Next Meeting - November 16, 2008 GLBT Organizing Panel Discussion

GSAFE - From Hate to Hope Programming

In conjunction with the exhibition Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals 1933-1945 from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum presented at UW-Madison Memorial Library. All events are sponsored by Gay Straight Alliance for Safe Schools (GSAFE)

Films Remaining in the Film Series

Love Story: Berlin 1942 (1997, 47 min), Tuesday, November 18, 7:00 p.m., Edgewood College, Predolin Humanities Center (1000 Edgewood College Dr), Anderson Auditorium. Witness the true story about the wife of a Nazi soldier who fell in love with a Jewish lesbian and resistance fighter. We also meet some of the members of the community that gathered around the two lovers to offer them protection. Their story inspired the movie Aimee and Jaguar. This film is appropriate for middle and high school audiences.

Bent (1997, 105 min), Thursday, December 4, 7:00 p.m. Madison Museum of Contemporary Art (227 State St), Lecture Hall. After being forced to kill his lover, a Berlin homosexual male is placed in a concentration camp and lies to get himself classified as Jewish rather than gay. Bent chronicles the inner journey of one gay man’s journey and finally, his own redemption. Intended for adult audiences. Parental guidance strongly
recommended for youth 17 and under.

Each film will be followed by remarks from a moderator and audience discussion.

 

From Other Publications: From the New York Times Column, Your Money

Three states — Massachusetts, California and Connecticut — have legalized same-sex marriage. Skip to next paragraph
But given that the federal government views same-sex married couples as perfect strangers, ineligible for the many federal rights given to opposite-sex married couples, the question for gay couples is this: Is it worth it to tie the knot?

For many couples, the answer is a resounding yes: the word “married” itself instantly conveys something that civil unions and domestic partnerships do not.

Still, the many rights that marriage confers vaporize the moment couples step into a state that does not recognize their unions.
It is a tricky path to navigate, given the patchwork of state laws and varying grades of benefits they provide. Besides the three states that allow marriage — Connecticut made it legal in October — New Jersey, New Hampshire and Vermont allow civil unions, which generally approximate marriage. Oregon provides something similar, but calls it domestic partnership. The District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Washington and other jurisdictions provide certain rights under domestic partnership laws. The constant state of flux, as illustrated by this year’s ballot, makes it all the more complicated.

But, … (in New York, for example, gay) marriage carries no weight when it comes to, say, filing their federal tax return (though they can file a joint state tax return…). And the marriage certificate is flimsy when the couple leaves New York, which honors same-sex marriages performed elsewhere.

 

Good News

An email note from Tom and Seiko, passed on by Kay:

Sunday, November 2nd, our son Frank and his partner, Saburo, got married in their home in San Mateo, CA. He said that no matter the outcome of the referendum November 4th, they are now legally married.
HOORAY!!

Thanks to the whole PFLAG gang for their support over these past several years since our arrival in Madison.

Warmly,
Tom and Seiko

Another note passed on by Kay:

Kay reports that her son's partner, Mark Ferrandino, won his election to return to the Colorado State Legislature.  He is the first openly gay male legislator and he won by getting 80% of the vote.