Email Blast — December 18, 2009
Dear Friend,
All of us here at Marriage Equality Silicon Valley would like to wish you a very happy and healthy holiday season. It has been a rough year for LGBT rights all across the country, but we will just pick ourselves back up and start anew in 2010.
In spite of the losses, there were a few bright spots, both locally and nationally. On December 1, Evan Low became the mayor of the city of Campbell, the first openly gay mayor in the South Bay. Also, Ken Yeager, former San José City Councilmember and current District 4 Supervisor of Santa Clara County, and the very first openly gay elected official in the county, will become the President of the Board of Supervisors in January 2010.
In the California State Legislature, John Pérez will become the next Speaker of the Assembly. And in (where else?) Houston, Texas, the fourth-largest city in the country, a lesbian candidate, Annise Parker, was elected as that city's mayor.
And finally, the District of Columbia is moving very quickly on making same-sex marriage a reality in our nation's capital.
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There is one upcoming event that we would like to make you aware of. The Silicon Valley office of Equality California will be hosting a celebration of its accomplishments and kicking off the new year on Saturday, December 19, 2009, from 1 to 4 P.M. at its headquarters, 19 N. Second St., Suite 102, San José. Please contact Chris at chris.riley@eqca.org or call (408) 569-6320 if you are interested in attending.
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GAYS TO BE EXECUTED IN UGANDA
Sorry, this isn't very holiday-like, but this shocking headline may very well become reality soon in the east African nation of Uganda, where a bill that would carry a minimum sentence of life in prison — just for being gay — and, in many instances, the death penalty, has been proposed and is being considered by lawmakers there.
Rachel Maddow, host of the Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC, has done an excellent job in covering this story, and revealing the bill's connections to the religious right and conservative politicans here in the United States. At the center of the issue is "The Family," a conservative religious organization in Washington, D.C., many of whose members are also members of the U.S. Congress. Jeff Sharlet, a frequent guest of Maddow, has authored a book entitled The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power, exposing this mysterious organization and how it works worldwide to fulfill its agenda.
You can watch videos of Maddow's recent shows, including conversations with Sharlet, on her website (see links below).
Although this bill is being proposed in Uganda, a country far away from most or all of our everyday concerns, its ties to the U.S. "Christian" right should not be surprising to any of us who have been the targets of their vitriolic attacks for decades. They may not be able to get away with legal murder here in the U.S., but it is clear that they're happy to implement it in other parts of the world.
It is our duty to hold them accountable for their actions. As San Francisco Supervisor Bevan Dufty stated, "The LGBT community can't reach the Ugandan government directly, but it's our responsibility to call out the religious right that have their fingerprints on this."
Rachel Maddow Show: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/
To purchase Sharlet's book on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Family-Secret-Fundamentalism-Heart-American/dp/0060560053/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1261123542&sr=8-1
Please do whatever you can to call attention to this unconscionable hate-propaganda and those responsible for it.
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Best wishes,
Marriage Equality Siilcon Valley