The Day Of The Invisible Gay Soldier Is Over!

Today marks the end of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell".  Over 14,500 military personnel have been discharged because of Don't Ask, Don't Tell, which was implemented during President Clinton's administration.  Perhaps now we will learn how many LGBT members of the armed forces fought for our country with honor while secretly hiding who they really were.  Thank you to all who served in secrecy and all who made this repeal possible!

Join With Senator Mark Udall In His Support Of Marriage Equality...

Join with Senator Mark Udall in his support for gay and lesbian couples to share in the responsibilities and commitments of marriage.  Click on the link below to sign his petition in support of marriage equality.

http://www.markudall.com/page/s/pledge-to-support-marriage-equality

Advocacy Committee Seeks New Members

Do you have a desire to "do justly" and "love mercy"? Then consider joining the Micah Advocacy Committee!  The Temple Micah Advocacy Committee is seeking new members with ideas on how to help the committee offer additional information and advocacy opportunities to the Micah community.  The committee meets about once a month.  Anyone interested may join.  Please e-mail advocacy@micahdenver.org for additional information.  We look forward to seeing you soon!

New York Senate Passes Same Sex Marriage Bill!

The Empire State building goes rainbow!

On Friday, the New York State Senate passed a historic same-sex marriage bill that will allow gay and lesbian citizens to marry legally for the first time. Governor Cuomo is set to sign the bill into law. This good news comes on the eve of Manhattan's Pride celebration, where thousands gathered at Stonewall, the place where the LGBT movement began, to celebrate.

New York becomes the 7th state to legalize gay marriage after New Hampshire, Connecticut, Massachuets, Vermont, Iowa and Washington D.C. Here in Colorado, marriage is still defined to be between a man and a woman, though a bill came to committee in the senate in February, 2011 that would have allowed civil unions. Unfortunately, the bill did not make it beyond committee, and testimony from anti-gay groups was full of malice and hate.

It is my sincere hope that this is the beginning of a national movement that will see gay marriage become legalized at the federal level, and the repeal of the DOMA laws, which prevent the federal government from recognizing same-sex marriage, and conferring the rights of marriage to LGBT citizens.

Thank you for your continued support of the LGBT community. We have a long way to go for full marriage equality, but events like this show that change is coming!

Kareen

Temple Micah Pride A Success!

Thank you to the 20+ people that came to march with Temple Micah in our first ever entry in Denver's Pride Parade on Sunday. We had a great time decorating the truck and showing our pride! The 200,000+ crowd enjoyed seeing Jews in support of LGBT rights. For the first time in the parade's history, there were four Jewish organizations and synagogues represented in the parade, including Keshet, ADL, Temple Micah, and B'Nai Havurah. If you missed out this year, don't worry, you'll have the opportunity to join us next year!

Pride Parade Meet Up Details

Denver Pride Parade details:

The Pride Parade is on Sunday, June 19!

The parade begins at Chessman Park and will end at Colfax and Broadway (about a mile and a half.) See the location at the bottom of this post for a map.

Groups will be lining up in Chessman Park in color coded sections. We are color Purple and will probably be closest to the 11th Avenue entrance at Race Street on the east side of the Park. Our line-up number within the purple section is number 8. Look for the purple balloons or ask directions from one of the parade volunteers. Look for the Temple Micah banner and our truck!

Please be at the park by 9:30am. Wear comfortable shoes, protect yourself from the sun and carry water. Some who join us will be able to ride in the truck.

Cheeseman Park will be closed to through traffic. Only parade vehicles and floats will be able to drive through the park, so plan to park near the park. At the end of the parade, we will use the truck to bring everyone back to their cars.

Here are a few rules:

1. We absolutely CANNOT throw anything into the crowd, so don't bring anything like candy to throw. Throwing items is prohibited to prevent serious injury to small children.

2. No alcohol is allowed while preparing for the parade or during the parade.

3. Having fun is mandatory. Be sure to enjoy yourself!

We hope to see you on Sunday ready to show Micah Pride!!

Temple Micah to Participate in Denver Pride Parade!

Join us on June 19th as Temple Micah shows the community that we are committed to equality and inclusion for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people. Details on where and when we will be meeting will be posted here on Tuesday June 14th.

We hope to see you on the 19th!