This is the letter that I sent to Equality Across America (EAA) this evening. info@equalityacrossamerica.org
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hello nameless e-mail account,

My heart is breaking and it's all Equality Across America's fault...

    I, like the other countless LGBTs and their allies, took up the call to initiative in October and made my way to Washington DC to stand up for my rights. I remember hearing about the National Equality March on Facebook and then researching it more on your website and others. I remember the exact moment in time where I decided that the NEM was where I had to be, regardless if I could afford it or not.

    I was filled with so many emotions during my time in DC, I can't possibly put them into words. It was the best moment in my life... this isn't an exaggeration, it was literally the best, proudest, and highest moment of my life. I am still warmed by the remnant feelings of love, compassion, and vigor that permeated about the capitol.

I remember the night before the march, inside the little side room where we had our little pep-talk. I took your words to heart when you said that the march was not going to be the end but the beginning of the grassroots movement.

    In the days after the NEM, I remember feeling inspired by the knowledge that EAA was going to lead my generation of activists onto the battlefield of equality. Then I came to realize that EAA was becoming something it had never intended to become, HRC. With heirarchy taking priority over the movement. You left us to brunt the full force of hatred. You left us to fend for ourselves.

    I'm most fearful for those young LGBT's that built up the courage to come out of the closet after watching the NEM on tv, under the impression that there was all these people under one banner that were there to help them in some way. I'm angry for them! You left them out in the cold... because they had to watch Maine and New York fall victim to hatred and homophobia! With New Jersey soon to follow. 

Those kids now have to live their lives wondering if they should have just stayed in the closet. The thoughts running through their heads should be posted on your website, so you can understand the gravity of your inaction and silence.

    There are no more safe havens for the LGBT community, as we have watched our strongholds crumble before our very eyes in the course of a little over a year.

We are left out in the cold while you remain silent, your blog hasn't been updated for December as of yet, I'm certain that you're aware of our failing state affairs. EAA was supposed to be our answer to HRC-esque organizations that took our money and held fancy dinners without any progress. EAA was supposed to be our resource to the national communtiy at large with your network of leaders across the nation, EAA was supposed to be a beacon of hope for the young activists yearning to break the mold and make a difference.

I'm in tears as I write this to you, because I have come to the realization that you have left me alone in this. Will anyone even read this correspondence? 

    I don't want EAA to do anything from this point on; I want to forget the taste of venom that fills my mouth when I think about EAA in its current non-existant state, I want you to just dissapear entirely. You've broken my heart to the point where I was shattered... you almost crushed my dreams. You did so by remaining silent and on the sidelines.

You were important to me and countless others, and you let us down. 

My heart is now broken and its all Equality Across America's fault.

With great sadness,

Leo EQUALITY Murrieta

Political Correspondent - QVegas Magazine
Blogger and Political Activist - Citizenzero.us
Youth Advisor - Clark Country Democratic Black Caucus

Cell:702-628-1887
Email: Leo@citizenzero.us

Did you read the headlines today in the LGBT world? "New Jersey Same Sex Marriage Bill Delayed" and what does that mean...? The chances of this bill being passed are as good as gone.

We're waiting for a vote in the lower house of New Jersey's legislature to weigh in on the issue, allegedly to build momentum for the bill by allowing all members of the legislature to hear the public opinion on the matter. It must be said that the people of New Jersey really came out for this one, so this is both a negative and a positive in the same breathe.

We will allow more hatred and fear mongering to take center stage, while our pleas for justice will fall on deaf ears. Quite the delightful afternoon, wouldn't you say?

I pray that I'm wrong about New Jersey and that LGBT's are granted legislative equality in the Garden state! I pray that the wind doesn't get stolen from our sails yet again. I pray that we will be able to hold on to the east coast, because with California's demise last year and large defeats this winter.... our equality seems as good as gone.

...

If you thought that there was a safe haven for the LGBT community, you thought wrong. Another stronghold was lost with New York this past Wedneday. We can only hope for the best with the vote in New Jersey coming up next week, but have the leaders of our cause been learning the right lessons? Have they been reviewing the tapes and figuring out why we've been losing these big states?

President of the National Organization for Marriage, Maggie Gallagher, said, "The gay marriage movement usually looks very smart,” she said. “Now it looks flat-footed.”

Should gay marriage be put on the back burner and replaced by another LGBT issue like -
HR 1283 - Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 - Introduced in March
HR 3017 - Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 - Introduced in June
HR 3567 - Respect for Marriage Act of 2009 - introduced in September
HR 3827 - Every Child Deserves a Family Act - Introduced in October

Any of the above would be honorable causes, right?

With a crushing defeat of 24-38, the New York Senate slammed the door shut on marriage equality for our brothers and sisters in the former great state of New York. Hundreds gathered in the streets of Union Square to protest the vote, but should we really be angry with the Senate or should we be angry with the "leaders" at the top? By comparing our opponents to slave owners and nazis, did we truly expect for people to say, "Ya know what? Those gays are alright, lets support gay marriage" Yeah, right.

What will be the next step for the equal rights movement? What role will the national organizations play in the coming 2010 year? How about the grassroots organzations? Will we march again? Nobody knows... that's the scary part.

One by one, the rights of my brothers and sisters are being stripped away, and the nation looks on as if it were just another day.

"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. " -Martin Luther King Jr.

Writer's block has taken over my life for the past couple of hours...

I'm quite frankly fine with it, because I'm not feeling like an activist today. I'm feeling like your average 20 something that doesn't want to go drinking and clubbing on a Saturday night. Perhaps this is more of a journal entry than a blog, but oh well; it's my website, right?

Some things that I've been thinking about lately are the usuals, money, school, and life. You know, the easy stuff.

Money:
I, like everyone else, would like to make more of it. I'm totally willing to ride this current wave for as long as it will take me. You really just have to try and make the best of your situation sometimes, so that's what I'm going to try and do. I'm doing something that some people have only dreamt of, so I can't complain at all.

School:
This is causing me some serious headaches... You gotta love professors that take their careers seriously, I at least have a great deal of respect for that. I know that its been done before, but working full time and going to school full time has been no picnic. I'm just going to have to grin and bare it until I'm finally done with my degree... I know that it will all be worth it eventually.

Life:
Ugh... can't I just be superficial once? I just want to live life and hang out, is that too much to ask? Yeah yeah yeah, I know that it's good to be motivated, determined, and collected, but damn... I love just hanging out and enjoying the moment. Whatever though, I've taken the responsibility of activism, and that's something that doesn't just stop... it's something that has really taken over a large part of my life, I'm fine with that.

What I also wonder is what will be next, where will I be in a year? Where will my passion for equality take me in the coming months? Years? I can only hope that I will continue on this road, the road towards equality. I'm a small fish in a big pond, but I'm going to keep on truckin for as long and as hard as I can.

Does that work? Quite possibly one of the lamest blogs that I've ever posted. Oh well, like I said... it's my website.

That's the mentality right now... the gay scene is being overtaken by Levi Johnston's Playgirl.com photos. Prominent names like The Advocate and Towleroad have made this story primetime news on their sites... while at the same time paying very little attention to a great activist for the LGBT community.

The real story here is that David Mixner is being awarded the Point Foundation's Point Legend Award at the NY Point Honors Gala in April of next year. The Point Foundation is the country's largest scholarship/granting organization for LGBT students of merit. It's a great foundation that Mr. Mixner has support for years, and has finally agreed to be recognized by the foundation.

David Mixner was the mastermind behind the National Equality March, and has been fighting for equality since the days of JFK. He's also worked in the civil rights movement, the anti war effort protesting the Vietnam War, and a strong activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS. That's a small snapshot of his resume, but the truth is that he's a great guy that's fighting alongside today's voices for our equality.

The fact that Levi Johnston stayed front page news longer than David Mixner is a shame... these publications should really consider the platform that they have and think about what their original purpose was. Who doesn't think prestige when they think about The Advocate? Who doesn't think of reliability and relevance when they think of Towleroad? They should try to live up to their reputation more often, because the community is watching.

Congratulation Mr. Mixner, I speak for young activists everywhere when I say that we owe you a debt of gratitude to your generation of activists.

Thank you again,

Bless God and Bless the Gays.

Since I know you came for the pics...
check out some of Levi Johnston's pics HERE

It was announced earlier today that the House Education and Labor Commitee is postponing the markup/review on ENDA which was scheduled for a vote on Wednesday at 10am.

The Commitee Chairman, Rep George Miller, said that there are ammendments that still have to be reviewed and that is why the bill is being postponed... according to the Bilerico article. It's true that the bill has gone unchanged for the most part since its original debut a few years back, but now we're playing politics.

Rep Miller needs to be told to stop messing with our equality! Pushing this back to December-February is pushing it back into the mid-term elections of next year, a time when support for LGBT legislation is going to be hard to come by. Thus, successfully killing ENDA.

If you have something to say to The Honorable George Miller, email him here.

George Miller

If Nevada LGBT's want to know how D-3 Dina Titus would allow this bill to be postponed, email her here. (She doesn't cosponsor the bill anyway, so you may want to ask her about that  while you're at it.)

Dina Titus

The LGBTQQIA community has struggled for equality for decades, but it isn't until recently that our community has begun to gain some solid ground.

2009 has seen recognition from Congress like never before, with legislation aimed directly at granting us our equality;

HR 1283 - Military Readiness Enhancement Act of 2009 - Introduced in March
HR 3017 - Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 2009 - Introduced in June
HR 3567 - Respect for Marriage Act of 2009 - introduced in September
HR 3827 - Every Child Deserves a Family Act - Introduced in October

We can't depend on our congressional representatives to come to their senses on their own, we have to make it known that we demand these bills pass through the House and Senate. This isn't to say that we haven't seen a great amount of support from the House and Senate already!

One thing that this generation has to remember is the blood, sweat, and tears that previous generations have put into the fight for equality. As we move forward, it's important that we value their efforts because without the pioneers of the 60's and beyond, we wouldn't have a leg to stand on.

This President has already removed the traveling restrictions against HIV positive people, and has made statements that show support for our equality.

Standing together and stannding strong is the only way that our generation will make our previous generations proud, the time for unity and action is now.

Bless God and Bless the Gays

On Saturday, October 24th, Congresswoman Shelley Berkely is taking her constituents up on their demands for a townhall meeting focused on healthcare. The meeting will take place on the first floor of the UNLV Student Union from 3pm - 4pm.

I'm going to be there early to find parking and to make sure that I get a good seat, so I'll update you all on what happens. I'm sure that the crazies are going to be there so I'm going there to support Congresswoman Berkeley.

Bless God and bless the Gays!

I compiled a list of the 17 House Democratics and the lone Senate Democrat  that voted against the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Act, and I think that LGBT voters in those states to ask themselves who is truly representing them in Washington.

You'll find the list below:
State-District # Last name, First name

-House-
OK-2 Boren, Dan Boren's Congressional Email
AL-2 Bright, Bobby Bright's Congressional Email
PA-10 Carney, Christopher Carney's Congressional Email
MS-1 Childers, Travis Childer's Congressional Email
AL-7 Davis, Artur Davis's Congressional Email
TN-4 Davis, Lincoln Davis's Congressional Email
IN-2 Donnelly, Joe Donnelly's Congressional Email
IN-8 Ellsworth, Brad Ellsworth's Congressional Email
TN-6 Gordon, Barton Gordon's Congressional Email
AL-5 Griffith, Parker Griffith's Congressional Email
NC-7 McIntyre, Mike McIntyre's Congressional Email
LA-3 Melancon, Charles Melancon's Congressional Email
MN-7 Peterson, Collin Peterson's Congressional Email
AR-4 Ross, Mike Ross's Congressional Email
NC-11 Shuler, Heath Shuler's Congressional Email
TN-8 Tanner, John Tanner's Congressional Email
MS-4 Taylor, Gene Taylor's Congressional Email

-Senate-
WI- Feingold, Russ Feingold's Senatorial Email
Here's a quote from Senator Feingold's webpage regarding equal rights;

"I am committed to ensuring that all Americans enjoy the rights and protections guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. Americans are entitled to due process and equal protection under the law regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, disability, or sexual orientation."

Can someone tell me then why he would vote against this legislation? To his credit, he is a strong supporter of the Emplyer's Non-Discrimination Act, but he let us down here... where it counts.

They voted against expanding hate crime protection to the LGBT community, and they need to answer to the people of their states!

A DC man was sentenced to an inexcusable 180 day jail sentence for the vicious attack on a gay man that resulted in his death a week later from his injuries. Robert Hannah will walk out of jail a free man in 180 days, but where will Tony Hunter be? His body will be buried in the ground... is this justice?

A murderer throws out the "Gay panic defense", claiming that Hunter grabbed his groin and his butt, and the jury/judge let him go scott free. That's the American Judicial system, the US Attorney's office for DC released a 14 page memo stating the government's reasons for not pursing manslaughter charges, claiming that the testimony from Hunter's witness wasn't substantial, and also that there isn't enough evidence to prove that Hunter's death was caused by hitting his head on the pavement during the assault or the blows to the head from Robert Hannah.

So if Tony Hunter would have been standing up and was pummeled to death by Robert Hannah, the US Attorney for DC would probably have released a statement stating that there isn't enough evidence to prove that Hunter's death wasn't a result of the wind hitting him violently as opposed to the pummeling blows to the head. THIS IS VILE!

You're telling me that you need 14 pages of jargon to explain that the beating of a gay man is okay as long as you claim that he touched you first?!??! Hannah said in court that he wishes that he would have reacted differently to being touched by a gay man, and that he's sorry.

-I'm sorry that I lynched your son, but none of this would have happened if he hadn't made me uncomfortable, sorry.-

I picked up this story from across the pond on www.pinknews.co.uk where our British brothers and sisters are calling for justice and action from their American LGBT brothers and sisters! One Brit said, "I'm surprised LGBT Americans haven't had a Riot by now!" another, "America, land of the not so free LGBT". The world is waiting for their American LGBT brothers and sisters to stand against ignorance, to stand against vile crimes against humanity, to stand against the terror and fear that rock our communities to the core with every new death. How will we respond? What will they see as the American LGBT response?

Even better questions... How many more lives have to be lost? How many more families need to be destroyed? How many more parents have to bury their children before the government hears our cries for justice?!?!

NOT ONE MORE LIFE, NOT ONE MORE FAMILY, NOT ONE MORE FUNERAL DAMNIT!!!!!

Mobilize, unite, and organize to stand up to Congress! Make them listen! Go to www.equalityacrossamerica.org to see how you can become involved with a movement in your area, or how you can start one!

God bless America - (I can't hide my disgust in my closer right now)