19 , 1997
just out T
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to protest, saying that the laws are often too broad,
resulting in registration of many people who were
arrested for minor offenses, including gay men
convicted of consensual sex. In some cases the
arrests had occurred decades in the past.
Matt Coles, executive director of the ACLU’s
Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, said he remained
concerned by the possibility that states which still
have sodomy laws may make private, consensual
gay sex a registrable offense.
“The federal law requires that you make a
felony sexual assault or sexual crimes involving
children registrable,” Coles told the Blade, “but it
doesn’t say that you can’t make other crimes
registrable.... I’m not convinced it’s going to
happen, but I’m also not convinced it’s not going
to happen.”
Clinton’s queer-friendly
nominations continue
On Nov. 7, President Clinton nominated openly
lesbian attorney Elaine D. Kaplan as head of the
Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal
agency that, among other things, investigates
allegations of discrimination against federal em
ployees.
Kaplan, 41, is a resident of the District of
Columbia who has served since 1988 as deputy
general counsel at the National Treasury Employ
ees Union, the Washington Blade reports.
The Office of Special Counsel is charged with
investigation of prohibited personnel practices (a
federal civil service law lists anti-gay discrimina
tion among prohibited practices) and enforce
ment of the Hatch Act, a controversial law barring
all non-politically appointed federal and D.C.
government employees from participating in par
tisan political activities even during off-duty hours.
The Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
is expected to review Kaplan’s nomination early
next year.
Misplaced paper fuels fuss
in Provincetown
An already contentious debate over the inclu
sion of sexuality in anti-bias curricula in
Provincetown, Mass., public schools became even
hotter after a teacher’s assistant, Trish Cristina,
inadvertently left a copy of Bay Windows, a free
gay newspaper that includes some explicit adver
tisements, in a kindergartner’s backpack.
According to an article in the Cape Cod Times,
it is common practice among teachers to use
available space in pupils’ backpacks to transport
materials back to the school after visits to the local
library. Cristina says she picked the paper up to
read an article on President Clinton’s hate crimes
conference, and simply forgot to retrieve it.
Coincidentally, the 5-year-old who unknow
ingly carried the newspaper home is the child of
Donna Joseph, a member of a parents group that
is questioning an anti-bias initiative it fears will
introduce sexuality to young students too soon.
The Anti-Bias School and Community Project,
developed several months ago by Cristina and her
life partner, both lesbian mothers, aims to men
tion all minorities, including lesbians and gay
men, in class lessons. The plan has been adopted
Visfyffs îex
in theory but administrators are in disagreement
over implementation strategies, and some parents
have taken issue with the age-appropriateness of
introducing the words “gay” and “lesbian” in
early grades.
At a Nov. 28 meeting called to address the
backpack incident and matters related to the anti
bias initiative, Superintendent Susan Fleming ac
knowledged what she called the seriousness of
Cristina’s “error in judgment,” and took the posi
tion that a firm reprimand from Cristina’s princi
pal would suffice to prevent “further poor judg
ments by this employee.”
Same-sex harassment
taken up by high court
The U.S. Supreme Court debated on Dec. 3
whether unlawful sexual harassment at work cov
ers employees of the same sex.
During arguments, the justices appeared
troubled by a U.S. appeals court ruling that a 1964
federal civil rights law barring discrimination
based on sex never may be applied to same-sex
harassment cases.
According to a Reuter report, the justices ques
tioned whether the law requires that workers of
different sexes be treated differently, and grappled
with what constitutes illegal sexual harassment,
as opposed to offensive hazing.
Deborah Belron
CRB. (>R1
Donald Falk, GRI
Karen BiLsing
Greg W ashington
Associate Broker
broker President
Gerry Federico. GRI
Val Thorpe-Galvin. GRI John Terrill. GRI
Scott Bottom. GRI
Kathleen Ira
Associate Broker
Jim Bean
The case has become one of the most closely
watched of the high court’s 1997-98 term and has
important implications for workplace discrimina
tion, legal experts say.
Harassment involving the opposite sex has
long been covered by the law, but the number of
lawsuits alleging same-sex harassment in the
workplace has been increasing nationwide.
Nicholas Canaday, a lawyer representing Jo
seph Oncale, a male employee who alleges he was
sexually harassed by his male supervisors, said
the law applies if the sexual conduct had been
pervasive, creating a hostile work environment.
A gay and lesbian legal group agreed.
“The point is, federal law provides a remedy
for any employee who is consistently exposed to
sexual conduct that is so egregious and pervasive
as to create a hostile work environment or who is
forced to have sex as a term or condition of
employment,” says Lambda Legal Defense and
Education Fund Director Beatrice Dohrn.
Dohm authored an amicus brief in the case that
was filed by Lambda and 10 other civil rights
organizations.
“The focus has been, and should remain, on the
conduct, not the sex or sexual orientation of the
harasser,” she stressed.
Houston attorney Harry Reasoner argued in
favor of the company that employed Oncale,
Sundowner Offshore Services Inc., and took the
position that same-sex harassment never would
be covered by the law.
He told reporters that in adopting the 1964
legislation Congress “sought to level the playing
field” for men and women in the workplace, and
“was not trying to reach conduct between men.”
The Supreme Court took the case under ad
visement; a ruling is expected by June.
Chris Bonner. GRI
(ieorge Marvin
Beate Kanter
Cathy Martine
Jay Bevney
Julie Yoho
Kathy Tysinger
R<»bert Amhes
Tina Schafer
Associate Broker
Kirsten Jenkins
Carolyn MacMurray
Gary Sadleir
Chris liardv
Judy Sardella
Hilary Nally
<9(S>&
ObtV
Lee McKnight
&0
Philip Beausoleil
Jaye Kraus
Mm
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Compiled by Christopher D. Cuttone
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