Cleveland Wins Gay Games Over Boston and D.C.

CLEVELAND ROCKS!!!

On Tuesday, the Federation of Gay Games announced Cleveland as their chosen city to host the 2014 games. The Gay Games, started in San Francisco in 1982, is the world's largest specifically gay sporting and cultural event.

"The City of Cleveland is prepared to roll out the welcome mat to the LGBT athletes, their families and spectators from around the world," said Cleveland Mayor Frank G. Jackson. "Fans of the Gay Games will find that Cleveland is a great place to celebrate sports and culture and that we have tremendous assets and amenities for them to enjoy. The sports and cultural environment here is truly a uniquely Cleveland experience, one they will cherish for years to come."

The Gay Games is a quadrennial sports and cultural festival founded in 1982 by Olympic decathlete Dr. Tom Waddell. Drawing as many as 12,000 participants, more than the Olympics, the 2010 Gay Games (www.games-cologne.com) will take place in Cologne, Germany, from July 31 to August 7, 2010.

Cleveland's 2014 Gay Games IX Sports & Cultural Festival is scheduled to take place August 9-16, 2014. The 8-day event will feature 30 sports, 4 cultural events, an Opening and Closing Ceremony and community and cultural events throughout the Cleveland metropolitan area. Gay Games generate $50 to $80 million in estimated local economic impact in additional to significant ongoing travel and tourism visibility benefits for the host city.

Some Items of Note To Our Transgender Friends

A couple of notes to our Transgendered Friends. First, in the Vindicator on Saturday, came a story about how the state of Ohio made it simpler for transgenders to change their sex designation on their licencse plates, yes, I said OHIO. The story HERE, says how the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles, has recently changed policy to make it easier to specify your gender on your state drivers license. While some states required there to be proof of an operation before the change of gender would be issued, Ohio now officially finds that unnecessary and requires only a doctors recommendation that the driver is identifying as their new gender, despite not having an anatomical surgery yet. Way to go Ohio BMV, I will now try to forget my 30 minutes in line the other day while you tried your hardest to pass an old man on his vision part of his license although he was clearly failing. I even took the time to follow him out and see his make and model of car and license plate number, just in case for the future.

Secondly, I got an email today from a woman at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, who is working on a research project for the school, and is looking for transgenders to particpate in the project. Below is the entire content of the email. I ask our friends in the transgender community to look this over if interested. Have a great week friends, 3 weeks to National Coming Out Week activities, check back often for updated information...........S

Dear Colleagues,

My name is Stephanie Budge and I am currently working on a research
project with Dr. Kimberly Howard at the University of
Wisconsin-Madison to study the psychological process of transitioning
for many transgender-identified individuals (e.g., MTF transsexuals,
FTM transsexuals, gender queer/gender variant, cross-dressers, etc.).
The study consists of an online survey and will take approximately
20-30 minutes to complete. To qualify for the study, the participant
would need to identify as transgender, be 18 or older, and live in the
United States. This study has been approved by the University of
Wisconsin-Madison IRB #SE-2009-0403.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=PzE69GElC9_2fRhWp139sr1w_3d_3d

If you have any questions or need further information please contact
Stephanie Budge at budge@wisc.edu or at (608) 263-9503.

Thanks so much,

Stephanie Budge

"Sinead's Hand," and Our Fight For Equality, Join The Pride Center

I can't find a better way to illustrate the frustration of gay marriage and equal rights, than this video that was sent to me today by a friend in our community. It also offers good timing as today in the Ohio legislature, they are going to vote on a bill that would grant protection to sexual orientation and gender identity in housing and employment. 40 years after Stonewall, and we can still be fired for being gay in Ohio. Makes you think. Supporting your local Pride Center helps make your voice known in our community. I encourage you to come to our business meetings on the first Wednesday of every month, and our support meetings on the first and third Wednesdays of every month. I would love to expand these to every Wednesday once we get enough support and growth in the Pride Center. Stay tuned for information on our National Coming Out Week's Events, October 10 - 17th. We need your help in pulling these events off. Email us at the Pride Center for more information, mahoningvalleypridecenter(at)yahoo(dot)com.....S

Septembers Flying, Wednesday Support/Movie Night, National Coming Out Week Events

September is going by fast and the Pride Center is excited to be back in the groove after our Summer off. We had a great business meeting where we set the schedule for the rest of the year, and discussed upcoming plans and activities. In 4 short weeks we will be sponsoring National Coming Out Week events, with a coalition of our other LGBT organizations here in the Mahoning Valley. There will be 8 days of events from October 10 through October 17. The last event on the 17th will be a fundraiser for the Pride Center and we need everyone to spread the word. We will be holding a wine and cheese party costs $10 dollars for the tastings and there will be a silent auction and a LGBT Expo featuring many of the Valley's LGBT organizations. The full calendar of events will be posted soon.



This Wednesday, September 16th we will be back at the Pride Center for our twice monthly support meeting. Because of low attendance in the past, (guess we are all getting some great support in our LGBT lives,) we will be combining the support meetings with a movie night as well. Each meeting we will have a choice of LGBT themed movies to choose from; newly released to old favorites. The Pride Center will be open from 7:30 p.m. and the movie will start at 7:40. Bring movie snacks if you wish. Popcorn will be provided and there will be soda for sale for 50 cents. If anyone has anything to talk about, or are in need of some advice and support, we will get together over in the Stonewall side of the building while the movie is playing, and join the movie in progress after we all get to talk it out. Let's really make the 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month, a time to support, fellowship, and relax with others in the LGBT community and our allies. Allies are always welcome too.



Coming soon is the newly updated Pride Center website. There will be a monthly calendar of events, and we will be asking members to send in their pictures and videos of events. Website launch will be in the next couple of days, we will send an announcement out. Until then, tell your friends about The Mahoning Valley Pride Center, we don't want to be a secret. Have a great week and enjoy life!

California Jumps Another Hurdle on Track To Legalizing Gay Marriage Again

California is making baby steps to work its way back to legalized gay marriages. Late yesterday the California State Legislature approved by a 23 to 14 vote, a bill that will require California to validate and recognize same-sex marriages performed outside the state prior to November 5, 2008, when Proposition 8 ended same sex-marriage in the Golden State.

Senate Bill 54, authored by Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco), clarifies California family law to explicitly recognize marriages of same-sex couples performed out-of-state prior to November 5, 2008. The bill would also explicitly recognize marriages of same-sex couples performed out-of-state after that date as carrying all the same rights and responsibilities that spouses receive although without the designation of marriage.

Can Gay Marriage Turn Around An Economy?

Brian Wells, left this little nugget HERE on his facebook page and I love the story. According to the Advocate magazine, a quaint little town North of Madrid has seen a boom in business and the revitalization of it's economy, by becoming THE place for the LGBT community to get married. The accepting town has even elected an openly gay mayor, who was instrumental in the idea of getting people who couldn't be married by more narrow minded places near the region, even though Spain does allow gay marriage since 2005.

Could you imagine if Youngstown and our surrounding Mahoning Valley became THE place for the LGBT community to feel welcome? It's difficult to imagine but not impossible. After all, both Warren and Youngstown city councils passed supporting the equal rights bills currently in the Ohio legislature. What if we took these new green zones and cheap housing and turned them into gayborhoods. Keep the energy positive, if you think you cant, you surely wont, but if you think it's possible, it surely is, and if you work to making it true, it definitely will be. Thanx Brian for the link.

More Gay ice Cream!

Sorry about your luck, but when you get a chubby chairman writing the blogs, there are bound to be food stories more often than not, lol. So to bookend the last blog post about Ben and Jerrys celebration of Vermont marriage with Hubby Hubby ice cream, I now bring you the BIG GAY ICE CREAM TRUCK! I came across the truck on my day job as a marketing consultant. I was reading an article on how LGBT owned small businesses were being creative to get through the current recession. Doug Quint, a musician who had summers off from performing was looking for a way to make money during the off season. He came up with the Big Gay Ice Cream Truck, with toppings from Toasted Coconut Curry to Wasabi Pea Dust. He has caught on big around the streets of New York, and using social media like blogging and twitter to let customers know where the truck will be that day, he is getting more followers daily. Doug's twitter account has over 3,000 followers and he just started the business in June. You can check out their Big Gay Ice Cream Truck Blog and their Twitter Feed, and you can check out their story on video below. Let's hear it for Gay Ingenuity!! We Rock!!...S

Ben and Jerry's Welcomes Gay Marriage to Vermont...Mmmmm Ice Cream

Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream makers in Vermont has announced on their website.....In partnership with Freedom to Marry we are gathered here to celebrate Vermont and all the other great states where loving couples of all kinds are free to marry legally. We have ceremoniously dubbed our iconic flavor, Chubby Hubby to Hubby Hubby in support, and to raise awareness of the importance of marriage equality. Check out our press release. If you live in Vermont, or visiting, you’re invited to celebrate the pride-filled occasion with an all naturally fabulous union of Peanut Butter Cookie Dough ice cream, fudge and pretzels.