In a video that's part of a great new site opposing North Carolina's Amendment One from the ACLU, college dean, former business leader, and mother of a gay son, Krista Tillman of Charlotte says she wants North Carolina to be a place that embraces loving and committed couples who can help strengthen our state's economy and future.
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
Visit the ACLU's Know + Love site here.
The American Civil Liberties Union today appealed a district-court ruling dismissing the same-sex domestic partnership case, Donaldson and Guggenheim v. State of Montana, to the Montana Supreme Court:
“The Montana Constitution guarantees fair and equal treatment to all people, including gay and lesbian couples,” said lead attorney, James Goetz, of the Bozeman, MT, law firm Goetz, Gallik & Baldwin, who is acting as a cooperating attorney. “This case is about giving loving, committed couples the recognition they deserve and ensuring that all families can thrive in Montana. Domestic partnerships are a way for the Montana Constitution’s guarantees of human dignity and protection for all people to be upheld for same-sex couples.”
Without domestic partnership recognition, the plaintiffs in the case have been denied the ability to take care of each other and their families. Denise Boettcher of Laurel was denied bereavement leave when her partner Kellie Gibson’s father died. Mary Leslie of Bozeman lost her home because she was ineligible for worker's compensation death benefits when her partner was killed in an accident. When Mary Anne Guggenheim had a hip replacement, the doctor’s office staff would not speak to plaintiff Jan Donaldson, Guggenheim’s partner of 29 years, without a release.
Judge Jeffrey Sherlock dismissed the case in April 2011, saying that an amendment to the Montana Constitution that defines marriage as being between a man and a woman had already settled the question, adding that the question of granting gay couples the benefits, without allowing them to get married, was best left to the legislative process. Sherlock also said that a ruling to force state lawmakers to write new laws would be an inappropriate breach of the separation of powers between the three branches of government.
In November, the ACLU said that Sherlock "abdicated his responsibility" in dismissing the case.
More on anti-gay Tennessee high school principal Dorothy Bond from the ACLU:
Multiple students contacted the ACLU to express concerns about an assembly that took place on Feb. 9. At the assembly, Principal Bond reportedly said that gay people are “ruining their lives” and threatened to administer severe punishment – including 60-day suspensions, assignments to an alternative school or expulsion – to any students who were observed publicly displaying affection for members of the same sex. The school already has a policy on public displays of affection that is neutral regarding sexual orientation.
The incident appears to be part of a broader pattern of official anti-gay remarks and policies by the principal, and of incorporating prayers and proselytizing into school events. On one occasion, school officials scolded students who did not bow their heads in prayer and threatened them with discipline. On another occasion, the principal told a lesbian student that she would go to “hell” because of her sexual orientation.
Earlier...
Tennessee Principal Tells Gay Students They're 'Going to Hell': VIDEO [tr]
No doubt many of you remember the unprovoked, brutal assault of gay Ohio teen Zach Huston back in October which took place in his high school classroom in Chillicothe, Ohio, and was posted to Facebook.
Now, Zach and his mom are speaking out about the incident in a new video from the ACLU meant to draw attention to the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which would ban discrimination and harassment based on a students sexual orientation or gender in all U.S. public schools.
Watch the video, AFTER THE JUMP...
Continue reading "Gay Ohio Teen Who Was Assaulted in the Classroom Speaks Out: VIDEO" »
Most of you will recall the horrific beating of a gay student at Unioto-Scioto High School in Chillicothe, Ohio which made headlines not only because of its brutality, but because it was filmed by the aggressor's cousin and posted to Facebook. The video later made it to a local news station where it got national attention.
Zachary Huston, the gay student targeted in that beating is now speaking out for the first time, and the ACLU is standing behind him, threatening Union-Scioto with a lawsuit unless the school district meets with them about putting and end to bullying and harassment.
Watch Zach's interview, AFTER THE JUMP...
The Lancaster Eagle Gazette reports:
The ACLU's letter alleges the school district was "derelict in its responsibility to provide a safe learning environment" for Zach. (James Hardiman, legal director for the ACLU of Ohio) said Monday "it's not enough to recognize or know a student was bullied. It must go further than that."
Hardiman said he does not take issue with the district's anti-bullying policy itself but rather the failure to enforce it. "It's not enough to have a policy on paper. The policy must have meaning -- it must have teeth," he said. "... Having a policy in place and not enforcing it is tantamount to not having a policy at all."
That sentiment was echoed by Zach, who said the school did "little to nothing at all," and his mother, Rebecca Collins, who said the bullying was ongoing despite her many complaints to administrators. Zach since has returned to Unioto, where Hardiman said, he has faced taunts from other students and some indifference on the part of certain educators.
As far as an update on Zach's aggressor: "Zach said the 15-year-old boy who attacked him has not been back to school since the incident. This past week, that student pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge, Ross County Prosecutor Matt Schmidt said. The judge in the case ordered a predisposition report and a victim impact statement. He also ordered the teen to wear an ankle monitor and check in with a probation officer twice a week, Schmidt said. The case is expected to be adjudicated sometime in the next month."
Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...
The ACLU has told Montana's Supreme Court that a judge "abdicated his responsibility" in dismissing a lawsuit in April brought by six same-sex couples seeking equal rights, the AP reports:
District Judge Jeffrey Sherlock wrote in dismissing the lawsuit that a ruling to force state lawmakers to write new laws would be an inappropriate breach of the separation of powers between the three branches of government. The ACLU wrote in its filing to the Supreme Court on Monday that courts have a responsibility to analyze whether a legislative action or inaction violates an individual’s constitutional rights.
“A court abdicates this responsibility when it reflexively invokes separation of powers to refuse to undertake” such an analysis, the ACLU brief reads.
Niki Zupanic, public policy director for the ACLU of Montana, said Sherlock never ruled on the constitutionality question; he just ruled that he couldn’t order the Legislature to make changes. Zupanic said the court exists to answer those questions of constitutionality across all branches of government.
A response from the Montana attorney general's office is scheduled for December 14.
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