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The Carolinas’ Most Comprehensive Gay & Lesbian Newspaper
Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper • Volume 13, Number 2 • June 13, 1998 • FREE
UFMCC experiendng gains, pains
by James N. Birkitt, Jr.
Special to Q-Notes
LOS ANGELES— The Universal Fellow
ship of Metropolitan Community Churches
(UFMCC), the worlds largest and oldest gay
spirituality organization, has received a $50,000
grant from the Gill foundation. The grant will
be used by the rapidly growing organization for
operational expenses.
According to the Rev. Elder Troy D. Perry,
founder and moderator of UFMCC, “We are
honored to receive this grant from the Gill
Foundation. This grant comes at an important
time in the life of UFMCC as we prepare for ,
our 30th year of service, continue to expand ■
our global technology base and prepare for the
dedication of the UFMCC World Center in
1999.”
“We know that typical first-time grants from
the Gill Foundation do not exceed $15,000,”
said Perry. “So this first-time grant in the
amount of $50,000 speaks to the important
work UFMCC continues to carry out around
the world.”
The Rey. Elder Don Eastman added, “We
see this grant as an indication that UFMCC is
on the right track in our commitment to social
and spiritual justice for gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered communities.”
“We especially recognize the tireless efforts
and visions of Dr. Lo Sprague who represented
UFMCC in meetings with the staff of the Gill
Foundation,” Eastman added.
- UFMCC was founded by Perry in 1968 to
provide positive, affirming Christian spiritual
ity to the gay community. The denomination,
headquartered in West Hollywood, CA, has
grown to 300 congregations in 15 countries and
more than 42,000 members and adherents.
Since its founding, UFMCC has had a strong
global commitment to the civil rights of mi
nority groups and was an early leader in the
fight against HIV and AIDS.
Established in 1994 by Tim Gill, founder
and chairperson of Quark, Inc., a Denver-based
computer software company, the Gill Founda
tion supports non-profit organizations which
pursue justice and equality for gay men and
lesbians.
Threats of violence
UFMCC’s continued success can be mea
sured by the backlash they have experienced at
the hands of anti-gay extremists over the years.
This on-going problem came to the forefront
recently when the Metropolitan Community
Church of Bournemouth, England received
anonymous bomb threats. This was the second
time in two months that a UFMCC congrega
tion was the target of such a threat.
Fundamentalist religion may have played a
role in the latest bomb scare. According to the
Rev. Neil Thomas, senior pastor of MCC
Bournemouth, a local fundamentalist church
has recendy condemned the MCC church. Ten
sions were further heightened when three mem
bers of the fundamentalist church moved their
membership to Metropolitan Community
Church.
Rev. Perry noted, “These threats are still
another reminder of the important work we
have yet to accomplish on behalf of gays, lesbi
ans, bisexuals and transgender persons. This
marks the second bomb threat against UFMCC
»
J?ev; Elder Troy D. Perry founded
UFMCC nearly 30 years ago
congregations in the past two months. Over
the past 30 years, more than 20 of our churches
have been victimized by arson or firebombing.”
“I call upon all people of goodwill to up
hold the Rev. Neil Thomas and the congrega
tion of Metropolitan Community Church of
Bournemouth with their love and prayers dur
ing this time,” Perry added.
In April, the 3000-member Cathedral of
Hope Metropolitan Community Church in
Dallas, TX, the world s largest predominantly
gay and lesbian congregation, was the target of
a bomb threat posted on the Internet. The
threats are under investigation by the FBI. T
President protects gay federal workers from bias
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
WASHINGTON, DC—On May 28, Presi
dent Clinton issued an Executive Order that
banned sexual orientation-based job discrimi
nation against civilian employees of the federal
government.
“Individuals should not be denied a job on
the basis of something that has no relationship
to their ability to perform their work,” the presi
dent noted in a statement accompanying the
order.
Gay and lesbian political activists heralded
the move which adds sexual orientation to the
list of categories for which discrimination is il
legal. The others are race, color, religion, sex.
national origin, handicap status and age.
“We applaud President Clinton for this act
of leadership and fairness,” stated National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force Political Director
Rebecca Isaacs. “Federal civilian workers will
now be covered by a uniform policy.”
Previously, the Clinton Administration had
instituted the policy agency-by-agency. The
Executive Order, enuded “Further Amendment
to Executive Order 11478, Equal Employment
Opportunity in the Federal Government,” en
sures a standardized policy for civilian workers
throughout the federal government.
“Since early in President Clintons first term,
most Cabinet-level departments and agencies
have added sexual orientation to their equal
employment policies, but these policies were
not uniformly administered,” said Kim I. Mills,
education director for the Human Rights Cam
paign. “This executive order will remedy that
situation.”
Upon signing the order, the president also
advocated for the passage of the Ernployment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) which is
currently before Congress. “I again call upon
Congress to pass this important piece of civil
rights legislation which would extend these
basic employment discrimination protections
to all gay and lesbian Americans.”
Although ENDA has not been scheduled for
a vote in the current session, it came within
one vote of Senate passage in 1996. T
Poll: gay rights
more accepted
by Betsy Gressler
Special to Q-Notes
WASHINGTON, DC—A growing major
ity of Americans support gay and lesbian equal
ity, according to a new report released by the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (N GLTF)
Policy Institute. From Wrongs to Rights: Public
Opinion of Gay and Lesbian Americans Moves
Toward Equality is the most comprehensive
analysis of trends in public opinion about gay
men and lesbians during the past 20 years.
“In its opposition to gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgender equality, it is the right wing
that is out of step with mainstream America,”
stated Kerry Lobel, NGLTF executive director.
Among other facts, the study shows that
strong majorities of Americans now support
equality in employment (84 percent); housing
(81 percent); inheritance rights (62 percent) and
social security benefits (57 percent) for same-
sex couples; and gays in the military (66 per
cent). In addition, disapproval of same-sex re
lationships dropped a substantial . 19 points
from a peak of 75 percent in 1987 to 56 per
cent in 1996. The report also shows the per
centage of people opposed to same-sex marriage
(and those opposed to adoption by gay and les
bian couples) to be declining.
“These findings confirm that three decades
of struggle for gay and lesbian equality has suc
ceeded in winning greater understanding and
significant change in public attitudes,” said
Urvashi Vaid, NGLTF Policy Institute direc
tor. “This report proves that over time and in
dramatic fashion, the gay, lesbian, bisexual and
transgender movement is winning the battle of
public opinion on civil rights issues. Our effort
to reach the hearts and minds of the American
people by being open and honest about our lives
holds the key to our success,” added Vaid.
The survey also demonstrates the paradoxi
cal nature of public support, showing that de
spite the significant gains in positive attitudes
regarding legal equality, gays remain unpopu
lar. Despite the anti-gay. sentiment, however,
the report shows that the publics censure of
gay and lesbian relations is declining over time.
“In this report, the continuing paradox of
the gay and lesbian experience is laid out be
fore us. Our gains in some ways have been as
great as the resistance we still face,” said Vaid.
“The dislike and disapproval we continue to
face should serve as a call to all supporters of
gay equality to redouble our efforts.” T
Democrats mandate inclusion of gay delegates at 2000 Convention
by Wanda Pico
Special to Q-Notes
WASHINGTON, DC—In a landmark
meeting, the Democratic National Committee
(DNC) voted unanimously last month to re
quire state parties to specifically include gay and
lesbian representation as part of their delegate
selection process for the 2000 Convention.
“Gay and lesbian Democrats and our com
munity have taken a significant step forward,”
said Jean O’Leary of California, chair of the
DNC Gay & Lesbian American Caucus and
member of the DNC Executive Committee, the
governing body of the DNC. “These new rules
will likely increase the number of openly gay
and lesbian delegates to the 2000 Convention
and mark the first time that a major national
party organization has included gays and lesbi
ans as a priority for selecting delegates to a na
tional party convention.”
“These new rules reflect both what we have
done for the Democratic Party and this Admin
istration over the years as well as how critical
our community’s support will be for a Demo
cratic presidential victory in 2000,” said Jeff
Soref, vice chair of the DNC Gay & Lesbian
American Caucus and At-Large
DNC member from New York.
Of the 4925 delegates and al
ternates to the 1996 National
Democratic Convention in Chi
cago, at least 146 were openly gay
or lesbian. The site for the 2000
Convention has not yet been se
lected, but a Site Advisory Com
mittee was appointed by DNC
Co-Chairs Steve Grossman and
Governor Roy Romer (D-CO)
to review bids from over 20 cit
ies for the 2000 Convention. The
Site Advisory Committee in
cludes three openly gay men, in
cluding one from our area: An
drew Reyes, the Democratic can
didate for the Mecklenburg County Commis
sion District 5 seat, is joined by Terry Bean of
Andrew Reyes,
Mecklenburg
County
Commission
candidate for
District 5,
has been
named
to the party’s
site selection
committee
Oregon and Andy Tobias of New York.
In January, The DNC Rules & Bylaws Com
mittee voted unanimously in favor of an amend
ment to the sections of the 1996
delegate selection rules govern
ing outreach and inclusion of
groups traditionally active but
underrepresented in the Demo
cratic Party. The amendment,
submitted by the Los Angeles
County Democratic Party Chair,
Garry Shay, requires state parties
to develop and submit to the
DNC outreach plans for delegate
selection that include those “his
torically under-represented” in
the Democratic Party because of
“race/ethnicity, age, sexual orien
tation or disability.” The new
rules also require state parties to
give “priority of consideration”
to these underrepresented groups in a state’s
delegate selection process “in order to assist in
the achievement of full participation by these
groups.”
“This is another example of the Democratic
Party’s commitment to equal opportunity and
the full inclusion of lesbians and gay men in
the affairs of the Party at the local, state and
national level,” said Shay. “While the Republi
can National Committee spent [their meeting]
debating whom to exclude from the Republi
can Party, the Democratic Party is building on
its record of inclusion and participation,” Shay
continued.
Shay credited passage of the new language
contained in his amendment to the work done
by Soref, O’Leary, California State Assembly
woman Carole Migden and Gay & Lesbian
Victory Fund Executive Director Brian Bond.
He also highlighted Grossman’s support for the
amendment and the strong support of former
White House Deputy Chief of Staff and cur
rent At-Large DNC member Harold Ickes, who
spoke on behalf of the amendment at the Rules
& Bylaws Committee meeting. T