Florida: Okeechobee GSA trial reinstated

FOLLOWUP: read previous article

by Steve Rothaus
The Miami Herald

A federal judge in Florida has reinstated an ACLU lawsuit on behalf of students at Okeechobee High School who are trying to form a gay-straight alliance (GSA). The case, which started back in November 2006, was dismissed earlier after the only remaining member of the GSA transferred out of the school. At that time, the court dismissed the case even though a new student came forward wanting to participate in the GSA. Although we had argued that the former students should be able to proceed because they were entitled to nominal damages, the court disagreed.

We asked the court to reconsider its decision. The court did something courts don’t do that often: it completely changed its mind. The Court reinstated the lawsuit, which is now scheduled for trial in September. And perhaps best of all, the court said it will now allow the former members of the GSA to proceed in the case for nominal damages.

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Magic Kingdom: For a day or so, it's the gayest place on earth

by Loann Halden
OutTraveler.com

In 1991, a small gay group donned eye-catching red shirts and gathered at the Magic Kingdom in Orlando, having no idea that word of mouth would propel their ''Gay Day'' outing into an event of epic proportions. Within six years, attendance had swelled to 60,000, and a single day had morphed into nearly a week of activities.

When Gay Day unfolds this year -- it's always on the first Saturday in June -- an estimated 135,000 gays and lesbians are expected to converge in Central Florida. The state's largest gay pride festival, held in St. Petersburg, draws about half that number.

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Blue Jays To Host "Pride In Our Diversity Day" Fundraiser To Benefit The HRC

Dunedin, Florida - The Dunedin Blue Jays will host "Pride In Our Diversity Day" to benefit The Human Rights Campaign on Sunday, April 27th at Knology Park.

The fundraiser event will be Pinellas County's first event for the pride season and will feature live musicians, a silent auction, and a VIP reception sponsored by Blur nightclub in Downtown Dunedin. Tickets for the event are $6 for General Admission, $15 to include a Ballpark Meal or $25 to include an All You Can Eat BBQ and the VIP reception is $100 which includes food and entertainment.

All proceeds raised will benefit the Human Rights Campaign. It is America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality.

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Slain West Palm Beach man was leader among gay community

WEST PALM BEACH — Police identified a body found Wednesday morning at 113 Ellamar Road as that of high-end interior designer Scott E. Graham.

Graham's family identified him through photos taken at the medical examiner's office.

Investigator's wouldn't say what killed Graham, a successful businessman and homosexual activist. But they were treating his death as a homicide.

Lt. Chuck Reed said the body had "obvious signs of foul play."

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Hispanics Shine In S. Fla. GLAAD Media Awards

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (CBS4) ― Hollywood Florida played host to the 19th Annual GLAAD Media Awards, honoring bit Hispanic names in the media for the work they've done supporting and promoting causes of the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community (GLBT).

Wilson Cruz--who you might remember from his roles as Rickie, in TV's My So Called Life, and as a drug dealer in the movie Party Monster—won the Visibilidad Award, honoring gay professionals who have been able to promote equal rights for the GLBT community. Miami music impresario Joe Granda also presented an Special Recognition Award to reggaeton star Ivy Queen, for supporting the gay community in her shows.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) Media Awards pay tribute to members of the media that represent the GLBT community in an accurate and fair light.

Other honorees include Daniel Shoer Roth, for Best Newspaper Columnist. Shoer writes a column for CBS4 News Partner, El Nuevo Herald, and touches upon a topics of social justice in our local community, including those affecting the GLBT people.

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FLORIDA: Park sex bill could destroy lives of innocent gay men

forward: We believe people who have sex in the bushes in public parks are engaging in tasteless and infantile behavior.

Making public sex a felony is another step toward a prison state.

With 2.3 million people behind bars, the United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world, far ahead of communist China,Russia and Iran. Three jurisdictions in Florida — the city of Jacksonville and Polk and Pinellas counties — rank in the top 10 for highest incarceration rates in the United States, according to a recent report by the Justice Policy Institute.

If the bill is passed, anyone arrested for engaging in sexual conduct in a public park or on a public beach could face felony charges. In fact, the bill makes it a felony to engage in "unnatural or lascivious acts" with another person in or within 1,000 feet of a public park, a public beach, a community center, a child- care facility or a school. Engaging in sexual conduct in a park are on a beach is currently a misdemeanor.

The bill does not define "unnatural and lascivious," so one wonders whether two guys kissing in a park or holding hands would be considered "unnatural." The bill also makes no stipulation about children having to be present in the area of the offense in order for a felony charge to be leveled.

There are many problems with this bill — as well as with the enforcement of " lewd and lascivious laws" with so-called "sting" operations — that should sound alarm bells not only in the gay community but for anyone who cares about protecting the rights of innocent people to be free from harassment and the threat of false arrest.

First of all, we have seen numerous times that it is not necessary to actually engage in any sexual behavior to fall prey to these laws and sting operations. For example, a Boca Raton priest was arrested in a park restroom in North Carolina last September for simply asking a man,who turned out to be an undercover officer, to go home with him and have sex. The priest, whom I won't name because he has been embarrassed enough,was charged with "soliciting for a crime against nature" and he lost his job.

In a more recent example that hits closer to home, Patrick Neptune, a freelance photographer, told the New Times that he was stalked and terrorized by gun-wielding Fort Lauderdale police officers on Feb. 22. According to Neptune, his "crime" was that he had decided to go to the beach in the wee hours of the morning to photograph a sunrise.He was waiting outside his car for the sun to rise when a black sports car with an undercover office spotted him and apparently assumed that he was at the beach cruising for gay sex. Neptune told the New Times that the black sports car followed him to a BP gas station,where a bearded undercover officer got out of the car and pointed a gun at him. Other officers in a marked car joined the bearded officer, and the bearded officer asked Neptune if he was out "cruising for cock," according to Neptune. He was not arrested, but Neptune has filed a complaint against the Fort Lauderdale Police Department.

And who can forget the situation at John Lloyd Park a few years ago when numerous gay men came forward and reported being harassed, cited for dubious trespassing violations and falsely arrested during a crackdown on sexual activity in the park. One gay man was charged with “indecent exposure” for wearing a white bathing suit that a park officer thought was not opaque enough.He was acquitted of the charge.

Another gay man, who had read newspaper articles about the alleged police harassment, was arrested for simply stating to an undercover officer, “Watch out. They’re arresting someone over there.” He is currently suing the state for false arrest.

But possibly the most compelling reason to kill HB 801 is that public sex is not an increasing problem; the police data show it is, in fact, a diminishing phenomenon as more gay men seek anonymous encounters through internet chat rooms and at bathhouses.

For those of us who have no desire to cruise for public sex but love to exercise and enjoy the serenity of parks, it is dish e a rtening to see them turned into mini police states just to pacify the petty neuroses of a few right-wing prudes. It appears that every gay man in this town is now treated like a suspect as soon as he walks into a park or onto a beach.

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Morgan Stanley presents GLBT issues update

The Fort Lauderdale Morgan Stanley office, in conjunction with Lambda Legal, presented the first annual Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Community Update for Broward County earlier this month.

Held in a private dining room at the Riverside Hotel on Las Olas on March 6, more than 80 local activists and supporters gathered for lunch and to hear and discuss issues impacting the GLBT community locally and nationally.

A dozen local and national service agencies including Equality Florida, the Human Rights Campaign, Red and Blue, Safe Schools South Florida, and the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force sent representatives to provide an update on their individual areas of focus. The brief presentations from each group were well received and elicited positive responses from the audience.

Prior to the luncheon, approximately 15 local attorneys attended a Lambda Legal continuing education program. Underwritten by Morgan Stanley, the program provided training on legal issues facing the GLBT community locally and nationally at a time when various pieces of legislation are coming before state and federal lawmakers and the courts.

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FLORIDA: Hate begat more hate

With all the hate coming out of Florida from community leaders I wasn't surprised to see this:

Three DeLand teens appeared in court Saturday, facing felony charges for plotting to shoot classmates and then themselves, and they will remain in detention for at least 21 days, according to the mother of one of the middle school students.

Austin Mohr, Tyler Christian and Charlene Russell, all 13 years old, were charged and taken into custody Friday by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, after investigators determined they were planning a Columbine-style massacre at DeLand Middle School. The three are being held at the Volusia Regional Juvenile Detention Center.

On March 5, student Phoebe Lewis contacted the Sheriff's Office disturbed by a conversation she had with Mohr, her "friend" through MySpace, in which he said he was going to kill students at DeLand Middle School similarly to the Columbine massacre, the affidavits say.

"I'm going to take my own life; everyone will pay for what they did to me; they will all die along with me; they call me worthless, poser and faggot; you're all dead," Mohr wrote.

Mohr also had a MySpace conversation that night with Samantha Dyer, according to the affidavit. He wrote to her, "I will kill every person I see; the shooting will happen; no one matters anymore because me and Tyler (Christian) are going to die doing it . . . LA riots . . . Oklahoma bombing; . . . the massacre will happen soon; it's going to be fun as hell; we are going to kill ourselves at the end."

Mohr was taken to Halifax Behavioral Services in Daytona Beach under the state's Baker Act by investigators after he was interviewed March 5, believing him to be a danger to himself and others, the affidavit states.

A student told Susan Erbel, one of the school's counselors, that Mohr had a "following" of several students that included Charlene Russell, the affidavit states.

When counselor Erbel confronted Charlene Russell with accusations that she was talking about killing students at school, she admitted it was true, the affidavit states. She also told the counselor she had friends who would lend her hunting guns, and there would be no consequences to murder.

"Not if I'm dead," Charlene Russell told the counselor, according to the affidavit.

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FOLLOWUP: Florida HS says GSA has no members

original article: http://www.2015place.com/2007/11/florida-high-school-fights-gay-straight.html

The Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School no longer has any members and has been dropped from a lawsuit against the Okeechobee County School Board.

Meanwhile, attorneys for the school district want the judge to dissolve an order that had forced the school to allow the club to meet on campus. In a document filed Wednesday, school board attorney David Gibbs said it is "inequitable" to force the school to permit a club "that has no members, no officers, no meetings and no events."

After Gonzalez graduated in 2007, student Jessica Donaldson took over duties as president until February, when she transferred to another school, according to court records.

Another student, Stephanie Gardner, briefly served as president but since has left the school. According to attorneys for the ACLU, Gardner left because she felt the school "was not providing her with the support she needed in order to graduate." Gibbs said in his filing that Gardner "failed to abide by basic OHS rules" and "was withdrawn" by school officials.

Attorneys for the school board have argued that the Gay-Straight Alliance is a "sex-based club" that violates a state law requiring schools to teach abstinence "while teaching the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage."

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BROWARD COUNTY; FT. LAUDERDALE; HOMOPHOBIA

Is there something in the water of Broward County, Florida?


We know Fort Lauderdale is in Broward County.


We also know Mayor Naugle, of Fort Lauderdale, for his high level of homophobia.

We also know 17-year-old Simmie Williams Jr. who was shot to death in Broward County for being gay. Just miles away and within 24 hours Melbourne Brunner was beaten outside The Floridian 24-hour diner by a man who shouted anti-gay slurs at him and his partner. 5 years prior to that 22 year old Timothy Broadus was shot to death just blocks from where Simmie was shot.

W O R D S H U R T S T O P T H E H U R T

County Commissioner John Rodstrom now comes into the light.

First was Rodstrom’s 1995 vote in which he was the only commissioner who voted against an ordinance banning discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation.


Second, the 1999 vote in which Rodstrom was the only commissioner who opposed a domestic partnership initiative requiring the county to offer health benefits to the unmarried partners of county employees, giving bidding advantages to private companies that offer the same benefits and allowing unmarried couples to register their relationships.


Third, Caletka said Rodstrom wasn't present when the County Commission voted last month to add protections for transgender residents to the human rights ordinance.

Rodstrom said he wasn't there, but arranged to call in while absent to record his vote, which made the commission decision a unanimous 9-0.

Michael Albetta of Fort Lauderdale, president of the state GLBT Democratic Caucus, also criticized Rodstrom.

When the addition of transgender protection to the human rights ordinance was pending, Albetta said he asked Rodstrom to publicly apologize for his vote against the original ordinance. "He said 'done.'"

But, Albetta said, it never happened. "I don't like being fooled with. Lies and false pretenses," he said. "I am sick and tired of people taking us for granted and promising us things and not delivering them."

He said he was withdrawing his personal endorsement of Rodstrom.


full story

FOLLOWUP: Mayor Naugle is at it again

After much outcry from around the country, the City of Fort Lauderdale has removed the “Focus on Fort Lauderdale” newsletter with Mayor Jim Naugle’s bigoted message against the LGBT community from the city’s website. The city also decided that the mayor’s column in Fort Lauderdale’s bi-monthly publication will be permanently removed, giving Naugle one less platform from which to spew hate. A special thanks to Commissioners Hutchinson and Moore for standing up for the respect and equality of all residents.

This shows the power and influence of a united LGBT community. Fight OUT Loud issued an Action Alert to its over 20,000 members, many who have written in to express their outrage over this. Great sites like The Bilerico Project and Pam’s House Blend helped get the word out about the call to action and within 1 day the offensive language was removed from the city website and Naugle’s message were removed from future publications.

We are standing up, being heard, and making a difference!

Original Article

FORT LAUDERDALE: More Florida hate crime

By Brian Haas and Elizabeth Baier South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Police are investigating another possible hate crime against a gay person after a man was beaten outside a popular city diner amid a torrent of anti-gay slurs.

The newest case has spread fear among Fort Lauderdale's gay community in a city that prides itself on being gay-friendly to attract tourism. The city made national news in gay media last week with the murder of Simmie Williams Jr., a 17-year-old killed in the 1000 block of Sistrunk Avenue.

Less than 24 hours later, Fort Lauderdale resident Melbourne Brunner was beaten outside The Floridian 24-hour diner by a man who shouted anti-gay slurs at him and his partner. The pair were eating breakfast at about 3:30 a.m. Saturday when the man walked up and began shouting at the two, according to a police report. At one point, the man made a violent motion with his hands, saying, "this is how I break faggots' necks," the report said.

Brunner and his partner left the diner, but the man followed and blocked him from getting into his car."He punched me in the face. I hit the sidewalk," Brunner said Tuesday.

The man took off his shirt, covered his license plate and fled after threatening Brunner's partner. Police are looking for a sage green, four-door Toyota Tacoma pickup truck with a bed cover and roll bar. The truck was likely a 2002 or similar year model.

Brunner went to the hospital after the attack and was also treated on Tuesday for severe bruises and marks around both eyes. He said no permanent damage was done, but he worries about his safety.

Community leaders and activists say the incidents reinforce the fear of an underlying and deep-rooted homophobia.

"This couple was beaten up on Las Olas, in front of a famously gay-friendly eatery," said Stratton Pollitzer, South Florida director of Equality Florida, a national gay advocacy group. "As long as there's a notion that it's socially acceptable to insult, harass, beat or even kill gay people ... we never can take our safety for granted no matter where we are."

Brunner and activists say that comments by Mayor Jim Naugle last year condemning gays as promiscuous and unhappy may have created an environment in which attacks on gays are accepted.

"I kind of blame him for what's going on," Brunner said. "When times get bad, you've got to find someone to blame."

Brunner also complained that police didn't find him the night of the attack. Sousa acknowledged that an officer arrived at the diner late because they were working to contain a suspect in another case. He said the officer also missed Brunner at the hospital. Brunner went to police Monday to report the attack.

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Gay teen shot dead while dressed as woman in Florida

Victim: Simmie Williams Jr., shot as he stood along Sistrunk Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, died at Broward General Medical Center.

FORT LAUDERDALE - The shooting death of a gay teenage boy who was dressed in women's clothing is being investigated as a possible hate crime, while detectives try to determine whether he was targeted because of his sexual orientation.

Simmie Williams Jr., 17, was attacked on the 1000 block of Sistrunk Boulevard by two young men who wore dark clothing and might live in the neighborhood, police said. Williams, who was wearing a dress and was known in the area by his first name or as "Chris" or "Beyonce," was shot about 12:45 a.m. Friday and soon afterward died at Broward General Medical Center, police said.It's unclear what Williams was doing in the area, about four miles from his house, but police are investigating whether he was working as a prostitute, officials said.

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Florida GSA important to students

By EILEEN ZAFFIRO
The Daytona Beach News-Journal

DELAND, Fla. -- One boy whose hair reaches halfway down his back wore a camouflage tank top, light blue nail polish, blue eye shadow and a thick silver chain around his neck.

A girl sported blue and purple hair, striped leggings, a red plaid skirt and a T-shirt with pastel-colored hearts.

It was the weekly gathering of DeLand High School's Gay Straight Alliance, and a girl that probably would have blended in better playing flute in the band or running laps at track practice was so overcome with emotion she burst into tears.

"This is like the first time I ever felt welcome at anything," she sobbed as she blotted her eyes with a tissue. "I know I look like the redneck or preppie girl. That's just classification. My whole life I've been dealing with this. I always feel like the black sheep, even in my family. You guys just accepted me. You make me feel so welcome."

Another girl in the room sighed, "Oh, group hug," and within seconds teenage arms hugged away the tears and the kids offered a compassionate ear and advice only they knew how to give.

It was one of the main reasons science teacher Victor Arguelles started the Gay Straight Alliance - the first of its kind in local schools - a few months ago. Arguelles, who is gay, wanted the kids to have a safe place to figure out who they are, share their fears and educate others at the school about the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people around them.

There are 3,000 Gay Straight Alliances at schools nationwide and 80 in Florida schools. Most of the groups have formed over the past 20 years.

The 23-member Gay Straight Alliance at DeLand High, where there are nearly 3,300 students, is the only one in Volusia and Flagler counties.

Arguelles has taken plenty of heat for the group's formation. He said "some staff members have grumbled about it," several parents have called the school, a few tried to pull their kids out of his class, and one tried to get him fired.

One parent sent him and an administrator an e-mail insisting the kids not be given "any gay newspapers, and that they don't talk about safe sex," he said.

"There's a nobility to the idea of social equality, but this is really a group for the members," said 18-year-old senior Michael Hristakopoulos. "I've been in the closet until a few months ago, and I feel like I need to develop who I am. This club is helping with that.

"I'm involved in a lot of other clubs, but this is a club I'm lucky to have found a place in. This one is singularly important. "

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Florida doesn't validate signatures?

Most of us are aware of the conflict in Florida where they are trying to write discrimination into the state constitution. The tool being used is a petition which claims to have over 611,000 signatures.

I remember in Oregon there was a similar situation this year. It took many weeks for the signatures to go through the validation process. So many signatures were invalidated the petition didn't have enough signatures to reach it's goal.

There was much talk about the validation process in Oregon during the process.

If you read recent news about Florida, you'd think it's a "done deal". Almost as if the validation of signatures doesn't exist in Florida.

View a list of petition signatures: http://www.knowthyneighbor.org/florida/

VIDEO: Floridas' gay veterans memorial

Florida High School fights Gay-Straight alliance group

Attorneys for the Okeechobee County School Board plan to use experts who will testify about the "negative health effects of homosexual sex" in their fight to stop the Gay-Straight Alliance from meeting at Okeechobee High School.



"This is the most rabidly homophobic response that the school board could have taken," American Civil Liberties Union attorney Robert Rosenwald said about a summary of the school board's planned witness testimony in an upcoming trial.


The ACLU represents the Gay-Straight Alliance of Okeechobee High School and former student Yasmin Gonzalez, who sued the school board a year ago, saying it violated federal law by allowing other clubs to meet on campus but not the alliance.


A judge has said the club can meet on school grounds while the case works its way through court. The trial is scheduled to start in March, but Rosenwald asked this week that the date be pushed back to September to allow more time to prepare.


The attorneys have argued that the Gay-Straight Alliance is a "sex-based club" that violates a Florida statute requiring schools to teach abstinence "while teaching the benefits of monogamous heterosexual marriage." However, in his April ruling allowing the club to meet at least temporarily on school grounds, U.S. District Judge K. Michael Moore said the school board had failed to show that the Gay-Straight Alliance would expose students to obscene or explicit material.


Regardless of people's views on homosexuality, Okeechobee High School is obligated under federal law to allow the alliance to meet on school grounds.

Florida State Univ lawyer request removal of gay anti discrimination protection

The Florida State University Student Union Board rejected a proposal from FSU’s general counsel, D. Michael Cramer, to remove protection for sexual orientation from the Student Union Board’s anti-discrimination policy.

The big school down the street (University of Florida at Gainesville) has much stronger anti-discriminatory policies. Not noted in the story is that UF also offers its faculty domestic partner health benefits.

State institutions that want to compete outside of Florida (you know… like with other ARL institutions) need to work around painfully backward state laws and policies — and these institutions are often attempting to provide equal rights and benefits in an environment that enables the D. Michael Cramers of the world to feel free to get up in front of students and propose removing protections from a nebbishly little student government policy. Doesn’t spell well for future reforms.

Gay Orlando Steps Out

A LITTLE past midnight at the Parliament House, the parking lot is full. That’s not surprising: the club, actually several bars and a hotel rolled into one sprawling complex, has become a definitive destination in Orlando, though not quite in the mold of Walt Disney World, just a 30-minute drive away.

At one of the Parliament House’s bars, male dancers perform in little more than their skivvies. At another, a more rough-and-tumble Western-minded crowd holds sway. And at the complex’s small Footlight Theater, drag queens take the stage, including one seemingly pregnant female impersonator who gives “birth” to the musical strains of “I’m Every Woman.”

Parliament House is just breaking ground on the Gardens, an adjoining 164-unit time-share resort that is being heralded as the first gay-friendly project of its kind in the world. And closer to Disney, on the often ticky-tacky tourist strip of Highway 192 in Kissimmee, the Freedom Resort & Spa, a gay-oriented membership resort, has opened on the site of a former Travelodge hotel; the price of membership begins at $3,000.

http://theblingblingfactor.wordpress.com/2007/09/08/gay-orlando-steps-out/

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Commissioners remove Fort Lauderdale Mayor from Tourist board

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- Broward County Commissioners have removed Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jim Naugle from the county's Tourist Development Council citing his discriminatory comments against gays in the community.

The commissioners blame Naugle's inflammatory remarks against gay and lesbians for having a negative economic impact on tourism in the county.

Before the commissioners's unanimous decision to remove Naugle, the mayor said he would not be silenced, even if he gets kicked off the council. "My faith says that homosexuality is a sin," said Naugle.

Naugle says he does not care about the money. He wants to stand by his beliefs. "One of the things my father taught me is it's not always about the money, it's about doing what's right," said Naugle, as he responded to the council.

http://www.wsvn.com/news/articles/local/MI59658/