Steve Buescher's blog

GLBT News March 2013

Sat, 06 Apr 2013 23:44:14 +0000

GLBT News March 2013 Web by Michael Chanak

Rachael Explains it All - Rachael Maddow's show opening, 11/07/12

Thu, 08 Nov 2012 22:04:26 +0000

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Rachael Maddow:
That happened! That really happened.
We are not going to have a Supreme Court that will overturn Roe versus Wade.
There will be no more Antonin Scalias and Samuel Alitos added to this court.
We`re not going to repeal health reform.
Nobody is going to kill Medicare and make old people in this generation or any other generation fight it out on the open market to try to get themselves health insurance.
We are not going to do that.
We are not going to give a 20 percent tax cut to millionaires and billionaires and expect programs like food stamps and kid`s insurance to cover the cost of that tax cut.
We`re not going to make you clear it with your boss if you want to get birth control under the insurance plan that you`re on.
We are not going to redefine rape.
We are not going to amend the United States Constitution to stop gay people from getting married.
We are not going to double Guantanamo.
We are not eliminating the Department of Energy or the Department of Education or housing at the federal level.
We are not going to spend $2 trillion on the military that the military does not want.
We are not scaling back on student loans, because the country`s new plan is that you should borrow money from your parents.
We are not vetoing the DREAM Act.
We are not self-deporting.
We are not letting Detroit go bankrupt.
We are not starting a trade war with China on Inauguration Day in January.
We are not going to have, as a president, a man who once led a mob of friends to run down a scared, gay kid, to hold him down and forcibly cut his hair off with a pair of scissors while that kid cried and screamed for help and there was no apology, not ever.
We are not going to have a Secretary of State John Bolton.
We are not bringing Dick Cheney back.
We are not going to have a foreign policy shop stocked with architects of the Iraq war.
We are not going to do it.
We had the chance to do that if we wanted to do that, as a country.
And we said no, last night, loudly.

Equality Cincinnati PAC Nov. 6th, 2012 Endorsements (Results Update)

Fri, 02 Nov 2012 20:59:36 +0000

Endorsements, updated with (W)in/(L)oss results.

• President / Vice President:
   (W) Barack Obama / Joe Biden
• US Senator Ohio
   (W) Sherrod Brown
• State Representatives:
   (W) OH-28 Connie Pillich
   (L) OH-29 Hubert E. Brown
   (L) OH-30 Steven L. Newsome
   (W) OH-31 Denise Driehaus
• Court of Common Pleas: vote for only 2
   (W) Nadine Allen
   (L) Steve Black
   (W) Leslie Ghiz

• Hamilton County Offices:
   (W) Commissioner: Todd Portune
   (L) Prosecutor: Janaya Trotter
   (W) Clerk of Courts: Pam Thomas
   (W) Sheriff: Jim Neil
   (L) Treasurer: Jeff Cramerding
   (W) Coroner: Lakshmi Kode Sammarco
• Court of Appeals 1st District:
   (L) Martha Good
   (L) Bruce Whitman
• Issue 2: Redistricting
   (L) Vote Yes

Ed note: Why was it so difficult to get this information from Equality Cincinnati?

(UPDATE) Thanks to Equality Cincinnati PAC we will be better communicating this information before the next election!

LGBT History Month Videos

Wed, 26 Sep 2012 20:50:13 +0000

LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Icons. Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video.

Kings Island Pride Night 2012, Friday, September 7th

Tue, 28 Aug 2012 18:01:03 +0000

Don’t miss the Midwest’s largest amusement park entertainment event benefiting a local GLBTQ community group – the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Greater Cincinnati. You can buy your tickets online now for the Friday, September 7, 2012, event at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio.

For our out of town visitors, here's a map to Kings Island, area bars, and other points of interest.

Folks from more than 30 states have bought tickets to support the event that celebrates its 16th year thanks to the generosity of Kings Island. A portion of the ticket sales, depending on attendance, is donated to the local Center each year. The Center is a non-profit organization as recognized by the IRS501(c) 3.

More information can be found at the Center's website.

Northside Pride Fest 2012, August 18

Thu, 02 Aug 2012 15:04:20 +0000

This year's Northside Pride Fest runs from 5-9pm on Saturday, August 18, in Hoffner Park (map). There will be a Fashion Show, 20 Drag Performers, a few bands, and a bunch of DJS. The party in Hoffner Park will have a party bus blasting music from DJ Julie J, and a Free Food BBQ!

More information can be found on the Northsiders GLBT Feztival Facebook Page.

Photos from Cincinnati Pride 2012

Mon, 02 Jul 2012 19:36:47 +0000

Back when I made videos from the Cincinnati Pride photos that all of you submitted, I could always count in Rene Micheo to send some of the best. He was there again this year and I contacted him to get a link to this year's photos. He has posted over 2300 photos from this year's event. Find them HERE.

Thank you again Rene, the photos are great!

Cincinnati Pride 2012 Parade and Festival, June 30 - NKY Pride, July 1

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 23:01:58 +0000

Because Pride has been so successful downtown, after just two years we have outgrown Fountain Square. Pride Festival 2012 will be held a few blocks south at Sawyer Point.

The Cincinnati Pride 2012 Parade and Festival will be held on Saturday, June 30, 2012. The parade will step off from E 7th St. & Culvert St. (map) at 11:00 AM and wind through downtown Cincinnati, past Fountain Square. It continues down to the riverfront and is immediately followed by the festival at Sawyer Point (map) until 9pm. Festival admission is free and there will be activities for all. This year’s festival will have 2 stages of entertainment, a kid’s area, an expanded vendor’s market and a food court.

The Northern Kentucky Pride Festival is 1-8pm Sunday, July 1, 2012, at 7th & Bakewell St., Covington, Kentucky (map).

A number of associated Pride events take place throughout the city in the week leading up to the Parade and Festival.

More information can be found at the Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky Pride web site and the NKY Pride Page.

The parade and festival are sponsored and planned by the Greater Cincinnati Gay Chamber of Commerce.

Thank you to our 2011 sponsors: P&G Gable, Fifth Third, Kroger, PNC Bank, US Bank, Macy’s, Barefoot Wine, glbta alliance, Bud Light, Crown Coach, City Beat, Visiting Nurse Association, GLBT Center, The Word, Grindr Xtra, On Broadway. We couldn’t have done it without you!

BREAKING: Court Won't Rehear Prop. 8 Case

Tue, 05 Jun 2012 18:07:53 +0000

Only two things can happen now. Either Proposition 8's backers appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or same-couples can begin marrying in California.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today that it won't rehear a case in which Proposition 8 had been ruled unconstitutional, setting up a possible fight before the U.S. Supreme Court.

After a three-judge panel in February agreed with Judge Vaughn Walker's 2010 decision in Perry v. Brown that Proposition 8 violated the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause and the due process clause, proponents of the law sought an "en banc review." Such a review would have required judicial evaluation by the full Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and could have included 11 appellate judges, but a majority of justices voted to deny the rehearing.

Full story here at the Advocate.

On Gay marriage—Obama, yes; North Carolina voters, no

Thu, 10 May 2012 16:02:41 +0000

Reprinted from Greater Cincinnati GLBT News:

President Barack Obama told ABC News today that he now supports same-sex marriage.
After opposing it for years, he said his position had evolved into one that’s more in line with the Democratic Party base and even Vice President Joe Biden.
In an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, the president said that his change was based on conversations with his own staff members, openly Gay and Lesbian military service members and conversations with his wife and daughters.
Here’s some of what the president told ABC News:
“I have to tell you that over the course of several years as I have talked to friends and family and neighbors when I think about members of my own staff who are in incredibly committed monogamous relationships, same-sex relationships, who are raising kids together, when I think about those soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that ‘Don’t Ask Don’t Tell’ is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage, at a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married.”
North Carolina voters overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment that defines marriage as solely between a man and a woman, but not much is expected to change immediately.

Cincinnati City Council Passes Domestic Partner Ordinance

Fri, 04 May 2012 00:07:36 +0000

Reprinted from Greater Cincinnati GLBT News:

Congratulations to Chris Seelbach and the Cincinnati City Council for passing domestic partner benefits by an 8-1 vote. Having openly LGBT elected officials matters Equality Ohio leaders said, “We are proud to have supported Chris’s campaign and his efforts to pass domestic partner benefits."

The measure passed 8-1, with only Charlie Winburn opposing it. Councilman Chris Seelbach, Cincinnati’s first openly Gay council member, promised to introduce the idea as one of his first priorities. Offering the health insurance is fair to same-sex couples.

Covington officials agreed to offer similar benefits, which should be available starting July 1. They said they acted quickly in order to beat Cincinnati.

Gay community celebrates first openly gay candidate on Cincinnati City Council, Chris Seelbach

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 02:01:39 +0000

The Washington, D.C. based group, the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, supports gay candidates across the country. Wednesday, they released this statement, "This is a remarkable victory not only for Chris and Cincinnati, but also for fairness and for progress. Gays and lesbians have long been excluded from leadership roles in civic life, and their voices have not been heard. For Cincinnati, that changed last night and we could not be more proud of our role in Chris' groundbreaking campaign."

Here's a full article from channel 19.

Trevor Project Cincinnati: It Gets Better

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 02:04:25 +0000

Thanks to my friend Val (at 00:26) for pointing this out.

Same-sex Marriage Rally November 5 on Fountain Square

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 19:43:22 +0000

There will be a street protest held in "Support of Gay Marriage." On November 5th, 3 days before voting day in Cincinnati, OH. It will be at Fountain Square in Cincinnati, OH. You will want to make signs for the protest. For this to work we will need a large number of protesters! We will be meeting there at 11:00am.

Organizations:
Equality Ohio: http://www.facebook.com/equalityohio
Reformed Catholic Church: http://www.reformedcatholicchurch.org/
NKU Equality Now!: http://www.facebook.com/NKYEqualityNow
GetEQUAL OH: http://www.facebook.com/GetEQUALOH
Speakers:
Chris Seelbach: http://www.facebook.com/SeelbachForCouncil

October is Gay History Month - New Video Every Day

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 21:38:39 +0000

LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Icons.

Beginning October 1, a 30-second video featuring a different LGBT Icon will appear each day.

Before October 1 and after October 31, a two-and-a-half-minute overview video of all 31 LGBT Icons will display.