IT'S SEX MONTH at GAAMC! Many sexy GAAMC Events for you on Page 2. Gleanings begins below! Now with more, Gayer states than before! Count them all!
CHALLENGE T he New sl etter of the Gay Act iv is t Allian ce in Morris Cou n t y S e r v i ng New Jer sey’ s G LBTI Commu n it ies Con t in u ou s ly S in c e 1 9 7 2 V o lu m e 40 , I ssu e 2 , March 2 0 14
Different Drummers by Sherri Rase
March is a time of great change. Spring happens in March, sometimes Easter and Passover happen as well, and change is being wrought all around us. We are fresh from the glory of the Sochi Olympic Games and the flip side of that glory is the gut-wrenching treatment of everyone and everything in the streets there from the stray animals rounded up and killed to the potential for ugly treatment and possible arrests of LGBT people for spreading “propaganda” to popularize the “lifestyle”. As if living as our true and authentic selves is something we choose like fashion. It’s not just Russia, friends. Here at home, there is still unequal treatment under the law based on skin color, gender, economic status, and social position. Locally, Congressman Rush Holt, who has long been an ally of equal rights under the law, has decided not to run for re-election.
Failed US Senate candidate Steve Lonegan is packing his carpetbag and moving to South Jersey to run for Congressman Jon Runyan’s seat since Runyan has decided his time in Congress is enough. What will you do about it? There is change happening everywhere, and March and “march” are homonyms – words that share spelling and pronunciations but mean something different. Are you going to “march” to the same-old-same-old this March? Will you take the path less-trod — or perhaps not-yet-made — and carry the strength of your convictions forward? Or will you “march” your fingers across a keyboard, merely “tweeting” change or “posting” what you’d like to see? Where is your will to action, GAAMC? Where is the hunger for change that made this 40+ year old organization possible? Time for this shoe leather to go on the march. Open those doors and windows — the winds of change are blowing. March is “in like a Lion and out like a Lamb” — and it’s time for that lamb to roar as well. See you Monday nights!
Gleanings
Queer news from around the world The New Jersey Democratic State Committee announced the formation of an LGBT Caucus to be incorporated into its party organization. "The LGBT community is integral to the Democratic Party just as its members are integral to families across the Garden State," said the committee's chairman, John Currie. The aim of the caucus will be to strengthen the voice of the LGBT community in the state Legislature and to perpetuate LGBT legal protections, the committee said. (PolitickerNJ.com) A bill introduced in the Senate would grant honorable discharges to gay and lesbian veterans who were expelled under the military’s “Don't ask, Don't tell" policy. About 114,000
service members were dishonorably discharged because of their sexual orientation prior to the reversal of DADT in 2011. "Many of these brave men and women that served our country are currently barred from benefits that they earned and are entitled to, and in the most egregious cases they are prevented from legally calling themselves a veteran," said Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), who introduced the bill. The Pentagon is already carrying out processes included in the bill, a Pentagon spokesman said recently. "DADT-related applications are being processed effectively, under clear procedures … No new policy guidance or legislation is required at this time," Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Christensen said. (continued on page 4)
Inside Challenge Challenge Information .................................... page GAAMC Events.............................................. page What's happening at our Monday meetings Bulletin Board.............................................. page This Month's Contributors............................... page
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Introducing GAAMC's New Meetup Group!............ page 3 Gleanings .........................continues on pages 4, 7 & 8 Q-munity Calendar........................................ page 5 Board Minutes for January 2014....................... page 9 GAAMC Information ...................................... page 10
In Challenge Online Dancing to Architecture™ Media Outage™ The Little Box of Concerts™ Challenge Online & In Color! @ issuu.com/gaamc/docs *Click!*