Articles tagged with: ACLU
Help Kalamazoo, Apply for Scholarships, Fix Alaska’s Property Tax Laws, Read the NorthView
Gay AK: short news items from and for LGBT Alaska
“No Discrimination” stickers
Alaskans Together created these “No discrimation” bumper stickers, and left a stack of them at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center in Anchorage. Pick up your sticker today!
Anchorage helps Kalamazoo
Join Anchorage Won’t Discriminate in helping One Kalamazoo, the campaign to protect the non-discrimination ordinance facing a recall vote in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Kalamazoo ordinance is similar to the one vetoed this summer in Anchorage.
GLCCA Open House x2
The Gay and Lesbian Community Center (GLCCA) hosted QLBTQA youth from UAA’s The Family and APU’s Spectrum GLBT groups for an open house, tour, pizza, and meet and greet on Sept. 26. Later the same evening, another open house was held at GLCCA to celebrate Diversity Month. The center was packed to the rafters with visitors enjoying each others’ company, fine food and great entertainment. See the October issue of NorthView, Identity’s quarterly bulletin, for more Community Center News.
Seeking over-65 same sex couples who own their home
Lesbian and gay couples in Alaska are not treated equally under the state’s Senior Citizen Property Exemption laws. Married residents 65 years of age or older are exempt from taxation on the first $150,000 of the assessed value of their home, regardless of whether the property is held in the name of the husband, wife, or both. However, same-sex domestic partners are excluded from the full exemption. Only one person in the same sex couple can receive the exemption, and the amount is essentially cut in half because state law treats same-sex partners as roommates. If you are 1) in a long-term, committed relationship with your partner, AND 2) at least one partner is 65 or over, AND 3) you are living with your partner in a home that one or both of you own, then the ACLU of Alaska would like to talk with you. Please contact Tiffany McClain at (tmcclain@akclu.org).
Pride Foundation scholarship applications
Pride Foundation is now accepting scholarship applications for the 2010-11 school year. Each year, Pride Foundation provides educational scholarships to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and straight-ally leaders and role models from Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Washington attending any accredited post-secondary school. They offer 50 different scholarships, but have only one application to complete. Just create an account and complete your application online.
Equal Benefits for LGBT Alaskans
Public employers such as municipal governments, state agencies, and school districts have an obligation to provide the same benefits to same-sex domestic partners that they provide to spouses. The ACLU of Alaska wants to ensure that all Alaskans are receiving equal benefits, and conducted a survey of all public agencies in the State of Alaska.
“Know Your Rights! Domestic Partnership Benefits in Alaska” (.pdf) is an initial summary of the findings. It lists public employers who currently provide domestic partnership benefits, those who do not offer benefits, and employers who did not complete the survey.
What can you do to receive your benefits or help expand coverage?
Your employer has an obligation to provide you with information regarding the benefits available to you and your same-sex partner. If you work for a public employer who did not respond to our survey, you can help enforce your rights by:
1) Requesting that your employer make explicit their status on domestic partnership benefits.
2) Providing the ACLU of Alaska with accurate information regarding your employer’s domestic partnership benefits policy or lack thereof.
If you have questions, suggestions or corrections, please contact Tiffany McClain, LGBT Public Policy Coordinator, ACLU of Alaska, 907-258-0044 ext. 101.
For more information, visit the ACLU of Alaska’s LGBT rights page.
Equality Works Sets the Record Straight
Equality Works Seeks Truthful Discussion on Proposed Ordinance
Sets Record Straight on Mayor’s Proposal to End Discrimination in Anchorage
Equality Works, a coalition of Alaska Organizations working to end discrimination in Anchorage, today announced a coordinated effort to ensure that debate about the proposed equal rights Ordinance focuses on the facts.
Jackie Buckley, spokesperson for Equality Works stated: “Equality Works believes that workers in Anchorage should be judged solely on their qualifications and the merits of their work, and that no one should have to deny who they are in order to keep an apartment or a job. We know that the vast majority of Anchorage residents want to protect their friends, neighbors, family and coworkers from discrimination or harassment.”
“Unfortunately, there has been an effort to misrepresent what the proposed updates to the Municipality’s Equal Rights law would do,” continued Buckley. “It is important that in considering Anchorage’s future and the kind of city we strive to be, that we base our decisions on facts — not unfounded and unproven fears.”
- Anchorage already has a nondiscrimination law. However, because “sexual orientation” is not currently a protected class, the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission has no jurisdiction to track or investigate these cases of suspected discrimination. The Anchorage Equal Rights Commission has unanimously endorsed 2009-64, the proposed Ordinance updates. Supporters of equality are only asking that sexual orientation be included in the list of protected classes for a law that is already on the books.
- Anchorage’s nondiscrimination law has never prohibited businesses from establishing standards of conduct and behavior suitable for the marketplace and other professional settings. The majority of Fortune 500 companies, including some with a local presence — such as BP, Alaska Airlines, and Wells Fargo — have voluntarily adopted internal policies to protect people from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation/gender identity. These corporations understand that LGBT-inclusive nondiscrimination policies help to recruit and retain a more diverse, talented, and productive workforce. No clause in the proposed Ordinance requires an employer, business owner, or realtor to tolerate anyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, who behaves in an inappropriate, disruptive or unprofessional manner, including in a restroom or other facilities.
- The US Constitution’s Bill of Rights promises every American the freedom to practice their religion and express their opinion without persecution. The Municipality of Anchorage recognizes those rights by including “religion” as a protected class in its current nondiscrimination laws, and the Ordinance includes language that allows churches and other religious organizations to limit access or admission to those who share their beliefs.
- People need protection from discrimination on the basis of their gender identity/expression. No one — straight or gay — should be treated unfairly in work or the public sphere. Equality Works believes the small minority of transgender people in our community — people who have served in our military, who drive our taxis, and who have children and families to provide for — are no less deserving of employment and housing than anyone else. While some in our community try to paint transgender people as a dangerous threat, transgender men and women are far more likely to be the targets of violent harassment and discrimination than those who would refuse them equal opportunity under the law.
Equality Works is a coalition of organizations and individuals working to protect Anchorage citizens from discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in matters of employment, housing, and public accommodations, and includes the Alaska Women’s Lobby, Alaska Women’s Political Caucus, Alaskans Together for Equality, Alliance for Reproductive Justice-Alaska, American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska, Anchorage Education Association, Anchorage Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Anchorage Urban League, Association of Fundraising Professionals-Alaska Chapter, Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network-Anchorage (GLSEN), Identity, Inc., Immanuel Presbyterian Church, League of Women Voters of Anchorage, National Association of Social Workers-Alaska Chapter, Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG), and Planned Parenthood of the Great Northwest.
More information regarding the true facts about the proposed Ordinance may be found at Equality Works.
Equality Works Everywhere
Tiffany McClain is in the perfect position to write a gay rights column: she is the LGBT Coordinator for the ACLU of Alaska, the organizer of Equality Works, and on the board of Alaskans Together. Tiffany recently wrote a guest post on her experience at the Creating Change conference, and I am pleased to welcome her as a regular contributor to Bent Alaska.
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Equality Works in Florida Too: LGBT Rights Activists Victorious in Gainesville
by Tiffany McClain
Over the past year, conservative groups have been trying to strip Gainesville’s LGBT citizens of protection from discrimination. They’ve been whipping up opposition with fear-inducing lies, including demonizing attacks representing transgender people as sexual predators. For weeks leading up to the vote, all the news was dire, but we finally found reason to hope on March 24th when the citizens of Gainesville stood up against prejudice and handily defeated the initiative by a vote of 58% to 42%.
As most of us well know, when activists, legislators, or court officials take positive steps to end discrimination against LGBT people, we often end up fighting efforts to impede our progress. The Prop 8 debacle in California is the most recent example of this, but we need only look back to the 2007 advisory vote to roll back the Alaska Supreme Court’s ruling on domestic partnership benefits as an example of the tug-of-war that has come to characterize the national movement for LGBT civil rights. With this in mind, we have been keeping an eye on Gainesville for lessons on how to overcome obstacles as we continue on the path of protecting LGBT Alaskans from discrimination and harassment.
So what can we learn from the Gainesville victory?
We can learn that as much as the fear-mongering might hurt and offend us, it doesn’t necessarily translate into votes against equality.
We can learn that while we might do what we can to avoid being dragged into an ugly—and inherently unfair—battle for votes, we shouldn’t assume we’ve lost until every ballot is counted.
We can learn that as much as we have come to depend on judges and lawmakers to recognize the rights that the Constitution promises us, and as much as we might hate to legitimize the idea that anyone’s civil rights should be determined by a popular vote, our losses are never inevitable.
Win or lose, a fight for civil rights is always worth it.
Support efforts to advance and protect the rights of LGBT Alaskans:
www.equalityworks.org Working to protecting Anchorage citizens from discrimination and harassment
www.akclu.org Dedicated to the cause of civil liberties for all Alaskans
www.alaskanstogether.org Advancing civil equality for LGBT Alaskans
