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Q-Notes T October 17,1998 T PAGE 5 Gay cops strike blow against TG conference a first for Charlotte bigoted Puerto Rican policy by Peg Byron Special to Q-Notes NEW YORK—In an important victory for gay law enforcement personnel and the Puerto Rican gay community, a federal judge struck down a disciplinary rule that absolutely pro hibited Puerto Rico police officers from associ ating with lesbians and gay men. Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund brought the case, Ramos v. Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, after the Puerto Rico Police De partment (PRPD) harassed lesbian and gay police offers during their 1995 convention in San Juan. Members of the Gay Officers Action League (GOAL) had hoped to form a local af filiate to advocate on behalf of lesbian and gay law enforcement personnel in Puerto Rico. The Federal District Court for the District of Puerto Rico ruled that the section 'of the PRPD disciplinary code known as Regulation 29 violated the First Amendment. Regulation 29 states, “It is a grave offense for police offic ers to associate with prostitutes, homosexuals, or other persons of dubious reputation.” Po lice officers who violated this regulation risked official reprimands or even dismissal. In a 29-page decision, US District Judge Hector M. Laffitte said, “The evidence in the record, including the testimony of police de partment officials and Plaintiffs’ proposed ex perts, all lead to the conclusion that the rule is unnecessary....Therefore, the Court is com pelled to hold that the prohibition in Regula tion 29 against associating with homosexuals furthers no state interest and violates the First Amendment.” Lambda managing attorney Ruth Harlow said, “Regulation 29 made lesbian and gay Puerto Ricans pariahs to their own police force. The regulation’s demise means that they can now expect equal access to members of their police department and to no longer be treated as outcasts.” “The court’s decision exposes the fatal con stitutional flaw of this absolute ban — there is no justification for any law enforcement agency to prohibit its officers from associating with lesbians and gay men,” said Lambda staff at torney Suzanne B. Goldberg. “Police officers and the communities they serve must be free to associate with one another,” she added. Heavy police presence greeted members of GOAL when they arrived for the convention. Some PRPD officers jeered and shouted anti gay epithets. The PRPD also prevented GOAL from holding a short, symbolic walk designed to raise lesbian and gay visibility. In another incident, a squadron of police, in riot gear and with guns drawn, illegally raided a lesbian bar on the night of a widely publicized reception for GOAL. Along with their challenge to Regulation 29, GOAL and Dr. Rosalina Ramos Padro, a Puerto Rico lesbian activist who owned the bar at the time of the raid, also challenged the harassing incidents as violations of their First Amendment rights and equal protection guarantees under the Constitutions of the United States and Puerto Rico. The court ruled that the plain tiffs’ challenge to the PRPD’s interference with the symbolic walk must go to trial. Fast, Friendly and Courteous Service Printing • Typesetting • High Speed Copying • Binding • Notary Public • Invitations • Laminating • Resumes • Business Cards • Full Color Copies • Rubber Stamps • Union Announcements • Much Much More! 1400 East Morehead Street Charlotte, NC 28204 (704) 375-8349 / FAX (704) 342-1066 Monday-Friday 8:30-5:30 In a separate 22-page ruling, the court also ordered that GOAL and Ramos can go to trial on several of their claims regarding the bar raid. The question for trial will be whether the of ficers had singled out the bar and its patrons for anti-gay harassment and to retaliate against GOAL and Ramos for publicly supporting les bian and gay police officers. New York attorney Colleen Meenan, who with Lambda is co-counsel to GOAL, added, “Our victory sends a clear signal to other po lice departments that they must treat the les bian and gay community with the same respect that all communities deserve. Impeding the basic First Amendment rights of police officers with such an across-the-board rule is unconsti tutional, plain and simple.” Carroll Hunter, a plaintiff in the case and goal’s president when the confrontations with the PRPD occurred, said, “For years, we’ve worked under the rule’s cloud and had to meet Puerto Rican officers in hidden locations.” He added, “Now, GOAL can finally work directly and openly to help make the PRPD a better place for lesbian and gay criminal justice per sonnel, and better equipped to respond to its lesbian and gay constituencies.” T by Divinity Special to Q-Notes CHARLOTTE—On Saturday, September 26, Charlotte’s GLBT youth advocacy organi zation, Time Out Youth, hosted an all-day con ference for area therapists on transgender (TG) issues. The conference, titled “Struggling To Be: Developmental Paths of Transgender People,” was held at the Great Aunt Stella Center in Charlotte. The keynote speaker was Erin Swenson, B.S., M.Div., Th.M., Ph.D., LSMT, who is a post-operative, male-to-female transsexual minister. Rev. Swenson successfully petitioned to retain her ordination as a Presbyterian min ister in 1996 and is currently a pastoral coun selor in Atlanta. Panel members included Charlotte’s Tery O’Connel, a former NASCAR driver; T. J. Haynes; Asheville’s Holly Boswell, one of the TG community’s most well-known and highly respected activists; and several other post-op erative transsexuals, all of whom were from the greater Charlotte area. The panel discussed their individual transitions, when they first be gan to recognize the differences between their birth gender and their preferred gender, the struggles and anguish each experienced as a re sult of those differences and the losses each en countered while on their path to gender reas signment surgery. All of their stories were in tensely personal and touching. Professional panel members included Dan Biber, Ph.D.; attorney Lynn Bishop; Karen Butler, Ph.D.; Debra Coles, MD; Lisa Griffin, Ph.D.; and Carla Pridgen, M.Div. The conference was well attended, includ ing several members of theTG community, and questions from attendees reflected the thera pists’ desire to better understand the TG phe nomenon. This was a very successful first transgender conference for Time Out Youth and they were commended by the attendees for hosting it. For more information on Time Out Youth, write to 4037 E. Independence Blvd., Suite G-33, Charlotte, NC 28205 or call (704) 537-5050. Another TG conference planned The First Annual TRANS America Trans gender Conference, a Trans-Millenium Event, will be held in Charlotte May 13-15, 1999. Presenters include many of the transgender community’s leaders, activists, vendors, authors, care-providers, entertainers and scholars. The three-day event will be held at the Sheraton Airport Plaza Hotel and will feature seminars, casual gatherings and several outside activities. For more information, write TRANS America Conference, PO Box 221841, Char lotte, NC 28222 or visit their web site at www.q-notes.com/transamerica.htm. ▼ ctober 30...Pre Halloween Part by Bottle Beer Drinking Contest Witch & Warlock Pageant f^Winners in 2 Catagories, llent & Costume - Place*$100- 2'"' Place*$50^^, Place*$25^-^ D imE Character ner Couple five Original Costume hCroimJCostume Charlotte, NC 704-373-9124 Wednesday "Men ofTropix" House of Mercy Benefit Tracey Morgan, Tiffany Storm, Boom Boom Wll, and from Nashville, TN - "Jeff Miller" and y Outlaws - Door Prizes and more 14th - "Miss Winterfest" a delightfully chilling affair \acres of parking • Shows Every Wed. & Sun. Nites ^ Gay Owned and Operated •Home of Southern ^ Countiy Charlotte king Information - 704-373-9124
Q-notes (Charlotte, N.C.)
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