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Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
Best & Worst of National News
March 2009

THE  BEST

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Spotlights "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"

In March, MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show aired two segments addressing the U.S. military's ban on openly gay military personnel. On March 3, host Rachel Maddow featured Dr. Nathaniel Frank, a senior research fellow at the Palm Center and author of Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America. Frank eloquently discussed the flawed logic that led to the creation of the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. Then on March 20, Maddow welcomed West Point graduate Lieutenant Dan Choi from the group Knights Out, an organization of LGBT West Point military alumni who are advocating for the repeal of the ban. Choi shared his story about being an openly gay service member and talked about the harmful effects of the policy. Choi says "Don't Ask Don't Tell" is immoral because it causes soldiers who are selflessly serving their country to lie.

VIEW CLIPS:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDueoExsCCU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLq9hsDhqSQ

TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD urges you to contact MSNBC host Rachel Maddow and thank her for raising awareness about the history of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and giving voice to the patriotic Americans who have been discharged from the military after putting their lives on the line for their country.

CONTACT:
Rachel Maddow
rachel@...

Judge Judy Speaks Out on CNN's Larry King Live in Favor of Marriage for Same-Sex Couples

On March 16, popular outspoken daytime TV personality Judith "Judge Judy" Sheindlin minced no words when CNN's Larry King asked her to comment on Prop 8's passage in California, which stripped marriage equality from same-sex couples in the Golden State. Among other remarks denouncing Prop 8, Judge Judy said, "Why the state should be interested in proscribing the word marriage from two people who love each other, who are responsible, tax-paying, productive people, who have created a family, sometimes two people, sometimes two people and children – why the state would have an interest in proscribing that kind of conduct, I don't understand." She also reminded viewers that "the world is changing and we have to change along with it."

VIEW CLIP:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-UrVvlYstk

TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD urges you to contact Larry King Live producers and thank them for giving Judge Judy a platform to speak out about marriage equality.  GLAAD also urges you to contact Judge Judy and thank her for her comments in support of marriage for loving, committed same-sex couples.

CONTACT:
Larry King Live
http://www.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form5.lkl.comment.html?75

Judge Judy
http://www.judgejudy.com/your_opinions.php

Fort Myers News-Press Editorializes in Favor of Adoption for Gay and Lesbian Couples

Editors at the Fort Myers News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida denounced the state's 30-year ban on adoption by openly gay people. The March 24 editorial, "Help Kids, Let Gays Adopt," urges state lawmakers to seriously consider new legislation that would end the ban. "Despite the desperate need for adoptive homes in Florida, gays still cannot be full adoptive parents because of a 30-year ban grounded in ignorance and prejudice," the editorial reads. The piece goes on to debunk misleading claims made by anti-gay activists:  "The best evidence suggests that successful parenting does not depend on sexual orientation."

VIEW EDITORIAL:
http://www.news-press.com/article/20090324/OPINION/903240323/1015

TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD encourages you to contact editors at the Fort Myers News-Press and thank them for strongly supporting a repeal of Florida's adoption ban on gay and lesbian people and their concrete arguments which validate their opinion.

CONTACT:
http://www.news-press.net/CS/index.php?addnewsform

The Washington Post Spotlights the Plight of Binational couples in the United States

The Washington Post published a March 16 editorial urging passage of the federal Uniting American Families Act, legislation that would allow gay, lesbian and bi American citizens to sponsor a same-sex partner for permanent residency in the United States. The editorial, titled "Separation Anxiety: Gay couples should be allowed to stay together in the United States," quotes one of the bill's sponsors, Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who says, "The promotion of family unity has long been part of federal immigration policy, and we should honor that principle by providing all Americans the opportunity to be with their loved ones.'" The piece goes on to explain that same-sex couples would go through the exact same rigors of proving their relationships are legitimate as straight married couples and concludes, "American gays and lesbians should not have to choose between their country and their partners."

VIEW EDITORIAL:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/15/AR2009031501669.html

TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD urges you to contact Washington Post editors and thank them for highlighting the vital importance of the Uniting American Families Act to ensure that committed binational couples are able to stay together.

CONTACT:
Washington Post
letters@...

San Jose Mercury News Humanizes Struggles of Binational Couples

On March 29, the San Jose Mercury News devoted significant space to the story of Shirley Tan, who is on the verge of deportation to the Philippines because her partner, Jaylynn Mercado, a U.S. citizen, cannot sponsor her for permanent residency. The couple has twin 12-year-old sons and their family risks being torn apart because of the lack of protections for same-sex couples under current U.S. immigration law. In the article, "Binational, same-sex couples face immigration problems," reporter Mike Swift takes readers through Tan and Mercado's tumultuous battle to keep their family intact. "'It's hard when they are breaking up families,' said a tearful Mercado, as she sat next to Tan in the house the couple owns overlooking the Pacific Ocean. ‘Why can't they just leave us alone? Just because I am not a man, that I cannot petition her (for a green card), they are punishing us.'"

VIEW ARTICLE:
http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_12021911

TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD urges you to contact Mike Swift and the San Jose Mercury News and thank them for sharing the heart-wrenching story of Shirley Tan and her family, putting a human face on the issue of binational same-sex couples who are torn apart by unjust immigration laws in the United States.

CONTACT:
Mike Swift, San Jose Mercury News
mswift@...

San Jose Mercury News
letters@...

THE WORST

Colorado Radio Host on KNUS and KFKA Makes Remarks Condoning Violence Against Transgender People

In a disturbing diatribe on KNUS radio on March 14, host Trevor Carey engaged in a conversation with a caller in which both men condoned violence against transgender people, blaming slain Greeley, Colo. resident Angie Zapata, an 18-year-old transgender woman, for her own brutal murder.

You can read the full transcript here: http://colorado.mediamatters.org/items/200903160001

GLAAD issued a call to action urging Carey to apologize to the family of Angie Zapata, the transgender community and all Coloradans for condoning and promoting the very hostile climate that puts transgender people in harm's way and then blames them for the resulting acts of violence committed against them.

READ THE CALL TO ACTION HERE:
http://www.glaad.org/action/calls_archive_detail.php?id=5062

TAKE ACTION:
GLAAD urges you to contact Trevor Carey and call on him to disavow his remarks that condone violence against transgender people. Please call on KFKA and KNUS to hold Carey accountable for his remarks and establish clear standards to ensure their media platforms will not be used to condone or promote violence towards any parts of the communities they serve.

CONTACT:
Trevor Carey, Host, KNUS, "Trevor Carey" and KFKA, "AM Colorado with Trevor, Troy and George"
trevorcareywork@...

Justin Sasso, General Manager, KFKA
justin@...

Kelly Michaels, Operations Director, Salem Communications (KNUS)
kelly@...

Rush Limbaugh Uses North Dakota Flooding Tragedy to Make Gratuitous Jokes

Syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh used the March flooding situation on the Red River in Fargo, North Dakota to make anti-gay jokes about the word "dike," which newscasters used interchangeably with the word "levee" in their descriptions of the flooded area. Media Matters for America posted audio of the nonsensical Limbaugh commentary. 

LISTEN TO AUDIO:
http://mediamatters.org/countyfair/200903270021

And the blog Towleroad posted part of the transcript:

http://www.towleroad.com/2009/03/limbaugh-uses-fargo-floods-to-express-antigay-disgust.html

"I heard some top of the hour news and it made me feel uncomfortable. It's about the flooding in Fargo, North Dakota brought on by the melting snowpack and the icepack. (reading from news item) "As the Red River threatens to overflow, they're filling in the dikes." Isn't there a more appropriate word? Do we have to say, I mean, we don't have any dikes here. The 'dykes' are over there...They're filling in the dikes. Couldn't we change that to 'they're filling in the contingencies' or something?...We really need to change that word."

Using Fargo's tragic circumstances to make juvenile anti-gay jokes was a slap in the face to the people of North Dakota facing the disaster, and was yet another crass display from the notoriously offensive Limbaugh.

TAKE ACTION:
Rush Limbaugh's radio program is syndicated by Premiere Radio Networks, which is a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications.  GLAAD encourages you to contact Clear Channel and its CEO, Mark Mays and voice your concerns about Limbaugh's usage of an anti-gay slur in coverage of a terrible tragedy.  

CONTACT:
Mark P. Mays, Chief Executive Officer, Clear Channel Communications Inc.
markpmays@...