The week of 11/20/95 on T H I S W A Y O U T the international gay & lesbian radio magazine * In NewsWrap: A new Spanish penal code includes anti-discrimination protections for gays and lesbians ... a Colorado appeals court upholds gay anti-discrimination job protections based on a 1990 law designed to protect smokers in the workplace ... Tasmania's sodomy law is challenged in Australia's highest court ... Christian Broadcasting Network's legal threats stymie P-FLAG's TV PSA's against homophobic rhetoric ... and several other stories [anchored by Cindy Friedman and Brian Nunes] ... * At a press briefing which opened the 8th Annual Creating Change Conference earlier this month, Keith Boykin, Executive Director of The National Black Gay & Lesbian Leadership Forum, discussed the radical right's attempts to divide the African-American and lesbigay communities ... * In Maine, the anti-lesbigay ballot initiative "Question 1" went down to defeat on November 7th. Reporter Suzanne Wakefield brings us the sounds of election night celebration at the anti-Question 1 headquarters, while Maine Won't Discriminate Executive Director Pat Peard discusses the implications of this victory for lesbigay rights ... * In the first of a multi-part feature interview with Josy Catoggio, Urvashi Vaid, author of the recently-published "Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay and Lesbian Liberation" explains how her own background in social activism and her reflections on lesbigay movement history have shaped her current political perspective ... ... and more! ========================*=============================== --------- ===> NewsWrap <=== --------- For the week ending November 18th, 1995 (As broadcast on THIS WAY OUT Program #399, distributed 11-20-95) [Compiled & written by CINDY FRIEDMAN, with thanks to Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Bill Stosine, Greg Gordon and Ron Buckmire] SPAIN'S LEGISLATURE HAS RATIFIED A NEW PENAL CODE THAT PROTECTS THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF GAYS AND LESBIANS NATIONWIDE. CALLING THE EXPRESSION OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION A FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOM, THE LEGISLATORS PROHIBITED DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN HOUSING, EMPLOYMENT, PUBLIC SERVICES AND PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES. THE CODE ALSO PUNISHES HATE CRIMES AND VIOLENCE AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS WITH SENTENCES OF UP TO 4 YEARS IN PRISON. ACCORDING TO JORDI PETIT OF THE NATIONAL GROUP GAI-LESBIANA, SPAIN IS THE FIRST LATIN CATHOLIC COUNTRY TO PROTECT THE CIVIL RIGHTS OF GAYS AND LESBIANS, AND HE CALLED THE CODE "A SUPERB EXAMPLE FOR THE YOUTHFUL DEMOCRACIES OF LATIN AMERICA, SUCH AS CHILE, ECUADOR AND NICARAGUA, WHICH BAN HOMOSEXUALITY". [Source: REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS] WEARING HIS OTHER HAT AS CO-SECRETARY GENERAL OF ILGA, THE INTERNATIONAL LESBIAN AND GAY ASSOCIATION, JORDI PETIT HAD PREVIOUSLY ASKED THE EUROPEAN UNION TO BOYCOTT THOSE THREE COUNTRIES BECAUSE OF THEIR SODOMY LAWS. HE TOLD SPAIN'S NATIONAL NEWS AGENCY, "THE EUROPEAN UNION SHOULD NOT ESTABLISH ANY TYPE OF RELATIONS WITH LATIN AMERICAN NATIONS THAT DO NOT RECOGNIZE THE RIGHTS OF HOMOSEXUALS, BECAUSE THESE AGREEMENTS GO AGAINST THE E.U.'S OWN WISHES AND AGAINST THE HUMAN-RIGHTS RESOLUTIONS APPROVED BY THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT." IN ADDITION TO CHILE, ECUADOR AND NICARAGUA, PETIT CRITICIZED COSTA RICA AND HONDURAS FOR REFUSING TO REGISTER AIDS GROUPS; ARGENTINA, BOLIVIA, AND VENEZUELA FOR POLICE RAIDS ON GAY BARS; AND BRAZIL FOR LACK OF POLICE ACTION IN HUNDREDS OF MURDERS OF GAY MEN. ALONG WITH ILGA CO-SECRETARY-GENERAL INGE WALLAERT OF BELGIUM, PETIT HAS ALSO DEMANDED THAT THE UNITED NATIONS "DEFINITIVELY RECOGNIZE" SEXUAL ORIENTATION AS A HUMAN RIGHT. [GAY & LESBIAN TIMES/San Diego, CA. and REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS] A U.S. FEDERAL APPEALS COURT IN CALIFORNIA HEARD ARGUMENTS THIS WEEK IN A LAWSUIT SEEKING TO PROTECT PROSPECTIVE JURORS FROM BEING DISMISSED BECAUSE OF THEIR SEXUAL ORIENTATION. CURRENTLY, ONLY RACE AND GENDER ARE PROHIBITED AS THE SOLE CAUSE FOR DISMISSAL IN JURY SELECTION. THE CURRENT LAWSUIT STEMMED FROM THE CASE OF TODD JOHNSON, WHO CHARGED HIS CIVIL RIGHTS HAD BEEN VIOLATED BY POLICE IN THE CITY OF NEWPORT BEACH. JOHNSON'S ATTORNEY STEVE YAGMAN BELIEVES HE LOST THAT CASE PARTLY BECAUSE OF THE CITY'S PEREMPTORY CHALLENGE DISMISSING A PROSPECTIVE JUROR FROM THE VERY GAY CITY OF WEST HOLLYWOOD. YAGMAN BELIEVES THE NEWPORT BEACH CITY ATTORNEY BELIEVED THAT MAN TO BE GAY, AND DISMISSED HIM BASED ON THAT, EVEN THOUGH THE MAN'S SEXUAL ORIENTATION WAS NEVER STATED. YAGMAN SAYS GAYS AND LESBIANS ARE NOT UNCOMMONLY DISMISSED FROM JURIES, ESPECIALLY IN POLICE ABUSE CASES. HE'S ASKED THE APPEALS COURT TO PROTECT GAYS AND LESBIANS FROM ARBITRARY DISMISSAL. [ASSOCIATED PRESS and PASADENA (CA.) STAR-NEWS] IN THE STATE OF COLORADO, WHERE VOTERS IN 1992 APPROVED THE MEASURE CALLED AMENDMENT 2 TO SPECIFICALLY DENY LEGAL PROTECTIONS AGAINST DISCRIMINATION FOR GAYS AND LESBIANS, A SO-CALLED "SMOKER'S RIGHTS" LAW HAS NONETHELESS PROTECTED THE EMPLOYMENT RIGHTS OF A MAN FIRED FOR BEING GAY. ATTORNEY ROBERT BORQUEZ WAS FIRED IN 1992 BY ROBERT OZER JUST DAYS AFTER REVEALING THAT HE IS GAY, DESPITE ALMOST TWO YEARS OF EMPLOYMENT AND THREE MERIT RAISES. ALTHOUGH OZER CLAIMED THE TERMINATION WAS FORCED BY FINANCES, A TRIAL COURT GRANTED BORQUEZ A $91,000 JUDGMENT THAT WAS UPHELD THIS MONTH IN THE COLORADO COURT OF APPEALS. THE APPEALS COURT'S JUDGMENT RELIED ON A 1990 LAW PROTECTING EMPLOYEES FROM BEING FIRED BASED ON THEIR LAWFUL ACTIVITIES OUTSIDE THE WORKPLACE. THAT LAW HAD BEEN PUSHED BY TOBACCO COMPANIES SEEKING TO PROTECT OFF-DUTY SMOKERS, AND HAD HAD THE SUPPORT OF CONSERVATIVE LEGISLATORS. ANY EFFORT TO AMEND IT WILL PROBABLY WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE U.S. SUPREME COURT HAS ISSUED ITS DECISION ON AMENDMENT 2. [COLORADO SPRINGS GAZETTE and ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS/Denver] THE LAST REMAINING STATE SODOMY LAW IN AUSTRALIA IS BEING CHALLENGED IN THE COUNTRY'S HIGHEST COURT AS A VIOLATION OF NATIONAL LAWS PROTECTING PRIVACY. ACTIVISTS RODNEY CROOME AND NICK TOONEN THIS WEEK FILED A LAWSUIT AIMED AT OVERTURNING THE ISLAND STATE OF TASMANIA'S SODOMY LAW, WHICH HAS RARELY BEEN ENFORCED BUT STILL PROVIDES FOR PRISON SENTENCES OF UP TO 21 YEARS. IN 1994, TOONEN WON A JUDGMENT FROM THE UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMITTEE THAT TASMANIA'S LAW WAS A VIOLATION OF AUSTRALIA'S AGREEMENT TO THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON CIVIL AND POLITICAL RIGHTS. THAT LED TO PASSAGE OF A NATIONWIDE HUMAN RIGHTS LAW INTENDED TO OVERRIDE THE STATE LAW IN THE EVENT OF A CRIMINAL PROSECUTION, BUT TOONEN AND CROOME ARE CONCERNED THAT THE NATIONAL LAW IS AMBIGUOUS. THEY ALSO BELIEVE THAT THE STATE'S CRIMINALIZATION OF PRIVATE SEX ACTS BETWEEN CONSENTING ADULTS OF THE SAME GENDER ENCOURAGES DISCRIMINATION AGAINST GAYS AND LESBIANS. [REUTER NEWS SERVICE, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS] THE AUSTRIAN PARLIAMENT THIS WEEK FAILED TO PASS A BILL TO LOWER THE AGE OF CONSENT FOR HOMOSEXUAL ACTS TO MATCH THE HETEROSEXUAL AGE OF CONSENT. THE MEASURE WAS BLOCKED BY A COORDINATED EFFORT BETWEEN WOLFGANG SCHUESSEL, HEAD OF THE CONSERVATIVE PEOPLE'S PARTY, AND JOERG HAIDER, HEAD OF THE FAR-RIGHT FREEDOM PARTY. OBSERVERS ARE CONCERNED THAT THIS COOPERATION COULD FORESHADOW A COALITION THAT COULD BRING THE FAR-RIGHT INTO THE GOVERNMENT AFTER DECEMBER'S GENERAL ELECTION. [REUTER NEWS SERVICE] THE U.S. ORGANIZATION P-FLAG, PARENTS, FRIENDS AND FAMILIES OF LESBIANS AND GAYS, HAS MET SERIOUS OPPOSITION IN ITS EFFORTS TO CHALLENGE HOMOPHOBIC HATE SPEECH WITH TELEVISION ADS. ONE AD FOCUSES ON A TEEN SUICIDE AND THE OTHER ON A GAY-BASHING MURDER. BOTH USE ACTUAL CLIPS OF HOMOPHOBIC RHETORIC BY LEADING CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVES, INCLUDING PAT ROBERTSON, JERRY FALWELL, AND U.S. SENATOR JESSE HELMS. P-FLAG HAD INTENDED TO KICK OFF ITS T.V. CAMPAIGN THIS MONTH IN ATLANTA, GEORGIA; HOUSTON, TEXAS; AND TULSA, OKLAHOMA -- BUT MOST STATIONS REFUSED TO SELL THEM THE AIRTIME. ONE INDEPENDENT STATION IN HOUSTON, AND THE ABC AND NBC NETWORK AFFILIATES IN TULSA AGREED TO AIR ONLY THE BASHING SPOT. THEY'VE ALL BEEN THREATENED WITH LAWSUITS FOR DEFAMATION BY ROBERTSON AND HIS CHRISTIAN BROADCASTING NETWORK. CNN, THE CABLE NEWS NETWORK, TENTATIVELY HAD AGREED TO AIR THE BASHING SPOT, UNTIL THEIR LEGAL COUNSEL ADVISED THAT THE MESSAGE WAS "OVERLY AMBIGUOUS" AND DID NOT MEET THEIR "STANDARDS FOR ADVOCACY ADVERTISING". TO P-FLAG PRESIDENT MITZI HENDERSON, IT'S ALL "CENSORSHIP, PURE AND SIMPLE". [THE ASSOCIATED PRESS, THE NEW YORK TIMES, UPDATE/San Diego, THE GAY & LESBIAN TIMES/San Diego, and P-FLAG press release] GAYS AND LESBIANS IN ZIMBABWE ARE FRIGHTENED BY THE ESCALATING HOMOPHOBIC RHETORIC OF THEIR GOVERNMENT AS MORE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT FALL INTO LINE BEHIND PRESIDENT ROBERT MUGABE. MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT TIRIVANHU MUDARIKI CALLED ON THE PARLIAMENT TO "UNRESERVEDLY CONDEMN THE EVIL AND INIQUITOUS PRACTICE OF HOMOSEXUALISM AND LESBIANISM" AND TO URGE THE GOVERNMENT "TO TAKE ALL THE NECESSARY STEPS TO STAMP OUT THIS EVIL PRACTICE." MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT BORDER GEZI ASKED FOR POLICE TO "TAKE THEM AND PUT THEM SOMEWHERE WHERE THEY CAN NEVER BE SEEN BECAUSE WE CANNOT MIX WITH SUCH PEOPLE ... IF WE TAKE THEM TO JAILS ... THEY WILL START ENGAGING IN THESE HOMOSEXUAL AND LESBIAN PRACTICES". ANOTHER M.P. URGED STIFF PUNISHMENT BY WHIPPING. STEPHEN VAN BREDA OF THE GROUP GAYS AND LESBIANS OF ZIMBABWE TOLD U.S. JOURNALIST REX WOCKNER THAT "IN ZIMBABWE THE POLICE FORCE AND ARMY ARE MERELY THE PUPPET OF THE PREVAILING GOVERNMENT", SO "THE ENTIRE GAY AND LESBIAN POPULATION OF ZIMBABWE IS CONSTANTLY AFRAID". [REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS] BUT THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IS CONTINUING TO PROTEST THIS TREATMENT. WHEN ZIMBABWE'S PRESIDENT MUGABE VISITED AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND FOR THE COMMONWEALTH HEADS OF GOVERNMENT MEETING THIS MONTH, GAYS AND LESBIANS HELD A SERIES OF WELL-PUBLICIZED DEMONSTRATIONS. THE LARGEST WAS OUTSIDE THE MEETING SITE, WHERE 200 GAYS AND LESBIANS PROTESTED MUGABE'S PRESENCE. MUGABE WAS NOT IMPRESSED. HE TOLD REPORTERS, "THIS IS A SUBJECT WHICH IS ABHORRENT ... LET THEM GET UPSET. WE ARE MORE UPSET BY THOSE WHO THINK THAT PRIME MINISTER BOLGER OR ROBERT MUGABE CAN BE TURNED INTO WOMEN." [QUEER NEWS AOTEAROA and REX WOCKNER INTERNATIONAL NEWS] AND FINALLY, SPEAKING OF GENDER CHANGES ... UNIVERSITY OF IDAHO BIOLOGIST MATTHEW GROBER REPORTED AT A NEUROSCIENCE CONFERENCE THIS WEEK ON THREE SPECIES OF FISH THAT ARE NATURAL TRANSGENDERS. THE 2-INCH-LONG RELATIVES OF THE FAMILIAR GOBI LIVE OFF THE COAST OF JAPAN IN GROUPINGS OF ONE DOMINANT MALE WITH SEVERAL FEMALES. BUT IF SOMETHING HAPPENS TO THE MALE, THE LARGEST FEMALE IN THE GROUP BECOMES A MALE. IF A BIGGER MALE JOINS THE GROUP, THE PREVIOUS DOMINANT BECOMES A FEMALE. IT TAKES ABOUT FOUR DAYS FOR THE FISH TO COMPLETE THEIR GENDER CHANGES, WHICH INVOLVE RESTRUCTURING IN BOTH THE GENITALIA AND THE BRAIN. SCIENTISTS ARE PARTICULARLY EAGER TO STUDY THE BRAIN CHANGES, WHICH INVOLVE AN AREA RECENTLY IMPLICATED IN HUMAN TRANSGENDERISM. BUT IN CONTRAST TO MOST SURGICALLY REASSIGNED HUMANS, THE FISH CAN CHANGE THEIR GENDER REPEATEDLY. GROBER, THE FIRST TO INDUCE THE SEX CHANGES IN THE LABORATORY, IS CURRENTLY EXPERIMENTING TO FIND IF THERE'S ANY LIMIT ON THE NUMBER OF GENDER CHANGES THE FISH CAN ACHIEVE BY FORCING SOME TO SPEND A LIFETIME CHANGING OVER AND OVER AGAIN. [SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER] ************************************************* Some "THIS WAY OUT" operating expenses are funded by grants from THE C.P. ESTES GUADALUPE FOUNDATION and THE ADVOCATE, the award-winning national gay and lesbian newsmagazine, and by individual donations from listeners worldwide. THIS WAY OUT is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit under the corporate name of OVERNIGHT PRODUCTIONS, INC. -------------------------------------------------------- THIS WAY OUT airs on over 85 public/community radio stations throughout the U.S. and Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Denmark, Sweden, The Netherlands, and on global shortwave station Radio For Peace International (RFPI). 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