,
January 3.2003 * Ju st M tj 7
rrTTTîT7T!T1 news
defending him in the ethics proceedings.
The commission asked the court to rep
rimand Wilkerson publicly and fine him
$150 for violating the code. Since early
2002, judges specifically have been ordered
to avoid “expressions of bias or prejudice,"
including demeaning remarks based on
“sexual orientation.”
In recent years, a handful of states have
reprimanded judges for ann-gay bias. The
only other censure of a Southern judge relat
ed to sexual orientation txxurred several
years ago in Texas. Judges in Alabama, Illi
nois, Michigan and LX-la ware also have faced
complaints of anti-gay bias in recent years.
SPA RTA C U S
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KENTUCKY
federal appeals court has dismissed an
effort by a Louisville gynecologist to Televangelist Pat Robertson’s law center supported
strike down a local ordinance making it an anti-gay lawsuit that was dismissed in Kentucky
illegal to discriminate on the basis of sexu
al orientation and gender identity. T he court
Shannon Minter, National Center for Lesbian
found that the statute did not affect the reli
Rights legal director. “The court recognized that
gious practices of J. Barrett Hyman, a Baptist
children of same-sex parents must he given the
represented by Pat Robertson’s American C en
same rights as other children, including the
ter for Law and Justice, and that therefore his
right to financial support from both parents.”
lawsuit was baseless.
.
“This case was never about Dr. Hymans reli
CO LO RAD O
gious liberties,” attorney Leslie Cooper said. “It
\ federal lawsuit filed Dec. 12 in Denver
alleges that Belle Bonfils Memorial Blood
was an attempt to tear down important civil
à %, <
rights protections.”
Center violated the Americans with Disabilities
Hyman claimed his religious rights were
Act by engaging in employment discrimination,
violated by the anti-discrimination ordinance
Attorney Eric Maxfield asserts that the
because it made it illegal for him to bar gay and
nonprofit illegally fired a donor technician on
trans people from working in his medical office.
the basis of his HIV-positive status. The com-
A federal district court allowed him to bring
plaint also alleges that the termination violat-
the suit but dismissed all his claims under the
ed Section 504 of the United States Rehabili
U.S. Constitution and the Kentucky Constitu
tation A ct as well as the Colorado Anti-
tion— including freedom of speech, religion
Discrimination Act.
and association claims.
“Bonfils’ action violated the ADA because
Hyman appealed the lower court’s decision
the employee’s health status posed no danger to
to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Cir
potential hkxxl donors,” Maxfield said. “This
cuit. The court didn’t find it necessary to address
act is all the more egregious in that it is perpe
the merits of his claims hut found instead that
trated by a well-known bkxxl center that had, in
the past, worked to dispel the myths surround
he didn’t have the right to bring the lawsuit in
the first place because the ordinance didn’t
ing the safety of Colorado’s blixxl supply. Bonfils
affect his religious practices.
should have known better.”
P E N N S Y L V A N IA
three-judge panel of the Pennsylvania
Superior Q uirt unanimously affirmed a
trial court ruling ordering a nonhiological co
parent to pay child support
for the five kids she jointly
brought into the world and
raised with her fonner part
ner. The ruling in L.S.K. vs.
H.A.N. is one of the first
appellate decisions in the
county addressing child sup
port issues for kids bom to
same-sex parents.
L.S.K. and her former
partner H.A.N. were in a
relationship for more than Ann M DeGroot
10 years. During this time,
the couple decided to raise a family together.
Using anonymous donor insemination,
L.S.K. gave birth to their first child in 1990. In
1993, again using anonymous donor insemina
tion, L.S.K. gave birth to quadruplets.
From the moment the babies were bom,
both women shared in all child-rearing respon
sibilities until their separation in 1997. H.A.N.
then sought and was awarded joint legal cus-
tixly of the kids.
In 1998, L.S.K. successfully sued H.A.N. for
child support. Judges affirmed that decision
Dec. 17, holding that because “H.A.N. acted as
a co-parent with Mother in all areas concern
ing the children’s conception, care and sup
port,” she was barred from claiming she owed
no duty of support.
"This case is about fairness to children," said
10 %
M IN N E S O T A
he Minneapolis City Council approved a
measure Dec. 13 requiring large contrac
tors with the city to offer equal benefits to all
employees. The legislation,
modeled on ordinances
passed in seven municipal
ities throughout the coun
try, will go into effect
Jan. 1, 2004.
San Francisco passed the
first such measure in 1997,
according to OutFront Min
nesota public policy director
Monica Meyer. A pending
ordinance in New York City
will increase the number of
businesses providing parity
in benefits to their employees.
Meyer pointed out that such benefits typical
ly cost no more than covering employees’ spous
es and have minimal fiscal impact. Moreover,
the measure exempts small businesses and reli
gious entities and permits contractors that do
not offer equal benefits to comply by simply cer
tifying that they would do so if asked by an
employee eligible to receive them.
“We believe this ordinance is business-
friendly while also advancing the interests of the
city and workers,” said Ann M. DeGroot, Out-
Front Minnesota executive director. “Overall, it
is a strong statement about the positive values of
this community.” JH
r
Compiled by News Editor J im R apost A, who can
be reached at jim@justout.com.
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