Sorry not sorry! (Join us this St. Patrick's Day!)

This year on St. Patrick’s Day, we’ll be repping Irish America at a protest for immigrants’ rights, rather than at the NYC parade. Please join us! We’ll post details here, or you can email us for an update.

Irish Queers marched last year in the 2016 NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade. We were thrilled that, after 25 years of protest, we broke the ban on LGBTQ Irish groups.

Still, it was much the same parade as before. Simply adding queers to the staid litany of religious, military, and backroom political marching groups — without accountability for the parade bosses' past bigotry and  and without changing their power which dictated "who belongs" in Irish community — was a sad experience that we don’t want to repeat.

In the new era of Trump, the politics of a community that knows both immigrant hardship and white privilege matter more than ever.

Irish resistance in the face of brutal power is the heritage that Irish Queers celebrate!

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Step out for a victory celebration! This Saturday.

Hey everyone! WE WON!!! The victory in the St. Patrick's Day parade belongs to everyone who supported the protests and organizing over the last 25 years. Stop by for a toast with Irish Queers!

Saturday, Oct. 3

5-7pm

Stonewall Inn, 53 Christopher St. NYC

A toast to never accepting crumbs instead of justice. And to communities sticking together in our many battles against police bigotry, the religious right, and big money politics.

YES WE #$%^& DID!

http://irishqueers.blogspot.com

@IrishQueers

IrishQueers@gmail.com

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Thanks for a beautiful night.

Under a veil of snow, in a warmly lit cellar painted with murals of dancers, with full glasses, and in friendly company -- that's how Irish Queers and supporters spent last night at the Parlour.

Thanks again to Colm Tóibín, Sarah Schulman, and Charles Rice-Gonzalez for reading, storytelling, and drawing the connections between us all. Also to our surprise musical guest Susan McKeown, whose music and friendship have been part of Irish LGBTQ organizing in NYC since the beginning.

Big love to everyone who came out in the snow. It felt like family.

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March 3 - Colm Tóibín, Sarah Schulman, Charles Rice-Gonzalez for Irish Queers!

We are bursting with the announcement of our upcoming reading and fundraiser-ette! And grateful for some public, celebratory Irish and queer space; there's not much of it.

Colm Tóibín, Sarah Schulman, and Charles Rice-Gonzalez will read from their work.
(Yes, we are star-studded, thank you for noticing!) We may also have a special musical guest... stay tuned for that announcement!

It all happens on March 3, 6:30pm at The Parlour on W. 86th and Broadway. We'll ask for $5-$20 at the door, but it's hard times, friends, and we won't turn anyone away for lack of funds.

See you there! xo IQ

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1552527311696368/

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Letter & Card writing to prisoners -- second Sundays of the month

Please join Irish Queers' second Sunday of the month letter and card writing to prisoners, and pass along info to others. (Featuring tea and snacks, obv!)

3-5 pm, Sunday:  January 11, February 8, and March 8

Call or email for address!

irishqueers@gmail.com

t. 212.289.1101.

(The apartment has an old codger of a dog for those that might have a dog allergy.) 

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2012 parade protest

Please join us at our annual protest on Saturday, March 17th on Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th street (on the west side) from 11am - 1pm. We'll be there with signs and banners, all we need is you!

For more information, give us a call at 917-517-3627.

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2011 Parade Protest!

Please join us at our annual protest on March 17th on Fifth Avenue between 56th and 57th street (on the west side) from 11am - 1pm.We'll be there with signs and banners all we need is you!

For more information, send us an e-mail.

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Some pictures from our protest....

All photos taken by Garry Rissman:

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2010 St. Patrick's Day Protest Press Advisory

Date: March 15, 2010
Contact: Emmaia Gelman 917-517-3627

IRISH QUEERS PROTEST ANTI-GAY NYC ST. PATRICK’S PARADE FOR 20TH YEAR;
PLAN TO FILE SUIT TO BAR NYPD AND FDNY FROM MARCHING.

What:

At annual protest against anti-gay NYC St. Patrick’s Day Parade, Irish Queers announce intention to file lawsuit barring uniformed NYPD and FDNY from marching in 2011 and future years.

Who:

Irish Queers, NYC-based group that has organized protest against the explicit homophobia of the NYC St. Patrick’s Parade over the past two decades. IQ is joined by representatives from the NYC lesbian, gay, bi and trans community, and other civil rights supporters.

When:

March 17, 2010 at 11am

Where:

Fifth Avenue at 57th Street (West side of the Avenue)

More info:

“For 20 years, the NYC St. Patrick’s Day parade has been a battleground where the religious right has tried to erase and exclude LGBT people,” said Tierney Gleason of Irish Queers. “Historically homophobic institutions like the NYPD and FDNY have happily supported that exclusion by marching in uniform and en masse in this anti-gay demonstration.”

“Fortunately, anti-gay discrimination is now illegal in both Ireland and New York City. The NYPD, FDNY and Mayor Bloomberg need to do some catching up. As city representatives, they cannot legally march in the parade until the organizers renounce the homophobic exclusion of LGBT Irish groups,” said JF Mulligan of Irish Queers.

New York City law protects LGBT people against discrimination by police, firefighters and other arms of city administration. The organizers of the NYC St. Patrick’s Day have affirmed, over and over, that their parade carries an explicitly anti-gay religious message. Irish Queers has long asserted that participation by uniformed members of the NYPD and FDNY, as well as New York City mayors and other officials, is a violation of city law.

Deepening the link between the NYPD and the parade organizers’ message, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly will lead this year’s parade as Grand Marshal.

Irish Queers meet year-round as members of both Irish and queer communities. IQ, which evolved out of the Irish Lesbian & Gay Organization, works for immigrant justice, Northern Ireland self-determination, anti-racism and other issues.

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Annual Parade Protest

Please join us at our annual protest on March 17th on Fifth Avenue @ 57th street (on the west side) from 11am - 12pm.

For more information, send us an e-mail.

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Looking for LGBT Law Students

Irish Queers is looking for LGBT law students to help us with research for a new angle to challenge LGBT exclusion from the NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade. Please e-mail us if you would like to get involved. We promise.........it *will* be worth it.

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Trans Day of Remembrance & Welfare Justice Campaign Launch Tomorrow

Come out tomorrow for the Trans Day of Remembrance to honor the trans and gender non-conforming people in our community. There will also be an update about the welfare justice campaign (click here to learn more and sign the petition).

WHEN: Tomorrow, November 20th
6-8pm for the Trans Day of Remembrance
8-11pm for the Welfare Justice Launch party

WHERE: The Audre Lorde Project / 85 South Oxford Street in Brooklyn
(Directions to ALP can be found here.)

This event is being organized by: Audre Lorde Project/TransJustice, Housing Works, Queers for Economic Justice, and Sylvia Rivera Law Project.

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"A Man of No Importance" in Nyack

A Man of No Importance, a musical with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and book by Terrence McNally (a former ILGO supporter!), is based on the 1994 Irish film, A Man of No Importance, starring Albert Finney. The story is about a community theatre group led by a closeted gay man who is determined to stage a version of Salome (by Oscar Wilde) at their church despite objections from church authorities.

A Man of No Importance is playing at the Elmwood Playhouse in Nyack until December 12th.

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RALLY AGAINST UGANDA'S ANTI-HOMOSEXUALITY BILL!

WHEN: THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 19 AT 12:30pm

WHERE: UGANDA HOUSE, 336 EAST 45th St. (off 1st Ave.)
#4, 5, 6, 7 or S `Shuttle` train to GrandCentral - 42 St.; M42 or M104 both via 42nd St.;M15 via 1st & 2nd Aves.; M27 or M50 both via 50th St.

WHY: This demonstration is being organized in response to the global call for action from November 9thto December 10th, Human Rights Day, by SMUG (Sexual Minorities Uganda) a network of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people's organizations based Uganda.

Join with Human Rights Watch, African Services Committee, IGLHRC (International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission), Health GAP and many other local HIV/AIDS and social justice organizations in the area on Thursday, November19, at 12:30 p.m. outside the Ugandan Consulate in New York, to protest Uganda's proposed "Anti-Homosexuality Bill." This repressive measure, now being debated in Uganda's Parliament, would deny all basic rights to Uganda's LGBT people. It threatens civil societyand human rights defenders, and would devastatingly impair Uganda's response to HIV and AIDS.

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Stand up for a definition of Irishness that values human rights and diverse communities!

Please join Irish Queers as we protest LGBT exclusion from the NewYork City St. Patrick's Day Parade. For 18 years, Irish and Irish American queers have been challenging the narrow definition of Irishness set forth by the Ancient Order of Hibernians, a conservative, Catholic, all-male organization that runs many St. Patrick's Day Parades across the country. As a right wing organization, the AOH prohibits all LGBT people and anyone that is pro-choice from OPENLY taking part in their events.

Although the parade has been billed as the largest celebration of Irish culture in the world, the New York Ancient Order of Hibernians and the Catholic Archdiocese have redefined it as a private, religious event (taking place on public streets) where many Irish people are not welcome.

While our fight began in the 1990s within New York's Irish and church institutions, we have learned that the City, the NYPD and the courts are all willing to trample and erase the diverse fabric of the Irish community. Our struggle is not just with the parade organizers and Catholic hierarchy, but with military organizations, the NYPD, the FDNY and other public servants who use the parade to express sentiments of hate and superiority that are disallowed anywhere else.

Please join us on March 17th on Fifth Avenue @ 57th street (on the west side) from 11am - 1pm. Stand up for a definition of Irishness that values human rights and diverse communities!

For more information, send us an e-mail.

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Meeting News

Irish Queers will no longer be meeting at the LGBT Center on the first Tuesday of each month. Please e-mail for details about how to connect & get involved.

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NYC Outraged By Cops Gone Wild

WHAT: A Press conference to denounce Cops Gone Wild, a call for an end to the criminalization of those who lawfully document police activities. Speakers will also address the lack of discipline for those who harass, intimidate, and physically assault New Yorkers, especially those Officers who intentionally makes false official statements regarding their misconduct.

WHEN: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 10 am

WHERE: In front of One Police Plaza

The latest episodes of police brutality and misconduct captured on video will be the focus of a press conference on Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 10am, in front of One Police Plaza. The event will bring together an unprecedented number of elected officials, social justice organizations and civil rights groups who are outraged and determined to put a stop to police brutality and the criminalization of those who document it.

Among the groups and individuals expected are: Attorney Norman Siegel, AudreLorde Project, CAAAV Organizing Asian Communities, Casa Atabex Ache, Center for Constitutional Rights, Council Members Rosie Mendez and Charles Barron, FreeWheels Bicycle Defense Fund, Immigrant Justice Solidarity Project,International Action Center, Justice Committee, Make The Road NY, Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, Peoples' Justice for Community Control & Police Accountability, Social Justice Leadership, Times Up! Environmental Group and VAMOS Unidos.

Click here to watch a 12 minute video showing NYPD officers harass and arrest cyclists and those documenting these arrests during one ride lastyear.

Click here to watch video of NYPD officer repeatedly beating a handcuffed army veteran on the ground with a metal Baton.

Click here to watch video of Officer Patrick Pogan violently knocking Christopher Long off his bicycle on July 25th.

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Going to see Prisoner of the Crown

We've picked a night to go see Prisoner of the Crown at the Irish Rep. E-mail us for details.

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Support the 4th Annual NYC Trans Day of Action for Social & Economic Justice

Irish Queers has signed on as allies of the 4th Annual Trans Day of Action. Though we are probably most well known for our 17 year (and counting) stand-off on Fifth Avenue over the St. Patrick's Day Parade with the bigots of the Ancient Order of Hibernians (and FDNY & NYPD), we are active on a variety of social justice issues. Unlike most of the NYC Irish/Irish American community, we hold in our hearts a reading of Irish history that champions resistance and fights oppression against all odds. For this reason, we see standing with TransJustice and all Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color as not only an expression of our loyalty and solidarity to our queer community, but also as an expression of what being Irish truly means to us. Please stand with us and support this important march @ City Hall Park @ 3pm on Friday, June 27 to kick off Pride weekend.

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The 4th Annual NYC Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice

Points of Unity

Initiated by TransJustice of the Audre Lorde Project, a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Two-Spirit, Trans and Gender Non-Conforming People of Color Center for Community Organizing

We call on our Trans and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) community and on all of our allies from many movements to join us for the 4th Annual Trans Day of Action for Social and Economic Justice. We as TGNC People of Color (POC) recognize the importance of working together alongside other movements to change the world we want to see. We live in a time when people of color, immigrants and poor people are disproportionately underserved, face higher levels of discrimination, heightened surveillance and experience increased violence at the hands of the state. It is critical that we unite and work together towards dismantling the transphobia, racism, classism, sexism, ageism, ableism, homophobia and xenophobia that permeates throughout our movements for social justice. Let’s come together to let the world know that TGNC rights will not be undermined and together we will not be silenced! These are the points of unity, which hold together the purpose of this important march:

*We demand that TGNC people have equal access to employment and education opportunities. We are outraged by the high numbers of TGNC people who are unemployed. Many TGNC people continue to face blatant discrimination and harassment from employers due to systemic transphobia. Few TGNC people have access to opportunities for learning in a safe school environment. TGNC people demand that all employers and educational institutions implement non-discrimination policies that respect the rights of all workers and students and that they comply with the NYC Human Rights Law that prohibits discrimination against gender identity and expression!

*We demand that all people receiving public assistance entitlements including TGNC People of Color, be treated with respect and dignity. We stand in solidarity with all people living on public assistance. The NYC agency responsible for the administration of public welfare, the Human Resources Administration (HRA), continues to ignore our demands to address the systemic problems that exist internally and perpetuate the transphobia and harassment faced by TGNC people of color when applying for benefits such as welfare, access to shelters, access to culturally competent and sensitive healthcare, drug treatment programs, adult protective services, eviction prevention, and other essential services. We demand that the NYC HRA: conduct an internal investigation of these incidents; follow NYC ‘Guidelines Regarding Gender Identity Discrimination’ and develop means of enforcement; implement mandatory cultural competency training on gender identity/expression; implement a fully accessible process for reporting incidents of discrimination; and, commit to prioritize hiring of TGNC employees.

*We demand the full legalization of all immigrants. TGNC people deserve the right to access competent and respectful immigration services. We demand that the consulates of all countries respect and honor our identities and issue passports and other documentation that accurately reflects who we are. We oppose the guest worker program, the Real ID Act, enforcement provisions to build more walls and give greater powers to the Department of Homeland Security, increased barriers for asylum seekers, the HIV ban and other anti-immigrant policies that continue to divide our communities.

*We stand in solidarity with all prisoners, especially the many TGNC people behind the walls who are often invisible even within prisoner’s rights movements. We call attention to the under-reported accounts of severe violence and rape that our community faces at the hands of correction officers and other prisoners. We demand an end to the torture and high level of discrimination TGNC prisoners face. We demand that all TGNC prisoners receive competent and respectful healthcare. We oppose the continued growth of the prison industrial complex that continues to target our communities, yet we recognize that TGNC people need access to services and facilities that lessen our vulnerability to violence within the present jails and prisons. We are opposed to the closing of the “gay and Trans housing” unit on Rikers. We call attention to the criminal injustice system that increasingly puts POC, immigrants, TGNC people and poor people behind bars - further criminalizing our communities and our lives.

*We demand that TGNC people have access to respectful and safe living spaces. Many TGNC people face severe discrimination from landlords and housing administrators displacing us from our homes due to gender identity or expression. A disproportionate number of TGNC people have been or are currently homeless. However, many homeless TGNC people continue to face discrimination when trying to access shelters and other assisted living programs. NYC law and the Department of Homeless Services (DHS) state that people will be placed in shelters according to that person’s gender identity and that discrimination based on gender identity will not be tolerated. We demand that all DHS shelter administrators continue to provide adequate Trans sensitivity trainings for all personnel and enforce clear non-discrimination policies that respect the dignity of all homeless people.

*We demand that all children and youth, under the jurisdiction of the Administration of Children Services (ACS) and Private Foster Care Agencies, have the right to the freedom of gender expression and identity. In the 2002-landmark case Jean Doe v. Bell, it was established that children in NYC’s foster care system cannot be discriminated against for being transgender and cannot be forced to only wear clothing associated with their birth gender. Government institutions like ACS and private foster care agencies must be accountable for the health of people under their care, and recognize that this responsibility must include TGNC people and Trans related health care. We demand that ACS initiates a full investigation of all the incidents of misallocation of personal funds and the violations of confidentiality issues that have negatively affected the lives of children and youth under their care.

*We oppose the Bush Administration’s “War on Terrorism” as an excuse to legitimize the expansion of the U.S. as a imperial super power and to justify a national security strategy that is really meant to militarize our boarders and heighten surveillance and control over people living in the U.S., separating our communities by fostering feelings of hate, xenophobia, and violence. Every day we see more and more of our basic human rights like healthcare, jobs, education, housing, privacy, self-determination and the right of dissent slipping away from all of us. We must stand up now to demand the immediate removal of all U.S. troops from all countries under occupation and demand an end of use of U.S. dollars to cultivate and sponsor wars against people in the U.S. and abroad.

*We demand justice for the many TGNC people who have been beaten, assaulted, raped, and murdered yet these incidents continue to be silenced, misclassified or blamed on the victim. The police and the media continue to criminalize us even when we try to defend ourselves. An increase in hate crime laws will not solve the problem but will give increased power to the state to put more people in jail. Instead we call for a unified effort for all of us to look deeper into the root causes of why these incidents happen. As a society that seeks social justice we seek to find ways of holding people accountable and coming to a joint understanding of how we can make our communities safer for all of us. Like many other oppressed communities like communities of color, immigrants and the poor, TGNC people are also targeted, profiled and brutalized by the police. We demand an end to the profiling, harassment, arrest, brutality and murder that occurs at the hands of the police! These incidents of violence do not occur in isolation, and are aggravated by racism, sexism, classism, xenophobia, misogyny, ageism and damaging strict heterosexist values.

We stand in solidarity with the family of Sean Bell, who are still tirelessly working towards justice after the police were later acquitted of charges. We stand in solidarity with the Jersey 4, 4 Lesbian women arrested in the West Village for defending themselves from a man that assaulted them. We stand in solidarity with Miriam, a transgender woman who was pushed out the window of her 4th floor apt and left for dead. We commemorate the memory of Amanda Milan, Sakia Gunn, Ruby Ordeñana, Gwen Araujo, Erika Keels, Victoria Arellano, Lawrence King, Saneesha Stewart and the many other brave souls we have lost, who struggled and lived their lives fearlessly day in and day out, being true to who they were. They keep the fire of struggle burning within all of us.

On June 27, 2008, TGNC People of Color and allies will take on the streets of New York City once again and demand justice to let the world know that the Stonewall rebellion is not over and we will continue fighting for social and economic justice, raising our voices until we are heard. We call on all social justice activists from communities of color, the LGBT movement, immigrant rights movement, the anti-war movement, the reproductive rights movement, youth and student groups, trade unions and worker organizations, religious communities and HIV/AIDS and social service agencies, both local and organizations around the country to endorse this call to action and to build contingents to march in solidarity together on June 27, 2008.

Click here for more information about TransJustice.

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Court room support needed today for NJ4

Two of the New Jersey 4, Renata Hill and Terrain Dandrige, have their appeal hearings TODAY at 2pm. If you can attend, please be advised that lawyers for the 4 have all asked supporters be extremely quiet and respectful in the courtroom since its different than a regular jury trial. Please come out if you can!

Tuesday June 3rd
2pm
27 Madison Ave. (Enter at 25th street & there is only one court room.)

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