Join Rainbow Promise Church and Black Hills Center for Equality this entire week for a week of Prayer for HIV/AIDS Awareness.  Take a few moments out of your day each day and send positive blessings/energy towards this worthy cause.

Congratulations Shaun on becoming our Grand Prize Winner for the Sweet Heart Raffle. Shaun held the Winning Ticket which landed him a prize package valued at close to $2,000.00.  With the over whelming response of the local business community BHCFE was able to offer in addition to the Date Night for 2 for an entire year Grand Prize package, 19 other runner up prizes.

“This was a huge success and a testimony of the progress that the BHCFE has made in the past year with the community”. according to Kathy Kandt, Executive Director for the Center. We would like to take this time to say Thank You to all of the volunteers and businesses who made this such a huge success.  As you visit the following business please tell them Thank You.

Millstone….Golden Corral…Curry Marsala…Perkins…Bayleaf Cafe…Imperial Chinese…Ruby Tuesdays…Piasanos…Nick & Willy’s Pizza… Cafe Latte…Berry Best Bakery…Pancheros…Elks Theater…Elks Club…Meadow Wood Lanes…Pottery to Paint…Rapid City Ice Skating Rink…Rapid City Rush…Reptile Gardens…Mystic Miner Ski Resort…Flags & Wheels…Becca & Company…Sleep Inns & Suites…Camp Michael Bed & Breakfast…Presidential Limousine…Georgia Lynn Salon…Guided Touch Massage…Elements Massage…Cobbled Rue…The Factory Salon…Lynn Livingston, The Realtor with a Heart…Mike Kissinger…Roger Blair…Alan Rada…Bess Brown Reiki Master…Kathy Kandt…Gene Swallow…Rex & Betty Field…Randy O’Neill

Rainbow Promise Church, a new Gay Affirming Church in Rapid City has began meeting. Pastor Nussbaum  invites  all past members of the MCC and other interested parties to join him in fellowship every  Sunday at 1:00pm at Black Hills Center for Equality, 1102 West Rapid Street, Rapid City, SD.

Do you like to volunteer, or help with community projects? Well here is your chance to help us out. We are needing people to help with projects, and events that are going on at the center. If you have a little time to spare, or would like to volunteer the whole day, it is up to you, anytime is greatly appreciated.

Contact the center today if you would like to help us out. Stop down at 1102 West Rapid St, or give us a call at 348-3244.

If you are interested in volunteering please fill out our online application. When you are done filling it out, please print it out, and bring to the center.

                                                                     Volunteer Online Application

On October 10-11, 2009, we will gather in Washington, D.C. from all across America to let our elected leaders know that now is the time for full equal rights for LGBT people. This is simply a major national strategy to kick start our national grassroots Equality Across America campaign. We will gather. We will strategize. We will march. And we will leave energized and empowered to do the work that needs to be done in every community across the nation. This is only the beginning.

We hope to see a shift in strategy to one that will secure full equality in all 50 states. We look back to 1963 and 64 when the historic civil rights movement made its transition from fighting local battles to winning national victory with the passage of the civil rights act. It’s time for that passage for LGBT Americans.

On October 10 we will be holding workshops throughout the day to provide organizational tools to help lobby your congressmen at home. On October 11 we will gather at approximately 12:00 noon to officially kick-off our National Equality March. Our march route is currently being negotiated with city officials and a final permit is typically given 30 days before the event. Our rally will begin at 2:00 p.m. on the west lawn of the Capitol building. Details of the rallies schedule are being finalized and will be published when they are completed. Click to go to our FAQ’s section that provides further details about our National Equality March.

Our single demand: Equal protection in all matters governed by civil law in all 50 states.

Our philosophy: As members of every race, class, faith, and community, we see the struggle for LGBT equality as part of a larger movement for peace and social justice.

Our strategy: Decentralized organizing for this march in every one of the 435 Congressional districts will build a network to continue organizing beyond October.

“We will continue this fight in every state, in every county, every city and every town, but we are now determined to take this fight to the federal government, to our President Barack Obama, to the Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Cleve Jones, May 31, 2009, Fresno, California

Get more information on the march at http://equalityacrossamerica.org/blog/?page_id=19

Photo credit in National Equality March Banner.

After being passed out of the Senate Judiciary committee with a 5-2 vote, SB 156 was defeated Thursday, Feb. 12 in a floor vote, 21-13.  This bill would have amended the state’s hate crimes statute to add sexual orientation and gender identity.  This sends an incredibly dangerous message — that anti-LGBT violence is okay. This is hurtful.

The silver lining is that we have started the dialogue. If we keep the conversation going — by telling our stories and sharing the details of our lives — it is just a matter of time until we will change hearts and minds. And it will take all of us doing just that. Please reach out to the 13 Senators who stood up and voted for equality. They deserve our thanks and respect:

Ahlers
Bradford
Dempster
Gillespie
Hanson (Gary)
Heidepriem
Hundstad
Jerstad
Knudson
Merchant
Nesselhuf
Turback Berry
Vehle

The other Senators deserve your attention as well. They are in need of education and information.

Please reach out to them now and often. Of course that is what Equality South Dakota is all about. Together, we will move our state in a positive direction.

Earlier this year, Rapid City alderwoman Patti Martinson introduced a resolution that would have updated the city’s non-discrimination policy to include sexual orientation and gender identity.  The city’s policy already covered race, sex, religion, national origin, and disability.  When the legal and finance committee took up the bill, they opted to pass it out of committee without any debate or recommendation.  Equality South Dakota mobilized our members in Rapid City and across the state to reach out to the Rapid City City Council members, to share why equality is important to them.

At the Council’s March 16 meeting, a number of supporters spoke to the council about why updating the policy was important.  Ultimately, though, it looked as if the measure would fail, largely upon the recommendation of the city attorney.  Before the issue was put to rest, alderwoman Karen Gunderson Olson suggested the city council should draft a substitute resolution asking the federal or state government to change the law, instead of Rapid City changing its own policy.

The substitute measure is currently being drafted, and will be brought before the Legal and Finance Committee in the near future.  Watch eqsd.org for updates!

THE WHITE HOUSE Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release June 1, 2009

LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL, AND TRANSGENDER PRIDE MONTH, 2009

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

A PROCLAMATION

Forty years ago, patrons and supporters of the Stonewall Inn in New York City resisted police harassment that had become all too common for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. Out of this resistance, the LGBT rights movement in America was born. During LGBT Pride Month, we commemorate the events of June 1969 and commit to achieving equal justice under law for LGBT Americans. LGBT Americans have made, and continue to make, great and lasting contributions that continue to strengthen the fabric of American society. There are many well-respected LGBT leaders in all professional fields, including the arts and business communities. LGBT Americans also mobilized the Nation to respond to the domestic HIV/AIDS epidemic and have played a vital role in broadening this country’s response to the HIV pandemic. Due in no small part to the determination and dedication of the LGBT rights movement, more LGBT Americans are living their lives openly today than ever before. I am proud to be the first President to appoint openly LGBT candidates to Senate-confirmed positions in the first 100 days of an Administration. These individuals embody the best qualities we seek in public servants, and across my Administration — in both the White House and the Federal agencies — openly LGBT employees are doing their jobs with distinction and professionalism. The LGBT rights movement has achieved great progress, but there is more work to be done. LGBT youth should feel safe to learn without the fear of harassment, and LGBT families and seniors should be allowed to live their lives with dignity and respect. My Administration has partnered with the LGBT community to advance a wide range of initiatives. At the international level, I have joined efforts at the United Nations to decriminalize homosexuality around the world. Here at home, I continue to support measures to bring the full spectrum of equal rights to LGBT Americans. These measures include enhancing hate crimes laws, supporting civil unions and Federal rights for LGBT couples, outlawing discrimination in the workplace, ensuring adoption rights, and ending the existing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in a way that strengthens our Armed Forces and our national security. We must also commit ourselves to fighting the HIV/AIDS epidemic by both reducing the number of HIV infections and providing care and support services to people living with HIV/AIDS across the United States. These issues affect not only the LGBT community, but also our entire Nation. As long as the promise of equality for all remains unfulfilled, all Americans are affected. If we can work together to advance the principles upon which our Nation was founded, every American will benefit. During LGBT Pride Month, I call upon the LGBT community, the Congress, and the American people to work together to promote equal rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2009 as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. I call upon the people of the United States to turn back discrimination and prejudice everywhere it exists. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this first day of June, in the year of our Lord two thousand nine, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-third. BARACK OBAMA

July 17, 2009

Hate Crimes Passes, Faces Veto

By Kerry Eleveld

The Senate voted 63-28 Thursday night to end discussion on the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was subsequently adopted by unanimous consent as an amendment to the Department of Defense reauthorization bill.

“The Senate made a strong statement this evening that hate crimes have no place in America,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. “This is a victory for all Americans — particularly those like Judy Shepard, who has endured what no mother should ever have to.”

Though the amendment garnered three votes more than necessary to reach cloture, the fate of the hate-crimes measure is now partially linked to the $1.75 billion in funding for F-22 fighter jets also included in the DOD legislation.

President Barack Obama and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates both oppose the F-22 program and a White House spokesman said the president will not sign a DOD bill that continues to fund the program.

“The president has long supported the hate-crimes bill and gave his personal commitment to Judy Shepard that we will enact an inclusive bill,” said Shin Inouye, referring to Shepard’s Oval Office visit with the president earlier this year. “Unfortunately, the president will have to veto the Defense authorization bill if it includes wasteful spending for additional F-22s. The collective judgment of the service chiefs and secretaries of the military departments is that the current program is sufficient to meet operational requirements. A presidential veto would not indicate any change in President Obama’s commitment to seeing the hate-crimes bill enacted.”

Senators Carl Levin and John McCain have offered a bipartisan amendment to remove the F-22 funding that is scheduled for a vote Monday, but insiders say the count is unclear.

If the amendment fails and President Obama vetoes the bill, it will be sent back to the Senate for a rewrite. A Democratic Senate aide said Senator Reid was optimistic, nonetheless, that hate-crimes legislation would make the final version of DOD authorization.

“This was a good vote,” said the aide. “Senator Reid is hopeful that we can keep this language in the final bill.”

David Smith, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, also indicated that the hate-crimes expansion stood a good chance of being signed into law despite the F-22 snag.

“We are very confident that the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act is going to get to the president’s desk,” Smith said. “There might be some bumps along the way, but it will eventually get there.”

The hate-crimes measure would broaden a federal statute that already protects citizens against bias crimes based on their race, color, national origin, or religion to include crimes committed against citizens for their actual or perceived gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. It would also allow the federal government to provide assistance to local law authorities investigating a bias crime and to step in where local authorities are themselves unable or unwilling to prosecute a hate crime.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, who is being treated for brain cancer, originally introduced the legislation in the Senate in 1997.

Findings defy suicide ruling for professorLawsuit: Evidence suggests NSU teacher was beaten

Jeff Martin

©Copyright 2009 Argus Leader Media

New details are emerging this month in a federal lawsuit, which sheds more light on the mysterious shooting death of a Northern State University professor in 2004.

Two key experts in the case now dispute the Aberdeen Police Department’s conclusion that Morgan Lewis took his own life, the new documents show.

Lewis’ body was found outside his campus office, about 40 yards from a handgun found under paper inside a Dumpster, the records state. Lewis, a 46-year-old German professor, had been shot in the neck. Police at the time released few other details.

Court documents and exhibits obtained by the Argus Leader reveal facts and details from the police investigation which have never been made public. Among them:

Gunshot residue was found inside the empty currency pocket of the victim’s wallet, “indicating that someone who had just fired a gun had subsequently placed his or her hand inside the wallet’s currency pocket,” the lawsuit states.

The victim suffered a wound on his forehead associated with a skull fracture, along with multiple facial abrasions, the autopsy report states. Bruises and abrasions on his face, head and left side of his body suggest that he might have been attacked with a blunt instrument, the lawsuit says.

Dr. Brad Randall, a Sioux Falls pathologist who performed the autopsy, said in a sworn statement that “I do not believe that this case should be classified as a suicide.” Randall, who also reviewed the investigative reports, added that he is willing to testify that Lewis’ death should not be classified as a suicide.

Dr. Albert Kowalski, vice president and medical director for Prudential Group Insurance, reviewed the files and found “multiple inconsistencies” in the theory that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted. That included the fact that the right-handed professor was shot in the left side of his neck, Kowalski noted. The death, he stated, “does not appear to be an attempt to commit suicide.”

There was no suicide note, and no clear evidence that Lewis was at high risk for suicide, Kowalski wrote. He also noted that Lewis had been treated by a psychiatrist for “major depressive disorder with psychotic features,” but the psychiatrist has provided a statement that he “never considered (Lewis) a suicide risk.”

The lawsuit, filed July 1 in U.S. District Court, seeks death benefits for Lewis’ domestic partner, James Buck of Palm Springs, Calif. Buck, who is the beneficiary of Lewis’ estate, filed a claim for the $150,000 he’s entitled to if Lewis died of a homicide at work. But the claim was denied because police ruled the death a suicide, which is not covered by the policy.

The defendants are the National Education Association, which offered the insurance policy to Lewis, and the Prudential Insurance Co. of America. Despite the findings of its medical director, Kowalski, Prudential ultimately decided not to pay the benefits – a decision which prompted this month’s lawsuit.

Prudential “used their own employees as investigators even though the chief of their medical department determined that this should not be classified as a suicide,” said Sioux Falls lawyer Scott Abdallah, who represents Buck.

Janet Gillespie, director of global communications for Prudential, said the company doesn’t comment on pending litigation. NEA representatives did not respond to requests for comment.

The state of South Dakota in March 2008 chose to settle another insurance claim with Buck, and the details were not made public.

Aberdeen Police Chief Don Lanpher Jr. on Friday referred questions to city attorney Adam Altman. Altman was not working for the city when Lewis died and couldn’t comment on details of the case, but he said a thorough investigation was done and city officials have no reason to doubt the suicide ruling.

“The city of Aberdeen is convinced that this was a suicide and we don’t have any reason to believe otherwise,” Altman said.

Shortly after the death, police began describing it as “suspicious” and began a lengthy investigation. An incident narrative from June 2005 is noted by Kowalski as “active investigation of homicide.” In February 2006, about 15 months after Lewis died, Lanpher announced the death was self-inflicted but provided no details.

Gunshot residue inside Lewis’ wallet is “the sort of thing that’s one of those problematic details,” says NSU political science professor Ken Blanchard, who later met with the police chief to discuss the case. “How does it get in there? Has he got the wallet open in his hands when he fires the gun?”

Police discovered the wallet in a pool of blood where Lewis had fallen. The wallet “was dropped or placed onto blood that had already seeped out onto the pavement,” the lawsuit states. The .25-caliber Colt pistol is unregistered and untraceable, it says.

Blanchard hasn’t heard convincing evidence that anyone else shot Lewis, but said he’s not sure it was a suicide either. If Lewis was murdered, he says, “then somebody’s walking around loose and that’s a scary idea.”

Jeff Martin can be reached at (605) 331-2373 or 1-800-530-6397.