Brooklyn's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Political Voice

On behalf of the Executive Board of Lambda Independent Democrats, we would like to take a moment to thank our members and friends for their continued support.  This year has been a very exciting time in the history of our club and our movement.  All of us have much to be proud of:

*          We lent our voices to the pro-democracy demonstrators in Egypt and advocated for the inclusion of LGBT groups in the Brooklyn Irish American Day Parade.

*          We organized a rally for marriage equality and helped to mobilize thousands of Brooklyn supporters to contact state senators, which ultimately led to the historic vote on June 24th that granted equal marriage rights to LGBT New Yorkers.  We are proud to announce that, since the marriage vote, several of our members have either married or become engaged to their partners.

*          We worked with police, elected officials and the Anti-Violence Project to address the string of violent crimes committed against LGBT people in North Brooklyn.

*          We witnessed the full repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, brought about, in part, by the efforts of lawmakers who LID helped elect.

*          We have been major boosters of the Brooklyn Community Pride Center and assisted in its capital funding campaign.

*          We worked with our friends at New Kings Democrats, Bay Ridge Democrats, CBID and other progressive groups to co-sponsor various events, including our marriage rally and a forum on redistricting.

*          We became primary organizers and supporters of the Campaign for Homeless Youth Shelter, which has drawn national attention to the plight of the nearly 4,000 homeless youth in our city, 40% of whom identify as LGBT.  The campaign recently inspired one New York couple to donate $100,000 to the Ali Forney Center, with the hope and intention of raising an additional $900,000.  Our goal now is to convince state and city lawmakers to provide adequate funding for Runaway and Homeless Youth Services.

*          We became early supporters of and advisers to the Queer History Alliance, whose proposal to build an AIDS Memorial Park in the West Village has gained momentum over the past few months.  While continuing to navigate the approval process, QHA recently launched a world-class architectural design competition for the park, led by the designers of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center site.  Among the enlisted judges for the competition are Kenneth Cole and Whoopi Goldberg.

On top of all that, we still managed to perform our “routine” activities, including endorsing and campaigning for progressive candidates, hosting fundraisers, registering voters at street fairs, recruiting new members, marching in pride parades, and organizing board and general meetings.

In 2012, LID will continue to focus on these and other issues important to our community, and we will become fully engaged with the upcoming elections.  Please join us at our Annual Meeting on January 26th, where we will elect new board members and officers, hear from guest speakers, and provide endorsements in the Presidential and U.S. Senate races.  More details will be announced at the beginning of January.

Thank you for continuing to support our many endeavors on behalf of Brooklyn’s LGBT community. May each of you have a meaningful, restful and spirited holiday season among family and friends.

Warm wishes,

Tom Burrows & Matthew McMorrow
Co-Presidents