many lgbt veterans support it. some of them came to committee, including bob [unintelligible] , an extraordinary leader, who served as president of the harvey milk lgbt democratic club. the veterans affairs commission supported it, including its out president, john caldera, as well as the american legion alexander hamilton post 448. i want to note how inspirational it will be for young lgbt sailors at to see harvey milk's name on the side of a neat -- military vessel. harvey used to talk about the kid from altoona, pa., and inspiring young lgbt people to have hope and know that they can succeed in life. many of us oppose war. many of us chose not to pursue military careers. many lgbt people have made the choice to serve in the military, even when it was illegal and dangerous to do so. i can think of no better way to support those people, to support our community and the many more lgbt young people who will follow in their footsteps than to support the naming of this ship as the u.s.s.r. the milk. thank you. >> than

lgbt people can now serve openly in the military. i cannot think of a better honor than to name a shift -- a sheet -- a ship after an lgbt military icon. harvey milk served in korea and oppose the vietnam war ended not like war as a general matter. the naming of the ship is supported by stuart mill, harvey's son. it is also supported by the veterans affairs commission, the american legion alexander hamilton post four hundred 48. -- 448. naming civil-rights -- ships after civil rights leaders is not just a brick, but sends a loud message that our country opposing military is for defense, and not -- our country's military is for defense, and knocked -- not foreign exploration it will also be encouraging for young soldiers to see his name on the side of a battleship. he used to talk about inspiring lgbt people to have hope and to know that they can succeed in life. how better to do that for kids in the neighbor than to have the uss harvey milk battleship. and many of us oppose war. many of us chose not to pursue military careers. but ma

i can tell you that he is a absolutely committed supporter to lgbt rights. his record bares that out. it is an unparalleled record. and he's proud of it and he'll run on it and i think that it's important to remember when we talk about those accomplishments that they are far more more than talking points. they are serious demonstrations of important progress, progress that others would take away and reverse. the president's committed to not letting this happen. >> when you now say the vice president is evolving, he did not say that as it was pointed out, but he used some keywords. also said that they are entitled to the same rights u all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. does that mean he supports same-sex marriage? >> the statement to the vice president's office put out yesterday describing his statements and november any elaboration on that. what he said is consistent in that paragraph with the president's views that lgbt sit sepulvedas should enjoy the same rights and should not be discriminated against. >> how come when the president opposes som

we really work across the full spectrum of the lgbt community's needs. we have very little data about the lgbt community. we are not fully counted in the census. there's very little hard data that's really known about the economic status about the lgbt community, where we live, and how we live. there's a myth of gay affluence, that we are a community of great affluence. the other myth is that in san francisco there are not problems with discrimination. i want to be clear that those are both myths. we largely reflecting world around us. we do face the civic pockets of marseillaise agent based on our lgbt -- pockets of marginal as asiaization. many lgbt folks moved here from other places of the country seeking sanctuary and a place to be ourselves. we came from places where we face significant challenges. i think some of the other challenges we face are discrimination and barriers, even in san francisco in terms of employment, housing, education, and many of the other systems that serve each of us as residents, employees, and folks who live in work in san

the lgbt senior population has some means that are unique. they are not pertinent to the senior population as a whole. the growth of the population is actually, in many ways, a positive thing. for many years, and gay men, we are not making it to our senior years because of the hiv and aids epidemic. people are aging, men and women. everyone. we need to plan for it and make sure that we are addressing issues of stigma, issues of access to health care, issues around aging and hiv. all the different issues lgbt seniors face that others may not face. also discrimination at senior facilities, how the increased likelihood of not having adult children. we need to get our hands around this. this issue will create a task force that will expire after 18 months. we have become very adroit at creating task forces that don't go on forever and ever. we want to produce recommendations to the board of supervisors and the mayor. and we can make appropriate policy choices. he the one amendment i want to make is providing for a task force of 11 members, and the

you, however, are very outspoken and advocate for lgbt rights. you said talk is cheap and the president is playing it safe. i do want to show everybody mitt romney opposes same-sex marriage, opposes civil unions. let's take a look at this. >> my view is that marriage itself is a relationship between a man and a woman. that's my own preference. i know other people have differing views. this is a very tender and sensitive topic as are many social issues. but i have the same view that i've had since -- well, since running for office. >> so megan as a marriage equality supporter that is on the right, how do you reconcile being in support of this candidate and also speak to others because there are lots of other people on the right like you that do support marriage equality. how do you reconcile supporting a candidate like mitt romney who is a person who changed his stance but changed it to go even further than that of president bush on this issue? >> i like many americans, i don't have the luxury of being a one issue voter. is gay marriage and legisl

his views on lgbt rights are crystal clear.ey have taken actions that are on parallel to support them. he will continue to take those actions because he thinks that is the right thing to do. >> everybody in this room is asking questions. >> they are reacting as they often do, with a story taking off, and they run and chase it. nothing has changed. the president has a firm commitment to lgbt rights, and nothing has changed. it is the same position. it is not the position of the white house. the vice president's statements were been misinterpreted by some, so he had an effort to clarify. that is where the president is, ok? the policy positions have not changed, jake, and i can remind you that his support of lgbt rights is unprecedented. anyone else out there in the political arena -- and he will continue to support them. >> i want to dissect the evolution. >> no, i am not going to. >> ok, you are not going to, but can you at least say yea or nay? here is the deal. before we heard that he was having a hard time marion issues betwe

this is a legacy that will inspire and show that lgbt people are patriots, no matter where they are, and we cannot be ignored. i urge your support of supervisor wiener's resolution. >> thank you. >> thank you, supervisors. i am a retired navy captain with 25 years in the reserves. i was also a past president of the harvey milk club in 1990. i'm here to speak on behalf of supervisor wiener proposal. i am unique in his room in that i am one of the few people who actually knew harvey and talk to him at length on many issues, including military, and the war. harvey was aware that i was at the time a military officer and also actively engaged in the community. and somehow, those two never caught up with me until very late in my career. harvey was a pragmatic in his approach to all issues. i do not believe we had "pc" back then, but he would have loved this. he would have thought it was the greatest thing bekker ever have happened. we talked often about vietnam. i am a veteran. harvey, of course, was a little bit older. we both thought it was a damn war. neither one of us object -- we thou

studies say that there's about 8.5 lgbt people.ss, upper middle class and rich people. and there's a range of issues that each of us face. so if you are a lesbian, you are affected by a reproductive freedom and all the restraints on reproductive freedom. so those issues are not other issues. they're central issues. they're my issues. so when the gay movement endorses anti-choice candidates wrongest , it's a problem. >> that ease an easy example. the problem mat cal nature is obvious. i do disagree with you that the feminist movement was harmed by its single focus. i think the feminist movement succeeded when it was extremely narrowly focused. >> but you know what, another thing about the gay rights, we're a sort of small set of people and we need allies. that's the other thing about working in coalition with other groups. when people came out in the work force, the model is lcil, that talked about that together and that created a basis for an alliance between labor and gay rights organization. things are absolutely going to finish

for lgbt. the president has expanded opportunities and protections for our commune 2i from the end oof don't ask don't tell and hospital visitation regular laces and hate crimes law. now we're elated to see him evolve, as many americans have evolved to the position of supporting full equality through marriage. a. >> i was stalking to someone about amendment one on the ballot which eltly passed. i asked this person, are you frustrated that the president has been fairly nebulous in this evolving stance. how frustrating has that been for you? and do all your frustrations just go away now that we hear what he said this afternoon? >> well, i think the community has longed to hear this from the president, you know, given that he has been such an ally and friend to our community. i think the evolution that he arct articulated today and has in the past is reflective of what a lot of americans have gone through. they magt have, you know, haed some misconceptions or weren't quite there yet on the marriag

i cannot even imagine what it is like growing up as a lgbt youth today.y deserves to be bullied. it does get better. until it does, we are going to stick up for you. believe me, it gets better. >> my name is andrea. >> my name is windy and i am a sergeant. >> i am a commander. >> i am a sergeant with the san francisco police department. >> i am a dispatcher. >> my name is michelle martinez and i am a commander with the san francisco police department. >> i am a police officer. >> i am a commander. >> i am an officer with the san francisco police department. >> i grew up in new york city triet >> houston, texas. let's right outside manhattan. >> i am a native she said. >> my father was a sicilian man. >> my mother was and italian catholics. >> my mother was from japan. i was a bit of a tomboy. >> things got very awkward and strange for me. i had to start trying to act like one and look like one. >> i would always dress in jeans and converse tennis shoes. my girlfriends would be checking out the guys and i would be checking out the girls. >> i had these clo

with mercy housing to build 110 units of low-income housing to lgbt seniors. and i am here to help create a task force to implement policy and make the unique challenges. there are challenges that seniors face. we are single and lives alone in greater numbers than heterosexual seniors. of the we have great resiliency in relying on the informal support networks, they can't really tell us with the difficulties of aging. we're going to need a community response to help us as we age. i have appeared of workout to city commissions and committees to bring attention to the needs of lgbt seniors. there are 25,000 seniors in san francisco, and that number is expected to double over the next 20 years. presently, they are underrepresented and underserved all along the continuum of senior care. there is a small but growing infrastructure for open house -- [inaudible] the task force will assist the city to better provide a fiscally responsible policy. supervisor farrell: next speaker. >> supervisors, when i read this agenda, there were four and supervisors that initiated t

two lgbt individuals as well. i was sorry that we were not able to forward an asian- american or latino candidate, but since there are organizational member is looking to the diversity of membership to really bring forward some other candidates, i think that diversity is incredibly important and i appreciate that we have such a large response, but i really think that these individuals will serve us well and i look forward to working with them as we figure out how to also make our meetings more efficient to maintain a quorum at these meetings. thank you. supervisor chiu: supervisor wiener? but supervisor wiener: -- winner? -- supervisor wiener? supervisor wiener: first, i want to thank the rules committee for making the recommendations to the full block -- the full board. with one exception, they did an exceptional job. the sunshine ordinance, transparency in government in general, is incredibly important. it is equally important that we have a sunshine ordinance have scores that has the credibility -- task force t

it shows that our lgbt users are still at a much higher percentage the -- lgbt youth are at a much higher rate drug use, tobacco use, our call, and suicide. you may recall the passing of the initiative and support of reconfirm our commitment to a safe environment for lgbt youth. at that time, the board in its wisdom decided to fund half of the request. i respectfully request that the head of the chair of the budget committee bring this back to the budget committee, so we can reconsider -- i mean, bring it up for reconsideration, considering we are passing this health education policy that includes also sexual orientation and gender identity. and also hiv. i am asking the chair of the budget committee if they could agendize this item. thank you. >> i just want to state that this survey, the health survey results, it is so important. i hope the community will take the time to look at it. it reflects different attitude, being overweight, self-esteem, suicide, all of these issues that are critical to young people. we produce a yacht -- a girls' report looking at the status of girls, and we ar

given the history of lgbt people in our military, the exclusion and oppression, and given the recent repeal of the don't ask, don't tell law, we now have an opportunity to have our military fully embrace lgbt people, who have always served in the military since the beginning of our country. i can think of no more appropriate way of doing that than christening a vessel after harvey milk, who was one of the great leaders in lgbt history. i hope we will all be able to support this unanimously next week. the rest i submit. >> seeing no other names on the roster, betting -- that concludes roll-call for introduction. president chiu: what do we go to general comments. >> the next item on the agenda is the opportunity for the public to comment for up to two minutes for items of jurisdiction to the board to include those things on the regular calendar. discussion is not allowed on things that have already been before the committee. if a member of the public would like a document to be displayed on the overhead projector, please indicate as such. president chiu: first speaker, please. please s

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. 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 citizto

i know some of the other supervisors who have had the honor of being part of we now have as lgbt caucus on the board of supervisors. supervisor wiener: thank you for doing this. for those who don't know, it's hard to overstate -- the first and press, it is hard to overstate your contributions to the community. for those of us who were not born when he ran for the board of supervisors and who now sit on the board of supervisors today, i think we all know and we would be fools to think we were somehow treading new ground because we are only here because we are on your shoulders, because you did the work and others did the work under incredible challenges and oppression, going through things that those of us in this generation today, it's hard to even imagine. because of that groundwork, we are able to be where we are today and do the work we do for the community. i am so proud to be able to honor you today and i am so proud to see you again. please just know that we love you and we will always be there for you. supervisor olague: i was actually born the year that he ran as the first openl

his views on lgbt rights are case krystal clear. this administration has taken actions that are unparalleled to support those rights. he will continue to that i can those actions because he thinks it's the right thing to do. >> if everybody in this room is going to ask you questions -- >> everybody in this room is reacting that folks often too do one story that takes off and they run down the field and takes after it. they are reacting to comments on a sunday show. nothing has change d in the president's confirm commitment. i have no information. it's the same position. it's not the position of the white house. >> why did you guys send out statements to clarify? >> because the vice president's statements were being misinterpreted by some so there was an effort to clarify. that's where the president is. april? >> now i have the ball. >> policy positions haven't changed, jake. and his support for lgbt rights is unprecedented and compares favorability to anyone else out there in the political arena who is advocating for these rights. a

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

helping the lgbt community. whether it is on don't ask don't tell or adding lgbt community to hate crimes legislation as a protected group under hate crimes legislation. so i think, and this was referenced earlier. you're going to see a more aggressive contrast with mitt romney and the republican party which wants to roll back a lot of the rights a opposed to president obama and democrats which have been pushing to increase rights for the lgbt community. >> the obama administration has come out to say they have declared doma to be unconstitutional. this is the full repeal. there are still federal benefits that need to go along and discussions that need to go with those service members who would like the protections that heterosexual service members get for their families. there is still discussion on that. you also bring up what happened in 2004 and here we are in 2012. and i'll show this to everybody. state line south with a new map. it shows the states where marriage equality has either passed or is in limbo.