Lesbians form super PAC

LPAC, a new super PAC established by a group of lesbian funders, aims to complement the work of political groups such as EMILY’s List and the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund. 

The group will be supporting candidates, both gay and straight, who support issues important to them. 

Actress Jane Lynch and tennis legend Billie Jean King endorsed the project.

Medal of Freedom to be awarded to Billie Jean King and Harvey Milk

On Wednesday, August 12th, President Obama will the honor 16 individuals he named to receive the 2009 Presidential Medal of Freedom. America’s highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who make an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, cultural or other significant public or private endeavors. This year’s awardees were chosen for their work as agents of change. Among their many accomplishments in fields ranging from sports and art to science and medicine to politics and public policy, these men and women have changed the world for the better. They have blazed trails and broken down barriers. They have discovered new theories, launched new initiatives, and opened minds to new possibilities.

Among the honorees are Billie Jean King and Harvey Millk.

Billie Jean King was an acclaimed professional tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s, and has helped champion gender equality not only in sports, but in all areas of public life. King beat Bobby Riggs in the “Battle of the Sexes” tennis match, then the most viewed tennis match in history. King became one of the first openly lesbian major sports figures in America when she came out in 1981. Following her professional tennis career, King became the first woman commissioner in professional sports when she co-founded and led the World Team Tennis (WTT) League. The U.S. Tennis Association named the National Tennis Center, where the US Open is played, the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in 2006.

Harvey Milk became the first openly gay elected official from a major city in the United States when he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Milk encouraged lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) citizens to live their lives openly and believed coming out was the only way they could change society and achieve social equality. Milk, alongside San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, was shot and killed in 1978 by Dan White, a former city supervisor. Milk is revered nationally and globally as a pioneer of the LGBT civil rights movement for his exceptional leadership and dedication to equal rights.