Weekly Word - May 20, 2009

Submitted by justin on Thu, 2009-05-21 10:28

May 20, 2009 www.oneiowa.org

Join One Iowa for PRIDE RIDE 2009! Proceeds for annual ride benefit One Iowa and the LGBT Community Center of Central Iowa.

Join us for Pride Ride 2009, as we gear up for equality! This year's event is all the more special considering gay and lesbian couples may now ride together as legally recognized partners by the state of Iowa. Bring your family and friends out for a nice ride with other supporters of equality. Together, we'll pedal for continued progress and equality for LGBT Iowans.

Reserve your spot today!

Pride Ride 2009 Saturday, June 6, 2009 10:00 AM Saylorville Lake-Cherry Glen #4 5600 NW 78th Avenue Johnston, IA 50131 On-site registration will begin at 9 AM. You can register online now and pay in advance. Price is $25 for adults and $10 for children 12 and under.

Upcoming Events

May 21, 2009 7:00 PM Newton PFLAG meeting Featuring Guest Dean Genth Congregational United Church of Christ 308 E 2nd St. N, Newton May 28, 2009 7:00-8:30 PM "History in the Heartland" in honor of Sen. Gronstal and Rep. Murphy with Special Guest Gov. Dean Home of Carolyn Jenison 1330 9th Street, Des Moines Reserve Your Ticket! May 30, 2009 10:00 AM-5:00 PM Grassroots Power Summit Des Moines Central Library 1000 Grand Ave., Des Moines RSVP June 5, 2009 First Friday Breakfast Club Click for more details June 5, 2009 5:30 PM Matthew Shepard Scholarship Awards Dinner featuring Judy Shepard Click for more information June 6, 2009 10 AM Pride Ride 2009 Saylorville Lake-Cherry Glen #1 5600 NW 78th Ave. Click for more details June 7, 2009 5:30-8:00 PM Gay Wedding Expo Top of the Tower Downtown Holiday Inn, Des Moines A portion of the proceeds go to One Iowa Additional details June 11, 2009 7:00 PM Clarence Page on Marriage Equality Iowa State Historical Building 600 E. Locust St., Des Moines June 12, 2009 5:30 PM One Iowa Happy Hour Dos Rios 316 Court Ave., Des Moines June 13-14, 2009 Capital City Pride Events Click for more details Volunteer with One Iowa June 19th, 6 PM PRIDE Patio Party at the Sheraton Hotel 210 S. Dubuque St., Iowa City June 20, 2009 Omaha Pridefest Lewis & Clark Landing 515 N. Riverfront Dr, Omaha, NE Volunteer with One Iowa June 20, 2009 Iowa City/Cedar Rapids Corridor Pride Upper City Park, Shelter 3 200 W Park Rd, Iowa City Volunteer with One Iowa June 21, 2009 2:00-4:00 PM Interfaith & Affirming Churches Picnic LeClaire Park, Beiderbeck Dr, Davenport, IA June 21, 2009 4:00 PM Colors Across the River for Equality (CARE) Centennial Bridge over Mississippi River Join 500 LGBT and ally Quad Citians as they hold 1000 PRIDE flags across the bridge. Participation in the event is free and you can keep your rainbow PRIDE flag for just $5. Contact Rich Hendricks with questions at richdhendricks@msn.com June 27, 2009 Quad Cities Pride LeClaire Park Beiderbeck Dr., Davenport Volunteer with One Iowa

One Iowa Education Fund Receives Community Foundation Grant

Yesterday the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines announced that the One Iowa Education Fund had been awarded an Organizational Effectiveness Grant. The $4000 grant funds collaborative strategic planning with the LGBT Community Center of Central Iowa. The grant is part of a group of grants awarded by the Community Foundation to strengthen 18 local nonprofit organizations. "These grants directly address challenges and opportunities defined by nonprofit organizations and leverage the ability of the Community Foundation to significantly impact the efficiency and effectiveness of our local nonprofits," said Kristi Knous, vice president of community investment for the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines.

More about the Community Foundation of Greater Des Moines

MARRIAGE MATTERS: FAMILIES IN FOCUS

A message from Maryfrances and Stephanie

Photo by J. Alex Cooney Our friends Maryfrances and Stephanie from Urbandale were recently featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show in a segment discussing marriage equality in Iowa. Maryfrances and Stephanie have been wonderful ambassadors for equality and wanted to share their thoughts with you. We are lucky - and we know it. Lucky to have found the love of our lives in each other - lucky to have been given the opportunity to raise two stunning little girls - lucky to be a strong family living in THIS time in history - in THIS nation - in THIS TREMENDOUS STATE! We met in 1992 and became a couple in 1997. We've lived our commitment through births and deaths - mortgages, diapers, jobs, bills, vacations, toddlers and all the laughter and responsibility included with any family. We were lucky to be surrounded by loving, smart people (who happen to be attorneys), and we sheltered our family as best we could with as much legal and financial protection as they could write. Powers of attorney, wills, joint accounts, you name it. But no matter how much paper we put in place, our family was never fully protected - because our marriage was denied legal recognition. We were lucky - but we were vulnerable. On April 3rd, the Iowa Supreme Court voted unanimously to remove those barriers. Three weeks later, we joined hundreds of couples across the State in applying for our marriage license. May 1st, less than a month after the Court's decision, we joined hands and stood before a judge - speaking the simple words that finally made our marriage and our family legal. Our rings, our daughters, our family and friends - the extraordinary realization that with one simple, intimate civil ceremony, everything we've built together over the years was now respected and protected by the State of Iowa. After all this time, do we feel different? Yes - we feel extraordinary, we feel blessed and we feel so lucky. We know that it took more than luck to bring us this far. It took years of hard work by so many people. People like the folks at One Iowa. We know that none of this would have happened without them - and we know that the fight is not over. The attacks on our families continue - so our family's support for One Iowa will continue. Please join us in making a donation to One Iowa today. Your donation will help One Iowa continue their vital work to strengthen and protect the rights of all families in our state.

RADICAL WATCH: THEY'LL STOP AT NOTHING

Congressman Steve King called out on "Pants on Fire" Lie about Hate Crimes.

The St. Petersburg Times recently profiled Iowa's very own anti-gay Congressman Steve King. In their Truth-O-Meter segment, the Pulitzer Prize winning Politifact.com website clasified King's statement on federal Hate Crimes legislation a "Pants on Fire" Lie. He claimed the federal Hate Crimes Prevention act would provide "special protection to pedophiles:

Politifact: "Pants on Fire" Lies from Steve King

"The definition for sexual orientation was defined by one of the principal authors, Tammy Baldwin of Madison, Wisconsin, as being either heterosexual or homosexual. Well, so within that definition, though, of sexual orientation by the American Psychological Association you've got a whole list of proclivities -- they call them paraphilias -- and in that list, among them are pedophiles." "And so I don't want special protective status for a pedophile when a regular person would get less -- lesser protection under this law...This sets up sacred cows in this legislation. So some people are protected more than others in this society."

Continued at Politifact.com

GET INVOLVED: MAKE A DIFFERENCE

One Iowa Grassroots Power Summit: On May 30, 2009, activists from across the state will gather at the Des Moines Central Library to discuss the grassroots strategies moving forward. At the summit, we'll give you the tools you need to help protect marriage equality in your community. The summit last from 10:00 AM-5:00 PM and includes a complimentary lunch with a suggested donation of $15 to cover expenses. PLEASE RSVP NOW to join us! Volunteer for One Iowa at Pride events around the state! Click on the Pride at which you wish to volunteer to sign up: June 14: Capital City Pride June 20: Omaha Pridefest June 20: Iowa City/Cedar Rapids Corridor Pride June 27: Quad Cities Pride Phone for Equality! Join One Iowa for one of our nightly phone banks Sunday through Thursday. Never phoned before? No problem - our staff will give you all the tools you need to succeed and spread our message of equality! Sign up for a shift now!

In the News

May 10 Mason City Globe Gazette: Guest column from Dean Genth: The Greatest of These is Love When so many around us are hurting in one way or another, why do we choose options that do not reflect love? We have recently witnessed a unanimous Iowa Supreme Court decision that allows all people in Iowa to be treated equally when applying for a marriage license. May 16 Time.com: The Fragility of Gay Iowa It's a brand new day here in Iowa since April 3 when we became the nation's third state ? and the Midwest's first ? to permit same-sex marriage. But during the state's first three weeks of legalized gay marriage (the law went into effect April 27) some things haven't changed. Columnist to speak on same-sex marriage
Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Clarence Page is scheduled to speak next month in Des Moines about same-sex marriage at an event sponsored by several gay-marriage advocacy groups. *We want to know what you're reading! If you see an Iowa-related LGBT news item in your local newspaper, please forward it to justin@one-iowa.org.

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