AS A MATTER OF EQUALITY

On Sunday June 20th, the NWA Times published an in-depth article (435 MB, PDF) about the Center’s All OUT June activities and the funding received from the Fayetteville A&P Commission.  Earned (free) media is an important function of the Center in spreading awareness of our mission and is much appreciated.  However, we think this is a good opportunity to start a dialogue about how the words the media uses are important.  In particular, the use of the word “gay” in this article to solely describe the All OUT June festival is not a good way to include the diversity of our many members and supporters who identify in myriad ways.  Read our letter to the editor below: Read more…

June 27th, 2009, was a great day for the LGBTQ population of Fayetteville. We had our parade, we had our picnic; we had had a great week of pride events. And then we had an official proclamation from the Mayor’s office that June 27th, 2009, was LGBT Pride Day in the city of Fayetteville. I recapped that moment in a blog post on the Fayetteville Flyer:

Don Marr, our city’s openly-gay chief of staff, issued an official proclamation of behalf of the Mayor (I saw the certificate; the signature was real) declaring Saturday, June 27th, as LGBT Pride day for the city of Fayetteville. I whooped, I hollered, I cried a bit. I was elated.

After the proclamation, Anthony Clark, the President of the NWA Center for Equality, introduced me to one of the leaders of Oklahomans for Equality, as I had a small part in securing the proclamation. The man, whose name I have unfortunately forgotten, told me how incredible it was that we were able to get an official proclamation from a sitting mayor in this part of the country. He said that they have been trying in Oklahoma for twelve years, that they have had no breakthrough in Tulsa, and that the Mayor of Oklahoma City refuses to even acknowledge their organization’s request.

That hit home for me in a way that the proclamation didn’t. I knew that we were a bit different here in Fayetteville. I didn’t realize just how lucky we were, though.

It was a pretty great moment for me; when Act 1 passed in 2008 I felt shunned by my homeland. But when that proclamation was issued, it was like the city that raised me said “don’t listen to them—we want you here.”

I’m proud to announce that we have not only repeated that success; we have multiplied it. In conjunction with President Obama’s declaration of a Nationwide month of Pride, Mayor Jordan has declared an equal, city-wide, month of Pride.

Go out and celebrate. It’s your month.

The opinions expressed by our Contributors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the NWA Center for Equality, its Members, or any employee thereof. The NWA Center for Equality is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the Contributors.

Today the USCCB (United States Conference and Catholic Bishops) and NAE (National Association of Evangelicals) launched their campaigns to support comprehensive immigration reform.   Bishop Wester, chairman of the USCCB Committee on Migration, stated, “We believe that all governments, not only the U.S., should look at their immigration laws and reform them in a manner which respects basic human rights.”[i] On the surface, this appears to be a resounding victory for immigration reform advocates as religious leaders may be the key to conservative support, but there is one major catch to this grand gesture made by the Church:  they are demanding same-sex rights be stripped from the comprehensive immigration reform framework .

UAFA (Uniting American Families Act, H.R. 1024) was introduced to the House as a standalone bill in February 2009 and currently has 122 co-sponsors (all of whom are Democrats).[ii] UAFA provides provisions for U.S. citizens to petition legal status for their same-sex partners, something which is not allowed under current law.  In April, Sen Schumer, Sen Reid, Sen Menendez, Sen Durbin, Sen Feinstein and Sen Leahy introduced a framework for Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR).  This framework included UAFA and would help an estimated 36,000 LGBT immigrants currently facing separation and deportation.

Read more…

Center announces All OUT June, Celebrating a Month of Pride in Northwest Arkansas

Fayetteville, AR – 8 June 2010 – The NWA Center for Equality has announced All OUT June, a month-long celebration of Pride in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. The goal is to promote, educate, celebrate, and advocate the advancement to be ones true self in Northwest Arkansas.

Read more…

Vote?  Again?  Why?

Elections aren’t over until the fat lady (or the Arkansas Secretary of State) sings.  Candidates for each party’s general election must win their primary with a majority of votes.  Several state and Congressional races will go to a runoff on June 8th to determine the winners that will go on to the general election in November.  Confusing?  Let the Arkansas Secretary of State tell you about it.

Republican voters will chose a candidate for the 3rd Congressional District, which encompasses Northwest Arkansas.  Democratic voters will chose a candidates for U.S. Senate, Secretary of State, and Land Commissioner.

Why should you vote?

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