Join us as we start to make plans for campaigning in the new year for marriage equality, an end to DOMA and DADT, and full equality in all 50 states in all matters of civil law.
Vigil Tuesday, November 24 for victims of hate crimes Gather at 6 p.m. at 11th and Congress
Join the Impact-Austin is hosting a vigil in the memory of Jorge Steven López Mercado, who was killed on November 14 in Puerto Rico in a horrific hate crime. The vigil will take place Tuesday, November 24, at 6 p.m., at the south gate of the Texas Capitol (at 11th and Congress). Participants are urged to bring candles.
Mercado was found dead by the side of a deserted road near Caguas, where he lived. His body had been partially burned, decapitated and dismembered.
We are also standing up for other victims of hate crimes. Jason Mattison Jr., 15, an openly gay sophomore at the Vivian T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy in Baltimore. He was found dead last week at his aunt’s house.
In Houston on November 12, a gay Langham Creek High School freshman, Jayron Martin, was beaten by a fellow student with a metal pipe while eight others stood and watched, despite his pleas for help. The attackers told Martin that after the beating he wouldn't be gay anymore. Martin suffered a concussion. He also has cuts and bruises on his arms and hands, and said he does not want to return to school.
In addition to paying tribute to these young men, we must demand accountability from our political leaders, from the school board that refused to take action in Martin's case even though they knew ahead of time about threats against the boy, to the President of the United States. Politicians on both sides of the aisle--the openly bigoted and the indifferent and silent--are responsible for creating a climate of fear and scapegoating. We stand against bigotry and silence and demand recognition and justice for these young men.
Monday, November 16, 7:00 PM UT campus, Benedict Hall 1.122
Join the Impact is building the fight for LGBT equality locally and nationally. We are working on projects to put pressure on elected officials and are demanding full equality across the country. Join us!
RALLY FOR DOMESTIC PARTNER BENEFITS at U.T.
Thursday, November 19, 12:00 - 1:00 PM UT campus, Texas Union Patio
Did you know UT is BYOB? As students, we pay thousands of dollars in tuition and we demand an end to a bad management policy that keeps quality faculty and staff away, and as a result reduces the value of our degrees. Not offering domestic partner benefits is simply a bad management policy! President Powers wants UT to become the top public institution in the country in the years to come. We first have to be able to compete with other institutions that do offer domestic partner benefits to their faculty and staff. Join us on Nov 19th to demand that President Powers push the Board of Regents to allow him to offer these benefits if he is serious about UT being the top public institution!
EMERGENCY DEMO TODAY (WED.) TO RESPOND TO DEFEAT IN MAINE
Gather at 5:00 pm at 11th and Congress
After a hard fought battle by supporters of equal marriage, Question 1 was approved by voters in Maine yesterday, stripping same-sex partners of the right to equal marriage. We are not backing down or giving up, but are more resolved to fight for LGBT equality in all fifty states.
SATURDAY: MARCH AND RALLY FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY
1:00 PM, Austin City Hall, Cesar Chavez and Lavaca Join us for a rally at Austin City Hall and a march through downtown. Speakers and more details TBA.
On November 7, Join the Impact-Austin will host a Marriage Equality March and Rally to: Express our continued outrage a year after Prop 8; Toprotest rights lost in Maine and celebrate rights preserved in Washington; To continue to demand changes in Marriage Equality in the state of Texas; To mark Equality Across America’s Week of Initiative.
Today, voters will in Maine decide the fate of marriage their state. Question 1 in Maine seeks to strip LGBT people of rights and protections currently afforded to them through state laws. The mobilization and spirit for the National Equality March inspired many new activists to get involved in the campaign in Maine, and of this morning, it's to close to predict the outcome. STANDING CALL FOR EMERGENCY RESPONSE DEMO If marriage equality is defeated in Maine on Election Day, gather for emergency response demo on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 5:00 PM, 11th & Congress, downtown Austin.
Join the Impact is also organizing a Marriage Equality Rally for this Saturday, Nov. 7, whether we see our struggle move forward or get set back this week. More details TBA.
On October 11, hundreds of thousands marched on Washington to demand equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Come and hear students and activists report back from this historic event, featuring participants and video from the National Equality March.
The march is just the beginning. We have stated our demand for equal rights on the doorsteps of those who have the power to make it so. But our work must continue until we have achieved our goal: full equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states. Whether you rallied in DC, Austin, or have yet to get involved, join us.
Join the Impact-Austin is proposing a couple of Meet-Ups in Washington this weekend. We would especially love it for all to come together in one big Texas-sized contingent in Sunday's march to show the world that Texas is out, proud and fighting for LGBT liberation.
SATURDAY
JtI-Austin members are planning to meet up on Saturday at 4:30-6:30 pm an event featuring Cleve Jones and Sherry Wolf. Come and meet up and hear what promises to be a lively and exciting forum featuring activists in the forefront of this rising movement.
* UPDATE - On Saturday, after the Cleve Jones event there will be a Texas LGBTQA Activist Networking Meet-up at Vapiano's in Chinatown (5-10 min walk from the Cleve event).
SUNDAY -- Join the Texas contingent in the march.
Meet up at 10:00 AM outside the Madison Hotel, 1177 15th St. NW.
This is close to the gathering area for the march, which is to kick off at Noon. We'll have a Texas banner as well as the Texas Queermadillo shirts for sale for $10.
See you in Washington !
For more info and contact information of Texas organizers, email jointheimpactaustin@gmail.com
