Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 13:10:45 -0700 (PDT) From: jessea@uclink4.berkeley.edu (Jessea NR Greenman) Subject: SPECIAL CALL: 9th grader needed for CBS News Program|| Forwarded Message: Open Meetings Lawsuit (UT) SPECIAL CALL: 9th grader needed for CBS News Program We've just gotten off the telephone with Jay Young, who is with the CBS News Program "48 Hours." They are (quoting from his fax) "currently working on an hour-long broadcast examining issues confronting teenagers as we approach the millenium." They have "chosen to focus on the looking to high school class of 2000, 13- or 14-year olds who will be freshmen" in the fall of 1996. "One of the many issues that we are exploring for this broadcast is sexual identity and what a young man or woman must endure when confronting his/her homosexuality in a community or school that might not fully support that lifestyle." Jay asked us to publicize their search for "a member of the class of 2000 -- anywhere in the country -- who is [lesbian or] gay and willing to talk to "48 Hours." They hope the broadcast will air during the first week of September, so time is short, as the taping must begin very soon. PLEASE PASS THIS CALL ALONG TO ANY YOUNG PEOPLE WHOM YOU THINK MAY BE INTERESTED. THEY SHOULD CONTACT JAY YOUNG DIRECTLY ( ***NOT the sender of this message...do NOT hit the reply button). Jay can be reached at 212-975-7554 (and young people can call collect) or by email at [The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project adds: we hope that those who participate will stress to Jay and the others involved with the show that being LBGT is NOT a "lifestyle." Try to get them to use the phrase "orientation" instead. We support the show's concept but wish to ensure that the message conveyed to its audience is accurate in every way.] ------------------- -------------------- [Dear P.E.R.S.O.N. readers: this is pursuant to the Utah brouhaha this past spring in which the legislature was addressing LGBT issues in schools and held secret, unpublicized, unpublic meetings in violation of the LAW. check the law in your own state and locality to become fluent in open meetings requirements, as this kind of uproar could be coming soon to a public body near you! whenever school boards and city councils are reluctant to deal with controversial issues in public, look to see whether there are any "sunshine" (open-meeting) laws upon which you can rely to pry the meetings open or to invalidate results of illegal meetings. Organizations such as Common Cause and ACLU and People for the American Way are all supportive of open meetings laws. ] Forwarded message: From: Carolclu@aol.com Hi Charlene, Could you....or would you broadcast this release? Subj: Open Meetings Lawsuit Date: 96-07-15 19:13:10 EDT From: ACLU of Utah Carol Gnade, Executive Director Jensie Anderson, Staff Attorney The ACLU of Utah today applauded Judge J. Dennis Fredrick's denial of the Utah State Senate's motion requesting dismissal of the lawsuit that was filed two weeks after twenty-five members of the Utah Senate met behind closed doors to discuss the possible ways to eliminate the East High Gay/Straight Alliance. "The judge's decision today is the first step in protecting our right to open government," said Jensie L. Anderson, staff attorney for the ACLU of Utah. "We only hope that the Senate recognizes the impact of this decision and finally admits to the court and to the citizenry of Utah that it cannot and will not conduct the people's business behind closed doors," said Carol Gnade, executive director of the ACLU of Utah. In the lawsuit, which was filed on behalf of three Utah taxpayers, the ACLU alleged that the senators not only lacked any legal cognizable reason to close the meeting to the public, but also that they did not provide proper public notice of the meeting, they did not follow the proper procedures to close the meeting, and they did not keep written or taped recorded minutes of the meeting. By so doing, the ACLU claimed, the Utah State Senate directly violated several provisions of the Utah Open and Public Meetings Law. Approached by numerous outraged citizens about the Senate's secret meeting, the ACLU made every attempt to resolve the situation and protect citizens' rights to participate in our democratic form of government before resorting to litigation. The Senate, however, rejected each of the ACLU's efforts. Instead, the Senate filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. In that motion, the Senate claimed that it is immune from the laws that it passes, and also claimed that the courts have no authority to enforce the laws against it. Judge Fredrick specifically rejected each of the Senate's arguments, finding instead that, "Legislators ought not to stand above the law they create but ought generally be bound by it as are ordinary persons." *+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+*+ OK TO RE-POST. Jessea Greenman The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) CHECK THIS OUT FOR TONS OF INFO - - http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ Please cc us (for our files) on correspondence you send or receive re our action alerts. "Out of 19 top industrial nations, the US took 17th place in public spending for education in 1992...and came in last for compensation of teachers." __The Nation__