Life, Law, Gender

Law Student Activists

From The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (The Task Force):

The Task Force, in partnership with the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), this week released a “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal toolkit specifically for law student activists. The toolkit responds to law students’ direct requests for assistance following a recent Supreme Court decision upholding the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, which threatens to withhold millions of dollars in federal funds from colleges and universities whose law schools bar military personnel from recruiting on campus.

The Task Force and SLDN have partnered to conduct trainings at Harvard Law School, the University of Michigan Law School and the American University-Washington College of Law on how law students can engage in and accelerate the national effort to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” We will also be conducting a featured workshop at the national Lavender Law Conference and LGBT Law Student Career Fair in September in Washington, D.C.

Download a copy of the toolkit

Also, if you're a law student and have the opportunity to attend, I highly recommend Lavender Law.  I went last year and I hear the workshop sponsored by SLDN is great this year!

[UPDATE] Did you also notice how the Marines are now having to recall thousands of vets because they don't have enough recruits? The Army has already recalled 14,000 for the same reason.  But, no, we can't let those queers serve (we've discharged (fired) 10,000 people from the military solely because they were gay). This year, the discharges for being gay have spiked.  Write a letter.  You have the time.  Just do it.

MWMF - All women welcome!

First -- thank you all for your condolences on the passing of our beloved puppy dog.  Sincerely, thank you.

Second -- Blogging has still not resumed under any sort of schedule; I'm still just crazy busy (most of it very good busy -- my mom is visiting from Florida!).

Third -- CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS?!?  Woohoo! [UPDATE] See jbug's comment below. This press release was premature and not accurate (perhaps wishful thinking?). I held my breath as I posted the original post, fearing something like this. I'm sorry to see this. We are still not women in the organizer's eyes, I'm sorry to say. But, as I said in last year's post (referenced below), it is their right. nbsp;

Michigan Women's Music Festival ends policy of discrimination against Trans women

After 15 years of controversy, supporters welcome trans women to 'the land'

I wrote about this last year and I'm so delighted to see the policy change.  I would not be entirely candid if I didn't say that I hope people don't have unfulfilled expectations about what this will mean.  Trans women come in all shapes and sizes and are as diverse as natal women.  Some are wonderful, loving, generous people.  Some are bitches who think they know everything. 

I'm so proud of all involved in this including people from Camp Trans and supporters from within the festival.

HART, MICHIGAN - The Michigan Women's Music Festival began admitting openly trans (transgender/transsexual) women last week, bringing success to a longstanding struggle by trans activists both inside and outside the festival.

"Seeing trans women inside the festival for the first time brought me to tears," said Sue Ashman, who attends the festival every year. "It's restored my faith in women's communities."

Ashman said "I have friends who have already committed to bringing themselves and others for the first time next year."

Goodbye, Sweet Lady

Our 16 year old Cocker Spaniel, Lady (short for "3 cats and a little Lady") has been a puppy all of her life.  When I would get out of bed, she would bound ahead of me, barking and bouncing, so full of joy and life it could not help but bring a smile to your face. 

Yesterday, she followed The Girl (who got her as a small puppy) up and down stairs, and in and out of the house as the Girl worked on building a wheelchair ramp for my mom's visit this weekend.  Last night, she simply collapsed.  A couple of hours later (about midnight) she vomited large amounts of blood and tissue.  She made it through the night, fitfully.  This morning, she pee'd blood.  We took her into the vet's and had her put down.

I've never known a more loving, a more sweet dog.  I am grief stricken and so sad -- and I've only known her for 13 months.

Good-bye Sweet Lady.  You will be remembered, and sorely missed.

Hello, vote Republican

I'm sorta back.  I'm working on a real post -- about our wonderful vacation, but I'm in school and I'm really trying to do a good job with that.  Plus, my folks are coming for a visit this weekend and we're working to prepare (the wheelchair ramp will be done, Mom, but please forgive everything else!).  So, no "real" posts yet.

In the meantime, vote Republican.  Jami explains why (she stole it from someone else, but I'm only obligated to give her credit -- 'cause that's what the blogging rulebook says, so there).

Freedom

Our country is spectacularly beautiful and I’ve been to 44 of the states within it. While traveling home from Washington DC this past weekend, it occurred to me again how wonderful it is to live in this country and be able to travel from state to state without checkpoints or having to demonstrate why you are where you are (remember the line from the Hunt for Red October when the Executive Officer of the Russian submarine expresses awe at that ability?).  But, my patriotism was tainted by a nagging feeling that I couldn’t put my finger on.

As the Girl and I hiked through magnificent Shenandoah National Forest, enjoying the beauty of the countryside and the wildlife (we saw hawks, and deer and my first ever in-the-wild black bear!) I twice came close to requiring medical assistance. First, as we hiked back up a long, steep trail I experienced shortness of breath and a pain in my left arm. We both knew that those could be symptoms of a heart attack. Later, being stupid, I fell as we were climbing some rock formations. As it turned out, of course, I didn’t have a heart attack and all I did was scrape the palms of my hands when I fell. But, we were in Virginia. What would have happened if I needed emergency medical attention and I was unconscious? Would they have let her make medical decisions on my behalf? Would it matter that The Girl had a copy of our marriage license in her wallet?  Would it have mattered that my last name and hers were the same (I changed my last name a couple of weeks ago – hyphenated it to include her last name into mine)? Thankfully, we didn’t have to find out.  But, there is no shortage of stories of couples who are denied that ability.

In a handful of states, gay and lesbian couples are allowed to enter into either marriage or civil unions that ostensibly provide them with all the state-sanctioned rights and obligations of heterosexual marriage.  As we were traveling, that nagging feeling finally crystallized into the thought that among the various benefits denied to same-sex married (or civilly united) couples is the loss of that legal relationship and accompanying protections as couples travel state-to-state.  In the end, this seems to me to be one of the most hateful results of the Defense Of Marriage Act (DOMA) and the so-called mini-DOMAs passed by various states.  In our own state of Michigan a constitutional amendment was passed two years ago (the infamous Proposition 2) that said “the union of one man and one woman in marriage shall be the only agreement recognized as a marriage or similar union for any purpose.” It’s that last phrase – “for any purpose” – that is problematic.  That language is being used to remove insurance protections for gay and lesbian families and children. Can you believe that the Christian right has actually filed lawsuits (two, so far) to require state-funded institutions to stop providing insurance to domestic partners and their children based on this amendment?  How hateful is that? The consequences of denying protections to individuals and families as they travel is, as yet, undocumented.  I fear it will require tragic circumstances to ultimately cause the courts to step in and right these wrongs.

OK, I have much more to say about this, but it’s Friday morning and my Girl and I are headed to Denver, this morning, for 3 days to visit family (my sisters and her brother) and then up to Yellowstone for 4 days. I still have some last minute packing to do. Expect no more posts for about 8 days. I hope all of you are having a great summer and that none of my LGBT readers provide the test case that ultimately challenges the inequities foisted upon us by the hate-filled political right.