News for the Week Ended December 29, 2010
BY ANN ROSTOW
Welcome to the annual Christmas week news slump, where nothing of major significance crosses the desks of the nation’s editors and bloggers. Those of us who rely on the aforementioned sources languish in turn, deprived of grist for our mills and forced to forage for material on our own.
Well, some guys beat up two gay men in Austin on Christmas night, an alarming act of violence in my own hometown right outside our favorite bar. The thugs dispersed and it doesn’t sound as if they’ll be caught unless they start bragging to friends. Although Texas has a hate crime law, it’s been enforced in only 12 out of 2,500 of the cases that might have justified its use.
And I’m not sure that I mentioned last week that eight British couples (four gay and four straight) are suing their country in the European Court of Human Rights, claiming that bans on marriage for gay couples, as well as the bans on “civil partnerships” for straight couples, violate equality principles. Unfortunately, a paperwork snafu has stalled the case, but we’ll watch for it in the future.
I also neglected to tell you about a couple of parenting decisions, one in the high court of North Carolina, and another in Minnesota appellate court. The North Carolina justices ruled that a second parent adoption by a lesbian state legislator was invalid, but then they turned around and ruled that the best interests of the child dictated that Julia Boseman should retain joint custody regardless of her legal role.
In Minnesota, where another pair of hostile former lesbian partners wrangled over their offspring, a three-judge panel ruled that it was too late for the birth mother to challenge the other mother’s status as an adoptive parent.
And perhaps you can see why I skipped these news items. Whereas a decade ago they would have merited the full treatment, complete with a history of the ill-fated partnership, a review of the relevant state law and perhaps a reference to similar cases in other jurisdictions, these days the rights of de facto and other gay parents are rarely undermined. Even in the North Carolina case, where the reversal of Boseman’s adoption was something of an anomaly, the end result was as it should be.
Indeed, just as a pro-gay parenting ruling used to be a major story, these days it’s only the antigay rulings that merit the headlines. As such, we’re keeping an eye on a federal case against Louisiana, where authorities continue to refuse to issue a revised birth certificate to the gay parents of a boy born in the Swamp State.
Earlier this year, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled against the state. But a couple of months ago, the full court agreed to rehear the case, which seemed a little strange to me. After all, the adoption was legal and binding. The only thing at stake is paperwork. And the continuing lack of an accurate birth certificate is a hardship for the boy and his two fathers. How can Louisiana get away with such a blatantly antigay double standard, since of course the state revises birth certificates for every mom and dad who adopt from out of state?
Lambda Legal wants to know.
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Lesbians Behind Bars After Panty Dispute
I’m not sure I can write an entire news column on interesting cases that have not generated any actual news in the last week. But as luck would have it, I just discovered an important item while searching for an update on the Golinski case.
Nothing new is happening with Karen Golinski, who is suing the U.S. government for spousal benefits in a federal court in northern California. However, a side link from Project Q Atlanta contains an account of two women who were jailed by police after an altercation involving panties.
The news, filed under “crime,” is snappily headlined: “Panties Piss Off Girlfriends Who Punch, Pout and Get Policed.” According to whoever wrote it (there was no byline), a 22-year-old woman in a grey sweat suit flagged down an officer on Mt. Zion Road and accused her girlfriend of punching her.
The officer drove her back to the scene of the attack, where a 26-year-old woman (in a white tank top) was sitting on the couch. The older woman explained that her ex-boyfriend had brought her some panties, which had enraged her lover. A physical fight had ensued.
In the end, the officer was unable to determine who was at fault. Because both parties looked “unruly,” he carted them both to the station house jail. I’m not sure what happened next. I tried a google news search on “south Atlanta lesbian panties,” but my search “did not match any documents.” An official cover up perhaps?
Something about the story strikes me as very unfair. When I was a child, there were several occasions where my brother incited a fight that was entirely his fault. When my mother arrived to referee these fractious incidents, she invariably sent both of us to our rooms without listening to the full details. I always found that most unjust.
Decades later, when my mother and I lived together in the years before her death, I had the satisfaction of revisiting many of these cases, particularly the time when he upended the monopoly board in a rage on the verge of defeat. How could that be my fault? And why should I have been sent to my room for yelling at him? My mother apologized.
I only hope that these young women have the chance, eventually, to set the record straight. Personally, I side with the 26-year-old in the white tank top, because there’s no evidence that she encouraged the gift giver. Then again, what if the 22-year-old was legitimately incensed at an ongoing flirtation? Clearly we need additional information, and just as clearly, the South Atlanta crime desk personnel are too busy downing eggnog to do their jobs.
Such is the holiday season.
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Under the Knife
I’m now back from some extended procrastinating. I fed the dogs, made a sandwich, watched Mel rub some brisket and play with our new slicing machine. I looked around for more gay news with little success, although I read a disturbing story about two gay men who were found murdered in their home over the holidays in Wilton Manors, Florida.
I also read several articles about how Concerned Women for America, the Family Research Council and the National Organization for Marriage have all decided to skip the 2011 Conservative Political Action Conference (C-PAC) in February because the gay conservative group, GOProud, is one of the sponsors.
Before I continue, Mel has now sliced a great deal of cheddar cheese from a big block that she bought at the grocery store this morning. She calculates that we would normally pay about $3.50 for the sliced amount. And yet! We have only used a third of the ($5.00) block, meaning that purchasing sliced or shredded cheese nearly triples the price! By my calculations, we may save well over a hundred dollars in 2011, depending on our cheese consumption, simply through the use of this amazing device.
Perhaps we should set aside five dollars every time we buy a block of cheese, wait until the fund grows to $40 and use the money for a bottle of Champagne, which we will drink while toasting our KitchenAid Mandoline Slicer. No “perhaps” about it. It will be done.
As I was saying, the various social conservatives are boycotting C-PAC, which is normally one of the highlights of the season for these types. The gay republicans of GOProud have lately succeeded in insinuating themselves into the medium-sized conservative tent, but said tent is apparently now too large for their nemeses on the far right.
It’s not really news that the antigay crowd is losing its influence to the libertarian, tea party and financial conservatives. So this is not really that newsworthy. Yet, have we any more salient stories to report? Answer, no.
Much like the deadbeat crime reporters in Atlanta and the other slackers in the fourth estate, we ourselves find it hard to care about unseasonable events. We care about hot rum, walnuts in the shell, trashy B-rated Christmas movies, recycling, cookies and slicing. No doubt you readers have your own holiday agendas which do not include keeping up with the latest GLBT news. You’re in luck, since you won’t find much of that in this column.
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Our Money
Here’s something interesting. Did you know that lesbians earn six percent more than heterosexual women? We still earn less than men of any sexual orientation but at least we’re not on the bottom. Come on straight sisters! Let’s move up the ladder together.
OK, it wasn’t that interesting. I suspect part of the pay gap is a female disinclination to insist on high salaries and raises. The best salary I ever got was for my first job in France, which I negotiated when the dollar was way out of balance with the French Franc. By my calculations (in dollars) I was being offered a paltry salary, so I demanded more, plus bonuses and other perks. But I had no idea that I was actually insisting on far more than the job (or I) was worth, and had I known, I would never have had the nerve to be so obnoxious. I ended up with a lot more money and a reputation of being a tough negotiator. And you know what? Men do this routinely, and women, as a rule, don’t.
But I bet that lesbians do it six percent more often than straight women.
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A Christmas Story
I finally hit the news jackpot with a story about two gay men from Manhattan, who inexplicably receive letters to Santa at their 22nd Street apartment every year. They usually get a handful of letters, but this year they received four hundred or so, and the kind-hearted men passed them out to friends and managed to respond to all the children.
A New York Times reporter tried to determine how so many people wound up connecting Santa to a specific apartment in Chelsea, and it seemed as if certain schools and websites listed the address and hinted that Santa “might respond” to a letter if sent to the men’s apartment. Somehow, the address went viral, but Jim and Dylan rose to the challenge with only two weeks to spare thanks to their friends, co-workers and Facebook.
I can’t imagine how many letters they’ll get next year, but I think I’ll send them a self-addressed stamped envelope and take some of them off their hands. I’ve always wanted to respond to a Santa letter or two, haven’t you?
One of them read:
“Hi Santa,
My name is Jennifer and my little sister’s name is Stephanie. I’m 81⁄2 years old and Stephanie is 7 years. Santa our behavior this year has been excellent. You can ask my mom if you want. Please Santa bring me some clothes. I’m 10T and my shoe size is 4 and Stephanie is 8T shoes size 21⁄2. Please make my dreams come true for Christmas.”
Hell, maybe I’ll write a letter to Santa myself. You never know, and Jim and Dylan seem like nice guys. Assuming I’ve been on excellent behavior throughout 2011, I’ll try for some all-clad pans, a couple of sets of gold earrings and a good bottle of Cognac. I should be able to get away with it if I tell the guys I’m just turning seven.
By the way, before I go I should mention that I think I referred to David Brock as a straight ally in my last column, when in fact, the head of Media Matters is openly gay. I guess I forgot. That’s what happens when I write without access to cyberspace.
Happy New Year. I will return with my annual news quiz next week, and then it’s on to the wild ride of the gay civil rights movement in 2011.
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arostow@aol.com
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