North Texas [Collin County] couples take ban on gay marriage personally
"To have other people vote on my marriage is outrageous to me," said [CCGLA Board Member] Lorie Burch, a Plano lawyer who married her partner, [CCGLA Volunteer] Jane Colley, in Torrance, Calif., on July 18. "There are a lot of people's marriages I'd like to weigh in on, but I don't have that right."

[CCGLA Members] David Northway and Loras Freihoefer of Plano married in a beach ceremony near San Francisco on July 26, surrounded by family, friends and co-workers. "We've been together 19 years," Mr. Northway said. "We wanted to do it, and we thought it was positive for people to see a gay couple get married."

Mr. Northway said he was at his computer Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, searching for Proposition 8 returns from California. "I do believe it is a large setback," he said of the measure's passage. "But if I had to look at the positives, [the vote] raised more awareness, more discussion."

An editorial in The New York Times' put it best -
"Even as the nation shattered one barrier of intolerance, we were disappointed that voters in four states chose to reinforce another. Ballot measures were approved in Arkansas, Arizona, Florida and California that discriminate against couples of the same sex. We do not view these results as reason for despair. Struggles over civil rights never follow a straight trajectory, and the ugly outcome of these ballot fights should not obscure the building momentum for full equality for gay people, including acceptance of marriage between gay men and women. But the votes remind us of how much remains to be done before this bigotry is finally erased.

CCGLA members will be attending this year's Black Tie Dinner, which has been designated to Youth First Texas and proceeds were split with CCGLA's other partner organizations - Resource Center of Dallas and Equality Texas Foundation.

Generous CCGLA members will open their Jr. Suite at the hotel for a pre-dinner cocktail party to toast CCGLA and all of its friends and partners. Email info@ccgla.org if you would like to join us.

Do you know of an office building, clubhouse, conference room, or other suitable location which is centrally located in Collin County and available every Sunday from 6:00-7:30 pm? It should be well lit, have ample parking and if it is near Dart that would be a plus. Of course, we prefer free or very inexpensive as we do not yet have a budget. Meeting at a residence is not an option. If you don't know of anywhere perhaps you can help us by spreading the word. If you have any leads please send an email to gene@ccgla.org  

We appreciate your help,
Youth First Texas - Collin County Facilitators

The parent support group for LGBT families will start meeting once a month. The objective of the gatherings is for the whole family to meet & greet other families.

If you are interested, please send an email to parent.chair@ccgla.org. Please include your contact information so that we may reach you.

BNCC meetings are the 2nd and 4th Friday of every month. The meeting are held at Fox Sports Grill, 5741 Legacy Road in The Shops of Legacy in Plano from 11:30am - 1:00pm. The groups goal is to spread the word and have many join the group -- the more people that attend, the better your prospects for building your client-base as well as helping other clients find new service providers.

For more information or to RSVP, visit the Business Network-CC website.