News :: GLBT
In brief
Wednesday Jul 1, 2009
Gay marriage stalls as RI lawmakers wrap up
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Rhode Island seems almost certain to remain the only New England state that does not recognize gay marriage after measures legalizing same-sex unions stalled just before the part-time General Assembly ended the bulk of its annual work.
None of the bills legalizing same-sex marriage in Rhode Island advanced to a floor vote this session, continuing a trend begun in 1997.
The lack of State House action on gay unions means that Rhode Island is unlikely to allow same-sex marriage anytime soon, despite decisions this year by lawmakers in New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont to join Connecticut and Massachusetts in legalizing marriage equality.
"I was hoping the momentum that was going around New England and the support we had in the House would get enough representatives to ask for it," said Rep. Frank Ferri (D-Warwick), who is gay and sponsored same-sex marriage legislation. He and his partner wed in Canada.
Equally disappointed were marriage equality opponents, who wanted voters to be able to decide whether the state constitution should be changed to ban gay marriage.
"I think that if you put it to the voters on a statewide basis, gay marriage would fail," said Rep. Jon Brien, D-Woonsocket.
A poll released by Brown University last month showed 60 percent of registered Rhode Island voters would support a law allowing gay couples to marry, and 75 would support a law allowing civil unions. Still, Rhode Island is the most heavily Roman Catholic state in the country. Catholic leaders are deeply opposed to same-sex unions and several key state officeholders are Catholic.
House Speaker William Murphy and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva-Weed, both Democrats and Catholics, oppose same-sex marriage, while Republican Gov. Don Carcieri, also a Catholic, would be nearly certain to veto marriage equality legislation should it arrive on his desk.
State lawmakers normally end their session at the end of June. But after a marathon week of late-night deal making, Murphy decided that House lawmakers will return at least one day in July and perhaps in the fall to address remaining bills and monitor the state’s bleak finances. The state Senate planned to meet this week, although an exact day was not immediately set.
A bill that would allow gay men and women to make funeral arrangements for their late partners is pending.
Ferri views that funeral-planning bill as a small step forward.
"It’s a recognition of our relationships," Ferri said. "It’s a recognition that we do need protection."
Labor secretary denounces gay pride poster vandals
WASHINGTON -- Labor Secretary Hilda Solis is denouncing vandals who defaced many of the gay pride posters installed at the agency’s Washington headquarters.
Solis, the first secretary in the department’s history to publicly recognize LGBT Pride Month, sent an agency-wide e-mail on June 26 saying she would not tolerate anti-gay misconduct.
"It appears, however, that some members of the Labor Department team have a different view, as it has come to my attention that most of the posters have been continually defaced or removed,’’ Solis said. "On several occasions, even the poster frames have been torn completely off the elevator walls.’’
The posters first went up at the agency’s headquarters on June 1. Solis said they will stay up until the end of the month and would be replaced immediately if they are removed or destroyed.
"I do not believe these actions represent the majority of our employees, so I refuse to let this situation define us," Solis said. "But I do want to make myself absolutely clear: Respect for others is nonnegotiable at the U.S. Department of Labor."
A department spokeswoman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the status of the investigation into the vandalism.
The agency enforces fair and safe work places around the country, Solis noted, adding that every Labor Department employee should be committed to "working with all employers and employees, no matter their race, color, religion or sexual orientation.’’
The incidents came to light as President Barack Obama prepared to host a White House reception on June 29 to commemorate gay pride month.
Holder tells Congress new hate crime law needed
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder urged Congress to pass a new hate crimes law so the government could prosecute cases of violence based on sexual orientation, gender or disability.
At a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing June 25, he cited the recent killing of a security guard at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. The alleged assailant is a white supremacist.
"One has to look at the unfortunate history of our nation. There are groups that have been singled out, that have been targets of violence," the attorney general said. "We have to face and confront that reality."
Lawmakers debated the possible effect of the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act, named after a gay man killed in Wyoming in 1998. It would allow federal prosecution of violence committed because of the actual or perceived gender, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity of the victim.
For more than a decade, Democrats have sought to update the hate crimes law, which already makes it a federal crime to attack someone because of their race, creed or color.
Republicans questioned whether the change would expand federal power unnecessarily into cases already being prosecuted by state and local officials. They also asked why certain victims of violence should be singled out for particular types of protection.
"That’s part of the problem. Some are protected groups and get special protection under this law," said Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the committee’s top Republican. "You argued your case. I’ve listened to it and I’m not persuaded."
According to FBI data, the number of hate crimes per year is relatively unchanged in the past 10 years. In 1998, the FBI reported 7,755 hate crime incidents and 7,624 in 2007.
About half of all hate crimes are motivated by racial bias. The other two most frequent hate crimes are those motivated by religion or sexual orientation.
Sessions, who opposes the bill, and Democratic Sen. Richard Durbin of Illinois, who supports it, asked whether the law could be used to prosecute a church leader who speaks out against homosexuality, if a member of that congregation then assaults a gay person.
"This is a bill to hold people accountable for conduct, not for speech," Holder insisted.
The Traditional Values Coalition is urging lawmakers to vote against the bill, claiming it will jeopardize religious freedoms and "elevate" homosexuality within federal law.
Church creates stir with gay exorcism video
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- The video shows the 16-year-old boy lying on the floor, his body convulsing, as elders of a small Connecticut church cast a "homosexual demon" from his body.
"Rip it from his throat!" a woman yells. "Come on, you homosexual demon! You homosexual spirit, we call you out right now! Loose your grip, Lucifer!"
The 20-minute video posted on YouTube by Manifested Glory Ministries is being called abuse by gay and youth advocates, who are demanding an investigation. But a church official this week denied that the teenager was injured or that the church is prejudiced.
"We believe a man should be with a woman and a woman should be with a man," the Rev. Patricia McKinney told the Associated Press. "We have nothing against homosexuals. I just don’t agree with their lifestyle."
The church posted the video on YouTube but has since removed it; it is still available on some Web sites that copied it. The church declined to make the video available for distribution by the Associated Press.
It shows church members standing the youth on his feet by holding him under his arms, and people shouting as organ music plays.
"Come out of his belly," someone commands. "It’s in the belly -- push."
Later, the teenager is back on the floor, breathing heavily. Then he’s coughing and apparently vomiting into a bag.
"Get another bag," a participant says. "Make sure you have your gloves."
As the youth lay back on the ground, limp, church members put a white sheet over him.
It’s nearly impossible to say how often similar exercises occur in churches nationwide. But Kamora Herrington, who runs a mentoring program at True Colors and has worked with the youth, said she believes it’s fairly common.
"This happens all the time," she said. "This is not isolated."
Robin McHaelin, executive director of True Colors, an advocacy group for gay youths, said her organization is aware of five cases in recent years in which youths in her program were threatened with exorcism.
In one case, she said, a child called to report that his caregiver had called a priest who was throwing holy water on his bedroom door.
"I think it’s horrifying," McHaelin said of the video by Manifested Glory. "What saddens me is the people that are doing this think they are doing something in the kid’s best interests, when in fact they’re murdering his spirit."
McHaelin said she planned to report the situation to the Connecticut Department of Children and Families. An agency spokesman said the agency does not comment on complaints or investigations.
McKinney said the youth was 18. The boy confirmed he is 16 but otherwise declined to comment, citing the advice of his pastor.
McHaelin said the boy told her staff that the church performed the ritual three times at his request. She said the boy has been engaging in risky behavior that she blames on the church’s treatment.
McKinney said the youth went to the church last year and collapsed on the floor during a service.
"He was out of control in the church," she said. "This young man came to us. We didn’t go to him."
McKinney denied the ritual was an exorcism, describing it instead as a casting out of spirits. She said the church took care of the youth, providing him clothes.
"He was dressing like a woman and everything. And he didn’t want to be like that," McKinney said.
The teen had been in reform school for stealing but was eager to get out and go to the church to have what he thought were his demons driven out, Herrington said.
Exodus International, a Christian group that believes gays can become straight through prayer and counseling, does not advocate the church’s approach, said Jeff Buchanan, director of church equipping.
The Rev. Roland Stringfellow, a minister in Oakland, California, said he was subject to demon casting in the 1990s when he was at a Baptist church and was struggling with his sexuality. He said he was put in front of the church as members shouted "demon of homosexuality come out of him."
"It caused nothing but shame and embarrassment," Stringfellow said.
McKinney also has a weekly radio program. She talked on the June 24 program about being "persecuted" in recent days but did not mention the video specifically.
"It’s been a hard time for me, but I’m looking good and I’m standing strong because when you have a mandate like mine you’re not going to say what you want without the adversary coming after you," she said. "If you are a true prophet you’re not going to be popular with the people."
Virginia woman in lesbian-custody case loses again
RICHMOND, Va. -- A Virginia woman who has been fighting for years to deny child-visitation rights to her former lesbian partner lost another round in the Virginia Court of Appeals on June 23.
In a case closely watched by national gay rights and conservative Christian groups, the court unanimously upheld Winchester Circuit Judge John R. Prosser’s dismissal of Lisa Miller’s latest attempt to block Virginia from registering and enforcing a Vermont court order granting visitation rights to Janet Jenkins.
Courts in both states have repeatedly ruled against Miller, who became pregnant by artificial insemination after she and Jenkins entered into a civil union in Vermont in 2000. Miller later renounced homosexuality and moved with daughter Isabella to the Winchester area, and the civil union was dissolved.
The appeals court has now ruled against Miller three times. The Virginia Supreme Court also has ruled that Vermont has sole jurisdiction over the dispute, and the U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear Miller’s appeal.
"This apple must be running out of bites," said Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, which joined the Lambda Legal Defense Fund in representing Jenkins.
But Steve Crampton, a lawyer for the conservative Liberty Counsel, said the battle will continue. Liberty Counsel represents Miller.
"There are several matters involving Janet Jenkins and her attempts to register and enforce rulings out of Vermont in the courts of Virginia," Crampton said. "We expect sooner rather than later to be back in front of this same court making pretty much the same arguments."
Prosser ruled that Miller’s latest complaint raised no new issues. The appeals court said the judge lacked jurisdiction to even entertain Miller’s claim, so dismissal was appropriate.
"This is not a decision on the merits," Crampton said. He said the central issue that has yet to be decided is whether Virginia must not only register the Vermont order but also enforce it.
"Enforcement involves bringing to bear all the mechanisms -- law enforcement and the courts -- to perhaps even physically remove the child from her biological mother and deliver her to someone who is a legal stranger, at least under Virginia law," Crampton said, noting that Virginia does not recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.
Willis, however, said the issue is simple: "It is well established that people can’t just move from one state to another to avoid a court ruling they don’t like."
The Vermont Supreme Court also ruled in Jenkins’ favor in 2006, and last January a Vermont family court judge rejected another attempt by Miller to deny visitation and warned that she risked losing custody of her now 7-year-old daughter if she continues to violate court orders.
Vt. Parks seek gay marriage business
MONTPELIER, Vt. -- Vermont’s incoming same-sex marriage law doesn’t appear to be generating a lot of new marriage business for the state parks.
The law will take effect Sept. 1.
Forest and Parks Commissioner Jason Gibbs says the state isn’t anticipating any significant increase in the same-sex marriage business, but he’d welcome it.
Gibbs says weddings remain a steady form of business for the state park system.
The same-sex marriage law was passed by the legislature over the veto of Gov. Jim Douglas. But now that it is to be state law, Douglas says he’ll welcome the business.
The Barre Montpelier Times Argus says the state decided not to direct advertisements toward same-sex couples looking for a place to get married.
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