Over 200 Turn Out for Matthew Shepard Memorial in San Diego (tags)
Over 200 San Diegans marched in Hillcrest October 12, 2010 to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard, target of an especially brutal Queer-bashing attack in Wyoming, and to honor the lives lost to Queer-bashing, bullying and teen suicide. The event featured two marches, a preliminary rally outside Obelisk Bookstore (site of a memorial plaque to John Robert Wear, 17-year-old killed in a Queer-related assault in 1991) and a program at San Diego’s LGBT Center that featured speakers including Terry Summers, a personal acquaintance of Matthew Shepard.
Queer Democrats Endorse Saldaña, Take No Position on County Term Limits (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club endorsed Assemblymember Lori Saldaña for County Supervisor but failed to take a position on whether to impose term limits on the Board of Supervisors. Supporters of the term-limit initiative, being sponsored by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), said the five Republican incumbents on the board are so entrenched only limiting their future terms will get them out. Opponents said that Democrats have historically opposed term limits and if they supported them for the Republican-dominated Board of Supervisors, they'd be perceived as hypocrites the next time they try to ease-them for the Democratic-controlled state legislature.
A Radical Proposal: Open the U.S.-Mexico Border (tags)
That's what immigrant rights activist David Schmidt called for at a September 21 meeting of Activist San Diego. Originally called to discuss the closure of Friendship Park along the U.S.-Mexico border, the meeting expanded into a consideration of border issues in general. Schmidt and his better-known co-speaker, Enrique Morones of Border Angels and Marcha Migrante, both questioned why under NAFTA and similar “free trade” agreements, capital, commerce and corporations are allowed to move freely across national boundaries — while workers are trapped inside their home countries and routinely exploited for the greater profits of capital. If business is free to locate wherever it wants, workers should be too, they said.
Queer Democrats Celebrate Women’s Equality Day (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democratic Club celebrated Women’s Equality Day August 27 with a program featuring the club’s women’s caucus chair Kate Lyon, California NOW president Patty Bellasalma, Congressional candidate Francine Busby and Assemblymember Lori Saldaña discussing the history of feminist activism in the U.S. and the continuing difficulty of electing women to public office. The club members also considered an initiative to impose term limits on the members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, but decided to delay taking a position on that for a month.