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by PlanetOut, www.PlanetOut.com, a Worldwide Online Community of Gay, Lesbian, Bi and Trans People
Maine Vote Repeals Rights
The civil rights protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation that took activists 20 years to enact were struck down by Maine voters on Feb. 10 by about 5 1 % to 49%, making Maine the first state to repeal its own civil rights law. Spin it how you will, it's a setback for gays and lesbians. Even Governor Angus King, who was the leading public spokesperson for retaining the civil rights bill he signed in May, had to conclude that no similar bill should be brought before the legislature again "anytime in the immediate future," although maintaining that there would still be forward movement in what he called "an evolutionary process." It remains to be seen just how the outcome in Maine will affect other locales in which an energized anti-gay right is pitted against a drained gay and lesbian rights movement.
Although voter turnout was better than many had anticipated (variously reported as 25% and 33%), which was expected to favor civil rights, some 8,200 votes made the difference between victory and defeat. Analysts noted that there was a distinct rural/urban split, with some rural precincts voting about 2-to-1 for repeal while urban polls favored civil rights by 2-to-1 or more. Urban turnout was above the state average as well, at 30% or better. Previous polls had indicated that more than 60% of Mainers registered to vote support civil rights, but there have been many other instances in which favorable survey responses on the question were not reflected in balloting -notably in the crushing defeat of Washington state's attempt to enact gay and lesbian civil rights through a referendum in November.
Randy Tate, executive director of the national Christian Coalition, which actively supported the repeal effort, told the media, "I think you're going to continue to see these issues pop up across the country because it seems a defining issue for liberalism going into the 21st century is granting special rights based on one's sexual preferences behind closed doors." Indeed, the Christian Coalition's own "voter guides" have gone out of their way to make gay and lesbian issues the definition of liberalism in voting for public offices for several years. (Characteristically, Tate not only uses "special rights" to describe legal recourse in the event of discrimination, but attributes discrimination to actual sexual activity, while most acts of discrimination are actually based on perceptions entirely apart from the bedroom.)
Similarly, the Washington, DC based Family Research Council's Robert Knight said, "We see Maine as a linchpin since it has acquired a reputation as a liberal state." In fact, Mainers voted in 1995 to defeat a measure that would have prohibited civil fights for lesbians and gays by 53% to 47%.
Kerry Lobel, executive director of the Washington, DC based National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, which actively supported the campaign to retain Maine's civil rights law, said, "The right wing again used a divisive campaign to sell the lie of 'special rights' at the ballot box. We will continue our efforts to secure civil rights laws in every state.... Our thanks go to the hard-working gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered activists in Maine who have now faced hostile statewide ballot measures twice in just over 2 years. It's time to end the fight-wing sponsored politics of division. We will continue to work with Maine and other states until equality is the law of the land."
Currently 10 U.S. states have some civil fights protections from discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Call for McVeigh Investigation
Republican Congressmember Howard Coble (R-NC), chair of the Courts and Intellectual Property Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee, joined William Delahunt (D-MA) in writing a letter to President Bill Clinton Feb. 10 calling for "a full investigation" into the case of Senior Chief Petty Officer Tim McVeigh, whom the Navy attempted to discharge based on the "gay" content of a profile associated with one of his several America Online screen names. Federal Judge Stanley Sporkin forced the Navy to reinstate McVeigh, finding that the Navy had violated both "don't ask, don't tell" and the federal Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) in its investigation of McVeigh.
The Congressmembers' letter read in part, "Now is the time for the Administration to send an unequivocal message to Americans of every political persuasion that government agencies will not be permitted to gather private information on American citizens without their consent and in violation of federal law, or to take punitive actions on the basis of private information that has been illegally obtained.... Both Democrats and Republicans are watching this case with the keenest attention. Some of us oppose the policy requiring the discharge of gay service members; some of us support that policy. However, while we may disagree on this underlying issue, we are united in our concern over the implications of the case for the development of the Internet and the legitimate privacy interests of those who make us of it."
The letter went on to express concerns for the government's proposal to allow encryptions only if law enforcement has the keys to the codes, saying, "When concerns have been raised that a key recovery system would compromise public confidence in the integrity of confidential communications, these [federal law enforcement] agencies have repeatedly given their assurances that encryption keys would not be used in the absence of a warrant or court order. Yet what are we to make of such assurances when the Navy could so readily circumvent the warrant requirements of the ECPA in order to obtain private subscriber information?"
Meanwhile, several Senators are introducing measures to regulate the Internet, including proposals by Dan Coats (R-IN) and John McCain (R-AZ) for censorship of "adult" materials.
Oscar Robbery?
There is a faction in the Academy that we feel is homophobic," the Associated Press' John Horn was told by Tom Bernard of Sony Pictures Classics. Bernard isn't entirely disinterested, mind you-SPC is distributing Ma Vie en Rose, the critically-acclaimed story of a French family with a young transgender son, which was nominated for a Golden Globe but didn't make the cut for an Oscar nomination. Horn also noted that Kevin Kline's "outed" drama teacher in In & Out was passed up by the Academy, even though co-star Joan Cusack got a Best Supporting Actress nod. Bernard suggested that was the reason why "sister studio" Sony Pictures' release My Best Friend's Wedding didn't get a Best Supporting Actor nomination for open gay Rupert Everett's work as a gay character. The San Francisco Chronicle's Edward Guthman also felt that Everett "got stiffed," and also felt that open lesbian Anne Heche had merited a nomination for her supporting work in Wag the Dog.
Satcher Confirmed
The U.S. hasn't had a Surgeon General since Joycelyn Elders resigned under pressure in 1994, but Republicans finally allowed the Senate to approve the nomination of David Satcher on February 10. Secretary of Health and Human Services Donna Shalala watched the Capitol Hill proceedings with Satcher at her department, and when she celebrated the vote by patting the official Surgeon General's chair to welcome him, a puff of dust went up. Satcher will be sworn in on February 13. Satcher has been director of the Centers for Disease Control, after years working in inner-city hospitals, and his support for needle exchange programs to prevent the spread of AIDS was one of the Republicans' problems with his nomination. Along with all the Democrats about 1/3 of Senate Republicans supported his nomination, led by the Senate's only physician, Bill Frist (R-TN), for a final tally of 63 - 35; even conservative Republican Orrin Hatch of Utah found "inspiring" Satcher's personal rise from a childhood of poverty. The Republican opposition to the nomination was led by John Ashcroft (R-MO), who objected to needle exchange but even more to Satcher's support for abortion (Liberal Rhode Island Republican John Chafee said, "I find it distressing that no matter what we do around this place, suddenly we're into abortion.) The national gay and lesbian Human Rights Campaign was among the first to cheer the appointment.
Washington State Nixes Marriage
at Top SpeedWashington state lawmakers set an all-time speed record in enacting a ban on gay and lesbian marriages-it took just five hours for both houses to approve it, Governor Gary Locke to veto it, and both houses to vote to override the veto. Democratic leaders who opposed the ban nonetheless cooperated in rushing it through, rather than have to face the issue as a ballot measure during elections this fall. The new law, which will become effective in 90 days, defines marriage as between "one man and one woman" (a distinction which had already long been established within Washington through legal precedents) and denies legal recognition to any same-gender marriage another state may someday perform. Washington is believed to be the 27th state to enact such a law. After a debate that lasted only minutes, the Senate approved the bill by a vote of 34 - 13 (all 26 Republicans and 8 Democrats voted in favor). The House, which has passed similar bills three times before, spent even less time in debate before voting 60 - 33 (including 6 Democrats in favor and one Republican, Don Carlson, opposing). In fact, the only speech was a brief statement by the House's only open gay, Representative Ed Murray (D-Seattle), about the bill's goals already having been achieved by courts within the state and the federal so-called Defense of Marriage Act of 1996. For Governor Locke, a Democrat, it was the first time in his tenure that the legislature has overridden his veto, even though he struck down one-quarter of the bills that passed the House and Senate last year - including a previous same-gender marriage ban. In the eyes of the Republican leadership, Locke actually invited the override by expressing his own distaste for the prospect of a referendum on gay and lesbian marriage. He certainly acted promptly to veto the measure within minutes of its passage (he could have waited up to five days) and to send it back to the legislature via his lobbyist with the message that, "Not only is this legislation unnecessary, it serves no legitimate purpose." Locke said later, "No governor likes to have a veto overridden. But at least this issue does not go to the ballot. I did not want a divisive, bitter campaign. I did not want contributing members of our society vilified or used for false fears and scapegoating." The House voted 65 - 28 to override Locke, with six Democrats who had voted against the bill itself shifting over to ensure the 2/3 majority required for override. The Senate voted 34 - 11 without further debate, with Senate Minority Leader Sid Snyder (D-Long Beach) shifting his vote because he'd promised to support the override, even though it had the 2/3 majority without him. Murray and openly lesbian Democratic Seattle City Council member Tina Podlodowski issued a joint statement afterwards saying they were, "perplexed, saddened and angered" by legislation that "denigrates and dehumanizes lesbians and gays in this state. We remain convinced that this is an issue of discrimination against lesbians and gays and their families, and that this issue ultimately will be decided by the courts in favor of equality and justice." They said they were in the process of assembling a legal team to take the matter to the courts.
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