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(NEW YORK, N.Y., July 31, 1998) -- Following scrutiny of anti-gay bias at the Internal Revenue Service, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund said Friday that the agency has promised that its management will travel to IRS field offices throughout the country and train agents to provide fair treatment to groups supporting lesbians and gay men.
Lambda has been urging the IRS to take agency-wide action against anti-gay bias by its agents. In the past year, Lambda represented two lesbian and gay community organizations that initially were denied 501(c)(3) tax exempt status because of the gay-related missions.
"The IRS is taking a meaningful step by addressing anti-gay bias nationally, through training of all the field agents who first see and act upon applications from lesbian and gay groups for tax-exempt status." said Lambda Staff Attorney David Buckel, adding, "We'll keep hoping and pressing for other meaningful action throughout the entire agency."
IRS Director of the Exempt Organizations Division Marcus Owens, in a letter to Lambda dated July 23, 1998, said:
"To ensure that the statement I made to you concerning the application of the law in a fair and nondiscriminatory manner is a reality, I along with other EP/EO [Employee Plan/Exempt Organizations] executives will be traveling to our field offices to speak with our agents about the need for professionalism, impartiality and fairness in their dealings with all taxpayers. To address concerns with bias, we will illustrate those concepts with examples that specifically address the issue of bias against groups that are supportive of gay men and lesbians."
The IRS director added that he was forwarding Lambda's request to Charles Fowler, national director of the agency's Office for Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity, who has responsibility for agency-wide policy and training concerning anti-discrimination, including sexual orientation issues.
In the past year, Lambda successfully challenged IRS negative responses to applications for tax-exempt status by Kathys' Group and the Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Support System (GLASS), which are all- volunteer, not-for-profit organizations. Kathys' Group provides support services for lesbians with cancer in Rhode Island while GLASS assists lesbian and gay youth in Greensboro, North Carolina. As a condition for tax-exempt status, the IRS had ordered Kathys' Group to expand its mission beyond the lesbian community and required GLASS to discourage the "development of homosexual attitudes and propensities by minor individuals."
Now celebrating its 25th anniversary, Lambda is the nation's oldest and largest legal organization serving lesbians, gay men, and people with HIV and AIDS.
The ad features the player and his wife, Sara, telling voters to support a proposed state constitutional amendment giving legislators the authority to ban same-sex marriages.
The commercial was taped last week, the same time a similar full-page advertisement appeared in USA Today. No air date was given.
Linda Rosehill, a spokeswoman for Save Traditional Marriage-'98, said White is a natural ally for the group's cause because of his fondness for Hawaii and commitment to preserving marriage as a union between man and woman.
Rosehill said White "wants to help us pass this amendment because he cares about Hawaii's future.''
White won't be paid for the ad.
White, an ordained minister, has played in the Pro Bowl in Honolulu for the last 12 years and gave a sermon at a Honolulu church last year.
Earlier this year, he gave a speech to the Wisconsin Legislature in which he stereotyped ethnic groups and called homosexuality ``one of the biggest sins in the Bible.''
Dan Foley, a lawyer who represented three gay couples that sued the state for the right to marry, said using White could backfire because of the backlash he has faced since that speech.
"Bringing people from outside of Hawaii to tell the people of Hawaii what to do isn't particularly wise,'' Foley said.
"I think you need to respect people' s commitment and sharing and loving relationship with one another, " he said.
As for gay marriages, Humphrey said some form of civil commitment service would be appropriate.
His comments came on the 50th anniversary of his father's groundbreaking civil rights speech to the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia. The late vice president's speech split the party, and President Harry Truman barely won re-election. The speech, calling for a strong party plank on civil rights, spurred the movement forward.
Humphrey is one of five candidates seeking the DFL gubernatorial nomination in the Sept. 15 primary.
The attorney general also proposed extending health care benefits to the domestic partners of state employees.
Humphrey said he wants to make sure Minnesotans of all races and backgrounds have access to good education, health care and safe homes.
"This is a comfortable time for Minnesota and the United States, and it's awfully easy to mask things that are underneath," Humphrey said.
WASHINGTON D.C. HOUSTON CHRONICLE, July 14, 1998 --- In an effort that put them in an embarrassing predicament, several House Republicans have been lobbying to reverse President Clinton's order barring discrimination against gays in the federal work force.
House Majority Whip Tom DeLay, R-Texas, and three other Republicans sent a letter to their colleagues before the July 4 recess asking for support to overturn the executive order.
``We hope we are moving in this country toward a time when there will be no need to grant special rights and privileges to any group over any other,'' the June 24 letter stated.
However, the quandary facing the lawmakers was they had hoped to attach their amendment to an appropriations bill sponsored by the only openly gay Republican in Congress, Rep. Jim Kolbe of Arizona.
Kolbe is chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee on Treasury, Postal Service and General Government, which oversees spending for the enforcement of the anti-discrimination order.
The amendment would bar the use of funds to implement or enforce the order on sexual orientation.
The key sponsor of the measure, Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Col., said that he didn't think about Kolbe's sexual orientation when he drafted the amendment.
``I didn't think of Kolbe being a gay Republican congressman. I just think of him being a Republican congressman,'' said Hefley. ``It makes it a little uncomfortable because I would not do anything to embarrass Kolbe.''
Hefley said he intended to offer the amendment when the appropriations bill is debated, which could be as soon as Wednesday.
However, late Tuesday DeLay's office said GOP leaders had decided to ask House members to agree to rules of debate that will not allow the sexual orientation amendment to be considered.
A DeLay aide said the congressman had not intended the amendment as a slap at Kolbe.
``Obviously nothing personal involved, just differing philosophies,'' said staffer Tony Rudy.
House Majority Leader Dick Armey, R-Texas, said earlier that it had not been decided whether to allow the amendment to be considered. However, the Texas Republican also said he agreed with its intent.
Armey said that homosexuality is a ``behavior phenomenon as opposed to religious and ethnic backgrounds'' and therefore should not be included anti- discrimination order.
If the amendment is considered, Kolbe will oppose it, according to his chief of staff, Frances McNaught.
``He will argue against it and vote against it,'' she said.
The head of the Houston chapter of a gay Republican group said efforts by DeLay and others to make gay discrimination an election-year issue will backfire.
``This is turning off mainstream Republicans,'' said Dale Carpenter of the Log Cabin Republicans. ``We do not send congressmen to Washington to act as religious leaders.''
The dispute over Clinton's executive order comes as conservative Republicans have escalated their attacks on homosexuals in the hopes of placating Christian conservatives before the midterm elections.
In the Senate, Majority Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., has refused to schedule a vote on James Hormel, Clinton's openly gay nominee to be ambassador to Luxembourg. Lott also recently called homosexuality a ``sin'' and likened gays to kleptomaniacs and sex addicts.
Meanwhile, Christian conservative groups have stepped up their lobbying and this week launched a media campaign, taking out ads in several national newspapers defending Lott and others who have been criticized for their comments on gays.
One of those ads featured Ann Paulk, a 35-year old former lesbian who related how she turned straight because of her Christian beliefs.
``I want people to know people have come out of homosexuality. The once gay always gay slogan doesn't fit,'' Paulk said in a telephone interview.
Paulk married six years ago and lives in Colorado Springs. Colo., where her husband works for Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group headed by the Rev. James Dobson.
Dobson recently met with DeLay to express concern that the Congressional Republicans were not pushing the agenda of conservative Christians who have been one of the most reliable parts of the GOP base.
Since that time DeLay and others have stepped on their efforts on a variety of issues, including school prayer and abortion.
Clinton spokesman Mike McCurry declined to cricitize the anti-gay ads saying, ``those are statements of faith and of strong belief made by the individuals who signed the ad.''
But McCurry said that administration is more concerned about ``efforts on Capitol Hill to really legislate an acceptance of intolerance and discrimination against gays and lesbians.''
To counter the Christian groups, the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group, announced plans to take out a full page ad in USA Today on Wednesday that features a Republican family from Minneapolis whose daughter is a lesbian.
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, July 13, 1998 ---- Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said for the first time yesterday he ``would not support'' the confirmation of San Francisco philanthropist James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg.
Last month Lott sparked controversy by comparing homosexuality to alcoholism and kleptomania but so far had not expressed an opinion about Hormel, who is openly gay and and an active supporter of gay rights.
Interviewed on CBS' ``Face the Nation,'' Lott stood by his previous comments about gays, although he conceded he was not an ``expert on exactly what leads to this sort of preference or orientation.''
Despite his opposition to Hormel, Lott left open the possibility that he would allow the Senate to vote on the nomination. As he has done for weeks, Lott indicated that he will have to deal with several finance bills and other ``very important pieces of legislation'' before taking up Hormel's nomination -- or any others.
``Nominations are on the back burner,'' he said. But with only 37 days left in the legislative calendar this year, Lott gave no indication whether Hormel's nomination would ever reach the Senate floor.
Like clockwork, the gay-bashing rhetoric began soon after the religious right threatened to sit out the November elections if their issues weren't front and center.
In Washington, in Republican primaries -- indeed, wherever Republicans gather -- the contest is on to see who's the Greatest Homophobe of Them All.
* Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said gays are sinners, as well as diseased, like kleptomaniacs and alcoholics. Then Sen. Don Nickles and House Majority Leader Dick Armey chimed in with their own Biblical interpretations.
* A Republican convention in Texas denied spots to gay Republicans, then doused them with hateful invective.
* In Nebraska, two candidates for governor made opposition to gay marriage a chief issue -- even though the state legislation never has considered it.
* In South Carolina, a candidate for agriculture commissioner said gays are a threat to the family farm.
Gay-bashing is nothing new among Republicans, but this rhetoric has gone beyond political dirty tricks. It's hate speech -- pure and simple.
But gays and lesbians are only the immediate target; the real mark is President Clinton. His sin? Tolerance.
This is behind opposition to Clinton's nomination of James Hormel, a gay businessman and philanthropist, to be ambassador to Luxembourg.
On paper, Hormel looks overqualified for the job. He has experience on the U.N. Human Rights Commission and General Assembly. He has donated millions to groups like the Catholic Youth Organization, the United Negro College Fund -- and to a few gay-rights groups. Lott refuses to allow Hormel's nomination to be voted on by the full Senate.
Now, Republicans are poised to nullify an executive order by President Clinton that prohibits discrimination in federal employment based on sexual orientation, already a policy in many federal agencies.
Think of it: The Congress of the United States voting for job discrimination.
Republican leaders are gambling that hatred can be turned into votes.
But if this strategy prevails, not only gays and lesbians will lose.
So will all those who believe, like the president, that "individuals should not be denied a job on the basis of something that has no relationship to their ability to perform their work."
The decision by Pisa's left-wing city council to put the July 7 marriage of the women on its register was a ''provocation,'' said the newspaper.
It went on to condemn municipal authorities' ''determination'' to give legal recognition to unions outside the church, whether between homosexuals or heterosexuals.
The women, aged 54 and 51 but not identified, had been living together for 11 years.
Pisa's mayor, Piero Floriani, justified his council's move by saying registration ''represents for the community the acknowledgment of the existence of different types of relationships.''
But Pisa's bishop, Alessandro Plotti, said it was ''very serious to give recognition to this sort of living arrangement.''
The head of the Italian homosexual association Arci-Gay, Franco Grillini, said the church's position was ''at the limits of cruelty'' and demanded that parliament pass a law recognizing homosexual marriages.
CHICAGO July 10, 1998 ---- Illinois’ statewide gay rights group has blasted an attempt by Red Lobster restaurants to have the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance declared unconstitutional. The gay group threatened to mount a "public awareness and education campaign" against the restaurants.
"That a national restaurant chain would seek to overturn civil rights legislation is as unconscionable as it is disgusting," said Rick Garcia, director of the Illinois Federation For Human Rights. "We will not stand idly by when anyone attempts to undo the hard fought gains made by civil rights activists in Cook County."
An attorney for the Orlando, Florida based Darden Restaurants, owners of Red Lobster, filed a request to declare the ordinance unconstitutional after the Cook County Human Rights Commission ruled that the restaurant violated the ordinance when it terminated a gay man in May of 1996.
"It is bad enough that Red Lobster was found guilty of anti-gay discrimination, but to try to overturn the human rights ordinance is beneath contempt," stated Garcia. "They should be ashamed."
In a July 8 letter to Darden Restaurants the Federation threatened to conduct a campaign against the company. "Should you continue your challenge of the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance, we will have no recourse but to inform your patrons that you are actively seeking to overturn civil rights protections in Cook County," Garcia wrote. "We hope that you have a change of heart and recognize the gravity of your challenge to the human rights ordinance."
The Cook County Human Rights Ordinance was passed in 1993 and prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodations and credit transactions in Cook County. Among the thirteen covered categories in the ordinance are race, sex, religion, national origin and sexual orientation. Garcia was a key strategist and lobbyist for the passage of the ordinance.
I encourage you to also write letters directly to them and perhaps copy the nearest Red Lobster restaurant to your home. Darden Restaurants is the owners of Red Lobster.
If you happen to be a stock holder, please mention that in your letter.
Darden Restaurants, Inc, 5900 Lake Ellenor Drive, Orlando FL 32809, (407) 245-4000
WASHINGTON July 9, 1998 --- The Senate Judiciary Committee will act on an anti-hate crimes bill in the wake of the dragging death of a black Texas man, the panel's chairman says.
"In a country as good as ours, we have too many hate crimes,'' Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said at a hearing Wednesday, adding the panel would "move on a hate crimes bill.''
The committee heard testimony on a measure that would extend existing hate crimes law to cover offenses based on gender, disability and sexual orientation.
Sponsored by Sens. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.; Edward Kennedy, D-Mass; and Ron Wyden, D-Ore, it also would make it easier for the Justice Department to prosecute such crimes. Current law applies only to crimes motivated by race, color, religion or national origin.
President Clinton endorsed the hate crimes bill last year. Civil rights groups and organizations representing women, gays, blacks, Latinos, Asian- Pacific Americans also support it.
Law professors, a federal judge and a California state's attorney criticized the bill at the hearing. But Hatch, who voiced concerns of his own, called it a "good step in the right direction.''
Francis Renee Mullins, 27, of Lufkin, Texas, the dragging victim's eldest daughter, also lobbied for the bill. Police say her father, James Byrd Jr., 49, was tied to a truck and dragged to his death June 7 after he accepted a ride home from a niece's bridal shower.
"I think there should be federal jurisdiction over crimes so hateful,'' Ms. Mullins said.
A grand jury in Jasper County, Texas, this week indicted three white men with links to racist groups in the slaying of Byrd, who was black.
"The men who murdered my father had a choice that morning. And they chose violence,'' a tearful Ms. Mullins said. "Therefore, the laws of the land should punish them.''
But U.S. District Judge Richard Arcara, representing the U.S. Judicial Conference's criminal law committee, said the bill would duplicate existing law by federalizing numerous crimes that are handled by the states and increase the burden on the federal judiciary.
Edward Jagels, the attorney for Kern County, Calif., said most states vigorously enforce their hate crimes laws. "There simply isn't a need for this legislation,'' he said.
Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia have enacted laws against hate crimes, 22 of which include sexual orientation, according to the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay and lesbian advocacy group. Eight states have no hate crimes laws.
Lawrence Alexander, a professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, said the proposal could erode the constitutional guarantee against being tried twice for the same offense.
Hatch said he was concerned about double jeopardy, jurisdictional issues and added burdens on the federal judiciary, but would work to get the "right bill, the right way.''
Eric Holder Jr., the deputy U.S. attorney general, said the bill was a "thoughtful, measured response to a critical problem that faces our nation'' and urged its swift adoption.
Such a law would permit joint federal-state investigations of such crimes, but state and local law enforcement agencies would continue to take the lead in prosecuting them, he said.
Holder also said it would not lead to a deluge of federal prosecutions of hate crimes. The Justice Department prosecuted 33 such cases between 1992 and 1997, an average of fewer than six cases per year, he noted
By John Sanko, Rocky Mountain News Capitol Bureau
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, July 9, 1998 --- A report urging that Colorado legalize gay and lesbian relationships ran into a firestorm of protest Wednesday after a governor's task force released its findings.
Even Gov. Roy Romer, who praised the report, admitted it was unlikely the legislature would accept it. Opponents said they would never accept it.
"Eventually there will be laws and eventually they will pass," Romer predicted. "If you tried it today, though, my guess is it would be premature."
In fact, legislation to ban same-sex marriages, which Romer twice has vetoed, has a better chance of passage.
Two Republican lawmakers who sponsored such a bill last year said another attempt will be made next year, when Romer is no longer governor.
Romer's 14-member commission did not recommend that homosexual couples be allowed to marry, but it called for state recognition of same-sex relationships. It also urged that homosexual couples be granted the same rights and responsibilities as in a traditional marriage.
Such a change would impact probate and inheritance laws, medical and health-related issues, adoption, health insurance benefits, workers compensation, wrongful death benefits and a litany of other things.
Business leaders have indicated little concern about the issue. Many of the state's larger employers already provide benefits to same-sex partners of employees.
Romer reiterated his belief that a marriage should be between a man and a woman. He created the commission last year after he vetoed one of the bills that would have banned same-sex marriages.
"I believe this report is absolutely going in the right direction," he said in accepting the findings from Episcopal Bishop Jerry Winterrowd, who chaired the commission.
"This is the beginning of a conversation. I hope this report will help us to live together."
But the report came under immediate fire from critics, including two Republican candidates for governor and the leaders of the anti-gay rights Amendment 2 ballot issue that was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. The commission was "stacked," said Colorado Springs auto dealer Will Perkins, who formerly headed Colorado for Family Values.
"I don't think there will be much support for these proposals," said State Treasurer Bill Owens, a GOP candidate for governor. "While Coloradans are fair and tolerant, they don't favor special rights based on sexual orientation."
Senate President Tom Norton, R-Greeley, who also is a Republican candidate for governor, said: "I'm not in favor of same-sex marriages and that's the way I read this. They want to call it something else, but give it all the rights and privileges of a marriage."
The two Democratic candidates for governor were more receptive. "I don't support gay marriages, but I think we need to be fair to people who have long-term relationships," said Lt. Gov. Gail Schoettler.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Feeley, D-Lakewood, also a Democratic candidate for governor, said, "Preliminary indications are that some of the ideas are worthy of consideration."
Despite the complaints of gays and lesbians that they lack many of the legal rights of those in a regular marriage, Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, R-Fort Morgan, said they already have many of those rights, including the ability to will property to one another and to make directives in the event of a terminal illness.
Sue Anderson, a commission member and executive director of Equality Colorado, a statewide gay rights advocacy group, praised the commission's work.
"We need to create a compassionate mechanism for people who love each other to be able to have that love recognized and protected by institutions and systems in our society," Anderson said.
"Currently, we are required to create expensive legal paperwork to even begin to protect ourselves and our partners, and there is often little certainty that these documents would hold up if challenged in court."
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS, July 9, 1998 --- A gubernatorial commission on gay rights and responsibilities went too far or not far enough, depending on whom you ask.
The commission said gay and lesbian couples deserve most of the legal privileges afforded heterosexual couples -- except legally sanctioned marriage.
Instead, same-sex partners could declare their relationship on a state registry, the commission recommended.
That restriction makes gay people second-class, similar to what separate- but-equal laws did to blacks, said Julie Tolleson, executive director of the Colorado Legal Initiatives Project, a nonprofit law office specializing in gay and lesbian issues.
"We're installing our own seats in the back of the bus," she said.
James Burns, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church, marries about 20 gay couples a year. They want legal unions, he said. "Anything that would help to give us some of those rights that heterosexuals take for granted is a welcome step," he said.
Catholic Archbishop Charles Chaput resigned from the commission last year, in part, because he believed the group started out favoring same-sex legal rights.
"The archbishop's attitude toward these (gay rights) issues are well known," said Fran Maier, chancellor of the archdiocese.
Paul Jessen, executive director for Colorado for Family Values, said his organization would be releasing a 90-page report challenging the commission's findings.
Put this issue on the ballot before Colorado's voters, Jessen said, and "it would go down in flames."
The head of the Colorado Council of Churches praised the commission's work. "It affirms the integrity of committed relationships and the positive effects it can have on children who experience a diverse lifestyle," said the Rev. Lucia Guzman.
Sue Anderson, a member of the commission, said the report adds credibility and momentum to full legal rights for gays.
WASHINGTON Scripps Howard News Service, July 7, 1998 --- Republican lawmakers will attempt next week to approve legislation preventing President Clinton from implementing his recent executive order barring discrimination against gays and lesbians in the federal workplace.
The Republican effort follows controversial remarks by several GOP leaders regarding homosexuality and sets the stage for a showdown between conservatives and the president over gay rights just four months before the midterm election.
Rep. Joel Hefley, R-Colo., with the backing of GOP leaders, plans to offer an amendment to an annual spending bill that would prevent federal agencies from spending any money to implement the anti-discrimination policy. The bill is expected to be one of the first measures the House takes up when lawmakers return to work.
Clinton said in May that he was expanding an existing executive order signed in 1969 by President Richard Nixon to include a ban on discrimination based on sexual orientation in the federal civilian workforce. Nixon's order already prohibited discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, national origin, handicap or age.
Most federal agencies already have policies banning discrimination against gays and lesbians in hiring, but Clinton said the executive order would bring a uniformity to those policies.
"There are all kinds of laws on the books to protect against discrimination in employment, we shouldn't be creating a protected class,'' Hefley said. "When you do that, invariably you get quota systems and all kinds of things.''
Rebecca Isaacs, political director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, rejected the assertion that adding sexual orientation to federal non- discrimination policies creates a "special right'' for homosexuals, as critics of the policy contend.
"There is nothing special about equal rights and being free from discrimination,'' Isaacs said. Nor would the policy create hiring quotas for gays and lesbians as critics claim, she said.
"Have they noticed any other quotas? The brazen lying doesn't seem to phase [sic] them at all. They are completely dishonest,'' Isaacs said.
Hefley also said he believes Clinton was misusing his power to issue executive orders. He said he wasn't familiar enough with Nixon's order to say if that also was an inappropriate use of power.
The debate arises at a time when Republican congressional leaders are under pressure from Religious Right activists to more vigorously pursue a conservative social agenda.
Republican leaders are refusing to allow a vote to confirm philanthropist James Hormel, who is gay, to be ambassador to Belgium, even though he clearly has the support of a majority of senators.
Senate Republican leader Trent Lott of Mississippi provoked a national controversy recently when he told a conservative radio talk-show host that he considers homosexuality to be a sin and likened it to psychological illnesses like kleptomania. Similar comments were made by other GOP leaders, including Senate Republican Whip Don Nickles of Oklahoma and House Republican leader Dick Armey of Texas.
Lott was scolded for his comments by Democrats and some moderate Republicans, but he was applauded by conservatives.
"I believe the Bible defines this practice as a sin,'' Lott explained in a recent column distributed to newspapers. "I know from the thousands of calls my office has received from Mississippians and others across the country that most Americans overwhelmingly share my view on this subject.
"There is a philosophy in our society today that suggests individuals can define what is right and wrong for themselves,'' Lott continued. "But in my view right and wrong is ultimately outlined by our maker, not individuals.''
Gay rights activists accuse GOP leaders of gay-bashing in order to energize conservative Christian voters whom they need to turn out in strong numbers on election day in order to retain control of the House.
"This shows what a stranglehold the right wing has on the House and Senate Republican leadership,'' said Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, a leading gay rights group.
Said Isaacs: "Gay people are not allowed to live in peace and work on merit and live their lives without interference from these folks, who are really scary.''
The Family Research Council, a leading religious right lobbying group, labeled the Hefley amendment an "urgent pro-family vote'' in a recent flyer, urging lawmakers to "oppose funding for special privileges for homosexuals.''
"Why is there this constant drumbeat that the federal government, or different levels of government, are supposed to put their seal of approval on a type of activity (homosexuality) when many people personally feel it is wrong?'' said Marty Dannenfelser, the council's chief lobbyist.
A close vote is expected on the amendment. A majority of the House, including 70 Republicans, have signed pledges not to discriminate against gays and lesbians in their congressional offices.
5th July 1998, Sunday Star Times., Auckland --- In a world first, a small Dunedin research team has found low-cost antibiotics have the potential to prevent or delay the onset of Aids.
Otago medical student John Irvine, biochemist Dr Julie Horsfield, science graduate Cushla McKinney and biochemistry professor Warren Tate targeted a unique aspect of the biology of the HIV virus in their search for an Aids cure.
Their idea was to find out if it was possible to interfere with the mechanism used by the virus to make proteins, which enable it to live and spread infection.
In recent drug tests, they found two antibiotics capable of doing just that—cycloheximide and puromycin.
However, Professor Tate said it was too early to say whether their research represented a breakthrough in Aids treatment.
There would first have to be extensive testing of the new treatment approach with a range of drugs.
"We're part of a bigger consortium including a Japanese pharmaceutical company trying to test chemical compounds against this step, or mechanism.
"We have done this feasibility study with a small group of antibiotics, which look promising. However, this pharmaceutical company will now screen thousands of compounds," he said.
While the international scientific community had been aware of the potential to target the HIV virus in the way the Otago group had done, no other scientists had tried to do so.
"We have made a unique contribution in picking it up," said Professor Tate.
MIAMI HERALD, July 3, 1998 --- Key West has them. So do IBM and Knight Ridder. Now, domestic-partner benefits have come to Miami Beach.
The three-part ordinance, introduced June 17 by Mayor Neisen Kasdin and unanimously approved Wednesday, extends benefits such as sick leave, annual leave and bereavement benefits to domestic couples -- heterosexual or homosexual -- employed by the city.
"The city is committed to treating everyone equally and giving everyone the same benefits," Kasdin said.
The ordinance defines a domestic partner as the dependent of an employee in a committed relationship in which the partners consider themselves a member of each other's immediate family.
"It's a first step," said Miami Beach Sgt. Lori Wieder.
A 20-year veteran of the force, Wieder has been a strong advocate for domestic-partner rights so that she and other employees can provide for their partners.
"I want to protect my partner if something happens to me. I want her to be taken care of," said Wieder, who asked the city's community relations board last fall to recommend domestic-partner benefits for gay and lesbian employees.
The city, which approved an ordinance six years ago outlawing discrimination based on sexual orientation, has been considering a domestic- partner benefits since last year.
The issue was discussed during last year's city elections and during a city Community Relations Board meeting last fall.
The board suggested that the city offer health and dental insurance, life insurance, pension, disability benefits, sick leave and bereavement time to the partners of gay employees.
But granting health and dental benefits to domestic partners would require a change in the city charter, which means a referendum.
For now, the ordinance applies to any employee with current benefits, including a retired worker, a part-time staffer or a full-time employee but it only covers sick days, bereavement time and annual leave.
The move puts Miami Beach on a national list of cities and companies that have adopted domestic partner benefits for employees. In January, Key West extended domestic partner benefits to the island city's employees. Companies such as IBM, The New York Times and Knight Ridder, which owns The Herald, offer similar benefits.
London, England, Saturday, July 4, 1998 --- The BBC's Lucy Atherton: 'Parts of London came to a complete standstill' in a lower than expected turnout, nearly 40,000 people have taken part in the annual Gay Pride march in London.
At just over half the number that turned out last year, the fall is possibly due to the postponement of the traditional, post-parade party.
The march is the first, major gay event since the House of Commons voted last month to lower the age of homosexual consent to 16 years old.
'Landmark' victory
Picture: [ image: Marchers want an end to section 28] Marchers want an end to section 28Roger Goode, a member of the Pride organising committee, said: "That was the first political victory for the gay movement for 30 years and we are definitely celebrating. An equal age of consent is a landmark."
The centrepiece of the 27th annual event was a quarter-mile long rainbow flag, marking the age of consent victory.
It was carried by members of Team UK, the 600-strong squad taking part in this year's Gay Games in Amsterdam.
Hear the views of marcher Robin ThompsonThe marchers are also pressing for another legal reform - an end to Section 28, which bans local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality. The repeal of the controversial section of the 1988 Local Government Act is the popular official theme of this year's parade.
'No party'
Listen to a marching song from the London Gay Men's ChorusOrganisers of the march cite a mixture of poor financial management and higher charges from local authorities and the police for the demise of the end of march jamboree. The festival has now been reorganised for August 15.
Picture: [ image: One of the marchers at Gay Pride] One of the marchers at Gay PrideBut many activists say that the entertainment dilutes the political message, with too many straight people, who have little idea of the underlying cause, just coming along for the party atmosphere.
This year, marchers followed a route through Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Parliament Square and ending in Victoria.
Organisers said that the event is always "inclusive, informal, high-spirited, political and a celebration of life and diversity".
Frank, 58, said Friday that the reason for the breakup ``is nobody's business,'' but that the two split amicably.
``They provided the definition for how elected couples can serve public life with dignity and authenticity,'' said Kerry Lobel, executive director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Moses, 41, recently left an executive position at the Federal National Mortgage Association to open a pottery studio.
Moses was the first partner of an openly gay member of Congress to receive spousal access privileges through the Capitol, although the decision was controversial.
``I know I speak for most members when I state that the only Moses we like to hear about on this House floor is our Moses of Exodus, Moses the lawgiver, Moses of the Ten Commandments,'' former Rep. Bob Dornan, R-Calif., told the House in 1996.
U.S. House of Representatives minority leader Richard Gephardt met with gays and lesbians today in an impromptu town hall meeting at the Cathedral of Hope, the world's largest predominately gay and lesbian church. Mr. Gephardt opened the one-hour meeting by denouncing derogatory remarks recently made by U.S. Senator Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Majority Leader Dick Armey. "Mr. Lott's and Mr. Armey's comments are a shame and are certainly not my views or the views of the majority of the house of representatives," Gephardt said.
Mr. Lott and Mr. Armey were recently quoted saying that homosexuality was a 6 sin and compared gays and lesbians to kleptomaniacs and sex addicts that needed treatment The Cathedral of Hope recently invited Mr. Lott and Mr. Armey to visit the church and to meet gay and lesbian Christians, although neither two politicians have responded. Mr. Gephardt, who was in Dallas on a voter awareness campaign drive, decided to visit the church and noted that the house and senate leadership should represent all Americans, not just the far right.
During his one-hour meeting Representative Gephardt addressed several issues important to gays and lesbians including gays in the military, AIDS funding and proposed federal anti-discrimination laws. Mr. Gephardt emphasized that, as long Republicans controlled the House of Representatives, issues important to gays and lesbians would have difficulty surfacing through the bureaucracy.
One of the largest and fastest growing churches in America, the 2,000-member Cathedral of Hope (www.cathedralofhope.com) is dedicated to sending a message of hope to lesbian, gay and other excluded people around the world and strives to reclaim Christianity for all people with a message of God's inclusive love. With an active constituency of over 15,000 people and a television ministry reaching 2.5 million households nationwide, the church is currently raising funds to build the first cathedral of the 21st century, a new $20 million sanctuary designed by world-renowned architect Phillip Johnson.
CONTACT: Cathedral of Hope, Dallas, Lisa Carver, 214/351-1901,kthedral@aol.com
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER, June 29, 1998 ---- VAROOOM. Varooom. Varooom. Bad girls on big Harleys barreled down Market Street flaunting tattooed breasts, black leather bikinis and pink dreadlocks to kick off San Fran cisco's 28th annual gay pride parade.
"Go, sister!" Iris Bivlowitz yelled from the sidelines, just one of tens of thousands who turned out on an overcast Sunday to watch San Francisco's world famous gay community celebrate its diversity, politics and playful spirit.
"I'm really proud of the Dykes on Bikes, their power, strength and humor - and their defying convention," said Bivlowitz above the roar of hundreds of revving bikes.
Parades also were held Sunday in New York, West Hollywood and Berlin, drawing hundreds of thousands to mark the anniversary of Stonewall, the 1969 riot between gays and police in Greenwich Village that led to the gay rights movement.
The mood of San Francisco's Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Parade remained peaceful and festive throughout the day as the crowds squeezed along Market Street on a new route between Second and Eighth streets and into the Civic Center.
Volunteer monitors begged people to keep off the streets, which were closed off from traffic to remedy the long delays of previous years.
"I'm trying to keep people from getting trampled by the dancing drag queens," said Tanith Tyrr, who's in her third year as a volunteer.
On the parade route, a group of bicyclists - growing in number each year - followed the women's motorcycle contingent, some with "Byke Pride" stickers. "It's really cool that we start off the parade," said native San Franciscan Inga Puccio, on her bicycle.
"The first time I saw Dykes on Bikes, I got goose bumps," Puccio said. "It's just nice to see all the different variety of women."
Some Tenderloin dwellers seemed to resent the crush of people. But there were no anti-gay demonstrations, according to the San Francisco Police Department, which said it couldn't give a crowd estimate.
Up above the parade buzzed an airplane trailing a banner - "Repent - Jesus Loves You." But the sign caused more amusement than consternation.
"The only thing is," said one gay paradegoer, "I don't know what to repent from."
With 188 entries this year - including many more commercial sponsors than in previous years - about 30 dissidents from a group called Lesbian and Gay Insurrection marched with placards urging people to "Crash the Parade." They proclaimed "It's A Movement Not a Commodity."
At events through the weekend, some activists decried the risk of losing community control and spontaneity as parade registration fees rose and corporate sponsors contributed to the $500,000 budget.
Throughout the parade, activists expressed their political messages, calling for an end to illegal evictions by landlords, discrimination in the Boy Scouts and deportation of immigrants. A Native American group asked for the return of the Presidio to the Muwekma and Ohlone.
"Very San Francisco," proclaimed Jim Rigassio, who with his wife, Mimi, and 10-month-old baby recently moved to Santa Clara from Washington, D.C. "They're fabulous," said Mimi, shouting above the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, one of the unanimous hits of the parade.
About 90 members of the chorus, celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, marched and danced to recorded songs from their show, "Extrabbaganza." Thousands joined in with the chorus to sing Abba's "Dancing Queen" and "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme a Man After Midnight," reverberating off Market Street buildings.
Chorus production manager Steve Valdez, who rode atop the sound truck, said after the parade that his group is more hopeful now than during the terrible early days of AIDS.
"We lost between 160 and 190 members, as big a number as the chorus is now. We call our lost members the Fifth Section, and remember them with stories and photographs," Valdez said.
"People are more optimistic now," he said. "Some men who are in (medical) studies, we didn't think they'd be with us today. It's given us new hope."
In a moving moment of the parade, two men, dressed in black shirts, silently led a beautiful horse carrying a saddle with no rider in memory of those who have died from the disease.
But the day was generally upbeat and playful.
Bare-breasted, tattooed, pierced women and men in open-backed leather pants strolled along Market Street, bringing merchants to their doors. People decorated their dogs with rainbow-colored antlers and collars. "Accessorize," exhorted a blond street vendor, selling Mardi Gras-type shiny bead necklaces to the crowds.
Mayor Brown, wearing a purple fedora and a rainbow-flag shirt, walked the parade route to cheers. All the supervisors and politicians such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi and Assemblyman Kevin Shelley showed up.
Huge applause met contingents of gay cops and sheriffs, some walking hand in hand. Members of the forces drove siren-screaming cars slowly down Market. The Bay Area Bisexual Network carried a poster, "Just Because You're Confused Doesn't Mean We Are."
The perennially popular contingent of parents with gay children carried placards with names of cities and towns all over California and beyond.
One Berkeley mother carried a sign that read, "Soooo Proud Mom - Support Gay Rights!" Other signs read, "Gay Friendly Breeders" and "Significant Mom." Nearly a dozen entries represented Asians and Pacific Islanders, from the Lavender Dragon Center to Pacific Friends carrying a big Godzilla.
Lily Yuen, of El Cerrito, brought a visitor, Mary Tu from Randolph, N.J., to see the parade. "It's just fun," said Tu. "Their dress, their makeup. For me, it's interesting."
Some old-timers, like San Franciscan Bob Lopez, who's seen every parade, missed the old days.
"They had flowers, more like Mardi Gras. There were floats. People put a lot of work into them. It was more playful, less serious," Lopez said. But he also sees an upside to the parade's serious side.
"Now there are contingents of different kinds of people who have something to say. And that's good."
WASHINGTON June 25, 1998 --- The Supreme Court today ensured that the nearly 1 million Americans living with HIV will remain protected from discrimination under the ADA, finding that Congress intended the Americans with Disabilities Act to cover all people living with HIV, regardless of their stage of infection, said HRC.
"The Court's decision sends a clear signal to healthcare providers that discrimination against people living with HIV is scientifically unjustified and forbidden under law," said HRC Chief Counsel Tony Varona.
"By making clear that objective medical standards and not the individual judgment of health care providers determine the applicability of the ADA, the Supreme Court has ensured that all individuals Congress intended to be protected by the ADA are indeed protected from discrimination."
Not only is this ruling a victory for people diagnosed with HIV, it is a significant victory for the nation's public health and prevention efforts. Many people who submit to voluntary HIV testing do so comforted by the knowledge that all persons with HIV infection are protected from discrimination under the ADA.
Sydney Abbott, the plaintiff in this case, sued Dr. Randon Bragdon for violating the ADA by refusing to administer routine dental care to Ms. Abbott in his office. Dr. Bragdon had argued that the possibility of HIV transmission from Ms. Abbott to him merited his refusal of treatment, despite the fact that public health authorities, including the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Dental Association, have determined that people with HIV may be treated safely with the use of standard infection control procedures known as "universal precautions."
The ADA prohibits discrimination against disabled people in places of public accommodation, including dental and medical offices, as well as in employment and public services.
Ms. Abbott was represented in her suit by Bennett Klein, AIDS Law Project Director with Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders (GLAD), a lesbian and gay civil rights law firm in Boston, MA.
WASHINGTON (AP) June 24, 1998 ---- Citing the dragging death of a black Texas man, President Clinton urged Congress to pass a bill that would make it easier for federal prosecution of hate crimes.
Before leaving for China, Clinton sent a letter to House and Senate leaders of both parties Wednesday urging that they pass the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which would remove certain jurisdictional restrictions that keep Justice Department prosecutors from pursuing hate crimes.
For example, federal prosecutors now can pursue a hate crime case only if it occurs on federal property or while the victim was performing a federally protected act, such as voting.
The legislation also would make hate crimes based on gender, disability or sexual orientation federal offenses and authorize additional funds for hate crime prevention and additional law enforcers to help with state and local hate crime investigations. Current rules specify that federal hate crimes cover only incidents based on race, color, religion or national origin.
Congress did not act on the legislation after it was introduced last year. Clinton said the attack on James Byrd Jr., dragged to his death in Jasper, Texas, by three young white men driving a truck and other similar incidents argue that lawmakers must act this time.
``I know you were as troubled as I was by the vicious murder in Jasper, Texas, just two weeks ago,'' Clinton wrote. ``This shocking event focused America's attention on the problem of hate crimes.
``Whether it is a gay American murdered as he walks home from work, or a Jewish American whose synagogue is desecrated by swastikas, such acts are not only examples of bias and bigotry. They are crimes,'' Clinton said.
``That is why I believe now is the time for us to take strong and decisive action.''
The House unanimously adopted a resolution to send its ``heartfelt condolences'' to Byrd's family. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have urged that the three men charged with killing him be prosecuted under the federal hate crimes law, and the FBI and U.S. attorney's office were working with local authorities to determine whether state or federal prosecution was appropriate.
Using figures from local law enforcement agencies, the FBI reported 8,759 hate crimes in 1996. Of those, 5,396 were based on race, 1,401 on religion, 1,016 on sexual orientation, 940 on ethnic background and six for multiple reasons.
Viewed as an important victory for homosexual couples, the proposal would make law many policies that have been in effect for years. Mayor Rudolph Giuliani is expected to sign it quickly.
A series of city directives extended to domestic partners the rights once reserved for spouses and family members, such as visitation in city jails and hospitals, and succession for city-supervised housing.
Approved 39-7 with one abstention, the legislation applies to heterosexual and homosexual domestic partnerships registered with the City Clerk. There are about 8,700 registered domestic partners in the city, and at least 55 percent are heterosexual couples.
``I'm exercising the right to be equal,'' said Democratic Councilwoman Margarita Lopez, a lesbian.
Since the settlement of a lawsuit in 1993, the city has provided health and dental benefits to the domestic partners of city workers. Under the bill, labor negotiations would be required to extend to employees' partners the same benefits provided for employees' spouses.
Councilman Michael Abel, a Republican who voted against the bill, called it another nail in the coffin of the institution of marriage.
``It's anti-societal to the extent that it's an anti-marriage bill, and I still believe most New Yorkers favor marriage,'' he said.
The vote was preceded by an unusual demonstration on the City Hall steps, in which a group of Hasidic Jewish rabbis and rabbinical students invoked a biblical curse on legislators and officials supporting the bill.
By Ann Scales, Globe Staff, Globe Correspondent
WASHINGTON Boston Globe, June 24, 1998 ---- The White House is making a concerted push for the philanthropist James Hormel to become ambassador to Luxembourg, setting the stage for a battle with conservatives who oppose the nominee because he is gay.
Hormel's supporters have been energized by recent statements on homosexuality by leading Republicans, including a comment by Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who compared homosexuality to alcoholism or kleptomania.
The White House and gay rights groups now say the issue has become bigger than Hormel's confirmation, and has evolved into a question of whether the Senate should judge people on the basis of their sexual orientation rather than their qualifications.
''The principle here has to be defended,'' said Kevin Ivers, director of public relations for the Log Cabin Republicans, a GOP gay rights group. ''He deserves to be judged on his merits in an up-or-down vote.''
A White House spokesman, Barry Toiv, said the administration plans to keep working to get a vote by the full Senate. ''We're not thinking in terms of a recess appointment right now,'' he said. ''What we are thinking of is in terms of a vote on the floor of the Senate, just like the Constitution says.''
A recess appointment allows the president to make appointments - and sidestep the Senate's role of confirming nominations - when Congress is not in session. The appointee can serve until the end of the congressional term.
The nominee, heir to the Hormel meat-packing fortune, is a former dean at the University of Chicago law school and a contributor to a range of partisan and nonpartisan causes. His nomination, made by President Clinton eight months ago, was approved by North Carolina Senator Jesse Helm's Foreign Relations Committee, although Helms did not vote for him.
But the nomination has languished in the Senate after a small group of conservatives, including Senator Robert Smith, a New Hampshire Republican, put a hold on considering it. It is not clear what the administration can do to clear the logjam.
After Lott told a televison interviewer last week that he thought homosexuality was a sin, and likened it to sex addiction, alcoholism and kleptomania, administration officials garnered momentum for their cases.
A day after Lott's comments, the House majority leader, Dick Armey of Texas, also said homosexuality was a sin and quoted a Bible passage that he interpreted to mean that homosexuals, among others, shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
The statements did not sit well with some Republicans, including Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato of New York, who wrote to Lott urging him to schedule a vote on Hormel, saying the ''nomination is being obstructed for one reason, and one reason only - the fact that he is gay.''
Hormel's Senate opponents insist their view on homosexuality is not why they oppose him, but rather Hormel's advocacy of gay causes.
''It has nothing to do with his homosexuality. It has to do with his advocacy and his anti-Christian bias,'' said Smith's press secretary, Lisa Harrison. She said Smith became a critic of Hormel after viewing a videotape of a 1996 gay rights parade in San Francisco. Hormel provided some commentary in the video that Smith thought mocked the Catholic faith, Harrison said.
Senator John Ashcroft, a Missouri Republican who voted against Hormel's nomination in committee, said he also would oppose him in a Senate vote. Like Lott and Armey, Ashcroft said homosexuality is a sin, though he did not go as far as Lott in defining it as a dysfunction.
''People who are nominated to represent this country have to be evaluated for whether they represent the country well and fairly,'' Ashcroft said at a luncheon with reporters last week. ''His conduct and the way in which he would represent the United States is probably not up to the standard that I would expect,'' said Ashcroft.
''He has been a leader in promoting a lifestyle. ... And the kind of leadership he's exhibited there is likely to be offensive to... individuals in the setting to which he will be assigned,'' Ashcroft said.
However, Alphonse Berns, Luxembourg's ambassador to the United States, said the people of his country would welcome Hormel.
Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights organization, said the comments by Republican leaders clearly were aimed at reaching out the extreme right of the party.
With a low voter turnout expected for the fall's congressional elections, she said Republicans are seeking to galvanize supporters who would be motivated by a conservative social agenda.
''I think those who are running for office, both Republicans and Democrats, will learn a painful lesson if they think that antigay statements will win votes,' Stachelberg said. ''The gay bashing just doesn't work.''
Globe correspondent Estella Duran contributed to this report.
Gore engaged in "a candid discussion for about an hour on a wide range of issues," according to Richard Socarides, White House liaison to the Gay community.
Gay family issues were a major focus of the discussions.
"There was a strong concern that the next line of attack on our community Š would be our ability to serve as adoptive parents or as foster parents," said California Assemblymember Sheila Kuehl (D-Los Angeles).
Gore said he and the president "would stringently oppose any federal legislative effort that would make it more difficult for a Gay person to adopt," said Socarides. "The vice president reiterated the administration's position that in all cases the only factors that ought to be considered on adoption are what is in the best interest of the child."
Gay leaders also brought up community concerns around the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy concerning Gays, and said they were concerned that "overt violations" of that policy - such as in the recent case of Naval officer Timothy McVeigh - would not happen again.
Gore seems "intrinsically supportive of our inclusion and equality," Kuehl said.
Other subjects discussed ranged from AIDS treatment issues to support for Gay youth.
"We essentially asked him to use the bully pulpit that the vice president and the president naturally have around the country [to] include [Gays] in the larger picture," Kuehl said. "He said that he would do his best."
Others in attendance at the meeting included Lorri Jean of the Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Community Center, Jeff Jenest of the AIDS Project Los Angeles, and longtime Gay Democratic leader Jean O'Leary.
Capital Times, June 17, 1998, Madison,WI ---- With anti-gay billboards scheduled to go up in the Madison area today, Mayor Sue Bauman issued a statement deploring their ``blatant hostility toward valued members of our community.''
The Monroe-based Wisconsin Christians United said the five billboards, to be mounted in Madison, Middleton, Monroe and Beloit, will declare: ``Homosexuality is not a family value. Homosexuality is a sin!''
Ralph Ovadal, leader of the religious group, said in a news release the ads are a reply to the gay activist slogan, ``Hate is not a family value.''
In a statement Bauman said was prompted by calls to her office expressing concern, the mayor said: ``While the message on the billboards is protected by the First Amendment as an exercise of free speech, we find it unfortunate when a group chooses to use its freedom to express blatant hostility toward valued members of our community.
``As mayor of Madison, I want to underscore as clearly as possible our commitment to celebrate the diversity that enriches our community. It is our responsibility and obligation as citizens to eradicate discrimination whenever we find it.
``Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is just as harmful and wrong as discrimination based on race, religions, color, age, disability, gender or national origin.''
Ovadal said today in a release that Bauman's remark ``shows she has an open hostility toward Christians and a blatant disregard and even disdain for Biblical truth.''
Carolyn Lochhead, Chronicle Washington Bureau
San Francisco Chronicle - Thursday, June 18, 1998 --- The talk show host who provided a forum for Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott to condemn homosexuality, and then strongly endorsed his views, is the target of a sexual harassment suit - by a man.
Armstrong Williams, host of a show on the America's Voice network and a prominent pundit in Washington's conservative circles, is accused by former employee Stephen Gregory of more than 50 incidents of sexual harassment.
Gregory alleges in a suit filed a year ago that Williams repeatedly kissed him on the mouth, grabbed his buttocks and genitals, and climbed into bed with him on business trips. After rebuffing Williams, Gregory charges, the talk- show host retaliated by docking his pay and ultimately firing him.
Gregory is asking for $200,000 in damages, and now that Williams has failed in an attempt to have the suit dismissed, the case is expected to go to a jury trial late this year.
Williams said through a spokesman that he had no comment on the case because it is pending in Superior Court in Washington. When the case was originally filed, Williams called the allegations lies, adding that it would be ``stupid'' to engage in such conduct given his public position.
`WE DENY ALL OF IT'
``The whole thing is an attempt to embarrass and humiliate Mr. Williams,'' said his attorney, Peter Axelrad. ``We deny it. We deny all of it. We have full confidence that my client will be vindicated.''
Both men say they are heterosexual.
Gregory's attorney, Mickey Wheatley, a former lawyer with the Lamda Legal Defense Fund, a gay civil rights group, called it ``ironic for Trent Lott to be making these offensive pronouncements when he's sitting across from somebody who's been accused of the most abusive kind of conduct of a homosexual nature.''
Wheatley added that Williams ``believes that (homosexuality) to be a sin, and so he must be in great pain over it, but he's inflicting pain on others with his pronouncements. The way he treated my client would be indicative of what happens when you try to repress something as basic about yourself as your sexuality. My advice to him would be to get a boyfriend and leave his employees alone.''
The controversy emerged Monday, when Lott's comments were first made public. In a taped interview for Williams' show, Lott compared homosexuals to alcoholics, sex addicts and kleptomaniacs. White House press secretary Mike McCurry called Lott's statements ``backward thinking'' and ``an indicator of how difficult it is to do rational work in Washington.''
ARMEY REFERS TO BIBLE
Lott's press secretary shot back that the Clinton White House is in no position to comment on morality, and House Majority Leader Dick Armey had Bible passages at hand condemning homosexuality.
Williams vigorously defended Lott's statements on several television programs. He told CNN's Inside Politics, ``We all have challenges that we need to wrestle with, that we need to pray about. . . . Senator Lott also said during the interview that we must love, embrace, show tolerance.''
On CNN's Talk Back Live yesterday, Williams asserted that 30 percent of the parents of gay children have slept with their children.
David Smith, spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign, a gay lobbying group, called the statement ``the most disgusting, vile, reckless lie I've heard on television in quite some time.''
Williams, raised as a Pentecostal, is believed to be about 40 years old - his office could not confirm his exact age - and is unmarried. He first gained prominence in 1991 as one of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' most vocal defenders against charges raised during Thomas' confirmation hearing that he had sexually harassed Anita Hill.
WILLIAMS AND JUSTICE THOMAS
Williams compared his own travails with Thomas' in a USA Today article in March: ``I know what it's like to work closely with someone, bring him into your confidence, help him develop professionally, then watch him turn on you. I know how it feels to see those actions twisted into something just short of slander . . . to have people smile and say `hello' while their eyes look a little too deeply into yours for clues as to your guilt or innocence.''
Gregory, a former trainer at the local YMCA, charges in his suit that Williams hired him as his personal trainer in late 1994. Shortly afterward, Gregory said, Williams engaged him as a volunteer and then as an employee at his talk show, and less than a year later promoted him to executive producer.
Gregory says Williams forced him to ``spend almost all his waking hours with him,'' driving him to the studio and accompanying him on business trips. Gregory charges that Williams would force them to share a room to save costs, and then attempt to get into bed with him.
The complaint says Williams told Gregory that he loved him, repeatedly tried to kiss him on the lips, insisted that he was not homosexual, but ``just needed some `affection' from Gregory because he wanted to remain celibate with women until he married.''
WASHINGTON (AP) , June 15, 1998 ---- Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott said Monday that he believes homosexuality is a sin, and that gay people should be assisted in dealing with it ``just like alcohol ... or sex addiction ... or kleptomaniacs.''
Lott was immediately criticized by an official of the nation's largest lesbian and gay political organization, who accused him of being captive to conservative groups.
The Mississippi Republican made the remarks while taping an interview for ``The Armstrong Williams Show,'' a cable television program. The interview probably will be aired this week, Williams said.
When Williams asked Lott if he believed homosexuality is a sin, the senator replied: ``Yeah, it is.''
``You should still love that person,'' Lott added. ``You should not try to mistreat them or treat them as outcasts. You should try to show them a way to deal with that problem, just like alcohol ... or sex addiction ... or kleptomaniacs.
``There are all kinds of problems, addictions, difficulties, experiences of things that are wrong, but you should try to work with that person to learn to control that problem,'' he said.
The remarks shoved Lott into a controversy that has engulfed the scientific, gay and conservative communities: Whether homosexuals have chosen their lifestyle or whether it is biologically predetermined.
Lott's comments show ``how the extreme right wing has a stranglehold on the leadership'' of Congress, said Winnie Stachelberg, political director of the Human Rights Campaign, the country's biggest homosexual political organization.
Conservative leaders like Dr. James C. Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, have met in recent weeks with Lott and other congressional leaders, urging them to push to reduce taxes for many married couples and pursue other conservative priorities.
``It also may explain why he hasn't scheduled time for the nomination of James Hormel,'' Stachelberg said, referring to the San Francisco philanthropist and Democratic Party donor whom President Clinton nominated last year to be ambassador to Luxembourg. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the nomination in November, but it has been stalled ever since.
Earlier this month on CNN's ``Late Edition'' show, Lott said for the first time that he opposes Hormel's nomination, viewing him as an aggressive advocate of the gay lifestyle. As majority leader, Lott largely controls the Senate's agenda.
Stachelberg also said Lott is ``out of step'' with scientific studies of the causes of homosexuality.
Some groups believe homosexuality is a chosen lifestyle and have searched for a ``cure'' for being gay. Many in the gay community, however, insist that homosexuality is a matter of biology.
``The medical community, the mental health community for 20 years now has known homosexuality is not a disorder,'' Stachelberg said.
Following the lead of the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association declared in 1975 that it no longer considered homosexuality a mental disorder. Some scientific studies have found differences between the genes and brain structures of homosexual and heterosexual people.
Lott spokeswoman Susan Irby declined to comment on Stachelberg's remarks.
3rd June, 1998 --- The High Court of Africa's most homophobic country squirmed through graphic accounts of homosexual sex yesterday as the former Zimbabwean President, Mr. Canaan Banana, sat in the dock, accused of sodomy and indecent assault.
On the first day of the trial of the 63-year-old Methodist minister, who ruled from 1980 to 1987, a former aide-de-camp told of "dance lessons" at State House during which he was sexually assaulted.
"He offered to teach me ballroom music and during the dance he was pressing his erect penis against me," Jefta Dube, the prosecution's key witness, said. "He gave me a French kiss before I broke away." Dube alleges Mr Banana forced him into a flve-year homosexual relationship.
Mr Banana is charged with 11 counts of sodomy and indecent assault. In a country with Africa's most stringent anti-gay laws, he could be jailed for 10 years. A father of four, he pleads not guilty to all charges.
The case arose from Dube's trial last year for murdering a colleague who had called him "Banana's wife". Afterwards, The police received dozen's of allegations of impropriety by the former President.
Among the 40 state witnesses are the Vice-President, Mr Simon Muzenda, a presidential cook and a police chief inspector. Mr Banana is calling 10 witnesses in his defence, including his wife, Janet.
Dube, swaying awkwardly as he recounted his ordeal, said he joined State House in December 1983 after Mr Banana, a keen football fan, had seen him play for the Black Mambas police team. "I was called to the President's office. He wanted me to join his football club, the Tornados. I was told I would be promoted and would travel abroad," 'he said.
The day Dube joined State House, he was invited to dinner with the President, followed by a "dance lesson". "Before I left, he patted my buttocks and said we would meet again. I cried because the person who had assaulted me was the President and I realised that I was now attached to him as an employee."
At his murder trial last vear, Dube said the sexual abuse lasted three years and culminated in his being drugged and submitted to anal sex. The trial continues.
Washington, DC---June 2, 1998 --- The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force today celebrates a vote by the Rhode Island legislature to repeal that state's 102-year old sodomy law. The repeal measure was approved today by the Senate and now moves to the governor.
"Sodomy laws are the linchpin in attacks against the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered community," said Kerry Lobel, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. "They are used to criminalize our behavior and are the basis for discrimination in employment, housing, health care and against families. We applaud the legislature for its vote today and also salute the tireless work of Rhode Island activists that made today's victory possible."
Called the "Abominable and Detestable Crime Against Nature Law," the statute applies to both heterosexual and same-gender sexual activity and carries a sentence of 7-20 years. A strong coalition of Rhode Island groups have lobbied for several years to repeal of the law, including the Rhode Island Alliance for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights. The Alliance is the primary advocate for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Rhode Islanders, celebrating 15 years of service to the community.
In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court found no constitutional right to privacy for same-gender conduct in Bowers v. Hardwick. The decision, however, permits each state to decriminalize same-gender sexual relations. After the Rhode Island statute is repealed, thirty-one states and the District of Columbia will have no laws forbidding same gender sexual relations. Of the twenty states that will have sodomy laws in place, five state's laws apply only to same-gender activity - Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Maryland. Fourteen other states have an opposite and same-gender sodomy law - Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Massachusetts, Michigan and Minnesota.
For more reaction from Rhode Island organizers to the legislature's vote, contact Kate Monteiro of the Rhode Island of Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights at 401/863-1368. To see a map of sodomy laws in the US, visit http://www.ngltf.org.
THE GAINESVILLE (Fla.) SUN, June 2, 1998 --- Gays and lesbians Monday night joined marital status, race, religion and gender as protected classes in the city of Gainesville's anti-discrimination ordinance. Gainesville joins more than 100 other local governments - including Key West, West Palm Beach and Tampa - with similar protections for gays.
To no one's surprise, the Gainesville City Commission voted 3-1 on second reading to add sexual orientation to the city's anti-discrimination ordinance.
The vote was postponed for 28 days because of an advertising error. Mayor Pro Tem Pegeen Hanrahan and Commissioners Bruce Delaney and Sande Calkins voted for the amendment. Ed Jennings Sr. opposed it.
Mayor Paula DeLaney was in South Florida attending a government finance meeting and was absent. She has consistently opposed adding the language to the ordinance.
Gays, lesbians and their supporters let out a loud burst of applause after the vote, a year's worth of bottled up cheer. In six previous meetings on the issue, the commission has asked participants in the emotionally charged issue to refrain from cheering or jeering.
"It is dismaying but not surprising" to hear the arguments against the amendment, said attorney Paula Stahmer, but "anxieties (about gays and lesbians) are grounded in ignorance," she said.
Attorney Robert Edewaard hinted that a legal challenge to the ordinance may be coming.
He said the law is constitutionally vague and that it is a "bag of worms." But Edewaard also was vague when asked which two organizations he has "been in contact" with about a lawsuit. He said that information is confidential.
It will now be a misdemeanor in the city to discriminate against gays and lesbians in the areas of housing, employment, lending and public accommodations.
"This brings us a lot closer to being a justifiable community to live in," said Joe Antonelli, executive director of the North Central Florida AIDS Network." Antonelli said Gainesville will now be looked at as an "affirming community," particularly by expanding companies.
But the Rev. Tim Keyes said, "I'm not changing my position. Morals carry a higher level of responsibility than man's laws." Several people told the commission that they couldn't support the gay rights' amendment because the Bible says homosexuality is wrong. Keyes said he owns a computer company and that he will not be forced to hire a homosexual because he conducts all facets of his life according to his Christian religion.
Hanrahan ended Monday's meeting with a story about riding with a Gainesville police officer. During that late night stint, the officer often referred to a complainant as a "fag."
"All he did was file a complaint," she said. And, she said, the officer later awoke the man at 2 a.m. for an inconsequential reason. "He did it because (he thought) he was gay," she said.
Hanrahan said if the police officer had conducted himself in that manner in the presence of a city commissioner, she imagined many more incidents of discrimination occurring. Hanrahan said she did not reported the incident to the officer's supervisors.
By Sherri M. Owens of The Sentinel Staff
Orlando Sentinel, June 2, 1998 --- As more than 300 people packed Orlando City Hall, council members Monday decided that rainbow flags can fly from light posts in downtown Orlando throughout June, National Gay Pride Month.
About 30 people gave impassioned pleas for and against the flags as about 50 protesters gathered outside.
The flags were expected to be mounted Monday night.
As a result of the controversy, no other applications from groups wanting to fly flags from city posts will be considered until a task force reviews the policy that governs such requests.
The vote followed the recommendations of two city advisory groups -- the Development Review Committee and the Downtown Development Board. Those boards have said the flags should fly and that a moratorium be established.
``We all find ourselves in an awkward, difficult, even painful situation over this,'' Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood said. ``But having mutual respect is so very important.''
Council member Don Ammerman was the only opponent.
``I don't think public property is the appropriate place for public displays of a symbol of a particular political cause,'' Ammerman said, adding that none of his constituents had called or written him in support of flying the flags.
``I may very well be in the minority, but I'm not fearful of that. We should be doing what the community supports, and I don't see that community support,'' he said.
Employees of the Watermark, a newspaper that publishes articles of interest to gay and lesbian readers, initiated the flag idea. They raised about $15,000 to buy about 720 flags and pay city workers to hang and later remove them from 363 poles.
The flags have multicolored stripes with no writing.
City attorney Scott Gabrielson warned the council that a vote against the flags would likely be successfully challenged in court.
``We have a duty as a city to apply laws uniformly,'' he said.
About 1,000 people phoned City Hall to express their opinions, spokesman Jim DeSimone said, and so many people showed up for the meeting that council chambers and an overflow room with televised proceedings were standing room only.
Many opponents cited religion as their reason for objecting to the flags.
``This is antithetical to all that Orlando represents,'' said the Rev. Randolph Bracey, pastor of the New Covenant Baptist Church. He said the Bible teaches that homosexuality is wrong. ``It's debauchery, plain and simple.''
Proponents, however, called for tolerance. ``This is really about hate,'' said Benjamin Markeson of Orlando. ``There can be only one appropriate response to hatred, and that's open repudiation.''
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