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Friday, May 07, 2004
The D.C. Democratic State Committee made history on April 29 by electing three
more gay Democrats as delegates to the Democratic National Convention, bringing
the total number to seven — the largest number ever. In its final meeting
to round out the 39-member District delegation headed for the convention, the
committee chose Wanda Alston, the special assistant to Mayor Anthony Williams
on LGBT affairs, Lynn Chia, a longtime supporter of Senator John F. Kerry, and
Phil Pannell, the first openly gay black man to serve as a delegate. “This
just shows that gay and lesbian Democrats know how to mobilize,” Pannell
said. “We are really working in the party, and we are respected.” Though
official delegates and alternates have not yet been determined, all will attend
the convention in Boston from July 26-29, in which Kerry is expected to clinch
the presidential nomination.
ADRIAN BRUNE
The Green Party of the United States plans to host a fund-raiser featuring
Mayor Jason West of New Paltz, N.Y. on May 15. Mayor West attracted national
attention in late February after he solemnized marriages for 25 gay couples.
West is currently under a temporary restraining order after a civil lawsuit
was filed in early March against him, arguing that he violated state law
banning gay marriages. Also in attendance will be Anthony Brown, family law
attorney and a member of the board of directors of the Wedding Party, a nonprofit
organization that supports gay marriage, and Brandon Lacy Campos, chair of
the Lavender Green Caucus, which represents gay and lesbian Greens. The event
is scheduled to take place at Cafe Citron in Dupont Circle. Admission is
$25. There is a $5 discount for those who reserve ahead of time. Money from
the event will go to support the Green Party. For more information, contact
the Green Party of the United States at 202-319-7191 or visit www.gp.org.
JOE CREA
The University of Maryland is closer to adding discrimination protections based
on gender identity and expression to the school’s human rights code
after the Maryland Attorney General approved a revised draft of the new language.
The request appeared to be in jeopardy in February after the Maryland attorney
general’s office rejected the original language, noting, “federal
and Maryland law do not protect against discrimination on the basis of either
gender identity or gender expression.” Luke Jensen, director of the
university’s Office of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Equity,
said that university officials had revised the proposal to include specific
language about transgendered protections and returned the measure to the
attorney general’s office on April 15. Before a final vote from the
state Board of Regents, the new proposal must be approved by the university
Senate, University of Maryland President Dan Mote and Chancellor William
Kirwan, Jensen said. Jensen added it was unclear when the Board of Regents
would vote on the measure.
JOE CREA
Two gay students at George Washington University are scheduled to be recognized
next week for their work in community activism. Graham Murphy and Allison
Robbins, both seniors, will be the first recipients of the Manatt-Trachtenberg
Prize, which recognizes “special undergraduate qualities,” university
officials said. Murphy is the founder of SERC, the Student Equal Rights Campaign,
which is dedicated to raising awareness about the Federal Marriage Amendment
and whose members recently staged a sit-in at the office of the amendment’s
author, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Musgrave (R-Colo.). Murphy is also the Northern
Virginia program coordinator of the Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League
and the founder of the university’s gay student group, the Out Crowd.
Robbins has been a frequent volunteer with Amnesty International, the Washington
Area Clinic Defense Task Force and Miriam’s Kitchen, a group that provides
meals to the city’s homeless population. She was also involved in several
student groups, including the G.W. March for Women’s Lives Delegation,
the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance, the Progressive Student Union
and Students for Accountability. “I think that it’s great that
the university is recognizing me for my work with the gay and lesbian community
and with gay and lesbian students,” Murphy said. “I think the
greatest thing about this award is that I’m going to be receiving it
at the Ellipse, right in George Bush’s backyard. That’s what
makes me the most excited about it.” Murphy and Robbins will receive
the awards, which include a cash prize and having their names engraved on
a silver cup displayed on the university’s campus, at the university’s
graduation ceremonies on May 16.
BRYAN ANDERTON
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