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a prevention conference imarron Alliance Foundation and other community partners september are sponsoring Stop Hate In The Hallways- A Bullying PFLAG OKC Ti JPS Sept 4 Church of Prevention Conference to address the Open Arms 7 pm bullying based on race, religion, sex­ OGLPC Meeting Monday Sept 1 O ual orientation, and . Neighborhood Alliance 1236 NW Training will be provided for the inter­ 36th 7:30 pm vention and prevention of bullying and harassment in a variety of break-out General Voting for OK County sessions. Keynote speaker will be Commissioner Iues_Sfptembe.r__il Kevin Jennings, Founder & Executive PFLAG Norman Thi Jrsday Sept 1 3 Director of GLSEN. The one-day con­ St Stephen's Church 7 pm ference will be held: Her/and Supper Club Sat Sept 8 October 1 1, 2007 rather benign in Superbad, in reality TG I Fridays 4239 NW Expressway Metro Tech Springlake Campus almost all LGBT students report hav­ 5:30 pm 1 900 Springlake Drive ing been harassed or assaulted at Her/and Scrabble Sati Jrday Sept 1 5 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma school for their perceived or actual orientation. Two-thirds of those stu­ 2 pm Why is this conference needed? dents never report it and LGBT stu­ Her/and Board Meeting Si mday dents are much more likely than Harassment and assault in high Sept 1 6 4 pm everyone welcome straight students to say that they do schools is still a big problem for les­ not feel safe at school. Her/and Craft Day SatULday_Sep_t_ll bian, , bisexual, and transgender 2-5 pm teens. Most teens (75%) report hear­ Students of a race other than white ing homophobic remarks at school of­ are also much more likely to experi­ McPride Family Picnic Sati Jrday ten or at least sometimes. As the cur­ ence harassment due to their race. Sept 22 Chadick Park McAlester rent hit teen movie Superbad illus­ Most schools do not have an anti­ Queer Queens of Oomedy S.atur:: trates, calling someone "fag" is still a harassment policy that includes sex- day Sep_tll Ft Worth 8 pm very common putdown in high Her/and Voice Mailing Wednesday: schools. While the name-calling is see Conference P. 2 S.epL26_ 6 pm come play at the herland fall retreat AIDS Walk Sun~_epL3.D. Myriad Gardens registration 12:30 stepoff t's that time of year again! Time for a quick getaway to womyn and 2 pm nature. Don't miss this opportunity to relax, hike, read a book, tie-dye a Center Cinema Free films _ey_eLy.£ci= T-shirt, bird watch, ride a bike, fish, play games, listen to live music, or dC!f' at Tul sa Equality Center 7 pm Iplay your new song at the open mic. Coming up on Halloween weekend in October, Herland will have its Fall Retreat at Lake Eufaula State Park. october We've always had great weather at Eufaula in the fall and we don't expect this Stop Hate in the Hallways-A Bul­ year to be any different. Since it is Halloween weekend, consider bringing a lying Prevention Conference Ihurs.: costume (for you and any four-legged friend you might bring) and enter the day Oct I I Metro Tech Saturday evening costume contest. Another contest will feature pumpkin carving (please bring one if you can). Last year's entries in both contests were Her/and Fall Retreat ErLSaLS_un great! Look for more details and a registration form in next month's Voice. O..c.L26-=2..8. Lake Eufaula State Park

The Herland Voice is a publication of Herland Sister Resources, 23 I 2 NW 39th, OKC. OK 7 3 I I 2. Our bookstore and lending library is open Saturdays from 1-5 pm. Contact us at (405) 521 -9696 or [email protected]_ Visit us on the web at www.herlandsisters.org. IJllitn the news oklahoma must recognize out of state adoptions by gay couples

he 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Constitution by singling out a specific COnferencel cont'd. from P. 1 Appeals has ruled that a state group for discrimination. Now the law preventing gay couples 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has ual orientation, gender identity, or from getting birth certificates upheld Cauthron 's ruling and declared gender expression, specifically. But for children adopted in other states is Oklahoma's law unconstitutional. most teachers believe that anti­ unconstitutional. (Likewise, in 2004, Oklahoma's own harassment and anti-discrimination Attorney General gave an official opin­ The Adoption Invalidation Law, hastily policies would be helpful in securing ion that the law would violate the Ninth passed at the end of the 2004 Okla­ a safe learning environment for Amendment.) homa legislative session, had said that LGBT students. Oklahoma "shall not recognize an In a 31 page ruling, the court was Who should attend? adoption by more than highly critical of the state one individual of the "The very fact that the legislature for passing the School Administrators, Classroom same sex from any other adoptions have oc­ law. "The very fact that Educators, Mental Health Profession­ state or foreign jurisdic­ curred is evidence that the adoptions have oc­ als, Law Enforcement Officers, curred is evidence that a School Psychologists, School Super­ tion." Although single a court of law has gays may become the court of law has found the intendents, National, State & Local parent of adoptive chil­ found the adoptions to adoptions to be in the best Policy Makers, School Police Offi­ dren in Oklahoma, same­ be in the best interests interests of the children," cers, Social Workers, Attorneys, and sex couples were barred of the children," wrote wrote Cauthron. "To now School Board Members are encour­ from adopting and the U. S. District Judge attempt to strip a child of aged to attend. state could invalidate one of his or her parents Robin Cauthron. Total tuition for the conference is $35 adoptions where couples seems far removed from have been awarded joint the statute's purpose and which includes lunch. You may ap­ parenting rights in states where co­ therefore from [the state's] asserted ply for a conference scholarship by adoption is legal. important government objective." sending a letter of need to: Mr. · Randy Tate, Conference Chair, North "Gay and lesbian parents in Oklahoma Lambda Legal, representing same-sex Care Center, 4436 NW 50th Street, couples, took the state to court. can now breathe a collective sigh of Oklahoma City, OK 73112. Or call Lambda represented two same-sex cou­ relief because their relationships with him at (405) 858-2700 office or fax ples and their families who adopted their children are no longer threatened (405) 858-2720. children while living in other states by the state of Oklahoma," said and later moved to Oklahoma or Lambda attorney wanted to visit the state with their fam­ Ken Upton. "We're ily. Lambda Legal argued that the law gratified that justice Dr. Dawn Singleton, Ph.D. was unconstitutional based on the has been handed United States Constitution's guarantees down in our case and of equal protection, due process and that the court saw to right to travel, as well as the mandates it that Oklahoma has Licensed Professional Counselor of the Full Faith and Credit Clause. to treat the children Licensed Marital & Family Therapist of gay and lesbian In 2006, U.S. District Court Judge parents the same as SOOS N. Pennsylvania #204 OKC, OK Robin Cauthron agreed, finding that all other kids." the statute violated the United States 40S-232-3296

1 :,-~:.-. ' ' .' -1 . - ..;~ ·~.:.g:-· ._:_-: ·,·•,.~~~- ;"-~ '.· .-~'" · 1.; - ,~.,!'«.:~-~- . -c-:.-- - . 'Efhe V9ic~ i~h PJlR.lisQ .EZd ~ m~cifiihly by Herlabci . S!~te1; Re ·~oµrc;f§T Jhc. ..; ; ·231TNyY, 3 ~9JT~Kqr oK' 73.112. The VoJpej~:,.oJt~·r~d as a~1Jpef1 ; i foru fll,fQr'cQ:nim.unity discourse. Article$Je'ffet:l1Jtle'opini6ris~ of the :. · auth ~r; ~~!1P ~t !}B..::.:m~..:J the other night, I heard a and a vicious murder will, these day~, their own skin, is a great crime and nice young gay man won­ be tried as such, with a nice vicious should be acknowledged and treated der why we need hate crimes legisla­ penalty applied, whether it is desig­ as such. tion. Hate is hate and crimes are nated a hate crime or not. I think this Hate crimes are, purely and simply, a crimes, and why combine the two? was our nice young man's point. form of terrorism. They are used to He implied that he thinks that seek­ However, the reason that murders of intimidate an entire class of people, ing hate-crime legislation makes us this sort must be specifically identified and they are very effective. As an seem like whiney-babies asking for as crimes of hate is to allow our lead­ editorial in the Washington Post in our mommies to take care of us . ers, both secular and religious, to lead us all in a spirited denunciation of the May of this year said," ... crimes that So I've been thinking about it: attitudes that engendered them. target someone because of his or her Hmm. Whiney babies. Would that race or are more be maybe - Emmett Till, who was Far more numerous than hate murders than an offense against that individ­ mutilated, lynched, and burned for no are the racist graffiti, the swastikas ual. They are crimes that terrorize other reason than he was a young painted on synagogue walls, the dese­ whole communities. " black man who possibly said "hi" to cration of Jewish cemeteries, the beat­ I'll close with a quote and a couple of a white woman? Or... James Byrd, ings nearly unto death of interracial questions. The quote is from the who fifty years later was dragged couples and homosexuals, and on and website of an organization not usu­ through the streets of Jasper Texas on; and it is for this kind of activity ally considered wimpy, sissy, or until he was decapitated, for no other that the enhanced punishment ac­ whiney: the Federal Bureau of Inves­ reason than he was a black man alone corded by hate crimes statutes is in­ tigation (www.fbi.gov). "Crimes of on a country road? Or Matthew tended. Vandalism intended to intimi­ hatred and prejudice- from lynchings Shephard, who was hung from a date an entire group of people should to cross burnings to vandalism of North Dakota fence to die, for no carry a higher penalty than overturning synagogues- are a sad fact ofAmeri­ other reason than he was gay and trash cans on Halloween. Violence intended to spark fear in the hearts of can history, but the term "hate crime" did not enter th e nation's vocabulary ;i0 ;; ~: · · ~- i,;" · ~ - ~ .,.,.,. -· · ·.~ -,~~ ~ · ·.~ , ~~:. : ,:,·.ti~1 ·~~1:p.:::2~ :2;--~-~:~~~; : , :-:·; ~i.i5" i. ~ iv· r · ~ · · · · ~ · ~;~ = f .. ·,. . .;...... ,• . .· · · · until the 1980s, when emerging hate 8 groups like the Skinheads launched a wave of bias-related crime. The FBI began investigating what we now call hate crimes as far back as the early 1920s, when we opened our first case. Today, we remain dedicated to working with state and local authorities to prevent these crimes and to bring to justice those who commit them. " The questions: Seeing as there al­ ready exist Hate Crime laws at the Federal level and in most states, in­ cluding Oklahoma; and that they usu­ ally cover, at a minimum, race, color, religion, ancestry, and national ori­ gin; and considering that anti-gay hate crimes make up about one third of all reported hate crimes, why on earth would we not want to add sex­ ual and gender orientation to these laws? And, how on earth does doing this make us whiney-babies? Rissho Kasei Kai Dharma Center of Oklahoma

Sundays: Service 10 am Hosa 11 am Wednesdays: Core Teachings of Buddhism Class with Kathy Spengler 7 pm Saturdays: Hatha Yoga Class with Donna Shafer 10 am Sept 14th Lotus Sutra Study with Kris Ladusau 7 pm Sept 21st Movie Night Sept 21 st Rev Kawamura visits from Tokyo

Sandy Ingraham, J.D ., M.S.W. "Teach this triple truth to all: Attorney-at-Law A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion Ingraham & Associates, PLLC are the things which renew humanity." -- Buddha

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