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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 Meeting! Special Event! Tuesday, April 15, 2003 – 7:00 pm in the Reitz Union Ballroom for presentation of the Rainbow Alliance Awards and 150 Years of LGBT History at UF |
First WordsAnother LGBT QuiltA county commission here, a school board there -- The US is a huge patchwork quilt of protections, antidiscrimination, marriage bans, domestic partner benefits, etc. There is no constitutional or federal law that guarantees equality regardless of sexual orientation, and even in places where there are protections, they do not necessarily imply protection of the right for private people to love each other privately in the privacy... or the raise children... or to pass their estate to a lifelong partner... well, you get it. It creates an odd paradox: It doesn't matter what your sexual orientation is, as long as you're not gay or lesbian. Or something like that. States, counties, cities, school boards, universities, colleges, businesses -- every one is a potential battleground. You can be safe from discrimination at work but not at home, or vice versa. In Florida, attacking someone because of their sexual orientation is a hate crime according to state law, but that same person is considered unacceptable by Florida to adopt a child. This is part of the reason that the case before the Supreme Court (Lawrence v. Texas) is so important. In 1960, all 50 states had sodomy laws, it is now down to 13. With one decision, the Supreme Court could make them all invalid. But the battle isn't exactly about decriminalizing a sexual practice, it's about creating a consistent pattern of protections. Until 1973, homosexuality was officially a mental illness. In that year, the American Psychiatric Association made the momentous decision to remove homosexuality from its manual. One decision, and overnight, 20 milllion people were no longer mentally ill. The situation has improved considerably in 30 years, and yet for most LGBT people, their lives are still a patchwork. If there were a way to make a map of where, to whom, and to what extent one is "out," for example, it would probably complex and multicolored. LGBT partnerships must be legal patchworks in most places. In the George Jetson future, what will it be like to be LGBT? Can we picture a time when... Parents will think that their child's first crush on another child of the same sex is "precious"? When no one bats an eye when someone shows up at their prom with someone of the same sex? When same-sex couples can just fill out the necessary license and settle down, if they wish? Just as the APA officially swept away the psychiatric basis for opposing homosexuality, the Supreme Court is on the verge of helping to eliminate the so-called "moral" basis for state laws opposing homosexuality. They might not make so far-reaching a decision, but either way, if their decision overturns the Texas law, it will be an important turning point. Every one of these battles is important. It is important for every LGBT person or ally to be politically informed and maybe politically active. (Voting is a very important form of political activity.) The patchwork approach may not be the most satisfying, but it is working. American Psychiatric Association
Public Infomation Page on Gay and Lesbian Issues: |
RA BylawsTo this point, Rainbow Alliance has functioned under informal bylaws. However, the time has come to formalize the organization and its operation. Bylaws have been drafted based on the model drafted by RA about three years ago. These bylaws have been posted at the following Web site for inspection by Rainbow Alliance members. Rainbow Alliance Bylaws: http://members.atlantic.net/~cmbrown/ra-online/ra-bylaws.html RA Fund Letter of Intent: http://members.atlantic.net/~cmbrown/ra-online/ra-intent.html The bylaws are not lengthy, and we have set a review period of one week for this draft. Please take a look at the proposed bylaws and send comments to either Greg Allen (gregall@ufl.edu) or Charles Brown (cbrown@agen.ufl.edu). The bylaws are needed to proceed with setting up the Rainbow Alliance Fund. We are hoping to complete this process in the next two weeks, and your help is greatly appreciated. |
Craig Lowe for City Commission, District 4As reported in last month's RA-news , Craig Lowe, a University of Florida employee and Rainbow Alliance member, is running for the Gainesville City Commission, District 4 in an election to be held on April 8. Craig has been endorsed by the Human Rights Council of North Central Florida. 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 Committee on Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action from 1999-2002, and the City of Gainesville Human Rights Board from 1998-2001. 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 |
Celebrate Pride Awareness Month with Pride Student UnionApril is Pride Awareness Month at the University of Florida. Pride Student Union has put together an impressive calendar of events to raise awareness, celebrate awareness, and just plain celebrate. For a complete list of events
with times, dates, and locations visit: |
An Evening of Sex, Drugs, and Hard BodiesOn Friday April 11, 8 to 10 pm, at the University Club in Gainesville, the Pride Community Center of North Central Florida (PCCNCF) will present "Sex, Drugs, and Hard Bodies." The special guest speaker for this event is Tony Mills, a medical doctor and HIV specialist from Los Angeles. Mills is well known nationally as a speaker on HIV treatment, lipodystrophy*, and drug addiction. He was International Mr. Leather in 1998. Mills speaks with a combination of candor and expert knowledge, as displayed in articles on his Web site. In 1987, Mills was diagnosed with HIV, and that began his transition from specializing anesthesiology/cardiology to state-of-the-art HIV treatment to recovery from drug addiction and domestic violence. In 1995, he became active in the recovery community and in the leather community. In 1998, he was chosen International Mr. Leather and spent the next 12 months traveling the world representing the leather community and carrying a message of hope. His commitment to his community led him to Los Angeles where he opened an internal medicine practice specializing in the care and treatment of patients living with HIV. Dr. Mills Studied at Duke and
Harvard Universities and completed his medical training at Duke
University School of Medicine. He studied internal medicine and
anesthesiology at the University of California, San Francisco.
He has been on staff at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center
(NYC), Mount Sinai Medical Center (NYC) and the University of
Miami. He is Board Certified in anesthesiology. * Lipodystrophy is a condition that occurs in many HIV patients in which fat is redistributed in unusual ways throughout the body leading to characteristic changes in appearance and metabolim. The causes of this condition are poorly understood. |
Tallahassee: Equality Florida Lobby Day and Conference, March 16-17The March newsletter included an article about the then-upcoming Equality Florida Lobbying Day, March 16-17 in Tallahassee. Equality Florida reports that the day was very successful, and nearly 100 Citizen Lobbyists, mostly youth, traveled to Tallahassee in support of the Dignity For All Students Act. Citizen lobbyists from as far away as Miami and Ft. Lauderdale roamed the hallways of the Capitol, over 350 used Equality Florida's Action Center to send messages of support to legislators. The Dignity for All Students Act brings sexual orientation anti-discrimination to the hallways, classrooms and locker rooms of Florida's schools. The way it works now, if a person can make it through their most sensitive formative years with their personality — and even their life — intact, a mixed bag of legal protections awaits them. For adults in some cities, there is a supportive gay community, but the point at which a person's right to explore their sexual identity should be most protected is in their early years. Human Rights Watch completed a two-year study in 2001 called "Hatred in the Hallways." HRW says of the situation for LGBT students "Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth of school age in the United States often suffer daily harassment, abuse, and violence at the hands of their peers. These students spend an inordinate amount of energy figuring out how to get to and from school safely, avoiding the hallways when other students are present in order to escape slurs and shoves, cutting gym classes to escape being beaten up — in short, attempting to become invisible." "Dignity" bill sponsors cite a 2001 Department of Education study showing harassment -- offenses such as verbal threats and sexual harassment -- in Florida's schools increased 27 percent in the past three years, even while other crimes fell. The bill, if approved, would protect students from harassment based on gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity and physical or mental disability. Schools would be required to provide procedures for students to file complaints, have hearings on those complaints, and create and mete out punishments based on the severity of the offense. The bill also mandates training for educators to identify and prevent different types of harassment, and requires inclusion of statewide anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies into elementary school character education curriculum. The bill is scheduled for review in several house and senate committees in the next few weeks. Visit the Equality Florida Web site to identify and contact your state senator and representative about this important legislation. Dignity for All Students Act
(Senate Bill S1498, House Bill H19) To review the content and status of the Dignity for All Students Act (this links to the H19, but there is link to S1498 on the page). Equality Florida Web site: http://www.eqfl.org/ Read the Human Rights Watch
Report "Hatred in the Hallways": For a review of the situation
of LGBT students and some useful links: GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network): http://www.glsen.org Safe Schools Coalition: http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org/ |
Three's the Charm for Palm Beach School Board Ban on Gay DiscriminationA 12-year battle to protect gay and lesbian students from harassment in Palm Beach County schools triumphed Monday during an emotional meeting, according to the Palm Beach Post. By a vote of 5-2, the board approved the addition of the words "sexual orientation" to the district's anti-harrassment policy. This was the third time twelve years –- in 1991, 1999, and 2003 -– that the board had considered the measure. Change for this issue and in the political environment regarding this issue has been significant. With a growing body of evidence that sexual minorities are the specific targets of all forms of harrassment and abuse at significantly higher rates than the average, the opinions of many policy makers have changed. An example of this was given by Palm Beach school superintendent Art Johnson, who voted against the policy change in 1999. Johns said during the meeting, "I was wrong then. This policy is not about church and state. It is about equality. One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all." Arguments against the policy followed familiar lines: additional protected classes should not be created; the policy could open a floodgate of lawsuits; protecting "homosexuality" will "promote the idea that homosexual and "other bizarre sexual behaviors" are acceptable, respectable and healthy"; anti-discrimination policies of this sort imply that the homosexual lifestyle is equal to the hetereosexual lifestyle. One school board member stated that the arguments and style of the opposition convinced her that the new protections were necessary. Read the story in the Palm Beach Post. |
Supreme Court Reviews State Sodomy Laws in Texas CaseIn 1998, the Dallas police were called with a report of a "weapons disturbance" at neighbor's home. The police responded to the call, and because of its nature, entered the home without permission. They did not find any weapons, but they did find two men, John Lawrence and Tyron Garner, engaging in anal sex. In Texas, this is second degree misdemeanor. The men were arrested, spent the night in jail, and were fined $200. This incident has wandered up through the Texas court system and has arrived at the Supreme Court as Lawrence v. Texas in a case brought by Lambda Legal. (The neighbor was later convicted of filing a false police report.) In 1960, all 50 states had similar laws, but now only 13 remain (Florida is one of them). States have either recinded the laws through legislative action or state supreme courts have overturned them. Most famously, the Georgia law which was the basis of the Bower v. Hardwick case in 1986, in which the Supreme Court upheld the rights of states to make such laws in a 5 to 4 vote, was subsequently overturned by the Georgia Supreme Court. The laws are subject to attack based on their specific wording. The Texas law prohibits anal sex between same-sex couple only and would therefore seem to be discriminatory. The nature of the arrest in this case highlights the violation of privacy implicit in the law. These laws create a perception and a legal reality that has been used broadly to deny other rights to gays and lesbians, including denying jobs, child custody, and blocking non-discrimination laws and hate crime legislation. Specifically, in the Texas case, the convictions of Lawrence and Garner prohibit them from holding several types of jobs in Texas, and if they moved to other states, they could be required to register as sex offenders. Lambda Legal asked the Supreme Court to hear the case and declare a violation of privacy and equal protection. The oral arguments in the case revolved around the discriminatory nature of the the Texas law (the defense point of view) and the right of the state to cast morality into law (the state of Texas point of view). The defense raised the stakes by directly asking the court to overturn their earlier Bower v. Hardwick decision. If they did so, it would make it unconstitutional for states to enact sodomy laws. The state argued weakly according to some observers. The attorney for the state of Texas was evasive at times, as well. At one point, one of the justices asked for a"straight answer." The justice next to him poked him in the ribs and there was perceptible laughter in the chamber. A decision in this case is expected by late June. Where does your state stand? The Human Rights Campaign (www.hrc.org) has a Web page where you can check the record of any state on a wide variety of LGBT issues. Visit: http://www.hrc.org/familynet/chapter.asp?article=549 Read the complete Human Rights
Campaign article on this subject: The summary of oral arguments
is interesting (and often amusing) reading: Or read actual excerpts from
the oral arguments: The complete transcript should
appear in a few days at: For a brief and engaging review
of the oral arguments: |
Lieberman to Take Up Wellstone's Gay Benefits BillJoe Lieberman, hopeful presidential candidate, stated recently that he will work to move a domestic partners benefits bill through Congress. The bill would apply to federal employees, but it would be a powerful signal to state and local governments. Domestic partners would be eligible for life and health insurance, retirement pay and compensation for work-related injuries, among other benefits. Ten years ago, the debate over such a bill might have centered over how to tell who is and who is not a domestic partner, but the bill proposes an affidavit system similar to one used in other jurisdictions that have domestic partner benfits. The bill ws introduced in 2002 by Paul Wellstone and Mark Dayton, both Democratic senators from Minnesota. Minnesota already has a form of domestic partner benefits for its state workers; the benefits are not provided in law but through the contract with the state workers' union. (Paul Wellstone was killed in plane crash last year.) Lieberman will reintroduce the bill to this year's Congress, and its first stop will be the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. Joe Lieberman is the ranking Democrat on the committee. Admittedly, the bill faces significant opposition in the Republican-controlled Congress, but Lieberman has vowed that if the bill fails under the current administration, he will bring it up again in two years, if he becomes president. Lieberman is one of nine Democrats seeking the presidency. Three candidates - Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry and Reps. Dick Gephardt of Missouri and Dennis Kucinich of Ohio - were co-sponsors of the legislation last year. Another candidate, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, signed a civil union bill that allows gay couples to receive all the rights available to married couples under state law. Read the complete Associate
Press story at the Washington Post Web site: |
Aids Awareness Down, Cases UpAfter years of relative stability, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in February that new HIV/AIDS cases in the United States have risen for the first time since 1993. Between 2000 and 2001, the estimated number of new diagnosed adolescent and adult cases rose from 40,766 to 41,311 — approximately 1 percent. Between 850,000 and 950,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS in the United States. Half of the newly-infected patients, the CDC says, are under 25 years old. The rise in cases might seem small, but when a steady decline turns around, researcher begin to worry. Treatment for HIV/AIDS has improved over the last few years and the death rate has dropped, but AIDS is still an incurable disease, and despite the ads for the latest treatments, it has a dramatic impact on quality of life. In the first decade or so after AIDS was identified, it had an impressive reputation. The death rate was running around 50,000 a year compared to around 15,000 per year today. The math is simple: 40,000 a people a year infected and 15,000 per year dying. That means that the number of persons living with AIDS is steadily increasing, at a tremendous cost in both human and economic terms. Publicity for HIV/AIDS treatments often feature attractive and to all appearances healthy young people, but this is not the face of the disease. Also, while it is very brave and generous of celebrities living with AIDS to speak out, they are not the typical face of the disease, either. Some authorities feel that people are tired of negative messages, but people must take the risk to themselves and to others seriously. Complacency is the virus's greatest ally, and that seems to be the attitude too many people are taking. Americans live in a "magic bullet" culture, where confidence in an outstanding research establishment and in "technology" seems to give permission for greater risk taking. Just as great a risk is created when complacency reduces the chances that individuals will seek testing. Reckless and extreme behavior of various kinds are often portrayed in popular culture in a positive light. Hopefully, the cure for complacency will be better education, though barriers exist at all levels to appripriate and frank discussions of sexual attitudes and practices. If education doesn't cure complacency, the job might be left to an escalating death rate. For more information: |
ResourcesRA-online > coming soon! |