Date: Mon, 10 Jul 2000 17:07:05 -0700 From: Jean Richter Subject: 7/10/2000 P.E.R.S.O.N. Project news 1. TX: Lesbians forced to leave town over anti-gay harassment 2. OR: GLSEN denounces OCA anti-gay schools initiative 3. WA: Case study of anti-harassment policy posted to web site ================================================================ 1. TX: Lesbians forced to leave town over anti-gay harassment From: SARATOGANY@aol.com Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 06:42:40 EDT Subject: TX: Two Moms Family Flee Town for the Safety of Their 5th Grade Daughter Msg fwd by: The Coalition for Safer Schools of NYS, PO Box 2345, Malta, NY 12020 Email to: saratogany@aol.com "The Actual or Perceived GLBT Student Protection Project" CSS-NYS Note: FYI Gonzales Isd School 926 Saint Lawrence St. Gonzales, TX 78629-4151 telephone: 830-672-9551 =================================================================== Texas Triangle (glbt), July 7, 2000 4001 Cedar Springs Rd Ste C, Dallas TX 75219-3521 (Fax: 214-599-0156) (E-Mail: letters@txtriangle.com or txtriangle@aol.com ) ( http://www.txtriangle.com ) Lesbians Forced to Move By Matt Lum, TRIANGLE Managing Editor GONZALES - Sonny McDaniel and Sandy McGill, longtime residents of the small Texas town of Gonzales are packing boxes, saying good-bye to friends, and preparing for a cross-country move. The couple is not moving to Wisconsin to get away from the hot Texas summer, they are moving away for their own safety, and that of their daughter. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ==================================================================== This message has been distributed as a free informational service for the expressed interest of non-profit research and educational purposes only. PRIMER WEBSITES GLSEN --- Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network www.glsen.org Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund www.lambdalegal.org Safe Schools Coalition of Washington www.safeschools-wa.org The P.E.R.S.O.N. Project Home Page www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/ Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays www.pflag.org Empire State (NY) Pride Agenda www.prideagenda.org "The Actual or Perceived GLBT Student Protection Project" A project of: Coalition for Safer Schools of New York State John Myers Director of Operations and Programs PO Box 2345 Malta, NY 12020 (518) 587-0176 Email: saratogany@aol.com (To subscribe or unsubscribe (CSS-NYS Email List) send request to saratogany@aol.com) From: "Sonny McDaniel" Subject: What's up in Texas/Gonzales Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 10:29:20 -0700 Hello to ALL you wonderful supporters, Well, we are getting ready for our BIG move.(packing boxes every were)...Monday July 10th we are going into hiding for a few days while the media stuff is going on....sometime the end of July we will be on our way to Madison.....Our daughter is looking forward to a new school .....PFLAG folks have set up a way for us to receive donations: PFLAG, P.O. Box 586369 Dallas Tx. 75258....and we are getting money for our move little by little.....Thanks to ALL you sweet people out there..... Some of you have heard, we will be setting up a Foundation to help move other Gays in similar situation to safety with the money that is surplus from the donations we receive.....Having our children in safe schools mean so much to Sandy, and I....Our story is not unique, we have received 390 e-mails over the last few months, wonderful letters of support and other folks like ourselves that have gone though some horrid times trying to keep their children safe in school. The publicity we receive from our story may help to change some of the bigotry and soften hearts, so our schools can become safer places for ALL our children. The out pour of support we have received from all of you has helped our family to heal ..... Over the pass months we have made friends all over the country....Our daughter has really enjoyed your e-mails and phone calls....She felt she had "NO" friends ....now, she feels like she has the "biggest family on earth" before she was not so sure as to how she felt about having a GAY mom, now she loves how "we are all family".....Thanks to all of you ...I have a happy 12 year old that is not embarrassed by our being GAY.....This can really make a mom's heart happy...I just want all of you to know how over the pass few months Sandy, Layce and I have cried and laughed over your e-mails, while we sat in this small town wishing we could just fit in.....and you ALL helped us to see we do fit in, we do have support and family.... I will keep sending out e-mail from time to time and let you all now how your new family is doing as we move from Texas to Wisconsin....We will never forget the family we have made during our time of need.......You can count on us to do all we can to change Texas schools to safe schools.....and return the favors you have done for us .......Ya'll all come and see us now, you hear...while we are ((freezing)) and bring some heat with you.....MUCH LOVE ...FROM YOUR FAMILY...SANDY, LAYCE AND SONNY....(mama bear is on the move...Michael) ============================================================================================== 2. OR: GLSEN denounces OCA anti-gay schools initiative From: "Jim Anderson" To: "GLSEN News" Subject: GLSENAlert: The OCA goes back to school Date: Fri, 7 Jul 2000 22:13:09 -0400 Organization: GLSEN Sender: ........................................................... An important message from GLSEN-Alert, the electronic news service of GLSEN. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network -- GLSEN 121 West 27th Street, Suite 804 New York, NY 10001 212-717-0135; 212-727-0254 - fax glsen@glsen.org http://www.glsen.org/ ........................................................... GLSEN NEWS JULY 7, 2000 OREGON'S LATEST INITIATIVE WOULD BRING ANTI-GAY BIGOTRY INTO THE = CLASSROOM, SAYS GLSEN NEW YORK, NEW YORK--The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network = (GLSEN) today denounced the Oregon Citizens Alliance (OCA) and efforts = to advance its latest anti-gay initiative, the so-called Student = Protection Act. GLSEN said today that the misleading ballot initiative = would not protect, but further isolate some of the most at risk members = of the public school community--lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered = (LGBT) students. "Schools need to be places where every student is treated equally and = fairly," said GLSEN National Field Director John Spear. "This measure = delivers a heavy dose of anti-gay discrimination into Oregon's = classrooms--requiring schools to send the message that certain students = don't deserve support, tolerance or respect. OCA leader Lon Mabon is now = asking Oregon's public schools to serve his well-documented and = infamously anti-gay agenda. " According to GLSEN the vaguely worded initiative would result in the = loss of counseling and support services for LGBT students and would = jeopardize HIV/AIDS education and other health related classes. It would = also lead to the banning of school library books or materials that = represent LGBT historical figures or culture--unless those = representations are negative. "Oregon schools are welcoming to all students and teachers," stated = Jaime Balboa, Executive Director of Basic Rights Oregon, a gay rights = group. "Our schools should teach tolerance and respect, not = discrimination and hatred, and we're organizing an aggressive campaign = to defeat this anti-gay, anti-education measure." GLSEN also called on concerned community members everywhere to support = Basic Rights Oregon and its campaign to stop the so-called Student = Protection Act. For more information on the campaign visit = www.basicrights.org or call Basic Rights Oregon at (503) 222-6151. Oregon citizens have defeated the last two anti-gay initiatives posed by = the OCA--Measure 9 in 1992 and Measure 13 in 1994. Both would have = codified discrimination based on sexual orientation. The OCA today = claimed to submit 83,000 signatures in support of the measure to the = Oregon Secretary of State 's Office; approximately 67,000 signatures = must be verified for it to qualify for the November ballot. END GLSEN is the largest national organization working to end anti-gay bias = in K-12 schools. Established nationally in 1994, the organization has = become one of the nation's leading voices for equality and safety in = America's K-12 schools. Visit www.glsen.org for more information. ........................................................... Visit the GLSEN Blackboard online: http://www.glsen.org/ Past GLSENAlert posts are archived on the GLSEN Blackboard: http://www.glsen.org/pages/sections/news/glsenalert/ ........................................................... TO SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE You may add or remove yourself from this mailing list by going to: http://www.glsen.org/pages/sections/news/glsenalert/ If you have problems or questions, you can contact the list server administrator at: ........................................................... The Oregonian, July 8, 2000 1320 SW Broadway, Portland, OR, 97201 (Fax 503-294-4193 ) (E-MAIL: Letters@news.oregonian.com ) ( http://www.oregonlive.com/ ) Initiative camps add to the pile (excerpt) The closest thing to a confrontation occurred when Lon Mabon, chairman of the Oregon Citizens Alliance, brought in petitions for a ban on "promotion" of homosexuality in schools. Mabon walked through a group of gay-rights supporters, then held an impromptu news conference on the Capitol steps, as members of Basic Rights Oregon listened and taped his comments. [Deleted article. filemanager@qrd.org] ================================================================================== I've posted a case study of the Bainbridge Island School District's anti- harassment policy in principle and practice to our web site at URL: http://www.youth.org/loco/PERSONProject/Alerts/States/Washington/bainbridge.html It's a bit long to post here, but if you can't access the web and would like to have it emailed to you, let me know. ================================================================================== 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/