Date: Thu, 9 Dec 1999 19:52:17 -0800 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADAlert - December 9, 1999 GLAADAlert December 9, 1999 GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Des Moines Register Tells Gary's Gang to Move On Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack's executive order adding sexual orientation and gender identity to the state's employment non-discrimination protection policy caused the anti-gay Straight from the Heart Ministries (SHM) to hold a protest rally in Des Moines, Nov. 30. Joining Bill Horn, SHM's president, were U.S. presidential hopeful Gary Bauer and ex-football player/turned minister Reggie White. In the Dec. 8 edition, Des Moines Register columnist Donald Kaul skewers the rally and the three men, whom he calls the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In "Perhaps they'd like Kansas," Kaul opens by writing, "It is disheartening to reach the end of the 20th century and find that we are still fighting the tired battles of the 19th." From there he goes on to dissect the message of the three men, calling their position "hogwash," focusing particularly on a statement made by White, who is African-American. "Every black person in America should be offended that a group of people should want the same civil right because of their sexual orientation," said White. Kaul points out that lesbians and gay men want, and deserve, equal treatment, "Not because of their sexual orientation, because of their humanity." Kaul blasts the illogic of members of one minority group seeking to deny equal rights to another. "Whether you're talking about the suppression of women's rights, racial discrimination, anti-Semitism or gay bashing, it all comes from the same pool of intolerance and imagined superiority," he writes. "It finds expression in the ethnic wars of Europe and Asia and in the 'straight' rallies in our own backyard." Please thank the Des Moines Register for Kaul's assessment of the attempt to deny equal rights to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Contact: Ms. Diane Graham, Managing Editor, Des Moines Register, P.O. Box 957, Des Moines, Iowa; fax: 515-286-2511; e-mail: letters@news.dmreg.com Politicizing a Tragedy In his Dec. 9 column, Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby describes in detail the death of 13-year-old Jesse Dirkhising, a resident of Rogers, Ark. "The police affidavit describing the circumstances of Jesse's death is stomach-turning," Jacoby writes. "Rather than sicken you, let me quote instead from the much less graphic story that moved on the national wire of the Associated Press." What follows is a still-graphic account of the sexual abuse and death of Dirkhising, allegedly at the hands of Davis Carpenter Jr. and Joshua Brown, identified as a gay couple. Jacoby complains that the Dirkhising story did not receive the same amount of coverage as the murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard, and he characterizes hate crimes laws as "immoral and unjust." Jacoby misses the fact that Dirkhising's death is the true injustice. The horrific sexual abuse and brutal death of a youth is the crime - not the sexual orientation of his alleged killers. Coverage of this crime should rightly focus on the need for justice in this case, not on furthering a political agenda. Since Dirkhising's death, conservative media voices such as the Washington Times and the Media Research Center have focussed on this tragedy in an effort to advance their ideological positions. Jacoby follows in their footsteps, attempting to use this brutal crime as a way to delegitimize hate crime legislation and dismiss the epidemic of hate crimes against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Please ask the Boston Globe to consider what a disservice it is to attempt to equate the tragic deaths of Shepard and Dirkhising. Instead of speaking out against these brutal crimes, Jacoby uses his voice at the Globe to inappropriately contrast them and manufacture a notion of media bias. Please tell the Globe that this type of insensitivity does not belong in a newspaper that has a record of treating lesbian and gay issues in a fair and accurate way. Contact: Mr. Gregory L. Moore, Managing Editor, Boston Globe, 135 Morrissey Blvd., Boston, MA 02125-3338; fax: 671-929-3186; e-mail: letters@globe.com Teen People's Lesbian and Gay Role Models Ten gay and lesbian celebrities are prominently featured in the December 1999/January 2000 issue of Teen People. The article, "Out of the Dark," carries the subhead: "Meet ten gay and lesbian stars who found peace, happiness - and success - after they dared to tell the truth." What follows are thoughtful profiles that provide Teen People's young readers, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity, with positive images and insights about same-sex feelings, being in the closet, coming out and experiencing life after doing so. Profiled are singers Amy Ray and Emily Saliers of the Indigo Girls, actor Dan Pintauro, director/writer Kevin Williamson, skater Rudy Galindo, actor Wilson Cruz, singer Stephan Gately of the musical group Boyzone, actor Rupert Everett, actress Anne Heche and author/activist Chastity Bono. While talking about coming out or being open, the celebrities cover both the positive and negative. Williamson (Dawson's Creek, Scream, Wasteland) says, "If anything, it's helped me. When you tell the truth about who you are, it can only help." Cruz (Party of Five, My So-Called Life) spoke of how his father threw him out after he spoke about his sexuality. Everett (An Ideal Husband, My Best Friend's Wedding) talks about how being openly gay has not limited his roles, a common fear in Hollywood. On the other hand, Heche (Six Days, Seven Nights) reports that her coming out and her relationship with Ellen DeGeneres have made for a difficult transition. She also says although roles are not being offered as much, "I could never hide any part of myself, no matter what the consequences." Please thank Teen People for providing positive role models for youth and these honest looks at being openly lesbian and gay - both the good aspects and the sometimes difficult results. Contact: Ms. Christina Ferrari, Managing Editor, Teen People, P.O. Box 999, Radio City Station, New York, N.Y. 10101-0999; e-mail: letters@teenpeople.com Winchell's Parents in the Kansas City Star In the Dec. 5 Kansas City Star, staff writer Mary Sanchez interviews Kansas City residents Pat and Wally Kutteles, the parents of Pfc. Barry L. Winchell, the murdered Fort Campbell soldier who was killed because he was believed to be gay. (On Dec. 9, Pvt. Calvin N. Glover, Winchell's assailant, was convicted of premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment for using a baseball bat to crush Winchell's skull.) The front-page article shows a photograph of the Kutteleses - Pat holding a portrait of her son, while Wally holds Winchell's medals and casket flag. The article presents a sensitive account of the family's reaction to their son's murder, some background on Winchell's life, and his parents' questions about the Army's culpability in his death. Sanchez' profile of Winchell's parents helps put a human face on an incident that many Americans might not have related to. Wally Kutteles says when he first saw his son in the hospital: "His eyes were both black and swelled up tight. The skin was so tight. His head was the size of a basketball." Pat Kutteles adds: "It has been hitting me and hitting me that my child is not coming home. That is where I am." The two also report that the stress of the last few months has caused them to resume smoking, a habit they gave up six years ago. Throughout the article Sanchez sprinkles in the facts of the case, touching what the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an advocacy group for lesbian and gay men in the military, has done to push the military to investigate the murder as a hate crime; and actions taken by the Pentagon since Winchell's death. Please thank the Kansas City Star for providing a fresh angle on this important story, one that could affect the future of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy. By showing what happens to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community members also affects their families, Sanchez' article could be read by and help sway many more people than an article focusing only on the "gay" aspect of the story. Contact: Mr. Mark Zieman, Editor, Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 64108; fax: 816-234-4926 Ms. Miriam Pepper, Reader's Representative, Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, MO, 64108; fax: 816-234-4926 The GLAADAlert is the bi-weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at 323.658.6775 (LA), 212.807.1700 (NY), 415.861.2244 (SF), 202.986.1360 (DC), 404.876.1398 (Atlanta) and 816.756.5991 (Kansas City) Feel free to pass GLAADAlert on to friends, family and associates! Report defamation in the media and breaking news of interest to the LGBT community by calling GLAAD's Toll-Free AlertLine! 1-800-GAY-MEDIA (1-800-429-6334) Visit GLAAD Online at http://www.glaad.org "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. GLAADAlert may be freely distributed and reprinted in all forms of media under the condition that any text used carry the full attribution of "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's QUARTERLY GLAADNOTES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" (without the quotation marks). Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.