Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, January 7, 2005 Page: 1 of 56
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LOCAL » WOMAN UNHAPPY WITH RESPONSE TO EMT COMPLAINT I NATIONAL » DIVORCE COURT TREATS SAYS LIKE MARRIEDS I PLUS » VIEWPOINTS I STAGE I TRAVEL I ART
ESTABLISHED 1984
dallasvoice.com
LOCAL
Rev. John Haack will
lead Promise MCC to
a new home in Oak
Cliff this weekend.
PAGE 6.
NATIONAL
Rev. Gerald M. Horan
says school won’t
shift its stance after
admitting children of
gay couple. PAGE 13.
_______JANUARY I 07 I 2005
The PREMIER SOURCE FOR GLBT DALLAS/FORT WORTH
‘There’s a huge outpouring of
compassion. For the past 10 days
it’s just been nonstop.’
A woman on Wednesday walks past a house destroyed by tsunami at
Devanahpattinam, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. In
hundreds of villages along India’s ravaged southeastern coast, tens
of thousands of people, mostly fishermen and their families, are
grappling with losses caused by tsunami that struck Dec. 26.
Gay churches
extend help to
tsunami victims
San Francisco-based international relief
group keeps track of GLBT contributions
By David Webb Staff Writer
Dallas’ two largest GLBT congregations have linked
with international relief efforts to provide aid to survivors
of the tsunami disaster in Southern Asia.
The Cathedral of Hope and White Rock Community
Church have scheduled special offerings during their
Sunday services on Jan. 9 to assist the homeless residents
of Thailand, India, Indonesia and other areas devastated by
massive waves that struck Dec. 26. The tsunami were
spawned by a powerful earthquake that rocked the north-
ern Indian Ocean.
The Cathedral of Hope is cooperating with the Rainbow
World Fund, a San Francisco-based gay group, which will
in turn forward funds to CARE, the global humanitarian
organization. White Rock Community Church has identi-
fied World Vision International, a Christian relief group, to
provide help.
The Rev. Jo Hudson, rector of the Cathedral of Hope,
See TSUNAMI on PAGE 14
Judge tosses Arkansas foster parent ban
Circuit Court Judge Timothy Fox, right, of Little Rock, said the Cu^e J.iallenging the state’s ban on gay foster
parents presented an “excellent opportunity to replace ignorance with knowledge and to make an informed
decision based on information as opposed to assumption.”
Conservative lawmakers vow to
rewrite state law so rule barring
gays can be reinstituted
By David Webb Staff Writer
An Arkansas judge has struck down a
five-year-old state regulation that prohibits
gays, lesbians or anyone who lives with
them from being foster parents.
Circuit Court Judge Timothy Fox, of
Pulaski County, wrote in his findings that the
case presented an “excellent opportunity to
replace ignorance with knowledge and to
make an infonned decision based on infor-
mation as opposed to assumption.”
“The testimony and evidence overwhelm-
ingly showed that there was no rational rela-
tionship between the blanket exclusion and
the health, safety and welfare of foster chil-
dren,” Fox wrote.
The judge’s decision, which was returned
on Dec. 29, invalidated a regulation imposed
by the Child Welfare Agency Review Board
in 1999.
The judge found that the state agency had
overstepped its authority and violated the
principle of separation of powers. The regu-
lation was an attempt to regulate “public
morality,” rather than to ensure the welfare
of children, he said.
The lawsuit was brought by the American
Civil Liberties Union on behalf of three
Arkansas residents. The policy said “no per-
son may serve as a foster parent if any adult
member of that person’s household is a
homosexual.”
The plaintiffs included William Wagner,
of Waldron, who is a married heterosexual
with adult children. He was disqualified
because he and his wife of 32 years have an
adult gay son who occasionally lives with
them.
The other plaintiffs were Matthew Lee
Howard, of Little Rock, who lives with his
male partner of 19 years, and Anne Shelley,
of Fayetteville, a community organizer for
nonprofit organizations who is a lesbian.
The ACLU attorneys argued that the reg-
ulation violated the equal protection rights of
gays and lesbians. But the judge noted in his
See FOSTER PARENTS on PAGE 16
Montana justices rule for state college benefits
Mark Kelly, of
Helena, Mont.,
squats during a
2002 rally on the
lawn of the
Missoula County
Courthouse. The
rally was held as
a show of support
for Adrianne Neff
and Carla
Grayson, whose
house was
destroyed by an
arson fire last
February after the
women lobbied the
state’s public col-
leges to provide
domestic partner
benefits.
A boost for gays, but decision
won’t help the women who
fought for the benefits
By Tammye Nash Staff Writer
The Montana Supreme Court’s recent rul-
ing requiring the state’s university system to
offer health benefits to the same-sex partners
of its gay and lesbian employees provided a
much-needed boost for Montana’s GLBT
community, according to one of the lawyers
for plaintiffs in the case.
But the decision won’t help the two
University of Montana faculty members and
their partners who originally filed the suit,
since neither of the women still work for the
See COLLEGES on PAGE 15
LMMWJIIH1
■ . .
FRI
Cloudy then Clearing
49°
SAT
Mostly Sunny
40/65
SUN
Mostly Sunny
49/67
The weekend starts out cloudy with clearing late Friday but cold,
with southeasterly winds shifting to the northeast. Saturday and
Sunday, mostly clear with winds from the south and southwest
Local News
National News
Viewpoints
Life+stytes
Starvoice
Calendar
Classifieds
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12
22
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39
50
Lily Tomlin publicly
came out a few years
ago, but don’t give her a
pride flag. The American
treasure plays Fort
Worth on Saturday.
PAGE 24.
i
SCREEN
Hilary Swank had better
start shopping for Oscar
gowns. The Oallas-Fort
Worth film critics voted
her the year's best
actress in 'Million Dollar
Baby.’ PAGE 27.
Sexy health nut and
choreographer Danny
Teeson jumps on the
Queer Eye bandwagon.
This time gays are res-
cuing hapless straight
women. PAGE 28.
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Vercher, Dennis. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 21, No. 35, Ed. 1 Friday, January 7, 2005, newspaper, January 7, 2005; Dallas, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth616469/m1/1/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.