LAUNCHED: Campaign Urges Indiana Gov To Veto License To Discriminate Bill

Via press release:

"As a seminary graduate, this bill is deeply offensive," said Heather Cronk, co-director of GetEQUAL. "The fact that religion is being used as a smokescreen for deeply hateful and vile sentiments by right-wing extremists, and then cemented into law, is not just un-Christian – it's un-American."

As activist Scott Wooledge puts it: "I've engaged in the battles against these bill in Arkansas, Arizona, and Tennessee in 2011. My message to those pushing these regressive, reactionary "religious freedom" laws is we will follow you to whatever state you try this and we will fight you aggressively. And my message to our allies and friends is we will pressure to defend your LGBT friends' and workers' right to live their lives free of discrimination."

Scott McCorkle, CEO of the Salesforce Marketing Cloud of Indianapolis, has also said SB 101 threatens future growth in Indiana. "Our success is fundamentally based on our ability to attract and retain the best and most diverse pool of highly skilled employees…" The Indiana Chamber of Commerce, engine maker Cummins, health-care provider Eskenazi Health and pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly and Co. have also voiced concerns about SB 101’s impact on their businesses.

Governor Pence now has seven days to act on the bill. While time remains, the Veto SB 101 campaign will directly engage the Indiana business communities and leaders to take a clear position on this legislation. Direct inquiries have been made to Indiana’s ten largest employers by state size. The Veto SB 101 campaign will provide updates on the site as information becomes available.

This kind of pressure on local corporations worked in Arizona. See the veto website.

GetEQUAL To Protest Houston Hate Rally

Via press release:

Tonight, outside a gathering of right-wing radicals seeking to overturn Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance, local activists and organizers with GetEQUAL Texas will extend a message of love, welcome, and inclusion for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals. In response to the hateful and mean-spirited "I Stand Sunday" event taking place Sunday night, local LGBTQ and allied individuals will stand outside the event with lighted panels reading "Stand For Love" -- an effort to counter the message of exclusion from the Family Research Council and other groups. Houston's Equal Rights Ordinance (HERO) has come under fire from conservatives, despite having broad local support and broad national support for efforts to extend non-discrimination protections to LGBTQ residents.

Facebook event page.

LGBT Groups React To Arizona Veto

Human Rights Campaign

With today’s veto, Governor Brewer spared her state from institutional discrimination and economic catastrophe. Make no mistake, there is no better way to doom jobs in a state than by signing license-to-discriminate bills,” said Human Rights Campaign (HRC) President Chad Griffin. “The bipartisan outpouring of opposition to this bill is all the proof you need that this country isn't turning backwards. Governor Brewer did the right thing in stopping this assault on businesses and the LGBT community and we call on her and the legislature--and governors and legislators in other states--to resist any attempt to give license to discrimination.”

The Task Force

"We thank Governor Brewer for her decision to veto this outrageous measure -- a law that if enacted would be bad for Arizona people and the Arizona economy. In doing so, she has stopped a bill that both cynically uses religion as a smokescreen to justify discrimination and insults people of faith who feel that discrimination is morally wrong. This decision sends a clear message that extremism is totally unacceptable to people of all political persuasions."

GetEQUAL

"Governor Jan Brewer stood on the right of history today by vetoing SB 1062. It is clear that this bill would have hurt business, caused unnecessary controversy, and -- most importantly -- increased the suffering of LGBTQ people in Arizona. We are relieved that she has shown leadership and vetoed a bill that is bad for business and bad for the people of Arizona. However, we cannot forget the suffering that some of her other decisions have caused to immigrants, LGBTQ people and women. She signed SB 1070 into the law -- one of the most anti-immigrant laws in the country -- then signed an executive order denying driver's licenses for DREAM Act-eligible youth who received Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA). She has de-funded Planned Parenthood clinics and signed a bill prohibiting abortion after 18 weeks after conception. She has also backed a marriage equality ban in Arizona.

Truth Wins Out

"Gov. Jan Brewer avoided going down in history as ‘Jan Crow’ by wisely vetoing this wolf in sheep’s clothing," said Truth Wins Out's Executive Director Wayne Besen. "If this bill had become law, it would have been a disaster for Arizona's reputation and severely tarnished the governor's legacy. “This was a major defeat for what has become a concerted Hail Mary campaign to carve out special rights for religious conservatives so that they don’t have to play by the same rules as everyone else does,” said Evan Hurst, Truth Wins Out’s Associate Director. “In this new up-is-down world, anti-gay religious folks are ‘practicing their faith’ when they’re baking cakes or renting out hotel rooms to travelers. On the ground, these bills hurt real, live LGBT people.”

ACLU Of Arizona

“Discrimination has no place in Arizona, or anywhere else,” said Alessandra Soler, executive director of the ACLU of Arizona. “We’re grateful that the governor has stopped this disgraceful law from taking effect, and that Arizona will remain open for business to everyone.” The Arizona bill was passed last week following the defeat of similar bills in Maine, South Dakota, Tennessee, and Idaho. “We strongly support the right of every person to exercise their religious beliefs, but religious freedom doesn’t give any of us the right to harm others,” said Eunice Rho, advocacy and policy counsel with the American Civil Liberties Union. “The massive public opposition to this, as well as several other failed bills across the country, shows that Americans of all political persuasions and religions feel the same way.”

GLAAD

"Discrimination is not an American value, plain and simple," said GLAAD CEO and President Sarah Kate Ellis. "Governor Brewer today demonstrated that basic respect for LGBT people extends across party lines, and anti-LGBT bias isn't just bad politics, it's bad for business. As other states consider similar laws that aim only to make LGBT people's lives more difficult, legislators would do well to remember that anti-LGBT laws just won't be tolerated."

Lambda Legal

“Arizona's recent history has taught corporate and civic leaders that discrimination is terrible for business. This religion bill would have reversed the state's hard-won economic progress by declaring "open season" on LGBT people. Everyone in Arizona deserves respect and inclusion, including same-sex couples and their families, and people of all faiths and backgrounds. Governor Brewer did the right thing with today's veto. May it be a guiding signal for elected leaders across the country considering similar bills.”

GetEQUAL Takes Issue With Religious Exemptions In ENDA Bill

GetEQUAL is on the warpath about the religious exemptions in the Senate version of ENDA.

This religious exemption is so broad that even religiously-affiliated hospitals and schools will still be able to discriminate against LGBT workers. This broad religious exemption will set a harmful precedent for future LGBT gains, and also threatens to set back the work of our allies in the reproductive justice movement. As a matter of fact, Brian Brown and Maggie Gallagher from the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) have both recently stated that their only hope for preventing full LGBT equality under the law is by using these religious exemptions for their own good.

GetEQUAL has launched a Twitter campaign demanding that Senators amend the exemptions portion.

UPDATE: More from Chris Johnson at Washington Blade.

Shortly after filing cloture on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) held a 30-minute conference call with Nevada LGBT leaders late Thursday in anticipation of the bill coming to the Senate floor this week. Among those on the call was Derek Washington, lead organizer for the LGBT group GetEQUAL Nevada, who said he raised with Reid concerns about ENDA’s religious exemption.

That language would provide leeway for religious institutions, like churches or religious schools, to discriminate against LGBT workers in non-ministerial positions even if ENDA were to become law. It’s broader than similar exemptions under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for categories of race, gender, religion and national origin. “I mentioned to him that it was something that just was not palatable,” Washington said. “I asked him what he felt about it, and he felt that the main thing to do was get the vote taken care of, and then deal with it later. As often times happens, you don’t get something perfect the first time around, you go back and fix it later, so that was basically his take on it.”

CNN Posts FLOTUS Heckling Video

HomoQuotable - Ellen Sturtz

"I lived and worked in the closet, hiding who I was in order to earn a living.  I had planned to speak tonight with DNC officials but, as the First Lady was talking about our childrens' future and ensuring that they have everything they need to live happy and productive lives, I simply couldn't stay silent any longer. I'm looking ahead at a generation of young people who could live full, honest, and open lives with the stroke of the President's pen, and I was hoping that the First Lady would share my concern for all of our young people." - GetEQUAL activist Ellen Sturtz, who heckled Michelle Obama yesterday at a Washington fundraiser.

GetEQUAL adds via press release:

Also in attendance tonight were three additional GetEQUAL activists, all youth whose job opportunities are limited to the 16 states that currently offer workplace protections for LGBT workers: Wooten Gough, of Yadkinville, NC; Autumn Leaf, of Columbus, OH; and Amy Vesper, of Albuquerque, NM. Autumn Leaf was also able to interact during the fundraiser with DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, raising questions about the Democratic Party's commitment to passing the Employment Non-Discrimination Act -- a piece of legislation recently re-introduced in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate that would offer LGBT workplace protections for all American workers. This legislation has been languishing in Congress for 39 years.

UPDATE: GetEQUAL has issued another press release.

Last night, the Democratic National Committee held a fundraiser that was interrupted by organizers calling for President Obama to take action and leadership to end workplace discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Americans. The four organizers -- Ellen Sturtz of Washington, DC; Autumn Leaf of Ohio; Wooten Gough of North Carolina; and Amy Vesper of New Mexico -- issued the following statement:

"LGBT people in North Carolina, New Mexico, Ohio and all over the country are dehumanized in our jobs, and we are forced into the closet in order to participate in the American dream. We value the First Lady's leadership and invite her to lead the charge within the Democratic Party to end employment discrimination. President Obama has an executive order sitting on his desk that can protect a quarter of the labor force in the U.S. from workplace discrimination, we will continue engaging leaders in the Administration and the Democratic Party until President Obama fulfills a promise to our community made five years ago."

First Lady Heckled By GetEQUAL

The First Lady's speech at a Washington fundraiser was interrupted tonight by GetEQUAL member Ellen Sturz, who is pictured above at a 2012 protest outside a Los Angeles fundraiser for President Obama.

Obama was delivering a speech at a DNC event at a private home in Washington shortly after 6 p.m. when a protester began shouting for the president to sign an executive order to protect gay and lesbian rights, according to pool reports. “

One of the things I don’t do well is this,” Obama reportedly responded to loud applause. She then left the podium and walked toward the heckler, saying she could “listen to me or you can take the mic, but I’m leaving. You all decide. You have one choice.”

The protester was later identified as Ellen Sturtz, an activist for the pro-LGBT rights group GetEQUAL. The crowd begged for the first lady to stay and one woman near Sturtz shouted, “You need to go.” Sturtz was reportedly escorted out, identifying herself as a “lesbian looking for federal equality before I die.”

The Washington Post reports that GetEQUAL later contacted the White House press pool to state that Sturtz was calling for the president to sign an executive order banning anti-LGBT discrimination by federal contractors.

Drunk Driving SF Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone Pleads To Lesser Charge

On Monday, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone pleaded guilty to reckless driving rather than face trial for his drunk driving arrest in August.

A spokeswoman with the City Attorney's Office said the reduction is commonly offered in cases in which no bad driving is noted and suspects had fair to moderate performances on field sobriety tests, among other factors. Cordileone was placed on three years’ probation and ordered to pay a fine. He also will have to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving victim-impact panel and a three-month first conviction program through the state Department of Motor Vehicles. After his arrest, he issued a statement saying he was stopped when driving his mother home after having dinner at the home of some friends. He said his blood-alcohol level was over the 0.08 percent limit for California drivers. Court records show it measured 0.11 percent within three hours of the stop. Cordileone apologized for his “error in judgment” and asked for forgiveness from his family, friends and co-workers at the Diocese of Oakland and Archdiocese of San Francisco.

RELATED: Yesterday GetEQUAL and other groups protested Cordileone's official installation as Archbishop. More photos here.

SAN FRANCISCO: GetEQUAL To Protest Installation Of New Archbishop

GetEQUAL will be staging a protest outside the installation of new San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone this Thursday. From their Facebook event page:

Cordileone played a central role in founding and executing the Protect Marriage campaign, and under his influence, Catholic organizations in California played a leading role in financing the Prop 8 campaign. His partners included the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and Focus on the Family. In fact, it was Cordileone who personally phoned NOM co-founder Maggie Gallagher and asked her to get NOM involved in the Prop 8 fight.

The protest begins at 1pm outside St. Mary's Cathedral (aka Our Lady Of Maytag).

TOMORROW: Activists To Protest HRC Fundraiser In Los Angeles

Tomorrow's HRC fundraiser in Los Angeles will be jointly protested by GetEQUAL and Occupy Wall Street. Via press release:

[We] will protest the HRC’s Los Angeles fundraising gala in response to their selection of Goldman Sachs CEO, Lloyd Blankfein, as the national corporate spokesperson for marriage equality and for honoring Sachs with the HRC Corporate Equality award. Additionally, the protest will focus on HRC’s role in the equality business that, for the past 32 years, has focused on piecemeal legislation and splintered the community. Activists will wear hazmat suits to reflect HRC’s hazardous practices and to demand that HRC dump Goldman Sachs and utilize its Washington influence to fight for full federal equality.

The action takes place at the Los Angeles Ritz Carlton at 5pm. Facebook page.

Valentine's Day: Request Marriage

GetEQUAL Texas and Marriage Equality USA are joining for actions across Texas on Valentine's Day. Hit the link for cities and information.

GetEQUAL Vs. Hillary Clinton

GetEQUAL To Obama: Evolve Already

RELATED: According to rumors circulating on Twitter this afternoon, President Obama will not endorse marriage equality at tonight's LGBT fundraiser in Manhattan.

TONIGHT: GetEQUAL To Protest Obama At New York City LGBT Fundraiser

With a demand that the president complete his "evolution" on same-sex marriage, tonight GetEQUAL will stage a protest at an Obama reelection fundraiser in Manhattan.

GetEQUAL Glitters Crazy Eyes

I'm not seeing it in this clip, but Michelle "Crazy Eyes" Bachmann was reportedly glittered by GetEQUAL moments ago as she left the stage at the anti-gay hate conference. I'll try to find better video. [Replaced the first video, but it doesn't appear Bachmann was hit by the glitter.]

UPDATE: GetEQUAL has issued a press release.

Shortly after a speech at the RightOnline conference, pro-LGBT activist Rachel E. B. Lang approached Bachmann, threw glitter in the air, and said, “You can run, but you cannot hide! Keep your hate out of our Constitution!” — a reference to the “You Can Run But You Cannot Hide” ministry for which Bachmann has helped raise money [1] and to a proposed ban on same-sex marriage in Minnesota. The ministry, a brainchild of rabidly anti-gay Bradley Dean, charges thousands of dollars to speak at public school assemblies and evangelize young people based on a shocking and offensive anti-gay program.

(Via - Good As You)

Coalition Of Gay Groups Demands Apology From Southern Baptists Convention

A coalition of LGBT groups including GetEQUAL and Truth Wins Out is demanding an apology from the Southern Baptists Convention. Q Notes has the press release:

“We call on the Southern Baptist Convention to stop misusing the Bible to promote religion-based bigotry and start recognizing the enormous pain and suffering caused by its mistreatment of LGBT people, particularly vulnerable youth,” said Dr. Jack McKinney, a former Southern Baptist minister and spokesperson for Faith in America. “History has not been kind to the Southern Baptist Convention’s record on minorities, and it is making the same awful mistake today by perpetuating abuse against gay people.”

“The anti-gay teachings of the Southern Baptist church nearly led me to suicide,” said Dr. Jerry Stephenson, a former Southern Baptist minister and board member for Truth Wins Out. “I entered an ‘ex-gay’ ministry that falsely claimed I could change my sexual orientation and this led to a deep depression. Only after I accepted my true self was I able to reconcile my faith and sexual orientation. The Southern Baptist Convention needs to apologize because its policies are hurting real people.” This petition drive is being organized by the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists, Believe OutLoud, Faith in America, GetEQUAL, Soulforce and Truth Wins Out.

RELATED: Check out the URL the AFA uses on this story.

Tony Perkins: Gay Activists Are Cowards

"The people who avoid a debate are the ones afraid of losing. That's why the groups like GetEQUAL and others are forming what is basically a mobile protest unit. Yesterday, its activists rallied outside the offices of King & Spalding--only to learn that its attorneys had bailed on the case. So what did they do? Hopped in the car, drove across town to Paul Clement's new firm, and started demonstrating there. 'I think Bancroft PPLC just bought itself a world of pain,' wrote one blogger. 'Go get them!!!' As far as they're concerned, the Constitution doesn't decide who gets lawyers--homosexuals do. FRC's Peter Sprigg was on target in a message he tweeted earlier today: Being falsely accused of bigotry may not be as bad as proving beyond all doubt that you're a coward!" - Family Research Council president Tony Perkins, via press release.

GetEQUAL Vs. Maggie Gallagher

As I reported earlier today, GetEQUAL ambushed Maggie Gallagher outside of this morning's DOMA hearing to give her their "Anita Bryant Award" for bigotry. Watch Gallagher tangle with a GetEQUAL member after he denounces her hatred.

GetEQUAL "Honors" Maggie Gallagher

Members of GetEQUAL ambushed Maggie Gallagher outside of today's DOMA hearing to give her their "Anita Bryant Award."

VIDEO: GetEQUAL Stages DOMA Sit-In At Speaker Boehner's Ohio Office

GetEQUAL has just posted video of last week's action.