Local News

“ROCK THE FOLK OUT” TOUR STOPS BY THE DOOR in Tempe
Donations and Proceeds Benefit Arizona Human Rights Campaign

Sunday, May 10, 2009 - 5:00pm

THE DOOR 1126 N. Scottsdale Road
 Tempe, AZ 85281

The cover charge of $10

Featuring Recording Artists:

• Vanja Lewis
• Jake Walden
• Tom Goss
• and Stewart Lewis
• with your HOST Kenny Thames

Sunday, May 10th
@5pm with a BBQ.

Cover charge and portion of proceeds to benefit Human Rights Campaign Read More »

Call Your Member of Congress Today, Tell Them to Pass the Matthew Shepard Act!

April 27, 2009

We've received word that the House will vote on the Matthew Shepard Act very soon and we know that right-wing groups are flooding Congress with calls, emails and sickening ‘fact sheets’ full of lies about the lives of LGBT Americans.  We need more calls to Members of Congress, and we need them right away.  It has been ten long years and tens of thousands more victims since the Matthew Shepard Act was first introduced in Congress.  We are poised for a presidential signature this year but lies from the radical right could easily derail our efforts.  We must not allow them to continue to demagogue and distort the truth.

We ask you to call Congress in support of the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, a bill which would provide local police and sheriff’s departments with federal resources to combat hate violence.  After more than a decade of lobbying on Capitol Hill and seven successful votes on the bill, this critical piece of legislation is again expected to see a vote in the House this week.  The call-in campaign is set for April 27-29.

It takes about 45 seconds.  Members of the community are urged to call 202-224-3121.  Callers are urged to tell the Member’s office:

·         Hate crimes against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people are on the rise. One out of every six hate crimes is because of the victim's sexual orientation.

·         Hate crimes have more than one victim. They are intended to create an atmosphere of fear and terrorize entire communities.

·         The Matthew Shepard Act targets only violent acts – not speech. It does not tell any clergy member what he or she can or can't preach.

Because there is no federal law mandating states and municipalities to report hate crimes, they are often underreported.  However, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s own statistics, based on voluntary reporting, show that since 1991 over 100,000 hate crime offenses have been reported to the FBI, with 7,624 reported in 2007, the FBI’s most recent reporting period.  Violent crimes based on sexual orientation constituted 16.6 percent of all hate crimes in 2007, with 1,265 reported for the year. In addition, while not captured in the federal statistics, transgender Americans too often live in fear of violence.

The LLEHCPA gives the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias motivated violence where the perpetrator has selected the victim because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.  It provides the Justice Department with the ability to aid state and local jurisdictions either by lending assistance or, where local authorities are unwilling or unable, by taking the lead in investigations and prosecutions of violent crime resulting in death or serious bodily injury that were motivated by bias.  It also makes grants available to state and local communities to combat violent crimes committed by juveniles, train law enforcement officers, or to assist in state and local investigations and prosecutions of bias motivated crimes.

A wide coalition of national organizations has called for the passage of the LLEHCPA legislation.  Some of those organizations supporting this legislation include:  the National Sheriffs Association; International Association of Chiefs of Police; 26 state Attorneys General; the National District Attorneys Association; the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights; the Anti-Defamation League; the NAACP; the National Council of La Raza; the Presbyterian Church; the Episcopal Church; and the National Disability Rights Network.

To take action to support the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act, please visit:  www.FightHateNow.org

Human Rights Campaign Releases Judy Shepard Video as Congress Takes up Hate Crimes Legislation

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign – the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization – released a video today as part of the effort to pass the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA) featuring Judy Shepard whose son Matthew was murdered in 1998 because he was gay.

“It’s been ten years since Judy Shepard lost her son Matthew and this video is a painful reminder that the federal government does not have the resources it needs to assist in prosecuting these horrific acts,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “Since Matthew’s murder, tens of thousands of Americans have been victims of hate violence and it’s time to give local law enforcement the tools to combat this scourge.”

Tomorrow, the House Judiciary Committee will mark up the Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act (LLEHCPA), also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. The bill would give the Justice Department the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violence by providing the department with jurisdiction over crimes of violence where the victim is chosen because of the person's actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability.

The video profiles the stories of hate crimes victims who were targeted because of who they are.  They include:
·         Angie Zapata who on a summer night in Greeley, Colorado, was bludgeoned to death with a fire extinguisher because she was transgender.
·         Billy Ray Johnson a mentally disabled man from Texas who was taken to a party, ridiculed, knocked unconscious, and then dumped by the side of the road.
·         Luis Ramirez who while walking home to his family in Shenandoah, Pennsylvania, was beaten him to death by a group of young men yelling racial and ethnic epithets.
·         Ryan Skipper of Eloise, Florida, who was robbed, driven to a dirt road and stabbed more than twenty times because he was gay.
·         Sean Kennedy, a South Carolina man who died after he was assaulted by a man yelling anti-gay slurs. The state has no hate crime law and his attacker was sentenced to three years in prison.

To watch the video, “Ten Years,” and take action, go to www.hrcactioncenter.org/campaign/hate_crimes_video

Read More »

You Are Invited to a First 100 Days National Night Out Challenge.
You must RSVP to federalclub@hrcarizona.org
Special Guest: Kyrsten Sinema

AZ State Representative and Chair of Arizona Together, the first campaign to defeat a same-sex marriage ban on the ballot in 2006

This is an event open to Federal Club members and those interested in finding out more about the Federal Club and HRC. Bring a friend, all are welcome! Please RSVP so we know you are coming.

Meet some fantastic people and learn about what our community can look forward to as we continue to fight for greater LGBT equality.

  Read More »

HRC Arizona is partnering with the GPGLCC for "An Evening of Pride."

Friday, April 17, 2009
6:00pm - 10:00pm
Wyndham Phoenix (Fifth Floor on the Veranda)
Fifty East Adams Street
Phoenix, AZ

Tickets are $20 in advance $25 at the door and entitle you to receive:

• Entrance to "An Evening of Pride" 2009 event

• Four hours of complimentary appetizers

• Chances to win one of our nightly sponsored prizes

• Entry into our 2009 Event Grand Prize Drawing

"An Evening of Pride" 2009 is a dynamic component of GPGLCC's programmatic work and this fresh networking opportunity is helping GPGLCC change hearts and minds all across the valley.

Be sure to keep your Blackberry's & Day Minders free on Friday, April 17th and come join us to see for yourself why so many people will love "An Evening of Pride!"

Conveniently located off the Lightrail
Parking Available thru American Valet

HRC Arizona will receive $2.00 from each ticket that is sold for our table. You must mention HRC. Read More »