End Bigotry in Venango County: 17th Annual Erie Pride Picnic on June 13

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

17th Annual Erie Pride Picnic on June 13

by Michael Mahler

Erie Gay News will once again sponsor the annual Erie Pride Picnic.

The 17th Annual Erie Pride Picnic will be on Saturday, June 13 from 1 to 6 PM at the Rotary Pavilion at Presque Isle State Park, Erie, PA. This is the same location that we have used for the past few years.

Food will be served from 2 to 5 PM. We will provide hot dogs, Sloppy Joes, beverages, and table setting. Please bring a dish to share.

Alcohol is prohibited, as are vendor sales. However, info tables are welcome! Please contact Michael Mahler by June 6 if you will be setting up a table.

Karaoke was a big hit last year, and so we are bringing it back! Thanks to DJ J-Roc for his help.

Donations to support the picnic will be gratefully accepted. We encourage people to register in advance and volunteer online at http://www.eriegaynews.com/pride/register.php. (There is also a link to register online in the right side bar of all pages at http://www.eriegaynews.com) Please see the contact info at the end of this article if you don’t have online access, or further questions.

Because we believe that an important part of being a community is recognizing the greater community, participants are also asked to bring a non-perishable item for the Second Harvest Food Bank of NW PA.

Friends, family, and children are most welcome! We will have games and children’s activities. There is a playground near the site. Parents are responsible for supervising their own children.

We will be taking the Annual Family Portrait at 4 PM. Anyone is welcome to be included in the portrait, and it is also okay not to be in the photo.

Please check in at the registration table when you arrive. If you have registered online, we will just need your name. If you don’t want to be photographed, get a red dot to put on your name tag. We will also have a table to take face photos that will appear at http://www.eriegaynews.com for those interested.

The Pride Picnic has been around since 1992 and is the largest Pride event in Erie County. For more information, contact Michael Mahler at(814) 456-9833, info@eriegaynews.com, or check out the web page at http://picnic.eriegaynews.com.

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Principles for Equality

FULL CIVIL RIGHTS GOALS

Being united by common principles and engaging in united action, we will strive to achieve the following goals:

1.DIGNITY AND EQUALITY. Every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person has inherent dignity and worth, and has the right to live free of discrimination and harassment.

2.FAMILY. Every LGBT person has the right to a family without legal barriers to immigration, civil marriage or raising children.

3.ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY. Every LGBT person has the right to economic opportunity free from discrimination in employment, public housing, accommodation, public facilities, credit, and federally funded programs and activities.

4.EDUCATION. Every LGBT child and youth has the right to an education that is affirming, inclusive and free from bullying.

5.NATIONAL SECURITY. Every LGBT person should have the opportunity to serve our country openly and equally in our military and foreign service.

6.CRIME. Every LGBT person should enjoy life protected against bias crimes.

7.HEALTH CARE. Every person should have access to affordable, high quality, and culturally competent health care without discrimination.

The following eight guiding principles underlie our call to action. In order to achieve full civil rights now, we avow:

1.Full civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals must be enacted now. Delay and excuses are no longer acceptable.

2.We will not leave any part of our community behind.

3.Separate is never equal.

4.Religious beliefs are not a basis upon which to affirm or deny civil rights.

5.The establishment and guardianship of full civil rights is a non-partisan issue.

6.Individual involvement and grassroots action are paramount to success and must be encouraged.

7.Success is measured by the civil rights we all achieve, not by words, access or money raised.

8.Those who seek our support are expected to commit to these principles.

CALL TO ACTION

1.We demand that government officials act now to achieve full civil rights without delay.

2.Our organizations and individuals need to develop a collaborative and revolutionary new organizing model that mobilizes millions of supporters through emerging web and phone technologies.

3.All LGBT individuals must accept personal responsibility to do everything within their power for equality and should get involved in the movement by volunteering, giving and being out.

4.We will hold elected officials and our organizations accountable for being transparent and achieving full civil rights by active participation when possible and active opposition when necessary.

5.Our allies need to be proactive in public support for full civil rights.

6.Every government measure that quantifies the US citizenry must permit LGBT individuals to self-identify and be counted in every way citizens are counted.

7.We demand that the media present LGBT lives in fair, accurate and objective ways that neither include nor give credence to unsubstantiated, discriminatory claims and opinions.

To join the growing chorus of Americans speaking in unison that now is the time to provide full civil rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender citizens, CLICK HERE.

End Bigotry in Venango County

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

17th Annual Erie Pride Picnic on June 13

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