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Newsletter of the Rainbow Alliance
at the University of Florida The Rainbow Alliance is the staff and faculty organization at the University of Florida concerned with matters related to sexual orientation. RA welcomes all members of the University community who share its goals to join.Next RA Dinner Meeting! Wednesday, March 12, 2003 – 7:00 pm at Jade Garden on south 13th Street |
Craig Lowe for City Commission, District 4Many of you know Craig Lowe, a University of Florida employee and Rainbow Alliance member. Craig is running for the Gainesville City Commission, District 4 in an election to be held on April 8. Craig has been an activist in Gainesville for many years. He served as president of the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida from 1995-2000 and again from 2002-2003. He was a member of the Florida Democratic Executive Committee from 1996-2001, the City of Gainesville Blue Ribbon Committe on Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action from 1999-2002, and the City of Gainesville Human Rights Board from 1998-2001. There's much more. In other words, Craig is committed and involved. If you or friends of yours live in District 4, encourage them to learn about Craig and vote for him on April 8. Learn more about Craig and his candidacy: http://www.craiglowe.net/index.htm |
STD Making ComebackThe incidence of syphilis is on the rise. While the syphilis infection rate had been decreasing steadily since 1990, it increased slightly in 2001. However, the rate among gay and bisexual men significantly increased -- as much as 60%. In a presentation at a recent gathering of local LGBT leaders, Bobby Davis of the Alachua County Health Department spoke about the statistics and the simple measures that can prevent spread of this disease. According to Davis, Alachua County has a few reported cases each year, but the county Health Department is watching closely. As the rates in South Florida increase, they may begin to affect other areas of the state. Davis sought the help of the LGBT community to get proactive and get ahead of this serious health problem. Davis also reported that the current severe outbreak of syphilis is following the same pattern of spread as AIDS did in the 1980s. In fact, the resurgence of syphilis infections may indicate that AIDS infection rates are soon to increase as well. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) is the lead agency of the U.S. government focused on the health and safety of the American people. In 1998, CDC developed a plan to eliminate syphilis from the U.S. by the year 2005. Elimination is defined in part as reducing the number of cases in the U.S. to below 1000 per year. Progress toward this goal has been steady until 2001. When studying STDs, the CDC looks at the population in terms of specific groups defined by gender, race, location, and choice of sexual partner. When the campaign to eliminate syphilis began, the highest infection rates for syphilis were among African-Americans and in the Southeast U.S. The Southeast remains the region with the highest number of cases -- about 56% of cases in 2000-2001. Significant progress in eliminating syphilis has been made in all groups, and this progress continued in 2000-2001, except for one group, "men who have sex with men", referred to in CDC literature as the MSM population. The reason for this expression is that many MSM persons do not identify themselves as gay or bisexual. The increase in syphilis in the MSM population seems to be connected to an increase in high risk behavior, a false sense of security with regard to STDs, and perhaps reduced safe sex practices. In some ways, the new treatment options for HIV/AIDS have led to a perception that this disease is not as dangerous or prevalent as it once was. The focus on HIV/AIDS has displaced messages about other STDs in some ways. It is important for everyone to have a broad view of preventing the spread of STDs, and protecting their own health. In 1999, the CDC estimated that 65 million Americans were living with an incurable STD -- approxiamtely 1 in 5 Americans. An additional 15 million new infections develop every year. The focus on syphilis in this article is not meant to imply that syphilis is the STD with the largest number of annual infections, just the opposite. The number of syphilis cases in the U.S. is at historical lows, that provides the opportunity to eliminate this disease. The challenge of any infectious disease is that a small increase can become an epidemic in short order. Get more information about this disease and encourage others to get information and act responsibly. More facts about the disease: http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/Fact_Sheets/Syphilis_Facts.htm CDC STD Prevention Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/nchstp/dstd/dstdp.html Alacua County Public Health Unit: http://www.co.alachua.fl.us/gov/DEPT/community_services/pub.asp |
Tallahassee: Equality Florida Lobby Day and Conference, March 16-17
On March 16-17, Equality Florida will host its 7th Annual Lobby Day and Conference at Tallahassee. Participants will lobby on behalf on EQFL's top legislative priorities for 2003, including the Dignity for All Students Act. The Dignity Act, HB 19, would ban bias-related harassment and discrimination in Florida's schools. The bill was also introduced last year, but legislators refused to take action on it. Rep. Ken Gottlieb (District 105, Hollywood) has filed the bill again in the House, with Senator Gwen Margolis (District 4, Miami) as the chief Senate sponsor. Anyone can attend the the Lobby Day with the Alachua County delegation (or any other county you reside in). For more information, or to sign up to help, please contact Nadine Smith at Equality Florida at (813) 870-3735 ex. 202. Read about the Lobby Day at the EQFL Web site: http://www.eqfl.org/News_Room/Press_Releases Read about the Dignity or All
Students Act (provided by the Human Rights Campaign): |
Key West: City Enacts Protections for Transgender PeopleKey West recently became the 54th jurisdiction in the United States to acknowledge the rights of transgender people. In doing so, the city's ordinance becomes the most inclusive in Florida. The language of the code protects against discrimination for "gender identity and expression", which not only covers transgender, but anyone who suffers discrimination because they do not fit traditional gender stereotypes. Last October, the city commission had approved the new language in a vote of 7-0. A second reading was scheduled for early January, and at that meeting another 7-0 vote allowed the addition of the language. Undoubtedly, Key West is a unique city in Florida. According to Janice Carney, Executive Director of the Florida Gender Equality Project (FORGE), support for the new protections in Key West were "overwhelming." Janice is a resident of Key West and had proposed the idea of expanding the city's non-discimination clause, which gives speciifc protection in employment, housing, public accommodations and lending. The effort had the support
of a number of local and state human rights organizations, including
the Key West Community Center, FORGE and Equality Florida, a
statewide social justice organization committed to ending discrimination
based on sexual orientation, race, class and gender. The National
Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) and the National Gay and Lesbian "Efforts to protect transgender people are currently underway in St. Petersburg, Monroe County and Seminole," noted Stratton Pollitzer, Equality Florida's Southern Regional Director. "Like the rest of the country, Florida is waking up to the reality that transgender people are part of our communities and must be included in basic human rights laws." In the past year alone, 14
localities have added similar protections, including: Allentown,
Erie County, New Hope, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Baltimore,
Maryland; Boston, Massachusetts; Chicago, Cook County and Decatur,
Illinois; Dallas, Texas; New York City and Buffalo, New York;
Salem, Oregon; and Tacoma, Washington. New Jersey and Pennsylvania
also passed statewide laws protecting transgender students and
transgender victims of hate violence, respectively. Key West amended its law to add the phrase "gender identity or expression." This language protects not only transgender people, but anyone who suffers discrimination because they do not fit traditional gender stereotypes.
Florida Gender Identity Project: http://forge.8m.com/ GayLawNews: http://www.gaylawnet.com/news/2003/mar03.htm National Gay and Lesbian Task Force: http://www.ngltf.org/index.cfm |
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Clearwater: Transgendered Dad Wins Child Custody in First-Ever CaseClearwater Circuit Judge Gerard O'Brien recently ruled that Michael Kantaras, who underwent a sex change operation 17 years ago, is legally a man, and the best parent for his two children. The judge awarded him custody of Mathew, 13, and Irina, 11, and granted "liberal visitation rights" to their mother. In what is being described as the first ruling of its kind, the children's best interests were the real issue in the case. Kantaras said that the children "were very happy and very relieved because they know now that they can have a loving relationship with both their mother and their father." The central issue in the case is the conflict between gender at birth and gender after reassignment surgery. Changing the physical gender of a person does not automatically alter their legal gender. O'Brien's decision is one of a few concerning marriages involving transsexual spouses, and one of the first in the United States to hold that such marriages are valid. The only states with similarly favorable decisions are New Jersey and California; in contrast, Texas and Kansas courts have held that marriages involving transsexual individuals are void. Internationally, courts in a number of countries have affirmed the validity of such marriages. Michael Kantaras, a 43-year-old bakery manager, had a sex change operation in Texas in 1986 and legally changed his name from Margo to Michael. In 1989, he married Linda Kantaras, who knew of the sex change. Linda permitted Michael to adopt her infant son, and they soon had a child of their own through alternative insemination. However, in 1999, Michael and Linda divorced, and the bitter child custody battle began. Linda's legal strategy turned to invalidating her marriage to Michael on the grounds that he is not legally a male. In that case, their marriage would be illegal under Florida law which only permits marriage between one man and one woman. If Michael were found to be a woman legally, he might then be classified as homosexual because oh his relationship with Linda, and therefore, under Florida law he would be barred from adopting children. Experts testified that Michael is considered male because he does not possess female reproductive organs nor produce female hormones. Leading national experts on transexualism were called and testified that many transexual live positive and productive lives after gender reassignment procedures. Michael won temporary custody of his children last year, when O'Brien found Linda in violation of a court order to refrain from using Michael's sex change to turn the children against him. The judge was also concerned about Linda's anger problems. "The marriage law of Florida clearly provides that marriage shall take place between one man and one woman. It does not provide when such status of being a man or woman shall be determined," O'Brien wrote. Want more legal details: http://www.gaylawnet.com/news/2003/tr030103.htm#florida_court More information about gender
identity issues and treatment: http://www.hbigda.org/ |
Iowa: State Workers Receive DP Benefits--from The Advocate A new two-year contract with Iowa state workers has been worked out that extends health and dental benefits to the workers' domestic partners, including those of gay employees, effective July 1. "We have members who need
the coverage because they're in domestic partnerships,"
said JanCorderman, state president of the American Federation
of State, County, and Municipal Employees, which represents 20,548
state and court employees. The benefit was proposed in the past
by AFSCME but has never been approved until now. Employees at
Iowa's three state House majority leader Chuck Gipp (R-Decorah) said the provision will be controversial at the statehouse, even though it is something being done in other states. "This is a social policy that's now entering a state contract which hasn't been there before," Gipp said. The legislature does not have authority to adjust a contract established in collective bargaining between the state and its labor unions. Lawmakers can only decide later this year whether the state will provide enough money to cover all state workers. Gov. Tom Vilsack, a Democrat, and the Republican-controlled legislature have clashed in the past over gay rights. A spokeswoman for Vilsack, Amanda Crumley, on Wednesday defended the extension of health care benefits to domestic partners of state workers. "This involves a relationship between an employer and an employee," Crumley said. "We are competing for talent with many companies that do provide this benefit to their employees. This helps us to attract and retain quality people, just like major corporations." The extension of benefits became public on the same day a senate committee debated a proposal prohibiting gays and lesbians from adopting children or becoming foster parents. -- from The Advocate: http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=7870&sd=02/28/03 |
ResourcesRA-online > coming soon! |