RA-news

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Newsletter of the Rainbow Alliance at the University of Florida February 2005, Vol. 3, No. 5 Please contribute to the Rainbow Alliance Fund. Next Rainbow Alliance Dinner Meeting, Wednesday, February 9, 2005, 6:30 pm, at On the Border, near Archer and 34th Street. 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.

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Contents First Words -- Reception Is Big Success for UF LGBT Community Features Tamara Cohen Featured in Sentinel-Sun Story New York Judge OKs Same-Sex Unions Federal Marriage Amendment Reintroduced SpongeBob SquarePants on Front Lines of Culture Wars Barriers to Gay Adoptions Increase in Virginia Departments Update on RA Projects Contributing to the Rainbow Alliance Fund Resources How To Join Rainbow Alliance Contributors to This Issue of RA-News

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First Words Reception Is Big Success for UF LGBT Community On Thursday, January 27, the Rainbow Alliance was joined by the Office of the Provost and the Director of LGBT Affairs, Tamara Cohen, in hosting a special reception to publicize LGBT resources at the University. The reception was held in the Keene Faculty Center from 5-6:30 pm. The reception drew between 60 and 75 attendees. President Bernard Machen was present for most of the event and spoke during the brief presentation at 5:45 pm. Machen gave his support for the event and for the community it represented. He said that progress was being made on domestic partner benefits and that, hopefully, these would be available within a few weeks. The presentation was introduced by president of the Rainbow Alliance, Charles Brown, who described the organization and its programs. Brown then introduced President Machen, who spoke for around five minutes. Next, Tamara Cohen, Director of LGBT Affairs, spoke about her new responsibilities at the University and her program of activities on the behalf of LGBT students, faculty and staff. Notably and in addition to many other efforts, Cohen is working to revive and amplify the Friends program. In Friends, faculty and staff receive training in supporting LGBTQ students and create safe spaces for these students. Closing the presentation was Linda Lamme, who has chaired the LGBT Concerns Committee for over 10 years, and has been tireless in advancing LGBT issues at the University. In a paraphrase of Martin Luther King's famous words, rousingly shared her dreams about the kind of community we are working to create — one which is tolerant and safe for LGBT people. The event was the first of its kind, and by any standards, it was a great success. It was testimony to the solidarity and organization in the LGBT community, the work of LGBT leaders, and the official and moral support of the University. The event promises to become an annual event an join a rich LGBT calendar at the University. [top]

Features

Tamara Cohen Featured in Sentinel-Sun Story On Sunday, January 30, Tamara Cohen, Director of LGBT Affairs at the University of Florida, was the focus of a story – "UF advocate for gay issues is first in state" – in the Sentinel-Sun. The newspaper has over 850,000 Sunday readers throughout South Florida. Jennifer Peltz, the story's author, identifies Cohen's position as the first of its kind in the state and says that only about 100 out of 4200 colleges nationwide have paid staff dedicated to LGBT personnel. Peltz further reports on the significance of Cohen's position, other campus LGBT groups in Florida, and the Johns committee. Cohen's new job has been reported in the Alligator, the Gainesville Sun (Letters to the Editor), and the University's alumni newsletter. Read the entire Sentinel-Sun story on Tamara: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/palmbeach/sfl-puf30jan30,0,6759639.story Read the Alligator story: http://www.alligator.org/edit/news/issues/stories/040831assembly.html Read the other Alligator story: http://www.alligator.org/edit/news/issues/stories/040830lgbt.html [top]

New York Judges OKs Same-Sex Unions On Friday, February 3, 2005, the top judge in New York County, New York handed down a decision which declared that barring same-sex couples for obtaining marriage licenses is unconstitutional under the state constitution. If the decision is not appealed, couples in New York City could begin to receive marriage licenses sometime next month. However, Republican Mayor Richard Bloomberg has said that the decision will be appealed to the state's highest court, the New York Court of Appeals. The mayor indicated that the appeal would be expedited so that "people will have a right once and for all to know where they stand." The mayor has gone on record stating that he is in favor of same-sex marriage. The governor of New York, also a Republican with a high political profile, has stated that he opposes the judge's decision. The Lambda Legal Defense Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of several same-sex couple in March 2004. The case was the first of its kind in New York since the Massachusetts decision allowing same-sex marriage. Lambda Legal argued that denying marriage to same-sex couples violates the state constitution's guarantees of equality, liberty and privacy. The ruling was delivered by Justice Doris Ling-Cohan, and was the first on the state level to side with proponents of gay marriage. The 62-page decision stated that the New York's Domestic Relations Law, which dates to 1909 and limits marriage to unions between opposite-sex couples, deprived gay couples of equal protection and due process rights under the state Constitution. Ling-Cohan's decision compared the prohibition of licenses for same-sex couples to that for interracial couples that existed for many years. The decision applies only to New York City. Some other counties in New York have upheld the state's Domestic Relations Law. There was flurry of activity in New York last year in the are of same-sex marriage. In March, dozens of couples lined up for marriage licenses in New York City, but were turned away. The attorney general of New York, Elliot Spitzer, ruled that state law prohibited the marriages and that it shoudl be left to the courts to decide the issue under existing law. Spitzer also said that he personally supported right of same-sex couples to marry, and that same-sex couples legally married in another jurisdiction would be considered married in New York. The 2000 U.S. Census counted 594,391 households in the country where same-sex couples live together. Of those, 46,490 (or 7.8 percent of the national total) are in New York State, and 25,906 (or 4.3 percent of the national total) are in New York City. City and state law provides some limited protections and rights to same-sex couples. Read more... Read Ling-Cohan's decision: http://www.lambdalegal.org/cgi-bin/iowa/documents/record?record=1635 Coverage by the Advocate: http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?ID=15048&sd=02/05/05-02/07/05 Coverage by the New York Times [top]

Federal Marriage Amendment Reintroduced On January 24, 2005, Senator Wayne Allard (R-CO) reintroduced the Federal Marriage Amendment, now called the Marriage Protection Amendment or MPA. The measure was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 1. Last year, the MPA failed in both the Senate and House. It got only 48 of the 60 Senate votes needed to overcome procedural hurdles. It failed in the House 227-186, well short of the two-thirds majority needed. Since that time, the Republicans have extended slightly their majorities in the Senate and the House, and the President Bush won re-election in a hard fought campaign, and 13 states passed amendments to their state constitutions banning same-sex marriage. The President has said that as long as the courts do not attack the federal Defense of Marriage Act, there is no need for a constitutional amendment at this time. The text of the Allard marriage constitutional amendment is: "Marriage in the United States shall consist only of the union of a man and a woman. Neither this Constitution, nor the Constitution of any State or Federal law, shall be construed to require that marital status or the legal incidents thereof be conferred upon unmarried couples or groups." According to Allard, states would still be able to create civil unions or domestic partnerships, however, these arrangements could never carry the full benefits of marriage because the privileges from the federal government would be permanently denied. Also, the words "legal incidents thereof," appear to ban the granting of any rights to same-sex couples that might resemble those given to opposite-sex couples. [top]

SpongeBob SquarePants on Front Lines of Culture Wars In a new video for the We Are Family Foundation, SpongeBob SquarePants joins other characters in promoting tolerance and diversity. The video is a remake of the "We Are the World" video originally made in 1979, and this version features cartoon characters including SpongeBob, Barney, Winnie the Pooh, Bob the Builder, the Rugrats, and others. The video is schedules to be delivered to 61,000 schools across the country. On its Web site, the We Are Family Foundation – as part of its mission promoting tolerance and diversity – adopts the Declaration of Tolerance from the Southern Poverty Law Center's National Campaign for Tolerance: Tolerance is a personal decision that comes from a belief that every person is a treasure. I believe that America's diversity is its strength. I also recognize that ignorance, insensitivity and bigotry can turn that diversity into a source of prejudice and discrimination. To help keep diversity a wellspring of strength and make America a better place for all, I pledge to have respect for people whose abilities, beliefs, culture, race, sexual identity or other characteristics are different from my own. The words "sexual identity" have drawn a negative response from certain religious groups. James Dobson, founder of a conservative organization called Focus on the Family, attacked the We Are Family Foundation as pro-homosexual and stated that SpongeBob and other popular cartoon characters have been co-opted into the conspiracy to "normalize" homosexuality in the schools. Some other religious organizations have supported Dobson's remarks, which were made to members of Congress at a recent black tie dinner in Washington celebrating the president's election victory. The video makes no mention whatsoever of sexuality or sexual orientation. A teacher's guide that accompanies that DVD makes minor references to same-sex parents, including generic advice about what teachers should do if kids ask them about atypical homes—like ones with adoptive parents, step-siblings, or grandparents. Teachers are advised to remind kids that everybody's family is different, but they're all based on love. Watch the We are Family video (complete video as part of Keith Olberman report): http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6852828/ Read more, Download music, Find out about upcoming events... http://www.wearefamilyfoundation.org/ Learn more at Tolerance.org, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center... http://www.tolerance.org/ Read Olberman's response to the "e-mail campiagn": http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6844293/#050125a Excellent review of the Dobson controversy with interesting links: http://www.exgaywatch.com/xgw/2005/01/what_do_dobson_.html [top]

Barriers to Gay Adoptions Increase in Virginia In late January, Delegate Richard Black (R-Loudon) introduced a bill in the Virginia Legislature that would permit the state to deny prospective foster parents or adoptive parents on the basis of sexual orientation. The law would be more stringent than the Florida law, which permits homosexuals to act as foster parents, but not to adopt. Black was encouraged by the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision not to hear an appeal of the 11th Circuit Court ruling that upheld Florida's law preventing gay people from adopting in that state. Black's bill was referred to House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee, where it was "watered down." The committee version allows agencies to take into account sexual orientation and also whether a couple is married or living together in deciding whether a home is suitable for an adoptable child. A similar measure is being considered in Oregon. The bill gives "preference" in adoption or fostering to married and heterosexual persons over single or homosexual persons. Read more... http://www.gaycitynews.com/gcn_358/aoptionthreatened.html [top]

Departments

February 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]