January 2001

Dear Members and Friends:

No, not that President (and especially not the next one); this message is from your very own L.I.D. President. Though you're forgiven the mistake after how long it took to select a President, and we do mean 'select'.

Let me begin by thanking all of you who worked hard for our endorsed candidates, and voted on November 7th. We are grateful, and know the candidates, whether they won or lost, are most grateful, too. In L.I.D.'s view, a few important lessons were re-learned in this past election and in the period since the Supreme Court decided who won (and who could not win):

• your vote, my vote and everyone else's vote really do matter. The next time any of your friends, neighbors or loved ones suggest otherwise, we hope you'll correct them and offer them assistance in getting to their local polling site.
  
  
• there are genuine and material differences in the policies and political views of the Republicans and Democrats, and their standard bearers, no matter what pundits and others would tell you. Can you imagine, for example, Al Gore picking vicious, right-wingers such as John Ashcroft or Gail Norton for his Cabinet?

Which gets me to our "next steps" in the fight to protect the rights of all, including the LGBT community, as Republicans obtain control of the White House. L.I.D. has already fired off letters (see article) to Senators Schumer and Clinton (doesn't that roll off the tongue nicely - "Senator Clinton"?) urging them to reject John Ashcroft as Attorney General. Ashcroft's "crimes" are many, and we haven't seen such a conservative ideologue nominated for Attorney General since Edwin Meese. And, L.I.D. intends to do its part to ensure he never sees a swearing-in ceremony.

More locally, no less than 36 of the 51 City Council districts will have no incumbents running next November due to term limits, and not a few of them in neighborhoods with sizable LGBT constituencies. And, all of citywide offices, including the Mayor, Public Advocate, and Comptroller, are in contention not to mention the borough presidency. Given this huge shake-up, L.I.D. is planning more candidates' nights and endorsement meetings this season than ever before, and we urge all of our members to come, participate, and VOTE (remember what I said earlier?).

Our first event is later this month on Monday, January 29th at 7 PM at Congregation Beth Elohim's Social Hall, at the corner of 8th Avenue and Garfield Place in Park Slope. We will hear presentations by the Public Advocate candidates, ask questions of each, and review a summary of their answers to our extensive questionnaire. At the end of the evening, L.I.D. members will vote on an endorsement in this important race, and kick-off this busy election season in earnest. Remember, you must be a vaL.I.D. member at least 30 days in advance of an endorsement meeting in order to vote at the meeting. If you membership has expired since January 2000, you may renew at the door and vote.

From now through June, L.I.D. will hold another three candidate/endorsement meetings (depending on the number of city council candidates interested in obtaining our endorsement), and we will offer opportunities for each of the Mayoral and Comptroller candidates to address L.I.D. members. The endorsement discussions are certain to be lively, educational, and entertaining. We are also examining alternative locations for the meetings to ensure presence in other neighborhoods, such as Fort Greene/Clinton Hill, and full accessibility.

I urge all members (new and long-standing) to participate in this important series of endorsement meetings. Let's show every candidate for elective office that we care about the issues, and that our votes matter now more than ever! See you all on the 29th!

Dan Tietz
President

LID Opposes Ashcroft Nomination

L.I.D. came out swiftly in opposition to the nomination of former Sen. John Ashcroft for Attorney General, firing off letters to Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, urging them to vote against the nomination.

In our correspondence, L.I.D. pointed to numerous troubling incidents in Ashcroft's past that make us question his commitment to civil rights, including: his attempts to suppress N.O.W. when the group called for a boycott of Missouri after the state failed to ratify ERA; his reprehensible character assassination of Judge Ronnie White, which scuttled his elevation to the U.S. District Court; and his votes against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and many pro-choice measures while a member of the Senate.

While not mentioned in our letters, it is also worth noting that Ashcroft was the main opponent, along with Sen. Jesse Helms, of the nomination of James Hormel, an openly gay American, to be ambassador to Luxemburg. Ashcroft undertook a campaign of distortion against Hormel even after his confirmation appeared a certainty. Ashcroft also has consistently opposed federal Hate Crimes legislation.

Please take a moment to register your opposition to the Ashcroft nomination by writing to Senators Clinton and Schumer at the addresses below:

Much has transpired since we reported in last month's Lambda Line on L.I.D.'s successful effort to have School Board #15 pass a resolution banning the Boy Scouts from district schools.

Most notably, we laud Schools Chancellor Harold Levy's decision barring sponsorship of Boy Scout activities in the New York City school system. This important action ended our efforts to persuade School Board #13 to pass a resolution similar to the one approved by Board #15. At the time of Levy's announcement, L.I.D. had participated in numerous hearings on the subject and was playing an active role in crafting a resolution for consideration by the entire board. We wish to thank District #13 Board President Martine Guerrier for her leadership on this matter.

Following Chancellor Levy's ban, the Boy Scout Greater New York Council's Executive Committee sought to distance themselves from the national organization's exclusionary policy, asking for a "timely review" of the national group's anti-gay policy. The local Council also reiterated its stand that it does not condone such discrimination.

Finally, we also wish to note that, though District #15 board member Margaret Kelly was absent for the Boy Scout resolution vote as we reported last month, her absence was due to illness and she was an outspoken supporter of the resolution.

Pataki Honors Impellizzeri

Just as the bad memories of L.I.D.'s battles over homophobic Board of Education Vice President Irene Impellizzeri have faded from memory comes the news that Gov. George Pataki honored Impellizzeri with the Governor's Award for Excellence during Italian Heritage and Culture Month.

You may recall that Impellizzeri was one of L.I.D.'s main targets throughout the first half of the 1990s, following her attempts to oust Hetrick-Martin from the public schools and her attempts to block the availability of condoms in the schools and to impose a gag rule on AIDS educators. She also made remarks that were interpreted by many as highly offensive to the African American community.

Honoring such a homophobic and divisive figure offers food for thought just 20 months before the next gubernatorial election.
Film Focuses on LID Members

Longtime L.I.D. members Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz are the subject of a forthcoming documentary film produced by the Berkeley Film Group and directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Deborah Dickson. The film, entitled "Ruth & Connie More than a Love Story", is scheduled for release in the Spring. HBO has acquired the film and will premiere it on HBO Documentary. It will also be screened at international LGBT and Jewish film festivals.

The story follows the lives of these two extraordinary women who met in 1959 while both raising families, fell in love in 1974, and have been together ever since. They sprang to public prominence in 1988 when they sued the New York City Board of Education for equal benefits as a couple. This landmark litigation led to domestic partnership benefits for all New York City employees.

The film is currently in post-production, and the producers are actively seeking funding to finish the project. L.I.D. has pitched in with a contribution and we're hoping to have the opportunity to screen the film at some point. If you'd like to make a tax-deductible contribution to help defray the film's postproduction costs, you can do so by mailing your gift to:

Film Arts Foundation
The Berkeley Film Group
3345 Grand Avenue, Suite One
Oakland, CA 94610

Transitions

L.I.D. member Anthony Trocchia was recently elected president of Disabled in Action of Metropolitan New York. Anthony also serves as Chairperson of the Committee on Disability Concerns for Community Board 1 in Greenpoint. Congratulations Anthony!