Save This Pelosi News Release Before She Deletes It!

Nancy Pelosi's Office ^ | June 22, 2002 | Nancy Pelosi

[cgbg]

Click on link above to see what Nancy Pelosi considers her core values.

[cgbg]

Please save this web site so that she cannot delete it. This is the woman who is about to be the next House Minority Leader. I hope the RNC is paying attention! Let us make sure that every American knows where this woman stands!

[TommyDale]

Done.

[MHT]

Yucko!

This "new" tone of the Democrat leadership really reflects the "real" America. I hope she wins her post and keeps up the good work.

[Keith in Iowa]

Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi

Statement Celebrating San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride
and in Honor of Officer Jon D. Cook

June 27, 2002 

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Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride in San Francisco and to pay tribute to the memory of Jon D. Cook, the first openly-gay San Francisco police officer to lose his life in the line of duty.

This weekend marks the 32nd annual San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration entitled, "Be Yourself, Change the World!" This is our time to celebrate San Francisco's proud history of advocacy for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons and to recognize the important contributions the LGBT Community makes to our City and to our nation.

Officer Jon Cook's legacy is an important example of such contributions. On June 12, 2002, Officer Cook was killed when his police car collided with another police car as they both pursued a suspected violent felon. Before joining the force, he worked as a research scientist searching for a cure and treatments for HIV/AIDS. He also served honorably as a lieutenant in US Air Force intelligence with a top-level security clearance.

Officer Cook touched the lives of many people in San Francisco. More than 2,000 attended his funeral mass, including friends and family members, over 600 fellow officers from throughout Northern California, and hundreds of residents and community leaders from the Castro and Mission districts that he served. His fellow policemen and women remember him as a dedicated officer who always wanted to be at the scene; residents remember with gratitude the way he looked out for them. "Jon loved being a cop," recalled his domestic partner of three years, Jared Strawderman. "He loved serving his community. He loved being in situations where he could help people. He wanted to go to where the trouble was and fix the problem."

To his parents Jon Sr. and Rosemary Cook; his siblings Bonnie, Brian, Wayne, Jamie and Gary; partner Jared Strawderman; and his many nieces and nephews; we share your loss, and we are grateful for the service Jon provided to the people of San Francisco.

The contributions of Officer Cook and so many others in San Francisco bring into sharp focus the need for basic protections of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. As we mourn the loss of Jon Cook, we also reaffirm our commitment to the fight for equal rights for all and our belief in the beauty of our diversity.

###

Please sign our guest book by clicking HERE.

You can email Congresswoman Pelosi by clicking HERE.

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How's this for savin' it?

[Bahbah]

Well that was interesting. I sincerely hope this woman becomes minority leader.

[Perceptive]

Here it is, in its entirity:

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride in San Francisco and to pay tribute to the memory of Jon D. Cook, the first openly-gay San Francisco police officer to lose his life in the line of duty.

This weekend marks the 32nd annual San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride Celebration entitled, "Be Yourself, Change the World!" This is our time to celebrate San Francisco's proud history of advocacy for equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons and to recognize the important contributions the LGBT Community makes to our City and to our nation.

Officer Jon Cook's legacy is an important example of such contributions. On June 12, 2002, Officer Cook was killed when his police car collided with another police car as they both pursued a suspected violent felon. Before joining the force, he worked as a research scientist searching for a cure and treatments for HIV/AIDS. He also served honorably as a lieutenant in US Air Force intelligence with a top-level security clearance.

Officer Cook touched the lives of many people in San Francisco. More than 2,000 attended his funeral mass, including friends and family members, over 600 fellow officers from throughout Northern California, and hundreds of residents and community leaders from the Castro and Mission districts that he served. His fellow policemen and women remember him as a dedicated officer who always wanted to be at the scene; residents remember with gratitude the way he looked out for them. "Jon loved being a cop," recalled his domestic partner of three years, Jared Strawderman. "He loved serving his community. He loved being in situations where he could help people. He wanted to go to where the trouble was and fix the problem."

To his parents Jon Sr. and Rosemary Cook; his siblings Bonnie, Brian, Wayne, Jamie and Gary; partner Jared Strawderman; and his many nieces and nephews; we share your loss, and we are grateful for the service Jon provided to the people of San Francisco.

The contributions of Officer Cook and so many others in San Francisco bring into sharp focus the need for basic protections of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender persons. As we mourn the loss of Jon Cook, we also reaffirm our commitment to the fight for equal rights for all and our belief in the beauty of our diversity.

[Wormwood]

I truly, truly hope that she makes this crap her number one priority.

I wonder what the average vote is more responsive to: national security, tax policy, or transgender issues?

[Perceptive]

You are faster than I am. Of course, this will hurt you with women.

[thedugal]

Nice comeback :)

[cgbg]

Thanks.

Her "defense" should she be foolish enough to mount one would be that she was honoring a police officer killed in the line of duty.

But the question for Comrade Pelosi is:

When did you last mention the sexual preference of a hetero police officer and honor them for that?

In Pelosi's world vice is virtue and virtue is vice.

This is part of the Marcusian strategy to destroy the ethical foundations of Western civilization.

I bet Pelosi marches in the Gay Pride parades in SF surrounded by freaks. Hopefully RNC will have the video cameras rolling.

[E Rocc]

When did you last mention the sexual preference of a hetero police officer and honor them for that?

Good point. My first thought reading this was "do we really want to be slamming her for honoring a cop that was killed in the line of duty?". Regardless of his personal life, that could (and perhaps should) backfire hard. This question is a fair one.

-Eric

[Between the Lines]

Gotta love this pic from the same website:

June 28, 2000 Congresswoman Pelosi receives a first place ribbon from Congressman Murtha (PA) at a rally in honor of her extraordinary efforts to help the Democratic Party take back the house.

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

Bump

[GregoryFul]

I bet Pelosi marches in the Gay Pride parades in SF surrounded by freaks. Hopefully RNC will have the video cameras rolling.

She'll march with a dirty dildo taped to her thigh, to show her solidarity!

[cynicom]

This woman is daughter of old Tom D'Alesandro, one of the most corrupt mayors in Baltimore history. Bribery was a way of life in Baltimore. I hope the republicans tie that tin can on her.

[c-b 1]

This is part of the Marcusian strategy to destroy the ethical foundations of Western civilization.

That says it all.

[Morgan in Denver]

I can only think of one response:

PLEASE DON'T CALIFORNACATE AMERICA

[longtermmemmory]

Is there an online source for the congressional record? How about those two minute speeches.

BTW lets not go for the full monty on her just yet. We want her to be around for 2004.

[Recovering_Democrat]

Whoa, all I see here is that she is honoring a gay cop who died in the line of duty. I've got no problem with honoring a cop who died trying to catch a felon. Whether or not he was gay has nothing to do with it...I understand her focus on it was his sexual orientation, but the bottom line is she was honoring a gay dead cop.

[MindBender26]

To give you an idea of how they think in SF, following is report from newspaper there. It is about the event she rose to praise in her speach. ....and you think the Wellstone memorial was an isolated event......

A death -- and new respect
By Allen White
Special to The Examiner

THE FUNERAL MASS for San Francisco Police Officer Jon Cook, and the procession that followed through the city's Castro district, were defining moments in The City's history. With his death, Officer Cook became the first openly gay member of the San Francisco Police Department to die in the line of duty.

Monday, San Francisco's greatness was again defined by its enormous capacity to share collective tears of joy and sadness. An extended family that spread across this city, through eyes moistened by emotion and pain, saw a historic drama unfold.

As Jared Strawderman walked behind his lover's casket into San Francisco's Roman Catholic Cathedral, the love between these two men was acknowledged with stark honesty and clarity.

Without question, Jon and Jared loved each other very, very much. It was a love not hidden. That reality was celebrated, not obscured.

The significance of San Francisco police officers, gay and straight, forming an honor guard with other law enforcement personnel must never be understated. By their presence, tears and statements, police officers clearly, and without ambiguity, identified Officer Cook as a good cop. Whether he was a gay cop or a cop who was gay no longer matters.

The directive of Police Chief Fred Lau for the body of Officer Cook to be taken through the Castro was an incredible human rights statement. Gay athletes had the opportunity to join with business people, lawyers, doctors, carpenters and even the homeless to mourn and celebrate their hero.

As police cars with sirens and red lights cleared Castro Street, every gay man, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered person on that street knew, without question or hesitation, that Officer Cook was their guy. There was also the sense that the walls of discrimination that stood for centuries were crumbling under the force of community love, respect and acceptance.

As San Franciscans reached out to share comfort and concern for Officer Cook's the family, Nicholas Ferrando, another good cop who struggles to stay alive, was not forgotten. More than a few have faith to believe healing will come to this 25-year-old. The other officers injured in last week's accident, David Lee, 22, and Michael Celis, 34, have been treated and released.

These four police officers, one gay and three straight, represent a new generation of law enforcement. They, like many San Franciscans, know little of past violence that contrasts so sharply with today's events.

In 1969, angry drag queens rioting against police harassment at Stonewall, a Greenwich Village bar, lit the spark fueling the contemporary gay movement. In 1978, Dan White, a former cop, assassinated Harvey Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay supervisor, and Mayor George Moscone. The following May 21, riots erupted as the verdict for two murders was reduced to manslaughter. That prompted police beatings in the Castro.

Together, these incidents caused the change from which emerged an international sexual liberation movement. Forces fell in place to end the fear that, without provocation, police could and would use their power to destroy anyone they perceived to be homosexual.

The election of George Moscone brought more change. Openly gay men and lesbians were appointed to city commissions.

Because of their numbers, lesbians, gay men and a transgendered police officers are now being taken for granted by some. They shouldn't be. Gay police haven't gained total community acceptance and homophobia, like racism, continues to surface in law enforcement agencies everywhere.

A meaningful option might be for the community to demand Officer Cook be honored as grand marshal of the 2002 San Francisco Pride Parade, that he be represented by his lover, Jared, and that every gay, lesbian or transgendered police officer in America be invited to join him to march down Market Street. That, in fact, would be the truest demonstration of gay pride.

Monday was a day for sadness because a person so appreciated and loved is dead; 38 is too young to die. Yet, the people of San Francisco witnessed a plateau of respect that is truly incredible. A police officer who gave his life in the line of duty also gave the gift of validation to a community who cares.

Thank you, Officer Cook.