really impact lgbt individuals.hink coming to the training, i bring a lot of passion for the subject, but it's easy for the passion to sometimes turn off other people who may not share my views on the subject. so it's helping to create more effective advocates. well, when you are dealing with the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender population, you have to be aware of the unique culture that people come from and also the discrimination and stigma they have suffered, all which can contribute to substance abuse, as well as to relapses in treatment. and those pile on other stigmas and discrimination that people face and you have to understand the whole gamut of identities that people bring. and this is a very good place that training helps you do that and then helps to translate that into a treatment approach. i also find that depending on the nature of the room, when you can walk around the room, it's a great way to make that connection with someone. yes, i hear and get right up to them and at the same time- i think th

from the lgbt perspective, this is going to be tough, and i submit to the city that they consider thefollowing list of ideas which i have cryptically penned for this testimony. i have noticed that time has gone over, and i know how that feels, so i would just read one or two of them and make my testimony available in writing.

it found that 85% of lgbt students were harassed in school. 46% of lgbt high school students have been in fights compared to 20% of straight students. 82% say other students use derogatory remarks based on sexual orientation, but only 54% say teachers in ter vein. -- say teachers in ter vein. >> some of the slowest kids used in school such as oh, that's so gay and things such as that and how we want that to stop. >> another fiending, lgbt students are four times more likely to abuse drugs or attempt suicide. >> it is another school off and on. >> and now other districts like berkeley unified are asking lgbt organizations to help prevent bullying by talking at assemblies. >> very young, very courageous people. >> talk about their lives and what it is like to grow up being gay. >> these discussions are raising more awareness, but they are expected to raise more controversy as the talk spreads to schools outside of the bay area. in san francisco, alan wang, abc7 news. >> in the meantime, a debate is brewing over the rainbow banners lining the streets in san francisco's castro district. th

recently, i've had the pleasure to work with david campos on an lgbt shelter. there was a hearing last march which david convened about the tremendous need in this city for an lgbt shelter and i was extremely impressed with his ability to bring together the activists and the city people and get us all to work together in order to achieve that shelter which we have done in fact. and ultimately, i guess personally, as a queer activist, i feel it is time that we have a progressive queer latino immigrant mayor here in san francisco. and that person is david campos. thank you. president chiu: next speaker. >> my name is ace washington. this is copyrighted under the community news service. i'm here to say i'm just totally convinced that this city is totally out of control. and we don't know who's in control. so i'm here to bring this to the world. but i'm african-american. i'm an african-american first. and i am putting this to our current mayor, mr. gavin newsom, and he put together this action plan. and right now i want to know who's in control. >> ♪ i want to know

passage of the uniting american families act or inclusion of ufa and lgbt families in immigration reformwill not only benefit me about the thousands of people who are also in the same situation as i am. amending immigration policy of this country to include permanent partners will serve, in the long run, to keep families like ours together. it is a great privilege to be here with you today. i humbly ask for your support, and thank you. [applause] >> good evening, everybody. i have to do it. now i cannot see you. i want to thank the commission, organizers, and tell the panelists how great we are for your insight and advocacy. my name is melanie nathan. i am a personal advocate and conflict resolution specialist. i serve as vice president on the board of fair housing in marine and was recently reappointed to the marin human rights council. i practiced law in south africa before moving to the u.s. in march of this year i was faced with a choice. i could stay in the united states with might call-year-old daughter in a shared custody arrangement or i would have to leave her behind to go into

[applause] >> alan: members of the lgbt defense network estimate 66,000 gay and lesbian military members currently serve their country and there are at least 1 million living veterans who are gay or lesbians. >> i'm living proof that a person who is openly gay does not harm morale. i established stronger bonds with me coworkers after i came out. >> i never stopped loving this country, and when i pledge allegiance at every meeting i do it with great pride and joy. >> alan: the fathering at the san francisco lgbt center included several members of american legion post 448, made up primarily of gay and lesbian varnz. >>> now back to the dream act in the case of a 20-year-old san francisco college student, steve lee avoided deportation after senator dianne feinstein introduced legislation stalling deportation. he thought he was here illegally until he was ordered back to peru. the deem act -- dream act would allow foreign-born youngsters brought here ill illegally mist citizenship. >> crews worked around the clock on the bay bridge to ad -- add the last of the steel. they didn't have to deal

i am a representative of the lgbt center. this is one of of our strongest supporters, and a financial investor in the organization. we have volunteer arrangements with the students and many of the committee members attend the school. we provide services to some of the most abominable individuals in the community, and this is providing job opportunities, for the unemployed adults in this community. the volunteer programs we are involved in include graduate students, to rebuild the website, and some of the may have heard about the unfortunate suicides that warhol and taking place this fall. ad hoc how others have responded to this, how about helping the youth with these responses that are going on. hamas tempore only, many of the committee members are going to school there. a trans gentleman from florida -- she traveled to san francisco to make a better world for herself. she was unable to find employment that she was able to return to school on scholarship at the academy of arts. when i came here 10 years ago i went to the art

general assembly resolution on november 15, which removed lgbt people from the list of populations in need of special protection or rather equal protection from extra judicial, arbitrary, and summary execution. most of the declarations of policy and resolutions and so forth that you pass here have no teeth and are meaningless. but this is harvey milk's town. this is a town where let's face it, it is politically indefensible, the political cost is too high, to oppose lgbt rights. if you speak to this, the world is going to hear. i want a mayor who will do that. second, i want to mayor who will change the terms of the conversation here. all year, i've been listening to you talk about the budget and you're out of money, you're out of money, you're out of money. money is an abstraction. it's not like coal. it's not like oil or natural gas. it's not like water. you didn't run out of it. money is a social intersubjective construction of power. and it has been hugely reconstructed upward. the next mayor needs to be honest about that in this debate about the budget. president chiu: next speak

from the lgbt perspective, this is going to be tough, and i submit to the city that they consider the following list of ideas which i have cryptically penned for this testimony. i have noticed that time has gone over, and i know how that feels, so i would just read one or two of them and make my testimony available in writing. the one that i would like to read which may add to what the professor had to say is, i think the city and county needs to form an urgent advisory committee and instruct a point person to work with our congressional representatives and senators to include promotion. that's send citizens to washington d.c. -- washington, d.c. they really do want to hear from us. i have another list of ideas that i would like to present to you. i will not take your time now. so my respectful and more urgent request, if you could get to make and use them to get a phone call as soon as possible to rep gutierrez's office and senator schumer's office to tell them how important it is to have comprehensive reform here and that it must include our gay and bi-national couples. we need to e

when you add the stigma and shame that are often felt by the lgbt people living in this culture, it becomes even more complicated. i want them to know that they are valuable, i want them to know that they deserve the same respect. dr. clark, we were talking about, john was talking about complicating factors in terms of health challenges that may present at the time of intake for some special population individuals. can you address, continue to address that? well, one of the things that we at samhsa are stressing is that every person who has a mental health issue or substance use issue needs to also get a good physical health assessment. one of the things we know about the misuse of alcohol or drugs is that it does have an effect on the organic integrity of the body. so you may get liver disease, you may get gastritis, you may get heart disease, you're at greater risks for various infections like hepatitis c or hiv. and we want to make sure that anybody who is on the course of recovery has as much information as possible. there was one quote i read recently and a guy says, "i spent all this

and that's a struggle for lgbt equality. >> among the people on hand were two retired navy commanders, including a former nuclear submarine commander. >> i had to live this totally divided life. but you could never get rid of that constant thought that somewhere, someone has seen you or they are making a rogue rumor. and you always live with am i going to get in trouble? >> zoe is the other navy commander. she actually challenged don't ask, don't tell early on and won serving another 13 years openly. >> after 18 years of working on this, i witnessed the end to this destructive policy. and these are tears of joy. i've got to tell you these are tears of joy. >> we caught up with dunning at her home at home where she shared photos of her years on duty. >> i actually created greater bonds with my service members because i could be who i was without fear. >> all of the no votes today came from republicans. tom whose daughter is in the air force rotc is vice chair of the state republican party. >> my problem is as a father of someone in the military are the politicians making this decision

these are tears of joy, i gotta tell ya. >> yesterday's gathering at the san francisco lgbt center ont street included several members of american legion post 448. it is the only legion post made up primarily of gay and lesbian veterans. while gay rights activists are celebrating supporters of the dream act are dealing with disappointment. the senate voted against legislation that would have given young illegal immigrants a pass to citizenship if they were in college or joined the military. local reaction. >> at st. mary's cathedral, she couldn't help but compare herself to mary and joseph and how they must have felt christmas night. >> it's where mary, joseph and jesus were looking for a place to stay. and this reminds us of dream because we consider this our country, the country we love and want to give back to. >> lee told her story to churchgoers after the reenactment and described her disappointment. she was hoping to go to u.c. berkeley. now she's focussed on her january 19th deportation date. >> i'm worried about getting deported because i was born in peru but i don't know anyo

. >> members of the lgbt defense network community center estimate 66,000 current u.s. military members are gay, lesbian and bisexual. they also believe at least one million living veterans are gay or lesbian. >> i never stopped loving this country and when i pledge allegiance at every meeting and at every time, i do it with great pride and joy. >> now, allen tells us that pentagon officials are warning gay service members that "don't ask, don't tell" will remain in place while they review that policy. the dream act is dead. senate republicans blocked it during yesterday's special session. that measure would have given hundreds of thousands of young illegal immigrants a pass to legal status if they enrolled in congress or joined the army. many will now face deportation. that vote fell five short of the 16 needed for a two-thirds majority. we'll have more on the impact in california in our next half hour. still ahead, suicide bombers attack a bus near kabul during the morning rush hour. we'll have details on the afghan capital's first major attack in months. and military

. >> alan: the gathering at the san francisco lgbt center on market street included several members of american legion post 448. the only post made up of primarily gay and lesbian veterans. >> protestors took to the swawks of san francisco today. ahead, the sit-in against a law that opponents are vowing to overturn. >> a new warning to oakland officials. they could be in danger of being >> alan: a series of protested were staged across san francisco against the recently passed sit-lie law. voters passed prop l last month, which banned sitting or lying on sidewalks between 7:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m. but opponents of the law hired a legal team to fight it. >> we think that the majority of san franciscans once they see how this law is enforced in a discriminatory way, they will be with us on being releaved when it's repeal is. >> many neighborhood groups pushed for the passage of the sit-lie law. they believe it gives police another tool to fight pan-handling and loitering. >> oakland -- the web site california watch obtain a letter sent by the district attorney to the mayor. the d. a. warn

things that mayby be tangental, i was happy to learn that the institute was also working with the lgbt community. i went to savannah awhile back. the college has done so much, with the single-screen theaters. the use them for teaching purposes and continue their operations. the same could be true of a place like this. they need to have renovation, and the two things were greatly together. by working cooperatively with the academy of our university, people can realize a lot of good things. the third issue is the threat to residential housing. i was not surprised but i knew that the number of students in residential housing is relatively small. as of the registration, only about 1600, or 9.5%. this is not all housed in previously residential areas. there were other uses that were converted. the actual numbers were probably a lot smaller. and i think that if they provide housing, they will probably be better off. having been a student in the late 60's, we were going out to collectively compete with other people for the rented properties. they can sometimes find properties that are not res

providing a haven for lgbt students, and fred died after battling liver cancer this past monday, and fred has lived with aids for nearly 30 years. the harvey milk school, named for a supervisor or a colleague, was established and supported by the board education, and he volunteered to teach the incoming class who gathered in april 1985 at a church in greenwich village, and later, the school moved. back then, it was an old-time country school, where everything was jumbled, from science, english, mathematics, and language. what was most unique was the students themselves, many of which who were throwing young people, who had been abused in their homes or threatened with violence and who had come to new york city and some of whom were homeless in were able to come to a school to be nurtured and supported -- and were able to come to school to be nurtured and supported. he changed the direction of the lives of these and other people who have come to the school. in recent years, the school has received full accreditation in the new york city school system. i am also submitting an in memori

he is project director for the california lgbt tobacco education partnership.e says there are many factors that contribute to the problem, including social bonding at bars. >> alcohol and tobacco are like peanut butter and jelly for the gay community so they have gone hand in hand. when people go into a bar, that's where they socialize, they come out as gay, they connect with other people and often it's the alcohol and the tobacco which have provided that -- that soothing nature for people to connect. >> reporter: but the bigger problem according to gordon are cigarette ads like these found in lgbt magazines and newspapers. >> tobacco companies have known this and they spend millions to target the community directly. >> reporter: for bill new year's is around the corner. it will be hard but he wants to quit. >> i need to quit. ply doctor says so. the cold that i'm fighting right now tells me i need to quit. if you don't smoke, don't start. >> because anyone who smokes, knows it's tough to quit. the scene to keep trying. bob gordon says it's like riding a bike.

the group lgbt compassion is protesting public health and animal cruelty concerns for selling live birds in the city. they claim to have documented local, state and federal violations at the farmer's market. >>> time now, 5:08. his youtube video sparked outrage. >> now the rebel pilot -- >> this was never about being famous for me. >> now the rebel pilot who exposed security flaws at sfo is speaking out. how he is suspending his actions. >> plus the nightmare drags on for travelers stranded by the east coast storm. when flights could finally get back on track. ,,,,,,,,,, 3q health matters to all of us. that's why lysol has started a mission for health. with new mom programs, lysol healthy habits initiatives in schools and disaster relief efforts. when you use lysol at home, you'll know you're a part of something bigger. for healthy tips and more, visit lysol.com/missionforhealth. >>> well, it's still pretty windy out there. oakland looking at winds up to 18 miles an hour. that's sustained. gusts as high as 38 since midnight. look at san francisco. 26-mile-per-hour winds gusting to 40. 37

some were lgbt many weren't and all found something that resonated with their spiritual journey. >> believe it or not we have come to the end of our time together it is really just a comma in the ongoing conversation what it means to put together a siddur thank you for your gift and the gift of this siddur thank you for joining us here on mosaic have a wonderful day

i am here to file support letters from the lgbt center, san francisco architectural heritage, the castro neighborhood association, castro area planning in action, and the san francisco chamber of commerce. thank you. >> good afternoon. i come as a private citizen for once. i will be brief. my interest in this is somewhat selfish in that i am a very strong supporter of this project. it is largely because as a native of san francisco who is lived here for almost 60 years i am very familiar with that location. i have been a market street thousands of times. it will be immeasurably enhanced by the development of this project. a lot paraphrase the eloquent words of our representative -- i will not paraphrase the eloquent words of our representative from "spur." i have spent a lot of time on 24th and have seen the impact of the whole food store on noe valley. i must go to the street three or four times a week, sometimes on my car and sometimes to shop at the whole foods. i want to assure everyone in our experience whole foods has been a model never and has very effectively and assiduously -- a

. >> among those who met in san francisco's lgbt community center was zoe dunning who lives in san francisco. she spent two and a half years battling don't ask, don't tell in court. today she choked back tears explaining what the vote meant to her. >> just ecstatic to be here today witnessing history, surrounded by colleagues and friends that i've been working alongside for many, many years on this issue. to share this experience with them is priceless. >> she says the lives of those 14,000 people discharged under the policy were derailed for no other reason than discrimination. one of those 14,000 dischargees joins us now live from our newsroom. paul crockett was an air force intelligence analyst before he was discharged under don't ask, don't tell. >> thank you. >> we heard your reaction, saw is the reaction of people up in san francisco today. now, a moment to talk to you. what did you think? what was your emotion when you heard about the repeal? >> i was glad to see that this is something that finally took place, something that should have been repealed a long time ago. but my reaction w

the group lgbt compassion is protesting public health and animal cruelty concerns tied to selling live birds in the city. supporters of live animals sales says it is a cultural tradition that should not be regulated. >> there are many within the chinese community who wonder what the distinction is between how turtles are treated which folks obviously have concerns about and how fish and lobsters are treated which seem to be fairly similar. >> lgbt compassion claims to have documented local, state and federal violations at the farmers market. >>> time 6:39. apple is slapped with a lawsuit. and it has to do with customers' personal information. >> plus this year is getting another dump -- the sierra is getting another dumping of snow. we'll have a live report on the latest conditions and how the storms are helping out our water supply. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, describes the first snow survey of the season. it shows water content well above 100 percent of normal for the >>> phenomenal that's how the state water resources department describes the first snow of the season. it shows water content

town where let's face it, it is politically indefensible, the political cost is too high, to oppose lgbt rights. if you speak to this, the world is going to hear. i want a mayor who will do that. second, i want to mayor who will change the terms of the conversation here. all year, i've been listening to you talk about the budget and you're out of money, you're out of money, you're out of money. money is an abstraction. it's not like coal. it's not like oil or natural gas. it's not like water. you didn't run out of it. money is a social intersubjective construction of power. and it has been hugely reconstructed upward. the next mayor needs to be honest about that in this debate about the budget. president chiu: next speaker. >> supervisors, first, let me tank outside counsel in this deliberation. because it's -- you helped us some in crafting the language to choose the interim mayor. and i want to thank our president and the clerk of the board for doing the same. you supervisors should understand that this is an important decision. and what do i see when i look at the chairs? i see some o

need to ensure he receives the message from san francisco this week or it might be too late, that lgbt families matter equally and there is no comprehensive immigration reform until we are all included. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. it takes a lot of courage to share your experiences and put a human face on the immigration issue, so you are an inspiration to us. to our panelists, we are going to shorten the questions because i want to be sensitive to you want to speak. the commission has asked that we set aside public speaking time. to our panelists, after hearing the testimony from the individuals that are here tonight, which put to the human face on cir, what strikes you the most about what you have heard, and under cir, how can negative practices, including criminal conviction, be dealt with differently? i will start with mary. >> thank you. i thought all this testimony from the community speakers was incredibly moving and shows a wide range of issues that really has to be addressed. i guess i slipped into my pragmatic mode at some point and try to figure out what the calculat

>> among those who met at the lgbt community center, retired navy commander zoe dunning, she spent two years battling don't ask, don't tell. she explained what the vote meant to her. >> just ecstatic to be here today witnessing history surrounded by colleagues and friends that i've been working alongside for many, many years on this issue. to share the experience with them is priceless. >> she says the lives of those 14,000 people discharged under the policy were derailed for no other reason than discrimination. now, one of those 14,000 joins us live from our newsroom. paul crockett was an air force intelligence before he was discharged under don't ask don't tell. you told me earlier, this actually happened sooner than you thought it might. people have been trying to repeal it for years. why do you think it happened now? what's changed? >> i think over the past few years, people have started to realize the impact this is having on our country by discharging perfectly good people from the military, from a fiscal standpoint especially. it's caused hundreds of millions of dollars to get r