June 1, 2006 Newsletter

New Site Design

Unity Mississippi, Mississippi's LGBT business, social, and awareness organization is proud to announce the release of Version 3 of the Unity Mississippi site. The Unity Mississippi board is working hard to provide much needed resources and information for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender/transsexual communities and our allies in Mississippi. With the fresh, clean layout and design, our goal is to make this site a resource-rich website for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Mississippians. We have added coming out, legal, health, parenting, and trans information and resources. We will be continuously updating the site with detailed resources that will enable and empower the LGBT community of Mississippi.

You will find new areas in the site including:

Some things have not changed:

  • Our forums are active and ready for you to begin or join a discussion.
  • The LGBT Timeline has been edited and will soon have Mississippi LGBT history added also.
  • Becoming a member is still easy. Simply visit our membership page to learn more!
  • Our directory will soon be re-released in a new easier-to-read format!

Feel free to browse the site and let us know what you think by visiting our forums or by contacting us. If you experiencing problems with the site or viewing the site, please contact us with details.

Mississippi ranks 45 out of 50

According to a new map and study produced by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Sister Song, and Ipas, Mississippi ranks negatively (45 out of 50) when it comes to discrimination, sex education and abortion issues. Complete with state-by-state rankings, Mapping Our Rights is an ideal tool for monitoring state policies. A resource that will help activists, journalists and researchers, it's also for people who want to know how their state — or a state they may relocate to — governs their bodies and relationships.

The clickable, online map uses more than 20 indicators to rank the 50 states and the District of Columbia, including:

  • Public funding for family planning and abortion
  • Whether health-care providers can deny medical services because of their beliefs
  • Whether same-sex couples can adopt
  • The use of abstinence-only curricula in schools
  • Whether states have anti-discrimination clauses that explicitly protect gays 

Using these measures, New York and New Mexico tied for the No. 1 spot. Those states earned top honors because each had many laws that promote, not restrict, reproductive and sexual rights. South Dakota's last-place finish was influenced by the state Legislature's approval of an abortion ban earlier this year.

Visit the online map at www.mappingourrights.org to learn more.

Central Alabama Pride Begins

Central Alabama Pride runs June 2-11, 2006 in Birmingham, Alabama... The main event on Sunday, June 11, 2006, features Amber, Inaya Day and Lady Bunny at the historic Sloss Furnaces (Noon Until 10:00 PM). Visit www.centralalabamapride.org for more details and the full calendar of events.

OUTloud

What are they listening to?

Duane from Jackson

Let us know what you are listening to by visiting our forums.

Tell us what you want!

OUToberfest 2006 Image

We're conducting a poll on our site to see who YOU prefer for OUToberfest 2006. Please take a moment to vote and give us feedback on the entertainer you would most like to see! Visit our forums to cast your vote.

Upcoming Events

Homo Highway
Unity will be conducting its quarterly highway clean-up in June. If you'd like to volunteer to help us give back to the community, please contact jen.smith@unityms.org.

Want your event listed? Email events@unityms.org with the details.

Website of the week:

MySpace -- www.myspace.com
Online social network where you can easily communicate with friends and make new friends. Other features include musician pages with tracks for listening, videos, forums, and more. If you join, be sure to add Unity as one of your friends by visiting www.myspace.com/unityms.

GayTV

Visit PlanetOut's extensive LGBT TV guide.

In The News


Call for sponsors, organizations, vendors and entertainers!

Unity Mississippi is currently seeking financial sponsors, organizations, vendors and entertainers for OUToberfest 2006. We're looking to make 2006 more informative, more entertaining, and more enlightening. We need YOU to help us do that. If you are interested in learning more about how to become a sponsor, vendor or entertainer, or are an organization that would like to table the festival, please email info@unityms.org or info@outoberfest.com for more details!

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