Location
GLBT Historical Society Museum, 4127 18th St., San Francisco, CA 94114
Admission
$5.00 | Free for members
*Limited Seating, advance RSVP recommended.
RSVP and purchase tickets here
The latest in the GLBT Historical Society's monthly "Fighting Back" series exploring contemporary queer issues in a historical context, this community panel will look back at the history and outcomes of the marriage equality movement in San Francisco and nationally, 15 years after Gavin Newsom -- then mayor of San Francisco and now governor of California -- mandated the issuing of marriage licenses for same-sex couples in San Francisco.
Dubbed an act of "civic disobedience" in violation of state law, the short-lived authorization sparked San Francisco's "Winter of Love," when some 4,000 same-sex couples rushed to formalize their relationships.
MODERATOR: Julie Nice teaches constitutional, sexuality and poverty law at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she is the Herbst Foundation Professor of Law. She writes regularly about LGBTQ rights and economic justice. She has won 14 awards for teaching excellence and was featured as one of the nation's top 25 law teachers in "What the Best Law Teachers Do "(Harvard 2013). She has written and made over 40 public presentations about same-sex marriage.
PANELISTS:
Anna Eng
Kara Korbel Chinula - love warrior, marriage equality activist, participant in the "winter of love 2004" and the "national marriage equality express" in October 2004 . Believer in all persons human dignity to legally live and love freely to the detriment of none. Grew up in Minnesota arrived in Bay Area 25 years ago. Career in affordable housing in the east bay. Graduate of the USF School of Law.
John Lewis and Stuart Gaffney were one of the first 10 couples to marry during San Francisco’s 2004 Winter of Love. When the California Supreme Court nullified the Winter of Love marriages, they became one of the plaintiff couples in the historic 2008 lawsuit that established marriage equality in California before Proposition 8. For years, John was Legal and Policy Director of Marriage Equality USA, and Stuart was the Communications Director. They were also leaders of API Equality, a coalition that both brought Asian American visibility to the marriage equality movement and targeted outreach and education to the Asian American community. Today, they are regular columnists for the SF Bay Times newspaper and continue their educational work nationally and internationally through the nonprofit organization Marriage Equality. Here is a link to their current SF Bay Times column: Happy 15th Anniversary of San Francisco’s “Winter of Love”: http://sfbaytimes.com/happy-15th-anniversary-san-franciscos-winter-love/
Ruth Villasenor, a Chiricahua Apache, Mexican woman who identifies as Two Spirit, and has been a member of BAAITS for over 19 years. Her and her partner of 21 years, are one of the 18,000 legally married couples in California. The owners of Paws & Claws Oakland, their business became a drop off point for Prop 8 signage and updates on local activities during the 2008 election. She became the Native American Outreach Director for Marriage Equality USA, realizing the continued education needed for people to understand what equality truly means. Her painful experience during the prop 8 rallies in Oakland inspired her to create a film, "Traditional Indigenous Values" a 8min. documentary reflecting on historical acceptance of two spirit people, the effects of colonization and Prop. 8. She has worked hard bridging communities together, reconnecting natives to cultural traditions and non-natives to the gay/two-spirit community.
Photo credit: San Francisco Pride Parade, 2018. Photo Courtesy of Ruth Villaseñor.