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E.J.

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  1. Judge rules Georgia Tech gay rights manual biased Associated Press LINK ATLANTA (AP) - A federal judge says a gay rights Web site sanctioned by the Georgia Institute of Technology cannot use language that discriminates against religions that condemn homosexuality. The Safe Space site, a campus resource for gay and lesbian students, gave an overview of various religions' views toward homosexuality. For instance, it called the Mormon church anti-gay and the Episcopal Church more receptive to gays. The Alliance Defense Fund sued Georgia Tech in 2006 on behalf of 2 students who said the university discriminated against students with conservative religious views through policies aimed at protecting the campus from intolerance. In a ruling Tuesday, U.S. District Judge J. Owen Forrester ordered religious information removed because it violates the separation of church and state. He denied the students' request for damages. University officials said the information was removed a year ago, and that the ruling requires no further action from Tech. They said they disagree with the ruling but do not plan to appeal. Copyright 2008 The Associated Press.
  2. School Board response to ACLU Letter: Full story here
  3. Florida Passes Anti-Bully Law by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff Link (Tallahassee, Florida) Florida Gov. Charlie Crist ® is expected to sign legislation that would require school districts to prohibit bullying and harassment. The Senate passed the bill unanimously on Wednesday. It already had passed the House. Crist has said he would likely sign the bill. ''I'm against bullying, too,'' he said. The legislation mandates that school districts throughout the state must put in place specific policies to deal with bullying that includes methods of investigating and punishments. It also bans cyber bullying. The districts would have to comply by December 1 or risk losing state funds. The legislation does not, however, list specific categories of students that are protected. During debate Sen. Nan Rich (D) asked, "Does the bill prohibit harassment based on a student?s actual or perceived disability, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, physical appearance, sexual orientation or other distinguishing personal characteristic in the exactly the same way that it prohibits sexual, racial or religious harassment, which are specified in the bill?" Sen. Carey Baker, the bills sponsor responded, "Yes it does." ''The intent of this legislation is to protect all children from all types of bullying,'' said Baker. The bill had the endorsement of most LGBT rights groups in the state who have been fighting for eight years to get the legislation passed. Equality Florida said that Baker's response on the record makes it clear that the legislative intent requires schools to ensure LGBT protections at the local level. "The legislature has made clear that any school that fails to prevent and respond to anti-gay bullying and to protect every student will be in violation of this law and will face consequences," said Nadine Smith, Executive Director for Equality Florida. "We will hold them accountable." The Senate vote came just a day after dozens of gays and lesbians and their supporters converged on the legislature to press lawmakers to enact the bill. Among those lobbying legislators were Lynn and Pat Mulder, the parents of Ryan Skipper who was murdered last year in what police have called a hate crime. Skipper's body was found last year on the side of a road. He had been stabbed more than 20 times. William David Brown Jr., 20, and Joseph Bearden, 21, are charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery as a hate crime. Lynn Mulder told lawmakers that combating hate crimes must begin in schools. ?365Gay.com 2008
  4. getting back on topic for a moment......... Robinson backs out of symposium on ?ex-gays? Gay bishop denounces reparative therapy; APA disavows event By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade Story Link A controversial symposium to address the relationship between religion and homosexuality is causing consternation among some psychiatrists and some gays, who argue that holding such a dialogue will legitimize homophobic views. Controversy surrounding the event prompted a gay religious figure who was scheduled to speak at the event to cancel. Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay, non-celibate priest to be ordained a bishop by the Episcopal Church, had planned to voice his opinion at the forum, but has since pulled out. Robinson said he canceled his plans to attend because he came to believe that making an appearance at the event would validate the concept that sexual orientation can be changed. ?Conservatives, particularly Focus on the Family, were going to use this event to draw credibility to the so-called reparative therapy movement,? Robinson told the Blade. ?It became clear to me in the last couple of weeks that just my showing up and letting this event happen ? lends credibility to that so-called therapy." The forum is titled ?Homosexuality and Therapy: the Religious Dimension? and is scheduled to take place Monday at the Convention Center in Washington. Panelists include Warren Throckmorton, a counselor known for helping patients alter homosexual behavior, and Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who was quoted as saying he would support prenatal treatments to convert the expected sexual orientation of unborn children. Although the event is scheduled at the same time as the American Psychiatric Association (APA) annual meeting and is taking place in the same city, APA is emphasizing that the forum is not an official event. David Scasta, a New Jersey-based practitioner and member of the APA, is one of the psychiatrists responsible for organizing the symposium. He is also slated to be one of the panelists at the forum. In the February 2008 edition of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists newsletter, Scasta describes how he set up the symposium with the intent of creating ?a model for bridging the polarization between religious and scientific groups.? Panelists should be ?respectful of each other but uncompromising with regard to scientific rigor,? he wrote. Scasta argued that holding the symposium could be a step forward in efforts to make APA statements about sexual orientation more palatable to conservative groups, which often dismiss such positions as ?ranting.? If, during the forum, important figures sympathetic to religious groups? beliefs state that they also agree with some APA assertions, these religious groups may be more willing to listen to APA positions, Scasta said. Scasta declined a Blade interview request ?to try to calm down some of the hype.? John Peteet, a Boston-based psychiatrist and APA member, will be moderating the symposium. He said he expects the symposium will ?foster some thoughtful discussion? about the issues of religion and sexual orientation. While proponents of the symposium are arguing that it would establish dialogue between parties with opposing views, APA officials have said the event could have negative consequences. Jack Drescher, a New York City-based psychiatrist and former chair of the APA committee on gay issues, said he was ?surprised when he learned about the symposium? and said if he had been consulted about the event, he would ?have told the organizers this is probably not a good idea.? Drescher, who is gay, said APA members organizing the event appear not to understand ?how conversion therapists and their supporters on the religious right use these appearances as a public relations event to try and legitimize what they do.? Inviting religious figures and proponents of reparative therapy to an APA event gives credence to speculation that APA is reconsidering its views on sexual orientation, which couldn?t be further from the truth, Drescher said. ?Conversation is good except when you try to use the conversation ? to communicate that somehow this means more than it actually means,? he said. APA declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973. The association came out against reparative therapy in 2000 and endorsed the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in 2005. Drescher said a flier circulated to advertise the event is designed to look as though it were an official APA press release. APA reprimanded Scasta for distributing this flier and was told the association was not interested in publicizing the symposium any further, Drescher said. Condemnation of the event is not confined to other psychiatrists. Wayne Besen, executive director of TruthWinsOut.org, an organization geared toward countering ?ex-gay? organizations, said the APA members putting this event together ?are giving a platform to spread backwards and outdated views that have nothing to do with science and everything to do with marketing and public relations.? Besen called Scasta ?a pawn of the religious right? and said he was being ?used and duped into providing? advocates of reparative therapy ?an opportunity to present themselves as mainstream when they?ve been on the fringe for decades.? Besen plans to attend the symposium and is considering actions to counter the event, such as holding a news conference that would be held near the time of the forum. Scott Melendez, a gay 42-year-old Washington resident who was once underwent reparative therapy, said it was ?worrisome? that licensed psychiatrists would have a dialogue with figures associated with reparative therapy because it legitimizes views on sexual orientation that APA repudiated long ago. ?It gives these people a platform to try and, I think, sway and frankly confuse people as to what the facts are,? Melendez said. Melendez formerly participated in Bible study, prayer and fasting to attempt to overcome his homosexuality. In 1985, while living in Phoenix, he joined Homosexuals Anonymous, hoping it would be the ticket to change. But while participating in program activities, he noticed that he and his fellow members were ?just as gay then as the day they walked through the door.? Melendez has since reconciled his religion with his sexual orientation. ?The bottom line is there in no problem with being gay and being a Christian,? he said. While critics are attacking the concept of having a dialogue with individuals associated with reparative therapy, Throckmorton, one of those scheduled to speak, is defending his views. Throckmorton, a counselor in Grove City, Pa., said the symposium is about ?recognizing that there are various religious views on sexuality? and that mental health workers need to be ?respectful of religious differences? when treating clients. ?This symposium is an academic conversation about how can mental health professionals take those views seriously, how can we work with clients who have a variety of often differing religious views ? to best pursue their individual goals,? he said. Throckmorton intends to advocate a concept he calls ?sexual identity therapy.? The concept takes into account how some gay men choose to be married to women and fall in love with them. ?They?re making behavioral choices to live a heterosexual life as opposed to actually experiencing huge shifts in their more general sexual orientation,? he said. Throckmorton says he worked with more than 250 individuals ?who have sought assistance to alter homosexual feelings or behaviors.? He cited a case of a 24-year-old man who came to him with an anxiety disorder. It was revealed that the source of his anxiety ?was confusion surrounding his sexual orientation.? Throckmorton says therapy was ?not focused on conversion but rather on self-understanding and social assertiveness.? By talking about his sexual feelings, the patient?s anxiety subsided and ?the homosexual feelings faded, replaced by heterosexual dreams and crushes on female co-workers,? Throckmorton said. Throckmorton cited another case in which he claims a 23-year-old gay man was treated for anxiety with Phenelzine. After two months, the man ?began dating women exclusively, enjoyed intercourse and expressed no sexual interest in men.? Throckmorton told the Blade he does not believe that treating someone with anti-anxiety medication will convert his or her sexual orientation. Besen said Throckmorton?s entire career has been ?degrading? to gay people and based on ?trying to stop them ? from having sex or being in long-term loving relationships.? ?Throckmorton talks the talk of someone who?s reasonable, but his record is quite radical,? Besen said. Throckmorton does not have a license for counseling in Pennsylvania, the state where he resides. He said he does not have a license because such credentials are not necessary to practice counseling in the state and because he now spends his time exclusively as a professor at Grove City College, a religious school. Throckmorton also said he has licenses in two other states. Mohler, the other controversial figure slated to appear at the panel, did not respond to interview requests. ? 2008 | A Window Media LLC Publication
  5. You can contact the superintendent of Memphis City Schools here: Dan Ward 2597 Avery, Room 214 Memphis, TN 38112 Phone: (901) 416-5300 Fax: (901) 416-5578 e-mail: superintendentward@mcsk12.net Principal: Daphne Beasley BeasleyD@mcsk12.net
  6. Principal outs gay kids, ACLU steps in by Nick Langewis LINK Daphne Beasley, principal of Hollis F. Price Middle College in Memphis, Tennessee, is under fire for outing at least one gay couple in her student body, according to the ACLU-backed couple and their parents. In September of 2007, Beasley sought out couples of all kinds to monitor them for public displays of affection. She compiled a list of names, which included students Andrew and Nicholas (last names omitted), based on information she received from teachers and students; the list was clearly visible to anyone who visited her office. Of those that saw this list was Andrew's mother, Andrea. "I couldn't believe it when I went to meet with the principal and that list was right there by her desk where anyone could see it," she said. "African American people face enough obstacles to succeeding in this world and I want my son to have every opportunity he's worked so hard for. Our schools should be helping our children do well, not tearing them down for something like this." "This is a public high school that runs on taxpayer dollars," said attorney Bruce Kramer. "As such, it is part of the government and must obey the Constitution in dealing with the students entrusted to its care each day." According to Nicholas' mother Nichole, the principal said that she didn't tolerate homosexuality in the school and repeatedly asked if she knew her son was gay. The honor student underwent further humiliation, in addition to verbal harassment, when taken out of the running for a class trip to New Orleans related to rebuilding efforts, as a risk to the school's image; Nicholas was told that there were fears he'd embarrass the school by engaging in "inappropriate behavior." "This school has no business singling these boys out and taking away educational opportunities against them simply because they were dating," added Mr. Kramer. "We never bothered anyone or did a single thing at school that broke any of the rules," Nicholas, a junior, said. "Every day I feel like they're still punishing me, and I'm worried that this is going to hurt my chances to get into a good college." "The principal's outing of these two students to their families, classmates, and teachers is unacceptable," said Hedy Weinberg, ACLU of Tennessee's Executive Director. "Its only purpose was to intimidate not only these students but all gay students at Hollis Price. "Educators," Weinberg continued, "should be focused on educating their students and not on harassing them because of their sexual orientation or the people with whom they associate." Since private talks with the Office of General Counsel failed, the ACLU has issued a letter to Memphis school board officials today, demanding that Beasley be reprimanded, and that school policies be put in place to ensure a learning environment free of discrimination based on a student's actual or perceived sexual orientation. Also called for is an apology to every person on Beasley's 2007 list. Copyright ? 2007 Page One News Media, Inc.
  7. Junk Science on Stage Psychiatrists Allow Ex-Gay End Run By: PAUL SCHINDLER Story Link In 1973, in one of the signal achievements of the emerging gay liberation movement, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), at its annual convention, voted to remove homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Yet, 35 years later, on May 5, at APA's 2008 convention in Washington, the group will host a symposium, at which one of the two mental health practitioner-panelists is Dr. Warren Throckmorton, a psychologist without state board certification and an advocate for "Sexual Identity Therapy," which he says he has successfully applied to help patients "alter homosexual feelings or behaviors" and live their lives "heterosexually" with "only very few weak instances of homosexual attraction." The symposium, moderated by Harvard psychiatrist Dr. John Peteet, who chairs APA's Corresponding Committee on Psychiatry, Religion and Spirituality, is titled "Homosexuality and Therapy: The Religious Dimension." Indeed, the panel includes two prominent religious figures from radically different perspectives - New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson and the Reverend Dr. Albert Mohler. Robinson came to nationwide attention in 2003 when he became the first non-celibate, out gay person elected an American Episcopal Church bishop, for the Diocese of New Hampshire. Mohler is the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, a nationally syndicated radio host, and a board member of James Dobson's stridently anti-gay Focus on the Family. The symposium's primary booster has noted that Mohler has distinguished himself among Christian right evangelicals in acknowledging that homosexuality may not be a choice. Left unmentioned, however, was Mohler's statement that "if a biological basis is found, and if a prenatal test is then developed, and if a successful treatment to reverse the sexual orientation to heterosexual is ever developed, we would support its use." Robinson's wisdom in appearing with Mohler - and the broader debate about LGBT advocates engaging those on the other side - are not what make this story intriguing, and indeed troubling. Instead it is the embrace by a scientifically-based organization, APA, of an unlicensed practitioner who espouses controversial professional opinions about homosexuality but can point to no peer-reviewed findings that his clinical approach has merit. Perhaps most unsettling is the fact that the same defender of the symposium who credited Mohler with some degree of enlightenment on gay issues, Dr. David Scasta - a former president and newsletter editor of the Association of Gay and Lesbian Psychiatrists (AGLP) - has circulated a press release for the event dubbing it "a 'balanced' discussion," the sort of characterization one might expect from intelligent design proponents demanding a seat on a panel of evolution experts. The 1973 victory in removing homosexuality as a disorder in the DSM was hard-fought, reflecting three years of organized mobilizing by gay, lesbian, and allied mental health professionals and based on research findings, dating back to as early as the 1940s and '50s, from biologist and sexologist Alfred Kinsey and psychologist Evelyn Hooker. Anti-gay forces within the psychiatric profession, who had enjoyed almost unquestioned sway until their abrupt defeat in 1973, continued rearguard actions that stigmatized certain manifestations of homosexual inclination until 1987. A decade later, APA first took aim at the controversial practice of reparative therapy, aimed at "curing" homosexuals from an illness the group no longer believed existed. In a position adopted by the organization as a whole, "potential risks" from such "therapy" were characterized as "great," including "depression, anxiety, and self-destructive behavior." While calling on practitioners to "do all that is possible to decrease the stigma related to homosexuality," the group, in the face of determined opposition from a small number of psychiatrists, held back from branding conversion therapy "unethical." But three years later, in 2000, APA adopted a position recommending that "ethical practitioners refrain from attempts to change individuals' sexual orientation, keeping in mind the medical dictum, to 'first do no harm.'" Given this history, how did APA arrive at the point where it is sponsoring a symposium Scasta inexplicably terms a "balanced" discussion? Scasta himself, in a detailed apologia that appeared in AGLP's February newsletter, entitled "Who Let Wolves in the Hen House? Cavorting with the Enemy," said it was Harvard's Peteet, the psychiatrist who will moderate the symposium, who came to him with the idea. But Dr. Jack Drescher, an APA Distinguished Fellow and the outgoing editor of AGLP's Journal of Gay and Lesbian Mental Health, who took sharp issue with Scasta over the symposium in AGLP's April issue, disputes as well his colleague attributing the event's origins to Peteet. "[scasta] is promoting this thing," Drescher, in the capacity of APA's official spokesman, told Gay City News this week. He said Peteet had earlier organized an APA panel on religion and homosexuality, but one with an altogether different character than the May 5 event. In Scasta's February newsletter piece, he wrote at some length about his regard for Throckmorton's careful critical thinking and correctly noted that the psychologist, an associate professor at Grove City College, a Christian institution in Pennsylvania, "does not classify himself as a reparative therapist." Scasta went on to argue, "Throckmorton is circumspect about the efficacy of 'reparative therapies' and is willing to rely on scientific findings to assess such." Drescher doesn't buy this benign view of Throckmorton, terming him in his AGLP riposte to Scasta a "spin doctor of the ex-gay myth," and warning of the symposium's "potential harm," particularly if its presentation at an APA convention "becomes a PR tactic to buttress the standing of conversion therapies to the general public." On his blog, Throckmorton argues that he is not a conversion or reparative therapist, specifically rejecting the traditional focus of such practitioners on gay men's "failure to bond with the father" as the root of their disorder. Instead, without laying out his own therapeutic approach in detail, he claims to meet troubled gay men where they are, as it were, to help them "pursue their objectives." But like reparative therapists, Throckmorton claims success with leading gay men away from homosexuality and is unable to point to any data or research to buttress his assertions. He also shares with reparative therapists an affinity for right-wing anti-gay thought; his blog's home page lauds Bill O'Reilly's warnings about the dangers of teenagers self-identifying as gay. Wayne Besen, the founder of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit aimed at exposing "the 'ex-gay' myth," argues that Throckmorton's primary goal is to supplant the reparative therapy model championed by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, who heads up the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality. NARTH's work, which has won wide acclaim in Christian right circles, is rejected by every leading mental health and education association, including APA. According to Besen, Throckmorton and Nicolosi previously worked collaboratively, but have since had a falling-out. In Besen's view, the real tragedy of the APA symposium is that it comes at a time when ex-gay conversion rhetoric is in retreat. "They are losing," he said, clearly exasperated. In a lengthy, at times rambling, response to a posting about the symposium on Besen's blog, Scasta related his own background in a Southern Baptist family in Texas and argued, "There is an air of disdain among some gay advocates who denigrate religion and refuse to have anything to do with those who are people of faith." But in mounting this now-commonplace critique of LGBT activism, Scasta appears to have forgotten that society looks to him not for his cultural insights or political expertise, but rather his training as a psychiatrist. And indeed, in his handling of scientific questions, Scasta seems somewhat unsteady. In his press release promoting the symposium - for which, Drescher said, he was reprimanded for making it look like an official APA statement - Scasta wrote the following, which seems very much to contradict itself in the course of just three sentences: "... If homosexuality is not a disease, it does not need to be fixed and attempting to fix the arguably unfixable may only lead to internalized self-hatred and patient harm. And, the APA does not give platforms to therapies which are harmful. But for many gay and bisexual people of faith, the religious imperative is of such paramount importance, that therapy promoting change or celibacy seem to be the only alternatives [sic]." In an email message, Scasta was asked to explain the seeming contradiction in this passage and why a psychiatric convention would choose to engage people who reject their science, therefore giving them a platform. He did not respond as of press time. Posed the same questions via email, Harvard's Peteet wrote, "The statement above presents two contrasting perspectives in an effort to highlight the tensions experienced by many individuals trying to reconcile faith and same-sex attraction. My understanding is that Dr. Throckmorton does not describe himself as a reparative therapist, but rather as a clinician trying to help individuals who are struggling with these issues to consider them in the best possible way." Throckmorton, asked via email about the same seeming contradiction, about any measures of his therapeutic successes, and about Besen's criticisms, responded, "Due to guidelines from the APA about symposium and publicity, I am not sure what I am able to address and what I am not. I am going to forward your questions to Dr. Scasta and Dr. Peteet who are the psychiatrist members of the symposium. They may well ask you to funnel your questions through the APA press office. I am not saying I won't address this but I want to make sure proper protocol is followed. I will let you know something as soon as I know." At press time, Throckmorton had not been back in touch. Only Drescher made any real effort to be responsive when asked about the language in Scasta's press release. Requesting that it be read back to him twice after this reporter first stated the question, Drescher was quick to make clear that the release did not reflect official APA thinking. ?GayCityNews 2008
  8. Crvboy mentions on his message board that there MAY be additional stories in the series. Probably something like "Anything We Want-Dana" (my guess) Since Colinian's misinterpreted comment about the "action" in the story, it appears as though they have added a message on the story's main page: At least I don't remember this line being there before.
  9. Soldier Sues Army, Saying His Atheism Led to Threats By NEELA BANERJEE LINK FORT RILEY, Kan. ? When Specialist Jeremy Hall held a meeting last July for atheists and freethinkers at Camp Speicher in Iraq, he was excited, he said, to see an officer attending. But minutes into the talk, the officer, Maj. Freddy J. Welborn, began to berate Specialist Hall and another soldier about atheism, Specialist Hall wrote in a sworn statement. ?People like you are not holding up the Constitution and are going against what the founding fathers, who were Christians, wanted for America!? Major Welborn said, according to the statement. Major Welborn told the soldiers he might bar them from re-enlistment and bring charges against them, according to the statement. Last month, Specialist Hall and the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, an advocacy group, filed suit in federal court in Kansas, alleging that Specialist Hall?s right to be free from state endorsement of religion under the First Amendment had been violated and that he had faced retaliation for his views. In November, he was sent home early from Iraq because of threats from fellow soldiers. Eileen Lainez, a spokeswoman for the Defense Department, declined to comment on the case, saying, ?The department does not discuss pending litigation.? Specialist Hall?s lawsuit is the latest incident to raise questions about the military?s religion guidelines. In 2005, the Air Force issued new regulations in response to complaints from cadets at the Air Force Academy that evangelical Christian officers used their positions to proselytize. In general, the armed forces have regulations, Ms. Lainez said, that respect ?the rights of others to their own religious beliefs, including the right to hold no beliefs.? To Specialist Hall and other critics of the military, the guidelines have done little to change a culture they say tilts heavily toward evangelical Christianity. Controversies have continued to flare, largely over tactics used by evangelicals to promote their faith. Perhaps the most high-profile incident involved seven officers, including four generals, who appeared, in uniform and in violation of military regulations, in a 2006 fund-raising video for the Christian Embassy, an evangelical Bible study group. ?They don?t trust you because they think you are unreliable and might break, since you don?t have God to rely on,? Specialist Hall said of those who proselytize in the military. ?The message is, ?It?s a Christian nation, and you need to recognize that.? ? Soft-spoken and younger looking than his 23 years, Specialist Hall began a chapter of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers at Camp Speicher, near Tikrit, to support others like him. At the July meeting, Major Welborn told the soldiers they had disgraced those who had died for the Constitution, Specialist Hall said. When he finished, Major Welborn said, according to the statement: ?I love you guys; I just want the best for you. One day you will see the truth and know what I mean.? Major Welborn declined to comment beyond saying, ?I?d love to tell my side of the story because it?s such a false story.? But Timothy Feary, the other soldier at the meeting, said in an e-mail message: ?Jeremy is telling the truth. I was there and witnessed everything.? It is unclear how widespread religious discrimination or proselytizing is in the armed forces, constitutional law experts and leaders of veterans? groups said. No one has independently studied the issue, and service members are reluctant to come forward because of possible backlash, those experts said. There are 1.36 million active duty service members, according to the Pentagon, and since 2005, it has received 50 formal complaints of religious discrimination, Ms. Lainez said. In an e-mail statement, Bill Carr, the Defense Department?s deputy under secretary for military personnel policy, said he ?saw near universal compliance with the department?s policy.? But Mikey Weinstein, a retired Air Force judge advocate general and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, said the official statistics masked the great number of those who do not report violations for fear of retribution. Since the Air Force Academy scandal began in 2004, Mr. Weinstein said, he has been contacted by more than 5,500 service members and, occasionally, military families about incidents of religious discrimination. He said 96 percent of the complainants were Christians, and the majority of those were Protestants. Complaints include prayers ?in Jesus? name? at mandatory functions, which violates military regulations, and officers proselytizing subordinates to be ?born again.? After getting the complainants? unit and command information, Mr. Weinstein said, he calls his contacts in the military to try to correct the situation. ?Religion is inextricably intertwined with their jobs,? Mr. Weinstein said. ?You?re promoted by who you pray with.? Specialist Hall came to atheism after years as a Christian. He was raised Baptist by his grandmother in Richlands, N.C., a town of fewer than 1,000 people. She read the Bible to him every night, and he said he joined the Army ?to make something of myself.? ?I thought going to Iraq was right because we had God on our side,? he said in an interview near Fort Riley. In the summer of 2005, after his first deployment to Iraq, Specialist Hall became friends with soldiers with atheist leanings. Their questions about faith prompted him to read the Bible more closely, which bred doubts that deepened over time. ?There are so many religions in the world,? he said. ?Everyone thinks he?s right. Who is right? Even people who are Christians think other Christians are wrong.? Specialist Hall said he did not advertise his atheism. But his views became apparent during his second deployment in 2006. At a Thanksgiving meal, someone at his table asked everyone to pray. Specialist Hall did not join in, explaining to a sergeant that he did not believe in God. The sergeant got angry, he said, and told him to go to another table. After his run-in with Major Welborn, Specialist Hall did not file a complaint with the Army?s Equal Opportunity Office because, he said, he was mistrustful of his superior officers. Instead, he told leaders of the Military Association of Atheists and Freethinkers, who put him in touch with Mr. Weinstein. In November 2007, Specialist Hall was sent home early from Iraq after being repeatedly threatened by other soldiers. ?I caution you that although your ?legal? issues are yours and yours alone, I have heard many people disagree with you, and this may be a cause for some of the perceived threats,? wrote Sgt. Maj. Kevin Nolan in Specialist Hall?s counseling for his departure. Though with a different unit now at Fort Riley, Specialist Hall said the backlash had continued. He has a no-contact order with a sergeant who, without provocation, threatened to ?bust him in the mouth.? Another sergeant allegedly told Specialist Hall that as an atheist, he was not entitled to religious freedom because he had no religion. Responding to questions about Specialist Hall?s experience at Fort Riley, the staff judge advocate, Col. Arnold Scott, said in an e-mail message, ?In accordance with Army policy, Fort Riley is committed to ensuring the rights of all its soldiers are protected, including those of Specialist Hall.? Civilian courts in the past have been reluctant to take on military cases, and the Justice Department has yet to respond to Specialist Hall?s lawsuit. ?Even if it doesn?t go through, I stood up,? Specialist Hall said. ?I don?t think it is futile.? Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
  10. Maine Measure Would Wipe Out LGBT Protections by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff STORY LINK (Augusta, Maine) A conservative Christian group is mounting a referendum effort that could wipe out all protections for LGBT citizens in Maine. The proposal would ban same-sex marriage and civil unions, wipe out existing laws giving limited rights to gay and lesbian couples, removed LGBT protections under the state's Human Rights Act, and would remove funding from the Attorney General's Office to investigate discrimination claims. If it were approved by voters it would make the only New England state to afford no civil rights to its LGBT citizens. Same-sex marriage is legal in Massachusetts while civil unions are available in Vermont, New Hampshire and Connecticut. Some protections are afforded same-sex couples in Rhode Island. The Christian Civic League of Maine says if it doesn't act now the courts or the legislature could allow same-sex couples to marry. "The only real question remaining is whether same-sex marriage will eventually be allowed under the law," the groups executive direction, Michael Heath told the Bangor Daily News. "We?ve decided to put our own views out there on this and start the debate." The proposed referendum must be approved by the Secretary of State?s Office. If it is accepted, the group must collect about 55,000 signatures to have it put on the ballot. In 2005 Heath's organization attempted to roll back gay rights protections in the Maine Human Rights Act through a similar referendum. The debate was acrimonious and voters eventually rejected the bid. Maine's largest LGBT rights group vowed an all out campaign to defeat the referendum if it makes it to the ballot. "The question that he has submitted to the secretary of state is so broad that it?s ridiculous," Betsy Smith, executive director of Equality Maine told The Daily News. "I don?t even know if it?s legal to put a question like that on the ballot. He basically wants to repeal any rights gays have gotten." ?365Gay.com 2008
  11. Lawrence King Killing Begs the Question: Where are Our Leaders? By Sara Whitman LINK As the country considers who to elect as the next President, the so called "leader of the free world," I wonder, where are our leaders? Who represents the LGBT community on a national and international stage? Is there anyone? Recent months have brought several disturbing events in our community. Lawrence King was shot in his classroom after being teased and harassed for being gay. Simmie Williams was killed while wearing a dress in Fort Lauderdale. Just yesterday, Duchy Trachtenberg, a Montgomery County Council member who authored a bill outlawing discrimination against transgendered people, announced that she is receiving death threats. And Joe Solmonese is running around telling our legislators to vote for a non-inclusive ENDA bill? When King was shot, The LA Times covered the event as a local story. While the LGBT blogsphere immediately spread the news, the mainstream media took much longer to cover the story. Last year, six African-American teenagers were charged with attempted second-degree murder charges in Jena, Louisiana. There were rallies, online petitions, a legal defense fund was created, The New York Times, New York Post and LA Times all covered the events. John Mellencamp even wrote a song in support of the Jena 6, as they came to be known as. Why? Because the leaders showed up. They went to the rallies. Among those in attendance? Civil rights activists Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton and Martin Luther King III. Rappers Mos Def and Salt-n-Pepa showed their support, as did New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin. Rapper-actor Ice Cube took it a step further, funding buses to bring protesters from California. Who was at Lawrence King?s funeral? Where were our leaders? In this star struck culture, the way to draw attention to an issue is to put a recognizable face out front to draw the press out. Where were Joe Solmonese of HRC, Matt Foreman of NGLTF, Kevin Cathcart of Lambda, Kate Kendall of NCLR, Neil Giuliano of GLAAD? Ellen DeGeneres did her part, but what about the newly out Cheyenne Jackson? Cynthia Nixon? Melissa Etheridge? Where?s the song from Elton John? It takes leadership to bring make the kind of public statement that surrounded the Jena 6. But we don?t have that. There have been, without question, innumerable appearances by these leaders at different events. They give speeches and raise millions of dollars that go toward the LGBT movement. It is hard to imagine asking someone like Melissa Etheridge to put the lesbian hat on one more time to stand and be counted, as she has done for years and years. But we must. There are key moments in time when something happens that is so powerful, people must stand together. In Jena, Louisiana, six African-American kids were unfairly treated by the justice system. There are thousands of African-American kids unfairly treated by the justice system every day. But the story, the noose, the racial divide of the school... those factors made it an essential moment to bring attention to the issue. Lawrence King was 15 years old. He lived in a center for abused and neglected children. He was shot point blank in the head in his classroom. His killer was 14 years old and pulled the trigger because Lawrence had flirted with him?asked him to be his valentine. The story is powerful. It was a moment in time we should have brought the attention of the entire country to the issue of LGBT youth. It was a moment to discuss, on a national stage, gender identity issues, as Lawrence?s high heels and make-up ?freaked? the other boys out. There were some rallies held across the country. Ellen Degeneres did speak powerfully of the event. But today, when you talk about Larry King, everyone still thinks of the talk show host. We know who Jesse Jackson is. We know who Al Sharpton is. All of America knows these faces and names. Not only was it a moment in time to bring the issues front and center, it was a chance for the nation to get to know our leaders. But they were not there. Letters of support were written and left on websites for those who knew what address to access to read, but it wasn't enough. The moment has passed. We will elect a new president this November. None of the choices have promised any real effort for LGBT issues. Dutchy Trachtenberg?s security will be increased. Senator Kennedy and Representative Frank will be pushing a non-inclusive ENDA. Where will our leaders be? With any luck, front and center. Sara Whitman is a writer/activist who is first and foremost a mother of three boys. She currently serves on the boards of Mass Equality, The Schott Foundation for Public Education and Halcyon Hill Foundation between runs to the grocery store. You can read her blog at www.suburblezmom.blogspot.com. ? 2008 GayWired.com
  12. Lexington superintendent threatened by radio host By Ian B. Murphy and Bryan Mahoney/Staff Writers GateHouse News Service LEXINGTON ? Lexington superintendent Paul Ash of Newton has been threatened by a New Jersey radio host urging listeners to ?use threats and violence? against Ash for the school district's new diversity curriculum. The radio host says ?I advocate parents using FORCE AND VIOLENCE against Superintendent Paul B. Ash as a method of defending the health and safety of school children presently being endangered through his politically-correct indoctrination into deadly, disease-ridden sodomite lifestyles.? The site lists Ash?s last known addresses, a phone number, and a birth date. Ash is in meetings this afternoon and could not be immediately reached for comment. Lexington police refused comment on an ongoing investigation. Ash lives in Newton, and the police department there is handling the case. That department also refused comment on the investigation. Ash gave a presentation on the curriculum last month, and it will be implemented next school year. The curriculum comes from a committee of parents, teachers and administrators in Lexington who were charged to develop a set of teaching that fostered ?a safe and welcoming place for all children.? The goal of the curriculum was to ?serve students from different racial, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds,? and to ?serve students from [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered] families.? The Lexington school administration developed the diversity curriculum to address topical classroom issues highlighted by an ongoing lawsuit filed in 2006. The suit was filed by two families, the Parkers and Wirthlins, after the Parkers? son, Jacob, brought home a book as part of the diversity book bag from his Estabrook Elementary kindergarten class in 2005. The book, ?Who?s in a Family,? showed various family types including a same-sex-headed household, as well as single parents and grandparents raising children. The Wirthlins? son, Joey, who was then in first grade, was in class on a day that marriage was the topic. At the time, a book on a prince marrying another prince was read to the class, ?King and King.? David Parker was arrested in April 2005 after refusing to leave a meeting with the principal and a curriculum director. Parker demanded his child be removed from any discussion regarding sexuality and homosexuality, including spontaneous discussions within the classroom. In January 2008, a three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision to dismiss the federal lawsuit, although an appeal is still possible. ?We do not suggest that the school?s choice of books for young students has not deeply offended the plaintiffs? sincerely held religious beliefs,? said the decision, written by Circuit Judge Sandra Lynch. ?If the school system has been insufficiently sensitive to such religious beliefs, the plaintiffs may seek recourse to the normal political processes for change in the town and state.? Copyright ? 2008 GateHouse Media, Inc.
  13. Walls close in on Phelpses Judge orders liens on church building, law office By Mike Hall, The Capital-Journal A federal judge in Maryland on Thursday ordered liens on the Westboro Baptist Church building and the Phelps-Chartered Law office. If the case presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Richard D. Bennett is upheld by an appeals court, the church, at 3701 S.W. 12th, and the office building, at 1414 S.W. Topeka Blvd., could be obtained by the court and sold, with the proceeds being applied toward $5 million in damages Bennett imposed on church members for picketing a military funeral. A lien is a legal hold on property, making it collateral against money owed to a person or entity. It can keep the owner from selling the property or transferring title to the property. The $5 million penalty is the result of a lawsuit filed against three of the church's principals by Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, whose funeral was picketed by church members. The senior Snyder contended the picketing caused emotional distress and invasion of privacy. Westboro Baptist members regularly picket funerals of members of the U.S. armed forces, contending the deaths are God's punishment for the country's support of homosexuals. One of Snyder's attorneys, Sean Summers, of York, Pa., said Thursday that based on financial information supplied during a hearing on the case, paying the $5 million penalty likely would force the church and the three named officials of the church to file for bankruptcy. However, he said, even bankruptcy wouldn't let them out from under the $2.1 million punitive damages part of the judge's order. They would still be obligated for that amount under federal bankruptcy rules. A jury awarded Snyder compensatory damage of $2.9 million and punitive damage of $8 million. But the judge on Feb. 4 reduced the punitive damage to $2.1 million, for a total judgment of $5 million. In addition, the judge on Thursday required Shirley Phelps-Roper to post a $125,000 bond and Rebekah Phelps-Davis to post a $100,000 bond by May 5 or he will rescind a stay ordered by the court to prevent confiscation of their property. But Phelps-Roper, an attorney, called that meaningless. She said the only property she and Phelps-Davis own are their homes and courts are forbidden from confiscating a person's home. "I have nothing at risk," she said. In February, Bennett ordered Phelps-Roper, Phelps-Davis and their father, Pastor Fred W. Phelps Sr., to provide detailed financial information about their interests. The records showed the church property to be worth $442,800 and the law office building to be worth $233,000. Summers said the lien could be placed on the law office building because it is owned by Phelps Sr. "He (the judge) looked at my tax returns and saw that we give money to the church, and he didn't like that," Phelps-Roper said. She said there has been a lot of misinformation about the church and the Phelps family being wealthy. She said there was even a rumor that her father owned a "summer home." She said that came from a humorous answering machine message that said, "This is the Phelps family summer home ? some are home and some are not." Copyright 2008 The Topeka Capital-Journal
  14. Edits to gay soldier?s Wikipedia entry traced to Pentagon Anonymous user deleted references to sexual orientation By CHRIS JOHNSON, Washington Blade A Wikipedia article about Maj. Alan Rogers, a gay soldier who was killed in January in Iraq, was apparently edited by someone in the Pentagon, who removed any mention that Rogers was gay. The user on Monday redacted details about Rogers that appeared on the online encyclopedia site. Information that was deleted included Rogers? sexual orientation; the soldier?s participation in American Veterans for Equal Rights, a group that works to change military policy toward gays; and the fact that Rogers? death helped bring the U.S. military?s casualty toll in Iraq to 4,000. Rob Pilaud, a patent agent and a friend of Rogers who attended the soldier?s funeral, restored the information to the Wikipedia article the next day. Pilaud was among Rogers? friends who created the Wikipedia page. The anonymous poster also provided the following comment in the ?discussion? section about the article: ?Alan?s life was not about his sexual orientation but rather about the body of work he performed ministering to others and helping the defense of the country,? the poster wrote. ?Quit trying to press an agenda that Alan wouldn?t have wanted made public just to suit your own ends.? The IP address attached to the deletion of the details and the posted comments is 141.116.168.135. The address belongs to a computer from the office of the Army Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence (G-2) at the Pentagon. The office is headed by Lt. Gen. John Kimmons, who was present at Rogers? funeral and presented the flag from Rogers? coffin to his cousin, Cathy Long. The Army?s public affairs office did not return a call seeking comment. Pilaud noted that while the computer where the changes originated can be found, the identity of the user remains unknown. ?Obviously, we still don?t know who accessed the computer at this IP address ? it could have been a general, it could have been a civilian contractor, it could have been anyone with access to their computer,? he said. At Rogers? funeral Kimmons acted ?very business-like? and was respectful toward the fallen soldier and his family, Pilaud said. Pilaud is asking Rogers? friends for biographical information on the fallen solider to enhance the Wikipedia article. Pilaud said he thinks the online article should ?be a balanced view of his life,? disclose the fact that Rogers was gay and discuss Rogers? feelings on military policy toward gays. ?With Wikipedia, at least, I simply want to present objective information about Alan ? about who he was, what he did with his life and what he would have wanted,? he said. Rogers, 40, was killed Jan. 27 in Iraq when an improvised explosive device hit his Humvee. The Army posthumously awarded him a Purple Heart and a second Bronze Star. He was buried in Arlington National Cemetery on March 14. Rogers? death caused controversy because media sources such as the Washington Post and National Public Radio did not mention that Rogers was gay in coverage of the soldier. Deborah Howell, ombudsman for the Post, wrote a column on the Post?s coverage of Rogers? death and said the Post originally planned to include his sexual orientation in its coverage. Executive Editor Len Downie, however, decided to excise that information because there was no proof that Rogers was gay and no indication the soldier wanted his sexual orientation to be made public, Howell said. Howell concluded that the Post story ?would have been richer? if it had disclosed Rogers? sexual orientation, particularly because his feelings on the ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? policy were known. The media coverage of Rogers? death is causing gay organizations and journalism scholars to question the appropriate way to handle gay subjects in the media. The Post?s decision to omit Rogers? sexual orientation from its coverage is the not first time a major media source withheld such information. When filmmaker Ismail Merchant died in 2005, most mainstream media sources did not mention that James Ivory was his partner. Similarly, many media outlets did not mention that Susan Sontag had a female partner in coverage of her death in 2004. Roy Clark, a senior scholar and the vice president of the Poynter Institute, a journalism school based in St. Petersburg, Fla., said the Post made ?a big mistake? by not disclosing information on Rogers? sexual orientation in the article about him. Clark emphasized that he spoke for himself and not on behalf of the Poynter Institute. ?It?s obvious that ? this was not just a private part of his life, but it was a public part of his life and his identity and his belief system,? he said. With matters relating to sexual orientation still a matter of debate in the United States, Rogers? sexual orientation would have been a newsworthy portion of the story, Clark said. Eric Hegedus, president of the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists? Association, said the Post ombudsman deserves commendation for arguing that the Post could have gone further in the story. Hegedus said it was ridiculous for the Post to omit that Rogers was a treasurer in the American Veterans for Equal Rights. ?If he was a former treasurer, it?s something that he was passionate about and why wouldn?t you mention something like that?? Hegedus asked. Rashad Robinson, senior director of media programs at the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), said the Post had to make a ?difficult call? regarding whether or not include Rogers? sexual orientation in the article, but ultimately ?made a bad decision.? ?The story would have been much richer and much more appropriate if it included the voices and reaction from the major?s friends and family,? Robinson said. The matter is complicated by ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? as it makes it hard to know if soldiers were closeted in some arenas because of that or would have chosen to not be out regardless of the controversial policy, which prevents service members from serving openly. Robinson said in this situation, ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? is the enemy, not the Post. Robinson said the Post ombudsman?s column shows that progress has been made because such an article probably wouldn?t have been published four years ago. Hegedus said there are ?no hard-and-fast rules? for making a decision on when to include sexual orientation of subjects in media coverage. He said people within his organization would disagree on the best way to handle it. ?Journalists shouldn?t be hesitating to try to dig at the truth and they just really have to be as responsible as possible in providing as full as picture as possible in every story,? he said. Clark said journalists are trying to figure out how to handle sexual orientation ?in a way that is fair, in a way that is sensitive, in a way that?s responsible to various stakeholders.? He said his first inclination in such stories is to ask whether or not sexual orientation is relevant to the article. ?That question is going to lead to the kind of conversation that you need in order to make that decision well,? he said. When asked whether the growing acceptance of homosexuality would change how journalists handle gay subjects, Clark said, ?It?s not unusual for the society to be ahead of the stylebooks.? ?I think it?s appropriate for those who are responsible for developing standards and practices in the news media ? to review the current standards and to change them when it?s appropriate,? he said. Last week, NPR did not respond by deadline to request for comment on why it did not disclose Rogers? sexual orientation in coverage of him. Steve Inskeep, host of NPR?s Morning Edition, did return a call to the Blade on March 28 after deadline. In a follow-up e-mail April 1, NPR spokesperson Andi Sporkin said the organization did not disclose that Rogers was gay because the NPR reporter was unaware of it. ?[Rogers?] involvement with any organization was never raised by those in the interviews we conducted,? Sporkin said. NPR has identified many people as gay in past programming and ?the decision-making process on doing so is part of our journalism,? Sporkin said. Pilaud said it must have been ?a lucky coincidence? that NPR did not find out that Rogers was gay because it was apparent at the funeral. Missing the gay flag and AIDS ribbon lapel pins on Rogers? friends would have been difficult, Pilaud said. ?If NPR made any effort at the funeral at Arlington National or if they did any kind of follow-up, I can?t imagine how they could have missed that,? Pilaud said. ? 2008 | A Window Media LLC Publication
  15. Certified Cameronite: Sally Kern Jim Burroway, Box Turtle Bulletin March 29th, 2008 One thing you can say about Oklahoma State Rep. Sally Kern is this: She doesn?t give up. And the more she talks, the more she embarrasses herself and the good citizens of Oklahoma?s District 84. Today, the Bethany Tribune published a letter to the editor (A permanent copy is available here as PDF.) Kern?s letter contains the usual misinformation from the usual sources. Kern?s very first paragraph cites a study titled, ?The Lifespan of Homosexuals,? immediately following a sentence which references the CDC. The way it?s written, casual readers may assume that ?The Lifespan of Homosexuals? was a CDC study, but they?d be wrong. That so-called ?study? is actually from none other than Paul Cameron, the discredited ?researcher? who has been censured and/or kicked out of virtually every professional association he?s ever been associated with for repeated ethics violations and gross professional misconduct. Most recently, he was censured by the president of the Eastern Psychological Association for misrepresenting his participating at their 2007 conference. In 1999, Paul Cameron wrote ?Gays in Nazi Germany,? in which he whitewashed the treatment of gays in Nazi concentration camps, and he has advocated similar draconian measures throughout his career here in the U.S. Oklahoma State Sen. Sally KernSally Kern will reach for anything to demonize gay and lesbian citizens of her district and beyond, including the rantings of a Nazi sympathizer and holocaust revisionist. We first awarded Kern the LaBarbera Award for her outrageous fear-mongering comments, saying that gays were ?the biggest threat our nation has, even more so than terrorism or Islam.? As a Certified Cameronite, Kern has completed her own evolution to the lowest depths of extremist rhetoric. She now joins the ranks of so many others who care neither for the truth, ethics, or simple human decency in their zeal to render LGBT citizens as second class ? or worse. ? Box Turtle Bulletin
  16. OK it's official, this woman is a loon (no offense meant to Loons or to any other birds) Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern, openly gay church pastor face off on television by Nick Langewis Story Link Link to Video Oklahoma House Rep. Sally Kern made an Easter Sunday appearance on KFOR-TV's "Flash Point" to face off with an openly gay pastor, elaborating on her recent leaked speech and defending her views. A spirited theological and political debate ensued between Rep. Kern, host Kevin Ogle, panelists Burns Hargis and Mike Turpen, and Dr. Scott Jones of Oklahoma City's Cathedral of Hope. "I was speaking to a group of Republicans; grassroots Republicans," Kern explained of the original speech, which gained worldwide attention after posted on the Internet by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, "and I was talking about the homosexual agenda, and how they are out there putting forth--funding very heavily--homosexual and pro-homosexual candidates to run against, and defeat, conservatives across the nation. "I did talk about what I believe...scientific evidence, health evidence...proves that the homosexual lifestyle is a dangerous lifestyle. And, yes, I did compare it to being more dangerous than terrorism. And my point in doing that, gentlemen, was this: Everybody knows terrorism destroys and tears down, and that was the only analogy I was making is that the homosexual agenda, this lifestyle which is so destructive to individuals, is at the heart trying to tear down what is the bedrock foundation of our society, which is the family and traditional marriage." "You don't really believe that Scott," asks panelist Michael Turpen of Pastor Jones, "is more dangerous than Osama bin Laden, do you?" "I believe that the...homosexual agenda, and the lifestyle that it involves, is deadly to this nation. Now, I was not saying that Scott here is personally as dangerous as Osama bin Laden, but I was just making a comparison to prove my point." "Well, I would denounce hate speech of any kind," rebuts Jones, "and have in my public remarks in response to yours. And you have to understand that when you say that gay people are like cancer...and cancer is something that we eradicate; that we kill; or that we are worse than terrorists, and terrorists are people that we go after to annihilate, to kill, you have to understand why those words would outrage people, because what are you saying? That we should go after gay people and eradicate them or annihilate them?" "I wasn't saying that you guys were a cancer," the legislator says to Dr. Jones. "I was saying that the effect is the very same as a cancer. If God's people do not stand up and proclaim God's word, which teaches that homosexuality is a sin; and if we try to just ignore it and let it become mainstream and take on the mentality that you folks want, that it's a normal lifestyle, then that is going to spread through our culture, and we will no longer have the same kind of culture we've had for over 200 years. That's all I meant." "You have to understand," appeals Jones, "that there are multiple churches, Christians, denominations, highly respected scholars who disagree with your interpretation and application of scripture." "Sally," asks Turpen, "if you had a gay child--" "--I would love them as much as anybody else," Rep. Kern answers. "I would love them more than any of my other children because they would have a greater need." Kern also weighs in on her son, answering allegations that he was gay based on a 1989 arrest of a Jesse Jacob Kern on oral sodomy charges. "In 1989, my Jesse Aaron Kern was 12 years old, and we lived in Boise, Idaho. He has never been arrested, and he has been interviewed, and he has said, 'I am not...I am straight!'" "But if he were, I'd love him," she continues, "because God created us all in his image, OK? God has a wonderful plan for every single one of us. Sin is out to destroy God's plan for our lives." "How could you love a gay son," asks Turpen, "that you have said is more dangerous to this country...than a terrorist?" "I said the 'homosexual agenda,'" counters Kern. "I was not talking about--I have worked with other individuals who are homosexual. I don't hate them. I have never been rude to them." Dr. Jones takes exceptional issue with Kern's lecturing on gays' involvement in the political process. Jones finds that it makes the lawmaker's comments "more outrageous" because he contends that she, as an elected official, is essentially labeling a certain group of people participating in the democratic process as worse than terrorists. "The agenda is worse than terrorists," Kern counters. "It is never dangerous for any of our citizens to engage in the democratic process," she adds. "I wish more of them would. What I'm saying is: their agenda, what they want to put upon the American people, which have for years been considered a 'Christian nation,' who had a moral basis, where people knew what right and wrong was; where people knew that this was considered sin and this was not considered sin--" Jones interjects: "--So a group of people advocating for their equal civil and human rights is more dangerous to this country--" "If a person is born black, they can't change that," Kern explains. "You see, that's the heart of this issue is the homosexuals believe they're born that way. No medical research--" "--Even Al Mohler, the president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, has agreed that all science is leading toward the idea that we are born that way." "I disagree with that wholeheartedly," Kern says. "We're all born with a sinful nature. I'm just as sinful as anybody else in this world." "The American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Psychological Association all disagree with you, ma'am," Jones responds, "and they're the people I would respect as having a mainstream view, and yours is in an extreme view." "Mine is not an extreme view," counters Kern. "Mine is the view of the average American citizen, and I disagree with you." "Why would somebody choose to be gay?" asks Turpen. "Because of that sinful nature," Kern responds. "We can all choose to be whatever we want to be. You know, there are some people who have a propensity to have...a violent temper, and they have to learn to control that. They can't go out and say 'that's my propensity to be angry, so I'm going to engage in all the violence I want to.'" Copyright ? 2007 Page One News Media, Inc.
  17. A Boy the Bullies Love to Beat Up, Repeatedly By DAN BARRY, The New York Times Story Link FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. All lank and bone, the boy stands at the corner with his younger sister, waiting for the yellow bus that takes them to their respective schools. He is Billy Wolfe, high school sophomore, struggling. Moments earlier he left the sanctuary that is his home, passing those framed photographs of himself as a carefree child, back when he was 5. And now he is at the bus stop, wearing a baseball cap, vulnerable at 15. A car the color of a school bus pulls up with a boy who tells his brother beside him that he?s going to beat up Billy Wolfe. While one records the assault with a cellphone camera, the other walks up to the oblivious Billy and punches him hard enough to leave a fist-size welt on his forehead. The video shows Billy staggering, then dropping his book bag to fight back, lanky arms flailing. But the screams of his sister stop things cold. The aggressor heads to school, to show friends the video of his Billy moment, while Billy heads home, again. It?s not yet 8 in the morning. Bullying is everywhere, including here in Fayetteville, a city of 60,000 with one of the country?s better school systems. A decade ago a Fayetteville student was mercilessly harassed and beaten for being gay. After a complaint was filed with the Office of Civil Rights, the district adopted procedures to promote tolerance and respect ? none of which seems to have been of much comfort to Billy Wolfe. It remains unclear why Billy became a target at age 12; schoolyard anthropology can be so nuanced. Maybe because he was so tall, or wore glasses then, or has a learning disability that affects his reading comprehension. Or maybe some kids were just bored. Or angry. Whatever the reason, addressing the bullying of Billy has become a second job for his parents: Curt, a senior data analyst, and Penney, the owner of an office-supply company. They have binders of school records and police reports, along with photos documenting the bruises and black eyes. They are well known to school officials, perhaps even too well known, but they make no apologies for being vigilant. They also reject any suggestion that they should move out of the district because of this. The many incidents seem to blur together into one protracted assault. When Billy attaches a bully?s name to one beating, his mother corrects him. ?That was Benny, sweetie,? she says. ?That was in the eighth grade.? It began years ago when a boy called the house and asked Billy if he wanted to buy a certain sex toy, heh-heh. Billy told his mother, who informed the boy?s mother. The next day the boy showed Billy a list with the names of 20 boys who wanted to beat Billy up. Ms. Wolfe says she and her husband knew it was coming. She says they tried to warn school officials ? and then bam: the prank caller beat up Billy in the bathroom of McNair Middle School. Not long after, a boy on the school bus pummeled Billy, but somehow Billy was the one suspended, despite his pleas that the bus?s security camera would prove his innocence. Days later, Ms. Wolfe recalls, the principal summoned her, presented a box of tissues, and played the bus video that clearly showed Billy was telling the truth. Things got worse. At Woodland Junior High School, some boys in a wood shop class goaded a bigger boy into believing that Billy had been talking trash about his mother. Billy, busy building a miniature house, didn?t see it coming: the boy hit him so hard in the left cheek that he briefly lost consciousness. Ms. Wolfe remembers the family dentist sewing up the inside of Billy?s cheek, and a school official refusing to call the police, saying it looked like Billy got what he deserved. Most of all, she remembers the sight of her son. ?He kept spitting blood out,? she says, the memory strong enough still to break her voice. By now Billy feared school. Sometimes he was doubled over with stress, asking his parents why. But it kept on coming. In ninth grade, a couple of the same boys started a Facebook page called ?Every One That Hates Billy Wolfe.? It featured a photograph of Billy?s face superimposed over a likeness of Peter Pan, and provided this description of its purpose: ?There is no reason anyone should like billy he?s a little bitch. And a homosexual that NO ONE LIKES.? Heh-heh. According to Alan Wilbourn, a spokesman for the school district, the principal notified the parents of the students involved after Ms. Wolfe complained, and the parents ? whom he described as ?horrified? ? took steps to have the page taken down. Not long afterward, a student in Spanish class punched Billy so hard that when he came to, his braces were caught on the inside of his cheek. So who is Billy Wolfe? Now 16, he likes the outdoors, racquetball and girls. For whatever reason ? bullying, learning disabilities or lack of interest ? his grades are poor. Some teachers think he?s a sweet kid; others think he is easily distracted, occasionally disruptive, even disrespectful. He has received a few suspensions for misbehavior, though none for bullying. Judging by school records, at least one official seems to think Billy contributes to the trouble that swirls around him. For example, Billy and the boy who punched him at the bus stop had exchanged words and shoves a few days earlier. But Ms. Wolfe scoffs at the notion that her son causes or deserves the beatings he receives. She wonders why Billy is the only one getting beaten up, and why school officials are so reluctant to punish bullies and report assaults to the police. Mr. Wilbourn said federal law protected the privacy of students, so parents of a bullied child should not assume that disciplinary action had not been taken. He also said it was left to the discretion of staff members to determine if an incident required police notification. The Wolfes are not satisfied. This month they sued one of the bullies ?and other John Does,? and are considering another lawsuit against the Fayetteville School District. Their lawyer, D. Westbrook Doss Jr., said there was neither glee nor much monetary reward in suing teenagers, but a point had to be made: schoolchildren deserve to feel safe. Billy Wolfe, for example, deserves to open his American history textbook and not find anti-Billy sentiments scrawled across the pages. But there they were, words so hurtful and foul. The boy did what he could. ?I?d put white-out on them,? he says. ?And if the page didn?t have stuff to learn, I?d rip it out.? Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
  18. Mayor Joy rebukes Oklahoman's anti-gay comments By E. Alan Long, Carroll County News Story Link EUREKA SPRINGS - Statements made by Oklahoma State Representative Sally Kern ®, secretly recorded and released on YouTube.com on March 7 brought a rebuke from Mayor Dani Joy at the conclusion of Monday's city council meeting. Kern used Eureka Springs as an example of a town ?taken over by the militant homosexual agenda,? and can be seen on the Web at http://www/youtube.com/watch v=1T7s3x4JoQ.\ The mayor's statement, released earlier on Geekfest, an electronic community bulletin board, describes Eureka Springs as ?welcoming to all visitors and residents without regard to their race, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, disability or national origin. It is our hope that all people would aspire to this ideal.? She also added that in her opinion it was appalling that Kern used Eureka Springs and its citizens to further a private agenda. Elected officials, she said, are put into office for other reasons, and added that she feels that Kern owes the city an apology. Copyright ? 2008 Carroll County Newspapers
  19. Kern: Gay and pro-gay philanthropists furthering moral decay by Nick Langewis story link "Where are the social conservative billionaires?" asks embattled Oklahoma House Rep. Sally Kern. "We've got some, but they don't give money the way the gay philanthropists are giving their money." Additional audio obtained by PageOneQ of the recent controversial speech by Rep. Kern gives more detail to her criticisms of the "gay agenda," especially on a political level: the lawmaker specifically targets four philanthropists, who cumulatively contribute tens of millions of dollars a year to LGBT causes and political campaigns. Rep. Kern has been under fire since portions of the speech calling homosexuality a larger threat than terrorism, and the "death knell" for the United States, were released by the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund earlier this month. The legislator has stood by her statements, refusing to apologize, and has since retained legal counsel. "I like to call myself a social conservative," the speech opened. "And for me, a social conservative is more than just being Pro-Life and wanting smaller government spending less." "What made us great," says Kern of the United States, "and what is destroying us is just like a coin; it's a flip side. What made us great is that fact that we were a nation founded upon Christian principles." Kern says that the Founding Fathers gave preferential treatment to Christianity in the early days of the United States, and that the "gay agenda" is one big indicator that American society shows signs of moral bankruptcy by straying from "Christian values" and abandoning a "cohesive values system." "Here's the problem," the lawmaker says: "The gay people are motivated. If we, as...whether you're Christian or not--if you're just a good conservative--if we were as motivated as the gay people were, the contest would be over." The philanthropic efforts of Colorado entrepreneur Tim Gill, founder of the pro-LGBT Gill Foundation, are mentioned in the speech, along with his counterparts in the Colorado "Gang of Four." Gill, Pat Stryker (sister of openly-gay philanthropist John Stryker), Rutt Bridges and Congressional candidate Jared Polis have "changed the face of Colorado" through grassroots activism, seeking swing votes and funding local and state political races, Kern laments, as a result of being courted, but ultimately abandoned, by the Democratic Party when there is danger of a larger base being alienated. Says Rep. Kern of the Gang of Four: "...they contributed last year over $30 million to state races. They targeted 13 states. They targeted 70 local politicians; they took out 50 of them. "For 40 years, Colorado's legislature was in the hands of Republicans. In '06 it changed to the hands of the Democrats. And the main reason is because of--they're pushing--these four people, along with other people--and I have a list of them here--the top ones that you can see. This is important, because, when you start looking at who's contributing to races, say that particular statewide race we're all concerned about, look for some of these names. They don't give more than $1,000--because they don't want to draw attention--but they will give up to $1,000. "Their strategy is very under-the-table, very stealth; and their goal is to find state legislatures that are very tight...and in just a few races, can make the difference to switch it from Republican to Democrat--they're going to target that. And their goal is, in doing that, to intimidate Republicans." Copyright ? 2007 Page One News Media, Inc.
  20. The death threats seem to be a figment of Kern's imagination. click HERE for the story. from the Oklahoma State House of Representatives - Member's Page: Rep. Kern, Sally District 84, Republican Committees Social Services, Chair Education Committee Common Education Human Services Committee Capitol Address: 2300 N. Lincoln Blvd. Room 332 Oklahoma City, OK 73105 (405) 557-7348 District Address: 2713 Sterling Ave. Oklahoma City, OK 73127 Email: sallykern@okhouse.gov
  21. studies have shown that casual skittle consumption often leads to the use of hard candy.
  22. Conn. Student Suspended for Buying Candy LINK NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) - Contraband candy has led to big trouble for an eighth-grade honors student in Connecticut. Michael Sheridan was stripped of his title as class vice president, barred from attending an honors student dinner and suspended for a day after buying a bag of Skittles from a classmate. School spokeswoman Catherine Sullivan-DeCarlo says the New Haven school system banned candy sales in 2003 as part of a districtwide school wellness policy. Michael's suspension has been reduced from three days to one, but he has not been reinstated as class vice president. He says he didn't realize his candy purchase was against the rules, but he did notice the student selling the Skittles on Feb. 26 was being secretive. Copyright 2008 Associated Press
  23. Oxnard school unnerved by gay teen's shooting death SUSPECT, VICTIM WERE FROM BROKEN HOMES By Paul Pringle and Catherine Saillant Los Angeles Times LOS ANGELES - For teenagers living in a shelter for abused and neglected children, school can provide a daily dose of normalcy, a place to fit in, a chance to be just another kid. It didn't turn out that way for Lawrence King. According to the few students who befriended him, Larry, 15 years old and openly gay, found no refuge from his tormentors at E.O. Green Junior High School. Not in the classroom, the quad, the cafeteria. Not from the day he enrolled at the school in Oxnard, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles, until the moment he was shot to death in a computer lab, just after his usual morning van ride from the shelter a town away. The 14-year-old accused of killing him, Brandon McInerney, had his own troubled home life when he was younger, with his parents accusing each other of drug addiction and physical assaults, court records show. The year before Brandon was born, his father allegedly shot the boy's mother in the arm, shattering her elbow, the records say. Now, as the Feb. 12 killing of Larry King continues to draw attention, students, parents are others wonder if red flags in the boys' circumstances and backgrounds had been missed and if more could have been done to avert the tragedy. "The question needs to be answered," said Ventura County Supervisor John Flynn, whose district includes E.O. Green. "It really bothers me a lot." The anti-gay taunts and slurs Larry endured from his male peers apparently had been constant, as routine for him as math lessons and recess bells. The stinging words were isolating. As friend Melissa Reza, 15, put it, Larry lived much of his life "toward the side . . . he was always toward the side." She and others recall that the name-calling had begun long before he told his small circle of confidants that he was gay, before problems at home made him a ward of the court and before he summoned the courage to further assert his sexual orientation by wearing makeup and girls' boots with his school uniform. His friends say the verbal cruelty had persisted for months and grew worse after slightly built Larry pushed back by "flirting" with some of his mockers. One of them was Brandon, who seethed over it, friends say. Brandon has been charged as an adult with premeditated murder and a hate crime and is being held in juvenile hall. For about a decade, the household of William and Kendra McInerney, Brandon's parents, had been in turmoil. The 1993 shooting incident led to William's conviction on discharging a firearm and a 120-day jail sentence, according to court records. William McInerney was addicted to prescription drugs, Kendra said in a court declaration. She said he repeatedly choked her on one occasion, when Brandon was 6. The father was sentenced, after that incident, to 10 days in jail for battery. The mother's home was the neighborhood "drug house," with people passed out in the front room, William alleged in a 2001 court declaration. He also said that his wife "back handed" Brandon and scratched the boy's chest. After his parents divorced, Brandon bounced between their homes in Oxnard, before settling several years ago at his father's residence near E.O. Green. Prosecutors say the handgun allegedly used to kill Larry came from the McInerney house. Friends and adult acquaintances say they are still struggling to make sense of the crime Brandon is charged with, especially given the cold-blooded nature of the killing: two shots to the head in an attack carried out at 8:30 a.m. on a Tuesday in a roomful of youngsters unpacking their books and calculators. Earlier this year, some of Brandon's classmates say, Larry began "hitting" on him and remarking for all to hear that he thought Brandon was "cute." Other boys then ribbed Brandon by saying he must be gay. Michael Sweeney, an eighth-grader at E.O. Green, picked up on the whispering that followed. "Brandon told this one girl that he was going to kill Larry," Michael said. "She didn't tell the principal. I didn't either, after I heard about it. I thought it was a joke." Larry was shot the next day. Lawrence King was born Jan. 13, 1993, at Ventura County Medical Center. He was adopted by Gregory and Dawn King, and he had three brothers and a sister. His parents declined to be interviewed. Larry had been removed from his home at some point in the past six months or so, friends and others say. Citing the privacy laws, county officials have not disclosed the reasons for his placement at Casa Pacifica in Camarillo. Copyright 2008 San Jose Mercury News
  24. Military brass oppose lifting gay ban to boost troop levels Majority favors lowering educational standards By CHRIS JOHNSON, The Washingon Blade Despite recruitment challenges plaguing the U.S. military, the majority of high-ranking military officers do not favor allowing gays to serve openly in the military as a means to increase troop numbers, according to a recent survey. Conducted by the Center for a New American Security and released in the March/April edition of Foreign Policy, the survey found that only 22 percent of officers support eliminating ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? as a means to increase recruitment. The Center gave the survey to 3,400 military officers with a rank of major or lieutenant commander and above ? top brass in the U.S. military. Retired Navy Capt. Joan Darrah, a former intelligence officer and lesbian, downplayed the results of the survey because it was given to officers of high rank who tend to be in an older demographic. She said this demographic ?is absolutely out of touch? and has ?no idea that the studies show [how many] gay people don?t re-enlist because they are tired of living under ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell.?? Men made up 97 percent of responders for the survey; 72 percent of responders were at least 61 years of age. Darrah said considering their age, it was actually ?pretty good? if 22 percent of responders believe in allowing gays to serve openly. When asked about other ways to increase recruitment, 78 percent favored trading citizenship to immigrants for service, 58 percent favored lowering education standards and 38 percent favored reinstating the draft. Seven percent favored the increased use of criminal and health waivers. To demonstrate the recruitment problems the military has faced in recent years, Foreign Policy notes that last year the Army had a shortage of 3,000 captains and majors and that this deficit is expected to double by 2010. Victor Maldonado, spokesperson for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, said the Center for a New American Security consulted older officers who tend to be ?slightly more conservative than their younger peers.? Maldonado also said the survey is ?at odds with the positive data? on gays serving openly. He pointed to a May 2007 poll indicating that 79 percent of Americans believe that openly gay people should be allowed to serve in the military. Darrah also took issue with how the Center gathered its information through a survey and not a poll. She said gathering information through a survey means ?you send it out to a bunch of people and some people answer and some people don?t, so it?s totally unscientific.? Reichen Lehmkuhl, a gay former Air Force captain and author of ?Here?s What We?ll Say,? a book recounting his experience in the U.S. Air Force Academy, said the survey had ?no-better-than deplorable? results. He said he does not believe the survey accurately reflects what officers think. Lehmkuhl said he is involved in a study that is examining the views of 40 straight military officers and their views of gays in the military. The officers are almost unanimously for the integration of openly gay service members as long as sexual conduct is kept to the standards of professionalism, he said. A gay active duty junior naval officer, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he believes that allowing gays to serve openly ?is the right thing to do,? but added that he thinks that not enough gays are willing to serve to make a difference in recruitment. ?All the people that say, ?Hey, let?s allow gays in the military,? who wouldn?t serve in the military themselves and the type of people that do serve in the military don?t necessarily care that they serve openly or not,? he said. The junior naval officer also said if he were given the survey, he would have answered that gays should be allowed to serve openly, but he would secretly think it would not ?make an effective difference? in increasing recruitment. Gary Gates, a research fellow at the law school at the University of California in Los Angeles, estimated in a 2005 study that 41,000 men would be available for service if the military lifted ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell.? Gates said the number is based on the assumption that gay men would enlist in the military in the same proportion as straight men. Gates estimates that about 14,500 gay men already serve in the military, or about 1.2 percent of men in active duty. Lesbians already serve in the military in a higher proportion than straight women, Gates said. Rep. Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), the lead sponsor of a bill that would repeal ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell,? said she was ?not surprised? with the results of the survey because responders ?were promoted in the last eight years by ultra-conservatives like President [George] Bush and [former Defense Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld.? Tauscher added that ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? hurts retention and discourages ?some of the best and brightest? from joining the military. ?The American people are for repealing this policy and those who are behind the times on this issue should understand that this type of bigotry cannot stand in America, and certainly not in the American Armed Forces,? she said. Darrah said she served in the Navy for more than 29 years while remaining quiet about her sexual orientation. ?I ? lived under ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? and don?t know how I did it,? she said. She said she would never encourage anyone who?s gay, no matter how capable, to join the military and live under the policy. The junior naval officer said if the military changed its policy, openly gay troops would initially face hostility. ?You?re going to get a lot of discrimination, you?re going to get beatings, [and] you?re going to get harassment,? he said. ?I think it?ll eventually go away and diminish down to nothing, but in the immediate future ? you?d have some major problems.? The junior naval officer said his inability to serve openly makes no difference in his job. ?I think ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell? is discriminatory, but I don?t have any problem with it,? he said. Some of his colleagues know his sexual orientation, he said. ?The only reason my colleagues know ? is, for one, one of them was a woman who was interested in me and I had to end that, just because I wasn?t interested in her at all,? he said. The officer said he also told several colleagues with whom he lived about his sexual orientation because he didn?t want to ?keep them in the dark.? The effect of coming out to his superiors would depend on whom he told, the officer said. His immediate boss wouldn?t care but higher military leaders would, he said. The officer said the head of his directorate ?would fire [him] on the spot.? ? 2008 | A Window Media LLC Publication
  25. Sen Craig Seeks Interns by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff LINK (Washington) Idaho Senator Larry Craig ® is offering college seniors a rare summer job opportunity: a chance to work in his Capitol Hill office while he fights his guilty plea in a bathroom sting operation in Minneapolis. The Idaho Republican has sent a news release to newspapers throughout his home state offering the May to August positions. But with the deadline only three weeks away it remains unclear if the positions will be filled. "For those interested in politics, it is an incredible opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at how our government functions while serving the people of Idaho," the press release from Craig says. Interns usually perform some of the grunt work for members of Congress such as answering phones, sorting mail and greeting constituents. Craig, a three-term Republican, pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct in August after he was accused of soliciting sex in a bathroom at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in June. After the matter became public, Craig tried to withdraw his plea. A judge in Minnesota refused, saying Craig's plea "was accurate, voluntary and intelligent, and ... supported by the evidence." Craig has appealed that ruling to the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Senate Republicans demanded the ethics investigation after news broke of Craig's conviction last summer. Craig first promised to resign Sept. 30, then reversed his decision. He now says he will stay in office until his term expires in January. Craig says he is not running for re-election. Craig has said an undercover police officer misinterpreted his foot and hand movements as signals that he wanted sex, giving rise to the nickname "Toe-tapping Larry". The Senate Ethics Committee said earlier this month that Craig acted improperly in connection with a men's room sex sting last year and had brought discredit on the Senate. In a letter to the Republican senator, the ethics panel said Craig's attempt to withdraw his guilty plea after his arrest at a Minneapolis airport was an effort to evade legal consequences of his own actions. Craig's lawyers argue the plea should be dropped, claiming the state's disorderly conduct law would apply only if witnesses other than the police officer who arrested Craig had been present. In the response, prosecutors argued in court last week that the plea should not be withdrawn and that a district court judge did not abuse his discretion, as Craig's lawyers contend, when he refused to let Craig change his guilty plea after he had entered it and paid his fine. Craig insists he is not gay and was not seeking sex. The intern job posting does not indicate if the students would be required to travel with the Senator. ?365Gay.com 2008
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