The 2008 Watsonville Gay Pride Parade Committee, a group of diverse volunteers, organized the first ever pride parade in Watsonville on August 24th. The celebration was a huge success, with 325 people marching through the streets and over 500 enjoying a party in the plaza.

The Watsonville Gay Pride Parade Committee works to foster understanding and awareness of the issues that affect the GLBTQ community in the Central Coast. Read More with Photos and Audio | More Photos

indynewswire: Maria Perez & Olga Fuentes on Watsonville PRIDE/Orgullo!!

On Saturday July 26th several local organizations held a demonstration outside the Westin St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco's Union Square. This show of force was called the Left-Out party, and featured speakers, music and dancing. It was held to draw attention to the fact that the Human Rights Campaign insisted on leaving gender identity out of any new federal legislation that would protect workers on their jobs.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) was having a fundraiser inside that Hotel in hopes of getting support for the upcoming marriage ballot, but was boycotted by many politicians including the Mayor of Los Angeles. David Smith from the HRC says "the trans community didn't know what they wanted and that ENDA would have had a better chance of passing without the term "gender identity" written in the law," so they did not include the trans community. This made many people furious, so leaders and members from the trans community said NO, and reiterated their desire to be included.

Video | Audio | Photos

The 5th annual Trans Pride March took place Friday June 27th in Dolores Park. There was a concert that started at 3pm with thirty different trans and gender-variant live bands, artists and performers. The march itself began at 7pm, and up to ten thousand people circled through the Castro, down Market and back to Dolores Park for additional music and performances.

The theme of this year's march was "Marching for a Gender Inclusive ENDA", with an objective to bring a focus on transgender civil rights and to celebrate the support of the LGBT family. The keynote speaker for this year's event was Donna Rose, the former HRC board member who resigned over the exclusion of trans-people from the 2007 Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The Trans March was a grassroots community building political event, celebrating and welcoming transgender people of all types, and their supportive allies. The march was a demonstration of trans visibility, inclusiveness, and civil rights.

Photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Audio: 1 | 2 | Event Announcement | TransMarch Website

The Trans March kicked off a weekend of Pride events:

The 16th annual San Francisco Dyke March took place Saturday June 28th in Dolores Park. The rally and stage began at 3 with the march at 7pm. Read More | Audio: 1 | 2 | 3

The 38th SF LGBT Pride Festival took place Saturday from noon till 6 in Civic Center Plaza and the Pride March took place on Market St from 10:30am through 7pm Sunday.
Photos | Videos: 1 | 2

Pride Week Events | Past Pride Coverage On Indybay: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004

On August 18th 2006, while seven African American lesbians were walking down the street in the West Village, a male bystander assaulted them with sexist and homophobic comments. The women tried to defend themselves, and a fight broke out. Thus began the women’s nightmare for almost a year. Three of the women accepted plea offers.

On June 14th, 2007 Venice Brown (19), Terrain Dandridge (20), Patreese Johnson (20), and Renata Hill (24) received sentences ranging from 3.5 to 11 years in prison.

On Monday, June 23rd, 2008, Terrain Dandridge’s case was overturned, all her charges were dropped and her record has been cleared. Renata Hill is awaiting a new trial. Terrain Dandridge and her mother, Kimma Walker arrived in the Bay Area on Tuesday June 24th, 2008 to meet with Angela Davis and the queer community at the San Francisco Women’s Building. The public event took place Tuesday, June 24th, from 7-9 pm and was intended to unravel the experiences of violence that queer people of color face and how to prepare ourselves and our communities in the face of police harrassment, criminalization and mass incarceration.

Sponsors of the event included: Critical Resistance, LAGAI-queer insurrection, QUIT!-Queers Undermining Israeli Terrorism, SF Women Against Rape, OLOC, Radical Women, and Gay Shame SF.

Read More | NY Indymedia: Lesbians sentenced for self-defense | All-white jury convicts Black women | Justice For The NJ4 | Black lesbian in NYC get 11 years for self-defense | BrownFemiPower.com

On June 21, local activists in the Castro district united, in an outdoor public awards ceremony to "honor" the greedy landlord speculators most responsible for the gentrification and destruction of San Francisco's communities. The event took place at Harvey Milk Plaza at Castro and Market in San Francisco, and the activists called on people to stand up against gentrification by landlord speculators who are destroying our neighborhoods and communities. The event ended with people dancing, with music provided by the Brass Liberation Orchestra.

2008 Awards Recipients include CitiApartments/Skyline Realty, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Care Not Cash, Lennar Corporation, Landlord Attorney Karen Uchiyama, Lower Polk Neighbors, the SF Redevelopment Agency, the Mission Housing Development Corp, and a list of top real estate speculators.

Photos | Gentrifiers Scared From Castro by Roving Pack of Drag Queens | Event Announcement With Links To Award Winners

They were lined up in front of the Fresno County clerk's office in downtown Fresno on Tuesday morning. Over 100 gay and lesbian couples waited to either marry or to get their marriage license. Tuesday was the first full day that same-sex couples could legally marry or obtain marriage licenses in California.

In the first hour after the doors opened, at least 25 couples had wed or were waiting to be married. Many others were filling out the license paperwork.

The first to be wed was an African-American lesbian couple who have been together for over 10 years. Their moms were present when they were married by retired Fresno judge A. Dennis Caeton.

Noticeably absent were anti-marriage protesters. A counter protest was expected, so County Clerk Victor Salazar had security in and around his offices increased. Fresno police on horseback and in vehicles, and county security officers were visible.

Local supporters of same-sex marriage also turned out in force to support those taking the plunge. Members of several community groups, including Central California Alliance, No On The Initiative, and United Student Pride (the LGBT group at Cal State, Fresno) mingled with the couples.

Elsewhere around the Valley, protesters were expected to be at the Tulare County Courthouse as marriages begin in Visalia. The Kern County clerk opted to stop performing marriages altogether; ceremonies are planned to be held on the grounds of the county administration building in downtown Bakersfield.

Photos

On June 16th, same sex marriages officially began in California.

In San Francisco, hundreds came to City Hall to celebrate. After being together for more than 50 years, Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin were the first couple to be legally married. A small number of anti-gay people also showed up, and confrontation between them and the large crowed of people who came to celebrate broke out periodically.
Photos 1 | 2 | KPFA Broadcast From SF Marriage Ceremony

In Oakland, the first couples were married by mayor Ron Dellums, city council member Jean Quan, and congresswoman Barbara Lee. Photos

In Fresno, dozens of couples arrived early to get their marriage licenses Tuesday morning. Tinasha Broadus and Alicia Rice were the first in line and the first same sex couple to be married. Photos 1 | 2 | Marriage Equality Comes to Fresno

In Santa Clara County, Supervisor Ken Yeager presided over the first two same-gender marriages in his office at 9am Tuesday. Audio

LA Indymedia: Same-Sex Marriages: Orange County | Democracy Now Coverage | Marriages Begin Tonight! | How to Get Married 101 | SFGov: Same Sex Marriage News Updates | Equality California

Previous Indybay Coverage Of Same Sex Marriage In California

The UC Santa Cruz administration officially accepted a joint proposal of the Graduate Student Association, UAW and STIHC (Students for Trans-Inclusive Healthcare) for GSHIP (Graduate Student Health Insurance Plan) and USHIP (Undergraduate Student Health Insurance Plan) benefits. Effective this fall, GSHIP and USHIP will include a $75,000 lifetime benefit for transgender healthcare.

This is a significant achievement, since GSHIP at UC Santa Cruz will offer a larger benefit than at any other UC or at Stanford or Caltech. In the face of major budget cuts, UAW-QUAD (UAW Members for Quality Education and Democracy) not only held the line on health care -- they got a major improvement in coverage. GSHIP coverage will now be more fair and it will help more graduate students. Read More

On May 15th, the California State Supreme Court issued its decision that laws that have excluded gay and lesbian couples from the right to marry were unconstitutional. Gatherings will be held around the state to celebrate the ruling. See NCLR's list of sites or Add an event to Indybay's calendar

California in 1948 was the first state in the modern era to strike down laws banning inter-racial marriage, leading to a nationwide drive to do away with those laws, which culminated in the 1967 Loving v. Virginia Supreme Court decision, which struck down such laws around the nation. Massachusetts already issues same-sex marriage licenses, while some other states provide for civil unions for same-sex couples. The California court cited the state's equal protection clause in striking down the discrimination. It also ruled that marriages performed outside of California must be recognized as legal by the State of California. The Transgender Law Center is pleased by the ruling, as it says, "it creates marriage equality by removing gender as criteria for a valid marriage." It writes that transgender people will gain a sense of security, as they often have to struggle for recognition of their legal sex as well as their relationships.

If the decision is not overturned by the US Supreme Court or an upcoming anti-same sex marriage initiative, same-sex couples could be able to share Social Security and pension survivors' benefits, the right to uncontested inheritance of a deceased spouse's housing, and unquestioned right of visitation in hospitals. California conservatives have collected signatures for an anti-gay marriage initiatve, which is awaiting verification of signatures by the Secretary of State. Both Democratic Party candidates for president reportedly support civil unions, but not marriage, for same-sex couples.

California Supreme Court's Full Decision | Initial announcement and discussion | Press Release from Transgender Law Center | Statements from local and national same-sex marriage organizations

Some Past Coverage on Indybay: 5/8: CSU Holds Mock Marriage Ceremony | California High Court Hears Oral Arguments on March 4th, 2008 | 2/18/2004: SF Issues Over 2000 Same-Sex Marriage Licenses