Media Advisory: San Francisco Celebrates Supreme Court LGBTIQQ Rights Ruling

For Immediate Release: Thursday, June 26, 2003

Contact:

Tommi Avicolli Mecca

Activist
Out Against the War Coalition
mecca44@aol.com

Will Doherty

Executive Director
QueerNet / Online Policy Group
press@onlinepolicy.org

Kate Kendell

Executive Director
National Center for Lesbian Rights
kendell@nclrights.org

San Francisco Celebrates Supreme Court LGBTIQQ Rights Ruling

Jubilant Crowd Gathers at Castro and Market Streets

San Francisco - A jubilant crowd of people dedicated to human rights for same-sex partners is gathering today to celebrate the U.S. Supreme Court decision striking the Texas sodomy statute.

The event will take place at 5:00pm at Harvey Milk Plaza, corner of Castro and Market Streets in San Francisco.

"The Supreme Court has taken notice of the basic human rights of lesbian, gay, and other same-sex partners," said Tommi Avicolli Mecca of the Out Against War Coalition. "We don't have to worry about that old knock on the door from the authorities while we're engaged in private sexual activity anymore."

"After decades of struggle, the community of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer, and questioning people in Texas and throughout the United States has won the basic human right to private sexuality between adults of the same sex," commented Will Doherty of QueerNet / Online Policy Group. "Regressive lawmakers and other bigots have lost much of the ability to raise the specter of law-breaking sodomites to justify discrimination in parenting, jobs, housing, health care, and other critical community services."

Every arena of private or public lesbian or gay life has been harshly impacted by the existence of laws that criminalize our love," remarked Kate Kendell of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. "Finally, the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized the untold damage of these laws and found that same-sex couples are entitled to equal protection under the law and the same privacy rights as everyone else."

Lambda Legal spearheaded the legal challenge in the case, entitled Lawrence v. Texas, which involves the right of same-sex partners to privacy and equal protection under the law. In 1986, the Supreme Court previously denied same-sex partners these basic human rights in the Bowers v. Hardwick case, which resulted in nationwide protests and civil disobedience with over 600 people arrested, shutting down the Supreme Court for the first time.

Speakers planned for the event include (so far):

• Tommi Avicolli Mecca, Out Against the War Coalition
• Tory Becker, LAGAI - Queer Insurrection
• JA Bottary III, Writer
• Toni Broaddus, Program Director, Equality California
• Sister Kitty Catalyst O.C.P. & Sister Dana Van Iquity leading a ritual blessing and kiss-in
• Chris Daley, Transgender Law Center
• Tina D'Elia, Hate Violence Survivors Project Director, Community United Against Violence
• Calvin Gipson, Board of Directors, San Francisco Pride Committee
• Robert Haaland, President, Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club
• Ned Howey, Program Director, Q-Force
• Tanya Kappner and Caroline Wong, Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action & Integration, and Fight for Equality By Any Means Necessary (BAMN)
• Kate Kendell, Executive Director, National Center for Lesbian Rights
• Dr. Robert Lawrence, Notorious Bisexual
• Daniel Lee, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
• Molly McKay, Marriage Equality California (MECA)
• Moises Montoya, Freedom Socialist Party, Bay Area United Against War
• Dr. Carol Queen, Executive Director - Center for Sex & Culture, Good Vibrations
• Jamez Smith, San Francisco Poet
• Beth Teper, Executive Director, Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere (COLAGE)
• Sam Thoron, President, PFLAG
• Hank Wilson, SURVIVE AIDS
• Andy Wong, OUTfront Program, Amnesty International USA
• Merle Woo, Longtime Lesbian Activist, Radical Women

Organizations participating in the event include (so far):

• Amnesty International USA
• Bay Area Community of Women (BACW)
• Beautiful Lips On Whistles (BLOW)
• Center for Sex & Culture, Good Vibrations
• Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere (COLAGE)
• Community United Against Violence
• Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club
• International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
• LAGAI - Queer Insurrection
• QueerNet, a project of the Online Policy Group
• SURVIVE AIDS
• Transgender Law Center

San Francisco is one of 35 or more cities nationwide participating in the celebration.

For this advisory:
http://www.onlinepolicy.org/media/queersupreme030626.shtml

Supreme court decision striking Texas sodomy statute (Adobe PDF format):
http://www.onlinepolicy.org/media/20030626.supremecourtsodomydecision.02-102.pdf

Lambda Legal:
http://www.lambdalegal.org/

Info on similar events nationwide:
http://www.cabn.org/DefendOurRights/

About OPG:

The Online Policy Group (OPG) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to online policy research, outreach, and action on issues such as access, privacy, and digital defamation. The organization fulfills its motto of "One Internet With Equal Access to All" through projects such as donation-based email list hosting, web hosting, domain registrations, and colocation services. OPG focuses on Internet participants' civil liberties and human rights, like access, privacy, safety, and serving schools, libraries, disabled, elderly, youth, women, and sexual, gender, and ethnic minorities. Find out more at http://www.onlinepolicy.org/

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