The Herland Voice : v.25: no.8(2007)
- Title
- The Herland Voice : v.25: no.8(2007)
- Description
- The Herland Voice is the monthly publication of Herland Sister Resources, a womanist organization with a strong lesbian focus based in Oklahoma City.
- Date Issued
- 2007-09
- Rights
- All rights reserved by Herland Sister Resources. Contact UCO Archives & Special Collections for the permission policy on the use, reproduction or distribution of these materials.
- Is Part Of
- Herland Voice
- Creator
- Herland Sister Resources
- Date
- 2017-09-02T17:01:45Z
- Date Available
- 2017-09-02T17:01:45Z
- Subject
- Oklahoma
- Type
- application/pdf
- extracted text
-
Herlan
•
a bullying prevention conference
imarron Alliance Foundation
and other community partners
are sponsoring Stop Hate In
The Hallways- A Bullying
Prevention Conference to address
bullying based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Training will be provided for the intervention and prevention of bullying and
harassment in a variety of break-out
sessions. Keynote speaker will be
Kevin Jennings, Founder & Executive
Director of GLSEN. The one-day conference will be held:
October 1 1, 2007
Metro Tech Springlake Campus
1 900 Springlake Drive
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Why is this conference needed?
Harassment and assault in high
schools is still a big problem for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
teens. Most teens (75%) report hearing homophobic remarks at school often or at least sometimes. As the current hit teen movie Superbad illustrates , calling someone "fag" is still a
very common putdown in high
schools. While the name-calling is
september
PFLAG OKC Ti JPS Sept 4 Church of
the Open Arms 7 pm
OGLPC Meeting Monday Sept 1 O
Neighborhood Alliance 1236 NW
36th 7:30 pm
General Voting for OK County
Commissioner Iues_Sfptembe.r__il
PFLAG Norman Thi Jrsday Sept 13
St Stephen's Church 7 pm
rather benign in Superbad, in reality
almost all LGBT students report having been harassed or assaulted at
school for their perceived or actual
orientation. Two -thirds of those students never report it and LGBT students are much more likely than
straight students to say that they do
not feel safe at school.
Her/and Supper Club Sat Sept 8
TG I Fridays 4239 NW Expressway
5:30 pm
Her/and Scrabble Sati Jrday Sept 1 5
2 pm
Her/and Board Meeting Si mday
Sept 16 4 pm everyo n e welco m e
Her/and Craft Day SatULday_Sep_t_ll
2-5 pm
Students of a race other than white
are also much more likely to experience harassment due to their race.
McPride Family Picnic Sati Jrday
Sept 22 Chadick Park McAlester
Most schools do not have an antiharassment policy that includes sex-
day Sep_tll Ft Worth 8 pm
see Conference P. 2
come play at the herland fall retreat
I
t's that time of year again! Time for a quick getaway to womyn and
nature. Don't miss this opportunity to relax, hike, read a book, tie-dye a
T-shirt, bird watch, ride a bike, fish, play games, listen to live music, or
play your new song at the open mic. Coming up on Halloween weekend
in October, Herland will have its Fall Retreat at Lake Eufaula State Park.
We've always had great weather at Eufaula in the fall and we don't expect this
year to be any different. Since it is Halloween weekend, consider bringing a
costume (for you and any four-legged friend you might bring) and enter the
Saturday evening costume contest. Another contest will feature pumpkin
carving (please bring one if you can). Last year's entries in both contests were
great! Look for more details and a registration form in next month's Voice.
Queer Queens of Oomedy S.atur::
Her/and Voice Mailing Wednesday:
S.epL26_ 6 pm
AIDS Walk Sun~_epL3.D. Myriad
Garden s reg istration 12:30 stepoff
2 pm
Center Cinema Free films _ey_eLy.£ci=
dC!f' at Tul sa Equality Center 7 pm
october
Stop Hate in the Hallways-A Bullying Preve ntion Conference Ihurs.:
day Oct I I Metro Tech
Her/and Fall Retreat ErLSaLS_u n
O..c.L26-=2..8. Lake Eufaula State Park
Th e Herl and Voice is a publication o f Herla nd Sister Resources, 23 I 2 NW 39th, OKC. OK 7 3 I I 2. Our bookstore and lending library is open
Saturdays from 1-5 pm . Contact us at (405) 521 -9696 or herl and @herlandsiste rs.o rg_ Visit us on the web at www.herlandsisters.org.
IJllitn the news
oklahoma must recognize out of
state adoptions by gay couples
he 10th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals has ruled that a state
law preventing gay couples
from getting birth certificates
for children adopted in other states is
unconstitutional.
COnferencel
Constitution by singling out a specific
group for discrimination. Now the
10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has
upheld Cauthron 's ruling and declared
Oklahoma's law unconstitutional.
(Likewise, in 2004, Oklahoma's own
Attorney General gave an official opinion that the law would violate the Ninth
Amendment.)
ual orientation, gender identity, or
gender expression, specifically. But
most teachers believe that antiharassment and anti-discrimination
policies would be helpful in securing
a safe learning environment for
LGBT students.
The Adoption Invalidation Law, hastily
passed at the end of the 2004 Oklahoma legislative session, had said that
In a 31 page ruling, the court was
Oklahoma "shall not recognize an
highly critical of the state
adoption by more than
"The very fact that the legislature for passing the
one individual of the
law. "The very fact that
same sex from any other adoptions have ocstate or foreign jurisdic- curred is evidence that the adoptions have occurred is evidence that a
tion." Although single
a court of law has
court of law has found the
gays may become the
parent of adoptive chil- found the adoptions to adoptions to be in the best
interests of the children,"
dren in Oklahoma, same- be in the best interests
sex couples were barred of the children," wrote wrote Cauthron. "To now
attempt to strip a child of
from adopting and the
U. S. District Judge
one of his or her parents
state could invalidate
Robin Cauthron.
seems far removed from
adoptions where couples
the statute's purpose and
have been awarded joint
therefore from [the state's] asserted
parenting rights in states where coimportant government objective."
adoption is legal.
Lambda Legal, representing same-sex
couples, took the state to court.
Lambda represented two same-sex couples and their families who adopted
children while living in other states
and later moved to Oklahoma or
wanted to visit the state with their family. Lambda Legal argued that the law
was unconstitutional based on the
United States Constitution's guarantees
of equal protection, due process and
right to travel, as well as the mandates
of the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
In 2006, U.S. District Court Judge
Robin Cauthron agreed, finding that
the statute violated the United States
cont'd. from P. 1
Who should attend?
School Administrators, Classroom
Educators , Mental Health Professionals, Law Enforcement Officers,
School Psychologists, School Superintendents, National , State & Local
Policy Makers, School Police Officers, Social Workers, Attorneys, and
School Board Members are encouraged to attend.
Total tuition for the conference is $35
which includes lunch. You may apply for a conference scholarship by
sending a letter of need to: Mr. ·
Randy Tate, Conference Chair, North
Care Center, 4436 NW 50th Street,
Oklahoma City, OK 73112. Or call
him at (405) 858-2700 office or fax
(405) 858-2720 .
"Gay and lesbian parents in Oklahoma
can now breathe a collective sigh of
relief because their relationships with
their children are no longer threatened
by the state of Oklahoma," said
Lambda attorney
Ken Upton. "We're
gratified that justice
Dr. Dawn Singleton, Ph.D.
has been handed
down in our case and
that the court saw to
it that Oklahoma has
Licensed Professional Counselor
to treat the children
Licensed Marital & Family Therapist
of gay and lesb ian
parents the same as
SOOS N. Pennsylvania #204 OKC, OK
all other kids."
40S-232-3296
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eventtlll
supper club
craft day
This month the Supper
Club will meet at T.G.I.
Fridays, 4239 Northwest
Expressway, on Saturday,
September 8, at 5:30 pm.
They have everything
from salads, sandwiches,
and burgers to pasta, seafood, ribs, and steaks. A
little something for everyone, no matter what your
taste.
Join us on Saturday,
September 22, from 2 to 5
pm for Craft Day at
Herland. This is a familyfriendly event. We'll have
glass beads and wire for
making wire animals and
decorations, glass tiles for
decorating light switch
covers, glass objects and
coasters, and a variety of
papers for making small
artist books ... these are all
flexible craft ideas which
can be combined into
multi-media pieces.
Jeanne will be available
for instructions and idea
development. If anyone
wants to bring their own
art supplies, bring them
on! If someone has a craft
they want to teach or
learn, please let us know!
Afterwards, you are welcome to head back to Herland with us for the last
few episodes of the L
Word, Season 4.
scrabble
Break out your board and
join us on Saturday, September 15, at 2 pm for an
afternoon of lightly competitive Scrabble. All levels are welcome. Or, you
are always welcome to
come and visit and watch
others play.
aids walk
AIDS Walk OKC 2007
will be Sunday, September
30, at the Myriad
Botanical Gardens.
Registration will open at
12:30 pm and the Walk
will step off at 2:00 pm.
It's a short 1 mile through
Bricktown and returning to
the Gardens.
Southwest Airlines has
donated 2 roundtrip tickets
to anywhere in the
continental US that they
fly. Raffle tickets ($1
each) will be sold for the
chance to win them. The
drawing will be at the end
of the Walk.
~cp~ide
p1cn1c
family
The third annual McPride
Family Picnic will be held
Saturday, September 22,
from 11 am to 5 pm in
Chadick Park in McAlester, OK. The picnic will
feature speakers, games,
booths of information, and
fun for all people-gay
and straight alike. Come
out for an afternoon of fun
and heartwarming experiences. (Alcoholic beverages are not allowed in
Chadick Park.) The purpose of the picnic is to
create an opportunity to
share pride in who we are,
express the love and acceptance of our families,
and create an opportunity
to meet and get to know
each other. For more info,
see www.mcpride .org.
wishing chair
T
he musical duo Wishing Chair will perform at
Church of the Open Arms Thursday, September
20 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is on a sliding scale
of $10-15. The women criss-cross the country
several times a year playing to appreciative audiences
everywhere they go . Take the opportunity to come hear
them in Oklahoma City.
Since 1995, multi-instrumentalist Miriam Davidson and
songwriter Ki ya Heartwood have made an art of
inspiring performances and award winning songs. A
Wishing Chair concert is a passionate mix of intelligent
lyrics, spell-binding storytelling and breathtaking
harmony over a full roots and roll sound. Heartwood's
percussive guitar work and wide-open vocals
compliments Davidson's soulful use of a myriad of
instruments: piano, accordion, banjo, hand drums and
bouzouki. This gifted duo seduces the listener
with soulful confessions, political broadside, and a
wicked groove. Wishing Chair is sure to leave the
listener fully satisfied. Their latest CD, Underdog, was
awarded Best New Folk CD of 2006, by JPFolks, an
Indie organization of over 40,000 music industry
professionals .
"Good lyrics for thinking
people; music with meat on its
bones. " - Omaha Review
Curve magazine says of Wishing Chair, "Engaging performances, haunting harmonies, poetic, political, stellar
vocals." "Kiya Heartwood and Miriam Davidson score
again. They have never sounded tighter or more energetic
in their performance. Wishing Chair just keeps getting
better," says Rich Warren, Sing Out! Magazine.
For more information about the band and to hear samples
of their music, check them out on the web at
www.wishingchair.com.
~ealth
notes
friends can help
A study by the New
England Journal of
Medicine found that social
networks are more
important than genes when
it comes to determining
what a person weighs.
These findings may
explain why people's best
efforts to slim down on
their own are often shortlived. It also suggests that
public health initiatives to
help people achieve a
healthy weight should take
social networks into
account.
The study by Harvard
researchers found that
behavioral norms shift
depending on how people
in a social circle look and
act. In particular, the
chance of a person gaining
weight rose 71 % if a
same-sex friend had
gained weight. There was
a lesser effect of one
spouse on the other for
straight married couples
and no effect from
neighbors who weren't
part of the social network.
In other studies, networks
have been found to be
important for shaping
political attitudes and teen
sexual behavior.
The researchers
hypothesize that if weight
gain can spread through a
social network, then
presumably, so can healthy
eating habits. Medical and
public-health interventions
to promote achieving a
healthy weight might be
more cost-effective than
previously thought since
health improvements in
one person might spread to
others .
how racism
affects the mind
and body
Preliminary findings of
research at St. John's
University and Howard
University are suggesting
that racism could help
explain disparities in health
across races.
Discrimination seems to act
as a source of chronic stress
the same way that marital
conflict or strains at work
do, increasing the stress
hormone cortisol, raising
blood pressure, and
suppressing the immune
system.
One of the studies found
that racism experienced in
the day led to elevated
blood pressure at night,
suggesting the body can't
turn off its stress response.
Other studies have shown
that the stress of
suppressing the inner
turmoil caused by racist
encounters can itself lead to
ill effects.
sports benefits
Girls who played sports in
high school are far more
likely to gain a college diploma than their peers, according to a recent study by
researchers at Brigham
Young University. Girls in
the study were 73% more
likely to complete a bachelor's degree within six years
of graduating from high
school if they had been athletes. And, it did not matter
if they continued to play
sports in college or not. The
female students who had
been athletes said that playing sports taught them to
persevere. Sports kept them
grounded, kept them out of
trouble, and put them in a
group that had the same
mind-set.
dallas emerges
as among most
gay-friendly
cities
(j
allas has become
one of the most
gay-friendly
cities in the US
according to Time
Magazine. It boasts the
ninth-largest concentration
of same-sex couples in the
country and has a lesbian
city sheriff, gay county
judge, and gay district
clerk. Dallas City
Councilman Ed Oakley,
who is openly gay, carried
40% of the vote in the
election for Dallas mayor
in June and thus had a
chance of being the first
gay mayor of a large US
city.
The increasing gay
friendliness reflects a rise
of more liberal attitudes in
Dallas. Gays have
gentrified once-crumbling
neighborhoods while the
city's booming cultural
scene has been a magnet
for many gay and lesbian
professionals.
But some of the old,
conservative Dallas
remains . President Bush
is expected to move there
once he leaves the White
House.
forum reflects
gays' clout
The August 9th Los Angeles
presidential forum on issues
important to gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender
Americans showcases the
status gay votes and money
have earned in the Democratic Party. The fact that no
Republican candidates accepted the invitation illustrates the continued controversy that gay issues cause
them. And two Republican
contenders, Romney and
Guiliani have pivoted away
from their previous stands
favoring gay rights as they
seek the nomination.
The Democratic field's support of gay rights is similar- all the major candidates favor civil unions for
gay couples and repeal of
the military's "don't ask,
don't tell" policy against
openly gay service members. Surveys suggest gay
people have higher incomes
than the general population
and are more likely to make
political contributions.
Still, the Democrats' courtship of gay voters only goes
so far. None of the leading
Democrats supports gay
marriage rights, reflecting
fear of an issue Republicans
used effectively in 2004 to
put them on the defensive
and mobilize conservative
voters .
f;~f;~,££C'.
t?.ue~
•
Vicki Escajeda, BA, CM (405) 202-7051
P.O. Box 12247, Oklahoma City, OK 73157-2247-(405) 637-8000
view poin1'1
hate crimes?
by moc
t a meeting of gay and
gay-friendly progressives
1.>..::.:m~..:J the other night, I heard a
nice young gay man wonder why we need hate crimes legislation. Hate is hate and crimes are
crimes, and why combine the two?
He implied that he thinks that seeking hate-crime legislation makes us
seem like whiney-babies asking for
our mommies to take care of us .
So I've been thinking about it:
Hmm. Whiney babies. Would that
be maybe - Emmett Till, who was
mutilated, lynched, and burned for no
other reason than he was a young
black man who possibly said "hi" to
a white woman? Or... James Byrd,
who fifty years later was dragged
through the streets of Jasper Texas
until he was decapitated, for no other
reason than he was a black man alone
on a country road? Or Matthew
Shephard, who was hung from a
North Dakota fence to die, for no
other reason than he was gay and
trusting?
Now, it is true that murder is murder
and a vicious murder will, these day~,
be tried as such, with a nice vicious
penalty applied , whether it is designated a hate crime or not. I think this
was our nice young man's point.
However, the reason that murders of
this sort must be specifically identified
as crimes of hate is to allow our leaders, both secular and religious , to lead
us all in a spirited denunciation of the
attitudes that engendered them.
Far more numerous than hate murders
are the racist graffiti, the swastikas
painted on synagogue walls, the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, the beatings nearly unto death of interracial
couples and homosexuals, and on and
on; and it is for this kind of activity
that the enhanced punishment ac corded by hate crimes statutes is intended. Vandalism intended to intimidate an entire group of people should
carry a higher penalty than overturning
trash cans on Halloween. Violence
intended to spark fear in the hearts of
;i0;; ~:·· ~-i,;"·~-~ .,.,.,. -· ··.~ -,~~~··.~ ,~~:.:,:,·.ti~1 ·~~1:p.:::2~:2;--~-~:~~~;:,:-:·;~i.i5" i. ~iv·r·~·
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8
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an entire group of people, intended to
dampen a group's feeling of being at
home in their own country and in
their own skin, is a great crime and
should be acknowledged and treated
as such.
Hate crimes are, purely and simply, a
form of terrorism. They are used to
intimidate an entire class of people,
and they are very effective. As an
editorial in the Washington Post in
May of this year said," ... crimes that
target someone because of his or her
race or sexual orientation are more
than an offense against that individual. They are crimes that terrorize
whole communities. "
I'll close with a quote and a couple of
questions. The quote is from the
website of an organization not usually considered wimpy, sissy, or
whiney: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (www.fbi.gov) . "Crimes of
hatred and prejudice- from lynchings
to cross burnings to vandalism of
synagogues- are a sad fact ofAmerican history, but the term "hate crime"
did not enter th e nation's vocabulary
until the 1980s, when emerging hate
groups like the Skinheads launched a
wave of bias-related crime. The FBI
began investigating what we now call
hate crimes as far back as the early
1920s, when we opened our first Ku
Klux Klan case. Today, we remain
dedicated to working with s tate and
local authorities to prevent these
crimes and to bring to justice those
who commit them. "
The questions : Seeing as there already exist Hate Crime laws at the
Federal level and in most states, including Oklahoma; and that they usually cover, at a minimum, race, color,
religion, ancestry, and national origin; and considering that anti-gay
hate crimes make up about one third
of all reported hate crimes , why on
earth would we not want to add sexual and gender orientation to these
laws? And, how on earth does doing
this make us whiney-babies?
Rissho Kasei Kai Dharma Center
of Oklahoma
Sundays: Service 10 am
Hosa 11 am
Wednesdays: Core Teachings of Buddhism Class
with Kathy Spengler 7 pm
Saturdays: Hatha Yoga Class with Donna Shafer 10 am
Sept 14th Lotus Sutra Study with Kris Ladusau 7 pm
Sept 21st Movie Night
Sept 21 st Rev Kawamura visits from Tokyo
Sandy Ingraham, J.D ., M.S .W.
Attorney-at-Law
Ingraham & Associates, PLLC
Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Probate, Adoption, Contracts
Route 2, Box 369-B
McLoud, OK 74851
Tel. (405) 964-2072
Ingraham@mcloudteleco.com
Herland Sister Resources
231 2 NW 39 th Street
Oklahom a City , OK 7 3 1 12
Return Service Requested
"Teach this triple truth to all :
A generous heart, kind speech,
and a life of service and compassion
are the things which renew humanity."
-- Buddha
27 45 NW 4oth Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
Phone: (405) 943-5030
Fax: (405) 943-5303
http://www.rkok-dharmacenter.org
Non-Profit Org
U.S Postage
PAID
Oklahom a City, OK
Permit N o . 8 61
-
Herlan
•
a bullying prevention conference
imarron Alliance Foundation
and other community partners
are sponsoring Stop Hate In
The Hallways- A Bullying
Prevention Conference to address
bullying based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Training will be provided for the intervention and prevention of bullying and
harassment in a variety of break-out
sessions. Keynote speaker will be
Kevin Jennings, Founder & Executive
Director of GLSEN. The one-day conference will be held:
October 1 1, 2007
Metro Tech Springlake Campus
1 900 Springlake Drive
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Why is this conference needed?
Harassment and assault in high
schools is still a big problem for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
teens. Most teens (75%) report hearing homophobic remarks at school often or at least sometimes. As the current hit teen movie Superbad illustrates , calling someone "fag" is still a
very common putdown in high
schools. While the name-calling is
september
PFLAG OKC Ti JPS Sept 4 Church of
the Open Arms 7 pm
OGLPC Meeting Monday Sept 1 O
Neighborhood Alliance 1236 NW
36th 7:30 pm
General Voting for OK County
Commissioner Iues_Sfptembe.r__il
PFLAG Norman Thi Jrsday Sept 13
St Stephen's Church 7 pm
rather benign in Superbad, in reality
almost all LGBT students report having been harassed or assaulted at
school for their perceived or actual
orientation. Two -thirds of those students never report it and LGBT students are much more likely than
straight students to say that they do
not feel safe at school.
Her/and Supper Club Sat Sept 8
TG I Fridays 4239 NW Expressway
5:30 pm
Her/and Scrabble Sati Jrday Sept 1 5
2 pm
Her/and Board Meeting Si mday
Sept 16 4 pm everyo n e welco m e
Her/and Craft Day SatULday_Sep_t_ll
2-5 pm
Students of a race other than white
are also much more likely to experience harassment due to their race.
McPride Family Picnic Sati Jrday
Sept 22 Chadick Park McAlester
Most schools do not have an antiharassment policy that includes sex-
day Sep_tll Ft Worth 8 pm
see Conference P. 2
come play at the herland fall retreat
I
t's that time of year again! Time for a quick getaway to womyn and
nature. Don't miss this opportunity to relax, hike, read a book, tie-dye a
T-shirt, bird watch, ride a bike, fish, play games, listen to live music, or
play your new song at the open mic. Coming up on Halloween weekend
in October, Herland will have its Fall Retreat at Lake Eufaula State Park.
We've always had great weather at Eufaula in the fall and we don't expect this
year to be any different. Since it is Halloween weekend, consider bringing a
costume (for you and any four-legged friend you might bring) and enter the
Saturday evening costume contest. Another contest will feature pumpkin
carving (please bring one if you can). Last year's entries in both contests were
great! Look for more details and a registration form in next month's Voice.
Queer Queens of Oomedy S.atur::
Her/and Voice Mailing Wednesday:
S.epL26_ 6 pm
AIDS Walk Sun~_epL3.D. Myriad
Garden s reg istration 12:30 stepoff
2 pm
Center Cinema Free films _ey_eLy.£ci=
dC!f' at Tul sa Equality Center 7 pm
october
Stop Hate in the Hallways-A Bullying Preve ntion Conference Ihurs.:
day Oct I I Metro Tech
Her/and Fall Retreat ErLSaLS_u n
O..c.L26-=2..8. Lake Eufaula State Park
Th e Herl and Voice is a publication o f Herla nd Sister Resources, 23 I 2 NW 39th, OKC. OK 7 3 I I 2. Our bookstore and lending library is open
Saturdays from 1-5 pm . Contact us at (405) 521 -9696 or herl and @herlandsiste rs.o rg_ Visit us on the web at www.herlandsisters.org.
IJllitn the news
oklahoma must recognize out of
state adoptions by gay couples
he 10th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals has ruled that a state
law preventing gay couples
from getting birth certificates
for children adopted in other states is
unconstitutional.
COnferencel
Constitution by singling out a specific
group for discrimination. Now the
10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has
upheld Cauthron 's ruling and declared
Oklahoma's law unconstitutional.
(Likewise, in 2004, Oklahoma's own
Attorney General gave an official opinion that the law would violate the Ninth
Amendment.)
ual orientation, gender identity, or
gender expression, specifically. But
most teachers believe that antiharassment and anti-discrimination
policies would be helpful in securing
a safe learning environment for
LGBT students.
The Adoption Invalidation Law, hastily
passed at the end of the 2004 Oklahoma legislative session, had said that
In a 31 page ruling, the court was
Oklahoma "shall not recognize an
highly critical of the state
adoption by more than
"The very fact that the legislature for passing the
one individual of the
law. "The very fact that
same sex from any other adoptions have ocstate or foreign jurisdic- curred is evidence that the adoptions have occurred is evidence that a
tion." Although single
a court of law has
court of law has found the
gays may become the
parent of adoptive chil- found the adoptions to adoptions to be in the best
interests of the children,"
dren in Oklahoma, same- be in the best interests
sex couples were barred of the children," wrote wrote Cauthron. "To now
attempt to strip a child of
from adopting and the
U. S. District Judge
one of his or her parents
state could invalidate
Robin Cauthron.
seems far removed from
adoptions where couples
the statute's purpose and
have been awarded joint
therefore from [the state's] asserted
parenting rights in states where coimportant government objective."
adoption is legal.
Lambda Legal, representing same-sex
couples, took the state to court.
Lambda represented two same-sex couples and their families who adopted
children while living in other states
and later moved to Oklahoma or
wanted to visit the state with their family. Lambda Legal argued that the law
was unconstitutional based on the
United States Constitution's guarantees
of equal protection, due process and
right to travel, as well as the mandates
of the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
In 2006, U.S. District Court Judge
Robin Cauthron agreed, finding that
the statute violated the United States
cont'd. from P. 1
Who should attend?
School Administrators, Classroom
Educators , Mental Health Professionals, Law Enforcement Officers,
School Psychologists, School Superintendents, National , State & Local
Policy Makers, School Police Officers, Social Workers, Attorneys, and
School Board Members are encouraged to attend.
Total tuition for the conference is $35
which includes lunch. You may apply for a conference scholarship by
sending a letter of need to: Mr. ·
Randy Tate, Conference Chair, North
Care Center, 4436 NW 50th Street,
Oklahoma City, OK 73112. Or call
him at (405) 858-2700 office or fax
(405) 858-2720 .
"Gay and lesbian parents in Oklahoma
can now breathe a collective sigh of
relief because their relationships with
their children are no longer threatened
by the state of Oklahoma," said
Lambda attorney
Ken Upton. "We're
gratified that justice
Dr. Dawn Singleton, Ph.D.
has been handed
down in our case and
that the court saw to
it that Oklahoma has
Licensed Professional Counselor
to treat the children
Licensed Marital & Family Therapist
of gay and lesb ian
parents the same as
SOOS N. Pennsylvania #204 OKC, OK
all other kids."
40S-232-3296
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foru fll,fQr'cQ:nim.unity discourse. Article$Je'ffet:l1Jtle'opini6ris~ of the :.
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eventtlll
supper club
craft day
This month the Supper
Club will meet at T.G.I.
Fridays, 4239 Northwest
Expressway, on Saturday,
September 8, at 5:30 pm.
They have everything
from salads, sandwiches,
and burgers to pasta, seafood, ribs, and steaks. A
little something for everyone, no matter what your
taste.
Join us on Saturday,
September 22, from 2 to 5
pm for Craft Day at
Herland. This is a familyfriendly event. We'll have
glass beads and wire for
making wire animals and
decorations, glass tiles for
decorating light switch
covers, glass objects and
coasters, and a variety of
papers for making small
artist books ... these are all
flexible craft ideas which
can be combined into
multi-media pieces.
Jeanne will be available
for instructions and idea
development. If anyone
wants to bring their own
art supplies, bring them
on! If someone has a craft
they want to teach or
learn, please let us know!
Afterwards, you are welcome to head back to Herland with us for the last
few episodes of the L
Word, Season 4.
scrabble
Break out your board and
join us on Saturday, September 15, at 2 pm for an
afternoon of lightly competitive Scrabble. All levels are welcome. Or, you
are always welcome to
come and visit and watch
others play.
aids walk
AIDS Walk OKC 2007
will be Sunday, September
30, at the Myriad
Botanical Gardens.
Registration will open at
12:30 pm and the Walk
will step off at 2:00 pm.
It's a short 1 mile through
Bricktown and returning to
the Gardens.
Southwest Airlines has
donated 2 roundtrip tickets
to anywhere in the
continental US that they
fly. Raffle tickets ($1
each) will be sold for the
chance to win them. The
drawing will be at the end
of the Walk.
~cp~ide
p1cn1c
family
The third annual McPride
Family Picnic will be held
Saturday, September 22,
from 11 am to 5 pm in
Chadick Park in McAlester, OK. The picnic will
feature speakers, games,
booths of information, and
fun for all people-gay
and straight alike. Come
out for an afternoon of fun
and heartwarming experiences. (Alcoholic beverages are not allowed in
Chadick Park.) The purpose of the picnic is to
create an opportunity to
share pride in who we are,
express the love and acceptance of our families,
and create an opportunity
to meet and get to know
each other. For more info,
see www.mcpride .org.
wishing chair
T
he musical duo Wishing Chair will perform at
Church of the Open Arms Thursday, September
20 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is on a sliding scale
of $10-15. The women criss-cross the country
several times a year playing to appreciative audiences
everywhere they go . Take the opportunity to come hear
them in Oklahoma City.
Since 1995, multi-instrumentalist Miriam Davidson and
songwriter Ki ya Heartwood have made an art of
inspiring performances and award winning songs. A
Wishing Chair concert is a passionate mix of intelligent
lyrics, spell-binding storytelling and breathtaking
harmony over a full roots and roll sound. Heartwood's
percussive guitar work and wide-open vocals
compliments Davidson's soulful use of a myriad of
instruments: piano, accordion, banjo, hand drums and
bouzouki. This gifted duo seduces the listener
with soulful confessions, political broadside, and a
wicked groove. Wishing Chair is sure to leave the
listener fully satisfied. Their latest CD, Underdog, was
awarded Best New Folk CD of 2006, by JPFolks, an
Indie organization of over 40,000 music industry
professionals .
"Good lyrics for thinking
people; music with meat on its
bones. " - Omaha Review
Curve magazine says of Wishing Chair, "Engaging performances, haunting harmonies, poetic, political, stellar
vocals." "Kiya Heartwood and Miriam Davidson score
again. They have never sounded tighter or more energetic
in their performance. Wishing Chair just keeps getting
better," says Rich Warren, Sing Out! Magazine.
For more information about the band and to hear samples
of their music, check them out on the web at
www.wishingchair.com.
~ealth
notes
friends can help
A study by the New
England Journal of
Medicine found that social
networks are more
important than genes when
it comes to determining
what a person weighs.
These findings may
explain why people's best
efforts to slim down on
their own are often shortlived. It also suggests that
public health initiatives to
help people achieve a
healthy weight should take
social networks into
account.
The study by Harvard
researchers found that
behavioral norms shift
depending on how people
in a social circle look and
act. In particular, the
chance of a person gaining
weight rose 71 % if a
same-sex friend had
gained weight. There was
a lesser effect of one
spouse on the other for
straight married couples
and no effect from
neighbors who weren't
part of the social network.
In other studies, networks
have been found to be
important for shaping
political attitudes and teen
sexual behavior.
The researchers
hypothesize that if weight
gain can spread through a
social network, then
presumably, so can healthy
eating habits. Medical and
public-health interventions
to promote achieving a
healthy weight might be
more cost-effective than
previously thought since
health improvements in
one person might spread to
others .
how racism
affects the mind
and body
Preliminary findings of
research at St. John's
University and Howard
University are suggesting
that racism could help
explain disparities in health
across races.
Discrimination seems to act
as a source of chronic stress
the same way that marital
conflict or strains at work
do, increasing the stress
hormone cortisol, raising
blood pressure, and
suppressing the immune
system.
One of the studies found
that racism experienced in
the day led to elevated
blood pressure at night,
suggesting the body can't
turn off its stress response.
Other studies have shown
that the stress of
suppressing the inner
turmoil caused by racist
encounters can itself lead to
ill effects.
sports benefits
Girls who played sports in
high school are far more
likely to gain a college diploma than their peers, according to a recent study by
researchers at Brigham
Young University. Girls in
the study were 73% more
likely to complete a bachelor's degree within six years
of graduating from high
school if they had been athletes. And, it did not matter
if they continued to play
sports in college or not. The
female students who had
been athletes said that playing sports taught them to
persevere. Sports kept them
grounded, kept them out of
trouble, and put them in a
group that had the same
mind-set.
dallas emerges
as among most
gay-friendly
cities
(j
allas has become
one of the most
gay-friendly
cities in the US
according to Time
Magazine. It boasts the
ninth-largest concentration
of same-sex couples in the
country and has a lesbian
city sheriff, gay county
judge, and gay district
clerk. Dallas City
Councilman Ed Oakley,
who is openly gay, carried
40% of the vote in the
election for Dallas mayor
in June and thus had a
chance of being the first
gay mayor of a large US
city.
The increasing gay
friendliness reflects a rise
of more liberal attitudes in
Dallas. Gays have
gentrified once-crumbling
neighborhoods while the
city's booming cultural
scene has been a magnet
for many gay and lesbian
professionals.
But some of the old,
conservative Dallas
remains . President Bush
is expected to move there
once he leaves the White
House.
forum reflects
gays' clout
The August 9th Los Angeles
presidential forum on issues
important to gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender
Americans showcases the
status gay votes and money
have earned in the Democratic Party. The fact that no
Republican candidates accepted the invitation illustrates the continued controversy that gay issues cause
them. And two Republican
contenders, Romney and
Guiliani have pivoted away
from their previous stands
favoring gay rights as they
seek the nomination.
The Democratic field's support of gay rights is similar- all the major candidates favor civil unions for
gay couples and repeal of
the military's "don't ask,
don't tell" policy against
openly gay service members. Surveys suggest gay
people have higher incomes
than the general population
and are more likely to make
political contributions.
Still, the Democrats' courtship of gay voters only goes
so far. None of the leading
Democrats supports gay
marriage rights, reflecting
fear of an issue Republicans
used effectively in 2004 to
put them on the defensive
and mobilize conservative
voters .
f;~f;~,££C'.
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•
Vicki Escajeda, BA, CM (405) 202-7051
P.O. Box 12247, Oklahoma City, OK 73157-2247-(405) 637-8000
view poin1'1
hate crimes?
by moc
t a meeting of gay and
gay-friendly progressives
1.>..::.:m~..:J the other night, I heard a
nice young gay man wonder why we need hate crimes legislation. Hate is hate and crimes are
crimes, and why combine the two?
He implied that he thinks that seeking hate-crime legislation makes us
seem like whiney-babies asking for
our mommies to take care of us .
So I've been thinking about it:
Hmm. Whiney babies. Would that
be maybe - Emmett Till, who was
mutilated, lynched, and burned for no
other reason than he was a young
black man who possibly said "hi" to
a white woman? Or... James Byrd,
who fifty years later was dragged
through the streets of Jasper Texas
until he was decapitated, for no other
reason than he was a black man alone
on a country road? Or Matthew
Shephard, who was hung from a
North Dakota fence to die, for no
other reason than he was gay and
trusting?
Now, it is true that murder is murder
and a vicious murder will, these day~,
be tried as such, with a nice vicious
penalty applied , whether it is designated a hate crime or not. I think this
was our nice young man's point.
However, the reason that murders of
this sort must be specifically identified
as crimes of hate is to allow our leaders, both secular and religious , to lead
us all in a spirited denunciation of the
attitudes that engendered them.
Far more numerous than hate murders
are the racist graffiti, the swastikas
painted on synagogue walls, the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, the beatings nearly unto death of interracial
couples and homosexuals, and on and
on; and it is for this kind of activity
that the enhanced punishment ac corded by hate crimes statutes is intended. Vandalism intended to intimidate an entire group of people should
carry a higher penalty than overturning
trash cans on Halloween. Violence
intended to spark fear in the hearts of
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an entire group of people, intended to
dampen a group's feeling of being at
home in their own country and in
their own skin, is a great crime and
should be acknowledged and treated
as such.
Hate crimes are, purely and simply, a
form of terrorism. They are used to
intimidate an entire class of people,
and they are very effective. As an
editorial in the Washington Post in
May of this year said," ... crimes that
target someone because of his or her
race or sexual orientation are more
than an offense against that individual. They are crimes that terrorize
whole communities. "
I'll close with a quote and a couple of
questions. The quote is from the
website of an organization not usually considered wimpy, sissy, or
whiney: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (www.fbi.gov) . "Crimes of
hatred and prejudice- from lynchings
to cross burnings to vandalism of
synagogues- are a sad fact ofAmerican history, but the term "hate crime"
did not enter th e nation's vocabulary
until the 1980s, when emerging hate
groups like the Skinheads launched a
wave of bias-related crime. The FBI
began investigating what we now call
hate crimes as far back as the early
1920s, when we opened our first Ku
Klux Klan case. Today, we remain
dedicated to working with s tate and
local authorities to prevent these
crimes and to bring to justice those
who commit them. "
The questions : Seeing as there already exist Hate Crime laws at the
Federal level and in most states, including Oklahoma; and that they usually cover, at a minimum, race, color,
religion, ancestry, and national origin; and considering that anti-gay
hate crimes make up about one third
of all reported hate crimes , why on
earth would we not want to add sexual and gender orientation to these
laws? And, how on earth does doing
this make us whiney-babies?
Rissho Kasei Kai Dharma Center
of Oklahoma
Sundays: Service 10 am
Hosa 11 am
Wednesdays: Core Teachings of Buddhism Class
with Kathy Spengler 7 pm
Saturdays: Hatha Yoga Class with Donna Shafer 10 am
Sept 14th Lotus Sutra Study with Kris Ladusau 7 pm
Sept 21st Movie Night
Sept 21 st Rev Kawamura visits from Tokyo
Sandy Ingraham, J.D ., M.S .W.
Attorney-at-Law
Ingraham & Associates, PLLC
Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Probate, Adoption, Contracts
Route 2, Box 369-B
McLoud, OK 74851
Tel. (405) 964-2072
Ingraham@mcloudteleco.com
Herland Sister Resources
231 2 NW 39 th Street
Oklahom a City , OK 7 3 1 12
Return Service Requested
"Teach this triple truth to all :
A generous heart, kind speech,
and a life of service and compassion
are the things which renew humanity."
-- Buddha
27 45 NW 4oth Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
Phone: (405) 943-5030
Fax: (405) 943-5303
http://www.rkok-dharmacenter.org
Non-Profit Org
U.S Postage
PAID
Oklahom a City, OK
Permit N o . 8 61
-
Herlan
•
a bullying prevention conference
imarron Alliance Foundation
and other community partners
are sponsoring Stop Hate In
The Hallways- A Bullying
Prevention Conference to address
bullying based on race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
Training will be provided for the intervention and prevention of bullying and
harassment in a variety of break-out
sessions. Keynote speaker will be
Kevin Jennings, Founder & Executive
Director of GLSEN. The one-day conference will be held:
October 1 1, 2007
Metro Tech Springlake Campus
1 900 Springlake Drive
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Why is this conference needed?
Harassment and assault in high
schools is still a big problem for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender
teens. Most teens (75%) report hearing homophobic remarks at school often or at least sometimes. As the current hit teen movie Superbad illustrates , calling someone "fag" is still a
very common putdown in high
schools. While the name-calling is
september
PFLAG OKC Ti JPS Sept 4 Church of
the Open Arms 7 pm
OGLPC Meeting Monday Sept 1 O
Neighborhood Alliance 1236 NW
36th 7:30 pm
General Voting for OK County
Commissioner Iues_Sfptembe.r__il
PFLAG Norman Thi Jrsday Sept 13
St Stephen's Church 7 pm
rather benign in Superbad, in reality
almost all LGBT students report having been harassed or assaulted at
school for their perceived or actual
orientation. Two -thirds of those students never report it and LGBT students are much more likely than
straight students to say that they do
not feel safe at school.
Her/and Supper Club Sat Sept 8
TG I Fridays 4239 NW Expressway
5:30 pm
Her/and Scrabble Sati Jrday Sept 1 5
2 pm
Her/and Board Meeting Si mday
Sept 16 4 pm everyo n e welco m e
Her/and Craft Day SatULday_Sep_t_ll
2-5 pm
Students of a race other than white
are also much more likely to experience harassment due to their race.
McPride Family Picnic Sati Jrday
Sept 22 Chadick Park McAlester
Most schools do not have an antiharassment policy that includes sex-
day Sep_tll Ft Worth 8 pm
see Conference P. 2
come play at the herland fall retreat
I
t's that time of year again! Time for a quick getaway to womyn and
nature. Don't miss this opportunity to relax, hike, read a book, tie-dye a
T-shirt, bird watch, ride a bike, fish, play games, listen to live music, or
play your new song at the open mic. Coming up on Halloween weekend
in October, Herland will have its Fall Retreat at Lake Eufaula State Park.
We've always had great weather at Eufaula in the fall and we don't expect this
year to be any different. Since it is Halloween weekend, consider bringing a
costume (for you and any four-legged friend you might bring) and enter the
Saturday evening costume contest. Another contest will feature pumpkin
carving (please bring one if you can). Last year's entries in both contests were
great! Look for more details and a registration form in next month's Voice.
Queer Queens of Oomedy S.atur::
Her/and Voice Mailing Wednesday:
S.epL26_ 6 pm
AIDS Walk Sun~_epL3.D. Myriad
Garden s reg istration 12:30 stepoff
2 pm
Center Cinema Free films _ey_eLy.£ci=
dC!f' at Tul sa Equality Center 7 pm
october
Stop Hate in the Hallways-A Bullying Preve ntion Conference Ihurs.:
day Oct I I Metro Tech
Her/and Fall Retreat ErLSaLS_u n
O..c.L26-=2..8. Lake Eufaula State Park
Th e Herl and Voice is a publication o f Herla nd Sister Resources, 23 I 2 NW 39th, OKC. OK 7 3 I I 2. Our bookstore and lending library is open
Saturdays from 1-5 pm . Contact us at (405) 521 -9696 or herl and @herlandsiste rs.o rg_ Visit us on the web at www.herlandsisters.org.
IJllitn the news
oklahoma must recognize out of
state adoptions by gay couples
he 10th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals has ruled that a state
law preventing gay couples
from getting birth certificates
for children adopted in other states is
unconstitutional.
COnferencel
Constitution by singling out a specific
group for discrimination. Now the
10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has
upheld Cauthron 's ruling and declared
Oklahoma's law unconstitutional.
(Likewise, in 2004, Oklahoma's own
Attorney General gave an official opinion that the law would violate the Ninth
Amendment.)
ual orientation, gender identity, or
gender expression, specifically. But
most teachers believe that antiharassment and anti-discrimination
policies would be helpful in securing
a safe learning environment for
LGBT students.
The Adoption Invalidation Law, hastily
passed at the end of the 2004 Oklahoma legislative session, had said that
In a 31 page ruling, the court was
Oklahoma "shall not recognize an
highly critical of the state
adoption by more than
"The very fact that the legislature for passing the
one individual of the
law. "The very fact that
same sex from any other adoptions have ocstate or foreign jurisdic- curred is evidence that the adoptions have occurred is evidence that a
tion." Although single
a court of law has
court of law has found the
gays may become the
parent of adoptive chil- found the adoptions to adoptions to be in the best
interests of the children,"
dren in Oklahoma, same- be in the best interests
sex couples were barred of the children," wrote wrote Cauthron. "To now
attempt to strip a child of
from adopting and the
U. S. District Judge
one of his or her parents
state could invalidate
Robin Cauthron.
seems far removed from
adoptions where couples
the statute's purpose and
have been awarded joint
therefore from [the state's] asserted
parenting rights in states where coimportant government objective."
adoption is legal.
Lambda Legal, representing same-sex
couples, took the state to court.
Lambda represented two same-sex couples and their families who adopted
children while living in other states
and later moved to Oklahoma or
wanted to visit the state with their family. Lambda Legal argued that the law
was unconstitutional based on the
United States Constitution's guarantees
of equal protection, due process and
right to travel, as well as the mandates
of the Full Faith and Credit Clause.
In 2006, U.S. District Court Judge
Robin Cauthron agreed, finding that
the statute violated the United States
cont'd. from P. 1
Who should attend?
School Administrators, Classroom
Educators , Mental Health Professionals, Law Enforcement Officers,
School Psychologists, School Superintendents, National , State & Local
Policy Makers, School Police Officers, Social Workers, Attorneys, and
School Board Members are encouraged to attend.
Total tuition for the conference is $35
which includes lunch. You may apply for a conference scholarship by
sending a letter of need to: Mr. ·
Randy Tate, Conference Chair, North
Care Center, 4436 NW 50th Street,
Oklahoma City, OK 73112. Or call
him at (405) 858-2700 office or fax
(405) 858-2720 .
"Gay and lesbian parents in Oklahoma
can now breathe a collective sigh of
relief because their relationships with
their children are no longer threatened
by the state of Oklahoma," said
Lambda attorney
Ken Upton. "We're
gratified that justice
Dr. Dawn Singleton, Ph.D.
has been handed
down in our case and
that the court saw to
it that Oklahoma has
Licensed Professional Counselor
to treat the children
Licensed Marital & Family Therapist
of gay and lesb ian
parents the same as
SOOS N. Pennsylvania #204 OKC, OK
all other kids."
40S-232-3296
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·231TNyY, 3 ~9JT~KqroK'73.112. The VoJpej~:,.oJt~·r~d as a~1Jpef1 ; i
foru fll,fQr'cQ:nim.unity discourse. Article$Je'ffet:l1Jtle'opini6ris~ of the :.
· auth~r;~~!1P ~t !}B<iessacrffythose of H~ri¥~cf"~~t~l'Re~&urces. · \
,,'
.un·salidte.d'il~r:tieles and letters to the· euito~·are!Welcorited -and
1
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.~-~~1~r;~ff~~~~~(~i.i~-}~a~ ~het~~ii~~·~~,~~i~!tt·8~~~n~r~Y
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supper club
craft day
This month the Supper
Club will meet at T.G.I.
Fridays, 4239 Northwest
Expressway, on Saturday,
September 8, at 5:30 pm.
They have everything
from salads, sandwiches,
and burgers to pasta, seafood, ribs, and steaks. A
little something for everyone, no matter what your
taste.
Join us on Saturday,
September 22, from 2 to 5
pm for Craft Day at
Herland. This is a familyfriendly event. We'll have
glass beads and wire for
making wire animals and
decorations, glass tiles for
decorating light switch
covers, glass objects and
coasters, and a variety of
papers for making small
artist books ... these are all
flexible craft ideas which
can be combined into
multi-media pieces.
Jeanne will be available
for instructions and idea
development. If anyone
wants to bring their own
art supplies, bring them
on! If someone has a craft
they want to teach or
learn, please let us know!
Afterwards, you are welcome to head back to Herland with us for the last
few episodes of the L
Word, Season 4.
scrabble
Break out your board and
join us on Saturday, September 15, at 2 pm for an
afternoon of lightly competitive Scrabble. All levels are welcome. Or, you
are always welcome to
come and visit and watch
others play.
aids walk
AIDS Walk OKC 2007
will be Sunday, September
30, at the Myriad
Botanical Gardens.
Registration will open at
12:30 pm and the Walk
will step off at 2:00 pm.
It's a short 1 mile through
Bricktown and returning to
the Gardens.
Southwest Airlines has
donated 2 roundtrip tickets
to anywhere in the
continental US that they
fly. Raffle tickets ($1
each) will be sold for the
chance to win them. The
drawing will be at the end
of the Walk.
~cp~ide
p1cn1c
family
The third annual McPride
Family Picnic will be held
Saturday, September 22,
from 11 am to 5 pm in
Chadick Park in McAlester, OK. The picnic will
feature speakers, games,
booths of information, and
fun for all people-gay
and straight alike. Come
out for an afternoon of fun
and heartwarming experiences. (Alcoholic beverages are not allowed in
Chadick Park.) The purpose of the picnic is to
create an opportunity to
share pride in who we are,
express the love and acceptance of our families,
and create an opportunity
to meet and get to know
each other. For more info,
see www.mcpride .org.
wishing chair
T
he musical duo Wishing Chair will perform at
Church of the Open Arms Thursday, September
20 at 7:30 p.m. Admission is on a sliding scale
of $10-15. The women criss-cross the country
several times a year playing to appreciative audiences
everywhere they go . Take the opportunity to come hear
them in Oklahoma City.
Since 1995, multi-instrumentalist Miriam Davidson and
songwriter Ki ya Heartwood have made an art of
inspiring performances and award winning songs. A
Wishing Chair concert is a passionate mix of intelligent
lyrics, spell-binding storytelling and breathtaking
harmony over a full roots and roll sound. Heartwood's
percussive guitar work and wide-open vocals
compliments Davidson's soulful use of a myriad of
instruments: piano, accordion, banjo, hand drums and
bouzouki. This gifted duo seduces the listener
with soulful confessions, political broadside, and a
wicked groove. Wishing Chair is sure to leave the
listener fully satisfied. Their latest CD, Underdog, was
awarded Best New Folk CD of 2006, by JPFolks, an
Indie organization of over 40,000 music industry
professionals .
"Good lyrics for thinking
people; music with meat on its
bones. " - Omaha Review
Curve magazine says of Wishing Chair, "Engaging performances, haunting harmonies, poetic, political, stellar
vocals." "Kiya Heartwood and Miriam Davidson score
again. They have never sounded tighter or more energetic
in their performance. Wishing Chair just keeps getting
better," says Rich Warren, Sing Out! Magazine.
For more information about the band and to hear samples
of their music, check them out on the web at
www.wishingchair.com.
~ealth
notes
friends can help
A study by the New
England Journal of
Medicine found that social
networks are more
important than genes when
it comes to determining
what a person weighs.
These findings may
explain why people's best
efforts to slim down on
their own are often shortlived. It also suggests that
public health initiatives to
help people achieve a
healthy weight should take
social networks into
account.
The study by Harvard
researchers found that
behavioral norms shift
depending on how people
in a social circle look and
act. In particular, the
chance of a person gaining
weight rose 71 % if a
same-sex friend had
gained weight. There was
a lesser effect of one
spouse on the other for
straight married couples
and no effect from
neighbors who weren't
part of the social network.
In other studies, networks
have been found to be
important for shaping
political attitudes and teen
sexual behavior.
The researchers
hypothesize that if weight
gain can spread through a
social network, then
presumably, so can healthy
eating habits. Medical and
public-health interventions
to promote achieving a
healthy weight might be
more cost-effective than
previously thought since
health improvements in
one person might spread to
others .
how racism
affects the mind
and body
Preliminary findings of
research at St. John's
University and Howard
University are suggesting
that racism could help
explain disparities in health
across races.
Discrimination seems to act
as a source of chronic stress
the same way that marital
conflict or strains at work
do, increasing the stress
hormone cortisol, raising
blood pressure, and
suppressing the immune
system.
One of the studies found
that racism experienced in
the day led to elevated
blood pressure at night,
suggesting the body can't
turn off its stress response.
Other studies have shown
that the stress of
suppressing the inner
turmoil caused by racist
encounters can itself lead to
ill effects.
sports benefits
Girls who played sports in
high school are far more
likely to gain a college diploma than their peers, according to a recent study by
researchers at Brigham
Young University. Girls in
the study were 73% more
likely to complete a bachelor's degree within six years
of graduating from high
school if they had been athletes. And, it did not matter
if they continued to play
sports in college or not. The
female students who had
been athletes said that playing sports taught them to
persevere. Sports kept them
grounded, kept them out of
trouble, and put them in a
group that had the same
mind-set.
dallas emerges
as among most
gay-friendly
cities
(j
allas has become
one of the most
gay-friendly
cities in the US
according to Time
Magazine. It boasts the
ninth-largest concentration
of same-sex couples in the
country and has a lesbian
city sheriff, gay county
judge, and gay district
clerk. Dallas City
Councilman Ed Oakley,
who is openly gay, carried
40% of the vote in the
election for Dallas mayor
in June and thus had a
chance of being the first
gay mayor of a large US
city.
The increasing gay
friendliness reflects a rise
of more liberal attitudes in
Dallas. Gays have
gentrified once-crumbling
neighborhoods while the
city's booming cultural
scene has been a magnet
for many gay and lesbian
professionals.
But some of the old,
conservative Dallas
remains . President Bush
is expected to move there
once he leaves the White
House.
forum reflects
gays' clout
The August 9th Los Angeles
presidential forum on issues
important to gay, lesbian,
bisexual, and transgender
Americans showcases the
status gay votes and money
have earned in the Democratic Party. The fact that no
Republican candidates accepted the invitation illustrates the continued controversy that gay issues cause
them. And two Republican
contenders, Romney and
Guiliani have pivoted away
from their previous stands
favoring gay rights as they
seek the nomination.
The Democratic field's support of gay rights is similar- all the major candidates favor civil unions for
gay couples and repeal of
the military's "don't ask,
don't tell" policy against
openly gay service members. Surveys suggest gay
people have higher incomes
than the general population
and are more likely to make
political contributions.
Still, the Democrats' courtship of gay voters only goes
so far. None of the leading
Democrats supports gay
marriage rights, reflecting
fear of an issue Republicans
used effectively in 2004 to
put them on the defensive
and mobilize conservative
voters .
f;~f;~,££C'.
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•
Vicki Escajeda, BA, CM (405) 202-7051
P.O. Box 12247, Oklahoma City, OK 73157-2247-(405) 637-8000
view poin1'1
hate crimes?
by moc
t a meeting of gay and
gay-friendly progressives
1.>..::.:m~..:J the other night, I heard a
nice young gay man wonder why we need hate crimes legislation. Hate is hate and crimes are
crimes, and why combine the two?
He implied that he thinks that seeking hate-crime legislation makes us
seem like whiney-babies asking for
our mommies to take care of us .
So I've been thinking about it:
Hmm. Whiney babies. Would that
be maybe - Emmett Till, who was
mutilated, lynched, and burned for no
other reason than he was a young
black man who possibly said "hi" to
a white woman? Or... James Byrd,
who fifty years later was dragged
through the streets of Jasper Texas
until he was decapitated, for no other
reason than he was a black man alone
on a country road? Or Matthew
Shephard, who was hung from a
North Dakota fence to die, for no
other reason than he was gay and
trusting?
Now, it is true that murder is murder
and a vicious murder will, these day~,
be tried as such, with a nice vicious
penalty applied , whether it is designated a hate crime or not. I think this
was our nice young man's point.
However, the reason that murders of
this sort must be specifically identified
as crimes of hate is to allow our leaders, both secular and religious , to lead
us all in a spirited denunciation of the
attitudes that engendered them.
Far more numerous than hate murders
are the racist graffiti, the swastikas
painted on synagogue walls, the desecration of Jewish cemeteries, the beatings nearly unto death of interracial
couples and homosexuals, and on and
on; and it is for this kind of activity
that the enhanced punishment ac corded by hate crimes statutes is intended. Vandalism intended to intimidate an entire group of people should
carry a higher penalty than overturning
trash cans on Halloween. Violence
intended to spark fear in the hearts of
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an entire group of people, intended to
dampen a group's feeling of being at
home in their own country and in
their own skin, is a great crime and
should be acknowledged and treated
as such.
Hate crimes are, purely and simply, a
form of terrorism. They are used to
intimidate an entire class of people,
and they are very effective. As an
editorial in the Washington Post in
May of this year said," ... crimes that
target someone because of his or her
race or sexual orientation are more
than an offense against that individual. They are crimes that terrorize
whole communities. "
I'll close with a quote and a couple of
questions. The quote is from the
website of an organization not usually considered wimpy, sissy, or
whiney: the Federal Bureau of Investigation (www.fbi.gov) . "Crimes of
hatred and prejudice- from lynchings
to cross burnings to vandalism of
synagogues- are a sad fact ofAmerican history, but the term "hate crime"
did not enter th e nation's vocabulary
until the 1980s, when emerging hate
groups like the Skinheads launched a
wave of bias-related crime. The FBI
began investigating what we now call
hate crimes as far back as the early
1920s, when we opened our first Ku
Klux Klan case. Today, we remain
dedicated to working with s tate and
local authorities to prevent these
crimes and to bring to justice those
who commit them. "
The questions : Seeing as there already exist Hate Crime laws at the
Federal level and in most states, including Oklahoma; and that they usually cover, at a minimum, race, color,
religion, ancestry, and national origin; and considering that anti-gay
hate crimes make up about one third
of all reported hate crimes , why on
earth would we not want to add sexual and gender orientation to these
laws? And, how on earth does doing
this make us whiney-babies?
Rissho Kasei Kai Dharma Center
of Oklahoma
Sundays: Service 10 am
Hosa 11 am
Wednesdays: Core Teachings of Buddhism Class
with Kathy Spengler 7 pm
Saturdays: Hatha Yoga Class with Donna Shafer 10 am
Sept 14th Lotus Sutra Study with Kris Ladusau 7 pm
Sept 21st Movie Night
Sept 21 st Rev Kawamura visits from Tokyo
Sandy Ingraham, J.D ., M.S .W.
Attorney-at-Law
Ingraham & Associates, PLLC
Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, Probate, Adoption, Contracts
Route 2, Box 369-B
McLoud, OK 74851
Tel. (405) 964-2072
Ingraham@mcloudteleco.com
Herland Sister Resources
231 2 NW 39 th Street
Oklahom a City , OK 7 3 1 12
Return Service Requested
"Teach this triple truth to all :
A generous heart, kind speech,
and a life of service and compassion
are the things which renew humanity."
-- Buddha
27 45 NW 4oth Street
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73112
Phone: (405) 943-5030
Fax: (405) 943-5303
http://www.rkok-dharmacenter.org
Non-Profit Org
U.S Postage
PAID
Oklahom a City, OK
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