This weekend brings sad news to the LGBTQ community among many others as we learned of the death of long time ACLU advocate, Larry Frankel. From the PG obiturary:

Mr. Frankel, the legislative director for the Pennsylvania American Civil Liberties Union from 1992 through 2008, died last week.

His body was found Friday on a jogging trail in Rock Creek Park in Washington, D.C.

Though autopsy results are pending, it is believed that he died from natural causes.

Mr. Frankel left the Pennsylvania office last year to become the state legislative counsel for the ACLU in Washington, D.C.

His work there included advising all 50 state ACLU offices on national matters, said Sara Mullen, the associate director of the Pennsylvania organization.

"I think he felt like he accomplished all he could. Not many people could handle Harrisburg for that long," Ms. Mullen said. "Moving on to a bigger stage meant he would have a much larger impact."

Reports began leaking out over the blogosphere and through Twitter/Facebook throughout the weekend, but no concrete details were available.  On Friday, when Frankels' then unidentified body was found in a D.C. park, PA Representative Mark Cohen posted on Young Philly Politics.com .

Longtime Pennsylvania ACLU lobbyist and Executive Director Larry Frankel, who in the last year or so has become the lobbyist for the national ACLU, has apparently been found dead in Washington under mysterious circumstances. Larry was 54. This is a breaking news story in which most key facts are still generally unknown.

Frankel was an outstanding lobbyist for the Pennsylvania ACLU in Harrisburg, taking positions on scores to hundreds of bills each year. He was a coalition builder reminiscent of Ted Kennedy in the U.S. Senate or William Brennan on the U.S. Supreme Court, who agressively reached out to unlikely allies like the National Rifle Association to help persuade members of the legislature that the ACLU was addressing broad concerns.

His aggressive outreach removed the ACLU from the fringes or margins of state policy and moved it toward the center of direct involvement.

A proud gay man, he was militant on the issue of gay marriage, believing that it was far more important to keep the legal option of gay marriage by defeating a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage than to enact civil unions legislation, an uphill battle that some, including myself, thought was winnable. His views on gay marriage were somewhat vindicated when four New England states and the state of Iowa legalized gay marriage this year.

Larry believed in the importance of facts in making decisions. His correspondence with legislators was full of facts. While his extraordinary depth of knowledge of public policy occassionally made him seem arrogant, I always found him deeply respectful to those whom he had not yet convinced.

The Philadelphia Daily News has their obituary here.

I've had the privilege of hearing Larry speak a few times at ACLU events in Pittsburgh, most recently during PrideFest when he facilitated an ACLU forum on LGBTQ rights.  At the time I was struck by his commitment to return from a nationwide position to speak at a Pittsburgh forum - a sure sign of his loyalty to his roots and his passionate belief in the advancement of our civil rights. 

The national LGBTQ rights community is also mourning Larry's loss so I believe posts will be popping around the blogosphere today.  

God speed, Larry.

 

Memorial contributions made me made in Larry's honor to the ACLU Foundation.

I brought this to your attention a year ago when Brian Prowel appealed a federal court anti-discrimination ruling that determined what he had experienced in his workplace was based on his sexual orientation, not gender stereotyping.

Yesterday, the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed that decision and will allow Mr. Prowel to make his case.

"There is no basis in the statutory or case law to support the notion that an effeminate heterosexual man can bring a gender stereotyping claim while an effeminate homosexual man may not," wrote 3rd Circuit Judge Thomas M. Hardiman.

Instead, the employee must simply present evidence of harassment or discrimination "because of sex," and let a jury decide, he said.

Attorneys for Mr. Prowel yesterday lauded the appeals court decision, calling it important for workplace discrimination law.

"This case is significant to any person in the workplace who doesn't meet expectations because of their gender," said attorney Timothy P. O'Brien.

This means that Prowel's attorney will have an opportunity to present the case to a jury for determination whether the harassment he endured was based on the fact that he is gay or based on the fact that he is an effeminate man who did not conform to the work place's expectations of masculine behavior.

The court ruling doesn't determine the basis for the discrimination, but it does allow for the possibility that it could be due to gender expectations.  We all know how the blurry the line can be between gender expression and sexual orientation -- this decision does not allow employers to hide behind legal gay bashing to defend themselves from these accusations. 

It is important to note that this ruling sets the precedent for the entire 3rd Circuit, including Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

Sexual orientation is a protected class in employment in Delaware.  Sexual orientation and gender identity and expression are protected in New Jersey.  Thus, an intricate situation could be considered on both merits.

Something I pointed out last September is the fact that the employer doesn't deny workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Among the allegations made by Mr. Prowel are claims that he was often called "Rosebud" and "Princess," that fellow employees left personal lubricant on his work station, and that he was harassed for walking effeminately and talking with a high voice.

So this behavior was acceptable to the employer.  It won't end until it is illegal.  While we want this case to succeed  in order to highlight the gender-baiting unpinning so much homophobia, we can't count on a court ruling to protect us.

We must insist that HB 300 pass on a statewide level.  No one should have personal lubricant left on their desk.  As for the mocking?  Do you want to work in the 7th grade hallway -- cause that's pretty much what you should expect. 

Insist. 

Tune into OutOnline's Pridecast this weekend where I'll be sitting in with host Jason Lucarelli to bring a lesbian perspective to the show.  I'm planning to delve into the controversy surround South African female runner, Caster Semenya, who is being forced to undergo gender testing in the wake of accusations that she is, in fact, a man.  This is an incredibly complicated story that should give us pause to think about the implication of expanding our concept of gender identity. 

It was only two years ago that a smaller scale battle threatened to tear the lesbian community apart as organizers of Celebrate the Night, a hugely popular fundraiser among the slightly older lesbian crowd, denied a female identified performer the opportunity to participate, claiming she had not transitioned enough to meet their vague definition of being a female.  It was heated and bigotry carried the day, ripping back the curtain that hides Pittsburgh's queer community internalized homophobia and transphobia. 

I've said this before, but I think my coming out later in my young adulthood rather than earlier helped me understand the complexities of continuums.  Good stuff to discuss.

On a lighter note, I'm hoping we can spend some time chatting about an emerging trend in daytime television - prominent LGBT storylines.  From BAM to NUKE, queer couples are gaining fans and garnering ratings.

Hope to see you (so to speak) Sunday afternoon.  Be sure to log in to OutConnect during the show to chat with Jason and myself live!

The march on Friday 25 has not received permit. They appreciate commitment but need permit

Believe they should get to one block away from Convention Center.
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Sue Kerr
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
www.pghlesbian.com

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Teamsters showed up chanting because they are mad about Jim Ferlo. They cheered on the labor speakers and headed inside to look for Jim.

"We are part of the City of Pittsburgh," says a soccer mom. They want public meetings with feds to announce plans. They are in place but just withholding information. This promotes chaos which is driving the fear mongering.


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Sue Kerr
Pittsburgh Lesbian Correspondents
www.pghlesbian.com

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry