RA-news

---

Newsletter of the Rainbow Alliance at the University of Florida January 2005, Vol. 3, No. 4 Special Note: Your help is needed. Please contribute to the Rainbow Alliance Fund. Next Rainbow Alliance Dinner Meeting, Wednesday, January 12, 2005, 6:30 pm, at Harry's in downtown Gainesville. 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.

---

Contents First Words -- State of the Community Features Special Reception Welcomes LGBTA Faculty and Staff New Book Chapter by UF Prof Highlights Homosexuality in Himmler's SS Montana Court Ruling Arkansas Decision Lesbian/Gay Television Channel Launched Departments Update on RA Projects Contributing to the Rainbow Alliance Fund Resources How To Join Rainbow Alliance Contributors to This Issue of RA-News

---

First Words State of the Community At the beginning of each year, it is the U.S. president's constitutional duty to deliver to Congress a "State of the Union" address. Many presidents in the 19th century simply sent a report to Congress, but as the 20th century proceeded, the State of the Union became increasing important politically and is now an annual television fixture. The speech is not a comprehensive review – more an opportunity to tout the successes and "spin" the failures of the last year. An attempt will be made to frame the policies in which the president hopes to invest his "political capital." No doubt, the current president will assiduously avoid any reference to lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, or transgendered persons. (The exception may be a passing reference to the Federal Marriage Discrimination Amendment.) So we will have to review for ourselves the State of the LGBT Community. Space does not permit a thorough review of the battles that are going on for equality in corporations, universities, local governments, state houses, and in Washington -- and that in itself is a testimony to progress. Despite the unprecedented progress in LGBT profile, acceptance, and legal rights in the last four years, the president may not have much to say in his speech about it and even less to say about the progress that will occur in the next four. We're a long way from the open and safe society that we can imagine and that we experience in some locations, but progress has been made. As a report from the Human Rights Campaign recently pointed out that it is easy to focus on the passage of 13 state amendments prohibiting same-sex marriage, but there is also an important story in the 15 that were defeated. Americans have deeply instilled attitudes about homosexuality, but they have equally deep beliefs about fairness. The more stories they follow, whether the stories of relatives or friends, or high profile stories like Rosie's or Ellen's, or even fictional characters in situation comedies or soap operas, Americans have many opportunities to observe and reflect on gay lives. They have the chance to integrate their understanding of gay sexuality into a balanced picture of gay lives – lives which are finally not very different from their own. Locally, the past few year have seen a series of firsts. Rainbow Alliance was formed five years ago. Gator Gay-Straight Alliance formed four years ago. Three years ago, the Rainbow Alliance set up a fund in the University of Florida Foundation specifically devoted to funding of LGBT programs, scholarships, grants – even an LGBT center (Dream Big!). In 2003, the University of Florida added sexual orientation to its nondiscrimination policy. In 2004, the University appointed its first full-time director for LGBT affairs. In 2005, the University will implement a plan for domestic partner benefits. All of this added to long-standing and effective University groups like the Pride Student Union and the LGBT Concerns Committee, and to a wide variety of community groups. Each of these accomplishments were the result of a lot of hard work – and many of you reading this newsletter were directly involved. And ALL of you were indirectly involved, by being supportive, by listening, by attending,by advocating to friends and relatives, by voting. As we continue to work to secure equal protections, we must also work for increased understanding of the lives and needs of L, G, B, and T people. In some ways, our lives are not very different, but until people have a framework for understanding sexuality in a way that includes sexual minorities – not just makes allowances for them – LGBT people will continue to have some unique battle to fight. There will be setbacks, but people in the LGBT community and their allies must continue to press forward for full equality. The events of the last few months have caused many progressive groups to take another look at their strategy. It isn't clear what the election tells us about the electorate, in spite of load and continuous analysis on numerous cable networks. What is clear is that LGBT people deserve equality under the law, period. We shouldn't settle for second-class status, even is it's first-class second-class status. Is it naive to say that the future looks bright? I don't think so. We didn't get this far by accident – it happened as the result of practical efforts. As long as those efforts continue, the progress will continue. [top]

Features

Special Reception Welcomes LGBTA Faculty and Staff On Thursday, January 27, from 5-7 pm, a special reception will be held in the Keene Faculty Center to welcome new faculty and staff to the University and to introduce them to the LGBT resources available on campus. The reception is sponsored by the Office of the Provost, the Rainbow Alliance and the Director of LGBT Affairs. All Rainbow Alliance members are encouraged to attend. This is the first time such a reception has been held and the sponsorship of the provost's office is a much-appreciated sign of support. All faculty and staff at the University will be invited by e-mail. Printed invitations will be available to all Rainbow Alliance members who wish to extend a special invitation to colleagues. [top]

New Book Chapter by UF Prof Highlights Homosexuality in Himmler's SS UF history professor Geoffrey Giles has written a chapter about homosexuality in Nazi Germany in a new book, Sexuality and German Fascism. Giles' essay is titled "The Denial of Homosexuality: Same-Sex Incidents in Himmler's SS and Police." The essay explores in part the confusion in the mind of SS and police chief Heinrich Himmler over the definition of homosexuality. When did someone become "a homosexual"? What act or acts made you a "real" homosexual, rather than someone who had merely suffered a temporary aberration? No definitive answer ever emerged. Himmler was baffled by the incidence of homosexuality among the members of SS, the institution that comprised the racial elite of Nazi Germany who should not therefore have been prone to such lapses. Himmler felt that the majority of apparent homosexuals could be reformed, usually through "re-education in a concentration camp." Despite stern warnings, cases continued to be reported right the way through to the end of the war. After 1941, SS and policemen found guilty of homosexual offenses faced a mandatory death sentence. The essay examines some individual cases, where during cold, lonely nights on the Russian front some men found fairly willing sexual partners among their comrades, only to be denounced subsequently and sentenced to death. Curiously there was no consistency in Nazi policy, and Himmler often commuted the death sentences. Yet these men were still subjected to all manner of brutality (including castration) in prisons and concentration camps, and the vendetta against homosexuals continued in top gear until the regime collapsed in the Spring of 1945. Giles' essay appears in Sexuality and German Fascism, edited by Dagmar Herzog, and published by Berghahn (pp. 256-290). A paperback version has been released simultaneously with the hardback. Sexuality and German Fascism is available through Amazon.com. [top]

Montana High Court Rules University System Must Offer Insurance to Gay Partners The Montana Supreme Court began the new year with a ruling on the rights of gay and lesbian employees of the public universities to obtain health insurance for their domestic partners. In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that Montana's policy of denying insurance to gay and lesbian partners violates the state constitution's equal-protection clause. The court's majority opinion observed: "In truth, unmarried opposite-sex couples are able to avail themselves of health benefits under the university system's policy, while unmarried same-sex couples are denied health benefits....These two groups, although similarly situated in all respects other than sexual orientation, are not treated equally and fairly....Therefore, we conclude there is no justification for treating the two groups differently." Scott Crichton, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, in a statement called it "an incredible victory for the lesbian and gay employees of the University of Montana system who need to protect their families just like their straight colleagues do." The university system allows employees to sign an affidavit of "common-law marriage" to secure benefits for a domestic partner of the opposite sex. The court ruled the same benefits should be granted to same-sex domestic partners who sign such a statement. Justice Jim Rice, in a dissenting opinion, accused the court of "radically altering common-law marriage in Montana." He also said the plaintiffs didn't raise the validity of the common-law marriage affidavit in the District Court case, so the Supreme Court shouldn't have considered the issue. The American Civil Liberties Union filed the original lawsuit in February 2002 on behalf of two lesbian couples and Pride Inc., a Montana-based gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender advocacy group whose members include employees and domestic partners of employees of the University of Montana system. "This is truly a landmark decision," said Holly Jo Franz, one of the attorneys who argued the case. "The court has made it clear that same-sex couples must be respected. From BestWire Service, January 4, 2005. [top]

Arkansas Judge Voids Ban on Gay Foster Parents In a case brought by the ACLU, an Arkansas judge Wednesday declared unconstitutional a state ban on placing foster children in any household with a gay member. The judge reversed the ban not on an equal-protection argument, as presented by the ACLU, but on the basis that the Arkansas child welfare board was using its authority to regulate "public morality." Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Fox said the state Child Welfare Agency Review board had overstepped its authority. At issue was a 1999 board regulation that said gays cannot become foster parents, and foster children cannot be placed in any home with a gay member under its roof. Arkansas allows gays and lesbians to adopt children permanently, and its specific ban on fostering is unique. Fox noted that the Arkansas Legislature gave the child-welfare board the power to "promote the health, safety and welfare of children," but the ban does not accomplish that. Rather, he said the regulation seeks to regulate "public morality" -- something the board was not given the authority to do. "The testimony and evidence overwhelmingly showed that there was no rational relationship between the ... blanket exclusion (of gays) and the health, safety and welfare of the foster children," Fox wrote. A Florida ban on adoptions by gays and lesbians was recently upheld in a federal court and an appeal by the ACLU is pending before the Supreme Court. Utah and Mississippi also restrict gay adoptions. Mississippi prohibits gay couples from adopting, but not gay or lesbian individuals. Utah's ban is a state law that bars any cohabiting couples who are unmarried -- gay or heterosexual -- from adopting or fostering. Fox heard extensive testimony in the Arkansas case over the past year. Several board members testified that they had personal problems with the idea of gays and lesbians engaging in sex. Fox cited the testimony of sociologists and psychologists that gay people can be as loving and caring foster parents as heterosexuals, and that the children of gay adoptive parents can be as well-adjusted as those raised by heterosexual couples. When Kathy L. Hall, lawyer for the state board, argued at the end of the trial that social mores stand against homosexuals serving as parents, Fox noted that women were once prohibited from voting and racially mixed marriages were illegal in many states. Hall could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Messages left at her office and on her cell phone were not immediately returned. At the trial, she argued that foster children were under particular stress and in need of normalcy. She said the state needs to look out for the best interests of those children. "It's one thing to hear about it (homosexuality) or see it on TV as opposed to knowing it's going on in the room next door," Hall said. From a story by David Hammer, Associated Press, Dec. 29, 2004. [top]

Lesbian/Gay Television Channel Launched Here! TV, the first U.S. gay and lesbian television network, was established in 2002 by Regent Entertainment co-founders Paul Colichman and Stephen P. Jarchow. Until recently, Here! was available in a large but limited number of markets. As of January 6, 2005, the service is available on satellite via DIRECTV and DISH Network, and on cable in markets including New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Washington DC, Austin, San Antonio and Milwaukee. For more information, visit here!'s website at www.heretv.com. Colichman founded Here! as a film-development company about 10 years ago because of his frustration in trying to get his gay-themed films to the public. The success of the company naturally led to the idea of a cable outlet. Here! TV offers plenty of gay-themed films, but many television series are also offered or are in development. The light-hearted family drama Too Cool for Christmas, which debuted on the channel in December, tells the story of two gay dads whose rebellious teenage daughter learns a lesson from Santa. The upcoming series Dante's Cove revolves around two gay men trying to solve a mystery in a small town that is populated by a number of gay men and lesbians, a lesbian soap called The Complex is in development, and here! Family, a show about gay parents hosted by Michelle Darne, has already begun airing on the channel. Learn more at: www.heretv.com Anatomy of America's First Gay TV Channel: <http://www.afterellen.com/TV/122004/heretv.html> [top]

Departments

January 2005 Update on Rainbow Alliance Plans If you haven't had a chance to attend a dinner, it might be difficult to keep up with the progress of RA projects. We'll try to keep you current with a monthly update. 1) Rainbow Alliance Fund at the University of Florida Foundation The Fund (established March 2003) is the only one of its kind at the UF Foundation specifically dedicated to the support of the LGBT community at UF. The Fund needs continuing support if we are to realize our goals. As always, details about contributing to the Rainbow Alliance Fund can be found at the end of the newsletter. Details about payroll deduction will be e-mailed to RA members soon. Contributions to this Fund are fully tax-deductible. 2) Alumni We're in the process of forming an alumni steering committee. Also, our first alumni event is scehduled for Homecoming 2005... Details to come! 3) Of course, we'll continue our monthly dinners. We hope to see you there! 4) We're working on outreach to LGBT faculty and staff at other universities and junior colleges in Florida. If you have any contacts who would like to be on the Rainbow Alliance mailing list, please send them to cmb@ifas.ufl.edu. We're very interested in what is going on on other campuses. Maybe we can support and help each other. [top]