KnowThyNeighbor.org

Federal Judge--Homosexuality Is Okay In Public Schools

A federal judge yesterday dismissed a suit by two couples who contended that the Lexington public school system violated their constitutional rights by teaching their young children about same-sex couples.(see Boston Globe)

In his 38-page decision , Chief Judge Mark L. Wolf of US District Court said that under the US Constitution, public schools are "entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy."

"Diversity is a hallmark of our nation," he said.  (Shocking!!!)

The couples, David and Tonia Parker and Robert and Robin Wirthlin, have the option to send their children to private schools or home-school them. They can work to elect a School Committee that might change the curriculum, but they have no right to dictate what the school district teaches.  And that is not just my opinion, it is the opinion of Chief Judge Wolf.

The Parkers and the Wirthlins vow to appeal the ruling.  I don't know how David Parker can find the time between attending Focus on the Family events and being a paid guest speaker at Republican Town Committee meetings around Massachusetts.  Download from_voteonmarriage_email_to_gop.htm 

And the Wirthlins...who are they?  A simple google search didn't provide much.  Only that the Wirthlin's family is an extremely influential Mormon one which contributed heavily to the establishment of the Mormon Temple in Salt Lake AND heralds, Uncle Dick Wirthlin, the GOP pollster who worked for Ronald Reagan, the Republican Party, Governor Mitt Romney, now Presidential candidate Mitt Romney, The Mormon Church, and various anti-gay organizations.

Ah, the power of the internet to establish intent...

Tom Lang, Director

Court Finds Probable Cause For Assault AND Civil Rights Violation Against Larry Cirignano of The Catholic Citizenship

Larry Cirignano Must Now Face Court Trial For Assault On Sarah Loy As Well As A Civil Rights  Violation For His Actions In December 2006 VoteOnMarriage "Rally For Democracy"

A Clerk in the Worcester District Court found this morning that Larry Cirignano, Director of the Catholic Citizenship (a leading support organization for VoteOnMarriage), "probable cause" for Cirignano to be tried on BOTH Assault Charges and Civil Rights Violations against the straight, female equality supporter, Sarah Loy.

BayWindows was the first to report on the outcome of the trial as reporter Ethan Jacobs waited to hear the Clerk's ruling at today's 8:15 AM hearing in the Worcester District Court.  Though no press or members of the general public were allowed inside the Clerk's Hearing, Ethan was able to interview Sarah Loy and others just outside Room 417 as the ruling became public.  Susan Ryan-Vollmar, BayWindows editor, told KnowThyNeighbor that her newspaper and the Worcester IndyMedia Center were present and I confirmed earlier that the Worcester Telegram and Gazette also had a reporter on site.  Rich Nangle, the T & G reporter who originally covered the story back in December, was a key witness to the assault and was undoubtedly a witness in today's hearing.

KnowThyNeighbor had a strong presence at the Worcester Version of the "Rally For Democracy" staged at the Worcester City Hall by VoteOnMarriage, the Catholic Citizenship and the Massachusetts Family Institute.  What is truly amazing is that the assault on Sarah Loy by Larry Cirignano happened within view of Kris Mineau, Evelyn Reilly, Ambassador Ray Flynn and various clergy members and politicians.  As a matter of fact, I saw Cirignano seconds after the assault make his way back to the podium area and stand right next to Evelyn Reilly of the MFI.  Mineau's demeanor toward me after this horrible incident certainly made me wonder how much he personally witnessed.  Now that Cirignano faces a jury trial (arraignment date set for April 11th) on both the count of assault and of civil rights violations, I wonder if there will be any apology for or condemnation of this attack on a pro-equality supporter by one of "their own."  Or will they continue to blame Sarah Loy, the Gay Community and KnowThyNeighbor.

**CORRECTION**

It has been brought to the attention of KnowThyNeighbor from a first person account of Tuesday's Clerk Hearing that Rich Nangle was not present but made the court aware of his being out of town on business.  This account of the hearing also includes the fact that NO eyewitnesses to the December 16th assault on Sarah Loy were called for testimony on February 20th.  The only people beside the Clerk Magistrate to speak of the actual assault were the victim, Sarah Loy, Larry Cirignano and Cirignano's Attorney.  Cirignano's attorney strategically requested that both charges (assault and civil rights violations) be handled together and not separately.  The request was granted but failed as BOTH charges were found to be of sufficient evidence to warrant a trial.

Tom Lang, Co-Director

Mitt Romney aka Mittler and his Wife To Appear on FOXNews "Mr. and Mrs. Happy Handbook Special" To Discuss Their Successful Marriage

Mr. Happy's Video That's Right, The Great Discriminator To Share His Secrets In Preserving His Traditional Marriage

Every day, the gay community gets another slap in the face and today was no exception.  FOXNews promo'ed its "Mr. and Mrs. Happy Handbook Special" which will air today at 4:00 P.M. EST and will showcase our former anti-family Governor Mitt Romney and his wife, Ann discussing the reasons for their successful 38 year marriage.  I wonder if they will include their biggest non-secret of how to stay together--by eliminating the threat of same-sex marriages.  From what we heard from Mittler for 4 years in Massachusetts, that is the only way to truly protect his marriage.  And it must have worked, 38 years together.  HOO-HA!

There will be other "Mr. and Mrs. Happy's" showcased today including Lynn and Dick Cheney whose "happy" marriage produced a "happy" lesbian daughter, Mary, who has a "happy" same-sex partner and will soon bless the "happy" grandparents with a "happy" grandchild.  So much "happiness"-- it is difficult for us gays to not crack at least a little smile for all of them. 

No more being glum.  So what if we are about to have our marriages and our equality thrown to the court of popular opinion here in Massachusetts and we have lost in many states and are losing in others our basic protections needed to survive?  It is a great consolation to us all that we have "Mr. and Mrs. Happy" to make us feel good about ourselves.

Thank you Mitt.

** Check out Mr. Happy's Video from his Presidential (please God NO!) website with guest commentary by the one and only Kris Mineau of MFI.  It seems Romney's successes in Massachusetts in order of appearance are 1) stopping same-sex marriage 2) meeting with families of dead Iraq War soldiers 3) student scholarships and 4) healthcare initiatives.**

Tom Lang, Co-Director

KnowThyNeighbor Applauds Washington State Petition I-957

Blog to follow.

Greg Kimball, KnowThyNeighbor Treasurer Agrees With USA Today: Gay Teens are Normal Teens.

This morning, on the front page of USA Today, I found a very interesting article by Marilyn Elias regarding gay youth, coming out, and the social pressures and stigmas involved in doing so. Elias states that gay people are coming out at an earlier age than ever before, due to the nation's increasing acceptance of homosexuality.

USA Today Article

My name is Greg Kimball and I am the treasurer of KnowThyNeighbor.org. I came out when I was 14 to an incredibly loving and supportive family who took my sexual orientation without question and never faltered in their love. When I told my parents how nervous I was about telling them, they realized that not all families have the tolerance they have and that some gay youth get an absolutely terrible reaction from their family when they come out. This realization lead my mother to contact other local parents with gay children and found a support group called HEART [Honoring Equality And Respecting Tolerance].

It breaks my heart to know that a disproportionate amount of homeless youth are without shelter because of their homosexuality. Even though the nation's acceptance of homosexuality is consistently and steadily increasing, there is still a  way to go before gay youth won't even have to think that losing their family could be one of the consequences of them coming out, before sexual orientation is looked at as just another aspect of one's being.

Perhaps the most compelling point of the article is when Elias mentions Lisa Diamond's findings on anxiety and depression in gay youth: with the worry of finding a partner aside, gay youth are no more depressed than straight youth. They're normal teenagers.

-Greg, Treasurer, KnowThyNeighbor.org

Cirignano may face civil rights charges

Anyone wondering why Larry Cirignano got a promotion and a new job in DC?  The Catholic Church was getting him outa Dodge before this news hit:

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(From Bay Windows)

Worcester Police call for civil rights charges against Cirignano
Worcester police are recommending that Larry Cirignano, former head of Catholic Citizenship, be charged with civil rights violations for allegedly shoving Sarah Loy to the ground during an anti-marriage rally in Worester Dec. 16. Loy was demonstrating in favor of the rights of same-sex couples to marry.

After an investigation that lasted more than two months Worcester Police are recommending that former Catholic Citizenship executive director Larry Cirignano be charged with both civil rights violations and assault and battery in connection to an alleged altercation at a Dec. 16 rally for VoteOnMarriage.org in Worcester. Cirignano, one of the speakers at the rally in support of a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, allegedly shoved Sarah Loy, a counter-protestor who supports same-sex marriage, to the ground (see “When Push Comes To Shove,” Dec. 21, 2006). In the week following the incident Worcester Police spokesperson Kerry Hazelhurst said that the department had filed a criminal complaint with the clerk magistrate’s office to determine if there was probable cause to charge Cirignano with misdemeanor assault and battery, but with the investigation concluded Hazelhurst said the department has decided to push for civil rights charges as well.

“Through the D.A.’s office they’re going to go forward with civil rights violations and assault and battery charges … [Police] investigated everything and talked to all involved and determined that the elements for civil rights violations were met, and they decided to go with it. It was an extensive and lengthy investigation,” said Worcester Police spokesperson Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst.

Worcester Police on the scene at the rally did not directly witness the altercation, but several other eyewitnesses have come forward. One of those witnesses, Worcester Telegram and Gazette reporter Richard Nangle, broke the story about the incident in his coverage of the rally. He told Bay Windows in December that he saw Cirignano shove Loy and that her head landed on the curb right at his feet.

Hazelhurst declined to give specific details about why police believed the civil rights charges were warranted, citing the ongoing legal proceedings. Last week Cirignano told Bay Windows that his case will be heard before the clerk magistrate’s office Feb. 20 to determine whether there is probable cause to proceed with the charges against him. Penalties for a civil rights charge range from up to $1000 or up to one year of jail time, or some combination of both.

Last week Cirignano announced that he had stepped down from his leadership post at Catholic Citizenship, one of the key partners in the VoteOnMarriage.org coalition, to head up a new Catholic political organization in Washington, D.C. (see “Under Fire For Alleged Assault, Catholic Citizenship Leader Takes D.C. Post,” Feb. 1, 2007).

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Aaron Toleos

Providing Healthcare Benefits to Same-Sex Couples in Michigan Is ILLEGAL

Michigan Court Today Declares Same-Sex Benefits To Be Unconstitutional

So, are we taking these Constitutional Marriage Amendments seriously yet?  Today, the Michigan Court reversed a 2005 decision and now, based on its Constitutional Amendment which was passed by Michigan voters in 2004, it is unconstitutional for public universities and local governments to grant health insurance to partners of gay employees.

The amendment made the union between a man and a woman the ONLY agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose."  And today, the court wrote, "The marriage amendment's plain language prohibits public employers from recognizing same-sex unions for any purpose."  So now granting necessary health benefits to same-sex partners (or unmarried heterosexual partners) is technically illegal.

Is Michigan an anomaly?  Not at all.  The Commonwealth of Virginia recently had the same situation, however, Virginia even disallowed private businesses from granting domestic partnership benefits to same-sex couples at the private businesses own expense.  Thanks to Equality Virginia and others, this aspect was repealed.  Are we now going to see this blatant discrimination and bigotry in Michigan?

I hope that the Republican Party and the Conservative Groups who did this are pleased with themselves.  History has a long memory...

Tom Lang, Director