Jane Wishon of Restore Equality 2010, Jay Arseno, LGBT Issues Update

Originally released: November 16, 2009On episode 11 of Nathan Outloud you will hear my conversation with straight ally and marriage equality activist Jane Wishon. You will also hear a song by Jay Arseno from his recently released album “From the Ashes”. I will also provide an update on recent developments within the LGBT community. I had the opportunity to speak with Jane Wishon is a member of Restore Equality 2010 Interim Administrative Group. The Restore Equality 2010 campaign is working to repeal the anti-marriage equality proposition 8 in California in 2008. Since our conversation there have been several developments, the language has been submitted to the California Secretary of State, restoreequality2010.com is live with volunteer opportunities, donation information and the latest on the ballot initiative. Restore Equality 2010 has also launched the “Million for a Million” fundraising campaign. Organized by Yes! on Equality and TruthandHope.org, in collaboration with Restore Equality 2010, the goal of the “Million for a Million” campaign is to raise the $1 million necessary to fund getting the more than one million signatures needed to place a marriage equality initiative on the ballot.Jay Arseno began his career as a singer in a church choir and musical theatre in his native Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He is a passionate, true artist with emotional expression. He is a writer, a producer, a performer. Jay also enjoys collaborating with other artists, to meld unique tastes in sound and texture. Over the past year he has worked with hit producers I-ROC and RADIO towards the ending results, “From The Ashes”. Jay’s new single, “Take It From The Ashes”, comes off of his new album titled, “From The Ashes”, released on March 6, 2009. You can easily identify with this new single. It applies to everyone, although Jay admits that it may be somewhat autobiographical. “It draws on the legend of the Phoenix, in that it’s about starting over, a rebirth, a trial through fire where you come out on the other side with a fresh start.” The mission statement of the single is simple: No matter what you go through in life, you can always pick yourself up, gather all the pieces together and keep moving forward.If you would like to find out more information about Jay Arseno, check out www.myspace.com/jayarseno. Since the last episode there have been several developments that affect the lives of LGBT people across the country. First, our biggest win! Just days after the 11th anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death, the “Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act” was passed by both Congress and the Senate and signed into law by President Obama. This is long overdue piece of legislation expands protections to people who are victims of violence which are perpetuated by their sexual orientation or gender identity. This is the first of many legislative priorities for our community, and just the beginning of what we will be working for until full equality is achieved. The next major piece of legislation that has been introduced on the federal level is the “Employment Non-discrimination Act”. For the first time ever, a member of the current administration has...