Juvenile court actions give credence to claim that
California courts show bias in gay-related cases
Q-N6tes ▼ April 14, 2001 ▼ PAGE 5
anxious.. .bored...
frustrated... stuck...
depressed...
by Robert S. Rosen
Special to Q-Notes
LOS ANGELES — A massive outpouring
of gays and lesbians and their supporters from
across Southern California have protested Com
missioner Stanley Genser’s anti-gay ruling that
a child and his gay father should not be reunited
because the father has “a personality disorder
that is not amenable to therapy.”
In a case that is rapidly gaining national spot
light and was recently front page news in The
Desert Sun (Palms Springs, CA), US Represen
tative Mary Bono (R-Palm Springs) has for
warded on information about this case to the
State Attorney General for investigation. The
Presiding Judge, Terry B. Friedman, has received
almost three hundred written letters of com
plaint asking him to investigate the commis
sioner, but has summarily dismissed all three
hundred complaints without performing any
investigation.
As a result, hundreds have written letters of
complaint to the Commission on Judicial Per
formance, the states disciplinary board for
judges and commissioners. They charge that
Genser has disgraced his position and the court
system by his blatantly anti-gay bias. He has
failed to be impartial, has abused his authority,
failed to ensure the fundamental religious rights
of the child, failed to supervise this case and
has allowed a volunteer to control and deter
mine the outcome of this case, and has com
mented on the case while pending. Genser re
marked to the reporter for The Desert Sun, “I’d
look at everything (Rosen) said with suspicion.”
Genser accused Rosen of being a homosexual
who physically and sexually abused his son, alle
gations that therapists and Child Protective Ser
vice officials indicate are unsubstantiated.
Many gay men and lesbians feel California’s
courts are not providing them with fair and
unbiased treatment, according to a six-year
study recently released by the Judicial Council
of California. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge
Jerold Krieger, who headed the subcommittee,
noted, “there is both a perception and, in some
cases, actual unequal treatment based upon
sexual orientation.” The Court of Appeals for
Los Angeles County has reviewed the petition
and supporting records and has agreed to de
cide the matter on the merits. In other words,
it reviewed the documents and found that the
gay father’s complaint has merit. The case will
be heard in May. ▼
uldyou like
riencedmidance
'entify an
Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act gets new push
Co-sponsors line up
behind Hate Crimes Bill
by Anabel Evora
Special to Q-Notes
WASHINGTON, DC — Several members
of Congress stepped forward March 27 to in
troduce to the new Congress federal hate crimes
legislation that would assist local law enforce
ment officials in their investigation and pros
ecution of hate crimes. The bipartisan bill en
ters the political arena with a record number of
original cosponsors, according to the Human
Rights Campaign.
“We urge Congress to schedule a vote on this
popular, bipartisan bill because the record num
ber of original co-sponsors shows it has great
prospects of passing the House and the Senate,”
said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg.
“We will also work to enlist support from the
Bush administration.”
The Local Law Enforcement Enhancement Act,
formerly the Hate Crimes Prevention Act
(HCPA), was introduced at a press conference
on Capitol Hill. The bill was unveiled with a
record number of co-sponsors, 50 in the Senate
and 180 in the House at the time of the press
conference. Lead sponsors include Sens. Edward
Kennedy (D-MA), Gordon Smith (R-OR) and
Aden Specter (R-PA).
In June 2000, the Senate voted 57 to 42 to
pass the language of the Local Law Enforcement
Enhancement Act. The version of the bill passed
by the House did not contain the hate-crimes
language, but on September 13 of last year, by a
vote of 232-192, the House instructed the
House-Senate conference committee (which was
working to unify the bills) to keep the hate
crimes measure in the reworked legislation. De
spite this bipartisan support in both houses of
Congress, the Republican Congressional lead
ership successfully stripped the hate crime lan
guage while the bill was in conference.
If passed, the bill would amend the current
32-year-old federal hate crimes statute — which
covers race, religion, color and national origin —
to include real or perceived gender, sexual orien
tation and disability. It would serve as a tool to
help law enforcement by allowing federal assis
tance, when necessary, in the investigation and
prosecutions of hate crimes. This legislation has
broad support from notable law enforcement
agencies and state and local leaders including 22
state attorneys general, the Police Foundation, the
International Association of Chiefs of Police and
the National Sheriff’s Association.
A September 2000 Gallup poll showed 72
percent of Americans agree that hate crime laws
should cover lesbians and gay men. Another
poll, released last year by the Garin-Hart-Yang-
Research Group, shows that hate crime legisla
tion is widely supported by the public. Accord
ing to the poll, nearly 66 percent of voters say
they would be less likely to vote for a candi
date who voted against legislation to
“strengthen the prosecution of violent hate
crimes motivated by prejudice against race, re
ligion, gender or sexual orientation of the vic
tim.” 63 percent of Independent voters say they
are “less likely to vote for a candidate opposed
to hate crime legislation.” T
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ONE VOICE
o
Uor'’’
Cne Voice Cliorus l^resent§ «
Cailbairet
Friday May 4th and Saturday May 5th 7;30pin
At the Visulite Theater 1615 Elizabeth Ave
Join us for our salute to Broadway
Tickets $20 at the door $17 at The Bag Lady, White Rabhit, Paper Skyscraper,
Rainbow Path & Georgetown Bodyworks or call (704) 529-2951
One Voice Chorus is the Gay, Lesbian and Gay Affirming chorus of Charlotte. One Voice Chorus envisions a world without discrimination, where the
contributions of all people are cherished, celebrated and sought out. We sing to bring such a world into being.
We believe in supporting the community that supports us. That's why we also perform an average of 20 smaller shows each season. Many of these
take place in local houses of worship, where we seek to provide a positive alternative to the often negative messages heard in such places. So far this
year One Voice has performed for the:
hDemocratic Women's Convention of North Carolina
► Metropolitan Community Church of Charlotte
►The Local Chapter of the Arthritis Foundation
►Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church
► Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte
►The Carriage Club Assisted Living Center
►The Brian Center
►Holy Trinity Lutheran Church
►Mercy Hospital
►Gastonia Aids Council
►Westminster Assisted Living Center
►The Great Aunt Stella Center