* VOL. 13 * JUNE 2000 *
INSIDE THIS NEWSLETTER
RESPECT
WRITTEN By:Bestwolf
All across the nation, June is PRIDE month. As you go forth and attend these gatherings, please take time to respect your fellow attendees. Look around yourself. Be aware of all that is going on and act safely. Just because there have been great strides towards tolerance for the gay/lesbian community, this is no reason to lose your respect for yourself or those around you. The world is still no safe place for you if you are lesbian or gay, and acting your lifestyle in public is still inviting harm to yourself. Many is the time I have refused to go places with other lesbians, even though I would have liked their company, just because they would put my life in jeopardy. Maybe they have a death wish, but I have not lived this long because I have one. In case you haven’t realized it yet, the laws are for the straights and as part of the lesbian/gay community, you will be the one punished for a crime faster than the straight will.
In May, my partner and I went to the PRIDE march in Northampton, Massachusetts. We attended because I feel more at home in this world with people like myself around me. It was a beautiful day, warm with a few showers, but the Goddess saw to it the sun shined on the parade. All around us groups of women sat waiting for the marchers to come down the street. Across from us there were younger women holding hands or arms around each other’s waist, but there was no touchy feeling going on.
I was surprised to see so many straight members of the community out to see the marchers. No one harassed the lesbian community. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was tolerance on their part, or because they realized the amount of money that the lesbian community brings to the city. Then again, I point out to you, Northampton is also known as Lesbianville, USA.
At the stroke of noon, all eyes turned up the street to watch the rainbow arch making its way down the street. My heart wanted to shout with joy at its coming. This was MY arch. This was MY banner. This was MY flag. These were MY colors. All I had personally suffered in my life because of these colors being mine were shared with those around me. How much all of us have suffered for being different. The younger generation was carrying OUR colors down the street. Stand up and be proud! We were coming down the street.
Although we will attend many PRIDE marches this year our highlight will be the Burlington, Vermont Pride on June 17th. Long live the lesbian/gay communities in Vermont. Pray for their safety as they continue their fight for the rights of all of us.
Navratilova Back on the Court
Open lesbian Martina Navratilova, the winningest woman tennis pro in history, is making a brief return to the tour after a five-year retirement "just for fun." To play singles, she said, would be too much work. She plans to play doubles partnered with South African Mariaan de Swardt in just four tournaments, and they began with a wild card slot at the Madrid Open this past week. At 43, Navratilova is literally twice the age of many of women on the tour..
Navratilova is scheduled to be playing doubles again at the French Open beginning May 29, but even that Grand Slam is just a tune-up for Wimbledon, where she wanted to play at center court just one more time. She won 19 titles there, second only to Billie Jean King's record 20. After Wimbledon, on July 15, she'll be formally inducted into the Hall of Fame and return to her current sport -- ice hockey.
Has anything changed since Navratilova's retirement? Top ten French pro Nathalie Tauziat says in her new book The Underside of Women's Tennis that there are actually fewer lesbians on the tour. She wrote, "When the Women's Tennis Association and the women's circuit began, the proportion of homosexuals among the top ten was significant. Now there must be no more than two among the top ten. But the idea that we are all more or less that way is so powerful that one must always justify oneself. How many times have I felt in the eyes of others this heavy and indelicate question: 'Are you or aren't you?' No, I am not, and I am neither proud nor sorry."
Definitely proud and not sorry, of course, is her fellow French pro open lesbian Amelie Mauresmo.
Anne of Green Gables Outed???
Royal Military College Professor Laura Robinson on May 25 presented to the Congress of Social Sciences and Humanities meeting at Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, her paper entitled "Bosom Friends: Lesbian Desire in L.M. Montgomery's 'Anne' Books," detailing the homoerotic and even sadomasochistic elements and undertones in the 1908 Anne of Green Gables and its successors, Tom Spears wrote in the Ottawa Citizen. Robinson writes that, "Anne repeatedly expresses lesbian desires," and notes the various attractions, infatuations, repulsions, jealousies, and passionate -- even "outrageous" -- language the women characters in the beloved Canadian classic use. Although the women all follow the rules of the day, marrying men and letting their relationships with each other fade out, Robinson writes that, "Montgomery's texts subtly challenge compulsory heterosexuality by drawing attention to the unfulfilled and unacceptable nature of women's love for women. Because Anne's various expressions of lesbian desires emerge but are not engaged, they draw attention to what is excluded, what cannot be said to be, in Anne's world. ... Even though Anne's lesbian desires are not fulfilled in any overtly textual way, their inclusion disrupts the patriarchal, heterosexual status quo by always gesturing to possibilities beyond the norm."
But the Citizen's Spears went on to find out that Anne author Lucy Maud Montgomery herself would not have taken kindly to Robinson's contemporary views. It seems that in the early 1930's, Montgomery was the subject of a passionate crush by a young schoolteacher named Isobel. Confused, Montgomery went to the library for enlightenment, and returned home to write in her journal, "Faugh! I am not a Lesbian. I understand her [quoting Isobel] 'special need of me' only too well -- much better than she understands it herself. It is the horrible craving of the lesbian ... a curse."
Several scholars he spoke with were also less than impressed by Robinson's analysis, many protesting that the characters were pre-adolescent girls in a culture where exaggerated declarations of passion and touching were more common among female friends.
Even though the copyright to the works died with Montgomery in 1942, her heirs have struggled mightily to maintain some control and a piece of the action for everything since. They're currently involved in a continuing legal struggle with the producer of an animated two-parter that was broadcast in Canada in March but that the producer would like to take outside the country. In fact, Anne of Prince Edward Island is most popular today far away in Japan.
ACLU Seeks End to Puerto Rico Sodomy Law
The American Civil Liberties Union's (ACLU) Lesbian and Gay Rights Project promised May 22 to "take whatever steps necessary" to have Puerto Rico's "crimes against nature" law struck down. Puerto Rico's law makes non-commercial homosexual acts between consenting adults in private, as well as heterosexual anal intercourse, a felony punishable by up to ten years in prison.
The ACLU began its legal challenge in 1998 on behalf of six Puerto Rican gays and lesbians and its own membership in Puerto Rico. Lead plaintiff Reverend Margarita Sanchez was threatened with the sodomy law when she was giving testimony before Puerto Rico's legislature. But the Puerto Rico Court of Appeals decided 2 - 1 to dismiss the lawsuit, saying the law did not violate constitutional rights and that they did not see any citizens directly impacted by it.
The ACLU has asked that court to reconsider. As evidence of impact, the ACLU pointed to an announcement by the Puerto Rico Department of Justice of its intention to enforce the law, and to a case in which a court found the domestic violence laws did not apply to a gay male couple because "homosexual conduct is a crime" under the law. Should the appeals court refuse, the ACLU has promised to appeal to the Puerto Rico Supreme Court.
Eighteen of the United States have some form of law criminalizing private non-commercial sex acts between consenting adults, five of them applying solely to homosexual acts.
MA Senate Funds Suicide Prevention
The Massachusetts state Senate on May 23 made only a token gesture in response to calls for de-funding of the state's pioneering Governor's Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth and Safe Schools Program. In approving funding for gay and lesbian suicide prevention, the Senate agreed to an amendment to prohibit use of those funds for sex education -- something for which they'd never been intended. The Senate rejected a proposal that would have cut the $1.5-million funding for the program by one-third to drive the point home.
The Parents Rights Coalition had stirred up a firestorm against the state's services to gay and lesbian public school students based on an incident which had nothing to do with either state funds or public schools. One coalition member secretly tape-recorded one out of some fifty workshops comprising a privately-sponsored March conference for gay and lesbian youth that was organized by GLSEN (the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network) and held on the Boston campus of Tufts University. The confidential workshop was designed to give frank answers to the young people's questions about sex, and the answers became quite frank indeed, providing grist for the Coalition's anti-gay mill when the group went on to distribute the tape to talk radio hosts, on their own Web site, and elsewhere. The workshop was conducted by two AIDS educators employed by the state, but they were not acting in their official capacities, although one has been fired and the other forced to resign in t! he! ensuing uproar.
In the Senate, Amherst Democrat Stanley Rosenberg said, "The inappropriate use and abuse of this program cried out for some recognition and articulation." Lynn Democrat Edward Clancy, Junior proposed the funding cut, saying, "The Tufts thing brought into the open some of the more unreasonable instruction that really wasn't in accord with the mission of the line item," and made reference to "some salacious materials that were coming out of some of those programs over the years." Needham Democrat Cheryl Jacques fired back that the programs "provided no funding for what happened at Tufts" and in fact had never been used to offer any kind of sex education. She offered the prohibition against such use -- and continued full funding -- as a compromise, and Clancy and the rest of the Senate were satisfied.
CA Assembly OKs School Hate Prevention Funds
In a classic bit of politics, California in 1994 adopted a Hate Violence Prevention Act including admirable steps to be taken to eliminate discrimination and hate violence in public schools -- as long as absolutely no additional public funds were expended on them. On May 23, the state Assembly voted 45 - 24 to approve Assemblymember John Longville's (D-Rialto) AB 1906, to lift those funding restrictions and finally allow the State Board of Education to adopt policies and create guidelines to assist local education authorities in implementing programs in schools "that promote understanding, awareness and appreciation of the contributions of people with diverse backgrounds and of harmonious relations in a diverse society."
CAPE, the statewide advocacy group California Alliance for Pride and Equality, has been working to advance this measure, and its executive director Jean Harris said in a statement, "Education is a key component to any effort to stop hate-motivated violence. Young children must be taught about the importance of diversity, tolerance, respect, and peaceful conflict resolution that will help equip them with the tools to reject hateful messages." Similarly, the new Governor's Advisory Panel on Hate Groups, as its first education recommendation adopted in January, noted the "need for increased education in tolerance, particularly in the schools, pointing to this as possibly the single most effective weapon against the spread of hate." The bill now moves to the Senate.
In the mean time, the national Human Rights Campaign has joined in calling for letters to California Governor Gray Davis to sign Senator Tom Hayden's SB 118, one of several bills in progress to give more weight to the domestic partnerships the state established last year, and one which would support many non-gay families as well. California Family Care and Medical Leave law currently requires employers of more than 50 workers to allow employees with at least one year of service to take family care and medical leave not only for their own health problems, but for those of a parent, spouse or child, or in connection with the birth or adoption of a child. Hayden's bill would expand the law to allow time off for health problems of a domestic partner, domestic partner's child, grandparent, sibling, and some others needing the worker's care.
Short Time Topic's
Judy Lightwater and Cynthia Callahan of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada on May 26 applied for a marriage license, fully expecting to be rejected, the CBC reported. Lightwater, 49, said, "This law will be revealed for the human rights discrimination it is. This is a civil right. It's not a privilege. We want to be legally married and we don't want to wait much longer."
Callahan, 36, and Lightwater may be joining a lawsuit being organized with a number of couples across Canada who are seeking legal marriage; they are all applying for licenses so they'll have standing to sue when they're rejected. Activist couple Michael Leshner and Michael Stark were astonished last week to have their application in Toronto put on hold rather than rejected, while the city seeks the advice of an Ontario court in light of recent legal decisions.
The Canadian Supreme Court has declined a request from the provincial Attorney-General of Ontario to reopen the landmark "M v. H" case, which has greatly broadened the legal recognition of same-gender couples throughout the nation. The court last May ordered the province to modify its Family Support Act so that dissolving gay and lesbian couples could have the same access to the courts for property division as others. The court found it was a violation of the national Charter of Rights and Freedoms to deny same-gender couples equal treatment with heterosexual ones. Ontario complied by quickly enacting omnibus legislation to change all its laws using a heterosexual-specific definition of "spouse" to cover same-gender "partners" as well; a similar omnibus bill is currently before the national Senate, and other provinces are examining their laws as well.
Officials announced May 25 that David Copeland, suspect in the April 30, 1999 mail-bombing of Soho's gay Admiral Duncan pub that killed three people and injured another 86, plus nail-bombings in Black and Bangladeshi neighborhoods of London that injured more than forty more, will go on trial at the Old Bailey on June 5. Copeland is charged with three counts of "causing an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property" and with the murders of the Soho victims, gays John Light and Nick Moore and their non-gay friend Andrea Dykes, who was pregnant at the time.
In May, the New Hampshire state legislature approved a sweeping school safety bill designed to protect all students from harassment and violence, sponsored by gay state Senator Rick Trombly (D-Boscawen). Governor Jeanne Shaheen is expected to sign the bill into law. The bill's provisions include a requirement that local school boards take action to prevent and remedy incidents of violence, harassment and discrimination; a requirement that any school employee who witnesses such harassment report it; a requirement that schools take action in response to such reports; and sensitivity training for school personnel regarding minority groups including gays and lesbians. Students who have experienced unfair treatment for reasons of bias, including bias against their "actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity," will have meaningful recourse.
JUNE EVENTS
June2-11
Capital Pride Festival in Washington D.C.
www.capitalpride.org
Saturday, June 3 Gay Day at Disney 9th Annual Gay Day at Walt Disney World. Magic Kingdom® Park, Walt Disney World. www.gayday.com
11th Annual GLAAD Media Awards "Images for a New Millennium" in San Francisco http://www.glaad.org/glaad/events/index.html
Human Rights Campaign Columbus Dinner at the Columbus Convention Center. Call (614) 844-6669 for more information. http://www.hrc.org/events/index.html
The Elements Party An AIDS Benefit for the Hope and Help Center of Central Florida. Produced by Intrigue Productions starting at 9:00PM at the House of Blues in Orlando, Florida http://www.virtualorlando.com/intrigue
Los Angeles Dance Invitational A Los Angeles Gay and Lesbian Center Youth Services benefit. Wilshire Ebell Theatre, 8 p.m.. Tickets are $20. For more information, call 323-993-7607 or visit www.laglc.org.
June 9-11
Two Girls Alone Part of the Spring Concert Series at the Highlands Inn in Bethlehem, New Hampshire. http://www.highlandsinn-nh.com/
June 22-25
National Women's Music Festival Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana http://a1.com/wia/nwmf/index.htm
June 24
NY Swimillennium, New York's first Gay Pride Swim Meet, presented by Team New York Aquatics. Call 212-337-6999 for more info. www.tnya.org
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