Year in, year out - issues affecting homosexuals in 1998 - Abstract

The triumph and setbacks, tragedies and occasional comedies that made 1998 memorable

January

* Shahar appeal ends: The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear an appeal in the case of Robin Shahar. Shahar had been promised a job in 1991 by Georgia attorney general Michael Bowers, but Bowers withdrew the offer when he learned Shahar was planning a commitment ceremony with her partner.

* Genes debate: Dean Hamer, a leading genetics researcher at the National Cancer Institute, suggests in a new book that lesbianism is more the result of nurture than nature, while gay men are more "hardwired" in their sexual orientation.

* McVeigh ruling: Saying that the Navy had "gone too far'" in its investigation, U.S. district court judge Stanley Sporkin permanently reinstates Navy officer Timothy McVeigh, who had been targeted for discharge on the basis of his online screen name, "Boysrch," and his America Online profile. In the summer McVeigh retires, and in October he reveals he is gay.

February

* Maine rights law struck down: Voters in Maine pass a measure 52%-48% that repeals the state's ban on antigay discrimination, which was signed into law by Gov. Angus King the previous May. The vote leads to a town-by-town effort throughout the state to pass local nondiscrimination ordinances.

* "Don't ask, don't tell" violations rise: According to a report issued by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, a gay group.

* Proposed ADAP increases: President Clinton asks for a 35% increase in money for AIDS drug assistance programs, which provide help to underinsured or uninsured people with HIV.

* March announced: The Human Rights Campaign, a gay lobbying group, and the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches announce a Millennium March to be held in Washington, D.C., in 2000. The rally is immediately attacked by activists who complain that the event was planned without their input and will shortchange grassroots organizing efforts.

* Alaska marriage ruling: An Alaska superior court judge rules that the state must meet the highest standard of proof in showing why it has the right to ban same-sex unions. The decision, which applies the same standard used by courts in Hawaii, leads opponents to promote a constitutional amendment to prohibit same-gender marriages.

March

* Same-sex harassment case: In a case that establishes that federal law on sexual harassment covers same-sex cases, the Supreme Court rules that, a lawsuit brought by Joseph Oncale, a straight oil rig worker who had charged he was sexually assaulted and threatened with rape by male coworkers, can go forward.

* White outburst: In an address before the Wisconsin state legislature, Green Bay Packers star Reggie White says that homosexuality is a "sin" and that the plight of gay men and lesbians should not be compared to that of blacks.

* Lesbian ears: A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences finds that the inner ears of lesbians are more similar to those of men than those of heterosexual women.

* American Airlines attacked: Religious conservatives issue a press release claiming that after meeting with CEO Robert Crandall, American Airlines is backing off its pro-gay policies, such as sponsoring gay events. American denies that it has any intention of changing its outreach to the gay market.

* Creech acquitted: The Rev. Jimmy Creech, a Methodist minister in Omaha, is narrowly acquitted of charges of disobedience for performing a marriage ceremony for a lesbian couple the preceding September. Despite the acquittal Creech is not reappointed as pastor to his church and ends up moving to North Carolina, where he cleans houses.

* Ellen too gay? In remarks published in the San Jose Mercury News and later picked up by Daily Variety, Chastity Bono, the then-entertainment media director for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is quoted as saying that Ellen DeGeneres's sitcom is "too gay." Bono says her remarks were taken out of context; the sitcom, which has seen its ratings fall all season, is canceled in April.

April

* Pentagon report released: In a report that was widely leaked to the media before its official release, the Pentagon concludes that the 67% increase in gay-related troop discharges since the institution of "don't ask, don't tell" is in part the result of service members outing themselves. Gay activists deride the conclusion as having no basis in reality.

* Needle exchange nixed: After a heated internal debate, the Clinton administration decides not to allow federal funding of any needle-exchange programs, which have been proven to reduce HIV infections, because it might send a mixed message about drug use.

* Concert canceled: The principal of Irmo High School in Columbia, S.C., cancels a scheduled concert by the Grammy award-winning Indigo Girls after some parents complain because the singers are lesbians.

May

* Soccer player suicide: Justin Fashanu, the first black soccer star in Britain to earn more than $1 million, hangs himself in London. Fashanu, who announced he was gay in 1990, had been charged by Maryland police with sexual assault on a 17-year-old boy in March.

* Michigan initiative defeated: An antigay initiative in Ypsilanti, Mich., is rejected by voters 56%-44%.

* Clinton signs executive order: President Clinton issues an executive order that adds sexual orientation to the list of categories for which discrimination is prohibited in federal civilian employment.

* Gay play controversy: After receiving threats the Manhattan Theatre Club announces that it will not stage the production of Terrence McNally's new play, Corpus Christi, which tells the story of a gay Christlike figure. Following complaints of censorship, the Theatre Club reverses its position a week later.

* Hochberg confirmed: After months of stalling caused by some Senate Republicans, openly gay Fred Hochberg is confirmed as deputy administrator of the Small Business Administration.

June

* Sodomy law dropped: The Rhode Island senate votes to repeal the state's 102-year-old sodomy law after a court declares it unconstitutional in April.

* Lott speaks out: In an interview on a conservative talk show, Senate majority leader Trent Lott (R.-Miss.) says that homosexuality is a sin and compares it to alcoholism and kleptomania.

* Log Cabin shut out: The Texas state Republican Party refuses to allow Log Cabin Republicans, a gay group, to have a booth at the state convention. Gov. George W. Bush distances himself from the rest of the party by saying, through a spokeswoman, that he "believes all individuals deserve to be treated with dignity and respect."

* HIV photographed: Using advanced technology, scientists are able for the first time to photograph HIV attacking a cell. In a surprise to researchers, the photo shows that the virus uses two probes to invade CD4 cells, not one probe as previously thought.

July

* Ex-gay ad campaign: A coalition of 15 different religious-right groups launches a newspaper ad campaign claiming that homosexuality can be "cured." The coalition says that the ads, which run in politically influential newspapers such as The New York Times and The Washington Post, are meant to begin a "new national discussion of homosexuality."

* Disney stock dumped: The Texas state school board votes to unload $45 million of Walt Disney Corp. stock, in part because of the company's pro-gay policies.

* AIDS conference: The 12th World AIDS Conference is held in Geneva. The news from the conference is not as upbeat as the news from the Vancouver, Canada, conference two years earlier, as the initial optimism about advances in treatment is tempered by the realization of the wily nature of the virus.

* Split decisions on parenting: A Henrico County, Va., court rules that a divorced lesbian and her partner can have custody of her two children. About three weeks later, however, the North Carolina state supreme court rules that a divorced man who had admitted to having sex with his boyfriend in their home could not keep custody of his two sons.

August

* Gay Games held: Some 15,000 competitors and hundreds of thousands of visitors converge on Amsterdam for Gay Games V. The day after the Games begin, the board of directors announces that the Games are $1 million over cost and that it has fired executive director Marc Janssens as a result.

* Executive order upheld: The House of Representatives votes to uphold President Clinton's executive order banning antigay job discrimination in the federal government. Two days later, however, the House votes 227-192 to prevent gay couples living in Washington, D.C., from adopting children. (This measure is later dropped from the District of Columbia's appropriations bill.)

* Morning Party death: The evening before the 16th annual Morning Party, held in New York's Fire Island Pines, Frank Giordano dies from an overdose of the party drug gamma hydroxy butyrate (GHB). Because the party is sponsored by Gay Men's Health Crisis, Giordano's death sparks a debate about the relationship of AIDS organizations to the often drug-laden party circuit.

* Presidential fund-raiser: President Clinton attends a fund-raiser in East Hampton, N.Y., held at the home of composer-conductor Jonathan Sheffer and his partner, physician Christopher Barley. About 75 guests, three quarters of them gay, raise $400,000 for the Democratic Party.

* Surprising poll results: Contradicting conventional wisdom, a survey conducted by Louis Harris and Associates finds that people with gay friends or relatives are no more likely to support gay rights laws than people with no gay acquaintances at all.

* Lesbian cancer risk: A study of 433 lesbians in San Francisco confirms for the first time that lesbians do indeed face a greater risk for breast cancer than heterosexual women.

* Drug protest: Demonstrators gather outside the headquarters of DuPont Pharmaceuticals to complain about the cost of its new AIDS drug, efavirenz, which was just recently approved by the FDA.

September

* Schools fail gays: A report released by the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network flunks nearly half of the 42 districts rated for failing to protect gay students and train staff regarding gay issues.

* Ban backed: Overturning a lower court ruling, a federal appeals court decides that the "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gay men and lesbians in the military is constitutional.

* Gore addresses gay audience: In a keynote address at a fund-raising dinner in Washington for the Human Rights Campaign, Vice President Al Gore declares that "all people, regardless of sexual orientation, should be able to be a part of a loving relationship and raise a family without fear of recrimination or discrimination."

October

* Shepard attack: Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old student at the University of Wyoming, is savagely beaten and tied to a fence where a passerby mistakes him for a scarecrow. The attack on Shepard, who dies from his injuries five days later without ever regaining consciousness, generates enormous press coverage and spontaneous demonstrations against hate crimes in dozens of cities around the country.

* Supreme Court declines hearing: The Supreme Court refuses to hear an appeal in the case of Issue 3, a ballot measure that repealed Cincinnati's nondiscrimination ordinance in 1993. In an unusual statement explaining their move, the justices indicate that Issue 3 is not as far-reaching as Colorado's Amendment 2, the antigay ballot initiative that the court struck down in 1996.

* Maryland sodomy law falls: A state circuit court judge rules that Maryland's same-sex sodomy law, enacted in 1916, is unconstitutional. The following month, Georgia's sodomy law, made notorious when it was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1986, is also struck down by a state court.

* Hormel nomination dies: The U.S. Senate recesses without ever voting on the nomination of gay philanthropist James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg, effectively killing the nomination.

* D'Amato endorsement: To the consternation of gay activists in New York, the Human Rights Campaign decides to endorse Republican incumbent senator Alfonse D'Amato over his Democratic challenger, Rep. Chuck Schumer, citing D'Amato's increasing gay-friendliness. Infuriated activists denounce the move, pointing to D'Amato's otherwise conservative leanings. Schumer wins the election the next month.

November

* Baldwin wins: Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin state legislator, becomes the first openly lesbian candidate to win election to the House of Representatives. Two other lesbian candidates, Grethe Cammermeyer in Washington State and Christine Kehoe in California, fail in their election bids.

* Marriage loses: Voters in Hawaii and Alaska decide by overwhelming margins to approve measures aimed at banning same-sex marriages in their states.

* Lesbians on Broadway: Comedian Lea DeLaria scores a hit on Broadway when she opens in a revival of On the Town. Actor Sandra Bernhard also opens to rave reviews in a one-woman show, I'm Still Here ... Damn It!

* Teacher victorious: A federal judge rules that Wendy Weaver, a high school teacher in Salt Lake City who was fired as a volleyball coach in 1997 because she is a lesbian, had her rights violated by a school gag order prohibiting her from talking about her orientation with students or staff, even outside of school. The judge orders the school district to offer Weaver her coaching position and pay her $1,500 in damages.

* Skater outed: Canadian skater and Olympic medalist Brian Orser is outed when a former partner files a palimony suit against him.

December

* Ellen and Anne say good-bye--and hello: Ellen DeGeneres tells the Los Angeles Times that she and partner Anne Heche are firing their agents and taking a break from Hollywood. Their publicist, however, issues a statement the next day saying it was all a misunderstanding.

* Miami passes protections: Twenty-one years after Anita Bryant led the campaign to repeal a similar measure, the Miami-Dade County commission votes 7-6 to extend employment and housing protections to gay men and lesbians.

* Ex-coach testifies: Pam Parsons, former coach of the University of South Carolina women's basketball team, testifies about the gravity of perjury before the House Judiciary Committee impeachment hearings. Parsons, who unsuccessfully sued Sports Illustrated for libel for outing her, pleaded guilty to perjury in 1984 and was sentenced to prison for lying during her libel trial about visiting a gay bar.

* Huffington comes out: Former California congressman and Senate candidate Michael Huffington comes out in a forthcoming Esquire interview. Huffington had divorced his wife, pundit Arianna Huffington, in 1997.

* Setbacks for Scouts: The city of Chicago agrees to end its sponsorship of Boy Scout units as part of a settlement of a lawsuit brought by Kevin Poloncarz, an openly gay man excluded as a Scout volunteer under the group's policy of barring gays. The following month a New Jersey superior court rules in favor of James Dale, a gay former Eagle Scout, saying there was "no evidence" that gays were unqualified to be either Scouts or scoutmasters.

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