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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 and gender identity. RA welcomes all members of the University community who share its goals to join.Next RA Meeting! Wednesday, June 11, 2003 – 7:00 pm at Farah's, on University Avenue just east of 13th Street. Parking on University Avenue or behind the restaurant. |
First WordsMore PrideFriday, June 27, 1969. The Stonewall Riot. In commemoration, in celebration, June has become Gay Pride Month. In Gainesville, we might call it More Pride Month. In April, we enjoyed Pride Awareness Month. Brilliantly coordinated by the Pride Student Union, the month featured many special activities at a number of venues. In October, Gainesville will celebrate its annual Pride Week. Dedicated volunteers make Pride Week wonderful every year. In a sense, LGBT people in Gainesville have June "off", which could allow us to attend some of the many large celebrations that will be held this month around the country and around the world. There's a lot to celebrate. This year and next may well see some of the most significant advances for LGBT people since the Stonewall Riot. The legalization of same-sex unions, which began in one the nation's smallest states is now being seriously considered in the largest state. The Supreme Court is poised to strike down the very principle of legal oppression of homosexuality. The Florida ban on gay adoption may be struck down in court. A presidential candidate proudly holds up his lesbian daughter. LGBT issues are likely to be significant in next year's elections. Sweeping changes. We're fortunate in Gainesville to have such a vital LGBT community and so many allies, but if we want the progress affecting other states/cities/campuses to reach us here, it will take the involvement and support of each one of us. Powerful precedents are being established that local activists can build on, but it still comes down to local action. You are needed! Maybe the best way to celebrate More Pride Month is by getting involved. For a world calendar of Pride celebrations, visit: http://www.prideriver.com/pride_2003.htm See you in Vienna on the June 28? |
New Hampshire Episcopalians Select Firt Openly Gay BishopIn separate votes, clergy and selected laypeople of the diocese of New Hampshire elected the Reverend Canon Gene Robinson as the new bishop of the diocese. Robinson is the first openly gay person to receive such a post in the Episcopal church or in its larger organization, the worldwide Anglican Communion. Robinson has served 16 years as assistant to the current bishop, Douglas Theuner, a champion of gay issues within the church. Robinson is well respected. One of the delegates, Bayard Coolidge, stated, "The point is, he's well qualified." One of the clergy delegates, the Reverend David P. Jones, said, "Ten years ago I would not have been happy about this because I would have felt it's clearly contrary to the Bible, contrary to the traditions of the church. It's all because I've experienced the ministry of this man and a couple of others that I think I was mistaken." Approximately 2.3 milliom Americans belong to the Episcopal church, and worldwide, there are almost 80 million members of the various churches that form the Anglican communion. It is expected that there willAs in many other Protestant churches, the issue of homosexuality has been hotly debated in the Episcopal church. This is similar to the controversy that for many years surrounded the ordination of women to the priesthood. Now, this is accepted practice in almost every Episcopal diocese in the country. In the U.S., Episcopal churches in the South and Southwest are more likely to be conservative, and worldwide, Anglican churches in developing nations are exert a conservative influence. Nevertheless, the church weathered the controversy about women priests, and many believe it will also survive the crisis that may be precipitated by Robinson's election. To become bishop, Robinson be confirmed at the Episcopal church's general convention in late July. It is exceedingly rare for the convention to reject a diocese' choice. This story appeared on the
front page of the New York Times, June 8, 2003. Read the entire
story: http://www.nytimes.com/2003/06/08/national/08BISH.html?pagewanted=1 |
Chrissy Gephardt: Candidate's Gay Daughter Speaks OutChrissy Gephardt, daughter of prominent presidential candidate Senator Richard Gephardt (D-Missouri), recently appeared in People magazine and on ABC's Good Morning America to talk about being gay, about the woman she fell in love with, and about working for her father's election. Chrissy Gephardt was already married for when she met Amy Loder. The two became friends, and a few years ago, Loder confided to Gephardt that she was gay. That news sent a shock through Gephardt and forced her to acknowledge her feelings for Loder, first to herself and then to Loder. Gephardt had married in 1997 to someone she thought of as the perfect man. Telling him she was lesbian was not easy, and in 2001 they divorced. He remains in her life, and she describes him as her best friend. Gephardt then had to face telling her parents. She says it was incredible difficult, but as soon as she got the words out, she was met with complete support and acceptance. Richard Gephardt said, "I love my children beyond reason." Gephardt plans to play a prominent role in her father's campaign. Richard Gephardt is very positive toward gay issues and welcomes his daughter's public participation. The Gephardts' positive, public, and productive approach to their situation is a silent contrast to that of Cheney's, whose lesbian daughter has been kept in the background. Read more about Chrissy Gephardt: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/GMA/Politics/GMA030609Chrissy_Gephardt.html |
Ashcroft Department of Justice Squelches Pride ActivitiesThe Department of Justice has hosted a Pride event every June since 1997. Not this year. Gay employees at the department were recently informed that this year's event, planned for June 18, would not be allowed. The stated reason for the decision: President Bush has not officially proclaimed June as Gay Pride Month. (It is very difficult to type that sentence with bursting into laughter. Ed.) The president's refusal to do so was based, according to White House spokesman, on his belief that sexual orientation should not be politicized. The president has has issued more than 250 proclamations for events such as Greek Independence Day, Leif Erikson Day, Save Your Vision Week and National Hospice Month. Pride events have been held at the Department of State and at the Environmental Protection Agency, but not all federal agencies have such events. The tradition began in many agencies in the mid 90s when President Bill Clinton acknowledged Pride Month with a presidential proclamation. At last year's DOJ event, the deputy attorney general spoke, which gay employees took as a sign of support. However, this high profile speaker drew signifcant criticism from conservative groups, which continue to lobby federal agencies to withdraw support for Pride events as an inapporpriate use of agency funds. The lack of prohibition of these events in 2002 was seen as the result of delicate balancing by the conservative Republican administration, which wants to please its conservative base but adoes not want to offend gay or moderate Republicans. As we get closer to the election, the interests of the conservative base may become more important. Members of this base often view homosexuality as fundamentally anti-family. For a complete list of Pride
events at federal agencies, visit the Federal GLOBE (Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual, Transgender Employees of the Federal Government) Web
site: The view from the Right? Read the Reuters story. |
Gay Issues Are Hot Topics Across NationMassachusettsThe Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court and the Massachusetts Legislature are currently considering whether to permit gay couples to marry. There seems to be wide support for such unions in the state. A poll conducted in April found a slight majority of residents favor allowing smae-sex marriages. National support runs between 35 and 40 percent. On June 6, a coalition of Massachusetts clergy came out in support of same-sex marriage. Members of the Religious Coalition for Freedom to Marry said the right of gay and lesbian couples is a matter of civil — not religious — law. The coalition, made up mostly of Jewish and Protestant denominations, said more than 350 clergy statewide support same-sex unions. Some groups have proposed an amendment to the Massachusetts constitution that would define marriage as a one man-one woamn union. However, an opinion poll finds that such a measure to ban gay marriage in the state would probably be defeated if placed before voters now. Only one-third of 412 registered voters surveyed for the Boston Herald newspaper said they would support a ban on gay marriage. Despite the backing of the Catholic Church, a majority of the Catholics who were polled also said they opposed the ban. OhioA minister who has continued to marry gay couples despite his conviction by a church court of violating denomination law hopes to forestall a church vote that could cost him his ministry and membership in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Ministers and elder commissioners of the Cincinnati Presbytery, a cluster of Presbyterian churches in the area, will meet June 16 to consider a motion that the Rev. Stephen Van Kuiken be found to have renounced the church's jurisdiction. Van Kuiken, 44, was found guilty April 21 of violating church law by a court of the Cincinnati Presbytery. He has appealed that conviction to the denomination's next highest level of courts. That body has not yet ruled. “The Presbyterian Church constitution is every bit in conflict with the Holy Scriptures today as it was when it mandated the subjugation of women and people of color, and supported slavery,” said Rev. Van Kuiken. “I believe that my refusal to be complicit in committing spiritual violence and my resolve to challenge the unjust laws that subjugate gays and lesbians, demonstrates the utmost regard for the Scriptures and for the Presbyterian Church.” The minister has repeatedly said that he would continue to marry same-sex couples and believes that same-sex marriages are Christian unions. The highest Presbyterian court ruled in 2000 that ministers may bless same-sex unions, but cannot marry the couples. CaliforniaLast week, the California Assembly approved sweeping legislation that would grant same-sex partners most of the same spousal rights — and responsibilities — as married couples. The measure is based on the Vermont law that recognizes civl unions between same-sex couples. If passed, the new law would change over 1,500 California laws that currently apply only to heterosexual marriages. The new civil union would be equivalent to marriage in all but name. Passed on a 41 to 29 vote, the bill would guarantee people who register as domestic partners legal and financial benefits ranging from the ability to file joint income taxes to the standing to petition courts for child support and alimony. The measure expands on earlier efforts by extending to registered same-sex couples, who now number over 19,000, every other marriage-based entitlement that could be amended under state law without a two-thirds vote, such as access to family student housing, bereavement and family care leave and certain tax benefits. The legislation also carries new obligations, such as debt obligation and effects on eligibility for public assistance benefits. The bill must now pass the California Senate. If it does, it will go to Governor Gray Davis to be signed into law. Davis signed earlier domestic partner legislation, but he has not yet taken a position on the current bill. New YorkGov. George Pataki intervened in a case in which a state board denied unemployment insurance benefits for a same-sex couple. Jeanne Newland quit her job at Element K, a Rochester-based educational software company in 2000 and moved with her partner of six years, who found a higher-paying job at a financial services company in Virginia. After unsuccessfully applying for more than 100 jobs in Virginia and seeing her credit card debt mount, Newland applied for unemployment insurance in New York. Under New York law, workers who are laid off can receive unemployment insurance and people who voluntarily quit are eligible for the benefits provided they left their jobs for good reasons, such as following their spouse out of state. The law, which does not mention sexual orientation, says that a claimant is not eligible for benefits if they quit and move to another state to continue living with an unmarried partner. State Labor Department officials said Newland did not qualify, and a judge rejected Newland's appeal. Pataki last week asked the board to reconsider its decision. It remains unclear whether the board will reverse itself. Read the original Associate
Press article: |
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