Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1999 20:27:35 -0800 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines - December 20, 1999 GLAADLines Contact: Bob Findle, GLAAD (323) 658-6775 ext. 31 findle@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: DECEMBER 20, 1999 News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community 1) VERMONT COURT RULES FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES 2) COLORADO COULD FACE BAN ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE 3) SODOMY LAW CHALLENGED IN VIRGINIA 1) VERMONT COURT RULES FOR SAME-SEX COUPLES: The Vermont Supreme Court ruled Dec. 20 that same-sex couples must be granted the same protections and benefits as opposite-sex couples. The ruling is the result of a suit brought by three same-sex couples who sued the state after being denied marriage licenses in 1997. The judges wrote: "We hold that the state is constitutionally required to extend to same-sex couples the common benefits and protections that flow from marriage under Vermont law. Whether this ultimately takes the form of inclusion within the marriage laws themselves or a parallel 'domestic partnership' system or some equivalent statutory alternative, rests with the Legislature. Whatever system is chosen, however, must conform with the constitutional imperative to afford all Vermonters the common benefit, protection and security of the law." Mary Bonauto, co-council for the plaintiffs and the civil rights director at New England-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), said of the decision: "This is a legal and cultural milestone. The court recognized that same-sex couples need and deserve the same legal rights and protections other people take for granted. The court's decision paves the way for more secure families and stronger communities." Until the Vermont Legislature puts the court's directive in action, legal experts are not able to comment on what this decision could mean to same-sex couples outside of Vermont. The Vermont ruling comes on the heels of the Dec. 9 decision by the Hawaii Supreme Court regarding the same-sex marriage case before it. Because the Hawaiian constitution was amended in 1998 to block same-sex couples from civil marriage, the court deemed the plaintiffs' right-to-marry case "moot" and dismissed it. For more information on the Vermont case, contact Bonauto or Jennifer Levi, GLAD's staff attorney, at 617-426-1350. 2) COLORADO COULD FACE BAN ON SAME-SEX MARRIAGE: A group called Coloradans for Traditional Marriage has approval from the secretary of state to proceed with a constitutional amendment to define marriage as being only between a man and a woman and to not recognize same-sex marriages valid in other states. This initial approval is for the title of the measure. Supporters now have 30 days to develop the actual wording. If that is approved by secretary of state, the next step would be to gather the required 64,000 signatures within six months. The measure would appear on the November 2000 ballot. LoriAnn Girvan, executive director of Equality Colorado, told the Associated Press, "As a statewide agency, we are committed to fighting this every step of the way." Nick Sarchet, the group's community organizer, said "This is just another divisive initiative that doesn't need to be happening." Previous efforts to limit marriage in Colorado have not been successful. The anti-same-sex marriage bill introduced earlier this year didn't make it past the House Judiciary Committee. Last year, a similar bill was introduced but withdrawn and Gov. Roy Romer vetoed 1997's version. For more information, contact Equality Colorado's Sarchet at 303-839-5540. 3) SODOMY LAW CHALLENGED IN VIRGINIA: Another opportunity to chip away at the nation's remaining state sodomy laws is taking shape. The Virginia Court of Appeals has agreed to look at the constitutionality of the state's law that forbids oral sex between consenting adults. The law, which carries a penalty of 5-20 years imprisonment, applies to both opposite- and same-sex partners. The case before the court concerns nine men convicted for soliciting sodomy while talking to undercover police officers in Roanoke's Wasena Park. Although all 50 states had some form of sodomy laws as recently as the 1960s, today, only 16 do. Besides Virginia, 11 others states (Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Idaho, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Utah) have various sodomy laws on the books that cover both heterosexual and homosexual sodomy. Four states (Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas) have laws that pertain only to same-sex sodomy. Currently, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund is pursuing challenges against these laws in Arkansas and Texas. Suzanne B. Goldberg, a Lambda staff attorney, said, "The government should not be in the business of policing the private behavior of consenting adults." She also commented that while some states do not often enforce their sodomy laws, just the law being in existence has been used to deny custody of children to lesbian and gay parents, put people at risk to lose professional licenses and deny employment. Lambda Staff Attorney Steve Scarborough said, "The willingness of the Virginia court to review the constitutionality of this law is very encouraging." For more information contact Peg Byron, Lambda Legal's director of public education, at 212-809-8585, ext. 230. For a breakdown of sodomy laws by state, access Lambda Legal at www.lambdalegal.org NOTE: This is the last edition of GLAADLines for the year. The next issue will be Jan. 10, 2000. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 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.