Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 16:50:37 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines - May 10, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: MAY 10, 1999 GLAADLINES Contact: Jerry Weinstein GLAAD Publications Manager (212) 807-1700 x18 weinstein@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Index to Stories: 1. HEARINGS ON HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT RESUME TOMORROW 2. MASSACHUSETTS SUPPORTS ITS LESBIAN AND GAY YOUTH 3. MEDIA FALLOUT ON JENNY JONES DECISION 4. INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION HONORS ACTIVISTS FROM BURMA, KOREA AND SOUTH AFRICA HEARINGS ON HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT RESUME TOMORROW: On Tuesday, May 11, the Senate will hear testimony for the Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 1999 (HCPA), S. 622. Expected to testify are: Eric Holder, deputy attorney general; Judge Jeanine Pirro, Republican district attorney for Westchester County, NY; and Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard. If passed, the HCPA will expand federal jurisdiction of hate crimes and will broaden the definition of hate crimes to include sexual orientation, gender and disability. At the news conference held following the introduction of this act, Judy Shepard said, "No one will ever know if these laws would have saved ... my son's life. But we can begin today by building a safer world for all Americans, including gay and lesbian Americans. On behalf of my family, I call on the Congress of the United States to pass the hate Crimes Prevention Act without delay." At present only twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have hate crimes laws that include sexual orientation; another twenty-one states do not include sexual orientation; and eight states have no hate crimes laws on their books at all. For further contact information, please contact Wayne Besen of the Human Rights Campaign at (202) 216-1580 or by pager at (800) 386-5997. MASSACHUSETTS SUPPORTS ITS LESBIAN AND GAY YOUTH: The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has led the nation both legislatively and educationally where its lesbian and gay youth are concerned. This weekend two events demonstrate this commitment. Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass., will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA)––which, at the outset was the first organization to involve not only lesbian and gay students, but their straight peers as well. Plans for the anniversary celebration include an address by Keith Boykin, author of One More River to Cross: Black and Gay in America, and a presentation on parental support of lesbian and gay youth by Tom Myers, president of WeAreFamily. On Saturday, May 15, there will be a Gay Youth Pride March on Boston’s State House. Massachusetts is the only state to have Gay/Straight Alliances in over 50% of its 300 high schools and to have allocated $1.5 million of state money specifically for gay and lesbian youth. For contact information on the Phillips Academy event, please contact Kennan Newbold at (978) 749-4475. For information on the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), please contact Kate Frankfurt at (212) 727-0135 or by e-mail at kfrankfurt@glsen.org. For information on the Gay Youth Pride March please contact E. J. LeMay via e-mail at EJLeMay@aol.com MEDIA FALLOUT ON JENNY JONES DECISION: On May 7, an Oakland County, Michigan jury ordered the producers of the Jenny Jones Show to pay $25 million in damages for the 1995 murder of Scott Amedure, who was murdered by Jonathan Schmitz, three days after they appeared on a Jones segment. Much speculation by lawyers and media professionals has followed concerning the implications of this decision for talk shows, and, more broadly, accountability of the media. Said Joan M. Garry, executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), "At the heart of our culture is a media which can educate and inform, or it can damage and sensationalize. It's important that talk shows and other media be held accountable for their sensationalism - in that sense, at least, this ruling is encouraging. But let's temper that with the knowledge that Scott Amedure lost his life at the hands of Jon Schmitz: not The Jenny Jones Show. GLAAD hopes that the media, the criminal trial attorneys and audiences across the country will bear these points in mind as the upcoming criminal trial plays out." Schmitz’s criminal re-trial is scheduled for August. For more information, please contact Benjamin Stilp, Acting Communications Director for GLAAD at (212) 807-1700 or via pager at (888) 656-9045. INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION HONORS ACTIVISTS FROM BURMA, KOREA AND SOUTH AFRICA: The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) will honor inspiring activists from South Korea, Burma, and South Africa at its 1999 Felipa Awards Ceremony in New York, on Wednesday, May 12. The Felipa Awards are named in honor of Felipa de Souza, a Brazilian woman convicted and tortured by the Portuguese Inquisition in 1591 for having sexual relationships with other women. This year's award recipients are Prudence Mabele of South Africa and Aung Myo Min of Burma (based in Thailand). Two organizations from South Korea, Kiri Kiri and Chingu Sai, will share the third award. Simon Nkoli (1957-1998) of South Africa will receive an honorary posthumous award. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission protects and advances the human rights of all people and communities subject to discrimination or abuse on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status. For further press information, please contact Sydney Levy, Research and Advocacy Director for IGLHRC, at (212) 367-1204, or by e-mail at sydney@iglhrc.org. For tickets to this event, please contact, Gabrielle Hanna at (212) 662-6804. GLAAD is the nation's lesbian & gay multimedia advocacy organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe, contact Wonbo Woo at (212) 807-1700 or at woo@glaad.org. "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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 IMAGES 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 a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combating homophobia and challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.