by PlanetOut, www.PlanetOut.com, a Worldwide Online Community of Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Trans People
McVeigh Ruling
Now Permanent
U.S. District Judge Stanley
Sporkin today made permanent the temporary injunction he issued January 26, preventing the Navy from discharging Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy McVeigh, whose career was about to be abruptly ended based on the "gay" content of the profile associated with one of his America Online screen names. The earlier, strongly-worded injunction, which had asserted that the Navy should never have begun its investigation of McVeigh and had violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act, had barred the Navy from ousting McVeigh only until his lawsuit was resolved.
"This is a huge victory for McVeigh," said attorney C. Dixon Osbum of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the leading legal advocacy group assisting gay and lesbian servicemembers, which has been working with McVeigh throughout his case although not representing him in his federal privacy lawsuit. "What Judge Sporkin's ruling means is that after reviewing the merits of the case, he has determined that the Navy violated the Electronic Communications Privacy Act as well as the limits on investigations under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue.' This is the first time that a federal court judge has said that the Navy has failed to follow its own rules and regulations under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue."' Osborn thinks that the ruling will serve to warn the military that it "cannot go snooping for evidence that troops are gay."
While reserving the right to appeal, the Navy accepted the ruling, apparently ending the effort to oust McVeigh unless new evidence should arise; government attorneys refused to comment after the hearing. Just what McVeigh will do on the job and how safe he will be there are still open questions.
Before the Navy began its investigation of McVeigh in September, the decorated 17-year veteran was Chief of the Boat - the top-ranking enlisted man - on a fast-attack nuclear submarine. "Let the investigation and discharge were in process, he was moved to his squadron's base at Pearl Harbor, taking a $745/month pay cut and doing construction work, such as drywall. McVeigh's attorney Christopher Wolf charged in court today that since the case has been in court, he's been given demeaning assignments, saying that, "Upon his return to duty in Hawai'i [on January 26], he was given two assignments, one of which was to supervise two individuals carting trash out of a room."
Wolf further charged that Navy personnel have been openly hostile to McVeigh and requested a court order to require the Navy either to provide for his safety or to arrange for his early retirement. Wolf told the court, "He is legitimately concerned about his safety. We are very concerned that a situation like that in A Few Good Men [a film in which a Marine is killed by his coworkers because of his private life] does not develop." But Sporkin declined to issue the order, saying, "I think you're putting me in the position of running the Navy, and I can't do that."
That's U.S. Politics
Lexington, Kentucky Fields Gay
Candidates: There's believed
never to have been an openly gay candidate for local office in Lexington, Kentucky before, but as the filing deadline for applications closed Jan. 27, there are now two, both seeking seats on the Lexington-Fayette County Urban County Council. The first to file was Matt Solberg, former president of the UK Lambda group, who will face two opponents for the 11th District seat. Jeff Jones, familiar from the publication "The Letter," is one of 12 candidates for three at-large seats on the Council. Their first challenge is a May 26 vote to narrow the field for the non-partisan Council seats, and if they make the cut they'll go on to the final elections in Nov. Solberg will be raising funds for a full-scale campaign, but Jones says he plans "a very laid-back, low budget campaign...except for the troupe of sky-diving leather-clad drag queens..."
Cammermeyer Has Democratic Opposition: Retired
Army Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer, who was the highest-ranking military officer to be discharged for homosexuality before she finally prevailed in her legal appeal, two months ago opened a campaign office for her candidacy for the U.S. Congress from Washington state's 2nd Congressional District, a seat now held by Republican Jack Metcalf. But Cammermeyer will also be facing Democratic opposition since Fran Einterz declared his candidacy last week on a platform of community preservation, environmental protection and fresh approaches to solving government problems. Einterz is founder and chair of Service Alternatives of Washington, a government contractor with 500 employees providing programs across the state for adults with developmental disabilities and families in crisis.
San Francisco Peers: While
Mayor Willie Brown is looking
for a Latina Lesbian to replace Susan Leal on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors since Leal won the city Treasurer's job in Nov., another Lesbian is daring to challenge a 20-year incumbent for a municipal judgeship in what may be a gloves-off campaign. The San Francisco Examiner says that until now Judge Dorothy von Beroldingen "has managed to scare off anyone who thought of running for her seat," but attorney and law lecturer Nancy Davis, founder of Equal Rights Advocates, is taking the challenge. Davis and her partner Superior Court Judge Donna Hitchens in 1987 became the first Lesbian couple in the U.S. to legally adopt a child, after successfully suing the California Department of Social Services. Davis' best-known supporter is Roberta Achtenberg, once the highest-ranking open Gay or Lesbian in the federal government under the first Clinton administration, while Von Beroldingen has Mayor Brown, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein, and state Senators John Burton and Quentin Koop behind her. Working against Von Beroldingen is her age, 82 (Davis is 50), and a series of health problems in the last few years.
Giuliani Endorses Pataki: Gay-friendly New York City Mayor
Rudy Giuliani and New York Governor George Pataki have little in common other than their Republican Party affiliation, so much so that four years ago Giuliani endorsed Pataki's gay-friendly Democratic incumbent opponent Mario Cuomo instead. But recently Giuliani said that Pataki deserved reelection in Nov., saying, "He's been very fair to the city, and he's been a very good governor from the point of view of the city of New York and the entire state." Giuliani added, "I like him. He's a nice guy."
From Europe,
Australia & More
No DP Soon in Belgium: Although a committee of the
Belgian parliament spent six months developing a proposal for legal registered partnerships for Gay and Lesbian couples, the issue has proven too controversial for it to proceed, according to a report in the Dutch newspaper De GAY Krant. The strongest opposition has come from Francophone MPs who object to granting equal parental and adoption rights to same-gender couples. Ironically, France itself will be considering a strong partnership measure this month.
Australian Cops Good and Bad:
(with thanks to Graham
Underhill) The latest cloak and dagger scandal in the Australian state of Victoria is the discovery that records of past covert police actions-including spying on and infiltration of gay and lesbian organizations, among many others - were not destroyed years ago as police officials had promised the government they would be. Police appear to have intentionally misled the government ombudsman overseeing the destruction. Kris Sanderson, president of the Gay and Lesbian ALSO Foundation told Melbourne's The Age newspaper, "Never in Australian history has the need for enumerated civil rights and human rights been greater than the discovery and disclosure of secret police files held by the Victorian Police," adding that relations between Victoria's Gay and Lesbian community and police there have reached an all-time low. The covert activities had targeted a broad range of liberal causes, to a degree reminiscent of ousted U.S. President Richard Nixon's "enemies list," and infiltration of groups was so extensive that undercover officers were performing regular duties for them, such as producing programs for a community radio station.
But in New South Wales, the Police Service is testing in Sydney a new system for stronger response to hate crimes, including those motivated by bias against Gays and Lesbians. Any crime apparently motivated by prejudice, from assaults to graffiti, will be considered a hate crime, and police will specifically ask victims if they believe a crime to be bias-motivated. Police are then required to provide hate crime victims with additional support, including specialist counseling services, and are receiving special training to ensure sensitive response to victims. They are directed to collect information focused on the offenders rather than the victims, and those records will be retained in a central database for the first time. Gay and Lesbian activists lobbied hard for the new response system, which is planned to extend statewide by the end of the year after a six-month pilot effort in Sydney. NSW Police recorded 31 homicides last year as having been motivated by homophobia.
British Cross-Dressing Comic
Lobbies for Europe: Comic
Eddie Izzard is described by the London Times as "Britain's most celebrated transvestite," but this week he appeared on BBC 1's honored public affairs roundtable "Question Time." Although politics has not generally been the subject of Izzard's humor, he says that, "I've always been political. It's nothing new, but I'm stamping on about Europe because the British can be so small-minded. " He's an enthusiastic supporter of the European single currency, which Britain doesn't seem likely to adopt soon, and about which even Germany and France seem to have increasing reservations.
Word to Refugees in the U.S.:
Organizations assisting
Gays and Lesbians seeking asylum in the U.S. are increasingly concerned to raise awareness of major changes in the process effective Apr. 1. After that date, all applicants will have to file within one year of their arrival in the country, unless they can prove "exceptional circumstances." In response, the Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights has prepared a 178-page publication Preparing Sexual Orientation-Based Asylum Claims: A Handbook for Advocates and Asylum-Seekers, which can be obtained from the Alliance by calling 312.629.4500 extension 4531.
CitiBank Sponsors Elton's Tour
It's rather rare for corporations to
select openly gay celebrities for
endorsements of any kind, but in an effort to increase its recognition as a world presence, Citibank has arranged to be the sole sponsor of Elton John's 65-city "The Big Picture Tour," in a multi-million-dollar deal including television commercial spots, billboards and print ads with John and consumer retail promotions in 56 nations. The tour began Jan. 21 in Biloxi, MS, and includes cities in Europe, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand as well as the U.S.
At a kickoff event Jan. 22, Citibank presented John with a check for $ 1 -million for the Elton John AIDS Foundation, and at least another million will be raised for the Foundation in the course of the sponsorship through a "cause-related marketing" program.
While not actually serving as a spokesperson for Citibank, John will appear in two "branding" commercials and a tour commercial, all to be produced by Young & Rubicam Advertising for broadcast in 1998. An hour-long global chat with John is planned for the Citibank web site. Citibank will open a Big Picture Tour Store for its customers, offering John's recordings, tour concert tickets and other special offers.
Citibank executive vice president William I. Campbell called the agreement "historic" and said it was a first for the corporation. He said of John that, "He is the right choice for Citibank. Not only is he an enormous talent with worldwide recognition and appeal to diverse audiences, but he has built an international reputation as someone with great concern for humanitarian issues." Citibank declined to give exact figures for the multi-million-dollar deal, but it will be John's exclusive sponsor for all of 1998.
John, dressed in the blue of the Citibank logo, said, "I'm delighted to now be associated with the world's leading bank, and I look forward to an exciting and rewarding relationship with Citibank in 1998." John also remarked, "I've been sponsored by people before and that's nice, but this is the biggest thing I've done. It feels very comfortable for me."
Reports From
The AIDS Front
Good News Numbers: Deaths
from AIDS in California
dropped 60% in the first six months of 1997 compared to the first six months of 1996 (from 2,788 to 1, 1 12).... Chicago saw its first drop in deaths of women from AIDS (from 56 in the last six months of 1996 to 47 in the first six months of 1997) and a "precipitous" drop in deaths of African-Americans (of both genders, from 207 in the last six months of 1996 to 134 in the first six months of 1997); deaths dropped even more for men (of all races, from 274 in the second half of 1996 to 163 in the first half of 1997).... The Centers for Disease Control had found a 23% drop in deaths from 1995 to 1996.
World AIDS Day Home Test
Followup: You may recall
that on Dec. 1, in observance of World AIDS Day, Home Access Health Corporation offered free HIV home test kits to callers, with the promise of contributing another free kit for community organizations for each call received. The company announced January 14 that as a result it is providing the National AIDS Fund with almost $100,000 worth of test kits to distribute to its partner community organizations in 15 states. Home Access remains the only home test kit approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.
FDA OK's Drugs Faster: The
U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced January 14 that streamlined processing has speeded up the process of approval for new drugs by up to 20%. Overall in 1997, a total of 121 new drugs not approved elsewhere were approved within a median period of 14.4 months, 6% faster than the 1996 median period of 15.4 months. Ten drugs new to the U.S. were approved in 1997 in a median period of 12 months, 20% faster than the 15.08 month median in 1996. One of the priority approvals of 1997 was Agouron's protease inhibitor Viracept.
More U.S. Vaccine Trials:
Three more government
funded small human trials of experimental AIDS vaccines were announced January 14, adding to 45 current U.S. trials of 24 different approaches. One involves topical application to sites where HIV is commonly transmitted, of a genetically engineered canary pox virus carrying three HIV proteins (Pasteur Merieux Connaught's ALVAC-HIV vCP205). A separate trial of ALVAC adds a naturally occurring human cytokine (GM-CSF from Immunex) that stimulates blood cell production and will hopefully potentiate the vaccine. The third uses a genetically engineered salmonella virus to carry one HIV protein inside cells (University of Maryland VVG203).
Frank Lamendola Dies: Minnesota AIDS activist Frank P.
Lamendola, a pioneer in hospice services, died Jan. 11 of AIDS-related causes at the age of 48. He co-founded the national education service for caregivers, Journeywell, and was also a co-founder of the Twin Cities Gay Men's Chorus. He is survived by his life partner James Haines.
Man Who
Set Himself Afire Dies
Alfredo Ormando, the Sicilian
man who set himself on fire
outside St. Peter's Basilica in Rome to protest the Roman Catholic Church's treatment of gays, has died of his burns at the age of 39. Ormando's death was announced recently in a statement by the Italian national organization ArciGay/ArciLesbica, which proposed that the Jan. 13 date of Ormando's self-immolation be observed as an "international anniversary of the fight against discrimination against gays and lesbians for religious motives." Earlier on that same date, ArciGay had been holding a candlelight march in Rome to protest violence against gays and lesbians, particularly the highly-publicized murder last month of former Papal assistant Enrico Sini Luzi (two somewhat similar murders have since been committed in Milan).
ArciGay's statement said, "Ormando, protagonist of the sensational act beneath the colonnades of St. Peter's Square in Rome ... has passed away as a result of the serious burns suffered all over his body. ArciGay pays homage to the new hero of the struggle for liberation and for the civil rights of homosexuals." The statement also said that, "The Roman Catholic Church should beg forgiveness for the sufferings inflicted on homosexuals." ArciGay has charged that the powerful influence of the Church in Italy has served to feed homophobia and to support official indifference to rampant violence against gays.
In fact, the Vatican has denied any connection with Ormando's action, even though he was actually trying to enter St. Peter's while he was on fire. He collapsed before reaching the entry, suffering burns over more than 90% of his body before the flames could be extinguished. The Vatican was unimpressed with a letter in the pocket of a jacket Ormando doffed before splashing himself with gasoline and setting himself alight, denying that it showed his demonstration was directed at the Church. The letter spoke of how his family and the rest of society failed to understand his sexual orientation.
However, the Italian news service ANSA turns out to have also received a letter from Ormando the day before his protest which explained his actions.
