Ground Zero Site Erupts in Celebration Following Osama Bin Laden's Death - ABC News

Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Crowds of jubilant Americans filled the streets in front of the White House and Ground Zero last night in response to the news from President Obama that U.S. forces have killed Osama bin Laden.

Via ABC News:
Thousands of people arrived at Ground Zero early today, celebrating the death of Osama bin Laden with songs, cheers and champagne toasts at the very site where many of the revelers lost loved ones on Sept. 11, 2011.


Waving American flags, chanting "USA" and singing patriotic songs, people in the crowd described the scene as "jubilant" and "celebratory," marking a stark contrast from the solemn mood that has permeated the site where nearly 3,000 people died in a terror attack and whose names are read there every year on the anniversary.


"Tonight is a great night," said Rocco Chierichella, the retired firefighter who famously handed President George W. Bush a bullhorn when he visited the smoldering wreckage of the twin towers 10 years ago.


"People are releasing some of that jubilation," he told ABC News steps from where he told President Bush that couldn't be heard.

"I can hear them all," Chierichella said of the revelers. "Let's hear it for the U.S. Army. Tonight is for them."


One woman held up an iPad serving as makeshift poster, which read "Obama: 1, Osama: 0."


Muslim women in head scarves and Muslim men in turbans and long beards carrying American flags, mixed with retired firefighters, service members in uniform and college students.

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Poll: 53% of Americans Support Marriage Equality

Image via WikipediaA new poll conducted by ABC News and The Washington Post shows that support for same-sex marriage has grown across the board in all segments of American society from a low of just 32% in 2004 to 53% today.

Here's the breakdown by age group, via ABC News:

GROUPS – While younger adults and liberals remain at the forefront of support for gay marriage, the new results underscore its expansion. In an ABC/Post poll five and a half years ago, for example, under-30s were the sole age group to give majority support to gay marriage, at 57 percent. Today it's 68 percent in that group – but also 65 percent among people in their 30s, up a remarkable 23 points from the 2005 level; and 52 percent among those in their 40s, up 17 points.

Adults 50 and older remain more skeptical, but even that's seen change. Most notably, 33 percent of seniors now say gay marriage should be legal, up from 18 percent five years ago.

While the struggle for equality is far from over, we can fight on knowing that we have the wind at our backs. We still face stiff opposition, but this is great news for LGBT Americans. 

Read the full article here.

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ABC News picks up National Equality March story and Obama's HRC speech

In the final days leading up to Sunday's National Equality March, the mainstream press has finally decided we're worth talking about. ABC News posted a story on there website last night. Why the sudden attention after five months of planning? Because of President Obama's scheduled key note speech at the annual Human Rights Campaign awards gala this Friday night.

I guess we should be grateful that HRC has such pull at the White House. The one thing that's been missing from the march has been a celebrity endorsement, unless you count Lady GaGa. The neo-diva said this weekend that she will be there marching with us, even though she called it a Gay Pride march. Er, thanks?

The AP news story seems to have done some good. We should probably see more coverage in the next few days.

On Monday I contacted Jay Warren, anchor of Roanoke's Newschannel 10, via his FaceBook page, to see if there was any interest in doing a story about our local efforts to get the Star City's LGBT community to go to DC this weekend. He responded saying he would pitch the idea to his editor. As of today, I haven't heard anything more.

I also reached out to Star City Harbinger's Hank Bostwick, who cross-posted my Roanoke Pride story, with an offer to share my march coverage and pics. I haven't received a response yet. Maybe gay rights are not alternative enough for Roanoke's Alternative News Source.

Hank, check your e-mail.