Dignity/USA today called on the National Conference of Catholic Bishops to keep the commitment they began with their October 1 pastoral letter, Always Our Children: A Pastoral Message to Parents of Homosexual Children and Suggestions for Pastoral Ministers. The bishops convened their meeting on November 10 in Washington, D.C., and there have been signs that the Conference may be considering amending or rescinding the letter, which called on Catholics to embrace their lesbian and gay children, and to understand that homosexuality is not a choice. "Since the letter's release, Dignity/USA has received many reports from parents and friends who find the letter's pastoral guidance and compassion enlightening and reassuring," said Dignity/USA President Robert F. Miailovich. "We strongly urge the bishops who are holding their annual conference this week in Washington, DC to resist any efforts to withdraw or water down the letter." For more information, contact Charles Cox (Dignity/USA) at (202) 861-0017.

DECISION MAY FUEL STRONGER ATLANTA DOMESTIC PARTNER LAW:

The November 3 ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court upholding an Atlanta city employee domestic partnership policy may give new momentum to a months-old plan by Mayor Bill Campbell to examine more expansive domestic partner coverage.

The 5-2 Court decision found that the 1996 ordinance was constitutional because it used the term "dependent," rather than "family," and thus meant anyone who relies on a city employee for financial support. Last December, Mayor Campbell signed an administrative order requiring all companies doing business with the city to adopt employment policies that ban anti-gay discrimination, and told the lesbian and gay paper Southern Voice he would ask city attorneys to study the possibility of an order requiring all such companies adhere to city domestic partnership policies. "Finally all city employees and dependents can be treated equally and fairly," said Georgia Equality Project (GEP) Executive Director Cindy Abel. For more information contact Cindy Abel (GEP) at (404) 872-3600 or pager. (888) 619-8759.

Citing the possibility of reading the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Color Purple as leading to "different sex games and violence and other things we've seen in the past," according to one board member, the Jackson County (West Virginia) School Board has ordered it and 15 other books pulled from school libraries. While the other books, including John Grisham's The Client and Tom Clancy's The Hunt for Red October, are pending a review for sexually explicit language, gay content or violent imagery, Alice Walker's critically acclaimed work The Color Purple was banned without review. The novel deals with issues of race, gender, family and the brutality of domestic violence in a small Southern town. "It is amazing to me that they're pulling to works of Pulitzer Prize winners off the shelves of libraries where students are supposed to learn about literature in the first place," said Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) Executive Director Kevin Jennings. "To do something like this in name of education is a complete farce." For more information contact Kevin Jennings (GLSEN) at (212) 727-0135, ext. 113.

From November 13-16 in San Diego, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender cultural and political advocates will gather for the Tenth Annual Creating Change Conference. In addition to workshops and panel discussions on politics, media, grassroots organizing, fundraising, California State Assembly Speaker Pro Tem Sheila Kuehl will kick off the event with a keynote address. The Conference, sponsored by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) will cover topics from same-sex marriage and media activism to sex and gender identity, and from anti-violence work to youth organizing and hot new trends. Other events happening in San Diego for the weekend include the Sex Panic Summit for advocates of sexual freedom and the Federal GLOBE (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender federal employees) Congress, both on November 13. For more information contact Mark Johnson (NGLTF) at pgr. (800) 757-6476; Tony Valenzuela (Sex Panic) at (619) 295-6067; and GLOBE at (202) 543-9583.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) promotes fair, accurate, and inclusive representation as a means of challenging discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. To subscribe contact Don Romesburg at (415) 861-2244 or at romesburg@glaad.org.