2 0 | » n t M « ’ julyS. 2002
PHOTO BY BOB P1LEGGI
The
Fantasy
Creature
Store
Gifts from
myth and
ic0cmi
Dragons - Gargoyles - Fairies
Jewelry - Incense - Celtic
Sexy G ifts - E xcitin g Ideas
mid U nique A pparatu s
3106-B NE 64th
Near the co rn er
of 64 th & S andy Blvd
next to It's My P leasure
C orner o f Sandy Blvd. & NE 64 th
3106 NE 6 4 th
P o rtlan d , O R 97213
503-241-8888
503 280 8080
A /! I I *
T h u rs 12-6 • Fri 12-6 • S at 12-7 • S u n 12-5
Saundra H eath and Alicia Toby demand the right to marry June 26 in Jersey City, N.J.
___ __________ - l a t h
NEW JERSEY
n a historic case aiming to legalize marriage
for same-sex couples— and therefore advance
the rights of these couples beyond domestic
partnership benefits or Vermont’s civil union
law— seven lesbian and gay couples filed a suit
June 26 against the state of New Jersey in H ud
son County Superior Court in Jersey City.
The plaintiffs, declaring they are tired of pay
ing first-class taxes while being treated like
second-class citizens, demanded they be allowed
to marry just like their heterosexual friends, fami
ly and neighbors. Because the lawsuit is based
solely on the state constitution, the New Jersey
Supreme Court will have the last word in the case.
“Civil marriage is the legal safety net that our
society provides to support committed couples,
and same-sex partners need the rights and
responsibilities that come with it just as much as
heterosexual couples,” said David Bucket, Lamb
da Legal senior staff attorney. “This case provides
New Jersey with the opportunity to do what’s fair
by providing legal equality to loving and com
mitted same-sex couples across the state.”
T he plaintiffs have been together between
10 and 30 years. Five of the seven couples have
children.
“We want to say ‘we’re married’ and have our
community instantly understand the kind of
loving relationship that we have— that we’re in
it for the long haul, through thick and thin,”
Saundra H eath said. Her partner of 13 years,
Alicia Toby, added, “We shouldn’t have to jump
through a million hoops to prove who we are to
each other, and even then not be treated as
equal to other couples.”
I
William 9 : ( 5 0 3 ) 9 0 3 -9 2 2 0 • 2 0 7 SE 12 th • Buckman Pietro: ( 5 0 3 ) 2 3 0 -2 3 3 1
ay and Lesbian couples need to take
extra precautions when creating an
estate plan. Why? Because the government
doesn’t provide equal rights to same sex
couples, and it ’s essential that y o u ’re
prepared for the legal battle that may ensue
when you or your partner die.
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a t ( 5 0 3 ) 2 4 1 - 1 2 1 SToday!
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n the heels of passage June 20 by the state
Assembly, the state Senate voted 38-0 for a
bill requiring all New Jersey school districts to
adopt harassment and bullying prevention poli
cies. The Gay, Lesbian
and Straight Education
Network applauded the
Legislature for taking
steps to bolster protec
tions for queer students
and called on Gov.
James E. McGreevey to
sign the measure before
the end of this year’s
session.
“We are heartened t l
that New Jersey’s law James E. McGreevey
makers have taken this
important step on behalf of the safety and well
being of the state’s 1.3 million students,” execu
tive director Kevin Jennings said. “This bill pro
vides a clear directive to school districts that all
of their students...m ust be protected against
bullying and harassment.”
T he bill builds upon New Jersey’s Law Against
O
Discrimination, which prohibits bias in public
institutions on the basis of real or perceived sexu
al orientation. This new measure strengthens the
existing legal obligations by including specific
requirements for schools to adopt, implement and
publicize policies and procedures for addressing
instances of bullying and harassment.
New Jersey is one of eight states that protect
students from discrimination or harassment
based on sexual orientation. In addition, passage
would make the state the third to include spe
cific protections for trans students.
MINNESOTA
A
federal appeals court June 20 said a M in
neapolis public school met its legal obliga
tion by giving alternate restroom options to an
instructor who did not want to use the same
facilities as a male-to-fem ale trans library
employee in what the American Civil Liberties
U nion called a “watershed victory.”
Southwest High teacher Carla Cruzan com
plained that allowing Debra Davis to use the
women’s bathroom violated her religious freedom
and created a hostile workplace based on sex. As
a result, the school provided her with ready access
to several other bathrooms, including single-
person facilities and other women’s restrooms.
Unsatisfied with Southwest’s accommoda
tion for her, Cmzan asked a federal court to
block Davis from using the women’s restrooms.
She lost and appealed to the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the 8th Circuit in St. Louis.
“This case had two common threads that we
see all across the country: Someone didn’t want a
transgendered person to have basic access to
restrooms and then used religion as a smoke
screen for blatant discrim ination,” attorney
Tamara Lange said. “Carla Cruzan was the person
who thought there was a problem here, so the
school was right to find some other alternative for
her—not for the transgendered employee.”
NATIONAL
ervicemembers Legal Defense Network called
on Air Forces Reserve officials June 24 to
cease using an enlistment application that illegal
ly asks recmits about their sexual orientation.
T he document, which appears to be used
throughout the Air Force Reserve, also is posted
on the A ir Force Reserve Command Publica
tion and Forms Web page. Last updated in 1987,
six years before implementation of the “don’t
ask, don’t tell” policy, it includes two questions
regarding an applicant’s sexual orientation:
• A re you a homosexual or bisexual?
(“Homosexual” is defined as: sexual desire or
behavior directed at a person(s) of one’s own
sex. "Bisexual” is defined as: a person sexually
responsive to both sexes.)
• Do you intend to engage in homosexual
acts (sexual relations with another person of the
same sex)?
S