e
J im t o r n i r o r t o b T 2 1 . I t M T 7
esbians and gay men in Colorado hope
a recent state Supreme Court ruling
will help them begin a long overdue
healing process.
"There was so much pain and divi
siveness after Amendment 2 passed,” explains
Cheryl Schwartz, acting executive director of the
Denver-based Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Com
munity Center of Colorado. “There was a great
deal of disagreement in the community about how
to respond, like whether to support a boycott of our
state. Hopefully now we can begin to get past some
of the pain.”
On Oct. 10 the Colorado Supreme Court over
turned Amendment 2, a controversial discrimina
tory amendment approved by voters in 1992. Pas
sage of the initiative stunned civil rights activists
and spawned a nationwide boycott costing Colo
rado at least $20 million in canceled conventions
and conferences.
In upholding a permanent injunction against
the amendment, the court rejected an argument
that Amendment 2 was a constitutionally valid
exercise of state power. Amendment 2, which was
passed by a 53 percent majority, would have pro
hibited state and local governments from enacting
sexual minority rights ordinances. In a 34-page
majority decision, the court said: "The state has
failed to establish that Amendment 2 is necessary
to serve any compelling governmental interest in a
narrowly tailored way.” It was a 6-1 decision.
According to the Oct. 4 issue of the national
City ordinance
becomes inclusive
The West Palm Beach, Fla., City Commission
has passed an ordinance which prohibits discrimi
nation based on sexual orientation in housing,
employment and public accommodations. Accord
ing to The Washington Blade, the Palm Beach
County Human Rights Council worked closely
over the past year with Mayor Nancy Graham to
pass the ordinance.
The ordinance also prohibits discrimination
based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex,
disability, marital status, familial status or age.
Safer-sex ads instruct
and challenge
A series of bold, small-format posters have
been produced by the San Francisco AIDS Foun
dation that target gay and bisexual men with frank,
responsible condom-use messages. They are in
tended for posting in restroom stalls, where captive
Am endm ent 2
sh o t deem
Activists in Colorado want the healing to begin
T
by Inga Sorensen
newsmagazine The Advocate, several lesbian and
Schwartz admits, “Colorado’s gay community
gay rights activists who were involved in the
has had a very difficult two years. In the wake of
campaign against Amendment 2 have since moved
Amendment 2, we experienced a wave of violence
out of state.
never before seen in such a short time.... Our
“I’ll never be able to work in Colorado,” said
victory is a terrific step in the healing process for
Teny Schleder, former
our community.”
head of Boycott Colo
Colorado state of
“Colorado’s gay community ficials
rado. According to the
say they will
article, S chleder’s
appeal the ruling to
has had a very difficult two
group “angered Colo
the U.S. Supreme
years. In the wake of
rado public officials by
Court. Portland attor
advocating a nation Amendment 2, we experienced
ney Charlie Hinkle,
wide boycott of the
how ever, says he
state’s tourism industry a wave o f violence never before doubts if the court will
and left gays and lesbi
choose to review the
seen in such a short time. ”
ans divided over its con
case.
frontational tactics.”
“The U.S. Su
She says, “The gay establishment wouldn’t em
preme Court is accepting fewer and fewer cases for
ploy me, and the straight world sees me as public
review,” he says. “Also, this is a moderatc-to-
enemy number one.” Schleder now lives in New
centrist court that works hard to avoid controversy.
York City.
I doubt they will review the case for those reasons,
audiences will get a small dose of practical infor
mation for reducing their risk for HIV infection.
The posters show attractive men enjoying three-
ways, water sports and fellatio. The messages are
“Safe Sucks,” and “Use Us.” The ads offer sugges
tions for staying safe in a variety of situations and
supply referrals to participating HIV/AIDS agen
cies.
CDC initiative discriminates
against gay men of color
Incidents of discrimination have been reported
in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
Community Prevention Planning Initiative. The
initiative was instituted to provide a way to involve
disenfranchised communities in developing HIV
prevention strategies.
At a Campaign for Fairness meeting held in
conjunction with the annual Gay Men of Color
AIDS Institute, these incidents gave rise to con
cern and anger. “We received several reports of
exclusion and marginalization of our participation
in this process,” stated Richard La Fortune, an
cathartic comics I
AIDS activist and one of the CFF co-chairs. “Ev
erything from outright exclusion to nonvoting
membership is being used to dilute the impact of
our advocacy for gay men of color."
“We are putting the CDC and individual com
munity planning groups on notice,” said CFF co
chair Mario Solis-Marich. “Across the country
alarming numbers of gay men of color are con
tracting HIV, progressing to AIDS, and dying
faster than our white counterparts. We will not sit
by idly and watch our communities be destroyed
by apathy and prejudice.”
National phone company
to help fight 13
The long distance company Working Assets
included an insert in its October billing that men
tions Oregon’s homophobic right wing and Ballot
Measure 13. It says, “If Initiative 13 passes, the
government could be required to fire gays and
lesbians, censor them from speaking freely, and
deny them basic services.”
The bill states that “every time you call long
plus the fact that they may wait to see how other
lower courts handle these cases. They won’t want
to jump into this issue too soon.”
If the court does choose to review the case,
Hinkle says there is ample legal precedent bolster
ing the belief that segments of the population
cannot be “fenced out of the political process.”
Writing for the majority, Colorado Supreme
Court Chief Justice Luis Rovira said. “The right to
participate equally in the political process is clearly
affected by Amendment 2 [and, it would effec
tively bar gay men and lesbians] from having an
effective voice in government affairs.”
"There is solid legal precedent that says people
cannot be fenced out of the political process,” says
Hinkle. “We’re not talking only on the basis of race
or sex, but whether one is homeless, on welfare, or
mentally disabled. The courts have been very sym
pathetic toward ensuring that people have access to
the political process.”
Colorado officials say defending the case has
already cost taxpayers more than $300,000. Julie
Davis, campaign manager for Oregon’s No on 13
Committee, says she hopes the Colorado ruling
will persuade voters here to vote against Ballot
Measure 13.
“Measure 13 will permanently legalize dis
crimination in Oregon,” she says. “I certainly think
that is reason enough to vote against it, but if voters
need another reason, they may want to think about
how much it’s going to cost in litigation if this
measure passes.”
distance, a percentage of your charge goes to
nonprofit action groups that are working for a
better world.” According to this bill, Oregon’s
fight against Ballot Measure 13 will be aided by a
donation from Working Assets.
Justice department praised
The Human Rights Campaign Fund praised the
U.S. Justice Department for its action leading to a
$100,000 settlement against a Houston, Texas,
dental office that refused to treat an HIV-positive
patient. The Justice Department sued the office
under the Americans with Disabilities Act, which
prohibits discrimination against people living with
HIV or AIDS. The office must also institute a
policy to this effect and train its staff about the
policy.
“This settlement is a welcome example of ef
fective action against discrimination,” said HRCF
spokesman Daniel Zingale. “Our community is
realizing the benefits of all the hard work we did to
help pass the ADA.”
Compiled by Jann Gilbert
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