By Dennis McMillan
Mayor Raises Rainbow Flag
over City Hall
San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee raised the rainbow flag above City Hall Tuesday morning to celebrate June as Pride Month for members of the LGBTQ community. Surrounded by dozens of City officials, Lee lowered the multicolored flag from the mayor’s balcony overlooking the City Hall Polk Street steps. The flag ceremony comes less than two weeks before the City’s Pride weekend starting with events on June 27 and continuing through June 29. sfmayor.org
CCOP Bows Out of Pink Party Plans
The Castro Community On Patrol (CCOP) has decided not to be part of this year’s Pink Party (formerly Pink Saturday) celebration on June 27. The main reason is the need to be ready for the SCOTUS announcement regarding same-sex marriage, which will require safety monitoring of celebrants in the Castro. Also, mobilizing for the Pink Party would stretch their safety volunteer resources very thin. This year’s party will start and end earlier than those in the past with a 3pm to 8pm schedule. castropatrol.org
Help Needed to Assemble 20th Annual Pink Triangle
Volunteers are requested for installation/set-up of the Pink Triangle on Twin Peaks north hill on Saturday, June 27, 7am–10am. The Commemoration Ceremony is at 10:30am. The pink triangle symbol, once used to identify and persecute gay men in Nazi Germany, has since evolved into an important reminder for the LGBT community of the continuing homophobia and inhumanity against them and other repressed minorities around the world. thepinktriangle.com
ACT UP Panelists to Discuss 25th Anniversary of AIDS Conference
Members of the original ACT UP/San Francisco will discuss the planning behind the actions during the 6th International AIDS Conference in San Francisco, and the impact that they had on that conference and future conferences. Topics include the role of people living with HIV in determining the treatment and research agendas, immigration restrictions on people living with HIV, women and gender issues within the epidemic, threats to the San Francisco model of care, and the relationship between direct action activists and AIDS service organizations. The free meeting will be held on June 20 at 4:30pm –7pm at the SF LGBT Community Center, 1800 Market Street. Check out facebook.com/groups/acfupreunion2014sf for information on a week of ACT Up reunion events.
Bills Addressing LGBTQ Civil Rights Advance
Five bills sponsored by Equality California that address serious gaps in civil rights protections for LGBTQ Californians have advanced from their houses of origin for consideration by the second house. All five concern the mental or physical well-being of LGBT adults and youth. AB 959 reduces disparities in health and wellbeing for LGBTQ people through data collection. AB 827 combats bullying and supports queer youth. AB 329 updates existing law to ensure that sex education is inclusive of LGBTQ relationships. SB 703 requires out-of-state companies contracting with the state of California to provide insurance benefits to transgender employees. SB 731 requires child welfare officials to consider a child’s gender identity when making a foster care placement. eqca.org
Harvey Milk Club Rallies for Housing Affordability in D8
The Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club and its progressive allies gathered in Harvey Milk Plaza to demand change in affordable housing. They claimed District 8 has the second highest eviction rate in San Francisco and some of the highest rents, while its leadership continues to undercut community efforts to expand housing affordability. A few days later, the group met in City Hall to tell the Board of Supervisors to vote yes on the luxury housing moratorium. They stated that luxury housing accounts for 93% of the housing being built in the Mission, and only 13 sites remain for the development of affordable housing. milkclub.org
Friends and Family of Fernando Robles Invited to Two Memorials
A ceremony in memory of Emperor Fernando Robles is on Sunday, June 14, at 5pm to gather for cocktails at the Pilsner Inn. At 6:30pm, participants will travel to Ocean Beach on the N Judah for a 7pm–9pm Ocean Beach bonfire, toast by Emperor Kevin Lisle & Empress Khmera Rouge. Bring drums, musical instruments and blankets. Also, a Celebration of Life is on Friday, June 19, 7pm at Lookout SF, 3600 16th Street as a gathering of Friends and Family to Celebrate Fernando (December 2, 1969–May 29, 2015). https://www.facebook.com/events/1593847467567496/
DMV Again Settles with a Verbally Attacked Transgender Woman in Bay Area
A San Francisco transgender woman has settled her privacy and civil rights lawsuit with the California Department of Motor Vehicles, the second lawsuit of its kind against the DMV in the Bay Area in the past four years. Jane Doe, who wishes to remain anonymous to protect her privacy, went to the DMV to change the gender marker on her ID to reflect her gender identity. When she presented her paperwork to the clerk, the DMV employee was friendly until discovering that she was transgender. At that point, he became visibly angry and began to loudly lecture her on the “sin” of being transgender. The State of California agreed to pay Ms. Doe almost $30,000. The Transgender Law Center will also continue to urge the DMV to incorporate transgender sensitivity into its ongoing employee training. meltwaterpress.com
Protesters Rally Outside Facebook HQ over “Real Name” Policy
A group of protesters that included members of the LGBTQ community, Native Americans and domestic violence survivors gathered outside Facebook’s Menlo Park headquarters to protest the social network’s controversial “real name” policy. Under the long-standing policy, Facebook can suspend accounts reported as using a name other than the one listed on that user’s birth certificate. The #MyNameIs coalition said Facebook has been slow to act on their behalf, which is why they organized the protest. As a result, Facebook now allows Facebook users in the U.S. to sign into their accounts while they verify or update their name, and expands the options that blocked users can choose from to verify their authentic name. mashable.com/
Madame Tussauds Features First Ever Transgender Figure in Its History
Madame Tussauds announced that Laverne Cox will join Madame Tussauds San Francisco in Fisherman’s Wharf as the first ever transgender figure in the long history of Madame Tussauds to celebrate Pride Month. Madame Tussauds is honored to celebrate Ms. Cox’s outstanding achievements and the historic impact she has made through raising awareness, and her stance on equality and inclusion within the LGBTQ community. madametussauds.com/SanFrancisco
SF Archbishop Speaks Out Against Transgenders
Amid the national buzz over transgender celebrity Caitlyn Jenner revealing her new female identity, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone denounced the spread of “gender ideology” and warned that it threatens the very foundation of the Church’s faith. “The clear biological fact is that a human being is born either male or female,” Cordileone said at the start of an address in Manhattan. “Yet now we have the idea gaining acceptance that biological sex and one’s personal gender identity can be at variance with each other, with more and more gender identities being invented.” Cordileone is also the point man in the battle against same-sex marriage for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. washingtonpost.com
Generations HIV Online Archive Goes Live
The HIV Story Project online video archive, “Generations HIV.org,” went live with powerful launch events at San Francisco City Hall that were timed to coincide with National HIV/AIDS Long-term Survivors Awareness Day. There are almost 500 powerful videos on the archive now, and by summer’s end, there will be upwards of 1,200 to watch, explore and share. generationshiv.org/
CA Senate Passes First Medical Aid-in-Dying Bill in CA History
Compassion & Choices praised the California Senate for passing a medical aid-in-dying bill for the first time in history, two weeks after the California Medical Association dropped its 28-year opposition to such legislation. The vote to approve the bill, the End of Life Option Act (SB 128), was 23 to 14. The bill now moves to the Assembly, where the deadline to pass the bill is Sept. 11. compassionandchoices.org
Out & Equal Workplace Celebrates Outstanding Business Leaders
Out & Equal Workplace Advocates bestowed Selisse Berry with the inaugural Legacy Leadership Award at the Four Seasons hotel, as they celebrated Bay Area companies and leaders advancing LGBTQ equality in business. In addition to honoring their CEO and founder, the event celebrated Corporate Pride Award Winner The Clorox Company and OUTstanding LGBT business leaders, including the Golden State Warriors’ Rick Welts, Bank of San Francisco’s Roberta Achtenberg and Out & Equal board member Intuit’s Scott Beth. outandequal.org
Land Use and Transportation Committee Hears Water
Reuse Legislation
The Land Use and Transportation Committee of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors has heard legislation sponsored by Supervisor Scott Wiener to require new developments to use onsite water reuse systems—like greywater and blackwater systems—for non-potable uses like toilet flushing and irrigation. The legislation also pushes City departments to use non-potable water for all cleaning and irrigation of public spaces within the next five years. Increasing the use of non-potable water will decrease reliance on Hetch Hetchy drinking water for irrigation and toilet flushing. sfgov.org
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