For more than 28 years, the Center has been much more than an organization providing critical social services to adults, more than a place which provides after school programs to New York City’s LGBT youth, and more than the place where our community comes for cultural programs or to gather for celebration. The Center is THE place our community gathers in times of crisis and THE place our government representatives come to celebrate a milestones in our quest for equality.

We at the Center applaud all those in the New York State legislature who voted for this bill, and we are especially proud and grateful to the lead sponsors of this legislation, Assembly member Daniel O’Donnell and Senator Tom Duane for their determination in getting this bill passed.
We thank Governor Paterson for his continued support of the LGBT community in its entirety. He has advanced the cause of civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered individuals by directing all state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other jurisdictions to the full extent permitted by law, and by issuing an executive order banning discrimination in State employment on the basis of gender identity. Governor Paterson also placed landmark marriage equality legislation on the agenda for the Legislature’s extraordinary session. Though it did not pass, it was an historic vote that has emboldened Governor Paterson and advocates for same-sex marriage to fight harder to ensure that this civil right is recognized in the State of New York.

Glennda Testone

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Glennda Testone, rider #74

Credit: Rob Zukowski @ www.eyespyimaging.com

The fight in California is far from over, and the battle in New York is still underway, but we must not lose sight of this momentous occasion.
Never before has a federal court declared so clearly that marriage discrimination is irrational and unconstitutional.

Judge Walker’s decision cites both the Due Process and Equal Protection clauses from the 14th Amendment as the reasons why Proposition 8 is unconstitutional. This is an important moment for our community as a federal court has cited the constitution as a protection of our relationships. But Judge Walker does not stop there. He probes in depth the facts that the supporters of Proposition 8 attempted to use to strip LGBT people of the basic right to marry. To his credit, Judge Walker systematically proves how absurd and unfounded those purported facts are establishing in a critical legal opinion the unassailable, constitutional rights of the LGBT community. His decision rests on the lack of any rational basis for California to have a law banning same-sex marriage.

We at the Center work for a day where LGBT New Yorkers can enjoy the same rights and protections as our straight counterparts. This ruling helps set the stage for future victories. As this fight continues, there will be ups and downs for our movement, but it is important to celebrate as a community when we have a victory such as this!

Please accept our sincere congratulations to the LGBT people and our allies who helped make equality more of a reality for all couples and families.

Glennda Testone

Glennda Testone at Pride 2010

Click here to read more about the parade.

Ban on Gay Men Donating Blood
The Center joined GMHC, the Latino Commission on AIDS and other organizations to add its voice to the growing movement to end the ban on gay men donating blood…read more

DSM-5 Gender Identity Disorder Reform
The Center and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center collaborated to submit a response on the proposed “Gender Incongruence” diagnosis in the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) draft revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, version 5 (DSM-5), scheduled to be released in 2013…read more

Immigration Reform
The Center joined Immigration Equality, the New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) and other organizations to add its voice to the growing movement for immigration reform…read more

Torched Rainbow Flag

Cowardly acts of hateful speech must be responded to with acts of courage and unity.

The Center has partnered with City Council Speaker, Christine C. Quinn, New York City Comptroller, John Liu, Rainbow Flag’s creator, Gilbert Baker and other elected officials in conjunction with other organizations to bring together our community and unfurl a new 20 foot long flag that will drape the building.

Today, on Wednesday, April 21st at 5PM we will gather together as one to prove that we will not sit idly by while our home is threatened. We invite our straight allies to stand with us to demonstrate that LGBT safety and rights are not just an issue for LGBT people. Our city is strong and we need to come together to show that we cannot be intimidated.

Please join us and demonstrate the true power of community!

When: Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 5PM
Where: In front of The LGBT Community Center, 208 W 13th Street, Manhattan

The Center is a beacon of safety and hope for LGBT New Yorkers and our building stands as an emblem of our community’s presence in the city. The Center is visited over 300,000 times every year by people in search of support, safety and transformation. More than 1,000 young people come through our doors annually searching for acceptance and a place where they feel comfortable expressing their true selves.

More Information can be found at: Torched Flag

Glennda Testone

Hate Crime Against the LGBT Community Center

UPDATE

On Wednesday, April 21st at 5:00 pm we will gather together as one to prove that we will not sit idly by while our home is threatened. More information can be found at Torched Flag

Most importantly, we will not stand for anyone who thinks they can come to the Center and try to intimidate us. Hate and intolerance against LGBT New Yorkers will not be accepted, and we as a community must stand strong and together in the face of these hateful incidents. We are asking anyone who has additional information about this crime to contact the police directly at 1-800-577-TIPS.

Thank you all for your continued support.

Glennda Testone

Today, April 5th, The Census Bureau had its first-ever official unveiling of PSAs for the LGBT Community at our Center. If you missed the unveiling, you can watch this video below.

The Center and the Census

You may have noticed 2010 Census promotion material everywhere around New York City; on phone booths, buses, public spaces, in newspapers and on television. It is important to our city that everyone fills out the Census so that New York City gets its fair share of funding from the federal government to improve schools, healthcare, fight crime, repair roads, and support other critical city services for all New Yorkers. The 2010 Census matters to everyone, but particularly the LGBT community. Dr. Gary Gates of the Williams explains that “Americans have many misconceptions about the LGBT community that Census data have allowed us to correct. For example, among those in same-sex couples: one in six lives in a rural area, one in four is a person of color, one in five is raising children (two in five among people of color).”

At the Center, 300,000 people visit us a year. The Center uses government funding to provide life-saving services to the LGBT population in New York. Through government funding from federal, state and city sources we are able to provide substance abuse treatment to LGBT New Yorker’s, a safe space for LGBT youth in need as well as a host of other programming.

Currently the census has set up a booth at the Center to assist our community fill out the forms. We applaud that effort to make sure our community is included. However, the census doesn’t track LGBT identity as part of what they collect, and we feel it is incredibly important that they start. We invite you to view this great video from New York City’s TV25 for information about why it is important and specifically why it important to the Center.

Glennda Testone

Stakeholder Meeting with the LGBT Community in New York

We see the Center as a beacon of inclusion and acceptance for a broader society, but we can’t do it alone, and so we are so thrilled to be partnering with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Senators Charles Shumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Congressman Jerold Nadler, and Council Members Rosie Mendez, Danny Dromm, Jimmy Van Bramer and Erik Martin Dilan to bring you this forum. I wish I could say that they was no problem, that LGBT people had as much access to housing as everyone else in this city, but I sit on the Mayor’s commission for LGBT Homeless and Runaway Youth, and I have heard the struggles of our young people AS THEY make their way in this city and TRY TO get their basic needs met. I have a dear friend, who is a butch lesbian who just last week told me about the second apartment she and her flamboyantly, fabulously gay friend lost because the landlord “did not want to rent to gay people,” so said the broker. It made me really sad to know that even in New York City, our community faces these challenges, and it made me really proud to work at the LGBT Center where at least for a little while everyday, we can provide a home for our community.

Glennda Testone

Statewide GENDA Call-In-Day

GENDA would ban discrimination in housing, employment, credit and public accommodations while also expanding the state’s hate crimes law to include crimes against transgender people.

Today is the Statewide Call-In-Day and we ask you to call your Senator and the lead Senate sponsor Tom Duane at their Albany offices to tell them that you want GENDA to make it and pass the Senate floor.
It is crucial that they hear from you today!

Here’s how to make your calls:

1. Find your State Senator’s Albany phone number here and you can reach Senator Tom Duane at (518) 455-2451.

2. Tell your Senator the number of the GENDA bill (S.2406) and ask them to support GENDA by bringing it to the floor for a vote.

Through the power of our community we CAN effect change.