-- A Harris survey finds that 61 percent of U.S. adults think that companies should be free to offer partnership benefits to gay and lesbian employees.
The fifth annual Out and Equal Survey also found that 72 percent of those questioned favor company non-discrimination policies that include sexual orientation, up from 63 percent in 2002.
Gays and lesbians included in the survey had a growing comfort level with being open about their orientation. Half said they would be comfortable displaying a same-sex partner's photograph in the office, and 62 percent said they would be comfortable introducing same-sex partners to supervisors and other management.
In 2002, only 34 percent were comfortable with photographs and 41 percent with introductions.


READ THE SURVEY

©2006 www.RonMills.us
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The DNC's new gay voice Longtime Democratic activist Brian Bond is the party's new gay outreach adviser. And he's not worried by that fact that his predecessor was fired shortly after that man's boyfriend criticized the DNC.


By Christopher Lisotta

The DNC's new gay voice

Brian Bond, former executive director for the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund and Democratic Party liaison, was expecting to take a job leading the gay political group National Stonewall Democrats. That was until Donald Hitchcock was fired from his post as executive director of the Democratic National Committee's Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council in April, and Bond stepped in.Hitchcock was fired by DNC chair Howard Dean one week after Hitchcock's partner, Democratic Party operative Paul Yandura, wrote an open letter criticizing Dean and the Democrats for not doing enough to defend the rights of gay and lesbian couples. The DNC has stated repeatedly that Hitchcock was not let go in retaliation for the letter.Bond sat down with The Advocate during his first full day at work on May 9 to talk about the party's prospects in 2006, how gays and lesbians fit in, and whether he thinks he could get fired for something his partner says.Does the DNC have a strategy to combat what promises to be another big round of constitutional marriage bans on state ballots this year?I would say yes, but I think you have to look at this in both a short-term and long-term context. In the short term, clearly strategy is being put in place. Obviously I'm new here, so I have some ideas myself. But at the same time there is a long-term piece to this too. One of the things Governor Dean has done very well with the staff here is to start and put an infrastructure in place that starts bringing people up through the process. They are doing an incredible amount of training that I don't think they are getting credit for, quite frankly. Having been the former gay desk person [before Dean eliminated it in favor of a more integrated approach to outreach], I can tell you I actually think the new approach, the way the governor has integrated things-where everybody has to talk and work together here and everybody knows what's going on-is going to be more beneficial in the long run. That is part of the reason I wanted to take this job.Some people were very critical of the DNC getting rid of its desk system. How did you feel about it, having been someone on that desk?This integrated approach will work better. It doesn't minimize the impact of the community. I mean, my work is going to be [with] GLBT [people], but I think it allows you to bring more people in. I mean, I had to fight for pencils. Having to call a major donor to get pencils for your desk was a little tough when you should be focusing on the issues. They changed the paradigm here, and I think in the end it will pay off.Are you afraid that if your partner or boyfriend says something critical [of the DNC], you're going to get fired?No. First of all, I trust my partner beyond a shadow of a doubt.Some people are saying the reason your predecessor is gone is because of what his partner was saying publicly. Do you agree?I think timing in this whole situation is what it was. It's apples and oranges. I don't think they had anything to do with each other. It was a timing issue.What position were you up for at the National Stonewall Democrats when you decided to take this job instead?I was in the final round for the National Stonewall Democrats [executive director position]. In the end, I love that organization. And I know they will be an integral part of whatever is happening here in the DNC. They have to be. If I can be their advocate and bring them more into the process-it's a great organization, and it is grassroots. It is what we should be doing.How would you respond to gay people who say, "I'm not going to write a check to the DNC because they have not been as supportive of gay couples as they could be"?
One of the wonderful things about the Democratic Party is open discussion, open dialogue, and hopefully, constructive criticism. In the end, part of my job will be to use this as an opportunity to digest suggestions people have, with a respect of knowing we both want the same thing in the end. [We need to] identify the coalition partners, obviously the [National Gay and Lesbian] Task Force, Victory Fund, Stonewall, and see what roles people need to play, and then just get to work. Because we're losing what we need to be doing right now, and that's focusing on winning elections. Honestly, I respect everyone who has criticisms right now. I hope people know me as somebody who will listen, and bring it back to the table, and try to come up with plans that work.Do you think the Democratic Party should have an official position on marriage equality, or is it better to let that be an issue each candidate has to deal with?Even in the infamous Yandura letter, Paul says he doesn't expect [the DNC] to be right there on marriage right now but to be focusing on winning elections, which is what I think we should be doing. And listening to not just donors but the grassroots activists for what works in their area and moving forward with that. We've got to get someone like a [minority leader] Nancy Pelosi in charge of the House versus what we've got now, or this is all for naught.What do you think will happen in the Senate with the Federal Marriage Amendment, which is now scheduled for a vote on June 6?All I can tell you is at this point it's about the incredible work [Human Rights Campaign president] Joe Solmonese and HRC have been doing right now. It is about scapegoating. Having just started, I'm still getting my feet wet, but I do know the HRC is putting together a strategy that will involve a lot of our coalition partners.Do you think in the 2004 elections the state marriage amendments drove turnout and influenced votes?I need to focus on the future instead of second-guessing some of this. I do believe one of things I can be helpful with is helping with message. Getting some of our gay elected officials out there, they are definitely part of our process for moving things forward. I know Stonewall for a fact did an excellent job in the 2004 elections. [But] the scapegoating, the wedge issues, it's going to work where it's going to work. Some of it was dictated by the presidential campaign too, not by just specific issues.Do you see the recent wave of proposed bans on adoption by gays as similar to the political wedge issue marriage has been?That's a good question. I have to take that from a personal note too. My partner has a 12-year-old daughter. When you talk to anybody about how they raise their children, it's a passionate issue. I think it is dealt with differently. People feel more deeply about the adoption battle and fighting it, while some of the community is still split on where the we should be on civil unions versus marriage versus domestic partnership.Are you optimistic about political change in 2006?I can only say I'm very excited to be working here right now, or I should say, again. The governor has a great vision for what we need to be doing, and it is focused on the states and the grassroots level. It is going to be exciting to be a part of that. [Because] of the people that I have met in my one hour here, it's going to be an incredible election cycle. But we've got to get focused back on the elections.Are there any other issues you hope to focus on in your new position?
The DNC has been spending a lot of time training volunteers. Part of their training process is to learn how to do outreach to the GLBT community. I think that is a significant shift. It's helping basically to build the party from the ground up, but also with the inclusion of the GLBT piece. It also ties in as well to the whole delegation selection process of making us part of that process. One of the things I know they have done, and I have a definite interest in, is electing more GLBT candidates and having them be part of the process.
--
Posted At Advocate.com
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By SHAILA DEWAN
New York Times

ATLANTA, May 16 — A state amendment banning same-sex marriage was struck down Tuesday by a judge who upheld the voters' right to limit marriage to heterosexual couples but cited procedural flaws in the wording of the amendment, which was approved by more than three-quarters of voters.

The decision is one of the first successful challenges to a ban on same-sex marriage, one of a spate of similar amendments passed in 11 states in November 2004, said Jack Senterfitt, a senior staff lawyer in the Southern regional office of Lambda Legal, a national gay rights group.

Lambda Legal filed the suit along with the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia. Besides Georgia, 18 states have such laws, a spokeswoman for Lambda Legal said.

The Georgia amendment defined marriage as between a man and a woman, banned same-sex civil unions and said that same-sex unions performed in other states would not be recognized. The judge, Constance C. Russell of Fulton County Superior Court, ruled that the amendment violated Georgia's single-subject rule, which limits each amendment put before voters to one topic.

"People who believe marriages between men and women should have a unique and privileged place in our society may also believe that same-sex relationships should have some place, although not marriage," the judge wrote. "The single-subject rule protects the right of those people to hold both views and reflect both judgments by their vote."

Mr. Senterfitt said he expected the ruling to be appealed.
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National Stonewall Democrats

www.stonewalldemocrats.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: John Marble (202) 625-1382
johnmarble@stonewalldemocrats.org
Stonewall Statement on Position of Democratic Party Platform
Statement Follows Remarks by Governor Dean on 700 ClubWednesday, May 10, 2006

Washington, DC - Today, the National Stonewall Democrats released the following statement on remarks offered by DNC Chair Governor Howard Dean on the 700 Club program:"Governor Dean correctly understands that our party needs to convey the values that are championed by Democrats and shared with the majority of Americans, including those in the evangelical community. Many evangelicals reject Republican efforts to politicize faith and share in the work of our party to create an inclusive society that respects all families.""Our founders created a federal system that allows individual states the freedom to develop policy for their own families as they see fit. Democrats do not believe that the federal government should forcefully dictate family policy for individual states, as championed by congressional Republicans and the Bush Administration. Therefore, we strongly point out that Governor Dean incorrectly spoke when stating that the 2004 Democratic Party platform defines marriage as between a man and a woman."- Jo Wyrick, Interim Executive Director, National Stonewall DemocratsDuring his interview, broadcast today by the 700 Club program, Governor Dean stated that "the Democratic Party platform from 2004 says marriage is between a man and a woman." Governor Dean went on to point out that Democrats seek to respect and provide equal legal protections to all families.From the 2004 Democratic Platform:"We support full inclusion of gay and lesbian families in the life of our nation and seek equal responsibilities, benefits, and protections for these families. In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there. We repudiate President Bush's divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a 'Federal Marriage Amendment.' Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart."------National Stonewall Democrats is the only national organization of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Democrats, with more than 90 local chapters across the nation. NSD is committed to working through the Democratic Party to advance the rights of all people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.--
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By Paul Harris

PHarris@OurIndy.com



While
supporters of the “Religous Right” were meeting a little over two miles to
the north at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church for their “Love Won Out”
conference gay activists and supportive clergy members from a number of
backgrounds held their own conference at First Congregational Church. About 150
people attended the gathering called “Love Welcomes All” which was addressed
by clergymen, a distinguished psychiatrist, and the author of “Anything But
Straight,” Wayne Besen.



Chip Arndt Miami LGBT Caucus

The day started with a press conference and then proceeded to the conference
proper. Frank Faine, on the staff of the Sunshine Cathedral and one of the
organizers of the conference, stated that the goal of the conference was “to
proclaim God’s love is for all” as well as pointing out the harm done by the
ex-gay ministries by explosing the flaws and dangers of the ex-gay
ministries. He described the activities of the Religious Right as “doing
spiritual violence” to gays and lesbians.



Elder Nori Rost pointed out that far from supporting the family the Religious
Right’s policies actually excluded family members and placed conditions on
God’s love with “their insistence that parents treat their GLBT children
differently.” She called on the Focus on the Family organization to “stop
lieing about us.” Later in the day she pointed to the number of estranged
families involving members of the GLBT community. She blamed the Religious Right
for “spreading the language of fear, not love.” The Reverend Rost preferred
to say not that she was “coming out” but that she was “welcoming you in to
the reality of my life.” She pointed to the high levels of divorce in
heterosexual marriages. “When was the last time you saw a Focus on the Family
conference on divorce?” she asked.



Dr. Jack Drescher is an internationally acknowledged psychiatrist and author. He
opened his comments by saying that “homosexuality does not require therapy”
and that “most of the treatments don’t work” and that “people often feel
worse.” If gay men do get married to women the resulting “families often
live under tragic circumstances.” He also pointed out that “no mainstream
qualified school of therapy teaches reparative therapy.”



When he came to make his presentation he showed that not only did the vast
majority of people who entered conversion therapy fail to change their same-sex
attractions but that many of them suffered long-term harm as a result of the
alleged ‘therapy.’ He pointed out that the American Psychiatric Association
(APA) had decided that conversion therapy does not work and is both harmful and
unethical.



Jason Cianciotto, the Research Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force Policy Institute, appealed to Dr James Dobson of Focus on the Family to
“stop lying to parents about their children,” claiming that what he was
doing was harmful and “only served to split families.”



Cianciotto went on to describe the state of Florida as “Ex-Gay Central.”

He stated that between 2000 and the end of 2006 there will have been 53 “Love
Won Out” and similar conferences of which 11 of them will have been held in
Florida, more than in any other state! Cianciotto went on to relate the story of
how a five-year old diagnosed as being “prehomosexual” had been taken
to see Dr Joseph Nicolosi because he liked the color red and liked to dance on
his toes!



The person perhaps most responsible for highlighting the failures of the Ex-Gay
movement in the popular media in recent years has been Wayne Besen, author of
the book “Anything But Straight.” He was the journalist who photographed
(supposedly) ex-gay leader John Paulk at a Washington D.C. gay bar. He has also
collected many other instances of supposedly “cured” homosexuals behaving in
anything but “cured” ways. He described many of the ex-gays as being
“living spoofs rather than living proofs” that reparative therapy works. He
also pointed out that in spite of all the publicity the Religious Right have put
into opposing equal rights for gays and lesbians they are offering the ex-gay
ministries less financial support than they used to. Besen described the
ex-gay ministries as offering “promises that they can’t deliver.” For
Besen the main reason the Religious Right used the gay issue was for their own
political and financial ends.



In the afternoon Sky, a transgender male to female, was introduced by Carole
Benowitz, the Florida statewide coordinator for PFLAG. Sky spoke movingly about
her life in foster homes and the rapes and violence that she suffered in
Pentecostal homes which led to her attempting suicide.



The challenge facing gay activists and progressive clergymen, both gay and
straight, was sketched out by the Reverend Hal McSwain, of the host church,
First Congregational - “Our most daunting task is maintaining the high ground
while maintaining a regard for the integrity of every human being.”



At the conclusion of the “Love Welcomes All” conference a brief peaceful
demonstration was held outside Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church to coincide with
the end of the “Love Won Out” event that was attended by about 50 people.



Editor’s Note: The Independent congratulates all those involved with
mounting the “Love Welcomes All” Conference.

Posted at The independendent
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By Anne Marie Apollo

Monday, May 8, 2006

Debbie Johnston doesn't think it would be possible for a state senator to vote against anti-bullying legislation inspired by the death of her son last summer.

The problem, she says, is senators never got a chance to throw their support behind it.

During the final days of the legislative session, the "Jeffrey Johnston Stand Up for All Students Act" didn't make it to the Senate floor, despite a volley of calls and faxes from Lee County in the final hours.

The measure, Senate Bill 1384, would have required school districts around Florida to adopt a policy prohibiting bullying and to establish a system to report, investigate and punish the cruelty.

Sponsored by Sen. Carey Baker, R- Eustis, the measure had received unanimous approval from the Senate Education Committee. The House last week unanimously passed a version of the measure, which is inspired by the story of Jeff Johnston, a 15-year-old Cape Coral teen who killed himself in June. His family believes the suicide was a culmination of years of cruelty Jeff faced at the hands of his classmates.

Debbie Johnston, Jeff's mother and a teacher at Cape Coral's Trafalgar Middle School, traveled twice to Tallahassee in support of the bill.

"It is so good in its intent," she said. "It's not something that should have ever been controversial. It's common sense. How could any politician face the parents after a Columbine-style shooting or another suicide and say we had a bill that could have done some good but I voted against it?"

The measure had the support of Gov. Jeb Bush. His office this week said it would be "disappointing" if the bill stalled in the Senate.

Johnston, who began corresponding with the governor in the months after her son's death, said she will not give up the fight to give teachers and school administrators tools to crack down on aggressive behavior in schools.

Rather, she said, advocates will redouble their efforts, and return to Tallahassee next year.

The bill would have been among the most aggressive in the country, advocates say. In extreme cases, a bully could have been moved to a different class, different school or even removed from the district if he or she posed enough of a threat to other students. It also required parents to seek treatment for their child if he or she was not making progress.

Jan Klein, prevention specialist with the Lee County School District's Safe and Drug Free Schools said the lack of movement on the state level won't stop local efforts to eliminate bullying.

For several years the School District has offered training in combating aggressive behavior to counselors, who work with students at individual schools. Klien said the district also is planning on a new program that would reward students who stand up against bullies.

It would be named for Jeff Johnston.

Jeff was still in elementary school the first time advocates tried to get a bully bill passed. Similar legislation has been introduced six years in a row without success.

Though supporters of that bill, authored by Rep. Kenneth Allan Gottlieb, D-Tallahassee, hadn't initially backed the measure inspired by Johnston, believing that it wasn't specific enough in naming which children would be protected, in the final days of this legislative session advocates across the state tried to sway Senate leaders to hear SB 1384.

Nadine Smith, executive director, of Equality Florida, an advocacy organization that fights discrimination based on sexual orientation, race, gender and class, was among those talking strategy with Johnston.

Though Tallahassee officials said the bully bill was a casualty to a lack of time as the session drew to a close, Smith said Senate leadership found time to work in discussion of a state dessert.

"I think it's unfortunate that there was time to designate key lime as the official pie and no time to take steps toward making schools safer for students," Smith said. "I think after session, everyone needs to ask their legislator whether they stood up and fought."

Source: Naples Daily News
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A Bridge over Troubled Waters

Senator Klein to Speak on the High Cost of theBush/Shaw Energy Policy

WHAT: State Senator Ron Klein, the Democratic Candidate in Florida's 22ndCongressional District, will push for a 21st Century Energy Policythat focuses on alternative sources of energy over big oil companygiveaways.The event will coincide with President Bush's visit to south Floridaas he and Congressman E. Clay Shaw attempt to defend policies of thelast five years that have led to skyrocketing gas prices and recordoil company profits.

Where: 17th Street Bridge(Otherwise known as the E. Clay Shaw Bridge)2150 SE 17 St, Fort Lauderdale The event is on the waterfront, directlyEast of the parking lot underneath the bridge.* Parking will be to the North of Marriot Drive under the bridge.The parking lot is metered city parking.

WHEN: Tuesday May 9, 2006 at 2pm.

Contact:

JULIE @ 561.995.9626 or http://us.f345.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=Julie@ronklein2006.com for moreinformation. THANK YOU!
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Love Welcomes All conference planned
On Saturday, May 6th, at the First Congregational Church of Fort Lauderdale, United Church of Christ, 2501 NE 30th St., the South Florida GLBT and Friends Interfaith Clergy Association, and Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) will sponsor Love Welcomes All.
The conference, taking place from 1:00 pm to 4:30 pm, is designed to provide an alternative message to Focus on the Family’s “Love Won Out” conference, scheduled for the same day at Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church.
Love Welcomes All will feature nationally recognized researchers and clergy such as the Reverend Elder Nori Rost and Dr. Jack Drescher, who will speak on the harm caused by so-called “reparative therapy”, a method purported to make gay people straight.
Love Welcomes All will encourage responsible men and women from all walks of life not to remain silent while members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community, especially the youth, are called “sinful, disordered, perverted, unnatural, or trapped” by groups like Focus on the Family.
The message of Love Welcomes All is that all people deserve respect and dignity as full members of our community and society. Furthermore, it maintains there is nothing wrong with being gay or homosexual, that a person’s sexual orientation is not in need of change, but is to be affirmed as an essential part of their humanity.
For more information or to register contact Marc Paige at 401-837-6818 or at marcpaige@msn.com
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The percentage of working-age Americans with moderate to middle incomes who lacked health insurance for at least part of the year rose to 41 percent in 2005, a dramatic increase from the 28 percent in 2001 without coverage, a study released on Wednesday found.

Full article.

This is getting spooky. Nearly half the country... I guess "working age" doesn't include people on Medicare, the single-payer health plan for over-65-year-olds. Those guys are 100% insured.
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WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Sen. John Danforth says a conservative push to ban gay marriage through a constitutional amendment is silly, calling it the latest example of how the political influence of evangelical Christians is hurting the GOP.

Associated Press
WASHINGTON (AP) - Former Sen. John Danforth says a conservative push to ban gay marriage through a constitutional amendment is silly, calling it the latest example of how the political influence of evangelical Christians is hurting the GOP.

Danforth, a Missouri Republican and an Episcopal priest, made the comments in a speech Saturday night to the Log Cabin Republicans, which support gay rights. He said history has shown that attempts to regulate human behavior with constitutional amendments are misguided.

"Once before, the Constitution was amended to try to deal with matters of human behavior; that was prohibition. That was such a flop that that was repealed 13 years later,'' Danforth said.

Referring to the marriage amendment, he added that perhaps at some point in history there was a constitutional amendment proposed that was "sillier than this one, but I don't know of one.''

The Senate is scheduled to vote in June on a constitutional amendment that its supporters hope will head off any decision in the federal courts that could legalize gay marriage. The measure would need to be approved by two-thirds of those voting in the House and Senate and then be ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.

But Danforth said he is opposed. "The basic concept of the Republican Party is to interpret the Constitution narrowly, not expansively, so that legislatures, and especially state legislatures, can work out over a period of time the social issues in our country,'' he said.

Source: Minnesota Star-Tribune
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