Media and National Orgs React to New DOJ Brief Defending DOMA
August 18, 2009
Obama administration lawyers filed a legal briefing on Monday that defends the so-called ‘Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),’ though the brief notes that the administration finds the policy “discriminatory.” The filing challenges a lawsuit by Arthur Smelt and Christopher Hammer (Smelt v. United States), who charge that the act is unconstitutional.
President Obama was scrutinized by LGBT rights advocates last June after a similar briefing was filed and in which Department of Justice lawyers linked marriage for same-sex couples to incest and pedophilia.
The Associated Press writes in an article published Monday that the President claims his decision to defend DOMA “is not about defending traditional marriage, but is instead about defending traditional legal practice.” President Obama maintains that he intends to repeal DOMA, but insists that the repeal come by way of Congressional legislation rather than court rulings.
Though Monday’s brief is a marked improvement from the June filing, LGBT organizations remain cautious in their praise.
Lambda Legal — a national organization committed to achieving full recognition of the civil rights of LGBT people – issued a statement that both lauds and criticizes the Obama administration:
Lambda Legal and other LGBT groups had serious conversations with the administration after the first brief was filed and we appreciate the progress made since then. But, clearly, serious conversation must continue.
But perhaps one of the more remarkable facets of the filing is the DOJ’s declaration that DOMA is in no way a federal tool meant to “protect” children, as some anti-LGBT groups insist:
The United States does not believe that DOMA is rationally related to any legitimate government interests in procreation and child-rearing and is therefore not relying upon any such interests to defend DOMA’s constitutionality.
Indeed, as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) applauded in a statement released on Monday, the filing even “repudiates the argument that sexual orientation has anything to do with the ability to parent”:
Since DOMA was enacted, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Medical Association, and the Child Welfare League of America have issued policies opposing restrictions on lesbian and gay parenting because they concluded, based on numerous studies, that children raised by gay and lesbian parents are as likely to be well-adjusted as children raised by heterosexual parents.
Blogger Chris Geidner reflected on the significance of the DOJ briefing in regards to LGBT parenting on his blog LawDork.net:
The U.S. Department of Justice took a strong stand today for LGBT equality in at least one portion of its brief in Smelt v. United States, the portion related to LGBT parenting.
Geidner makes an interesting point in wondering if the DOJ briefing will now hold any leverage in future court rulings about LGBT adoption, for instance. Florida’s Supreme Court will hear one such case later this month in which a gay couple is fighting for adoption rights and Geidner asserts that “the DOJ statements certainly will be included in briefing for the likely appeal before Florida’s Supreme Court.”
GLAAD will continue to monitor the media’s coverage of developments surrounding DOMA.
Related Posts:Human Rights Watch Report Details ‘Gay Killings’ in Iraq
August 17, 2009
Human Rights Watch (HRW), a leading independent organization dedicated to defending and protecting human rights across the globe, released a 68-page report on Monday that details the horrific campaign to torture and murder gay men in Iraq.
The report is based on interviews with over 50 Iraqi men who identified themselves as gay, though the report also notes that men who are simply “not ‘manly’ enough” also face persecution and murder. HRW reports that even “the most trivial details of appearance – the length of a man’s hair, the fit of his clothes” can determine whether a man lives or dies.
According to the report, the killing campaign began “in the early months of 2009.” Militiamen “invade the privacy of homes, abduct [gay] sons or brothers, [and] leave their mutilated bodies in the neighborhood the next day.” The report illustrates the gruesome torture wrought on the men, some of whom are “executed by injecting glue up their anuses.”
An Iraqi Interior Ministry Official told Associated Press that estimating the number of men already killed is nearly impossible “because in most cases the family members themselves are either involved in the killing or prefer to keep silent, fearing shame.” An official at the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) told HRW in April, however, that the death count was probably already “in the hundreds.”
In an article published Monday, The Washington Post quoted Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Rights program at HRW, as saying “The [Iraqi] government has done absolutely nothing to respond.” And, indeed, the report even claims that HRW “heard accounts of police complicity in abuse – ranging from harassing ‘effeminate’ men at checkpoints, to possible abduction and extrajudicial killing.”
The Post goes on to say that both “the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and American lawmakers have expressed concern about the reports of slayings.”
Although procedural laws in Iraq do not call for the death of a man who has consensual sexual relations with another man, the HRW report points to special religious laws called fatwa that may circumvent that code:
A young man in Sadr City told an Iraqi columnist that ‘the killing operations [against gay men] are not crimes since they fall under jurisdiction of a religious fatwa.
HRW concludes its report by calling on the Iraqi government to put a stern halt to its anti-gay killings and bids that the U.S. and its allies do all that is possible to assist in that effort:
The Iraqi state must desist from silence, and fully and immediately investigate the murder and torture of people targeted because they do not correspond to the norms of ‘masculinity’ or are suspected of homosexual conduct. [The Iraqi state] must appropriately punish those found responsible… [and] the US and the US-led multinational forces in Iraq should assist the Iraqi government wherever possible in investigating these crimes.
GLAAD will continue to monitor the media’s coverage of the anti-gay killings in Iraq.
Related Posts:LGBT Youth Center Murders Ignite Wave of Activism in Tel Aviv & On The Web
August 3, 2009
A masked gunman opened fire on the Tel Aviv Gay and Lesbian Association — an LGBT youth center — on Saturday, killing three people and wounding ten others. The suspect remains at large.
The Los Angeles Times reported on Monday that two of those killed have been identified as Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Trobishi, 16. The third victim is reported to have later died in a Tel Aviv hospital and has yet to be identified.
The New York Times quotes Israel’s Minister of Internal Security, Yitzhak Aharonovitch, as saying that the crime had “homophobic motives.”
The NY Times went on to note that “in the past, swastikas had been painted at the entrance to the center.”
Homophobia does not seem to be rampant in Tel Aviv, however. The Associated Press illustrated Israel’s acceptance for its LGBT citizens in an article published on Sunday:
Israel’s gays and lesbians typically enjoy freedoms similar to those of gays in European countries. Gay soldiers serve openly in the military, and openly gay musicians and actors are among the country’s most popular. Tel Aviv holds a festive annual gay parade, rainbow flags are often seen flying from apartment windows and there is a city-funded open house for the community
Israel’s Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu emphasized Israel’s acceptance of LGBT people, saying “We are a tolerant, democratic country governed by the rule of law, and we must respect each and every person.”
In response to the vicious attack, LGBT Israelis are reigniting a sense of activism for their community and refuse to be intimidated. The AP reported that “thousands took to the street in an impromptu march after Saturday night’s attack to mourn for the victims and call for tolerance. Other demonstrations were planned Sunday in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and other Israeli cities.”
Blogger Joe Jervis posted a video on his blog, Joe.My.God, in which an Israeli protester is heard reflecting on his renewed sense of pride:
I came here to show my support for those who live in the proud gay community and are grieving over their dead. I hope that this terrible day will also give you strength and mark a turning point. This day should give children the strength to tell their parents ‘I’m gay’. This day should give parents the strength to love their children for who they are. This day should give the strength to make a change within Israeli society, so that it will be proud of its gay community.
Tel Aviv’s mayor, Ron Huldai, affirmed that the city will not waver in its acceptance of LGBT citizens and vowed that Tel Aviv will continue to “maintain its pluralistic nature.”
Vigils are now scheduled worldwide to honor the victims of the attack. Twitter users are spreading the word about vigils in London, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Manchester, and many other cities across the globe.
New York City’s City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn has called on fellow New Yorkers to join her in remembering victims on Wednesday at the synagogue of the Congregation Beth Simchat Torah.
The search for the shooter will continue and Israeli authorities have vowed to prosecute the suspect to the full extent of the law.
GLAAD will continue to monitor coverage on the anti-LGBT shooting in Tel Aviv.
Related Posts:GLAAD Network Responsibility Index Covered by The Tonight Show; SyFy Promises Change
July 30, 2009
GLAAD’s third annual Network Responsibility Index, which analyzes the quantity, quality and diversity of LGBT images on television, spread across the internet, radio and television following its release early Monday morning.
The Associated Press broke the story at 12:01am on July 27 and was promptly picked up numerous outlets, including popular blogs such as Towleroad, Socialite Life and AfterEllen. The story was also carried by major news outlets, including The Huffington Post, ABC News, USA Today, and Entertainment Weekly.
In print, The Hollywood Reporter ran a front page story on the Network Responsibility Index. The print editions of The New York Times and The New York Daily News also picked up the story.
GLAAD’s Senior Director of Media Programs, Rashad Robinson, was interviewed about the report by CBS Radio and KFWB in Los Angeles. On TV, CNN’s Showbiz Tonight and American Morning reported on GLAAD’s findings, but perhaps the most memorable (and hilarious) reference to the Network Responsibility Index came courtesy of Conan O’Brien on The Tonight Show:
TV Guide‘s Matt Mitovich also did an excellent job of covering GLAAD’s report. After his initial story, Mitovich reached out to the networks that received Failing grades in the Network Responsibility Index. Although most declined comment, SyFy’s executive vice president of original content, Mark Stern, touted several gay characters on upcoming series.
Ming-Na as Camille Wray in Stargate: Universe
From TVGuide.com:
“On Stargate Universe, one of the main female characters, we discover, is a lesbian and has a wife at home. It’s a pretty important facet of who that character is,” he says. ER alum Ming-Na plays intergalactic diplomat Camille Wray, while 24’s Reiko Aylesworth recurs as her wife.
Similarly the Galactica prequel spin-off Caprica has at least two main characters depicted as being in gay relationships. “[One] is a ‘goodfella’-type, and we discover in a nonchalant way that he is gay, with a husband,” Stern says. “It was very interesting to me to take what is traditionally a very heterosexual role in an organization that we think of as being extremely homophobic, and put a gay character in that world in a very normalized way.”
We commend SyFy for working to ensure the LGBT community is fairly represented in their original programming and hope that the other networks will take our recommendations to heart as well.
Related Posts:The Episcopal Church Says “YES” to Ordination for Gays
July 16, 2009
On July 14, LGBT leaders in The Episcopal Church proclaimed, ”Amen,” as the decades of struggle of ordination for gay people came to an end. The House of Delegates and the House of Bishops voted to allow ordination of gay and lesbian priests and bishops. All affirmed that God could call to ordination anyone, including people living in a same-sex marriage or partnership.
The Episcopal Church House of Bishops supported inclusion by a 99-45 vote, with two abstentions and it was overwhelmingly ratified by the House of Delegates comprised of laity and priests. The new resolution officially ends a 2006 moratorium on ordaining openly gay bishops. The moratorium was initially meant to halt any further division within the church after the ordination of Gene Robinson but unity was not maintained and no efforts for unity were offered by conservatives.
Earlier this year conservatives, now identifying themselves as the Anglican Church of America and claiming 100,000 followers, abandoned The Episcopal Church while unsuccessfully laying claim to buildings belonging to The Episcopal Church. The group’s leader, Robert Duncan, said that women and gay people are not “capable” of holding the 
office of bishop. The breakaway group is not recognized by the greater Anglican Communion.
One time LGBT supporter, Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, did not support lifting the moratorium, but delegates voted yes on all inclusive resolutions so far. One delegate from Western Massachusetts told the Associated Press that it was the right thing to do, “I personally believe we had to do this. It’s the way we see the Gospel.” Archbishop Williams met with gay and lesbian deputies while at the convention but expressed regret over the decision.
The bishops will vote on resolutions related to blessing same-sex unions, transgender equality and adaptation of theological resources and liturgies to be more inclusive of gay and lesbian couples.
Related Posts:National Media Analyze Presidential Memo on Benefit Package for Same-Sex Partners of Federal Employees
June 18, 2009
President Obama signed a memorandum on Wednesday that extends limited benefits to the same-sex partners of federal employees.
Among those benefits is the right for a same-sex partner to use American medical facilities abroad as well as the right for a federal employee to take a leave of absence to nurse a sick partner or non-biological child to health.
Healthcare and retirement benefits, however, are precluded from the President’s package leaving some LGBT advocates dissatisfied with both yesterday’s memorandum and the President’s hesitance to fulfill his LGBT campaign promises.
Rachel Maddow covered the breaking news on her MSNBC program this past Tuesday:
An editorial in The New York Times, published on Wednesday, candidly exposed the discrimination rooted in excluding same-sex partners from federal healthcare and retirement packages:
Since benefits are an important part of employment compensation, gay people are effectively being paid less than their heterosexual peers for doing the same work.
The Times went on to clarify that while the new benefits are certainly a mark of progress, it is still “impossible to ignore how much of the glass is not full” and urged President Obama to fulfill his campaign pledges and “work to allow gay people to serve openly in the military and to persuade Congress to bar discrimination against gay people in employment.”
Similarly, in a June 18 article, “Gay Couples Express Hope over Benefits Extension,” The Washington Post profiled three gay and lesbian federal employees, all of whom are hoping for further action on the parts of the President and U.S. congress:
Jamie Price, a lawyer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, said she hopes Obama’s action will “perhaps spur Congress” into approving the bipartisan legislation that would provide domestic partners of federal workers the same benefits as the spouses of federal employees.
President Obama has expressed his full support for such legislation.
Although the President did not directly address transgender people in his speech yesterday, the National Center for Transgender Equality reported on Wednesday that:
Officials [NCTE] spoke with today reconfirmed that the decision is firm that the new guidelines to agencies and departments will make clear that discrimination based on gender identity and expression is forbidden under civil service policies and that the policy will be enforced by this Administration.
The Associated Press reported that John Berry, head of the Office of Personnel Management and the highest ranking gay person in the Obama administration declared yesterday’s memorandum to be “a first step – not a final step” in President Obama’s pursuit of LGBT equality.
The blogosphere is also full of praise and criticism of President Obama’s federal employee memorandum.
Leonard Hirsch penned a thankful note to the Administration on Thursday via Bilerico.com:
Thank you, President Obama and your team (you know who you are). Thank you, Secretary Clinton and GLIFAA (Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies) for taking an important lead on these issues during this Administration.
Though Hirsch goes on to say “We still have much to do for LGBT equality and to eliminate hate, discrimination and harassment in our society and our laws” – a point of clarification that Rea Carey, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, took up in her Huffington Post piece, “Our Moral Imperative.”
In the piece, Carey admonished last week’s Department of Justice brief that defended the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) saying it was “not merely disappointing, it was a public abrogation of the promise of equality the president himself embraced as a candidate.” She goes on to list dozens of policies on which the President can take immediate action in a move toward LGBT equality. Carey does give credit where it is due, echoing White House officials in calling the President’s memorandum ‘a first step’.
Bilerico.com went on to publish the transcripts of yesterday’s White House press briefing with Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, during which Press Secretary Gibbs was pressed for answers on several LGBT issues. Among the most noteworthy of responses was one in which a timeline for the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ was disclosed:
Q: Okay. And on-just one more time on DOMA, “don’t ask, don’t tell” timeline, does the President want to see that overturned in this Congress? I mean, is there a plan to do that in this Congress?
MR. GIBBS: I think, as Senator Reid said, it’s something we can do in this Congress and it’s something that the President is working with members of Congress, working with-on “don’t ask, don’t tell,” working with the Pentagon to ensure that that happens. Yes, ma’am.
GLAAD will continue to monitor media reports of the Obama Administration’s stance and actions on LGBT issues.
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Related Posts:Summer Heats Up with Churches Debating LGBT Issues
June 18, 2009
In the past few weeks the Los Angeles Times, Charisma Magazine and the Toledo Blade published overviews on the various summer conventions where Protestant denominations will be engaged in debating LGBT inclusion. We here at GLAAD thought we’d share these and other highlights of the summer:
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH USA
Presbyterians worked diligently and strategically to garner prayerful support for a constitutional amendment
on equal ordination. Passed by the General Assembly in 2007, and voted by each Presbytery over the last six months, LGBT supportive groups pulled GLAAD in around communications support as they shaped a message of inclusion for all God’s baptized and called people. With a 49% to 51% popular vote and unprecedented numbers of regional presbyteries supporting equality, messages like “historic levels of support” showed up in both mainstream and opposition media. Even though the proposed constitutional amendment for equality did not pass, articles with positive messages were carried nationwide in both the Religion News Service and The Associated Press wire services.
THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
July 8-17, in Anaheim, Calif., bishops and elected deputies gathered for the Episcopal Church’s triennial General Convention will consider dozens of resolutions to move their denomination beyond its de facto moratorium on additional LGBT bishops and forward on civil and ecclesiastical marriage equality. Furthermore, among these resolutions are four in support of transgender equality, marking a first in the convention’s history. The convention’s process will be impacted by a recent controversy in which a committee chair refused to publish the names of a panel of theologians who were appointed to prepare a paper on same-sex relationships in the life of the church. In addition, Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury and primary leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion will visit General Convention and is expected to pressure the Episcopal Church to halt its progress on LGBT inclusion.
EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA
After eight year process of drafts, hearings and revisions, the Social Statement on Human Sexuality, itsImplementing Resolutions and separate recommendations for ministry policies will go before the biennial Churchwide Assembly of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America in Minneapolis on August 17-23. Lutherans will be taking several votes which could allow congregations to appoint ministers who are in committed same-gender relationships. Social statements require a 2/3 majority vote and are the basis for policy-other resolutions and recommendations only need a simple majority. Even if the Social Statement fails, other recommendations could still open the door, so opponents are strategizing to change the rules to require a 2/3 vote on all sexuality-related items, even though two previous such attempts having failed. Lutherans Concerned/North America is part of the Goodsoil coalition that is preparing for advocacy on the votes on these documents and is working with GLAAD to amplify their message in mainstream media.
REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA
Reformed Church in America (RCA) pastors and elders continued the conversation around gay equality at the 2009 General Synod on June 3-9. Members of pro-LGBT group, Room for All, were telling their stories as the discussion, which has been ongoing for thirty years, continued. A mid-point document for the most recent conversation is online. Significantly, the RCA voted to make the Belhar Confession a fourth doctrinal confession. Written in 1982 in response to Apartheid, it concludes, “Therefore, we reject any ideology which would legitimate forms of injustice and any doctrine which is unwilling to resist such an ideology in the name of the gospel.” The General Synod delegates will look at how the Belhar’s relates to gay and lesbian justice. To revisit the Synod you can visit the blog.
MENNONITE CHURCH
To reopen dialogue about welcoming LGBT people, a group of young Mennonites are making their presence known at the Mennonite Church USA Assembly, June 30 – July 5 in Columbus, Ohio, by asking supporters to wear pink to highlight the discrimination in the denomination against gay and lesbian Mennonites. Also, several pastors issued a Lenten open letter to the Mennonite Church calling for confession and healing in the church’s relationship with LGBT people. Many of the 1,300 signers will offer hospitality and seminars at the Assembly this summer,
UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST
The UCC Coalition’s June 22-25 2009 gathering kicks off the UCC weeklong General Synod in Grand Rapids, MI. The UCC is the leading mainline denomination that supports full equality for LGBT people, and the UCC General Synod will consider many resolutions. One such resolution will work for “Affirming Diversity/Multi-cultural education in Public Schools” and hopes to lay the groundwork for an ecumenical partnership to support this crucial work.
UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST
Unitarian Universalists will be meeting June 24-28, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Leaders from their United Nations office, which now has a staff person designated for LGBT work, will bring a resolution to protest the targeting of gay men in Iraq for murder in the streets. The former mayor of Salt Lake City will be honored for his human rights work and the president of the board for the UU United Nations office is a former Mormon and will reflect on her journey from there to being a Unitarian.
Ten Years After Matthew Shepard, Coverage of Hate Crimes is Lacking
October 9, 2008
It’s been ten years since news of the violent murder of Matthew Shepard first made headlines. For many weeks following those initial reports, coverage of the Laramie, Wyoming tragedy flooded major television stations and news outlets from coast to coast.
It was undoubtedly the most visible anti-LGBT hate crime in this country’s history.
To this day, Matthew’s story continues to be told and his death memorialized – the most widely recognized tribute being Moisés Kaufman’s internationally acclaimed play, “The Laramie Project,” which was later adapted into a GLAAD Media Award winning film for HBO. To mark the 10th year of remembrance, Kaufman has updated the play with an epilogue. The new version will be published and used in future performances.
One would think that in light of the widespread coverage of Matthew Shepard’s story and the conversations it caused on a national level and in our local communities, subsequent coverage of hate crimes against LGBT people would have increased.
Sadly, this is not the case.
Many times when LGBT people are attacked for being who they are, the media coverage – if there’s any at all – is limited. So far this week, GLAAD has highlighted just a few cases (Anthony Hergesheimer, Nakhia Williams and Sean Kennedy) that demonstrate how hard getting coverage of anti-LGBT hate crimes can be and the impact the media can have when they actually do provide coverage.
In the few cases where an anti-LGBT hate crime has risen to the national level of awareness, we often see problematic language and assumptions in the media’s coverage.
Take for example the coverage of Lawrence King’s murder. Earlier this year, the brutal and senseless premeditated murder of 15-year-old King became the most widely covered hate crime of the year.
On a Friday in February, Lawrence, an openly gay student from Oxnard, California, was shot and murdered by a fellow classmate. The attacker brought a gun into school and killed Lawrence because of King’s orientation.
When the news of the murder first broke, GLAAD urged the media to report on the intersection of anti-gay bullying and violence. When the Associated Press published a story which unfairly assigned blame to King for “flirting,” we called upon the Associated Press to reexamine the way it had covered the story.
Then, one of the most visible stories about the murder, a Newsweek feature article titled “Young, Gay and Murdered,” was published. The article received harsh criticism from many who viewed it as, similar to the AP story, blaming the victim. From the Newsweek article (emphasis added):
Larry King was, admittedly, a problematical test case: he was a troubled child who flaunted his sexuality and wielded it like a weapon—it was often his first line of defense. But his story sheds light on the difficulty of defining the limits of tolerance.
After collecting concerns from the community, GLAAD met with Newsweek to discuss them and provide feedback. The meeting was productive and Newsweek later published a follow up article that included many of the responses people had left for the newsmagazine after the article’s publication:
The article drew a massive response online–more than 4,000 comments were posted through the week. Many responded to reporter Ramin Setoodeh’s assertion that Larry “was a troubled child who flaunted his sexuality and wielded it like a weapon.”
Yes, he was a flamboyant kid who wore high heels and makeup. But many commenters felt this characterization suggested that Larry deserved to die.
Los Angeles based writer and attorney Peter DelVecchio also delved into the Newsweek criticisms in a blog post at The Bilerico Project.
The Newsweek LGBT sources interviewed were uniformly dismayed by the piece, believing it represented King as being responsible for his own murder. Ryan referred to a “tone of blaming the victim,” (a charge she leveled against media handling of violence against LGBT youth generally).
The Newsweek article “was framed in a way . . . that justifies violent action by people that is in line with the gay panic defense argument,” said Cathy Renna, managing partner of Renna Communications, a public interest communications firm focusing on LGBT issues.
“It was very close to blaming the victim . . .,” said Kevin Jennings, founder and executive director of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN), a national education organization focused on safe schools.
And recently, GLAAD secured an op-ed in the Ventura County Star highlighting the common threads linking the Shepard and King tragedies.
As candlelight vigils and benefits take place across the country this week in remembrance of the ten years passed since Matthew Shepard’s murder, we also remember countless others like Lawrence King and urge the media to increase responsible coverage of hate crimes against LGBT people.
