Date: Thu, 16 Nov 1995 04:30:22 -0800 From: glpcinat@ix.netcom.com (GLPCI - Jim Fagelson) Subject: Parents' Network >From: glpcinat@ix.netcom.com (GLPCI - Jim Fagelson) (by way of glpcinat@ix.netcom.com (GLPCI - Jim Fagelson)) >Subject: Parents' Network > >The current issue of the Parents' Network >Content-Type: text/plain; charset=3D"iso-8859-1" >Content-Disposition: attachment; filename=3D"PN1-2.TXT" > > THE PARENTS' NETWORK >Volume 1.2 Nov/Dec= 1995 > >The PARENTS' NETWORK, a bimonthly service of the GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS >COALITION INTERNATIONAL (GLPCI), highlights information of interest to >lesbian mothers, gay fathers, their partners, children, future parents and >persons who are supportive of gay and lesbian individuals who wish to= become >parents. =20 > >The Gay and Lesbian Parents Coalition International is an international >coalition of Gay Fathers, Lesbian Mothers, and Gay and Lesbian Parenting >organizations in eight countries, with more than 100 chapters that advocate >for the rights of gay men and lesbians to have, raise, nurture and love= their >biological or adoptive children. GLPCI is a nonprofit support and >information organization operating throughout the world through our member >chapters. Dues range from $25 for an individual member, $10 per chapter >member with a minimum of $50, to $100 for a cooperating organization. The >organization was founded in the United States in 1979 and has grown= steadily >ever since. > >Our quarterly newsletter NETWORK is available by sending a request via= E-mail >to "glpcinat@ix.netcom.com" or by writing GLPCI, P.O. Box 50360,= Washington, >D.C. 20091. If you have received this in error, my apologies. If you= know >of people who would be interested in receiving the PARENTS' NETWORK, = please >have them send a subscription request to "glpcinat@ix.netcom.com" > >This issue of PARENT'S NETWORK is divided into the following categories: > > News from around the world > Recap of Same-Sex Marriage Events in 1995 > News from the United States > Resources for Lesbian, gay and Bisexual parents > Interesting Web sites > Action Alerts > >We appreciate your interest in GLPCI. > >Jim Fagelson >Vice President > >--------------------------------------------------------------- >IS THERE A GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS ORGANIZATION IN YOUR AREA? > >Lesbian mothers, gay fathers and bisexual parents are everywhere, and we= need >the support of other parents like ourselves. Our children need to know= that >they are not alone. If you don't have a parents organization in your area, >contact GLPCI. If you would like to host an organizational meeting in your >area, let us know and we will help you get started. E-mail us at >GLPCInat@ix.netcom.com with your postal address and we will send you >information on how to start a chapter. Let us hear from you. > >--------------------------------------------------------------- >NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD > >ARGENTINA: (Wockner News Service) Three new lesbian groups have been= started >in Argentina. Escrita en el Cuerpo (Written on the Body) collects press >clippings, diaries, letters, photos, tapes and books about lesbians'= personal >and political lives and publishes a news bulletin. Write Alejandra Sarda, >Piedras 1170 1ero. B, 1070-Buenos Aires, Argentina. E-mail: >ales@wamani.apc.org. > >Grupo de Integracion Lesbica (Lesbian Integration Group) offers discussion >groups and tackles political issues. Write Mirta Molinari, Guemes 4581= P.B., >Buenos Aires, Argentina. > >Lesbianas a la Vista (Lesbians on Sight) stages art performances in >"unconventional places." On Sept. 21 they flew kites painted with lesbian >messages in a public park. They also offer coming-out groups, stage= workshops >(at public events, schools and private organizations), and will open a= hotline >for lesbians abused by their lovers. Contact information is the same as for >Escrita en el Cuerpo. > >AUSTRALIA: (Wockner News Service) The Equal Opportunity Tribunal in the >Australian state of New South Wales ruled July 20 that the NIB Insurance >Company discriminated against Andrew Hope, 32, and William Brown, 36, of >Newcastle, who wanted to insure their two-year-old son, by refusing to= grant >them family health coverage. The judges said NIB must "comply with any >relevant laws in force in the State of New South Wales," including the 1977 >law that bans discrimination against gays in the provision of goods and >services. > >BELGIAN: (Wockner News Service) The Belgian cities of Ghent and Antwerp >quietly created partnership registration for gay and lesbian couples in >September. Gay activists stated that no legal rights are conferred by the >registrations, but the move has important symbolic impact in the= historically >conservative Flanders region. > >CANADA: (Wockner News Service) Canada's House of Commons Sept. 18 rejected= gay >Member of Parliament Real Menard's bill to legally recognize same-sex >marriages. The vote was 124-52. The measure was supported by most MPs from >Menard's Bloc Qu=82b=82cois party and by a few Liberals, including Deputy= Prime >Minister Sheila Copps. Menard was backed by most of his Bloc Qu=82b=82cois >colleagues, although eight of the 53-member caucuses joined the majority in >opposing the motion. The vote coincided with a campaign by British Columbia >legislator Svend Robinson to be elected the leader of the leftist New >Democratic Party. > >CANADA: (Wockner News Service) A British Columbia lesbian couple, Tracy= Potter >and Sandra Benson, won a B.C. Human Rights Council case Aug. 9 against a >doctor who refused to inseminate them. Dr. Gerald Korn, who operates the >province's only sperm bank, was ordered to pay the couple $2,500 for loss= of >dignity and $900 to reimburse them for the cost of seeking insemination in >another province. He had refused to provide the service because they are= gay, >a violation of the B.C. Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination= based >on sexual orientation. The couple's daughter, Zoe Beatrice Benson-Potter,= was >born in September. > >CANADA: (Wockner News Service) The Bank of Montreal will extend full= benefits >to the same-sex lovers of employees following a ruling by the Canadian= Human >Rights Commission in a case brought by a British Columbia lesbian. Autumn >Abrahms had launched her battle in 1991. > >CANADA: (Wockner News Service) A dozen gay and lesbian high-school students= =20 >started attending classes in September at the Triangle Program, a new= school >in Toronto exclusively for homosexual students. The program, housed in >donated space at the Metropolitan Community Church, is designed for gays= who >quit school because of homophobia. The curriculum, taught by a gay-male >teacher and a lesbian assistant, will be adapted to recognize gay and= lesbian >contributions to society. > >DENMARK (AP) Eigil Axil, whose lifelong crusade for gay rights made Denmark >the first country in the world to allow same-sex marriages, died at age 71.= =20 >The cause of death was not immediately available. On Oct. 1, 1989, he and >Axel Axil became the first gay men to take marriage vows legally. That was= the >same day that a law took effect in Denmark that gave homosexuals all the >rights and obligations of marriage, except adopting a child or obtaining= in- >vitro fertilization. =20 >=20 >FRANCE: (REUTER) The French Atlantic port city of Saint-Nazaire started >issuing registration certificates to gay couples Sept. 14, reported Reuter. >Deputy Mayor Maxime Batard said the document will help gays obtain benefits >now available to unmarried heterosexual couples -- such as access to= national >health care for a non-working partner, family travel fares and rent= subsidies >"All we have sought to do is give homosexuals the same rights as other >citizens," Batard said. National authorities will now have to decide= whether >to go ahead and open up such programs as the socialized-medicine system. > >FRANCE: (AP) Gay and lesbian groups celebrated September 20 after officials= in >a half-dozen Paris districts promised to issue certificates of cohabitation= to >homosexual couples who have lived together for at least a year. In a joint >communique, the six district mayors -- all members of the Socialist Party= or >leftist Movement of Citizens -- explained they wanted "to contribute to >equality between citizens, whatever their personal situation." Homosexuals >contend that without some kind of certification, they face discrimination= in >housing and other areas. Certificates of Cohabitation don't carry the= legal >weight of marriage certificates, but homosexual rights groups applauded the >move as an important and symbolic start. =20 > >NEW ZEALAND: (Wockner News Service) A gay couple in Wellington, New= Zealand, >has filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission demanding the right= to >marry. The men claim the 1955 Marriage Act does not say marriage has to be >between a man and a woman and that they are being discriminated against= based >on gender and sexual orientation in violation of the 1993 Human Rights Act. > >"We examined the whole of the 1955 Marriage Act and its amendments and= weighed >every word, but nowhere did we find any indication that a marriage shall= only >be between a man and a woman," the couple wrote in their complaint. The >language in the Act describes "partners", "persons" or "parties". > >ROMANIA: (Reuter) Romania's Chamber of Deputies joined the nation's Senate >Sept. 11 in voting to legalize gay sex unless it creates "public scandal". >The law will take effect when President Ion Iliescu signs it. The only >existing definition of "public scandal" in Romanian law dates from 1938,= and >identifies it as "any act which becomes known to more than two persons who >disapprove of it". Gay sex that scandalizes the public will be punished= with >up to five years in prison, which has some gay-rights supporters worried.= They >fear that gay couples who express affection in public could be jailed if a >bystander claims to be shocked. The Wockner News Service later reported= that >after legalizing gay sex, the Christian Orthodox Students Organization= began >collecting signatures for a voters' referendum to recriminalize= homosexuality.=20 >The group has gathered about 200,000 of the 500,000 signatures needed. > >SCANDINAVIA: (Wockner News Service) Denmark, Norway and Sweden, the three >countries where gay marriage is legal, agreed in September to recognize= each >other's gay marriages, the Danish Ministry of Justice announced. The gay >"registered partnerships" are assumedly not recognized elsewhere in the= world. > >------------------------------------------ > >A RECAP OF SAME-SEX MARRIAGE EVENTS OF 1995 (Wockner News Service) > =20 >BRAZIL: Surveys conducted in 1995 in the Brazilian state capitals of= Salvador, >Curitiba and Aracaju found that 60 to 80 percent of Brazilians believe gays >should have the same rights as heterosexuals and 50 to 65 percent think gay >couples should be able to get married, correspondent Luiz Mott reports from >Salvador, Bahia. Seventy-three Brazilian cities and towns -- including Sao >Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Brasilia -- ban discrimination based on sexual >orientation. Legislation to create civil-union contracts for same-sex= couples >was introduced nationally by Worker's Party Deputy Marta Suplicy, Mott= said.=20 > >HUNGARY: Hungary's Constitutional Court legalized common-law gay marriage= on >March 8, 1995. Common-law and formally married couples have all the same >rights in Hungary. Any couple that lives together permanently and has sex= is >considered married under common law. The court said a law limiting= common-law >marriages to "those formed between adult men and women" was= unconstitutional. >"It is arbitrary and contrary to human dignity ... that the law (on= common-law >marriages) withholds recognition from couples living in an economic and >emotional union simply because they are same-sex," the court wrote. The >justices ordered the parliament to make the changes necessary to implement >common-law gay marriage by March 1, 1996. Paradoxically, the court also= ruled >that formal, civil marriages are for heterosexual couples only. "Despite >growing acceptance of homosexuality (and) changes in the traditional >definition of a family, there is no reason to change the law on (civil) >marriages," the justices wrote.=20 > >NETHERLANDS: Seventy cities and towns in the Netherlands now let gay= couples >register their relationships and legislation has been introduced in= Parliament >to grant gay couples the legal rights of marriage. Gays in some= professions, >including civil service, health care and education, as well as employees of >the airline KLM, already receive spousal benefits. > >SLOVENIA: Gay marriage should be legal in Slovenia in two years, the head= of >the government's Bureau for Women's Politics, Vera Kozmik, said on March= 23, >1995. The Bureau is co-sponsoring a petition to Parliament along with gay >activists. According to a poll, 57 percent of Slovenians oppose gay= marriage >and 29 percent approve of it. > >SPAIN: Spain's government considered creating registered partnership for= gay >and straight couples in 1995. Legislation has received support in the= media, >regional parliaments, and the federal parliament. Most if not all rights= of >marriage except adoption are expected to be included in the final plan. >Individuals may adopt in Spain regardless of their sexuality. Some 30= Spanish >cities register "civil unions," including Barcelona, Cordoba, Granada,= Ibiza, >Toledo and Valencia (which has a regional law). On January 1 a national law >took effect to protect the partner who did not sign the lease when an >unmarried couple lives together. If the renter moves or dies, first rights= now >go to "the person who has been cohabiting with the lessee in a similar >affective relationship to that of a spouse, regardless of sexual= orientation, >for at least the two previous years." > >SWEDEN: The Swedish law, legalizing gay and lesbian marriage, that was= passed >on June 7, 1994 by a vote of 171 to 141 with five abstentions and 32= absences, >went into effect on January 1. At the time, Prime Minister Carl Bildt= stated: >"We accept homosexual love as equivalent too heterosexual. Love is an >important force for personal, as well as, social development and should not= be >denied." The Swedish law grants gay spouses all rights of marriage except >access to adoption, artificial insemination, in-vitro fertilization, and >church weddings. Denmark legalized gay marriage in 1989 and Norway in= 1993. >In all three nations, one partner must be a citizen living in his or her= home >country. More than 3,000 gay couples have wed in Denmark. > >UNITED STATES: Hawaii is poised to become the first state to allow same-sex >marriages within the United States. After having a lower court rule= against >such marriages, the State Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower= court >to explain why there is a "compelling interest" for the denial of such >marriages. The hearing is expected by June 1996 with a decision= thereafter.=20 >In response to the expected approval of same-sex marriages in Hawaii, the >announcement of the Freedom to Marry Coalition was made October 2 in a= nation- >wide address to both the gay and straight media. The Coalition is composed= of >all major national gay rights organizations. > >--------------------------------------------------------------- >NEWS FROM THE UNITED STATES > >CALIFORNIA: Two San Francisco school teachers face loss of their state >credentials for an April 24, 1992 incident in which they allowed an= explicit >classroom description of gay and lesbian sex. During the talk given to 50 >sixth-graders by speakers for Community United Against Violence, details= about >gay sex practices were discussed. When the incident was reported by some >students to their parents, an explosive, adverse response resulted. The >commission's seven-member credential committee's recommendation is the= first >step to a full hearing on the charges against the two before an= administrative >law judge. Neither of the teachers has been disciplined by the school >district. They have continued teaching. > >IOWA: Jonathan Wilson, a member of the Des Moines school board who was a >12-year incumbent, lost his reelection bid on September 13. Wilson was at= the >center of last winter's debate on a proposal to add teaching about sexual >orientation to the curriculum in the 31,000-student district. During a >televised school board meeting in January, he announced he is gay. Wilson= came >in fourth in an open race for two seats that drew eight candidates. The= two >winners had been supported by Concerned Parents of Des Moines, a religious >group opposed to what they called Wilson's "gay agenda." Wilson had been >endorsed by the Des Moines Education Association (NEA) and the Gay and= Lesbian >Victory Fund. > >KANSAS: Richard Marriott, who is one of four Olathe School Board members= who >voted to remove "Annie on My Mind" from library shelves in January 1994,=20 >testified that he voted to ban the book because "I was somewhat offended= by >the nature of the book....I thought the book was educationally unsuitable= ... >insignificant." Marriott testified that he felt the novel "glorified the >homosexual lifestyle." The president of the school board, Bob Drummond, a >psychologist, said he also voted to remove "Annie" for similar reasons. >Drummond testified that he considered homosexuality a mental disorder= similar >to schizophrenia or depression. Drummond, a psychologist, is also vice >president of MidAmerica Nazarene College in Olathe. He testified that the= book >glorifies the homosexual lifestyle, which is sinful in the eyes of God. > >MINNESOTA: Hennepin County, MN (Minneapolis) has just reversed their >interpretation of the second-parent adoption law to disallow any unmarried >persons the right to petition for second-parent adoptions. The couple, who >are the focus of the case, had both adopted their first two children. The >third child will have only one legal mother. This is a result of a new= chief >judge in Family Court. > >NEW HAMPSHIRE: On September 25, 1995, Penny Culliton, an English teacher at >Mascenic Regional High School was fired by her school board because she=20 >distributed "Maurice," by E.M. Forster and "The Education of Harriet >Hatfield," by May Sarton to her junior and senior students last spring, >despite having been told by her principal last January that the school= board >did not want books with gay characters in them to be used at the school. = In >June 1994, Culliton had requested that she be allowed to include the two >books, along with a third, "The Drowning of Stephan Jones," by Bette Green,= in >her curriculum. Both her principal and the then superintendent Richard= Lates, >approved of her request and signed a purchase order for the books. A= student >complaint that Culliton was talking too much about gay issues in the >classroom, as well as a teacher's workshop on homophobia that was organized= by >Culliton, touched off the controversy during the 1994-1995 school year.=20 > >SOUTH CAROLINA: A Union County teacher has been suspended and placed on >probation for showing the academy-award winning film "Philadelphia". The= film >was criticized by some parents and a local minister as vulgar and promoting >homosexuality. School Superintendent Buddy Broome said Friday the Sims= Junior >High School health teacher was wrong in showing "Philadelphia" to a class= of >seventh- and eighth-graders because of its adult language. However, Broome >denied claims that the teacher was trying to promote homosexuality. Broome >said the teacher will spend the rest of the school year on probation and= will >be monitored to ensure a similar incident doesn't happen again. > >WASHINGTON, D.C.: (AP) Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has left >intact an order temporarily giving a Wisconsin woman visitation rights to a >child her former lesbian lover had while the two lived together. Elsbeth= Knott >and Sandra Lynn Holtzman lived together for 10 years starting in 1983. They >jointly decided to have a child, born December 1988, through artificial >insemination. They chose a surname for the child combining their last= names.=20 > >The pair separated in 1993, and Knott and the child moved out of the home.= =20 >Holtzman, in response to Knott seeking a court order barring Holtzman from >having contact with her or the child, sought custody and visitation. A= state >judge granted judgment to Knott, saying Wisconsin visitation law did not= apply >to children from nontraditional relationships. A state appeals court gave >Holtzman temporary visitation rights while she pursued an appeal, and the >state's highest court let that order stand. The Supreme Court ruled in= June >that Holtzman could not seek custody of the child, but she could be granted >visitation. The court ordered the lower court to reconsider whether= Holtzman >should be granted visitation. =20 > >WASHINGTON, D.C.: (AP) Colorado's solicitor general ran into skeptical >questions from several Supreme Court justices on October 10, when he argued >the state's citizens have the right to prohibit laws that protect= homosexuals >from discrimination. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg asked whether "in all of >U.S. history there has ever been anything like this". Timothy M.= Tymkovich, >attorney for Colorado, did not provide a specific example. But he argued= that >voters have the right to bar all state and local laws giving homosexuals >"special protection" from bias in housing, employment and public >accommodations. Justice David H. Souter asked "why is discrimination= against >one group dealt with under state law differently than discrimination= against >other groups?" Justice Antonin Scalia appeared more sympathetic to >Tymkovich's argument that ordinances protecting gays against bias= constitute >special -- not equal -- protection. =20 > >Several justices wondered how far the amendment goes in banning bias >protection. Justice Sandra Day O'Connor asked whether it would allow= public >libraries to refuse to lend books to gays. Ginsburg wondered if a hospital >could refuse to offer kidney dialysis to homosexuals. Ginsburg compared= gay >activists' tactic of seeking local anti-bias ordinances to women's suffrage >proponents who sought the right to vote in cities when they could not win= such >a right statewide. =20 > >WASHINGTON, D.C.: President Clinton has signaled support for the Employment >Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that would protect homosexuals from >discrimination in the workplace. In a letter to Massachusetts Democratic= Sen. >Edward Kennedy, a chief sponsor of the bill, the President stated that >"Individuals should not be denied a job on the basis of something that has= no >relationship to their ability to perform their work." > >Top White House adviser, George Stephanopoulos, publicly announced= Clinton's >support for the measure in a speech to the National Lesbian and Gay >Journalists Association. "The president has announced his explicit support >for legislation to protect all Americans from discrimination in the=20 >workplace," Stephanopoulos told the Washington conference. "No one should >lose their job for reasons that have nothing to do with the job they do,"= he >added. Clinton said in his letter that discrimination in employment on= the >basis of sexual orientation is currently legal in 41 states. "Men and= women >in those states may be fired from their jobs solely because of their sexual >orientation, even when it has no bearing on their job performance," Clinton >said. "Those who face this kind of job discrimination have no legal= recourse >in either our state or federal courts. This is wrong," he said. He said= the >proposed legislation is careful to apply some essential exemptions in= certain >areas -- small businesses, the armed forces and religious organizations, >including schools and other educational institutions. > >------------------------------------------- >RESOURCES FOR THE LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL PARENTS > >VIDEO: A video is available to teach elementary school children about >homophobia and how anti-gay remarks hurt the other children in their= school.=20 >"Both of My Moms' Names Are Judy" is a 10-minute video produced by the= Lesbian >and Gay Parents Association of San Francisco and GLPCI as part of an in- >service training program for elementary school educators and= administrators.=20 >It presents a diverse group of children (ages 7-11) who have lesbian and= gay >parents. In candid interviews, they talk about who is in their family, how= it >feels to be teased about their parents, how classroom silence about >homosexuality affects them, and what they would like to see changed. > >The video and a complete set of training materials can be ordered from the >GLPCI Video, P.O. Box 43206, Montclair, NJ 070431, 201-783-6204 (voice or >fax). The cost of the video and training manual is $25.00 for an= individual >and $50.00 for an institution. > >SUPPORT GROUP: A new Australian bisexual news group, OZBI, has been= started >for bisexual people, their partners, friends and supporters in Australia.= The >information on the group states that overseas bisexuals are also welcome. = The >release states that you "don't have to be a bisexual Australian to join in, >and you don't even have to be sure whether or not you are bisexual. As long= as >your mind is open to people who are attracted to people regardless of their >gender, you're very welcome." > >To subscribe to OZBI, send an e-mail message to: >Majordomo@bizo.biz.usyd.edu.au, and put "subscribe OZBI " >in the body of the message. > >RECENT PUBLICATION: A new book has been published entitled "Making Love >Visible". Photographer Geoff Manasse and journalist/novelist Jean Swallow, >traveled the United States to relate a diversity of pictures and stories.= =20 >Manasse's photos are intimate and beautiful. Swallow's interviews expose= the >tenderness and vitality of gay and lesbian family life. Among their= subjects >is a high school lesbian; a young gay man whose father, also gay, is dying= of >AIDS; a lesbian couple who have six adopted children with special needs; = a >woman whose straight sister helped her come out; two men who have been >partners for forty years; and a group of retired lesbians who travel in= RV's >and share a community in the desert. We meet single people's extended >families, and groups drawn together to raise children and care for the= sick. =20 >Making Love Visible; In Celebration of Gay and Lesbian Families is= available >in bookstores or directly from The Crossing Press at 1-800-777-1048. > >TELEVISION: According to the Gay and Lesbian Cable Television Australia -- >GALACTA -- a new pay TV service is "poised to become the world's first >television channel run by and for lesbians and gay men." The service has >already acquired a 24-hour national license dedicated to lesbian and gay >programming, and is now seeking "strategic alliances with program= producers, >cultural organizations, advertisers, and investors worldwide." Contact:=20 >Cayte Latta, Programming Director, GALACTA, P.O. Box 392, Darlinghurst, = New >South Wales, 2010, Australia, E-mail Lpears@joLt.mpx.com.au. > >----------------------------------------------------------------- >INTERESTING WEB SITES > >GAY AND LESBIAN PARENTS COALITION INTERNATIONAL: The web site offers= numerous >resources including: statistics on gay and lesbian parents, a bibliography= of >resources, extensive information on the organization, information on= Children >of Lesbians and Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) and links too over a dozen >international gay and lesbian web sites around the world. The GLPCI Home= Page >can be found at the following address: > > http://www.qrd.org/QRD/www/orgs/glpci/ > >GLPCI can be contacted at: GLPCI, P.O. Box 50360, Washington, D.C., 20091 = =20 >(201) 783-6204 E-mail: glpcinat@ix.netcom.com > >World Wide Web Sites for On-line media watchers: > >The Children's Animated Television Chronicle >(http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/newslett/newslett.html/). > >The Lesbian and Gay International Film Festival (http://videos.com/gandl/). > >Digital Queers Home Page (http://www.dq.org/dq/). > >The Electronic Gay Community Magazine (http://www.fn.net/~awes/egcm.html). > >The GLB Youth Web page (http://www1.usa1.com/~furball/glb/glb.html) or >(http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/NACYSO/alert.html) > >CBS News Up To The Minute (http://adware.com/uttm/welcome.html). > >The Film & Video Resource Guide >(http://http2.sils.umich.edu/Public/fvl/film.html). > >E-mail addresses for many media can be found at TV Net >(http://www.tvnet.com/TVnet.html). > >Of special interest is the new Gay TV Home Page (United States) >(http://pages.prodigy.com/NJ/carol_mortimer/gay_tv_menu.html).=20 > >------------------------------------------ >ACTION ALERT > >The National Center for Gay & Lesbian Rights is asking families for= personal >accounts of their dealings with the schools on gay and lesbian issues. = These >are being sought for the briefing paper that will be used in January when >legislation for safe schools will be introduced in the California= legislature.=20 >Shiela Kuehl is sponsoring the bill, and needs parents and kids to tell= their >stories to support the act. Brief accounts (approx. half a page) should be >sent to: NCLR, 870 Market St., Suite 570, San Francisco, CA 94102. Or they >can be faxed to NCLR, 415-392-8442. So take a few minutes now to sit down= and >write up your story.=1A >