Trans Survey

There's a great survey being sponsored by the NGLTF (that I was alerted to by the SQPNtK blog, a local Cincy queer blogger). The stated purpose is:

You are invited to participate in a research project regarding transgender and gender non-conforming people in the United States. Your responses will be part of an important report on transgender people’s experiences of discrimination in housing, employment, health care and education.

If you fit any of these categories, please take a moment (or, 20 minutes, rather) to take this very important survey.

If SQPNtK were a Scrabble word, it would be worth, base without any modifiers or bonuses, 21 points. That's a really long blog title, but I'm really enjoying them over there.

And so we are engaged on DOMA...

Oh, Christ, indeed. 

From SFist:

Oh, Christ. While gay activists were busy angrily masturbating at each other, the people on the other side were busy accomplishing things. They're anticipating that Obama will overturn DOMA (which is like the national version of Prop 8), and they've already taken steps to stop him.

Check out domadefensefund.com -- we won't contribute to their pagerank by linking to it, but we all need to see what they're doing so that we can one-up them, and do it YESTERDAY. Look at how slick they are: it actually looks like they're presenting an urgent, reasonable case. Never mind that their claims are as silly and made-up as "Prop 8 will protect children" -- it doesn't matter whether they're telling the truth. All that matters is that people will believe them.

Hello? Is anyone out there listening??? HRC? Equality Ohio? NGLTF? (Should I include JoinTheImpact on this list now... although they actually have stuff planned, which is miles above and beyond any of the other organizations... stuff that you can actually do to help. I'd say that's a start.)

Where is everyone? Why the FUCK did we waste time fight Rick Warren? And, really, to all you bloggers and leaders out there at the Equality Summit... what are you accomplishing? 

Oh, sorry, was that mean? I'm sorry, but I just hope to God y'all come back with something concrete (and apparently it won't have anything to do with the transgender community). I know, for me, conferences are little more excuse than to learn (as the tertiary reason), to get laid (as the secondary reason), to party/visit a new city (as the primary reason). 

I really hope all the gay men in this country really aren't like me.

Oh, God, we're all doomed. 

Meanwhile, Equality Cincinnati is saying that even a DP registry is "too much" in Cincinnati, and Equality Ohio is saying that it's not a priority for them right now. Uh-huh. 

I think Cincinnati is more than we think it is. I think it's more ready than you think, kids. I think this country is more ready than you think.

GAY STUFF: Ric Weiland and his $65m donation

Ric Weiland, 1953-2006

This is strange. I had originally penned this saying that this is the third high profile LGBT related death in the last week, but that is not true. Ric Weiland, one of the first five employees of Microsoft and a major investor in PlanetOut (the largest LGBT corporation in the world -- owner of things like Gay.com), actually died in June of 2006 of a gunshot wound to the head. It is reported that he suffered from clinical depression, and the death was ruled as a suicide.

What made news was that, yesterday, Mr. Weiland left $65 million to LGBT and HIV/AIDS related causes ($65m of $160m total bequeathed of his estate), thus making it the largest single donation to LGBT-related causes ever, according to the CNN report. Nineteen million alone went to the Pride Foundation, a funding source for other LGBT organization in the US Northwest. Other beneficiaries included AMFAR, GLSEN, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), Lambda Legal, Parents Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), the Servicemember's Legal Defense Network, and the Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Seattle's local ASO.

All the usual contenders, in other words. Except... no Human Rights Campaign??? $65million would have paid for that nice building they have, wouldn't it???

Regardless of the drama, it is sad that Ric is gone, and I sympathize with his surviving partner, Michael Scaefer. But...

...thank you, Ric. Thank you for remembering.