Proud Parenting

LGBTQ Parents - Lesbian Moms & Gay Dads

Minnesota teacher disputes harassment report

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Diane Cleveland, a Minnesota teacher in Anoka-Hennepin district’s “Secondary Technical Education Program” who went on leave after the school paid a $25,000 settlement to the family of a boy allegedly being harassed by Cleveland and another teacher because of his perceived sexual orientation, has spoken out through a lawyer.

Cleveland allegedly told the class “[the boy’s] fence swings both ways” and said, also before the entire class, that the boy had a “thing for older men” after he proposed doing a report on Ben Franklin. The boy, Alex Merritt, says he is not gay.

The Star Tribune reports: “An Anoka-Hennepin teacher who was disciplined for harassing a student she thought was gay ‘steadfastly’ denied Thursday that she ever harassed or intended to harass a student, according to her attorney. ‘She does not in any way acknowledge harassing anybody,’ said Phil Villaume, the attorney for teacher Diane Cleveland. Villaume was responding to documents obtained from the school district by the Star Tribune that include more information about the district’s investigation of Cleveland, the discipline that followed and an account of the teacher’s defense of her actions to a district official.”

According to the school district, other students indepently verified Merritt’s claims during its investigation.

9/2/2009
Minnesota teachers in gay mocking case put on leave

A Minnesota school district which recently paid a family $25,000 after a high school junior was harassed by two teachers over his perceived sexual orientation, has announced that the teachers involved have been place on leave: “Diane Cleveland, a 39-year-old social studies teacher, and Walter Filson, a 56-year-old law enforcement teacher, went on leave within the past week, said Ginny Karbowski, director of career and technical education for the Secondary Technical Education Program (STEP) in Anoka, where the two taught.

Cleveland’s attorney, Phil Villaume, said: ‘Our position is that she is taking an unpaid, voluntary leave of absence at her request. … This was done in the last week, and it was her decision and her decision alone.’ Villaume doesn’t represent Filson and couldn’t comment on his status. Filson couldn’t be reached for comment.”

8/25/2009
Minnesota citizens demand discipline for teachers who perpetuate gay slurs

TwinCities.com reports on fallout from two Anoka-Hennepin teachers who made constant remarks about a student’s sexuality.

Law enforcement teacher Walter Filson and social studies teacher Diane Cleveland made several remarks when Alex Merritt was an 11th-grader during the 2007-08 school year implying Merritt was gay.

Incidents included Filson allegedly singling Merritt out in front of a group of students and suggesting he enjoyed wearing women’s clothes. In another alleged incident, Cleveland accused the student of cross-dressing and being attracted to older men.

In reaction to the state investigation, the school district plans to pay Merritt’s family $25,000. Filson and Cleveland were ordered to undergo sensitivity training, according to the school district. And in addition, Cleveland received some unpaid leave.

As the case came to light a few weeks ago, a Facebook support group on behalf of Merritt formed and 1,200 supporters have signed on. On Monday, dozens of them showed up to tell the school board more needed to be done.

The Anoka-Hennepin School District serves approximately 40,500 students and 248,000 residents living in 13 suburban communities north of the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. The largest school district in Minnesota, Anoka-Hennepin operates two kindergarten centers, 28 elementary schools, seven middle schools (grades six through eight), and five high schools, plus alternative middle and high school sites.

Disgruntled parents sue California school district over lesbian pastor talk

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The AP reports: The Castro Valley School District is facing a lawsuit by dozens of parents who want more information about a recent school talk by a lesbian pastor.

Pastor Arlene Nehring of the Eden Church of Hayward spoke at Castro Valley High during its annual Days of Diversity program.

Some parents became upset after an anonymous e-mail was sent, claiming that Nehring gave step-by-step instructions on how to become gay and transsexual. Nehring denies those claims.

Now 31 parents have sued, saying the district failed to comply with requests to see all writings received and sent by school employees to and from Nehring and her church.

Interim schools superintendent Jerry Macy says officials have provided some information, but he says the request is too broad.

Boycott Amazon

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So I needed to post on here because I found out something this morning that has me up in arms… Amazon has decided to classify books with gay themes as “adult” and has removed them from their searches by “de-ranking” them. Amazon’s search engine is based on a book’s rank, so by de-ranking these books, they are suddenly a lot more difficult to find.

The prime example for this site is Dan Savage’s “The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant.” It has no rank listed, yet it has 126 reviews. “Heather has Two Mommies?” Gone. This is an adult book? Really?

Another example is to search for “Edmund White” — his most popular book is “A Boy’s Own Story” (source Wikipedia) — but when you put in “Edmund White” in the search bar, it’s nowhere to be found. You can search for the book by title, but when you search by author, the author’s most popular book is nowhere to be found?! Ever hear of Brokeback Mountain? They haven’t, apparently.

Do you think these are “adult” books? Do you agree with this policy? I sure don’t! If you agree, and you are an Amazon customer, I encourage you to write them and tell them their policy stinks, and to shop elsewhere in the meantime.

Further info is at the links below, some of it is very impassioned!

http://www.fictioncircus.com/news.php?id=346&mode=one

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10217715-93.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

http://www.edrants.com/amazonfail-a-call-to-boycott-amazon/

A list of books that have been affected are here:
http://community.livejournal.com/meta_writer/11992.html

Homophobic adoption agencies accused of gay discrimination cease business in New York

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The antigay Adoption.com and ParentProfiles.com stopped doing business in New York, according to a March 4 announcement issued by New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo [pictured].

In July, 2008, Lambda Legal filed a discrimination complaint with the attorney general’s office on behalf of Rosario Gennaro and Alexander Gardner, a New York gay couple barred from posting their online adoptive-parent profile by the companies solely because they are a same-sex couple. Despite having obtained certification as Qualified Adoptive Parents from the New York City Surrogate Court, the couple was unable to post their profile on the website. The eligibility requirements of the website allowed only “Qualifying Husband and Wife” couples that are “one male husband and one female wife” to use the service.

This latest announcement confirms that the companies in question violated New York laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation and marital status.

“New York Attorney General Cuomo has sent a clear message to all businesses that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation will not be tolerated,” said Flor Bermudez, Staff Attorney at Lambda Legal. “Companies can’t come into New York and hang a sign on their door saying ‘Same-sex couples need not apply.'”

Adoption Profiles was also sued in California in 2004 for violating that state’s antidiscrimination law and, as a result, is no longer doing business there.

‘Prayers for Bobby’ starring Sigourney Weaver. A homophobic mom struggles when her teen son comes out.

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Mark A. Perigard gives a positive review of Prayers for Bobby, a new Lifetime movie which explores the true story of a homophobic mother who discovers her son is gay. It’s based on a book of the same title by Leroy Aarons.

In a piece for BostonHerald.com, Perigard writes, “Mary Griffith (played by Weaver) is horrified when she learns her teenaged son Bobby (Ryan Kelley) is gay. Her response includes taping scriptures around the house to deter him from sin and to pray over him.

“For one birthday, she gives him a sweater and a pamphlet: ‘AIDS: The Wrath of God’.

“In the hands of a lesser actress, Mary would come off as an unhinged religious fanatic. As Weaver captures her, she’s a devoted parent confronted by something alien and frightening to her core beliefs.

“There are times, late in the film, when it is nearly too painful to watch her grapple with her grief. Weaver’s work should be remembered come Emmy time.”

Los Angeles ABC affiliate refuses ad with gay families during Inauguration: ‘Too controversial, families will be watching.’

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Non-profit organization GetToKnowUsFirst.org produced five 30-second commercials featuring gay and lesbian families, with the message “Marriage promotes families. Support marriage equality.” The ads, while not tied to any current election, are the result of California’s passage of Proposition 8 in November. The group aired the spots in 42 of the states’ 58 counties – everywhere the initiative passed by 50% or more – during Tuesday’s coverage of the Presidential Inauguration. KABC is the only station that refused to sell the ad space.

The rejected ad profiles two African American men raising five children ages 6 through 25. Ironically, the family lives in Los Angeles.

The media buy was attempted by the organization’s ad agency, New and Improved Media. Its CEO, Keith Fisher, was surprised that KABC rejected the group’s money. Fisher said, “We usually only see this with risque content, as in a trailer for a movie.” He added, “If KABC thinks they have to protect the public from this family, something’s obviously very wrong over there.”

Chris Yokogawa, the ad agency’s media buyer, worked with the station, attempting to ease any concerns they might have. He said, “We went back and forth a couple of times. I explained that this family is far from controversial. They were firm in their rejection. They said it was too controversial to air during the Inauguration, since ‘many families will be watching.'”

The ad aired across California on Tuesday – before, during and after the Presidential Inauguration on Good Morning America, The Today Show, Despierta America (Univision) and Levantate (Telemundo) broadcasts, as well as on a wide range of regional news stations, CNN and FoxNews during evening coverage of the day’s events.

Project Coordinator John Ireland expressed astonishment at KABC’s rejection. He said, “This ad is about families. I challenge anyone to watch the commercials and articulate what is inappropriate about airing it at any time of day.”

One week prior, at attorney Gloria Allred’s urging, Rev. Rick Warren indicated he would be willing to show the ads to his congregation at Saddleback Church in Orange County. Days before the Presidential Inauguration, he changed his mind, dropping the offer.

VIDEO: Hundreds rally for lesbian moms assaulted at elementary school

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More than 500 people – from Oshawa, Toronto, Sudbury, Calgary and Newfoundland – came to support the moms who were attacked outside their local elementary school.

Kids at Gordon B. Attersley Public School witnessed the lesbian couple being verbally and physically assaulted while picking up their children.

Speaking to the crowd Jane Currie said:

“There are voices of hate in all of our cities and there are voices of hate in all of our religions and those voices of hate sometimes incite violence or sanction violence. We can disagree with each other without being hateful. So we want to hear from the voices of inclusion and we invite religious leaders in particular to speak out for inclusion. Eleven days ago, my life, our lives, your lives were forever changed. Now is the time for change. No more fear. No more anger. No more hate. I don’t want our children, anybody’s children, to be scared of who they are or what they are, regardless.”

She and Dimitriou were overwhelmed by the crowd.

“I want to thank each and every one of you beautiful people that are here this evening. The people in front of me and the people behind me, you’re all fantastic an d you have no idea how much your gestures have not gone unnoticed,” said Currie.

“And the support doesn’t end in Canada, I don’t know if you guys know that this has gone worldwide. It’s not just here. It’s gone to the (United) States, Australia, Turkey, Scotland, England, Costa Rica even Madrid. And everybody knows what happened, but now it’s time to stop it from happening again to anybody. You guys showing up here just prove that we can change and we will change. We want to change all hate laws. We’re talking about everybody. We don’t care what race, what religion, what gender, it doesn’t matter, hate is hate.”

Wayne Harrison, vice-president of Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) travelled from New Brunswick to bring a message that they will be working to have this crime “upgraded to a hate crime to prevent the horrific and brutal assault of Anji and Jane” from ever happening again.

WATCH:

Arkansas campaign to ban gay foster parents raises $9K

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The Associated Press reports that backers of a proposed constitutional amendment that would ban unmarried couples from adopting or fostering children raised $9,000 last month.

That brings the Family Council Action Committee’s total contributions to nearly $55,000. The largest contribution – $2,000 – came from Roger and Bobbi Martin of Jacksonville. But the committee reported a debt of nearly $2,800 as of July 31, according to a report filed with the Secretary of State’s office. The group’s expenses total more than $57,000.

Committee president Jerry Cox says the group plans to turn in 24,000 signatures of registered voters on Thursday. Last month, the committee submitted signatures to get the measure on the November ballot, but fell short of the necessary 61,794 necessary signatures. The committee got another 30 days to gather more signatures.

7/24/2008
Arkansas ban on gay and lesbian parenting falls short of signatures

Arkansas News Bureau reports that supporters of a proposal that would ban unmarried couples living together [targeting lesbians and gays] from adopting or fostering children in Arkansas did not gather enough signatures to secure a place on the November ballot.

The Family Council Action Committee fell about 4,000 valid signatures short – but will have another 30 days to make up the difference.

One reason the group has had difficulty gathering the signatures is because the measure is more complicated to explain than the anti-gay marriage amendment it successfully petitioned to put on the ballot four years ago.

FCAC started its most recent anti-gay campaign for an adoption and fostering parenting initiative after the state Supreme Court in 2006 struck down a state policy that banned gays and lesbians from becoming foster parents.

Arkansas currently bars unmarried couples from serving as foster parents by policy – but not by law.v

IT DIDN’T HAPPEN: South Carolina son charged with filing a false police report

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On July 22, the Anderson County Sheriff’s Department charged an 18-year-old gay man with filing a false police report after he accused his father of assault.

“After conducting a thorough investigation and the lack of any forensic evidence to support the allegation of the assault, Dwight Clark Ables has been charged with 1 count of Filing a False Police report. He turned himself in today at the Anderson County Sheriff’s office,” read a press release from the Department’s Public Information Officer Suzanne Griffin.

Ables is currently being held at the Anderson County Detention Center where he awaits a bond hearing.

7/18/2008
South Carolina: Straight dad beats gay son with baseball bat. Chases boy from home

An 18-year-old returning from a Pride festival in South Carolina was assaulted by his father with a baseball bat.

IndependentMail.com [in Anderson, South Carolina] reports:

“During the assault, the teen’s 49-year-old father yelled, cursed, swung a baseball bat, prayed and tried to ‘cast the demon of homosexuality out of him’…

“The teen told deputies that his father ‘has a problem with him being gay and that is why he hit him with the baseball bat Sunday’…”

Cable television examines homophobia but refuses to correct defamatory misrepresentation by anti-gay activist

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The Family Equality Council and the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) ask community members to contact FX Networks and express their concern about a defamatory claim by an anti-gay activist that appears – unchallenged – in the June 24 installment of 30 Days.

30 Days, FX Networks’ original series produced by Morgan Spurlock, “examines social issues in America by immersing individuals in a life that requires them to see the world through another’s eyes,’” according to the show’s website. In 2006, the series won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Reality Program for the “Gay/Straight” episode.

During the June 24 episode, entitled “Same Sex Parenting,” Kati, a woman who opposes gay and lesbian parents and their families, lives for 30 days with gay parents Dennis and Thomas and their four adopted sons [pictured]. The episode includes the personal stories of kids raised by lesbian and gay parents.

Regrettably, the episode also features a defamatory statement by Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, an anti-gay activist organization, who claims: “Homosexuality is associated with higher rates of sexual promiscuity, sexually transmitted diseases, mental illness, substance abuse, domestic violence, and child sexual abuse, and those are all reasons for us to be concerned about placing children into that kind of setting.” While there is no credible scientific research that backs Sprigg’s claim – and much that disputes it – the episode presents his assertion as if it were fact and offers no credible social science experts or child health authorities to challenge Sprigg’s assertion. Indeed, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Psychological Association, the Child Welfare League of America, and many other child health and social services authorities who support parenting by qualified lesbian and gay parents dispute Sprigg’s claim.

After reviewing a screener supplied by FX Networks, GLAAD and the Family Equality Council, a national non-profit working to ensure equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families, contacted FX Networks last week, requesting that the inaccurate claim be removed from the episode or that a credible social science expert or child health authority be brought in to provide an on-air correction. FX Networks, however, refused to remove the defamatory content or, at minimum, address it during the course of the episode.

“This is an episode of 30 Days that GLAAD would have liked to support for its commendable effort to share the authentic story of everyday lesbian and gay parents and their families and the opposition they face in trying to provide a stable and nurturing home for their children,” said GLAAD Senior Director of Media Programs Rashad Robinson. “However, FX Networks’ insistence on airing – and refusal to correct the record on – this defamatory misrepresentation makes that impossible. It is unacceptable that FX Networks and its parent company 20th Century Fox would provide a platform for the inaccurate and dangerous claims of anti-gay activists – misinformation that can put gay and lesbian parents and their families in harm’s way.”

GLAAD, the Family Equality Council and Children Of Lesbians And Gays Everywhere (COLAGE) are urging their members and the community to contact FX Networks, and 20th Century Fox, to express their concerns over providing a platform for such an inaccurate, misleading claim by the Family Research Council.

Nick Grad
Executive Vice President of Original Programming
(310) 369-0949
ngrad@fxnetworks.com

Chuck Saftler
Executive Vice President of Programming
(310) 369-0949
csaftler@fxnetworks.com

Scott Seomin
Vice President of Public Relations
(310) 369-0938
scott.seomin@fxnetwork.com

Article adapted by ProudParenting.com from original press release
Image: FXNetworks.com