j u s t ou« ▼ m ay 10. I M S ▼ 9
Achtenberg leaps
into S.F. mayoral race
All bets were off last month when Roberta
Achtenberg, the highest-ranking lesbian or gay
official in the Clinton administration, announced
her candidacy for mayor of San Francisco.
Achtenberg left her position as assistant secretary
for fair housing and equal opportunity at the De­
partment of Housing and Urban Development on
April 30 to make the run for mayor.
Achtenberg, 44, was a member of the San
Francisco Board of Supervisors when Clinton
tapped her for the HUD post in 1993.
She survived a tough confirmation battle in the
U.S. Senate, where she came under attack by Sen.
Jesse Helms (R-NC).
Plans to defeat current San Francisco mayor
Frank Jordan by forming a coalition of labor,
sexual minorities and African Americans to back
California Assembly Speaker Willie Brown in the
mayor’s race appeared to be up in the air following
Achtenberg’s announcement.
Roberta Achtenberg
Gamering support is only one of the hurdles
Achtenberg faces. She must raise in excess of $1
million over the next few months to mount a
credible campaign.
GOP senator leads fight
to end job discrimination
Sen. James Jeffords (R-Vt.) has taken the lead
in efforts to pass the Employment Non-Discrimi­
nation Act in the Senate. Jeffords will work with
Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.) in a bipartisan at­
tempt to pass ENDA.
A bipartisan approach is also being taken in the
House of Representatives. Spearheading efforts in
that body are Reps. Gerry Studds (D-Mass.), Barney
Frank (D-Mass.) and Connie Morelia (R-Md.).
According to the Human Rights Campaign
Fund, the U.S. public supports equal rights in the
workplace for lesbians and gay men. HRCF cited
a poll of those who voted in the November 1994
election that found that 70 percent of respondents
supported equal job rights for lesbians and gay
men. Polls also show that most people in the U.S.
are not aware that federal law does not prohibit
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Lesbians denied
insemination sue doctor
A lesbian couple in Minnesota filed a lawsuit in
Hennepin County District Court alleging that Dr.
Lisa Erhard refused to provide artificial insemina­
tion because they are lesbians.
According to a story in Wisconsin Light, Karen
Heeney and Julia Beatty claim the doctor told them
she was uncomfortable doing the procedure. She
suggested they seek help elsewhere. Patricia
Gambill, the couple’s attorney, said, “The doctor
was willing to inseminate.. .right up until she found
out the patient was part of a lesbian couple.”
Erhard’s attorney, Rebecca Moos, said her cli­
ent did not turn the women away because of their
sexual orientation but because she was not experi­
enced with the artificial insemination procedure.
According to Moos, Erhard offered to provide pre­
natal care to the couple if they got pregnant.
Univega Spa««»|
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Up to
ICA just won’t go away
Taking a lesson from the Oregon Citizens Al­
liance, the Idaho Citizens Alliance announced last
month that it plans to submit two initiatives to the
Idaho secretary of state. According to a story in the
Boise newspaper Diversity, ICA chairman Kelly
Walton told a crowd gathered April 15 to hear
conservative presidential candidate Alan Keyes
that a “reworded Proposition 1” would be one of
the initiatives submitted. Proposition 1, an anti-
sexual minority initiative, was defeated by Idaho
voters last November.
The other initiative deals with tax credits for
school choice.
NGLTF board speaks
to major issues
At its tri-annual meeting in Washington, D.C.,
at the end of April, the board of directors of the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force unanimously
adopted resolutions on three major national politi­
cal issues: welfare, affirmative action and immi­
gration policy. The preamble to each resolution
reads, “Recognizing that the civil rights of gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgender people are inex­
tricably linked to the civil rights of all people...”
Board co-chair Deborah Johnson-Rolon said:
“Current events call on us to be clear on these
issues as we move forward on the national, state
and local level in alliance with other organizations
and movements. We recognize that in order for this
society to offer us the compassion and justice we
seek as gay and lesbian people, that compassion
must exist for all.”
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GLOBAL expansion
The Gay and Lesbian Organization Bridging
Across the Lands voted at its spring national board
meeting to begin admitting gay and lesbian em­
ployee resource groups to its membership. AT&T
LEAGUE is the first such group to join GLOBAL.
Board co-chair Paul Ludeman said, “The GLO­
BAL board felt that both types of groups share a
common mission—to enhance the social, personal
and professional development of gays in the work­
place. [These groups] are a natural fit for GLO­
BAL.”
Started in 1993, GLOBAL is a national non­
profit organization of gay and lesbian business and
professional groups.
NCLR champions gay
and lesbian families
The National Center for Lesbian Rights, a
nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, is
continuing its 18-year fight for the rights of lesbian
and gay families. NCLR is currently involved in
helping groups in states like Nebraska fight attacks
from the radical right that seek to erode or elimi­
nate the ability of lesbians and gay men to form and
maintain families. NCLR provides both technical
and legal assistance in many areas of family law
including adoption, foster care, child custody, co-
parenting and reproductive rights.
NCLR staff and volunteers are also working to
draw attention to issues of lesbian health care, the
specific needs of lesbians of color, and the prob­
lems facing gay, lesbian and bisexual youth.
For information or to request assistance, con­
tact NCLR, 870 Market St., Suite 570, San Fran­
cisco, CA 94102, (415) 392-6257.
Compiled by Kristine Chatwood
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