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the Pantheon Limousine Service
( 503 ) 248-9646 _____________
Westover Heights Clinic
warmly welcomes the addition of
Christopher Thoming, MD
ARKANSAS
he Child Welfare League says it’s wrong.
The North American Council on Adopt-
able Children says it’s wrong. The American
Psychological .Association says it’s wrong. The
state of Arkansas, however, seems to think it s
just tine to ban gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans
people from becoming foster parents.
And. just to prove the point, earlier this
month the state’s Child Welfare Agency Review
Board approved a resolution to enact that ban,
according to a Jan. 7 press release from the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Specifically, the ban would prevent a child
from being placed with anyone who has engaged
in same-gender sexual behavior or with anyone
who shares a home with someone who has
engaged in such behavior.
A comment penod, which will include five
public hearings, must take place before the ban
becomes effective.
If the Child Welfare Agency Review Board
is successful, Arkansas will join New Hampshire
and Florida as states that ban queer people from
adopting and/or becoming foster parents. It is
expected that Indiana, Texas and Missouri will
introduce similar bans this year.
T
Last June, Merrick wrote a letter to the Bak­
ersfield Californian protesting anti-gay comments
made by a member of the Kern County Human
Relations Commission.
Parents complained, and 15 students were
transferred out of Merrick’s classes because their
parents disapproved of his homosexuality,
reports a Jan. 12 Associated Press story.
Merrick filed a discrimination complaint
with the school board. Earlier this month, the
board voted unanimously to dismiss his com­
plaint.
Merrick plans to file a complaint with the
state labor commissioner. He is also planning to
file a lawsuit.
GE O RGIA
I
n early January, the Georgia Commission on
the Holocaust called for the deletion of two
paragraphs that discuss the treatment of gay
people in Nazi concentration camps from guides
mailed to middle and high school teachers.
Although sexual minorities were still listed
among groups persecuted by the Nazis, the two
paragraphs that deal with gay people in concen­
tration camps were removed because “it is not
our place to put sexually graphic material into
the schools,” commission chair Sylvia Wygoda
told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
C A L IF O R N IA
Gay activists, Jewish community leaders and
ancing feet are no longer welcome in the
others
protested the commission’s decision,
Castro. Yes, it is true. T hat mecca of Gay ,
Amenca, ground zero for more than one gener­ according to various media sources. Following
the protests, the commission and gay activists
ation of gay men and lesbians, is now settling
into middle age and needs its sleep. As a conse­ reached a compromise: Since it was too late to
reprint the 6,000 guides, the Georgia Commis­
quence, dancing in San Francisco’s Castro
sion on the Holocaust agreed to send the delet­
neiphborhood is now illegal, reports a Dec. 30
ed paragraphs and a cover letter to all teachers
who ordered the guide.
Guides that include the paragraphs about gay
persecution were sent to teachers in California
and Florida.
D
and
Drissana Tran, MD
Offering general internal medicine and excelling in sexual health care
Serving the community for 17 years
2330 NW Flanders, Suite 207
226-6678
N E W YO RK
E
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Original wedding rings by America's
finest jewelry designers.
T
h e
Washington Square
503 620 2243
R
e a l
M
o t h e r
901 SW Yamhill
503 223 9510
arl Harris, a 31-year-old heterosexual man,
was hired in November 1997 as a temporary
worker at New York C ity’s Office of Gay and
Lesbian Health. Last month, according to the
Dec. 30 New York Post, Harris filed a lawsuit
against the city claiming he was fired for com­
plaining about what he considered to be offen­
sive pictures of naked men having sex.
Harris says he was subjected to “a hostile
work environm ent” in the form of “pictures and
postings of nude and naked men engaged in var­
ious acts of sexual intercourse.”
G
o o s e
Portland Airport
503 284 9929
Where once there was dancing in the street,
there is now dancing at only one bar, The Cafe.
Strict zoning regulations and neighborhood
groups opposing dancing-permit requests have
led to the curtailment of street dancing.
Some say it simply isn’t right to ban dancing
in a neighborhood that is synonymous with gay
pride, freedom and celebration.
“The Castro is the heart of the gay commu­
nity and our gathering place,” says a neighbor­
hood bar owner, Morgan Gorrono. “It is a world­
wide destination that should have the magic of
Mardi Gras. It should be a place where gay peo­
ple can be free, have fun and dance.”
The Castro is zoned as a mixed residential
and commercial district. Longtime residents,
many now reaching middle age, take the posi­
tion that Mardi Gras is not an everyday event.
People living in the Castro work and have to get
up in the morning.
“We know this isn’t Peoria, and we don’t
want it to be, counters Lion Barnett, president
of the Eureka Valley Promotion Association.
“But we don’t want Coney Island, either.”
W ith bar owners pushing for more dancing
permits and residents insisting on a quieter
neighborhood, the last word has yet to be heard
on this issue.
J
im Merrick is an eighth-grade teacher in Bak­
ersfield. He was once honored as teacher of
the year for the Rio Bravo-Greeley Union
School District.
T he suit alleges that “the unwelcome sexual­
ly-oriented work environment in which [Harri>]
found himself created an intimidating, hostile,
offensive, oppressive and abusive work environ­
ment.”
Harris also claims he was fired last March in
retaliation for his complaints.
Harris’ lawyer, Kenneth Richardson, argues:
“It’s the same as if you had pictures of naked
women in the workplace. It doesn’t matter what
gender the pictures are, it still creates a sexually
hostile work environm ent.”
Harris is seeking removal of the photos, back
pay, unspecified damages and legal fees.
■ Compiled by K ristine C hatwooo