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LGB Students Safe
from Outing

Los ANGELES — A federal judge
rejected an Orange County school
district’s claim that it was within its
rights to reveal a student’s sexuality
to her parents, as reported on
365gay.com early last month.

In its motion to dismiss the case,
the school claimed that Charlene
Nguon did not have a legal interest
in keeping her sexual orientation
private because she was affectionate
with her girlfriend at school. The
court disagreed, ruling that Nguon
can proceed with her legal claim
that the principal violated her consti-
tutional privacy rights.

“I am very glad that the judge
agreed Charlene can continue to
stand up for her rights,” said
Nguon’s mother, Crystal Chhun.
“The person to decide when and
how to talk with our family about
her sexual orientation should have
been my daughter, not the princi-
pal.”

Nguon was an ‘A’ student,
ranked in the top 5 percent of her
class, but when she kissed her girl-
friend on campus she was disci-
plined and told either she or the girl-
friend would have to transfer to
another school. She was also a can-
didate for the National Honor
Society until the offer was rescinded
because of discipline, including one
week-long suspension, for hugging
her girlfriend on campus.

Yes to No, No to
Ryan white

WASHINGTON, DC — According to
the HRC, last month Congress put
the lives of hundreds of thousands
of Americans at risk in passing the
Labor-HHS-Education
Appropriations conference report
that cuts HIV/AIDS prevention pro-
grams, and flat-funds most of the

‘Ryan White CARE Act.

By a 215-213 vote, the House -
passed the Appropriations confer-
ence report, which contains inade-
quate funding for federal HIV/AIDS
programs. Moreover, the bill pro- »
vides an increase of $11 million in
funding for abstinence—only educa-
tion programs.

Further abandoning a science-
based prevention strategy, an
amendment that would have directed

. that all federally funded sex educa-

tion programs teach medically accu-
rate information was dropped.

Hard Drives Fight AIDS

CYBERSPACE — A massive project is
harnessing the power of tens of
thousands of personal computers
around the world in a bid to find
potential drugs to more effectively
fight the global scourge of AIDS, as
reported in The Canadian Press.

A virtual supercomputer grid,
created by IBM, will allow individu-
als and businesses to donate down-
time on their personal computers via
a secure website. The idle PCs will
be used to run millions of computa-
tions in the search for chemical
compounds that could eventually
provide more effective HIV thera-
pies, the company announced in late
November. '

“We’ve been working over the
last year to build the number of PCs
that are connected and we’ve also
been working on a first research,
project, analyzing all the proteins in
the human body,” Stanley Litow,
IBM vice-president for corporate
community relations, said from New
York.

“But now we are adding this
AIDS project. This is brand new to
the grid, and the idea is to take years
off of the research that would be
required to find a cure for AIDS.”

The project, dubbed
FightAIDS@Home, involves virtual
testing of hundreds of thousands of
chemical compounds to see how
they react to a particular protein of
the human immunodeficiency virus.

Ford Supports Fairness

WASHINGTON, DC — Ford Motor
Company released a statement last
month saying it would feature all of
its brands in a 2006 ad campaign in
gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgen-
der-themed publications. Questions
about indications that Fordhad
made a deal with the right-wing
extremist group American Family
Association to cease advertising for
its Jaguar and Land Rover brands in
community publications were put to
rest with this announcement, said
the Human Rights Campaign.

“Ford”s action is a positive out-
come and win for equality and fair-
ness,” said Human Rights Campaign
President Joe Solmonese.

A broad coalition of more than
two-dozen lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender organizations commend-
ed the company for reaffirming its
support for the lgbt community.
Ford also reaffirmed its commitment
to its progressive workplace poli-
cies, and said it would place corpo-
rate advertising in lgbt publications
on behalf of all of its brands, includ-
ing Jaguar and Land Rover, and

would continue financial support for
lgbt organizations and events consis-
tent with its business condition.
“Today’s statement from Ford
Motor Company  is conclusive
proof of what Ford leaders have
repeatedly assured us — that there
never was any deal with anti-lgbt
organizations concerning Ford’s
support for our communityf’ the
coalition’s statement read in part.

Let Peace Begin with Pee

SAN FRANCISCO — The Transgender
Law Center recently released Peeing
In Peace: A Resource Guide For
Transgender Activists and Allies.
The guide will help transgender
community members and allies con-
front gender-based discrimination
and harassment in public bathrooms.
Transgender people are regnrlarly
alienated from employment, educa-
tion, social services, and consumer
environments simply because they
are prevented from using the correct
bathroom or because they are
harassed while doing so.
“Bathrooms are a common place
where transgender people are
assaulted or ridiculed simply
because someone does not like the
way they look or act,” said Bryan
Burgess, TLC’s former Safe
Bathroom Access Campaign
Coordinator and co-author of the
guide. “We created Peeing in Peace
so that individual community mem-
bers could protect themselves indi-
vidually and work together to
"change the way in which society
thinks about bathroom safety.”
Peeing in Peace (PiP) provides
information about legal rights and
advocacy tools for anyone who
faces this kind of discrimination.
Grassroots activists will also be able

to use PiP to help create a bathroom .

safety campaign.

French Lesbians
Spark Baby Boom

BELGIUM — Denied artificial insemi-
nation in their native country, many
French lesbians have been crossing
the border to Belgium in search of
medical procedures to get pregnant,
according to an Agence France-
Presse report relayed by
Advocate.com. The trend is creating
a new sort of baby boom at Belgian
fertility clinics. _

Last year, 72 percent of the
patients for insemination from
sperm donors came from France,
and the majority of them were les-
bian, according to Dr. Anne
Delbaere, head of the fertility clinic
at Erasme Hospital in the Belgian
capital. Since the clinic opened

some 15 years ago, it has never
rejected the requests of lesbians and
single women, but it may not be
able to continue to meet the demand
from the influx of French patients.
“We do not have sufficient sperm
donations in reserve to meet all the
requests” for insemination, Delbaere
said at a recent conference on gay
parenting in Paris.

Since the French bioethical law
of 1994, medical help for procre-
ation is reserved for heterosexual
couples who are married or who
have been together for more than
two years. Belgium, however, where
same-sex marriage is legal, has not
passed legislation on this issue. The
specialized clinics there decide on
the criteria used for access to med-
ical procedures for procreation.

Marriage In South Africa

CAPE TOWN — South Africa became
the fifth country to legalize same-
sex marriage in early December. The
Constitutional Court, the highest
court in South Africa, ruled that it is
unconstitutional to deny gay and les-
bian couples the right to marry,
according to 365gay.com.

_ The court ordered Parliament to
amend marriage laws within 12
months. If it fails to act within that
time frame, the court said the ruling
would automatically change the law
to include same-sex unions.

Last year the Supreme Court of
Appeal ruled that the definition of
marriage as being between a man
and a woman discriminated unfairly
against same-sex couples.

The Department of Home Affairs
appealed the ruling to the
Constitutional Court, arguing that
the appeal court violated the rule of
the separation of powers by usurp-
ing Parliament’s'authority to make
law. “Sarne-sex partnerships are a
relatively new phenomena,” said the
Department of Home Affairs’ advo-
cate Marumo Moerane, sparking
laughter in the packed gallery. He
then said that, “We don't know
whether single-sex relationships
involve the idea of mutual support.”

South Africa’s post-apartheid
constitution states that GLBT indi-
viduals have the same rights as any
other individual. Section 9 of the
Constitution outlaws discrimination
in South Africa based on sexual ori-
entation.

The ruling was the latest in a
series of legal wins dating back to
1998 when sodomy was decn'minal-
ized. The following year immigrant
partners of South African lesbians
and gays were allowed to_apply for
permanent residence. Same-sex
adoption was legalized in 2002. In

2003 the governmentbowed to pres-
sure and permitted domestic partner
benefits. ‘

Gay & 1i-ans Films

- Go for Gold

. BEVERLY HILLS — Thelcowboy

romance Brokeback Mountain posi-
tioned itself last month as a key
Oscar competitor, roping in seven
Golden Globe nominations, includ-
ing best dramatic picture, according
to CBS and AP reports.

The Globes were the latest
recognition for Brokeback
Mountain, a critical darling that has
received top honors from critics’
groups in New York City, Los
Angeles and Boston, and also
appeared on the American Film
Institute’s list of the top 10 movies
of the year.

Based on a story by Annie

, Proulx, Brokeback Mountain

grabbed a supporting actress nomi-
nation for Michelle Williams as

. Ledger's wife, who chooses to

ignore her cowboy husband’s affair
with a man to hold her family
together. The movie also scored a
directing nomination for Lee and
received nominations for best
screenplay, score and song.

In addition, director Ang Lee
will receive the Human Rights
Campaign’s Equality Award in
February.

Transamerica’s Felicity Huffman
received two nominations, including
best dramatic actress in a film for
her role as a man preparing for sex-
change surgery.

Dissolution In Vermont

BRA'I'l'LEBORO — The lesbian couple
who entered into the nation’s first
Civil Union are splitting up amid
allegations of violent behavior, as
reported by the Associated Press.
Carolyn Conrad, 35, asked a court in
October to end her relationship with
Kathleen Peterson, 46.

Conrad also obtained a restrain-
ing order against her partner, saying
Peterson punched a hole in the wall
during an argument and threatened .
to harm a friend. The two had been
together for five years when they
were legally joined in Brattleboro
minutes after Verrnont’s civil-union
law took effect on July 1, 2000.

By the end of 2004, a total of
7,549 same-sex couples had entered
civil unions in Vermont. There have

been 78 dissolutions.V