Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1998 18:01:49 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines August 18, 1998 GLAADLINES Contact: Sharen Shaw Johnson (202) 986-1360 x193 sjohnson@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 17, 1998 News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community GLAAD TO RELEASE ANNUAL PRIME-TIME SCOREBOARD: On Wednesday, Aug. 19, GLAAD will release its annual listing of the fall television season's recurring and regular lesbian, gay and bisexual characters. GLAAD's "TV Scoreboard" will be posted online at http://www.glaad.org . It will detail the programs and characters that are to appear on American television screens starting this September. "The 1998 TV lineup is significant in that it demonstrates an increase in the number of characters of color on television. These characters genuinely reflect the uniqueness and diversity of our community in a way we have not yet seen," said Joan M. Garry, GLAAD Executive Director. For more information on GLAAD's "TV Scoreboard" please contact William Horn, GLAAD Assistant Entertainment Media Director, at (213) 658-6775, x17 or via e-mail at horn@glaad.org . ONE IN 10 STUDENTS ADMIT TO ANTI-GAY ATTACKS: Almost one in five male community college students studied said they've physically assaulted or threatened someone they thought was a lesbian or gay man, forensic psychologist Karen Franklin told the American Psychological Association (APA) Sunday. Among both male and female students, one in 10 admitted to assaulting or threatening someone they thought was a lesbian or gay man. Franklin interviewed almost 500 San Francisco-area students. Her study, endorsed in a new APA paper on hate crimes, calls for "a national policy of pro-active intervention against school-based harassment and violence." The national Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) reported in September 1997 that among 130 school districts it had studied, 36% -- more than one in three -- denied students any protection against discrimination or harassment on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or identity. Updated GLSEN statistics on school protections are to be released Sept. 10 at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. For more information, contact Kate Frankfurt, GLSEN's director of advocacy and public policy, at (212) 727-0135 x108 or via e-mail at kfrankfurt@glsen.org . LESBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL JEWS PLAN D.C. CONFERENCE: The Eastern Regional Conference of Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Jews will meet in Washington, D.C., Aug. 21-23. The conference, sponsored by the World Congress of Gay and Lesbian Jewish Organizations and by Washington, D.C.'s lesbian and gay synagogue, Congregation Bet Mishpachah, is designed to help participants integrate their sexual orientation and Jewish identity. Openly gay Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., will be keynote speaker. For more information, contact Lee Walzer at (703) 522-9675 or via e-mail at leewalzer@mindspring.com . SPECIAL COUNSEL INTERCEDES FOR LESBIAN EMPLOYEE: The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) says it has stepped in to investigate whether a Midwestern Labor Department manager is being discriminated against based on her sexual orientation. OSC did not disclose the manager's name but did say that she asked to work out of her home temporarily so she could help care for her partner of 18 years, who has breast cancer. The employee says that heterosexuals would be granted such a request. Instead, two weeks before her partner was to undergo another operation, the employee was told she was being transferred permanently to an office 400 miles away. The Labor Department has agreed to postpone the transfer for 60 days while OSC investigates. The announcement came as House conservatives tried but failed to reverse President Clinton's executive order to protect federal workers from discrimination based on sexual orientation. Among arguments for overturning the ban: It isn't needed. For more information, contact Jane McFarland, U.S. Office of Special Counsel, at (202) 653-7984. L.A. GAY & LESBIAN CENTER TO OPEN PRIMARY-CARE MEDICAL FACILITY: On Sept. 21, the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center will open Lambda Medical Group, believed to be the first U.S. primary-care facility staffed by physicians specializing in health care needs of lesbians and gay men. Lambda Medical Group is expected to serve 4,400 patients a year. For more information, contact Jim Key or Corri Planck of the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center at (323) 860-7357. CORRECTIONS: In the Aug. 10 GLAADLines, a report on Newsweek's Aug. 17 cover story incorrectly stated that Newsweek had not provided standard information about a poll cited in its story. In fact, Newsweek did provide this information, including time of polling, number of persons polled and margin of error. GLAAD sincerely regrets the error. GLAAD is the nation's lesbian & gay multimedia advocacy organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe contact Wonbo Woo at (212) 807-1700 or at woo@glaad.org. "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are registered 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.