Date: Tue, 19 Jan 1999 17:15:26 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines January 19, 1999 GLAADLINES Contact: Liz Tracey, Publications Manager (212) 807-1700 tracey@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 19, 1999 News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community EDITOR'S NOTE: Due to the observance of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday, GLAADLines is appearing today. We will resume regular publication on Monday, January 25. 1) AOL and Merriam-Webster Review Online Thesaurus 2) Transgender Woman Alleges Assault by NYPD 3) Circuit Court Decision May Impact LGBT Rights 4) Columbus Domestic Partnership Threatened AOL AND MERRIAM-WEBSTER REVIEW ONLINE THESAURUS: In a quickly moving story first reported on GAYBC radio, Merriam -Webster's online thesaurus has been taken offline in response to activists' concerns about the synonyms listed for the word "homosexual." Among the words listed in both the print and online editions as being synonymous or related to the term are "fairy," queen," "swish," "fruit," "bisexual" and "faggot." Cathy Renna, Director of Community Relations, commented, "These are words that are used, sometimes in ignorance, sometimes in hate. What GLAAD wants is not to erase these words: taking them out of the thesaurus might in fact make them more powerful. What Merriam-Webster should do is put pejorative words into some context for their users, and remove inaccurate words from their entries." In addition to the words listed above, the online edition lists "pederast" and "sodomite" as words related to "homosexual." For more information about the initial story, contact John McMullen (GAYBC Radio Network) at (206) 439-8535 or via e-mail at john@gaybc.com. For comment from GLAAD about the Merriam-Webster Thesaurus, please contact Cathy Renna (GLAAD) at (202) 986-1380, via e-mail at renna@glaad.org, or via pager at (301) 215-1354. TRANSGENDER WOMAN ALLEGES ASSAULT BY NYPD: Two organizations located in New York City are calling for a criminal investigation into an alleged assault on a Bronx family and their neighbors in November of 1998. Nancy Lamont called 911 to assist her transgender daughter, JaLea, on the evening of November 24. After paramedics determined medical assistance was not needed, police officers arrived, and spoke briefly with JaLea's mother. As the officers spotted JeLea, they observed that she was transgender, and pushed their way into the apartment. At this point, Lamont alleges the officer physically attacked and verbally assaulted both her and her daughter, and injured a friend of the family. One officer involved called in an "officer down" alert, which then resulted in the building's being swarmed by police, who then, according to Lamont, used mace on all the occupants, including two small children. Both Lamont and JaLea sustained injuries and required medical attention. At this time, two members of the family and a family friend were arrested and charged with a number of misdemeanors and felonies. Joo-Hyun Kang of the Audre Lorde Project, a center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, two-spirit and transgender people of color communities, commented, "NYPD harassment and violence against people of people of transgender experience and people of color throughout the city has continued unabated. This case shows how the blue wall of violence has become a license to invade people's private homes." For more information , please contact Joo-Hyun Kang (ALP) at (718) 596-0342, extension 10, or Maegan Ortiz (The National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights) at (212) 353-7810. CIRCUIT COURT DECISION MAY IMPACT LGBT RIGHTS: A decision issued by the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court upheld a lower court decision that landlords can refuse to rent to unmarried couples based on their religious beliefs. The court also found that the city and state laws that prohibit landlords from asking potential tenants about marital status and from turning away unmarried partners was unconstitutional. The Ninth Circuit covers Alaska, Oregon, and California and six other western states. The assistant attorney general of Alaska who argued the case , Rob Royce, has said he will appeal the case to the full Court. Clyde Wadsworth, with the Western Office of the Lamdba Legal Defense and Education Fund, which filed an amicus curiae brief in the case, stated, "I think it's a dangerous opinion. I think it has the potential for gutting civil rights laws in many cities and states." For more information about the decision and its ramifications for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, contact Peg Byron (Communications Director, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund) at (212) 809-8585. COLUMBUS DOMESTIC PARTNERSHIP THREATENED: A day after domestic partner benefits became effective for Columbus, Ohio's city employees, petitions with over ten thousand signatures were presented to the City Clerk in an effort to repeal the measure. If 6,760 of the signatures are found to be valid, the City Council will either have to repeal the benefits, or have to select a date for a vote. The sponsor of the measure, Councilmember Matt Habash, told Planet Out's NewsPlanet that he was certain that the Council would choose to hold a referendum. Jeff Redfield, executive director of Stonewall Columbus, was quoted as charging that those soliciting signatures for the petition were heard to say, "Those homosexuals want to take our benefits away." In other areas where domestic partnership benefits are available, the number of unmarried heterosexual couples often exceeds that of same-sex couples. The last attempt to overturn a City Council decision by referendum was made in 1993; the last successful reversal was in 1968. For more information, contact Jeff Redfield (Stonewall Columbus) at (614) 299-7764. 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 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" The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combatting homophobia and 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.