Date: Wed, 12 Nov 1997 16:57:12 -0800 From: richter@eecs.berkeley.edu (Jean Richter) Subject: 11/12/97 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. CA: 1997 AIDS legislation update 2. GLSEN and NGLTF praise White House hate crimes conference =============================================================== From: Ejahivlbby@aol.com Date: Mon, 10 Nov 1997 14:07:18 -0500 (EST) Subject: LIFE's Lobby 1997 Final HIV/Healthcare CA Legislative Update [excerpted from:] Dear Colleagues, Allies and Friends: Below please find the final California legislative update re: HIV/Healthcare Policy. A brief note on what's happening while the legislature is in recess. LIFE Lobby and its House of Delegates will be voting on position statements regarding HIV surveillance, names reporting, testing and counseling, partner notification, and anonymous testing sites. This will coincide at the upcoming quarterly meeting in San Francisco on November 22, 1997. As soon as the statements are adopted, I will e-mail it to this list immediately. Additionally, we have compiled the voting record for the first year of the legislative session. I will forward this record to you on a separate e-mail. If you have any questions, please give me a call at 916.444.0424 or e-mail me at Ejahivlbby@aol.com or eric.astacaan@lifelobby.org. Thank you. In Solidarity, Eric-Joseph C. Astacaan HIV/Healthcare Legislative Advocate/Research Analyst ****************************************************************************** ****** October 30, 1997 (97-7) FINAL LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: HIV/Health Care Policy Contacts: Eric Astacaan, Legislative Advocate Ellen McCormick, Legislative Advocate Laurie McBride, Executive Director Sam Catalano, Legislative Assistant Table of Contents HIV Prevention/ Education/ Harm Reduction Possible Legislative Positions Index of Bills SB 1110 (Leslie) Opposed (HOD) 6/97 Positive Parental Consent Bill: This bill originally required positive written parental consent before any public school student receives instruction on STDs, AIDS, human sexuality, family life, or any other health education instruction delivered by outside organizations or guest speakers. It also included further prohibitions on such discussions in general school assemblies even by school personnel without positive parental permission. This bill also adds emphasis on monogamy and other virtues to existing emphasis on abstinence. It changes requirement for instruction on compassion for people with AIDS to compassion for "anyone with a debilitating handicap(s) and/or terminal disease." It would prohibit teaching compassion (as in tolerance, acceptance, respect) for drug use or any "particular" sexual "lifestyle" or "practice." Substantially amended: Now requires parental notification of guest speakers. Objectionable language about "particular lifestyles" has been removed. Opposition of other groups has changed to neutral or even support. ACTIONS: 02/28/97 Introduced 04/09 Senate Education Committee P 7-1 05/05 Amended 05/05, 05/07, 7/21, 9/5, 9/8 05/29 Senate Appropriations P 12-0 06/04 Senate Floor P 27-3 07/17 Assembly Education P 17-0 09/05 Assembly Appropriations P 18-0 09/10 Assembly Floor P 73-2 09/12 Sen. Refused Assy. Amend. F 0-39 STATUS: Pending Senate Concurrence to Assy. Amend. (Two-Year Bill) Possible Legislative Positions SPONSOR: LIFE to participate in drafting, strategy, lobbying, and amendments to bill, in conjunction with the author's office and other sponsors (if any). Support: Support of the bill. Support Seeking Amendment: Support stands regardless of the fate of amendments. Support IF Amended: Support when amendments are accepted. Neutral Watch: No action, just watching. Opposed Unless Amended: Authors and sponsors are notified of LIFE's opposition unless LIFE's amendments are accepted. Opposed No Position NOTES * Two Year Bill - A bill that has missed legislative deadlines for the first year of the two year session; has failed and has been granted reconsideration; or has been postponed because of lack of votes or other reasons. Two-year bills return early in the second year of the two year session and begin the legislative process where they were left off. Constitutional Amendments and Resolutions have different deadlines than typical Assembly and Senate Bills and as such are usually two year bills. * Rule 28.8 - Signifies that a bill has been deemed to have no fiscal impact and is passed by the Appropriations Committee with out a hearing (Joint Rule 28.8). This legislative update has been brought to you by LIFE: California's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV/AIDS Lobby. LIFE has been lobbying on behalf of California's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and HIV-affected communities since 1986. Our organization is the oldest and largest institution representing these communities in California's State Capitol and is proud to celebrate over a decade of service. If you would like further information about LIFE's activities, events or membership, please contact our office at: LIFE: California's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender & HIV/AIDS Lobby 1301 H Street Sacramento, California 95814-1906 Phone: 916-444-0424 Fax: 916-444-3059 E-Mail: life.info@lifelobby.org Website: http://www.lifelobby.org =========================================================================== Subject: GLSEN PRAISES HATE CRIMES CONFERENCE Date: Mon, 10 Nov 97 17:57:01 -0500 x-sender: glsenalert@trudy.digitopia.com From: glsenalert ***************************************************************** PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE PRESS RELEASE THE GAY, LESBIAN AND STRAIGHT EDUCATION NETWORK Teaching Respect For All In Our Schools ***************************************************************** To contact the THE GAY, LESBIAN AND STRAIGHT EDUCATION NETWORK, please call us at (212)727-0135, fax us at (212) 727-0254 or write to us at 121 West 27th St., Suite 804, New York, NY 10001. ***************************************************************** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, November 10, 1997 GLSEN APPLAUDS EMPHASIS ON EDUCATION AT WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON HATE CRIMES EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR JENNINGS ATTENDS FIRST EVER CONFERENCE IN DC. NEW YORK -- GLSEN Executive Director Kevin Jennings applauded President Clinton for emphasizing education as the best way to reduce bias-motivated violence at the first ever white house conference on hate crimes held today in Washington. "President Clinton was loud and clear that hate crimes begin with our schools," said Jennings, one of two hundred delegates invited by the White House to the event. Citing the President's remarks that "the most important thing we can do is reach these kids before they learn to hate" in the welcoming address, Jennings noted "when students see that teachers tolerate bigotry in their classrooms, it's very easy for them to move on to committing violent acts both inside and outside of our schools. I'm glad the President made this connection, and that he specifically and repeatedly mentioned anti-gay violence in his remarks." Jennings also participated in a smaller discussion group with Secretary of Education Richard Riley and Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Gerald Tirozzi. Jennings cited statistics that show that teachers fail to intervene 97 % of the time when they witness anti-gay verbal harassment and emphasized the need for the Department of Education to take a clear stance on anti-gay harassment in order to empower teachers to intervene. "The Secretary can use his 'bully pulpit' to make a difference and I stressed that he needs to do so immediately and frequently." Jennings was invited to the White House conference on hate crimes as a result of his meeting with President Clinton as one of 13 leaders of the Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Movement who were invited to the White House in July. "I raised the issue of anti-gay violence and harassment in our schools at that meeting, and the President said right then and there that he wanted this issue to be part of the hate crimes conference," said Jennings. "I'm glad he remembered to invite me." Jennings concluded "first in our meeting with the President and now with the Secretary of Education, we have been able to raise awareness and get the issue of anti-gay harassment and violence in our schools on their radar screens. Now that they know what is happening, we need them to push ahead and take not only a public stand but also specific concrete actions to make our schools safe for all students, regardless of sexual orientation." -30- With over sixty chapters, and a membership of over five thousand teachers, parents, and concerned citizens, GLSEN is the only national organization working to insure that schools are places where all people are valued and respected, regardless of sexual orientation. For more information, visit our web site at http://www.glsen.org or call our office at 212-727-0135. _______________________________________________________ The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) 121 West 27th Street, Suite 804 New York, NY 10001 212-727-0135 http://www.glsen.org _______________________________________________________ Do not hit reply to send an email to GLSEN. GLSEN's email address is glsen@glsen.org Staff Addresses: Deidre Cuffee-Gray: dcuffee-gray@glsen.org Jenesha de Rivera: jderivera@glsen.org Kate Frankfurt: kfrankfurt@glsen.org Janice Goldfarb: jgoldfarb@glsten.org Kevin Jennings: kjennings@glsen.org John Spear: jspear@glsen.org Student Pride: studentpride@glsen.org GLSEN Interns: interns@glsen.org _______________________________________________________ GLSEN-Alert is a GLSEN news bulletin service of the The Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN). _______________________________________________________ To Unsubscribe from GLSEN-Alert simply send an email to glsenalert@glsen.org with the words "unsubscribe" in the subject line (no quotes). _______________________________________________________ To Subscribe to GLSEN-Alert simply send an email to glsenalert@glsen.org with the words "subscribe" in the subject line (no quotes). Also: please write your name in the message portion of your email. _______________________________________________________ From: "Channel Q" Reply-To: ngltf@ngltf.org Date: Mon, 10 Nov 97 17:13:03 EST Sender: "Betsy Gressler" Subject: NGLTF at White House Hate Crimes Summit NGLTF EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR SPEAKS OUT AGAINST BIAS CRIMES AT WHITE HOUSE SUMMIT Lobel Delivers 700 Hate Crime Petitions and Stories WASHINGTON, DC---November 10, 1997--- Kerry Lobel, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), called today's White House Summit on Hate Crimes, "a historic first step towards sounding a wake up call around the country about this very disturbing issue." According to Lobel, "the initiatives the President announced today will help provide momentum and leverage for local individuals and organizations who deal with bias crimes, and their aftermath, on a daily basis." These initiatives include support for legislation that would give federal officials authority to prosecute bias crimes based on sexual orientation and setting up working groups on bias crimes headed by local US attorneys. "And the fact that hate crimes based on sexual orientation was addressed at the Summit sends an important message to everyone that violence against gay,lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people is as repugnant as other bias crimes," she stated. Lobel joined other civil rights and anti-violence leaders from around the country at the day-long Summit. At the invitation of the White House, she addressed a panel on coordinated community responses to bias crimes, focusing on those crimes based on sexual orientation and gender identity. "Sadly, bias crimes continue to plague our country and, for the most part, they are invisible to all but those who are the targets of such crimes," remarked Lobel. To show the President just how prevalent bias crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons are, Lobel delivered over 700 petitions signed by individuals from communities throughout the country, including those cities which recently held town meetings on hate crimes that she attended. NGLTF co-sponsored these hate crimes forums in the midwest, the south and one in Alameda, California. In the letter, Lobel notes that the petitions call on the President to take further steps, beyond the Summit, to forcefully and effectively address this problem. Specifically, the President is asked to (1) speak out more against hate crimes, including those based on sexual orientation or identity; (2) support legislative proposals to ensure that federal officials have the necessary tools to prosecute such bias crimes; (3) urge local law enforcement to effectively respond to hate crime survivors, to document hate crimes and report statistics to the FBI; and (4) initiate an aggressive, federally-led campaign against bias crimes to ensure the adequate training of law enforcement officials, dispute the rhetoric which makes bias crimes seem justified, and educate the public on the gravity of the issue. Lobel recently completed a seven-city tour called "Hate in the Heartland," which was co-sponsored by NGLTF and local community organizations. "Every town I visited and every hate crime story we received shared similar themes," she told the White House. "As gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and questioning youth come to visibility, their school districts have been ill-equipped to counsel them or ensure their safety." Lobel told the President of several other bias crimes throughout the nation: * In Oklahoma City, fourteen-year Eli told the story of daily harassment that had led him to drop out of school. Now in an alternative school, his new principal told him that he'll be fine as long as he acts "normal." His hope comes from his association with a youth group that provides comfort and offers strategies for survival. * In Little Rock, Carolyn Wagner told the story of her son's abuse at the hands of schoolmates and an indifferent school administration. Her son is now being schooled at home, but the school district just recently changed its policy to make more options available to young victims of hate crimes. The Task Force executive director also told the President that about 32% of the people who shared their stories were the objects of bias crimes in grammar school, middle school and high school. If bias crimes in college settings are included, the total increases to 42% of incidents that occurred at an educational institution. Lobel characterized these figures as "disturbing and horrifying." The letter to the President includes an attached "Summary and Excerpts of Hate Crime Stories," which talks about and quotes from, the troubling experiences of hate crimes shared by about 26% or about 180 individuals who sent in petitions to the President. The types of bias crimes people reported range from verbal harassment, attacks on property, physical threats and attacks and even murder. "NGLTF looks forward to working with you and your Administration and our other civil rights allies to ensure that this White House Summit on Hate Crimes is only the first of many actions taken to effectively address bias crimes," Lobel concluded in the letter to President Clinton. For further information or for NGLTF reaction, please call Helen Gonzales, Public Policy Director, at 202-332-6483. -30- The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force has worked to eliminate prejudice, violence and injustice against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people at the local, state and national level since its inception in 1973. As part of a broader social justice movement for freedom, justice and equality, NGLTF is creating a world that respects and celebrates the diversity of human expression and identity where all people may fully participate in society. _________________________________________ This message was issued by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Field Department. If you have any questions regarding this post, please direct them to the contact information at the top of this email. ======================================================================= Jean Richter -- richter@eecs.berkeley.edu The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) CHECK OUT OUR INFO-LOADED WEB PAGE AT: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/