by Ben Varkentine » Sun Oct 30, 2005 5:47 pm
"This has been and always will be about cynical politics," said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese.
"Political games in Washington are common, but when the lives of millions of American families are at state, these hearings are an affront to American values."
by WebWarlock » Fri Nov 04, 2005 10:14 am
Lesbian to Seek Parental Rights in Wash.
Thursday, November 03, 2005
OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that a woman who raised a child from birth to age 6 while in a relationship with the girl's biological mother can seek parental rights as a "de facto parent (search)," essentially creating a new class of parent in the state.
"Today we hold that our common law recognizes the status of de facto parents and places them in parity with biological and adoptive parents in our state," the court, led by Justice Bobbe J. Bridge, wrote in the 7-2 decision. "Neither the United States Supreme Court nor this court has ever held that 'family' or 'parents' are terms limited in their definition by a strict biological prerequisite."
Sue Ellen Carvin (search), who goes by "Mian," sued her former partner, Page Britain (search), in King County Superior Court in November 2002, alleging that Britain had unfairly cut off access to Britain's biological daughter, identified in court papers as L.B.
The two had been together for about six years when they decided to raise a child together. Britain was artificially inseminated and gave birth in 1995. For the next several years, Carvin stayed home to raise the girl, who called her "Mama" and Britain "Mommy."
But a year and a half ago, Britain and Carvin split. Britain married the sperm donor and subsequently barred Carvin from seeing L.B.
The high court's ruling affirms a May 2004 ruling by the state Court of Appeals, which had ruled Carvin could seek parental rights to L.B. The three-judge panel found that while Carvin did not have standing under the state's Uniform Parentage Act, she could seek status as a "de facto or psychological parent" by presenting evidence of a parent-child relationship.
The high court remanded the case to trial to determine whether Carvin is L.B.'s de facto parent.
"We strongly urge trial courts in this and similar cases to consider the interests of children in dependency, parentage, visitation, custody, and support proceedings," the court wrote, and "to act on their behalf and represent their interests would be appropriate and in the interests of justice."
by sam7777 » Mon Nov 07, 2005 5:41 pm
George Takei's public acknowledgment that he is gay is connected to a belief in speaking out about initiatives that would limit gay rights.
By Lynn Smith, Times Staff Writer
A few "Star Trek" fans were shocked by the official revelation that actor George Takei — aka Mr. Sulu — is gay. But most accepted the news with the respect for diversity that devotees say is the hallmark of the sci-fi series.
Takei, 68, revealed his homosexuality in the current issue of Frontiers, a biweekly Los Angeles magazine covering the gay and lesbian community. Takei said he and his partner of 18 years, Brad Altman, have been open about their relationship to friends and family for many years.
What prompted his recent disclosure to the media, he said, was Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's veto of a same-sex marriage bill in September.
"The world has really changed," Takei said. "We now have Time magazine doing a cover story on gay teens. Now that the movement is reaching this point, something unimaginable when I was a teenager, I think I have a responsibility to add my voice. I thought that it was time."
by Ben Varkentine » Mon Nov 07, 2005 7:22 pm
TAMPA, Fla. - Two Carolina Panthers cheerleaders were charged after their arrest at a bar where witnesses told police the women had sex in a restroom.
Renee Thomas, 20, of Pittsboro, N.C., and Angela Keathley, 26, of Belmont, N.C., were taken to Hillsborough County Jail early Sunday.
Witnesses said the women were having sex in a stall with each other, angering patrons waiting in line to get into the restroom at the club in the Channelside district.
Thomas was charged with battery Sunday after allegedly striking a bar patron when she was leaving the restroom, then landed in even more trouble after police said she gave officers a driver's license belonging to another Panthers cheerleader who was not in Tampa.
Thomas, who made the trip to Florida for Sunday's game between the Panthers and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was released from jail on $500 bail before police learned she was not the person she claimed to be.
Providing police with a false name is a misdemeanor. However, Thomas was charged Monday with giving a false name and causing harm to another — a third-degree felony punishable by probation or a jail term of 1 to 5 years, said police spokeswoman Laura McElroy.
Meanwhile, detectives are trying to determine how Thomas gained possession of the driver's license of the third cheerleader.
Keathley, charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, was released on $750 bail about an hour before the Panthers played the Bucs at Raymond James Stadium. The cheerleaders were not in town to perform at the game.
by WebWarlock » Tue Nov 08, 2005 5:41 am
by sam7777 » Mon Dec 05, 2005 5:53 pm
Car manufacturer Ford has called off advertising in gay media after the threat of boycott by anti-gay group American Family Association. AFA says it has called off the boycott after lengthy talks with the company, claiming a cultural and moral victory.
Ford came under pressure from the anti-gay group earlier this year for its positive efforts toward LGBT employees, and support of gay rights causes. Ford agreed to negotiate with the AFA after threats of boycott by its members, and now AFA claims victory, saying “Obviously there are still some small matters of difference, as people will always have, but generally speaking, we are pleased with the results”.
According to AFA, they insisted that Ford and all of its brands stop donating cash, vehicles and endorsements to gay social activities and events, and that it stop advertising in gay media publications. Confirming that such an agreement has been reached, a Ford spokesman said the decision was “strictly business”.
Like General Motors Corp, Ford has seen its margins squeezed by soaring health-care and raw material costs and a decline in US market share. So far this year, Ford's North American unit has lost over $1.4 billion before taxes. GM has announced plans to cut 30,000 jobs through 2008 and close 12 facilities to reduce excess capacity.
by sam7777 » Wed Dec 14, 2005 4:43 pm
Ford said in a letter it would restore advertising for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover brands in gay publications and run corporate ads marketing all eight of its vehicle brands in the publications.
Okay, so that’s not quite the story, although the KKK should probably give it a try, because if Ford’s craven response to pressure from the American Family Association is any indication, the company would buckle under at the first sign of trouble.
by skittles » Fri Dec 30, 2005 10:06 am
by Candleshoe » Fri Dec 30, 2005 11:54 am
by xita » Fri Dec 30, 2005 6:16 pm
by cattwoman » Mon Jan 16, 2006 2:08 pm
Umpteenth Dozen Time The Charm?
January 10, 2006
By Ken Schram
SEATTLE - It's been a long time.
Back when Ronald Reagan was president; when gas was a mere 67 cents a gallon; when Madonna was warbling "Like a Virgin", the Washington State Legislature was again killing a measure that would've banned discrimination against gays and lesbians.
Last year, introduced for the umpteenth dozen time, that gay rights bill died again, just one vote shy of passing.
This year, that one vote has changed his mind.
State Senator Bill Finkbeiner has decided that conscience trumps spiteful Republican politics.
Finkbeiner says he'll support the bill this year.
That doesn't mean the gay rights measure is a lock to pass, but it has a good shot.
Of course, all the usual right wing religious folks are braying and praying because they don't want gays and lesbians to have specific legal protection.
They figure that if homosexuals are doomed to burn in hell anyway, might was well turn the heat up on 'em while here on Earth.
But for the rest of us, human dignity - and the obligation we have as a society to assure that everyone is treated equally under the law - should dictate that discrimination, whether it's based on someone's skin color or someone's sexual orientation, is illegal.
Bill Finkbeiner now understands that.
I hope is legislative colleagues do too.
Because it's been a long time.
...And I'm equally positive that neo-conservative, right-wing christians will continue to try and use God as an excuse to demean and discriminate against homosexuals.
And I'm positive that God isn't proud of that.
by FineyMcFine » Sun Jan 22, 2006 9:36 am
The Day I Thought I'd Never See
01.12.2006 | Link to this blurb
Given recent comments on recent blurbs about a movie that involves a love story between two gay cowboys, I wanted to get a little more personal than I have of late.
I am straight. I am a straight man. I've never had to come out of any closet. I've never had to be careful whom I mention this to. I've never had my sexual orientation criminalized (even as a celibate Mormon missionary).
My oldest sister and I had a conversation about ten years ago after a family dinner at my mom's place. I was still living in Utah at the time. We discussed how society at some point would have to accept homosexuality not as an abhorrent or aberrant behavior, but as a normal part of the human experience. Part of the burden of that acceptance would be on the gay community itself. By being responsible citizens and taking part in mainstream culture; being cops, firepeople and civil servants, for example. The trouble is that this is an enormous undertaking in most towns and cities in the United States. The culture in our cities and towns has to meet in the middle as well, and this was a harder thing to visualize than an out and proud gay cop. The gay community had already begun this process, but the larger, homophobic communities hadn't done their part. Particularly in the conservative interior. During our conversation it was apparent that both sides would have to sacrifice and give. In larger cities, this had already happened at the time of the discussion, I just hadn't experienced it first hand. I hadn't experienced an open, tolerant city.
In the summer of 1998, I moved to San Francisco. It would take two years before I went to the Gay Pride march. I remember getting on the N-Judah Muni line and heading downtown from Cole Valley. At the next stop, a couple got on the train who, I'm aware this is stereotyping, were most definitely not from San Francisco. Matching Garth Brooks t-shirts (tank tops, I believe), mullets and matching denim shorts. They were a gay male couple. I watched them sneakily hold hands and then become more comfortable and less sneaky about their affection for one another. I tried to ascertain if they were being sarcastic or attempting irony in their fashion. They, like me, were on their way to the Pride March. I wondered where they came from, what kind of bullshit they had to put up with in Cedar Rapids, Tulsa, Salt Lake City or wherever they were from. And how much like Mecca San Francisco must have seemed. Then again, they could have hated San Francisco and not been a thing like what I projected onto them. Their presence on that train expanded my worldview of what it meant to be gay. Whenever I think about gay marriage, I always picture those two men.
Later, at the March, my eyes were opened further still. Yes, there were Dykes on Bikes. There were the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. But bigger than the naked people and the queens were the sheriff's department employees, marching with their partners representing one of the first sheriff's offices to actively recruit gays and lesbians. There were police department employees, marching with their partners. Firemen and Firewomen, marching with their partners. My world exploded. Here were gay people, taking the hard jobs, putting their lives on the line for me and my community. Every day. Every fucking day.
By God, they deserve to be equal citizens. If you are among those who think that homosexuality is somehow morally wrong, you might want to look a little closer at your community. They don't want to convert you. They just want the same joy you get to have without the bigotry, the hatred and without the version of Jesus who says gay people shouldn't be happy, just like you.
Until you stop seeing the sex, and start seeing human beings trying to figure it out, just like you, we'll never move forward. This is the burden of the conservatives. The progressives are mostly there. This is the civil rights burden of our time. It's not a rejection of God. It's not a rejection of religion. It's a rejection of hate, prejudice and ignorance. It's a rejection of the most evil part of any organized group, Jesus or otherwise.
by Candleshoe » Sun Jan 22, 2006 12:19 pm
by cattwoman » Fri Jan 27, 2006 6:58 pm
A Great Day for All Washingtonians
Dear Pride Supporters,
I am very happy to bring you this news: Today the Washington State Legislature approved HB 2661, the Anderson-Murray anti-discrimination bill. This is an historic day for all of Washington State's citizens that believe in fairness and equality! Thanks to the courage of our legislators, our Governor, and the tireless work of so many organizations and individuals, every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender person in Washington will finally be treated fairly under the law. Washington State now joins 15 other states and the District of Columbia by prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Specifically, the legislation modifies the state's discrimination law to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in employment, housing, public accommodations, credit, insurance and commercial transactions. Previous to passage of this bill, the law provided protection based on race, creed, color, national origin, sex, marital status or the presence of any sensory, mental or physical disability but held no such equal protection for LGBT people in Washington.
First introduced in 1977, the bill made it to the Senate for a full vote only last year, where, after heavy lobbying from it's opponents, it was narrowly defeated. This year, however, Sen. Bill Finkbeiner (R-Kirkland) changed his vote on the bill, after releasing a statement saying that he has come to "more fully understand the level of discrimination against gays and lesbians." The bill was then introduced by Governor Gregoire herself, who has promised to sign it when it comes to her desk.
Why is this landmark so important? Here at the Pride Foundation, we frequently hear from LGBT people from every corner of our state how difficult it has been to hide who they are at work, or even at home, when not protected by law. This isn't just about those that have been actively discriminated against over the years, but the many-fold more who have lived in fear of discrimination without recourse from their co-workers, supervisors, and landlords. Passage of HB 2661 finally lifts that unfair burden from the shoulders of LGBT people who have lived with it too long.
Just as Sen. Finkbeiner's change of heart has proven, the key to changing opinions about LGBT people is to better understand them. The passing of this legislation marks an opportunity for everyone in Washington State to learn more about their LGBT friends, family and neighbors. I encourage you to use this opportunity to begin a dialogue with someone close to you. We have reached a historic landmark with this bill, but there's more work left to be done.
Today, however, we should give thanks to the countless individuals who have worked selflessly to make all Washingtonians equal under the law, including the many community members who have testified, lobbied, given donations and supported this legislation over the past 29 years. We especially want to thank Rep. Ed Murray for his dogged determination and leadership. He picked up the torch from Senator Cal Anderson, Washington's first openly-gay elected official, who championed the bill from 1988 until his death in 1995. Also Representatives Jim Moeller, Joe McDermott and Dave Upthegrove have played a crucial role in supporting this legislation and by serving as openly-gay legislators in our state.
Let this day be a celebration and acknowledgement that none of us have labored in vain.
With Pride,
Audrey
by FineyMcFine » Thu Feb 02, 2006 8:40 am
Carnal Knowledge: In 'Brokeback,' men might not be only gay characters
Flynn, Faye
Portsmouth Herald, The
Over the past few months, the news media have explored every possible angle of the gay sheepherder movie "Brokeback Mountain" - except perhaps for the sex lives of the sheep.
And that actually leaves much to consider, because sheep research is beginning to offer some of the greatest new insights into the nature of homosexuality.
This latest gay-theme film has prompted a flurry of pronouncements on blogs and other electronic forums that homosexual acts go against nature. When such rampant guessing about what is natural or unnatural starts infiltrating cultural debate, it might be time to call a scientist.
Scientists who spend lots of time watching animals have reported that dozens of creatures from elk to elephants climb onto same-sex partners. Killer whales and manatees engage in gay trysts while frolicking in the sea, while gay geese and ducks latch onto one another in devoted male-male or female-female partnerships.
And for decades, it turns out, homosexual sheep have been a financial drain on their frustrated breeders. About 8 percent of rams are interested only in other rams, says Charles Roselli, a professor of physiology and pharmacology at Oregon Health and Science University. When their time arrives to become lamb chops, Roselli takes the brains and studies them for gay/straight differences. He recently spoke on his latest research at a symposium organized by the Endocrine Society.
Roselli tested the sexual orientation of his research rams by penning each one up with sheep of both sexes. The gay rams showed no interest in the ewes, but approached other rams and carried out a series of stereotypical mating behaviors.
First a ram will sniff the genitals of the object of his desire, then do some nuzzling and nibbling, Roselli said. Eventually he will mount the other sheep from behind. If it’s a same-sex encounter, the mounting ram will ejaculate into its partner’s wool. "They don’t insert anally," Roselli said.
The anatomy isn’t quite lined up that way.
That still leaves open questions about the ram on the bottom. Doesn’t putting up with this business suggest he’s gay too? "No one has systematically studied that," Roselli said. But sheep are pretty placid, he said, and may not be bothered by it.
While a handful of hypotheses have been advanced to explain gay rams, Roselli said he has long suspected differences in the brain. In humans, scientists have discovered a clump of cells in the hypothalamus that regulates sexual behavior and is significantly bigger in men than women. A study done in 1991 hinted that this brain area, called the sexually dimorphic nucleus, had something to do with sexual orientation. The region appeared to be about half as large in gay men as in straight men, though the researchers were able to examine only a few brains.
With sheep, it’s much easier to get lots of brains to study. Roselli eventually found that sheep, too, have a sexually dimorphic nucleus, that it’s much smaller in ewes than rams, and that it’s also smaller, on average, in gay rams than straight ones.
He and colleagues at UCLA are looking for ways that genes and gene expression set the stage for these brain differences.
Critics have contended that gay sheep are the product of domestication - wild sheep would never do anything like this. But in his book "Biological Exuberance," author Bruce Bagemihl details gay behavior in a huge variety of wild animals. Here’s an excerpt from his section on bighorn mountain rams:
"Typically the larger male rears up on his hind legs and mounts the smaller male ... the mountee assumes a characteristic posture known as lordosis, in which he arches his back to facilitiate copulation."
"Usually the mounting male has an erect penis and achieves full anal penetration," the book goes on to say - apparently the anatomy of wild sheep is suited for it, unlike that of domesticated sheep.
This anatomical coincidence is shared by various other living things, including, it would seem, sheep-herding cowboys.
by Gatito Grande » Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:07 pm
Out
by dorksrcool » Thu Feb 02, 2006 3:29 pm
NEW BEDFORD, Massachusetts (CNN) -- Police on Thursday are seeking a man in connection with a gun and hatchet attack at a gay bar in New Bedford, south of Boston. Three people were wounded in what authorities said they suspect were hate crimes.
by xita » Tue Feb 14, 2006 9:28 pm
by FineyMcFine » Fri Mar 03, 2006 10:42 am
Crystal Lake Rejects Gay Games Event
Long, Jeff
Chicago Tribune - Crystal Lake Bureau
Amid voices of support and opposition Thursday night, the Crystal Lake Park District board rejected a proposal to hold a controversial rowing competition in town that will be part of this summer’s Gay Games in Chicago.
With one commissioner on vacation, the board voted 2-2 on allowing the rowing event to be held on the lake for which the city is named. The event needed three votes in favor to be approved.
Commissioner David Phelps, who joined Scott Breeden in opposition, said he believes that the Gay Games are more about politics than athletics.
“I do not believe the Crystal Lake Park District should be a vehicle for the promotion of an agenda,” he said.
Commissioners Candy Reedy and Michael Zellmann voted for the event,
“I think this is a nice opportunity to further showcase the lake,” Reedy said.
Tracy Baim, co-vice chairwoman of the Gay Games board of directors, said she was not surprised, adding: “It’s upsetting that homophobia still lives.”
Gay Games VII will be held July 15 to 22, with opening ceremonies at Soldier Field. Scheduled for July 16, the rowing event is one of 30 competitions that will be held across the Chicago area that week.
Other sports and sites include weightlifting and wrestling at Northwestern University in Evanston and soccer, cycling and badminton in Oak Park.
Games organizers are now looking at other possibilities in the Chicago area for the rowing event. Crystal Lake was their first choice.
“[The lake] was ideal. It’s a beautiful lake,” said Nancy Harris, sports director of the Games.
About 90 people crowded the meeting at the Park District’s headquarters. The Crystal Lake City Council and Lakewood Village Board also had to approve the rowing event.
Crystal Lake resident Scott Spencer told the Park Board that homosexuality is “contrary and detrimental” to traditional family values. Saying that view doesn’t make him a bigot, he added: “Let me point out what my prejudice is toward: my wife, my children, my grandchildren and the sanctity of the home.”
Rev. Dan Larson of Congregational Unitarian Church in Woodstock spoke in support of allowing the Games’ rowing event to be held. “Everyone has a right to row their boat,” he said.
Baim said the announcement of Crystal Lake as a possible location churned up more opposition than she expected.
“The farther you go from the city of Chicago, the more controversial it becomes,” Baim said before the board meeting.
Baim said fliers had appeared around Crystal Lake warning of the potential for “inappropriate and lewd behaviors” at the rowing competition.
“Straight people have lewd behavior too,” Baim said.
She said that, based on past Gay Games, only about 300 rowers and spectators would be expected in Crystal Lake. She said lewd behavior is not on the agenda.
“There’s nothing we can say to that,” Baim said. “You get stereotyped as a group.”
She said that perhaps having the event in Crystal Lake would change people’s perceptions of gays and lesbians.
“It’s a teachable moment,” Baim said.
One Crystal Lake resident who publicly raised questions about the event is Mel Ingram, 73. But he said his concern was not about homosexuality but about whether more people than expected might show up, straining the city’s resources.
“Upon whose authority do you accept this claim that there will only be 200 or 300 people?” he said.
Ingram said hand-holding or kissing by same-sex couples should not be a reason to oppose the event, even if he doesn’t want to see that.
“I don’t even like it when a man and a woman are kissing in public,” Ingram said. “I’m old school.”
Park District Director Kirk Reimer said before Thursday’s meeting that his office had been contacted two dozen or three dozen times about the event in Crystal Lake.
“More pro than con,” he estimated.
But he called some of the correspondence “ugly.” And that made him wonder if there would be problems at the rowing competition caused by people opposed to the Gay Games.
“Based on some of the e-mails and phone calls I’ve gotten, it could get ugly,” he said.
But he said other lake events have been much bigger than the one proposed by the Gay Games.
A junior regatta approved by the board last month will have about 600 participants in April, he said. And the annual Cardboard Cup Regatta draws thousands.
“This event is miniscule compared to some of the events,” Reimer said.
by Candleshoe » Fri Mar 03, 2006 4:19 pm
by Ben Varkentine » Sat Apr 01, 2006 2:20 pm
Thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people across the United States are victims of a system that fuels discrimination and facilitates torture, ill-treatment and impunity, said Amnesty International in a new report on police abuses against people on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity...
Though police forces across the country are increasingly providing some level of training intended to guide interactions with the LGBT community, 28% of police departments responding to AI’s survey reported that they do not provide any form of training. AI’s report clearly describes the persistent and widespread lack of effective systems of accountability for law enforcement officers who commit abuses. Reports to AI suggest that many LGBT individuals do not come forward with complaints about police officer conduct. AI received a number of reports of hostility or attempts to dissuade people from making complaints at police stations.
Stonewalled places the issue of police misconduct and brutality in the context of the lack of recognition of LGBT human rights. Like many other countries, the US has a long history of both criminalizing homosexual conduct and failing to protect LGBT people from discrimination on the basis of their sexual orientation or gender identity. In turn, people are denied access to their full human rights, creating a climate in which LGBT people are more likely to face abuses.
The emergence of a strong LGBT rights movement has been successful in pushing forward greater recognition of the basic human rights of LGBT people in the last three decades. There are many indicators of this progress, including the increased public visibility of LGBT people, and especially at the local level, the successful adoption of anti-discrimination legislation inclusive of LGBT people. Yet, as this report demonstrates, serious human rights abuses targeted toward members of the LGBT community continue to be perpetrated, including by those officials in society whose duty is to serve and protect the entire community.[...]
by sam7777 » Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:11 am
Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality. But the Georgia Institute of Technology, where she's a senior, bans speech that puts down others because of their sexual orientation.
Malhotra sees that as an unacceptable infringement on her right to religious expression. So she's demanding that Georgia Tech revoke its tolerance policy.
With her lawsuit, the 22-year-old student joins a growing campaign to force public schools, state colleges and private workplaces to eliminate policies protecting gays and lesbians from harassment. The religious right aims to overturn a broad range of common tolerance programs: diversity training that promotes acceptance of gays and lesbians, speech codes that ban harsh words against homosexuality, anti-discrimination policies that require college clubs to open their membership to all.
The Rev. Rick Scarborough, a leading evangelical, frames the movement as the civil rights struggle of the 21st century. "Christians," he said, "are going to have to take a stand for the right to be Christian."
by Candleshoe » Tue Apr 11, 2006 11:26 am
Malhotra says her Christian faith compels her to speak out against homosexuality.
by Gatito Grande » Tue Apr 11, 2006 2:26 pm
Outby russ » Tue Apr 11, 2006 7:01 pm
by Twisted Minstrel » Fri Apr 14, 2006 12:48 am
by Krazy Dreamer » Fri Apr 14, 2006 11:56 pm
All I've ever met of the neo-conservative religious right are those who have closed their minds...
by sam7777 » Mon Apr 24, 2006 10:31 am
Unfortunately, as is usually the case, the only ones that most people ever hear about or from are the small minority of extremely ignorant bigots who give all (insert religious group of choice here)s a bad name.
A Religious Push Against Gay Unions
WASHINGTON, April 23 — About 50 prominent religious leaders, including seven Roman Catholic cardinals and about a half-dozen archbishops, have signed a petition in support of a constitutional amendment blocking same-sex marriage.
Organizers of the petition said it was in part an effort to revive the groundswell of opposition to same-sex marriage that helped bring many conservative voters to the polls in some pivotal states in 2004. The signers include many influential evangelical Protestants, a few rabbis and an official of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
But both the organizers and gay rights groups said what was striking about the petition was the direct involvement by high-ranking Roman Catholic officials, including 16 bishops. Although the church has long opposed same-sex unions, and the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops had previously endorsed the idea of a constitutional amendment banning such unions, it was evangelical Protestants who generally led the charge when the amendment was debated in 2004.
"The personal involvement of bishops and cardinals is significantly greater this time than in 2004," said Patrick Korten, a spokesman for the Knights of Columbus, a lay Catholic group.
The Catholic bishops and many of the other religious leaders involved have pledged to distribute postcards for their congregants to send to their senators urging support for the amendment. The Knights of Columbus is distributing 10 million postcards to Catholic churches.
The petition drive was organized in part by Prof. Robert P. George of Princeton, a Catholic scholar with close ties to evangelical Protestant groups. Aides to three Republican senators — Bill Frist of Tennessee, the Republican leader; Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania; and Sam Brownback of Kansas — were also involved, organizers said.
Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark said that at a meeting in Washington in February, the Senate aides recommended the idea of a postcard campaign, recalling the success of a similar effort that the bishops organized in support of a ban on so-called partial-birth abortion.
"We think the American people are on our side on this, and we want the Senate to know it," the archbishop said.
The campaign comes as many in the Republican Party are increasingly worried that their core supporters may stay away from the polls this year because they are demoralized by the war in Iraq and other matters. Senate Republican leaders have scheduled a vote on the proposed amendment in June, partly as a means of rallying conservatives.
No one expects the measure to pass this year. But drives to amend state constitutions to ban same sex-marriage proved powerful incentives to turning out conservative voters in Ohio and elsewhere in 2004. At least two states with contested Senate races — Tennessee and Pennsylvania, where Mr. Santorum is seeking re-election against a Democrat who also opposes abortion rights — are debating constitutional bans on same-sex marriage this year.
But Ohio and other pivotal states have already amended their constitutions, and at least one poll suggests that the public's negative response to the first same-sex marriages is cooling. A Pew Research poll in March found that 51 percent of the public opposed legalizing same-sex marriage, down from 63 percent in February 2004.
Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay advocacy group, said supporters of the amendment were out of touch. "We have a war raging in Iraq, we have a Gulf Coast that needs to be rebuilt, we have an economy barely hanging on," he said. "The last thing America wants is this Republican-controlled Congress spending time writing discrimination into the Constitution."
Matt Daniels, founder of the Alliance for Marriage, an umbrella group that supports the proposed amendment, said the religious leaders represented "huge numbers" of people. His group has set up a Web site, religiouscoalitionformarriage.org, which includes the petition, pew handouts and suggested notes for sermons.
Organizers said the petition had brought together cardinals from both the left and right sides of the United States bishops' conference, including the liberal Cardinal Roger M. Mahony of Los Angeles and the conservative Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, as well as Cardinals Edward M. Egan of New York, Theodore E. McCarrick of Washington, William H. Keeler of Baltimore and Sean Patrick O'Malley of Boston.
The prominent conservative Protestant figures included leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination, as well as the president of conservative Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod and a handful of Episcopal bishops.
Other signers included James C. Dobson of Focus on the Family; the evangelist D. James JFK; Bishop Charles E. Blake of the historically black Church of God in Christ; the Rev. Samuel Rodriguez Jr., president of the National Hispanic Association of Evangelicals; Rabbi Tzvi Hersh Weinreb of the Orthodox Union; and officials of the Orthodox Church in America.
by russ » Thu May 11, 2006 5:39 pm
Tribunal sides with gay teacher in rights fight
TERRY WEBER AND JANE ARMSTRONG
A Nova Scotia human-rights board has sided with a Halifax gym teacher who said she was wrongly accused of sexual impropriety with a female student by two male colleagues because she is gay.
In a decision handed down this week, a Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission tribunal ordered the Halifax Regional School Board to pay Lindsay Willow more than $27,000 in damages and issue a full retraction and letter of apology for the incident.
The case centred on allegations made against Ms. Willow in September, 2000, when the Nova Scotia gym teacher and a Grade 12 student were seen leaving a locker room where they washed their hands after organizing a storage area at Halifax West High School.
Two male teachers – former math teacher John Orlando and Rick Kitley, a now-deceased phys-ed teacher – spotted them together and assumed that something untoward had taken place based on what was described as an embarrassed look on the female teacher's face.
Although the student denied anything improper had happened, the two male teachers took the complaint to the school's principal, Gordon Young, who in turn called the police.
Officers called to the school quickly concluded that the student had not been victimized and that no wrongdoing had taken place.
Ms. Willow, however, charged that homophobia was behind the incident, which she said left her with a damaged career and made her the object of continued suspicion by her colleagues. She said she was stripped of her extracurricular duties and her classes were monitored by Mr. Young.
Tribunal chairman Walter Thompson agreed that she had fallen victim to discrimination.
“The circumstances were not suspicious,” Mr. Thompson wrote in this week's decision.
“They were innocent. The construction of them as indicative of a sexual assault demonstrates, in my view, an element of discrimination against Ms. Willow because of her perceived sexual orientation.”
Mr. Thompson also said he accepted that discrimination played a role in Mr. Orlando's motivation for making the allegation against Ms. Willow.
“I cannot fathom [Mr. Orlando's] thinking,” Mr. Thompson wrote. “I am driven reluctantly to the conclusion that prejudice was at least a factor in his decision.”
The ruling also found that former principal Gordon Young made no attempts to apologize to Ms. Willow when it became clear that there was no basis for the allegations nor did he try to protect her from ongoing suspicion.
The principal “ had a positive duty towards her to create a positive work environment for her,” Mr. Thompson said.
“He did not fulfill it. Instead, he compounded the difficulties of her life within the school.”
As well, the tribunal said the school board is liable in the matter because it chose to analyze the complaint within the context of the collective agreement and found no violation. The board, it said, also “obtusely blamed the police for coming to the school and washed its hands of the complaint.”
“I find the board failed in its duty to provide to provide a positive environment for someone perceived to be gay and was not vigilant to protect her,” Mr. Thompson said.
The tribunal ordered the West Halifax Regional School Board to pay Ms. Willow $27,375 in damages. The damages cover pain and suffering Ms. Willow experienced during the school year in which the incident occurred as well as $5,000 for involving the police and $5,000 for each year Mr. Young remained principal at the school after the fact.
The tribunal also awarded $2,500 to the student involved and $1,000 to cover costs incurred by Ms. Willow's parents.
The school board was also ordered to give Ms. Willow a full written retraction of the allegations made against her and to issue an apology for the involvement of the police and any lingering suspicion she has experienced.
The Halifax Regional School Board said it will issue a written apology to Ms. Willow.
“I apologize unreservedly to Ms. Willow,” said Superintendent Carole Olsen. “I accept that she has suffered as a result of being wrongly accused of an impropriety with a student.”
Mr. Orlando retired in 2005 and now lives in Ontario. Mr. Young has an administrative position with the school board.
Ms. Olson said she expects Mr. Young to keep his position with the board, adding she intends to have a private conversation with him.
The award is one of the highest ever awarded by the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission.
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