Florida Agenda

Photo: Ellen Degeneres  Courtesy, YouTube.

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV,

In the wake of five suicides by gay teenagers in September, celebrities and politicians are participating in a YouTube video campaign launched by Seattlebased sex columnist, Dan Savage to help kids understand that they are not the only ones who had to endure bullying and harassment growing up.

“There were no gay people in my family and no openly gay people at my school, but I was picked on because I liked musicals and I was obviously gay and some kids didn’t like that and I did get harassed,” Savage said in the candid, 8- minute video.

Since Sept. 21, the YouTube channel, which can be found at http://www.you tube.com/user/itgetsbetterproject, has had more than 1.4 million visitors viewing the more than 1,000 videos that people have submitted.

The project was sparked by the recent suicides of Raymond Chase, 19; Tyler Clementi, 18; Billy Lucas, 15; Asher Brown, 13 and Seth Walsh, 13.

Some of the celebrities participating include: Ellen DeGeneres, Neil Patrick Harris, Tim Gunn from “Project Runway,” Chris Colfer from “Glee” and blogger Perez Hilton.

Photos Courtesy YouTube, Lifetime Chris Colfer(L) Tim Gunn(C) Perez Hilton(R)

“Nine out of 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment at school and gay teens are four times likelier to attempt suicide,” Savage said. “Many LGBT kids who do kill themselves live in rural areas, exurbs and suburban areas, places with no gay organizations or services for queer kids.”

Some within the GLBT community are criticizing the project.

“However, if we keep telling suicidal people that their situation will ‘get better’ without actually taking any steps to improve it — if we don’t provide support and medical care for people with depression; if we don’t help people who are being abused to find a safe place; if we don’t make sure that the systematic, community- wide abuse of GLBT youth is eliminated — then belief alone can wear thin,” writes Sady Doyle, a freelance writer and blogger.

Zoe Melisa, another gay blogger lists her top 13 reasons why she doesn’t like the project at Queer Watch.

“The rhetoric about being accepted by family encourages folks to come out — even when coming out isn’t a safe idea,” Melisa writes. “There is no infrastructure to catch you when your family reacts poorly. There is no truly benevolent queer family, waiting to catch you, ready to sacrifice so you can thrive.

For a lot of folks, coming out doesn’t only mean that your parents will promise to hate your lovers — it means violence, homelessness, abuse.”

Even in the wake of criticism, President Barack Obama’s administration is getting behind the project and pushing the message that bullying in high schools, middle schools and colleges needs to stop.

“No young person should have to endure a life of relentless taunts and harassment just because they’re gay,” said Obama Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett during the Human Rights Campaign’s annual national dinner. “On behalf of President Obama, I want to make clear that this administration is firmly committed to working with you and other advocates. For we all have to ensure that we are creating an environment in our schools, our communities, and our country, that is safe for every person, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.”

The Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non- Discrimination Act were introduced in Congress in 2009, but lawmakers have not been in a rush to tackle the issue.

“The Department of Health and Human Services has announced an unprecedented National Action Alliance for Suicide Prevention,” Jarrett said. “This alliance brings together a wide range of public and private partners. And it’s going to make sure people have access to help, and to resources when they are in crisis. One of its specific goals is preventing suicide in at-risk groups, including LGBT youth.

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

After years of fighting from the LGBT community, Florida’s 3rd Court of Appeals ruled that banning gays and lesbians from adopting children is

unconstitutional. Florida Governor Charlie Crist, who had at one point been in favor of the ban, has already said that he will support the court’s decision because he had a change of heart about the ban when he became an Independent candidate running for the state’s open seat in the United State’s Senate.

So what now happens to the 19,229 children that are currently in foster care according to the latest available data from the Florida Department of Children & Families?

Well it’s not so simple. The state still has 30 days to decide if they want to appeal the ruling, which means that, for the time being, gays and lesbians can not walk into an adoption agency and ask for a cute little bundle of joy just yet.

“If the State chooses not to appeal, the appellate court decision will be binding on trial courts statewide and will allow lesbians and gay men who are interested in adopting — no matter where they live in the State — to apply and be evaluated under the same criteria applied to everyone else,” said Leslie Cooper, senior attorney with the national ACLU’s LGBT Project. “This is precisely what our litigation has sought to achieve. If the State chooses not to appeal, justice will have been served. We are hopeful that the case will end here.”

Of course it’s not like gays and lesbians haven’t already been exposed to the Florida Department of Children & Families since the ban went into effect in the late 1970’s. Gays and Lesbians have always been allowed to be foster parents and guardians to kids, which is essentially the same thing without permanency.

“It is difficult to see any rational basis in utilizing homosexual persons as foster parents or guardians on a temporary or permanent basis, while imposing a blanket prohibition on those same persons,” wrote Judge Gerald Cope as part of the courts decision. “All other persons are eligible to be considered case-by-case to be adoptive parents.”

The lifting of the ban should help Florida Department of Children & Families meet one of their long-standing goals.

“The goal of the Florida Department of Children and Families is to safely reduce the number of children in foster care by 50 percent by 2012, so fewer children will experience the instability and emotional trauma of living in foster care or will Are There 19,229 Gay s and Lesbians in Florida Who Want to Adopt Kids? spend long periods in foster care,” according to the Florida Department of Children & Families website.

So let’s say that Gov. Crist keeps his newly decided opinion and decides not to appeal the court’s decision and you and your partner (or you alone) decide you would like to adopt a child, what is the process? Follow these not-so-simple steps:

• Orientation: The first step in some areas is an orientation meeting for prospective adoptive parents. At this meeting the prospective parents may meet experienced adoptive or foster parents and one or more counselors who will provide an overview of the whole process, time frames involved and the training schedule

• Preparation Course or MAPP: The Model Approach to Partnership in Parenting (MAPP) is a ten-week training and preparation course that adoptive parents are required to successfully complete. These training sessions are usually scheduled at night or on the weekends. The purpose of the training is twofold— for parents to assess themselves and their family and to explore and learn about adoption issues.

• Home study: A home study includes the following parts:

1. You will be required to provide information about your health.

2. Background checks at the local, state and federal level will be conducted, including having your fingerprints screened at the federal level.

3. References will be requested from your employer, school officials if you have children in school and character references from individuals who have known you and your family.

4. The counselor will visit your home one or more times to complete the home study. If you have children, it will be important for the counselor to ask them a few questions about what they think about adoption. Some of the topics that will be discussed with you and your spouse, if you have one, are:

• Why do you want to adopt?
• Describe your childhood.
• What are the strengths of your marriage?
• How do you think a new child in your home will alter your lifestyle?
• Describe your financial situation.
• Describe your parenting style/ philosophy.

• Approval: All of the information is gathered into a home study packet and sent for approval to an adoption specialist. When your application has been approved, you will be notified.

• After approval: You may continue to look at the available children on the Florida Department of Children & Families website and attend recruitment activities, especially the picnics or events when foster children who are available for adoption are in attendance. Notify your counselor when you are interested and need more information about a certain child or sibling group.

• Match: When the needs of a child or sibling group are matched with your family, your adoption counselor will discuss with you the pre-placement activities that must occur. The official placement in your home will occur when you, the child and the counselor determine that the child is ready.

• Placement supervision: After a child is placed, a counselor must make monthly visits in order to assess the child’s adjustment and if new or additional services are needed. The supervision period ends when the counselor provides “consents to adoption” to your attorney.

• Finalization: Your attorney will schedule a hearing before a judge. At this hearing the adoption will be legalized and the child will legally become part of your family. For more information visit: http://www.dcf.state.fl.us

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

Florida Governor Charlie Crist, a man who has had two marriages for a combined less than three years in his life and has no legitimate children that he acknowledges, has come out with an interesting opinion on exactly those two subjects: marriage and child rearing.

After spending most of his political career fighting to deny the GLBT community the right to marry or adopt children, Crist — the now independent candidate for United States Senate — has changed his mind about GLBT rights.

While Crist’s current Senate website, www.charliecrist.com does not mention his recent change of heart, a position paper with the governor’s letterhead states some of his new positions regarding the toughest situations that are facing the GLBT community including adopting children, marriage rights, hospital visitation rights and the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’, the ban on gays and lesbians serving openly in the military.

“I believe that the government should not make it harder for people to take care of their loved ones,” Crist wrote in his position paper. “I believe civil unions that provide the full range of legal protections should be available to gay couples. That includes access to a loved one in the hospital, inheritance rights, the fundamental things people need to take care of their families.”

The one-page paper articulates ten different policy points related to gay rights.

The positions that Crist now supports for GLBT individuals include:

• Civil Unions
• Hospital visitation
• Inheritance rights
• Adoption rights
• Repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
• Employment Non-Disimination Act
• The Domestic Partnership Benefits and Obligations Act
• Uniting American Families Act
• Appropriations for HIV/AIDS Programs
• Federal Safe Schools Improvement Act

Signs that the Crist campaign were thinking of targeting the GLBT vote came out this summer when the Governor mentioned a change of heart during a television appearance on CNN.

“I feel that marriage is a sacred institution, if you will.

But I do believe in tolerance. I’m a ‘live and let live’ kind of guy, and while I feel that way about marriage, I think if partners want to have the opportunity to live together, I don’t have a problem with that.

And I think that’s where most of America is. So I think that you know, you have to speak from the heart about these issues. They are very personal. They have a significant impact on an awful lot of people and the less the government is telling people what to do, the better off we’re all going to be. But when it comes to marriage, I think it is a sacred institution. I believe it is between a man and woman, but partners living together, I don’t have a problem with,” Crist said on TV, kind of playing both sides of the issue.

In 2008 Crist supported Amendment 2, a constitutional ban on gays and lesbians getting married in Florida that passed by less than 2 percent of the vote. Crist’s democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate Race, Kendrick Meek, immediately attacked his newfound position.

“Can anyone believe anything Charlie Crist says anymore?,” said Abe Dyk, Kendrick Meek’s campaign manager. “It’s obvious Charlie Crist is willing to say anything. The only thing Charlie Crist says today that you can believe tomorrow is that he wants to be elected. Kendrick, in contrast, has been a champion of LGBT rights. He co-sponsored multiple attempts to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and has been a leader in calling for the repeal of Florida’s gay adoption ban. Unlike Charlie Crist, Kendrick stood against Florida’s gay marriage ban, Amendment 2.”

A spokeswoman for one prominent Florida gay rights group praised Crist’s position paper. “This is the furthest a sitting Florida governor has ever gone in publicly supporting [gay rights] issues,” said Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida. “There’s no position he’s taken that a majority of Floridians and Americans don’t already support.”

His whole political career, Crist has fought rumors that he himself is a gay man who has been in the closet. These rumors were fueled on by allegations from former interns, but Crist has never publicly acknowledged that he has engaged in homosexual behavior. Crist and Meek are also running against the Republican Senate nominee Marco Rubio in what’s amounting to be the most exciting political race in the midterm elections.

Election Day is November 2. The three candidates have agreed to participate in a series of debates on national television.

Courts Decision Could Aid in Same-Sex Marriage Fights all Across the Country

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

(Photo: Courtesy of queertoday.com)

A U.S. judge issued a ruling last week that states that the federal ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional because it interferes with a state’s right to define marriage.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Tauro’s ruling after two separate challenges to the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, known as DOMA.

“Today the court simply affirmed that our country won’t tolerate second-class marriages,” said Mary Bonauto, civil rights project director for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.  “I’m pleased that Judge Tauro recognized that married same-sex couples and surviving spouses have been seriously harmed by DOMA and that the plaintiffs deserve the same opportunities to care and provide for each other and for their children that other families enjoy.”

The State of Massachusetts said the law denied benefits such as Medicaid to gay married couples in the state, where same-sex unions have been legal since 2004.

The judge agreed, saying the act “plainly encroaches” upon the right of

the state to determine marriage.

In a second case, Tauro ruled that the act violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Although his rulings apply only to Massachusetts, they could have broader implications for other states in which same-sex marriage is legal if they are upheld on appeal.

“Today’s decision is a confirmation of what every lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender American knows to be a basic truth – we, and our families, are equal,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “This is an important step forward, but there is a long path ahead before we see this discriminatory law consigned to the dustbin of history.”

Several groups who oppose same-sex marriage said they are not worried about the judge’s decision and believe the rulings will be overturned on appeal.

“It’s not surprising that this judge got it wrong, because a sham defense was put up by the Obama Justice Department,” said Maggie Gallagher, chairman of the National Organization for Marriage, a group vehemently opposed to same-sex marriages.

Congress initially enacted DOMA in 1996 after Hawaii became the first state to legalize same-sex unions. If the law is overturned same-sex couples could argue they qualify for federal marriage benefits, which would have wide-ranging implications in such areas as immigration.

Under federal rules, there is an automatic 14-day stay of judgments in civil cases, so same-sex couples in Massachusetts won’t be able to file for benefits immediately, said Gary Buseck, legal director of Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders. If the Justice Department appeals Tauro’s rulings, the court would likely grant a stay while the appeal is pending, he said.

During his campaign President Barack Obama had said repeatedly that he would like to see DOMA, repealed. But the Justice Department has defended the constitutionality of the law, which it is required to do.

Neither Obama, nor his spokespeople or the justice department would comment on the rulings.

Many Obama voters, particularly among gays, will push for the administration not to appeal Tauro’s rulings, said former Assistant Attorney General Robert Raben. But the administration could set a dangerous precedent if it does not continue to defend the law, he said.

“You want the Department of Justice to stop because you won a case; I understand that,” said Raben, who worked at the department during the administration of President Bill Clinton, who signed DOMA into law.

“But you could have a conservative Department of Justice that won’t enforce hate crimes, that won’t enforce employment nondiscrimination acts, that won’t enforce the Ryan White Act, that won’t enforce all kinds of new protections for gays and lesbians because the attorney general doesn’t agree with them. That’s not a regime you want to live in.”

Not only did the judge’s ruling affect same-sex marriage, but it took a broad stance about the type of control the federal government can have over sovereign states.

“The Constitution isn’t about political ideology,” said Michael Boldin, the founder of the Tenth Amendment Center, a group based in Los Angeles. “It’s about liberty, and limiting the government to certain divisive issues — I applaud what I consider a very rare ruling from the judiciary.”

Others, like Steve V. Moon, a software programmer and founder of States-rights.org, a group founded in Utah in 2008, said the judge’s decision was both right and wrong.

“It’s unconstitutional for the federal government to pass laws superseding state authority — and the judge did affirm states’ rights in this area,” he said. “But I personally believe in the sanctity of marriage between a man and woman and support any state passing laws affirming the sanctity of marriage.”

Anita Priest’s Foundation Awards Money to GLBT Youth in the Arts

(Photo courtesy of Anita Priest Whispering Angels Memorial Scholarship Fund)

BY DMITRY RASHNITSOV

Having come off a successful third year of scholarship donation at their banquet this past April, the Anita Priest Whispering Angels Memorial Scholarship Fund is ready to give out more money to highly qualified GLBT students in the arts and design programs.

Candidates wishing to be considered for Scholarships may send their resumes to stuart@gellerdesigngroup.com The Scholarship Committee will be meeting Mid July to review all applicants.

Last year’s scholarship winner was Jennifer Maria Cordoba. She received more than $1,000 a year to study photography.

“What a terrific group and an outstanding legacy in helping other up and coming students. I am very proud to be part of this group,” said UK Entertainer Ross Sykes.

Mrs. Priest was famous in the Miami circles for being one of the best interior designers in all of South Florida. She also started an interior design college that was the first to offer classes to women. Her college was located in what is now known as the design district.

The person behind the scholarships is Sandra Holiday, Anita’s long-time partner.

Along with Stuart Geller, the duo have put together an impressive board of directors and in a short amount of time raised a lot of money to help students of the arts and design.

“Through the Scholarship fund, you are continuing Anita’s life and legacy,” said longtime friend Enbar Cohen.

Some of the famous people gathered on the Scholarship board include singer Debra Hampton who wrote the song Whispering Angels of which the group has its name, Madonna’s brother Christopher G. Ciccone, and famed Fashion Designer Isaac Mizrahi.

“Anita Priest has left a legacy. now “Whispering Angels” will help others to leave theirs. The Scholarship Memorial Fund has been created to help those ‘deserving and passionate’ about the Arts!” Geller said.

For more information or to see photos of last years banquet, join the Facebook group, Anita Priest Whispering Angels Memorial Scholarship Fund.

Sold Out Show Concludes 24^th Season

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

Like a She BOP wrap from Rosie’s, sometimes it’s easy to forget how good the Fort Lauderdale Gay Men’s Chorus really is. But just because these boys have been tooting their vocal horns for 24 years, doesn’t mean that they have lost any of their steam.

On Friday June 25, more than 60 members of the group performed their final show of the season, “Feeling Groovy” a high energy concert with clips from over 70 songs from the 1960’s.

Gay Men’s Chorus Director Todd Wiley led his merry band of misfits through renditions of songs originally sung by The Beatles, Simon and Garfunkel and The Beach Boys. The group also put together a section of nostalgia, singing favorite TV themes from the 1960’s including “Gilligans Island”, “The Andy Griffith Show” and “The Munsters”.

This was also the first season that the South Florida Pride Wind Ensemble led by Artistic Director Dan Bassett accompanied the Gay Men’s Chorus. The bringing together of so many talented singers and musicians into one show is exactly why the Parker Playhouse, a venue that holds several thousand, was overflowing with applause, laughs, cheers and standing ovations during the entire show.

The Gay Men’s Chorus is taking a break until their holiday show next season, but rumor has it that they are teaming up with a well known Broadway and television actress and “fag hag” next season to present their very own original musical.

Until then, the Gay Men’s Chorus is looking for people to help them out with donations, so the shows can continue to be an amazing representation of their community.

The group has put together a “Director’s Circle” club for those that are interested in donating between $500-5,000. Some of the perks include free tickets to shows, free parking passes, invitations to VIP receptions and the chance to get face time with Todd Wiley!

For more information about the group or to donate visit: www.fortlauderdalegaymenschorus.org.

Documentary About Gay Adoption Shows Disgusting Side of Freedom of Speech

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

CNN, the only 24 hour news network that has chosen to stay bi-partisan on the political spectrum, is dedicating a significant amount of Internet bandwidth to an area called “Gay in America”. One of the first television hours dedicated to this subject was Soledad O’Brien’s documentary titled “Gary and Tony Have A Baby”, which aired last week during primetime.

The hour-long program followed Gary and Tony, a couple who had been in a monogamous relationship for more than 20 years wanted to have a child of their own. Gary had already donated his sperm to a lesbian couple and had a biological daughter, but him and Tony decided they wanted a child to raise on their own, make decisions for individually, and generally just love. They decided to go the route of surrogacy. They hired one lady to donate her egg.

They went to a doctor and had that egg mixed with Gary’s sperm and then have the resulting embryo implanted into another lady. Overall the process was more than a year-long and cost them upwards of $100,000. In the end, the couple ended up with a beautiful baby boy. After the hour-long special, CNN.com has blown up with more than 10,000 comments from people regarding the story. Right from the beginning, the commentators took a very negative slant.

“Gay people…for crying out loud…please think of the child first. You need to get selfish and think about how this child is going to handle such a situation.

You may be able to handle it ok. But remember that we all deal with the same situation differently,” said Mintymint.

“Heterosexuals is what keeps society going not homosexuals. It is a lifestyle that is against GOD, nature and everything that makes sense. 2 Men holding hands saying they are married in some kind of perverse ceremony makes no sense. So what they love on one another, who cares and what give,” said TootsMahone.

“Protect traditional marriage at all costs! Homosexuals are trying to destroy this with their alien lifestyle, while heterosexuals have already been destroying it through adultery, divorce, and gold-digging. Gays, straights, it doesn’t matter. Nobody cares anymore about universal traditional marriage which should be between a man and a woman, and until death do you part,” said BlackRifle.

“Here is an idea for a CNN documentary: “Todd & Mary want an open marriage and kids”, shows how Todd and his wife Mary traded in the archaic concept of monogamy (& adultery) for physically loving relationships with anyone who’s interested,” wrote Quest4Trueth.

Not only did the documentary show two loving, caring fathers, who were willing to pay six-figures just to be able to have a child, let alone the cost to care for one, but clearly it shows that no matter how willing a person is to be a parent, the majority of Americans still believe that gays cannot raise a child.

It’s amazing that so many people could write so many negative comments anonymously, but they would never say anything like this to a gay couple in person. It’s people like this that are helping to keep the Florida laws against gay parents adopting in place.

The commentator Aboveknee makes a valid point, “Oh come On! Do We Have to See This Sh*t!” No Aboveknee we don’t have to see your ugly hateful stuff. We will prevail.

Speakers Give Faces, Voice to Epidemic

By DMITRY RASHNITSOV

Three years after Todd Murray was diagnosed with HIV he decided he wasn’t going to let the disease take over his life. Murray founded the group Hope’s Voice, which is dedicated to providing programs, educational lectures, events and campaigns that reach the hearts and minds of their youthful audience.

“When I was diagnosed I struggled with what being positive meant in today’s world and the fear based messages had done little to inspire or empower me, instead they made me fear myself and the disease I was living with,” Murray said.  “I didn’t have a community of young people that could share their fears, struggles and accomplishments. Once I was able to be open about my status, I started to meet an amazing group of young people living with HIV that were community advocates.  What amazed me most was how different we all were, yet we shared the same disease.”

Murray recently moved to South Florida and decided to bring his group with him.

“South Florida is a place where the community often embraces those living with HIV or AIDS and has a progressive history for supporting innovative organizations and causes. South Florida has done a lot to address this issue but there is always more to do,” Murray said.  “My hope is that being a part of the community will provide opportunities for us to work with new partners to build powerful campaigns, conversations and support for those living with the HIV or AIDS.”

Hope’s Voice lectures are presented by young people who offer a variety of diverse stories and information on important issues. The sharing of their story creates a personal connection to students by sharing an often unique perspective. It always includes an informative 101, and finishes with the space for open and often candid questions and discussion.

Hope’s Voice works with colleges and campuses to educate and inspire people to understand the issues and encourage a safe space for difficult conversations.  They have spoken at more than 700 universities since 2004. Currently the group employs seven different lecturers.

“We are always looking accepting applications for speakers and hire on annual basis,” Murray said. “We offer our speakers a source of extra income for contracted speakers. The flexibility of Hope’s Voice allows our speakers to reside around the country, hold full time jobs, attend school and/or raise their families.  Hope’s Voice serves as a representative for our speakers so that they may do what they do best, use their voice to make an impact. Hope’s Voice is a family and we consider this work much more than a job or story to sell. We pride ourselves on not only educating the public, but validating those who are strong enough to share their realities.”

The Hopes Voice group has several different lecture series including, “Does HIV Look Like Me” and “Faces of War.”

“Does HIV Look Like Me? International Society is always in need of support and commitment.  We strive to provide the same opportunity to young people in other countries; the opportunity to tell their stories without fear or isolation.  We encourage those who can to give to the organization to log onto www.doeshivlooklikeme.org and become apart of this important movement, young people have the highest rate of infection, yet they are often silenced and excluded in the solutions to this fight. We are changing that by developing and supporting young leaders living with HIV or AIDS,” Murray said.

For the Does HIV Look Like Me? Lecture series, Hope’s Voice is looking for members of the Latino, African American, Asian and heterosexual male community to join the ranks of speakers.

The group is run like a business and does not receive any grants or donations but instead is completely funded from the bookings they receive nationwide. For more information visit: www.hopesvoice.org.

By Dmitry Rashnitsov

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed new rules for hospitals that would protect patients’ rights to choose their own visitors during a hospital stay, including visitors who are same-sex domestic partners.

The new proposed rules implement an April 15, 2010, Presidential memorandum, in which the President tasked HHS with developing proposed standards for Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals (including critical access hospitals) that would require them to preserve the rights of all patients to choose who may visit them when they are inpatients of a facility.

The proposed rules would require every hospital to have written policies and procedures detailing patients’ visitation rights, as well as instances when the hospital may restrict patient access to visi

tors based on reasonable clinical needs.

A key provision of the proposed rules specifies that visitors chosen by the patient (or his or her representative) must be able to enjoy visitation privileges that are no more restrictive than those for immediate family members.

“Every patient deserves the basic right to designate whom they wish to see while in the hospital,” said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius. “Today’s proposed rules would ensure that all patients have equal access to the visitors of their choosing—whether or not those visitors are, or are perceived to be, members of a patient’s family.”

The proposed rules would update the Conditions of Participation, which are minimum health and safety standards all Medicare- and Medicaid-participating hospitals and critical access hospitals must meet.

Specifically, the proposed rules would add new requirements for hospitals and critical access hospitals to explain to all patients their right to choose who may visit them during their inpatient stay, regardless of whether the visitor is a family member, a spouse, or a domestic partner (including a same-sex domestic partner), as well as the right to withdraw such consent at any time.

“This proposed rule is an important step forward in the rights of all Americans to expect equal rights and privileges from the health care system, regardless of their personal and familial situations,” said Marilyn Tavenner, CMS acting administrator.  “In the environment of inclusion that this rule promotes, patients and providers can expect improved patient experiences of care.”

The proposed rules are available for public comment for 60 days and will be finalized after CMS has read and considered the comments.

Case stems from Washington State Petition That Tried to Protect Names of “Everything-but-Marriage” Repeal Petition Signers

BY DMITRY RASHNITSOV

Washington State voters were worried that they would be harassed after signing a petition to repeal the state’s “everything-but-marriage” gay rights law. They did not want their names revealed, however, the Supreme Court of the United States said that if you wanted to discriminate, you would have to do so with your real name.

“Public disclosure thus helps ensure that the only signatures counted are those that should be, and that the only referenda placed on the ballot are those that garner enough valid signatures,” said SCOTUS Chief Justice John Roberts. “Public disclosure also promotes transparency and accountability in the electoral process to an extent other measures cannot.”

The court ruled against a group called Protect Marriage Washington, which did not want its supports names revealed.  The court ruled 8-1 with only Justice Clarence Thomas dissented from the court’s majority opinion.

Roberts went on to say that the Supreme Court’s ruling affects all voter petitions, not just the Protect Marriage Washington one.

“Voters care about such issues, some quite deeply – but there is no reason to assume that any burdens imposed by disclosure of typical referendum petitions would be remotely like the burdens plaintiffs fear in this case,” Roberts said.

The case now goes back to the lower courts for further arguments.

“This is a good day for transparency and accountability in elections – not just in Washington but across our country,” said Rob McKenna, Washington State’s attorney general. “We’re pleased the Supreme Court ruled in favor of disclosure, upholding the public’s right to double-check the work of signature gatherers and government – and giving them the ability to learn which voters are directing the state to hold an election on a new law. Citizen legislating is too important to be conducted in secret.”

Justice Samuel Alito agreed the state law in general does not violate the Constitution, but said voters in this specific case and others may still be able to justify non-disclosure if they can rationally prove possible harassment.

Justice Thomas said he was dissenting because he felt it was a breach of people’s privacy and that by disclosing their names, it would keep some people from wanting to participate in the political process.

“In my view, compelled disclosure of signed referendum and initiative petitions under the Washington Public Records severely burdens those rights and chills citizen participation in the referendum process,” Thomas said. “Given those burdens, I would hold that Washington’s decision to subject all referendum petitions to public disclosure is unconstitutional because they will always be a less restrictive means by which Washington can vindicate its stated interest in preserving the integrity of its referendum process.”

Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire in 2009 had signed a bill approved by the legislature affording same-sex couples, as well as domestic partners over the age of 62, the same “rights, responsibilities, and obligations” given married spouses.

About 138,000 people had signed the petition to put a repeal of the bill to a vote on the ballot. Even though supports of repealing Washington’s “everything-but-marriage” law was put to the vote of the people, the citizens of Washing

ton upheld it and left the laws alone.

Protect Marriage Washington sued to keep the names private and the case made its way all the way up to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California. The 9th Circuit said that the names had to be revealed, but only an emergency stay by the SCOTUS kept the names private. The case now goes back to the 9th Circuit for additional arguments, but names are expected to be revealed by the end of the summer.

The case is Doe v. Reed, 09-559.