Sacramento Stonewall Saddened by the death of Lawrence King

SACRAMENTO— Sacramento Stonewall Democrats are deeply saddened by the shooting of Lawrence King, a gay junior high school student in Oxnard, CA.  The 15-year-old victim was shot at E.O. Green Junior High School on Tuesday, February 12th, 2008 and he has since been pronounced brain dead.

According to reports in the Los Angeles Times, the victim self-identified as gay, sometimes wore make-up and feminine jewelry, and was the target of ridicule by some of his classmates.  One classmate, Michael Sweeney, said King's appearance was 'freaking the guys out,' the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday. 'He would come to school in high-heeled boots, makeup, jewelry and painted nails — the whole thing,' Sweeney told the Times." The alleged shooter, a 14-year-old, has been charged with attempted murder as a hate crime.

California has laws protecting students from harassment and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity and expression in schools.  The California Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act was enacted in 2000, and further strengthened through the passage of AB 394 (The Safe Place to Learn Act) and SB 777 (The CA Student Civil Rights Act), which went into effect on January 1, 2008.

“The senseless and horrible shooting of this child, Lawrence King, should serve as a wake-up call, especially here in Sacramento, where the “Day of Silence” has turned into a battleground for Anti-Gay activists, for our local schools, Superintendents and Boards to step up their efforts to ensure a safe environment for all students.” Said Ed Bennett, President of Sacramento Stonewall Democrats. “The real tragedy is that the issue of bullying and intolerance is largely ignored on a Statewide and local level and even though we have statewide legislation and local policies in place, the schools often do not take the time to educate teachers and school administration on those policies. There should be a ZERO tolerance for any harassment at school.”

In an age when LGBT teen suicide rates are high and Anti-Gay bullying is prevalent in our schools, it is our job, as adult leaders to make sure that all of our youth feel protected and are able to obtain an education without the threat of violence, under any circumstance.  Lawrence King serves as a tragic reminder of the work that still needs to occur in our public school systems.  Stonewall will continue to work with local School Boards and Administrators to ensure that policies are in place and adhered to.

Sacramento Stonewall would like to extend our condolences to the Lawrence King’s family and friends, and the entire E.O. Green Junior High School community.

Sacramento Stonewall is one of the largest democratic clubs in the Sacramento region, as well as one of the largest gay Democratic clubs in the United States.  Sacramento Stonewall works for true Democratic values on behalf of all.

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Stonewall Members win as National Democratic Convention Delegates

Congratulations to Dennis Mangers, from District 3 and Steve Maviglio from District 5 on their election as Hillary Clinton Delegates to the National Democratic Convention!

and

Congratulations to Bill Slaton, from District 3 and Nate Osburn and Serena Kirk from District 5 on their election as Barack Obama Delegates to the National Democratic Convention!

Stonewall Endorsements for June 2008 Primary

Congratulations to the following candidates who received Stonewall’s endorsement at the General Membership meeting on Monday, April 14:

Leticia Garcia, Sacramento County  Board of Education, District 1
Rob Fong, Sacramento City Council, District 4
Warren Harding, Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, District 3
Jim Provenza, Yolo County Board of Supervisors, District 4
Alyson Huber, State Assembly, District 10
Joan Buchanan, State Assembly, District 15
Lois Wolk, State Senate, District 5
Dr. Bill Durston, California Congressional District 3
Congresswoman Doris Matsui, California Congressional District 5

The following candidates were previously endorsed:

Heather Fargo, Mayor, City of Sacramento
Kevin McCarty, Sacramento City Council, District 6
Dave Jones, State Assembly, District 9
Christopher Cabaldon, State Assembly, District 8
Charlie Brown, California Congressional District 4

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Sacramento Stonewall Endorses Mayor Heather Fargo

Sacramento Stonewall met and voted unanimously on Monday, February 11th to endorse Heather Fargo in her re-election bid as Mayor of Sacramento.

Press Release available here: http://www.sacstonewall.org/posts/press_releases/

To volunteer to help in the campaign, please call their headquarters at 916-443-2676.

The headquarters is located at corner of 17th & I Streets.  You can also visit our new website at www.fargoformayor.com.

Sacramento Stonewall Endorses Christopher Cabaldon for State Assembly!

Sacramento Stonewall has endorsed West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon for the 8th Assembly District Race!  Read the full press release here, and for more information, visit Mayor Cabaldon's campaign website.  
 

TITANIUM MEMBERS

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Sacramento's Source for Local LGBT News, Twice a Month
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No on Proposition 92

Yes on Proposition 93

No on Propositions 94, 95, 96 and 97

To assist our membership, please complete our questionnaire, which you can download in Microsoft Word format below. Questionnaires must be completed for endorsement consideration.

Currently, we are offering Endorsement consideration in the North Area School Board. Below is a link to that questionnaire:

Download questionnaire for North Area School Board

In the future, we will post questionnaires for other elections in and around the Greater Sacramento area. Please check back fo updated links and instructions. If you wish to be considered for endorsement, please contact the Club at 916-441-1787 or the President directly at president@sacstonewall.org.

Thank you!

Here's is the link to the story that ran in the Sacramento Bee on Wednesday, July 4th, in case you missed it.

http://www.sacbee.com/folsom/story/256068.html

I wanted to let you all know that Sacramento Stonewall is busy working with other minority communities to ensure justice is done in this case.  If the facts bear out that this is in fact a hate crime, Sacramento Stonewall will insist that the perpetrators be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

I would like to take this opportunity to ask that each of you wait for completion of the investigation before reacting.  It is important at this time for our community to remain calm, not respond to rumor and innuendo, and not react with blatant, demonstrative anger toward any community perceived to be responsible for this heinous act. 

We all need to have patience and let the Sheriff's department do its work.  To react with anger or violence toward any one community would only be more detrimental.  Violence, anger and protesting toward any group will not solve the problem.  We ask our members and friends to take a breath and wait until we know all the facts.

We will keep you informed of any details or updated information that we receive.  Dan Roth, Dr. Darrick Lawson, Margie Covino and myself and others are working diligently to ensure that our voices are heard and that this crime does not go unpunished. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me via email at sacstonewall@gmail.com or by phone at (916) 812 -1467.  Thank you!

Ed. Bennett

President

Sacramento Stonewall Democrats

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Sacramento Stonewall is one of the largest democratic clubs in the Sacramento region, as well as one of the largest gay Democratic clubs in the United States.  Sacramento Stonewall works for true Democratic values on behalf of all.

Sacramento, CA – Sacramento Stonewall praised members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee after the committee passed AB 43 on a 7-3 vote on Tuesday. The passage of AB 43, Assemblymember Mark Leno’s (D-San Francisco) Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would allow for same sex couples to marry in California, is a top priority for Stonewall.

Numerous club members were present during the spirited debate, including Stonewall President, Dr. Darrick Lawson, who testified in support of the bill on behalf of the club. “I think this first step for AB 43 in the legislative process sends a significant message,” Dr. Lawson stated. “Not only has the legislature reaffirmed their support for civil rights, this has also shown our opponents that in a body with 36 new assemblymembers, we can, and will continue to secure the votes to move this bill to the Governor’s desk.”

Lawmakers passed a nearly identical bill, AB 849, also authored by Assemblymember Leno in 2005, becoming the first legislative body in the nation to approve same-sex marriage. Despite the Governor’s veto of that bill, Dr. Lawson remains optimistic for AB 43. “We’ve proved that we can move this legislation to the Governor’s desk, and we are letting the Governor know that he cannot ignore our inequality while in office.”

The next step for AB 43 is the Assembly Appropriations Committee, where Assemblymember Mark Leno is the Chair. Co-authored by 29 assemblymembers and 14 senators, including Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Speaker Pro Tem Don Perata, the bill enjoys a wide range of support, and should pass its next hurdle. Regardless, Dr. Lawson will closely monitor the status of AB 43. “This is a historic opportunity to allow California to become the first state in the nation to grant same-sex couples the right to marry, and Stonewall will be there every step of the way to the Governor’s desk.”