Compiled By Howard Israel
S/He Said
"There is no evidence (the ban) will reduce health care costs, and it most certainly will make us less competitive. The University of Michigan must be able to offer an excellent benefit package to our employees and to those we hope to recruit to U-M for their unique talents, skills and expertise. The environment for such talent is extraordinarily competitive, and our ability to attract and retain top faculty and staff is a significant asset for the state of Michigan. The loss of our ability to offer such benefits would put the university, and our state, at a serious disadvantage compared to peers. Fortune 500 companies nationwide and in the state of Michigan offer partner benefits: It is simply good business that produces an excellent return on investment."
-University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman and Provost Phil Hanlon, in their Nov. 8 letter to Michigan's 38 state senators, asking them to oppose legislation that would prohibit public employers from providing benefits to domestic partners. The legislation (HB 4770-71) prohibits public employers from extending the benefits to unmarried same sex and opposite sex partners of employees. The Republican Rep. Dave Agema sponsored measure was approved by Republican-controlled state House has been approved by the Republican-controlled state House and next goes to the Republican-led Senate.
"Small-business owners favor workplace fairness, both with respect to their internal nondiscrimination and benefits policies, and with respect to laws such as ENDA. They favor treating all employees equally – gay or straight, transgender or not transgender – and doing so is not a costly endeavor. Conservatives love to claim that policies and laws that advance workplace fairness are costly to our nation's small businesses.Small businesses have spoken, and they have spoken in favor of fairness."
-Crosby Burns and Jeff Krehely, authors of the Center for American Progress (CAP) poll showing most small businesses in America support workplace discrimination protections for LGBT people, http://www.americanprogress.org, Oct. 19.
"I am not tragically colored. And I am not tragically gay, channeling the words of legendary author Zora Neale Hurston. When you are black and gay there is a particular duality that you live in. In my case, that double consciousness has allowed me to be as open and cosmopolitan as possible. When I quote Zora Neale Hurston it reflects how I feel about being both black and gay. I love being all of who I am. I see it all as a blessing."
-Clay Cane, 34-year old host of New York radio's WWRL new Equality Pride Radio show, Clay Cane Live, in an interview titled "NY radio station launches new voice of black gay life," http://www.thegrio.com, Nov. 05. Clay Cane Live streams worldwide at http://www.l1600.com.
"I feel like we needed to support the leadership of the Church in their movements forward with our gay brothers and sisters. I did use strong words and strong imagery. I quoted Zechariah 13:6, where someone comes with wounds and says, 'I was wounded in the house of my friends.' I used that imagery to characterize the scars of gay and lesbian people. I was trying to convey that I've felt a small sliver of what gay and lesbian people have gone through, and I've found strength and peace in the Savior."
-Kevin Kloosterman, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) bishop from Illinois, in an interview titled "Homophobia an 'Atrocity,' LDS Bishop Tells Gay Mormon Conference," about his use of the strong word "atrocity" to describe mistreatment of LGBT people, http://www.religiondispatches.org, Nov. 07.
