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WASHINGTON, D.C. March 27, 1997 --- Several GOP Members of Congress have confirmed to Log Cabin Republicans that, as a matter of policy, they do not permit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the hiring, firing or promoting of personnel in their Hill offices.
As one of its top priorities in the 105th Congress, LCR requested written clarification of the non-discrimination policies in each Republican Member's office, specifically addressing sexual orientation. Responses to LCR's March 3 request have begun arriving at LCR's Washington office, including from some Republicans who had not publicly clarified their policies in previous years.
Rep. Mark Neumann (R-WI) was one of several new confirmations received by Log Cabin Republicans, including Rep. Charlie Bass (R-NH), Rep. Joe Knollenberg (R-MI), Senator Mike DeWine (R-OH), and newly-elected Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR) and Rep. Jim Gibbons (R-NV). All were declaring for the first time that the sexual orientation of an individual is not a consideration in the hiring, firing or promoting of employees in their offices.
As of today, a total of 24 GOP Senators and 69 GOP House Members have certified in writing that they do not discriminate against gays and lesbians in their offices.
"We are finding more doors opening on this issue than ever before," said Richard Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans. "We will continue to seek meetings with every Republican office on this matter until we have a full picture of where the Members stand."
Washington, D.C., Friday, March 28, 1997 --- Chrysler Corp. has said it might not buy any more advertising time during ABC's "Ellen" show until the "media and public hype" surrounding the April 30 coming out episode subsides.
Chrysler spokeswoman Megan Giles told USA Today, "We're not making a social statement" about sexual orientation. "But it's not sound business for us to be involved with an episode that's in such a highly polarized and emotional environment."
Giles also told the newspaper that Chrysler's continued sponsorship of "Ellen" will depend on "whether the media and public hype recedes."
HRC questions the sincerity of these statements. Since the point of television advertising is to reach the largest audience possible, it makes no sense for a company like Chrysler to withhold advertising from a program until it is less popular.
One of the other major "Ellen" advertisers is General Motors. A GM spokesman, Dean Rotondo, told USA Today that his company would evaluate advertising on future episodes based on their "fairness and family values."
The Rev. Jerry Falwell and the extremist American Family Association have announced a public pressure campaign against Chrysler, GM and Johnson & Johnson, which they identified as the three corporations that have been the biggest sponsors of "Ellen."
Contact Chrysler and let the company know you appreciate its past sponsorship of "Ellen." Politely ask the company to reconsider its plan to withhold advertising until the all the media attention dies. Encourage Chrysler not to succumb to the anti-gay tactics of Falwell and the AFA.
Contact GM and let it know gay men and lesbians also comprise families, and that we also deserve to be treated and portrayed fairly in the media. Encourage GM not to succumb to the anti-gay tactics of Falwell and the AFA.
* Chrysler Corp., Chairman Robert J. Eaton, 1000 Chrysler Dr., Auburn Hills, MI 48326, Phone 810-576-5741, Toll Free 1-800-992-1997.
* General Motors Corp., Chairman John F. Smith, 3044 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit, MI 48202, Phone 313-556-5000, FAX 313-556-1988.
The House Judiciary Committee Friday voted 11-10, one vote shy of the 12 needed to pass the bill prohibiting discrimination against homosexuals. The vote came after an amendment that was expected to garner the 12th vote failed.
As conservative groups celebrated, civil rights advocates who thought they finally had enough support to pass the bill after six years of trying were crestfallen.
The House Judiciary Committee rejected a measure Tuesday that would have allowed same-sex unions following a combative debate involving civil rights, religious and conservative groups. The panel also recently rejected a bill that would prohibit Maryland from recognizing homosexual unions approved by other states.
Conservatives pressed for a bill offered by Del. Emmit Burns Jr., D-Baltimore, that would forbid Maryland from recognizing out-of-state same-sex unions, such as those that would be allowed under a Hawaii law now facing a court challenge.
Social liberals urged lawmakers to approve a bill by Del. Sharon Grosfeld, D-Montgomery, that would recognize same-sex marriages made in other states. Maryland law now recognizes marriage only between a man and a woman.
Conservatives argued that Maryland needs to act before the Hawaiian Supreme Court decides whether to approve same-sex marriages in that state.
Aides said Thursday the governor will either sign or allow enactment of the measure the Legislature passed in response to an initiative petition from voters.
The Senate approved the measure Wednesday, the day after it was passed in the House.
Reacting to the Legislature's approval, King Press Secretary Dennis Bailey said the governor ``is not expected to prevent the measure from becoming law.''
The group Concerned Maine Families in 1995 sought unsuccessfuly to restrict homosexual rights in Maine, and then gathered 62,000 signatures to place the same-sex marriage matter before the legislature this year. Since the question came from an initative petition, lawmakers had the choice of passing the proposal as written into law, or rejecting it and having it go to statewide referendum.
Much of the debate focused on the belief that approval of the ban would avoid a divisive statewide referendum debate that would last until the fall elections.
Republican Sen. John Benoit said he was ``very reluctant to see people in this state at each other's throats for the next few months.''
Opponents said the ban was ``mean-spirited'' and would likely be declared unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court.
This removes a major avenue for changing Hawaii's constitution to overturn the successful court case Baehr v. Miike.
As a followup to a previous broadcast on the ConCon ruling by the Hawai`i Supreme Court, the FOX and ABC affiliates in Honolulu have confirmed that there will not be a Constitutional Convention in Hawai`i within the next ten years.
Further, both stations broadcast a reaction by the State Attorney General Marjery Bronster, which said that the state will not seek an appeal to the decision by the Hawai`i Supreme Court on the matter.
It has been announced by the Supreme Court Clerk's office in Honolulu that Hawai`i Supreme Judge C.J. Moon issued in favor of the the plaintiffs in Hawai`i State AFL-CIO v. Yoshina.
The Hawai`i State AFL-CIO had requested the review the of election results on the Constitution Convention question on last November's ballot. The measure had 163,000+ in favor, 160,000+ opposed with 45,000+ blank or soiled ballots.
The question became whether or not the 45,000 ballots were to be included in the overall total of the ballot count or not. Judge Moon's opinion was based upon the language that indicated that they should be included. The argument center around "images/ballots cast" versus "votes tallied."
It was expected that the same-sex marriage issue would dominate the Constitutional Convention to be held sometime after 1998.
New York, NY March 24, 1997 --- Hundreds of AIDS activists from ACT UP (AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power) converged on Wall Street this morning, stopping traffic and paralyzing Lower Manhattan for more than three hours.
The group gathered to protest price-gouging by pharmaceutical companies and cutbacks in Medicaid funding, and demanded Congressional hearings on AIDS drug pricing. Seventy-three people, two thirds of them women, were arrested for acts of civil disobedience near the New York Stock Exchange. The demonstration was called "Crash the Market."
More than 500 activists from chapter in eight cities (New York; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Atlanta; Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, Oberlin, Ohio; and Philadelphia) braved subfreezing temperatures to join the march. The demonstration conincides with the tenth anniversary of the beginning of ACT UP. The very first demonstration organized by ACT UP took place on Wall Street on March 24, 1987 to demand corporate and government action to end the AIDS crisis, including a cut in the $10,000 annual price of AZT, then the only drug approved to treat HIV infection. After further protests, the price was greatly reduced.
Virg Parks a member of ACT UP Golden Gate, explained one of the purposes of the demonstration. "Drug company profiteering is still killing people with HIV and AIDS. These corporate giants are pricing thei rnew life-=saving AIDS drugs -- like protease inhibitors -- out of reach of thousands of PWAs. In their greed, they're foot-dragging on development of new drugs that replace existing highly profitable drug combinations. They're refusing to adequately test current AIDS drugs in women and children. And they're rejecting price breaks to the poorest countries hit hardest by this pandemic. The AIDS crisis is not over. It's time for Congress to investigate the AIDS drug industry."
Eric Sawyer, a long-term survivor who was one of the founders of ACT UP/New York, added, "At a time when expensive drugs are prolonging the lives of many with this disease, it's outrageous that Clinton would call for Medicaid cuts and per-person caps -- which will force many states to slash or even eliminate prescription coverage. This says to poor people with serious illnes, It's only worth keeping ou alive if it doesn't cost too much."
Demonstrators gathered at 7:30 a.m. and marched down to Wall Street, escorted by hundreds of police. Several loud and colorful street theater actions occurred, while marchers changed slogans as "We die -- they make money" and "Wall Street trades on people with AIDS!" Waves of activists decked out with costumes, mock caskets and thousands of pill bottle blocked check points, rushed the Exchange's doors and sat down in the streets, forcing the shutdown of several entrances.
During the nonviolent protest, eyewitnesses observed numerous instances of police assaults, both physical and verbal, against those involved in the civil disobedience. Two of the arrested activists received head injuries inflicted by police Bill Thorne of ACT UP/Golden Gate, a person with AIDS, and Michael Lent of ACT UP/Philadelphia, were both hospitalized.
Funding of the federal AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) falls far short of the need to cover existing AIDS treatments in many parts of the country. Meanwhile, President Clinton has proposed $22 billion in cuts over the next five years to the Medicaid program, which covers health care for the very poor (after signing last years welfare restrictions that exclude many immigrants in poverty from ehalth coverage), and Congressional Republicans are calling for similar reductions.
The March 24 demonstration concluded five days of AIDS activist events sponsored by ACT UP, including a two-day conference at Hunter College.
LONG BEACH PRESS TELEGRAM March 22, 1997 --- Unmarried couples would soon be able to officially record their relationships under a controversial proposal approved in principle by the City Council on Tuesday.
Council members voted 6-3 for a domestic partnership program, capping one of Long Beach's most emotional and divisive debates in recent years.
Voting yes were council members Jenny Oropeza, Alan Lowenthal, Delano Roosevelt, Les Robbins, Mike Donelon and Jeff Kellogg. Voting no were Doug Drummond, Doris Topsy-Elvord and Jerry Shultz.
The vote set off shouts of ``yes'' and sustained applause and cheers from half of the nearly 300 people in the council chamber. Supporters, a coalition of disabled, senior citizen and gay and lesbian groups, said domestic partnership registration will allow couples to gain legal recognition of their relationships.
``I hope it sends a message that the city of Long Beach is an inclusive city that accepts all groups and respects all groups,'' said coalition leader Heidi Hoffman, as people around her hugged and congratulated each other.
Opponents, meanwhile, quietly left the chamber. They said the measure provides special privileges for gays and lesbians and predicted it would hurt the traditions of marriage and family.
``We need to strengthen, not weaken, the institution of marriage,'' said East Long Beach resident Michael Durst.
Under the proposal, couples would pay a still-undetermined fee to register with the City Clerk as domestic partners. Supporters said that legal recognition of their relationship would allow them to visit each other in jails or hospitals.
Domestic partnerships won't be available right away, however.
The council has to vote next week and the following week for an ordinance to establish the program. If approved both times, the program would take effect 30 days later.
The council also has to hold a hearing to set a fee for domestic partnership registration.
Tuesday's vote marks a dramatic chapter in an issue that arose 10 months ago at a memorable City Council meeting.
That June 11 meeting attracted an overflow crowd of about 500. And it attracted national attention because of a speech by Shultz in which he criticized homosexuality as abnormal and immoral and described what he said were their sexual practices.
On Tuesday, Shultz was more reserved. He said San Francisco had adopted a domestic partnership program years ago, and the city has been forced to pay medical benefits and other costs for unmarried couples.
``Even if you feel it's a great ordinance, you better be prepared for the price tag that comes with it,'' Shultz said.
Other council members argued for the proposal.
Donelon, whose brother and sister are gay, cited a Harbor Commission meeting last week at which critics complained about a proposal to lease the closed Long Beach Naval Station to a Chinese owned shipping company.
``Last Wednesday ... I heard people come to the podium and swear that the Red Chinese communists are coming, they're going to infiltrate the city of Long Beach'' said Donelon.
``Now I hear that `The homosexuals are coming. This is the first step.'
``Homosexuals have been on this planet since the beginning of time. They've been here, and they're not going to go away. And you can either isolate and hold them down and hold them back. Or you can accept them and have some sort of a dialogue.''
Saying she didn't want a rehash of the issue, Mayor Beverly O'Neill allowed only a dozen members of the public to speak.
Opponents said domestic partnerships are unnecessary and the legal rights they provide could be offered by power of attorney. They urged council members to let residents decide the issue.
``Let our citizens of Long Beach be heard,'' said Garon Harden, of the Long Beach Ministerial Alliance.
Supporters said domestic partnerships simply provide legal recognition for couples who can't afford to get married or can't legally marry.
``A domestic partnership is a step toward recognizing that in our diversity, there is strength,'' said businessman Whitey Littlefield.
TAKE ACTION -- HOST AN HRC "ELLEN" HOUSE PARTY!
http://www.hrc.org/events/ellen/index.html
WASHINGTON, D. C. March 22, 1997 -- A new television ad to raise awareness that job discrimination based on sexual orientation remains legal in 41 states is set to air April 30 during the historic coming out episode of ABC's "Ellen," the Human Rights Campaign announced today.
"While most Americans oppose job discrimination against gay people, most are completely unaware of the fact that it is still perfectly legal in 41 states for employees to be fired from their jobs simply because they are gay," said HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch. "The coming out episode of `Ellen' offers a unique opportunity to shed light on this injustice and increase public awareness of the need for all Americans to be included in basic legal protection from unfair discrimination on the job."
The episode will make prime-time television history when its star, played by Ellen DeGeneres, becomes the first lead character on a network sitcom to come out of the closet and honestly acknowledge being gay.
The ad, entitled "Shoes," features a woman who has just been fired from her job because of her sexual orientation. A conversation between her co-workers reveals that the firing, while unfair, is not against the law -- a fact that, like most Americans, one of her colleagues is shocked to learn. The ad then offers a phone number for the Human Rights Campaign that viewers can call to get more information. The ad was created by the Semans Co., based in Alexandria, Va.
With 59 ABC affiliates willing to air the spot, HRC plans to place it in 29 markets across the country. The ABC network turned down HRC's request to make a single nationwide purchase of air time, citing its policy against "controversial issue advertising." Seven affiliates were also unwilling to accept the spot.
News conferences in each of the markets in which the ad has been placed, as well as in those declining to run it, are set to publicly unveil the commercial one week before its air date.
While HRC Communications Director David M. Smith expressed regret that the network itself will not carry the ad nationally, he complimented ABC and its parent company, Disney, which produces "Ellen," for their own employment policies and for their courage in airing the coming out episode.
"ABC and Disney are model corporate citizens when it comes to treating their lesbian and gay employees fairly and equally in their personnel policies," said Smith. "It is unfortunate that ABC declined a national ad buy that would have maximized our limited resources, but both companies deserve enormous credit for this historic episode of `Ellen' in the face of pressure from religious political extremists opposed to any fair and accurate portrayals of lesbian and gay Americans on television."
The placement of the ad is being made possible by a generous contribution from Jessica Stevens, chief executive officer of Telegen, a Silicon Valley high technology firm based in Redwood City, Calif.
"As someone who has been open and honest about being a lesbian for my entire adult life, and knowing the importance of coming out as one of the best ways to dispel myths and end discrimination, I greatly value this opportunity to give something back to my community," said Stevens. "I feel very fortunate that, after spending the past several years building my business, I am now in a position to help educate America about the basic fairness of our movement's goals."
Currently, HRC is planning to air the ad in the following markets: Albany, N.Y.; Albuquerque, N.M.; Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Bismarck, N.D.; Boston; Buffalo, N.Y.; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Columbia, S.C.; Dallas; Denver; Erie, Pa.; Fargo, N.D.; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Madison, Wis.; Manchester, N.H.; Memphis, Tenn.; Minneapolis; New Orleans; Phoenix; Portland, Maine; Portland, Ore.; San Antonio; San Francisco; Seattle; Traverse City, Mich.; and Washington. (Note: This list is subject to change.)
The spot was declined by the network's affiliates in Chicago; Houston; Knoxville, Tenn.; Nashville, Tenn.; New York; Philadelphia; and Wilmington, N.C.
The Human Rights Campaign, along with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, Republican and Democratic members of Congress, as well as President Clinton, are supporting national legislation that would address the issue highlighted in the ad. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which came within one vote of passing in the Senate last year, would protect Americans from job discrimination based on sexual orientation.
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
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"SHOES" Revised #301 Human Rights Campaign
VISUALS: Overhead shot of Personnel door opening. Reverse long shot of woman walking down hallway of large corporation.
AUDIO: Female: They fired her?
VISUALS: Close up of her shoes as she walks by two other pairs (a man and a woman). Camera stays on two pairs of shoes.
AUDIO: Male: Yes. Female: But that isn't fair. Female: It isn't legal. Male: Yes it is.
VISUALS: Hands taking down a diploma, then an award from the wall, placing in a box. Next a picture and a last look out the window.
Voiceover: In 41 of our 50 states, a person can be fired just for being lesbian, gay or bisexual with no legal recourse. 85% of Americans don't know that.
VISUALS: Two pairs of shoes in office doorway.
AUDIO: Male: Betty? Female: Is there anything we can do?
VISUALS: Card/black on white with HRC logo. http://www.hrc.org
Voiceover: Call the Human Rights Campaign at 1-800-XXX-XXXX to find out how you can help. Anti-gay job discrimination drives us apart. Americans want solutions that bring us together.
CASTS OF "RENT" & "WHEN PIGS FLY," NELL CARTER, JOEL GREY, CAROL CHANNING, BRIAN BATT, JESSICA HECT, GREGORY HARRISON, WENDY WASSERSTEIN, AMONG OTHERS SCHEDULED TO APPEAR AT
Also expected at the GLAAD Media Awards are Carol Channing, Joel Grey, Nell Carter, Terrence McNally, Wendy Wasserstein, James Naughton, Jessica Hect, Brian Batt, Isaiah Washington, Michael Boatman (with members of the cast of ABC's "Spin City"), Lisa Edelstein, David Marshall Grant and Gregory Harrison.
Celebrities will be on hand to present awards to recipients in categories that include: Television Comedy Series, Daytime Television, Outstanding Film (Limited Release), Television Journalism, Print Journalism, Advertising and Theater.
"There are nearly as many Broadway and off-Broadway shows represented at the GLAAD Media Awards as were featured at the Tony Awards," said Tina Ball, GLAAD event co-chair. "This year's awards ceremony will not only honor the most accurate representations of gay men and lesbians-it will be a stellar evening of star-studded entertainment."
The GLAAD Media Awards were created in 1989 to honor individuals and projects in the media and entertainment industries for their balanced and accurate representations of lesbians and gay men and the issues that affect their lives.
The New York event takes place on March 31 at the Sheraton New York Hotel, and includes cocktails and a Silent Auction at 6:00 PM, followed by a Dinner and Awards Presentation at 7:30 PM. For ticket information, contact GLAAD at (212) 807-1700. The GLAAD Media Awards in Washington, DC will be held on March 26 at the National Press Club, and begin with cocktails and a Silent Auction at 6:30 PM, followed by a Dinner and Awards Presentation at 7:30 PM. For ticket information, contact GLAAD's Washington, DC office at (202) 986-1360. The GLAAD Media Awards ceremony in Los Angeles took place on March 16 at the Century Plaza Hotel.
GLAAD is the nation's lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national lesbian and gay media watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.
The house, voting 205-125, sent the bill to the Senate. The bill was endorsed by the Catholic Diocese of Manchester; in the past, the church had opposed it.
Today's vote is the third time the House has taken up the issue in three years. It sent a similar bill to the Senate in 1994, but the Senate killed it after then-Gov. Stephen E. Merrill said it wasn't needed.
The House voted last year to study the issue further.
Supporters argued today the protections afford basic human and civil rights to a group that frequently faces discrimination. Appeals would be to the state's Human Rights Commission.
Supporters noted existing exemptions for small family businesses and some rentals would not be affected by the bill.
"There is no legal recourse at present in our state," said Rep. Carol Moore, D-Concord. "This discrimination happens in our state all the time."
Moore argued evidence shows homosexuality is determined by a person's genetic makeup, not by choice. People fear homosexuality because they fail to realize people they know and care for are gay, she said.
"They're your colleagues, your friends, your seatmates (in the House), the co-sponsors of your bills," she said.
Moore said the bill would not force businesses to extend health insurance coverage to the partners of gays or change existing laws against same-sex marriage.
"This has nothing to do with insurance," she said. "There's nothing in this bill that sanctions homosexual couples."
Opponents argued the bill sanctioned a sinful lifestyle.
Rep. Stephen Adams, R-Pittsfield, also said voters should decide through a constitutional amendment if they want to extend the protection to gays.
"It's important we let people of the state have the final work on the laws that govern them," he said.
Rep. Gary Daniels, R-Milford, said the bill asks people to embrace homosexuality as socially acceptable.
"How can we embrace a set of new ideas primarily responsible for the spread of AIDS in this country?" he said.
Honolulu, Hawai`i, March 20, 1997, HONOLULU ADVERTISER --- House and Senate negotiators exchanged harsh words yesterday on the same-sex marriage issue, specifically over costs related to extending new benefits to couples who can't marry.
The House and Senate have different proposals for constitutional amendments that, if ratified by the voters, they believe would ban same-sex marriage.
They also have different proposals for extending benefits to couples who can't legally marry, including gay and lesbian couples. The House wants to extend four rights including the right to make medical decisions and sue for wrongful death. The Senate wants to provide more than 200 rights and benefits.
"We don't know what the cost implications will be," said House Judiciary Chairman Terrance Tom, chief House negotiator, during negotiations yesterday. "I don't want to go into something without the cost implications."
But Sen. Mike McCartney shot back: "Are we going to work together to come up with something? I think we should shift the discussion and find some common ground. It is about fairness."
Tom responded: "You're asking us to make magic and guesses (on costs). We're not willing to do that."
The Senate team earlier submitted a letter fromt he state Insurance Division stating insurance costs shouldn't go up if the Senate-proposed rights are granted. Rey Graulty, the new state insurance commissioner, led the effort as a senator last year to extend benefits to gay and lesbian couples.
Another letter submitted by the Senate team, from the state Tax Department, said the state could collect $400,000 a year in new tax revenue under the Senate proposal if the unmarried couples filed joint income tax returns.
To support their position, Senate negotiators earlier also gave the House information on Mainland areas where companies and cites have provided additional benefits to unmarried couples.
Tom wasn't impressed.
"Hawai`i is Hawai`i," he said, suggesting the state auditor or some one should study the fiscal impact of granting the Senate-proposed benefits to couples who can't legally marry.
Senate Judiciary Co-Chairman Avery Chumbley told Tom that until lawmakers grant those rights, they won't know what the costs might be. But he said many of the 200 rights proposed are minor.
Senate Judiciary Co-Chairman Matt Matsunaga, meanwhile, said the issue is one of "fairness" in the treatment of same-sex couples.
The conferees ended their negotiating session "on call" for further discussion.
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network has received reports today that a witch hunt to ferret out suspected gay military members may be currently ongoing at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. The reports indicate that investigators from the Criminal Investigative Division [CID] are questioning military members, asking them to identify other military members in photos supposedly taken at a gay-friendly civilian bar and at private social gatherings.
TO PREVENT THE WITCH HUNT FROM SPREADING, PLEASE TAKE THE
FOLLOWING STEPS [in order of importance] :
1. If you know someone stationed at Bragg or a nearby military installation, please let them know of this reported investigation. Be sure they know their rights: to REMAIN SILENT, to NOT SIGN ANYTHING, and to SEEK LEGAL HELP. They can contact SLDN at (202) 328-3244 for free, confidential counseling.
2. Call the offices of the Commanding General of Fort Bragg, Lt. Gen. John M. Keane at (910) 396-3111. Ask to speak to someone who can pass a message of concern to General Keane. Let him know that CID is violating current Army regulations by seeking to learn the sexual orientation of individuals who patronize a local civilian establishment and that it must stop. Emails can also be sent to the Bragg Public Affairs Office at pao-corps@bbs.bragg.mil.
3. Call or fax the Secretary of the Army, The Honorable Togo West at voice (703) 695 6311 ; fax (703) 697 8036. [Snail address: 101 Army Pentagon, Washington, D.C. 20410-0101] Let his office know about the reports from Fort Bragg and that it is unacceptable for Army investigators to pursue servicemembers simply because they might have patronized a bar with gay clients and it must stop immediately.
As always, keep track of who you talk to and let us know of actions taken and any responses received. Also please copy SLDN on any faxes/emails. Because of the nature of witch hunt investigations, it is important that these calls/faxes be made as soon as possible. Thanks for helping us to protect servicemembers hurt by the military's anti-gay policies.
Kirk Childress, Esq. ~ Staff Attorney
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network
PO Box 53013 ~ Washington, D.C. 20009
Voice (202) 328-3244 ~ Fax (202) 797-1635
kchildress@sldn.org ~ http://www.sldn.org
SUMMARY: A Northern California high school's newspaper convinced their school board to let them run a paid ad for lesbian and gay youth services. The students' have free speech rights under state law, and even some board members agreed the services were needed.
Gilroy High School calls its student newspaper "The Free Press," and the students have won a round in keeping it just that. Today they'll be publishing a paid advertisement for a leading Northern California resource for counseling and support for lesbian, gay, biseuxal, and questioning youth, the Billy DeFrank Gay and Lesbian Community Center in San Jose, after winning a decision February 25 from the school board.
"The Free Press" ran a notice for the DeFrank Center last year, but their former superintendent of schools banned it after parents, church leaders and some students complained. This year, following the unexpected resignation of that superintendent, "Free Press" editor-in-chief Laura Gonzalez was determined to seek the support of the trustees of the Gilroy Unified School District in advance. Gilroy's principal approved her going through channels, but did not publicly support running the DeFrank Center notice.
The District superintendent told the trustees that the students were granted freedom of expression under California state law, so they grudgingly agreed that the item could not be banned from the paper. Some of them said they would still rather the students didn't run the ad, although at least one recognized that services like the DeFrank Center's can make a difference in the high risk of suicide among gay and lesbian youth.
Many high school newspapers in Santa Clara County have also published the DeFrank Center's invitation for youth to "come and talk with someone your own age." The cost of the ads is supported by United Way. There have been several other instances of censorship and protest regarding student publications about the Center since 1992.
Honolulu, HI, March 14, 1997 --- The state has hired a mainland constitutional expert in an effort to persuade the state Supreme Court to ban same-sex marriage.
Charles J. Cooper, a Washington, D.C. attorney who heads the firm of Cooper & Carvin, will appeal the December ruling that found the state offered no compelling reason to justify sex discrimination in the state's marriage law, said Dorothy Sellers, deputy attorney general.
"This is a case that is going to have an impact on the state and the nation," Sellers said. "It affects state and federal constitutional issues. We need to go out and get the best lawyer we can get."
Dan Foley, attorney for the three same-sex couples who sued in 1991 for the right to marry, faulted the state's selection.
"Out of all the attorneys on the mainland, they chose one known for taking anti-gay positions in court," Foley said yersterday. "In the past the state has said it was going to take the high road in defending this case."
Foley and mainland attorneys cited two of Cooper's writings that promoted discrimination, but were rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court in related cases.
1) A 1986 AIDS policy memo Cooper wrote as a U.S. assistant attorney general for the Reagan administration that allowed employers to fire infected employees based on fears that they could spread the virus, even if such fears were irrational.
2) A 1994 brief to the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of several states to defend a Colorado constitutional amendment to deny gay men and lesbians equal protection.
Cooper could not be reached for comment. His firm directed calls about him to Cynthia Quinn, special assistant to Attorney General Marjery Bronster.
Quinn said the state hired Cooper for his appellate expertise, espcially in the area of constitutional law.
She also said the state found nothing in Cooper's writings or conversations to inidicate that he has an anti-gay bias, and said the state would argue that case without diminishing gays and lesbians.
Quinn declined to comment on Cooper's 1986 memo or his Colorado brief because the state wasn't a party to them. But she added that the state didn't view the writings negatively adding; "It's the nature of the adversarial process."
Sellers said Cooper was a clerk for William H. Renhquist before Rehnquist became chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court; worked for the Office of Legal Counsel, which gives advice to presidents; and worked for the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.
She said the state advertised in legal journals and chose Cooper from about two dozen candidates. She said Cooper's hourly rate was $275, and that the state could afford to spend $75,000.
Mark Barnes, a New York health-care attorney who was a civil rights attorney at the time of Cooper's 1986 memo, said the memo was appalling and "a sad day in the legal history of the epidemic."
The memo, to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, addressed applications of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act to people with AIDS or HIV. The act protected people with handicaps against discrimination by the federal government, contractors and recipients of federal money.
Cooper's memo said that people with AIDS were handicapped if the disease impaired them physically or mentally, and to discriminate because of its disabling effects may violate the act.
But it also said that the ability to spread AIDS was not a handicap and the act didn't restrict measures to prevent its spread.
"It said that an employer can't let someone go because they have AIDS but . . . could fire and employee because he thinks he could spread AIDS," Barnes said, adding that it allowed an employer to act on irrational fears.
The government used the memo to argue a case involving the firing of a woman with tuberculosis, but the U.S. Supreme Court rejected it in a 7-2 vote in which Rehnquist dissented, he said.
Barnes said the memo, dropped by the government in 1988, likely caused people who feared AIDS discrimination from getting tested.
Matt Coles, an attorney who argued Colorado's Amendment 2, which would have prevented government protections for gay men and lesbians, said Cooper's brief defending the measure "was deeply unimpressive."
In his brief, Cooper said the lower court misinterpreted the U.S. Supreme Court's equal protection decisions to allow any and every "independently identififable" interest group to overturn statewide constitutional provisions.
He also said that the new equal protection doctrine "has cast a long shadow of uncertainty not only over the traditional right of democratic self-government, but also over the concept of constitutionalism--of representative government tempered by individual liberty."
The U.S. Supreme Court rejected such arguments, saying the measure was based on anti-gay feelings and that people don't have the right to discriminated against a group of Americans because they don't like them, Coles said.
"The state (of Hawai`i) is throwing it's money away," he said, referring to Cooper's hire.
Foley also questioned the financial wisdom of the state's decision, saying the $75,000 cap would almost double costs. He said taxpayers already would pay an estimated $50,000 to $70,000 in fees for the same-sex couples, based on a court ruling.
"The state's own attorney (for the September trial in which the state lost) has said the state has little chance for success in the appeal." Foley said, "So why spend the money now?"
The Los Angeles Times reports Saturday a federal audit of (``ehr-mun- DAHD'' ``me-hee-CAH-nuh'' ``nah-see-oh-NAHL'') Hermandad Mexicana Nacional showed that of the 1,160 new voters the agency registered, 721 had not completed the citizenship process yet.
Of those 721 cases, Jones claims more than half were ineligible to vote in last November's elections.
Because of the audit's results, Jones said ``substantial probable cause'' now exists to ``examine the integrity of the entire Orange County voter registration file.''
The agency has been under investigation since former Orange County Republican Rep. Robert Dornan claimed it was responsible for the alleged large-scale non-citizen voting that cost him his bid for a 10th term in office.
Dornan was defeated by fewer than 1,000 votes by freshman Democrat Loretta Sanchez in last year's elections, in which 874,017 people cast ballots.
Hermandad has denied any wrongdoing but conceded that ``overzealous'' students taking citizenship classes may have helped non-citizens register to vote.
Chicago, IL March 14, 1997 --- Based on the most powerful court decision ever to vindicate the civil rights of lesbians and gay men, an Ohio federal appeals panel must reject Cincinnati's anti-gay Issue 3, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Friday in anticipation of a hearing next week.
The United States Supreme Court ordered the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit to reconsider the constitutionality of Issue 3 in light of the high court's rejection of Colorado's virtually identical Amendment 2 with its landmark ruling in Romar v. Evans. The Supreme Court threw out the Sixth Circuit's earlier decision upholding Issue 3.
"Cincinnati, like Colorado, cannot discriminate against lesbians and gay men," said Patricia M. Logue, managing attorney for Lambda's Midwest Regional Office. Along with Staff Attorney Suzanne B. Goldberg. Logue is co-counsel for the plaintiffs in the Issue 3 litigation on behalf of Lambda. "Thiss case should put an end to an ugly chapter in American history," Logue said.
Cincinnati civil rights attorney Alphonse A. Gerhardstein will present plaintiffs' argument at the March 19 hearing before a three-judge panel for the Sixth Circuit appeals court.
Issue 3 is the last anti-gay initiative on the books anywhere in the country, left over from vigorous state, county and city campaigns in the early part of the decade that sought to ban civil rights laws protecting lesbians and gay men.
Romer crippled that anti-gay tactic on May 20, 1996, holding that Colorado's amendment served no legitimate purpose and simply sought to codify anti-gay sentiment, a violation of the Constitution's equal protection clause. Lambda, with the American Civil Liberties Union and a group of Colorado attorneys, was co-counsel in that case.
Lambda Legal Director Beatrice Dohrn said, "These initiatives would disable efforts to prohibit discrimination against lesbians and gay men in every aspect of life, from employment, to housing, to all kinds of business and commercial contexts. The Supreme Court has made it clear that this kind of sweeping measure is not constitutional and will not be tolerated."
Dohrn pointed to Lambda's recent victory on behalf of Florida activists over an anti-gay initiative in Alachua County, Florida, where a state court cited Romer are requiring defeat of the county's Charter Amendment 1. "Romer is knocking down anti-gay laws and policies throughout the country," she added.
Shortly after its Romer ruling, the Supreme Court ordered the Sixth Circuit to reconsider its May 1995 rejection of a lower court ruling that, in August 1994, struck down Issue 3 as a violation of constitutional guarantees of equal protection, free express, and due process for lesbians and gay men.
Passed in 1993, Issue 3 would repeal all laws forbidding discrimination against lesbians, gay men and bisexuals and would amend the city charter to prevent lawmakers from ever passing such legislative protections.
Co-counsel with Logue, Goldberg and Gerhardstein are Scott Greenwood of the ACLU of Ohio and Ohio attorney, Richard Cordray.
Equality Foundation of Greater Cincinnati v. City of Cincinnati, Oral Artgument, Wednesday, March 19, 9 a.m., United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Potter Stewart U.S. Courthouse, 100 East Fifth St., Cincinnati, OH.
WASHINGTON, D. C. March 13, 1997 --- The so-called HIV Prevention Act of 1997, unveiled today by Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., is a package of big-government proposals usurping local public health authority, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
"This is nothing more than a package of warmed-over proposals that have been rejected by the public health establishment and lawmakers," said Winnie Stachelberg, HRC's legislative director and a member of the executive committee of National Organizations Responding to AIDS. "These proposals intrude on local health care providers and do nothing to give individuals who are at risk of HIV the information they need to change their behavior."
Plus, the bill would make states' participation in the federal Medicaid program contingent on enacting its provisions.
For example, the bill requires that the partners of people with HIV be notified of their partners' status, despite a wealth of evidence that partner notification is an expensive and cost-ineffective way to try to prevent the disease. States would also be required to share such information with public health officials in other states.
"Telling partners that they have been exposed to HIV does not impart the knowledge and skills necessary to change behavior," Stachelberg said. "Plus, every state now receives money from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for AIDS prevention and control and, as a requirement for receiving such funds, must have some kind of partner notification program."
Coburn's bill also calls for mandatory reporting of the names of people with HIV to state health officers. No other disease is specifically required by federal law to be reported, and the CDC has not asked Congress to pass such a mandate. Names reporting of full-blown AIDS cases has been in effect since the beginning of the epidemic, without any federal mandate in place.
The bill also includes a gratuitous call for the mandatory testing of alleged sexual offenders, even if they have not been convicted of a crime.
"We ought to be taking care of the victims of sex crimes and ensuring they are getting counseling and support," said Stachelberg. "It doesn't help to give the victims of sexual assault inconclusive information about the HIV status of their alleged assailants."
Testing a defendant in a sexual assault case may provide a false sense of security -- or alarm -- to the victim. If a defendant tests negative, it might only mean that antibodies to the virus have not yet developed in his body. If the defendant tests positive, it does not mean that the virus has been transmitted.
Finally, the bill contains vague language expressing the "sense of Congress" that states should criminalize irresponsible behaviors by those infected with HIV and that strict confidentiality should be observed in carrying out the bill's provisions. Every state and the District of Columbia already have laws on the books that would allow the criminal prosecution of people with HIV or AIDS who knowingly attempt to infect another person. "There is no need to make such behaviors a federal crime, to be prosecuted by federal authorities and heard in federal courts," Stachelberg said.
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
Chicago, IL March 13, 1997 --- By a 15-7 vote, after hours of debate and Bible-laden opposition testimony, the Chicago City Council's Finance Committee this afternoon recommended that a slightly revised substitute for the pending domestic partnership ordinance be passed by the full 50-member City Council. The next full Council meeting will be March 19.
The proposed ordinance would make the same fringe benefits, including health benefits, available to the "qualified" same-sex domestic partners of City of Chicago government employees as are made available to legally recognized spouses. It was introduced with 30 sponsors and the backing of Mayor Richard J. Daley.
In answer to a question from Ald. Brian G. Doherty (41st), who is nominally the Council's lone Republican and who vocally opposes the proposal, a city spokesperson said that, in addition to health insurance benefits, the benefits involving same-sex domestic partners would be bereavement leave, leave to care for a partner, the right to name a partner as a pension beneficiary, and benefits for partners of police and fire officers killed in the line of duty.
Besides objecting on moral grounds, many witnesses and aldermen opposing the ordinance objected to the fact that it grants rights to unmarried same-sex couples that are not granted to unmarried opposite-sex couples.
Ald. Dorothy J. Tillman (3d), who opposes the ordinance on several stated grounds but has sometimes supported gay and lesbian rights in the past, also objected that neither the ordinance nor existing City policy permits a City employee's health insurance benefits to cover other persons with whom the employee lives such as a parent, sibling, or grandchild (except where legally adopted or in guardianship).
The substitute, offered by the measure's chief sponsor, Ald. Bernard J. Hansen (44th), and approved by the committee today, reads the same as the originally proposed ordinance (the text of which I posted earlier with a short commentary), except for two changes that were said to tighten the criteria for qualification as domestic partners. The changed language is as follows:
+ In clause (D), for "Each partner is at least 18 years of age and the partners are the same sex, and", substitute: "Each partner is at least 18 years of age, and the partners are the same sex, and the partners reside at the same residence, and".
+ In the last paragraph of section 1, add as the last sentence: "The regulations shall provide that any person who submits false information in connection with this section, including an affidavit that contains inaccurate information, shall be subject to discipline as set forth in the city personnel rules."
(Of course, employees who submit false information are already subject to discipline under the personnel rules.)
A large number of opponent witnesses -- whom the committee chairman, Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th), designated to testify first though he supports the ordinance -- took most of the time available for testimony.
(The designation may have been a matter of strategy, since opponent and proponent testimony is often intermixed.) Only three proponent witnesses ended up testifying.
I may later post some paraphrased excerpts from testimony, to give more of the flavor. But for the most part the opponents relied on biblical, "Judeo-Christian" moral grounds, coupled with outrage at having their taxes subsidize immorality.
``Please do the conservative thing _ encourage marriage,'' the 19-year-old homosexual from Madison said. ``Do not send a message of bigotry and prejudice across the nation.
``I will disavow my citizenship in Wisconsin if this passes.''
He spoke at the end of a 6 1/2-hour hearing Monday by the Assembly Committee on Children and Families, which heard from witnesses on both sides of the emotion-charged issue. The hearing drew more than 500 people at Northcentral Technical College.
Chairman Michael Huebsch, R-Onalaska, declined a request for another hearing and scheduled a committee vote on the bill Thursday in Madison. Rep. Lorraine Seratti, R-Spread Eagle, wrote the measure banning same-sex marriages after recent court decisions in Hawaii that critics said would pave the way for such marriages in that state.
It is unclear under the current law in Wisconsin whether courts would recognize such unions from other states, Seratti said.
Marriage defined only as a union of one man and one woman is ``critical to a healthy, moral society,'' Seratti told the committee. Seventeen states have passed laws banning same-sex marriages.
``Homosexuals seeking marital rights can obtain them like any other citizen, by marrying a person of the opposite sex,'' she said, provoking laughter from the many gays and lesbians in the crowd.
Supporters of the ban argued that children have become unintended victims in gay and lesbian relationships, and sanctioning same-sex marriages would lead to society's decay.
But 10-year-old Sol Kelley-Jones of Madison told the lawmakers she is a ``really lucky kid'' to have lesbian parents who love her. Her friends often ask who her real mother is, the girl said.
``I say they are both my real mom,'' Sol said, her feet dangling from a chair, flanked by the two women. ``I have a great family that is full of love. I don't know why some people are afraid of us.''
The mothers said they had been in a ``marriage relationship'' for 18 years. ``We are a family in every way,'' said Sunshine Jones, 45, Sol's biological mother who conceived the child through alternative fertilization. ``What we don't have under the law is equal protection as other families do.''
Joann Kelley, 41, putting her arm around Sol's shoulder, explained how not being legally married affects the benefits she gets at her job with a utility company.
Her partner and daughter could ``die tomorrow and I could be deprived bereavement leave to attend their funeral,'' Kelley said, her voice breaking. ``Passing this bill will be a giant step backward. It hurts my family and my child.''
The battle lines were clearly drawn at the hearing. Many supporters of the ban wore lapel pins issued by Wisconsin Christians United that said ``Vote Yes. Marriage God's Way.''
Some passed out a tiny booklet titled ``The story of Sodom; Doom Town,'' which tells the story of God's wrath against homosexuals in comic-book style. ``God doesn't make homosexuals. If He did, He wouldn't condemn them,'' the booklet says. Opponents of Seratti's bill wore a button that read, ``Hate Is Not A Family Value.''
Testifying by telephone from New York City, Anthony Falzarano, executive director of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays, warned that redefining the traditional Judeo-Christian marriage was part of the gay activists' agenda. He said he led a gay lifestyle for nine years and now counsels others who struggle with the issue. If successful on the marriage issue, gays will ``demand their rights in many, many avenues,'' he said.
A homosexual-rights group said other lawmakers have done it informally, but that the freshman senator is the first to write it into his office policy.
It means that a gay staffer could get unpaid leave to care for a companion in a medical emergency.
The 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act requires companies with 50 or more employees to offer 12 weeks of unpaid leave within a 12-month period for family emergencies.
But Torricelli told The Hill newspaper, "This is making the laws of Congress consistent with a new and rising national standard of equality. ... Rather than being the last institution to rise to this new standard, Congress should be a part of the change.''
Torricelli has a staff of 43. The benefit has been added to his office personnel manual.
"My general sense is that many offices in the House and Senate do offer this benefit to employees in an informal manner,'' said David Smith, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign. "Senator Torricelli has gone the extra step and placed that policy in writing.''
Torricelli spokesman Jim Jordan said this does not make companions of gay staffers eligible for any health benefits in their own right. "It's for sickness, bereavement,'' he said.
A conservative group criticized Torricelli's gesture.
"This was a law developed for the purpose of ensuring that people can care for their families,'' said Kristi Hamrick, spokeswoman for the Family Research Council. "It's inappropriate for a senator to cheapen the meaning of family by saying family is a `fill in the blank.'''
The Senate voted 22-13 to give final approval to HB1198, by Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan, and Sen. Ken Arnold, R-Westminster. Musgrave said she had problems with the Senate changes and will ask that it be sent to a joint House-Senate committee to work out differences.
The Senate-approved measure clarifies the definition of legal marriage in Colorado as between a man and a woman, and says marriages performed in other states must meet that definition to be recognized here.
The Senate changed the bill from a stronger House version that specifically forbade "marriage between persons of the same sex" after receiving a letter from Gov. Roy Romer stating what the bill should look like to win his signature.
Stressing he was not convinced new statutory language was necessary, Romer said he nevertheless would sign a bill that stated:
"Marriage is a personal relationship between a man and a woman arising out of a civil contract to which the consent of the parties is essential. ... Any marriage from any state which does not satisfy this policy shall not be valid in this state."
The Senate inserted that language in place of the bill's provision that added same-sex marriages to marriage prohibitions of incest, bigamy and polygamy now in law. The Senate-approved bill does not specifically ban same-sex marriages.
"This approach will strengthen our already clear policy and give us ample cover against a legal challenge," said Romer, adding that "equating gay and lesbian relationships with bigamy and incest, or any equally divisive language would be unacceptable."
Romer vetoed Musgrave's bill that did that last year, saying it was mean-spirited.
Four Democrats supported the version approved by the Senate and only two Republicans opposed it. Sen. Ken Chlouber, R-Leadville, said legislators should not be looking into people's private lives. Sen. MaryAnne Tebedo, R-Colorado, said the Senate change weakened the bill and made it more vulnerable to legal challenge.
"I do want (the bill)," Tebedo said. "But I want something very clear, that's stated very explicitly."
Colorado is not alone in looking at same-sex marriages. Across the country many states have approved, or are considering bans, on such marriages because of a Hawaiian case, now on appeal, that says the state must grant marriage licenses to homosexual couples.
The U.S. Constitution's Full Faith and Credit Clause says marriages performed in one state must be recognized in all.
Opponents contended the bill is unconstitutional and singles out a group in violation of the Civil Rights Act. Supporters said the bill falls in line with last year's federal approval of the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman and allows states to ban same-sex marriages.
THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE March 11, 1997 -- Bank of America yesterday joined the growing ranks of companies offering health coverage to the domestic partners of their employees -- a move that bank officials said was spurred in part by San Francisco's new law requiring such coverage from companies with city contracts.
With 80,000 U.S. employees, the San Francisco bank is the largest financial institution to offer a significant program of domestic partner benefits. It is also the first major company to credit the controversial San Francisco law in its decision.
``Beginning in January 1998, Bank of America will begin offering medical, dental and vision coverage to what we are calling extended family members -- a parent, a sister or brother, an adult child, or yes, a domestic partner of the same or opposite sex,'' said bank spokesman Dennis Wyss. ``We feel the San Francisco ordinance was a factor in our decision-making, but it was only one factor. We have been considering this a long time.''
Gay and lesbian employees at BofA had been pressuring the company for years to follow firms such as IBM Corp., Apple Computer and Disney in offering benefits to domestic partners.
In the fall, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors passed a law requiring anyone with a city contract to offer domestic partners the same benefits offered to married couples.
Gay rights advocates praised the bank's decision and credited the mix of internal and external pressure as an influencing force.
``The legislation was the straw that broke the camel's back -- the impetus for the company to do the right thing,'' said Jeff Sheehy, president of the Harvey Milk Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual Democratic Club.
Elected officials said the bank's move was proof that the domestic partner law was having its intended effect.
``This sends a very positive message and lets other businesses know that domestic partner benefits are workable,'' said Supervisor Leslie Katz, one of the chief backers of the law. ``This is a great example of a responsible business approach to the changing needs of our society. I think we're going to see other large companies that want city contracts moving in this direction.''
But the bank's decision was also greeted with harsh criticism yesterday -- both from conservatives and from some gay rights advocates who felt it didn't go far enough.
``It looks like I'm going to have to do my banking somewhere else,'' said the Rev. Louis Sheldon, a Bank of America customer and chairman of the Traditional Values Coalition, a group of 8,300 churches that opposes gay rights. ``The backlash from the moderate to conservative parts of California could be quite significant.''
Liz Winfield, a Massachusetts business consultant who conducts education about gays in the workplace, objected to the bank's extension of benefits to family members and domestic partners. BofA is one of the few major companies to offer brothers, sisters and other family members the same benefits as domestic partners.
``That sort of cheapens the (domestic partner) relationship,'' Winfield said. ``If I were an employee who needed benefits, I'd be grateful that this could save me thousands of dollars a year. But I'd also feel that it cheapened my relationship.''
Until yesterday's announcement, BofA had offered bereavement leave and family medical leave to domestic partners of its employees, but health benefits had been reserved for spouses and children.
With the announcement, BofA becomes the 17th Fortune 500 company to offer health benefits to domestic partners, Winfield said. It follows in the footsteps of more than two dozen big Bay Area employers such as Levi Strauss & Co., Kaiser Permanente, Hewlett-Packard Company, Silicon Graphics and Sun Microsystems.
Bank officials said their new policy would meet the needs of their workforce.
``This is basically an acknowledgment that the families our employees support include parents, siblings, domestic partners and others,'' Wyss said.
Tempe, AZ, ARIZONA STATE U. PRESS, March 10, 1997 --- Two different songs resounded concurrently from in and around Palmcroft Baptist Church in Phoenix to initiate the Hope '97 Tour.
Both peacefully praised God.
One, coming from inside the church where about 40 participants of the conference carried a prayer for those who "live in the sin of homosexuality."
But those in a group of more than 100 - some ASU students - surrounded the church Friday evening in a candlelight vigil to praise a god who loves everyone impartially, including gays and lesbians.
"We are here to spread love and compassion for those who don't understand that homosexuality is a sin," said T.C. Bundy, executive director of Americans For Decency and American Family Association, a Christian organization that sponsored the tour.
"We don't hate homosexuals," Bundy said. "We want to educate them about what the Bible says about homosexuality." Education and prayers are the main goals of the Hope '97 Tour, Bundy said.
But the protesters - gays, lesbians, students, human rights activists and different religious followers - thought otherwise.
"Homosexuality is not a sin," said Cheri Stalmann, a 30-year-old sociology student. "I believe in God and I'm here to show my religious tolerance."
Steve Wichard, a gay 38-year-old from Phoenix, agreed. "I believe in God very much," he said. "But I don't believe that God loves people because of their sexual orientation."
Michael Johnston, president of Kerusso Ministers, and the keynote speaker of the conference, said that God loves all, but homosexuality is a sin. "It's against God's will," he said.
Johnston said he was "cured" after 11 years of being an active homosexual and that he knew he was living in sin during those years. "But all that time I fought God," he said.
Johnston has been HIV positive since 1986 and said he did not "get back with God" because of his disease.
"At some point of my life I realized I cannot fight God anymore," he said. "One night I spent several hours on a beach crying and begging him to take the homosexual desires away from me."
Johnston said the transformation took time. "I loved the sin," he said. "But after that night I was ready to change."
Hatti Sabia, a 22-year-old UofA sociology student, said that such transformation is not possible.
"You are born with your homosexuality," she said. "You cannot change it - it is who you are."
Kris Ward, an ASU graduate student in public affairs and member of the Interfaith Coalition for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights, said all people should affirm the right to express love.
"Different communities gathered tonight to protest the intolerance that is being spread inside the church," she said. "We united here holding candles as our symbol of hope for 1997."
The Orange County Register says Saturday a U.S. district judge has ruled that the federal magistrate who authorized the subpoenas erred because, according to the law, Dornan cannot subpoena documents without his opponents being part of the process.
Lawyers for the flamboyant Republican have said they will not scale back their investigation and will issue new subpoenas next week. Dornan has contended he lost the November election to Democrat Loretta Sanchez because ineligible voters cast ballots.
Sanchez lawyer Wylie Aitken said the judge's ruling was a victory for some 40 public and private entities that received subpoenas demanding they produce documents, some dating back to 1994.
The Register says U.S. District Court Judge Gary Taylor said the law allows Dornan to demand that people attend depositions, but does not allow him to issue subpoenas solely for documents.
Dornan attorney Bill Hart said that will pose a ``huge imposition'' on the people who will now have to show up to testify -- some from as far away as Florida.
"We're a pretty long way off from passing it," said Rep. Christopher Shays (R-Conn.), who put the odds at 2 to 1 against the bill. The odds are less than even that House leaders would even agree to schedule a vote on the measure, called the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, he said.
"I'm going to take it on as a major project and keep at it until we succeed," Shays said. He and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) will be the prime sponsors of the measure.
The involvement of Shays, a moderate lawmaker who is a strong ally of Speaker Gingrich, "sends a strong signal that this is a bipartisan effort," said David M. Smith, communications director for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group. There were 14 GOP sponsors in the last Congress.
Shays said he would soon speak to House GOP leaders about the bill. "The leadership made their point" last year on legislation designed to block same-sex marriages, he said. "I hope we can all make the point that if you have someone who works hard and does their job, they shouldn't lose their job because of sexual orientation."
It is legal in 41 states to fire employees because they are gay.
The measure, first introduced in 1994, came within one vote of Senate passage last year and has never been brought to a vote in the House.
Smith said 47 senators have committed to support the bill. Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato (R-N.Y.), who is running for reelection next year, has agreed to become a sponsor. The lead Senate sponsors are Labor and Human Resources Committee Chairman James M. Jeffords (R-Vt.) and Sen. Edward M. Kennedy (Mass.), the panel's top Democrat.
Los Angeles, CA - GLAAD, March 7, 1997 --- According to sources at Disney, lesbian superstars kd lang and Melissa Etheridge will join the growing list of big-name celebrities who will guest star on the April 30 "coming out episode" of ABC's popular sitcom Ellen.
New mom/rocker Etheridge will perform the show's theme song during opening credits. Lang will play the role of a crooning waitress at "a coffeehouse frequented by lesbians," according to Disney. The episode will be taped today, March 7.
This star-studded cast, which also includes Oprah Winfrey and Laura Dern, is expected to draw a larger-than-usual audience, which will, in turn, increase its ratings. "GLAAD is thrilled that these well-known and well-respected stars will help bring Ellen Morgan's coming out as a lesbian into America's living rooms," said Chastity Bono, GLAAD entertainment media director. "Now, this history-making episode will bring a lead lesbian character into the increasingly inclusive American television family."
GLAAD asks you to please write to both kd lang and Melissa Etheridge and commend them for their support of this ground-breaking episode of television programming.
Contact: kd lang, c/o Warner Brothers Records, P.O. Box 6868, Burbank, California 91510; Melissa Etheridge, c/o Island Records, 8920 Sunset Boulevard, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90069
The Washington Post newspaper reports (today) Thursday Dornan has served 50 subpoenas in his campaign so far.
Democratic Rep. Loretta Sanchez ousted the nine-term congressman last year by only 979 votes out of nearly 95,000 cast. Dornan claims he lost because large numbers of Hispanic immigrants cast ballots before being sworn in as U.S. citizens.
The Post reports Dornan simply went to a federal magistrate in Orange County, obtained 50 blank subpoena forms for civil cases, filled them out and had them served.
Sanchez's lawyers asked a federal court Tuesday to quash the subpoenas, saying it is unconstitutional for a private citizen to issue subpoenas.
One of Dornan's targets is Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, an immigrant rights group.
Bert Corona, the executive director of the group's Los Angeles office, was quoted by the Post as saying an ``insignificant number'' of the 10,000 immigrants who attended Orange County citizenship class voted before they were sworn in. Corona attributes the premature voting to ``over-enthusiasm and an honest desire to exercise their citizenship.''
The Post says officials of the California secretary of state's office said there is evidence suggesting that Hermandad helped register at least 227 non-citizens, some of whom may have cast ballots before being officially sworn in.
See more news in Political Action Section.
NEW YORK, March 6, 1997 --- A new congressional report reveals that there are at least 1,049 laws addressing marital status, including federal benefits, protections, and responsibilities all forbidden to lesbian and gay couples under the so-called Defense of Marriage Act that became law last year.
"Six months after voting for this radical anti-marriage bill, Congress just now is checking out what civil marriage means under federal law," said Evan Wolfson, Marriage Project Director for Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund. "They shoved lesbian and gay couples outside this entire system of federal protections," he said.
The congressional General Accounting Office (GAO) said it identified 1,049 federal laws, from the widely significant to the obscure, "in which marital status is a factor, even though some of these laws may not directly create benefits, rights or privileges."
The study was released quietly last month in response to questions raised in Congress about the anti-gay, anti-marriage legislation widely known as DOMA.
Although not banning marriage by same-sex couples, DOMA bars federal recognition of those marriages once they become legal in any state. Hawaii, where a state judge recently ruled that the government has no valid reason for not allowing gay people to marry, could become the first state to legalize such same-sex marriages, pending the outcome of the state's appeal to the state supreme court.
"The GAO report further proves our case for ending marriage discrimination," said Wolfson, who is co-counsel for Lambda in the Hawaii marriage trial, Baehr v. Miike. "With so many legal protections and responsibilities linked only through civil marriage, it is not possible to devise individual contracts or domestic partner programs that could anticipate all these needs or replace this institution," he said.
"A highly respected judge in Hawaii said the government has not one good reason for denying these families civil marriage access. Now, in addition to the myriad state laws and private agreements that concern marriage, we see there are 1,049 federal reasons why gay people should be allowed to marry," Wolfson said.
Lambda Executive Director Kevin Cathcart said, "Stabilizing families and couples is of such value that society has created a unique web of laws to acknowledge and protect them. Coverage is available only through civil marriage, and no citizens should be denied access to this institution."
The study was ordered by House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Henry J. Hyde (R-Ill.) at the behest of then-Rep. Steve Gunderson (R-Wis.) during last September's blistering DOMA debate. President Clinton signed the bill in the heat of the presidential election campaign.
In its 102-page report, the GAO noted there may be even more than 1,049 federal laws that mention marital status, but it would have been too complex to identify every single law in the U.S. Code. The report was finalized February 7.
Categories of the 1,049 federal laws that refer to marital status include:
Social Security and related programs, housing, and food stamps
These include the rights of husbands and wives, and widows and widowers under
the Old Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program. Marital
status also affects a person's eligibility and benefit levels in the
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program.
Veterans' Benefits
These affect rights and privileges of husbands or wives of veterans,
including additional disability compensation for the spouses of disabled
veterans.
Taxation
There are 59 provisions in federal income tax law under which liability is
affected by a taxpayer's marital status.
Employment benefits
Laws include unpaid leave for employees to care for a seriously ill spouse,
death benefits for the spouse of a public safety officer killed in the line
of duty, and annuities and lump-sum benefits for spouses eligible under the
Railroad Retirement Act, with survivors benefits also available to spouses of
longshore and harbor workers.
Immigration
A policy of keeping families intact.
Trade/Commerce
Spouses may receive protection in residential mortgage agreements. Marital
status also can affect the income calculations used to determine eligibility
for financing under programs such as the Fresh Cut Flowers and Fresh Cut
Greens Promotion and Information Act of 1993.
Lambda is the oldest and largest legal organization for lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV and AIDS, with headquarters in New York, a Midwest Regional Office in Chicago, and a Western Regional Office in Los Angeles. It will open a Southern Regional Office in Atlanta later this year.
Copies of the GAO report are available on the Internet at http://www.gao.gov/ or from the Office of General Counsel, U.S. General Accounting Office, Washington, DC 20548.
A state House committee unanimously passed the bill, saying it could save Florida from suffering the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Rep. Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, said, ``When you don't have some kind of foundation, (Sodom and Gomorrah) is what happens.''
Backers of the bill say it's necessary so the state can't be forced to recognize gay marriages, especially in light of a pending court decision in Hawaii that is widely expected to declare the unions legal.
Bill supporters fear if that happens, Florida would have no choice but to recognize same-sex marriages performed in Hawaii.
But opponents contend the measure merely is a thinly-veiled attempt to dishonor homosexuals.
Larry Spalding of the Florida ACLU said (Thursday) the bill ``is not about protecting marriage. It's about slamming people who are different. ''
Because the panel approved the measure without dissent and the bill is not required to go to any other committee, it will be placed on the consent calendar of the full Florida House where it could be approved without debate.
The 1st Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Wednesday upheld a lower court ruling that Dr. Randon Bragdon of Bangor, Maine, violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when he refused to fill a cavity for a woman in his office in September 1994.
It is believed to be the first time a federal appeals court has ruled that people who have tested positive for HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but show no symptoms of the disease are covered under the disabilities act.
AIDS is recognized as a disability under the law.
Bragdon had offered to fill the patient's cavity in a hospital operating room instead of his office. He had a longstanding policy of not treating patients with infectious diseases in his office.
The Boston-based Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD) sued on behalf of the patient, Sidney Abbott. She won the case in a lower court, but Bragdon appealed.
``It is an enormous victory for the civil rights of people with HIV,'' Bennett Klein, director of GLAD's legal project, said of the appeals court ruling.
Bragdon did not return a telephone call from The Boston Globe Wednesday.
According to GLAAD, this move by ABC will make television history. Ellen Morgan, the character played by DeGeneres, is the first-ever lesbian or gay lead in an American television sitcom. In the episode, Ellen Morgan finds herself attracted to an old college chum's lesbian friend (played by Laura Dern) and begins to explore her own sexual orientation. Oprah Winfrey will guest star as Ellen's therapist who helps her understand her feelings and to come out.
"After months of speculation, ABC, Disney and the producers of Ellen have taken a decisive stand for programming that reflects the true America, which includes lesbians and gay men," said GLAAD's Entertainment Media Director Chastity Bono. "The public has voiced their desire to see Ellen Morgan come out, and now we can finally celebrate this truly groundbreaking event."
GLAAD maintains an "Ellen Watch" World Wide Web site at http://www.glaad.org.
GLAAD is the nation's lesbian and gay news bureau and the only national lesbian and gay media watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.
Socarides, who served as White House liaison to the Gay community from June to September of last year, will resume those duties but will do so in a position with significantly higher rank.
His appointment marks the first time a U.S. president has appointed an openly Gay person to the position of White House special assistant to the president.
Socarides, an attorney, said that in addition to his liaison duties with the Gay community, he will work on other "constituency outreach" issues, including labor-related issues and health issues. He said his primary responsibility will be to serve as liaison to the Gay community.
"It's certainly an acknowledgment of the importance we attach to be able to communicate with this constituency," said White House spokesperson Pat Lewis, in discussing the president's decision to upgrade the Gay liaison post. "We're pleased to be moving ahead on this front."
Socarides will work under Maria Echaveste, a former Department of Labor official whom Clinton named last week to replace Alexis Herman as director of the White House Public Liaison Office. Socarides's office will be in the Old Executive Office Building next to the White House.
From 1993 to June 1996, Socarides worked at the Department of Labor as that agency's White House liaison. He assumed that position as one of the Clinton administration's more than 100 openly Gay appointees. Clinton appointed him to the White House liaison post in June 1996. He replaced longtime Clinton adviser and political supporter Marsha Scott, whom Clinton appointed as the first White House liaison to the Gay community one year earlier. His official title then was special assistant to the deputy chief of staff for policy and political affairs.
Last September, at the request of the president, Socarides left the White House to become the Gay community liaison and coordinator of Gay-related issues at the Clinton-Gore re-election campaign.
The president left the Gay liaison position vacant after Socarides's move to the campaign. When the campaign ended in November, Socarides returned to the Department of Labor, raising concern among some Gay activists that Clinton might not reinstate the Gay liaison position at the White House. Sources close to the administration, however, had insisted the president always intended to keep the position and that he planned to fill the post as soon as he and his top advisers completed a post-election reorganization of the White House staff.
Prior to working at the Department of Labor, Socarides served as a political adviser to U.S. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa). He also worked as a volunteer for Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. Before joining Harkin's staff, he lived in New York City, where he practiced law with a private firm for 10 years. During that period, he served as a member of the board of directors for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD).
A Feb. 24 White House press release announcing Socarides's latest appointment mentions his past affiliations with Lambda and GLAAD and states that he will "serve the Gay and Lesbian communities as well as additional constituencies."
Scott, who is heterosexual, drew praise from Gay activists, who said she carried out the Gay liaison duties with enthusiasm during her one-year tenure. Her long political association with Clinton also gave her direct access to the Oval Office.
Socarides said he, too, had access to Clinton while he served as White House Gay liaison last year.
"Obviously, not everybody can talk to the president all the time," he said. "If I had something I thought I really needed to talk to him about, I did."
Socarides said one of the issues he and the White House consider to be a high priority this year will be advancement of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), a Gay civil rights bill which lost in the Senate last year by just one vote.
"You will see a major cooperative effort, along with Sen. [Edward] Kennedy [D-Mass.], to get this legislation through," Socarides said. "We hope to get it passed in the Senate and to use that momentum to get it through the House."
He said he will also be helping the administration continue its efforts to combat AIDS and to appoint more open Gays to administration positions.
[Note: The Chicago Roman Catholic archdiocese is currently without an archbishop and is operating under a temporary administrator.]
Giuliani swept onstage in a huge, blond, bouffant wig and a bosomy gown for the finale of the ``Inner Circle'' dinner, a $400-a-plate, black-tie affair where the city's journalists satirize city, state and national politics.
Giuliani performed a startling reprise of Marilyn Monroe's famous, breathless serenade to John F. Kennedy, ``Happy birthday, Mr. President.''
After a monologue zapping City Hall reporters, he cavorted with actress Julie Andrews, star of the hit Broadway musical, ``Victor/Victoria,'' about a woman masquerading as a gay female impersonator. Giuliani called his feminine alter ego ``Rudia.''
Giuliani, running for a second term this year, remarked that he is ``a Republican pretending to be a Democrat pretending to be a Republican.''
WASHINGTON, D. C. March 1, 1997 -- Government statistics showing the first drop in the AIDS-related death rate is welcome news, but is tempered by the fact that the decline among African Americans was much lower than the average, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
"We are encouraged by the decrease in the overall mortality rate but clearly, much more needs to be done in the African-American community," said Winnie Stachelberg, HRC's legislative director.
The statistics, reported in Friday's issue of the Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, show a 13 percent decrease in the number of deaths from AIDS-related complications in the first six months of 1996. This is the first decline since the AIDS epidemic began in 1981. However, the mortality rate in the African- American community declined only 2 percent, and the mortality rate for women went up 3 percent during the same period.
"This demonstrates that more work needs to be done to ensure access to treatment, life-sustaining therapies and targeted prevention efforts," Stachelberg said.
For the last five years, the HIV infection rate has been going down, indicating that prevention efforts are working, she noted. The president's fiscal 1998 budget includes a $17 million increase for prevention, but "that is not enough," according to Stachelberg.
"Now that we are moving in the right direction, this is no time to retreat on AIDS," she added. "This good news also highlights the danger of the president's proposal to impose a per-capita cap on Medicaid recipients, which would threaten access to drugs and insurance for the needy."
The Human Rights Campaign is the largest national lesbian and gay political organization, with members throughout the country. It effectively lobbies Congress, provides campaign support and educates the public to ensure that lesbian and gay Americans can be open, honest and safe at home, at work and in the community.
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