IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Jason Kildall – MCP Committee chair
Tel: 509-438-5433
Email: midcolumbiapride@gmail.com

Mid-Columbia PRIDE invites you to join us at the 2009
“Coming Home with PRIDE” Festival and Parade.

The third annual Mid-Columbia Gay-Lesbian-Bisexual-Transgender PRIDE will be held on Saturday and Sunday, July 18th-19th in the Tri-Cities.

Saturday will begin with Lesbian Softball Expo and then a W4W social at 4:00pm. The evening will end with the 2009 Miss Gay Columbia Basin Pageant from 9:00pm to 2:00am.

Starting at 10:00am on Sunday the PRIDE parade will begin at Out & About in Pasco and end at Memorial Park where from 11:00am-4:00pm the festival will take place. A diverse and entertaining line-up of performers is being assembled for your enjoyment at Memorial Park! The stage will present non-stop entertainment on Sunday. Topping off the PRIDE weekend with a Pink Party from 6:00pm to 2:00am that evening.

Detailed Schedule:
Saturday, July 18th, 2008
• Women’s Softball Expo 11am Memorial Park, Pasco WA
• Gay Boys' Kickball 1p Memorial Park, Pasco WA
• Woman 4 Woman Social at 4:00pm @ Out & About, Pasco WA
• Miss Gay Columbia Basin Pageant 2009, 9:00pm to 2:00am @ Out & About, Pasco WA ($10 cover)

Sunday, July 19th, 2008
• Mid-Columbia “Coming Home with PRIDE” Parade 2009, 10:00am,
From Out & About down Clark St to Memorial Park, Pasco WA
• Mid-Columbia “Coming Home with PRIDE” Celebration 2009, 11:00am-4:00pm
@ Memorial Park, Pasco WA
• The Pink Party, 6:00pm to 2:00am @ Out & About, Pasco WA

###

June 16, 2009

Violence increases dramatically in Mid-West; number of murders at the highest level since 1999; NCAVP calls for education and prevention efforts.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Roberta Sklar: (917)704-6358 (c)

New York- Violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people increased 2% from 2007 to 2008, continuing the trend of a 24% total increase in 2007, according to the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs (NCAVP)'s 2008 Hate Violence Report. Bias-related murders were at their highest rate since 1999 with 29 known anti-LGBT murders committed in 2008. Reports of violence in Milwaukee increased 64% and Minnesota and Chicago saw increases of 48% and 42%, respectively.

"We are deeply troubled about the 2008 statistics for a number of reasons including the fact that increases in victimization in the Upper Midwest far exceed the national increase of 2%. With Minnesota's 48% increase in 2008 and continued multi-year trend of such increases, we are concern for the safety of all GLBT Minnesotans even as we continue to work for equality," said Rebecca Waggoner Kloek, Anti-Violence Program Director of NCAVP member organization OutFront Minnesota.

NCAVP, a coalition of over 35 local anti-violence programs across the U.S, releases an annual report on anti-LGBT hate violence. The 2008 annual Hate Violence Report examines data compiled from 2,424 LGBTQ people who experienced hate violence in regions across the country including Chicago, IL; Colorado; Columbus, OH; Houston, TX; Kansas City, MO; Los Angeles, CA; Michigan; Milwaukee, WI; Minnesota; New York, NY; Pennsylvania; Rochester, NY; and San Francisco, CA.

Referral Directory 2009 per BFSAC:

• NEW referral Guide

http://www.latimes.com LOS ANGELES -- An openly gay teen has been voted prom queen at his Los Angeles high school in a campaign that began as a stunt but ended up spurring discussion on the campus about gender roles and popularity.

Sergio Garcia said he felt "invincible" when he was crowned queen of the Fairfax High School dance at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Saturday.

Days before the dance, Garcia told fellow students that he was "not your typical prom queen candidate. There's more to me than meets the eye."

He also promised that he would be wearing a suit on prom night, but "don't be fooled: Deep down, I am a queen."

And he made good of that promise Saturday, wearing a gray tuxedo topped off with the prized tiara.

Garcia, 18, said he saw fliers advertising the prom and the election but they didn't specify that the queen must be female. He thought the role would suit him better than prom king.

"I don't wish to be a girl," he told the Los Angeles Times. "I just wish to be myself."

Senior class president Vanessa Lo said she and other students were initially against the idea but became convinced he wasn't just an attention-seeking clown.

"It just goes to show how open-minded our class is," Lo said.

Unique Payne, 17, said she voted for Garcia because she supported the gay community.

Although many students were supportive of Garcia's run, others were upset and didn't understand why Garcia chose to run for prom queen.

"I'm not really happy about that," said 17-year-old Juan Espinoza. "He should've run for prom king."

Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com

Help GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network) inform education policymakers and the public about what’s really going on in our nation’s schools by completing the 2009 National School Climate Survey, GLSEN’s sixth national survey about the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth in school.

If you are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender, attended high school or middle school sometime during the last school year (2008-2009) and are at least 13 years old, tell us about your experiences in school. If you did not complete the entire school year you are still eligible. The survey is completely anonymous.

For more info and to complete the survey online, visit: www.glsen.org/2009survey

I am a student at Richland High. My entire life I have been picked out as "the gay kid," even before I knew I was gay myself. On a daily basis I hear the word "faggot" yelled at me at least five times. I've been faced with harassment pretty severely, but when I took it to the administration, the bullies were given warnings. The harassment stopped, yes, but how long until I am enduring the same treatment from another fellow student?

Let me explain. I am not trying to complain, I just want the public to know that there is an LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) community here and that we do face hardship.

I don't expect to change anyone's views and I don't expect any better treatment than anybody else in the school, but I would like to be able to walk down the hall without being scrutinized for who I am. It's one thing to have a point of view; it's another to act negatively upon it. This is a request for the people of Richland: Stop discriminating against the LGBT community.

DOUG DOVE, Richland 5/19/2009
http://www.tri-cityherald.com/letters/story/583298.html

By Michelle Dupler, Herald staff writer

OLYMPIA -- The same day a Colorado man became the first in the nation to be convicted of the hate-crime murder of a transgender person, Gov. Chris Gregoire signed a law paving the way for similar kinds of prosecutions in Washington.

Senate Bill 5952 added "transgender" to the definition of sexual orientation in the state's hate crime law, meaning people who commit violent crimes against someone because of gender identity or expression can be charged with hate crimes and face harsher penalties.

Washington on Wednesday became the 12th state to have such a law.

"The lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community gained much needed protection today," said Sen. Joe McDermott, D-Seattle, the bill's sponsor. "No crime against another person is acceptable. But our laws recognize that some crimes are particularly heinous and deserve harsher punishment."

Statistics from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs show reported acts of violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender people rose 24 percent in 2007 nationwide, and 16 percent of those were motivated by anti-transgender bias.

Mark Lee, executive director of Vista Youth Center in Kennewick, said the law is important because it protects people who might be more often targeted for violence.

"When I think about the youth most often harassed or abused, they almost always are people who are non-gender conforming," Lee said. "An effeminate boy is much more likely to be harassed than a straight-acting gay boy."

http://www.keprtv.com/news/42236607.html?video=YHI&t=a

By Molly Kelleher KENNEWICK - Homeless youth will have a place to stay on the county's dime. It's a first And this could be the start of a bigger push to get kids off the street.

Vista Youth Center opened two years ago with a plan to provide a safe space for kids both gay and straight. But as the center grew, a bigger problem and a bigger need came to light.

"We'd ask do you have a safe place to live and what we'd get was that a lot of kids were couchsurfing not at home because they don't feel safe," said Mark Lee.

Director Mark Lee asked Benton County for help. And this week they said yes.

The county will spend nearly $6000 on an emergency voucher program.

It will let a young adult stay for free in a hotel for about a week and get a case manager's help.

But vouchers can't help kids under 18, that's the next step. "My Friend's Place" just got its non-profit status.

Organizers are scouting sites for the first youth homeless shelter in the region.

"When I see the statement of work signed by the county commissioners that says we're supporting lesbian gay bisexual and trans gender youth it makes me cry. It's incredible where we came from a place where these kids don't exist to okay at least we'll do something," said Lee.

The vouchers expire at the end of the year, but Vista Youth Center hopes to have the shelter started by then.

Power of One 2009 - April 24-26th 2009

The Power of One GLBTQ Leadership Conference is designed for GLBTQ college students and their allies to get together to share information and create positive change. The mission of the 2009 event is to explore the connections between art, faith, and politics through discussion, engagement, and collaboration.

Previously hosted by South Puget Sound Community College and Portland State University, the 2009 event will take place at University of Puget Sound and feature workshops, speakers, and social activities.

Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, we are able to offer several scholarships for students interested in attending Power of One at the University of Puget Sound.

---------------------------------------------------------------
University of Puget Sound
Multicultural Student Services
1500 N. Warner Campus Mailbox #1082
Tacoma, WA 98416
(p) 253-879-3373 (f) 253-879-3810
www.ups.edu/power-of-one