News
Goodbye, Rev. William Sloane Coffin
Windham County Sheriff Denies Misuse of Public Funds
Mass. Court Denies Rights to Nonresidents
Outright's Talk Rescheduled at Williston Middle School
The Rest of Our World
The
Rest of Our World
CrossWalk
to Cross Country
PHOENIX, AZ - On Easter Sunday, a newlyformed group of moderate and progressive
Christians, known as "CrossWalk America," was set
to begin a 2,500-mile walk from Phoenix to Washington, D.C., to promote
Christianity's "core values," something too often overlooked
in America, organizers said in a US Newswire report.
"We are going on this journey
because the Christian values of
compassion, a welcoming spirit, acceptance and tolerance are being drowned
out in large part by a small, but vocal and wellfunded minority that are
using faith in America to create a divisive and polarizing atmosphere
of exclusion," said the Rev. Eric Elnes, senior pastor of Scottsdale
Congregational United Church of Christ and co president of CrossWalk America.
CrossWalk affirms openness to other
faiths, caring for the earth, inclusiveness of all people, "including
God's LGBT community," and opposes the commingling of church and
state.
Blacklisting
by Any Other name?
WASHINGTON, DC - The Bush administration reworded rules to say national
security clearances can’t be denied "solely on the basis of
the sexual orientation of the individual," causing gay rights leaders
and gay lawmakers to believe that federal employees may be denied security
clearances based on sexual orientation, The Advocate reported in April.
The previous language, written by the Clinton administration, stated that
sexual orientation "may not be used as a basis" for denying
clearance to an individual.
The new wording constitutes
"no change in our policy," The Advocate quoted White House spokesman
Scott McClellan, but rights advocates say it could be interpreted to mean
that sexual orientation could be used "in part" to deny clearance.
Rob Sadler, a board member for Federal GLOBE, an advocacy organization
for gay and lesbian federal workers, says alarm is justified.
"This (administration) doesn't do anything
that's not intentional," Sadler is quoted. "On these issues,
they have no credibility."
Emerging Rights in China
PHILADELPHIA - The Global GLBT Event, a weeklong event to be held here
in May, will honor China for its "emerging grassroots gay and lesbian
civil rights movement," said the Equality Forum which sponsors the
event.
Dan Zhou, "Chinese Gay
Pioneer" and HIV activist, will discuss the civil rights movement
in China with Michael Heflin, director of Amnesty International USA’s
OUTfront Program, on May 4th; and will be on a panel on legal rights in
China on May 5th with Heflin and Scott Burris, law professor at Temple
University.
Zhou is the recipient of Equality
Forum's International Role Model Award, which will be presented by B.D.
Wong at the International Equality Dinner on May 6th.
Gay
Bar Image Spoiler
ALANYA, TURKEY - Conflict over the proposed opening of a gay bar emerged
in the resort town of southern Antalya city, said Kaos Gl, a GLBT organization
recognized by the government. Kemal Kacmaz, branch chairman of Justice
& Development Party (AKP) in Alanya, reacted to a Netherlands gay
couple's plans to open a gay bar in the resort, saying that the gay bar
should not be opened, because it would cause the town's image to be spoiled.
The AKP won a landslide victory in
the 2002 general elections, despite capturing barely a third of the popular
vote, Kaos reported. AKP leader, former Istanbul mayor Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
is currently the Prime Minister of Turkey.
Legislation to Protect Children of Same-Sex Couples
WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) in April introduced
the Equal Access to Social Security Act, H.R. 5152, which would amend
the Social Security Act to afford same-sex couples the same benefits,
responsibilities, and obligations as others who pay into Social Security.
"Same-sex couples are denied
more than 1,000 federal benefits that other taxpayers are entitled to,"
Congressman Nadler was quoted in Echelon Magazine.
"The Equal Access to Social Security
Act addresses this inequity. Ultimately, the only way same-sex couples
will be treated equally is when they are allowed to marry - but until
that can be a reality for the millions of samesex couples in this country,
we should act to make federal law fair to all," he said.
Gay
and Lesbian Adoptions Promising
NEW YORK, NY - The Evan B. Donaldson Adoption Institute released a new
report in March that finds there is no child-centered reason to prevent
gays and lesbians from becoming adoptive parents, and recommends that
they be utilized more extensively to provide permanent, loving homes for
children living in state care across the country, the Human Rights Campaign
reported.
"Based on both the available
research and growing experience, adoption by gays and lesbians holds promise
as an avenue for achieving permanency for many of the waiting children
in foster care," the report said in its conclusion.
The Institute report - which is part
of a larger, more extensive yearlong project that will be completed and
released in several months - is intended to provide a research-based context
for the ongoing debate in the United States over the adoption of children
by gays and lesbians, according to the HRC.
The Institute seeks to develop information
to help shape the best practices that focus on providing boys and girls
in the child welfare system with safe, committed and enduring families.
Pentagon Admits Spying on Gay Groups
WASHINGTON, DC - The Department of Defense (DOD) has released documentation
confirming government surveillance of groups opposed to the military's
"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law banning openly
lesbian, gay and bisexual service members, according to a report
from the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN), a nonprofit organization
dedicated to ending discrimination against LGBT military personnel. The
government's TALON reports were released in response to a Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request filed in January, SLDN said.
"The Department of Defense has
now confirmed the existence of a surveillance program monitoring LGBT
groups," said C. Dixon Osburn, executive director of SLDN. "Pentagon
leaders have also acknowledged inappropriately collecting some of the
information in the TALON database. That information should be destroyed
and no similar surveillance should be authorized in the future. Free expression
is not a threat to our national security."
Visitation with HIV-Positive Inmates Allowed
LOS ANGELES - In response to a demand letter from the American Civil Liberties
Union of Southern California, the state Department of Corrections has
concluded that excluding HIV-positive inmates from its spousal family
visitation program is discriminatory and contrary to federal law.
The ACLU of Southern California sent
the letter after a couple who had been married for four years was excluded
from family visits, even though the wife agreed to sign a document acknowledging
that she was aware of her husband's HIV status, the ACLU reported.
"We are pleased that the Department
of Corrections recognized its mistake swiftly," said ACLU of Southern
California staff attorney Christine P. Sun. "A blanket rule that
discriminates against and isolates those with HIV sends the wrong message
and is illegal. Cutting off inmates from their spouses just because they
have HIV not only irreparably harms their relationship, but also wrongfully
discriminates on the basis of disability."
Groups Train Political Candidates of Color
WASHINGTON, DC - A Candidate & Campaign Training to be held here in
June seeks to attract potential LGBT political candidates of color. The
four-day program will cover strategy, planning, messaging and fundraising,
according to a report from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and Leadership
Institute, which has helped elect hundreds of out LGBT candidates since
1991. The Fund is working with the National Black Justice Coalition to
help LGBT candidates of color win elections at all levels of government.
As part of the program, Cambridge,
Massachusetts Mayor Ken Reeves and City Commissioner Kecia Cunningham
of Decatur, Georgia will discuss running for office as an openly gay or
lesbian African American. During the intensive four-day training, attendees
learn from top political strategists during the day and work with their
peers on a complex campaign simulation at night. The simulation models
a real campaign, complete with district background, media information
and voter files.
Compiled this month by Editor Lynn McNicol