Splash for Equality

This Sunday, April 22, Faces (the famed Sacramento gay nightclub) will be hosting a fundraiser for Equality California.

Better than just another Sacramento political fundraiser, it's a pool party!

"The California Equality Project is a coalition of over 30 statewide and national groups who have joined for a public education campaign, reaching out to California's residents. Currently, we have been going door to door in Northern California to educate folks about the rights, responsibilities, and benefits of marriage that many Gay and Lesbian couples would like to have the choice to fully and equally enjoy."

The Party's on Sunday, April 22 at Faces (on the corner of K and 20th in Midtown Sacramento) from 2pm to 6pm.

From what I hear, this is the place to be this Sunday! Three of my favorite things: Drinks, Politics, and Boys!

Cal Students for Marriage Equality

I have been neglectful in my duties to welcome Cal Students for Marriage Equality to the Blogosphere. CSME is a relatively new student group on campus (okay, not that new since it was founded by Andy Ratto before he graduated) with the intent to promote marriage equality in the Cal community. Think of it as the Human Rights Campaign or Equality California on a local scale. As one of their activities, they are maintaining a blog discussing Gay issues in the media. They are the newest addition to my blogroll. I know some of the leadership involved with CSME and expect to hear good things coming from their organization.

Unfortunately, it seems CSME is showing up a little late to the party. Most of the pressing issues facing Gay Californians have already been resolved. Although the term "marriage" is not yet awarded to Same-Sex couples, all the benefits and responsibilities the state can bestow are already granted. More notably, Cal is located in one of the most Gay-friendly regions of the world where most people are already accepting of Gays and Lesbians.

Taking Advantage of our Gay-Friendly Governor

Taking Advantage of our Gay-Friendly Governor

Governor Schwarzenegger announced today that he signed AB 1207 to add to the Code of Fair Campaign Practices a provision that would demand that candidates not appeal to negative prejudice of sexual orientation. The bill was authored by Assemblyman Yee and sponsored by Equality California after an almost identical piece of legislation was vetoed by Schwarzenegger last year.

While this bill certainly isn't at all a bad thing for the Gay community, don't expect it to help us. The Code of Fair Campaign Practices is a voluntary pledge that candidates may choose to sign. This pledge is a fuzzy, feel-good measure that asks candidates to remain positive and to avoid appealing to racism, sexism, and now homophobia. However, there is no provision to enforce the code. In fact, it would likely be impossible to enforce the code as many of the provisions are so very vague it would be impossible to fairly determine whether a candidate is in violation or not.

The only method of enforcement on the Code of Fair Campaign Practices can be found in the media. If a candidate appeals strongly to racism, sexism, or homophobia, regardless of whether he or she signed the pledge, the media would blast the candidate. A recent example of this is the man who once had his eye on the White House.

In short, AB 1207 won't be helping any Gay people any time soon. In fact, I really think that our friends at Equality California only sponsored the bill to put the Governor is a tough spot. If he had vetoed the bill he would have allowed Equality California the ability to claim he was a homophobic bigot. By signing the bill, he has further alienated a part of the Republican base of Christian Conservatives that Arnie needs to secure his reelection.

Why do we hate Arnold so much?

Why do we hate Arnold so much?

No Gay-themed, Republican blog would be complete without a positive review about the Governator. In this election year, it makes no sense why the LGBT community opposes having a Republican governor. LGBT support (and money) should not be wasted on Phil Angelides.

No Governor has ever had as positive an impact on Gay rights as Arnold Schwarzenegger. Yes, I know he made headlines when he notably vetoed AB 849 last year which would have given us marriage equality. Still, he has signed bills that have given us equal rights in nearly every other way. Thanks in part to Arnie, Domestic Partnership laws in California have been strengthened and are now stronger than just about anywhere else in the United States. Specifically, Gay people are protected against discrimination in just about every area of law from housing and employment to service in the California National Guard.

Groups out there like Equality California aren't looking out for our community when they blindly endorse Democrat candidates at the expense of Gay-friendly Republicans--especially when the Gay-friendly Republican is all but guaranteed a victory in the race. Instead of wasting precious time and money on loser candidates against our own allies, we should be focusing our efforts on ensuring that candidates (regardless of party affiliation) are elected that will represent our views in the Legislature. Do we really want another Dennis Mountjoy?