NJ Gov. Chris Christie modern day AL Gov. George Wallace?

Friday afternoon, February 17, 2012
To: Steven Goldstein, Chair and CEO, Garden State Equality, Montclair, New Jersey

Dear Steven,

Thank you for sharing your "Statement on Governor Christie's impending veto of the marriage equality bill." (Follow the link below this letter to Steven's post-veto statement.) Your openness about your cordial relationship with him, despite your differences is reflective of who and what we must be in this democracy of ours.

I came of political age where leaders who disagree passionately on the issues, who even fight with one another like cats and dogs in the political arena, were able put the fights aside and see one another as people. I grew up at a time when the legendary Democratic Speaker of the U.S. House, Tip O’Neill – a hero of mine – and President Reagan did exactly that. And it’s always been my philosophy in dealing with Governor Christie and his Administration... That doesn’t obviate the pain of the Governor’s veto. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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No Comments » | February 20th, 2012
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Guest blogger Bobbie Zenker, Transgender attorney and author

By Roberta (Bobbie) Zenker, Montana's first and only transgender attorney

Born and raised in Ohio, Roberta Bobbie Zenker, author of TransMontana: A Memoir of Transformation in Body, Mind & Spirit, has lived in Montana for thirty years. She obtained her undergraduate degree from the University of Dayton in 1980 with a BA in Photography and Fine Arts, and minors in English and Religious Studies. She came to Montana as a Jesuit Volunteer, and worked as the Director of a Residential Youth Treatment program for Native American Youth in Eastern Montana until attending law school at the University of Montana, graduating in 1992. In nearly twenty years of public service law, she has been a prosecutor, county attorney, and an appellate defender. Bobbie has submitted numerous briefs to the Montana Supreme Court, and currently is a disability and civil rights lawyer. Bobbie's guest column is taken from a presentation she made at the Martin Luther King Day event held by the Montana Human Rights Network in Helena, MT, on Monday, January 23, 2012. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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6 Comments » | January 30th, 2012
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AFTER REMEMBERING

Now that we have moved beyond another Martin Luther King Observance, the first celebrated with the presence of the Martin Luther King Memorial in Washington, I invite you to join me in what will be a re-reading for some of us, and a first time reading for others of us. The Read: MARTIN LUTHER KING: THE INCONVENIENT HERO by Vincent Harding, (Orbis Books, 1996, revised edition 2008). Read the rest of this entry »

 
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No Comments » | January 24th, 2012
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66 clergy submit an amicus brief to Montana Supreme Court in support of domestic partnerships

TiP and the ACLU of Montana appreciate the religious leaders who told the Montana Supreme Court that they support fairness

By Ninia Baehr, ACLU of Montana LGBT Advocacy Coordinator

During the Fair is Fair Tour this fall, from Billings to Bozeman, Butte to Missoula, Kalispell to Great Falls and in Montana’s capital city of Helena, the TiP team – Rev. Gil Caldwell and Marilyn Bennett – joined ACLU of Montana staff in talking with clergy and lay people about how communities of faith can promote fairness. Although many of the people we talked to held differing theological understandings of sexual orientation, most came to agree that all Montanans deserve equal rights and protections under the law.

During and immediately after the tour, 20 additional priests, ministers and other clergy members (103 total as of today) signed the Clergy Statement of Support for the ACLU's domestic partnership lawsuit Donaldson and Guggenheim v. State of Montana. Lay people also requested, and participated in drafting, a People of Faith Statement.

The tour’s timing was fortuitous. The ACLU of Montana appealed on Nov. 14 a District Court decision dismissing the Donaldson case. Now the matter rests with the Montana Supreme Court.

Now religious leaders are letting the Montana Supreme Court know their views on domestic partnership. On Nov. 21, 66 Montana clergy submitted an amicus (friend of the court) brief to the Montana Supreme Court in support of domestic partnership. Their brief explains that the state’s failure to recognize gay and lesbian relationships harms loving, committed couples because it leaves them vulnerable to being treated as legal stranger during times of illness, emergency or death and violates their constitutional rights to privacy, dignity, and the pursuit of safety, health and happiness.

The state of Montana has until mid-January to file its response to the ACLU’s appeal brief. A trial could follow later in 2012. In the mean time, clergy and people of faith have an important role to play in promoting fairness for all Montanans, including gays and lesbians.

For more information on what you can do contact Ninia at niniab@aclumontana.org.

 


No Comments » | December 4th, 2011
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Fair is Fair Tour: Missoula, Kalispell, Great Falls

MISSOULA

Fun facts about Missoula!

-The name "Missoula" comes from the Salish name for the area, "Nemissoolatakoo."

-Jeannette Rankin, born in Missoula, MT, became the first woman to serve in Congress in 1917.

-The first luge run in North America was built at Lolo Hot Springs on Lolo Pass, just south of Missoula, in 1965.

ACLU's Ninia talks about our organizing efforts in Missoula Read the rest of this entry »

 
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No Comments » | December 1st, 2011
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FAIR IS FAIR IN MONTANA TOUR VIDEO

Highlights and interviews from the Fair is Fair in Montana Tour
10 days, 7 cities, and 1300 miles
The tour was co-sponsored by Truth in Progress & ACLU of Montana to gain and organize support for FAIRNESS for domestic partnerships in Montana.

As we traveled across the state, Truth in Progress spoke with members of the LGBT and Two Spirit communities as well as allies about the intersection of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion. Here is some extraordinary footage representing the diversity of Montana and insights from those who fight for fairness and equality.

By TiP Production Manager Tonya Easbey

 


1 Comment » | December 1st, 2011
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TiP and the “Gay Agenda”

Marilyn discusses the tangible contributions Truth in Progress and the Fair is Fair in Montana Tour make to the larger LGBTQI equality movement and whatever the so-called "Gay Agenda" is. The discussion on race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion is a key element of the national work as well as church and clergy organizing.

Ninia Baehr, LGBT Advocacy Coordinator for the ACLU of Montana, describes how we were able to expand the conversation beyond those who are already supportive of it.

Just tuning in to Truth in Progress. Click here to get more information about the Fair is Fair in Montana Tour co-sponsored with the ACLU of Montana.

 
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No Comments » | November 15th, 2011
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TEAM FAIR IS FAIR: Marilyn describes Gil this time

We've had a few videos from the Fair is Fair in Montana Tour of Gil and Ninia describing their tour cohorts. I want to take this opportunity to describe Gil, his strategic work on the tour, some behind the scenes incidents, and his amazing unflagging commitment to the LGBT equality movement.

I've included stories of our time in Helena so let's get some fun facts about Helena before the video clip!

-Helena was founded with the July 14, 1864 discovery of gold in a gulch off the Prickly Pear valley by the "Four Georgians". About $3.6 billion (in today's dollars) of gold was taken from Helena's main street over a 20-year period.

-In 1888 Helena had more millionaires per capita than any other city in the world.

More fun facts:
-Gary Cooper (1901 - 1961) was born in Helena.

-In Helena, Montana it is illegal to throw an item across a street.

-In 1884, the citizens of Montana Territory were fed up with lawlessness and forming a large-scale vigilante force, they executed thirty-five horse and cattle thieves that year. Helenans, stil celebrate "Vigilante Day." Helena teenagers every spring get a day off from school to build floats for the Vigilante Parade, which the longest running, non-corporate sponsored parade in the United States.

Just tuning in to Truth in Progress. Click here to get more information about the Fair is Fair in Montana Tour co-sponsored with the ACLU of Montana.

 
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No Comments » | November 15th, 2011
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JOY and SORROW at the PFLAG NATIONAL CONVENTION

...BUT, MUCH MORE JOY THAN SORROW!

I have found the writings of the Lebanese American artist, poet and writer Khalil Gibran (1883-1931) helpful in my 78-year journey as a southern-born (North Carolina) and Texas-raised African American. The sadness and sorrow of the unfairness of my treatment as a black American may have infected me in ways quite different from the ways others were affected. Early on I realized that there was a brooding, isolating sadness about me that most of my friends were able to avoid. It could have been that the sicknesses caused by my asthma soon after I was born, shaped both my emotional as well as my physical being. Thus, the racism that hurt and harmed my community, my family and me, may have had a deeper impact upon me because of my health or lack thereof. When I first read these words of Khalil Gibran, they seemed to be written especially for me:

"Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And, the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain." Read the rest of this entry »

 
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No Comments » | November 13th, 2011
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FAIR IS FAIR IN MONTANA NUMBERS ARE IN!

FAIR IS FAIR IN MONTANA

FIRST, a few fun facts about the fabulous state of Montana. With fall in full swing and winter around the corner, here are a couple that will confirm what you non-Montanans think about Montana being as cold and snowy as you imagined. We had a first snow in Helena yesterday, which left just enough to look like a sprinkling of powdered sugar across the landscape. Gil got the big storm over the weekend!

-The largest snowflake ever observed was 38 cm wide was recorded in Montana on January 28, 1887. That’s just darn near 15 inches. Amazing!

-Montana holds the world record for the greatest temperature change in 24 hours. On January 14-15, 1972, the temperature went from from -54°F to 49°F a whopping 103 degrees in Loma!

Fair is Fair after Butte Clergy Lunch

NOW FOR THE RESULTS OF THE FAIR IS FAIR TOUR'S organizing efforts for domestic partnerships for loving, committed same-sex couples:

Ten days, seven cities, 1300 miles...

+ 320 people attended the tour events. Read the rest of this entry »

 
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No Comments » | November 2nd, 2011
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