Date: Mon, 21 Jun 1999 16:27:43 -0700 From: Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Subject: GLAADLines - June 21, 1999 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 21, 1999 GLAADLINES Contact: Jerry Weinstein GLAAD Publications Manager (212) 807-1700 x18 weinstein@glaad.org http://www.glaad.org Index to Stories: 1. JURY FINDS FOR GAY EX-COP IN LANDMARK DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT 2. LEGISLATOR IS FIRST MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO CRAFT INCLUSIVE PERSONNEL POLI= CY 3. UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI FAILS TO RESPECT GAY AND LESBIAN CONCERNS 4. STONEWALL INN TO BE LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES News and Breaking Stories about the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community JURY FINDS FOR GAY EX-COP IN LANDMARK DISCRIMINATION LAWSUIT: On June 17, James Quinn, a retired Nassau County police officer, was awarded $380,000 in damages by a Federal jury. Quinn joined the Nassau County police force in 1987, and was aware of his profession's notoriously homophobic attitudes. However, this knowledge did not prepare him for nearly ten years of verbal taunts and "pranks" including an ongoing series of sexual pictures portraying him as a transvestite, sadomasochist or child molester, posted at the First Precinct station house in Baldwin. A federal jury in Uniondale, after a three-week trial, concluded that Captain Joseph Allen (a lieutenant during Quinn's tenure), now-retired Sergeant John Ryan, and Officer Phillip Rice all exhibited "a disliking or hateful discriminatory attitude toward homosexual men" and conspired to violate Quinn's civil rights. This decision is significant as it is believed to be the first time in New York that the government has been held liable for homophobic harrassment. The attorneys for Quinn argued that the 14th Amendment's equal protection under the law applies to lesbians and gays as a class, just as it does to people of a given race or gender. Beatrice Dorn, legal director of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund (LLDEF) said, "Law enforcement jobs have been very, very difficult for openly gay and lesbian people to hold, because they are subjected to these kinds of campaigns of harassment=8A This case sends a new message: that kind of harassment is goin= g to cost you. And putting a price tag on it is what ultimately will turn the tide against it." For further comment, please contact Peg Byron, at LLDEF at (212) 809-8585 or by beeper at (888) 987-1984. LEGISLATOR IS FIRST MEMBER OF CONGRESS TO CRAFT INCLUSIVE PERSONNEL POLICY: On June 14, Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky (9th District, Illinois), a past co-sponsor of the Illinois Human Rights Act and the Illinois Hate Crimes Act, amended her personnel non-discrimination policy to protect "gender self-image or identity." In so doing, she became the first member of Congress to officially recognize gender variant people. The terms "gender self-image and identity" are broadly inclusive and include transgender individuals as well as men and women, regardless of sexual orientation, who may be perceived as overly effeminate or masculine. This policy came to pass following a meeting with It's Time, Illinois, a political action group for the transgender and gender variant community in Illinois, during GenderPac's National Gender Lobby Days in Washington, D.C. Said Riki Ann Wilchins, executive director of GenderPac, "This is a courageous move to do some small symbolic justice to an embattled minority that is both underrepresented and overtly discriminated against in national politics and on Capitol Hill. Let's hope others see the way clear to follow the Congressmember's example and do the right thing." For further information, please contact Wilchins at (212) 645-1753 and Miranda Stevens-Miller of It's Time, Illinois at (708) 535-1506 or by email at ItsTimeIL@aol.com . UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI FAILS TO RESPECT GAY AND LESBIAN CONCERNS: This past January the University of Missouri's (MU) Board of Curators voted to keep sexual orientation out of the University system's non-discrimination policy. Following this rebuke, student body president Todd Kennedy asked each college in the MU system to add sexual orientation to their own non-discrimination statements. While four schools have thus far changed their policies, the College of Veterinary Medicine submitted a rejection letter on June 8, stating that it would continue to abide by existing University policies. As a consequence of the University not broadening its protections two faculty members, Horace Griffin, assistant professor of religious studies, and Dennis Schrock, extension association of agriculture, announced their resignation last week. Both professors cited the Curator's decision as their primary decision for leaving, and hoped that their departure would place the University's stand on non-discrimination under scrutiny. For further comment, please contact Jane Ralph, GLAAD's Educational Services Manager at (816) 756-5991 or by at email ralph@glaad.org . STONEWALL INN TO BE LISTED ON THE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES: The Stonewall rebellion, regarded as one of the most important events in the history of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights movement in America, will mark its 30th anniversary next week. The uprising, which took place June 28-July 3, 1969, galvanized the community and led to the formation of thousands of gay, lesbian and bisexual civil rights organizations around the world. To commemorate this historic watershed, the U.S. Department of the Interior will hold a ceremony today, June 21, recognizing the Stonewall Inn, as well as its environs, with a listing on the National Register of Historic Places. Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Policy, Management and Budget John Berry will appear at a special Gay and Lesbian Pride Month ceremony at The New York Lesbian and Gay Center, No. 1 Little West 12th Street at 6:30pm. For additional information, please contact Chris Thompson at the U. S. Department of the Interior at (202) 208-3820. 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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