 January 05, 2011 Dear Stonewall Democrat, As our year draws to a close with the signing of the “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010,” by President Obama, which will effectively end our military’s discriminatory prohibition of gays and lesbians serving openly, the Stonewall Democrats of Western New York reflect on a year filled with many historic and hard fought victories on the path to equality. With your continued support, we look forward to continuing our work together in the year ahead. After the New York State Senate’s 2009 defeat of the Marriage Equality bill, our Stonewall Democrats began 2010 with the goal of attaining the equality from our government that had previously been denied to us. This spring, SDWNY worked with the City of Buffalo’s Common Council to pass domestic partnership legislation. After years of lobbying the Buffalo law-making body, SDWNY members testified in front of the council and personally lobbied our lawmakers on the importance of domestic partner legislation. The result was a victory directly attributed to each and every one of you who worked this issue. Because of you, the City of Buffalo has established a city domestic partner registry, and passed legislation which extends domestic partner benefits to all city employees in same-gender domestic partnerships. This year also saw the long-over due passage of the Dignity for All Students Act. This bill was made a reality by the hard work and dedication of our Stonewall members, and by our representatives Assemblymember Sam Hoyt and Senator Antoine Thompson. Because of this act’s passage, all our New York children will be justly protected from bullying in schools. In 2010, SDWNY also participated in Marriage Equality New York’s Lobby Day, when again we directly lobbied our state legislators on the needs of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning community. Always, we have been there to educate our legislators. This election cycle brought us the chance to show at the voting booth the power of our pink votes, and what it means to support or not support our families. WNY sent a strong message with the election of Senator Tim Kennedy, our new representative in the 58th Senate District, who will be a pro-equality vote for GENDA and Marriage where we before had a no vote. Equality saw additional Stonewall victories in the past elections with the reelection of Assemblymember Hoyt, one of the LGBTQ community’s fiercest advocates in Albany, the election of our Governor Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, and all three of our endorsed New York State Supreme Court Candidates: Judges Eugene Fahey, Hank Nowak and Catherine Nugent-Panepinto. However, with our great victories came unfortunate defeats. We thank, from the bottom of our hearts, our pro-equality, progressive champion Senator Antoine Thompson for his great service to Western New York. SDWNY promises to hold the new Senator accountable for his actions, as we will the Senate’s new Republican leadership. The last year also brought incredible opportunities for SDWNY. This summer, we were honored to have our Stonewall Democrats chapter represented at two national conferences in Washington, D.C. We traveled to the Democratic National Committee’s Day of Pride and the National Stonewall Democrats conference, and met with activists, representatives from other nation-wide Stonewall chapters, and Congressional and White House staffers on issues of bettering our individual chapters, and working with our Congress to pass our legislative priorities. At the Erie County Democratic Committee’s reorganizational meeting this fall, I personally had the opportunity to address about 1,500 Erie County Democratic Committee members on the work of SDWNY, our pro-equality issues, legislation and candidates. This election saw our community increase our representation on the Erie County Democratic Committee, which is a hugely important way to work and advocate for our pro-equality legislators and candidates. As we begin 2011, I look forward to continuing our great and productive work together as Stonewall Democrats. Our organization as we stand now could not be the force we are without the involvement, activism and support of each and every one of our members. I am proud that our membership has increased in terms of numbers and activism this past year, and anticipate our organization to only grow stronger as we work to achieve the goals of the civil rights movement: Gender Expression Non-Discrimination and Marriage Equality in New York State, and Employment Non-Discrimination and the Uniting American Families Act at the federal level. Without you, the Stonewall Democrats of Western New York would not be what we are. I thank you for your support and involvement, and look forward to working together in the year to come. Sincerely, Bryan Ball President Stonewall Democrats of Western New York Click here to renew your membership or become a SDWNY member today! Image: 365gay.com Add Comment Repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" Now 11/15/2010
 Today, I wrote to New York’s Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, thanking them for their work and advocacy on behalf of repealing our military’s bigoted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and urging our Senators to continue fighting for the repeal in the form of bringing the Defense Authorization bill to the floor of the Senate before this current Congress ends. “I support and strongly urge your continued advocacy to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and see the Defense Authorization bill brought to the floor before this current Congress ends. Repealing this policy is the only way to honor the memory and make right the lives of the countless members of our military who have been unjustly harmed by this ugly policy.” This period of time as the Senate remains in session during the current Congress is crucial in the fight to repeal this discriminatory law as once this Congress ends, a new class of many anti-equality lawmakers will be sworn in with the new year. The Human Rights Campaign is making a large effort in their “Repeal DADT Now” campaign to continue lobbying our Senators to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. This campaign is something I personally highly support, and encourage you to do the same. Please, call Senators Gillibrand and Schumer. Thank them for their work on repealing DADT, and urge them to support bringing the Defense Authorization bill to the floor for a vote before this current Congress ends. Senator Schumer’s Western New York Offce may be reached at 716-846-4111. Senator Gillibrand’s WNY Office may be reached at 716-854-9725. Read the full text of my letter to Sen. Schumer here. Read the full text of my letter to Sen. Gillibrand here. November 16, 2010 Hon. Kirsten Gillbrand 478 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Gillbrand, I write concerning the freedom of our country’s military. As you know, the military’s policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) threatens, harms and devastates the lives of women and men who serve our military. With this policy, our government continues to unjustly discriminate against our best who seek to serve and protect our nation. These great Americans are often faced with unimaginable dilemmas that place career, identity and family separately from one another. Never should this happen, and each day that passes when a soldier is forced to keep silent or risk the end of his or her career is an American tragedy. I thank you for the work and advocacy you have done to keep this desperately urgent issue discussed in the Senate and on the national stage. Your recognition of heroes such as Lieutenant Dan Choi is commendable. Unfortunately, this Congress has seen many set backs in the effort to repeal this bigoted policy. I respectfully ask that you do all you can to continue to see this repeal through to a reality. I fully support the Human Rights Campaign’s “Repeal DADT Now” Campaign, and endorse action being taken to bring the Defense Authorization bill to the floor before this current Congress ends. Again, I know you are well aware of the facts. The soldier who cannot receive an honest letter or phone call from the one they love. The partner who remains at home, in silence. The career pointlessly ended because of accusations over a soldier’s personal life. The personal stories from men and women across our nation’s borders and history, which tell of lives ruined and compromised in the name of this policy. Western New York has a great number of lives directly affected by this policy, men and women who have had personal freedom and security threatened by this true threat to our national security. I support and strongly urge your continued advocacy to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and see the Defense Authorization bill brought to the floor before this current Congress ends. Repealing this policy is the only way to honor the memory and make right the lives of the countless members of our military who have been unjustly harmed by this ugly policy. Thank you. Sincerely, Bryan Ball Today, I wrote to New York’s Senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, thanking them for their work and advocacy on behalf of repealing our military’s bigoted “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy, and urging our Senators to continue fighting for the repeal in the form of bringing the Defense Authorization bill to the floor of the Senate before this current Congress ends. “I support and strongly urge your continued advocacy to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and see the Defense Authorization bill brought to the floor before this current Congress ends. Repealing this policy is the only way to honor the memory and make right the lives of the countless members of our military who have been unjustly harmed by this ugly policy.” This period of time as the Senate remains in session during the current Congress is crucial in the fight to repeal this discriminatory law as once this Congress ends, a new class of many anti-equality lawmakers will be sworn in with the new year. The Human Rights Campaign is making a large effort in their “Repeal DADT Now” campaign to continue lobbying our Senators to bring the bill to the floor for a vote. This campaign is something I personally highly support, and encourage you to do the same. Please, call Senators Gillibrand and Schumer. Thank them for their work on repealing DADT, and urge them to support bringing the Defense Authorization bill to the floor for a vote before this current Congress ends. Senator Schumer’s Western New York Offce may be reached at 716-846-4111. Senator Gillibrand’s WNY Office may be reached at 716-854-9725. Read the full text of my letter to Sen. Schumer here. Read the full text of my letter to Sen. Gillibrand here. November 16, 2010 Hon. Kirsten Gillbrand 478 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, D.C. 20510 Dear Senator Gillbrand, I write concerning the freedom of our country’s military. As you know, the military’s policy of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) threatens, harms and devastates the lives of women and men who serve our military. With this policy, our government continues to unjustly discriminate against our best who seek to serve and protect our nation. These great Americans are often faced with unimaginable dilemmas that place career, identity and family separately from one another. Never should this happen, and each day that passes when a soldier is forced to keep silent or risk the end of his or her career is an American tragedy. I thank you for the work and advocacy you have done to keep this desperately urgent issue discussed in the Senate and on the national stage. Your recognition of heroes such as Lieutenant Dan Choi is commendable. Unfortunately, this Congress has seen many set backs in the effort to repeal this bigoted policy. I respectfully ask that you do all you can to continue to see this repeal through to a reality. I fully support the Human Rights Campaign’s “Repeal DADT Now” Campaign, and endorse action being taken to bring the Defense Authorization bill to the floor before this current Congress ends. Again, I know you are well aware of the facts. The soldier who cannot receive an honest letter or phone call from the one they love. The partner who remains at home, in silence. The career pointlessly ended because of accusations over a soldier’s personal life. The personal stories from men and women across our nation’s borders and history, which tell of lives ruined and compromised in the name of this policy. Western New York has a great number of lives directly affected by this policy, men and women who have had personal freedom and security threatened by this true threat to our national security. I support and strongly urge your continued advocacy to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and see the Defense Authorization bill brought to the floor before this current Congress ends. Repealing this policy is the only way to honor the memory and make right the lives of the countless members of our military who have been unjustly harmed by this ugly policy. Thank you. Sincerely, Bryan Ball Image: hrc.org SDWNY Attends DNC's "Day of Pride" 06/24/2010
 June 24, 2010 This past Tuesday, Kitty Lambert—Vice President of Community Affairs and President of Outspoken for Equality—and I had the great fortune to attend the Democratic National Committee’s “Day of Pride.” The event, held in Washington, D.C., came to us by way of a recommendation from the Erie County Democratic Chair Len Lenihan, recognizing the great work that every one of you does, as Stonewall Democrats and Outspoken for Equality members. It was an honor to have been chosen to represent our organizations at the federal level during this conference. Kitty and I were invited because of the great work our organizations do, and that great work could not be accomplished without each and every one of you, your dedication and your unyielding commitment to the civil rights movement. And as many good things often do, the invitation to travel to DC and attend a conference where we could meet with national party leaders and policy makers gave us a limited timeframe to work on finding out how we could get to D.C. We held a fundraiser on Saturday to help defray our travel costs, and were extremely humbled by the support we received. We thank you, so very deeply, with our utmost gratitude for your help and support in making our attendance at this conference possible. On Tuesday, our “Day of Pride” started promptly at 8:30AM. Somewhat tired from previous day’s (and for some of us night’s) travel, we were eager to jump into what the day would bring. Right away, we were able to network and meet people from LGBT groups across the country. We talked proudly of our members and volunteers and the work they do, and compared notes on how LGBT organizing is done throughout our United States, as well as discussing common problems like Democratic officials who don’t support our civil rights. And then the speakers got underway. We heard from a diverse, wide-ranging cross-section of LGBT Democratic Party players. Given that our political party is such a big tent, and—shall we say—more willing to agreeing to disagree than other parties, there were some speakers who appeared to just shy away from calling for full civil rights, and seemed to gloss over Marriage Equality. However, when true progressives like Senators Al Franken (D-Minnesota), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) took the stage, we came to see that our party does care about all of our issues. These speakers championed Marriage Equality, repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, repealing DOMA and passing ENDA and the Uniting American Families Act. Perhaps the most reassuring speaker of the morning was Diego Sanchez, a man who works for Congressman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) The first openly transgendered individual working on Capitol Hill, he talked about the concrete plans and strategies already underway for getting the votes to pass urgently needed legislation like ENDA, and gave us a truer view of the dedication which exists in Congress for passing this legislation. It was through speakers like Sanchez, Stonewall Democrats Executive Director Michael Mitchell and Brian Bond, the White House’s Deputy Director for the Office of Public Engagement, that we were able to discuss, first hand, our commitment to legislation such as UAFA, ENDA and ending DADT—and enlist that support from key players in Congress and the administration, who stressed to us their own commitment to seeing this legislation through. While we were there, we also met with Senator Gillibrand’s office regarding these critical issues, and measures such as Sen. Franken’s Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would establish a comprehensive federal prohibition on bullying in public schools based on actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, and forbid schools from discriminating against LGBT students or ignoring harassing behavior. All in all, Kitty and I had a terrific morning discussing these issues and listening to people like DNC Chair Tim Kaine, Executive Director Jen O’Malley-Dillon and others reaffirm our Democratic Party’s commitment to our issues. We were incredibly moved and inspired to have been chosen to represent all of our absolutely fantastic members and Stonewall Democrats of WNY on a national level, and we thank you all for allowing us the opportunity to participate in this event. With the passing of Dignity for All Students by the State Legislature, it has been a terrific week to motivate us to even further action on the work ahead. Recent days have been dark ones for pro-equality citizens, as we experienced great disappointment with the recent failure of GENDA in the State Senate. And yet, when I listened to the others who attended the conference, and watched our state legislature vote to defend and protect the dignity of all our children, I felt that hope which I know will get us across the finish line. I know as an organization we have what it will take to ensure we are successful, at all levels. We will continue to work to elect and protect our pro-equality Democrats who have and will go on to do the work needed to advance our rights. The campaign season is already well underway, and I look forward to the reelection of our officials who champion our causes, and new ones like them in seats where their predecessors did not. With the great leaders and true progressives we have in elected office and throughout our country in grassroots organizations such as our own, we have in place what it will take to pass ENDA, defeat DADT and DOMA, grant us Marriage Equality and pass GENDA in our state. I thank you, and look forward to continuing our great work together. -Bryan Ball  |  Stonewall Democrats of Western New
York is the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and queer Democratic voice in western New York. Our mission is to advocate for the LGBTQ community within the WNY area government and the Democratic Party. Meeting Information We meet the fourth Tuesday of each month at: El Museo Gallery 91 Allen Street Buffalo, NY 14202-1320 at 7PM News Archives
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