Meg Sneed
Encyclopedia
Meg Sneed is a LGBT
activist from Phoenix who founded the Right to Marry: Arizona campaign and cofounded the H.E.R.O. (Human and Equal Rights Organizers) organization.
Meg Sneed graduated from North High School (Phoenix, Arizona)
. In 2006 Meg Sneed was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
Equality Ride
. She also, in 2006, attempted to enlist in the Coast Guard of the United States to protest the military's "Don't ask, don't tell
" policy.
In 2008, Meg Sneed founded the Right to Marry: Arizona campaign. The campaign uses the framework of pilgrimage for its outreach. Each summer a group of core Equality Walkers walk a mile for every year Arizona has been a state without full legal recognition of its LGBT citizens. The Equality Walkers utilize these miles to speak to police, city managers, faith communities, elected officials and individuals in diverse districts. In 2008 the Equality Walkers completed 96 miles through western Maricopa County, in order to raise awareness about Proposition 102, and in 2009 the Equality Walkers completed 97 miles through eastern Maricopa County focusing their outreach to diverse faith communities. In 2010 the Equality Walkers completed 98 miles through Northern Arizona walking through some of the most rural cities in the State and putting faces and stories to the issue of Marriage Equality. In 2011 the Equality Walkers completed 99 miles in the extreme heat and desert of Southern Arizona.
After the passage of Proposition 102, Meg Sneed vowed to continue the fight regardless and to steadily work to regain individual rights conferred by marriage, 300 by Arizona law and another 1,100 by federal law. She and others held a rally after its passage that contained over 5,000 supporters.
In November 2008, Meg Sneed and other young activists formed H.E.R.O. (Human & Equal Rights Organizers). H.E.R.O. is an organization that works with the community, in order to profess the ideals of S.A.V.E. (Service, Action, Visibility, and Education) events.
In February 2009, Meg Sneed and friend Melissa Halverson, began to work toward removing the ban on homosexuals donating blood, which states that men who have had sex with men are permanently banned from donating. They gained the support of United Blood Services in their actions.
In April 2010, Meg Sneed, Jimmy Gruender, Lee Walters, Luisa Valdez and Lonnie Allen Howard-Stidham refused to leave Senator McCain's office until McCain spoke with them about Howard-Stidham’s 2007 discharge from the Coast Guard under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The five were arrested when they refused to leave.
In July 2010 Meg Sneed joined the national group GetEqual in Las Vegas to protest Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s inaction on bringing the Employment Non Discrimination Act to the Senate floor. Eight activists were arrested for shutting down the Las Vegas Strip for almost thirty minutes. Las Vegas Police stated that this is the first time in 15 years that a group has successfully shut down the Strip.
In September 2010 Meg Sneed and other members of H.E.R.O. interrupted a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Members of H.E.R.O. stood up in the middle of the hearing; where they invoked images of those who have stood in the way of civil rights progress in the past and demanded Senator McCain immediately end his threat to filibuster Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Activists held signs saying, "Senator McCain Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Do You Want to Be the next George Wallace?" and "Senator McCain Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, It’s Not Too Late to Change Your Legacy.
2011 Phoenix Pride “Grand Marshall”
City of Phoenix Martin Luther King “Living the Dream Award”
Echo Magazine “2010 Woman of the Year”
Echo Magazine “Hall of Fame”
American University “Richard L. Schlegel Award for Visionary Leader”
‘N Touch Magazine “2009 Woman of the Year
LGBT
LGBT is an initialism that collectively refers to "lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender" people. In use since the 1990s, the term "LGBT" is an adaptation of the initialism "LGB", which itself started replacing the phrase "gay community" beginning in the mid-to-late 1980s, which many within the...
activist from Phoenix who founded the Right to Marry: Arizona campaign and cofounded the H.E.R.O. (Human and Equal Rights Organizers) organization.
Meg Sneed graduated from North High School (Phoenix, Arizona)
North High School (Phoenix, Arizona)
North High School is part of the Phoenix Union High School District. The campus is located at 1101 East Thomas Road north of downtown Phoenix, Arizona, USA. North’s enrollment is 2600 students. The school predominantly serves students from partner elementary districts Madison, Osborn, Creighton...
. In 2006 Meg Sneed was diagnosed with Breast Cancer.
LGBT Work
During 2006, Meg Sneed participated as a member of the first SoulforceSoulforce (organization)
Soulforce is an American social justice and civil rights organization that supports acceptance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people through dialogue and creative forms of nonviolent direct action...
Equality Ride
Equality Ride
The Equality Ride is a periodic LGBT rights bus journey across the United States led by young adults and sponsored by Soulforce, a national LGBT nonprofit organization. Its primary goal is to foster dialogue on issues of faith, sexuality, and gender, and discrimination against lesbian, gay,...
. She also, in 2006, attempted to enlist in the Coast Guard of the United States to protest the military's "Don't ask, don't tell
Don't ask, don't tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" was the official United States policy on homosexuals serving in the military from December 21, 1993 to September 20, 2011. The policy prohibited military personnel from discriminating against or harassing closeted homosexual or bisexual service members or applicants, while...
" policy.
In 2008, Meg Sneed founded the Right to Marry: Arizona campaign. The campaign uses the framework of pilgrimage for its outreach. Each summer a group of core Equality Walkers walk a mile for every year Arizona has been a state without full legal recognition of its LGBT citizens. The Equality Walkers utilize these miles to speak to police, city managers, faith communities, elected officials and individuals in diverse districts. In 2008 the Equality Walkers completed 96 miles through western Maricopa County, in order to raise awareness about Proposition 102, and in 2009 the Equality Walkers completed 97 miles through eastern Maricopa County focusing their outreach to diverse faith communities. In 2010 the Equality Walkers completed 98 miles through Northern Arizona walking through some of the most rural cities in the State and putting faces and stories to the issue of Marriage Equality. In 2011 the Equality Walkers completed 99 miles in the extreme heat and desert of Southern Arizona.
After the passage of Proposition 102, Meg Sneed vowed to continue the fight regardless and to steadily work to regain individual rights conferred by marriage, 300 by Arizona law and another 1,100 by federal law. She and others held a rally after its passage that contained over 5,000 supporters.
In November 2008, Meg Sneed and other young activists formed H.E.R.O. (Human & Equal Rights Organizers). H.E.R.O. is an organization that works with the community, in order to profess the ideals of S.A.V.E. (Service, Action, Visibility, and Education) events.
In February 2009, Meg Sneed and friend Melissa Halverson, began to work toward removing the ban on homosexuals donating blood, which states that men who have had sex with men are permanently banned from donating. They gained the support of United Blood Services in their actions.
In April 2010, Meg Sneed, Jimmy Gruender, Lee Walters, Luisa Valdez and Lonnie Allen Howard-Stidham refused to leave Senator McCain's office until McCain spoke with them about Howard-Stidham’s 2007 discharge from the Coast Guard under Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. The five were arrested when they refused to leave.
In July 2010 Meg Sneed joined the national group GetEqual in Las Vegas to protest Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s inaction on bringing the Employment Non Discrimination Act to the Senate floor. Eight activists were arrested for shutting down the Las Vegas Strip for almost thirty minutes. Las Vegas Police stated that this is the first time in 15 years that a group has successfully shut down the Strip.
In September 2010 Meg Sneed and other members of H.E.R.O. interrupted a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. Members of H.E.R.O. stood up in the middle of the hearing; where they invoked images of those who have stood in the way of civil rights progress in the past and demanded Senator McCain immediately end his threat to filibuster Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Activists held signs saying, "Senator McCain Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, Do You Want to Be the next George Wallace?" and "Senator McCain Repeal Don’t Ask Don’t Tell, It’s Not Too Late to Change Your Legacy.
Awards
2011 Echo Magazine Readers’ Choice Award “HEROIC Service by a Woman”2011 Phoenix Pride “Grand Marshall”
City of Phoenix Martin Luther King “Living the Dream Award”
Echo Magazine “2010 Woman of the Year”
Echo Magazine “Hall of Fame”
American University “Richard L. Schlegel Award for Visionary Leader”
‘N Touch Magazine “2009 Woman of the Year
External links
See also
- LGBT-welcoming church programsLGBT-welcoming church programsLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender affirming religious groups are religious groups that welcome LGBT members and do not consider homosexuality to be a sin. They include entire religious denominations, as well as individual churches and synagogues...
- Same-sex marriage status in the United States by stateSame-sex marriage status in the United States by stateSame-sex unions have been on the political radar in the United States since the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that denying licenses to same-sex partners violated the Hawaii constitution unless there is a "compelling state interest." Since Massachusetts became the first state to legalize...