RA-news Newsletter of the Rainbow Alliance at the University of Florida August 2005, Vol. 3, No. 11

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Please contribute to the Rainbow Alliance Fund. Next Rainbow Alliance Dinner Meeting, Wednesday, Augsut 10, 2005, 6:30 pm, at On the Border on Archer Road. Upcoming Events 9/23 -- Celebrate Bisexuality Day TBD -- Welcome Reception 10/8 -- LGBT Homecoming Event 11/18 -- An Evening with Ronni Sanlo 11/20 -- Transgender Day of Remembrance 12/1 -- "Stop AIDS. Keep the Promise." World AIDS Day 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 -- Looking Ahead to Fall Features Celebrate Bisexuality Day, September 23, 2005 California Court: Gay Couples Get Marriage Benefits at Country Club California Anti-gay Groups Promote Constitutional Amendment Prominent Republican Consultant Outed Former NJ Gov Writes Book about His Sexuality and Career Supreme Court Nominee Connected with Gay Rights Setback for Oregon Marriage Rights Law 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 Looking Ahead to Fall Rainbow Alliance members and friends can look forward to some special events this fall. Before I say anything else, let me say Thank You to the Rainbow Alliance members who have volunteered to help with these events. RA has grown steadily in numbers over the last few years, but more growth is needed in the area of invovlement. Without member involvement, the group cannot set and effective direction, achieve goals, or organize events. We held the first Welcome Reception for new faculty and staff earlier this year. The event was very enjoyable, turnout was great, and a lot of people learned about Rainbow Alliance. We're working again with Tamara Cohen, UF director of LGBT affairs, to put together the "second annual" Welcome Reception" this fall. The exact time and date have not been chosen, but it will be soon, and I'll send out a note as soon as the details are nailed down. This year will see the first-ever LGBT Homecoming Event. It will be a great time to grab a bite to eat and even hang out and watch the game in a very environment where gay people can be ... well ... gay. It will be a great place to arrange to meet friends, and we're hoping the event will provide a place for alumni to network with each other and with students. Ronni Sanlo, who once worked at the University of Florida, is now director of the LGBT Resoucre Center at UCLA. She's a great friend and supporter of RA and she has a lot to say about organizing, activism and very parctically, resource centers. She will be in Gainesville for this year's PSU Intercollegiate Workshop and has agreed to spend some time meeting and discussing with RA members. Believe me, it will be great. Something new this fall is an event for Celebrate Bisexuality Day. We refer to "LGBT" as if we are all one big happy family. I would buess awareness of transgendered persons is fairly high, but understanding is a different issue, and more needs to be done in that area. For bisexuals, even awareness is a problem -- I would guess a lot of people just think of bisexuals as people who have orgies or people who can't make up their mind. September 23 is one way of provoking us to learn more and deepen our understanding of human sexuality. [top]

Features

Celebrate Bisexuality Day, September 23, 2005 September 23, 2005 is the date for the sixth annual Celebrate Bisexuality Day. The event was originally conceived by three bisexuality activists to make bisexual issues more visible. Celebrate Bisexuality Day also challenges the way most homosexuals and heterosexuals define their own – and therefor other's – sexual lives, in terms of partnering. A local event for September 23 is being planned, which will be held on the University of Florida campus. Current plans call for a showing the movie "Kinsey" to be followed by readings and poetry about gender diversity, bisexuality, and other sexual minorities. Keep the evening of September 23, and stay tuned for details [top]

California Court: Gay Couples Get Marriage Benefits at Country Club On August 1, the California Supreme Court ruled that, under California's Domestic Partner Act, country club members who register as domestic partners must receive the same discounts offered to married couples. The court ruled on the case citing "impermissible marital status discrimination." "The Legislature has made it abundantly clear than an important goal of the Domestic Partner Act is to create substantial legal equality between domestic partners and spouses," Justice Carlos Moreno wrote for a five-judge majority. "We interpret this language to mean that there shall be no discrimination in the treatment of registered domestic partners and spouses." Jon Davidson, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, predicted that the ruling would affect not just country clubs, but mortgage lenders, insurance companies and other businesses that have separate policies or fees for married and unmarried customers. The ruling clarifies the impact of the "sweeping" domestic partner law passed in California on January 1, 2005. The original case was brought by Birgit Koebke, who pays about $500 a month in membership fees at the Bernardo Heights Country Club in San Diego. The club's policies allow spouses, children and grandchildren of married members to golf free at the facility, however, the club informed Koebke that her domestic partner would only be permitted to golf at the club six times a year for $70 per round. [top]

California Anti-gay Groups Promote Constitutional Amendment On January 1, 2005, the California Assembly passed a comprehensive domestic partner law that permits same-sex couples to register their relationships. The legislature's intention was that the new law would provide to same-sex couple as broad a range of rights as are enjoyed by married, opposite-sex couples. The Domestic Partnership Act has been followed by a series of other proposed laws aimed at securing equal rights for LGBT people in California, including: The Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Protection Act, which would give full marriage rights to gays and lesbians (this bill was killed for this legislative session) Legislation designed to prevent discrimination against LGBT people in political campaigns A Joint Resolution calls on Congress and the President to end ""Don''t Ask, Don''t Tell"" by passing the Military Readiness Enhancement Act (H.R. 1059), which is currently pending Congress. SJR 11 is also awaiting a vote by the full state Senate. A Senate Bill which would make retroactive the ability of dometic partners of public employees to receive death benefits An extension of California's civil rights act which would state that discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, and marital status is prohibited in public accommodations. Despite this extensive program, anti-gay groups in California have proposed an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The proposed amendment voids any of a long list of rights to same-sex couples, effectively voiding California's domestic partnership law. The proposed amendment would ban same-sex marriage, void California's domestic partner law, block the state from offering any benefits to gay and lesbian couples and prevent co-adoption. Anti-gay groups have received approval to begin the process of collecting signatures. To qualify for the June 2006 ballot supporters will need to gather nearly one million signatures. This proposal is one of three ballot initiatives aimed at banning same-sex marriage. A variety of groups have joined together in a campaign called "Equality for All" to support equal marriage rights for all Californians. Learn more at Equality California: http://www.eqca.org/ [top]

Prominent Republican Consultant Outed Senator Rick Santorum (R-Penn) has been an outspoken champion of "traditional" culture. He has just written a book titled "It Takes a Family", which takes a slap at the implications and title of Hillary Clinton's best-selling book, "It Takes a Village." Santorum represents a reactionary conservatism, which has had significant support. It now turns out that Santorum's director of communications, Robert Traynham is an out gay man. In a phone call recorded by PageOneQ and blogACTIVE.com, Robert Traynham, Director of Communications for United States Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) has said he is an out gay man who completely supports the Senator. Santorum, considered one of the strongest opponents of gay civil rights in Congress, acknowledged to the media last week that his chief spokesperson is a gay man who he considers an "exemplary" employee and "trusted friend." According to Traynham, he has been open about his sexuality since he joined the senator's staff. Traynham is a devout Catholic who tries to get to Mass three times a week, usually before work or during lunch. He says he has a strong sense of his faith and struggles just like everyone else about how to deal with these issues. Author and gay civil rights activist Keith Boykin reported on his Web site, which focuses on African-American gay issues, that Traynham''s status as a black gay man working for an anti-gay senator considered hostile to civil rights in general came as a shock to many black gays. "Traynham is not one of those black gay Republicans who is challenging his party on their racism and homophobia," Boykin wrote. "No, instead he's defending the party and its most vocal bigots. The only reason we know of Traynham's sexual orientation is because he was outed." Black, Catholic, gay, Republican consultant to ultraconservative US senator. Quite a combination. Read more: <http://www.washblade.com/2005/7-22/news/national/outed.cfm> [top]

Former NJ Gov Writes Book about His Sexuality and Career On August 12,2004, New Jersy governor James McGreevey held a press conference to announce that he had been involved in an adulterous affair with a man and that he was resigning as governor. The governor's paramour was later identified as Golan Cipal, former homeland security adviser to the governor. Cipal denied that he was gay or that he had an affair with the governor. Cipal had filed a lawsuit alleging sexual harassment by the governor that precipitated a crisis and led to the governor's resignation. McGreevey and Cipal met when the McGreevey – then mayor of Woodbridge, NJ -- visited Israel. Cipal was a tourguide. The two struck up a friendship and soon after, Cipal, age 32, moved to the US, where he became, in rapid succession, an employee of billionaire and McGreevey-donor Charles Kushner, a low-level spokesperson for the Israeli government, and New Jersey's anti-terrorism czar, with a six-figure salary. Cipal had no meaningful background for the job and drew immediate criticism from both Republicans and Democrats. Cipel was later demoted to advisor to the governor before he was forced to resign in August 2002. All the details will appear in a tell-all book to be published by ReganBooks, an imprint of publishing house HarperCollins. ReganBooks president Judith Regan said in a news release that the book would "chronicle the span of McGreevey's political career." McGreevey, a Democrat, was governor from January 15, 2002, to November 15, 2004. The statement gave no indication when the book would be published or how much McGreevey is being paid to write it. [top]

Supreme Court Nominee Connected with Gay Rights President George Bush nominated John Roberts to fill the seat being vacated by Sandra Day O'Connor in a ceremony at the White House on July 20, 2005. Both liberal and conservative groups immediately began to examine Roberts' record to determine his impact on the court. One surprise has been the news that Roberts, as a Washington attorney at the firm of Hogan and Hartson, aided advocates of gay rights in the critical case Evans v. Romer in 1996. In this case, advocates of civil rights brought an amendment to the Colorado Constitution before the Supreme Court. The amendment treating lesbians and gays as a protected class in employment or housing discrimination. The Supreme Court declared the amendment unconstitutional by a vote of 6-3 in one of the most important victories for gay rights. Roberts did not write legal briefs or argue the case, but he did provide invaluable strategic guidance working pro bono to formulate legal theories and coach them in moot court sessions. Roberts did not mention his work on the case in responding to a Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire that asked for examples of his pro bono work. Jean Dubofsky, the lead lawyer for gay rights activists challenging the Colorado initiative, told the New York Times that Roberts gave her "absolutely crucial" advice on how to argue the case before the Supreme Court. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said Roberts spent less than 10 hours on the case, compared with more than 200 hours he spent on two pro bono cases on which he was the lead counsel. "There is clearly a difference" between his assistance in the Colorado case and his other pro bono work, Perino told the Times. Roberts' work on behalf of gay rights does not indicate a political view, instead it indicates only his allegiance to his law firm. By many accounts, Roberts' thinking is not strongly political, though he is clearly conservative. The civil rights record of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr. is coming under increasing scrutiny amid evidence that, as a young lawyer, he sought to restrict the Voting Rights Act and to limit laws on sex discrimination, school desegregation and affirmative action. [top]

Setback for Oregon Marriage Rights Law The Speaker of the Oregon House has killed the Oregon Civil Union Bill for this year through a procedural move ignoring rules established almost 150 years ago. The state Senate had passed the bill by a vote of 19-10, but Speaker Karen Minnis was determined that is would not reach the floor of the House. Several weeks ago in what has been called the "midday massacre," Minnis gutted the Senate-passed S.B. 1000, which would have granted critical rights and protections to Oregon families and locked the bill in a budget committee to prevent a majority of legislators from forcing the bill to a floor vote. Days later, a new bill — H.B. 3508 — gave new hope to the proposal. But just one day before the speaker was required to assign the bill to committee, Minnis suspended a 140-year-old rule which could have allowed a majority of legislators in the House to vote on the bill before the session ended. With less than a week left in the session, this political ploy effectively ended hopes of passing the new civil unions/non-discrimination bill before the Legislature's adjournment. [top]

Departments

August 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 scheduled 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 happening on other campuses. Maybe we can support and help each other. [top]