LOCAL NEWS OF NOTE ON GLINN

Contact:
NGLTF Communications Department
202-332-6483
800-757-6476 (pager)
ngltf@ngltf.org 
http://www.ngltf.org 1700 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC
NGLTF CONCURS: MILWAUKEE IS #1
Jean Challenges GLBT Activists: "I'll Meet You There" 
Oct. 4, 2001 - The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force today echoed recent praise of the city of Milwaukee, urging all GLBT activists to visit as soon as possible! Milwaukee is the host city of the fourteenth annual Creating Change(TM) conference, convened by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation, from Nov. 7-11, 2001. 
This week, Girlfriends Magazine has named the city #1 in its ranking of best places for lesbians to live. Citing the state nondiscrimination law and the city's relatively low cost of living, housing costs, and crime rate, Milwaukee topped the list for the first time this year. The ranking was reported on this week in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Also, last Sunday, the New York Times carried a travel section story highlighting recent progress made in Milwaukee. 
"NGLTF chose Milwaukee as the site for our Creating Change(TM) conference precisely for these reasons," said Lorri L. Jean, executive director of NGLTF. "In light of all this recent publicity, I urge all GLBT activists and organizers to visit the city as soon as possible - I'll meet you there in a month!"
Milwaukee and Wisconsin have played significant roles on the national stage. Wisconsin made GLBT history in 1982 by becoming the first state ever to enact an anti-discrimination law; the next year, Wisconsin repealed its anti-sodomy law. Home of the country's first openly lesbian Congresswoman, Tammy Baldwin, Wisconsin is also the home of America's Black Holocaust Museum, founded by Dr. James Cameron, who survived a 1930 lynching in Marion, IN. Milwaukee and Wisconsin are the birthplaces of schools vouchers and welfare "reform," respectively.
Creating Change(TM), the premier national conference of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender movement, will be held at the Milwaukee Hyatt Regency in November. US Rep. Tammy Baldwin and Anthony D. Romero, the newly appointed executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, will be among the keynote speakers. Programming changes are currently underway to allow the conference to contribute to the national debate surrounding our current national crisis with details to be released soon. To register or get more information, please visit http://www.creatingchange.org or call 202-332-6483 x3301.
Related links:
Girlfriends Magazine
http://www.gfriends.com/story.html 

Los Angeles Times, June 2, 2001
( http://www.latimes.com )

Group Protests Bill on Domestic Partners
Politics: Demonstrators in Santa Ana oppose measure to extend rights of
same-sex couples.
By THUY-DOAN LE, Times Staff Writer
         About 70 people protested outside Assemblyman Lou Correa's Santa Ana
office Friday morning, then marched into the building to urge him to vote
against a bill relating to same-sex domestic partners' rights in California.
         Correa (D-Santa Ana) was not in at the time, so the protesters signed
in at the front office, then left.
         Headed by the Campaign for California Families, the group opposes
Assembly Bill 25, created by Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-San Francisco),
who successfully carried legislation two years ago to allow same-sex couples
to register with the state as domestic partners.  The new bill is a
follow-up that would expand the rights to include allowing a person the
right to sue for wrongful death, to adopt the children of his or her partner
as a stepparent, and to seek medical insurance for a spousal-equivalent
partner.
         Randy Thomasson, executive director of Campaign for California
Families, said the group is concerned that marriage is being diluted.
"These bills cheapen marriage because it should only be between a man and a
woman," he said.  "Marriage cannot be equated with any other partnership,
nor should we give them special rights."
         Thomasson said such laws and programs to educate schoolchildren about
homosexuality "send a message to young boys and girls to enter into a
homosexual lifestyle."
         Correa has not decided how he will vote.
         "I absolutely support a marriage between a man and a woman," he said
in a phone interview later.  "But I also support providing health care to
domestic partners.  That's the human thing to do."
         The bill is scheduled for a vote in the Assembly on Thursday.


Southern Voice
Atlanta, GA
May 31, 2001
http://www.southernvoice.com

LA gays see victory in defeat

by Garry Boulard

   BATON ROUGE-A coalition of gay civil rights activists and labor
unions may help a bill that protects gays from workplace
discrimination, despite its defeat last week in the state Senate.

The 21-14 vote on May 23 against a measure that would protect gays
from workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation was a
setback, though the lawmaker that sponsored the measure may
re-introduce it, gay civil rights activists said.

Even though the bill has failed, it can still be considered a victory
for gay rights as it was the first time a gay rights measure has made
it out of committee and to the full Senate for a vote, said Melinda
Shelton, executive director for the Louisiana Gay & Lesbian Political
Action Caucus.

"Wednesday's vote should by no means be seen as a defeat for the gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender communities," said Chris Daigle,
co-chair of LAGPAC. "The mere fact that the full Senate debated our
right to work free from discrimination was history in the making.
There were 14 Senators who joined us, and half of those took to the
Senate floor in support of our bill. This is unprecedented."

The bill's author, state Sen. Donald Cravins (D-Lafayette) is
expected to reintroduce the bill for another vote before the session
ends on June 18, gay activists said. The bill would not apply to the
military, to nonprofit religious organizations or to businesses with
fewer than 25 employees.

An alliance between gay activists and the state's labor unions
emerged out of the struggle to pass the bill. That alliance may have
added at least six votes in favor of the measure, according to a
legislative aide.

LAGPAC specifically engineered the bill to coincide with the goals of
business and labor lobbyists, Shelton said.

It's a strategy of progressive coalition-building that's not new to
gay lobbyists looking to pass gay-friendly measures, said David
Elliot, communications director for the National Gay & Lesbian Task
Force.

"What we saw in Louisiana, we are seeing all across the South, and it
is resulting in legislation that is very gay-friendly and
supportive," Elliot said.

In many Southern legislatures, union supporters have been
particularly helpful in framing workplace discrimination issues in a
way that moderate or even conservative lawmakers find useful, Elliot
said.

"There are some legislators who instinctively respond to a workplace
discrimination bill in a much more positive way than they may to an
issue that they see as only being about and for gay people," Elliot
said. "And to that degree, labor has been very helpful for us."

Wade Rathke, a chief organizer for Local 100 of the AFL-CIO in Baton
Rouge, said that his union has long been on record in favor of
including sexual orientation in job discrimination measures.

"In fact, there is a growing number of unions that, including our own
local, have specific contract language pertaining to these issues,"
Rathke said.

Louis Reine, one of the AFL-CIO's Baton Rouge lobbyists, noted on the
Senate floor that SB 862 "is about whether somebody should have the
ability to go into the workforce to earn a living, to put food on the
table and clothes on their back."

"That's something I would hope the state of Louisiana would promote
as a right everybody should have," Reine said.

Labor views have 'evolved'

Elliot said that, historically, labor unions have not always been
supportive or even very much interested in gay issues.

"I think a generation ago, you could say that most unions were
actually somewhat homophobic," Elliot said

That old-school labor view was seen in the leadership of George
Meaney, the powerful head of the national AFL-CIO for more than 30
years. Meaney helped presidents from Franklin Roosevelt to Jimmy
Carter pass a wide array of economic and social reform bills.

Under Meaney's leadership, the AFL-CIO was one of the most reliable
financial backers of Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1960s crusades against
segregation in the South. But on the issue of gay and lesbian rights,
Meaney was unsympathetic.

Viewing a gay-friendly New York delegation to the l972 Democratic
Convention, Meaney growled: "What kind of a delegation is this?
They've got six open fags on it, and only three AFL-CIO people."

Bernard Cook, a history professor at Loyola University and the author
of the landmark book, "Louisiana Labor from Slavery to 'Right to
Work,'" said union views evolved as the gay rights movement matured.

"I think as labor unions in general became more aware of social
issues and civil rights, they naturally moved in a direction of
caring about discrimination on the job," Cook said.

"Many of the unions as far back as the l960s understood the
importance of fighting against discrimination in any form," Cook
said. "But it was really the emergence of a new, and younger
generation that came to the fore in the l990s that brought gay and
lesbian workplace issues front and center."

Elliot pointed to a time three years ago that the U. S. Senate was
wrestling with a controversial and ultimately unsuccessful employment
nondiscrimination bill. It was John Sweeney, the current head of the
AFL-CIO, who was lobbying Senators, arguing strongly for the bill,
Elliot said.

"He was right off the Senate floor, in the lobby, and talking to
every senator he could find," Elliot said. "And even though the bill
failed, you can never measure how important it was for us to have him
play such a prominent role in that struggle."

Organized labor's embrace of gay and lesbian rights even includes the
founding of a constituent group called "Pride at Work," which is
funded by the AFL-CIO and is designed to mobilize mutual support
between unions.

The gay and labor coalition turned out to be the primary catalyst
behind a series of local ordinances that were passed and signed into
law in Kentucky in l999 banning workplace discrimination, Elliot said.

In other states, the coalition may currently be able to count up to a
third of the membership of most state legislatures as their allies,
Elliot said.

In Louisiana, of the 14 senators who voted for the recent workplace
discrimination bill, at least a dozen can be regarded as consistent
supporters of labor issues, said John Bourg, president of the
Louisiana AFL-CIO.

Of the 21 Senators who voted against the bill, there may be as many
as five that have generally voted in the past in support of labor
bills, Bourg said. Those lawmakers could be possible conversions when
Cravins attempts to reintroduce his measure before the legislative
session ends next month, he said.

"I think it shows that we still have a lot of work to do on this
particular issue," Bourg said. "But, then again, we always have to do
a lot of work when it comes to the things that matter to us."

Bourg said he likes to huddle with the lawmakers on a one-to-one
basis and talk to them about workplace discrimination as a fairness
issue.

"If you put it that way, they listen. I've told some of them about a
kid I knew back in the l950s who was in the Navy and he was gay. I
don't know that in the service of his country he bled any different
than any of the other soldiers who weren't gay."

Bourg said he has already converted a few senators who in past
sessions exhibited little enthusiasm for workplace discrimination
measures.

Broadening the appeal of workplace discrimination measures is
critical to gaining the support of some lawmakers who represent
conservative districts, he said.

"But if you emphasize that [workplace protection laws] are something
that goes to the heart of being fair to every working person, you not
only give them something new to consider, but an argument they can
win back home in those districts."

Lobbying gets personal

Debate over the measure was a mixture of compassion and rhetoric,
with a powerful GOP legislator supporting the measure, while others
argued it would create a "special class of workers."

Cravins told the Associated Press that some lawmakers supported the
idea behind the bill but admitted to him they could not vote for it
because it would cost them political support.

"When the day comes when I believe something but I can't vote it,
that's the day I resign from this body,'' Cravins said.

State Sen. Bill Jones (D-Ruston) spoke against the bill.

An attorney, Jones said he did not support discrimination but that
the bill is unworkable because it creates a protected class and that
proving someone is a member of that class would be based solely on
that person's claim.

The bill will "set back the cause of kindness, compassion and human
rights,'' Jones said.

State Sen. Lambert Boissiere (D-New Orleans) said a similar ordinance
passed in his city created no problems.

"This bill does not force you to hire someone. It's not affirmative
action. It's not going to add to your payroll,'' Boissiere said.

State Sen. Ken Hollis, a Republican who is running for governor in
2003, recently disclosed that one of his sons is gay in his often
emotional support for the bill.

"If this is the end of a political career, then that's okayä I've had
some people tell me if you're thinking about running for governor,
and I am, then this is going to do you in. So be it if that's the
case,'' Hollis said.

Bourg said he will marshal the forces of the labor union to support
the measure if it is reintroduced.

"Oh, yes, we'll still be behind it 100 percent," Bourg said. "One
little defeat can't stop something like this."

-The Associated Press contributed to this report.


DES MOINES REGISTER, June 1, 2001

COUNCIL READY FOR GAY RIGHTS
The ordinance failed in '98, but now five of the Des Moines City Council
members support it.
By Jeff Eckhoff, Register Staff Writer
         Des Moines City Council members are poised to approve a
long-controversial gay civil rights ordinance on Monday, making the city the
fifth in Iowa to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation.
         Five of the seven council members signed a letter this week
supporting an expansion of the city's human rights law. The council rejected
similar changes during the 1990s.
         The proposal would insert "sexual orientation" into an ordinance that
bans discrimination based on race, gender, religion or national origin,
among other things.  It applies to matters involving housing, employment or
the use of public accommodations.
         Supporters say the proposal would have little day-to-day impact on
most gays in Des Moines, although it would send a signal of tolerance long
needed in Iowa's capital city.
         "I think it will make a difference in the sense that it will give
people the security to know that they can live life more openly, without
fear that they can lose their job or their house or their apartment," said
Sharon Malheiro, president of the Gay and Lesbian Resource Center.  "The ity
is just putting a little legal merit behind what so many employers already
know is necessary to be competitive in today's job market."
         Des Moines would join Ames, Iowa City, Cedar Rapids and Davenport in
granting specific legal protection to gays.  State civil rights laws don't
cover discrimination based on sexual orientation.
         Des Moines officials last rejected a gay-rights proposal in May 1998,
when the idea failed on a 4-3 vote.
         Politicians say a 1999 election and a 2000 U.S. Supreme Court
decision helped sway support.
         Councilman Archie Brooks, who supports the ordinance change, in 1999
took the seat of Gene Phillips, who opposed it.  Councilman Chris Coleman, a
previous opponent, said some of his concerns were alleviated by a court
ruling involving the Boy Scouts of America.
         Coleman said research into that issue for his job at United Way of
Central Iowa convinced him that private groups such as the Boy Scouts would
not be affected by a city ordinance.  Discussions with city lawyers also
reassured him that innocent bystanders won't be forced to disclose their
sexual orientation as part of an investigation into somebody else's
discrimination complaint.
         "I think it's a responsible ordinance," Coleman said.  "I think it's
time we put this behind us and move on to other important issues for the
city."
         Coleman and Brooks joined Mayor Preston Daniels, Councilwoman
Christine Hensley and Councilman Tom Vlassis in signing a letter dated
Thursday asking to put the matter on Monday's agenda.  Daniels, Hensley and
Vlassis voted for the ordinance in 1998.
         Councilmen Michael McPherson and George Flagg voted against the
ordinance in 1998.
         Hensley, the proposal's staunchest supporter, said she "felt strongly
that it would be inappropriate to bring it to the council table again unless
we knew we had the votes. ... Regardless of where you're at on this, you're
going to get hammered because it's a very emotional issue."
         It's an issue that doesn't belong in city law books, said Steve
Beeman, assistant pastor at First Assembly of God Church in Des Moines.
      Homosexuality should be treated differently than such matters as race or
gender because those characteristics cannot be changed Beeman argued.
         "They have chosen a lifestyle that is culturally offensive to many,
and there are going to be consequences," he said of gays.
         Officials in the four cities that already have such an ordinance say
they have seen few changes since expanding the laws.  Davenport has received
six sexual-orientation complaints since its ordinance changed in March 2000.
Ames officials say they've received six or seven complaints over the past 10
years.
         Supporters stress that the law is designed to provide protection for
those who might need it.
         "I know a lot of people are happy to see it on the books," said Terry
Stevenson, owner of a Cedar Rapids bar that caters to a predominantly gay
crowd.  "I guess I personally haven't had any encounters where it has been
that effective. ...  but I'm sure it is a comforting thing in case anything
ever would happen."


Honolulu Star-Bulletin, May 25, 2001
( http://www.starbulletin.com )

CAYETANO TO SIGN HATE CRIMES BILL
By Associated Press, Star-Bulletin
         Gov. Ben Cayetano said today that he will sign the "hate crimes' bill
passed by this year's Legislature.
         It gives longer sentences for crimes motivated by the victim's race,
religion, disability, ethnicity, national origin or sexual orientation.
         Cayetano said while he has concerns about making distinctions between
various kinds of victims, in this case he feels there's a statement to be
made.
         He said his decision was "close call" because he doesn't believe
Hawai`i has a problem with hate crimes - yet.
         The hate crimes bill was supported by gay and lesbian groups and
several civil rights groups, including the Hawai`i Civil Rights Commission.
It was opposed by the Public Defender's Office, the Honolulu Police
Department and several religion-based groups.
-- 

Salt Lake Tribune, April 9, 2001
( http://www.sltrib.com )

Capitol Hill Plagued by Gay Fears?  Lesbian lawmaker discusses homophobia in
Utah politics
By Greg Burton, The Salt Lake Tribune
         An aversion to homosexuality on Capitol Hill ultimately doomed a push
to strengthen Utah's hate-crimes law this year, the state's first openly gay
lawmaker told members of the Wasatch Front Unitarian Fellowship on Sunday.
         And, said Salt Lake City Democrat Jackie Biskupski, discomfort with
gays and lesbians who are "out" is not exclusive to Republicans in Utah's
predominantly white, male Legislature.
         "I talk about the Republicans because they are in power," she said.
"That's not to say people in my same party don't have some of the same
issues, because they certainly do."
         In 1998, Biskupski overcame anti-gay rhetoric as well as infighting
among gays and lesbians in her liberal-leaning district to win election in a
runaway.  Since then, she has been stung by criticism from colleagues for
accepting the crown of grand marshal in Salt Lake City's Gay Pride Parade
and stunned by resistance from Democrats when she announced a run for
minority leadership in the state House of Representatives.
         "Going in I thought I would have to convince Republicans that I was
deserving," she told about 25 people packed in a Murray motel room.  "In all
reality, I had work to do on my own side of the fence.  When I ran for
leadership, some Democrats said it's OK for me to be a legislator, but it's
not OK for me to be in leadership.  That was shocking to me."
         Homosexuality and equal protection for gays and lesbians "is a debate
that is almost undebatable," she said.  "That is truly how it feels up
there."
         But Biskupski has overcome.  Despite flak from within her own party,
the two-term representative was elected House Democratic Caucus manager, a
key leadership position with a voice on some of the most influential
policy-setting and appropriation committees.
         During the hate-crimes debate, she owned a unique vantage.
         "Most of the Republicans believe that if they pass hate crimes
[legislation] they condone homosexuality," she said.  "That's our biggest
roadblock to getting this bill through."
         Democratic Salt Lake City Sen. Pete Suazo's Senate Bill 37 would have
toughened penalties when a crime is motivated by bias or prejudice against a
group.  Suazo crafted the legislation so the definition of a "group" could
cover anything from ethnicity to political persuasion.
         But while Suazo shepherded SB37 through the Senate with the help of
Senate President Al Mansell, R-Sandy, a prejudicial undercurrent dominated
maneuvering in the House, where Republican leaders refused to publicly
debate the bill.
         At one point, House Speaker Marty Stephens, R-Farr West, said
hate-crimes legislation was simply "not a high priority. . . .  It's putting
people in classifications of groups, and that's what some people in the
House have problems with."
         In fact, prior to Suazo's unveiling SB37, GOP leaders discussed
problems with "outing" their personal biases during a protracted debate.
According to Suazo, House Majority Assistant Whip Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, told
Suazo during a basketball game that the measure would pass only if
homosexuals were left out.
         On Sunday, Biskupski said many lawmakers fail to look beyond their
religious beliefs, however misguided or misinterpreted.  The message
resonated with her audience.
         Utah lawmakers should be reminded of biblical imperatives like "Love
thy neighbor," said Gary Slabaugh.  "We have to emphasize the highest
religious standards."
         Some in the crowd promised a vigorous fight over hate crimes in 2002
and a potentially embarrassing debate for lawmakers hoping to usher in the
Winter Olympics.
         "Two weeks before the Olympics we're going to be up there big time,"
said Bonni Macri, executive director of Jedi for Women.  She attributed
resistance to hate crimes and homosexuality to a siege mentality among male
Republicans.
         "It's fear more than anything else.  They are fearful of losing their
lifestyle."


POLITICS IN MINNESOTA - MARCH 22, 20001
V.19, N.15

Changes On The Minneapolis Council

Minneapolis has long been known for its politically active gay
community. The first openly gay state senator in the U.S., former
Sen. Alan Spear, was elected in 1972 and made his sexual preference
public in 1974. Rep. Karen Clark (DFL-Mpls.) came to the legislature
from Minneapolis in 1980. In the ensuing years, however, there has
been but one openly gay city council member, Brian Coyle, and that
was over a decade ago. Things seem likely to change this year, and in
a big way.

There are four openly gay candidates for council this year, all of
whom have a very good chance of winning election. What this may
signal more than anything is the political clout of Stonewall DFL,
the local chapter of a national group that helps elect candidates
sympathetic to GLBT issues. Two of the openly gay candidates that
Stonewall DFL has endorsed and actively supported, Gary Schiff (9 th
ward) and Scott Benson (11 th ward) have also received the DFL party
endorsement. Two more are considered favorites for DFL endorsements
in upcoming ward conventions.

These Democratic endorsing conventions are where the real action
takes place in Minneapolis elections. The four open council seats
should serve for some interesting turnover on the council with such
familiar names as Lisa McDonald and Jim Niland moving on to seek
bigger and better things. In McDonald's case that means a challenge
of the incumbent mayor. McDonald's 10 th ward seat and Niland's 6 th
ward seat also happen to have two of the more interesting contests as
well as the other two openly gay candidates. The former features
Stonewall-endorsed Doug Kress against former school board member Ann
Berget. The latter has Stonewall-endorsed Dean Kallenbach facing
community activist Jonathan Palmer. Both wards have nominating
conventions in the next two weeks.

Don't expect all this turnover to include any Republicans though.
Minneapolis has not had a Republican mayor since 1961 and since 1974
all but eight city council members have been DFLers. The Republican
Party is hoping to run candidates for the four open council seats,
though no candidates have made themselves known as of yet.

So, what does one make of the possibility of four gay men on the city
council as far as policy is considered? Most likely nothing. Odds are
this is just another sign that minority candidates no longer need to
run on minority issues. None of the candidates are running on a
so-called "gay platform." They are instead mostly running on a
pro-education, pro-mass transit, improve-the-city-services platform.
One can imagine that last plank playing rather well since there is a
certain segment of the city that wonders how there can be over $100
million for Block E development and a Target store. yet they can't
seem to plow the streets within three days.



Bay Area Reporter
March 22, 2001
http://www.ebar.com

AB 25 moves out of committee

by Dan Aiello

Dog-attack victim Diane Whipple's partner, Sharon Smith, testified
before the state Assembly Judiciary Committee last Tuesday, March 13,
attempting to persuade its members to support AB25, a bill designed
to increase the rights of domestic partners in California.

AB25's conservative opponents were no match for Smith's emotional
testimony and without debate committee members approved the bill by a
vote of 8-1.

Smith, who has filed a civil suit against the caretakers of the dogs
that mauled and killed her partner, came to the Capitol to plead for
laws that would support her right to sue for the pain and suffering
inflicted upon her by the death of Whipple. Currently, California law
does not recognize the right of a domestic partner to seek
compensation for negligent death.

There was complete silence in the Jesse Unruh Assembly Hearing Room
as Smith began her solemn testimony, recounting January 26 when her
partner was fatally mauled by a neighbor's dogs while struggling to
get into the couple's San Francisco apartment.

"When I learned there was no law to support my right to hold those
accountable for Diane's death, I couldn't believe it," said Smith.
"To say this added insult to injury is a gross understatement." Smith
concluded by asking committee members "to honor who Diane was to me"
by supporting the bill.

The bill's author, Assemblywoman Carole Migden (D-SF), testified
before Smith and argued that the 11 rights embodied within AB25 pale
in comparison to the "1,400 benefits" and responsibilities currently
afforded married couples. "These are reasonable and equitable
benefits," Migden explained to committee members. "If my bill were
enacted today, Ms. Smith would have the right to sue those
responsible for her partner's death." Migden cited unnamed polls
indicating that "50 to 60 percent" of Californians support
employment, insurance, and equity benefits covered in AB25.

Sacramento attorney Tim Smith (no relation to Sharon Smith) joined a
cadre of conservative and religious groups to voice opposition to
AB25. Acknowledging Sharon Smith's testimony and Whipple's death as
"a tragedy," Tim Smith berated AB25 as a blatant attempt to
circumvent Proposition 22, an initiative passed by voters last year
that states marriage in the state is limited to those between one man
and one woman. "I am here in defense of family and marriage," said
Tim Smith. "This bill essentially attempts to amend Article 2,
Section 10 of Proposition 22," where the proposition states that the
government will not provide marriage rights to domestic partners.

Tim Smith cited a case heard before the California Supreme Court to
make the claim that AB25 is an illegal attempt to promote and protect
gay marriage. Other conservative representatives made similar claims
that AB25 circumvents the will of the California voters who supported
Proposition 22. Opposing Migden's bill were representatives from
Campaign for California Families, Capitol Resource Trust, and the
Capitol Eagle Forum as well as individuals from religious groups.
"We're not the radicals here," said an opponent. "No major religion
or government has ever supported these sort of rights for homosexual
couples. It's unconscionable to grant 11 marriage rights to unmarried
couples," he said.

Perhaps the most intense moment of the hearing came when a
representative from Campaign for California Families pulled out a
copy of the book The Pink Swastika and began to cite homosexuality
for the atrocities of Nazi Germany. Committee Chair Darrell Steinberg
(D-Sacramento) interrupted the man and he left the hearing.

Lesbian Assemblywoman Christine Kehoe (D-San Diego), who sits on the
Judiciary Committee, made an emotional statement about her own
long-term relationship while appealing to her colleagues to support
the bill. "It's the most important part of my life," she said. Kehoe
also addressed an argument by AB25's opponents that Sharon Smith
wasn't legally Whipple's domestic partner. "It's a Catch-22 for gay
and lesbian couples," explained Kehoe, who pointed out gays and
lesbians are criticized for wanting the right to marry and then for
not being more public.

Kehoe also addressed the claim that AB25 would be costly to
businesses and taxpayers. "I was a city council member and in 1994 in
San Diego we passed domestic partnership and there was virtually no
added cost to taxpayers," she said.

Other committee members speaking out in support of the bill were
Steinberg, Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara), John Longville
(D-San Bernardino), Kevin Shelley (D-San Francisco), and Howard Wayne
(D-San Diego).

Shelley stated that he believes opposition to AB25 "is rooted in
hatred." Wayne noted that "between 1,300 and 1,500 legal benefits and
responsibilities are provided to married couples, this bill supplies
just 11. This bill is not an end run around Proposition 22, it's not
a marriage bill." Wayne joked that Migden's ability to draw a crowd
was impressive, but her bill hardly deserved such attention.

State Senator John Burton (D-San Francisco) announced he will sign on
as a sponsor of the bill.

Groups who voiced support for AB25 included the California Alliance
for Pride and Equality, the National Association of Social Workers,
the American Civil Liberties Union, the California Nurses
Association, the city of West Hollywood, the city of Berkeley, the
California Teachers Association, the National Center for Lesbian
Rights, the American Association of Retired Persons, and the Gray
Panthers.

The lone vote against AB25 came from Assemblyman Robert Pacheco
(R-Walnut), who cited income and estate tax exemptions as his reasons
for not supporting the bill. Migden stated that "neither issue is
covered" by her bill. Pacheco failed to note the irony of his
argument that AB25 "separates out a group of people for certain
rights. When we start doing that, we're making a mistake and I can't
support that." Pacheco supported proposition 22, which separated out
gay and lesbian relationships to deny them equal rights.


Bay Area Reporter
March 22, 2001
http://www.ebar.com

Davis running hard for re-election

by Wayne Friday

Anyone who believes that Governor Gray Davis's time is completely
consumed by the state's ongoing energy crisis, or that next year's
gubernatorial election is totally off the guv's radar screen, needs
only to look at some of his recent public appearances to realize that
the 2002 governor's race is very clearly on Davis's mind.

Not only has Davis already banked a whopping $26 million toward his
re-election, he has reportedly already put together a re-election
staff that supposedly has his 2002 campaign well under way. To be
sure, Davis is spending the majority of his time trying to find a
solution to California's electricity problems, but he is also very
busy campaigning - well, at least making dozens of public appearances
- toward his re-election in November 2002.

A Democratic opponent for Davis in the March 2002 primary? Not
likely, since no Democrat of any significance would dare oppose the
first Democrat to win the state's top office in 16 years. As for his
Republican opponent next year, Davis and his political operatives
feel that their eventual GOP opponent will be California Secretary of
State Bill Jones, who will be termed out of his current office; Jones
is the only Republican to currently hold a statewide constitutional
office.

Jones reportedly feels he can use the energy issue as an effective
political issue against Davis in next year's gubernatorial contest,
but I wouldn't be too sure. Davis is good - very good - at reminding
the press and the voters that he "inherited" this energy crisis from
the Republicans. Indeed it was under former Governor Pete Wilson that
the deregulation took place and Davis is only too happy to exclaim
repeatedly that "I inherited this ä 12 years prior to my
governorship, not a single major power plant was built in California.
Since I became governor, nine have been approved and six are under
construction."

Can Jones really ride the California power crisis into a successful
bid to replace Davis next year? I don't think so. Besides, Jones
cannot seem to make up his mind as to whether or when he will make
his candidacy a reality. Despite the noises from Arnold
Schwarzenegger's press agents, or the fact that banker William E.
Simon Jr. has millions of his personal fortune to spend if he were to
run for governor, it's likely neither will enter the race, so Jones,
with a pithy $120,000 in current campaign funds (compared to $26
million for Davis) will probably end up a Republican sacrificial lamb
against Davis next year.

To be sure, political lightning could always strike for Jones, but it
is highly unlikely. So, who would be the 800-pound gorilla in a
Davis-Jones contest? Here's a clue - Davis held a news conference one
day last week on a lone gravel field 20 miles outside Sacramento in
front of a power plant. Despite the fact that he was an hour late and
little advance press notice had been given, eight television cameras
and 20 reporters showed up. Jones, on the other hand, held a
highly-touted press conference last week in Los Angeles, one of the
country's top media markets, and drew two TV cameras and six
reporters. Asked about this, an aide to Jones complained to the Los
Angeles Times that "the secretary of state has no power over energy."
Right, and he doesn't have $26 million in campaign funds in the bank
either.

The bottom line is that Davis has effectively managed to give the
public the impression that he is busy trying to fix the energy
crisis, and he is being given high marks from the public for doing
so. Davis should be easily re-elected next year, and while the energy
crisis is definitely the major issue that state Republicans have
against the governor, Davis has managed to make that very crisis work
in his favor, despite the threat of rolling blackouts, dimmed lights,
and higher electricity bills. A Davis-Jones race for governor next
year should be a piece of cake for the governor.

Politics and people

At Monday's Board of Supervisors meeting, the Commission on the
Status of Women had each supervisor name a woman making history to
honor, as March is Women's History Month. Supervisor Mark Leno
selected Sarah Marshall, co-chair of the city's Transgender Civil
Rights Implementation Task Force. Marshall, a business professional,
committed herself to a visible activist career in 1997 when she
volunteered to serve on the board of the Tenderloin AIDS Resource
Center. She is committed to changing society's perspective of
transgender people and lectures on that topic regularly.

Democrats in San Jose are saying that Representative Zoe Lofgren
(16th District) is growing weary of Washington and might very well
come back to run against San Jose Mayor Ron Gonzales when his term
ends next year; the two once served together on the Santa Clara
County Board of Supervisors and have never been real friends.

And in Los Angeles, my contacts are saying that the April 10 Los
Angeles mayoral race will put either millionaire Republican
businessman Steve Soboroff or openly gay Councilman Joel Wachs into a
runoff against City Attorney Jim Hahn; Wachs has the better name ID,
but Soboroff has the personal big bucks for a last-minute TV push.

In Washington, D.C., wags from both major parties are saying that the
rift between President George W. Bush and Senator John McCain
(R-Arizona) has once again reached the point that regardless of the
outcome of McCain's campaign reform finance legislation, the
possibility is now high that the Arizona maverick is already thinking
of bolting Bush and the GOP in 2004 and seeking the presidency as an
independent.

Also in D.C., Dubya is taking a lot of heat for caving in to pressure
from energy producers (who were among his largest campaign
contributors) by flip-flopping on his campaign promise to regulate
carbon dioxide emissions. Unfortunately, the plan to ease global
warming and improve the nation's air quality will now take a back
seat to politics as Bush's promised energy pledge goes up in smoke.
Pundits of both parties agreed on the morning talk shows Sunday that
Bush's flip-flop also severely undermines the credibility of his EPA
administrator, Christie Todd Whitman. Whitman was in Italy recently
where she talked about regulating carbon dioxide emissions; last week
she learned shortly before his announcement that Bush was abandoning
his campaign pledge.

Meanwhile, I'm told you can add the name of Supervisor Gerardo
Sandoval (District 11) to those looking to succeed Shelley despite
the fact he's only been in his City Hall job a couple of months.

And some Hall of Justice gossips are saying that we can expect an
"interesting" twist soon in the race for public defender between
incumbent Kimiko Burton and her challenger Jeff Adachi.

And how was your week?
-- 


Washington Blade
March 23, 2001
http://www.washblade.com

Statehouse Report
News from legislatures around the nation

ARIZONA: On its fourth attempt this legislative session, Arizona's
House on Tuesday, March 20, passed the Equity Act of 2001, which
would eliminate the state's laws against consensual sodomy and
cohabitation by unmarried couples and allow unmarried partners to
file their taxes at a lower rate reserved for couples. The House
passed the bill 31-24 on Tuesday, with five representatives not
voting. The bill has been sent to the Senate.

Openly Gay state Rep. Steve May (R) successfully proposed a "strike
everything" amendment on HB 2016 - also a May-sponsored bill -
transforming it from legislation that dealt with income tax forms,
into the Equity Act of 2001. The House Committee on Ways and Means,
for which May serves as chair, passed the amendment 7-3. Rep. Ken
Cheuvront (D), one of two other openly Gay Arizona state legislators,
is also a member of the committee.

Kathie Gummere, interim executive director of the Arizona Human
Rights Fund, a Gay advocacy group, reckoned that the bill has a good
chance of passing on the Senate floor if it can make it through its
Senate committee, which has yet to be assigned.

The other three "archaic laws" bills aimed at scrapping the state's
sodomy law have made far less progress this session. Currently,
"non-procreational acts" between consenting adults, either
heterosexual or homosexual, are misdemeanors. A Senate bill aimed at
the sodomy law during the last session was defeated in the Senate in
a 14-14 tie vote.

In other Arizona news, the House voted 32-22 on March 8 to kill a
bill that would have made it illegal to withhold public funds from
the Boy Scouts of America on the grounds that the group discriminates
against Gays.

CALIFORNIA: The Assembly Judiciary Committee approved a bill on an 8
to 2 vote March 13 that seeks to expand existing domestic partner
rights. Passage came after the committee heard testimony from the
surviving partner of a Lesbian who was mauled to death by a
neighbor's dog, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Current California law provides no recourse for Gays to bring legal
action in instances where negligence causes the death of their
partners. This bill, sponsored by openly Gay state Rep. Carole Migden
(D), would allow negligence suits, as well as provide same-sex
partners with more rights for hospital visitation, insurance,
inheritance, and other areas.

The bill, AB25, is now in the Assembly Labor and Employment Committee.

MAINE: The Maine House of Representatives on Thursday, March 15,
defeated a proposal that sought to block a new health insurance
contract that will extend benefits to same-sex and opposite-sex
domestic partners of state employees, the Portland Press-Herald
reported.

State Rep. Brian Duprey (R) sponsored a motion to direct the
Appropriations Committee to hold a public hearing on the expanded
coverage before completing work on the state budget, which includes
funding for the domestic-partner benefits for the next two fiscal
years. But the House rejected the motion on an 85-56 roll call vote
in the House. Duprey has said, however, that he will ask the
legislature's leadership team to let him introduce a bill to oppose
the benefits, the Press-Herald reported.

The State Employee Health Commission approved the domestic
partnership policy weeks ago, and Gov. Angus King (I) let the
decision stand without any legislative involvement.

MICHIGAN: During a March 13 meeting at the Triangle Foundation, a
statewide group that lobbies for equality for Gays, state legislators
announced the introduction of bills that seek to help Gays on two
fronts, according to the Detroit Free Press.

State Rep. Pan Godchaux (R) has introduced an anti-discrimination
bill that aims to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation
in employment. Openly Gay state Rep. Chris Kolb (D), meanwhile, has
introduced a bill that seeks to include Gays in the state's hate
crimes law.

Godchaux also introduced a broad civil rights bill during the
1999-2000 session that included sexual orientation and gender
identity. That bill died in committee, as did a hate crimes bill
similar to Kolb's.

NORTH CAROLINA: A bill titled the Sexual Privacy Act, Senate Bill
263, was introduced to the North Carolina Senate on Feb. 27, and has
been referred to the Judiciary Committee, where it is awaiting
action. The bill seeks to amend the state's "crimes against nature"
law to exclude oral and anal sex between consenting adults. The bill
would maintain penalties for oral and anal sex acts in public and in
situations of prostitution.

In 1994, the Legislature changed the sodomy law from a Class H to a
Class I felony, meaning there is no mandatory prison sentence for
first-time offenders. Currently, a conviction can still carry a
sentence of almost a year in prison.

TEXAS: About 450 people marched in Austin on Sunday, March 18, to
show their support for two hate crimes bills that include protections
on the basis of sexual orientation, the Austin American-Statesman
reported. Efforts to pass a Gay-inclusive hate crimes bill in 1999,
the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act, named for an African American man
dragged to his death in a hate crime in 1998, died in the Senate. As
governor, President George W. Bush opposed the legislation.

The current House version of the hate crime legislation, HB 587, is
awaiting action in the House Judicial Affairs Committee. The Senate
version, SB 87, sits in the Senate's Criminal Justice Committee.

WEST VIRGINIA: Hate crime history may be repeating itself this
session as Senate Bill 23 appears unlikely to pass in House. The
Senate in late February passed a bill that would amend West
Virginia's 14-year-old hate crimes law to include "sexual
orientation" as a protected category. Since then, SB23 has been
sitting in the House Judiciary Committee.

Last year, the Senate passed a similar effort that died in House
Judiciary, while a House version of the same bill died in the same
committee without ever being heard. The 2001 House version of SB23
has been assigned to House Judiciary as well. Both the Senate and
House bills have yet to be assigned to the committee's agenda.

The original 1987 hate crimes bill passed the House 93-2, according
to the Charleston Gazette.

- Will O'Bryan, Kara Fox, and Brian Moylan

www.glinn.com Copyright © 2001 by GLINN Corporation