Address alcohol abuse

Wisconsin has long had the nation’s highest rates of drinking – and binge drinking – among adults. It’s the only state where the first drunk driving offense is a traffic violation and not a crime. LGBT people are particularly at risk in this alcoholic culture, because repeated studies have shown our community has higher rates of abuse.

What can I do?

If drinking is negatively impacting your health, get help. Don’t drink and drive. Don’t let your friends drink and drive. Contact your state representatives and urge them to bring drunk-driving laws in line with the rest of the nation. Go to www.legis.state.wi.us and click on “who represents me.”

 

Save The Alliance School

The Milwaukee Public School board is considering whether to renew the charter of The Alliance School, a haven for students who have been harassed, bullied and isolated at their previous schools. Many of them are LGBT youth.

What can I do?

Write a letter of support to Board of Directors, MPS, 5225 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee, WI 53208. You can also fax your letter to 414-475-8071. For more information, contact Tina Owen, Lead Teacher, 414-267-5405, and see the Alliance Web site at www.allianceschool.net.

 

Mentor an abandoned youth

Q-Blok is looking for adults to mentor homeless and at-rick LGBT youth, to help them develop such basic life skills as cooking and balancing a checkbook. The attention and support of even one adult can mean the difference between success and failure in life for an abandoned young person.

What can you do?

For information about becoming a mentor, contact Julie Bock, director of programs at the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center, at 414-292-3070 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

Protest prom cancellation in Mississippi

As detailed in this issue of WiG, a high school in Fulton, Miss., has canceled prom to prevent a lesbian student from wearing a tuxedo and attending with her girlfriend.

What can I do?

Call or e-mail school officials to protest their action. Contact superintendent Teresa McNesse at 662-862-2159 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and principal Trae Wiygul at 662-862-3104 or at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

 

Urge Mccain to repeal ‘don’t ask’

Four years ago, U.S. Sen. John McCain said he’d support ending the “don’t ask, don’t tell” ban on open lesbian and gay servicemembers if military leadership ever called for a repeal of the policy. But now that Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates are seeking to repeal DADT, McCain has done an about face. The senator, who faces a right-wing opponent in the Republican Senate primary in Arizona, now supports DADT. Once again, McCain has abandoned his principles for the sake of political expediency.

What can you do?

Sign the letter calling on McCain to adhere to his previous stance on DADT. Go to gayrights.change.org/actions/view/sen_john_mccain_repeal_dont_ask_dont_tell.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is calling for comments on its Achieving Health Equity draft plan, which is intended to identify and address health disparities. In the 2,000-page document, lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals are mentioned twice, while transgender individuals are not mentioned at all. In comparison, the ethnic group closest in size to the LGBT community is mentioned 93 times.

What can you do?

Go to this link, click on “Comment on National Plan for Action” and urge HHS to include LGBT citizens. The plan will be available for comment until Feb. 12.