Bil Browning is a long-time LGBT activist and writer. He is the co-owner and Editor-In-Chief of The Bilerico Project. He and his partner, Jerame Davis, live with their teenage daughter in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Bil has fought for gay rights since coming out in high school in rural Indiana. He followed the Clinton campaign across America with ACT UP in 1992 and has organized many protests and direct actions over the years since. Bil has led several grassroots coalitions including the one to pass an inclusive human rights ordinance in Indianapolis and has served in the leadership of quite a few LGBT organizations.
As the original “bilerico,” he is thrilled at the response to his dream of a free space where everyone could interact around LGBTQ issues. Little did he know that ten years later a word he invented would stand for equality, dialogue and community. From his personal homepage to a state-level LGBT politics blog and now in a national arena, Bil has guided bilerico.com through its evolution into The Bilerico Project and its state-level affiliate sites.
A full-time blogger, Bil does consulting work for internet, fundraising and political projects. He is a non-practicing vegetarian and occasionally sticks his foot in his mouth. You can add Bil as a friend on Twitter, Facebook, Friends You Know, or MySpace.
I had a chance to sit down with contributor Kate Clinton at the Victory Fund's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Conference to talk about her experiences at the White House state dinner last month. Kate and her partner, Urvashi Vaid, were directly in front of the White House gate crashers...
21 Comments|
Posted December 6, 2009
| 03:04 PM (EST)
Much has been made of the Obama administration's decision to defy a California judge's order that they enroll a lesbian federal employee's partner as her health-insurance beneficiary. While Alex Blaze called the struggle "a power battle between the judiciary and the executive" in a post about the issue, openly...
39 Comments|
Posted November 19, 2009
| 10:26 PM (EST)
The marriage equality drumbeat has rumbled on with news that several states will be attempting to re-examine their state constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage and/or civil unions. Surprisingly, this hasn't received as much attention as I assumed it would in the LGBT blogosphere.
This weekend's National Equality March was absolutely amazing and the unexpected moments kept piling up. We ran into Glee star Corey Montieth while shopping and the Mayor of DC stopped me in the street to say hello, but one of the most amazing introductions I had came minutes before...
1 Comments|
Posted September 22, 2009
| 01:39 PM (EST)
Indiana can be a lonely place to be lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender, but the internet has done wonders to connect our community around the state. When I started bilerico.com as a local blog in 2004, there were only three other...
We had some fantastic guest posts by LGBT leaders this week on Bilerico Project. Toni Broaddus, Executive Director of the Equality Federation, penned an open letter to Cleve Jones about the federal vs state approach to LGBT rights. Kip Williams and Robin McGehee, Co-Directors of the National Equality March,...
1 Comments|
Posted September 4, 2009
| 11:47 AM (EST)
Last week I had the opportunity to interview veteran LGBT activist Cleve Jones about the upcoming National Equality March and his role inside the community. Instead of doing a standard interview, I asked our readers to submit questions and I simply asked the questions they provided. We've ran the videos...
2 Comments|
Posted September 2, 2009
| 01:15 PM (EST)
I had the opportunity to meet veteran activist Cleve Jones Sunday during his recent visit to Chicago. Bilerico Project readers left questions for Jones in the comment section and sent in more via Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail, and I did the interview on their behalf. The response...
6 Comments|
Posted August 29, 2009
| 10:36 AM (EST)
Gay rights activist Chris Mason from Driving Equality recently did a stretch of road in Indiana and apparently got a dose of Hoosier hospitality homophobia. After getting pulled over for speeding, Mason was let go but was detained again 20 minutes later at a rest area. The activist alleges...
Not only does Fritz have Pizza Eating Disorder, he's a chocoholic. I know, I know, chocolate isn't good for dogs. It can make them sick; it can even kill them if they eat enough. Fritz, however, has always stood ready to commit choco hara-kiri like a loyal samurai.
A coalition of labor unions is criticizing CVS pharmacies for locking up condoms in some of its stores. The group, Change to Win, says that putting the rubbers behind glass means that young people will be less likely to ask for them, while CVS counters that the locked case...
31 Comments|
Posted June 25, 2009
| 02:50 PM (EST)
I just got a phone call from a well placed source on Capital Hill that confirmed that the hate crimes bill currently before the Senate will be added to the Defense Authorization Bill. Remember how well that worked out for us last time?
Chalk this up as one of the worst ideas ever. Speaking at Utah Pride yesterday, Cleve Jones announced plans for a march on Washington on October 11th. Of course, the focus will be on marriage equality. Witness the headline: "March on Washington for...
Posted December 10, 2009 | 12:29 PM (EST)