#fairnessworks

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Quoting West Virginia University Professor, Daniel Brewster, in the film "Faces of Fairness". Join Fairness for the film screening at #WVU in Morgantown on Sept 9th, 2013 at 6pm! 

Click here for more info & to share the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/508972815854406/

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Congratulations to Rod Snyder, President of the Young Democrats of America and native West Virginian, for making the brave decision to come out publicly and tell the world his story. "I am a Christian, an American, a West Virginian, a Young Democrat, a rural advocate, a singer-songwriter, a brother, a son, a grandson, a nephew, an uncle, and a gay man." Fairness WV commends Rod Snyder and urges all LGBT Mountaineers to live openly!‪#‎fairnessworks‬ READ his blog post here: http://www.yda.org/some-unfinished-business/

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FEATURE: Meet Jessica & Melody, a committed and loving West Virginian couple. Here’s their story: “Both from West Virginia originally, we have been together for nine years. During that time, we have worked together and played together, exploring the wonders of our state and of the world through literature and travel. We’ve lived in other countries, tried new recipes, mothered five cats, grown gardens, and welcomed nephews and nieces into the world together. Beyond our work as educators, we participate in the life of our community through our work as church organists at local churches. The Supreme Court’s ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional hasn’t changed much of anything for us personally. While we are happy for those for whom the demise of DOMA will make material and symbolic differences, we won’t marry until we can share Social Security benefits and tax benefits that marriage provides for opposite-sex couples. Otherwise, we don’t really have a reason to get married. A ceremony performed in another state (or this one) with or without legal weight where we live will not change the commitment we make to one another on a daily basis. We support the work of Fairness WV because we believe that legal reform is one important plank in a broader approach to social justice work. The future that we imagine is one in which our LGBT students feel valued in our state. We feel a very strong commitment to being in West Virginia and have chosen to remain in West Virginia because we feel a deep connection to the people, the land, and the history of our home, and because it allows us to be close to our family. That same connection to community is one that we want for our LGBT students who also want to continue living their lives in West Virginia.” Jessica and Melody both work at West Virginia Wesleyan College, where Jessica is Coordinator of Gender Studies and Melody is Director of the School of Fine Arts and Humanities and Professor of Music. Jessica is on the Board of Directors for Fairness WV. Support the work of Fairness West Virginia and all LGBT West Virginians by participating in the EQUAL in WV Matching Challenge! Click here: http://bit.ly/12ceZo6

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STAY TUNED: The US Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee will hold a vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act July 10th. ‎#ENDA Read more: http://www.washingtonblade.com/2013/07/02/enda-committee-vote-set-for-july-10/

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FEATURE: For the third post in Fairness WV's "Summer of Love" series on LGBT love stories, meet Fran Whiteman and her wife Mona Melton Zimble, a loving couple in Morgantown, WV. Fran and Mona first met online! They both had indicated that, at their ages, they were only looking for a forever partner, wife and best friend.  Mona was intrigued with Fran’s crying every time she heard the National Anthem and Country Roads being sung after a WVU win by a full stadium of Mountaineers. Fran was impressed by Mona’s discussion of the proper use of the gerund and her beautiful descriptions of places that she had visited in the US and Canada. They emailed each other for several weeks and learned about each other’s love of travel, cooking, family, and great music.  Their romance was solidified when they exchanged their favorite poems: Fran sent Sonnet 17 by Pablo Neruda and Mona sent Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s Sonnet 14. Fran suggested a meeting over lunch, which would mean a three-hour drive for each of them.  After the first meeting, they knew that they were soulmates, compatible in every way, and that they were in love. Fran and Mona had planned to get married on June 8, 2014, but they were so moved by the the United States Supreme Court finding DOMA unconstitutional that they got married on Decision Day, June 26, 2013.  Fran Whiteman joined the Board of Fairness West Virginia in 2013 and is committed to spreading the word that equality and civil rights for all people in the LGBT community must be the law of the land. She uses her position as an attorney and in social media to widen acceptance and forward thinking. Mona is the proud wife who stands with Fran in this campaign to end second-class treatment and views of LGBT people. They both believe that there will be no change in Americans' attitudes until we all come out and be exactly who we are. Fran and Mona’s hope for the future: Becoming equal in the eyes of the law and ending the discrimination that bullies all of us. They envision an end to when “LGBT” is a needless and useless acronym, when people will not judge us for who we are or who we love. They say law and love are not compatible.

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FEATURE: In the second post in Fairness WV's "Summer of Love" series on LGBT stories of love, meet the plaintiffs of Hollingsworth v. Perry, the Proposition 8 court case that is currently before the US Supreme Court. Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo have been together since 1998. Katami is a fitness expert and small business owner who graduated from Santa Clara University before receiving his graduate degree from University of California, Los Angeles. Zarrillo is the general manager of a theater exhibition company. A native of New Jersey, Zarrillo graduated from Montclair State University. Having wanted to marry each other since 2008, they considered options including traveling to other states for a civil union, but felt any alternative fell short of marriage. They live in Burbank, California. Watch AFER's video on Paul & Jeff:http://www.afer.org/about/plaintiffs/paul-katami-jeff-zarrillo/ Sandy Stier and Kris Perry have been together since 1997 and are the parents of four boys. Perry is executive director of the First Five Years Fund, a national organization that helps America achieve better results in education, health and economic productivity through investments in quality early childhood education programs for disadvantaged children. She holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz and a M.S.W. from San Francisco State University. Stier is the director of information systems for the Alameda County Health Care Services Agency. Originally from Iowa, she holds a B.B.A. from the University of Iowa and an M.P.A. from Golden Gate University. Perry and Stier first tried to marry in 2004, after the City of San Francisco began issuing licenses to gay and lesbian couples. They live in Berkeley, California. Watch AFER's video on Sandy & Kris:http://www.afer.org/about/plaintiffs/kris-perry-sandy-stier/ Info & Video Credit: American Foundation for Equal Rights

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LIKE & SHARE to celebrate West Virginia's 150th Birthday! Montani Semper Liberi means Mountaineers Are Always Free-- join Fairness WV to ensure that ALL Mountaineers are free for the next 150 years!

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TODAY the Boy Scouts of America vote on the proposal to end the organization's longstanding ban on gay youth. Eagle Scout & Fairness WV Program Manager, Justin Gilmore states, "I hope that the many gay youth can fully live the Scout Law and be honest about who they are. My only regret is that I cannot be loyal to the organization by serving as an adult leader."