Herland Sister Resources

The United Church of Christ has started a response to the refusal to air our ads by CBS and NBC. The Justice and Peace Action Network ( ) will be issuing a call to action in coordination with the UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns ( ). The story has also been posted to the front page of the denominational website ( ) where every person who wants information about the UCC will learn of CBS’s and NBC’s actions.

The Council of the UCC Coalition for LGBT Concerns is currently in discussion concerning their reaction. Some proposals are phone blitzes to the networks, issuing press releases, and local actions at affiliates, including in Oklahoma City.

from Lambda Legal Defense

Handing a significant legal victory to gay-rights advocates, a federal appeals court ruled Monday that academic institutions may restrict on-campus recruiting by the military because of the Pentagon’s policy on gays and lesbians. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Philadelphia, ruled that a federal law known as the Solomon Amendment infringes on the free-speech rights of schools by allowing the federal government to withhold funds from colleges and universities that deny access to military recruiters.

The preliminary injunction issued in one of four separate lawsuits filed by students and professors at law schools throughout the country found that by threatening to withhold federal funds from schools that do not accommodate military recruiters, the government was compelling them to take part in speech they did not agree with.

The court overturned an opinion by a federal judge in New Jersey who ruled a year ago that law schools must open their doors to military recruiters, even if the Defense Department’s refusal to admit openly gay or lesbian individuals to military service offends a school’s antidiscrimination policies. The Pentagon can seek a review of the ruling from the entire 3rd Circuit or from the Supreme Court. Lawyers for the Pentagon did not return calls asking what their next step might be.

from Lambda Legal News

A federal judge gave the green light last month to Lambda Legal’s lawsuit that seeks to strike down Oklahoma’s antigay adoption law. U. S. District Judge Robin Cauthron found that the lawsuit filed against Oklahoma’s Governor Brad Henry and Attorney General Drew Edmondson can go forward. The state had asked the court to dismiss the case.

In the ruling, Judge Cauthron said, “… if Governor Henry faithfully executes this Oklahoma law pursuant to his duty to do so, no state agency will recognize these Plaintiffs as a family and these Plaintiffs could be deprived of all the legal rights and obligations associated with that relationship.”

The drastic law, passed hastily in the last legislative session, could be interpreted to nullify legal adoptions of children by same-sex couples from other states when they are in Oklahoma, Lambda Legal said. Lambda Legal represents same-sex couples who adopted children while living in other states and later moved to Oklahoma with their children or want to visit the state with their family.

Anne Magro and Heather Finstuen, together 13 years, are parents to six-year-old twin girls born to Anne in New Jersey and adopted through a second-parent adoption by Heather while living in New Jersey. The family now lives in Norman, Oklahoma, where Anne teaches accounting at the University of Oklahoma. The new law endangers the legal relationship established lawfully by a New Jersey court between Heather and her girls. The law says that Oklahoma, “shall not recognize an adoption by more than one individual of the same sex from any other state or foreign jurisdiction.”

Also plaintiffs on the case are Ed Swaya and Greg Hampel, who live in Washington State and adopted their two-year-old daughter Vivian from a woman in Oklahoma. The two men made news earlier this year when the state of Oklahoma initially refused to issue an amended birth certificate that accurately reflected both men as Vivian’s parents after a court in Washington issued an adoption decree. Before the new law was passed, the Oklahoma State Department of Health issued Vivian’s correct birth certificate, but Swaya and Hampel are now hesitant to bring Vivian to Oklahoma to visit her birth mother and see the state where she was born.

Our Organization
We provide exciting women’s full-contact football games, surrounded by a wonderful family atmosphere. Attendance at our home games has grown from an average of 150 fans per game to an average of 750-800 fans at our last two playoff games.

We are a not-for-profit organization run by a board of executives. We have successfully financed two football seasons with budgets of $60,000-$80,000. The team pays for all lodging and travel expenses of players throughout the season. Some sponsorships and donations to the team are tax deductible. Contact our General Manager for more information.

Players and Coaches
Our 2004 player roster consisted of 34 extremely talented, unique women from diverse backgrounds. Although many of our players have experience playing various other sports, the full-contact football experience of our players ranges from 0-4 years.

We have two outstanding Head Coaches who share the bulk of the coaching responsibilities. Coach Mike Harris has NFL experience playing for the Kansas City Chiefs in 1989-90 as an offensive lineman. Coach Leonard Bulock played defensive back at Northeastern Oklahoma State University from 1987-1990, winning All-American honors. In addition to coaching for the Lightning, both Head Coaches are currently on the coaching staff at Northeast High School. Coach Bulock has also coached football at Edmond North High School.

Our League
The OKC Lightning plays in the National Women’s Football League (NWFA), the world’s largest full contact women’s football league in existence. The NWFA is based in Nashville, Tennessee. See www.womensfootballcentral.com for more information.

Tryout Requirements
Minimum 18 years of age; Provide own health insurance; $35 league tryout fee; Sign team and league waivers; Availability for practices, games and away game travel.

Team Success
2004: Record 10 wins - 1 loss
NWFA Championship Runner-up
NWFA Southern Conference Champions
NWFA Southwest Division Champions

2003: Record 9 wins - 2 losses
NWFA Southern Conference Runner-up
NWFA Midwest Conference Champions

2002: Record 5 wins - 3 losses
IWFL Division Runner-up

Player Achievements
2004: #33 Liana Calderon named NWFA leading rusher

(1503 yds.) and NWFA leading point scorer (20 touchdowns)

2004: NWFA All-Star Team (TBA)

2003: 6 players selected as NWFA 1st Team All-Stars
4 players selected as NWFA 2nd Team All- Stars

Our Community Service
OKC Lightning has provided service to our community by participating in events like the Team Blood Drive for Oklahoma Blood Institute and the AIDS Walk raising over $4,000 for Oklahoma’s Food Pantry.

Team Appearances
OKC Lightning has appeared at and/or participated in the following events:
Yard Dawgz Arena Football Games
OKC Downtown Christmas Parade
OKC Downtown 4th of July Parade
Moore, Oklahoma Red Ribbon Parade

Our Future
With the high quality of OKC Lightning players and coaches and the continual growth and success of our team and our league combined with our history of financial stability and sound leadership, the future of the OKC Lightning organization is most certainly very secure.

For more information on current events or news about the team, check out our website at www.okclightning.com .

THE OKC LIGHTNING
Kim Mitchell, General Manager
(405) 524-1509
MsMoose44@aol.com

by Nancy Zuckerbrod

Twelve gays expelled from the military because of their sexual orientation filed a legal challenge Monday to the Pentagon’s 11-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Boston, cited last year’s landmark Supreme Court ruling that overturned state laws making gay sex a crime.

Other courts have upheld the policy, approved by Congress and put in place by the Clinton administration. However, those decisions came before the 2003 Supreme Court ruling last year that state laws making homosexual sex a crime were unconstitutional. That overturned an earlier Supreme Court ruling that had upheld sodomy laws.

Former Lt. j.g. Jen Kopfstein of San Diego was dismissed from the Navy after she told her commanding officer she was a lesbian. Kopfstein, a plaintiff in the case, said Monday hiding her identity felt dishonest. Justin Peacock, a former Coast Guard boatswain’s mate from Knoxville, Tenn., and also a plaintiff, was discharged after someone reported he was seen holding hands with another man. Lt. Col. Joe Richard, a Pentagon spokesman, said officials have not seen the lawsuit and therefore could not comment on it.

“Don’t ask, don’t tell” allows gays and lesbians to serve in the military as long as they don’t reveal their sexual orientation and abstain from homosexual activity. Before that the Pentagon barred homosexuals from military service. Two other lawsuits challenging the policy have been filed since the high court’s reversal.