would the LGBT community be with out the Stonewall Riots? Yes, there were other communities, such as LA, and Chicago that opened up doors for the Gay community, but the battle in NY is what gained notoriety.

It always takes two to tango in the battle of evolution and due to the loss of a partner, we hope that Pine’s legacy will teach others, especially in the police community, to accept our community as equals. No more prejudice, no more hate. In one of Pine’s last interviews he stated, ‘If what I did helped gay people, then I’m glad.’ To error is human, forgive divine.

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