RA-news Newsletter of the Rainbow Alliance at the University of Florida June 2006, Vol. 4, No. 9

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Please contribute to the Rainbow Alliance Fund. Next Rainbow Alliance Dinner: Wednesday June 14 at "Dinner" in Thornebrook Village. 6 PM for a glass of wine or beer, and 6:30 for dinner. Please RSVP. Upcoming Local Events 6/24 Hairball 9 (Thelma Bolton Center) 10/7 Second Annual LGBT Homecoming 10/6-15 Pride Days (Pride Celebration of Gainesville) 10/6 - Awards Banquet 10/14 - Parade and Festival 10/11 National Coming Out Day Other Events  7/15-22 7th Gay Games, Chicago  7/20-23 Central Florida Black Pride (others)  7/20-23 Miami Beach Bruthaz 2006 Theme: Bridging the Gap between the Gay and Straight Communities (Seminars and Social Events)  7/29-8/5 1st World OutGames, Montreal  8/4-6 Jacksonville Black Pride Pride Events -- Worldwide Calendar Other Florida Events Fort Lauderdale/Wilton Manors -- Stonewall Street Festival, 6/18/2006 Jacksonville -- First Coast Pride Festival and Parade, 7/29-8/6/2006 Tampa -- Tampa Pride, 6/15-17/2006 The Rainbow Alliance is the organization for University of Florida faculty, staff, and alumni 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 Features State . . . . . . . . . Florida LGBT Flexes Political Muscle National . . . . . . . . . Batwoman Returns... As a Lesbian! Colorado, Vermont Governors Veto Non-Discrimination Bills New York High Court Hears Marriage Suit Departments Help us Build the Rainbow Alliance Contributing to the Rainbow Alliance Fund Resources How to Join the Rainbow Alliance Contributors to This Issue of RA-News

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Features

Florida LGBT Flexes Political Muscle By KEVIN BEGOS The Tampa Tribune Published: Jun 6, 2006 A statewide gay and lesbian group and one in the Tampa Bay area have started political action committees to sway voters this fall and in future elections. Fueled by concern over proposals to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage and the actions of Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms, the committees have few limits on fundraising or spending and thus have the potential to be a significant force in elections. "We're trying to protect ourselves," said Michael Albetta, president of the GLBT (gay-lesbian-bisexual-transgender) Democratic Caucus, based in Fort Lauderdale. "We're going to flex our muscle and say we're here," he said of perceived indifference or prejudice from politicians. The only surprising thing may be how long it has taken for the community to organize, said Daniel Smith, a political science professor from the University of Florida. For example, Miami's large gay community doesn't have the reputation of being as politically active as those in New York or San Francisco. Albetta said that changed in part because of reports last year that the Florida Republican Party gave $150,000 to a political committee opposing gay marriage. He stressed that the caucus plans a get-out-the-vote effort. The group combined data from the 2000 census with additional research on people of the same sex who are registered to vote at the same address to come up with detailed estimates of where same-sex couples live. Though they acknowledge the numbers are an estimate, the data was collected down to the neighborhood level to help focus organizing. Caucus spokesman Stephen Gaskill said the new political action committee hasn't decided how it will use money it raises. "I wouldn't be surprised if we saw some ads," he said. Smith said there's a common denominator in judging how much effect any group might have: money. "It's not going to be anything of great shakes unless there is a real financial commitment," he said, noting that a gay rights group in Colorado recently spent more than $1 million on a TV ad campaign promoting domestic partnerships. The Florida caucus has 15 chapters statewide and more than 600 official members, Albetta said. One chapter recently formed in Polk City, a rural area near Lakeland. "This is the groundwork we're laying for 2008," he said, when the group hopes to be more of a political force. In addition to the presidential election, Florida voters may see a proposed amendment on the ballot to ban gay marriage. Locally, Richard Boylan helped set up the Stonewall Democrats of Pinellas County committee. "It kind of spontaneously happened," he said. "A lot of people said, 'We really need to have something.'" Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms "did us a huge favor last year" by proposing antigay legislation, Boylan said, because that motivated people to fight back. "Our focus is very much on the local level," he said of the Stonewall Democrats, though some of its members also are part of statewide and national groups. Smith said the best strategy for the Pinellas and statewide gay groups would be to frame the debate as one about fairness and not gay rights. John Marble, a spokesman for the National Stonewall Democrats in Washington, said that message resonates on a broader level. "A lot of cities realize that having a nondiscrimination policy in place really benefits local communities, and businesses are attracted to communities with such laws. A majority of Fortune 500 companies have similar policies," he said. Related Story... [top]

Colorado, Vermont Governors Veto Non-Discrimination Bills In 2004 and 2005, the Colorado legislature passed a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. And each time, Governor Bill Owens has vetoed it. Colorado state Sen. Jennifer Veiga (D-Denver), the first openly lesbian member of the Colorado state legislature, was lead sponsor of the bill and told the Denver Post she expected Owens to veto the non-discrimination bill. Major employers in Colorado, including Coors Brewing Company, Qwest Communications, First Data Corp. and Ball Corp., have implemented non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation. Meanwhile in Vermont, which allows same-sex civil unions and prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation, the legislature passed the Gender Identity and Expression Non-Discrimination Act, a bill which added gender-identity protections for employment, banking, housing and public accommodations. Vermont's hate-crimes law already includes gender-identity language. The bill was passed by the Vermont House 88-47, and by the Vermont Senate on a voice vote. Gov. James Douglas vetoed the bill. Douglas said that the bill was ambiguous and that current Vermont law offered adequate protections. He also said that his attorney general had already prosecuted two cases of transgender bias. Seventeen states and Washington, D.C., have laws that prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. Seven states -- California, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Washington -- provide some form of protection from discrimination based on gender identity or expression. [top]

New York High Court Hears Marriage Suit from NY TIMES By ANEMONA HARTOCOLLIS ALBANY, May 31 — As the issue of gay marriage finally reached New York State's highest court on Wednesday, the six judges who heard the passionate arguments from both sides put forth a fundamental question: Has marriage been defined by history, culture and tradition since the dawn of Western civilization, or is it an evolving social institution that should change with the times? During the two and a half hours of oral argument, the judges on the Court of Appeals grappled with essential questions of social values, asking tough questions without tipping their hands as to their ultimate decision. They wanted to know whether there were studies showing that children raised by mothers and fathers turned out better than those raised by same-sex couples, and they wanted to know whether opening the door to gay marriage would also open the door to bigamy or polygamy. They wanted to know whether asking the courts to rewrite New York State's marriage laws was a way of letting the State Legislature escape responsibility for taking a position on a social controversy. The case before the court was a challenge to New York State's marriage laws, filed by 44 same-sex couples. Their lawyers argued that marriage was a fundamental right, and compared laws assuming marriage to be a union of a man and a woman to the laws prohibiting interracial marriage, which the Supreme Court struck down in 1967. Lawyers defending the marriage laws argued that even if the institution had evolved, it was the job of the Legislature — not the courts — to change them. The plaintiffs' lawyers argued that the court merely had to change the gender-based language of the current law, which refers to "husband" and "wife," to something neutral, like "spouse." If the court agreed to legalize same-sex marriages, New York would become only the second state, after Massachusetts, to do so. The judges' questions pointed to the precedent-setting nature of the debate. "Isn't this the only one where you have literally the whole history of Western civilization against you?" asked Judge Robert S. Smith of the state's domestic relations law. "That does go back right to the dawn of civilization." After first citing traditional views of marriage, Judge Smith then asked whether the time was ripe for the courts to approve same-sex marriage. Judge Smith also wondered whether the issue of same-sex marriage deserved special attention because of the history of discrimination against gay people. "Aren't homosexuals about the classic example of people who have been abused and discriminated against," and who therefore need the protection of the courts? he asked. Peter H. Schiff, senior counsel to the state attorney general, said there was no urgent need to change the law, and pointed out that same-sex couples accounted for only 1.3 percent of all households in New York State, a "very small" number. "I don't think anybody 100 years ago was thinking about this issue," Mr. Schiff said. "It wasn't on the radar screen." The main lawsuit in this case was filed by a gay and lesbian rights group, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, on behalf of five same-sex New York City couples against the city clerk, Victor L. Robles, who issues marriage licenses. In New York, the legal dispute over same-sex marriage goes back two years. In February 2005, a State Supreme Court judge in Manhattan found that state marriage law violated the State Constitution. That decision was overturned last December by the Appellate Division of State Supreme Court, which said it was up to the Legislature to change the law. In yesterday's hearing, the New York City plaintiffs were joined by three other groups of plaintiffs from across the state. New York City's lawyer, Leonard Koerner, said yesterday that even in its own case law, the Court of Appeals had affirmed the reason for marriage as "the begetting of offspring," not, as the plaintiffs argued, as the sanctioning of a loving and committed union between two people. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has said that New York City is appealing the case to clarify the issue, and that he supports legislative change. Roberta A. Kaplan, arguing for same-sex marriage on behalf of 12 of the couples across the state, said there were 46,000 families with children headed by same-sex couples in New York State, and that they could not wait until their children were grown for the law to change. The seventh judge on the Court of Appeals, Albert M. Rosenblatt, removed himself from the case. His daughter, a lawyer, has argued on behalf of advocates for same-sex marriage in California. Judge Rosenblatt has been perceived as a swing vote in many cases. A spokesman for the court said that in the event of a 3-3 tie, another judge could be brought in. He said a tie had occurred only once in the last 20 years or so. Judge Victoria A. Graffeo asked whether, under the plaintiffs' argument, the Legislature should afford more rights and benefits to other types of family arrangements, such as two sisters raising children. "Was the Legislature denying them due process or equal protection?" she asked. Judge George Bundy Smith asked what the consequences of legalizing gay marriage had been in Massachusetts. "Basically nothing," Ms. Kaplan replied. "There is not a breakdown of civil society in Massachusetts and there certainly isn't a breakdown of marriage." Judge Bundy Smith also asked why gay couples were not satisfied with civil unions — a remedy that the plaintiffs argued would make them second-class citizens. Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye said the court would have to decide the constitutional questions, "whether we do it frontally or whether we do it in some more subversive way," like changing language about gender. To which Terence Kindlon, a lawyer for same-sex couples in Albany, replied, "Subversive is one of the words I've liked all my life, your honor." [top]

Departments

Help Us Build the Rainbow Alliance 1) UF Faculty and Staff: We want every LGBT staff or faculty member and ally to be a Rainbow Alliance member. Tell interested friends and colleagues about Rainbow Alliance. They can check out the Web site at <www.ra-online.org>, or bring them along to a monthly dinner. They can join by sending an e-mail to <info@ra-online.org>. 2) Alumni: Our mailing list of UF alumni is growing. Alumni are a vital part of the University community. Anyone with an interest in improving the LGBT envrionment at the University of Florida should look into Rainbow Alliance. Working together with Pride Student Union and the Director of LGBT Affairs, we are working to keep alumni informed, to help them connect, and to draw on their expertise. 3) Contribute: The Rainbow Alliance Fund at the University of Florida Foundation (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. A word to out contributions: Your donation is fully tax-deductible, and the RA Fund is not used to support operations of the Rainbow Alliance. Learn more below. 2) Statewide: Help us connect with staff and faculty on other Florida/Deep South campuses working on LGBT issues. We have some unique challenges in the South. Maybe we can support each other and collaborate on progress. [top]