ACTION ALERT

BE A PART OF THE GLBT ALLIANCE ENDORSEMENTS

Since its inception in 2001, following Prop 22, The GLBT Alliance of Santa Cruz County has built coalition and educated progressive organizations about the importance of LGBT issues. That long-term work built the foundation for the local fight to defeat Prop 8 overwhelmingly in Santa Cruz County; The GLBT Alliance formed The Santa Cruz County No on Prop 8 campaign, which ran a grassroots effort targeted to our own County.

Meanwhile, The GLBT Alliance of Santa Cruz County continues to keep LGBT issues in the spotlight in electoral politics, lobby for expanded rights, and keep the LGBT community an active part of our local progressive coalitions.

One of the most important tools in the movement for LGBT equality has been involvement in electoral politics. The GLBT Alliance sends questionnaires to candidates to ascertain where they stand on issues specific to the LGBT community. Our endorsement has come to really matter to candidates. In the beginning it was "the GLBT who?"; now candidates seek us out.

We also hold or co-sponsor forums at which candidates can be questioned about their knowledge of and stands on LGBT issues. Our next forum, co-sponsored with the PeopleÕs Democratic Club, featuring candidates for Santa Cruz City Council, will be held on September 16 at 7:00 at Louden Nelson Community Center.

As a current member of The GLBT Alliance, you may participate in our candidate endorsements if you have been a member of The GLBT Alliance for 30 days. This year, endorsements will be made on September 16; the deadline to join is August 17, 2010.

Join by going to the membership link on the left and printing and mailing a membership form, or via the ActBlue link at the top of this page. Suggested membership is $20 individual/$30 household. (If you join as a household via ActBlue, please send us an email listing both names, as ActBlue doesnÕt have a way to do that.)

If you're not sure whether your membership is current, send an email to info@homosexualagenda.org, or call 831-515-4101.

If you're a member of, or ally to, the Santa Cruz LGBT community, and you care about our rights and political future, The GLBT Alliance of Santa Cruz County is the place for you; we hope that you'll join us in our ongoing fight for the homosexual agenda: full equality.

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On August 4, 9th, Vaughn Walker, Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, ruled that Proposition 8 violates the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Walker temporarily stayed his decision until August 18; Prop 8 proponents have appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for a permanent stay.

Links to decisions are here:
https://ecf.cand.uscourts.gov/cand/09cv2292/

For an analysis of the decision and the appeals process, see the National Center for Lesbian Rights website: http://nclrights.wordpress.com/2010/08/12/judge-walker%E2%80%99s-ruling-extending-stay-until-august-18%E2%80%94-what-does-it-mean-and-what-happens-next/