The Carolinas' Most Comprehensive Gay & Lesbian Newspaper
The Latest Q^POLL Results
If you could wave a magic wand and make all the
members in one of the following pop bands turn gay,
which would you choose?
Backstreet Boys
49%
Spice Girls
14%
’N Sync
37""“
Vbfe at www.q-notes.com
Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper • Volume 14, Number 25 • May 13, 2000 • FREE
Lesbian asks court to void adoption
"pm
mi
, o.
H-
Ik
o
The Capitol Building rises in the distance behind the March stage
March brings 300K to Washington
by Cindy Nardozzi
Special to Q-Notes
WASHINGTON, DC—The fourth na
tional march for GLBT civil rights held up to
its promise to be one of the largest civil rights
demonstrations in recent history. It is estimated
that over 300,000 supporters of equality con
vened in the nation’s capital for the Millennium
March on Washington for Equality on April
29 and 30.
The Board of Directors for the march, the
first such gathering since 1993, released the fol
lowing statement; “The purpose of the Millen
nium March on Washington fgr Equality is to
energize and galvanize the GLBT and support
ive communities to work for equality at all lev
els, strengthen the overall movement for equal
rights and empower and inspire voters for the
2000 elections.”
The two-day festival was surrounded with
controversy and turmoil from many of the
“movers and shakers” of the national move
ment. The MMOW board received criticism
in areas ranging from the hiring of staff to
closed-book budgeting to the “unsettled” sta
tus of their tax exempt nonprofit organization.
The Boycott MMOW Coalition accused the
Human Rights Campaign (HRC) and the Uni
versal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community
Churches (UFMCC), the nvo groups that ini
tially called the event, of mounting a hostile
takeover of the GLBT movement.
HRC was accused of pushing an image of
the community as exclusively affluent and
white. Opponents said the event was targeted
toward people with upper middle-class and
wealthy backgrounds, citing the extensive pub
licity through Internet web site PlanetOut as
evidence that poor GLBT members were over
looked.
HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch
countered that organizers were simply trying
to stage the largest gay-rights extravaganza ever
held in DC.
The idea came to fruition with a first-of-its-
kind festival along eight blocks of Pennsylva
nia Ave. that featured gay-friendly vendors,
booths for community groups, food, drink, en
tertainment, two dance areas, a family area and
cyber and wellness pavilions. In addition, there
were a number of functions across the city in
cluding a variety of dances, numerous confer
ences and rallies, performances and artist exhi
bitions.
The weekend also prominently featured a
mass commitment ceremony, dubbed The
Wedding, and brought together musical artists
See MARCH on page 14
Civil unions approved in Vermont
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
MONTPELIER, VT—Lawmakers gave fi
nal approval Tuesday, April 25 to legislation that
makes Vermont the first state to grant gay
couples nearly all of the rights and benefits of
marriage. The state House voted 79-68 for the
“civil unions” bill, accepting minor alterations
approved by the Senate the week before. Demo
cratic Governor Howard Dean signed it into
law the next day.
“I think the powerful message is that in Ver
mont, we tend to value people for who they
are, not what they are,” Dean said. “1 also be
lieve that this legislation speaks to the heart of
this state and certainly to my heart.”
The bill is in response to the Vermont Su
preme Court’s unanimous ruling in December
that gay couples were being unconstitutionally
denied the rights and benefits of marriage.
The court gave the Legislature the option
to let gays marry or to create some kind of do
mestic partnership. Lawmakers opted for a par
allel system for gays, creating what they called
“civil unions.”
After the bill takes effect July 1, couples will
be able to go to their town clerks for licenses,
t ., , ,They.wilLtJtcBhavet,heir.uaioijs,cerfiG(tdby.a ,
by Wanda Pico
Special to Q-Notes
RALEIGH—In what could be an unprec
edented blow to gay and lesbian parenting
rights, a lesbian mother is asking the NC Court
ol Appeals to invalidate a second-parent-adop
tion decree granted to her former partner in
Washington state. The biological mother, S.E.,
is arguing that the Washington adoption should
be deemed invalid, based on a NC state law
prohibiting recognition of same-sex marriages.
In responses to S.E.’s attempt to dismantle
one of our community’s most secure legal'rights,
the National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR)
has joined the Sharon Thompson Law Group
of Durham, NC to work on behalf of the Plain
tiff-Appellee, A.S.
Having'failed three times at the trial court
level to dissolve the adoption, S.E. filed a No
tice of Appeal on October 1, 1999 with the
NC Court of Appeals. “If S.E. succeeds, this
case could potentially open the door to third
parties, including government agencies, to
refuse to recognize second-parent adoptions by
lesbian and gay parents,” said NCLR Execu
tive Director Kathryn D. Kendell. “This has
the potential of making our families very vul
nerable to attack.”
She continued, “This case is unprecedented
for three reasons. First, to the best of my knowl
edge, this is the fitst time a lesbian or gay per
son has sought to attack a second-parent adop
tion. Second, adoptions always have been sac
rosanct and recognized in every state, even if a
state does not approve second-parent adoptions
for its residents. And third, S.E. is attempting
to use an anti-gay law, which has nothing to do
with adoption, to destroy very hard fought
rights and protections for our fiimilies.”
NCLR and the Sharon Thompson Law
Group have submitted a brief to the NC Court
of Appeals in response to S.E.’s claims. The brief
urges the court to affirm the trial court’s recog
nition of the adoption and to dismiss the ap
peal as clearly contrary to established law. The
brief relies on the following points of law:
1. Article IV, Sec. 1 of the US Constitution
states, “[F]ull faith and credit shall be given in
each state to the public acts, records, and judi
cial proceedings of every other state.” Because
they are judgments, it has long been established
that adoption decrees are within the protections
of the full faith and credit clause.
2. NC General Statute 48-2-205 clearly and
unequivocally states that: “A final adoption
decree issued by any other state must be recog
nized in this State.” Fherc are no exceptions.
3. NC h,is no public policy against second
parent adoptions.
Once the NC Court of Appeals reviews the
briefs from both sides, it will set a date for oral
argument and make a ruling.
The second-parent adoption was granted in
Washington with the encouragement and con
sent of the biological mother, when the couple
were living together as partners in that state.
Three years later, the family moved to NC,
where A.S. became the primary caretaker of the
child.
Upon the couple’s' separation, S.E. moved
to Georgia, leaving full care and responsibility
of the child to A.S., who filed a complaint in
NC for permanent custody of the child with
See ADOPTION on page 10
Meek, voters lose supportive voice
justice of the peace, judge or member of the
clergy. Breakups will be handled in'Family
Court, just as divorces are, although they will
be called “dissolutions.”
The more than 300 benefits that the state
confers on married couples will flaw to same-
sex couples, including the ability to make medi
cal decisions on behalf of partners, inherit from
each other without hefty taxes, and protection
from having to testify against one another.
In addition to all the positive benefits now
bestowed on same-sex couples, they will also
have to accept the negative responsibilities as
wdl. Same-sex partners will now have to as
sume each other’s debt and pay child support.
The new law will have jurisdiction in Ver
mont only and will not entitle couples to ben
efits granted by the federal government. It is
also rather likely that most states will not rec
ognize civil unions.
“I think this definitely places Vermont in
the forefront in this country; [it] places Ver
mont on par with Nordic and European coun
tries and Canada,” said Beth Robinson, a law
yer who argued the three gay couples’ case be
fore the Vermont Supreme Court.
“This is breathtaking,” said attorney Mary
. See VERMONT on page 25
Lesbian candidate
wins primary race
by Clay Ollis
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—Democratic pri mary vot
ers in Mecklenburg County’s 4th District un
seated four-term commissioner Lloyd Scher on
May 2, choosing rival Dumont Clarke by a re
sounding 60 - 34 percent margin. Scher, who
has been a consistent supporter of the GLBT
community, was hurt by linger
ing effects from an ethics inves
tigation.
The State Bureau of Investi
gation conducted a three-month
inquiry into fundraising activi
ties relating to the Scher Foun- BB-
dation dating from November
1999, but found no evidence of
intentional wrongdoing. Dis
trict Attorney Peter Gilchrist
declined to file any charges
against Scher based on the in
vestigation.
Connie Vetter, co-chair of Lloyd
MeckPAC (Mecklenburg Gay
& Lesbian Political Action Committee), ex
pressed disappointment at Scher’s defeat, but
MeckPAC had previously noted that Clarke’s
responses on MeckPAC’s questionnaire and
interview also indicated support for GLBT is
sues, granting both Democrats an endorsement
from the PAC.
Vetter also noted she was “a little disap
pointed at the low voter turnout, but pleased
with the overall results. We are happy to see
Margaret Markey win.”
Markey, who received a MeckPAC endorse
ment in District 1, was re-elected in the Demo
cratic primary. She defeated anti-gay “Gang of
Five” incumbent Joel Carter for the seat in the
1998 general election. Carter ran as an At-Large
candidate in this primary, hut did not receive
enough votes to advance.
Two additional “Gang” members, each of
whom had rated a MeckPAC “warning” for
their opposition to GLB F issues, moved for
ward through the primary. I hey arcTom Bush
in the At-Large r.ace (making a comeback bid)
and incumbent Bill James for the District 6 seat.
Both candidates were running against oppo
nents who had also received a “warning. ”
Vetter strongly encouraged everyone in the
GLBT community to join
MeckPAC and become actively
involved,in the general election
since the possibility of a 5-4 Re-
publican majority on the
county commission would
“probably not be good for the
GLBT community.”
In primary races for the
North Carolina Legislature, a
record number of candidates
earned endorsements or recom
mendations from Equality NC
PAC, the statewide GLBT po
litical action committee, and
about three-fourths of them
Scher
advanced to the general election. In the state
House, advancing candidates included Hunt in
District 15, McAllister in District 17, Allen in
District 22, and Luebke, Michaux and Miller
from the 23rd District which has three .seats.
Also, Candidates Fields and Nesbitt ad
vanced in District 51, as did Womble and
Oldham in Districts 66 and 67, respectively.
All state House candidates endorsed by Equal
ity NC were Democrats.
Among Republicans running for the NC
House, both incumbent Jim Gulley and chal
lenger Debbie Ware from District 69
(Mecklenburg County) earned a “warning”
See VOTERS on page 25