A long-overdue Bent Alaska update — October 2013

Second-class citizens: Gay Alaskans report legal and social discrimination

The ACLU of Alaska released the preliminary results of their 2008 LGBT Community Interest Survey today:

Discrimination a Persistent Problem for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Alaskans, says American Civil Liberties Union

ANCHORAGE, AK, September 24, 2008 – The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Alaska released a report today revealing that many of the state’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) residents still live in fear of discrimination. The report shares the initial findings of an on-going survey of LGBT Alaskans.

A majority of respondents agree that discrimination is the largest problem they have personally faced as LGBT people living in Alaska. Some report having been harassed on the job, even fired, because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. But unlike other minorities who have been historically discriminated against, there are no significant state or local laws to shield them from such prejudice.

“The survey shows that LGBT people want the same thing as most other Americans. They want to be able to provide for themselves and their families without worrying about being refused or fired from a job because of who they share their lives with,” said Tiffany McClain, the ACLU of Alaska’s LGBT Public Policy Coordinator. “But in the state of Alaska they have no legal recourse if they suspect unfair treatment from an employer, landlord, or creditor.”

Responses to the survey have been collected via e-mail, online, and in person and include participants from Anchorage, Juneau, and Fairbanks. So far, 26% of respondents report having experienced discrimination or harassment in the workplace and an additional 18% have faced these obstacles outside of work. When the lack of legal recognition of their partnerships and families is counted as a form of discrimination, the proportion of LGBT people who have suffered the consequences of discrimination is even higher.

“We know that Americans are fair and favor equal treatment and ending discrimination,” said Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director of the ACLU of Alaska. “As Alaskans hear about the families of their lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender friends, neighbors, colleagues and relatives, they will want to see an end to workplace discrimination, and will support the right to visit a sick loved one in the hospital, or to protect the needs of children in LGBT families.” The initial survey findings can be found at http://www.akclu.org/AKCLU_LGBTresults.pdf

We would like to invite anyone who doesn’t feel as if their voices are being adequately represented to complete a survey and encourage their friends to complete one as well.

This work is supported by generous grants from the Pride Foundation and the Tide Foundation’s State Equality Fund, a philanthropic partnership that includes the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr Fund, the Gill Foundation, and other anonymous donors.

ACLU of Alaska

— Tiffany McClain, LGBT Public Policy Coordinator
— Jeffrey Mittman, Executive Director

Palin’s Hometown Paper Grapples with Gay Books and Library Censorship

Being Gay in Wasilla

Donated “Heather” and “Daddy’s Roommate” Will Be Accepted or Sold by Wasilla Library

UPDATE: Wasilla Library Rejects “Heather” and “Daddy’s Roommate”

Two popular gay-themed children’s books, “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate,” were donated to the Wasilla Public Library in Alaska, where Sarah Palin was mayor, by gay and lesbian Americans concerned with attempted censorship.

The full press release was posted earlier: Gay Americans Donate Children’s Books to Wasilla Library, On Eve of Banned Books Week.

I called the Wasilla Public Library when they opened today.

“We received the books,” said KJ Martin-Albright, Library Administrator at the Wasilla Public Library, “and we sent a copy of our library donation policy and a receipt to Mr. Petrelis.”

“Karen Davis, the youth services librarian, will decide if the books will be accepted and placed on the shelves, or be given to the Friends of the Library and sold at a book faire.”

“Rest assured that we are not dodging him,” said Ms. Martin-Albright. “He should be hearing from us soon.”

Bent Alaska thanks Mr. Petrelis for this generous donation, and encourages Ms. Davis to accept these wonderful children’s books. We look forward to seeing “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate” on the shelves of the Wasilla Public Library.

Wasilla Library Gets Gay Children’s Books

UPDATE: Wasilla Library Rejects “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate”

* * *

Gay Americans Donate Children’s Books to Wasilla Library, On Eve of Banned Books Week

Gay and lesbian Americans concerned with attempted censorship at public libraries recently donated copies of “Heather Has Two Mommies” and “Daddy’s Roommate” to the Wasilla, Alaska, public library. This show of support for diversity and First Amendment rights is a pro-active direct response to reports that former mayor and now GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin may have tried to remove the children’s books from the shelves in the 1990s.

The two gay-themed books were given to the library to guarantee they were available for the Wasilla community to read and enjoy. The donation was made in anticipation of Banned Books Week, which begins on September 27.Ultimately, the gay and lesbian citizens would like to place copies of “Daddy’s Roommate” and another gay-themed children’s book, “And Tango Makes Three,” on the shelves of Alaska’s one-hundred-and-one public libraries. (“Heather” is out of print, which is why “Tango” was chosen.)

San Francisco activist Michael Petrelis and his longtime partner Mike Merrigan gave the books not only to insure local kids would have access to them, but also to strengthen diversity in Alaska.

“When we first became aware of this story concerning Palin’s possible call for literary censorship, it dismayed us,” said Petrelis, who blogs at PetrelisFiles.com. “If Palin’s attitude towards literary freedom, not to mention her respect for diversity, have not changed since the 1990s, then her qualifications for vice president are certainly to be called into question.” Local gay support for the donation came from E. Ross of BentAlaska.com, a gay news and activities service web site based in Anchorage.

“Giving gay books to the Wasilla public library is a wonderful, pro-active way to foster communication and encourage reading. Many libraries and schools have been pressured to ban ‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ and ‘Daddy’s Roommate’ over the years, proving that citizens against diversity and tolerance pose a danger to education and unity everywhere. These two titles are prime examples of books that should have a secure place on many public and school library shelves,” said Ross.

Ross will be contacting the Wasilla librarian after the donation, to confirm that the library will place the books on the shelves, and will write a follow-up report on BentAlaska.com.The director of the Wasilla library, KJ Martin-Albright, last week posted a note to the Publisher’s Weekly blog regarding these issues:

At one point, ‘Heather Has Two Mommies’ was challenged at the Wasilla Public Library and it was decided to keep it on the shelf. So, why is it no longer there? Well, Wasilla out grew the size of its library about twenty years ago . . . Along with the fact that library collections are dynamic and not static, anything on the bookshelves has to earn its real estate. If it isn’t circulating, it doesn’t stay. I know this is not the ideal, but it is our reality. The library no longer has ‘Heather’, but we do our best to offer materials encompassing all different points of view and presenting every side to an argument.

For approximately $2,300, the gay activists, in collaboration with the Lambda Rising gay book store in Washington, DC, will purchase and ship two gay children’s books to every one of the state’s public libraries.

When Sarah Palin returns to being the full-time governor of Alaska on November 5, we’d like for her to find her public library system has welcomed these gay-themed children’s book as a gesture of respect for equality and diversity, which is a true American value.

This Week in GLBT Alaska 9/18/08

Resources on the “ex-gay” movement

The gay community held an all-day vigil to counter the “ex-gay” conference in Anchorage last weekend, plus a seminar with gay-affirming clergy and mental health professionals, and presentations by Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out.

Parents, friends and family members who have questions about “reparative therapy” and the ex-gay movement are invited to join PFLAG‘s support meeting, Thursday Sept. 18 at 7 p.m.

Learn about “ex-gays” and the “ex-gay” movement from those who know it best:

• Beyond Ex-Gay – an online community for those who have survived ex-gay experiences
• Ex-Gay Watch – dedicated to monitoring the ex-gay movement
• Truth Wins Out – fighting right wing lies and the “ex-gay” fraud

These civil rights groups have information on the ex-gay movement and tools to help local communities deal with the ex-gay events in their towns (links go to ex-gay pages):

• PFLAG – Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
• GLAAD – Gay & Lesbian Alliance against Defamation
• Soulforce – Freedom for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people from religious & political oppression through the practice of relentless nonviolent resistance
• Southern Poverty Law Center – Advocates for Justice and Equality

These LGBT blogs have vast archives on the ex-gays and Focus on the Family:

• Good As You – gay and lesbian activism with a sense of humor
• Box Turtle Bulletin – news, analysis and fact-checking of anti-gay rhetoric
• Pam’s House Blend – … always steamin’

Anchorage Press covers the “ex-gay” conference

The cover story for this week’s Anchorage Press shows the truth behind the ex-gay conference that recently came to town, and includes the gay-affirming events also held that weekend. From Straight Talk? —

And now the culture wars are raging in Anchorage, too, with Love Won Out descending on the town and the opposition it sparked evident both outside on the sidewalk and in a gay-friendly church that last week hosted speakers who were outraged by this promotion of ex-gay ministries.

and:

“[The ex-gay movement] is just a smokescreen for political action, to elect right-wing politicians and to pass anti-gay laws. Nothing more, nothing less,” says Besen [from Truth Wins Out].

Read the full story and thank the Anchorage Press for this great article.

Not your father’s anti-gay crusade

by Karen

The “ex-gay” conference came to Alaska last Saturday, and the LGBT community held gay-positive events to counter the ‘pray away the gay’ message. MCC hosted “God Loves You Just As You Are” with five clergy members and a presentation by Truth Wins Out. On Saturday, PFLAG Anchorage and many supportive individuals held an all-day vigil outside the conference.

Meanwhile, Karen attended the ex-gay conference. This story was written by Karen for Bent Alaska:

I attended the Love Won Out conference in Anchorage last weekend, sponsored by Focus On the Family (FOTF), and it was interesting on many levels. I went with two straight women friends from my church in Palmer.

Most of the attendees were people like the three of us. Of the 250-300 attendees and volunteer hosts/ushers, the great majority were middle-class white folks in our 30’s, 40’s and older. I saw people who looked just like my fellow church-goers and neighbors. There were also a few goatee’d guys with nose rings from the Christian youth groups.

It was not the atmosphere of hate that I had been steeling myself to endure.

Admittedly, I’ve been out of the loop since the years I worked at gay newspapers in Minneapolis, but the message of conservative Christians has come a long way from the days of sign-wavers proclaiming God Hates Fags. There was a gentleness and kindness in what the speakers shared that was unexpected. The old commercial slogan, “This is not your father’s Oldsmobile,” kept going through my mind. They went to great lengths to make the environment current and pleasant, compared to anti-gay teachings or workshops even ten years ago which were more about guilt and shame.

In the first few sessions, I didn’t find much that I actually disagreed with. Yes, many lesbian women suffer abuse in their family backgrounds. Yes, many gay men are creative and sensitive. No breaking news there, and they noted that stereotyping didn’t serve anyone. Speaker Jeff Johnston, a self-identified ex-gay who is now married with children, quipped that no one was there to say boys shouldn’t be creative or sensitive. “No one says, ‘why can’t you be more a jerk like your father?'” said Johnston.

They’ve learned to come across as more reasonable and caring. That could well be by design. Perhaps the gay community has prompted these changes over the years, pointing out the contradictions of un-Christ-like behavior on the part of groups like this one. Since the foaming-at-the-mouth venom and harsh Fire and Brimstone sermons were probably not persuasive with everyday folk who have everyday questions about their gay family members or friends, they do seem to have moderated their messages.

FOTF founder James Dobson’s introduction in the program booklet does promote “freedom from homosexuality” and the conference schedule online seems oriented towards political action. But there was nary a call to arms in the sessions I attended (I had to leave in the afternoon for work) and no one mentioned what used to be a standard, assumed parallel between gayness and pedophilia.

To their credit, I found FOTF’s theological break-out sessions more complete and thought-out than arguments I’ve heard at both LGBT-inclusive churches and my current non-affirming church.

Another way this was “not your Father’s anti-gay crusade” was the essential divide between how different Christian groups see Father God. The speakers acknowledged that the Presbyterians, Episcopalians, and one branch of the Lutheran church have become accepting and affirming of LGBT folk. But that is not FOTF’s understanding of what God asks of us on our walk towards holiness. The position taken by FOTF hasn’t changed: that engaging in homosexual relationships is outside of God’s will for humankind.

It seems evident that the LGBT community members outside the conference hold a different view of the “Father” and what we’re called to as His people. One of the friends attending with me said she saw it as discussions happening on two different planes, with no intersecting points on the crucial questions, between the protesters and folks with the FOTF point of view.

A moment of hope came for me during a session presented by Nancy Heche, mother of actress Anne Heche. She asked audience members to raise their hands if they were gay or knew a gay family member or friend. Almost every hand went up. The next question she posed was, “How many here want to see the voice of their church change in regard to homosexuality?”

Given Alaska’s very conservative base of churches, I interpreted that to mean striving for a kinder, more compassionate dialogue. Nearly a dozen or so hands went up. Perhaps this will further the conversation locally and more broadly, as Christians of all stripes seek to live out their Christianity.

Our kids don’t need changing, part 2: Local news coverage

Gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and straight allies gathered in Anchorage on Saturday to protest the ex-gay conference. Their message of LGBT equality was echoed by the many cars who honked in support. See the photos and story: Our Kids Don’t Need Changing (part 1).

The local television news picked up the story: