It's past time for South Bend to amend human rights law

from Progressives, South Bend

Friday, August 15, 2008
It's past time for South Bend to amend human rights law
from The South Bend Tribune Viewpoint
published August 15, 2008

In the summer of 2006 an amendment to South Bend's Human Rights Ordinance was introduced in the South Bend Common Council. The concept of the original HRO was to protect citizens from discrimination in housing, the workplace, etc., but a clear gap in that protection had been identified. It was pointed out that there was no protection for citizens on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity — real or perceived.

Like many people, I read about this with only passing interest. It seemed clear there was a problem, a clear solution had been proposed ... it seemed to be mostly just a housekeeping type of issue.

Imagine my astonishment when the amendment failed by one vote.

I had paid scant attention to the opposition's rhetoric. The claims were factually incorrect and the concerns seemed clearly based upon fear and dislike of people different than themselves. It seemed unnecessary to point out the irrationality.

I should have known better ... because these arguments have a familiar ring to them.

I grew up in Evanston, Ill., and in the late 1960s, it was a common practice that Realtors did not show homes in certain neighborhoods to people of color. By city ordinance (at any rate) this was not illegal. But it came to pass that many people in the community loathed the practice and dedicated themselves to ending it. My mother was one of those people.

She and I marched on several occasions, over many weeks, holding signs, chanting and singing for several miles each time. Each time we would rally at an African-American church at the beginning and another at the end. For a Caucasian boy approaching his teen years, it was quite an experience.

The rhetoric in opposition to our cause was typical of any case where certain people wish to retain institutionalized discrimination. Phrases like "we know what's best for these folks," and "it would be giving these folks special status, special rights" are merely code for a desire to dominate and oppress and — let's face it — they're inspired by hatred and fear.

So when I hear people say things such as, offering people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered equal protection under the law amounts to "special rights," I am not fooled. I've heard this stuff before.

And it's pretty frustrating that all that's asked for in the proposed amendment is a place to complain about ill treatment. That place doesn't even have to be created — the Human Rights Commission already exists.

And we don't have to guess whether there's ever cause to complain. The Chicago Tribune recently published two articles describing blatant job discrimination against transgendered people.

It recently came to light that a career justice department official was denied a position she was imminently qualified for, because the decision-makers thought she might be a lesbian. I have personally heard stories of employment and housing discrimination suffered by some of our GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered) citizens locally, as well.

I think, though, it's important to realize that this is not really about the GLBT community. What it is about is us as a community. We know that not all of our residents are protected equally. What matters is what we do about it. And, make no mistake, if we do nothing we are very much doing something. We are saying that in South Bend, Ind., if enough people are uncomfortable with some other people, it's OK to discriminate against those other people. We have the power to do that, and actually — as of now — we are doing that.

Well, I think we need to stop doing that and I hope you do, too. It's time for the South Bend Common Council to revisit this measure — and make it our law. It's time for citizens to make plain to their representatives as well, that it's time to do the responsible thing.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke many strong words, but the phrase I think of most often is: "There comes a time for all us, when silence is a betrayal."

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Don Wheeler lives in South Bend.

Meet one of the "loving opposition"

Human rights
from Voice of the People
South Bend Tribune
9/25/08

Don Wheeler supports changing South Bend's Human Rights Ordinance to cover gender identity and sexual orientation (Viewpoint, Aug. 15) as an extension of our society's civil rights gains. But he shows a sad disregard for the arguments of those of us who have successfully opposed this change. Wheeler openly states, "I had paid scant attention to the opposition's rhetoric."

As the opposition, we carefully analyzed whether the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered community needs protection against discrimination. Unlike blacks, Latinos and women, homosexuals as a group rank are not disadvantaged in educational attainment and annual income. GLBT individuals and interest groups boast strong influence in politics and especially the media: The New York Times has led the way in advocating the GLBT agenda.

Armed with facts, a majority of the South Bend Common Council voted not to change the ordinance. Despite the achievements of GLBT individuals, public issues of physical and psychological health remain: from suicide, to domestic violence, to distressing rates of anal cancer among gay men.

Looking at the reality, we lovingly oppose the GLBT agenda. The council made the right decision.

Jay Dunlap
South Bend

'Loving' opposition is full of hate

VOICE OF THE PEOPLE
10/07/08

Jay Dunlap (Voice, Sept. 25) states in his letter opposing adding gender identity and sexual orientation to South Bend's Human Rights Ordinance that "As the opposition, we carefully analyzed whether the gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered community needs protection against discrimination." He then goes on to make denigrating generalizations about the GLBT community. Isn't this one of the hallmarks of discrimination? My hope is that when others hear this "loving opposition" they will see it for what it is: The kind of hateful perceptions based on ignorance that are precisely what the GLBT members of our community need to be protected from.

Many people I speak with about this concern have no idea that a GLBT person living in South Bend can be refused service, fired from a position or refused housing simply because of their gender identity or sexual orientation or the perception that they may be GLBT, with no recourse. You can imagine where this would leave them if a person like Dunlap or another person from the "loving opposition" were in charge.

Please, South Bend, the 21st Century City, let's get it right the next time this issue comes before the Common Council.

Nancy Mascotte
South Bend

Pride, Community & AARP

Pride in the Park was a huge success! Not only did the Michiana GLBT community come together, but so many of our straight allies showed that they were up for celebrating a beautiful Saturday with us, as well. Thank you to all of the organizers!

A sense of "community" is an important element that helps people to know that they belong. In a similar vein, remember, it is from the grassroots level that we, the people, must speak truth to power. And don't for a moment think that those in power are not listening.

Sunday's South Bend Tribune (10/5/08) ran an AP piece entitled "Gay elders' challenges get a closer look." The gist of the story is that many older GLBT persons are single with no family (or family members from whom they are alienated). They are alone, scared, and fear discrimination. A group called SAGE (Service and Advocacy for GLBT Elders) is trying to change that in New York by partnering older GLBT individuals with volunteers who can not only assist them, but befriend them. Quoting the article:

"A watershed moment comes this month, when the AARP — the largest advocacy group for Americans over 50 — for the first time sponsors a major national conference focused on gay and lesbian aging." It is sponsored by SAGE.

AARP, the extremely powerful national lobbying group has heard the truth. The fact that AARP is actively engaging in the GLBT human rights movement is monumental. It shows just how mainstream GLBT issues have become. The trend is toward equality. This is a fact, a truth that must be recognized by the powers that be here in South Bend.

There are GLBT elders in the city of South Bend. Surely many of them fear discrimination, as well. It is up to the Common Council to amend the city's Human Rights Ordinance to include not only sexual orientation and gender identity, but age and veteran status, as well.

If we protect those who are most vulnerable, as well as those who so honorably serve our country, then someday "Pride in the Park" truly will be a "community" event - something of which we will all be proud.

Pride in the Park...........Oct 4th!

Monday, September 29, 2008
Pride in the Park......October 4th!
From the GLBT Resource Center of Michiana:

http://www.glbtmichiana.org/events.htm

We're excited to finally announce the date for our upcoming Pride in the Park! Come on out to Potawatomi Park on Saturday, October 4th for a day full of friends, food and fun!

This is going to be a massive event with performances by Nervous but Excited and LVNMUZIQ. Bradley Bogaert, the outrageous host of Truman's Touch of Class Revue, will be hosting Gay Bingo with help from his lovely assistants, Miss Curvette Spells and Marleana Martease! Mary Lou Wallner whose story was featured in the award-winning documentary "For the Bible Tells Me So" will be speaking about her life and her contributions to the film. There will be dozens of vendor, business and organization booths and a plethora of information about what is available in our community! Of course there will be plenty of food, and in an effort to make this event family-friendly there will be kid's games running all day!

You don't want to miss this event! Mark your calendars now! October 4 at Potawatomi Park in South Bend, IN. The party starts at 1pm and after Pride in the Park, head over to the Grille at IU South Bend for a special screening of "For the Bible Tells Me So" and a question and answer session with Mary Lou Wallner!

Bring your friends, partners, spouses, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, strangers you meet on the street... Everyone is welcome at this event, gay, lesbian, bi, trans, straight allies... We want to see you all! It's been a long time since we've hosted a big event, so come on out, and see what's going on!

See you at the park!

The plank in one's eye

Forgive me for getting religious on you here, but I hate it when conservatives claim they have a monopoly on God. It's just not true. It is possible to be a liberal and a person of faith, too.

People are starving. Countries are at war. Genocide still happens. Our environment is in danger. Homelessness is increasing. Diseases are spreading. The gap between the richest and the poorest is expanding. Health care is beyond the reach of many. The list goes on and on, yet "evangelical christian" groups focus on abortion, pornography, and gays. It's baffling...

It bothers me a lot when the Religious Right claims God and Jesus as their own - as if no one else has faith or spirituality. It takes a lot of pride to make such a presumption. I'm especially irked by those who tell others to repent and seek salvation. Perhaps they should tend to their own souls first.

When I was growing up, we were taught that people would know we were Christian by how we lived. I believe this meant following Christ's teachings. The essence of these teachings is incorporated in Matthew's Gospel, particularly from the Sermon on the Mount :

"'Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?' Jesus replied: '"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself."

"Do not judge, or you, too will be judged;"

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

"Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself."

"If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well."

And, of course, the Beatitudes:

Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 3)
Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land. (Verse 4)
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Verse 5)
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. (Verse 6)
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Verse 7)
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. (Verse 8)
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Verse 9)
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 10)

Doesn't sound like the agenda of the Religious Right to me. In fact, when these groups actually hired advisors who advocated a social justice platform, those advisors were dismissed. I guess feeding the hungry just doesn't bring people out to vote like gay-bashing does.

Personally, I think there needs to be a new word in our vocabulary, for there are people who are "Christ-like," and then there are the "Christians." I know people from many religions - and some athiests, too - who are more "Christ-like" than many of the "Christians" we hear about today.

Now, I don't claim to be perfect, nor do I claim to be a most holy person. But, I am a work in progress and I am trying. I am living my faith to the best of my ability. I'm sure people on the Religious Right believe they are, too.

So why don't we all try to do better at living "Christ-like" lives according to His own words? We can help each other along the way without condemnation. We can make our world a better place if we solve so many of the REAL problems that affect people and our planet today.

Something tells me there would be more emphasis on the poor, hungry, meek, mourning, persecuted, and peacemakers if we focused on Christ's actual teachings rather than those of Jerry Fallwell, Pat Robertson, James Dobson and the like. Just a hunch...

It's past time for South Bend to amend human rights law

VIEWPOINT (South Bend Tribune)
8/15/08

By DON WHEELER

In the summer of 2006 an amendment to South Bend's Human Rights Ordinance was introduced in the South Bend Common Council. The concept of the original HRO was to protect citizens from discrimination in housing, the workplace, etc., but a clear gap in that protection had been identified. It was pointed out that there was no protection for citizens on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity — real or perceived.

Like many people, I read about this with only passing interest. It seemed clear there was a problem, a clear solution had been proposed ... it seemed to be mostly just a housekeeping type of issue.

Imagine my astonishment when the amendment failed by one vote.

I had paid scant attention to the opposition's rhetoric. The claims were factually incorrect and the concerns seemed clearly based upon fear and dislike of people different than themselves. It seemed unnecessary to point out the irrationality.

I should have known better ... because these arguments have a familiar ring to them.

I grew up in Evanston, Ill., and in the late 1960s, it was a common practice that Realtors did not show homes in certain neighborhoods to people of color. By city ordinance (at any rate) this was not illegal. But it came to pass that many people in the community loathed the practice and dedicated themselves to ending it. My mother was one of those people.

She and I marched on several occasions, over many weeks, holding signs, chanting and singing for several miles each time. Each time we would rally at an African-American church at the beginning and another at the end. For a Caucasian boy approaching his teen years, it was quite an experience.

The rhetoric in opposition to our cause was typical of any case where certain people wish to retain institutionalized discrimination. Phrases like "we know what's best for these folks," and "it would be giving these folks special status, special rights" are merely code for a desire to dominate and oppress and — let's face it — they're inspired by hatred and fear.

So when I hear people say things such as, offering people who are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered equal protection under the law amounts to "special rights," I am not fooled. I've heard this stuff before.

And it's pretty frustrating that all that's asked for in the proposed amendment is a place to complain about ill treatment. That place doesn't even have to be created — the Human Rights Commission already exists.

And we don't have to guess whether there's ever cause to complain. The Chicago Tribune recently published two articles describing blatant job discrimination against transgendered people.

It recently came to light that a career justice department official was denied a position she was imminently qualified for, because the decision-makers thought she might be a lesbian. I have personally heard stories of employment and housing discrimination suffered by some of our GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered) citizens locally, as well.

I think, though, it's important to realize that this is not really about the GLBT community. What it is about is us as a community. We know that not all of our residents are protected equally. What matters is what we do about it. And, make no mistake, if we do nothing we are very much doing something. We are saying that in South Bend, Ind., if enough people are uncomfortable with some other people, it's OK to discriminate against those other people. We have the power to do that, and actually — as of now — we are doing that.

Well, I think we need to stop doing that and I hope you do, too. It's time for the South Bend Common Council to revisit this measure — and make it our law. It's time for citizens to make plain to their representatives as well, that it's time to do the responsible thing.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke many strong words, but the phrase I think of most often is: "There comes a time for all us, when silence is a betrayal."

Democracy is not a spectator sport.

Don Wheeler lives in South Bend.

Richard Cohen, "ex-gay therapist" on CNN

One of the presentations that Patrick Mangan ("No Special Rights"/"Citizens for Community Values) made in opposition to amending our Human Rights Ordinance to include sexual orientation and gender identity, was the showing of a DVD called "It's Not Gay". Richard Cohen is one of the so-called experts in "ex-gay therapy" and is featured in "It's Not Gay".

What Patrick Mangan failed to mention as he was using Cohen as one of his experts was that Cohen was permanently expelled from the American Counseling Association (ACA) for violations of six ethical codes. Although the specific violations were not specified, they corresponded to ACA codes of conduct toward clients, such as avoiding dual relationships or fostering dependent counseling ties.

"Of particular note is that Cohen's violations are self-serving, as he is accused of violating standard ethics of protecting his client from dual relationships, marketing purposes and testimonials" - Joe Kort, psychotherapist and author of "10 Smart Things Gay Men Can Do to Improve Their Lives."

One survivor of "ex-gay therapy" had this to say about Cohen's so-called therapy:

Cohen relies on a common reparative therapy theory: A child who doesn't form a healthy bond with his or her same-sex parent develops an "unhealthy" sexuality.

"Cohen's approach is to utilize 'holding therapy' as a way of repairing the bond and help a person transition from homosexuality to their 'inherent' heterosexuality."

"I found this basic concept to be very damaging to me," he said. "I was always 'sick' or 'broken' or in some other way inadequate as a human being. Because therapy always focused on my father and his supposed absence and bad parenting, my relationship with him suffered." - Rick, Fredonia, N.Y.,(last name be withheld)

From from being an innocuous treatment, "ex-gay"therapy can, and does, cause great harm to many. Many survivors say they wasted years of their lives, spent thousands of dollars and suffered mental duress as a result of attempting sexual orientation conversion. Some victims even spoke of attempts at suicide.

Testimony of a "former homosexual"

Our opposition has always maintained that no amendment to our Human Rights Ordinance was necessary because anti-gay harassment just doesn't happen.

Here's a clip from a man who claims to have been cured of his homosexuality, describing what his own experience was growing up gay. Interestingly, he refers to himself as a "victim".



I understand that our opposition to amending the HRO has a great deal of difficulty in accepting the fact that this type of harassment does indeed exist. I thought maybe it would be more acceptable coming from the mouth of one of their own.

Homosexuality and the Bible...an invitation to learn

Hello Friends,

Our class (offered yearly or whenever we think we need it again!) on
Homosexuality and the Bible is this month--July, starting the 9th and
continuing every Wednesday in July from 7-9.

We'll serve refreshments (snack type foods). It's informal; a
couple of nights we'll show films, other nights we'll talk about
scripture, including the "clobber scriptures" so often used against
us, and we always welcome questions and discussions.

There's a lot of negativity out there, but we focus on the God of
love we have come to know, who welcomes us all!

You'd be welcomed if you're interested, or, if you know folks who
would find this helpful, we hope you'll pass this along to them.

Thanks so much!

Martha Carroll
Minister

The Bible and Homosexuality
A four week journey examing faith and sexual orientation

Southside Christian Church
1329 E Jackson Rd
South Bend

July 9: Your relationship with the Bible: Scriptural translation
and context
July 16: Screening of "In-Laws & Outlaws"
July 23: The Bible and the word of God: Biblical sexual ethics
July 30: Screening of "For the Bible Tells Me So"

Events begin at 7 p.m.; attend any or all classes.

For information or directions, call: 291.1156
email ssccdocsb@juno. com

We're located south of the by-pass and just south of Erskine Plaza
(formerly Scottsdale Mall). Go under the by pass, and turn left at
the first stop light. (Jackson Middle School is on the corner
there). Drive PAST the Southside Baptist Church. You'll see us just
past Farington Apts., on the left/north side of the street. Our
wooden sign out front reads Southside Christian Church, and has a red
chalice (our logo) included.