juna 1.200L *
what sodomy laws do but also because of what
they say,” said Matt Coles, Lesbian and Gay
Rights Project director. “A society’s laws are its
core statement of right and wrong. Sodomy
laws, because they are understood to primarily
apply to lesbians and gay men, marginalize gay
people and their pursuit of equal citizenship.”
Minnesota’s sodomy law, which has been on
the books since the 1800s, prohibits both oral
and anal sex between any adults. Penalties
include up to a year in jail and up to $3,000 in
fines.
In recent years the law has been enforced
directly and used indirectly to deny opportuni
ties, especially to lesbians and gay men, in
employment, child custody and other areas.
Multiple efforts to repeal it in the state Legisla
ture were unsuccessful. Right-wing groups
unsuccessfully tried to alter the law in recent
years so it would not apply to married straight
couples.
The ACLU is asking the court to certify the
case as a class action, which staff attorney Leslie
Cooper said will leave “absolutely no question”
that the sodomy law cannot be enforced direct
ly or indirectly. If Ventura’s administration files
legal papers opposing this, a hearing will be held
June 7.
FLO RID A
he nation’s first gay and lesbian retirement
community broke ground for a second
phase of construction May 21 in Palmetto.
A total of 44 villas will be built in groups of
three or four to a building on 10 landscaped
acres. A community center and swimming pool
serving the entire development will be con
structed during this phase.
The first phase broke ground on a 28.2-acre
parcel of land in 1997. By the end of January
2001, 21 single-family homes sat amid towering
trees and well-manicured grounds.
John Goodwin, Palms of Manasota Inc. pres
ident, said the homes are wheelchair accessible
with wider doorways, sliding pocket doors and
no stairways. “A welcoming community atmos
phere beckons all our gay and lesbian friends to
come and have a look.”
T
SOUTH C A R O LIN A
n an unusual twist, a Democrat is in hot water
for making anti-gay remarks about a Republi
can.
South Carolina Democratic Party chair
man Richard A. Harpootlian, commenting
Feb. 21 on a possible replacement for the
state’s 98-year-old senator, said Rep. Lindsey
Graham is “a little too light in the loafers to
fill Strom Thurmond’s shoes.” He later plead
ed ignorance about his
language’s connotation.
Brian K. Bond, Gay
and Lesbian Victory Fund
executive director, scold
ed Harpootlian in a letter
May 17: “Your use of
rumors concerning sexual
orientation as a political
weapon is deeply disturb-
Lindsey Graham
inS considering your role
as an official of the
Democratic Party. Although Congressman Gra
ham’s record on equality for all is deplorable,
your innuendo and homophobic references do
nothing to promote the hard work of your party
that seeks inclusion.”
This isn’t the first gay-baiting comment
made by Harpootlian. According to a report on
the January 1999 South Carolina inauguration,
he said: “Lindsey Graham criticized President
Clinton for ‘having sex with a young woman in
the Oval Office.’ Now I don’t know about you,
but I can’t tell what part Lindsey objected to:
having sex with a young woman or having sex in
the Oval Office.”
Graham appears to have a lock on the
Republican nomination in the 2002 race for
Thurmond’s Senate seat. The 45-year-old bach
elor repeatedly has denied that he is gay and has
said Harpootlian’s comments are slanderous.
I
M AS S A C H U S ETTS
pponents of a bill that would ban same-sex
marriage in Massachusetts as well as pro
hibit domestic partner benefits for public
employees greatly outnumbered proponents dur
ing a marathon 11 1/2-hour committee hearing
in Boston. “Super DOM A”
would define marriage as be
tween one man and one woman
and would forbid any legal recog
nition for same-gender couples
and their families, including
domestic partners and civil
unions.
“Family diversity is a fact of
life in Massachusetts,” said Tim
McFeeley, National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force political
director. “Through adoption
proceedings and other mea
sures, family courts in Massa
chusetts have been creating and
protecting families headed by
The Palms of Manasota Villas will be the nation ’s first gay
same-sex couples for many
and lesbian retirement community
years. Super DOMA would put
the courts against the Legislature and endan
ger existing families in the state as well as cast
he state will provide $500,000 for a right- a shadow of doubt over the future of adoptions
wing advocacy group, the American Fami by same-sex couples.”
More than 150 people showed up for a press
ly Association, to move a part of its business
operations to Okaloosa County. People for the conference against the bill, then attended a
American Way president Ralph G. Neas and hearing before the Joint Committee on the Judi
Florida director Lisa Versad sent a letter May 23 ciary. Opponents— including representatives of
to Gov. Jeb Bush urging the administration to gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans groups; legal
groups; adoption professionals; clergy; and labor
renounce its plan.
“The American Family Association...has a organizers—greatly outnumbered a small hand
tradition of bigotry and intolerance,” they ful of proponents. The hearing began at 1 p.m.
May 17 and finally adjourned at 12:30 a.m.
wrote. "In a fund-raising letter...president Don
Wildmon proclaimed: ‘For the sake of our chil May 18. JH
dren and society, we must oppose the spread of
homosexual activity! Just as we oppose murder, Compiled by Copy Editor JlM RADOSTA, who can
be reached at jim@justout.com.
stealing and adultery!’ ”
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