The Dolphin Democrats - Chartered by the Florida GLBT Democratic Caucus

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

Broward School Board Moves to Rein in Diversity Committee

For Immediate Release

Broward School Board

Moves to Rein in Diversity Committee

Fort Lauderdale, FL – August 16, 2005. Today the Broward School Board silenced the voices of those trying to discriminate in Broward County Schools. Fusion Coalition and the Dolphin Democrats asked for the School Board's decision today to take immediate action to halt the unacceptable behavior of a number of its Diversity Committee members.

Members of the Dolphins, Fusion, and a number of other coalition groups spoke again today in the third consecutive School Board meeting, making it clear that not only is discrimination wrong in and of itself, but once exposed it must be eradicated. Today the Broward School Board stood up to do just that.

"We always had complete faith the School Board would come through with the right decision," said Melissa J. Fojtik, President of Fusion Coalition, Sec., Broward DEC. "By refusing to let certain members of the Diversity Committee run roughshod over the Board's well-crafted and progressive Diversity Policies this School Board has sent a ringing proclamation that bullies will not be tolerated in any guise."

"Of critical importance is the need for every child in the Broward School system to feel protected and celebrated," said Kenneth E.
Keechl Esq., President of the Dolphin Democrats. "Today's decision affirms the Board's commitment to safeguard each and every student from discrimination."

Steve Kane claimed on his radio show that he was stepping down temporarily to save the Diversity Committee but there were people there to carry on his work. The truth was that School Board member, Marty Rubinstein, had negotiated several times with the Dolphin Democrats to remove Kane and repeatedly failed to keep his word.
After three weeks of broken promises, Rubinstein's campaign handlers finally promised last Wednesday evening before the Dolphin Democrats'
general meeting to remove Kane, and within 24 hours Kane made his announcement on air.

"It is absolutely unacceptable to throw the gay community, or the women's community, or any community to the lions in a game of political payback," said Melissa J. Fojtik.

The School Board decided to call an emergency Superintendent's
workshop to solve the issues surrounding the Diversity Committee and
is expected to put safeguard policies in place to ensure its anti-
discrimination policies can be enforced before the Committee can meet
again.

Fusion Coalition is a Non-Profit, Non-Partisan charity committed to
securing and protecting rights for committed non-married couples and
their children. Fusion seeks to eliminate prejudice and
discrimination through outreach and education, and to have all
committed Florida couples treated equally.

The Dolphin Democrats' charter covers Broward and southern Palm Beach
County areas. They are Florida's oldest and largest GLBT political
organization.

For more information on the School Board's decision and its impact
please contact Melissa J. Fojtik, Chair of the Fusion Coalition at
954-563-6672, or Katy Peterson, PR Co-Chair for the Dolphin Democrats
and Fusion Coalition at 954-549-5882

WHAT: Broward School Board to overhaul Diversity Committee

WHEN: Tuesday, August 16, 2005

WHERE: Kathleen C. Wright Building, Fort Lauderdale, FL

WHO: Fusion Coalition & Dolphin Democratic Caucus

CONTACT: Melissa J. Fojtik, 954-563-6672; Katy Peterson, 954-549-5882

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Social Security privatization will hurt gays, study says

Social Security privatization will hurt gays, study says
Task Force paper contradicts support for plan from gay GOP group
By LAURA DOUGLAS-BROWN | Aug 9, 4:03 PM

Gay people are more likely to rely on Social Security for retirement income, making them more vulnerable to any cuts in benefits that might occur if the system is privatized, according to a report released Tuesday by the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute.

“It’s a raw deal for all Americans, in particular for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Americans,” author Mandy Hu said in a telephone conference today.

The study, dubbed “Selling Us Short,” said gay Americans should be especially wary of President Bush’s plan to allow workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in private stock accounts. Details of Bush’s plan remain “sketchy” and “befuddled,” Hu said, but it would ultimately result in reduced benefits for all but the lowest-income workers.

Such a drop in Social Security benefits could prove especially devastating to gay men and lesbians who have fewer other avenues for support in retirement, according to the study. Gay people are less likely to have children to care for them in old age, the study noted. They also earn less than heterosexuals and have to spend more on expenses such as healthcare, since domestic partner benefits are taxed while spousal benefits are not, according to the Task Force researchers.

The Log Cabin Republicans, a national gay GOP group, announced earlier this year that it would support a plan to restructure Social Security based on the belief that private savings accounts would allow gay partners to inherit each other’s savings; currently, domestic partners cannot receive Social Security survivor benefits.

But the Task Force report called that argument “specious,” arguing that “the right to pass Social Security savings on to one’s same-sex partner is not so meaningful when the privatization schemes will leave many with no such savings to pass on.”

Wednesday, August 03, 2005

Duo to stay on Broward schools diversity panel, despite controversial remarks

By Chris Kahn
Education Writer
Posted August 3 2005

A conservative radio host and a community activist will remain on the Broward County schools Diversity Committee despite making comments that angered gays and had civil rights groups calling for their removal.

Board members Marty Rubenstein and Ben Williams said at a board meeting Tuesday they'll stand behind their appointees, Steve Kane and Roland Foulkes, for now.

"He made a statement that's not right," Williams said of Foulkes. "I've met with him to make sure this doesn't happen again."

Kane and Foulkes made the comments earlier this year after voting to reject the We Are Family diversity video. The short movie shows SpongeBob SquarePants and other children's characters embracing friends of diverse backgrounds.

Foulkes noted that the movie had the backing of "homosexual advocacy groups" and then launched into concerns about unorthodox families such as the David Koresh and Charles Manson cults.

Kane called gay activists "devious, devious people" and worried that the discussion after the video would encourage children to reveal they lived in homes with same-sex couples.

Rubenstein previously told reporters he might dismiss Kane for those comments. But Tuesday he wasn't ready to do more than scold his appointee in private.

"Shall we say, he's been taken to the woodshed," Rubenstein said.

Williams said Foulkes, a former Peace Corps volunteer to Ghana who used his Diversity Committee appointment to celebrate Broward's multiethnic communities, is too important to let go.

"He's an outstanding person who will push other issues," Williams said.

Leaders of several civil rights groups attended Tuesday's meeting to urge the board to remove Kane and Foulkes.

"When you're on the Diversity Committee, you're supposed to support everybody," said Melissa Fojtik, vice president of the Dolphin Democrats, a Broward-based gay-and-lesbian group.

"[Rubenstein] is just playing politics," said Katy Peterson, a minister at the Metropolitan Community Church in Palm Beach Gardens, which welcomes the gay community. "Steve Kane is a radio personality. Keeping him on the committee will get [Rubenstein] votes."

The Diversity Committee voted 10-7 not to recommend the video after a heated discussion about a number of issues, including whether it would teach students to be friendly to strangers.

The Anti-Defamation League, which distributed the video to thousands of schools around the country, plans to resubmit it for approval. The group is working to make it better fit the district's curriculum guidelines.

In the meantime, the School Board is discussing whether to suspend the committee and pick new members who would give the issues a fresh look.

"Maybe we just do a do-over" with the committee, board Chairwoman Stephanie Kraft said.

Chris Kahn can be reached at cmkahn@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4550.