August 17, 2005

The Liberty Line is a monthly e-mail update from the Liberty Education Forum. 

Reaching the Heartland

Liberty Education Forum Establishing Public Opinion Network
Conservative talk radio shows often include discussions about gay and lesbian issues, but our side is rarely represented.  Misleading assertions and dishonest claims often go unchallenged.  LEF's Public Opinion Network aims to solve this problem.  The Liberty Education Forum Public Opinion Network will counter the voices of intolerance that often dominate talk radio airwaves and "letter to the editor" sections of newspapers.  Participants will be trained to call talk radio stations to discuss gay and lesbian issues and write opinion editorials in newspapers.  When issues arise, LEF staff will distribute talking points to members of our Public Opinion Network so they can present the gay and lesbian viewpoint on talk radio and in print.  Part of this effort involves the placement of op-eds in newspapers throughout the country.  Please e-mail Patrick Sammon   to find out more information about joining our public opinion network.  It's a minimal time commitment, but your participation will make an important difference in the fight for equality. 

Book Shows Animals Exhibit "Gay" Behavior
In his book "Biological Exuberance: Animal Homosexuality and Natural Diversity," Seattle biologist Bruce Bagemihl estimates 450 species display some form of homosexuality, which can include same-sex courtship, displays of affection, sexual activity, long-term pairings and parenting.  For example, he cites that up to 15% of Western gull pairs are females. The birds woo each other with gifts of food and form bonds that last for years. They build joint nests and tend clutches of unfertilized eggs. Occasionally, one or both females will mate with males, but they always raise their young together.  The book claims that none of this is surprising to field biologists, but many omit or gloss over homosexual behavior in their scientific reports.  Read more.

Jerry Falwell Prescribes Therapy for Gay Youth
Proving his credentials as a leader of the radical right, Rev. Jerry Falwell recently endorsed forcing gay kids into "ex-gay" counseling.  Falwell spoke at Exodus International's 30th annual Freedom Conference in Asheville, attended by approximately 1,000 people.  Exodus International is the largest religious group promoting the idea that gays can change their sexual orientation.  Falwell compared allowing a child to identify as gay with allowing children to play on the interstate.  He also dismissed psychologists' claims that consent is fundamental to a healthy counseling relationship and that parents should not force their gay kids into therapy.  Read more.

Keeping the Faith

Evangelical Lutheran Church Rejects Gay Inclusive Proposals
A national meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America rejected a proposal last week that would have allowed gays in committed relationships to serve as clergy under certain conditions.  The Associated Press reports, "The measure would have affirmed the church ban on ordaining sexually active gays and lesbians, but would have allowed bishops and church districts called synods to seek an exception for a particular candidate—if that person was in a long-term relationship and met other restrictions.

"Delegates voted against the measure 503-490. Even if it had won a simple majority of votes, that wouldn't have been enough; the proposal needed a two-thirds majority to pass.  Earlier in the day, delegates voted 851-127 to keep the church unified despite serious differences over homosexuality. They also rebuffed what many saw as an attempt to push the denomination toward approval of blessing ceremonies for same-sex couples.  All the proposals - the product of three years' work by a special church task force - were meant as a compromise that would satisfy both those who support gay clergy and those who regard gay sex as sinful. However, the measures drew immediate opposition from Lutherans on opposing sides of the debate."  Read more.

Teen Working to Spread Pro-Gay Theology
Justin Cannon, a young gay Christian from inner-city Detroit, established TruthSetsFree.net to educate Christians and others who have been influenced by biblical distortions often used to condemn homosexuality.  His fresh look at scripture is making waves, and this "voice in the wilderness" has been amplified by both The Advocate and The Los Angeles Times.  His argument has piqued the interest of clergy and laypeople across the country.  "I have received all sorts of positive letters and e-mail from pastors, bishops, Bible study teachers, seminary professors, gays and lesbians, as well as a few straight allies," the seminary-bound Cannon said, referring to his study, "The Bible, Christianity and Homosexuality."  Visit Justin's web site.

Anglican Gay Clergy Defiant on Marriage
The Church of England's awkward attempt to navigate through Britain's new Civil Partnership Act is raising the ire of both supporters and opponents of gay inclusion.  The compromise says that clergy may register under the law but only if they first assured their bishops that they would remain celibate. Several hundred clergy are thought likely to take advantage of the new law.  One of them, the Rev Stephen Coles said, "If a bishop asks me if I am having sex I will say, it's none of your business."

The suggestion also came under fire from Anglicanism's leading conservative, Archbishop Peter Akinola from Nigeria.  He called on the Bishops to retract their permission for even celibate partnerships.  "The proposal that the bishops will extract a promise from clergy who register that there will be no sexual intimacy in these relationships is the height of hypocrisy."  Read more.

Canadian Catholic Church Denies Sacrament to Children Of Gay Couples
A Canadian cardinal who had been considered a possible successor to Pope John Paul II says the children of married same-sex couples cannot be baptized in the Catholic Church.  Testifying at a Senate committee hearing, Marc Cardinal Ouellet announced that the Conference of Catholic Bishops has decided that if both parents want to sign the certificate of baptism, the church will not allow the blessing to take place.  "If I take the example of the ceremony of baptism, according to our canon law, we cannot accept the signatures of two fathers or two mothers as parents of an infant," Cardinal Ouellet told the committee.

Moderate Church Groups Form Gay-Friendly Virginia Coalition
In Virginia, a growing group of clergy, community leaders, and strongly spiritual residents are forming People of Faith for Equality (PFE).  They aim to be the antithesis of the Christian Right, offering a faith-based, yet gay-friendly perspective too often absent in Virginia's gay rights discussions.  PFE hopes to engage voters in gay rights talks and pressure legislators to back away from anti-gay legislation.

"There's no question there will be an uphill battle," said Lee Badgett, research director with the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies.  She emphasizes that a strong pro-gay, religious effort could have far-reaching effects. "If there's more diversity of religious opinion, it would be harder to use religion to prohibit gay couples to marry."  Read more. 

Gay and Lesbian Families

Science & Theology Editor Examines Real Threats to Marriage
The Editor of Science & Theology News, puts so-called "pro-family" rhetoric under the microscope and finds that the radical right's claims about civil marriage equality just don't add up.  Karl Giberson notes high divorce rates among members of the most conservative churches, with the parts of the Bible Belt spiking 50% higher than the national average, and then wonders "if the attraction for bashing gay marriage is simply...a way to avoid confronting a problem much closer to home."  Read more.

More Lesbians Tying the Knot
Though the numbers are still too small to point definitively to a trend, it appears that lesbians are more likely to take advantage of Canada's recently gained civil marriage equality.  Thus far, of the 2,098 same-sex marriages registered in British Columbia, 57% have involved lesbian couples.

There are a variety of theories why more lesbians than gay men are marrying.  Laurie Arron of Canadians for Equal Marriage guesses the reason might be more cultural than political. "The mythology around weddings is all about the bride. Lots of girls dream of their wedding day. I don't think as many little boys do. But an explanation is definitely beyond my abilities." 

Making a Business Case for Domestic Partner Benefits
Corporate America understands that gay inclusive benefit policies help the bottom line.  At least 8,250 companies offered domestic partner benefits last year, according to a recent report by the Human Rights Campaign. That's up from just 21 companies in 1989 when the group began tracking them.

Employee Benefit News reports, "Generous perks have long helped employers hire and keep some of their best workers. But can a company also use its benefit offerings to reach out to its customers? The gay workforce, and its spending clout, hasn't gone unnoticed by corporate America."

"Market research shows that the gay market is projected at $610 billion this year. Experts say companies must adopt progressive domestic partner policies if they want to be viewed as supportive of gay causes. Gays today are more likely to look at company policies, disseminate information to other gays and demand so-called equal treatment to benefits for partners."  Read more.

Country Club Must Provide Equal Treatment for Gay Families
California's highest court recently ruled that country clubs must offer gay members who register as domestic partners the same discounts given to married ones.  This decision could apply to other businesses such as insurance companies and mortgage lenders.  The Associated Press reports, "The decision by the California Supreme Court dealt with a policy at the Bernardo Heights Country Club in San Diego that allowed only the children, grandchildren and spouses of married members to golf for free.  Birgit Koebke, 48, an avid golfer who pays about $500 a month in membership fees, challenged the policy after being told that her longtime lesbian partner could only play as a guest six times a year while paying up to $70 per round.  The court ruled that the policy constitutes "impermissible marital status discrimination."

"While businesses might once have claimed a legitimate business interest for maintaining different policies for married couples and gay members who cannot legally wed, such distinctions are no longer justified under a sweeping domestic partner law that took effect in California on Jan. 1, the court said."  Read more.

Watch Video of Speeches from the 2005 LEF National Sympoisum
Now you can watch video of some speeches from the 2005 Liberty Education Forum National Symposium in New Orleans.  Click here to watch speeches from conservative law professor Dale Carpenter, Evan Wolfson from Freedom to Marry, and Jimmy Creech from Soulforce. 

  

Courage Under Fire
World War II veteran Rupert Starr from Columbus, Ohio is a former prisoner of war.  In late 1944, he was captured by the German Army after he volunteered to go behind enemy lines.   Click here to watch a brief video highlighting Starr's story of courage and sacrifice.

Defending Freedom

ABC's Nightline Spotlights Gay Iraq Vet
Sgt. Robert Stout of Utica, Ohio - an Iraq war veteran and Purple Heart recipient – is on the front lines of a different war today.  ABC's Nightline recently told the story of how this veteran soldier is speaking out against the military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.

Stout was in the Army for five years and served in Iraq as a combat engineer for about 10 months. In May 2004, he was patrolling an area about an hour southeast of Samarra when he was injured by a grenade blast.   In April 2005, his wounds prompted him to out himself to The Associated Press, beginning his efforts to repeal DADT by disproving long-held assumptions.   "We had quite a number of gay soldiers in my battalion that were open with their fellow soldiers," Stout said on Nightline. "And cohesion was not affected, morale was not affected, discipline was not affected.  I loved my job, my soldiers were great," Stout said. "The military is a wonderful institution, and if it wasn't for the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy, I'd be more than happy to stay in."  Read more.

Army Trolls Web for Don't Ask, Don't Tell Violations
After serving as a frontline artilleryman during two tours of duty in Iraq, Army Specialist Jeff Howe's military career ended not because of a bullet, but instead by an online personal ad.  PlanetOut.com reports that Howe set up the ad last year on Connexion.org as a social outlet during a break between his deployments. Though he did not use the ad or discuss it while on active duty, it led to his discharge under the U.S. military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy.  Internet outings are becoming increasingly common.  The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) has thus far assisted 10 others similarly outed.  They include a Farsi linguist, a doctor, an intelligence analyst, and a communications operator. At least three served in the Iraq war.  Read more.

General Admits Recruiting Won't Make Goal
The Army's top personnel officer has acknowledged that the service will probably miss its recruiting goal this year.  Lt. Gen. Franklin Hagenbeck said in testimony to the House Armed Services military personnel subcommittee that an improving economy, competition from private industry, and an increasing number of parents who are less supportive of military service meant that the active-duty Army, as well as the Army Reserve and Army National Guard, would fall short of their annual quotas. 

National Guard Faces Sharp Recruiting Shortfalls
The National Guard is facing the deepest shortfalls in recruiting in more than a decade.  The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have required mobilization of more than two-thirds of the Guard, and have made recruitment increasingly difficult.  "We have a recruiting and retention challenge," said Maj. Gen. Bruce F. Tuxill, adjutant general of the Maryland Air and Army National Guard. 

Like the Army, the Guard has fallen far behind its recruiting goal. It wanted nearly 45,000 new recruits by June, but is 10,000 short.  Lt. Col. Mike Milord, a Guard spokesman in Washington, said, "If you are in the Guard, you will likely be deployed and you're talking anywhere from six months to 18 months right now. In some cases, two years.  That's different than what we used to market."

Repealing DADT Could Solve Recruiting Woes
A report released by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) shows that repealing Don't Ask, Don't Tell would lead to 41,000 new recruits.  Such an increase would significantly relieve troop shortages being felt in all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces. 

Sharra Greer, director of law and policy for SLDN says, "Thousands of lesbian and gay Americans are ready to answer our nation's call to service, but are turned away because of federally sanctioned discrimination.  Now, more than ever, our country needs the talent of these patriotic Americans.  We can make our homeland more secure by repealing 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' once and for all."  Read more.

Hateful Minister Protests Military Funerals
Reverend Fred Phelps, leader of the hateful Westboro Baptist Church which is infamous for harassing gays and lesbians, has taken aim at the U.S. military.  The protest group has grabbed attention across the country by showing up at memorial services for fallen members of the armed forces and shouting anti-gay rhetoric while holding brightly colored signs with slogans that read "God hates you" and "Thank God for dead soldiers." 

Jim Frazier, whose son, Jacob, was killed in Afghanistan in 2003, spoke at a news conference condemning the protests, saying American families had the right to bury their loved ones in peace.  "Our freedom of speech is the cornerstone of what makes America great and must be maintained," Frazier said. "But as a society of compassionate human beings, we can and should vehemently, and I mean vehemently, reject the abuse and fraudulent use of our most fundamental right." Read more.

Healthwatch

Large Drop in HIV Cases Reported in San Francisco
The San Francisco Chronicle reports, "In a rare piece of good news on AIDS, San Francisco health officials may revise downward their estimates of the number of new HIV infections each year after three new analyses suggested that the spread of the virus in the city's gay community has slowed substantially.

Since 2001, the city's highly regarded epidemiology team has held to an estimate that more than 1,000 city residents are newly infected with the AIDS virus each year. But last month, a federal study of HIV among gay men in five U.S. cities found that new infections in San Francisco were occurring at about half the rate recorded four years ago.  'This one (CDC) study has been quite an eye opener for us,' said Dr. Willi McFarland, epidemiologist for the San Francisco Department of Public Health's Office of AIDS.

"The study by the national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used survey methods considered state of the art in disease surveillance. Based on a sample of 365 gay men tested in the city, the study found that men were becoming infected at a rate of 1.2% per year.   San Francisco epidemiologists had previously estimated an infection rate of 2.2%. "  Read more.

Reauthorization Efforts Moving Forward for Ryan White CARE Act
The Bush administration recently called on Congress to reauthorize the Ryan White Act and unveiled proposals for federal AIDS spending.  The proposals are widely expected to shape legislation being prepared to reauthorize the Ryan White Act. The current act expires on September 30 and must be renewed by Congress in order for federal HIV prevention, treatment, and support funds to continue to be allocated across the country.

Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt announced five guiding principles for reauthorization: serving the neediest first, focusing on life-extending services, increasing prevention efforts, increasing accountability, and increasing flexibility. The Advocate reports, "Bush's proposal would decrease overall funding to 51 large cities and divert resources to states that have rising HIV infection rates, particularly those in the South. The proposal also would require that a minimum of 75% of Ryan White dollars go to core medical programs for HIV-positive people, leaving many programs that provide such services as transportation to medical appointments, housing, legal assistance, and food banks with reduced funding."  Read more.

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