Queer Rising Stops Manhattan Traffic

QUEER RISING ESCALATES DEMAND FOR MARRIAGE EQUALITY IN NY STATE WITH SERIES OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCES

5 ACTIVISTS ARRESTED FOR BLOCKING TRAFFIC IN FRONT OF GOVERNOR CUOMO'S OFFICE

BALLOONS & MARRIAGE EQUALITY BANNER STILL FLOATING ON GRAND CENTRAL STATION CEILING

New York, NY – The LGBTQ activist organization Queer Rising escalated its protest against New York’s discriminatory marriage laws late this afternoon, unleashing series of direct action protests across Midtown Manhattan that ended in the arrest of five of its members.


Balloons carrying a large sign calling on New Yorkers put pressure on their government to demand marriage equality are now floating just under the Grand Central Station’s landmark ceiling, and five people have been arrested for blocking rush-hour traffic just outside Governor Cuomo's Manhattan office, at East 41 Street and 3rd Avenue. The Queer Rising members unfurled a 75-foot banner that reads, “Marriage Equality NOW! Call Cuomo: 518-474-8390!!!”

In Case You Missed It

By Father Tony

Watching this video recap of the protest is heartening. The strength of this video is twofold. There is the conviction expressed by the protesters who have my admiration, but there is also the resounding sadness in the faces of the bureaucrats and police who seem to be discharging public responsibilities with which they do not personally agree. Gone are the smirks and sarcasm and disdain of previous decades. I think I see signs that in the heart of America, homophobia is withering and this battle is well on its way to being over.

Come to the Hearing this Friday for 4 Arrested Queer Rising Members

By Father Tony

UPDATE: Friday 1PM, The four men arrested last week for demonstrating at the New York City Marriage License Bureau are free. The DA offered them ACD (adjournment in contemplation of dismissal) which is a loose 6-month probation.

I received an email with the following text. (It refers to the protest in which QNY's Justin Elzie was arrested.)

We are asking that if at all possible you attend the hearing in front of the judge this Friday, February 19th at 11AM (Note: the time has been moved from 9:30 to 11) for the 4 Queer Rising members who were arrested in last week's civil disobedience action. It is important we have strong representation from the community and our group at this hearing. The more people there - the better! 

The address for the hearing is: 100 Centre St., Part A, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10013.

Please, pass this word on to as many people as you know and ask them to attend and forward to people who live in the New York City area.

This is a huge need - please help if you can.

Thank you.

Facebook event link to share:

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=344240485154

QNY's Justin Elzie Arrested in Protest

By Father Tony

QNY team member Justin Elzie and three other members of Queer Rising have just been arrested in a Valentine's Day Protest at the New York City Marriage Bureau Office at 141 Worth St. Justin is on the left in this William Berger photo.

Update: here's the video:

Civil Disobedience Training at the LGBT Center

By Brooklyn Bill

When I told my Dad I was going to a civil disobedience training class, he asked, "Is that to learn how not to get arrested?" I hemmed and hawed and didn't really answer Dad's question because I assumed that, of course, the whole purpose of CD is to get arrested.

I learned that that's not necessarily the case. And here are some other things I learned at the class, which was presented yesterday afternoon at the LGBT Center by Act Up veterans Ann Northrop and Brian Zabcik at the invitation of Queer Rising:

Rosa Parks had been trained in civil disobedience at what's now called the Highlander Research and Education Center in New Market, Tennessee, before she refused to give up her seat on the bus in Montgomery, Alabama.

If you're arrested for CD, you have to tell the police only your name, address, and phone number. They may ask where you work, whether you're a homosexual, and other personal questions, but you should politely say that you don't have to answer those kinds of questions. And you should have a photo ID with you; otherwise, you'll be sitting in jail for longer than necessary.

Northrop said that being arrested for civil disobedience is boring. Well, the being-held-at-the-police-station part is. She recommends bringing two peanut butter sandwiches and something to read. :-)

Queer Rising in NYC

By Justin

New York City is one of those cities where people still get out to make a difference -- even when it is raining. In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the largest antiwar demonstration at that point in history, in New York City. More than 1,100 people marched with King (who advocated nonviolent, direct action) from Central Park to the United Nations' headquarters to protest the Vietnam War.

This Martin Luther King, Jr. weekend, Queer Rising, a new civil disobedience group created in the footsteps of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., made a difference. Queer Rising is a group that is part of the change that is happening to the LGBTQI community nationwide. They are taking the struggle for equality into their own hands and educating the public on our struggle.

On Saturday, members of Queer Rising stood in Times Square near the TKTS booth with a captive audience and chanted, handed out flyers and had conversations with onlookers about equality for Queer Americans.

They then moved underground to the subway and handed out many more flyers and then it was off to the Grand Central Station where many people took pictures and were handed flyers and were engaged. 750,000 people pass through Grand Central Station daily so it was a great venue.

This weekend I was reminded of the Dr. King quote when he said “In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends. What a great way to spend a weekend in NYC -- making a difference!

You can find out more about Queer Rising on Facebook.