BRAVO Alert for the Safety LGBTQ Community of Central Ohio

BRAVO is Issuing the Following Alert for the Safety of the
LGBT Community of Central Ohio

Reposted at http://www.keystothecloset.blogspot.com,

BRAVO has recently received multiple reports of anti-LGBTQ hate crimes.  The incidents have occurred in the vicinity of LGBT establishments both in the Short North area and on the South side.  Several of the incidents have involved both physical assault and robbery.  BRAVO has good reason to believe that these attacks are anti-LGBTQ motivated.

According to Gloria McCauley, BRAVO Executive Director, "BRAVO believes that these incidents underscore the importance of a renewed discussion and action on hate crimes against LGBTQ people. Sadly, we know that hate violence is intended to send a message of hate and to instill fear throughout the entire community. Hate crimes are largely under-reported or not reported at all, and people are left feeling alone and vulnerable.  BRAVO is a great resource – we are asking people to call and report – we can help."

It is Gay Pride season and BRAVO wants everyone to have a fun and safe Pride!  Be alert, walk in groups, walk each other to your cars and be aware of your surroundings.   Additional safety tips are available on our website.   WWW.BRAVO-ohio.org.  Or scan the QR Code

For further information BRAVO can be reached at
614-294-7867 or 866-86-BRAVO.

All reports to BRAVO are confidential and may be made anonymously. All BRAVO services are free.

STAY ALERT
TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS
BE AWARE

Don’t take it. Report it.

"It Gets Better Book launch and Community Discussion

"It Gets Better" book release for central Ohio advocates and educators, on Thur. April 14, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Stonewall Columbus The book, by Dan Savage and Terry Miller has become a rallying point for LGBTIQ allies. Contributor Dwayne Stewart will be featured at the community discussion, "How do we make it better for LGBTIQ Youth in Columbus Schools today?"

Make your own "It Gets Better" video at the Wexner Center Booth, For more info contact info@kycohio.org and RSVP by Tues. April 12, at 8 p.m.

For more information on the It Gets Better Project, see itgetsbetterproject.com

Posted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/

Local Action Team Trainings for Lobby Day for Equality 2011

Sixth Annual
Lobby Day for Equality
is May 18, 2011
 
Make your voice heard at the Statehouse. Over forty new legislators need to hear your story!
Register here.

Local Action Team Leaders and Members needed - Equality Ohio's Local Action Teams' goal is to expand our education efforts, create better relationships between LGBT and allied people and their communities, media and officials, and create a better educated body of media representatives and elected officials in Ohio who will support equality for all their constituents. (Click here for more on this program). Since the inception of our Local Action Team Program, the team from Senate District 6 in 2009 was successful in gaining the support of Rep. Terry Blair (R) and then Rep. Peggy Lehner for EHEA. Work from citizen lobbyists like yourselves in Findlay, Ohio helped secure the support of then Rep. Cliff Hite and the on-going support of Rep. Ross McGregor is the work of the team out of Springfield, Ohio.

To pass pro-equality legislation, we have to engage legislators from both major parties and hearing one-on-one from their own constituents is the most effective way to educate our legislators. Where we have strong teams and a dedicated leader, the Local Action Team's are very successful. We still need leaders and teams from parts of the state, however. We still need volunteers from Senate District 5 (Miami and parts of Darke and Montgomery Counties), Senate District 7 (Warren and eastern Hamilton Counties), Senate District 12 (Allen, Mercer, Shelby, Champaign, Prebel and parts of Darke Counties), Senate District 14 (Clermont, Brown, Adams, Scioto and the western part of Lawrence Counties), Senate District 17 (Western Pickaway, Fayette, Clinton, Ross, Vinton, Highland, Pike, Jackson, Gallia and Eastern Lawrence), Senate District 19 (Richland, Morrow, Delaware and Knox Counties), Senate District 23 (West Cleveland area), Senate District 25 (far east Cleveland Area), Senate District 26 (Sandusky, Seneca, Wyandot, Crawford, Marion, Logan and Union Counties), Senate District 28 (Portage and parts of southeast Summit Counties), Senate District 30 (Columbiana, most of Tuscarawas, Harrison, Jefferson and Belmont Counties), Senate District 32 (Ashtabula and Trumbell Counties) and Senate District 33 (Mahoning, far eastern Stark, Carroll and far northeastern Tuscarawas Counties). Want to make a difference? Consider being a Local Action Team Leader.

Contact kim@equalityohio.org for more information.

Join us for a Local Action Team Training and get information about the EHEA, the Comprehensive Safe Schools Act (CSSA) and other legislative priorities for this year, learn what progress has been made in the past year with your legislator, and practice and prepare with others from your area in advance of meeting with your representative.

Reposted at keystothecloset.blogspot.com

Fully Committed:A Gay Wedding Affair

Interested in brunch, mimosas, fashion, and prizes?  Then join us and other members of the LGBT and allied community for Fully Committed: A Gay Wedding Affair.  The event will be hosted at The Athletic Club of Columbus from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m, and will feature Columbus' best gay and allied wedding vendors.  There will be champagne cocktails, appetizers, a mix and mingle fashion show, and giveaways!  Tickets are only $20 in advance ($30 at the door) and proceeds go to Equality Ohio Education Fund.
Buy your tickets today!

Find out more information at http://fullycommittedcolumbus.com/home/
WHEN: SUNDAY APRIL SEVENTEENTH TWO THOUSAND ELEVEN FROM 10AM-2PM WHERE: THE ATHELETIC CLUB OF COLUMBUS 136 EAST BROAD STREET COLUMBUS, OH 43215 WHAT: A GAY WEDDING AFFAIR FEATURING GLBT OWNED AND ALLIED VENDORS • BRUNCH STYLE EVENT INCLUDING CHAMPAGNE COCKTAILS AND APPETIZERS • MIX AND MINGLE FASHION SHOW • GOODIES + GIVEAWAYS

SPONSORED BY OUTLOOK, ATHLETIC CLUB OF COLUMBUS & J. LAUREN EVENTS

ADVANCED TICKETS $20 • $30 AT THE DOOR • TICKETS AVAILABLE ONLINE AT http://www.fullycommittedcolumbus.com • TICKET PROCEEDS BENEFIT EQUALITY OHIO EDUCATION FUND

Reposted at http://keystothecloset.blogspot.com/

Happy Birthday Joan Crawford! Fundraiser

Not, perhaps, coincidentally, it's also the 107th anniversary of the invention of the wire coathanger. No joke. Speakers include BRAVO's Executive Director, Gloria McCauley and Equality Ohio's new Executive Director, Ed Mullen.
Noka Davers will perform two numbers as Joan Crawford and serving cake!

Stay after for a special screening of Mildred Pierce.

Admission is free. No RSVP necessary — just come enjoy the fellowship, networking and free appetizers!

Sponsored by KDB Easton, outlook media, Rainbow Cleaners, and the Angry Baker ... benefitting BRAVO.
Location: KDB at Easton (in the old Gameworks location in the Towne Center Building).

Time: Wednesday, March 9, 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

4th Annual TransOhio Transgender & Ally Conference

4th Annual TransOhio Transgender & Ally Conference will be held the weekend of

August 5-7, 2011 in Columbus, Ohio!

Call for Presenters

Interested in submitting a proposal for a workshop, presentation, discussion or performance? For information, visit the Submission Page.

This year we are expanding our Conference this year to include:

Friday, August 5th: Provider’s Day

Explicitly for medical, legal, and social work professionals

Continuing Education Units (CEU)

More information coming soon.

Continuing Legal Education (CLE)

More information coming soon.

Interested in submitting a proposal for a class, seminar or workshop? For information, visit Submission Page.

Submit your proposal online! Submissions are due Friday March 18, 2011

Saturday, August 6: General Conference

Covering a broad range of interests throughout the community

Sunday, August 7: General Conference

Continuation of programs with a diversity of topics

Volunteers

As with any event, it takes people-power to make events such as the Conference happen. Volunteers will be

needed for Friday at the Provider’s Day and throughout the General Conference:

* Registration/Check-In

* Setup/Break-down

* Session proctors

* Information table

* Meet & Greet

* Saturday evening socials

* And more!

Interested in volunteering? Contact our Volunteer Coordinator, Sarah (sarah@transohio.org).

Sponsorship Opportunities

Do you work for a company or are you involved in an organization that you think might like to be a sponsor of this event? If so, visit our Sponsorship Opportunities page!

For more conference info, visit http://www.transohio.org/

"She's A Boy I Knew" film showing to Benefit TransOhio

They say that when someone comes out of the closet, they

can't stop talking about it. Vancouver filmmaker Gwen Haworth

not only talked she made a movie. Using archival family

footage, interviews, phone messages, and hand-drawn animation,

Haworth's documentary SHE'S A BOY I KNEW

begins in 2000 with Steven Haworth's decision to come out to

his family about his life-long female gender identity. The resulting

auto-ethnography is not only an exploration into the

filmmaker's process of transition from biological male to female,

from Steven to Gwen, but also an emotionally charged

account of the individual experiences, struggles, and stakes

that her two sisters, mother, father, best friend and wife

brought to Gwen's transition.

Under Haworth's sensitive eye, each stepping stone in the

process of transitioning becomes an opportunity to explore

her community's and our own underlying assumptions about

gender and sexuality. When Steven starts to wear his wife

Malgosia's clothing, she struggles with whether Steve "wants

to be with me or to be me;" when Steven changes her name

to Gwen, her father comments, that's "when I realized I lost

my son;" Haworth's gender reassignment surgery, or vaginoplasty,

forces her sister Kim to grapple with her own experiences

in the medical establishment and raises questions about

the implications of the medicalization of gender.

In these tender and difficult moments, SHE'S A BOY I KNEW forces us to question our own assumptions about

the role that names, clothing, and anatomy play in our constructions of gender identity. As her transition progresses,

Gwen is forced to reckon with the end of her marriage and the loss of her status as son and brother. But

in doing so, she also discovers that while the nature of personal relationships may change, the love and support

present within those relationships can remain just as powerful and sometimes even more so.

At turns painful, funny, and awkward, SHE'S A BOY I KNEW explores the frustrations, fears, questions, and

hopes experienced by Gwen and her family as they struggle to understand and embrace her newly revealed identity.

Monday, February 21 · 8:00pm - 10:00pm

Gateway Film Center

1550 North High Street

Columbus, Ohio

$6—Benefits TransOhio