Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 17:23:50 -0700 From: Jean Richter Subject: 10/21/99 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. OR: OCA making outrageous claims against school, teachers 2. CA: Transgender teacher vilified in editorial; GLSEN SF-EB sponsors writing contest; Governor Davis signs AB 537 ==================================================================== Eugene Register-Guard, September 27, 1999 P. O. Box 10188, Eugene, OR, 97401 (Fax 541-683-7631 ) (E-MAIL: rgletters@guardnet.com ) Letter: 'Facts' don't check out The Oregon Citizen's Alliance of Lane County has a problem. It surfaced in Director Barry Dean Williams' Sept. 8 letter, "Petitioners suffer abuse," which presented "facts" that don't check out. Williams' lack of quotation marks in his letter got my attention. I teach my students to carefully quote and cite information from other sources. He didn't quote the Lake Oswego School District when he referred to an alleged policy of "... distributing flavored condoms (Lake Oswego), advising middle school boys to try it twice to determine their orientation (Lake Oswego). ..." Huh? Sandra Nelson, Lake Oswego's director of curriculum, told me (and I quote), "Neither of those two statements even existed in our curriculum." Interesting. Also in his letter, Williams encourages readers to make a serious inference: He states that "an elderly Christian husband and wife were covered with profanities and spit" while attempting to collect signatures for another OCA-backed ballot measure. No name of the couple, no description of the alleged spitters, and no way to verify the accuracy of the claim. But later in his letter, Williams attacks the National Education Association, teachers, and "liberals (who) can't debate facts because truth is not with them, so the tolerance crowd can only intolerantly swear and spit." The implication? Teacher members of the NEA are guilty of spitting on a Christian signature-gathering couple. I am a Eugene teacher and a member of the NEA and the Oregon Education Association, and I don't know what he's talking about. I can't get to facts. This community doesn't benefit from erroneous facts, thinly veiled implications, or the divisive comments made against those students who are gay or lesbian. - LARRY LEWIN, Eugene ================================================================================= McComb Enterprise-Journal, October 1, 1999 Box 910, McComb, MS, 39648 (Fax 601-684-0836 ) (E-Mail: publisher@enterprise-journal.com ) ( http://www.enterprise-journal.com ) Editorial: Anything goes in style When young people start accepting deviant behavior as no big deal, you know the world is crazy. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================= Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1999 09:28:58 -0700 From: Jessea NR Greenman Subject: WRITING CONTEST WRITING CONTEST _________________________________________________________ "GLBT* in the New Millennium" _________________________________________________________ * GLBT is short for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, or Transgender The entry may be an essay, a short story, or a poem. First prize: $300 Second prize: $200 Third prize: $100 Sponsored by: GLSEN SF-EB, Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network San Francisco-East Bay (formerly BANGLE, Bay Area Network of Gay and Lesbian Educators) * Essays and short stories must be 300-400 words long, typed, double-spaced, and will be judged on how well they communicate information on the subject. Poems must be under 2 pages. * The contest is open to any high school student, regardless of sexual orientation, in the counties of San Francisco, Alameda, or Contra Costa, in both public and private high schools. The contest is open to a high school student in another area if the essay is submitted by a member of the San Francisco-East Bay chapter of GLSEN. * Be sure to include your name, grade, high school, and mailing address along with your entry. Please include a teacher's name if you use your school as your mailing address. Include a phone number if you would like to be notified by phone. * Winners will be notified by May 1, 2000. The judging will be done by a panel of teachers and writers. Awards will be paid by check. In the case of ties, prize money will be split. * No more than two entries may be submitted by a single student. Students retain copyright ownership of their entry, but by entering the contest grant GLSEN/SF-EB the right to publish the entry in the GLSTN SF-EB newsletter. * Entries must be postmarked by Friday, March 31, 2000. Mail to: GLSEN SF-EB Writing Contest P.O. Box 70554 ================================================================================= Reply-To: listserver@channelq.com Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1999 18:00:00 -0700 From: "Channel Q" To: (LGBT Political Activists and National Media, SDDC List) Subject: Stonewall Lauds Governor's Historic Action on Gay Rights ****This release is embargoed until 10-2-99 at 6 pm**** STONEWALL DEMOCRATIC CLUB 7985 Santa Monica Blvd. # 325 West Hollywood, CA 90046 (323) 650-8190 email: Stonewall@stonewall-dems.org web: www.stonewall-dems.org For Immediate Release Contact: John Perez or Eric Bauman October 2, 1999 (323) 650-8190 or page (800) 225-4157 STONEWALL LAUDS GOVERNOR'S HISTORIC ACTION ON GAY RIGHTS Los Angeles - Stonewall Democratic Club today lauded Governor Gray Davis' historic enactment of America's most comprehensive package of gay rights bills ever signed into law. The new laws establish America's first statewide domestic partners registry; provide health and other benefits for the partners of lesbian and gay state employees; add sexual orientation to the categories of discrimination outlawed under California's Fair Employment and Housing Act; and ban harassment and discrimination of school children based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender or disability. Stonewall President Eric Bauman said, "Today, with a stroke of his pen, Governor Davis has taken the boldest steps of any Governor in history toward establishing full and equal rights for lesbians and gay men. Gray has kept his promise to be bold, to lead the fight against anti-gay discrimination and to expand recognition of committed gay relationships. After nearly 20 years of hard work, occasional tears and many, many, disappointments, Governor Davis has restored my faith in the Democratic party and American political system. His action today more than validates the early and crucial endorsement that Stonewall Democratic Club gave him during his campaign last year. " Regarding AB 1001, the Fair Employment and Housing bill, Stonewall Communication Vice President John Perez said, "With the Governor's signature of AB 1001, he and Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa, have ensured that lesbian and gay workers in the state of California will be afforded the same rights and remedies as all other workers. This landmark legislation will hopefully set the tone for Congress' passage of ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act)." Concerning AB 26, the Domestic Partners bill, Stonewall Administrative Vice President Pam Cooke said, "The Governor's enactment of AB 26 affirms Governor Davis' commitment to the recognition of lesbian and gay couples. The rights granted by this bill are essential to the maintenance of this country's recognition for all committed couple... the enjoyment of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." Referring to AB 537, the Student Safety and Violence Prevention Act, Stonewall Political Vice President Liz Carlin said, "With the Governor's signature on AB 537, I know that California students will no longer have to be deterred from their goals by fear for their safety and harassment. Our students will have guaranteed protections and a path of recourse to when faced with abuse based on their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender or disability." Regarding the campaign by conservatives to defeat pro-gay legislation, Stonewall Community Vice President Alan Zimmerman said, "Despite extreme pressure from the religious right and the people they misinform, our Governor has taken a courageous stance by enacting equal rights laws for lesbian and gay Californians. The passage and signing of this legislation proves that Governor Gray Davis, and the authors of these bills, understand the true meaning of a ‘kinder and gentler nation'." Bauman concluded, "Stonewall Democratic Club is proud of the historic achievements of Governor Gray Davis and the Democratic majorities in both the state Senate and Assembly, especially the great work of Assembly members Sheila James Kuehl, Carol Migden, Bob Hertzberg and Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa,." Stonewall Democratic Club is California's largest Democratic club. Stonewall is dedicated to advancing the cause of full and equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Californians and to the enactment of progressive public policy, through the election of gay and gay-supportive candidates to local, state and federal office and through active involvement in the legislative process at the local, state and national level. --30-- -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The item above is being distributed as a free, non-profit informational service to a limited number of individuals who have expressed interest in this topic for educational and research purposes only. Please do not redistribute or post copyrighted material anyplace on the Internet accessible to the public without attribution and permission from the author. Please note that distribution of this item does not necessarily constitute endorsement of the content; in fact, often items are distributed as "opposition research." Date: Sat, 02 Oct 1999 18:32:54 -0700 From: "Eric Astacaan" To: CAPE Info CC: CAPE Admin Mailing-List: list lesbigayCApolitics@onelist.com; contact lesbigayCApolitics-owner@onelist.com List-Unsubscribe: Reply-to: lesbigayCApolitics-owner@onelist.com Subject: [lesbigayCApolitics] CAPE RELEASE: CA GOV. DAVIS SIGNS CIVIL RIGHTS MEASURES CALIFORNIA ALLIANCE FOR PRIDE AND EQUALITY (CAPE) Contact: Kay Ostberg, Executive Director, 310-666-6149, KayOstberg@aol.com Eric Astacaan, Legislative Advocate, 916-455-1049, laxnsmfca@tomatoweb.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 2, 1999 GOVERNOR DAVIS SIGNS CIVIL RIGHTS LEGISLATION SACRAMENTO -- Governor Gray Davis has signed three measures that would extend equal rights to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Californians. The three bills are AB 26, by Assemblymember Carole Migden, AB 537, by Assemblymember Sheila Kuehl, and AB 1001, by Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa. Under AB 26, same-sex couples and unmarried opposite-sex couples who are at least 62 years old can register as domestic partners with the Secretary of States office. This bill also would give domestic partners hospital visitation rights and would permit state and local government employers who contract with the Public Employees Retirement System to offer health benefits to the domestic partners of their employees. AB 537 will make it unlawful to harass or discriminate against gay, lesbian or bisexual students in public schools. This bill makes Californias laws prohibiting harassment and discrimination against students consistent with the current hate crimes statute. AB 1001 would reinforce and move the existing laws against sexual orientation discrimination in employment and housing to the appropriate place in the books. "It is a dawn of a new era for all Californians," said Kay Ostberg, the newly appointed executive director of the California Alliance for Pride and Equality (CAPE). "With the hard work of Eric Astacaan, our Sacramento-based legislative advocate and grassroots support all around the state, we are paving the way for future generations of Californians to live in a state that values, honors and respects ALL of its citizens." "CAPE played a pivotal role in passing these historic bills by strongly supporting AB 537 and sponsoring AB 26 and AB 1001," added Rob Hennig, Southern California Board Co-Chair. "These measures did not come about overnight. It took years of educating, organizing and lobbying the legislators." San Francisco Board Co-Chair Esther Lee added, "We thank Governor Davis and all the supportive members of the California Legislature for making this possible. Their perseverance is a testament to a vision of a hate-free and discrimination-free California. With all the high-profile incidents of hate violence occurring in the last few months, the enactment of these laws sends a strong message that discrimination and harassment in California are unacceptable." ### The California Alliance for Pride and Equality is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, grassroots-based, statewide advocacy organization representing the interests of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities. Its mission is to ensure the dignity, safety, equality and civil rights of all lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered and queer Californians by: directly lobbying the state government for appropriate legislation and public policies; educating the public about the communities' issues and concerns; and, working with other communities to promote equality and understanding. -- ************************************************* Eric J.C. Astacaan Legislative Advocate/Public Policy Consultant P.O. Box 2464, Sacramento, CA 95812-2464 Phone: 916-455-1049; Fax: 916-454-5662; E-Mail: PLEASE SUPPORT CAPE by becoming a member. Contact: CA Alliance for Pride & Equality (CAPE) P.O. Box 1172, Sacramento, CA 95812-1172 Phone: 916-492-6160; Fax: 916-564-2717; E-Mail: Web Site: http://www.calcape.org ************************************************ Reply-To: listserver@channelq.com Date: Sat, 2 Oct 1999 22:18:08 -0700 From: "Channel Q" To: (LGBT Political Activists), queerpolitics@abacus.oxy.edu Subject: Bill Signed To Outlaw Gay Harassment Associated Students October 2, 1999 Bill Signed To Outlaw Gay Harassment SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - Gov. Gray Davis on Saturday signed legislation to outlaw the harassment of gay students and teachers in public schools and colleges, calling the action an attempt to ``beat back the forces of hatred.'' The Democratic governor also signed into law a new state domestic partners registry for couples who are gay or over age 62, extending to them hospital visitation rights and allowing state and local government workers to get health benefits for their partners. And in the third of three gay-rights bills, the governor signed legislation to block job and housing discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The bill places authority over the cases in the state's Fair Employment and Housing Department, a key state civil rights agency. But it was the legislation banning discrimination against gay students and teachers that drew the most attention. Three other states - Wisconsin, Massachusetts and Connecticut - have similar antidiscrimination rules. ``Finally, a political leader has taken meaningful action. This is the most important piece of legislation ever passed in regard to gay-lesbian youth rights,'' said Kevin Jennings, executive director of the national Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The item above is being distributed as a free, non-profit informational service to a limited number of individuals who have expressed interest in this topic for educational and research purposes only. Please do not redistribute or post copyrighted material anyplace on the Internet accessible to the public without attribution and permission from the author. Please note that distribution of this item does not necessarily constitute endorsement of the content; in fact, often items are distributed as "opposition research." ================================================================================ Jean Richter -- richter@eecs.berkeley.edu The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) These messages are archived by state on our information-loaded free web site: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/