In two hotly contested congressional primaries slated for September 12th, L.I.D. members voted to endorse incumbent Major Owens and challenger Barry Ford. Owens is being opposed by Councilmember Una Clarke, and has long been supported by L.I.D. Ford is making a second attempt to unseat Rep. Ed Towns. Ford was endorsed by L.I.D. in his 1998 race as well. L.I.D. also backed Congressman Anthony Weiner in his contest with Councilmember Noach Dear (see story below).
In other races where a September primary appears to be looming, L.I.D. endorsed Assemblymembers Adele Cohen, Roger Green, Clarence Norman and Darryl Towns as well as L.I.D. member Betty Williams in her challenge to Judge Maxine Archer in the 7th district Civil Court contest. Williams' endorsement is contingent upon her seeking and receiving approval from LeGal (The Lesbian and Gay Law Association of Greater New York)
Members also voted to endorse Al Gore for President, Hillary Clinton
for U.S. Senate, state Senators Velmanette Montogmery and Marty Markowitz,
Assemblymembers Jim Brennan, Felix Ortiz and Joan Millman, Civil Court
Judges Joseph Bruno and Laura Jacobson (contingent on LeGal approval), and
district leaders Steve Cohn, Elizabeth Rose Daly, Jake Gold, Lori Knipel,
Ralph Perfetto and William Saunders.
Noach Dear at it Again
Just how low will Noach Dear stoop? Low enough to send a representative to L.I.D's recent endorsement meeting and secretly audio tape Congressman Anthony Weiner's presentation to the club. Dear then replayed the tape -- and presented Weiner's candidate questionnaire -- to Agudath Israel, an ultraconservative, Orthodox Jewish group, obviously hoping to fan some homophobic flames.
Of course, Weiner's support for lesbian and gay issues is a matter of public record, and he said nothing either publicly or in his questionnaire that he had not said before. But the last we checked, common decency precludes secretly taping anyone, even a public figure.
As if that wasn't bad enough, this reprehensible antic was quickly followed by another. While claiming he is not abandoning the Democratic Party (too bad in our book), and still pursuing his September primary against Weiner, Dear accepted the Republican endorsement for the 9th congressional district, assuring him a spot on the November ballot.
We've always thought Dear's politics did not belong in the Democratic party, and this is not the first time the Councilmember has crossed party lines. He endorsed George Bush for President in 1988 and has been a vocal supporter of Mayor Giuliani. In addition, he has been a contributor to the Brooklyn Conservative Party.
L.I.D. believes that since the LGBT and Orthodox communities live
side by side in this borough, we need leaders who will help foster
understanding and hopefully find common ground for us to coexist in this
diverse city. Unfortunately, Dear has chosen a different, inflammatory
path, which sparks bigotry, misunderstanding and hatred. Sadly, in our
eyes, that seems to be quite in keeping with much of the Republican Party
and, perhaps, Councilman Dear has found a more comfortable political home,
even if only temporarily.
Finally, a New York
Hate Crimes Law
After over a decade of languishing in the Republican controlled state Senate, New York is finally poised to have a hate crimes law which increases penalties for violent acts committed based on a person's race, color, national origin, ancestry, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation. Including lesbians and gay men in such legislation was the main sticking point for Senate Republicans for many years, and New York will become the last state in the northeast to enact such a measure.
All Brooklyn Senators were present and voted in favor of the bill on June 7th, and we are extremely grateful for their support. Full support of our Senate delegation was not always the case, however. For many years, then Sen. Christopher Mega, who represented a district stretching from Park Slope to Bay Ridge, was a leading opponent of such legislation.. Despite many highly publicized anti-gay hate crimes perpetrated against his own constituents, Mega steadfastly refused to use his position as an important Committee Chairman to push or support a hate crimes bill. L.I.D. organized numerous protests and letter writing campaigns targeted at Mega and worked diligently to defeat him at the polls.
As Lambda Line went to press, differences between the Senate and
Assembly versions of this legislation had yet to be worked out, but a final
agreement and approval by Governor Pataki seemed a certainty. We applaud
the work of Anti Violence Project, the Empire State Pride Agenda, the
Anti-Defamation League and the Hate Crimes Bill Coalition, of which L.I.D.
was a member, for their hard work in moving this legislation to a
successful Senate vote.
Transgender Bill Introduced
in City Council
We reported last month on L.I.D.'s support for legislation to expand New York City's Human Rights Law to outlaw discrimination based on "gender identity or expression" in housing, credit, accommodations, education and employment.
The bill (Intro 754) was officially introduced in the City Council in
early June, and Brooklyn council members are well represented on the
sponsorship list. Steve DiBrienza is among those who introduced the bill,
and Tracey Boyland, Ken Fisher, Martin Malave-Dilan, Mary Pinkett, and
Angel Rodriguez have signed on as cosponsors. In addition, we spotted Una
Clarke at the press conference announcing the bill's introduction, and hope
this sign of support will lead to her sponsorship.
Brooklyn Democrats Score High on Federal Report Card
Brooklyn's congressional delegation -- the Democrats, at any rate -- racked up high marks in the first session of the 106th Congress, according to a recent report published by the Human Rights Campaign. Congress members Jerrold Nadler, Major Owens and Edolphus Towns had 100% scores, followed by Reps. Nydia Velazquez and Anthony Weiner with 91% ratings. The borough's only Republican, Vito Fossella, continues his abysmal record on lesbian and gay issues, registering an 18% rating. The report card was based on recorded votes and sponsorship records on 11 key measures.
Velazquez missed a 100% rating because she was not a cosponsor of ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) in 1999. She signed on as a cosponsor on May 10th of this year. Weiner's support for final passage of the Religious Liberty Protection Act without an amendment specifically protecting lesbians and gays accounted for his less than perfect score.
Fossella continues to align himself with the far-right on most votes in Congress. He failed to sponsor ENDA and the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, refused to issue a nondiscrimination policy for hiring within his own congressional office, and took numerous anti-gay votes throughout the year, including supporting the Largent amendment which prohibited same-sex couples in the District of Columbia from adopting children.
New York's two Senators also scored well. Freshman Sen. Charles
Schumer gained a 100% rating based on 3 votes, sponsorship of ENDA and Hate
Crimes, and an office nondiscrimination policy. Retiring Sen. Daniel
Moynihan tallied an 83%, failing only as a non-sponsor of Hate Crimes
legislation. Sen. Moynihan did, however, vote in favor of an expanded Hate
Crimes law on June 20th.
Slope Post Office Blocks
Lesbian Mail
Somebody at the Park Slope post office apparently found something "offensive" about the Brooklyn-published lesbian newsletter Swing the Pussy, and blocked delivery of mail addressed to the publication at its Van Brunt Station post office box.
Swing the Pussy (STP) began publishing last year about this time, and had been receiving mail at its post office box addressed to its corporate name (Stop the Presses, Inc.) as well as its publication name and its abbreviation. In February, the publishers received a call from an official at the Van Brunt Station stating that mail could no longer be delivered to Swing the Pussy, citing unstated postal regulations and guidelines, and admitting that she and some of her coworkers found the name "offensive."
Despite written assurances from the Brooklyn Postmaster's Consumer Affairs Department that there were no grounds for the local post office to take such an action, letters addressed to Swing the Pussy went undelivered for at least a month. After STP representatives personally confronted Van Brunt employees, they were able to obtain the backlogged mail.
Diligent follow-up by STP resulted in assurances from Consumer Affairs
and the Van Brunt Assistant Manger that delivery would not be a problem in
the future. STP had also contacted various elected officials, but reports
that only state Senator Marty Markowitz and U.S. Senator Daniel P. Moynihan
were of any assistance.
Stop Dr. Laura!
The campaign to put pressure on stations planning to broadcast talk show host Dr. Laura Schlessinger's television show this fall is gaining steam, and L.I.D. is proud to be part of the effort. Schlessinger, known as Dr. Laura, has used her radio show as a platform to spew anti-gay rhetoric, calling gays and lesbians "biological errors" and comparing gay men to pedophiles. Paramount Television is now syndicating her television show, and local CBS affiliate channel 2 has scheduled the show beginning in September. A national campaign focusing on Paramount, local broadcasters and potential sponsors has taken shape since the beginning of the year.
L.I.D. cosponsored a June 5 demonstration (organized by the Anti Violence Project) in front of WCBS-TV, Channel 2's broadcast studios. Station representatives have refused to meet with community members to discuss their concerns about the show. In addition, L.I.D. collected 120 signatures on "Stop Dr. Laura" petitions at Brooklyn Pride.
If you are interested in learning more about the Stop Dr. Laura effort, visit the campaign's website at: /www.stopdrlaura.com/