San Diegans Rally Against Citizens United Decision (tags)
Though the original location had to be changed when agents of the Department of Homeland Security blocked off the original one, San Diegans nonetheless held a rally January 20 against the Citizens United decision of the U.S. Supreme Court, which opened the floodgates for even more corporate influence over American politics and elections.
Arrested for Voter Registration (tags)
The recent arrest of former Congressional candidate Ray Lutz for attempting to register voters at Occupy San Diego is an indication of how far the class war in the U.S. has extended. It's part of a much more sophisticated series of actions on the part of the corporate Right to make sure that the "wrong" people — those that question the right of the 1 percent to run the country as they please — don't get a chance to vote.
A commentary on the San Diego Police Foundation and how its existence and activities demonstrate the extent to which the police have become an expeditionary force for the 1 percent and are able to avoid public accountability.
Queer Democrats Endorse Occupy San Diego (tags)
The predominantly Queer San Diego Democrats for Equality (formerly the San Diego Democratic Club) held their first regular meeting since the name change October 27 and overwhelmingly endorsed Occupy San Diego. The strongly worded resolution, based on one passed by the San Diego County Democratic Party, not only supported Occupy's right to protest and camp out in the Civic Center Plaza downtown but also ringingly endorsed the group's challenge to corporate power. The club also endorsed progressive Congressmember Bob Filner for Mayor of San Diego in the 2012 election.
Leather History Meeting Relives the Wounds of AIDS (tags)
Though it was billed as a panel on the history of San Diego's Leather community, the San Diego League of Gentlemen meeting July 1 turned into something else: an emotionally intense discussion and reminiscence of the effect AIDS had on the Queer community in general and the Leather community in particular. Themselves touched by the crisis directly ? all the panelists either had AIDS, took care of people who did or were active in the community's response ? they talked about the pain of losing so many friends but also how the community grew and its surviving members became more emotionally committed to each other.
S.A.M.E. Rallies Against Hate Crimes, Bullying (tags)
Drawn by several recent hate assaults on Queer people in the Hillcrest and North Park areas, members and supporters of the San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality (S.A.M.E.) rallied at the North Park Community Park Saturday afternoon, March 26. The rally featured speeches by openly Queer elected officials like Assemblymember Toni Atkins and School Board member Kevin Beiser, as well as ministers and others in support of Queer equality, but the most moving statements came from people who’d been on the receiving end of anti-Queer violence or bullying themselves: S.A.M.E. member René Torres, high school student Maya Conti and North Park resident Jacob Harshbarger, who wasn’t at the rally but sent a statement describing not only the attack against him but the lax response of local police and prosecutors. “I felt that the system that was supposed to be there to protect me was treating me as though it was my fault,” Harshbarger said.
Lawyers’ Guild Forum on Nonviolent Resistance: Participant, Attorney & Observer (tags)
The National Lawyers’ Guild hosted a forum on nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience at the Thomas Jefferson School of Law in downtown San Diego February 23, and discussed the issue from three points of view: attorney Alex Landon, protest participant Zakiya Khabir and legal observer Rachel Scoma.
“Know Your Rights,” Progressive Attorneys Tell Activist San Diego (tags)
Though guest of honor Ted Burke, one of 11 Midwest peace and social justice activists recently detained and harassed by the FBI, wasn't able to make Activist San Diego's November 15 meeting on law enforcement and political activism, the discussion was still compelling. Local attorneys and activists Kate Yavenditti, Frank Gormlie and Alex Landon reviewed the history of anti-Left and anti-progressive repression in San Diego and discussed what rights you have when you're stopped by law enforcement or when police officers come to your home.
Over 200 Turn Out for Matthew Shepard Memorial in San Diego (tags)
Over 200 San Diegans marched in Hillcrest October 12, 2010 to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard, target of an especially brutal Queer-bashing attack in Wyoming, and to honor the lives lost to Queer-bashing, bullying and teen suicide. The event featured two marches, a preliminary rally outside Obelisk Bookstore (site of a memorial plaque to John Robert Wear, 17-year-old killed in a Queer-related assault in 1991) and a program at San Diego’s LGBT Center that featured speakers including Terry Summers, a personal acquaintance of Matthew Shepard.
39th Anniversary of the Chicano Moratorium: "Still Here, Still A Force" (tags)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
EAST LOS ANGELES--Thirty-nine years ago, a statewide series of demonstrations by Chicanos and Chicanas against the wars in Southeast Asia culminated in a police riot and the assassination of Los Angeles Times and KMEX journalist Rubén Salazar. Today, members of the Chicanx community and activists of all stripes commemorated the day's fateful events with music, poetry, teatro, and speakers.
Over 4,000 Rally in San Diego Against Prop. 8 Decision (tags)
Over 4,000 people attended a march and rally in San Diego on May 26 denouncing the California Supreme Court's decision upholding Proposition 8, the initiative banning same-sex marriage in California, while simultaneously keeping in force the estimated 18.000 marriages between same-sex couples during the 4 1/2 months the court's previous ruling allowing them was in effect. The mood of the action was a combination of sorrow, hope and determination to put the issue before California voters again and campaign at the ballot box for the repeal of Proposition 8.
S.D. Cracks Down on Medical Pot as Feds Loosen Up (tags)
Don Duncan, California statewide director of the national medical-marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access (ASA), came to San Diego February 10 to tell local members that the outlook for medical marijuana is good. He pointed to a policy statement from a spokesperson for President Obama that said the federal government will stop using its police power to interfere with state medical marijuana laws. But that was cold comfort to many of the people in the room, especially those targeted by a flurry of raids in San Diego in the first week of February.
“No on 8” Actions, Discussions Continue (tags)
The fight against the anti-marriage Proposition 8 has lasted quite a bit longer than the election, in which the same-sex marriage ban passed by a five-point margin. Queer and allied activists are still holding demonstrations against the initiative and meeting to discuss where the fight will go next. But their discussions are stronger on building communications strategies than actually plotting a course to reverse the ballot measure.
Anti-Proposition 8 Protests in San Diego (tags)
The statewide wave of protests against the passage of anti-Queer, anti-marriage, anti-family Proposition 8 hit San Diego November 7 and 8 with a nighttime rally in Balboa Park November 7 and a march from Hillcrest to North Park, through San Diego's most Queer neighborhoods, the next day.
Trafficking in Children Across the U.S.-Mexico Border (tags)
Human Trafficking is a clandestine, transnational crime. The U.S. State Department estimates that each year up to 800,000 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked across world borders.
San Diego Leatherpeople, Police Meet to Discuss “Leather and the Law” (tags)
The San Diego Gay Leathermen Only (GLO) organization met October 1 with representatives of the San Diego Police Department — vice squad head Lt. Chris Ball and Lesbian/Gay community liaison Mark Dallezotte — and attorney Andy Zmurkiewicz, who successfully defended the "San Diego Six" in 2000. The issues discussed included the distinction between "public" and "private" places to have sex (the issue at the heart of the Six case) and whether leatherpeople run the risk of being arrested and charged with domestic violence for having consensual sadomasochistic sex.
Police Line Up for Congratulations at San Diego City Council (tags)
On Monday, July 23 the San Diego City Council voted unanimously to commend the San Diego Police Department, County Sheriff's Department, Highway Patrol, Harbor Police and FBI for a job well done in creating a police-state atmosphere in San Diego during the biotech convention June 24-27, keeping down the number of protesters and profiling people based on their clothing choices and anti-corporate T-shirts. Picture shows a line of some of the police officers who attended the meeting to receive this honor.
YES!
San Diego folk back cops
San Diego response to Bio2001
Three Cheers for San Diego Police (tags)
San Diego Police hit a home run...
Peacefully Protesting BIO? Expect Harassment (tags)
With the teach-in placid, the march pacific and no one wreaking any havoc, the San Diego Police Department have resorted to petty persecution.