Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 17:15:37 -0700 From: Jean Richter Subject: 9/20/99 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. News article on reactions to the broadcast of "It's Elementary" 2. NY: Workshop on ending school violence 3. IL: Chicago school officials won't show "It's Elementary" to principals 4. CA: More on anti-gay initiative 5. Australia: Social worker forum told of gay youth suicide risk =============================================================================== Associated Press, August 31, 1999 Gay Awareness Film Sparks Debate By MARTHA IRVINE CHICAGO (AP) - Third-graders in New York are seen debating the idea of gay marriage. Eighth-graders in San Francisco are heard firing questions at a gay man and lesbian who visit their classroom. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================ Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 19:18:12 -0400 From: Barb Adams/Roz Pullara Organization: PARADOX/Feelings & Longings Publications Workshop: "Ending School Violence--One Person at a Time" Presenter:Barb Adams, Trainer National Coalition Building Institute-NCBI Health Educator, East Irondequoit C.S.D; Rochester, NY Schools and agencies are desperately seeking effective ways to find an answer to violence prevention. Bullying, name-calling and harassment have repeatedly been named as the initiators of the perpetuation of this cycle of oppression. Join us for this unique and internationally recognized program to help you and your organization learn how to reduce prejudice, dispel misinformation, build pride and intervene effectively in tough situations. We will build participants' skills in preventing and stopping racial and ethnic slurs, inappropriate joking and harassment. The process is experiential and will include large and small group work, discussion, expertly facilitated storytelling and role play. Conference Information: 1999 NYSFPHE Conference, November 2, 1999 (Pre-conference Workshop) Holiday Inn Turf 205 Wolf Road; Albany, NY 12205 REGISTRATION: 8:30-9:00 AM WORKSHOP: 9:00 AM-4:30 PM FEES: $45 One Day Only Registration fee + $49 Workshop fee For pre-registration form and complete conference information, write to: NYSFPHE PO Box 784 Buffalo, Road, NY 14201-0784 (phone): 716-864-6872 web sites: http://www.nysfphe.org http://www.ncbi.org ============================================================================= Associated Press, August 31, 1999 Chicago school officials revise plan to show gay awareness documentary By Martha Irvine, Associated Press CHICAGO (AP) - School officials appeared to step back Tuesday from plans to show principals a controversial documentary about ways teachers can discuss homosexuality with their students. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================ Date: Tue, 31 Aug 1999 19:41:35 -0700 From: "McBride, Laurie" To: lesbigayCApolitics Mailing-List: list lesbigayCApolitics@onelist.com; contact lesbigayCApolitics-owner@onelist.com List-Unsubscribe: Reply-to: lesbigayCApolitics-owner@onelist.com Subject: [lesbigayCApolitics] Capitol Briefs: 8/31/99: New Anti-Gay Initiative From: "McBride, Laurie" Capitol Briefs & other musings of the culture wars >From Sacramento // Tuesday, August 31, 1999 HEADS UP. As many of you already know, a NEW ANTI-GAY INITIATIVE is being circulated. The proponent says he is doing this on his own. His WEB-PAGE just went up. www.sexual-orientation.com PLEASE REPORT ANY SIGHTINGS OF THIS PETITION IN PUBLIC... Right now the "author" says he is doing this on his own, to end the "threat" we pose... that the only petitions he is going to circulate will be downloaded from his website. If that is all that happens, it is unlikely he will get enough signatures. Even the Knight Initiative had to spend some bucks to get enough signatures to qualify - even though they heavily used the web. So any SIGHTINGS would signify a jump from pure grassroots to monied backing... [actual initiative language below] IN THE MEANTIME, TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT THIS NEW THREAT... now is not the time to be so confident that we will get our bills signed. Rumors abound that the Governor is not happy with the domestic partner bill nor the non-discrimination bill. His office is being flooded by phone calls from our opponents. WE NEED TO TURN UP THE HEAT. AND NOW FOR A TRIP DOWN BIGOTRY LANE... >From the Official home page of The California Defense of Sexual Responsibility Act of 2000: "The purposes of this site are to educate, motivate, and activate registered voters in the State of California toward the defense of sexual responsibility; particularly with respect to natural versus unnatural sexual behavior. "The California Defense of Sexual Responsibility Act of 2000 is a proposed initiative statute requiring the signatures of 419,260 registered voters on official petitions, available only at this site, to qualify for placement on the November 2000 General Election ballot... "Why is this initiative statute necessary? "To the point, Democrats and other liberal politicians are intent on jamming homosexuality down the throats of those who know it is never morally right behavior; which just happens to be the majority of the California population (58%). "They've gone beyond demanding tolerance. "They've gone beyond demanding acceptance of the unnatural... "They are now using the full force and power of the state, with its concomitant penal codes, to coerce acceptance. "The California Defense of Sexual Responsibility Act of 2000... is intended to counter the homosexual legislative by: "Prohibiting public entity inclusion of the phrase "sexual orientation" in any law, regulation, rule, ordinance, code, policy, resolution, declaration, or proclamation. Sexual orientation is the rubric used to instill the false concept that homosexuality is an immutable human characteristic. Sexual orientation is also a euphemism used to mask the offensiveness of homosexuality and other unnatural forms of sexual relations." [ THE WEBSITE GOES ON IN THIS VEIN... and very prominent is a listing of all our proactive bills this year, each complemented with the usual misinformation. ] [ Yes, it probably is unconstitutional as a statute. If it were a constitutional amendment, the threat might be more serious. Most dangerous, though, is the hysteria-induced and inducing misinformation that builds out of efforts like these. Make no mistake, it is an effort to dehumanize us as a people.] THE ACTUAL TEXT OF THE PROPOSED INITIATIVE California Defense of Sexual Responsibility Act of 2000 SECTION 1. Section 101. is added to the Government Code to read: 101. (a) This section shall be known and may be cited as the California Defense of Sexual Responsibility Act of 2000. (b) Use of the phrase "sexual orientation" by any public entity shall be prohibited. (c) Endorsement, education, recognition, or promotion of homosexuality as an acceptable, moral behavior by any public entity shall be prohibited. The Attorney General of California has prepared the following title and summary of the chief purpose and points of the proposed measure: SEXUAL ORIENTATION. HOMOSEXUALITY. INITIATIVE STATUTE. Prohibits public entities from endorsing, educating, recognizing or promoting homosexuality as acceptable, moral behavior, and prohibits public entities from using the phrase "sexual orientation." Summary of estimate by Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance of fiscal impact on state and local government: Unknown, depending upon how the measure is interpreted and implemented. The proponent of the above-named measure is: > Lee W. Olson > PMB 155 > 16458 Bolsa Chica Street > Huntington Beach, CA 92649 By the way, when signatures are turned in to the Secretary of State's office, they are checked randomly for validity. If there are too many invalid names (unregistered voters), the initiative doesn't qualify... News Digest & Comments by Laurie McBride Lesbian and Gay Community Liaison for Assemblyman Antonio Villaraigosa Speaker of the California State Assembly State Capitol, Room 219 Sacramento, CA 95814 916 319 2470 laurie.mcbride@asm.ca.gov # # # --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- Create a list for FRIENDS & FAMILY... ...and YOU can WIN $100 to Amazon.com. For details, go to Click Here ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ================================================================================ ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation), August 31, 1999 http://www.abc.net.au/news/regionals/bendigo/regben-31aug1999-2.htm Forum told young gays more likely to suicide Welfare and health workers from across central and northern Victoria have been told gay young people are 30 per cent more likely to commit suicide A training forum has been held in Bendigo to help the workers better deal with high risk suicide groups, including Kooris and young refugees. One of the speakers, Ian Seal from Family Planning Victoria, says a lack of support and resources for young gay people in country areas pushes the suicide rate higher. "I'm really concerned that the gay community ends up being left to do all the support work for lesbian and gay young people, and that it creates and apartheid that's uncomfortable and inappropriate," he said. "Particularly for young people who often feel that they need to leave their own community to join a gay or lesbian community." ================================================================================ Jean Richter -- richter@eecs.berkeley.edu The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project (Public Education Regarding Sexual Orientation Nationally) These messages are archived by state on our information-loaded free web site: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/