Morning Sweep

An organization of LGBT youth called Fierce and the Urban Justice Center are fighting to have a say in how Pier 40, a massive rundown structure where West Houston Street meets the West Side Highway, will be redeveloped. The youth, who often hang out in the area, would like to see a 24-hour youth center built there.

Newsday has a great story on Long Island LGBT seniors who have come out later in life and their connection to the Long Island branch of Senior Action in a Gay Environment (SAGE).

The New York Times’ Frank Rick writes that people have less tolerance these days for the moral scoldings of the radical right, and that more support for subjects like stem-cell research, marriage equality and the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has resulted.

The Washington Post editorializes in favor of the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow gay Americans to sponsor their same-sex foreign-born partners for residency. The Post says the act, if passed, will “right a gross unfairness.”

A threefold spike in anti-gay hate crimes in the county near San Francisco in the past year is being blamed on all the attention surrounding Prop. 8.

Much has been written lately about the solution some think will solve the marriage equality issue: establish “civil unions” for all and take “marriage” out of the hands of the government altogether.

The West Virginia Senate has passed a sexual orientation non-discrimination bill which will now go to the House for a vote.