2/6/10-by Paula Brooks
Two Iowa GOP State Representatives, Jason Schultz, and Matt Windschitl, this week, co-sponsored legislation which seeks to remove LGBT students from the 2007 Iowa Safe Schools Law that protects students from harassment and bullying in Iowa’s schools and the measure has been referred to the Iowa House Education Committee for consideration.

Iowa’s Safe Schools Law requires both public and private schools to establish policies prohibiting harassment and bullying against students by employees, school volunteers, or other students.

Sexual Orientation and Gender identity are currently covered under the Safe Schools Law, but the bill introduced by Schultz, and Windschitl would strike those protections.

Said Ryan Roemerman, Executive Director of Iowa Pride Network, “When our state is facing record budget deficits and unemployment, House Republicans feel their time is best spent picking on Iowa’s LGBT youth,” “There is no better example as to why we have this law, so youth in Iowa don’t grow up to be like these bigots.”

via Iowa Pride Network: House Republicans Seek to Bully Gay Students.

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12/19/09-by Paula Brooks
A District of Columbia Mom is apparently upset with a teacher at her daughter’s school for telling her class she was getting married…

According to the Washington City Paper…

Margaret C. Hemenway, identifying herself as a D.C. Public Schools parent, claims to have filed a complaint with Chancellor Michelle Rhee over her seven-year-old child’s “sense of innocence.” At what exact moment was the first-grader’s innocence whisked away from her, never to be returned? The moment little Hemenway’s teacher at Tenleytown’s Horace Mann Elementary allegedly announced to her first-grade class that she was planning to marry a woman. Think. Of. The. Children…. (via The Sexist – Washington City Paper)

According to Ms. Hemenway’s account…

Our first-grader astonished her father at the end of the past school year as he dropped her off at our local Washington DC public school, Horace Mann Elementary, where he had attended school in the early 60s. She relayed to him that her teacher announced her impending marriage– to another woman — to the class. Following her revelation, this teacher encouraged questions from the children.

Our daughter also mentioned a book the teacher read aloud, “Uncle Bobby’s Wedding,” about two male “gay” guinea pigs, promoted by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual Transgender Lobby for children. Since homosexual activists cannot reproduce their own children, recruitment to their cause (especially at a young age, before parents have raised such sensitive and controversial topics with their children) is essential to the political agenda of promoting homosexuality and “gay” marriage. (via PFOX-ExGays)

LGR did try to contact the official’s at the Horace Mann School and the District of Columbia Public School System to get their side of the story yesterday… Mann directed us to the DCPS HQ and Chancellor Rhee’s office. The Chancellors office has yet to get back to us with a statement.

We also went out to see if we could get an additional comment on the situation from Ms. Hemenway herself….

Now we are wondering… would this be Margaret Calhoun Hemenway we are looking for? … A 15-year veteran of Capitol Hill and a former Bush White House appointee, who served at the DoD in the capacity of a White House liaison for former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield?

Is this also the same Margaret Calhoun Hemenway who is a contributing editor for Family Security Matters.org, a regular Muslim basher, Birther extraordinary and daughter-in-law to the Birther lawyer John D. Hemenway who was recently reprimanded by a federal judge for his part in the preparation, filing, and prosecution of a legally frivolous suits involving President Obama’s birth certificate?

Is this too, the same Ms. Hemenway who also seems to have had a long-standing relationship with the Karl Rove creation, Swift Vets and POWs for Truth, the group that added the term “Swiftboating” to our political lexicon and gave new meaning to shady smear campaigns forever?

I don’t know… but an available address we found on the web would put a Margaret Calhoun Hemenway and a Margaret C. Hemenway in the Spring Valley section of DC and thereby in the Horace Mann School boundaries…

But if this is the same Margaret C. Hemenway, and since we are practically neighbors and my twins will be attending Horace Mann in a couple of years… I’d really like to talk about all of this with you if you have the time.

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12/5/09-by Paula Brooks
Already at odds with the Roman Catholic Church over such issues as gay rights and the liberalization of that country’s abortion laws, this week, the Spanish Socialist government of Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, has taken the first step towards banning crucifixes in Spain’s Public schools.

This move comes in the wake of a ruling last month by the European Court of Human Rights judgment against Italy that said displaying the Christian symbol violates children’s right to freedom of religion.

Three years ago, an Italian mother, Soile Lautsi, took her cause to the European Court of Human Rights after failing to get crucifixes removed from the school at which her two children were being taught at a town in north-east Italy by Italy’s Constitutional Court.

Classroom crucifixes were made compulsory in that country by two laws put into place under Italy’s fascist Dictator Benito Mussolini that made Catholicism the official religion of Italy.

Similar laws were also put in place in Spain under Spain’s fascist Dictator Francisco Franco. Under Franco, Catholicism in its most conservative variant was made official religion of the Spanish State. The Spanish Public Education was essentially handed over to the Church, Civil servants had to be Catholic, and some official jobs even required a “good behavior” statement by a priest. Divorce and homosexuality were also forbidden, as were artificial contraception and abortion.

The verdict prompted anger in fiercely Catholic Italy, where an opinion poll showed 84 percent of the public was in favor of crucifixes in schools, and was condemned by the Vatican. The Italian government has also said it would seek to appeal the decision to the Strasbourg court’s 17-member Grand Chamber, however if that petition is rejected, or if an appeal is subsequently thrown out, then Italy would be obliged to comply with the courts order.

The European Court ruling prompted Spain’s ruling Socialists to take action  Wednesday and a Spanish parliamentary commission approved by 20 votes to 16 a motion calling on Madrid to implement November’s ruling by the Strasbourg court.

Some observers however are saying that the Spanish Government actions to remove the crucifixes are part of a larger conflict between Spain’s current government and the Roman Catholic Church.

Last month after the Spanish Parliament passed a bill that will allow abortion until the 14th week of pregnancy and, in cases of extreme fetal deformity, at any time during pregnancy, the Catholic Church announced it will excommunicate Spanish law makers who voted in favor of the bill.

That call prompted several Spanish Socialist politicians and political commentators to push back and call for an end of the Catholic Churches Tax Exempt status.

Many in Spain say the rapidity with which by the Spanish government acted on the issue and its willingness to implement the ECHR’s ruling even before the final outcome of the Italian appeal is known, is a not so subtle warning to the Vatican to stay out of Spanish politics.

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11/27/09-by Paula Brooks
The Huron-Superior Catholic District School Board in Sault Saint Marie, Ontario is catching flak over H1N1 vaccinations… not because it is giving them… or concerns that a batch of H1N1 swine flu vaccine was recalled after reports that the shots were leading to great number of severe allergic reactions…but because it sent students home with a vaccination consent form that included a line asking if the students, were transgender as well as male and female…

Last week, Ontario health officials expanded their H1N1 vaccination program to include elementary school children and adults over 65 with chronic health problems beginning Monday free of charge.

Sault Ste. Maries’ Algoma Public Health Unit, which issued the forms to the School District, indicated that the collection of information on other genders besides male and female in the Health Units jurisdiction was a requirement of the Ontario Ministry of Health.

However, Sault Ste. Marie Catholic School Trustee Kathleen Rosilius has taken issue with the consent forms and questioned the appropriateness of distributing the vaccination consent forms in Catholic schools, telling the conservative LifeSiteNews that the forms are, “agenda-driven, social-engineering.”

Unlike other health units in Canada that have experienced shortages of the H1N1 vaccine, a few small northern health units including Algoma, were initially provided proportionately more vaccine because of concerns about transportation and weather problems in that part of Canada, so the the rural Canadian health district decided to expand its vaccination program to other less than high risk groups.

On Wednesday however, the World Health Organization (WHO) and a pharmaceutical company warned the doctors in Canada not to use a batch of H1N1 swine flu vaccines after reports that the shots were leading to great number of severe allergic reactions…. There have been 24 confirmed cases of a type of severe allergic reaction called anaphylaxis in Canadians who have received an H1N1 flu shot, including one person who died after getting vaccinated…

While elementary school students Canada have not been considered a high risk group, and it is not known if this Health District received the vaccines in question, children are highly susceptible to the H1N1 virus and it is well known that influenza will spread rapidly amongst elementary school students, then on to others including those who may be considered high risk, so vaccinating children contributes to reduce transmission to others….

So notwithstanding some Catholics getting their panties in a bunch over the consent form wording… all in all it is generally a pretty good idea to have your elementary school aged child vaccinated… at least it will be after the Canadian government health officials get it figured out why the vaccinations are killing people…

And as a gay mom… I would have to say that I would be far more concerned about the fact that vaccinations that are supposed to be keeping my children safe and well might not be doing that… instead of worrying the wording on a permission slip does not fit my view of the world.

Too bad doctors and scientist can’t come up way to make safe vaccines or a vaccination for bigotry and ignorance…

via Sault Ste. Marie Catholic School Board Using Gender-Confused H1N1 Vaccine Consent Form.

Photo via Kodomut on Flickr

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IN PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN TO ENCOURAGE WOMEN OVER THE AGE OF 40 TO RECEIVE MAMMOGRAMS, GILLIBRAND URGES FED TO CLARIFY NEW RECOMMENDATIONS

New Guidelines Released This Week Claim Only Women Over 50 Need Routine Mammograms As Part Of Breast Cancer Screening Many Doctors, Experts Object To Recommendations, Giving Women Conflicting Messages on How to Protect Themselves -

Washington, DC – After having participated in a public awareness campaign to encourage women over the age of 40 to receive mammograms, U.S. Senator Kristen Gillibrand today called on the federal government to clarify new recommendations for women on how to prevent breast cancer. New guidelines released this week by the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force suggested that only women over 50 need to get routine mammograms as part of breast cancer screening. Many doctors and experts objected to these recommendations, sending conflicting messages to women about how they can prevent breast cancer.

“I am concerned that women are being given differing messages about how to prevent breast cancer,” Senator Gillibrand said. “In addition to getting my own mammogram each year, I have been involved in public awareness campaigns to encourage other women my age to do so. I understand that there were many independent scientists involved in making this decision, but that there are also many respected medical experts that are disagreeing with the recommendations. I plan to seek some answers here so that women are getting a uniform message about how to protect themselves.”

Doctors, medical experts, and news reports from around New York have raised concerns about the new recommendations.

“I think this would be a huge mistake,” said Dr. Paul Fisher, a radiologist at the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Care Center at Stony Brook University Medical Center. “There’s almost unanimity that mammography saves lives.”

Dr. Jane Carleton, an attending physician specializing in breast cancer at the Don Monti Cancer Center at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, said cutting back on mammograms could allow some small breast cancers to become larger, more lethal growths. “We continue to see tragedies in women who present with much larger breast cancers because they have not had mammograms,” Carleton said.

At Nassau University Medical Center in East Meadow, Dr. Victor Scarmato, chairman of radiology, questioned the new recommendations. “Their conclusions are against the conclusions of the American Cancer Society and other cancer and screening advocacy groups,” Scarmato said.”There are many in that population whose lives are saved because of the procedures [mammograms] even if the yield is not as great as in older women,” Scarmato said.

“We are very concerned that the insurance companies will use this to restrict coverage for screening, taking away the option for what women and their doctors feel is best for them,” said Hillary Rutter, LCSW, Director of the Adelphi NY Statewide Breast Cancer Hotline & Support Program.

Dr. Derek ten Hoopen of West Ridge Obstetrics and Gynecology said that his colleagues would continue to recommend screening for 40- to 49-year-olds until the data used by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force was better analyzed.

Holly Anderson, executive director of the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, said that screening guidelines trigger anxiety. “We’ve been dealt a breast cancer diagnosis. It sounds very scary to hear these guidelines and the recommendation is to not be screened in the 40 to 49 window.”

Full text of the letter is below.

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Secretary Sebelius:

Earlier this week, the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) came out with new recommendations that suggest that women ages 40-49 no longer need routine mammogram screenings. As I’m sure you’re aware, this has caused mass confusion among women who, like myself, have long been told that every woman over 40 should receive a mammogram every year. As a 42-year-old woman and Senator, I volunteered my time to speak in Public Service Announcements to remind women my age that they need to get screened. Therefore, I share my constituent’s confusion over this new message coming from the government.

I understand that these new recommendations were developed by independent scientists, however many respected medical experts and advocacy organizations such as the American Cancer Society, disagree with the recommendations. I, therefore, implore you to work with these respected patient advocacy groups, radiologists and oncologists across the nation to come up with a clear message to women about how best to protect themselves.

I would also encourage you to consider the weight that recommendations have across the medical and insurance industry. When the government changes their recommendations for screening, insurance companies will often choose to change their reimbursement policies as a result. I do not want women that are a high risk for breast cancer, because of their genes or family history, to be denied screenings because insurance companies refuse to reimburse the doctors.

I would encourage you to convene a meeting of interested parties so that this confusing message can be resolved and so that women can receive the best medical care that science can provide. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter.

Note from Melanie Nathan, your blogger: I started my regular mamograms when I turned 40 and continued to have them each year thereafter. I used my birthday as a reminder of when the next one was due. No one in my family had ever had breast cancer, although there had been other types of cancer causing extended family and grandparents. Each year my Mamogram was clear and that did not deter me. In 2003 I went for my regular mammogram and the readiologist noticed a tiny calcification. Stating it was probably nothing I had a biopsy to be safe. Long story short it was VERY early stage Ductoral carcinoma in situ. After radical surgery, they found a little more than anticipated or more than had shown on the mammogram. I did not need Chemotherapy or radiation. That in itself was a huge relief. They had caught it so early. Seven years later, I have since married and we have a four year old together. I will see my 12 year old Batmitvah next year. I am alive. Had I not been diagnosed then and had they not had earlier base grams to diagnose from, I do not think I would be writing this piece today. The way I see this recommendation -? Well its tantamount to saying Melanie your life is worth nothing. Its okay if you would have died – because 1299 others would have lived – or whatever number they attribut to it. In fact I bet my fellow breast bearers out there will agree that their ten minute anxiety to save my life was worth every moment of said anxiety.

GALS- lets fight – this is not okay. Thank you Senator Gillibrand for your keeping a stern stand on this issue.

BY: Melanie Nathan

11/2/09-by Paula Brooks
Last week, Dan Delong, an English teacher at Southwestern High School in Piasa, IL was suspended after giving an optional assignment of reading an article about homosexuality in the animal kingdom to his students and is scheduled to face a school board hearing later today.

Delong is said to have allowed students to read the article “The Gay Animal Kingdom” from the June 7, 2006 science and culture publication, Seed magazine.

The controversy and Delong’s suspension began after the parent of one of the Delong’s students saw the website, thought it was not appropriate for her child and complained to the local school board.

Delong of Carlinville, Ill, is a straight married teacher who identifies as an ally of the LGBT community. He acknowledged his suspension to the local paper, but declined to comment further until he spoke with his union representative.

The article by Jonah Lehrer talks about the research of Joan Roughgarden, a biology professor at Stanford University who said she has documented homosexual societies among the more than 450 animal species.

A Facebook group called “Bring back Mr. Delong” has been created to show support and share information about this situation. Delong has the support of more than 400 parents, students and friends, seeking to have him reinstated.

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9/2/09-by Paula Brooks
Two Minnesota teachers accused of repeatedly harassing a student they believed was gay, have been put on leave of absence from their jobs.

Diane Cleveland, a 39-year-old social studies teacher, and Walter Filson, a 56-year-old law enforcement teacher, were put on unpaid, voluntary leave of absence this past week, said a spokeswoman for the Secondary Technical Education Program (STEP) in Anoka, Mn, after the school district was forced to pay a $25,000 settlement to the harassed student, Alex Merritt, 18, and his family.

According to an investigation by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, Cleveland said “The boy’s ‘fence swings both ways,’ when the student wrote a report on Ben Franklin, Cleveland allegedly said before the entire class that the boy had a ‘thing for older men.’”

The other teacher, Walter Filson, also said in front of other students that the Merritt ‘enjoys wearing women’s clothes, ‘ and when Merritt decided to report on Abraham Lincoln, Filson allegedly said, ‘Since you like your men older …’ the Human Rights report said.”

The department also noted that the school district’s own investigation had identified witnesses who substantiated allegations that teachers Cleveland and Filson had made regular “gay” jokes in the classroom, and did nothing to stop subsequent “homo and gay jokes” by classmates, sometimes smiling and laughing after the students’ comments.

The student was forced to transfer to a school 25 miles from home to escape the harassment the report also noted.

The district had previously reassigned Cleveland and placed her on two-day unpaid suspension after the student’s mother had complained to the school district and requested that her son be removed from Filson’s and Cleveland’s classrooms.

Cleveland’s reassignment included working on a weeklong, “social studies curriculum development and reflecting on equality and diversity in the classroom,” according to the Department of Human Rights report. However, the report also said, Cleveland completed only one day of the assignment, then called in sick the remainder of the week.

The MnDHR report makes no mention of if any disciplinary was taken against Filson.

http://www.humanrights.state.mn.us/settlements/case51679.html

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08/30/09-by Bridgette P. LaVictoire
Kyle Giard-Chase went before the Vermont Human Rights Commission to request a formal complaint regarding gender neutral bathrooms in Vermont schools. Before any panicking begins, what Kyle is talking about is a single stall bathroom similar to many disabled bathrooms seen in older buildings. The single person bathroom would provide a safe space in a school for a teenager who is gay, lesbian, or transgender, and would also provide easier to access restroom facilities for many physically handicapped individuals. Kyle, who was born female but identifies as male, has faced intimidation and harassment when using the restroom at school. “When we talk about going to the bathroom we have a female bathroom and a male bathroom there’s no in between,” he said to Burlington’s WCAX interview is part of the story regarding this issue.

One of the commission members is paraplegic and discussed the issue with regards to his own physical limitations and the difficulty of his own wife has had helping him find proper accommodations. Commission Executive Director Robert Appel mentioned this. “One of our commission members is a parapalegic who uses a wheelchair and he talked about his challenge with his wife trying to find a bathroom that is available to him because the person who assists him in this biological function is his wife,” stated Appel.
Robert Appel also stated: “I would say that the commissioners were favorably impressed. I think it personalized the issue and brought some deeper understanding of the concerns of students whose identity is not consistent with biogolical sex.”

Kyle currently goes to Burlington High School which has gender-neutral bathrooms, but he is not just speaking on his own behalf. At a Queer Youth Summit earlier this year the issue of gender-neutral bathrooms was deemed as being one of the more important issues facing LGBT teens.

When I was attending Coastal Georgia Community College in Brunswick, Georgia, I was lucky enough that they had a single gender-neutral bathroom on campus. While it often meant that my brakes between classes meant dashing across campus to use the facilities it not only made my life easier, but made life easier for those who are uncomfortable with transpeople. It prevented harassment of myself while on campus.

What follows is the video from that report. With luck it should be working. If it does not work, here is the link to the story. Teen pushes for gender-neutral bathrooms

Lesbian mom Dana Rudolph, aka Mombian, recently put together an article which covers the topic of back to school for LGBT parents.

This is a busy time for many families, including those with LGBT parents, and the resources are flowing everywhere we look with deals, steals, and bargains for back to school. If you are an LGBT parent with children getting ready to go back to school, you might feel a little added pressure to get things done perfectly for your school age child(ren).

Luckily Mombian Dana Rudolph has gathered the resources you need to get you through in one place and put them on her blog on Bay Windows:

Back-to-school resources for LGBT parents

Back-to-school time can be fraught with tension for many parents as we realize our children’s shoes are too small, they need new knapsacks, and for reasons that surpass understanding, a perfectly working locker padlock somehow isn’t cool enough to be acceptable this year.

For LGBT parents, there is an additional concern about how our children’s new teachers and classmates will react to knowing our kids have LGBT moms or dads. Do you approach teachers and school administrators beforehand to inform them about your family and detect any potential problems?

…Regardless of the approach you take, it never hurts to be prepared, either to help allies eager to be inclusive or to take action against bias and bullies. Here are some useful resources. (Note that there is an overlap between resources that help children of LGBT parents and those that help LGBT youth. Many of the issues each of these groups face are the same-not to mention that some children of LGBT parents are LGBT themselves.)

I encourage you to visit her article for resources such as Safe Classrooms by COLAGE, links to organizations with resources for administrators and more.

Main cause for discrimination against homosexual students in Brazilian schools is the lack of preparation of teachers to deal with the issue, states  Agência Brasil. According to Rosiléa Wille, chief-coordinator of Human Rights for MEC, teachers reproduce discriminatory behaviors because they haven’t been educated to handle sexual diversity. She says besides qualifying teachers who are in schools, it’s necessary to modify the professional’s initial educational instruction.

According to MEC, many educators have been participating in LGBT education qualification courses, “but some of them abandon the course because they can’t deal with the subject”, says Claudilene Santos, a psychologist and one of the instructors.

Beto de Jesus, an educator and a representative of ILGA in Latin America, says that ‘teachers often don’t notice that learning is far beyond books, it’s in everyday life. When a teenagers is discriminated, either because he’s gay or because of his skin color, the teacher doesn’t stop teaching his class to discuss the problem because he thinks his syllabus is more important.” Beto believes the qualification program is a big step, but must grow bigger and be strengthened.

A Western Pennsylvania community college is taking cues from Barack Obama’s White House IT people on how to deal with inconvenient wording on uncomfortable positions and promises you’d now rather forget about…

Since 2000, Westmoreland County Community College in Youngwood, PA has been publishing on both its website and in its catalogue and student handbook, affirmative action statements saying the school will not discriminate against individuals based on their “sexual orientation” and “union membership.”

But after the school decided to deny a gay employee health insurance for his spouse and his union filed a grievance over the denial, Westmoreland County Community College President Daniel Obara is now in effect saying that he was asleep at the switch, and for the last nine years the school has been “accidentally” considering sexual orientation a protected class.

Obara says there is another statement that does not contain protections and that it is the only one approved as an official policy by college trustees — in a 1998 vote. He is also “blaming the one who is not here anymore,” for inserting the language covering sexual orientation in the schools non-discrimination policy without his informed approval for this whole mess and accordingly, has directed the Westmoreland County Community College IT Department to begin the extraordinary undertaking of removing references sexual orientation from WCCC non-discrimination language, including the college’s Web site….

Additionally, in an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, College President Daniel Obara is saying that the decision to delete the sexual orientation reference has zilch to do to the grievance filed in March on behalf of Andrew Doherty, a gay employee who was married in Massachusetts and was denied health insurance for his spouse.

“They have absolutely nothing to do with each other,” Dr. Obara said.

Nevertheless, Obara did admit in the Post-Gazette article he learned about the conflicting language on the school web site and publications from the college’s attorney during an internal meeting called a month ago to discuss the employee’s case.

Doherty, a WCCC employee for nearly five said it doesn’t make sense, “why now after nine years?” he asked. “How many institutions do you know that are taking people out of a non-discrimination policy?”

Conversely, the schools now-retired affirmative action officer, Mary Stubbs, whom Dr. Obara said added the words, is not happy about being rolled under the bus and has said any revisions to the catalogue and website she proposed would have been forwarded for review to the public relations staff and others, including the then vice president for academic affairs and student services… one Dr. Daniel Obara… when non-discrimination language was first published in 2000.

“I would never take it upon myself to change a statement in the college, and anyone who told you that ought to know better,” she said. “Of course not — not without having it approved.”

Asked about that, Obara also took a page from President Ron Regan… a la’ the Iran- Contra scandal… and said the proposed wording change might have crossed his desk and he signed off without his noticing it.

You know if I were Mr. Doherty or any other gay facility member or student at Westmoreland County Community College, I’d be telling my attorney… to look into suing the school for false representation… because the original non-discrimination policy was the only reason I came to WCCC in the first place.

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Here is a little something that has pretty much gone under the wire…. But something with a potential outcome that could spell some very far-reaching implications to Defense of Marriage amendments across the country.

Thursday, the Wisconsin State Supreme Court formally issued notice it intends to review the case of McConkey v. J.B. Van Hollen, et.al…

This a case were a University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh professor William McConkey and father of a gay child, is challenging the legality of the 2006 referendum amendment to Wisconsin ’s constitution banning same-sex marriage and civil unions…. McConkey argues that amendment should be nullified because the two questions in the referendum should have been voted on separately.

McConkey’s case was dismissed last year by Dane County Judge Richard Niess, who said in his ruling those the issue is “two sides of the same coin.”

But McConkey appealed to the Wisconsin District 4 Court of Appeal, who in turn asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review the case, saying, “The validity of the marriage amendment is a matter of significant public interest with statewide implications.”

A win in the Wisconsin Supreme Court would not legalize gay marriage in Wisconsin, as the state would still define marriage as a heterosexual union, but it would allow gay and lesbian couples who have been denied a marriage license the right to file lawsuits in Wisconsin to change that.

In 2006, almost 60% of Wisconsinites approved that states amendment. But less than three years later, recent polls indicate that percentage would be significantly lower now. Only 55% of people in a nationwide poll conducted by Quinnipiac University said they were opposed to gay marriage last month. And 57% said they favored allowing gay couples to form civil unions that would provide marriage-like rights.

Until recently, other states that have allowed marriage equality have done so only because of judges have forced the issue, but that is also no longer the case.

People everywhere are beginning to recognize that those who are gay didn’t choose to be gay… We were just created this way. They see it wasn’t an orientation we decided to choose and they understand that there are people out there who just happen to be gay.

Legislatures in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine have also recognize this and not wanting to be on the wrong side of history, have recently voted in favor of marriage equality in those states. In light of these attitude changes, and the current political climate it is very doubtful marriage equality opponents in Wisconsin could even this same amendment though the Wisconsin legislature today.

A win in the Wisconsin Supreme Court will give marriage equality supporters elsewhere a model to begin taking on similarly written Defense of Marriage amendments in other states, making this a very important court case indeed.

The decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected sometime in fall or winter of 2009.

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In a breakfast speech to delegates of the Georgia Republican convention this morning, Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has made the marriage equality debate a fiscal issue by saying that allowing same-sex couples to marry places a financial burden on business.

“Now all of a sudden I’ve got someone who wasn’t a spouse before, that I had no responsibility for, who is now getting claimed as a spouse that I now have financial responsibility for,” Steele said. “So how do I pay for that? Who pays for that? You just cost me money.”

Delegates to the convention in Savannah rose from their breakfasts and gave Steele a standing ovation.

Earlier this year, social conservatives criticized Steele after a GQ magazine interview quoted him saying he was opposed marriage equality but wasn’t going to “beat people upside the head about it.”

Later this weekend, Steele will appear at the NRA convention in Phoenix, where he will probably tell the folks there that allowing gay marriage will cost them their guns….

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Forty-eight members of congress, led by openly gay reps Tammy Baldwin, Barney Frank, and Jared Polis have sent a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Peter Orsag telling him to reverse a Bush administration decision not to count LGBT couples in the 2010 census.

The letter also requested Orszag to work with Secretary of Commerce Locke and the Census Bureau to “formulate an approach consistent with federal law that, at the same time, maintains the accuracy and integrity of the Census.”

The U.S. Census Bureau conducts its survey every 10 years, and during the last decennial census, no state had legalized same-sex marriages, but since then Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Iowa have approved marriage-equality, making same-sex marriages legal in those states. Vermont, Maine, and New Hampshire have also approved marriage-equality laws that will be in place by the time of the census.

But citing the Defense of Marriage Act, which prohibits the federal government from recognizing same-sex unions, the Bush Commerce Department declared that lawfully married same-sex couples who say they are “married” on census forms would have their status changed to “unmarried partners” in the final tally.

“We are deeply concerned about the implications of this policy for same-sex couples and for the integrity of the Census as a whole and firmly believe the Bureau’s primary objective should be to collect data and report it, not collect data and alter it,” the letter says.

Opponents say counting same-sex marriages in state where it is legal is equal to Federal reorganization of those marriages, but the letter told Orszag that the congress members believe that publicly reporting data collected on the status of same-sex couples in the United States is not equivalent to federal recognition of same-sex marriage.

“The Census is a vital tool of our democracy. Truthful answers must be recorded and publicly reported in order to ensure the most accurate count and the most democratic process. Americans who are legally married must not be marginalized,” said Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin.

“We are simply asking the Census Bureau to report the facts as they exist. This should not be controversial,” said Massachusetts Congressman Barney Franks.

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The debate over marriage equality was revisited in the Rhode Island State House Wednesday, as that states House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on two proposed bills. One bill would allow same-sex couples to wed in Rhode Island; the other would prohibit gay marriage by adding an amendment to the state’s constitution.

Thirty-one of Rhode Islands 75 House members have cosponsored that states marriage equality bill, but Rhode Islands powerful Roman Catholic lobbies ardently opposes the measure. Providence’ Bishop Thomas J. Tobin has been pushing hard in his opposition as well and using scare tactics, telling Rhode Island Catholics their religious freedoms are in danger.

Rhode Island Governor Donald Carcieri is also adamantly against marriage equality. Last month Carcieri announced he and his wife had joined the Rhode Island Chapter of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) and appeared at an event announcing a NOM ad blitz in Rhode Island.

In the previous 12 years the Marriage Equality issue has come before the Rhode Island legislature, it has never made it pass the committee level. No decisions were made Wednesday about the fate of this year’s bill.

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Via NCLR….. Today the Florida Court of Appeals unanimously reversed a lower court ruling and held that Florida must give full faith and credit to adoptions granted to same-sex couples by other states, holding that Lara Embry, the plaintiff in the case, “must be given the same rights as any other adoptive parent in Florida.” The court based its decision on the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the federal constitution and a Florida statute requiring Florida to honor adoption decrees from other states. Noting that “there are no public policy exceptions to the full faith and credit which is due to judgments entered in another state,” the court concluded that “regardless of whether the trial court believed that the Washington adoption violated a clearly established public policy in Florida, it was improper for the trial court to refuse to give the Washington judgment full faith and credit.” A concurring opinion further noted that Embry’s “same-sex relationship with [the other parent] is irrelevant for the purpose of enforcing her rights and obligations as an adoptive parent.”

The case arose when Lara Embry filed a petition seeking shared custody of a child she had raised with her former partner, Kimberly Ryan. The couple had two children together. Each gave birth to one child, and each adopted her non-biological child through a second-parent adoption in the state of Washington, where the family lived. The couple moved to Florida, and their relationship ended several years later. They agreed to share custody of both children and did so successfully until Ryan unilaterally decided to separate the children, who are deeply bonded as siblings, and cut off all contact between Embry and one of the children.

The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and Leslie Talbot, of Leslie M. Talbot, P.A., represented Lara in her initial suit for shared custody. In February 2008, a Florida trial court held that Florida would not recognize the couple’s second-parent adoption. NCLR, Karen Doering, and the law firm of Carlton Fields represented Lara in the appeal. Former Judge John R. Blue and Cristina Alonso, attorneys with Carlton Fields briefed and argued the case before the Second District Court of Appeal on March 18, 2009.

“We are pleased this decision resolved an important constitutional issue and protected the legal bond between adoptive parents and their children,” said Blue. “The court affirmed the longstanding rule that Florida must honor valid adoptions from other states, which ensures the permanence and stability of parent-child relationships across state lines.”

Iowa Senator Tom Harkin

Iowa Democratic Senator Tom Harkin, who 13 years ago voted for the federal Defense of Marriage Act that prohibited federal recognition of same-sex marriage, said while appearing Friday on Iowa Public Television’s “Iowa Press,” he no longer holds the same views when in comes to Marriage Equality….

“We all grow as we get older, and we learn things and we become more sensitive to people and people’s lives,” Harkin said. “And the more I’ve looked at that, I’ve grown to think differently about how people — how we should live. And I guess I’m at the point that, you know — I’m to that point of live and let live,” Harkin said.

Harkin also said if a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage is on the Iowa ballot, as an Iowa voter, he would vote against it, but added, thinks the issue will fade before Iowa voters get a chance to weigh in and he rejected the idea that the issue will help the Republicans in the 2010 mid-term elections.

“There’s always going to be some who feel that they have to push this issue, and for whatever reason, they’re going to try to push it and try to divide people up, but they’re on the losing end. They’re on the losing end of history…. I think in 2010, the elections will hinge on the economy, health-care reform, what we’re doing in energy and whether families are doing better … it’s not going to have one whit to do with gay marriage,” Harkin said.

Harkin is perhaps best known as an advocate for people with disabilities and was the chief sponsor of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), this nation’s first comprehensive civil rights law for people with disabilities.

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Responding to news last week that Maine’s Governor John Baldacci had signed a Marriage Equality law, Televangelist Pat Robertson, said… “We haven’t taken this to its ultimate conclusion. You got polygamy out there. How can we rule that polygamy is illegal when you say that homosexual marriage is legal? What is it about polygamy that’s different? Well, polygamy was outlawed because it was considered immoral according to biblical standards. But if we take biblical standards away in homosexuality, what about the other? And what about bestiality and ultimately what about child molestation and pedophilia? How can we criminalize these things and at the same time have constitutional amendments allowing same-sex marriage among homosexuals. You mark my words, this is just the beginning in a long downward slide in relation to all the things that we consider to be abhorrent.”

Robertson has also predicted that the end of the world was coming in November or October 1982, that storms or possibly a tsunami would hit America’s coastline destroying millions of lives sometime in 2006 and that “mass killings” were to come during 2007, as a result of a terrorist nuclear attack on the United States.

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“We’re right, we’re free, we’ll fight, you’ll see.”

Maine’s opposition to marriage equality are prepared to take this to the voters. They are beginning the process of getting the roughly fifty-five thousand signatures that they need in order to put the recently signed bill before the voters. When it goes to the voters will depend upon when the list is submitted.

Outside groups are already looking into ways to help, and could make this into a California style Proposition 8 battle. Marriage opponents are planning on canvassing in malls, churches, and neighborhoods. The people who are driving this are, indeed, hoping for national interests to come along and help them out.

“There ain’t no way we’ll lose it, this is our life..”

In 2008, the attempt to veto civil unions failed when these same groups failed to raise more than fifteen thousand signatures. In 2005, a voter driven veto attempt to remove sexual orientation from Maine’s Human Rights Act failed at the polls. However, despite these victories, the marriage equality groups are vowing not to be complacent about this issue and are preparing their own counter-campaign to get people to not sign these petitions.

Funding such an effort will be an issue. With the economy in trouble, it could prove difficult for these groups to raise money in order to counter the expected rush of big out of state money coming into the anti-same-sex marriage groups. “Now that it is the law of the state of Maine, we will protect that law,” said Betsy Smith of EqualityMaine. “It’s disappointing we would need to raise a lot of money to protect a law in Maine.”

“We’re not gonna take it anymore.”

The biggest question for those looking at the petitions will be, how much of a fight do you want playing on your airwaves. How many ads like those which ran in California calling your friends, your neighbors, your relatives nasty, derogatory things do you want to wade through each and every day until the election?

http://equalitymaine.org/

http://www.freedomtomarry.org/states/maine.php

Quoted Lyrics are from the Twisted Sister song “We’re Not Gonna Take It” written by Dee Snider.

Bridgette “Sei” LaVictoire is a trans-lesbian who lives in Vermont and has a strong passion for LGBTI rights. She has a BA in History and her hobbies include sci-fi, anime, fantasy, action movies, video games, and more. Currently, she is working on her MA in Individualized Studies at Goddard College. Her specialization is in cultural history and cultural comparison.

Yesterday during the daily press briefing at the White House, a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs for a reaction to the passage and signing of the Marriage Equality Bill in Maine….

Q Does the President or the White House have a reaction to the Governor of Maine signing a same-sex marriage bill?

MR. GIBBS: No, I think the President’s position on same-sex marriages has been talked about and discussed.

Q He opposes same-sex marriage.

MR. GIBBS: He supports civil unions.

Q Does that mean that he’s going to say or do anything against what the citizens of Maine –

MR. GIBBS: Not that I’m aware of. I think the President believes this is an issue that’s best addressed by the states.

I guess not everyone was excited about the news as we were yesterday….

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the_press_office/Briefing-by-Secretary-of-State-Hillary-Clinton-and-Press-Secretary-Robert-Gibbs-5-6-09/

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KnowThyNeighbor is a site online which posts information about anti-gay petitions and the people who sign them.

KTN was started in 2005 in response to an initiative petition to ban same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.

Recently, the website launched a searchable database of those who signed a petition to ban gay adoption and foster care rights in the state of Arkansas as well.

KnowThyNeighbor.org publishes the names of petition signers to “alter the dynamic of the petition process in several important ways”:

1. Anti-gay marriage activists and supporters have now lost their veil of anonymity. KnowThyNeighbor.org believes that citizens who sponsor an amendment to take people’s rights should never be allowed to do so under the cover of darkness.
2. Gay citizens are inspired to speak out in defense of their equal rights. Finding the names of friends, neighbors, family, co-workers, etc… has helped trigger many into a state of activism. Uncomfortable but desperately needed conversations continue to take place every day as a result.

3. Putting the names online has led to the discovery of rampant fraud in the signature collection process. Both civil and criminal investigators have been assigned to further investigate.

On April 28, 2009, KTN Arkansas was launched and the names of over 83,000 anti-gay adoption and foster care petition signers were put online.

The information was a matter of the public record provided by the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office, and KnowThyNeighbor.org scanned the paper petitions then transcribed them into pdf versions of the actual documents.

In 2008, Arkansas voters approved a ballot measure (sponsored by the Family Council Action Committee) making it illegal for same-sex couples to be adoptive or foster parents.

“This is about responsibility and dialogue,” said Tom Lang, KnowThyNeighbor.org’s director. “These petition signers need to stand behind their signatures and be responsible for this dehumanizing attack on the gay community. It’s disgraceful that they have chosen to exercise their prejudice at the expense of children who are now being denied access to loving adoptive and foster parents. Such activity must be challenged and cannot be allowed to pass under the cover of darkness.”

Those who signed the petition to place this measure on the ballot are listed here.

It looks like someone has finally noticed that bullying in schools is a serious problem. After the two suicides of young boys caused by bullying there have been a lot of people calling for something to be done. The Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) that was introduced today would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act. Schools and districts receiving federal funds would be required to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment. This would also include bullying on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. States would also be required to report data on bullying and harassment to the Department of Education.

The Human Rights Campaign released this statement:

Human Rights Campaign Applauds Re-Introduction of Safe Schools Improvement Act
Legislation would mandate that schools adopt policies to meaningfully address bullying and harassment, including of LGBT students

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, applauded the reintroduction of the Safe Schools Improvement Act in the U.S. House of Representatives today by Representatives Linda Sanchez (D-CA), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) and Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY). The Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) would amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act (part of the No Child Left Behind Act) to require schools and districts receiving federal funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. The Act would also require that states report data on bullying and harassment to the Department of Education.

“Tragically, last month alone, two eleven-year-old boys, Carl Joseph Walker Hoover and Jaheem Herrera, took their own lives after suffering bullying by classmates who perceived them to be gay. Their deaths remind us of the true costs of anti-LGBT school bullying and harassment to our families and communities,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “We place our children in grave danger when we fail to adequately help school administrators and teachers create safe learning environments for all students, including those who are, or are perceived to be, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender. We stand with the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network in calling upon Congress to quickly pass the Safe Schools Improvement Act.”

Bullying and harassment of students who are, or are perceived to be, LGBT is widespread. While current federal law provides important support to promote school safety, it does not comprehensively and expressly focus on issues of bullying or harassment, and in no way addresses the challenges faced by LGBT youth in our nation’s schools.

In the 2007 National School Climate Survey conducted by the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), nearly three-fifths of students reported feeling unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, and more than a third felt unsafe because of their gender expression. In addition, 44% of LGBT students surveyed reported experiencing physical harassment and 22.1% reported being physically assaulted at school in the last year.

Numerous education, health, law enforcement and youth development organizations support federal legislation to combat bullying and harassment, including the American Association of School Administrators, American Federation of Teachers, American School Health Association, National Association of School Psychologists, National Education Association and National Parent Teacher Association.

In the 110th Congress, SSIA was introduced by Representative Linda Sanchez (D-CA) and had 80 co-sponsors in the House.

I hope we can get strong support for this piece of legislation. As a parent I worry about my kids everyday. As a martial arts instructor I am constantly seeing the results of bullying and helping kids overcome it. This is an important issue and something that deserve the attention of the federal government.

Lezzymom has two kids and a wonderful partner. Her political commentary has appeared on C-Span and CSPAN.org. Visit her Lezzymom blog for more of her insights.

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Some pictures are surfacing that make you wonder if Miss California, Carrie Prejean is not also advocating in her traditional marriage family values… breastfeeding the issue of that traditional marriage…

This photo, which appeared yesterday on TheDirty.com, shows a woman – with some very prominent similitudes to Beauty Queen and traditional marriage supporter Carrie Prejean- clad only in her of pink unmentionables, showing off a rather nice pair of silicone enhanced tatas.

In a statement issued today , Ms Prejean said, “On April 19, I chose to answer a question during the 2009 Miss USA pageant in an honest and personal manner that expressed my views of the long-established definition of marriage as being between a man and a woman. That answer, and my commitment to stand by my beliefs, has since resulted in attacks on me and my integrity as a woman. We live in a great country; a nation that was built on freedom of speech and freedom of religion. Yet my comments defending traditional marriage have led to intimidation tactics that seek to undermine my reputation and somehow silence me and my beliefs, as if opinion is only a one-way street.

“I am a Christian, and I am a model. Models pose for pictures, including lingerie and swimwear photos. Recently, photos taken of me as a teenager have been released surreptitiously to a tabloid Web site that openly mocks me for my Christian faith. I am not perfect, and I will never claim to be. But these attacks on me and others who speak in defense of traditional marriage are intolerant and offensive. While we may not agree on every issue, we should show respect for others’ opinions and not try to silence them through vicious and mean-spirited attacks.

“With that in mind, I will continue to support and defend marriage as the honorable institution it is. I will continue to stand with the overwhelming majority of the American people and the voters of my home state of California. If this whole experience has taught me anything, it is our precious right to speak freely, and how we as Americans can never allow anyone or any group to intimidate or threaten us to keep silent.”

Oh my what would Maggie Gallagher say?

Bringing in the Sleaze… Bringing in the Sleaze… We shall come rejoicing… Bringing in the Sleaze

http://www.popcrunch.com/miss-california-nude-picture-carrie-prejean-naked-photo-scandal/

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A joint judiciary committee of the Maine Legislature yesterday approved a bill that could make Maine the fifth state to recognize marriage equality, and sets the stage for the Maine House and Senate to begin voting on it as soon as next week.

Eleven of the 14 committee members voted in favor of the bill, two voted against it and one proposed letting voters decide the issue in a statewide referendum.

Yesterday’s vote in Maine came nearly a week after an estimated 3,500 people packed a marathon public hearing in the Augusta Civic Center. The public was not invited to speak at yesterday hearings, but the deliberations were interrupted by an outburst by a protester, who was escorted by police from the State House, shouting that the bill was morally wrong.

During the debate leading up to yesterday’s vote, several committee members said they were compelled to look at the bill through lens of law and Maine’s constitution, and not those of religion.

While the bill would allow Marriage Equality in Maine and change state law so that same-sex marriages legally performed in other states would be recognized in Maine, it also allows religious institutions and clergy to refuse to marry gay or lesbian couples.

Marriage Equality opponents acknowledge the likelihood of a House vote in favor of the bill, there is support in the Senate for sending the bill out to public vote and unless both chambers agree on a single version of the bill, it will die. Sen. David Hastings, R-Fryeburg, is offering his own Senate version of the bill that would send it out to a referendum. Opponents say they will continue their efforts next week to defeat the legislation when it hits the floor of the Maine Senate.

Even though Gov. John Baldacci has not taken a position on the Marriage Equality Bill, he did suggest in a statement release yesterday that some kind of statewide referendum by Maine voters would be appropriate. “Let me just say, it was very clear to me that the turnout of people who were there that this is an issue that people feel strongly about and they’re going to want to make sure that they have their say,” Baldacci’s statement said and added, “In our state, I think they’re going to want to be part of the decision-making. I don’t know what form that’s going to take or how it’s going to be done, but you just can’t help but feel that way.”

However, the bill’s sponsor, Sen. Dennis Damon, D-Trenton, said he respectfully disagreed with Senators Hastings and Governors Baldacci desire to let voters decide.

“If the landmark civil rights legislation of the 1960s had only been sent out to voters, it would have failed. We are elected to make these decisions, tough as they may be. It is what we are here to do,” Damon said in a statement.

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Many high school students are preparing for prom around the country, or have recently celebrated prom, such as students from Ringgold High in Catoosa County, Georgia.

One such student is Nikki Heiskil, a student who planned to attend the prom as part of a same-sex couple with girlfriend Ashley Beaty. Initially the couple were asked not to attend their school’s prom, by Principal Sharon Vaughn and told to return their tickets because it was not a “girl-girl” prom.

Vaughn told Ashley Beaty the prom was advertised as “boy-girl”, and she encouraged Beaty to still attend the prom claiming that she does not discourage homosexuals from attending prom, as long as they do not enter the prom as a couple because this can trigger “unwanted media attention”.

She added that prom attendees should dress “gender-appropriate” and that the Ringgold High prom is in fact a “boy-girl event at Ringgold High School.”

After the story was reported by Beaty and Heiskill to the local media, Principal Sharon Vaugh reversed her decision and decided to let the girls attend the prom. Vaughn told the local media that the couple’s sexual preference had nothing to do with her decision to ask the girls to return their tickets, and said Heiskell was prohibited from the prom because she quit school earlier this year and was in poor standing when she quit.
However, when Principal Sharon Vaughn did make contact with the teen lesbian couple to notify them of her reversed decision, the principal assured that Heiskell was not initially banned from the prom because of her sexual preference and that she did not want to ruin Beaty’s prom night; but that Heiskell would have to wear a dress.

The school’s dress code doesn’t mention their policy on prom attire.

The school held their prom on Saturday, though the young couple has not been reached for comment. We were also unable to obtain a picture of the couple, or the dress in question. If you would like to ask Principal Vaughn why she chose to enforce a non-existent dress code policy after reversing her decision to bar the same-sex couple from prom, the school’s phone number where she can be reached for comment is (706) 935-2254.

Today is the day that same-sex couples in Iowa have begun their journey down the aisle with the filling out of paperwork and signing on the dotted line.

Photo gallery: Iowa begins issuing same-sex marriage licenses. (Des Moines Register)

Marriage licenses have been issued to same-sex couples across the state of Iowa today, when the ruling overturning the ban on gay marriage took affect. Many couples that have begun the process by applying for marriage licenses, are now preparing for the passage of a three-day waiting period before they can officially tie the knot.

Some couples however, under certain circumstances, did in fact tie the knot today, making today the day they will celebrate their wedding anniversary from now on.

The Des Moines Register reports that Shelley Wolfe, 38, and Melisa Keeton, 31, were the first gay couple in Polk County to marry under the new ruling.

They applied for their marriage license this morning then immediately got a judge to waive the standard three-day waiting period. They wanted to get married quickly, because Keeton is 25 weeks pregnant. They’ve been together nearly three years.

“For us, while I’m only 25 weeks pregnant, already into the third trimester, I’ve had a lot of medical issues,” said Keeton, who was waiting in line to have their marriage license notarized. “To me it’ll be a lot less stressful because we’ll have legal rights. Really, today is about making it legal.”

Some couples were not so lucky:

Although some magistrates have recently spoken out about opting out of performing marriages overall (possibly to avoid participation in a same-sex wedding in their background), it is not clear whether same-sex couples expecting to get married on Thursday will have any trouble finding someone to marry them.

If the marriage events in California in 2008  are any indication, it could be expected for gay friendly officials and small businesses with marriage related services to come out of the woodwork. It is also a time for anti-gay initiatives to come out of the woodwork as well.

According to the Des Moines Register Jefferson County Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution this morning asking lawmakers to take action against same-sex marriage.

“We expect the Iowa legislature to resolve the issue,” said Stephen Burgmeier, chairman of the three-member, all Republican board. “We hope it either leads to a public vote or to a constitutional amendment.”

Also, petitions opposing same-sex marriage have been dropped off to county clerk’s offices around the state.

Many petitions have only a handful of signatures, yet the number of petitions dropped off seem to outweigh the number of couples who applied for licenses at this time.

A group of residents delivered a petition that asks County Recorder Charlotte Fleig to deny the licenses today.

She said she will issue the licenses but, as of 9 a.m., no same-sex couples had requested a license, although there was at least one same-sex couple who called to inquire about the process.

George Wallace standing against desegregation at the University of Alabama in 1963.

“In the name of the greatest people that have ever trod this earth, I draw the line in the dust and toss the gauntlet before the feet of tyranny, and I say segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever.” ~ George Wallace, January 14, 1963

KTVO in Iowa is reporting that in a last minute attempt to stop same-sex marriages in his county, Jefferson County, Iowa supervisor Stephen Burgmeier says he will attempt to fight the Iowa Supreme Court’s decision to allow marriage equalitymo.

“I believe the Supreme Court has over-stepped their bounds, the governor has not done his job and the legislature has not done their jobs,” said Burgmeier.

Burgmeier, a Republican, has drawn up a resolution that he says he’ll present at a Jefferson County board meeting on Monday, which will start at a special time of 7:30 am, requesting the county leave in effect the Iowa Code, that says only marriage between a male and female is valid.

A portion of the resolution reads, “WHEREAS, on April 3rd, 2009, the Iowa Supreme Court issued an opinion that is in conflict with that law and Constitution and only applies to Polk County District Court and not to Jefferson County, Iowa.”

Burgmeier believes it’s his job as an elected official to take a stance on the issue and to do something about it.

“There is a law in the books that says in Iowa, a marriage is between a man and woman. It has not been repealed. It is still in effect. The Supreme Court addressed only one case in one county, which was Polk County. So, there are 98 counties out here that we have not had our day in court,” Burgmeier said.

The supervisor plans to fight the ruling with Iowa Code section 331.302, which he calls the “Home Rule,” which he believes allows the county government to exercise power over state law.

“It allows counties to decide on their own on some issues and we will have to see if this is one of those issues,” he said.

The Burgmeier will be working against the clock on Monday, as the county board will only have a half an hour before the courthouse doors open for business to make a decision. If Burgmeier’s resolution passes, he says supervisors will advise the county recorder not to give marriage licenses to any gay couples on Monday when offices open at 8 a.m.

“I think it’s an issue that’s big enough. I think leaders lead and if we have the opportunity to lead, then we should lead,” he said. Burgmeier however said he doesn’t have any idea how the other two county supervisors will vote Monday.

All of Burgmeier’s bluster aside, Iowa’s Attorney General Tom Miller has told county officials they don’t have the power to refuse marriage licenses to same-sex couples and said, “If necessary, we will explore legal actions to enforce and implement the court’s ruling, working with the Iowa Dept. of Public Health and county attorneys.”

In 1963, Alabama Governor George Wallace, who had been overwhelmingly elected to the Governorship of Alabama because of his opposition to desegregation of the state, was determined his state would remain segregated. To stop court ordered desegregation at the University of Alabama by the enrollment of black students Vivian Malone and James Hood, Wallace claimed “Home Rule” and stood in front of Foster Auditorium on June 11, 1963 blocking their entrance. But after being confronted by federal marshals, Deputy Attorney General Nicholas Katzenbach, and the Alabama National Guard, he stood aside.

Much later in his life, Wallace was remorseful about his opposition to civil rights, and apologized for his earlier segregationist views to black civil rights leaders, saying while he once sought power and glory, he now realized he needed to seek their forgiveness for the harm he had caused.

His last term as Governor of Alabama(1983–1987) saw a record number of black appointments to government positions.

But to this day, it is Wallace’s earlier actions, viewed by history as the very epitome of intolerance and bigotry, and not the good he finally did, that is his legacy. And whither he wanted it or not, Wallace will be remembered always for his actions to hold on to a national disgrace like segregation… forever and nothing more.

I wonder…. Does Supervisor Burgmeier not see the parallels here?

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On Monday, Marriage Equality comes to Iowa and gay and lesbian couples will begin to get marriage licenses allowing them to tie the knot after a three-day waiting period.

The Chicago Tribune is reporting an Iowa woman is organizing a statewide prayer service against gay marriage on Monday, the first day of legalized same-sex unions in that state.

Gloria Villanueva, of Bonaparte says she is opposed to last month’s ruling by the Iowa Supreme Court legalizing gay marriage and wants her voice heard. Villanueva is urging people to go to their local courthouse on Monday and pray at 7:45 a.m.

She says she plans to show up at the Van Buren County courthouse in Keosauqua

Lez Get Real urging all of our Iowa readers to join Ms. Villanueva at the courthouse that morning if you can, to go pray with her and explain to her why your God says she is wrong….

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-ia-gaymarriage-praye,0,5709906.story

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This controversial campaign to reduce underage drinking during prom season by Buzz Free Prom raised a few eyebrows and gained a full spread on the La Figa blog.

La Figa called the creator of Buzzfree Prom, Liza Orchard, who claimed “The poster doesn’t foster a fear of being homosexual but a fear of going to jail.” Orchard added that if you are the weakest person in the cell “you will appear to be the queen in the group”.

Since La Figa ran the story, the ad campaign has been removed from the Buzz Free Prom site, and this statement can be found on their homepage:

We have received complaints from individuals regarding a BuzzFree Prom poster. It has been removed from the BuzzFree Prom website and product line. We apologize if this poster offended anyone, for certainly that was not the intent; BuzzFree Prom strives to direct teens’ attention to messaging which encourages them NOT to drink or use other drugs on prom night or any other night. BuzzFree is solely responsible for its content.

Good job to La Figa and also to Buzz Free Prom for staying accountable to our kids!!

Public High Schools in Tennessee are filtering out access to LGBT websites like the Human Rights Campaign, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), and many more.

However, websites that claim to “cure homosexuality” are not being filtered out. Unlike the recent “computer glitch” excuse used by online book retail website Amazon.com when gay and lesbian titles were filtered out of their sales rankings, that is not the case here.

The Knox County and Metro Nashville Public Schools are claiming the existence of the filter yet blaming their filtering service for the blockage of the websites in question, while the school district’s internet filtering service, Education Networks of America, says that schools using their service choose which websites to block.

The American Civil Liberties Union has asked public school officials in Tennessee to stop blocking students’ access to websites designated as “LGBT” or they plan to file suit.

“Students at Knox County and Metro Nashville schools are being denied access to content that is protected speech under the First Amendment as well as the Tennessee state constitution,” Staff Attorney Tricia Herzfield of the ACLU for the Tennessee district said.

The ACLU claims that the Tennessee school districts in question used a blanket approach to all things relating to LGBT issues on the internet, but continue to give access to websites promoting “gay-cures” that some health professionals have found to be dangerous.

The filter also restricts websites for same-sex marriage, including faith based sites that find same-sex marriage acceptable, yet does not block sites such as the American Family Association who actively campaign against same-sex marriage. The ACLU says that this gives students only one side of the story, and in so doing may harm a child’s education, potentially violating the duty of the school district to give all children a chance at a complete education.

The ACLU’s statement included a comment from a student at one of the school districts in question, Andrew Emmit of Central High School in Knoxville, aged 17:  “When I found out about this web filtering software, I wasn’t looking for anything sexual or inappropriate – I was looking for information about scholarships for LGBT students, and I couldn’t get to it because of this.”

In its letter, the ACLU gives the districts and the Tennessee Schools Cooperative until April 29 to come up with a plan to restore access to  non-sexual websites advocating the fair treatment of LGBT people by the beginning of the 2009-2010 school year.

“The decisions on whether to block certain websites are made solely by the school districts. ENA does not participate in these decisions in any way and is instead simply told which websites to block,” ENA attorney Jason Callen said in response to the request by the ACLU.

Tennessee state law only requires schools to use filtering software to restrict information that is obscene or harmful to minors.

HRC Foundation announced today it will award three $2000 scholarships to student activists committed to achieving LGBT equality. The following is a press release from HRC:

WASHINGTON – The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender advocacy organization, today launched the “Generation Equality Scholarships” for LGBT and allied students who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the fight for queer equality. The scholarships are part of HRC Foundation’s Youth and Campus Outreach Program, which aims to provide tools, facilitate connections and empower young people to fight for LGBT equality on campus and beyond. To apply for the Generation Equality Scholarships, visit: www.hrc.org/geneqscholarship.

“All too often, LGBT students face obstacles in the pursuit of education, whether it be from a lack of family support or negative experiences in the classroom or on campus. The Generation Equality Scholarships are aimed at providing exceptional students with the funding that they need and deserve,” said Candace Gingrich, Senior Manager for the HRC Foundation’s Youth and Campus Outreach Program. “In these challenging economic times, it’s important that current and prospective students have these resources available to them.”

The HRC Foundation will award three $2,000 scholarships to LGBT and allied students who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to the fight for queer equality. Priority will be given to applicants who:

• Self identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or an ally
• Have applied to or are enrolled in an accredited institution of higher education
• Have demonstrated a commitment or contribution to the LGBT community
• Are in good academic standing
• Have demonstrated need for financial assistance

The application deadline for academic year 2009-2010 is June 1, 2009. Finalists will be asked to submit additional materials. Scholarship recipients will be announced in July.

In addition to these new scholarships, the Youth and Campus Outreach Program also provides a comprehensive online database of more than 200 other scholarships available to LGBT and allied students. The list, which includes national, statewide and school-specific scholarships, was created to ensure that students committed to the fight for LGBT equality can reach and benefit from institutions of higher education. To view the online database visit: www.hrc.org/scholarships.

Generation Equality, the current group of high school and college-aged young people, is more supportive of LGBT equality than any other generation in our country’s history. As young people work to attain the goals of the queer community on their campuses, it is the aim of the Youth and Campus Outreach Program to provide tools and help facilitate connections with other LGBT student activists across the country.

Many at University of Notre Dame are not happy with the invitation of President Barack Obama to speak at their commencement. The university has a history of inviting sitting Presidents to speak at their graduations. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter spoke there. In 1981, Ronald Regan went through with the honor. In 2001, President George W. Bush gave his speech at their graduation.

Yet, this invitation is causing an uproar in large part because of how many Catholics disagree with President Obama’s politics. While the largest uproar is over his recent rescinding of the Bush era ban on embryonic stem cell research, a wide range of other issues including his opposition to Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell and the Defense of Marriage Act are also contributing to a decided call by some to have his invitation revoked. Another factor is his decision to, once again, provide funding for international groups which provide abortions or educate about the procedure.

Given the recent uproar over Pope Benedict’s comments concerning condom use in Africa, it may seem odd that many in the Catholic Church are not rethinking their stances, at least when it comes to being upset about someone coming to speak to them at their graduation. Some are seeing it as an honor. While they disagree with Obama’s policies, they are, none the less, honored to have him speak.

Others are not so happy. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted has called the invitation a mistake and a public act of disobedience. Bishop John D’Arcy has stated his intentions to not attend the events. Olmsted represents the Phoenix diocese, and D’Arcy represents the Fort-Wayne-South Bend diocese. Notre Dame is part of D’Arcy’s docese.

Reverend John Jenkins, President of Notre Dame, does not agree with many of President Obama’s policies, but feels that it is important to engage in a dialogue, and refuses to rescind the invitation. The majority of seniors at Notre Dame support having President Obama speak, even if the majority of the alum disagree and do not want him there.

President Obama is speaking at only three universities this year. Notre Dame has been honored by being one of those three.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090327/ap_on_re_us/obama_notre_dame

Bridget “Sei” McBride is a trans-lesbian who lives in Vermont and has a strong passion for LGBTI rights. She has a BA in History and her hobbies include sci-fi, anime, fantasy, action movies, video games, and more. Currently, she is working on her MA in Individualized Studies at Goddard College. Her specialization is in cultural history and cultural comparison.

An openly gay Valparaiso University Student Senator has been removed from her seat because university administrators say being gay doesn’t qualify her as a minority student.

In February, Tia Kolasa, an openly gay undergraduate at Northern Indiana’s Valparaiso University, was overwhelming elected by her classmates to fill a student senate seat designated for minority students. Kolasa sought to fill that seat so she could represent the gay community on campus.

Sources at the school say Kolasa is well liked and popular with her peers on the senate. They also say she was doing “a great job” as a senator, that she was bringing a new awareness of LGBT issues to non gay students and had instilled a sense of pride in the members of Valparaiso University LGBT student community.

But a few weeks after Kolasa assumed her new responsibilities as a student senator, questions were raised by some students and school administrators if being gay should be considered a minority and soon after Valparaiso University officials informed the counsel that sexual orientation did not qualifying under the student senate’s bylaws or under school policies for minority status and directed that Kolasa be removed from her seat.

In issuing his ruling, President Mark Heckler said the issue of unseating Kolasa was entirely a matter of procedure. Heckler also said the ground rules were established from the beginning, and that changing those rules in midstream to seat someone was the reason for Kolasa was removed.

School officials explain the controversy with Kolasa’s election as a problem that fell thought the cracks of a school administration change that began last year when the student body eliminated the racial and ethnic minority requirement for the position, leaving the term “minority” undefined, and which led then university President Alan Harre to suggest that the senate maintain the previous specifications and that the position should be set aside only for racial and ethnic minorities.

Harre then left his position as university president and nothing more was said about the minority designation by school officials until Ms. Kolasa was elected as the school’s gay rep and the present university president ruled being gay is not a considered being a minority at Valparaiso.

That had been the “historic pattern,” said the executive director of university relations, Reggie Syrcle, to a reporter from the Gary Post-Tribune. “So that was the guiding principle last year and again this year until the question came up again.”

Student body President Liane Joshua said the situation stemmed from “misunderstanding and miscommunication”

Tia Kolasa-(Photo by Leslie Adkins/Post-Tribune)

But some others at the school are saying that Valparaiso University administrators used this technicality as a way to make sure the school had no officially recognized LGBT representative on the senate because they worried such official recognition might aggravate some potential donors and alumnus.

Valparaiso University is operated by the Lutheran University Association and is the largest independent Lutheran university in the United States. According to the schools website Valparaiso does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national and ethnic origin, age, gender, disability, sexual orientation or religion.

While “Valpo” is not officially associated with either of the two major Lutheran dominations in the United States, (the conservative Missouri Synod or the liberal Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) there are some at the university who think that the problem with recognizing gay students as a minority on this campus may stem from a larger fight on how these two Lutheran branches view the acceptance of gays and lesbians the respective churches.

One Valparaiso student who asked not to be identified told LGR “This was all about fund raising”, and added, “This was also about keeping some 60 year old white guys happy.”

A few others LGR spoke with say the timing of the school’s discovery of this “misunderstanding and miscommunication” was rather suspicious and question whether it was driven, at least in part, by recent anti-gay statements made by a prominent Lutheran Church leader.

In February, the president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, Gerald B. Kieschnick, strongly condemned the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over a proposal that would allow gays and lesbians in committed relationships to serve as clergy.

In a letter to his 2.5 million-member denomination, Kieschnick said the change ”would constitute a radical departure from the 2,000-year-long teaching of the Christian tradition that homosexual activity, whether inside or outside of a committed relationship, is contrary to Holy Scripture.”

When we asked Tia her opinion, she just said… “yeah… convenient… huh?”

This past Monday, the senate voted to amend its bylaws, eliminating the minority and other group specific seats altogether. Now except for one seat set aside for an international student, the rest of the 24 senate seats will have no minority-specific label. This move makes it possible for Kolasa to run as an at-large candidate and resume her seat, although not as an officially recognized representative for the gay community at Valparaiso, which Tia says is under-represented on campus.

However, Ms. Kolasa, who is also the vice president of Alliance, a student organization for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community at Valparaiso, says she hasn’t decided on whether to run for the seat again because she is a bit”disheartened by the whole situation,” saying her original purpose for running for the senate was to be a representative for the LGBTI community at Valparaiso.

Tia also said she does not want to “burn bridges” with the school and hopes this controversy has helped to raise awareness of the issues confronted everyday by LGBTI community at Valparaiso University.

About the whole situation Ms. Kolasa summed it up this way… “I wouldn’t put the blame on anybody, I put the blame on society in general not being open as we should be.”

Kolasa did note attendance at Alliance meetings has increased from four to five students last year to nearly 30 students this year and said whatever happens… “I’m going to continue to fight for LGBT rights.”

http://www.post-trib.com/news/1493751,gay-student-removed-0325.article

http://www.valpo.edu/student/alliance/about.html

There are many ways to describe a furor over non-existent data. “Tempest in a teacup,” “making a mountain out of a mole hill,” “much ado about nothing.” There are all those cliche ways of saying that something is being made from nothing, and Americans For Truth About Homosexuality is doing all of them with a story about Bible based discrimination at Wright State University.

According to Americans For Truth About Homosexuality’s repost of Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) press release, Wright State University in Dayton, OH, has banned the Campus Bible Fellowship for not following the non-discrimination policies of the university regarding gays and lesbians. Americans For Truth About Homosexuality is saying, according to two people from CBF, they were denied their registration for two reasons. Per the FIRE press release:

“CBF refused to adopt university-mandated nondiscrimination language in its membership requirements that would have stripped the group of the right to require voting members to adhere to religious and behavioral standards. (Nonvoting members did not have to meet these standards.) Second, Wright State objected to the requirement in CBF’s constitution that voting members ‘accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior’ and subscribe to the group’s articles of faith.”

FIRE claims that they have tried to get in touch with WSU several times and no one has responded in writing to their complaints. It may be that they have not been contacted in writing about their complaints because those complaints were long ago resolved. It might also be that those at WSU knew that FIRE was attempting to cause a fight and have chosen not to fight with them.

The problem is, CBF was not denied their registration. In fact, we found the folks at Wright State very responsive when LGR’s Paula Brooks contacted them and according to a Wright State University spokeswoman, the CBF people were actually given an extension on their deadline to file their re-registration.

WSU requires that all university groups register for the year. CBF’s registration ran late, and they were unable to get theirs in on time. There was, according to the information provided by WSU, confusion about the policies. This required that the deadline for their application be extended.

No group has been required to alter their individual constitutions for this year, and they are weighing certain unspecified changes to the campus organizations. However, forcing a religious group to allow those who do not follow their beliefs does not appear to be on the agenda.

At Armstrong Atlantic State University, the Baptist Student Union was allowed to form, but, in order to avoid having to admit those outside their faith, the BSU had to use space off of campus for its meetings. AASU, which is in Savannah, GA, rented them space in a commercial building owned by the college. The fee was minimal, but allowed the group to operate on campus without compromising their faith. Universities, especially state run institutions, are required to allow such groups, and must make accommodation for them if there is a conflict between the group’s faith an the policies of the campus.

AFTAH and FIRE are most likely to be pushing their own agenda to create a controversy with the university.

WSU has made it clear that they support diversity, and that they attempted to resolve this conflict long before this became a problem.

Americans For Truth About Homosexuality even went after Bob Schwartz of the Gay Liberation Network for supposedly supporting the alleged ban on CBF by WSU, a ban LGR has found out does not seem to actually exist in the first place and never has. Unfortunately, the Americans For Truth About Homosexuality do not seem to have a link to where he makes any statements about this, and does not seem to have included any actual letters regarding this issue.

It would seem the Americans For Truth About Homosexuality and FIRE both believe that pushing this argument forward is a good idea even though it appears that the issue was long ago resolved for some reason.  Even if there is not much “Truth” in their allegations.

For the reprint of the press release:
http://americansfortruth.com/news/wright-state-university-bans-christian-group-from-campus.html

http://americansfortruth.com/news/gay-liberation-network-applauds-wright-state-universitys-ban-on-christian-bible-group.html

Picture is from WSU via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BURT-WSU.jpg

In Cairo they came to a discovery that girls in same-sex schools perform way better academically and are more likely to stay in school than any other girl who is in high school right now.

The editor of the good schools guide Janette Wallis never expected to get these type of results back. Researchers started by looking at there CVA scores between 2005-2007 they looked at over 71,000 girls and than looked at 647,000 in normal high school.

The results showed that same sex-schools perform better and normal high schools did worse on the test.

Girls who started in mixed schools in primary were put into same sex-schools are doing remarkably better than they would have done if they had stayed in mixed.

Is there any explanation for all this? According to Sue Dunford head teacher of Southfield School for Girls in Kettering she says that “It’s a question of confidence in the way girls develop” “Girls who lack confidence can thrive in girls only schools” She goes on to say that they don’t have boys so theirs no competing or any distractions (what happens if your gay? is the school still a distraction? haha)

Kayla Tate is a 19 year old high school graduate looking to attend Winnipeg Technical for Carpentry. She loves sports,being out doors and is happily dating. Kayla had a 19 year old mid-life crisis and decided that her voice needs to be heard, so she writes to help the LGBT community.

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Orange County, California

A 36-page complaint has been filed in The Orange County Superior Court by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of a student at Corona del Mar High School alleging that school officials there are fostering a “sexist” and “homophobic” atmosphere.

The compliant stems for an incident last month over the schools reported cancellation — then rescheduling — of a production of “Rent.”

The Newport Beach school drew national media attention when drama teacher Ron Martin accused the school’s principal, Fal Asrani, of canceling the student production of “Rent” because of objections to gay characters in the musical. Asrani disputed that and allowed the show to proceed after reviewing the script.

While the complaint cites the show’s brief cancellation as one example of the schools administrators choosing to “ignore obvious signs of a school culture gone awry,”  much of the ACLU’s  suit focuses on the repercussion of a Facebook video posted in January in which three Corona del Mar football players threatened to rape and kill a gay female classmate and used slurs to describe homosexuals. The video was posted on the online profile of a fourth student, who reportedly threatened the young woman at school.

The video has since been removed.

According to the ACLU, School officials did little to punish the boys or protect the young woman, even after her parents repeatedly expressed concerns about her safety. Only two of the four boys involved in the video were suspended, said ACLU attorney Lori Rifkin and the girl has been force to change her schedule to avoid the boys; her family is considering a restraining order against them.

“School and district officials, through their action and inaction, have not only failed to take steps to address this hostile environment, but they have contributed to it and given sanction to it,” read the complaint. The school’s “inadequate and inappropriate response,” according to the ACLU, “included assigning an assistant football coach at the school to investigate the harassment, an obvious conflict of interest because three of the four accused students are members of the football team.”

The lawsuit also says intolerance is accepted by school officials… “Students are routinely referred to … with words such as ‘dyke,’ ‘butch,’ ‘fairy,’ ‘gay,’ ‘homo’ and ‘queer’ by other students at school in hallways and classrooms within earshot of teachers, but without repercussion.” The complaint mentions several students who withdrew from extracurricular activities because of harassment from peers – often in plain sight of teachers – about their sexual orientation.

In addition to damages, the suit seeks a complaint filing process at school; diversity training for students and staff; designated staff contacts for harassed students; and a survey of attitudes toward sexual orientation

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District said it was “attempting to resolve this matter” after the ACLU contacted officials last week, according to a district statement.

“These allegations are very serious and the district will utilize its best efforts to ascertain the truth of these matters, as well as to be sure there are procedures” to promptly resolve discrimination and harassment disputes, said district Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard.

Attorney’s for the School District also say the lawsuit contains “numerous factual errors and mistakes.”

In a press release, The ACLU noted it has seen a surge in calls from across the California complaining of school bullying based on sexual orientation after the passage of Proposition 8 last fall, which amended the state Constitution to ban gay marriage.

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In a strongly worded order, U.S. District Judge Henry Adams ruled that Nassau County school officials Wednesday must allow a Gay-Straight Alliance student club to meet at Yulee High School while the students’ lawsuit against the district plays out in court.

Saying that the students have a “substantial likelihood of success” in court, and that the school district’s argument against allowing the club to meet “strains logic”, Judge Adams ordered the School Board to immediately allow the alliance to begin meeting without having to change its name and to circulate his order to all teachers and staff within 72 hours.

He also ordered the district not to retaliate against any student or faculty for their involvement with the alliance and to recognize the group as it would any other extracurricular student organization.

Two Yulee High School students, Hannah Page and Jacob Brock, had sued the school board last month after the school district told them they couldn’t meet unless they changed the name of the Gay-Straight Alliance to something that didn’t mention a sexual orientation. School officials said the name violated the district’s abstinence-only policy and was potentially disruptive.

The students rejected the suggestion to change the group’s name because they said Gay-Straight Alliance clearly defines their mission and took the school board to court instead.

Judge Adams yesterday also ruled that existing cases, including one decided last year involving a Gay-Straight Alliance in Okechobee County, Florida didn’t support that position by the district.

“There is no evidence that the alliance counters the relevant abstinence policy in any way,” Adams wrote.

The students are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Nassau County school officials had not yet returned phone calls from LGR asking for a comment on the judges ruling as of publication time.

Gay-straight club allowed to meet at Yulee High | Jacksonville.com.

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Two Florida High School students, Hannah Page and Jacob Brock, are suing the Nassau County School Board to overturn a decision that prohibits them from forming a Gay-Straight Alliance club at their school in Yulee, Florida.

Yulee is about 25 miles north of Jacksonville, near the Georgia state line.

Represented by an attorney from the American Civil Liberties Union, the two gay students from the north Florida high school yesterday told a federal judge they should be allowed to form a campus club promoting tolerance toward gays, this despite their school having a policy specifically prohibiting such a club…

Their attorney, Robert F. Rosenwald Jr., argued that Page and Brock have been the target of intimidation, including anti-gay epithets and threats of violence and wanted to start the Gay-Straight Alliance in an effort to constructively open a dialogue among students at their school but are being denied permission from the Nassau County School Board to do so. He also asked U.S. District Judge Henry Adams Jr. to issue an injunction to allow the students to meet until the case goes to trial, noting that Brock and Page might well be out of school before the case is decided.

“These students are in a short window on this,” Rosenwald said.

Frank Sheppard, a lawyer for the Nassau County School Board however said the group’s name, Gay-Straight Alliance, is against school policy….

He said school officials have no problem with the idea of tolerance and rejecting bullying, but that the school board believes the club will be disruptive and told the judge the district’s foremost complaint is the name of the group. Sheppard said the School Board does not approve of groups dealing with sexual orientation and noted this school has an abstinence-based sex education curriculum.

“If they change the name and comply with Nassau County School Board policies they can meet,” Sheppard said.

The judge questioned Sheppard over the school’s objection to the name and asked…

“A Gay-Straight Alliance, that covers everybody doesn’t it?”.

Rosenwald also told the Judge in his arguments, that Yulee High School does allow the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to meet on it campus, and that the FCA hand book includes references to sexual issues, including a student pledge to remain sexually pure and an article about dealing with homosexuality in the locker room.

Sheppard told the judge he was unaware of the document and requested time to study it. Judge Adams said Sheppard could have three days in which to respond.

The ACLU recently won a similar case in Okeechobee; the judge in that case ruled schools must provide for the welfare of gay students and cannot discriminate against a Gay-Straight Alliance.

The Okeechobee County School Board ended up paying $326,000 in attorney’s fees and court costs in that case.

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Freedom of Speech only goes so far. The First Amendment Right is not normally extended to hate speech nor to children in schools. Schools are absolutely able to determine what the children can wear at school. Apparently, the Supreme Court of the United States agrees with this. The rejected without comment the case of a student who claimed that his rights were abridged when he was denied being allowed to express his homophobic views in school.

The student in question, Timothy Morrison, claims that he was harmed by this policy. However, the courts decided that he failed to show how he was harmed by not being allowed to express his views on homosexuality. Morrison, a devout Christian, claims that his religion demands that he speak out against what he sees as being immoral to his particular brand of Christian morality.

The school, at the time, had a policy where by people who used hate speech were required to undergo anti-harassment training. Morrison was never punished. The policy was changed soon after he made a federal case out of it. An exception for speech protected outside of the school was added.

Thus, Morrison, who was never punished under this policy, stated that he felt harmed by the fact that the policy even existed. Morrison, a senior at Boyd County (Kentucky) High School, was represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a Conservative legal group. The policy dates back to a lawsuit filed by the BCHS Gay-Straight Alliance.

For additional reading: http://www.365gay.com/news/supreme-court-declines-anti-gay-student-case/

Sei is a trans-lesbian who lives in Vermont and has a strong passion for LGBTI rights. She has a BA in History and her hobbies include sci-fi, anime, fantasy, action movies, video games, and more.”

“Gay and lesbian students deserve schools that heed the rule of law”… ACLU

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida has filed a federal lawsuit against the Nassau County (Fla.) School Board on Feb. 10, after school administrators denied students permission to form Gay-Straight Alliances at Yulee High School and Yulee Middle School.

In a letter denying access to the group, the board’s superintendent said that groups with names referencing a sexual orientation would not be recognized and that even if the group changed its name to one not communicating a gay-specific mission, approval was uncertain.

The ACLU lawsuit is alleging violations of the First Amendment and the Equal Access Act, and seeks a preliminary injunction to force school officials to allow the GSA to meet at Yulee High School while the litigation makes its way to trial.

The ACLU of Florida recently won an analogous federal case after Okeechobee High School refused to allow a GSA group to meet. The Okeechobee County School Board ended up paying $326,000 in attorneys’ fees.

“Gay and lesbian students deserve schools that heed the rule of law,” said Robert Rosenwald, director of the ACLU of Florida’s LGBT Advocacy Project. “These students are trying to bring a message of equality and openness, and the lesson they are being taught is that Yulee High School administrators believe discrimination against LGBT students is an acceptable policy.”

The federal Equal Access Act requires schools to grant access and recognition to a GSA — and most other student groups — if the school allows any extracurricular groups to meet on campus, which both Yulee schools do. There are more than 4,000 GSAs in the U.S.

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On Monday, a court of appeal in Riverside, CA ruled on a case involving two girls who sued a California Lutheran High School after being expelled in 2005.

The girls claimed that they were discriminated against when expelled because of an alleged lesbian relationship after they admitted they had strong feelings for each other. The girls’ lawyers refuse to say if they are practicing homosexuals. In the end, the courts upheld the Christian high school’s right as a private, religious organization to exclude students based on their sexual orientation. John McKay, attorney for California Lutheran, says the school’s goal is to educate based on Christian principles.

The recent findings reflect what comes across as legal discrimination, and you can bet that many in the LGBT community are outraged by this ruling.

LGBTs in religious schools have an organization called HeartStrong which has been following this story since the beginning. This organization has asked the public for help in sending letters to the school since the incident arose back in 2005 and others are now joining in the appeal to the public. The girls, who are now in college, could not be reached for comment. You can read the entire story at L.A. Times online here.

Julie Phineas is a work at home mom of 2 who lives in Southern California. You can find out more about her by visiting her page on MySpace.

“E. Ray Moore is the director of Exodus Mandate, based in Columbia, South Carolina, an organization that urges Christian parents to pull their children out of public schools. Exodus Mandate has spent the past few years trying to win over the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), a Christian denomination with more than 16 million members. Each year the SBC holds a convention at which members vote on various resolutions. Last year, Exodus Mandate introduced a resolution asking SBC parents to conduct a “homosexual school risk audit” of their local public school, a survey to “make Christian parents and pastors more aware of the aggressive homosexual activism being sponsored by many public schools”. The resolution was passed. The “risk audit” claims, among other things, that being homosexual “reduces life expectancy at age 20 by at least 8 to 20 years” or “substantially increases the risk of contracting breast cancer”.” - New Scientist.com

Moore’s bigger goal is to, get this: Destroy Public Education.

Literally, I’m not kidding or twisting his intentions. This is literally what would make him happy. His mission is to get 30% of children to leave the public school system, which he believes will crash it. This is his idea of a “renewal” for society. Liberty University is on board, offering online classes for home schooling parents for grades 3-12. Then they can go on to Patrick Henry or Liberty, and then on to the US Government.

Here in California, the exodus is about to be huge if Moore gets his way.

Senate Bill 777, which requires only positive portrayals of homosexual, bisexual, transgendered, and other alternative lifestyle choices has possibly opened the floodgates. California Exodus, run by the pastor of Grace Presbyterian Church in Yorba Linda, Ron Gleason has the goal of withdrawing 600,000 students in CA alone. Check out their video of “homosexual brainwashing” Here. An estimated 166,000 students are homeschooled in California already, and almost a million CA kids might end up being taught by people who have never even seen a teaching degree. There’s no check in some states to see if the parents themselves even made it out of High School. Six Hundred Thousand more. That’s about 10% of the entire student population here. That’s a lot of homeschooled courses to sell, huh? Evangelicals leaders sure know how to pump money out of their constituents.

Remember this poor kid from Jesus camp?

Patrick Henry, about 60 kilometers north-west of Washington DC, is the type of school these children are being groomed for.

From there, they are funneled into Washington, where they are expected to realign America to their “Christian” values. This is why the state needs educated citizens, because they vote and help make policy regarding others. Democracy only dies choking on ignorance. Outrageous textbooks being used at home like Science of the Physical Creation which think: “Evolution is a concept that attempts to free man from God and his responsibility to his Creator.” are not the equivalent of a fair education to a child.

It’s a form of abuse to refuse education to children in my book, and isn’t that why we have laws saying kids must attend?

This is why unregulated Homeschooling used to be essentially illegal. That is until 1983, when two evangelical attorneys, Michael Farris and Mike Smith, fought to remove laws that parents be certified to teach their own children. With a lot of Reagan Republican friends in high places their political lobbying managed to make home-schooling legal in all 50 states within 10 years.

The National Home Education Research Institute estimates that between 1.9 million and 2.4 million children were educated at home during the 2005–2006 school year.

In 1990, that number was 300,000 in this country. This is not me bashing religion. This is me calling out a political organization hiding behind the mask of religion. Tax exempt status for these kinds of depraved teachings isn’t something we offer to the skinheads white power beliefs, so why give it to right wing fanatics hell bent on destroying the lives of LGBT families? You wanna get involved in politics and change this country, fine, go ahead and try. But do not ask for a hand out from the Government you so despise. Why would you want our dirty, pink money anyway?

Oh right, its because you’re a fraud. A greedy, hypocritical, and actually godless (unless you count the almighty dollar) fraud.

There needs to be strict regulations and requirements for parents who want to teach at home immediately. If not, remove the tax credits given in some states to parents who are supposed to be using that money to “educate” their children. Remove the tax exemption status of any religion that ceases to be a place of worship, and instead becomes a factory pumping out a generation brainwashed children to mold America to the rich Evangelical Leader’s ideals. If you thought eight years under George W. Bush (who was only pretending to be an Evangelical) was bad, try living the rest of your life under an actual Evangelical regime.

Jenime is an artist living in the SF bay area. You can watch her musings and ravings any time by visiting her channel on YouTube.

[Sorry there's two minutes of commercials before the show starts. Really, really, really interesting doc, it's worth the trouble I promise!]

Colleges like Patrick Henry are the next phase of a decade old conservative homeschooling movement called Exodus Mandate.

The goal is to withdraw mass amounts of children from the public school system and have them raised on a strict Christian world view.

The graduate page of Liberty University (originally Lynchburg Baptist College) claims they have over 50,000 students around the world.

On several occasions, the late Jerry Falwell said his school was “Bible Boot Camp.”

He also instructed Liberty’s students to burn it down if it “ever turned liberal.” You may remember him as the guy who said in 2001, that the September 11 terrorist attack was the fault of: “pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America.”

Remember this stuff when people cry that boycotting is wrong. Remember this stuff when no one is motivating you to do something about what’s happening to our community. These guys are playing a game with our lives every day. They dedicate not only their lives, but the lives of their children to creating an Evangelical America. They are training a generation with the mission of finding ways to use the legal system to take away our rights. They have a very real goal of training tomorrow’s supreme court justices. What are we doing? Waiting for a leader to pop up and tell us what to do?

Do we really need a singular face and voice in order to save our families from oppression? Do you need people telling you what to do, like these Liberty students? There is something you can do every day. You can send a million postcards, and light a million blue lights, but we all need to do more. We need to stand up in our communities, in our businesses, and in the political arena and let people see that we’re everywhere. On December 10th the next big protest will be “A Day Without A Gay”. I know the economy is tough, and missing a day of work will cost something to each of us, but it is so important that America realizes that we are a part of everyone’s lives. We do the jobs that need to get done. We are your doctors, your cops, your fire fighters, your teachers, your customers, and your equal in every way.

And I know it’s the crazy holiday shopping season, but try not to buy anything. Our economic contribution to this country is huge, and it’s being taken for granted. Why not buy something from an LGBT business on the 10th? That sounds good to me. Don’t buy your newspaper that morning, don’t go to Starbucks, make your coffee at home and spend the morning off with your partner warm under the covers. See? Protesting doesn’t have to be no fun.

They think that 50,000 students is an unbeatable force.

Let them see us by the millions.

Millions of people they need in order for this country to thrive, the same as every other citizen.

Let’s wake them up!

They can’t see us for who we are, but we can’t allow them to hide behind ignorance.

Let’s create an undeniable wave, “We’re mad as hell, and we’re not going to take it anymore!”

Start emailing people now please! Text everyone you know, gay or straight, whether you think they’ll do anything or not. December 10th, we step away from our cogs in the American economy and say enough is enough. You can’t ask us to work this hard to be treated this poorly. This is the land of opportunity and freedom because the people have always stood up and demanded it would be. Not should, Would. We do not take no for an answer, and we do not stop until real change happens.

These forces are here. They are not going to disappear because the democrats won in 2008. In fall 2008, 445 graduate students were enrolled on campus, and 992 graduate students were enrolled through the Distance Learning Program at Jerry Falwell’s college. These students have one goal in life: to redefine America as an Evangelical Christian nation.

This isn’t game over for them, it’s “one game in a playoff”.

Complacency is death. Don’t sit back and wait for the supreme court to save you. These kids may one day fill it. They have tons of money and power to propel them.

I’ll leave you with a creepy-scary Liberty U promo with flames everywhere at the end.

It’s almost surreal that this is really going on, and it’s easy to push it out of your mind. It’s almost too much to take. It’s crazy. Really, and truly crazy. And though we didn’t ask to be born into times like this, we have a responsibility to be the ones who stand up and stop it.

History shows us all to well what happens if we don’t stop a fascist movement from hijacking our country.

Jenime is an artist living in the SF bay area. You can watch her musings and ravings any time by visiting her channel on YouTube.

Would you say that being able to send your child to school without fear of his persecution an inalienable right?

When you see your child’s face driving away on the school bus, does your heart flutter with anxiety? Would you be able to live that way? Would the kid, for that matter?

This story is sadly similar to what’s happening to lot’s of children who’s parents are of the same sex. De-humanize the parent, and of course the rest of the family will suffer.

A young boy at Dolores Elementary, in CA was jumped and beaten by two other boys. These young kids had found out that he had two Moms, and let him know what they thought about it with their fists. The teacher’s of the school, well aware of the situation, sent the three boys to the principal’s office.

Now what would you want your Principal to do here?

I know! You would want her to: not call you, not punish the boys who attacked your son, not call their parents either, and not do anything but wave them back to class and out of her hair.

No parent would want that, on either side I would hope, but that’s exactly what she did. Principal Barraza, with a work record that reads like a rap sheet if bad teaching were a crime, was not surprised when one of the two Moms showed up with some serious concerns. Unfortunately, the concern for one of her students was not shared.

In an exclusive LGR interview with one of the parents, I received this account of what followed:

“The principal, Anna Barraza, told my wife that she didn’t contact the other parents because they were “working parents”, insinuating that we’re not. She gave no excuse as to why I wasn’t contacted, but said that she would look into the situation.”

I personally have never heard the phrase “working parents” come out of any serious educator’s mouth in my life. Nothing was done to protect her son in the future, and nothing was done to educate those young boys about violence. The school year was almost out, and it’s heartbreaking to hear how the family had to cope.

“We told our son basically, if that happens again just RUN. Isn’t that sad!? It was almost the end of the school year, and he would be in a new class soon, we simply braced ourselves and prayed nothing else would happen. It pains me as a parent to know that my son handled the situation in the right way, and so did my wife; but in the end the principal did nothing to protect my son from this happening again. What kind of message is that sending to my son? It makes me feel like I failed to protect him, but what can I do? If I could I would go to his school every day to be there when he needed help – but wait – that’s Anna Barraza’s job. Basically, all we can do is teach our son how to weather the storm.”

Apparently, the teachers at Dolores Elementary were having problems with Anna Barraza as well. That May the teachers themselves began a campaign to have Principal Barraza removed. They handed out a petition citing grievances such as:

- speaks to students in a demoralizing manner

- causes stress to the parents, students, teachers, and staff

- does not work as a team player to help problem solve to the benefit of the children

There was even an incident where children went missing, a teacher had to twist Barrazza’s arm to call the cops, and school police thankfully found them and told the Principal to contact their parents. Barazza ignored that duty, and while waiting for the parents to pick up their children, did not inform them of the incident that day. At first, some parents were too afraid of the Principal to sign the petition, in fear of retaliation against their children. The situation was so stressful on everyone associated with the school, that the teacher’s went an extra step to hold a rally at a nearby park to inform the parents. Stories began coming to light, not only were the teacher’s suffering under Barraza, but so were the kids. Stories usually reserved for nightmares about school were happening at their school. Attendance was huge, and our two Mom’s found some insight into the psychology of their principal:

“In regards to assaults on campus, one parent mentioned Principal Barraza stated that there were too many to keep track of which is why she just sends the kids back to class without calling the parents or documenting the incident. Come to find out this happened at two other schools. She was ousted in a matter of days. At this point I could see the gravity of the entire situation, and what was at stake… Principal Barraza is a danger to our students.”

Fired up and ready for change, the parents orchestrated a sit-in outside the school. Protests disrupted summer school again and again. The parents and teachers held weekly protests outside their district’s office and protested at the main building downtown. When the media showed the Principal on tv it was all about insinuating that the teacher’s whiners stating they didn’t want to follow her rules, forget that the parents were involved at all.

It became apparent, that when a school board tolerates this kind of mess, that it is not simply the policies of the Principal at work here.

“I saw one person ask the district supervisor a question after the meeting, and she responded ‘are you a parent or a teacher?’ the woman said ‘ I am both’ and the supervisor (rolling her eyes) responded ‘okay thank you for your time we will be in touch’ and then proceeded to leave the room. The message that night was that in the two former cases [where Barazza was fired] there were parent petitions, and in this case there wasn’t so no big deal. They completely overlooked the point that there was no parent only petition because in most cases parents have not been notified if something has happened to their child. They mentioned that they were looking into the situation, but a student was shot at Washington high school so that had priority. They completely overlooked that fact that this is what we are trying to PREVENT from happening at our school. One parent stood up and said he felt like this situation was a ticking time bomb. “

The principal started a new year at the school despite everyone’s efforts. When she did, she made sure to flex her dominance over the people at Dolores Elementary. Retaliation against teachers who have spoken out against her has been noted. The kids were not left out of the tantrum either, and have also been the focus of her anger. It started with canceling recess on the kids often with no reason or notice. Then she canceled the school bake sale, citing the economy.

Let me say that again: She canceled a fundraiser for the school on account of the economy. Of course this sparked further outrage, and the protests continued. People were not going to let this woman continue to push them or their children around. The teachers, union reps and parents sat in the main office after school as another peaceful way to protest against the principal. Instead of dealing with it, she cried to the police, and had a security guard posted outside her office. I’d like to know how much that cost the taxpayers. One of our Mom’s said something that sums it all up pretty well:

“All I could think of was she called them faster than she did for the kids who were missing!”

We have seen so many kids hurt because of homophobia. Every educator worth their salt knows about the little boy who was shot in Oxnard on Valentine’s day. We all remember Leticia Green, the boy who was shot at school because he liked to dress like a girl. Violence is up, and it is the negligence of the highest paid and lowest qualified administrators in our system that is to blame. Is there is anywhere safe for our children but our own homes?

FOX 11 News Video Clip: Principal Protest
There will be if we stop taking the short end of the stick. I’m not talking just about our community. I’m speaking to all parents, and all the great teachers busting their ass for half of what this loony principal makes. It’s a disgrace. The educational system is the backbone of our society. To turn it into a breeding ground for discrimination, violence, and stress is a disgrace. We need to start weeding these people out of the system for the sake of our kids, and their poor teachers. People like this are sucking out funds, wasting them, and impairing our ability to succeed in the future.

All I know is, the parents and teachers will win this fight in the end. Just keep an eye out that Anna Barazza doesn’t end up in your school next. The real threat to our school children is unprofessional, passionless educators like her. I encourage any and all parents to stand up in their community for their childrens education. And if anyone is giving you any crap, make sure to let us know here on LezGetReal. We got your back Mom’s and Mom’s, Dad’s and Dad’s, and every other kind of family out there. Families need to stick together to finally stand up and demand the education system we all deserve.

Jenime is an artist living in the SF bay area. You can watch her musings and ravings any time by visiting her channel on YouTube.