Date: Mon, 15 Nov 1999 16:36:49 -0800 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines - November 15, 1999 GLAADLINES Contact: Wonbo Woo GLAAD Communications Manager (212) 807-1700 x24 woo@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: November 15, 1999 News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community 1) REV. JIMMY CREECH TO BE TRIED A SECOND TIME FOR HIS PERFORMING OF SAME-SEX UNIONS 2) HATE CRIME MARS OAKLAND'S CELEBRATION OF CREATING CHANGE 3) ONLINE LESBIAN AND GAY COMMUNITY STILL BOOMING 1) REV. JIMMY CREECH TO BE TRIED A SECOND TIME FOR HIS PERFORMING OF SAME-SEX UNIONS: The Rev. Jimmy Creech made headlines with his officiation of a covenant ceremony between two Nebraska women in September, 1997, and with his trial by the United Methodist Church for disobeying its Social Principles. Creech was acquitted of the charges at that trial last year, but earlier this year, he performed another same-sex union in North Carolina. This week, he faces a second trial in a United Methodist court, but with the added difficulty of a Judicial Council ruling stating that the Social Principles, printed in the Book of Discipline, were to carry the weight of the law. Creech will represent himself in the trial, set to begin Wednesday, Nov. 17, in Grand Island, Neb.. In preparation for the trial, an ecumenical interfaith group called Soulforce will bring 100 of its members to Nebraska to stage acts of civil disobedience and celebratory events. Working with Rev. Creech, the North Carolina couple will renew their vows Tuesday as the start of a night-long series of events including the ceremony, a reception, press conference, and an all-night candlelight vigil to be held on the steps of the Trinity United Methodist Church for refusing the honor the holy union. The events will culminate in a peaceful demonstration and staged arrest immediately prior to the start of Creech's trial. Soulforce, which works to advance the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people by applying the non-violent teachings of Gandhi, Christ and King, was co-founded by the Rev. Mel White, who recently took members of his group to Lynchburg, Va., where they met with the Rev. Jerry Falwell and his supporters to discuss increasingly damaging rhetoric from both sides of the debate. For more information, contact Laura Montgomery Rutt, Media Representative for Rev. Creech, at White at (308) 384-1330 or by cell at (949) 933-3592, or visit Soulforce's website online at http://www.soulforce.org . 2) HATE CRIME MARS OAKLAND'S CELEBRATION OF CREATING CHANGE: On Saturday, Nov. 13, a young, African-American, transgender person was assaulted with a broken bottle in Downtown Oakland, Calif., even as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force's (NGLTF) 12th Annual Creating Change Conference was underway two blocks from the scene of the attack. [see GLAADLines 11.01.99] That conference, which is widely regarded within the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community as the premier gathering of grassroots community activists working toward progressive cultural change, had drawn an estimated 2,500 participants to the Bay Area this year. According to a release issued by local activists following the attack, response by a member of the Oakland Police Department was problematic, with the officer informing the victim and a number of her friends that "I am tired of having to do all this paperwork. You guys have been told not be on the corner of 14th and Broadway. I am tired of your shit." A group of Creating Change attendees organized a rally calling for a meeting with Police Chief Richard Word, a full investigation of the officer, review of sensitivity training policies for the department and the appointment of a liaison to the lesbian and gay community. The rally drew an estimated 1,500 people, including speakers and witnesses to the assault. Both Oakland Mayor Jerry Brown and Police Chief Word have told rally organizers that the action items proposed are already in progress, and that open dialogue about the incident will continue. For more information on the attack and rally, contact Pete King of East Bay Pride at (510) 663-3980. For more information about Creating Change, contact NGLTF Communications Director David Elliott at (202) 332-6483 x3303. 3) ONLINE LESBIAN AND GAY COMMUNITY STILL BOOMING: Computer Economics, an independent research firm specializing in technology research, has released the results of its survey of advertisements displayed on websites serving the African-American, lesbian and gay, Asian, Christian, Latino and women's online communities. While the bulk of ads studied are still non-tailored mass market ads (53%), advertisers are slowly beginning to tailor ads to community-specific sites, most notably in the example of African-American and lesbian and gay community sites. Worst off in the survey were ads targeting women, Asians and Latinos. Whereas sites serving the African-American and lesbian and gay communities had mass-market advertising (albeit still largely non-tailored ads) and Christian sponsors advertised on Christian sites, those serving the women's, Asian and Latino community were lacking in advertising overall. Gay.com might provide greater incentive to advertisers. The online community has been identified as the leading affinity site by Media Metrix (the distinction is not restricted to sites serving the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community). The site has also broken a number of records, with some 249 million minutes of online interaction during the month of October and 9.13 million minutes on the last day of the same month. For more information on the advertising survey, contact Catherine Huneke, senior research analyst for Computer Economics, at (760) 438-8100 x116, or by e-mail at chuneke@compecon.com . For more information about Gay.com, contact Tony Hain of Witeck-Combs Communications, at (202) 887-0500 x17 or by e-mail at thain@witeckcombs.com . 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. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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.