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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 2002)
june 21.2002 1^ Ni ¡ti; ivi mews awyers might be the ongoing butt of nasty jokes, hut thanks to the work of Lambda Legal— a national organiza tion dedicated to advancing the civil Lambda attorney rights of sexual minorities and people with HIV/AIDS— someday that might by be Jim a Radosta thing of the past. Myron Quon serves as deputy director of its Los Angeles-based Western Regional Office, which covers Oregon, Washington, Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. He focuses particular attention on Latino, Asian-Pacific Islander and rural communities and reaches out to clergy as part of Lambda’s Marriage Project. During a recent visit to Portland, Quon spoke with Just Out about the current court climate. Here are some excerpts from the conversation: L aying D own L Jim Radosta: Are any issues on the horizon that Lambda is keeping an eye on? Myron Quon: In California there’s this grandparent custody visitation case going on where there are no lesbian moms involved. But that case we’re working on because we’re wor ried that the California Supreme Court may say the wrong thing— parents have total say over what can he done with their kids, end of discussion. Obviously, we don’t want that as an answer, because there are so many gay dads and lesbian moms out there, usually one of whom if you’re lucky is either biologically related or has done an adoption, hut the other one hasn’t quite got ten to that stage yet. They’ve been together for four or five years and then all of a sudden they break up. And the court will say: “So sad, too bad. Since you didn’t do anything legal, you’re a stranger to your child in the eyes of the law.” It doesn’t make any sense, hut it’s something we’re seeing around the country unfortunately. JR : How does Lambda decide whether to take on a case? M Q: In general, we pick it up if it’s an appel late court decision. If it’s just at trial level— like before a family court judge or a family court mediator— we would hope that the parties can resolve it immediately on their own and we won’t have to get involved. JR : Are you overwhelmed with requests for help? Do you take on some cases that you know you have little chance of winning but that are worth the visibility? MQ: We definitely get lots of requests for assistance. Whenever we do take a case it has to he breaking new ground. We try to find the one case that’ll talk about a certain legal issue that the discusses current court climate JR : What would you say is Lambda’s biggest success story? M Q : There definitely are some trends. O ne is the survivorship issue, especially post- 9/11. Lambda has been highly involved in that issue. I think that’s one area where— because of the tragedy, because of the nature of the harm, because of the complete injustice that people who were living together...and yet either private or government agencies are try ing to treat them as strangers again and give their compensation to blood family members who may he totally anti-gay and estranged from the victim— we have made a lot of headway in that, and I think that’s really encouraging. Myron Quon sees the tide slowly turning in courtrooms across the country I think also encouraging is our work in rela tionship recognition. It’s still very difficult to woman or a feminine man is beat up or harassed we’ve established is really important. get civil unions passed in any state, but or discriminated against...is it because the per In terms of the other aspect, yeah, we often because of all this litigation around the coun son has a same-gender partner or is it because take on cases for public education. We repre try, when state legislators say, “We want to the person is not conforming to society’s norms sented Brandon Teena’s mom in her lawsuit have a civil unions bill in our state,” people of gender and sex? It could be a mix of both, it against Richardson County [Neb.] for their fail don’t look at them like, “W h at’s a civil could be one, I don’t know. ure and neglect of protecting her child from all union?” Instead it’s more like, “No, we oppose But in terms of sexual orientation discrimi sorts of abuse. It’s not really creating new law, it because it’s too much like marriage.” nation in Oregon, you have the Tanner [vs. because it’s essentially tort action trying to say And then the spillover Oregon Health Sciences who’s to blame and is there blame. Universityl decision. You Whenever we do take a case it effect is it’s really a lot eas The sheriff’s department was trying to say, ier now...for us to get also can potentially rely “We didn’t do anything wrong,” which is not has to be breaking new ground. domestic partner registries upon the federal Equal true. There was great public education value to passed, and then the fol Protection Clause [of the it, talking about...hate crimes, about what We try to find the one case lowing year— following 14th Amendment to the gender-nonconforming and transgender people that'll talk about a certain legal the California example— U .S. Constitution], and face, law enforcement practices that are unfair giving it some benefits to that’s really it. to LG BT people. issue that we've established is government employees. You clearly cannot And the following year rely upon Title VII [of the J R : Right now there’s a big push to distin really important." i< a finally giving some true Civil Rights Act of 1964]. guish between sexual orientation and gender teeth to the domestic The weird thing is that identity, which obviously is important to trans partnership registry. the law looks at transgen people. But does this end up creating problems And the last area I guess is probably the safe der people differently. Sex stereotyping and dis in which sexual orientation protection doesn’t schools issue, both in terms of legislation we pass crimination against people who are non-gender- apply to them? around the country as well as school administra conforming may he protected by Title VII. M Q: That’s an interesting question. The tors taking much more seriously name calling answer is, unfortunately, yes. The law currently and anti-gay...harassment. It seems like because JR : Can you think of any recent setbacks does not see sexual orientation and gender iden of the education and teachers’ rights litigation that have been especially disappointing for tity as being the same. we’ve done in the mid- to late ’9 0 s ...it's really Lambda? We recognize that sexual orientation, gender helped the administrators. I think the climate is M Q: Probably the Boy Scouts decision. That identity and gender diversity are related in terms very different from back then. J H was very crushing to lose. of discrimination that people face. If a hutch MyrOll Quon TABOO ADULT VIDE DVD VIDEO MAGAZINES TOYS NOVELTIES LOTIONS AND MORE.. L A K i5 E SELECTION OF DVO’S UNOEE 02.0 PORTLAND L aw That decision was, essentially, the Boy Scouts of America is an anti-gay discriminatory agency, and they can do that if they want to do it. That was the Supreme Court’s ruling. 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