My Gay Online

Comic artist and writer Dan Parent says that a gay character is coming to Riverdale High, when Archie comics adds “Kevin Keller” in September.

“‘The introduction of Kevin is just about keeping the world of Archie Comics current and inclusive. Archie’s hometown of Riverdale has always been a safe world for everyone. It just makes sense to have an openly gay character in Archie comic books,’Archie Comics honcho Jon Goldwater said in announcing the news.”

The gay Kevin will appear in Veronica Comics (#202) in September, in an issue titled “Isn’t It Bromantic?”

The Archie-Veronica-Betty triangle is a child’s comic. Tweens and older elementary schoolers will get the message from this comic that being gay is a very ordinary kind of characteristic.

The president directed the Department of Health and Human Services to prohibit discrimination in hospital visitation in a memo that was e-mailed to reporters Thursday night while he was at a fundraiser in Miami.

Administration officials and gay activists, who have been quietly working together on the issue, said the new rule will affect any hospital that receives Medicare or Medicaid funding, a move that covers the vast majority of the nation’s health-care institutions. Obama’s order will start a rule-making process at HHS that could take several months, officials said.

Hospitals often bar visitors who are not related to an incapacitated patient by blood or marriage, and gay rights activists say many do not respect same-sex couples’ efforts to designate a partner to make medical decisions for them if they are seriously ill or injured.

“Discrimination touches every facet of the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, including at times of crisis and illness, when we need our loved ones with us more than ever,” Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, said in a statement praising the president’s decision.

But opponents of same-sex marriage have called the visitation issue a red herring, arguing that advocates want to provide special rights for gays that other Americans do not have. A spokesman for one group said the president’s move was part of a broader effort to appease gays and to undermine the institution of marriage.

Hospitals should not be able to deny visitation privileges on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

“Every day, all across America, patients are denied the kindnesses and caring of a loved one at their sides whether in a sudden medical emergency or a prolonged hospital stay,” he wrote.

Affected, he said, are “gay and lesbian Americans who are often barred from the bedsides of the partners with whom they may have spent decades of their lives — unable to be there for the person they love, and unable to act as a legal surrogate if their partner is incapacitated.”

The Obama administration’s proposal to reform the nation’s educational system includes no specific call for anti-bullying programs in schools, and no mention of protections for students from harassment or discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.

This is despite the fact that an openly gay man heads the Department of Education (DOE) Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, Kevin Jennings, a former teacher who co-founded GLSEN to help promote safe and healthy environments in schools for LGBT youth. A spokesperson for Jennings said he has a “hectic schedule” and “will not be able to accommodate” a request for an interview “at this time.”

And despite having a push by the authors of two bills that would give schools strong incentives to enact LGBT-inclusive anti-bullying measures for similar language in any educational reform bill.

LGBT students are particularly vulnerable. A 2007 survey by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education found that high school students who identified as LGBT were almost five times more likely to attempt suicide than others. And in two high-profile cases just last year, two children committed suicide after being subjected to bullying based on the perception of other students that they were gay.

According to GLSEN, the vast majority of LGBT students surveyed (86 percent) said they experience harassment at school because of their sexual orientation, and most (61 percent) said they feel unsafe because of their sexual orientation.

Transgender students face even higher levels of harassment, a 2009 GLSEN study found.

President Obama last month released a 41-page “Blueprint for Reform” of the nation’s educational system –a reform he hopes can begin when Congress reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, better known as “No Child Left Behind.” The “Blueprint” includes one mention of bullying –in the context of discussing a proposed new “Successful, Safe, and Healthy Students” program to replace the existing “Safe and Drug Free Schools” program.

The Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) introduced by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.) last May, seeks to require schools that receive any federal funds to implement and report on anti-bullying programs. The bill, HR 2262, would define bullying as hostile conduct that is directed at a student based on his or her actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity, among other attributes.

The second bill currently pending in Congress is the Student Nondiscrimination Act (SNDA), introduced by openly gay Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.). HR 4530 seeks to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity in any program or activity receiving federal funds. It includes “harassment” in its definition of discrimination and has 82 co-sponsors (including one Republican). A spokesperson for Rep. Polis said the Congressman hopes the bill will also become part of ESEA, but will push for it as a standalone bill if necessary.

The provisions of these bills are not mentioned in President Obama’s “Blueprint”.

GLAAD Contacts:

Cindi Creager
Director of National News
creager@glaad.org

Rich Ferraro
Director of Public Relations
ferraro@glaad.org

April 7, 2010

On Tuesday April 6 GLAAD contacted CNN with strong concerns following a highly problematic morning segment aired on CNN Newsroom.

You can view the segment by linking to our recent blog post:

http://glaadblog.org/2010/04/06/cnn-misses-the-mark-in-interview-with-so-called-ex-gay-activist-richard-cohen/

In an attempt to discuss efforts to repeal an outdated law in California requiring the State Department of Mental Health to conduct research into the “causes” and “cures” of being gay, CNN took the irresponsible step of allowing the unlicensed, widely discredited, so-called “ex-gay” activist Richard Cohen onto the network’s airwaves to promote the idea that gay people can be turned straight. CNN Host Kyra Phillips paired Cohen with California Assemblywoman Bonnie Lowenthal to discuss the matter. Lowenthal is working to repeal the archaic California Law. Phillips began the conversation by asking this highly offensive question: “Homosexuality, Is it a problem in need of a cure?”

While the segment tried to give the appearance of “balance,” the airtime afforded the disreputable Cohen to tout “healing” gay people, coupled with a lack of information about the harms caused by such practices is unacceptable. As GLAAD has noted in our publication, Unmasking So-Called Ex-Gay Activists, “The nation’s leading medical and mental health authorities have uniformly dismissed the idea that being gay is something to be ‘treated.’” http://www.glaad.org/Page.aspx?pid=419

But even with this information widely available to media professionals, CNN’s Phillips failed to bring this to light while questioning Cohen. CNN’s graphics even described Cohen as a “Psychotherapist, educator and expert in the field of sexual reorientation.” Phillips and CNN also failed to note that Cohen was permanently expelled in 2002 from the American Counseling Association, for multiple violations of the ethical code.

After extensive conversations with CNN producers and publicity representatives yesterday afternoon and following our blog and twitter action, CNN called GLAAD in the evening, telling us they had received numerous complaints about the segment and inviting us to appear on this morning’s broadcast with Kyra Phillips to discuss our concerns. GLAAD then scheduled a representative to go on CNN but received a phone call from the network at 7 A.M. today telling us they had decided to cancel the segment. They also issued this statement:

“By bringing this story to the fore, we engage various advocates from all sides. This story does not end here and CNN will continue to explore other views and positions.” -CNN

Just like the segment itself, CNN’s statement misses the mark and provides no explanation for its actions. GLAAD urges you to help us hold the network accountable.

Take Action Now:

Send an email to CNN here:

http://www.change.org/glaad/petitions/view/hold_cnn_accountable_for_its_segment_featuring_so-called_ex-gay_activist_richard_cohen

Please contact CNN and voice your concerns about the platform extended to Richard Cohen and CNN’s failure to consult credible scientific authorities before proceeding with this coverage. Call on CNN to directly and publicly address these issues with its viewers and ensure that such a serious lapse in CNN’s standards will not occur again.

Contacts:

Kyra Phillips
Anchor, CNN Newsroom
Kyra.Phillips@turner.com
(404) 827-1500

Karen Zuker
Producer, CNN Newsroom
Karen.Zuker@turner.com
(404) 827-1500

Bridget Leininger
CNN Publicity
Bridget.Leininger@turner.com

The father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church says an order to pay the protesters’ legal costs in a civil claim is nothing less than a “slap in the face.”

“By the court making this decision, they’re not only telling me that they’re taking their side, but I have to pay them money to do this to more soldiers and their families,” said Albert Snyder, whose son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, was killed in action in Iraq in 2006.

Members of the fundamentalist church based in Topeka, Kansas, appeared outside Snyder’s funeral in 2006 in Westminster, Maryland, carrying signs reading “You’re going to hell,” “God hates you” and “Thank God for dead soldiers.”

Among the teachings of the church, which was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps, is the belief that God is punishing the United States for “the sin of homosexuality” through events such as soldiers’ deaths.

Margie Phelps, the daughter of Fred Phelps and the attorney representing the church in its appeals, also said the money that the church receives from Snyder will be used to finance demonstrations. But she also said that the order was a consequence of his decision to sue the church over the demonstration.

“Mr. Snyder and his attorneys have engaged the legal system; there are some rules to that legal engagement,” said Phelps, a member of Westboro who says she has participated in more than 150 protests of military funerals.

“They wanted to shut down the picketing so now they’re going to finance it,” she said.

The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday ordered that Snyder pay more than $16,000 in costs requested by Westboro for copies of motions, briefs and appendices, according to court documents.

In a motion filed in October, Snyder’s lawyer, who is representing him for free, asked the court to dismiss the bill of costs, or, alternatively, reduce the 50-cent fee per page or charge Snyder only for copies that were necessary to make their arguments on appeal.

“We objected based upon ability to pay and the fairness of the situation,” Sean Summers said.

The mostly pro-forma ruling is the latest chapter in an ongoing legal saga that pits privacy rights of grieving families against the free speech rights of demonstrators, however disturbing and provocative their message.

Snyder’s family sued the church and went to trial in 2007 alleging privacy invasion, intentional infliction of emotional distress and civil conspiracy. A jury awarded the family $2.9 million in compensatory damages plus $8 million in punitive damages, which were reduced to $5 million.

Westboro in 2008 appealed the case to the 4th District, which reversed the judgments a year later, siding with the church’s claims that its First Amendment rights had been violated.

“The protest was confined to a public area under supervision and regulation of local law enforcement and did not disrupt the church service,” the circuit court opinion said. “Although reasonable people may disagree about the appropriateness of the Phelps’ protest, this conduct simply does not satisfy the heavy burden required for the tort of intentional infliction of emotional distress under Maryland law.”

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case to address issues of laws designed to protect the “sanctity and dignity of memorial and funeral services” as well as the privacy of family and friends of the deceased.

The justices will be asked to address how far states and private entities such as cemeteries and churches can go to justify picket-free zones and the use of “floating buffers” to silence or restrict speech or movements of demonstrators exercising their constitutional rights in a funeral setting.

Both Phelps and Snyder’s attorney said they were surprised that the 4th District chose to weigh in on the issue of legal costs when they could have waited until after the Supreme Court hearing.

Phelps believes the ruling bodes well for her side.

“It is a good harbinger of the fact that the Supreme Court will remind this nation that you don’t have mob rule. The fact that so many people hate these words does not mean you can silence or penalize them. That’s supposed to be the great liberty that we congratulate ourselves on protecting in this nation. We strut all around the world forcing people to give all the liberties we supposedly have,” she said.

Phelps anticipated that a Supreme Court ruling in the church’s favor would be unpopular, but she said Westboro’s members viewed the potential outcome in Biblical terms.

“When the Supreme Court unanimously upholds the 4th Circuit, it’s going to put this country in a rage, and we will be expelled,” she said. “But whenever it was time for an epic event in the Bible, the thing that happened right before is the prophets were removed from the land, and that’s what’s going to happen to us. … We’re going to sprint to the end of this race.”

Snyder claims he is unable to pay any legal costs in the case and is attempting to raise funds on his son’s site, http://www.matthewsnyder.org/. He is equally optimistic that he will prevail before the Supreme Court.

“The American people keep my spirits lifted a lot and give me hope. I think most of the country is on my side on this issue,” he said. “Too many people have died to protect our rights and freedoms to have them degraded and spit upon like this church does.”

Anna Paquin the actress, who is engaged to her “True Blood” co-star Stephen Moyer, revealed that she is bisexual in a public service announcement for the True Colors Fund.

“True Colors Fund” is dedicated to fighting for equal rights for the gay, straight, bisexual and transgendered community

A Pompano Beach drag queen who lost his nursing job last month over a minor arrest 34 years ago can return to his longtime career caring for the elderly.

The Florida Board of Nursing has cleared Ray Fetcho to work again as a nurse, a job he held for more than three decades until February. That’s when state inspectors discovered Fetcho’s arrest, and he was fired from the Victoria Villa assisted living facility in Davie.

Fetcho’s offense? A misdemeanor at a gay bar in 1976. Performing under his stage name, “Tiny Tina,” Fetcho was hosting a “Wet Jockey Shorts” contest at the Copa in Dania Beach when undercover state agents witnessed what they considered a lewd act.

Fetcho paid a $150 fine and never thought much about it — until it cost him his job.

Supporters including relatives of Fetcho’s dementia patients lined up in his defense. Even the former cop who arrested him in 1976 told the Sun Sentinel this month that it was “terrifically unfair” for Fetcho to lose his job.

The Nursing Board informed Fetcho in a letter last week of its determination that he poses no danger if allowed to resume work in health care.

Fetcho said Monday that he’s relieved and eager to start the new job he’s already lined up at Dayscape Adult Care Center in Coconut Creek.

“I’m not mad at my old employer or the state,” Fetcho said. “I understand where they were coming from.”

A man with a “Britney Spears” tattoo, who is suspected of stealing a Chihuahua from a South Florida gay bar, has been arrested in Pennsylvania.

Channing Reynolds, 34, will be extradited from Northampton County, Penn., to Broward County as early as this week to face a grand theft charge, the Broward State Attorney’s Office said.

“I couldn’t understand why no one could catch him,” said the dog’s “thrilled” owner, Brian Dortort, 48, of Oakland Park.

Dortort said a man stole the four-month-old puppy with a pink belly and pink earrings on July 28 outside Georgie’s Alibi in Wilton Manors, where Dortort was throwing a birthday party.

One of the dog’s admirers insisted he hold her. In an instant, he and Hudson Hayward Hemingway were gone.

Detectives identified Reynolds as a suspect last year, but no one knew where he was until January, when he was arrested on DUI-related charges in Pennsylvania, said Wilton Manors police spokesman David Jones.

The stolen dog is still missing. A good Samaritan gave Dortort another Chihuahua: Hudson Hayward Hemingway II.

Florida, the home of Mickey Mouse and beach-bound vacationers, was trying to polish its family friendly image but instead ran into a PR nightmare: an angry Hollywood.

The Sunshine State startled the film industry recently when a bill was introduced in the state Legislature that would disqualify movies and TV shows that contained “nontraditional family values” from receiving a bonus tax credit. Hollywood insiders and gay rights advocates blasted the language as potentially discriminatory against shows with gay characters.

The bill was unanimously endorsed last week by a House committee, but Florida’s legislators are scrambling to tamp down the controversy the wording triggered. It was contained in a larger, $75-million incentive program aimed at reviving the state’s moribund film industry and luring entertainment jobs to the state.

Lawmakers in the Senate late Thursday removed the language regarding “nontraditional family values,” and their counterparts in the House were debating a similar change to their version of the legislation. Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indiatlantic, who is leading the push for film incentives in his chamber, said a compromise had been worked out to instead use a G-rating standard, which means films must be suitable for a 5-year-old to qualify for the bonus.

Rep. Stephen Precourt, who proposed the “nontraditional family values” standard, said he’s working on changes to avoid a lawsuit. “We’re working on it internally, trying to make everybody happy and comfortable,” said Precourt, R-Orlando.

As it was originally written, critics in Florida and Hollywood lambasted the family-friendly portion of the package as potentially discriminatory, noting that it could disqualify movies such as “The Kids Are All Right,” this summer’s upcoming comedy about the children of a lesbian couple and their relationship with their father.

Peter Dekom, a veteran Los Angeles entertainment attorney, said the bill, if enacted, would spark costly litigation and discourage filmmakers from shooting in Florida, which used to be a regular filming site but now features only one major production, the cable series “Burn Notice.”

“It could serve as a major deterrent to Florida,” Dekom said. “There are a lot of actors and high-profile producers who have a powerful belief in gay rights and equal treatment under the law.”

No other state has a similar tax credit, though Texas comes close. Texas stipulates that it is not required to provide tax breaks on projects that contain “inappropriate content” or “content that portrays Texans or Texas in a negative fashion.”

In Florida, all major film or TV productions – even R-rated thrillers – could qualify for the main tax credit, which would allow studios to recoup up to 25 percent of their costs to shoot in the state. The proposed $75 million incentive package also would allow “family friendly” shows to apply for an extra 5 percent bonus. Under current law, that bonus is 2 percent.

Since Florida’s family friendly credit debuted in 2007, six projects have been approved and two denied the “family friendly” credit – including the PG-rated “Confessions of a Shopaholic.” Drinking, as well as smoking, violence and sex are verboten for films trying to qualify.

Some Democrats at the state Capitol said the policy is misguided.

“It’s not a good thing. We’re trying to control content,” said Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Hallandale Beach. “If you want to support an industry, we should support an industry. Not try to control what they do.”

Florida began offering film incentives in 2004, but money for the program has dwindled in recent years while states like Louisiana and Georgia spend more and more to lure the industry. Last year, Florida hit a low: Only one feature-length film, “Up in the Air,” shot in Florida – and even that movie only shot a few scenes, said Graham Winnick, president of Film Florida.

“The number of films shot in Florida has declined so rapidly it’s hard to track” how many are left, Winnick said. Even “CSI: Miami” is shot elsewhere.

Winnick said the furor over the “family friendly” bonus has obscured Florida’s “great history” in grittier films, citing “Monster,” an award-winning movie about a former prostitute turned serial killer that was shot in Florida.

He said he would encourage a film with a gay character to apply for the family friendly bonus, as long it meets the other criteria.

“If you look at Florida, we have Disney World and Mickey Mouse,” he said. “It’s not out of character for us to (court G-rated films). Family fare tends to be very profitable and widely seen.”

Sign the Petition on Change.org (Gay Rights – Take Action)

“I am joining GLAAD’s action against your decision to exclude skater Johnny Weir from your 2010 program because you find him “not family friendly.”

To suggest that Weir’s gender expression and style deem him unsuitable for family audiences is both outrageous and offensive.

Weir is a formidable and decorated athlete who is also immensely devoted to his own family. His gender expression has no place in your selection process.

By rejecting Weir from the 2010 ‘Stars on Ice’ lineup, your organization sends the message that discrimination on the basis of perceived sexual orientation and gender expression is OK.”