Louisiana Gay and Lesbian Student Conference
Planned for Spring '98
L
ouisiana Electorate of Gays And Lesbians (LEGAL) announces the 6th
Annual Louisiana Gay and Lesbian Student Groups Conference (LGLSGC)
presently being planned by Tulane's Bisexual Gay And Lesbian Association (BIGALA) for the Spring of '98.
The LGLSGC is a weekend long conference designed to create a setting whereby Louisiana student groups can make progress through learning from one another's experiences and networking with each other throughout the rest of the year.
The LGLSGC returns to New Orleans to be hosted for the first time by BIGALA. This year, however, another group has requested to co-sponsor the conference with LEGAL. LEGAL's Board of Directors recently accepted an offer from the Director of the Office of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Life at Tulane University, Christopher Daigle, to take on a joint funding cooperative with LEGAL, possibly matching funding that LEGAL will be providing for the conference.
"We've budgeted quite a chunk of money to the students for the conference," said Brian Hartig, LEGAL's executive director. "In the past we've worked with the students to do this on a shoestring, but it's really getting beyond that now."
The conference has not yet been given a Spring date, but will probably be held on a weekend in March or April. As soon as dates are announced they will be publicized on LEGAL's webpage (httm://members.aol.com/legalinc/) as well as BiGALA's webpage (http://www.tulane.edu/-bigala/).
Students interested in attending the conference-whether or not they belong to an organized GLB student group-are encouraged to contact LEGAL or BIGALA to request further details.
Louisiana Electorate of Gays And Lesbians (LEGAL) is a statewide, not-for-profit human rights organization for lesbians and gay men. LEGAL works to end discrimination based upon sexual orientation. For more information about LEGAL and how you can get involved with us, write to us at LEGALinc, PO Box 70344, New Orleans, LA 70172-0344, email us at legalincgaol.com, visit our web page at http://members.aol.com/legal inc/index.htm or call our voicemail at 504.365.3105.
Cal Thomas Continues to Display Ignorance
From the Los Angeles Times Syndicate comes the November 12 column by
longtime anti-gay pundit Cal Thomas, attacking President Clinton for stating
at a recent Human Rights Campaign dinner that societies can evolve in terms of human rights. "According to Clinton, because Jefferson owned slaves, his contention that `all men are created equal and are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, was not followed by him or many of his contemporaries," Thomas says, explaining that Clinton asserted that the end of slavery and civil rights legislation for people of color and lesbians and gay men are part of an evolution towards getting nearer to all people being equal.
"[But] Clinton didn't create the world," Thomas says. "God did. And God designed norms that are in our best interests. When we act outside those norms - such as for homosexual sex-we cause damage to ourselves and to our wider culture. The unpleasant consequences of sexually transmitted diseases are not the result of intolerant bigots seeking to denigrate others. They are the result of violating God's standards."
In a surprising moral evolution for himself, Thomas allows that "homosexuals deserve laws protecting them from hate crimes and discrimination in employment (so long as employers are also protected, such as churches and religious schools, which find such behavior offensive to their biblical principles)." But he then states, "If, as the president claimed, morals are evolutionary, is there any place where he would draw the line and, if so, on what basis? When we change the original standard, there can be no standard left except popular opinion. That has historically led to destruction of nations."
Thomas' argument regarding Thomas Jefferson, "norms" and God is flawed in two very basic ways, the first being that whether or not one believes in God, that has nothing to do with the governance of the United States. Unless Cal Thomas and his radical religious friends have moved to another country, America is not a theocracy, no matter how devoutly they may wish it were. The second problem with Thomas' argument is that it completely dispenses with the growing movements within many communities of faith to acknowledge lesbians and gay men as equals. His bigoted stance that God is selective in his creation, and his love, is one that is being questioned and refuted by many fair-minded Americans of faith. [GLAAD]
Emma & Sean "Come Out"
and Scare Some Baptists
The Nov. 19 Ellen was a hilarious tour de force for guest stars Emma Thompson
and Sean Penn, both portraying themselves. Ellen gets a job as Thompson's
personal assistant shortly after she discovers that Thompson is a lesbian.
Thompson is encouraged by Ellen's candor regarding her sexual orientation and decides to come out herself at a nationally televised Hollywood dinner in her honor. "Let's go out and terrify some Baptists," she declares. Ellen warns her that the press will probably dig deep into her past. A drunk Thompson confesses to her darkest secret...she's really from Dayton, OH and learned the accent from watching Julie Andrews movies. At the dinner, Sean Penn steals Thompson's thunder by coming out himself.
The underlying theme of the show highlighted how difficult being openly gay can be for all types of people, especially celebrities who fear losing movie and TV roles because of who they are. [GLAAD]
