Feb February Raises Funds for Trevor Project

The Trevor Project is celebrating "Fab February" with gay social networking site Fab.com. For every new member to sign up, Fab will donate $1 the It Gets Better Project, The Trevor Project and GLSEN. Here are five easy ways you can help:

1.   Join Fab.com.  It's free to register and $1 will instantly be donated the second you join.    

 

2.     Click to Tweet about your donation.

3.     Tell your Facebook friends about your donation.

4.     Invite 5 Facebook friends to join fab.com to raise an additional $5.     

5.     Watch and share the fab.com team's It Gets Better video . The more people who watch it, the more money we can raise together!

"Fab is not only a social connector to gay-friendly people, places and activities anywhere in the world, but a safe place for members to share their personal struggles and concerns over gay issues," said Fab founder and CEO Jason Goldberg. "The outpouring of grief on the site when so many gay suicides were reported last year spurred us to want to contribute to strengthening the gay self-image, and that's how 'Fab February' was born."

Free Webinar on LGBTIQ Youth Homelessness

Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual Youths Punished More Severely For Same Offense

A gay, lesbian or bisexual adolescent is punished more severely at school and by the criminal-justice system compared to heterosexual people of the same age for the same offenses, researchers from Yale University report in the medical journal Pediatrics. The authors say the disproportionate punishments cannot be explained by worse illegal activities or behaviors. They add that in order to achieve equality among heterosexual and non-heterosexual youth, it is important first to understand what causes these disparities in school expulsions, arrests, imprisonments, and then to address them.

Non-heterosexual young people are already at a higher risk of being bullied, abused within their families and succumbing to addiction, the researchers explain. Kathryn E. W. Himmelstein, BA, and Hannah Brückner, PhD set out to find out whether they were also victims of unfair criminal-justice and school sanctions.

They examined the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health which tracked a representative sample of young people in 1994-1995 from grades 7 to the end of 12. They also gathered information on a 2001-2002 follow-up.

Their definition of non-heterosexuality included people attracted to those of the same sex, same-sex romantic relationships, or LGB (lesbian, gay or bisexual) identification.

The investigators focused on six outcomes:

·                          Adult arrests

·                          Adult convictions

·                          Being stopped by the police

·                          Expulsion from school

·                          Juvenile arrests

·                          Juvenile convictions

They found that non-heterosexual individuals had a significantly and consistently higher risk of being punished. Teenagers who are attracted to people of the same sex were found to have a 41% higher risk of being expelled from school, and a 42% greater chance of being convicted for a crime as an adult, compared to heterosexual individuals.

Non-heterosexual teenagers have a 38% higher risk of being stopped by the police.

It was already widely known that children bully non-heterosexual children. This study reveals how adults treat non-heterosexual children.

The authors stress (again) that the higher risk of punishment is not reflected in a greater participation of illegal actions or behaviors by non-heterosexual teenagers.

The authors concluded:

"Non-heterosexual youth suffer disproportionate educational and criminal-justice punishments that are not explained by greater engagement in illegal or transgressive behaviors. Understanding and addressing these disparities might reduce school expulsions, arrests, and incarceration and their dire social and health consequences."

"Criminal-Justice and School Sanctions Against Nonheterosexual Youth: A National Longitudinal Study"
Kathryn E. W. Himmelstein, BA, Hannah Brückner, PhD
PEDIATRICS (doi:10.1542/peds.2009-2306)

Written by Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/210398.php

VICTORY

Illinois governor signs civil unions law

by Mike Andrew - SGN Staff Writer Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed his state's new civil unions bill into law on January 31. The law will take effect on June 1. 'Here we are in 2011 on the eve of Abraham Lincoln's 202nd birthday and I think this is very special,' Quinn said at the signing ceremony. 'We believe in civil rights and we believe in civil unions.' Quinn was joined by 20 Illinois political leaders and a standing-room-only crowd of nearly 1,000 supporters in a hall at the Chicago Cultural Center. Among those attending the signing were Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Illinois Senate President John Cullerton, House Speaker Mike Madigan, Rep. Deborah Mell, Rep. Greg Harris, and Sen. Dave Koehler. The Chicago Gay Men's chorus performed at the ceremony. 'This legislation represents a giant step toward equality,' Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said. 'If you enter a civil union, you can now visit your loved one in the hospital to make medical decisions and not be turned away. You can take time off to care for your partner and not lose your job.' According to the State Journal-Register newspaper, supporters of the new law worried that they might not be able to accommodate everyone who wanted to attend the signing ceremony. 'Our biggest problem right now is public response of people who want to be there to witness the ceremony. They feel this is part of history,' Rep. Greg Harris told reporters. The new law, titled the 'Illinois Religious Freedom Protection and Civil Union Act,' allows both same-sex and opposite-sex couples to enter into civil unions, giving them some of the same benefits automatically available to married couples, including the right to visit a sick partner in the hospital, disposition of a deceased partner's remains and the right to make decisions about a partner's medical care. According to Illinois LGBT activists, the new law provides more than 650 spousal benefits and protections. The law also allows religious institutions to define marriage as they choose. Illinois law will continue to define marriage as a one man-one woman relationship. Illinois joins 17 states, plus the District of Columbia, in recognizing some form of protection for committed same-sex couples - from limited partnership rights through civil unions to full marriage equality. Human rights activists greeted the new law with enthusiasm. 'Today marks a tremendous step towards equality for all families in Illinois,' said HRC President Joe Solmonese. 'HRC commends Governor Quinn for his commitment to ensuring civil unions became law. Congratulations to Rep. Greg Harris, lead sponsor of the bill, who fought for years to ensure civil unions would become a reality, and thank you to Equality Illinois and the ACLU of Illinois for their tireless efforts on behalf of the LGBT community.' 'This new law reflects the triumph of hope and fairness over distortion and division,' said Jill Metz, president of the ACLU of Illinois Board of Directors. 'Today marks yet another victory in the clear trend line of achieving fairness for families across the country,' said James Esseks, director of the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project. Lambda Legal announced a new program to help Illinois families protected by the new law to obtain the full range of benefits they are entitled to. 'We have had a surge of calls to our Legal Help Desk since November when the law passed the legislature,' said Camilla Taylor, senior staff attorney at the Midwest Regional Office of Lambda Legal in Chicago. 'By launching Civil Union Tracker with our partners at Equality Illinois, our goal is to provide a much-needed service to same-sex and different-sex couples in civil unions, and to their children. Many will have questions about what the law means. We also know from experience in other states with civil unions that many families will encounter difficulties in getting respect for their status as legally recognized families after the law goes into effect. Our goal is to help these families navigate Illinois' new legal landscape with as few challenges as possible.' Tell a friend:

ACLU And Lambda Legal In Court to Defend Transgender People's Rights

ACLU And Lambda Legal In Court MONDAY To Defend Transgender People's Right To Access Medical Treatment In Prison

ACLU And Lambda Legal In Court MONDAY To Defend Transgender People's Right To Access Medical Treatment In Prison CHICAGO - The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit will hear arguments Monday, February 7, in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Wisconsin and Lambda Legal defending the right of transgender people to receive medical care while they are incarcerated. In 2005, the state of Wisconsin passed a law that barred prison doctors from providing transgender inmates hormone therapy or sex reassignment surgery while in state custody. Lambda Legal and the ACLU sued the state on behalf of transgender inmates, some of whom had been receiving hormone treatment for years in Wisconsin prisons. An injunction order was granted to continue hormone treatment until a ruling was made, and in April 2010 a federal district court finally struck down the so-called 'Inmate Sex Change Prevention Act.' More information on this case can be found on Lambda Legal's case page at: www.lambdalegal.org/in-court/cases/fields-v-smith.html or at the ACLU case profile page at: http://www.aclu.org/lgbt-rights_hiv-aids/sundstrom-v-frank-case-profile WHAT: Oral arguments in Fields v. Smith, a case defending the rights of transgender inmates to receive critical hormone therapy while incarcerated. WHO: John Knight, staff attorney with the ACLU Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Project, will be arguing the case. Larry Dupuis of the ACLU of Wisconsin will also be in attendance. WHEN: Monday, February 7, 2011 Order of arguments published at 9:00 a.m. CT WHERE: Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals 219 S. Dearborn Street Chicago, IL

Gays Targeted for Hate Crimes

SPLC’s Intelligence Report: Gays Targeted for Hate Crimes Far More Than Any Other Minority in America

Homosexuals are far more likely to be victims of a violent hate crime than any other minority group in the United States, according to a new analysis of federal hate crime statistics in the latest issue of the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Intelligence Report, released today.

The SPLC’s analysis of 14 years of hate crime data found that homosexuals, or those perceived to be gay, are more than twice as likely to be attacked in a violent hate crime as Jews or blacks; more than four times as likely as Muslims; and 14 times as likely as Latinos. The findings are based on FBI hate crime statistics from 1995 to 2008, the period for which there is complete data. The basic pattern also holds true in individual years.

Winter 2010 issue of the SPLC's Intelligence Report

The analysis is being released to coincide with the scheduled release of the FBI’s hate crime statistics for 2009.
These findings come as a wave of anti-gay attacks have washed across the country. In New York, for example, 10 suspects were arrested for brutally torturing three gay victims. And in Covington, Ky., a neighborhood was hit by a series of violent anti-gay attacks. Most dramatically, four teenagers committed suicide in September after being bullied, taunted or outed as homosexuals.

This analysis of hate crime data can be found in the Winter 2010 issue of the Intelligence Report, which also explores how the hard-core anti-gay movement in America is becoming more extreme in the face of gay rights advances.
“As Americans become more accepting of homosexuals, the most extreme elements of the anti-gay movement are digging in their heels and continuing to defame gays and lesbians with falsehoods that grow more incendiary by the day,” said Mark Potok, editor of the Intelligence Report. “The leaders of this movement may deny it, but it seems clear that their demonization of homosexuals plays a role in fomenting the violence, hatred and bullying we’re seeing.”

Goodbye, Mom and Dad. Hello, Parent One and Parent Two.

Parent One, Parent Two to replace references to

mother, father on passport forms

By Mary Beth Sheridan and Ed O'Keefe, Washington Post Staff Writers. Friday, January 7, 2011

The State Department has decided to make U.S. passport application forms "gender neutral" by removing references to mother and father, officials said, in favor of language that describes one's parentage somewhat less tenderly.

The change is "in recognition of different types of families," according to a statement issued just before Christmas that drew widespread attention Friday after a Fox News report.

The announcement of the change was buried at the end of a Dec. 22 news release, titled "Consular Report of Birth Abroad Certificate Improvements," that highlighted unrelated security changes.

The new policy is a win for gay rights groups, a vocal and financially generous Democratic voting bloc that has pushed for the change since Barack Obama began his presidential transition in late 2008. The decision follows last month's vote to end the military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy, which gay leaders consider one of their biggest victories in years.

Fred Sainz, vice president of the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights advocacy group, called the news "a positive step forward for all American families. It was time that the federal government acknowledged the reality that hundreds of thousands of kids in this country are being raised by same-sex parents."

Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, blasted it as reflecting the "topsy-turvy world of left-wing political correctness."

"This is clearly designed," he said in a statement, "to advance the causes of same-sex 'marriage' and homosexual parenting without statutory authority, and violates the spirit if not the letter of the Defense of Marriage Act," the federal law that defines marriage as between one man and one woman.

He called on Congress to take action.

It was not immediately clear whether a similar change would be made to all federal documents. But after Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced in 2009 that partners of gay American diplomats would be eligible for benefits accorded to spouses, the rest of the U.S. government followed suit.

In 2000, Clinton was the first wife of a president to march in a gay-pride parade, and as secretary of state she has advocated on behalf of gay rights. In a speech in June she said the United States "was elevating our rights dialogues with other governments and conducting public diplomacy to protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons."

Rosemary Macray of the State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs shrugged off complaints of political correctness and described the switch as an unremarkable bureaucratic tweak.

"Really, there have been so many changes in the last 10 or 15 years with reproductive technology and the like, and so this is why it is important for us to accurately reflect families in these applications," she said.

The DS-11 form is required of first-time passport applicants and children younger than 16. The change will go into effect Feb. 1 and will be part of an already-scheduled revision of passport forms, Macray said.

"It's not going to really involve any expense to taxpayers," she said.

sheridanm@washpost.com ed.okeefe@washingtonpost.com