Dr. Laura
loses TCF bank
In response to a request from the Stop Dr. Laura! Coalition/Chicago, TCF Bank representatives stated that it is stopping advertising on the controversial "Dr. Laura" radio program.
Jason Korstand, Senior Vice President for Public Relations, and David Creel, Regional Manager of Marketing Operations, confirmed to Stop Dr. Laura representatives Bob Schwartz and Andy Thayer that TCF Bank would no longer advertise on WLS-AM's broadcast of Schlessinger.
"No company that values its reputation would want to be associated with someone who scapegoats minorities with the vicious rhetoric Schlessinger uses, and we're pleased TCF Bank has joined the ranks of other premier firms such as Procter & Gamble, Geico Insurance, and American Express in making this decision," said Schwartz. "We ask that all who favor fairness in broadcasting thank TCF Bank for its decision."
When the only announced advertiser on the Schlessinger TV program, Procter & Gamble, dropped its sponsorship in response to protests, Stop Dr. Laura chapters around the country began targeting local and national advertisers on Schlessinger's radio program. Other firms dropping Schlessinger include ToysRUs, Xerox, United Airlines, American Airlines, More.com, BoxLot.com and SkyTel.
Also, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation notes that on July 20, Dr. Laura encouraged her radio audience to support her remaining advertisers.
Schlessinger said: "So I'm nagging you—or insisting, if you like that word better—if you value our relationship as much as I do—that you support these loyal sponsors by using their products, their services, buying their stock, writing them letters, whatever—whenever you have the opportunity." She also announced that she would begin personally reading the advertisements of her loyal sponsors on her radio program.
Religious liberty bill: no threat to local gay laws
On July 13, Sens. Orin Hatch, R-Utah, and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., introduced a revised version of the Religious Liberties Protection Act that has been stripped of language that threatened to nullify state and local gay civil rights laws, reports The Washington Blade.
The revised bill, renamed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, calls for restricting government agencies from imposing a "substantial burden on the religious exercise of a person" through land use regulations and in prisons.
An earlier version of the bill included language that imposed "religious exercise" standards on virtually all state and local laws.
Guide out for Vt. law
Te nation's four leading gay legal organizations have issued a joint publication to advise people about the Vermont civil-unions law
"A Historic Victory: Civil Unions for Same-Sex Couples—What's Next!" provides information on the benefits of obtaining civil unions, the concerns some couples may have about civil unions and the legal impact of Vermont's civil unions on lesbian and gay couples nationwide.
The booklet was published jointly by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the National Center for Lesbian Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union's Lesbian and Gay Rights Project.
See www.aclu.org .
Episcopalians agree on pastoral care for couples
The New York Times reports that leaders of the Episcopal Church reached agreement July 14 on a resolution that the church would officially recognize that its parishioners include unmarried couples living in long-term relationships and that those relationships are worthy of pastoral care.
Wal-Mart to pay fired
transgendered woman
A judge in New Brunswick, N.J., has ordered Wal-Mart to pay more than $2 million to a former cashier who said he was harassed and fired after a boss learned he was undergoing a male-to-female sex change, reports Associated Press.
Ricky Bourdouvales, 27, sued the retailing giant in May, alleging it violated New Jersey's anti-discrimination laws by firing him in January.
Clinton asked to step down from Scouts post
According to The San Francisco Chronicle, 11 members of Congress have signed a letter asking President Clinton to resign as the honorary head of the Boy Scouts of America now that the Supreme Court has upheld the organization's legal right to ban homosexuals.
