MURDERS IN TENN., VEGAS
The Human Rights Campaign has called on Congress and the Bush administration to use their bully pulpits to condemn recent outbreaks of alleged anti-gay hate violence across the nation.
In what appears to be a crime caused in large part by anti-gay bias, Willie Houston, 38, was fatally shot in the chest in Nashville, Tenn., earlier this month after the alleged gunman, Lewis Maynard Davidson III, 25, taunted him with anti-gay epithets.
Houston had just finished a midnight riverboat cruise with his fiancé, Nedra Jones, and friends when the trouble started, HRC reported. Houston escorted a blind male friend by the arm into a restroom while holding Jones' purse. Inside the restroom, the gunman allegedly hurled anti-gay insults at the friends. He followed them out of the restroom, while continuing his verbal harassment. Davidson then allegedly returned to his car where he retrieved a gun and said, "Now what you got to say?" before firing the weapon at Houston. Police are searching for Davidson and have yet to officially call it a hate crime, saying the investigation is "still very much open."
While the victim is reportedly not gay, Tennessee hate-crime laws cover violence based on real or perceived sexual orientation. HRC is working with local law enforcement and actively following this case with the help of its local leadership.
In Las Vegas, Jerry Lee Stamper-Ousley, 24, was found beaten to death June 30 inside his apartment complex. Police have made no arrests, but the victim had frequented a gay bar earlier that evening. Investigators believe robbery may be the motive, but have not ruled out a possible hate crime.
On June 21, high school student Fred Martinez, Jr., 16, was found beaten to death in Cortez, Colo. Shaun Murphy, 18, has been charged with second-degree murder. Police had been told that Murphy had bragged to a friend that "he had beat up a fag."
In a related story, Judy Shepard, mother of Matthew Shepard, joined Fred Martinez's mother, Pauline Mitchell, for a candlelight vigil and march Aug. 11 in Cortez, Colo. Mitchell said, "I know in my heart that Fred has brought us all together, that we will walk together on a path of truth and justice and never again allow our children and loved ones to suffer in silence or walk alone."
GLBT COMMUNITIES TO FACE THE BALLOT
At least 12 cities, counties and states are expected to face ballot campaigns during the next 16 months that seek to overturn civil-rights laws, prevent the positive or neutral mention of homosexuality in public schools, ban same-sex marriage or outlaw domestic-partner benefits, the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force warned.
In addition, a group of right-wing activists announced it would seek to place an anti-same-sex marriage initiative on the 2004 statewide ballot in Massachusetts. That measure could also ban state recognition of domestic-partner benefits and threaten other rights such as inheritance and the ability to make emergency medical decisions for one's partner and adoption rights.
GLSEN'S NATIONAL CONFERENCE
COMES INTO FOCUS
The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network unveiled plans for its fifth annual national conference, Teaching Respect for All, in Washington, D.C., Sept. 21-23. Topping the list of developments was the announcement of the keynote address, which Anthony Romero, newly appointed Executive Director of the ACLU, will be delivering Sept. 22.
To register for the event, visit GLSEN's website at www.glsen.org or call 1-877-GO-GLSEN.
Midwest GLBT Power Summit: Building
Strength Through Action
This year, many Midwest states and communities are sites of high-profile struggles for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender equality.
A new Midwest GLBT Power Summit is designed to address these critical issues. This training institute is for people who are highly motivated to build powerful state and local organizations. It will be Sept. 7-9 in the greater Chicago area.
For more information or to participate, please e-mail NGLTF Field Organizer Dan Hawes at dhawes@ngltf.org or call ( 202 ) 332-6483 ext. 3222 to schedule a meeting. Enrollment is limited.
WASH. HOSPITAL ACCUSED OF BIAS
The American Civil Liberties Union says a Washington state hospital is responsible for anti-gay harassment and the eventual firing of a lesbian employee.
The ACLU filed an appeal with the Washington State Supreme Court because, according to ACLU attorney Ken Choe, the lower court said the Constitution does not protect gays and lesbians who face discrimination based on sexual orientation at work.
Mary Jo Davis, a former sonographer, sued the hospital and a staff doctor who she says harassed her constantly. According to Davis, the doctor called her "F-ing dyke" among other things and when she complained the hospital reduced her hours and eventually fired her. Davis says, "As shocked as I was to be fired because I'm gay, I was even more stunned that a state court said it's perfectly constitutional for a public employer to fire someone based on their sexual orientation."
CENSUS: GAY
COUPLES INCREASING
Census figures for gay and lesbian households across the country are growing in both urban and rural regions, reports Reuters. Urban Institute researcher Gary Gates says "These numbers show us that gay and lesbian couples exist in virtually every county in the United States."
The census shows self-identifying gay couples went up from 121,346 in 1990 to 472,209 in 2000 with California reporting the most at 92,000 pairings.
In a San Francisco Chronicle story, David Smith, spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign, says "It's not an actual increase in the number of gay families, it's an increase in the number of gay families that feel comfortable enough to identify themselves to the federal government, which in 1990 was less than inviting." The story also points out that nationally, lesbian couples are distributed more in suburban and rural areas while gay male couples live in bigger cities.
In a related AP story, Martin O'Connell, chief of the Census Bureau's family statistics branch, says the numbers can't be used to estimate the nation's entire gay population. O'Connell states, "It's hard to get a complete picture by only describing the relationships of people living together." The census did not offer a space for single gays to identify their sexual orientation.
MICH. PROSECUTOR CUTS ENTRAPMENT
The Wayne County, Michigan Prosecutor's Office has stopped selective entrapment and prosecution of gay men.
According to a story in The Detroit News, the office won't charge Wayne County Judge Richard Halloran, who was arrested last month after police said he agreed to have sex with a Metro Airport police decoy. Wayne County Prosecutor Michael Duggan said the decoy operation was flawed.
The story says Duggan held a news conference announcing the department's revised policies on cases alleging sexual misconduct in public places. "We do not send female officers into sports bars to come on to guys to see which ones respond and then arrest them," he said. "We should not be sending undercover decoys into homosexual act areas to do exactly the same thing."
A news release by Jeff Montgomery, Director of a Michigan gay-rights group called the Triangle Foundation, says the reforms are "a result of our campaign to expose abusive police practices, including 'Bag a Fag' operations throughout the state ... the burden is now on agencies like the Detroit Police and Wayne County Sheriff's departments to carry through these very clear directives."
LUTHERANS TO STUDY GAYS
The Chicago Tribune reports that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the U.S. will put together a significant study on whether or not to endorse lesbian and gay relationships.
The article says the 5.1-million member Chicago-based denomination will have hearings and focus groups on the subject and will include in the discussion gay clergy who won't take a vow of celibacy. "It is time to send a message that we are a welcoming church, in our clergy as well as our pews," said Rev. Ann Tiemeyer of Woodside, NY.
The denomination gathered in Indianapolis at its national assembly this past week amid protests on what church activists have called Lutheran inaction on the subject. "Delay is the friend of injustice and violence," said Jimmy Creech, a former United Methodist Minister who was ousted by his church for performing same-sex blessing rituals. Creech attended a nearby rally saying the vote for a study instead of policy change is inadequate.
Court: Police TEEN Outing WRONG
In a solid victory for the privacy rights of lesbian and gay Americans, a Federal Appeals Court ruled ruled that police violated a gay teen's constitutional rights when they threatened to tell his family that he was gay. The boy committed suicide after the threat was made.
The 2-1 decision from the Third Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia found that the Constitution clearly protects a person's sexual orientation from forced disclosure, reports the ACLU. The Court rejected the argument that lesbians and gay men are not protected by the right to privacy, and ruled instead that " [ i ] t is difficult to imagine a more private matter than one's sexuality ... ."
Larry Frankel, Executive Director of the ACLU of Pennsylvania, which represents the young man's mother in a civil lawsuit against the Minersville, Pa., police officers, hailed the decision.
Marcus Wayman, 18, was in a parked car with a 17-year-old male when police questioned the two, found condoms while searching the car, and arrested them for under-age drinking. At the police station, officers lectured the teens about the Bible's condemnation of homosexuality and threatened to tell Wayman's grandfather. After Wayman, a high school football player, was released from police custody, he committed suicide in his home.
Wayman's mother, Madonna Sterling, sued the town and the officers for police misconduct, discrimination and violation of the right to privacy. Although the case has not yet gone to trial, the police officers asked the federal appeals court to let them out of the case on the basis that it was not clear that the right to privacy protects lesbians and gay men.
BRIEFLY ...
The first national gathering of more than 400 lesbian, gay, and supporting Methodists was held the end of July in Tacoma, Wa. The Reconciling Ministries Network hosted the conference that touched upon strategies for fully inclusive churches and a $2-million ad campaign advocating "open hearts, open minds, open doors."
The second annual West Suburban AIDS Walk will be held Oct. 13 in Chicago's neighboring suburb, Oak Park. Sponsored by Community Response, the 5K walk will promote awareness, prevention, and education. Call ( 708 ) 306-3303.
Rallies across the country will take place showing support for Gays in Scouting. A news release says Scouting for All's second annual National Rally week is Aug. 19-25. The purpose of the rallies is to help persuade the Boy Scouts to rescind its policy against gay members and troop leaders. See the Web site www.scoutingforall.org .
The nation's largest gay Republican group, The Log Cabin Republicans, has launched a campaign strategy for support among party members for an inclusive Grand-Old-Party. A news release says the "Spirit of Lincoln Resolution 2002" will help build ties between LCR and the GOP. The resolution began with 20 original Republican signatories in 1996. The LCR hopes to have 100 total signatories for the 2002 effort. The resolution says LCR opposes "any moves to exclude any American from the Republican Party for reasons including race, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religious faith."
A Reuters story says an alienation-of-affection lawsuit is being filed in North Carolina against a man who allegedly had a same-sex relationship which ended an 11-year marriage. Billy Jean Bonner filed a lawsuit seeking damages and is now separated from her husband. Alienation of affection is allowed in nine states for spouses to sue, but North Carolina may soon do away with the law.
The Guardian of England says an internet cafe chain is blocking access to gay Web sites. EasyEverything is being accused by RainbowNetwork.com of censorship. Rainbow believes gay software is seen as one of many "illegal, obscene, and hate sites" by the cafe.
