Baskin-Robbins will be hosting its second annual 31 Cent Scoop Night this Wednesday, April 30, 2008 from 5 p.m. – 10 p.m. at all of their 2,700 locations. They will again be partnering with the National Fallen Firefighters Foundation (NFFF), in an effort to extend support to the firefighting community by donating $100,000 to the organization. Together, Baskin-Robbins and the NFFF will honor 31 firefighters from across the country who have demonstrated exemplary commitment to community service through the newly created America's 31 Firefighting Heroes program.
For more information, check out their website and be sure to get yourself a 31 cent scoop of ice cream this Wednesday at your local Baskin Robbins!
Monday, April 28, 2008
Baskin-Robbins' 31 Cent Scoop Night Returns
Friday, April 25, 2008
Effort intensifies for same-sex marriage ban
Matthew Yi, Chronicle Sacramento Bureau
Friday, April 25, 2008
The battle over same-sex marriage in California heated up Thursday, when supporters of an initiative to ban it in the state's Constitution submitted more than 1.1 million signatures in an effort to qualify the measure for the November ballot.
Representatives of a conservative coalition called Protect Marriage delivered boxes of signed petitions in each of the state's 58 counties. Opponents immediately pledged to wage what is expected to be a costly campaign to defeat the measure if it goes to voters.
In the next several weeks, county and state officials will make sure the signatures are valid. To qualify for the ballot, the measure needs at least 694,354 signatures, or 8 percent of the votes cast in the last governor's race. A spokeswoman for Secretary of State Debra Bowen said the verification process could last until the middle of June.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said two weeks ago that he would fight such an initiative, and the state Supreme Court is weighing whether to overturn or leave intact Proposition 22, an initiative approved by California voters in 2000 that barred recognition of same-sex marriage in the state. Justices are expected to rule in June.
Backers of the new measure, known as the Limit on Marriage initiative, say voters should have the final say in the matter.
"The California marriage amendment will allow the people of California, not politicians or courts, to decide the meaning of marriage and place that meaning inside the Constitution," Joseph Infranco, an attorney for Alliance Defense Fund, an Arizona group helping the initiative campaign, said as he delivered about 44,000 petitions to Sacramento County's registrar of voters office.
"While the Supreme Court can overturn statutes, they can't overturn constitutional amendments," Infranco said.
Critics of the initiative have called the measure hateful and divisive by narrowly defining marriage.
"The state Constitution was created to provide everyone equal rights, and what these extreme, right-wing groups are doing is to take away from entire groups of people protections under the Constitution," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, a gay rights group.
The measure by Protect Marriage, which is based in Sacramento, is one of two current initiative efforts to ban same-sex marriage in the state. A second campaign, by a group called Vote Yes Marriage, would ban same-sex marriage and repeal domestic partner benefits, but that effort might be stalled.
The measure needs the same number of signatures as the Limit on Marriage initiative, and the petitions must be turned in by June 30. But supporters of that measure haven't received any campaign donations in recent months, and the group has only $42,106 in its coffers, according to campaign filings with the secretary of state's office. A telephone call to the group was not returned Thursday.
Protect Marriage, on the other hand, received more than $1.6 million in campaign donations since January, with the largest chunk, almost $900,000, coming from the National Organization for Marriage, a nonprofit in Princeton, N.J.
Backers of the proposed measure also have garnered endorsements from conservative and religious groups around the nation, including Focus on the Family, Concerned Women for America and the Traditional Values Coalition.
If the initiative qualifies, campaigning will be fierce, opponents and supporters said Thursday.
"We have been working to prepare for this for several years, and if they do qualify, we will mount a vigorous and hard-fought campaign," Kors said.
Infranco said he expects both sides to spend "tens of millions" of dollars to sway voters.
Schwarzenegger jumped into the same-sex-marriage fray this month, when he told a group of gay Republicans in San Diego that he would fight against the initiative for a constitutional amendment if it qualifies for the ballot.
His comments surprised some Capitol observers because the governor has twice vetoed bills to legalize same-sex marriage in California. But Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said the governor was honoring the will of the voters and enforcing the law under Prop. 22.
But if the Supreme Court overturns Prop. 22, the governor would support that decision as well, McLear said. The governor doesn't think the state Constitution should be amended on an issue such as the prohibition of same-sex marriage, McLear also said.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
2008 Lesbian & Women's Festivals, Music Events, Conferences & Gatherings
Below is a list of Lesbian & Women's (Womyn) Music Events, Festivals, Conferences and gatherings from across the US and Canada. If I missed any, please email me the details and I will be sure to add them.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
15 Earth Day Tips to Make Our World a Greener Place
- Turning off your computer when it’s not in use is a smart way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and help fight against the effects of climate change.
- Turn off all unnecessary lighting. When you leave a room, be sure to turn off the lights.
- Switch all your bills to paperless or e-statements and consider canceling unwanted catalog and magazine subscriptions.
- Buy recycled paper. Purchasing 100% post-consumer office paper lightens your carbon footprint by 5 pounds of carbon dioxide per ream. It also causes 35% less water pollution, uses 40% less energy, and produces 74% less air pollution according to the EPA.
- Bring your own reusable grocery bags to the store. Paper and plastic grocery bags can hurt the environment. It take about 12 millions barrels of oil and 14 million trees to produce plastic and paper bags each year.
- Use the dishwasher. Doing a full load in your machine is more efficient than washing the same number of dishes by hand. This is especially true if you have an Energy Star dishwasher, which requires an average of 4 gallons of water per load, compared with the 24 gallons it takes to do them in the sink. You can save 5,000 gallons of water, $40 in utility costs, and 230 hours of your time each year.
- Buy local. Shop at your local farmers’ market. Not only will you receive a higher quality product, the entire purchase price goes directly to the farmer. Also buying any product locally saves energy by reducing the fossil fuels needed to transport food and other items across the country and around the globe.
- Setting your thermostat a few degrees lower in the winter and a few degrees higher in the summer can translate to substantial savings on your utility bills.
- Spruce up your home with plants. Not only are plants a colorful compliment to your home decor, some indoor plants can filter toxins like benzene and formaldehyde that often exist in our homes because they are used in the manufacturing of materials found in most households.
- Use rechargeable batteries wherever possible. Save money and cut down on batteries and hazardous waste in landfills.
- Unplug household appliances and electronics (like the coffee maker, toaster, and cell phone charger) when they're not in use. Even if they're not on, appliances that are plugged in use energy. In fact, as much as 40 percent of all electricity is used to power home appliances that are turned off!
- Replace burned out lightbulbs with CFLs. These fluorescent bulbs use about 75 percent less energy than standard incandescents and last up to 10 times longer. You can save $30 or more in electricity costs for each bulb over its lifetime!.
- Select Energy Star appliances when it's time to purchase new ones. Clothes washers, dishwashers, refrigerators and freezers, dehumidifiers, and more with the Energy Star label incorporate advanced technologies that use 10 to 50 percent less energy and water than standard models-and they work well too!
- Cell Phone Battery Recycle: Cell phones batteries, just like other batteries, are toxic and should not be thrown into the curbside trash. If you have an old cell phone you're not using anymore, you can just donate it. Companies such as AmericanCellPhoneDrive.org make it simple to donate your old cell phones, plus it is free. They restore the repairable cell phones and raise money for charities. and the unsellable phones are broken down and recycled in accordance with all state and federal regulations.
- Fix leaks! As soon as you spot a leak at your house, fix it or contact your plumber to do so. A Leaky toilet can waste 30 to 50 gallons per day per toilet, and leaky faucets can waste 15 to 20 gallons per day.
Every person can make a difference, so please make an effort to do your part and help make our planet a “greener” place.
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Some Gay Couples are Having Trouble Obtaining Divorces
By Ray Henry
Associated Press
PROVIDENCE, RI — Gay couples had to struggle mightily to win the right to marry or form civil unions. Now, some are finding that breaking up is hard to do, too.
In Rhode Island, for example, the state's top court ruled in December that gays married in neighboring Massachusetts can't get divorced here because lawmakers have never defined marriage as anything but a union between a man and woman. In Missouri, a judge is deciding whether a lesbian married in Massachusetts can get an annulment.
"We all know people who have gone through divorces. At the end of that long and unhappy period, they have been able to breathe a sigh of relief," said Cassandra Ormiston of Rhode Island, who is splitting from her wife, Margaret Chambers. But "I do not see that on my horizon, that sigh of relief that it's over."
Over the past four years, Massachusetts has been the only state where gay marriage is legal, while nine other states allow gay couples to enter into civil unions or domestic partnerships that offer many of the rights and privileges of marriage. The vast majority of these unions require court action to dissolve.
Gay couples who still live in the state where they got hitched can split up with little difficulty; the laws in those states include divorce or dissolution procedures for same-sex couples. But gay couples who have moved to another state are running into trouble.
Massachusetts, at least early on, let out-of-state gay couples get married there practically for the asking. But the rules governing divorce are stricter. Out-of-state couples could go back to Massachusetts to get divorced, but they would have to live there for a year to establish residency first.
"I find that an unbelievably unfair burden. I own a home here, my friends are here, my life is here," said Ormiston, who is resigned to moving to Massachusetts for a year.
It's not clear how many gay couples have sought a divorce.
In Massachusetts, where more than 10,000 same-sex couples have married since 2004, the courts don't keep a breakdown of gay and heterosexual divorces. But Joyce Kauffman, a member of the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association, said probably more than 100 gay divorces have been granted in Massachusetts, and possibly many more.
She said she suspects the divorce rate among gays is lower than that among heterosexual couples, because many of the same-sex couples who got married in Massachusetts had probably been together for years.
Vermont has dissolved 2% of the 8,666 civil unions performed there since they became legal in 2000. Those numbers do not include couples who split up in another state.
Chambers and Ormiston wed in Massachusetts in 2004 and filed for divorce in 2006. But the Rhode Island Supreme Court last winter refused to recognize their marriage. That means at least 90 other gay couples from the state who got married in Massachusetts would not be able to divorce in Rhode Island if they wanted to.
Getting a divorce could prove toughest in some of the 43 states that have explicitly banned or limited same-sex unions, lawyers say.
In Missouri, which banned gay marriage in 2001, a conservative lawmaker has urged a judge not to grant an annulment to a lesbian married in Massachusetts.
Oregon started allowing gay couples to form domestic partnerships this year. But to prevent problems similar to those in Massachusetts, lawmakers added a provision that allows couples to dissolve their partnerships in Oregon even if they have moved out of state.
The measure is modeled on California's domestic partnership system and represents a major change in the usual rules governing jurisdiction.
"It's a novel concept in the family law area," said Oregon lawyer Beth Allen, who works with Basic Rights Oregon, a gay rights group.
Same-sex couples can form civil unions in Vermont, Connecticut, New Jersey and New Hampshire. They can enter into domestic partnerships or receive similar benefits in California, Oregon, Maine, Washington, Hawaii and the District of Columbia.
New York does not permit gay marriage, but a judge there has allowed a lesbian married in Canada to seek a divorce. In 2005, Iowa's Supreme Court upheld the breakup of a lesbian couple who entered into a civil union in Vermont.
Some Rhode Island lawmakers are pushing to legalize gay divorce. But Gov. Don Carcieri, a Republican who opposes gay marriage, is against the idea. So are church leaders in the heavily Roman Catholic state.
"Whatever name they want to give to it, it is a recognition of same-sex unions," said the Rev. Bernard Healey, a lobbyist for Catholic Diocese of Providence.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Rumor or Fact: The California Supreme Court is Likely to Approve Gay Marriage
On April 15th, Ryan J. Davis of the Huffington Post reported some pretty interesting and compelling news about the California Supreme Court's decision on Gay Marriage.
"The fight for gay marriage in California has been a tough one during the last decade. In 2000, Proposition 22 was passed by 62% of the state's voters, limiting marriage to a man and a woman. Its since been sent to the State's Supreme Court. Gov. Schwarzenegger has twice vetoed Gay Marriage Bills sent to him by the California Legislature, the second as recently as last year. "He will uphold whatever the court decides," Schwarzenegger spokeswoman Margita Thompson said after the bill's original passing.
Fearing the court's decision, the Family Research council has launched a ballot initiative for a Constitutional Amendment against Gay Marriage in California. "After oral arguments in the case, it appears very likely that the majority of judges on California's highest court will rule against the current meaning of marriage, opening up God's ordained institution to same-sex couples," they said in a March fundraising email.
Sources wishing to remain anonymous in the California Court System indicate that the court, which has until June 2, 2008 to issue it's marriage ruling, is considering issuing it on Friday, May 23, 2008, with the decision being written by Chief Justice Ronald George. The Court is readying itself for a backlash that may follow the rumored and bold decision. There is talk that the Court will not simply strike down Proposition 22, but will move the State of California toward full marriage, if not even granting full marriage rights for gays and lesbians outright.
Obviously aware of what's coming, Gov. Schwarzenegger came out swinging against the FRC's proposed amendment, "I will always be there to fight against that," he said to huge applause this weekend at a Log Cabin Republican Convention in San Diego. He went so far as to call the initiative a "waste of time" and acknowledge that the people of California are, "much further along on that issue." The latest Field Poll shows only 51% of Californians oppose full gay marriage, an 11 point drop since 2000.
There seems little doubt that California is moving toward full gay marriage equality."
One can only hope that this information is not just a rumor and that the California Supreme Court will choose to follow the lead of the Massachusetts Supreme Court by declaring that same-sex couples have a fundamental right to marry.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Jane’s World Volume 8 book release party
Drama, comedy, adventure and very little lost luggage!
Join Paige Braddock at the Schulz Museum as she celebrates the release of Jane’s World volume 8.
This eighth installment joins the cast of Jane’s World on an ill-fated vacation to Key West. Jane knew this vacation was a disaster before it even started. Her first clue could have been the plane crash, but the spiral actually began hours before that, when it was decided they’d all travel together in a very small plane that Jill would pilot.
So here we find our small group marooned in a tropical paradise, set upon by orange soda deprivation, amorous native girls and scheming alligators. Can these four castaways survive all the lesbian drama and actually make it to gay Key West?
Come to the party and find out!
Hosted by the Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center
May 10th, 2008 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
(Alcohol will be served so this is a 21 and older event)
Special concert with: Girlyman
(If you haven’t heard them… they are AMAZING. You’re in for a treat.)
For tickets, please email the first and last name of each person attending (Maximum 4) with your request to JanePartyVol8@yahoo.com
Your reservation is not finalized until you receive an email back with your ticket reservation number. You must bring those ticket numbers with you to the event. Limited tickets and space available.
This comic shindig is a free event but requires a ticket reservation.
Tickets will not be available at the venue.
See ya there!
No to Marriage Amendment
By Allison Hoffman, Associated Press
Friday, April 11, 2008
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that he would fight an initiative to amend the California Constitution to ban same-sex marriage if it qualifies for the November ballot.
Schwarzenegger has vetoed bills that would allow gay marriage but said he opposes the sort of amendments that are being proposed by two competing groups. Such amendments are already on the books in 26 states, but the governor said it would be a "waste of time" to pursue one in California.
"I will always be there to fight against that," Schwarzenegger said, prompting loud cheers and a standing ovation from about 200 people at the annual convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest gay Republican group.
The Austrian-born governor immediately cracked that he wished activists would instead focus on passing an amendment to allow naturalized citizens to run for president.
Both proposed initiatives would limit marriage to heterosexuals, and one measure would revoke the spousal rights and tax benefits currently extended to same-sex couples under state laws.
Schwarzenegger supports the current benefits for same-sex couples. In vetoing bills that would have legalized gay marriage, he has said he thinks the question should be up to voters or the courts, not lawmakers.
Geoffrey Kors, executive director of the gay rights group Equality California, said Schwarzenegger's opposition could help defeat a marriage ban or even prevent it from getting enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
"We were thrilled. We have been asking him to do this," said Kors, whose group's volunteers have been working to persuade people not to sign petitions for the proposed initiative. "The governor's support to defeat it is critical."
Kors said Schwarzenegger's stand has precedent. In 1978, former Republican Gov. Ronald Reagan came out against a ballot initiative that would have made it illegal for gay men and lesbians to work as teachers in California public schools, an act that "made gay rights issues nonpartisan," Kors said.
Proponents of the initiatives said Schwarzenegger is risking the ire of conservative voters.
"He says he'll veto legislation redefining marriage but now he says he'll fight a ballot measure protecting marriage," said Randy Thomasson, of VoteYesMarriage.com, whose amendment would revoke domestic-partnership benefits including hospital visitation, community property and child support. "He's pandering to this group."
Andrew Pugno, a lawyer for ProtectMarriage.com, said the intention of his group's less far-reaching amendment was simply to keep the existing definition of marriage approved by the Legislature from being overturned by the courts.
Both groups have until April 28 to gather signatures from 694,354 voters to qualify the measures for the November election.
Schwarzenegger is a defendant in a group of lawsuits brought by same-sex couples seeking to overturn the state's longtime statutory ban on gay marriage. A ruling in the case is expected soon from the California Supreme Court.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Israeli Court Hears Lesbian In Vitro Case
I have often wondered about this situation myself...
If a lesbian couple decides to have a child, where one woman supplies the egg, the other woman bares the child and the sperm is from an anonymous doner, then do both women become the child's legal parents? In Israel this is exactly what the courts are deciding.
Israeli courts have already ruled that same-sex couples can jointly adopt, however, this is the first time that two women in a committed relationship have been physically involved in the birth of a baby, at least in the Israeli court system.
The women, whose names are protected under Israeli law because a child is involved, went to court after the government refused to register them as co-mothers.
Their lawyer argues that both the women are the baby's biological mothers, and that recognizing both would be for the good of the child.
Attorney Na’ma Tzoref also told the court that the women had received the Health Ministry’s approval for the in vitro process.
But Israeli Attorney General Menachem Mazuz argues that because the sperm came from a third party, the woman who supplied the egg for the baby, now ten months old, must adopt him.
"Before approving the request for artificial insemination, the Health Ministry made it clear that the woman who donated the egg would not [automatically] be considered the child's mother and that if she wanted to be, she would have to adopt him," Manzur said.
Manzur last month said the government would recognize same-sex co-parents through the adoption process. The decision followed a ruling last December by the Supreme Court that the government must recognize foreign adoptions by same-sex parents and treat both parents as equal.
In Manzur's objection in this case he called the in vitro process the women used an end run around the adoption process.
The court has not said when it will issue a ruling.
Gays and lesbians in Israel have been steadily gaining civil rights since the government overturned the law against sodomy in 1988.
There have been no restrictions on gays serving in the military since 1993. In 2000, the age of consent for gays was lowered to 16, to match the legal age for consensual sex for heterosexuals.
Gay couples are given most federal rights in Israel, although gay marriages (which are only religious marriages in Israel) are not permitted.
News found on 365Gay.com
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
2008 Gay Pride Events
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