Date: Mon, 25 Aug 1997 15:39:31 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines 08.25.97 GLAADLINES FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 25, 1997 News, Tips and Breaking Stories about the Gay & Lesbian Community contact: Don Romesburg (415) 861-2244 romesburg@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org LESBIAN AVENGERS FILE BIAS CLAIM AGAINST ANTI-GAY JUDGE: Pointing to a recent ruling by Anne Arundel (Maryland) Circuit Court Judge Lawrence Rushworth, on August 25 the activist organization Lesbian Avengers filed a bias complaint against him with the state Commission on Judicial Disabilities. Lori and Lisa May-Sachs, who filed the complaint for the Avengers, charge that Rushworth's decision in a 1996 case to prohibit two children from visiting their gay father in the presence of his partner or "anyone having homosexual tendencies or such persuasions" violated the Code of Judicial Conduct. The Code, which is binding for all Maryland judges states a judge cannot "manifest bias or prejudice" in the "performance of judicial duties" due to "race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status." According the complaint, the May-Sachs wrote, "Judge Rushworth's sua sponte move to impose a broad prohibition against visits between all gay people and the Bosewell children exhibits both a lack of sensitivity in that custody case and a strong bias against lesbians, gays and bisexuals." Lesbian Avengers spokesperson Cheryl Cort said, "We need to stand up and expose such bigotry to the light of day. Only then will judges sit up and take notice of the fact that they cannot treat gay people this way." For more information, contact Beth Armitage (Lesbian Avengers, Baltimore) at (703) 993-2851. DISTURBING ANTI-GAY TREND CONTINUES IN CYBERSPACE: Through monitoring the development of Internet filtering software, GLAAD is concerned that a product which has historically impeded the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community's access to the Internet has only gotten worse since the Supreme Court struck down the Communications Decency Act recently. GLAAD has found that InterGO's products KinderGuard and the SafeSearch search engine rate several gay and lesbian youth group Web sites and newsgroups as appropriate for "Mature" viewers only, while national gay and lesbian organizations get an "Adult Only" rating. It has also found that PC Data Power's NetRated purposely blocks gay and lesbian resource sites, such as GLAAD's Web site and that for the International Association of Gay Square Dance Clubs, and that Log-On Data Corp's X-STOP is being marketed by the anti-gay hate group American Family Association (AFA). "Many of these companies are using the public's discomfort with new technologies and the hysteria of easy access to pornography on the Internet to further an anti-gay agenda," said Loren Javier, GLAAD's Interactive Media Director. GLAAD has previously challenged Cyber Patrol, SurfWatch, Net Nanny, PlanetView and CYBERsitter for censoring the gay and lesbian community. For more information, contact Loren Javier (GLAAD) at (213)658-6775 or e-mail at javier@glaad.org GROUNDBREAKING GAY YOUTH SURVEY UNDERWAY: !OutProud!, a national coalition for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth, and Oasis, an online magazine, have announced the first-ever formal survey of "queer and questioning youth on the Internet." The 150-question online survey includes questions about how youth define themselves, the role their sexual orientation has played in both self-acceptance and acceptance from peers, and how they perceive community and spirituality, among other topics. "The Internet and America Online have played a crucial role in helping this generation of queer youth to acknowledge and accept their sexual orientation," said Christopher Kryzan, executive director of !OutProud!. "With this survey, we hope to provide them with a powerful voice." The survey can be found at the Oasis Magazine Web site at http://www.oasismag.com/survey/. With a monthly readership of over 35,000, Oasis Editor and Publisher Jeff Walsh said, the magazine is "in a unique position to reach queer youth as never before." Co-sponsors of the effort include the American Civil Liberties Union, the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network and XY Magazine. The results and a report will be published in January 1998. For more information, contact !OutProud! at (415) 499-0993 or e-mail info@outproud.org. LESBIAN AND GAY JOURNALISTS WELCOMED TO WINDY CITY: On August 28-31 the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association will hold their sixth annual convention in Chicago, with over 500 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender media representatives in attendance. Headline speakers include commentator Molly Ivins, CNN anchor Bernard Shaw, ABC News reporter Farai N. Chideya, and historian Allan Berube. Workshops will include Gay Artists, the Closet and Arts Reporting, the AIDS Hype, Covering Blue Collar Gays and Lesbians and a panel discussion on the best and worst coverage of the Andrew Cunanan case. For more information, contact Tony Hain (Witeck-Combs Communications) at (202) 789-0200. To report events that merit media coverage, or news stories breaking in your area, please contact us. The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive media representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe contact Don Romesburg at (415) 861-2244 or at romesburg@glaad.org. "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org TO REPORT DEFAMATION IN THE MEDIA - Call GLAAD's Alertline at 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or go to the GLAAD Web Site at www.glaad.org and report through our Alertline Online. TO JOIN GLAAD AND RECEIVE GLAAD's DISPATCH AND QUARTERLY IMAGES MAGAZINE, call 1.800.GAY.MEDIA or join on the Web today at www.glaad.org/glaad/join/join-about.html TO SUBSCRIBE TO GLAAD-Net, GLAAD's electronic mailing list, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Subscribe GLAAD-Net" TO UNSUBSCRIBE, send e-mail to majordomo@vector.casti.com with the message "Unsubscribe GLAAD-Net" GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc.