Date: Mon, 1 Mar 1999 18:58:42 -0800 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines - March 1, 1999 GLAADLINES - March 1, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Wonbo Woo GLAAD Communications Associate (212) 807-1700 x24 woo@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Index: 1) IHAVE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES HIKE AGAINST HATE AND VIOLENCE 2) PENTIUM III RELEASED AMIDST CONTROVERSY 3) INCLUSIVE CHILDREN'S BOOKS DRAWING ATTENTION AGAIN 4) RELIGIOUS LEADERS REPRIMANDED 5) LESBIAN AND GAY CHURCH VANDALIZED IN SUSPECTED HATE CRIME 1) IHAVE FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES HIKE AGAINST HATE AND VIOLENCE: In the wake of the high-profile sentencing of John King, convicted murderer of Jasper, Texas, resident James Byrd, the International Hate And Violence Education (IHAVE) Foundation has announced its organization of a major grassroots event to take place this summer: the International Hike Against Hate and Violence. The 1,200 mile trek will begin on July 24 with the lighting of an eternal flame in Seattle, Washington, and end in Ft. Collins, Colorado, closing with a special concert and ceremony on October 12, the one-year anniversary of the death of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard. The expected $1 million to be raised by the Hike will benefit the work of a diverse group of organizations working to oppose hate and violence through educational programs. Shepard's mother, Judy, will participate in the Hike, as will relatives of James Byrd, Ron Goldman, Charlotte Wetzel and other victims of violent and hate-motivated crimes. IHAVE is currently seeking volunteers, office space, and funding in preparation for the event. For more information, please contact the IHAVE Foundation at (360) 793-8500 or by e-mail at: info@ihave.org . 2) PENTIUM III RELEASED AMIDST CONTROVERSY: On Friday, February 26, the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), in conjunction with a number of other Internet civil liberties group, called for the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to stop the distribution of the Intel Corporation's new Pentium III processor. The CDT cited concerns about technology included in the chip which transmits a unique serial number, enabling potential tracking of users online. The Pentium III was released on Sunday, February 28. According to a CDT release, Intel has stated that the new technology is intended to be used for security purposes, and not for tracking, but the CDT pointed to the potentially dangerous applications of the technology in addition to the intended ones. "From the start, GLAAD, too, has been concerned with issues of online privacy as they pertain to members of our community. Many lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people - and especially in rural areas - do not have adequate support systems around them. The Internet tells them they are not alone, and provides vital resources to many who feel isolated and alienated, without threatening their safety by jeopardizing their anonymity," said GLAAD Interactive Media Director Loren Javier. "While GLAAD has not issued its own call to the FTC, we are still concerned about the implications of the Pentium III technology, and will continue to be vigilant in our monitoring of the issue." For more information, contact Loren Javier at (415) 861-2244 or by e-mail at: javier@glaad.org . 3) INCLUSIVE CHILDREN'S BOOKS DRAWING ATTENTION AGAIN: Openly gay Queens (New York) School Board candidate Wayne Mahlke has drawn fire from conservative opposition throughout his campaign because of his support for the inclusion of Daddy's Roommate, Heather Has Two Mommies and other lesbian- and gay-themed books in school libraries. In his February 18 column, the New York Post's Steve Dunleavy warned Mahlke: "if I hear about gay books with daddies in bed being exposed to little kids, you may not be Š safe." The same two books have inspired controversy in Wichita, Texas, where the City Council recently voted to allow residents to have books moved from the children's sections of public libraries into adult sections by obtaining signatures on a petition. Diana Philip, director of the North Texas regional office of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), told the Dallas Morning-News, "The intent [of this decision] is to hide materials that other people have deemed improper based upon content. And every time we censor books based upon content, that's unconstitutional." The two books came to national attention in the early 1990s, when a new "Rainbow Curriculum" was proposed. The Rainbow Curriculum was to make use of inclusive teaching materials and was aimed at promoting greater ethnic, racial and gender-based tolerance, as well as a better understanding of different kinds of families. For more information, contact GLAAD's Jane Ralph at (816) 756-5991, or via email at: ralph@glaad.org . 4) RELIGIOUS LEADERS REPRIMANDED: The Rev. James Callan of Rochester, New York, who had blessed a number of same-sex unions and had given women duties expressly forbidden to them by the Roman Catholic Church, was excommunicated on February 24. The Catholic Diocese of Rochester said "Father Callan has effectively excommunicated himself" by starting a new church following his suspension in December after serving 22 years at Rochester's Corpus Christi church. Similarly, a United Methodist pastor has been reprimanded for presiding over same-sex Holy Union services over the last two decades. The Rev. Gregory Dell of Chicago's Broadway United Methodist Church will be tried next month by the denomination's regional Committee on Investigation, on charges of "disobedience to the Order and Discipline of the United Methodist Church." That trial is set to begin March 25. Dell notes that "the trial will be an occasion for the Church to consider this matter in the context of real ministry with real people." For more information on Father Callan's excommunication, contact Charles Cox, Executive Director of Dignity USA, at (202) 861-0017. For more information on Rev. Dell's case, contact Broadway United Methodist Church at (773) 348-2679. 5) LESBIAN AND GAY CHURCH VANDALIZED IN SUSPECTED HATE CRIME: A congregation of the world's largest lesbian and gay organization, the Universal Federation of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), has been repeatedly vandalized in recent months, with the harassment recently culminating in arson. In January, the Harvest Metropolitan Community Church in Denton, Texas, had a rainbow flag (symbolizing lesbian and gay pride) stolen from its property. A flag hung to replace the stolen one was subsequently set on fire, destroying the flag and causing damage in the surrounding area. On February 19, gasoline or another accelerant was used to ignite the Church's sign and to light a fire in the front driveway of the building. The vandalism was first reported to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), and later to the Hate Crimes Task Force of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), which has assigned an agent to the case. While the church has not received hate mail or the likes in the week since the arson, and while there has been no clear indication as to whether or not the crimes were homophobic in nature, church officials said in a statement that they are "heartened that both local and federal authorities are viewing the three incidents as related, continuing their investigations and looking for hate crime links." For more information, contact James Birkitt of the UFMCC at (310) 360-8640 x226 or by e-mail at: UFMCCHQ@aol.com . 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 . 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Make sure that you turn off all signatures and extraneous text. 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.