Date: Sun, 12 May 1996 05:34:40 -0400 From: ac245@osfn.rhilinet.gov (Tina M. Wood) Subject: RI legislative update (A slightly differnet version of this appeared in the May 1996 issue of Options, RI's lgbt monthly.) Legislative Update The General Assembly has kept lesbigay Rhode Islanders and our friends quite busy during this legislative season with a number of bills of interest to our community. Among the bills brought up this year were a bill designed to deny same-gender couples the freedom to marry and a bill which would have protected lesbigay students from discrimination in the public schools. The antimarriage bill had originally been brought up and then quickly tabled in early February in the House Judiciary Committee. The bill, sponsored by Reps. Robert Flaherty (D-Warwick) and Charles Knowles (D-Narragansett), resurfaced unexpectedly in early April. About a dozen opponents of the bill, including members of the Alliance, PFLAG, Straight But Not Narrow Coalition, and the Interfaith Coalition were prepared to testify against the bill. Ocean State Action sent written testimony to be read to the committee, and a representative of GLAD was also there to testify. Only one or two identifiable proponents of the bill were present in the hearing room. After over an hour of testimony on unrelated bills, Chairman Knowles announced to those who were there for the antimarriage bill that Flaherty, the chief sponsor, could not be found anywhere in the building. Knowles went on to say that he would not hold a hearing on this bill. He explained that the issue would ultimately be decided by the courts, so any action that the General Assembly took on the question was premature. He promised that if Flaherty tried to force the committee to vote on the bill, he himself would vote against it. News reports have said that Flaherty could try to work around Knowles' decision by asking the full House to vote to bring the bill to the floor without a committee vote, but that such requests are rarely granted. Another bill of interest to our community, entitled "An Act Relating to Schools Discrimination," had hearings in committees of both the House and the Senate during this legislative session. The bill would have added sexual orientation, religion, and national origin to existing law which protects against discrimination based on sex, race, and age in the public schools. At the hearings, held in the House Special Legislation Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, a number of lesbigay youth testified about their experiences of harrassment in the public schools of Rhode Island. Some were physically assaulted by fellow students, and all reported verbal harrassment by students and even by some teachers. Among others who testified in favor were a number of teachers from schools around the state. Glenn Browning, a Cumberland High School teacher, told of his school's unwillingness to address the issues. When he asked to be allowed to put up signs indicating that his classroom was a "safe space" for lesbigay students, he was told by the administration that he could not put the signs up unless the state mandated that the school put them up, as with "no smoking" signs. On the day of the hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, a vote was called, and the bill passed the committee 5-4. However, Chairman Domenic DiSandro (who had voted yes) recalled the bill back to the committee after opponents pointed out language which they claimed could be read to require employment benefits for partners of lesbigay school employees. The committee then killed the bill before proponents had the opportunity to amend it. The sponsors, however, did succeed in substituting a bill which would set up a commission to study discrimination based upon sexual orientation in schools. This new bill passed the House Special Legislation Committee, and the lead sponsor, Rep. Nancy Hetherington (D-Cranston), is optimistic that it will pass the full House. At this writing, it is scheduled for a vote in the House within the next two weeks. It is not yet certain whether the Commission will be a joint legislative commission or simply a House commission. Sen. Rhoda Perry (D-Providence) is currently consulting with the Senate leadership to see if there is a good chance of a commission passing in the Senate. Wendy Becker, Director of Youth Pride, Inc., said that proponents will go with the House commission if it does not look like the joint commission can make it through the Senate. A commission would hold a number of public hearings to educate the general public and public officials about the issues faced by gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered youth. The commission would be composed of legislators, teachers, students, parents, and representatives from some state departments. It would make policy and legislative recommendations by February of next year, in time for the General Assembly to act upon them during next year's legislative session. Becker and Hetherington both see the commission as way of helping with future efforts toward a school nondiscrimination law. Recommendations from an official commission would carry more weight and help to get such a bill passed in the future, proponents believe. Becker praised the efforts of many who worked on the bill this year. She noted particularly Reps. Hetherington, Edie Ajello, and David Cicilline, along with Sens. June Gibbs (the chief Senate sponsor) and Perry. But fundamental to the effort was the brave and passionate work of the lesbigay youth themselves. -30- -- ______ Tina M. Wood ac245@osfn.rhilinet.gov \ / Cumberland, Rhode Island twood@qrd.org \ / Homepage: http://drycas.club.cc.cmu.edu/~maire/home.html \/ Queer Resources Directory: http://www.qrd.org/QRD/