Rev. Irene Monroe: Sometime in the late hours of Saturday night the call will come in. Philbert (not his real name) — like many of his Christian LGBTQ buddies — waits anxiously for the call to tell him the time and place of the van pickup, and where it’ll drop he and his friends off to a safe and secluded place for Sunday worship.

Paul Hogarth: California desperately needs to abolish the two-thirds requirement to pass a state budget, and even an amendment that does not include taxes would be incremental progress. But unless labor unions start putting real money in this effort, and the Democratic Party makes it the priority it must be, it’s going to get lost in the shuffle – and we won’t have what it takes to run a winning campaign.

If I have grandchildren, I have some hope that the world they enter will allow them to make the simple and profound choice to love whom they wish. Films like The Campaign will provide the historical blueprint and record of how the fight was waged, how battles were won–and lost.

On August 8, Northeast Los Angeles will join many Southern California areas celebrating Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride.

Marriage equality groups are determined to fight hard regardless of when “the movement” decides on a 2010 or 2012 date, but I’m hazy on who exactly will make that decision.

On Monday, June 29, 2009 President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama hosted a reception with the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered (LGBT) Community in honor of LGBT Pride Month. The reception was held in …

There’s been another informed and intelligent decision by the Obama administration.
In August 2008, in an LA Progressive article entitled “Census Nonsense,” which decried the Bush administration’s move to exclude legally married same-sex couples from being …

On June 10th, an 88-year-old white supremecist walked into the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, DC, armed with a rifle, and killed a black security guard before being fired upon and apprehended. As usual, …

July 26, 2009 marks the 60th anniversary of President Harry S. Truman signing Executive Order #9981 ending racial segregation of the United States military. 2009 also marks the 16th anniversary of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” …

I watched the movie Gettysburg again the other day. It is one of my favorites because the producer was a Mexican American and it is about the real reasons why democracy exists. In …

In the Oxford English Dictionary “equality” means, “Identical in amount; neither less nor greater…having the same measure, number, value, intensity.” How did three Democratic presidents, Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and Lyndon Johnson, speak to equality?
President …

Before you open that bottle of champagne, can of beer, or bottle of Hennessy in celebration of last week’s decision by the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8 and the ban on gay marriage, did …

June is Pride Month. And Black Pride contributes to the multicultural aspect of joy and celebration in the queer communities. Black Pride symbolizes not only black LGBTQ uniqueness as individuals and communities, but it also …

THE PROBLEM: Strong feelings of entitlement, refusal to work with others, racism, extreme issues with class, sudden temper tantrums
THE PRESCRIPTION: Take as needed one chill pill with a large glass of reality…
The gay community needs …

Wednesday evening, in an act of daring befitting a West Point graduate and veteran of Iraq, recently discharged New York National Guard Lieutenant Daniel Choi defied the orders of dozens of crowd control police and …

My first essay for the L.A. Progressive was about Proposition 8 and the lies that self proclaimed Christian activists were telling in order to promote their bigotry. It seems almost ridiculous to catalog the number …

The California Supreme Court ruled again on same-sex marriage. This time it did to uphold Proposition 8, restricting marriage to one man and one woman. In a 6-to-1 decision, the justices decided that Proposition 8 …

There will be parades all across the country this Memorial Day commemorating our U.S. servicemembers who died while in the military. But not all of our servicemembers will be honored for their acts of bravery …

I didn’t say anything when I drove down Crenshaw Boulevard two Sunday’s ago and that truck with that big sign in support of the upcoming measures on the May 19 California Special Election was conveniently …

The CEO of Wal-Mart, just like Mormons, can exercise his right to free speech and expression however he sees fit. I too have that right — and will exercise it by refusing to give the …

With Iowa being the fourth state to approve marriage equality, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer Americans’ optimism is high, believing many more states will follow suit.
“We’re hoping this momentum is contagious,” Daniel Richards of …

Be warned: Those new National Organization for Marriage anti-GLBT “actor auditions” videos posted are gone. NOM noticed that its evil ruse had been exposed and demanded that YouTube take them down. Even a clip of …

Is he the U.S. military’s worst nightmare? Imagine, a radical homosexual with his hands on the military’s purse strings.
It’s hard to believe that after 15 years of repressive, misguided military policy (“Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”), …

Within the next week, the California Supreme Court will hear oral arguments to help determine the constitutionality of Proposition 8, the November 2008 election ballot constitutional amendment that removed the right of same-sex couples to …

The election (and now the inauguration) of Barack Obama has inspired a widespread sense of awe at the scope and scale of change in race relations in America—and more than a hint of self-congratulation.
The news …

For those of you worried about militant radical homosexuals, you can rest easy because Americans for Truth About Homosexuality, a “newly reorganized national organization devoted exclusively to exposing and countering the homosexual activist agenda,” is …

Here is some great news that should be no surprise to anyone really paying attention — after the Proposition 8 kerfluffle, this was inevitable: A federal court ruling was just issued that is based upon …

The California Supreme Court announced today that it will hear oral arguments on Thursday, March 5, 2009 in the Proposition 8 legal challenge.
On November 19, 2008, the California Supreme Court agreed to hear the legal …

As quietly as it would like to be kept by the Obama team and even by many in the LGBTQ community, Obama exploits the queer community for his political gains. And like pawns on his …

I had conversations with four recently married same-sex couples during the first week of January. There were two lesbian couples, one from the Sacramento area (Davis) and the other from West Hollywood. The two gay …

In the summer of 2006 I attended the National Endowment for the Humanities Summer Institute at the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute at Harvard. One of the guest presenters was 95-year-old Johnnie Carr, the woman who …

by Tom Hall –
Do you remember what Scrooge did when he woke after that terrible night with the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and yet to be? He flung open his window and told a …

Forty years ago, in many states, my marriage to my wife would have been illegal. In fact, we would have been regarded as criminals and locked up for miscegenation, or “race-mixing” as they called it.
In …

The progressive and GLBT communites are up in arms over President-elect Obama’s decision to have antigay, right-wing Christian evangelical preacher Rick Warren deliver his inaugural invocation. I share their dismay to be sure, but you …

If you are African American and gay, and fighting alongside your white LGBTQ brothers and sisters for queer civil rights, the notion that “gay is the new black” is not only absurdly arrogant, it is …

Every Friday the LA Progressive features a comment that was particularly noteworthy. This week we are featuring a comment submitted by TJ Dietderich commenting on the ongoing struggle for marriage equality:

I’ve been watching this same-sex marriage debate for some time and, like most of my community, I’m deeply conflicted about it. As sexual orientation is a deeply personal matter, I chose to remain silent in …

by Gene Rothman –
The recent nationwide protests by gays and their allies in response to the same-sex marriage issue places President-elect Obama’s faith-based initiative in a potentially more visible—and problematic—position.

The Human Rights Campaign has a list of many California businesses that gave money to support to Proposition 8 campaign. Outraged, betrayed, offended, and legally diminished GLBT citizens and their allies across the country are …

There’s enough hate, discrimination, injustice and bigotry (HDIB) generated against Americans of all stripes, that no one group can ever begin to absorb all of it. No need to covet another’s HDIB. There’s plenty to …

Brian E. Gray, writing for the Los Angeles Times, sees something cool: The long history of the battle for equality for all in this country includes many court fights — some that pro-justice forces have …

The 2008 election was supposed be over a couple weeks ago, but that’s not what’s happened. Three U.S. Senate seats remain undecided. Missouri, a state which has voted for the winning Presidential candidate more times …

by Thomas A. Foster –

The recent decision of California voters to take away the right of gays and lesbians to marry highlights the danger of exposing civil rights protection to popular vote.
Earlier this year, the …

From coast to coast, from sea to shining sea, people are rising up. Outraged and heartsick over California’s recent passage of anti-gay marriage initiative Proposition 8 — the first time in US history when rights …

Rev. Irene Monroe –

Last week we saw democracy work with the election of Barack Obama as our country’s first African American president. My enslaved ancestors who built the White House could have never imagined that …

I am getting sick of hearing that African-American and Latino voters in California are responsible for the horrid result in Californian bigots’ successful bid to take rights away from citizens.
That is a slap in the …

“Cowardice asks the question, ‘Is it safe?’ Expediency asks the question, ‘Is it politic?’ But conscience asks the question, ‘Is it right?’ And there comes a time when one must take a position that is …

Before we begin to debate the rightness or wrongness of any law of the state (as opposed to spiritual laws, or natural laws, or laws of physics), we must keep in mind at least one …

The California Field Poll showing Proposition 8 behind with 44% support and 49% opposition that was released earlier today is making the headlines of the state’s newspapers—and in fact is national news. These results are …

by Dick Price –
If you’ve spent two minutes on our LA Progressive, you know where we stand on Proposition 8, the wrongheaded and wronghearted initiative that would take away the recently won right to marry …

It’s getting really religious out there. I’ve just learned that Jesus Christ is against same-sex marriage and is promoting a yes vote on Prop 8. Prop 8 would amend California’s constitution to take away …

Depending on which media outlets you tune into for “fair and balanced” reporting on the election campaign’s presidential candidates, Senator Barack Obama can’t do any wrong and Senator John McCain can’t do any right. Or, …

Bible or no Bible, the bigotry of opposing gay marriage obstructs our overall pursuit for equality.
When I was many years younger, I had shared with a group of men how I was bothered that a …

How could the Religious Wrong possibly be ahead in the polls regarding California’s anti-gay Proposition 8?
How? If that dangerous, divisive bill is passed, it would render Ellen DeGeneres’ marriage – and thousands of other legal …

Faith is as tangible as it is intangible. Religions institutionalize faith. Churches, temples, synagogues, and mosques are visible symbols of religion. I have “Born Again” faith. My faith is a personal matter, despite my just …

In the face of a financial Armageddon, the economy has become the center of the campaign, where it should have been all along. But the moment all Americans have been waiting for – the latest …

The Democrats are getting it right.
Taking the microphone to explain to America why policies of George Bush and the Republicans have sent us into uncharted, dangerous, financial waters was a Women, a Black, a Jew, …

In and of itself, the fact that singer Clay Aiken finally came out as gay in People magazine means no more than if he had said he were right-handed or had blue eyes. In the …

I was drawn to the headline of Friday’s September 19, 2008, Los Angeles Times Opinion piece entitled “Protecting Marriage to Protect Children.” It was written by New York author David Blankenhorn, President of Institute for …

Proposition 8 on the November ballot would take away the right of same-sex couples to marry. A simple majority (50% + 1 vote) is all that is needed to defeat or pass this dangerous and …