The Empire State Pride Agenda, one of the country’s important gay lobbying groups, will hold its annual Fall Dinner on October 6th at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers. A VIP reception will be held at 6p.m. with the dinner and a live auction to follow at 8. Donors at the VIP level will have a chance to rub shoulders with celebs such as keynote speaker Al Franken, emcees Mario Cantone and Gina Gershon, entertainer Rufus Wainwright and special guests Randy Harrison and Billy Porter. You can purchase passes to the Fall Dinner here.

Meanwhile, if you can’t make the dinner, you might bookmark the ESPA website. A good resource for keeping abreast of advances and setbacks in gay rights, the site also allows you to volunteer for the organization. You can, furthermore, contact them through the site to arrange for a speaker to appear at an event you might be planning. Queerty joins you in wondering why they’re called rights if the right doesn’t want you to have them.