i'iiu iih 'iiìn n e w s
the Rules Committee of
the House, where it was
stalled for nine months.
In March the bill was
moved to the House Judi
ciary Committee, where
it was voted out success
fully 15-5 on Nov. 12.
With final passage in the
House by a vote of
118-79, it was presented
to Republican Gov. Mark
Schweiker, who signed it
Dec. 3.
“The people of Penn
sylvania don’t believe in
hate,” said Mara Keisling,
Pennsylvania
Gender State Reps. Warren Chisum and Robert Talton (inset) already have
Rights Coalition co-chair- introduced anti-gay bills for the next session of the Texas Legislature
woman. “With the help of
a fully committed coalition...we were able to discrimination policy and begin providing
convince the state Legislature of the need to health insurance benefits to gay employees’
domestic partners.
protect transgender as well as lesbian, gay and
bisexual people.”
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Portland, Oregon 97225
d r i v e w it h P r id e
TEXAS
TENNESSEE
racker Barrel’s board of directors voted
* Nov. 26 to add sexual orientation to its
written nondiscrimination policy. The change
ends a decade-long H IH IH P N IE IS H H H H
struggle that began
when the company
" > X B ||
issued a policy of V V
- ' ’jJjlSgEjj
firing
employees
who
failed
to R H |j js |^ V
“demonstrate nor-
mal heterosexual
values.”
The board of
the Old Lebanon-
based CBRL Group William C . Thompson
Inc., the parent
company of Cracker Barrel Old Country Stores
and Logan’s Roadhouse restaurants, voted unan
imously to change the nondiscrimination policy
after its annual shareholder meeting. This was
the 10th time such a resolution was put before
shareholders.
“This is the result of a lengthy campaign by
my office and the trustees of several of the city’s
pension systems,” said William C. Thompson of
the New York City Employees Retirement Sys
tem, which sponsored the resolution. “Working
together, we hope to continue to push addition
al companies to enact other nondiscriminatory
policies in the future.”
Cracker Barrel drew national attention in
1991 when it instituted a policy calling for fir
ing employees “whose sexual preferences fail
to demonstrate normal heterosexual values
which have been the foundation o f families
in our society.” A t least 11 workers were ter
minated as a result. The company’s blatant
discrimination— which was legal in the states
where it occurred and remains legal under
federal law— touched off a wave protests and
boycotts.
Cracker Barrel later revoked the policy,
which it once described as a “well-intentioned
overreaction to the perceived values of our cus
tomers," but until now had not expressly pro
tected gay employees from workplace discrimi
nation. In fact, the company recommended that
shareholders vote against the resolution again
this year.
Cracker Barrel was one o f only three com
panies to earn a zero on the Human Rights
Cam paign’s 2002 Corporate Equality Index,
which rates major U .S. businesses on their
policies toward queer employees, consumers
and investors. Another company that had
scored a zero, Lockheed Martin Corp. of
Bethesda, Md., announced last month that it
would add sexual orientation to its non-
R
eportedly emboldened by the November
election results, right-wing legislators
already have begun their attacks on the sexual
minorities community, filing two anti-gay bills
for the next session.
The first is a ban on the recognition of same-
sex marriages or unions from other states. House
Bill 38 was introduced by state Rep. Warren
Chisum.
The second and far more serious bill would
ban gay, lesbian and bi people from serving as
foster parents. House Bill 194 was introduced by
state Rep. Robert Talton.
“Both bills have the potential of having a
huge impact on G L B T Texans,” said Randall
Ellis, Lesbian Gay Rights Lobby of Texas execu
tive director. “We are developing our response
to these unnecessary and cruel attacks on our
community.”
CALIFORNIA
Speaker Pro Tern Christine
Kehoe, D-San Diego, has reintroduced a
bill to prohibit the state from contracting with
businesses that discriminate in the benefits
offered to their employees with domestic part
ners as compared to their employees with spous
es. It was the first measure she introduced for the
2003 legislative session, which commenced
Dec. 2.
“T h is legislation not only ensures that
Californians are not subsidizing discrimina
tory workplace policies but also gives busi
nesses a positive incentive for providing
equal benefits,” said Geoffrey Kors, Califor
nia A lliance for Pride and Equality executive
director. “ It is expected that the incentive o f
being eligible to do business with California
will result in thousands o f companies chang
ing their policies.”
The bill is modeled on San Francisco’s Equal
Benefits Ordinance, in place since 1997. Other
California jurisdictions with similar require
ments include Berkeley, Oakland, Los Angeles
and San Mateo County.
About 4,500 businesses nationwide, includ
ing one-third of the Fortune 500, offer domestic
partner health benefits. The San Francisco law
is credited with encouraging companies employ
ing more than 2 million workers to change their
policies and provide equal benefits.
A version of Assembly Bill 17 was intro
duced late in the 2002 legislative session and
successfully passed two committees and the Sen
ate floor. It is anticipated that this measure will
be addressed in February. | H
Compiled by New s Editor JlM R adq STA, who can
be reached at jhn@justout .com.
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