In what is being called a "historic development," on August 28, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the federal government to pay $420,000 in attorneys' fees in a successful challenge of the military's ban on openly gay servicemembers. Retired Navy Petty Officer Keith Meinhold challenged the policy in 1992 and won the right to continue serving his country when the Ninth Circuit Court ruled that the military's policy excluding gay men and lesbians from serving had no basis in fact or law. "This nearly half million dollars gives just an inkling of the true monetary expense of the government's attempt to prevent gay military personnel from serving," said Kirk Childress, Staff Attorney of the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). "Since 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,' was implemented, the government has litigated in a dozen cases to prevent dedicated personnel from serving and the taxpayers have been stuck with the bill for an estimated $63 million in replacement costs for those discharged under the policy. More importantly, the government has not revealed the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent annually on actual gay investigations and administrative discharges." For more information contact Julia Adams (SLDN) at (202) 328-3244.

In Dallas, the privately-run Walt Whitman Community School opened its doors today, September 2, to "provide a positive, challenging and safe school environment for teenagers who are homosexual, bisexual or heterosexual." According to founders Becky Thompson and Pamela Stone, "Young people deserve a school in which they can excel without harassment and discrimination issues present in conventional schools." For more information, contact Becky Thompson, Director (Walt Whitman) at (214) 521-4681.

When the historic "coming out" episode of ABC's Ellen reruns September 3, the only affiliate which blacked out the program the first time around will quietly air the show. Last April, Jerry Heilman, the manager of station, WBMA (ABC 33/40) in Birmingham, Alabama, claimed the program was not suitable for "family viewing" and refused to air it. In response, GLAAD worked with the local community to create a satellite-linked "Welcome Out Ellen Party" that brought 2,500 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people and families and friends together for the event. "For whatever reason, Mr. Heilman has had a change of heart and has decided that the good people of Birmingham can decide for themselves whether or not this groundbreaking episode is appropriate for their families," said GLAAD Associate Communications Director Liz Tracey. "GLAAD is happy to see ABC 33/40 on board with the rest of the ABC affiliates taking a stand for inclusion and quality in programming." For more information contact Liz Tracey (GLAAD) at (212) 807-1700, pgr. (800) 946-4646, pin# 1423527 or via e-mail at tracey@glaad.org.

From September 4-November 21, a 20 year retrospective of the work of acclaimed lesbian photographer JEB (Joan E. Biren) will be on exhibit at Gelman Library, George Washington University in the nation's capital. Spanning from 1971-1991, the 60 black-and-white and color images chronicle two critical decades in gay and lesbian history. "More than any other lesbian photographer working in the U.S. in the final decades of the twentieth century, JEB has changed how lesbians are pictured," said lesbian photographer and historian Tee Corinne, JEB's photographs brought to an international audience images of lesbians, face forward and identifiably lit, taking their places in the visual lexicon of an era." For more information contact James A. Kaser (Curator, Gelman Library) at (202) 994-7549.

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To report events that merit media coverage, or news stories breaking in your area, please contact GLAAD.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is the only national lesbian & gay multimedia watchdog organization. GLAAD promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity.

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