21st November, 2001 (# 1) News Clippings Digest

1. BALTIMORE SUN Group opposed to Maryland's gay rights law appears
poised to end its fight to force a statewide referendum on the issue
(VICTORY! The law is now in effect.)
2. BOSTON GLOBE Battle over anti-gay marriage petition gets uglier
3. PHILADELPHIA BUSINESS JOURNAL Area gets its first gay-oriented
magazine
4. DENVER ROCKY MOUNTAIN NEWS Letter from confused writer accuses
NGLTF leader Lorrie Jean of not having her facts straight about
partner benefits
5. GAY.COM U.K. BBC apologizes for ever-so-slightly risque comments
made by Rupert Everett during a TV special
6. LOS ANGELES INDEPENDENT Making it official: Couples waited in
line for almost an hour in front of the Gay & Lesbian Center Saturday
to fill out their "Declaration of Domestic Partnership"

Baltimore Sun, November 21, 2001
501 N. Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD, 21278
(Fax: 410-332-6977 ) (E-Mail: letters@... )
( http://www.sunspot.net/ )
http://www.sunspot.net/bal-te.md.rights21nov21.story
Opponents of gay rights law appear ready to halt efforts
Group, ACLU in talks to end petition suit
By Greg Garland, Sun Staff
A group that opposes Maryland's gay rights law appears poised
to end
its months-long fight to force a statewide referendum on the issue.
Lawyers for the group, TakeBackMaryland.org, and for gay
rights
advocates were in negotiations yesterday. The talks were focused on
finding
a graceful way for the group to give up its effort to put the gay
rights law
before voters next fall, according to sources familiar with the
negotiations.
Neither side would comment publicly on the talks yesterday.
At issue is a law passed by the General Assembly this year to
outlaw
discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and
public
accommodations. It was to have taken effect Oct. 1.
But the state Board of Elections Supervisors concluded in July
that
the law's opponents had collected enough signatures to force a
referendum
next fall. The American Civil Liberties Union and gay rights
advocacy groups
went to court, arguing that many of the signatures appeared to be
invalid.
A lawsuit filed in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court asserted
that the
proper process was not followed in gathering the signatures.
A court-appointed special master reviewed the 47,730
signatures and
found that hundreds – more than enough to keep the referendum off the
ballot – were gathered improperly and were potentially invalid.
More recently, lawyers for gay rights advocates collected
sworn
statements from petition circulators who acknowledged that they did
not
witness all the signatures they collected, as state law requires.
Each petition has spaces for 10 signers and a place for the
petition's
circulator to verify that he or she witnessed each person sign the
document.
Some circulators acknowledged in depositions that they gave
petitions
to others to circulate and did not watch each person who signed them,
according to lawyers in the case.
Lawyers for both sides, and for the state, which is defending
the
elections board's certification of the petitions, would not comment
publicly
on the settlement talks when contacted yesterday.
"All I can tell you is that discussions are ongoing," said
Charles J.
Butler, an attorney for gay rights advocates.
Brian Fahling, an attorney for TakeBackMaryland.org, and the
Rev. Matt
Sine, a leader of the group, also would not comment on the settlement
talks.
A gay rights opponent who is not directly involved in the case
said he
was told by TakeBackMaryland.org leaders that the ACLU is
using "intimidating
tactics" to pressure them into dropping the legal fight over the
referendum.
Peter J. LaBarbera, a senior policy analyst with the Culture
and
Family Institute, a conservative advocacy group, said the campaign
has left
honest people who made mistakes gathering signatures worried they
might
prosecuted on perjury charges.
"Who wants to be under the gun of litigation for months and
months?"
LaBarbera said. "They've got these people intimidated and afraid."
Lawyers for both sides disputed his assertions.
"The fact is that the ACLU is not doing anything untoward
here," said
Fahling. "Any suggestion otherwise should be rejected."
The settlement talks came to light when the ACLU filed a
letter in
court yesterday saying that it was holding off on filing a motion for
summary
judgment. Through such motions, lawyers ask a judge to rule on a
case based
on the facts submitted instead of going to trial.
In the letter, Dwight H. Sullivan, a lawyer for ACLU-Maryland,
stated
that TakeBackMaryland.org had asked the group to delay filing the
motion to
allow each side more time for negotiations.
If the talks are not concluded by noon today, the motion will
be
filed, according to lawyers for both sides.
[ Note: According to press releases from NGLTF and the
ACLU, the anti-gay group did finally admit defeat today and the
Maryland gay rights law will go into effect immediately.]


Boston Globe, November 21, 2001
Box 2378, Boston, MA, 02107
(Fax: 617-929-2098 ) (E-Mail: letter@... )
( http://www.boston.com/globe )
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/325/metro/Battle_over_gay_marriage_p
etition_gets_uglyP.shtml

Battle over gay marriage petition gets ugly
By Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff
FRAMINGHAM – ''Do you believe in traditional marriage?'' a man
seated
at a small card table called to a Target shopper.
Ashley Stinson, a Sherborn mother with a 4-year-old in tow,
believes
in it adamantly. So she stopped to sign a petition protecting
marriage as
she sees it, a covenant between a man and a woman.
But as she did so, retiree Judy Perry rushed to her side,
warning that
the measure proposed in the petition could threaten health benefits
offered
to same-sex partners and their children. Stinson changed her mind
about
signing.
''I think a marriage is between a man and a woman, but I don't
want
children to suffer,'' Stinson said.
The fiercest battle over gay rights in Massachusetts in more
than a
decade is being fought face to face at neighborhood supermarkets,
shopping
malls, and T stops, often in a less than civil manner.
As a conservative organization attempts to collect 80,000
signatures,
gay rights activists have tailed the group, trying to dissuade the
public
from signing. The two sides have traded allegations of stalking,
spitting,
swearing, name-calling, lying, and deceptive signature-gathering
tactics that
led Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly to issue a warning to voters
last week.
This week, as city and town clerks collect the petitions from
Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage, gay activists are pondering a
potential
reversal of fortune: Massachusetts, once considered to be in the
forefront
of gay rights, could become the 37th state to ban gay marriages.
''We're trying to stop it from getting on the ballot, because
we're
afraid voters will approve it,'' said Rebecca Gorlin of Roslindale,
who
dashed to Framingham to intervene with voters after petitioners were
spotted
there.
Polls consistently show that even as the public grows more
comfortable
with extending domestic partner benefits, such as health insurance
and
hospital visitation, voters remain opposed to gay marriage.
''Every state this has been on the ballot has passed it by a
wide
margin,'' said Bryan G. Rudnick, chairman of Massachusetts Citizens
for
Marriage. ''We don't think the taxpayers believe they have to pay
for the
benefits of unmarried partners, regardless of sexual preference.
Domestic
partner benefits are just bad public policy.''
The vitriolic debate began in late July, when Rudnick's group
launched
the petition, which he said is aimed at keeping marriage ''the way
it's
always been.''
''The citizens want to ensure that marriage remains between a
man and
a woman,'' Rudnick said. ''The great thing about a petition drive is
it
shows the citizens truly want it because it takes [nearly] 60,000
signatures
to put it forward.''
As a constitutional amendment, the initiative needs 57,100
signatures,
though petitioners are collecting extra in case of challenges. Then,
the
initiative must be approved by a quarter of the Legislature in two
consecutive sessions. If successful, it could appear on the ballot
as soon
as 2004.
The initiative campaign has touched off a debate in the gay
community
about how to fight it. Activists challenged its legality first
before the
Supreme Judicial Court, a case that is pending.
Meanwhile, though some believe that gay groups should save
their
resources for the 2004 election, advocates like Arline Isaacson,
cochairwoman
of the Massachusetts Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus, pushed
the ''Decline
to Sign'' campaign, hoping to avoid a long and difficult struggle.
''Leading up to the vote it's so ugly,'' Isaacson said, ''and
it
frequently degenerates into antigay rhetoric, antigay violence, and
people
are really worried about that.''
But the current campaign is already ugly. Voters sympathetic
to gay
rights complained that hired signature-gatherers were using campaign
literature for a referendum that would ban horse slaughter to dupe
voters
into signing the marriage ban. The attorney general issued a warning
last
Friday, prompting the proponents to temporarily suspend their work
with
Ballot Access Co. of Phoenix.
''Some petitioners are kind of tricky; they slip the [horse
brochure]
over the other petition,'' acknowledged David Brass, the petitioner
outside
Target.
Ballot Access president Derrick Lee countered that gay
activists were
harassing his workers, who are paid $1 per signature, and trailing
them from
their hotel rooms to the petition sites.
''They literally stalk us,'' Lee said. ''It's frightening.''
Both sides assert that the other is misleading voters. Gay
rights
groups say the petition is written to obscure its true purpose,
ending all
benefits for same-sex couples. Proponents say the measure would only
affect
benefits for public employees.
– Stephanie Ebbert can be reached by e-mail at ebbert@...


Philadelphia Business Journal, November 16, 2001
400 Market Street, Suite 300, Philadelphia, PA 19106
(Fax: 215-238-1466) (Email: philadelphia@... )
( http://philadelphia.bcentral.com/philadelphia )
http://philadelphia.bcentral.com/philadelphia/stories/2001/11/19/newsc
olumn5.html

Area gets its first gay-oriented magazine
Peter Van Allen
Robert DiGiacomo has taken over the helm of Visions Today, the
area's
first magazine devoted to "news and views of the gay and lesbian
community."
DiGiacomo, a seasoned writer and resident of the Bella Vista
section
of Philadelphia, has had the responsibility of giving the magazine a
higher
profile.
Visions Today is part of Today Media Inc., the Wilmington-
based chain
owned and operated by Robert Martinelli. The holding company
publishes
Delaware Today, Main Line Today, Brandywine Country, West Chester
Spotlight
and The Hunt, which it recently acquired. It also does custom
publications
like the Valley Forge Visitors Guide.
Most of the publications are fairly mainstream, targeted to an
upscale
suburban audience. In other words, they're not exactly on the edge.
For example, Main Line Today's recent cover story was on the
Main
Line's most eligible singles, while inside stories weighed the impact
of
plastic surgery and the popularity of taking tea on the Main Line.
Visions Today may be the most targeted of the Today Media
publications.
"We actually started it as a supplement to Delaware Today, but
the
response was overwhelming," said Carmen Hist, publisher of Delaware
Today.
"It's not geared toward the meet-and-greet or the bar crowd. It's
about
business, culture, the arts and travel, similar to any regional
lifestyle
magazine. ... There isn't any other magazine of this kind out there."
DiGiacomo's varied work experience made him a strong candidate
for the
job of editing the magazine.
"I think they saw me as someone who could help guide them into
the
community," said the 35-year-old DiGiacomo, who started at the
Philadelphia
Inquirer's correspondent program, then worked for the Temple
University news
bureau, before a brief stint at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning
Commission. For the last several years, he's been a freelance
writer,
working for Philadelphia Gay News, Woman's Day, Elegant Wedding,
Travel
Holiday and other publications.
For the Press of Atlantic City, he wrote dozens of celebrity
profiles
on casino entertainers – including Bill Maher, George Carlin, Don
Rickles,
David Cassidy and David Copperfield.
"It's a funny combination of people on their way up and on
their way
down," he said.
At Visions Today, he'll be in charge of putting together a
publication
that combines features, news, profiles and serious issue-oriented
pieces.
"The idea is to cover the community, telling people's stories
and
demystifying the community," DiGiacomo said.
Visions Today will focus its coverage on a region stretching
from New
Hope south to Rehoboth Beach, Md., including Philadelphia and
Wilmington.
Today Media expects the magazine to be profitable within three
to five
years, Hist said. It will share the magazine group's production
staff, but
have its own advertising staff. In many ways, the quarterly will
follow the
same formula as its sister publications.
"We're using the Main Line Today model," said DiGiacomo.
The fall issue, the first of Visions Today as a distinct
publication,
has ads for Mercedes-Benz and BMW, jewelry stores, plastic surgeons;
what you
might find in the average city magazine. One ad you wouldn't see in
Main
Line Today is a full-pager for Outfest 2001, touting the "largest
national
coming-out day celebration in the world."
DiGiacomo says Visions Today is going into uncharted waters.
There
are other magazines devoted to gays, including Out and the Advocate,
both
national.
"The Advocate is a newsweekly and Out is more pop culture and
entertainment," he said. "We're a regional magazine. That's what
makes us
different. Even the Philadelphia Gay News has a different role."
DiGiacomo is quick to point out that Visions Today is not a
"lifestyle" publication.
"'Lifestyle' is not an appropriate word," he said. "There is
no gay
lifestyle, just as there is no heterosexual lifestyle."


Denver Rocky Mountain News, November 21, 2001
400 W. Colfax Ave., Denver, CO, 80204
(Fax: 303-892-2568 ) (E-Mail: letters@... )
( http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn )
Letter: Get the facts straight
In the Nov. 2 article, "Gay leader urges unity in aftermath of
Sept.
11," News writer Peggy Lowe reported that Lorri Jean, the executive
director
of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, expressed concern that
gay and
lesbian partners of those lost in the Sept. 11 attacks have not been
offered
stipends, while heterosexual partners have. It is my understanding
that
Republican Gov. George Pataki has in fact pushed legislation through
the New
York legislature that would ensure equal treatment for survivors of
the
attack, regardless of sexual orientation. Additionally, it would
surprise me
if another object of Jean's concern, employees of American Airlines –
who
enjoy domestic partner benefits – were treated unequally with regard
to
survivor benefits.
It's no wonder that Jean is "pessimistic" about fair treatment
for
same-sex partners under the Bush administration. She doesn't have
her facts straight.
– Bob Rosenberg, Denver
[Clippings comment: It may surprise this writer to learn that
Gov.
Pataki and George W. Bush are TWO DIFFERENT PEOPLE!]


GAY.COM U.K., 20 November 2001
http://www.gay.com/news/article.html?2001/11/20/4
BBC apologizes for Rupert Everett remark
by Gay.com U.K.
The BBC has apologized after more than 500 viewers complained
about
overtly sexual comments Rupert Everett made during Robbie Williams'
concert
special on Saturday night.
Rupert Everett, who was host for the evening special, joked
that he'd
love to bed Williams and then said everyone in the audience
regardless of
their sexual persuasion would once they'd seen him perform.
"If anyone was offended, we apologize," said a BBC
spokeswoman.
"Rupert Everett's comments were intended to be tongue-in-cheek."
The BBC said that the program was broadcast after the 9 p.m.
"watershed," before which language and sexual and violent content are
more
closely scrutinized.
The special was a live recording of a concert at the Royal
Albert Hall
in October.
The incident followed months of published speculations about
Williams'
sexual orientation. In a recent interview, Williams said he had
considered
having sex with a man but couldn't go through with it.


Los Angeles Independent, November 21, 2001
4201 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 600, Los Angeles, CA 90010
(Fax: 323-932-8250) (E-Mail: editor@... )
( http://www.laindependent.com )
http://indep.townnews.com/display/inn_news/news11.txt
Making it official
By Malaika Costello-Dougherty
Couples waited in line for almost an hour in front of the Gay
&
Lesbian Center on Saturday afternoon – some with strollers, others
wearing
matching clothes, many with their arms around each other – to fill
out their
"Declaration of Domestic Partnership" and make it official.
More than 350 couples signed up and had their forms notarized
for
free, according to Gay & Lesbian Center spokeswoman Jen Gomez.
Domestic
partners share a common residence and agree to be jointly responsible
for
each other's living expenses. The new rights provided by Assembly
Bill 25
will be accessible on Jan. 1.
The passage of AB 25, which Gov. Gray Davis signed into law on
Oct.
14, allowed domestic partners expanded rights, significantly in
healthcare
and adoptions.
Ellen Evans and Laura Brill have been together for 14 years
and now
have a 3-month-old baby. They say that becoming domestic partners is
essential for their second-parent adoption now that the San Diego
County
Appellate Court has possibly invalidated second-parent adoptions.
While the
outcome of the ruling is uncertain, Evans and Brill say that the
adoption
rights provided by AB 25 – which allows domestic partners to adopt
using
existing step-parent adoption procedures – maybe the only way they
could both
be legal parents.
Brill calls AB 25 "a huge step forward." Other than Vermont,
California has the greatest degree of rights recognized to domestic
partners," she says. "It is too bad it has not gone the full way, to
recognize marriage, to make things equal."
John and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland agree and say that they are
waiting
for the same state and federal rights that marriage carries, but that
this is
better than nothing. The Crabtree-Irelands met in college and have
been
together for 10 years. They had a commitment ceremony where they
wore
rainbow cummerbunds in 1993 and legally changed their names to be
hyphenated.
They say that all of the new rights are important but that
healthcare
and parenting are of primary importance. The health care rights
include
medical decision-making rights like spouses. If provided by the
employer, AB
25 also allows sick leave if the partner is ill and health insurance
in the
same manner as dependents.
Duncan Crabtree-Ireland calls the legislation a "stepping
stone, not
the end." "[We are] most engaged in the fight toward marriage," he
says.
"Adoptions can't wait. People will be born and die and we need
protection
now."
John Crabtree-Ireland also likes that this will give him an
opportunity to tell others about his partnership.
Andrea Segal and Barbara Rose have been together for 33 years
and
raised a son together. They had a commitment ceremony in 1969 and
renewed
their vows 25 years later.
"She's my world, I can't imagine life without her," Segal
says. "If
anything happens, we want to have benefits. Everything she deserves
to have,
because she is my other half."
AB 25 provides inheritance protection if a partner dies
without a will
and includes domestic partners as beneficiaries. It also allows
domestic
partners to sue for wrongful death/emotional distress damages in the
same
manner as a spouse.
Rose says that she knew more rights would come along, but
doesn't
understand why it took so long. "It is time somebody stepped
forward, [and
caused] the rest of the government entities to step forward," she
says. "It
is a huge, giant step in the right direction."
– Malaika Costello-Dougherty can be reached at (323) 932-6397,
ext.
163, or by e-mail at mcostellodougherty@...
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