Posts made by leatherbear

By Diane Macedo

A proposed ordinance in Memphis, Tenn., that would ban discrimination  against gays is causing outrage among some local critics who say the ordinance itself would be discriminatory – against people who oppose homosexuality because of their religious beliefs.

"It's going to discriminate against people of faith who are Christians in their worldview, and I believe with all my heart that they have rights too," says Bellevue Baptist Church Pastor Steven Gaines.

The amendment to the city’s existing non-discrimination policy, which was presented to the city council Tuesday, would prohibit the city from discriminating based on sexual orientation, gender identity or expression against employees, as well as anyone who has a contract with the city or who uses city facilities.

City Councilwoman Janis Fullilove, who sponsored the proposal at the request of gay rights organization Tennessee Equality Project, told the council Tuesday that every human deserves the right to be protected in the workplace.

“All people should be able to make a living, to provide for their families and contribute to their communities without fear of losing their jobs for something that has nothing to do with their job performance,” said Jonathan Cole, a spokesman for Tennessee Equality Project. “Right now it’s legal in Memphis to be fired simply because someone is gay or lesbian or transgender.”

But council member Barbara Swearengen Ware said the ordinance is simply unnecessary.

"Is there a box on the application that requires people to check gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender? Then how do I know you are unless you're trying to flaunt it in my face?" she asked at the meeting, then contended that the city is already an equal opportunity employer and doesn’t need the amendment, the Memphis Flyer reported.

Critics also voiced concerns over biological men using women’s bathrooms.

Fullilove responded by telling the council, "I know there are a lot of people with concerns about people going to the rest room. But how many times do you go into a restroom and look into the stall and ask, what are you? A man or a woman?"

Cole told Fox News he respects concerns that some critics have for the pending legislation, but he was especially bothered by the outrage coming from Bellevue Baptist Church.

“They really lack moral authority on the issue,” he said. “This is the same congregation that can’t even share a softball field with a lesbian coach.”

The church allegedly told a lesbian coach that her team would not be able to play in their church softball league after they discovered her sexual orientation.

“We think it would be wrong to have any city tax dollars go towards discriminating against any city employee,” Cole said.

However, Cole stressed that his group is willing to make some concessions and perhaps offer churches an exemption from the proposed law.

“We’re willing to start somewhere by giving them an exemption,” he said. “At least for the time being.”

The ordinance is scheduled to be discussed again before the full council on August 3.

Protesters block traffic in Las Vegas on Tuesday while protesting Sen. Harry Reid's failure to bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act to a vote.

LAS VEGAS (July 20) – In a rare incidence of civil disobedience in this destination's tourism corridor, eight activists protesting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's inaction on gay rights legislation were arrested for blocking traffic at one of the Strip's busiest intersections today.

As they were being handcuffed and taken to police cars, the eight continued to chant that the Nevada Democrat had broken several vows to bring the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) to a vote. The act would bar workplace discrimination against people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

"We're being arrested because gay and transgender people in America are being denied their equal rights," shouted Lt. Dan Choi to passers-by as he was led in handcuffs to a spot near the front driveway of the New York-New York Hotel-Casino. "I want you to remember that as you hang out in Las Vegas today."

The protesters were booked on one count each of blocking the roadway and obstructing a police officer, both misdemeanors punishable with a fine. They expected to post $400 bail a piece and be released by dinnertime, a GetEQUAL spokeswoman told AOL News.

The protest began about 1 p.m. in a grueling 106-degree heat when members of the gay rights group GetEQUAL unfurled a banner reading "REID: PASS ENDA NOW" on a pedestrian walkway that crosses over the Strip and connects the New York-New York to the MGM Grand casinos. Minutes later, other protesters walked into the street and held up a banner that read "REID NO ONE CAN DO MORE" and that spanned four lanes of traffic.

Several motorists became irate, including a limousine driver who got out to scream at protesters, but there was no violence.

"This does not happen very much at all," Las Vegas Metro Police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan said. "The last one I can remember was 15 years ago and, honestly, I can't remember what it was for."

In all, about 20 GetEQUAL activists participated, primarily people from out of state who are in Las Vegas for Netroots Nation, a convention this of liberal bloggers and activists. In addition to those standing on the pedestrian crosswalk and in the street, other protesters chanted and carried signs at the base of the scale model of the Statue of Liberty that stands sentry outside the New York-New York resort.

Reid, Nevada's senior senator, is facing a tough re-election battle against tea party idol Sharron Angle, a Republican who opposes any laws promoting gay civil rights. Reid is scheduled to speak Saturday at Netroots Nation, where GetEQUAL organizer Paul Yandura vowed he will be asked to explain why ENDA has not been brought for a vote.

"This not is about anyone else but Harry Reid and him standing up to the promises that he's already made for the community," Yandura said. "Later today, we're putting up a timeline and showing that for the last year, every month we've been told it was coming up for a vote and then it didn't. It's really not about him and his Republican opponent, it's about him standing up."

Reid spokesman Thomas Brede did not address why the bill has not come up for a vote but provided AOL News with this statement: "Sen. Reid supports the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and believes that employment decisions should be based only on relevant matters such as performance, ability and conduct in the workplace."

The fact that such events are unusual for Las Vegas may help explain why police took 20 minutes to arrive and remove protesters. Morgan said her records show the call came in at 1:08 p.m. and bike patrol cops arrived at 1:14 p.m., but eyewitnesses' time-stamped Twitter dispatches and photos show police did not enter the roadway to deal with the situation until at least 1:25 p.m.

The lag amused protesters but alarmed local gay activist Chris Miller.

"My concern is that as a citizen of Las Vegas, what if that was a terrorist in the middle of the street?" Miller said. "Would it have taken them as long to get out here?"

Several of those arrested are veterans of civil disobedience actions. Choi was arrested in March for chaining himself to the White House fence to protest President Barack Obama's failure at the time to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. Another activist, Jimmy Gruender, was arrested in a sit-in at Sen. John McCain's office to highlight the military policy.

Today's action focused attention on Nevada, which has a mixed record on gay rights. The state barred same-sex marriage in 2002 but in 2009 created a same-sex domestic partnership registry that bestows all the same state benefits of marriage to gay couples.

In 1999, Nevada became the 11th state to pass a statewide ENDA law, and most Las Vegas casino companies have had such policies for years. In fact, MGM Resorts International, owner of both the MGM Grand and New York-New York, was the first on the Strip to provide health benefits to the same-sex partners of employees. The company heavily markets the New York-New York hotel as a gay-friendly destination.

Still, the Vegas backdrop was good for publicity, said Michelle Wright, GetEQUAL's liaison between the police and protesters.

"I feel like it was successful because people stopped on the pedestrian crosswalk," she said. "Even if it starts them questioning what is ENDA and gets them to look it up online to find out what the heck happened, then that's a victory."

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Constance McMillen

By SHELIA BYRD, Associated Press Writer Shelia Byrd, Associated Press Writer  – 1 hr 47 mins ago

JACKSON, Miss. – A rural school district that canceled its prom rather than allow a lesbian student to attend with her girlfriend has agreed to pay $35,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit the ACLU filed on her behalf.

The district also agreed to follow a non-discrimination policy as part of the settlement, though it argues such a policy was already in place.

Constance McMillen, 18, said the victory came at the price of her being shunned in her small hometown of Fulton.

"I knew it was a good cause, but sometimes it really got to me. I knew it would change things for others in the future and I kept going and I kept pushing," McMillen said in an interview Tuesday.

The flap started in March when McMillen challenged the Itawamba County School District's rules banning prom dates of the same gender and allowing only male students to wear tuxedos. The district responded by canceling its prom, prompting the ACLU to file suit claiming the teen's rights had been violated and demanding the prom be reinstated.

U.S. District Judge Glen H. Davidson refused to make school officials hold the prom, but he said in a March 23 ruling that the district had violated McMillen's rights.

The district later announced parents would sponsor another prom chaperoned by school officials. But ACLU lawyers claimed the event was a "sham prom" attended by only about 10 students, while most of McMillen's classmates partied at a private event elsewhere, a claim the school denied. McMillen's suit also says she's been harassed for her stand against the school's policy.

McMillen's lawyers filed notice Monday in U.S. District Court to accept a judgment offer from the Itawamba County School District that will pay $35,000, plus attorney's fees. As part of the agreement, the school district also said it would follow a policy not to discriminate based on sexual orientation in any educational or extracurricular activities or allow harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

School officials contend that their agreement to follow the non-discrimination policy merely reaffirms inclusiveness rules the district already had, said school board attorney Michele Floyd. She said the district's insurance company will pay McMillen.

District officials said in the settlement offer that they didn't believe they violated McMillen's rights.

The ACLU, however, contends that if the district really had such an inclusiveness policy all along, it wouldn't have banned same-sex prom dates. It also said the district is the first in Mississippi to implement a policy banning discrimination and harassment on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Ben Griffith, the attorney who represented the district in the suit, said school officials are focused on preparing for the upcoming fall semester and wanted to avoid protracted litigation.

"The defendants have consistently taken the position throughout this case that their actions and conduct at all times have been constitutional and lawful in every respect," Griffith said.

Christine P. Sun, an ACLU lawyer, said the case has "inspired countless other people around the world to stand up for what's right."

McMillen has moved to Memphis, Tenn., where she plans to attend Southwest Community College in the spring, majoring in psychology. She said she'll use the settlement money for her college education.

She eventually withdrew from Itawamba Agricultural High School and finished her senior year at a school in Jackson, Miss.

Eliza Byard, executive director of GLSEN: The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network, said only 12 states and the District of Columbia require school district to have policies recognizing sexual orientation and gender identity.

McMillen's case gained national attention and she was featured on talk shows and served as a grand marshal for New York's Gay Pride Parade, among other events. She also visited the White House.

Sun said the ACLU had represented other students in similar cases around the country, but none had garnered as much attention as McMillen's legal battle.

McMillen said she thinks the case resonated with so many people because "prom is a common theme and everyone knows how it feels to want to go to prom. With my story, even if people didn't agree with being gay, they understood. They figured out how cruel some people can be."

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