Netroots Nation: LGBT Caucus

Me, Michael Crawford and Mike Rogers in the back

The LGBT Caucus met yesterday during Netroots Nation. Most of us were here during the week for the Pre-Conference, but this meeting gave us an opportunity to meet with the local LGBT community and other attendees.

We also got to hear Sen. Ben Cardin talk about LGBT rights and next steps. Here are some highlights:

• We spent more than enough time getting to know each other. While that was nice, we didn't spend enough time on the issues.
• We talked about how to be more effective in our endeavors as activists.
• The sad issue was the lack of understanding about ENDA. 8 out of 10 people didn't know a lot about it.
• Sen. Cardin talked about how discrimination hurts everyone in our country.
• It was also mentioned how the Blood ban of gays from the American Red Cross must be lifted.
• It was noted that many groups praised the LGBT community for their activism.
• It was good to see Tony from Spewing Truth in the Face of Lies there.
• Mike Rogers informed us about new initiatives to get more LGBT of color to Netroots Nation, as well as, other conferences.
• We developed a list of issues to discuss for next year, my group had the largest list.
• He also talked about a mentor program for younger LGBT activists.
• It was discussed how to engage more LGBT youth in activism.
• There were a lot enthusiasm for the election and the progress we have achieved over the year.

 It was a good meeting, wish we had more time, but it was good overall.