Stonewall Young Democrats

PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
December 3, 2009

Contact: Ari Ruiz, Political Vice-President
Email: Ari.Ruiz@stonewallyoungdems.org

Response to: Log Cabin Republicans of New York
RE: Statement on Marriage Equality Vote

Los Angeles, California – Stonewall Young Democrats of Los Angeles applauds the leadership of New York Governor David Patterson and New York State Legislators for their leadership in their efforts of bringing justice and equality for all New Yorker’s regardless of their sexual orientation.

Stonewall Young Democrats of Los Angeles denounces the claim that New York Democrats were at fault for today’s defeat of the marriage equality bill. When the last vote was counted and the tally was counted; 75% of New York State Senate Democrats voted in favor of the bill while 100% of Republicans voted against the bill. This reveals that if anyone should be at fault for Wednesday’s defeat— it’s the Republicans.

Marriage Equality should not be a political issue but a simple freedom that should be granted to all Americans regardless of their sexual orientation.

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Original Response from Log Cabin Republicans of New York:

LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS OF NEW YORK STATEMENT ON MARRIAGE EQUALITY VOTE

ALBANY, NEW YORK–In response to today’s marriage equality vote in the New York State Legislature, Log Cabin Republicans Legislative Advisor Jeff Cook made the following statement:

“Today we share in the frustration and disappointment that the Senate did not pass the marriage equality bill. We are deeply saddened that the Democratic Conference failed to secure the votes they promised, undermining the possibility of a credible bipartisan vote of conscience on the merits of marriage equality. Winning marriage equality in New York requires the Democrats to keep their promises, and Log Cabin will continue to work to ensure that Republicans vote their conscience when that finally happens.”

We need your help for 2-3 hours this weekend to elect the candidate endorsed by Stonewall Young Democrats!

Paul has always been a strong ally of the LGBT community and has a record of leadership on LGBT issues. His commitment to equality goes back long before he was ever a candidate; for example, as a trustee on the board of the County Law Library in the 1990s, Paul initiated an expansion of the bereavement policy for the library’s employees that would have included domestic partners and the domestic partners of family members.

As an elected official, Paul has been one of the LGBT communities staunchest allies. Paul has a lifetime 100% voting scorecard from Equality California. He was a coauthor of Mark Leno’s marriage equality legislation, and was one of the legislators who filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court supporting marriage equality. Paul also vocally opposed Prop 8 (including sending mail in his district at his own expense).

Now we need to stand with Paul. We are asking all Democratic activists to join us at the campaign headquarters beginning this Saturday, November 28. Start time is 11:00 am and we’ll be calling and walking precincts all day to identify supporters. This is the crucial stretch before GOTV weekend and E-Day.

What: Campaign for Paul Krekorian

Where: Campaign HQ - 13063 Victory Blvd., North Hollywood, CA 91606

When: Saturday, November 28; Start time: 11 AM

Plan now to join us during GOTV (Dec. 5-8) as we get out the vote of Paul’s supporters.

Join Stonewall Young Democrats for our annual holiday party on Saturday December 12th at 9pm. Let’s end 2009 with holiday cheer, celebrate our successes, and also as a way to help those who are less fortunate as we are also holding a canned food drive.

The top 5 persons who bring in the most canned food items will receive $10 iTunes gift cards.

Please RSVP to the event through our Facebook event page or through Michael.Colorge@stonewallyoungdems.org so we know how much food to get.

Location:
The Skyline Building
600 W. 9th Street #1106
Los Angeles, CA 90015

For more info, please contact Michael Colorge at Michael.Colorge@stonewallyoungdems.org.

Stonewall Young Democrats congratulates Political Vice President Ari Ruiz for being our Outstanding Volunteer of the Year at the Democratic Party of the San Fernando Valley Truman Awards!

This past year has been an eventful one indeed, the culmination perhaps of an epic decades in the making.

Some of us were there to witness history being made as Barack Obama was sworn in as our Nation’s 44th President. Others of us took part in the National Equality March.

Some events this year were symbolic of how far we have come in the LGBT movement. We watched as Iowa legalized same-sex marriage, as West Point Officer and Iraq War Veteran, Lt. Dan Choi came out on national TV and as Iceland named Johanna Sigurdardottir as its first lesbian prime minister and as the world’s first openly-gay leader.

It’s a pretty safe bet that the Christopher Street bar patrons, and their straight allies, fighting to reclaim a little dignity on a late June night over 40 years ago would never have envisioned that, on another June night, not all that many years later, they and others like them would be honored by the illumination of the Empire State Building in lavender, for the world to see - an example of how just a few can change the hearts of many.

But perhaps just as significant, during the parade commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, were the openly gay and lesbian NYPD officers holding hands with their partners as they marched right past the spot where their predecessors had once been the very face of LGBT oppression.

Decades before Stonewall, right here in Los Angeles, our predecessors were busy leading the fight in the streets of Silver Lake, and tirelessly working to unify us through pioneer gay activism organizations like the Mattachine Society and underground publications like ONE.

The gay rights movement owes so much of its progress to courageous Angelinos, just as our generation owes so much to the generations who have come before us. I think they would be very proud of modern day events like Meet in the Middle, Day of Decision and Lavender Los Angeles.

And just as we can learn from our long and storied past, so too will future activists learn from our struggles. History may indeed reveal that Prop 8’s passage last fall was the best thing to happen to us in 20 years, awakening a new generation of LGBT activists. Off the couch and into the streets!

Indeed, this is an exciting time to be in the movement. The recent signing of the Matthew Shepard Act reminds us that we are indeed gaining ground. We are currently at the very cusp of a whole new era for our community. Marriage Equality, Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and a whole host of other causes are reaching a critical mass and it’s only a matter of time before the scale tips toward full acceptance and equality.

Now, more than ever, we have an opportunity to take the driver’s seat in our own collective destiny and in that of our community.

Although the time has come for me to embark on the next chapter of my life, I can honestly say that my involvement in the Stonewall Young Democrats is perhaps the thing in my life which has been both the most exhilarating and the most rewarding.

We have accomplished much together and we should all be very proud of the progress we have made.

The coming years hold a lot of promise for our movement and for this club. I am excited for the new executive committee and I will continue to watch SYD’s progress with much pride and enthusiasm.

Best of luck to all of you, and best wishes to the new leaders of SYD!

Shawn

You are cordially invited to attend Stonewall Young Dem’s meeting as we elect the new board for 2010-11. Elections will be held at the November General Meeting on Sunday, Nov. 22 at 6:30 PM at Plummer Park. Nominations will be open from now until the night of the election.

Nominations are now open for the following SYD officer positions for the 2009 -2010 term:

President
Operations VP
Political VP
Community VP
Communications VP
Secretary
Member at Large (Female)
Member at Large (Male)

Anyone wishing to nominate someone for any of the above positions may do so by emailing Shawn Amsler at shawn.amsler@stonewallyoungdems.org

Program: We will also be discussing issues affecting the LGBT Community such as ENDA and EFCA.

Speakers include:

Maria E. Durazo, Executive Secretary -Treasurer (Invited)
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO

and more speakers to come!

Thank you,

Your Friends at Stonewall Young Democrats

Dear SYD and LGBT Community Members,

On July 16, 2009 - Judy Chu (D-CA) was sworn in as a Member of the United States House of Representatives making history as the first Chinese-American woman elected to the United States Congress. In addition, Congresswoman Judy Chu has been a long-time friend and ardent supporter of Stonewall Young Democrats. The main mission of Stonewall Young Democrats is to give voice to LGBT youth and take action in a grassroots manner on matters of both local and national significance.

In October 17, 2009, Stonewall Young Democrats will host: “The LGBT Community Reception for Congresswoman Judy Chu“. We will celebrate her election to serve in congress and her unwavering support for the LGBT Community. We plan to commemorate the occasion with a big, yet casual, party. Congresswoman Judy Chu has advocated for LGBT rights from the late 1980s until now. Although, It was not often a popular position she was never afraid to tackle this important issues - because she knows that it is the right thing to do. Congresswoman Judy Chu is an ardent supporter of marriage equality and stands with us during this great turning point in history for LGBT Americans. During a meeting for Stonewall’s endorsement for her candidacy she was asked why she supports LGBT Rights and likening her previous injustice experience as a Chinese Immigrant said that she cannot fight for the civil rights of one group without fighting for the civil rights of the LGBT Community.

Detailed information can be found here

“SYD LOVES JUDY AND JUDY LOVES SYD!”

With Warm Regards,

Ari Ruiz
Political Vice-President
Ari.Ruiz@stonewallyoungdems.org

Our Host Committee:

Hon. Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Mayor of Los Angeles
Hon. Sheila Kuehl, Former State Senator
Hon. Bill Rosendahl, Los Angeles City Council Member
Hon. Jeffrey Prang, West Hollywood Council Member
Eric C. Bauman, Chairman, Los Angeles County Democratic Party
Maria Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary-Treasurer, Los Angeles County Federation of Labor
Ari Ruiz, Commissioner, City of Los Angeles*
Liliana Perez, Commissioner, City of Los Angeles *
Chris Braun, Rent Board Commissioner, City of Santa Monica*
Shawn Amsler, President of Stonewall Young Democrats
Michael Colorge, Executive Secretary of Stonewall Young Democrats

*Titles used for identification purposes only

Enjoy some photos of Congresswoman Chu with SYD:

As a US immigrant, I recently experienced what it’s like to have someone you care about be deported from the United States. A friend from college and I were to meet up for drinks in West Hollywood over the weekend and have a girls night out. During the week, however, she sent me a text message saying this weekend was canceled as she was deported back to Mexico the day before. I was devistated, but also quite shocked as I didn’t know she was undocumented in the US. I just assumed that she was legally here considering how visible she was during college and didn’t even think that she is part of a hidden class of people living in this country who have to constantly fear about being deported.

When we were both in college, we both looked like your typical overachieving students. She and I were both student leaders and involved with campus life with her in student government and Me in my LGBTA organization. We had talks about various things during our college years such as gay rights, the war in Iraq, clashing of cultures, and funny enough, immigration reform. Go figure we both end up learning we are opposite sides of the immigration reform debate that has been talked about, yet not acted upon. Even from Democrats in safe districts.

When she finally had a chance to explain her situation to me after settling herself in Mexico, I found out just how complicated immigration laws are for current undocumented people. To be held for over 8 hours in a detention center after being stalked by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for weeks to try to arrest you and then shipped back across the boarder with nothing more than what you were arrested in is quite enraging to me. I guess after undocumented people are thrown out of the country it becomes that out of sight, out of mind mentality. I doubt that was the original intention of deportation when thought about in the abstract on paper, but I’m sure no one thought the experience in real life would be so… criminal.

And in the end, with all the difference she has made to countless people, including myself, she was still thrown out due to bureaucratic technicalities. She wasn’t a criminal; she worked, paid her taxes, volunteered in the community, was politically involved as much as I am still and that didn’t matter in the end. Both of us were born somewhere else and then our parents made the decision for us to move to the United States to have a better life and in the end we both contributed positively but she ended up being shown the door in spite of it all. Even though our parents made the decision back then to come to the United States, we both made the decision to contribute and to become involved which is more than people who were born here and can vote but choose not to care. And yet we still do, no matter what has happened. Even though we have hundreds of miles, a border patrol checkpoint, and crazy immigration laws between us, some things never change. She’s still the same friend who still wonders why I drink so much coffee or why I am such a workaholic. A lot can change thanks to laws and procedures, but not friendships.