18th November 2003 (# 1) News Clippings Digest.

1. CONCORD MONITOR (New Hampshire) Retired admiral says: Let gay
soldiers serve openly
2. GAY.COM UK New campaign urges gay men to "think again" about
safe sex
3. THE AGE (Australia) Push to allow gay couples to adopt
4. GAY.COM UK Europe "not living up to employment discrimination
obligations"
5. SALISBURY POST (North Carolina) Some United Church of Christ
congregations are upset over last month's vote to ordain an openly
gay Asheville pastor
6. THE COLUMBIAN (Washington) Young Voices: Ban on gay marriage
amounts to discrimination

Concord Monitor, November 16, 2003
Box 1177, Concord, NH, 03302-1177
(Fax: 603-224-8120 ) (E-Mail: letters@... )
( http://www.concordmonitor.com/ )
http://www.cmonitor.com/stories/news/local2003/111603_hutson_2003.sht
ml
Retired admiral: Let gay soldiers serve openly
By Allison Steele, Monitor staff
Last June, when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Texas's
ban on sex
between adults of the same gender, many considered the decision a
landmark
victory for gay rights and a challenge to exclusionary policies like
the
military's ban on open homosexuality.
In that decision, Adm. John Hutson, dean of the Franklin
Pierce Law
Center and former judge advocate general for the U.S. Navy, saw an
opportunity. Hutson is now publicly calling for an end to "Don't
Ask, Don't
Tell," the policy stipulating that homosexuals be allowed to serve
in the
military as long as they keep their orientation secret.
Hutson recently published a column in the National Law
Journal
calling the policy "the quintessential example of a bad compromise."
"It was designed to avoid embarrassing the president, to
mollify gay
activists and yet to be acceptable to the military," he wrote. "It
didn't
completely succeed in any of those respects. . . . Rather than
preserving
cohesion, it fosters divisiveness. . . . The charade required by
Don't Ask,
Don't Tell demeans the military as an honorable institution and its
personnel. The second-class citizenship of gays flies in the face
of the
Navy core values of honor, courage and commitment. Don't Ask, Don't
Tell
bought us some time to mature, but having endured a decade of this
policy
and having been given a prod by the Supreme Court, the time for
re-examination is upon us."
In publishing the column, Hutson became the highest ranking
military
expert to call for an end to Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Tonight, he
will appear
on CBS's 60 Minutes to speak about the policy.
"We now know that Don't Ask, Don't Tell is essentially
unworkable,"
he said yesterday in his office at Franklin Pierce in Concord. "It
is
misunderstood, it is misapplied and it is fundamentally unfair. Now,
because our culture has changed, we can respond to that. And if we
can
change, we must change."
Hutson, 56, served in the Navy for almost 30 years and was
the
organization's top lawyer for the last three. He has worked as a
trial
lawyer and a lobbyist on Capitol Hill. As judge advocate general,
he worked
in the Pentagon and advised senior government officials on legal
issues
relating to the environment, ethics and international and criminal
law. He
retired in 2000; he and his wife then moved to Bow when he was
chosen to
take over at Franklin Pierce.
Hutson will appear on 60 Minutes as part of a report on a
decorated
senior military officer who was discharged in 1997 after his
homosexuality
was accidentally revealed. U.S. Army Lt. Col. Steve Loomis was
discharged
after 20 years of service when his house was set on fire and a
sexually
explicit videotape was found. The video revealed Loomis with other
men,
including a younger enlisted man, and the Army ruled that the tape
was
evidence of conduct unbecoming of an officer.
Loomis is now suing the federal government, contending that
the
military's Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy is unconstitutional because
it
violates a basic right to privacy. Hutson's public statements about
the
policy led Morley Safer, the 60 Minutes host, to come to Concord to
interview him for the show.
Forged in 1993 during the Clinton administration, the policy
was
touted as a compromise but widely criticized by gay rights groups.
As
someone who was involved with the implementation of Don't Ask, Don't
Tell,
Hutson is in a position to understand how it has failed.
There was little support in 1993 for Bill Clinton's promise
to open
the military to homosexuals, he said. But things have changed since
then,
and society's view of homosexuality has evolved dramatically. These
days,
he said, even hardened conservatives know there are plenty of
dedicated gay
patriots in the armed forces. And the walls have yet to come
tumbling down.
"This policy was conceived by men who were born in the 1940s
and
grew up in the '50s," he said. "So much of the military now is made
up of
people who were born in the 1980s and grew up in the '90s. And for
men my
age to try to guess what 18-, 19-year-olds are thinking is just
wrong. The
world has changed too much."
Though he's been on television news shows in the past, the 60
Minutes taping was a new experience for Hutson. The crews wanted to
film
him working in his natural environment. Hutson quickly learned it
was
impossible to accomplish any actual work with a camera in his face,
and he
resorted to writing things like the Lord's Prayer while the
directors got
their footage.
After the show airs, Hutson expects his position will
attract more
attention. It's not something he's necessarily looking forward to,
but he
accepts it.
"Since the article, I've had a lot of my colleagues tell me
they
agree with me," Hutson said. "Nobody has said that they disagree -
but
there are an awful lot of people who haven't said anything."


Gay.com UK, November 17, 2003
http://uk.gay.com/headlines/5382
New campaign urges gay men to "think again"
A new campaign from Terrence Higgins Trust is urging gay men
to
"think again" about the preconceptions they may have about HIV
transmission
and safer sex.
The campaign, under THT's CHAPS banner, will highlight the
thoughts
and decisions that are made before and during sex, especially those
that may
put men at risk of becoming infected with HIV.
Through a series of advertisements, posters and condom-box
inserts,
CHAPS will urge gay men to think before having sex.
"One of the reasons HIV is being picked up and passed on by
gay men
is because of the assumptions or beliefs we might hold about the men
we have
sex with, and not seeing or perceiving the potential for risk," says
Will
Nutland, Head of Gay Men's Health Promotion at Terrence Higgins
Trust.
Such assumptions include that men will tell each other that
they
might be HIV positive before having sex, or that you can tell if
someone is
HIV positive by they way he looks.
"Think Again raises awareness of some of these beliefs and
asks gay
men to consider whether these need challenging."


The Age, November 18, 2003
250 Spencer Street, Melbourne, 3000. Australia.
(Fax: + 61-3-9601-2414 ) (E-Mail: letters@... )
(http://www.theage.com.au )
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/11/17/1069027047287.html
Push to allow gay couples to adopt
By Carol Nader
The gay lobby and child welfare workers have called on the
State
Government to change legislation preventing gay people from adopting
children.
The ACT Government yesterday joined Tasmania in indicating
it would
alter laws and allow gay couples to adopt children.
A spokeswoman for ACT Chief Minister Jon Stanhope said the
territory
would amend legislation to remove the discrimination against gay and
lesbian
couples in adoption. In Tasmania, gay people can adopt their
partner's
child, but cannot adopt a child into their family.
Australia's oldest gay charity, the ALSO Foundation's
executive
officer Adam Pickvance, said Victorian laws banning gay people from
adopting
children were "ludicrous". "You've got adults who are in loving
relationships who are making a proactive choice to adopt a child
into their
family," he said.
Judy Burn, Anglicare's team leader in adoption and permanent
care,
said the agency had received inquiries from gay people about adopting
children, but many relinquishing parents would prefer heterosexual
couples.
La Trobe University family therapy senior lecturer Amaryll Perlesz
said
prejudice against gay parents was unfounded, as research showed
parents'
sexuality did not affect outcomes for children.
A spokesman for [Victorian] Attorney-General Rob Hulls said the
matter was before the Law Reform Commission.
• VICTORIAN DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
The Hon R Hulls MP (Rob)
Attorney-General
Level 1, 55 St Andrews Place
MELBOURNE VIC 3002
Phone: + 61-3-9651-0552
Fax: + 61-3-9651-0556
EMAIL: rob.hulls@...


Gay.com UK, November 17, 2003
http://uk.gay.com/headlines/5380
Europe "not living up to employment discrimination obligations"
A public hearing to discuss the European Union's directive on
discrimination in the work place has found that Member States are
failing to
live up to their obligations, and are unlikely to meet the 2 December
deadline for implementation.
The hearing, which was attended by leading civil rights
groups, non
government organisations (NGOs) and MEPs, was held last week in an
attempt
to assess the state of play of the directive.
It found that of the 15 current member states, only three
have fully
transposed the directive, which will protect workers from being
discriminated because of their sexual orientation and other factors.
Although some of the remaining states have incorporated some
aspects
of the directive, they are yet to fully comply.
Commissioner Anna Diamantopoulou told the meeting that the
European
Commission was determined to push the directive through all states,
and was
prepared to punish those who were unwilling to comply.
"Delay cannot be justified," she told those attending,
adding, "the
Commission intends to play fully its role as the guardian of the
Treaty".
"If necessary, we are ready to launch infringements against
those
Member States that do not meet their obligations under Community
law."
This was supported by Dutch MEP Joke Swiebel, Chair of the
Intergroup on Gay and Lesbian Rights, who emphasised how important
the
directive was in ensuring equality.
"This directive is our most precious crown jewel - we must
defend it
from being stolen from us," he said.
"We cannot accept Member States to refuse to take sexual
orientation
on board. It is not only an obligation but a minimum level of
decency.
Full transposition means an explicit mention of sexual orientation,
it
implies an inclusion of protection from indirect discrimination, as
well as
a limited and specified definition of the permissible exceptions in
relation
to occupational requirements."
Additionally, International Lesbian and Gay Association
European
director Ailsa Spindler said that the legal change was only the
first step
to eradicating discrimination and that government hesitation did not
bode
well for the future.
"In the face of intolerance and homophobia, legal change is
an
important first step. But it is not enough."
"Governments have to go beyond the minimum and enable
potential
victims to make use of these new rights. Where distrust in the
system and
fear hinder individuals from fighting discrimination, measures such
as
training the judiciary or setting up equality bodies need to
complement
legislative change."
"Governments, social partners and NGOs alike have to make
every
effort to empower those most in danger of otherwise being excluded,"
she
added.
In the UK, the legislation is ready to be implemented on the
1st
December, but is the subject of controversy over the animosity
between
religious groups and gay rights groups. At present, the draft
legislation
includes a clause exempting religious organisations, effectively
allowing
them to discriminate against homosexual staff.
Trade unions are in the process of taking this clause
through the
courts, in the hope that the legislation will be amended before it
enters UK
law.


Salisbury Post, November 17, 2003
Box 4639, Salisbury, NC, 28144
(Fax: 704-633-7373 ) (E-Mail: geitner@... )
http://salisburypost.townnews.com/articles/2003/11/17/news/17-
ucc_meeting-ga
y_pastor.txt
Churches debate gay pastor
By Scott Jenkins, Salisbury Post
KANNAPOLIS - United Church of Christ congregations upset
over last
month's vote to ordain an openly gay Asheville pastor have
threatened to
withhold funding from their association and conference organizations.
The churches also want to put a prohibition against openly
gay
pastors in their association's bylaws to prevent such an ordination
from
taking place in the future, church leaders said Sunday.
The rift, which involves churches from Rowan, Cabarrus and
other
Piedmont and western North Carolina counties, reflects a growing
national
debate over gays in the church. That debate spiked this month with
the
consecration of the Rev. Gene Robinson as the Episcopal Church's
first
openly gay bishop.
More than 300 people representing about a quarter of the
Western
North Carolina Association's more than 100 churches met Sunday at
St. John's
United Church of Christ on North Main Street.
Local leaders organized the meeting in response to the Oct.
14
annual Western North Carolina Association meeting, where delegates
approved
the association's first openly gay minister, Cindy Maddox.
At the same meeting - and before the ordination vote -
delegates
narrowly reaffirmed a 1983 association resolution that says "avowed
practicing homosexuals shall not be ordained." Though the 1983
resolution
is non-binding, critics say the delegates erred in making
contradictory
decisions at the same meeting.
At Sunday's meeting, United Church of Christ pastors and lay
leaders
called the vote to ordain Maddox the latest move by the leadership
of the
Southern Conference, of which the association is a member, to push
its
agenda of accepting open and practicing homosexuals into the
church's pews
and pulpits.
Withholding funding from the conference and association,
said the
Rev. Jimmy Norred, St. John's pastor, is the "the only way the
conference
will listen" to churches that oppose its viewpoint.
"The only way they will listen is if they're in financial
crisis,"
Norred said. "It is a shame for me to put my denomination in that
position,
but if you won't listen, we demand that you listen."
Some congregations have formally approved withholding their
funding
for the rest of 2003 and 2004. Before they will restore the
funding, church
leaders said, the conference and association must agree to:
. Not ordain homosexuals.
. Not use their official literature to promote the
acceptance of
homosexuality.
. Not bless same-sex unions, among other things.
The Rev. Stephen Camp, administrative head of the Church of
Christ's
Southern Conference, declined to comment. Instead, he provided a
letter
written to several newspapers in which he said Maddox had undergone a
two-year examination for ordination "and it was found that her
fitness for
ministry met every standard that we use to consider a candidate for
ordination."
Maddox, minister of Christian education at First
Congregational
United Church of Christ in Asheville, could not be reached by
telephone.
She told the Southern Voice, a gay-and-lesbian-oriented newspaper
based in
Atlanta, that the larger issue surrounding her ordination is a
question of
interpreting scripture.
"Many of us in the United Church of Christ believe that we
have a
responsibility to reinterpret the scriptures in light of contemporary
understandings," the paper quoted Maddox as saying.
But many at the Sunday-evening meeting at St. John's
rejected that
argument, saying there is no room to reinterpret what the Bible
spells out
in black and white.
"The word of God is the word of God. It's that simple,"
said Tim
Lawing, president of the consistory at Zion United Church of Christ
in
Thomasville.
Some at the meeting said their churches would not turn away
gay
people who wanted to attend. But they do consider homosexuality a
sin that
must be overcome and a lifestyle that should not be openly espoused
by
church leaders as acceptable.
"This is not a personal attack," Lawing said. "However, it's
absolutely an abomination when you've got a person who openly defies
the
word of God in a leadership position at a church."
While the vast majority at Sunday's meeting agreed with that
position, one person spoke against it. Paul Macy, a member of First
Congregational United Church of Christ in Greensboro, said his
church is
"open and affirming," meaning it accepts gay people as members and
leaders.
"My personal view is that it's not a sin" to be gay, Macy
said.
"But if it is a sin, it's no worse than any other sin, and we allow
sinners
in the church. If we kick all the sinners out, we're not going to
have
anybody in church."
Macy argued that the love Jesus Christ preached - and upon
which his
church is based - "was the revolution."
Macy said Jesus "was telling us a new way." And those in
the church
who support things like same-sex unions and letting openly gay
people hold
leadership roles believe they are following Christ's teachings, he
said.
The internal debate is not a new one for the United Church of
Christ. The denomination saw its first openly gay pastor ordained
three
decades ago, and in 1985, its national General Synod approved a
resolution
asking churches to be "open and affirming."
Regionally, the disagreement could cost more than money.
Though
leaders on Sunday urged churches not to leave the denomination, the
Rev.
Billy Moore, pastor of Rocky Ford United Church of Christ in Cana,
Va., said
that if the conference and association continue to ordain gays, "we
don't
have any other alternative but to go."
. Contact Scott Jenkins at 704-797-4248 or
sjenkins@....


The Columbian, November 17, 2003
P. O. Box 180, Vancouver, WA, 98666
(Fax: 360-699-6033 ) (E-Mail: letters@... )
( http://www.columbian.com )
http://www.columbian.com/11172003/clark_co/91182.html
Opinion: Young Voices
Ban on gay marriage amounts to discrimination
Sara Schmit, 17, is a senior at Heritage High School.
After the death of Matthew Shepard, a young man whose
homosexuality
made him the target of a heinous crime, I watched the news and saw
the
situation outside the courthouse where his killers had been
prosecuted.
What I saw was a disturbing view of the homophobic atmosphere many
American
citizens now reside in.
Protesters screamed phrases and held signs reading, "AIDS
cures
fags." This not only disgusted and outraged me, but it also showed
me how
this discrimination can result in both suicide and murder.
As both Democratic and Republican candidates for the 2004
election
are beginning to prepare their campaigns, the issue of gay marriage
has been
brought to the forefront. This is one of the most controversial
conflicts
facing candidates. Many argue that legalizing gay marriage would
further
erode family values and lead to the legalization of incest and
bestiality.
Others believe that allowing homosexuals to marry would actually
promote
family values and guarantee the rights of a minority group that is
much
talked about, but not often taken seriously.
There is absolutely no scientific evidence pointing toward
homosexuals as a group being dangerous or mentally ill. There is no
reason
for them to be put in the same category as pedophiles. Those are
crimes
against unwilling, innocent victims. Homosexuals choose to date and
commit
to willing partners. Two people who care deeply for each other and
wish to
have their relationship recognized deserve this opportunity.
Traditionally, marriage has always been between a man and a
woman.
As we become more aware of other preferences, we must now realize
that
conventional marriage is not always the answer.
Two people of the same sex getting married would not disrupt
the
sanctity of marriage any more than the short-lived wedding of Carmen
Electra
to former NBA basketball star Dennis Rodman, or the numerous spouses
talk-show host Larry King has had. If these people are not
considered
sinners or immoral, then why would two people who honestly love each
other
and want to be married be chastised for it?
Not only is it hard to have an adult relationship without the
commitment of marriage, but it is also hard to maintain good
finances.
Partners who have been living together for years do not receive the
same
benefits as married couples who have been together for the same
amount of
time. In some cases, the children of partners do not have the same
stability of married partners because the government has made it
unlawful.
Making gay marriage illegal is just another form of
discrimination.
If these laws continue to stay in effect, homosexuals everywhere will
continue to suffer in silence.
Because of our situation in Iraq, many things about America
have
been called into question. While conflicts have arisen and citizens
angered, one thing remains certain: America is still the land of the
free.
This freedom applies to all citizens. If we do not want to be a
nation of
hypocrites, we should allow homosexuals the right to have a loving
relationship be recognized by the government so they may receive all
the
benefits of marriage. Love and freedom are what America should be
about.
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