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July I I
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July 18
Martin Delaney
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Portland First
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Portland.
July 24
Medical Basics:
M aria Kosmetatos
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national news
Clinton talks to The Advocate
The June
25issueof77ie
Advocate fea
tures the first
interview that
President
C linton has
given a gay
and lesbian
p u b lic a tio n
since he was
! elected.
As reporter
IJ. Jennings
Moss told The
Bill Clinton
W a sh i n g t o n
Blade, however, the interview was conducted on
paper, with Mosc submitting questions to the
White House, and Clinton sending back his an
swers. Moss says a one-on-one presidential inter
view is rare and that the written procedure is
commonly used with press other than major daily
newspapers. He praised the president for his will
ingness to discuss gay and lesbian issues “seri
ously.”
In the exchange, Clinton reiterated his com
mitment to ending discrimination and protecting
the civil rights of all citizens. He also remained
adamant in his opposition to same-sex marriage,
saying that he believes marriage is an institution
for the union of a man and a woman.
PFLAG anti-hate campaign
to air in Seattle
HIV University is funded by the Ryan White Care Act (Title 1)
Sporting an impressive list of corporate spon
sors, including Seattle-based retailer Nordstrom,
Washington state’s PFLAG chapters announced
the debut of the second phase of “Project Open
Mind.” The national education campaign focuses
on the damaging effects of hate speech on lesbi
ans and gay men. PFLAG intends to spend $80,000
to purchase prime-time spots on Western Wash
ington television stations for its new 30-second
ad.
The campaign is slated to move to Minneapo-
lis/St. Paul and St. Louis later this year.
Other community, labor and business organi
zations endorsing the Seattle project include the
Washington Education Association, U.S. Bancorp,
the Washington State League of Women Voters,
and the Washington State Federation of State
Employees.
High court strikes down
Cincinnati’s Issue 3
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In the first application of its landmark ruling
against Colorado’s Amendment 2, the U.S. Su
preme Court on June 17 reversed a federal ap
peals court’s upholding of Issue 3, an anti-gay
city charter amendment in Cincinnati. The case
now goes back to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. The Supreme Court’s action indicates
that the appeals court’s reasoning did not con
form to the Constitution’s guarantee of equal
protection.
Cumplaint filed against
homnphnbic judge
Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund
filed a complaint of judicial misconduct against a
Wilmington, Del., judge who threw a lesbian out
of court when she sought protection from domes
tic abuse.
The woman alleged she was stalked by her
former lover, whom she said made harassing
phone calls to her employers, friends and family
and slashed the tires of a friend’s car. The city
solicitor’s office was pursuing a charge of ag
gravated harassment against the former lover.
Both women were in court for a hearing in the
case.
At the hearing, held in December 1995, the
judge rejected the case because it involved lesbi
ans and domestic abuse. He said, “You all have
these funny relationships— that’s fine— I have
nothing to do with it, but don’t bring it in here for
me to try to decide, I don’t know how to handle
it.... I’m dismissing the case.... Don’t bring it
back—the next time you come back, I’ll put
somebody in jail.”
The judge is charged with violations of
Delaware’s Code of Judicial Conduct, which re
quires that judges act “in a manner that promotes
public confidence in the integrity and impartiality
of the judiciary” and avoid actions that might be
interpreted as bias against “personal characteris
tics,” including sexual orientation.
Asylum granted in genital
mutilation case
The U.S. Board of Immigration Appeals ruled
on June 14 that Fauziya Kasinga should be al
lowed to remain in the United States because she
had what Board Chairman Paul Schmidt called, in
his written opinion, “a well-founded fear of per
secution in the form of female genital mutilation
if returned to Togo.”
Kasinga, 19, testified that her aunt forced her
to marry a 45-year-old man with three other wives
when she was 17. Her husband and her aunt
intended to force Kasinga to submit to genital
mutilation before the marriage was consummated.
She fled first to Ghana, then to Germany and,
finally, arrived in the United States in December
1994. She requested asylum, but her request was
denied. She was held in detention until April
pending an appeal.
Commenting on the ruling, an Immigration
and Naturalization Service official told Reuters,
‘T he INS is pleased that the board recognized that
female genital mutilation can be the basis for
asylum. The INS had supported this principle in
its argument to the board, pointing out that female
genital mutilation is a deeply objectionable cul
tural practice increasingly subject to condemna
tion on an international plane.”
Educators and activists
promote gay documentary
Debra Chasnoff s new documentary film It’s
Elementary: Talking About Gay Issues in School
has won endorsement from San Francisco Uni
fied School District Superintendent of Schools
Bill Rojas, Board of Education President Steve
Phillips, and leaders of the city’s major gay and
lesbian rights organizations.
The film, Chasnoff s first since her 1992 Acad
emy Award-winning documentary Deadly De
ception: General Electric, Nuclear Weapons and
Our Environment, explores what happens when
teachers use creative and age-appropriate ways to
confront anti-gay prejudice and counter lesbian
and gay invisibility in their classrooms.
Commenting on the importance of this film,
Phillips said, “School boards across the country
have been banning discussion of lesbian and gay
people in the classroom based on misinformation
from anti-gay activists. This film puts a human
face on classroom discussions that are crucial to
preparing our children for the diverse communi
ties of the 1990s. I urge my counterparts across
the country to screen this extremely moving and
powerful film for the educators in their districts—
to inspire them to integrate responsible, appropri
ate education about gay issues into their class
rooms.”
Compiled by Kristine Chatwood