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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 21, 2003)
february 21.2003 - Injured? hate-motivated misdemeanors that are punishable by up to six months in jail. In 1998 and 1999, attempts by the City C oun cil to add sexual orientation to the existing hate crimes ordinance were defeated. A rticle XII passed in 1993 with the support o f 62 per cent o f voters. David Crowley “I am elated about what happened, and it gives me a lot of faith in the city of Cincinnati and its people,” Councilor David Crowley said. “W e had a cross section of people testify in favor of the ordinance and strong repre sentation from the gay and lesbian community.” basic justice and equality though the federal courts. Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee has been tapped to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. A committee could vote on his nomination before the end of February. Six years ago Bybee, then a professor, offered an extremely troubling view of a landmark equal pro tection case. In Römer v. Evans, the Supreme Court mied that Colorado’s Amendment 2— which sought to ban any municipality in the state from enacting laws protecting gay people from dis crimination— was unconstitutional and was not rationally related to a legitimate purpose. In a 1997 law review article criticizing the decision, Bybee questioned the “continuing validity” of Römer and characterized sexual orientation-inclusive civil ! rights laws as nothing j more than government- sponsored “preferences” 1 1 for “homosexuals.” Jeffrey Sutton, who has been nominated to the U.S. Court of Ap ■ - peals for the 6th Cir j f l cuit, has been a leader in the effort to limit congressional authority to enact laws protecting civil and disability rights. He has argued that the federal judicia ry should have almost unfettered discretion to ConocoPhillips almost became the second company to rescind a sexual override Congress’ em orientation nondiscrimination policy pirical findings in sup NATIONAL p a t of its legislation, which would limit congres : etroleum giant ConcxoPhillips has made a sional authority to protect individuals from viola sound business move by amending its tions of their rights— such as hate crimes. employment nondiscrimination policy to include Timothy Tymkovich, a former Colorado solic sexual orientation, activists announced Feb. 12. itor general who has been nominated to the Court “W e applaud C onocoPhillips for acting of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, defended Amend .responsibly to meet the needs o f its diverse work ment 2 and co-wrote a law review article that force,” said Elizabeth Birch, Human Rights Cam appeared to’reflect anti-gay bias and opposition to paign executive director. “There are a lot of gay, legal protection agaiast discrimination based on lesbian and bisexual ConocoPhillips employees sexual orientation. He lumped homosexuality who will surely feel better about going to work with a litany of “immoral” and dangerous behav today knowing they have the full support of iors, including sadomasochism, cockfighting, bes management. ConiKoPhillips has done the right tiality, suicide, drug use and prostitution. thing by joining many leading corporations in the petroleum industry that have implemented fair nondiscrimination policies.” he Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Net H R C learned of the change Feb. 11. Phillips work expressed serious concern Feb. 4 about Petroleum merged with C onoco last August— President Bush’s newly released education budget, making it the third-largest U .S. oil and gas com stating that the decrease in funding of some of the pany behind ExxonMobil and ChevronTexaco— cornerstone provisions of “No Child Left Behind" and did not apply Contiens nondiscrimination have the potential to expand rather than elimi policy covering sexual orientation to the Hous nate the learning ohstacles faced by queer youth. ton-based corporation. H RC made this informa C hief among the concerns is $75 million in tion public Feb. 6, after confirming a tip. new funding for vouchers and other “choice” “ConocoPhillips is and always has been options and a significant decrease in money for deeply committed to fair and nondiscriminatory programs that help create safe learning environ treatment for all employees,” officials said in a ments for all students. W hile the administration statement. “T he management committee has might view these programs as a magic-bullet solu amended (effective immediately) the company’s tion to all that ails the education system, GLSEN [equal employment opportunity) policy to believes this not only will divert badly needed include the term ‘sexual orientation’ to more funds from public schools, which educate more accurately reflect this com mitment.” than 90 percent of U.S. children, it will benefit Conix:oPhillips’ move leaves ExxonMobil as private institutions that have zero accountabili the only U.S. company ever to lift protectioas for its ty— and in some cases a history of opposition— to queer employees. ExxonMobil rescinded Mobil’s providing equality for queer youth. nondiscrimination policy in December 1999 when “Vouchers present a ‘choice-less choice’ for the companies merged. At the same time, it closed L G B T students and families,” public policy Mobil’s domestic partner director MK Cullen said. “Faced with the choice benefits program to any of a private schixol that doesn’t ensure a discrim more employees. ination-free learning environment tor a system of public education that is further depleted of much-needed funding, L G B T students and their he Bush administra families stand to lose. We will vigorously oppose m n x ** tion has nominated a any proposal that diverts public education slate o f anti-gay judges monies to private institutions. whose confirmations could make it increasingly diffi Compiled by News Editor J im R adosta , who can cult for queers to achieve Jay Bybee be reached at jim@justout .com. 1 T T -jn ...Call me Proudly serving our communily since 1989 in personal 4- Auto & Motorcyle u 1 • Bicvde & Hala Gores, P.C. 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