Date: 01 Apr 94 02:23:29 EST
Subject: KQED Offers Domestic Partnership Benefit; NY Gays meet; Japan
From: anon@queernet.org (Anonymous Sender)

03/31 1706  KQED Inc. announces domestic partner health ...

SAN FRANCISCO (MARCH 31) BUSINESS WIRE - March 31, 1994--KQED Inc. President  &
CEO Mary Bitterman announced Thursday that equal health insurance benefit
options will be made available to all employees regardless of marital status or
sexual orientation.
   Currently, married employees may purchase health insurance coverage for their
spouse.  The new policy, effective May 1, 1994, will allow employees who sign a
confidential affidavit of spousal equivalency, stating they have been in a
relationship for at least six months, to similarly purchase health insurance for
their domestic partner.
   "It is a question of parity in the benefits we offer; we are pleased that we
have been able to obtain these benefits for all of our employees.  I know it has
been important to the staff for a number of years," said Bitterman.
   The deal was arranged with KQED's two health insurance carriers, Blue Cross
and Kaiser, by Benefits Coordinator Janelle Dausch.  "We have been working on
this issue for a number of years.  I am pleased that both our insurance carriers
are making this important benefit available to us," she said.
   Final details are still under review, but the new policy will allow employees
in committed, but unmarried, relationships full health benefits options.
   The benefit is being offered without regard to sexual orientation, but the
issue has been particularly important to the Gay and Lesbian Staff group (GALS).
   "We have been working with the Human Resources Department for a number of
years to find a way to make this happen," said Carol Pierson, director of radio
production for KQED-FM and a co-chair of GALS.  "We are proud that the benefits
are available to all employees and see this as another step forward in KQED's
proactive, non-discrimination policy."
   This benefit is in association with KQED's policy of non-discrimination which
reads:
   "...KQED will take affirmative action to ensure that each employee, trainee,
volunteer and applicant, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin,
sex, sexual orientation, handicap, or age (except as defined by law and to the
extent required by law), will be accorded equal treatment with respect to all
terms, conditions and privileges of selection, placement and opportunities for
advancement to the extent required by law."   T

   CONTACT:  KQED Inc., San Francisco
     Greg Sherwood, 415/553-2305
     Timothy Rodrigues, 415/553-2299

03/31 1440  Blacks, Jews, gays meet for NYC seder

NEW YORK, March 31 (March 31) UPI - Members of a black gay church and black
Episcopalians and Baptists are sitting down with a Jewish family for a  Passover
seder in Brooklyn, New York. The organizers of the event hope the eclectic mix
will help bridge gaps and subdue flaring racial and religious tensions in New
York City.

03/30 2059  Tokyo ordered to pay damages in Japan's first gay ...

TOKYO, March 31 (March 30) UPI - In Japan's first gay rights court decision,
the Tokyo District Court has ordered the local government to pay 267,000 yen
($2,560) in damages to a gay group that was barred from staying at a public
youth hostel.
   Judge Toshiaki Harada ruled Wednesday that the Board of Education could not
ban homosexuals from the the Chofu youth center just because the board feared
they would engage in sex.
   In May 1990, the board rejected a request by members of the Gay and Lesbian
movement for a two-day stay at the youth center, claiming the applicants might
participate in sexual activities. The center also does not allow males and
females to room together.
   Three members of the group filed suit against the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government in February 1991, demanding 6.5 million yen ($62,500) in
compensation and punitive damages.
   Harada ruled the board was entitled to seek to prevent both homosexuals and
heterosexuals from having sex in the youth center's boarding facilities. But he
said it could not ban gays from overnight stays at the center altogether.
   Harada rejected the request of the gay rights group for punitive damages,
which the group requested on the grounds that a superintendent at the center
ridiculed them for being homosexuals.
   Masashi Nagata, one of the plaintiffs, said he was happy with the court
decision and he hoped it would help bring less discrimination against
homosexuals in Japan.
   The court and members of the homosexual group said it was Japan's first court
case addressing the issue of gay rights.