Articles From Our May, 2002 Newsletter

Come together in May!!
It's Mother's Day!!

Once again this year we will celebrate Mother's Day with a pot luck meal starting at 3pm. You all know the rules for a pot luck, right? You bring enough food for yourselves, and add a little more for those who might not have gotten the message and appear without food. That way no one needs to go without. Bring your own silverware, and PFLAG will supply the drinks.

As part of our gathering, there will a representative present from Heartland Pride who will share with us about the activities of the June Pride Parade.

Come and join us for a time of good food and fellowship on Sunday, May 12 at our regular place.

FROM OUR PRESIDENT

Attention all PFLAGers and friends - be sure to see the Kansas City Star on Sunday, May 12, Mothers Day. There will be a PFLAG letter to the editor - a Mothers Day wish from PFLAG-KC.

Also - PFLAG-KC will be participating in MOVE UP'S march against crime and violence on Saturday, May 18. Move Up is the community organization started by Alvin Brooks (Kansas City's mayor pro-tem) to reduce crime. PFLAG-KC will have a team in the march which begins at 9:00AM at Move Up's office at 3330 Troost in Kansas City, MO. We will march a 1.9 mile route to the Kauffmann Legacy Park near UMKC where PFLAG-KC will have an information booth. We invite all PFLAG members and friends to join the PFLAG marching team and support Move Up.

HISTORIC VOTE RECOMMENDS THE FULL SENATE CONSIDER EMPLOYMENT NON-DISCRIMINATION ACT

In a historic voice vote on April 24, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee recommended that the full Senate consider the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), S. 1284. If passed, ENDA would prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation. Specifically, it would bar employers from using a person's sexual orientation as the basis for employment decisions, including hiring, firing, promotion or compensation.

A voice vote is when the Senators verbally state their position on an issue, yea or nay. The chair of the committee decides whether or not the yeas or the nays are in the majority. If there is no clear majority, the committee chair calls for a roll call vote. 

Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., has committed to securing a vote on this bill before the end of the session.

We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of ENDA as it moves forward in the legislative process. As the bill gets closer to a vote before the full Senate, we will send you action alerts urging you to communicate with your Senators.

Can transgender people adopt?

No state has a law that specifically bars transgender people from adopting. But that is far from a guarantee that adoption agencies and judges will be welcoming of transgender applicants.

Writing for HRC FamilyNet, Shannon Minter, senior staff attorney at the National Center for Lesbian Rights, has advised:

"Practically speaking ... you are likely to encounter ignorance or bias about transgender people on the part of some adoption agencies, child welfare workers or courts, which may require you to do some basic education about what it means to be transgender."

How can you increase your chances of winning support? Minter and others suggest:

• Contact adoption agencies that are known to welcome lesbian and gay parents and which may, therefore, also be open to working with families that include a transgender parent. [See HRC FamilyNet's state-by-state listing of lesbian- and gay-friendly adoption agencies.]

• Have a supportive therapist or doctor with expertise in transgender issues available to help you address any questions or concerns raised by social workers, adoption officials or courts.

• Seek the counsel of an attorney with experience in transgender issues. His or her familiarity with transgender law can make or break a case. [See HRC FamilyNet's state-by-state listing of attorney referral services.]

Copied from HRC.com

.....About Passages

Sunday evening programming (approximately 3 hours every Sunday night) offers consistent opportunities for youth to explore questions of sexuality in a safe and constructive environment. For the last decade, Sunday night meetings have been at the core of Passages, serving between 25 to 50 youth each week. Youth generated topics range from "coming out" to "activism," and are co-facilitated by youth and adults. 

Hate Motivated Incidents Against
Gays and Lesbians Show Decline

Detroit Free Press, April 18, 2002
By Bill Laitner, Free Press Staff Writer

Hate-motivated incidents against gays and lesbians dropped more than 10 percent last year around the nation, according to a report that gay-and-lesbian legal advocates plan to release today.

Michigan's data was consistent with reports from the rest of the country, said officials coordinating the report at the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project in New York City.

The data is from nonprofit groups in 12 states and includes "everything from verbal harassment to murder," said Clarence Patton, a researcher with the New York group.

The decrease coincides with long-term, nationwide drops in many types of crime, although another cause might be that many nonprofit groups monitoring hate-motivated incidents lost their state and private grants last year and were unable to provide data, Patton said.

The 12 nonprofit groups contributing to the report monitor such incidents because police ignore many of them, said Jeff Montgomery, executive director of the Detroit-based Triangle Foundation, which contributed data to the report.

"If somebody's attacked and beaten up, police show up and want to write it up as a simple assault. They don't want to hear, 'I was coming out of this club,'" Montgomery said.

...... Police Chief Michael Kitchen said some nonprofit groups "have a low threshold for what they consider is a hate crime."

PFLAG SUPPORTS REAL FAMILY VALUES