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.

Contact members of the Wisconsin Assembly and Senate health committees and urge them to support medical marijuana legislation:

Senate: Jon Erpenbach, 608-266-6670, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Tim Carpenter, 608-266-8535, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Judith Robson, 608-266-2253, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Julie Lassa, 608-266-3123, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Mary Lazich, 608-266-5400, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Ted Kanavas, 608-266-9174, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Alberta Darling, 608-266-5830, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Assembly: Chuck Benedict (chair), 608-266-9967, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Sandy Pasch (vice-chair), 608-266-7671, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Kristen Dexter, 608-266-9172, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Penny Bernard Schaber, 608-266-3070, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Patricia Strachota, 608-264-8486, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Leah Vukmir, 608-266-9180, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Scott Newcomer, 608-266-3007, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 

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 .

This is an election year, and, we are in the midst of an important election now — Facebook voters are choosing charities to receive $1 million in Chase Community Giving, a campaign by Chase and Facebook.

The top vote-getter in this election, which concludes Jan. 22, will receive $1 million and five runners-up will receive $100,000.

Among the 100 charities competing for the awards are three groups working to improve the lives of LGBT youth — the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, the Matthew Shepard Foundation and The Trevor Project.

What can you do?

Each Facebook user can vote for up to five charities. You can help put these important groups in the running for funding that could go a long way to making the world safer for LGBT youth. Go to apps.facebook.com/chasecommunitygiving/.

Some businesses support the LGBT community, some don’t. Some, pro-LGBT businesses you can tell right off. They support LGBT newspapers and community organizations. They welcome LGBT consumers with rainbow flags and “equal” signs.

With others, you need to do your homework — or crib from the Human Rights Campaign’s homework. In time for the holiday shopping season, HRC has released the “2010 Buying for Equality Guide,” an examination of hundreds of businesses to help LGBT consumers make informed choices.

What can you do?

Download HRC’s guide at www.hrc.org/buyersguide2010 to help you decide to buy at Best Buy or Radio Shack or to take credit from Visa or Discover Card.

And, most importantly, support the local businesses that support your community.