Set your VCR’s and Tivo’s. From an e-mail to supporters by Steven Goldstein, Chair, Garden State Equality:
On Friday, October 12th, Garden State Equality Board member Denise Brunner, her wife Fran and their kids Jessica, Scott and Alyssa—all very active members in Garden State Equality—will be the guests on The Oprah Winfrey Show, seen at 4:00 pm throughout New Jersey.
If you live in North Jersey, the show is on WABC-TV/7. If you live in South Jersey, the show is on WPVI-TV/6. [People in other areas should check their local ABC listings.]
The topic of the show: Families who stay together, and remain happy, once a member of the couple starts to live true to her gender identity or expression. Denise was Fran’s husband for many years before becoming Fran’s wife.
The show is absolutely worth your recording so you can watch it when you get home from work.
On a personal note, Denise, Fran, Jessica, Scott and Alyssa Brunner are among my partner Daniel’s and my closest friends. The Brunners among the most loving people in the world. To spend time with them is always to be deeply enriched.
As the U.S. Congress debates whether to cut the transgender community out of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), watch this show and ask yourself: Do families like the Brunners deserve to suffer because of the prejudice that people have against our transgender sisters and brothers?
Hi Dana,
Great round-up this week. Interesting discrepancy in the stories being shared by EDs right now, though. I had two emails from LGBT rights orgs in my inbox tonight — one from HRC and one from the National Center for Transgender Equality (NCTE). You quoted Joe Solmonese from HRC. Here’s what Mara Kiesling from NCTE had to say about ENDA:
“A team of us just returned from a meeting with leadership staff. I wish I had better news to report. Here’s the rundown:
They intend to move forward with a non-inclusive bill. They intend to schedule the sexual orientation-only bill for next Thursday in the House Education and Labor Committee.
While they have offered to keep HR2015 (the fully inclusive bill) on the table for consideration, it was clear to everyone at the meeting that with this proposed strategy, it would be much more difficult to have a vote on a united bill anytime soon. HR2015 is the bill we must continue to fight for.”
Perhaps I’m reading this incorrectly, but my understanding is that Mara’s commenting on the House leadership’s plans to move forward with HR 3685. In light of this (and reading Joe’s statement in full) would I be wrong to say that HRC is spinning Pelosi’s position to make it sound like the fully inclusive bill is going ahead when really it’s the non-inclusive bill that’s moving — faster, at least, than HR 2015?