Four Arrested as LGBT Groups Protest Lack of Funding for LGBT Homeless Youth in NY Governor's Budget

Four activists from the group Queer Rising — Natasha Dillon, Jake Goodman, Melissa Kleckner and Ted McGuire — were peacefully arrested yesterday afternoon following a protest by the group in front of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's Manhattan office. At the demonstration, group members stood beside cardboard boxes that featured the names, ages and hobbies of anonymous LGBTQ youth and chanted for action from Cuomo.

Writes the group in a release to Towleroad:

In October 2011, approximately 80 LGBT organizations and community leaders endorsed the Campaign for Youth Shelter and sent Governor Cuomo a letter calling for "an additional $3-million per year in funding for the creation of 100 youth shelter beds per year."  Cuomo never publicly acknowledged the letter.

Hours after New York State Governor Cuomo released his 2012 budget proposal — which neglected to add a single penny of additional funding to provide adequate shelter for runaway and homeless youth — outraged members of the LGBT community gathered to protest outside his Manhattan office.  Activist group, Queer Rising, organized the demonstration.  Approximately two-dozen activists participated in the protest resulting in four arrests.

Every night in New York City, approximately 3,800 youth are without stable shelter, but the state and city only provide funding for fewer than 200 beds for these youth.  Up to 40% of the homeless youth identify as being LGBT. Last year, Governor Cuomo slashed this budget by 50%.

In related news, Carl Siciliano, Executive Director of the Ali Forney Center, the largest LGBT homeless shelter and resource center in New York, released the following statement regarding Cuomo's budget:

"Governor Cuomo's budget proposal is bad news for the 1600 homeless LGBT youth stranded on the streets of New York each night without access to a shelter bed. These youth, who suffer horribly and whose lives are in danger, deserve the attention and concern of their governor no less than the other members of our community.  With marriage equality expected to bring in over 100 million dollars in additional economic activity and tax revenue for the state, the LGBT community has a moral obligation to demand that our tax dollars protect the most vulnerable and desperate members of our community."

The Ali Forney Center was not involved in Queer Rising's action at the governor's office.

Queer Rising to Protest Cuomo, Demand More Beds for LGBTQ Homeless Youth

Activist Group Queer Rising will stage a demonstration today in front of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo's office, demanding more beds and shelter for homeless LGBTQ and other youth:

Join the Coalition behind the CAMPAIGN FOR HOMELESS YOUTH and QUEER RISING on January 17, 2012 at 4:30pm in-front of NY Gov.Cuomo's Office in Midtown to DEMAND an increase in funding for Homeless Shelter Services and Beds!

40% of homeless youth in New York identify as being LGBTQ. Since 2008, Mayor Bloomberg has cut the budget to Homeless Youth Services (HYS) by at least 50%. Last year, Governor Cuomo also cut the HYS budget by 50%.

We are demanding that an additional $3 million be added to the budget, which will provide an additional 100 beds, every year until all our youth have adequate shelter. Governor Cuomo will release his 2012 budget proposal by January 20th, at the latest.

As a second “A Box Is Not A Home” action, Queer Rising will hold this action in front of Governor Cuomo's office demanding that the $3 million be included in the 2012 budget. We will continue to advocate for our youth, we will not go away, Marriage Equality is not the only issue we care about.

Challenging Marriage Equality: The Case of Conservatives v. Albany

BY ARI EZRA WALDMAN

In the many glorious days since the passage of the Marriage Equality Act in New York, there have been more than a few marriages, even more engagements, and the world kept ticking. Conservatives, of course, dislike this. But, there is precious little they can do. Same-sex marriage polls overwhelmingly well among New Yorkers, the state's Democratic majority is firmly behind marriage equality, and they are supported by quite a few wealthy, influential Republicans (read: Bloomberg, Grisanti, Alesi, Saland, and McDonald). Any fight against the substance of the Marriage Equality Act risks marginalizing an already weak Republican Party from voters in deep blue New York.

But, let no one say that our anti-gay forces are not resourceful. Faced with a citizenry that supports same-sex marriage, conservatives instead turned to New Yorkers' greatest bogeyman: Albany. This week, a New York State judge ruled that a state legal challenge to the Marriage Equality Act -- based on the supposedly Machiavellian procedure by which it was enacted -- can proceed to the next stage. That is not to say that this challenge will be successful; in fact, the judge was pretty sanguine pessimistic about the suit's prospects for success. However, it is worth discussing what this case is about, why it lacks merit, and how it shows the utter desperation of the anti-gay right.

CONTINUED, AFTER THE JUMP...

Tonight, Queer Rising Will Occupy Times Square

Where do queer homeless kids go on Xmas? That's what the ginormous billboard above Times Square's Forever 21 will ask passersby beginning at 6 p.m., as Queer Rising stages a demonstration below. The billboard will also offer the curious a phone number to call, if they really want to know about the unlucky kids' holiday plans: "Cuomo: 518-474-8390."

The homeless youth population is disproportionately made up of LGBT folk. And what scant resources are availible to them are chronically under-funded and under-licensed.

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo Speaks to Empire State Pride Agenda: VIDEO

Earlier I posted about Governor Andrew Cuomo's speech to NY's Empire State Pride Agenda last night in which he called for marriage equality nationwide.

Watch it, AFTER THE JUMP...

NY Governor Andrew Cuomo Looks Nationally on LGBT Rights in Empire State Pride Agenda Speech: VIDEO

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo spoke before a crowd of 1,200 last night at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers at the Empire State Pride Agenda (ESPA)  dinner, and called for marriage equality across the country, the NYT reports:

Shifting his sights beyond New York in a way he has not done before, Mr. Cuomo demanded that the federal Defense of Marriage Act be repealed. His voice rising in intensity as he spoke, he also called for federal legislation that would bar discrimination against gay men and lesbians in housing and employment.

And in his most forceful terms to date, Mr. Cuomo called for his counterparts across the country to embrace what he framed as an issue of equal rights and to push for the legalization of same-sex marriage in their own statehouses.

“We need marriage equality in every state in this nation,” Mr. Cuomo said. “Otherwise, no state really has marriage equality, and we will not rest until it is a reality.”

Watch (via Think Progress) a NY1 report on the speech, AFTER THE JUMP...

Shortly after Cuomo's successful push to legalize same-sex marriage in New York there was lots of talk about how it might help a potential presidential bid by the governor in 2016.

David Mixner takes a look HERE at the next steps envisioned by Executive Director Ross Levi for ESPA.