Email Blast — January 28, 2010
Dear Friend,
We thought you might want to know that the infamous Westboro Baptist Church, led by disbarred Kansas lawyer Fred Phelps and known for its slogan, "God Hates Fags," is bringing its circus of hate from Topeka, Kansas, to Palo Alto, California. The WBC is planning a protest at Gunn High School, 780 Arastradero Road in Palo Alto, on Friday, January 29, from 7:25 to 7:55 A.M. From there, they will head to the Taube Hillel House on the campus of Stanford University, a community meeting place for Jewish students, where they plan to resume their activities from 8:10 to 8:40 A.M. The Westboro Baptist Church is well-known for their extreme anti-gay and anti-Semitic viewpoints, as well as for picketing and stomping on the American flag at the funerals of fallen U.S. soldiers. Their hate and vitriol are so extreme that they are widely and rightfully denounced across the political spectrum, from left to right.
Gunn High School has seen a rash of suicides by several of its students in recent months. Whether or not any of these suicides were related to the students' sexuality has not been reported in the press. Understandably, such a hateful display as the Westboro Baptist Church is planning to put on is the worst possible message these kids and parents should receive.
Police will be present at both demonstration sites, and they, along with school officials, wish to discourage outsiders from joining any counterprotests, in the interest of safety. However, if you wish to take action, you may send a contribution to help turn the WBC's hatred into tangible benefits for the targets of its demonstrations. The "Phelps-A-Thon" (http://www.phelps-a-thon.com) accepts donations based on how many minutes the WBC protests at an event, and gives all the proceeds raised to the targeted groups. They have successfully raised thousands of dollars by literally transforming the WBC's hate into dollars for LGBT and other targeted groups. You can donate $0.25, $0.50 or even $1.00 or more per minute. Then, for every minute these people stand out there, yelling hateful slogans and waving venomous signs, more money is being raised for, in this case, the Gay-Straight Alliance at Gunn High School and the Stanford University Hillel.
To donate, visit http://www.phelps-a-thon.com.
For a story about the protests in the Palo Alto Online newspaper, see http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=15455.
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Testimony in the Prop. 8 federal trial in Judge Vaughn Walker's courtroom has come to an end, and closing arguments are not scheduled until early March or so. While the trial is on hiatus, this is the perfect time to celebrate Valentine's Day: with a Marriage License Counter Action at the Santa Clara County Administration Building!
Get Engaged for Marriage Equality is the theme of Freedom to Marry Day, Friday, February 12, 2010. Grab your same-sex partner and come down to the Clerk's Office at 70 West Hedding Street, San José, from 10:00 A.M. to 12:00 noon, and ask for a marriage license. You won't get one, but that doesn't mean you can't ask! This event will highlight the inequity that exists in our state as a result of Prop. 8's unequal treatment of California's citizens.
This event is sponsored by Marriage Equality USA (http://www.marriageequality.org). If you would like to attend, please send an email to ca-santaclara@marriageequality.org.
Download a flyer (Microsoft Word) here:
http://marriageequalitysiliconvalley.org/other_files/freedom_to_marry_valentines_day_2010.doc
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The Metropolitan Community Church of San José is holding a Transgender Sermon Series entitled "Transcending Barriers." The series began on January 10, and continues every Sunday up through February 7, 2010. Join the MCC on January 31 when Drew House, a graduate intern at San José State University's LGBT Resourch Center, will speak. Drew is a practicing Mormon, an out transperson, and an advocate for LGBT rights.
The series will wrap up on February 7, when the guest speaker will be the Honorable Rev. Victoria Kolakowski, the first person to have a trans-friendly article published in an academic theological journal, and the first out transperson to be appointed as a judge.
Both will speak at the MCC San José's Sunday Service at 6:00 P.M.
See a video of the MCC's Rev. Michael Ellard speaking about the importance of having an annual Transgender Sermon Series on the MCC San José's website at http://www.mccsj.org.
The MCC San José is located at the Grace Baptist Church, 484 East San Fernando Street, San José. Their telephone number is (408) 279-2711.
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Finally, we would like to remind you that you can purchase our specially designed "It's Not If, It's WHEN" Marriage Equality T-shirts by visiting our CafePress store at:
http://www.cafepress.com/MESV.399381662
This shirt is definitely a conversation starter! Yet it only states the obvious: Marriage equality will come eventually, despite Prop. 8 or any other obstacles.
Other merchandise, including hats, buttons and bumper stickers, is available as well. All proceeds are used solely to help offset our volunteers' out-of-pocket expenses.
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Once again, thank you for all you do in the fight for LGBT equality.
Marriage Equality Silicon Valley
http://marriageequalitysiliconvalley.org