Date: Sun, 11 May 1997 18:22:29 -0500 (CDT) From: Jim Fagelson Subject: Parents' Network - May 11, 1997 PARENTS' NETWORK May 11, 1997 Love Makes a Family Exhibit this Summer: IF you would like to bring LOVE MAKES A FAMILY: Living in Lesbian and Gay Families, the renowned photo-text exhibit to your community this summer, we have a few openings in our schedule starting in mid-May. This includes one opening (we have many copies of the exhibit that we distribute) in June. You may be able to see the exhibit in your community, or you can bring it to your community by contacting: Peggy Gillespie Family Diversity Projects, Inc. PO Box 1209, Amherst, MA, 01004-1209 Phone: 413-256-0502, or send e-mail to FamPhoto@aol.com VISIT OUR WEBSITE at http://www.javanet.com/~famphoto SCHEDULE OF LOVE MAKES A FAMILY SUMMER TOUR: April 21-May l7, OREGON. University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. Contact: carnahan@OREGON.UOREGON.EDU April 27-May l4 . SALT LAKE CITY. Contact Dr. Gary Watts at wattsfam@aol.com May 30-June l4. Bozeman, MONTANA. Contact Shawn Phoenix, 702 Bridger Dr. #64, Bozeman, Montana 59715 June l-30 CLEVELAND. Lesbian/Gay Community Service Center of Greater Cleveland. Contact center@arienet.net June 6-November. MAINE. A tour of Maine sponsored by Maine Pride--colleges, schools, and public sites. Contact: rossetti@biddeford.com for locations June 8-13. MINNEAPOLIS. Ceridian Corporation. Contact Sharon Goens 800-884-4729 August l-Sept. 3. PROVINCETOWN, MA Provincetown Unitarian Society, 236 Commercial St., Ptown. (sponsored by the Unitarian Society and GLPCI FAMILY WEEK) Contact famphoto@aol.com for exact times to see the exhibit and come to the opening celebration) FLORIDA May 5 (UPI and Miami Herald) A constitutional challenge to a Florida law that bans adoptions by lesbian and gay parents got under way May 5, 1997 in Fort Lauderdale. The suit was filed on behalf of June Amer and her partner, Gail DeShon, lesbians who wants to adopt a child. Amer already has one child through alternative insemination. The American Civil Liberties Union contends lesbians and gays are the only segment of society that is unilaterally barred from adopting children in Florida. ACLU staff attorney Michael Adams says, "No other group in Florida is completely shut out of adoption proceedings. Even citizens who present obvious problems, like murder felons, are evaluated on an individual basis.'' Adams says the lawsuit is intended to give lesbians and gay men the same right to be considered individually in the adoption process that others enjoy. The first witness was Amer herself, who explained why she wanted to adopt. Amer testified, "I believe I'm a good parent. I believe I can parent a special-needs child,'' Amer, 45, told Broward Circuit Judge John Frusciante. "I'm a loving person, a caring person, a dedicated person. I should be able to adopt a child.'' Amer's attorney, Karen Coolman Amlong, called the law "unconstitutional, discriminatory and bad for children.'' The adoption laws in Florida are flexible enough that drug abusers and felons who want to adopt can make their case to state social workers, Amlong said. But adoption agencies are banned from accepting applications from homosexuals. To prove the law is unconstitutional, Amer's attorneys must show that the legislators who enacted it in 1977 had no rational basis for banning homosexuals from adopting. "Lesbians and gay men are excluded. The law automatically assumes they are unfit to be parents,'' said American Civil Liberties Union attorney Michael Adams, who also represents Amer. "They don't have the opportunity to put in an application and be judged on their individual merits.'' The ACLU says only two states, Florida and New Hampshire, have laws explicitly prohibiting gay adoptions. The group says courts and adoption agencies in other states apply a "best interest of the child'' standard and that at least 22 have permitted lesbians and gay men to adopt. The Legislature had real reasons for passing the law, said Sam Chavers, an attorney for the defendant, the Department of Children and Families. The Legislature, not a judge, should decide whether the law needs to be changed, he said. "The issue is not the fitness of the parents. It is the best interest of the children,'' Chavers said. "We believe, and we have evidence that shows, children need heterosexual role models.'' Chavers further states that experts say it is better for a child's longterm well-being to be left in permanent foster homes than to be placed in homes with gay or lesbian parents. Studies of children raised by gay and lesbian parents are inconclusive, particularly for long-term impact on the child, Chavers said. "It's all an unknown, and Florida simply doesn't want to take a chance with its children,'' he said. Amer does not think Florida would be taking a chance on her. State social workers several years ago found her fit to shelter a Romanian girl for several months while the child received medical care. Amer also served for nine months as the legal guardian for a 15-year-old boy whose father was ill and whose grandmother was unable to care for him. Florida law does not ban lesbians or gay men from foster-parenting or legal guardianship. "This law is assuming that I'm someone that's going to harm children, that I'm doing something wrong,'' Amer testified. "I don't see how that can be assumed by the state of Florida.'' Amer, a former teacher who has spent the past 17 years as a corrections officer in Dade County, was adopted as an infant. "I know that I would have spent my entire childhood being shuttled from place to place if I had not been adopted,'' Amer said. "There are many children waiting to be adopted in Florida right now, and there are many people like me who would adopt them and love them if it weren't for this prejudiced law.'' HAWAII - Honolulu Star-Bulletin, May 2, 1997 By Linda Hosek The state has dropped its focus on children as a compelling reason to ban same-sex marriage in its appeal to the state Supreme Court. In its opening brief, it cites tradition, moral values, propagation and recognition of the state's marriage law by other governments as reasons to limit marriage to a man and a woman. And it again tells the high court that it was wrong in 1993 when it ruled that Hawai`i's marriage law discriminates on the basis of gender. The 35-page brief, mailed April 29 from the Washington, D.C., attorney hired to prepare it, was expected to be filed May 2, said Dorothy Sellers, deputy attorney general. But Sellers declined to discuss the brief until it is filed with the court. Dan Foley, attorney for the three same-sex couples who sued for the right to marry, said the brief doesn't address the facts from a recent ruling that gave same-sex marriage the green light. He also said it dwelled on arguments previously rejected by the Supreme Court and offered opinions without fact. "It's a political diatribe, not a legal brief," he said. The brief reflects the state's latest effort to use the courts to stop same-sex marriage. Circuit Judge Kevin Chang in December ruled that the state failed to offer a compelling reason to justify the sex discrimination the state Supreme Court identified in the state's marriage law. Chang based his opinion on evidence from a two-week trial in September. The state argued that children had the best chance of reaching their optimal development if raised in a family with a mother and father. The same-sex plaintiffs argued that children thrived based on love, not on the number, gender or sexual orientation of parents. Chang said the state failed to prove that same-sex marriage would cause adverse consequences to children, the economy or citizens if other governments refused to recognize same-sex marriages. In its brief, the state says the state Supreme Court misinterpreted the word "sex," using it to express "gender" rather than "sexual orientation." Interpreting it as sexual orientation would have led to a different legal conclusion. The brief also says the state has an interest ensuring moral values in the area of marriage. But Foley said marriage is a civil contract. He also said the state Legislature this session granted numerous rights and benefits for same-sex couples, adding, "How can the state argue same-sex marriage is immoral if it gives legal recognition to same-sex couples?" Foley said he expected all briefs to be filed by June. VIRGINIA - (AP) - A lesbian who lost custody of her son wants an appeals court to allow the boy to visit with her live-in lover. In August, 1996, a judge gave Sharon Bottoms greater visitation rights with her 5-year-old son, Tyler Doustou. But the judge said Ms. Bottoms' partner, April Wade, would have to leave their apartment when Tyler came to visit. Denny Lee, a spokesman for the American Civil Liberties Union, said that violates the equal protection clause of the Constitution because it is based on anti-gay bias. Ms. Bottoms' request is due for oral arguments Wednesday before the Virginia Court of Appeals. The appeals court gave Ms. Bottoms her only major victory in her four-year custody battle with her mother, Kay Bottoms, ruling in 1994 that her sexual orientation was insufficient grounds to take Tyler away from her. But the state Supreme Court reversed the ruling and left the boy in the custody of Ms. Bottoms' mother. When Ms. Bottoms dropped her custody fight in August, and a judge gave her expanded visitation rights but barred any contact between Tyler and Ms. Wade. Ms. Bottoms lost custody of Tyler in 1993 when a judge said she was an unfit mother because she and Ms. Wade engaged in oral sex, a felony. AUSTRALIA After nine years of community organizing to repeal Tasmania's anti-gay law, the Tasmanian legislature finalized a vote to repeal their anti-gay law yesterday, May 1, 1997. This decision marks not only the elimination of Australia's only remaining state law banning same sex relations, but it also marks Australia's compliance with the 1994 United Nations' ruling on this issue. In April, 1994, the United Nations Human Rights Committee formally interpreted the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to protect the lesbian and gay citizens of Tasmania against discrimination as well to protect their privacy rights. The UN formally called on Australia to eliminate this law. The Australian federal government responded by passing national legislation protecting the sexual privacy of its citizens, but until now, the law in Tasmania remained on the books. Nick Toonen, spokesperson for the Tasmanian Gay and Lesbian Rights Group exclaimed, "A destructive criminal stigma has been lifted from the shoulders of gay and lesbian Tasmanians and hopefully Tasmania's reputation as a bastion of prejudice will also now begin to disappear." Julie Dorf, Executive Director of the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, added, "We are thrilled about this news and congratulate the Tasmanian activists on their hard work and long over-due victory. Unfortunately, there are still over eighty countries in the world with sodomy or other anti-gay and lesbian laws on the books left to fight." "The United States alone still has twenty states with sodomy laws," she added. In 1995, the UN Human Rights Committee reported to the United States government that its sodomy laws similarly violated its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. NEW HAMPSHIRE -On May 1, 1997, the New Hampshire State Senate enacted a civil rights bill banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Governor has pledged to sign it, so NH will be among the first states in the United States to protect its residents from discrimination based on sexual orientation, joining California, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin (inter alia, and amongst many municipalities). A similar bill is currently working its way through the Maine state legislature as well, and that Governor Angus King has pledged to sign the same. If passed, then all of the New England states will offer such protection. The last state to do so, Rhode Island, signed their measure into law on May 20, 1995. The other eight states are Wisconsin (1982); Massachusetts (1989); Connecticut and Hawaii (1991); California, New Jersey, and Vermont (1992); Minnesota (1993). The Current Count on Same-Sex Marriage Bills. Approximately 61 bills banning same gender marriage have been introduced in 32 states. Iowa and Washington State marriage bans are now dead, bringing the number of states where marriage bans were defeated this year to nine (AL, IA, MD, NH, NM, RI, WA, WV, WY). For Washington activists, it was their second marriage victory. Earlier in the year, the Governor vetoed a ban on gay marriage. This most recent measure would have brought the issue of gay marriage to voters. It died in committee. A Louisiana bill calling for a state constitutional amendment failed to get the needed two-thirds majority. Activists remain on their toes as the bill can be brought up for reconsideration through the end of the session. Meanwhile, Montana became the sixth state to enact such a measure this year (AR, ME MS, MT, ND, VA). Marriage bans have become law in 22 states since 1995 (AK, AZ, AR, DE, GA, ID, IL, KS, ME, MS, MI, MO, MT, NC, ND, OK, PA, SC, SD, TN, UT, VA). Anti-marriage bills remain pending in 17 states (CA, CO, CT, FL, HI, IN, LA, MN, NE, NJ, NY, OH, OR, TX, VT, WA, WI). Florida, Colorado, and Indiana have marriage bans awaiting action by the Governor. In Florida the measure passed the Senate last week. Governor Lawton Chiles has not indicated whether or not he will sign the measure. A Colorado legislature conference committee reached agreement on compromise language for its marriage bill they hope will meet with Governor Romer's approval. A spokesperson for Romer indicated he would likely sign the measure which must first pass both houses again before it gets back to his desk. Romer vetoed a marriage ban last year on grounds that it was offensive to gays and lesbians because, among other things, it would have been included in a section of law concerning incest. This year's measure is not included in that section of law. In Indiana, a measure passed both houses of the legislature on April 25. Minnesota and Texas bills were voted out of committee recently, while the California Senate Judiciary committee defeated an anti-gay marriage bill on April 22. The Assembly bill is still alive and is scheduled to be heard on May 7. In five states (IL, MD, NE, RI, WA), pro-marriage bills were introduced. Only those in Illinois and Washington remain alive. Other Pending Legislation on our families: Add Georgia to the list of states with bills banning adoption or foster parenting by gay and lesbian people. The language was added as an amendment to an adoption procedures reform bill. The bill with the amendment passed out of the Senate but was later killed. In total, seven anti-family bills have been introduced so far in six states (GA, KY, MS, MO, SC, TN). Except for Kentucky and one of the two bills in Missouri, the measures would prohibit gays and lesbians from adopting and/or becoming foster parents. Florida and New Hampshire are the only two state with laws explicitly banning adoptions by gay men and lesbians. Many other states have regulations or court decisions prohibiting adoption and/or foster parenting by gay men and lesbians. The ACLU and Mother' Day: The American Civil Liberties Union is celebrating Mother's Day this May 11. 1997 with a special online salute to lesbian moms, and their shining example of motherhood. "Lost in the annual Mother's Day avalanche of Hallmark cards and FTD commercials is one group of mothers who really deserve a day of recognition -- America's lesbian moms," said Matt Coles, director of the ACLU's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project. "No other group of mothers has faced the kind of sustained, unabashed effort to break up their families than lesbian mothers," Coles added. The ACLU's Freedom Network (www.aclu.org) showcases several lesbian mothers who have demonstrated astonishing determination to fight for their family with dogged persistence, strength and love. Two of these mothers spent much of the past week in court, challenging a system that continues to hold outdated ideas and sheer prejudices about lesbian parents. The ACLU's Freedom Network also highlights some of the recent victories secured by lesbian mothers. To date, lesbian mothers have been granted second-parent adoptions in at least 21 states, and the right to adopt in more than 22 states. To view the special collection, point your browser to the ACLU's website (www.aclu.org (Keyword to: http://www.aclu.org)), and click on the Mothers's Day card in the center of the screen. SPAIN Last March the Spanish Parliament debated the law of civil partnerships (presented by PSOE (socialists) and IU (comunists)) in which gay and lesbian couples were contemplated. By a double round of votation, the project was dismissed and we are now witnessing how the political parties, which had avowed the law, are now stepping back. As we foresee we might be given a "light" version of a partnership law, which would not entirely equate it to marriage (consistent with the EU resolution of Feb 1994 - equal rights for homosexuals), we ask for your support in reminding politicians of their engagement. We are trying to keep the debate on the headlines while exerting pressure over politicians. For this reason we require your support to write letters to: Joaquim Molins Convergencia i Unio Congreso de Diputados Plaza de las Cortes, 9 28071 Madrid Jorge Trias Sagnier Partido Popular Congreso de Diputados Plaza de las Cortes, 9 28071 Madrid Please express your support to Coordinadora Gai-Lesbiana and to to next coming law project prepared by Coalicion Canaria, PSOE and IU, while reminding them of the need to comply with the resolution of the European Parliament on equal civil rights. VIETNAM (Wockner News Service) Officials in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, expressed horror April 7 following news reports of the nation's first gay wedding. The ceremony, at a local restaurant, reportedly united an Australian-Vietnamese man and his Vietnamese boyfriend. More than 100 guests reportedly attended. "It should be publicly condemned," Nguyen Thi Thuong, vice-director of the city's state-run Consulting Center for Love, Marriage and Families, told Reuters. "Public opinion does not support this." The Nguoi Lao Dong newspaper quoted a police spokesman as saying: "If we'd known about it we would have stopped it. But we can't fine them because we don't have any laws to punish them." MEXICO (Wockner News Service) by Rex Wockner Copyright (c) 1997 Rex Wockner. All rights reserved. Do not publish, broadcast, or cybertransport without permission. TIJUANA, B.C., Mexico -- It looks as if a gay man and two lesbians will be elected to Mexico's Congress in the July 6 elections. Mexico City gay activist Francisco Robles Manning and his "substitute" co-candidate Nayeli Fuentes Vidal, a longtime lesbian activist, have two opportunities for victory and are all but guaranteed a seat in the 500-member federal Chamber of Deputies. First, they could win in direct voting in Mexico City's 12th District, which includes the gay Zona Rosa neighborhood. Speaking at the Fifth Meeting of Gays and Lesbians in Northeast Mexico, held April 4-6 in Tijuana, Robles and Fuentes said there is a good chance they will capture the necessary votes as candidates for the left-wing Cardenista Party. If they do not win in direct voting, however, they still could end up in Congress since 200 of the 500 seats in the Chamber of Deputies are filled via a process known as "plurinominal circumscription." Under plurinominal circumscription, after an election each political party gets to choose a certain number of Congressmembers itself, based on the percentage of votes the party got in a multi-state region. If the Cardenista Party gets the percentage of votes in the July election that it has gotten in previous elections, Robles and Fuentes will have their seat -- since they are listed at number three on the Cardenista Party plurinominal-circumscription list of candidates. "The only thing that can go wrong is for the party to not get the three percent of the votes necessary to get to my position on the list," Robles said. "It is very likely I'll get in. In recent elections in these five states, the Partido Cardenista got from three to five percent of votes." Each of the 500 members of the Chamber of Deputies enters Congress along with a second, "substitute" member, who often works closely with the main member throughout his or her term. Fuentes would fill that role. Robles, 38, founded the well-known gay group Orgullo Gay, co-founded the Mexican Homosexual Network, is an organizer of the pride parade, publishes a gay newspaper and operates gay phone lines, among other endeavors. To keep Robles and Fuentes company, yet another Mexico City lesbian activist is expected to win a seat in the Chamber of Deputies as a plurinominal-circumscription candidate for the mainstream, left-wing Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD), it was revealed at the Tijuana conference. Lesbian activist Patria Jimenez is number 12 on the PRD's list. "Voting in the 4th plurinominal- circumscription district [the five-state region] will result in the party getting to fill 16-18 seats," Jimenez said, "and I'm number 12." The elections of Jimenez, Robles and Fuentes would break new ground in Latin America, which has never seen an openly gay elected federal official. Robles is the candidate whose March 1 kidnapping in Mexico City received wide coverage in the U.S. gay press. The kidnappers demanded he and Fuentes halt their campaigns and that Robles' family pay 1 million pesos in ransom ($127,000). However, Robles was released two days later after his captors doused him in white paint to "cleanse his dark soul." Some Mexico City activists hinted that Robles staged the kidnapping as a media stunt -- an allegation he again denied during the Tijuana conference. DENMARK - (Wockner News Service) A majority of Danes now favor offering some form of church ceremony for gay registered partners, Berlinske Tidende reported March 28. A Gallup poll found that 33 percent of Danes believe gays should be allowed to get married in church and an additional 21 percent favor a "marriage-like" church ceremony for homosexuals. Forty percent oppose any church ceremony and the remainder have no opinion. Denmark was first among the four nations that allow gays to marry under civil registered-partnership laws that grant all rights of matrimony except access to adoption, artificial- conception services and church weddings. The other countries are Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Although they may not adopt, Icelandic gay spouses can obtain joint custody of each other's biological children. MISSOURI - St. Louis Post Dispatch, April 15, 1997 Regarding the April 7 article, "Transsexual Plans To Fight Custody Ruling," I fully support Sharon's parental rights. I, too, am a transgendered parent (in transition), and I have kept a loving relationship with my daughter and a cordial, cooperative parental relationship with her mother. In the article, Sharon said: "There are things only a parent can provide. That is unconditional love, guidance and wisdom. There is no reason I can't give that to my kids." So very true. The irrational fear of individuals with gender dysphoria stems from great misunderstanding. Our gender self-identity is established by about 4 years of age, and most certainly is influenced by genetic and possibly environmental exposures during pregnancy. Sometimes it is not what it should be. Our circumstance is not a choice or corruption of morals but simply a human condition that is now recognized by many researchers and care-giving professionals as a problem for an individual only if he or she accepts society's shame at the individual's "non-conformance," instead of recognizing one's self-worth. There is currently a disturbing and unwarranted movement in the Missouri General Assembly to pass legislation singling out transgendered and other sexual minority (gay, lesbian, bisexual) parents, as a class, for institutionalized abrogation of our parental rights, based solely on a characteristic inborn in us. Numerous bills have been introduced in the House and Senate (HB29 and HB640, SB51) to take away our constitutional civil right to have each situation judged upon its unique circumstances and merits, a right most of us take for granted. If those of us who are sexual minorities can reach loving and respectful accommodation with our children, allow us the dignity, respect and opportunity. No one asks more than this. Shannon Ware, Board member, It's Time, Missouri St. Louis ________________________________________________________ To SUBSCRIBE, send an e-mail message to glpcinat@ix.netcom.com saying "subscribe Parents' Network", To UNSUBSCRIBE send an e-mail message to glpcinat@ix.netcom.com saying "unsubscribe Parents' Network" and you will be removed from the list. --=====================_863398824==_--