LA Gay Bar Designated as Historical Monument

From thepoliticalcesspool.org:

The City of Los Angeles has honored a bar where the nation’s first gay rights protests took place with a designation as a historical monument:

The old, illuminated sign of a black and white smiling cat still beckons patrons into a small windowless bar, the site of one of the nation’s earliest gay rights protests four decades ago.

Just last week, after thousands flooded the streets of Sunset Junction rallying for the rights of same-sex couples to marry, some demonstrators rested their placards under the sign and crowded into the Silver Lake bar now called Le Barcito.

Forty-one years earlier, the Black Cat, as it was known then, offered a rare gathering place for Los Angeles gays. But it was no safe haven: Police commonly raided taverns, targeting patrons for their sexual orientation.

In 1967, a police raid at the Black Cat touched off protests that predated by two years the historic Stonewall riots in New York City. The 1969 Stonewall riots, in which gays and lesbians fought back against the police for several nights, are commonly said to have sparked the gay rights movement.

Last week in Los Angeles, the Black Cat cemented its place in history with a city designation as a historic-cultural monument.

LA Mayor Gives $25,000 to Fight Proposition 8

Antonio Villaraigosa, The Mayor of Los Angeles has donated $25,000 to help defeat Proposition 8, a California ballot initiative that would take away the right for gay people to marry in that state.

In a statement released Tuesday by Courage Campaign, an online political organizing Web site, the mayor noted that he has officiated many weddings for gay couples since same-sex marriage was legalized in California in June.

Villaraigosa said he entered politics because “the America of my dreams includes everyone, not just a few.”

Like San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, whose words and image have appeared in television ads by Proposition 8’s supporters, Villaraigosa has mentioned interest in campaigning for governor in 2010.

LA Mayor Villaraigosa to be Keynote at Gala Dinner

The Human Rights Campaign, the largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights organization in the U.S., announced that Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, will be the keynote speaker at the HRC gala dinner to be held on Saturday, July 26th.

Villaraigosa, a staunch advocate of GLBT equality and who publicly supported the legalization of marriages for gay and lesbian couples in California issued an executive directive last month barring employment discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

“I am thrilled and honored that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa will join us for our annual gala dinner in San Francisco, particularly during this historic fight to preserve marriage equality in California,” said HRC President Joe Solmonese. “Mayor Villaraigosa has consistently shown that he understands, as we do, that GLBT rights are civil rights and human rights. We are grateful to have him as an ally as HRC continues its efforts to ensure that gay and lesbian couples are treated equally under California law.”

Make your plans to attend here.

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Donate to the HRC here.