THANKS 2011

ShowMeNoHate has had a wonderful 2011!  We started 2011 with a victory at Laclede Gas, an utility company that has been around since Abraham Lincoln, that ironically had the same employee discrimination policies since Abraham Lincoln.

ShowMeNoHate provided help to locals who felt targeted due to their same-sex relationships.  With our pressure of going to the media, we saw the end of policy were unmarried roommates could not rent single bedroom units through a Central West End apartment management agency.  Staging peaceful counter-protests, we brought media attention to several Fred Phelps protests.

We killed a horrible University City ordinance.  A law that would target African-American teenagers standing or walking along the streets in the historic University City Loop.  At the exact same time, we applauded University City for passing a domestic partnership registry paving the way for cities Olivette and Clayton.

We shamed a local radio personality and Channel 5 KSDK (local St. Louis NBC affiliate) after they aired a homophobic rant on a "I'm Just Sayin'" segment.

ShowMeNoHate organized the second annual Harvey Milk March.  Supporters walked from the LGBT Center's brand new home in The Grove to St. Louis City Hall.  We continued to lead the Marriage Equality dialogue at churches, synagogues, community centers, libraries, high schools, colleges and universities.

These are OFFICIAL photos of NOH8.  Adam Bouska will be in St. Louis in 2012 for the first time to take official NOH8 photos.  Only when Bouska takes your NOH8 picture are you supporting the NOH8 Campaign.

We thanked, shared, shouted, retweeted, sung the praises of photographer Adam Bouska and the official NOH8 Campaign.  We assisted our displaced Missouri brothers and sisters after the tornado disaster devastated Joplin, Missouri.  And we chartered 4 more Show Me Marriage Equality Buses to Iowa City where over 100 Missouri same-sex couples obtained legal marriage licenses.

In true ShowMeNoHate spirit, we not only called attention to the biggest bigots, we continue to hold our very own St. Louis LGBT community accountable.  NO HATE means NO HATE, and too often the most common direction of hate comes from within our very own lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.  With the support of others, we arose above the hate and did some education to help heal our fractured community.

Our proudest 2011 moments didn't come from us; rather, our proudest moments came from seeing our city's queer and straight community take to the streets - on their own - in a very ShowMeNoHate-way.  Success is best seen when we are imitated.  St. Louis is starting to experience some of the best activism supporting Equality for everyone!  Whether it looks like a protest, boycott, editorial, civil disobedience, news column, television story or a shift in awareness - ShowMeNoHate has again been a successfully catalyst at stirring the pink pot.

Here's to a happy and healthy 2012!

Ed Reggi
Founder of ShowMeNoHate

P.S. ShowMeNoHate is a coalition of people and organizations - we are not a non-profit organization so we only ask for support when we need it.  At this time we do not need it.
But LGBTQ Youth need your help!  Please support Growing American Youth before the year is over (and in 2012).  Use this link to make an online quick and harmless donation.

MONEY MAKES THE WORLD GO AROUND

Original article can be read here 

Written by Mollie Reilly

WASHINGTON -- The legalization of marriage equality in Iowa created a miniature economic stimulus, according to a new study.

A study by the California-based Williams Institute found that wedding arrangements and tourism by same-sex couples and their wedding guests added between $12 and $13 million to the Iowa economy in 2009 and 2010. The study released Wednesday also reported that the increased spending on weddings likely added between $850,000 and $930,000 in tax revenue.

According to the Iowa data, there were at least 2,099 same-sex weddings in the year following the decision to legalize marriage equality in April 2009. Of these couples, over half came from other states to wed in Iowa. The study estimates that out-of-state couples account for about $2.2 million of the spending.

"The Williams Institute report demonstrates once again that marriage equality has had, and continues to have, only a positive impact on our state," Troy Price, executive director of the pro-marriage equality group One Iowa, said in a statement.

"Our opponents continue to try and take away marriage equality and erase the financial impact that marriage has on our communities and our state," Price continued. "But it begs the question -- at a time when people are looking for work and every Iowan is hoping for stronger economic growth, why would we pass a discriminatory constitutional amendment that would hurt not only loving and committed gay and lesbian couples, but our fragile economy as well?"

The new report was issued at request of Iowa State Sen. Matt McCoy (D), who was formerly on the board of One Iowa. Same-sex marriage in Iowa was legalized in April 2009, when the state's Supreme Court found a law limiting marriage to a man and a woman to be unconstitutional.

The new law has been a frequent target of conservative groups. In February, the Iowa House of Representatives advanced a bill that would create a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. State Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal (D) has said that he will block further debate on the issue.

In response to claims that the ruling would destroy traditional marriage, IowaWatch.org conducted a study in 2010 exploring gay marriages in the state. The study found that same-sex marriages bore many resemblances to heterosexual ones, and that the year after gay marriage was legalized, Iowa had its lowest divorce rates in decades.

Iowa's same-sex marriage rights have also come up in the GOP presidential primary as candidates prepare for the state's caucuses next month. In an interview with Fox News, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) stated that Iowa citizens did not want same-sex marriage.

"Marriage, historically, for all human history has been between a man and a woman. It hasn't been the same-sex marriage," she said. "And remember that in Iowa, it was judges that made the decision -- not the legislature, which are the people's representatives, and certainly, not the people."

Several candidates, including Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), have signed a pledge against same-sex marriage written by the Family Leader, a conservative Iowa group that opposes gay marriage.

The Family Leader did not return a request for comment.

IOWA MARRIAGE SAFE

Liz Mathis Wins State Senate District 18

Report from KCRG-TV9

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Linn County voters extended Democratic control of the Iowa Senate by electing Liz Mathis to fill a vacant seat in Iowa Senate 18.

According to unofficial results from the Linn County Auditor’s Office, Mathis defeated Republican Cindy Golding 13,184 to 10,283 in the district that wraps around northern and western Linn County.

Mathis, 53, best known for more than a quarter century as an Eastern Iowa television news reporter and anchor, made jobs, improving the business climate and education the basis of her campaign. Now she is the chief information officer for Four Oaks, a child welfare and juvenile justice agency where she oversees legislative advocacy, public relations, marketing and development.

Throughout the campaign for the seat vacated when Marion Democrat Swati Dandekar resigned to accept Republican Gov. Terry Branstad’s appointment to the Iowa Utilities Board, Mathis talked about ending gridlock in the Senate, where Democrats will maintain a 26-24 advantage.

Without offering specifics, Mathis touted a five-point plan to create Iowa jobs and promised to work with Republicans to enact her proposals.

She called for giving Iowa companies first crack at state and local contract, “so our tax dollars create jobs here – not in China;” cutting small business property taxes by $300 million; offering businesses a $2,000 tax credit for each new Iowa hire; more tax incentives to attract high-tech employers; and stopping “cuts to our classrooms.”

Mathis and her husband, Mark, who owns the advertising agency ME&V, live near Robins and have two children. She grew up on an Iowa farm and is a University of Iowa graduate.

Senate Democratic Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said Democrats “recruited well” in nominating Mathis.

“The voters of this district, when presented a choice, chose the Democrat,” Gronstal said. “This is a Republican-leaning district. I think it signals some good news for us.”

Branstad downplayed the significance of Tuesday’s outcome and called the race an uphill battle given Mathis’ strong name recognition.

Gronstal said it was clear that Republicans had a strategy to capture the seat and knot the chamber at 25-25 but that strategy backfired.

“This was their hand-picked race,” Gronstal said. “They chose to appoint a Democrat from the Senate, a Democrat that came from a district they believed they would be able to win. Now they’re saying, well, it doesn’t really mean anything. That’s nonsense.”

Branstad attributed Democrats’ success to their ability to recruit a candidate who was “very well known” and that name recognition advantage trumped Golding’s “great background and great business experience.”

“The Democrats have way outspent the Republicans in this special election and, you know when you look at special elections, they are not much of an indicator. They’re an indicator of that particular district at that point in time. So I don’t think people should read too much into it but obviously we’ll see,” the governor said.

Sen. Steve Kettering, R-Lake View, said the issues “were clearly” with Golding who was an excellent candidate and worked hard, but Mathis had “star power” that carried the day.

“Mathis was a part of the living room in that district for a number of years,” he said. Kettering said he doubted much would change in the Senate in the upcoming session now that Democrats have retained their 26-24 advantage through the 2012 election.

LGBTQ OCCUPY ST. LOUIS

The St Louis LGBT community stands in solidarity with Occupy Wall Street and are joining those in St. louis and across the country.

October 11, 2011 - (ST. LOUIS) Students, teachers, union workers and senior citizens have joined protesters in cities nationwide, speaking out and demanding that politicians take action. From Wall Street and now to the main streets of cities across the country, people are on their feet demanding change.

It has been widely speculated that 10% of the U.S. population identifies as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender. Some University studies even suggest higher percentages per capita in cities like San Francisco, New York and Chicago. Regardless of the survey results, current national news headlines remind everyone that LGBT Americans still join some of the most disenfranchised minorities in the United States. LGBT Americans are treated as second class citizens when it comes to employment, housing, and healthcare discrimination.

A lesbian woman remains at a higher risk to develop Breast cancer than her heterosexual sister. Transgender women are more likely to be physically assaulted and LGBT youth are far more likely to take their lives than their straight classmates. Something must be done and it's time the LGBTQ community Occupy Wall Street and Main Street.

A 2009 report published by The Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law titled “Poverty in the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community” examines for the first time poverty rates within the LGB community and finds that lesbian, gay, and bisexual same-sex couples are at least as likely—and at times more likely—to be poor than married heterosexual couples.

“State of Transgender California,” a 2009 Transgender Law Center report also found that transgender Californians are twice as likely to be below the federal poverty line than the general population. What’s more, one-in-five survey respondents reported being homeless since first identifying as transgender.

ShowMeNoHate is calling for all LGBTQ and allies to join the Occupy movement this Friday, 
October 14 at 3:30pm at Kiener Plaza for a peaceful Rally and at 4:00pm for a peaceful March.

Wear rainbow to show Queer solidarity and please bring signs that represent our struggle and message - that we too are part of the 99%.

IOWA CITY MOURNS VICTIM OF HATE CRIME

Marcellus Richard Andrews photo via Facebook

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Statement
August 23, 2011

Contact:
Molly Tafoya
O: 515-288-4019 x 207
C: 808-256-7064
molly@oneiowa.org

EQUALITY LEADERS MOURN TRAGIC DEATH OF APPARENT HATE CRIME VICTIM MARCELLUS ANDREWS
Statement from One Iowa and Iowa Safe Schools

Des Moines, IA—On Sunday at 3:30 pm, 19-year-old Marcellus Richard Andrews died after a brutal and violent death. Friends and family who were involved in the incident confirmed that the attackers were shouting anti-gay slurs as they severely beat Andrews. He died later at an Iowa City hospital from head injuries sustained during the beating. Andrews was enrolled to begin his studies in interior design at Hawkeye Community College in the fall.

“We are deeply saddened by the brutal and tragic death of Marcellus. This is just not something that happens in Iowa and we are appalled at this level of extreme violence and intolerance,” said Troy Price, One Iowa Executive Director. “Tragedies like this underscore the incredible need to talk about issues affecting gay and lesbian Iowans and to fight for equality in our communities. When community, state, and national leaders ridicule and deride gay and lesbians, it creates a hurtful environment and gives license to this sort of attack. Most importantly, it harms lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) young people by sending the message that they are not equal. We can and must do better, because we can never, ever allow an attack like this to take place in Iowa again.”

“Our prayers and thoughts go to Marcellus' family, friends, and the Waterloo community. No one deserves this. Enough youth have hurt each other and themselves over differences, bullying, harassment, and taunting,” said Nate Monson, Iowa Safe Schools Executive Director. “Andrews’ tragic death points the crucial need for us to address anti-LGBT bullying in our schools because, sadly, this is literally a life or death issue. We must ensure that LGBT children feel safe and supported in their school and community. Iowa Safe Schools is committed to creating a more safe and supportive state for all Iowa kids.”

One Iowa and Iowa Safe Schools are committed to working together with allies across the state and nation to make our schools and communities safer for our LGBT children.

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