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1
ALABAMA
public school district in A labam a violated
the U .S. Q institution by firing a teacher
because he is gay, according to a federal lawsuit
filed May 10. T h e man was deeply closeted hut was
fired anyway because officials suspected he was gay,
according to the Am erican C ivil Liberties Union.
“T h is is a top-notch teacher. He was the first
to get to school in the m orning and the last to
leave at night— and in between he created a new
school program that won statewide awards,” attor
ney Leslie Q x ip e r said. “O ne day he sat down
with his principal and received an excellent eval
uation, and literally the next day he was fired.”
W ithin days o f the term ination, kids circu
lated written petitions asking the school board
to let him keep his job— and more than a quar
ter o f the entire student body signed them ,
C o o per said. T h e school board, the superinten
dent and the principal stood by their decision,
how ever, an d rep laced him w ith an o th e r
instructor w ho was not even certified to teach
the subject, the lawsuit charges.
T h e fired m an is identified in the case as
“Joh n Dcx?” because he is working at another pub
lic schixil in A labam a where he rem ains closeted.
In a court affidavit filed by the A C L U , he says he
fears harassm ent or violence if his identity is
known and that he again will he fired and
becom e unemployable as a teacher in the*state.
“ I know I’m a good teacher,” the m an said.
“ My bosses know it, my students know it, and
their parents know it. I’ve always understood that
the bargain here is that 1 do my job and do it well
and that I keep my private life private. I did that,
and it didn’t matter. 1 lost my job anyway.”
23
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tutional obstacles in their attempt to get this
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R o b e rt C o m p to n an d D av id W ilson are
o n e o f se v e n sam e-se x co u p le s ch allen gin g
M a ssa c h u se tts law s th at d en y them the
fu n d am e n tal right to m arry
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G
ay & Lesbian A dvocates & Defenders
appealed M ay 21 a trial court ruling deny
ing m arriage licenses to seven sam e-sex couples
who challenged M assachusetts laws that deny
them the fundam ental right to marry. A judge
dism issed the case M ay 9 despite acknow ledging
the im portance o f the status and the legal pro
tections that m arriage provides.
“W e believe we have a strong case on appeal,"
attorney Jennifer Levi said. “ Despite sharing the
same love and com m itm ent as their nongay
neighbors, Ithey] cannot provide the same securi
ty for their family because they are not allowed to
marry. T h a t’s unfair, and the
state can provide no justifi
cation for it.”
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FLORIDA
I
n response to legal de
mands made by local and
national civil rights groups
on behalf of two students at
Bloomingdale High School
T h re e o f the Federal M arriage A m en d m en t’s H o u se co-sp on sors
in Valrico, the principal has
are D e m o crats: from left, R alp h H all o f T e x a s, D avid P h elp s of
agreed to allow girls to wear
Illinois and R o n n ie S h o w s o f M ississipp i
slacks underneath their
gowns at graduation. T he discriminatory dress code
NATIONAL
policy stated that senior girls only were allowed to
n anti-gay constitutional am endm ent was
wear dresses or skirts with hemlines above their
introduced M ay 15 in C ongress to preclude
gowns during the ceremony.
recognition o f sam e-sex m arriages and prevent
“Forcing girls to wear a skirt or dress reinforces
courts from requiring that m arital benefits he
stereotypical gender norms that are harmful to all
conferred on unm arried couples. T h e initiative
students," said Kate Kendell, N ational C enter for
could deprive gay fam ilies o f fundam ental pro
Lesbian Rights executive director. “We applaud
tections such as hospital visitation rights, inher
B loom ingdale H igh S ch o o l for prom ptly
itance rights and health care benefits, according
responding based on reason and com m on sense.”
to opponents.
Attorney Karen M. Doering sent a demand let
“T h e U .S . C o n stitu tio n is a revered d ocu
ter
May
22 on behalf o f seniors Alicia Traurig and
m ent and should not he used for cynical e le c
A m ber Sm ith, both o f whom wanted to wear dress
tion-year p o stu rin g,” said E lizabeth B irch ,
slacks
to graduation. She argued that the policy
H um an R ights C am p aign execu tive director.
unfairly discriminates against female students in
“ A t a tim e when not a single gay couple can
violation
of their “constitutional right to privacy,
marry in any state o f this nation , and as our
liberty and First Amendment protections.”
country faces m uch larger challenges, this is
Doering demanded that the school amend its
hardly the kind o f sideshow anyone needs.”
policy to accom m odate the requests of Traurig,
T h e H o u se an d S e n a te in tro d u ctio n o f th e
Sm ith and dozens o f others who objected to the
F ed eral M a rria g e A m e n d m e n t w as a n
outdated and biased policy. W ithin hours after
n o u n ced at a press c o n fe re n ce by a grou p o f
receiving the letter, Bloom ingdale agreed to
religio u s p o litic a l a c tiv ists k n o w n as th e
change
its dress code to permit girls to wear slacks.
A llia n c e for M arriage. H o u se co -sp o n so rs are
“ Every year, when graduation rolls around,
U .S . R e p s. R a lp h H a ll, D - T e x a s; D a v id
sch
o ol districts across the country becom e
P helps, D-I1L; C h ris C a n n o n , R -U ta h ; S u e
obsessed with dictating what students can wear
M yrick, R - N .C .; J o A n n D av is, R -V a.; an d
underneath their gowns,” said R andall M arshall,
R o n n ie S h o w s, D -M iss.
A m erican C iv il Liberties U n ion o f Florida legal
Passing a constitutional am endm ent requires
director. “A n d in alm ost every circum stance,
two-thirds o f both houses o f C on gress voting in
the students have prevailed.” J H
favor o f it. If this is accom plished, then three-
fourths o f the states m ust ratify the initiative
Com piled by New s Editor JlM RADOSTA, who can
before it takes effect.
be reached at jim@ justout .com.
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