HATE
CRIMES MEETING
The Cimarron
Alliance Foundation is holding a town hall meeting on
Hate Crimes on Sunday, January 25th at 6PM at the
Copa, located in the Habana Inn, 2200 NW 39th
Expressway. Organizers will discuss hate crimes
directed against the GLBT Community in Oklahoma,
including the case of Shawn McDaniel, who was
attacked in Norman on October 16, 2003. CAF has
agreed to help McDaniel pursue a civil case against
his attackers and will be accepting donations to fund
the case. The Copa has pledged that if 100 people
show up for the meeting, they will donate $1.00 of
every beer sale.
NW
CLASSEN HIGH SCHOOL
Joe Quigley presents us with yet another
letter from the administration that you have to read
to believe - this one's from the dean of instruction.
www.gayokc.com/quigley011304.htm
DEMOCRATIC
PRIMARY FORUM
Democratic Party Candidates Want Your Vote
Find Out Who Deserves It
Precinct 452 Presidential Primary Forum
Belle Isle Library, 5501 N. Villa at NW Hwy, OKC
Tuesday, January 20, 7:00pm
Reps from 8 Campaigns Will Answer Your Questions
Jim Nimmo, chair--405-843-3651
Eva Jo Sparks, co-chair
David Walters, secretary
WHAT'S
IN STORE FOR 2004?
Will this be a year of evolution or
revolution? Will 2004 in OKC be more or less historic
than 2003? Find out when GayOKC.com presents The
State of Our Community 2004, Monday, January
26, 6:30PM at Epworth United Methodist Church!
Reception begins at 5:30. Meet the people who made
the news happen in OKC's GLBT Community in 2003, find
out what they think and what they're doing in 2004!
What are the issues our community is dealing with
& what are the resources we have available to us?
Our community is bigger than you think it is!
(The State of Our Community 2004 is being made
possible through the financial assistance of the Cimarron
Alliance Foundation, Oklahoma Gay and Lesbian
Political Caucus and Central
Oklahoma Stonewall Democrats.)
OKLAHOMA
EQUALITY STRIDES IN STROUD
Editor's note: According to an email
from Keith Smith, the Tulsa meeting will be at
Fellowship Congregational Church (29th and Harvard)
on January 20th at 7PM. Also, please note that the
correct time for the OKC meeting is 6PM
on Jan 15. This town hall meeting is open to all
supporters of GLBT Rights regardless of party
affiliation, NOT just Democrats!
(Oklahoma City) An upbeat, vigorous, and
committed-to-equality crowd of 85 people from all
over Oklahoma, representing many equality groups,
both gay and straight, crowded the meeting room at
the Best Western Motel in Stroud, OK on January 10,
2004 to set in motion the Oklahoma Freedom and
Equality Coalition (OFEC for short. Say it out loud,
good and loud!) which is going to fight tooth and
nail, down to the mat, for gay/lesbian equality in
Oklahoma.
Four essential committees were formed to guide the
Coalition's energies and efforts in the most
efficient way in order to effect the equality you and
I know that ALL citizens of this country are entitled
as our birthright.
Expertly co-chaired by Rodney Johnson and Karen
Weldin the organizing meeting reviewed preliminary
arrangements and solidified the goals and mission of
the Coalition.
Town hall meetings were announced for Thursday,
January 15, at Church of the Open Arms, 6:00pm, NW 30th
and N. Pennsylvania in OKC. Tulsa's meeting will be
January 20, place and time TBA.
These meetings are extensions of the Stroud meeting
for those unable to make it to Stroud.
In addition to the groundwork, we heard from Oklahoma
County Commissioner District 1, Democrat, the
Honorable Jim Roth, who spoke of the importance of
equality for gays/lesbians in Oklahoma. Using
experiences from his own life Mr. Roth illustrated in
black and white that gays/lesbians are not asking for
"special rights" but are insisting on the
equal rights that hetros enjoy without their even
thinking of the disparity now legally existing in
Oklahoma.
Mark Mead, from Log Cabin Republicans, also spoke of
the need for equality from the GOPer POV. Answering
the rhetorical question, "How can an openly gay
man remain in the GOPer Party?" Mr. Mead
remarked that not all Democrats are gay-friendly.
Mr. Mead also pointed out that there is the
possibility that in addition to the Federal Marriage
Amendment now introduced in the US Congress, another
amendment may arise that would remove from the "full
faith and credit" clause of the US Constitution,
whereby laws in one state are recognized in another
state, it's ability to be used in the legal avenue of
marriage.
Readers of this article must understand that
religious fundamentalists and homophobic politicians
of both major parties are going full force against
the forward surge for gay/lesbian equality in the US
of A. Don't think for one minute that the recent
state and federal court decisions will save what
progress we have made in 2003.
Constitutional amendments CAN NOT be reviewed by ANY
court in ANY state or the Congress. Ratified
amendments will be permanent for generations.
I don't have a generation to wait and I don't believe
any readers of this article have any more access to a
reserve of time than anyone else.
All of us must do what we can NOW!! Attend the town
meetings and join our gay/lesbian army to repeal the
mental and physical attacks being launched against
our citizenship.
There can be no varnishing of the plain truth. It
will take energy, commitment, bravery, and sacrifice.
Freedom, both of the body and the mind, deserves no
less!
The year of 2004 is going to be a gay/lesbian Rubicon.
We must cross this barrier, conquer it, and revel in
our victory!
James Nimmo, treasurer, Oklahoma Stonewall Democrats
www.oklahomastonewall.org
2003:
THE YEAR IN REVIEW NOW ONLINE!
It's all here, taken from the front
page of GayOKC.com! From Jim Roth's swearing-in to
the Oklahoma campaigns of the Democratic presidential
candidates and the GLBT activists who are making them
happen, and all the events that made 2003 a historic
year in our community and hold enormous promise and
potential for good and ill in 2004: including the
City Council's removal of all restrictions on the
banner program, GLBT impact on the City Council
races, The Laramie Project, hate crimes
bills, the PNI "Peace Train", PFLAG OKC,
the Oklahoma Republican Party platform, Rick
Santorum, Stonewall Democrats, Soulforce in Oklahoma
at the Oklahoma Methodists conference, Rev. Gene
Robinson, Howard Dean, Lawrence v Texas,
Fred Phelps pickets Billy Graham, the Cathedral of
Hope disaffiliating from MCC, the Democratic
presidential forum in Stillwater, reorganization of
the Cimarron Alliance Group, the Norman
Transcript printing a same-gender union
announcement, OKC Public Schools superintendent Bob
Moore's letter to Joe Quigley stating in writing that
it is against district policy to discriminate against
GLBT students, the first ever GLBT History Month
display at NW classen High School, Kirk Humphrey's
resignation as mayor so he can run for the Senate,
the "Love Won Out" conference, the
Massachusetts Supreme Court decision regarding Gay
marriage and the response from Oklahoma legislators,
Brad Carson's support for the Federal Marriage
Amendment and the Central Oklahoma Stonewall
Democrats' decision not to support his campaign for
re-election, Jacqueline Gatewood's "Diversity
House" project and the announcement of a
statewide coalition of GLBT organizations in Oklahoma!
Part One:
January - June
Part Two:
July - September
Part Three:
October - December
2002
IN REVIEW STILL ONLINE!
www.gayokc.com/yearinreview2002.htm
GUERRIERO
COMING TO OKLAHOMA?
According to a posting on the OGLPC
Discussion List by someone who attended the Stroud
summit, Log Cabin
Republicans
Executive Director Patrick Guerriero may be coming to
Oklahoma sometime in March, possibly to speak at OU
or some other area college. LCR Political Director
Mark Mead spoke at the summit in Stroud on Saturday
and also met with local Gay Republicans. More info
will be posted as it becomes available.
GRAVES
JOINS ANTI-MARRIAGE GRAVY TRAIN
Oklahoma House of Representatives
Mike W. Ray, Media Division Director
January 8, 2004
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: State Rep. Bill Graves
Capitol: (405) 557-7348
Oklahoma City: (405) 235-5811
OKLAHOMA CITY -- A pair of measures to ban same-sex
civil unions in Oklahoma as well as gay marriages
will be introduced in the Legislature this year by a
staunch opponent of homosexual behavior.
State Rep. Bill Graves intends to file a bill that
would amend state law, and a companion resolution
that would propose an amendment to the Oklahoma
Constitution.
The bill would provide that a marriage or a civil
union performed in another state between people of
the same gender "will not be recognized as valid
and binding in this state..."
The legislation would also clarify that a marriage or
civil union between a couple of the same gender
"is not authorized or recognized" in
Oklahoma. "Gay" marriages have been
prohibited in this state since 1997.
In addition, Graves' bill would declare that a
marriage or civil union between persons of the same
gender "shall be considered repugnant to the
public policy" of this state.
The bill defines a "civil union" to mean
"a relationship between persons of the same
gender which is not a legal marriage but gives the
same rights, benefits and responsibilities as a
marriage..."
"According to the Holy Bible, homosexuality is
an abomination in God's eyes," declared Graves,
R-Oklahoma City. "Nothing the liberals say
otherwise can change that."
A joint resolution Graves intends to file would call
for a statewide vote on a constitutional amendment to
prohibit same-sex marriages or civil unions in
Oklahoma, and to disregard such ceremonies performed
in other states.
Graves, an attorney, pointed out that such a
prohibition imprinted in the Constitution would carry
even more weight than a statute. A statute can be
changed by a majority vote among the 149 members of
the state Legislature, but the Constitution can be
amended only by a statewide vote of the people, he
explained.
Graves acknowledged that his proposal was prompted at
least in part by a Nov. 18 ruling of the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court that the
Massachusetts Constitution guarantees homosexual
couples in the Bay State the right to marry.
At least one other House member, Rep. Mike O'Neal, R-Enid,
also wants a constitutional ban against gay marriages.
In his "Defense of Marriage Act," O'Neal
proposes a referendum on a constitutional amendment
that would expressly define a marriage as the union
of a man and a woman.
The issue of marriage between members of the same sex
has been taken up by state courts other than
Massachusetts' and by the federal government.
In 1996, Congress passed and then-President Clinton
signed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defined
marriage as a "union between one man and one
woman" and allowed states to ignore any same-sex
marriage from another state. Today, Oklahoma is one
of 37 states that prohibit recognition of marriages
between gay couples.
The National Conference of State Legislatures reports
that Alaska, California, Nebraska and Nevada have
amended their state constitutions to ban gay marriage.
In addition, legislation proposing ballot initiatives
that would ban gay marriages were introduced last
year in Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi and New
Mexico.
The Graves and O'Neal measures will be filed for
consideration during the Second Regular Session of
the 49th Oklahoma Legislature, which convenes Feb. 2.
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