Election day will soon be upon us, and L.I.D.'s activity in the September primaries guarantees that candidates supportive of the LGBT community will likely be elected or re-elected in November. We're happy to report that all but one of L.I.D.'s endorsed candidates won their primaries.
The sweetest victory might have been Rep. Anthony Weiner's trouncing of homophobic City Councilmember Noach Dear, particularly after his blatant gay baiting during the primary. Taking a page from the Pat Buchanan play book, Dear mailed at least two campaign pieces which prominently touted Weiner's support for gay marriage then mentioned that Weiner is not married. "You don't have to be a husband, parent, and grandparent to know what's important to families -- but it sure does help. Noach Dear the only candidate for Congress who's married and raising a family of his own." Of course it was all couched in traditional family values rhetoric.
Dear is still challenging Weiner on November 7th, running on the Republican line. He's received the glowing endorsement of Mayor Giuliani in the race.
Also of note was the victory of L.I.D. member Betty Williams, who won an upset victory against an incumbent for a Civil Court seat by nearly 10 points. Congratulations!
Obviously, the mostly hotly contested race is for the U.S. Senate, and L.I.D. has heartily endorsed Hillary Clinton. Please take the time to read the enclosed information about Hillary and read the Lambda Line article about Rick Lazio's congressional record. That should be enough to motivate everyone in the LGBT community to make an extra effort to vote on November 7th. And make sure to take our enclosed palm card with you to the polls and support all of L.I.D.'s endorsed candidates.
Rick Lazio's Shameful Record
Republican Senate candidate Rick Lazio has boasted throughout the campaign that he's a "mainstream Republican," but despite these assertions, he can't run away from his abysmal record on lesbian and gay issues.
In 1999, Lazio compiled the second worst congressional voting record in the entire New York delegation, according to the Human Rights Campaign's annual scorecard. Among the highlights: Lazio refused to sign on as a co-sponsor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act; voted for the Largent amendment to prohibit lesbian and gay couples from adopting children in the District of Columbia (Lazio supported a similar amendment in a previous Congress); and voted to prohibit the development of curriculum addressing anti-gay violence in public schools.
Lazio was also on the wrong side of the contentious Religious Liberty Protection Act (RLPA) debate. He opposed the Nadler amendment, which would have included specific provisions to ensure that state and local lesbian and gay civil rights protections weren't gutted by RLPA. He then supported passage of RLPA without these important protections.
Don't believe the rhetoric. Believe the facts. And the record shows that Rick Lazio has not been a friend of the lesbian and gay community.
L.I.D. Urges School Board Action on Boy Scouts
In response to the June Supreme Court ruling allowing the Boy Scouts to discriminate based on sexual orientation, various organizations, including local United Ways and school districts, are reexamining their relationship with the Boy Scouts. Last month, Manhattan school district #2 voted to prohibit its schools from sponsoring Boy Scout activities. Their resolution also stated that scout troops would no longer be given "special privileges, access or recruitment opportunities" that are not offered to other groups.
L.I.D. supports all efforts by public and private entities to send a message to the Boy Scouts that their deliberate exclusion of gays is unconscionable. On September 27, L.I.D. President Dan Tietz sent a letter to the Presidents of School Boards #13 and #15 in Brooklyn urging them to "follow the early lead" or district #2 and "pass similar resolutions, and in fact show the way for the other Brooklyn school districts."
As Lambda Line went to press, board member Ana Bermudez was slated to introduce such a resolution in District #15, according to Board President Mark Peters. No response had yet been received from District #13.
Congress also tackled the Boy Scout issue in mid-September, considering a proposal to revoke the Boy Scouts federal charter because of its discriminatory policy. Republicans used the proposal as a political wedge, accusing supporters of attacking "the fundamental values of America," and bringing it to the floor despite the fact that no hearing had been held on the measure and it had little known support.
Despite being sponsors of the bill, Reps. Jerrold Nadler and Nydia Velazques voted "present," as did Rep. Anthony Weiner. Rep. Major Owens was absent for the vote, while Reps. Edolphus Towns and Vito Fosella voted against the bill, which failed by a margin of 12-362, with 51 members voting present.
Golden Honors Homophobic Priest
We were distressed to learn that Borough President Howard Golden recently honored Rev. Peter Zendzian at his Pulaski Day celebration and conveniently excluded members of the Polish lesbian and gay community from the event.
Zendzian, head of the Apostolate of Polish Preists, used his position to muscle Razem - Polish American Lesbians and Gays Together - from marching in the Pulaski Parade in 1997. The group marched as a separate contingent in 1996.
After Razem's initial appearance in the parade, Zenzian threatened Pulaski Parade president Thomas Wojslawowicz that he would lead a boycott of the parade if Razem marched again. The Parade board succumbed to the pressure and amended its bylaws to prohibit banners in the parade that included "terminology expressing sexual preference."
Leaders of Razem have been invited to Borough President Golden's Pulaski celebrations in the past, but none received invitations this year, according to the organization's leader Martin Sopocy.
L.I.D. has sent a letter to Golden expressing our dismay at this award.
Republicans Kill Hate Crimes; Bush Misleads on Record
Even after legislation including lesbians and gays in federal hate crimes legislation passed the House and Senate, Republican leaders still found a way to scuttle the measure, by removing it in Conference Committee.
In June, the Senate voted 57-42 to pass the language of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, renamed the Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act of 2000, as an amendment to the defense authorization bill. Thirteen Republicans voted for the measure. On Sept. 13, the House voted 232-192 to pass a motion to instruct members of a House-Senate conference committee to keep the measure in the authorization bill. And 41 Republicans supported the motion. The GOP leadership, however, stripped the hate crimes measure from the conference report.
This should come as no surprise, given George W. Bush's record on hate crimes. Bush continues to skirt the question of weather or not lesbians and gays should be included in federal hate crimes legislation - a certain sign that he believes they should not. Perhaps even more telling, on October 12, the Washington Post reported that Bush worked behind the scenes to make sure that a hate crimes bill including gays and lesbians never made it to his desk following the brutal dragging death of James Byrd. The report came the day after the second presidential debate in which Bush made numerous misleading statements about the status of hate crimes legislation in Texas.
If this all sounds vaguely familiar, it should. For a decade, New York state Senate Republicans followed the same course because they did not want lesbians and gays protected by such a law. All in all, just another good reason to vote for Democrats on November 7th.
Transitions
L.I.D. notes with sadness, the recent deaths of three individuals. Longtime L.I.D. member Richard Zayas passed away in early September. A former staff member for city Comptroller Liz Holtzman, a former board member of Empire State Pride Agenda, Richard was an intelligent and energetic man. Our condolences to his family and his partner, Dick Dadey.
Longtime political activist Michael Rosano died suddenly in early October. The former political director for Empire State Pride Agenda, and former staffer for AVP and Andrew Stein, Rosano was a good friend to L.I.D. and many of its members. His wit, wisdom and energy will be sorely missed.
Just weeks after casting a vote in favor of the Sexual Oreintation Non Discrimination Act (SONDA), freshman Assemblymember Lena Cybrowitz lost her battle with cancer. We appreciate her support of our community during her brief tenure in the legislature, and our condolences to her husband Stephen, who will succeed her in the Assembly.
School Baord Shuffles
L.I.D. member Nelson Jacobs-Moore was recently elected President of School Board #1 in Manhattan. Even though a Brooklyn resident, Jacobs-Moore ran in the Manhattan district because his son goes to school there. He was elected to the board in 1999, after serving as a PTA President. Congratulations!
L.I.D. member Kevin Allard-Mendelson has resigned from School Board #15 following his move to Pennsylvania. Allard-Mendeslon was appointed to the board in 1998, and, along with Ana Bermudez, was among the 2 openly lesbian or gay candidates elected to the District #15 board in last year's election.
The school board is seeking applicants for the vacancy. You can contact L.I.D. if you would like more information.