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2/Southern Voice • January 4,1990
resources devoted to development and the per
centage of funds raised that directly support the
group's legal work. In addition, criticisms have
also been raised about the group’s involvement in
non-legal projects, especially since most of its
fundraising appeals ask for money based on
NGRA's legal work.
William Pratt, the director of operations at
NGRA, said O'Leary's departure was entirely
voluntary and that "Jean saw that the situation
simply wasn't workable for her and the organiza
tion." O'Leary did not return GCNs call by
presstime.
White said that O'Leary's departure represents
the "end of an era for NGRA"- an era that has
been marked by the group’s becoming one of the
most effective gay income-generating organiza
tions in the country.
Lesbian Co-Parent
Denied Custody Claim
Los Angeles, Calif- A lesbian has lost a law
suit for joint custody and visitation rights to a girl
bom to her former lover through artificial insem
ination with sperm from the plaintiffs brother,
according to the Montrose Voice.
The plaintiff, Terri Sabol, sought the rights of
a parent and even offered to pay child support.
Ruling Dec. 15 after a non-jury trial, Superior
Court Judge Dana Henry said the case ventured
into uncharted legal ground, and added, "it is
absolutely imperative that the Legislature re
examine its laws."
I'm shocked, really shocked," said Sabol, 33,
the only party in the case who was publicly iden
tified. The child was referred to as Baby B and
her mother was identified only as Susan.
Sabol will appeal, said her attorney, Gloria
Allred. "We believe that persons who are gay
and lesbian have the right to be parents," Ms.
Allred said. "Ms. Sabol became a parent in the
only way that she could."
Allred argued that her client deserved parental
rights under a legal doctrine that recognizes a
parent-child bond between a child and person
who acts as a parent but is neither the biological
or adoptive parent. Henry ruled Sabol did not
prove such a bond existed. The mother's lawyer,
Glen Schwartz, said the ruling was consistent
with State law.
Testimony showed Susan was the mother and
Sabol's brother, Steve, who donated sperm for
the artificial insemination procedure (performed
by Ms. Sabol) was the father. Allred said Sabol
supported her partner through her pregnancy and
served as a parent until the women's relationship
broke up in July 1988.
Scouts Bar Gay Dad
Raleigh, NC - Officials of the Boy Scouts of
America have barred a Gay father from serving
as a volunteer for his son's troop.
Richard Jemigan applied last month to be a
staff volunteer with his son's troop. Au Courani,
a Philadelphia Gay newspaper, reported that the
Oconeechee Council of Boy Scouts in Raleigh
ruled that Gays could not participate in scouting
because the organization requires leaders to have
"moral qualities necessary to lead young people."
A section of the Scout Executive's Manual
states, "At the present time, the courts have
determined that the Boy Scouts of America is a
private membership organization, and homosex
uals will not be allowed to participate."
A case pending in Los Angeles is contesting
the Boy Scouts ban on Gays, arguing that
although the Boy Scouts is a private organiza
tion, it has a significant public character and
must follow nondiscrimination laws which apply
in California.
Jemigan, said he would file a suit against the
Boy Scouts. However, William Simpson of the
American Civil Liberties Union in Raleigh told
the Blade that no state or local law would give
Jemigan grounds for a suit Even if the Boy
Scouts lost the case in California, Simpson said it
would probably only affect jurisdictions which
protect Gays in public accommodations, which
North Carolina does not.
Changes in Black
Lesbian/Gay Group
Washington, D.C.- A recent article in Gay
Community News reported that The National
Coalition for Black Lesbians and Gays has
accepted the resignation of executive director
Renee McCoy. McCoy, a former pastor of
Metropolitan Community Church in Harlem and
founder of a church for Black Lesbians and Gays
in Detroit, will be working for the Detroit Dept,
of Health's AIDS Division.
The board is restructuring the organization as
it continues to nurture local chapters and affili
ates and to publish Black/Out. NCBLG may be
contacted after January 1, 1990 at P.O. Box
19248, Washington, DC 20036.
O'Leary Resigns at
Troubled NGRA
San Francisco, Calif- Jean O'Leary, ace
fundraiser and long-time lesbian politico,
resigned as executive director of the National
Gay Rights Advocates (NGRA) Dec. 4 amid a
growing storm of controversy reports the Gay
Community News.
In her letter of resignation, O'Leary said she
thought "NGRA would be dealt a mortal blow" if
the publicity surrounding the controversy -
which she called "personal attacks" and"feeding
frenzy in the press"- continued.
O'Leary's resignation is the latest in a string of
staff changes that have involved the majority of
the staff in the San Francisco and Los Angeles
branches of the NGRA. At least eight staff mem
bers have quit or have been asked to resign in the
last several months. As the internal controversy
brewing at NGRA became more public, several
ex-staff members told the press that O'Leary was
the central figure involved in the problems at
NGRA, and that her departure was necessary if
the organization was to continue.
As more and more of the group's dirty laundry
has been aired, public scrutiny has focused on a
variety of issues, including NGRA’s organiza
tional priorities, its emphasis on and'ethical stan
dards for fundraising, and its bookkeeping meth
ods, as well as O’Leary's management style and
personal conducts.
At least part of the picture that has emerged is
one of a non-profit organization that has experi
enced a huge amount of growth under O'Leary's
fundraising wizardry. While no one has ques
tioned O'Leary's ability to raise money, conflicts
have arisen regarding the organizational
r It seems
' like soon tt
will be weird
to be a
heterosexual.
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