MEUSA San Francisco Event

With gay & lesbian marriage now in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court Marriage Equality USA (MEUSA) is having their annual San Francisco Garden Party + Awards event on Sunday May 3rd at Chambers Eat + Drink, 601 Eddy Street in San Francisco from 1P to 4P PST. This is an opportunity to meet, greet & mingle with our LGBT community & allies while supporting a fabulous organization. The event will celebrate the work of hundreds of grassroots volunteers in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area, while honoring the contributions of State Senator Mark Leno, the San Francisco Giants & the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom (BALIF). The San Francisco Garden Party + Awards brings together community, corporate & political leaders, celebrities & grassroots volunteers to celebrate & raise funds to move the issue of marriage equality forward. The event is a celebratory afternoon of cocktails, light food, entertainment & a silent auction. Brian Silva MEUSA Executive Director stated, "Marriage Equality USA has a long & proud history that documents our growth from an idea in 1996 to the vigorous, national grassroots movement it is today. At this moment of historic change, I look forward to bringing our community together to celebrate & to honor the leaders & stories that are making marriage equality a reality."
For Info & Tix: marriageequality.org
LISTEN: Serafina Palandech Talks Hip Chick Farms & Equality

Hear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFF POST...:)
SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE

HOME

LGBT Health Care Discrimination

Though the implementation of the Affordable Care Act is changing the health care landscape for millions of people including lesbian, gay, bisexual & transgender Americans discrimination against our LGBT community still exists. In a new brief from the Center for American Progress LGBT Americans & their families still report experiencing discrimination in the health system. One study found that more than half of the 5,000 LGBT respondents experienced harsh or abusive language, blame for their health status, physical abuse, or excessive precautions from health care workers based on having identified as LGBT. Some of those were even denied treatment for this reason. Kellan Baker, CAP Senior Fellow & author of the brief stated, “Discrimination in the health care system can have serious negative consequences for LGBT Americans. This treatment often leaves LGBT Americans skeptical of the health care system & less likely to seek services—exacerbating significant health disparities that affect the LGBT population & resulting in higher risk of serious health problems. The ACA is the best opportunity available to eradicate these disparities by creating a robust nondiscrimination framework.” The White House Office of Management & Budget is currently considering rules that would clarify language in the legislation that bars discrimination based on race, sex, color, national origin, disability, health, or age. This rule-making process is a critical opportunity for the Department of Health & Human Services to state that sexual orientation & gender identity fall under these classifications & should be protected by the Affordable Care Act.
Read Brief... 
LISTEN: Serafina Palandech Talks Hip Chick Farms & Equality

Hear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFF POST...:)
SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE

HOME

GLAAD Honors Kelly Ripa

GLAAD, the nation's LGBT media advocacy org will honor actress & Emmy Award-winning talk show host Kelly Ripa at the 26th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in New York at the Waldorf Astoria on May 9th. Ripa will receive GLAAD's Excellence in Media Award, which is presented to media professionals who have made a significant difference in promoting equality. Previous Excellence in Media Award honorees include Russell Simmons, Tyra Banks, Judy Shepard, Julianne Moore, Glenn Close, Barbara Walters, Bob & Harvey Weinstein, Diane Sawyer & Vanessa Redgrave. Emmy winning journalist Anderson Cooper will present Ripa with the award. Cooper previously received GLAAD’s Vito Russo Award in 2013. Sarah Kate Ellis GLAAD President & CEO stated, "For over a decade, Kelly Ripa has greeted millions of viewers with messages of acceptance & inclusion. By sharing inclusive stories with her audience & loudly voicing support for her LGBT friends & fans, Kelly is helping to drive acceptance forward." Previously we announced that journalist & MSNBC anchor Thomas Roberts will receive the Vito Russo Award the New York event, comedian Ross Matthews will host. Other guests announced include: Jeffrey Tambor, Judith Light (Transparent); Jonathan Groff (Looking); Laverne Cox (Orange Is the New Black); Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt); Rupert Friend (Homeland); Leslie Mann (The Other Woman) & out NBA player Jason Collins. Additional guests for the New York event will be announced. This will be our 7th year covering the GLAAD Media Awards on the Red Carpet in NYC for OUTTAKE VOICES™.
Win 2 Tickets For The GLAAD NYC Awards
LISTEN: GLAAD 2014 Red Carpet Celebrities For LGBT Equality
Hear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFF POST...:)
SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE

HOME

Marriage Equality Moves Forward

Our LGBT community has crossed another historic milestone with marriage equality once again in the hands of the U.S. Supreme Court though we won’t likely know what the justices decide before the end of June. Here's a moving reflection from Janson Wu, GLAD Executive Director after leaving the courtroom stating, “I watched Mary Bonauto make the case for the freedom to marry to the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices. The anticipation right before argument was palpable & the room was packed with a veritable 'who's who' of this movement for equality. I was incredibly moved by the significance of this moment & by Mary’s remarkable expertise. I could not be more proud, both as GLAD’s Executive Director & as a member of the LGBT community, that she was the one to stand up & represent April & Jayne, Tim & Larry & Dominique & Maurice – & all of us. Mary’s arguments reminded me why we all do this work: ‘The times can blind. It takes time to see the common humanity of people who have once been ignored & excluded.’ Mary & the two other advocates in support of marriage equality, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli & Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, argued passionately for nearly an hour & a half, & handled the rapid-fire questions they were asked with finesse & eloquence. Mary's closing words hit home & went right to the core of why this issue matters. ‘The choice is not between the Court & the State, but instead whether the individual can decide who to marry, or whether the government will decide for him.”
To Listen or Download Full Arguments….
LISTEN: March 9th GLAD Talks U.S. Supreme Court Case
Hear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFF POST...:)
SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE

Supreme Court & Gay Marriage

LISTEN TO ARGUMENT.....
Today the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments addressing marriage equality consolidating cases from four states, under the official name Obergefell v. Hodges. There are two overall questions being argued: Question 1: Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to license a marriage between two people of the same sex? Question 2: Does the Fourteenth Amendment require a state to recognize a marriage between two people of the same sex when their marriage was lawfully licensed & performed out-of-state? Janson Wu GLAD Executive Director stated, “At 10A today GLAD’s Mary Bonauto will stand before the U.S. Supreme Court to make the case for the freedom to marry for all. I know she's ready & that she is buoyed by the enormous outpouring of support everyone in our community has shown her. Mary will stand up on behalf of three courageous couples seeking the security & respect of marriage: April DeBoer & Jayne Rowse of Michigan; Timothy Love & Lawrence Ysunza & Dominique James & Maurice Blanchard of Kentucky. She’ll also be representing the hopes of everyone in the country still denied the right to marry the person they love. I’ll be in the courtroom today, too & I’ll share my thoughts with you once the arguments conclude a little later today.” Stay Tuned…UPDATES@GLADLaw@SCOTUS…:)
LISTEN: GLAD Talks U.S. Supreme Court Gay Marriage Case
Hear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFF POST...:)
SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE

HOME

Don’t Say Same Sex Marriage

For over ten years we have been trying to educate the heterosexual & LGBT community to not use the term “same sex marriage”. This term was conceived by Karl Rove the former White House Deputy Chief of Staff during the George W. Bush administration to raise a red flag with the religious right by using the word sex in describing our LGBT community. When mainstream media uses this term all you can hear is the redundancy of the word sex. There are many alternative terms you can use instead including: marriage equality, gay marriage, gay & lesbian marriage or just plain marriage. For the last seven years we have tried to educated all the people who have appeared on our podcasts at OUTTAKE VOICES™ to use the alternative terms when discussing the marriage equality issue. Language is crucial in obtaining civil rights for our LGBT community just as it was for our Afro American community in the 1960’s. We hope that on Tuesday April 28th when Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, Mary Bonauto & Solicitor General Donald Verrilli go before U.S. Supreme Court to argue why all loving gay & lesbian couples should have the right to marry in this country they refrain from using the term same sex marriage because as we all know sex has nothing to do with marriage.
LISTEN: GLAD Talks U.S. Supreme Court Gay Marriage Case
Hear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFF POST...:)
SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE

HOME

Jenner, Gender & Sexuality

Olympian & media mogul Bruce Jenner has forever changed the conversation for the civil rights of our transgender community in the two-hour riveting interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC's 20/20. We’ve all been watching Jenner’s appearance change from the outside but in this brave interview Jenner gently shared & articulated an intimate lifelong journey from deep within his soul as millions of people watched declaring ‘I Am A Woman.’ Bruce who asked that we use the familiar pronouns “him” or “he” when talking about this interview opened up for the first time about his gender & sexuality. Jenner’s individual story will change the conversation forever & provide a positive spin on this human issue. Sarah Kate Ellis, GLAAD President & CEO stated, “Bruce Jenner’s story is helping people understand what it means to be transgender & inspiring them to learn more about the challenges that face their transgender friends, co-workers & family members…Together, we can accelerate acceptance.” The next level of Jenner’s story will appear in a new E! Network eight episode series that will debut on July 26th. Jenner will be an executive producer of the series along with Bunim/Murray Productions which also produces the "Kardashians." Jeff Olde, an executive vice president at E!, called Jenner an inspiration & stated, "We are proud to be entrusted with this deeply personal & important story." So we now enter a new beginning of a conversation long overdue for our transgender & LGBT community.
Listen: Chef Daisy Martinez Talks Dining Out For Life
Hear Audio Interviews w/ LGBT Leaders @OUTTAKE VOICES™
OUTTAKE VOICES™ NOW ON HUFF POST...:)
SUPPORT OUTTAKE™ @ OUR EQUALITY STORE

HOME