Arizona School Agrees To Lift Rainbow Ban Following ACLU Demands; Gay Student Now Allowed To Wear Wristband
Quintanilla contacted the ACLU in February after her son Chris’s principal told her he wouldn’t allow her son to wear his cloth wristband with words “Rainbows are gay” to school anymore. Last week, the school finally gave assurances to the ACLU that it would not censor Quintanilla’s wristband in the future.
“Students have a constitutional right to free speech at school, and school officials should be aware of their responsibility for upholding this cornerstone of our freedom,” said Elizabeth Gill, staff attorney for the ACLU national Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Project. “This district was right to come to its senses and back down from violating the First Amendment, because students have 40 years of Supreme Court precedent on their side when schools do this kind of thing.”
In its letter, the ACLU reminded PUSD officials about the 1969 U.S. Supreme Court decision in Tinker v. Des Moines in which the Court wrote, “It can hardly be argued that either students or teachers shed their constitutional rights… at the schoolhouse gate.” The letter also pointed to Gillman v. Holmes County School District, a Florida case in which a high school principal had attempted to ban symbols in support of LGBT rights, including rainbows, at school. In that case, a federal judge ruled last May that the school had violated students’ First Amendment rights. Both cases were handled by the ACLU, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Tinker decision in February.
“The schools we entrust to teach our children about society and their freedoms should know better than to violate one of our most fundamental freedoms,” said Alessandra Soler Meetze, Executive Director of the ACLU of Arizona. “We’re glad that PUSD has seen the light about this, but we’re going to be keeping an eye on this district and hold them to their word that they’ll respect the First Amendment from now on.”
The letter the ACLU sent to the district last month is available here:
http://www.aclu.org/pdfs/lgbt/schoolsyouth/az_armb_letter.pdf.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/04/arizona-schoo…
Conn. bill would update gay marriage law
(Hartford, Connecticut) Connecticut lawmakers are considering an update to state law to conform with a court ruling that allows same-sex marriage.
The legislators’ work is spurred by last year’s state Supreme Court decision that concluded same-sex couples have the right to wed in Connecticut. The state’s 2005 civil union law doesn’t …
Conn. bill would update law for same-sex marriages
HARTFORD, Conn. — As Connecticut lawmakers consider updating state law to conform with a court ruling that allows same-sex marriages, opponents of gay marriage fear their effort will go too far to promote homosexuality.
The legislators’ work is being spurred by last year’s state Supreme Court decision that concluded same-sex couples have the right to wed in Connecticut. The state’s 2005 civil union law doesn’t give same-sex couples equal status of married heterosexual couples, the court said.
The General Assembly’s judiciary committee is considering a bill that would remove gender references in current state laws and transform same-sex civil unions into legally recognized marriages as of October 2010. The bill was the subject of a committee hearing Friday.
The measure also would strip language from a 1991 state anti-discrimination law that says Connecticut does not condone gay marriage, will not set quotas for hiring gay workers or encourage teaching in school about same-sex lifestyles. Some lawmakers consider the language outdated and unnecessary.
The proposal to delete that language has upset opponents, who think the court ruling could be used to affect social policy in other matters such as school curricula. See Conn. bill would update law for same-sex marriages * Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/03/conn-bill-wou…
Krispy Kreme slammed for celebrating our “freedom of choice”
But no good deed goes unpunished by the “Christian” right.
It seems the
phrasing of the company’s announcement — “Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Inc. is honoring Americans’… freedom of choice on Inauguration Day, by offering a free doughnut of choice to every customer” — made Judie Brown, the president of American Life League, an antiabortion group, mad. So she released a statement in which she said:The next time you stare down a conveyor belt of slow-moving, hot, sugary glazed donuts at your local Krispy Kreme, you just might be supporting President-elect Barack Obama’s radical support for abortion on demand - including his sweeping promise to sign the Freedom of Choice Act as soon as he steps in the Oval Office, Jan. 20…
Just an unfortunate choice of words? For the sake of our Wednesday morning doughnut runs, we hope so. The unfortunate reality of a post Roe v. Wade America is that “choice” is synonymous with abortion access, and celebration of “freedom of choice” is a tacit endorsement of abortion rights on demand.
President-elect Barack Obama promises to be the most virulently pro-abortion president in history. Millions more children will be endangered by his radical abortion agenda.
Celebrating his inauguration with “Freedom of Choice” doughnuts — only two days before the anniversary of the Supreme Court decision to decriminalize abortion — is not only extremely tacky, it’s disrespectful and insensitive and makes a mockery of a national tragedy…
As of Thursday morning, communications director Brian Little could not be reached for comment. We challenge Krispy Kreme doughnuts to reaffirm their commitment to true freedom – to the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – and to separate themselves and their doughnuts from our great American shame.
* Tags = gay men gay news lesbian news transgender bisexual
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/krispy-kreme-…
Proposition 8, Same-Sex Rights Examined at 2009 AALS Annual Meeting, Leading Legal Scholars to discuss Controversial Issues
SAN DIEGO, CA – The Association of American Law Schools (AALS) 2009 Annual Meeting will feature programs devoted to the discussion of Proposition 8, as well as Same-Sex Rights. The Annual Meeting will take place on January 6-10, 2009, in San Diego.
Democracy’s Dilemma: The Case of Proposition 8, an AALS Executive Committee Roundtable program, will examine the November, 2008 vote which overturned a state Supreme Court decision that had upheld the legality of same-sex marriage. The election and its aftermath sparked deep disagreements about the rule of law and the nature of the democratic process. Supporters of same-sex marriage questioned whether a direct initiative was the appropriate way to make policy when fundamental civil rights were at stake. Defenders of the proposition argued that marriage is a cultural institution reflecting venerable traditions, making a vote of the people entirely appropriate. The role of the courts, the meaning of marriage, the scope of civil rights protections, the complications of a federal system, and the intricacies of California politics – all of these matters and more were implicated by the controversy surrounding Proposition 8. This roundtable discussion draws on leading experts who are eminently qualified to address these concerns, which go to the heart of defining the legal system’s role in a pluralistic society. Democracy’s Dilemma: The Case of Proposition 8 will be held from 8:30 – 10:15 a.m. on Friday, January 9, in the Marriott Hotel and Marina.
Proposition 8, Legal Challenges and The Future of Marriage Between Same- Sex Couples, one of four selected “Hot Topic Programs,” will also address the immediate issues raised by the passage of Proposition 8: constitutional challenges to Proposition 8, including the question whether the voter initiative validly “amended” the state constitution or instead illegally revised it, the future of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (“DOMA”) and legal and constitutional trends in other states with regard to this and related issues. Proposition 8, Legal Challenges and The Future Of Marriage Between Same-Sex Couples, will be held from 3:30 – 5:15 p.m. on Friday, January 9, 2009 in the Marriott Hotel and Marina.
The AALS Section on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Issues is also sponsoring several programs concerning same-sex rights. A day long program entitled Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Across the Curriculum: The Challenges of Keeping Law Schools Current with Recent Developments in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Issues will feature sessions on: recent developments in sexual orientation and gender identity issues, transgender issues, employment discrimination and the Solomon Amendment. This Section’s program will be held on January 7 from 8:45 a.m. – 5:15 p.m. in the Marriott Hotel and Marina.
The entire AALS 2009 Annual Meeting program can be found on the Association’s Web site at www.aals.org/am2009/. Members of the press are invited to attend free of charge. Those interested in attending are asked to notify Deborah Quick from January 6-10, 2009 at 619-645-6955. Press also may register on-site at the AALS office located in the Manchester Room on the North Tower/Lobby Level of the San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina beginning Tuesday after 6 p.m. January 6, 2009, and continuing through Saturday, January 10, 2009.
The Association of American Law Schools is a resource for the improvement of the quality of legal education by networking law school faculty, professional staff and deans to information and resources. AALS is the principal representative of legal education to the federal government, other national higher education organizations and learned societies.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/proposition-8…
Ohio Supreme Court Allows Custody Decision to Stand in Lambda Legal Case Representing Lesbian Mother
‘The Court has expressly shut down arguments that Ohio’s antigay amendment impacts parenting and child custody relationships, rights, and responsibilities’
(Columbus, OH, January 5, 2009) –The Supreme Court of Ohio last week let stand an appeals court ruling affirming the enforceability of a court-approved child custody agreement in a case involving lesbian mothers.
“The Court has expressly shut down arguments that Ohio’s antigay amendment impacts parenting and child custody relationships, rights, and responsibilities,”said Camilla Taylor, Senior Staff Attorney in Lambda Legal’s Midwest Regional Office in Chicago. “The Court correctly declined an invitation to treat gay and lesbian Ohio parents differently from other families, and to deprive the children of these families of the protections and support other children receive.”
Lambda Legal represents Therese Leach in her fight to uphold a court-approved joint custody agreement signed by both her and her former partner, Denise Fairchild, in 2001. After their son was born in 1996, both women parented him. In order to ensure that Therese had a protected legal relationship with the child, the two women signed a joint custody agreement. Such agreements were approved by the Ohio Supreme Court in the 2001 In re Bonfield case in which Lambda Legal participated.
The Supreme Court decision comes after Fairchild argued, at a trial court, and the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Tenth District, that Ohio’s antigay constitutional amendment limiting marriage to a man and a woman invalidated the court approved custody agreement she originally sought with Leach. All three courts brushed aside Fairchild’s arguments, ruling that court-approved custody agreements cannot be ignored or unilaterally undone by one of the parents. In July 2008, Fairchild asked the Ohio Supreme Court to hear her case, and Lambda Legal urged the Court to refuse. Today’s order from the high court is the final word on the matter.
The case is In re J.D.F.
Camilla Taylor, Senior Attorney in Lambda Legal’s Midwest Regional office in Chicago is lead counsel on the appeal. She is joined by co-counsel LeeAnn Massucci of Massucci & Kline LLC and Thomas Schmidt of Gahanna, Ohio.
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Erin Baer 212-809-8585 ext 267; Cell: 646-752-3251
Lambda Legal is a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work.
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2009/01/ohio-supreme-…
“Calling In Gay” To Work Is Latest Prop 8 Protest
SAN FRANCISCO — Some same-sex marriage supporters are urging people to “call in gay” Wednesday to show how much the country relies on gays and lesbians, but others question whether it’s wise to encourage skipping work given the nation’s economic distress. Organizers of “Day Without a Gay” _ scheduled to coincide with International Human Rights Day and modeled after similar work stoppages by Latino immigrants _ also are encouraging people to perform volunteer work and refrain from spending money.
Sean Hetherington, a West Hollywood comedian and personal trainer, dreamed up the idea with his boyfriend, Aaron Hartzler, after reading online that a few angry gay-rights activists were calling for a daylong strike to protest California voters’ passage last month of Proposition 8, which reversed this year’s state Supreme Court decision allowing gay marriage.
The couple thought it would be more effective and less divisive if people were asked to perform community service instead of staying home with their wallets shut. Dozens of nonprofit agencies, from the National Women’s Law Center in Washington to a Methodist church in Fresno collecting food for the homeless, have posted opportunities for volunteers on the couple’s Web site.
“We are all for a boycott if that is what brings about a sense of community for people,” said Hetherington, 30, who plans to spend Wednesday volunteering at an inner-city school. “You can take away from the economy and give back in other ways.”
See “Calling In Gay” To Work Is Latest Prop 8 Protest
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Original source : http://gay_blog.blogspot.com/2008/12/calling-in-ga…
