Demonstrations at Riga City
Council.
Janis Sicevskis, a represen
tative of the Latvian Orthodox
Church, said that the church
“categorically objects” to the
parade, particularly if it passes
a church. He said that the
church is planning a special
prayer service to pray that peo
ple do not take part in the
event.
“We have asked the Riga
City Council to do everything
possible to ensure that the
march does not take place after
all,” he told LETA.
Representatives of the reli
gious denominations have
agreed to write to Riga Mayor,
Janis Birks, and to Mr.
Grinbergs asking them not to
support the gay march, and to
support the rival “Fund for the
Family” event.
This year’s gay Pride in
Riga gets underway on May 15
and concludes on May 17 —
coinciding with the
International Day Against
Homophobia.
Next year, the event will be
staged in Vilnius, Lithuania. >
— Andy Harley is the editor of
UK Gay News.
For more global news visit
WWW. ukgaynews. org. uk.
National News
by David Stout. Q-Notes staff
DOMESTIC
Prop 8 challenge
goes to court
SAN FRANCISCO,Calif.—
Attorneys for same-sex cou
ples, civil rights organizations and the state Attorney General’s office appeared
before the California Supreme Court on Mar. 5 to urge the court to strike down
Proposition 8. At issue in the case is whether the initiative process can be used
to take away a fundamental right only for one group of Californians based on
a trait — in this instance sexual orientation — that has no relevance to the
group’s ability to participate in or contribute to society.
The case is unprecedented because no other initiative-amendment has
successfully taken away a fundamental right only for a particular minority.
Because Proposition 8 would, for the first time, change the state constitution
in a way that strips a minority group of its right to equal treatment under the
law, California Attorney General Jerry Brown agrees that Proposition 8 should
be struck down.
Marriage has legislative support
MONTPELIER, Vt. — The Vermont House and Senate Leadership have
expressed their commitment to passing a marriage equality bill before the end
of the legislative session in May. The bill is expected to be introduced by
Senate President Peter Shumlin, Majority Leader Sen. John Campbell and the
Assistant Majority Leader Sen. Claire Ayer on Mar. 17. If passed by both cham
bers and signed by the governor, this would mark the first time marriage
equality has become law by the legislative process.
“We applaud Vermont’s House and Senate leaders for taking this bold step
and working to pass this legislation in this session,” said Human Rights
Campaign President Joe Solmonese.“The momentum for marriage equality is
real and tangible. For Vermont, which began this public conversation with civil
unions in 2000, to move towards marriage equality sends a powerful message
and We salute them.”
Trans Lobby Day coming up
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Transgender activists along with their families,
friends and allies will hold their annual congressional Lobby Day on April 28,
while the two days prior will be reserved for social networking (26th) and a
day of training and workshops (27th). The key issues for discussion with leg
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islators will be the need for an Employment Non-Discrimination Act that
includes gender identity, and a trans-inclusive hate crimes bill.
Registration is now open for Lobby Day Signing up is important because
the sponsoring National Center for Transgender Equality is making appoint
ments for registrants to visit their Congress people. For more information,
emailjtanis@nctequality.org or call 202-903-0112.
Memorial scholarship honors teen
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Point Foundation, the nation’s largest scholarship
granting organization for LGBT students of merit, is partnering with Jeffrey
Fashion Cares to create a scholarship in memory of Lawrence King, the 15-
year-old gay male student murdered at school just over a year ago in Oxnard,
Calif. The four-year Lawrence King/Jeffrey Fashion Cares Point Scholarship
will be awarded to a Point Scholar in the 2009/2010 academic year.
“It is an honor to create a scholarship in the name of a young man who,
from what I’ve read, showed so much promise and was a light for many around
him,” said Jorge Valencia, executive director and CEO of Point Foundation.
“Point is fortunate to have a wonderful friendship with Jeffrey in order to team
and create this scholarship.”
Dan Rothmann, co-chair of JFC events, added, “JFC’s involvement with the
Point Foundation stentmed directly from the senseless murder of Lawrence.
The Lawrence King/Jeffrey Fashion Cares Point Scholarship was set up to
ensure that this young man’s memory and the crime would not be forgotten.”
Adoption websites choose bigotry
NEW YORK, N.Y. — Rather than open their services to qualified same-sex
couples, Adoption.com and ParentProfiles.com have stopped doing business in
the state of New York, according to State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. The
withdrawal stems Ifom a July 2008 discrimination complaint filed with
■ Cuomo’s office on behalf of Rosario Gennaro and Alexander Gardner, a New
York City gay couple barred by the companies from posting their online adop
tive-parent profile solely because they are same-sex partners.
Lambda Legal filed the discrimination complaint on the grounds that the
companies in question violated New York laws prohibiting discrimination
based on sexual orientation and marital status. Adoption Profiles was sued in
California in 2004 by the National Center for Lesbian Rights for violating that
state’s anti-discrimination law and, as a result, no longer does business there, t
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MARCH 21 .2009 • QNotes 9