According to Moore, during his evaluation in October 2006, the museum’s executive director, Tim Gette said, “Michael, there are board members that are aware you are gay, and I do not appreciate you hiding that from me.” Moore has said his evaluation qualified him for a pay increase, but he was still asked to resign the following month.
Michael Hamar, who’s gay and Moore’s attorney, said he’s “disappointed” in the court’s decision. “It looks as if they’re saying the executive order in 2006 doesn’t basically do anything,” Hamar said.
A Roanoke Times editorial calls for legislative action to protect employees.
Through his spokesman, Kaine said the executive order would remain in effect, but as an internal policy. Workers who are fired or discriminated against because of their sexual orientation can seek redress through the state's personnel procedures, said spokesman Gordon Hickey.
That's less than adequate. The decision by the Martinsville court should be a convincing sign to the General Assembly that protection against such discrimination must be written into Virginia's code. Only a law will offer genuine confidence to Virginia's gay employees that they won't face irrational threats to their employment based on their sexual orientation.
Notably, trans protections are not called for, so whoever works on writing uiting up a bill needs to get that on the radar.
Well, Bookworm Bob and I are going to try to make a Sunday Morning and a Wednesday Morning This & That: Open Thread a regular occurance.
So since it's Sunday, here's what Bookworm Bob (my cartoon friend) and I have been reading in the webosphere this weekend:
• San Francisco Chronicle's Bird-flipping passenger off hook for shooting:
A car passenger who gestures angrily at a passing vehicle can't be held responsible if someone responds with gunfire, a state appeals court has ruled in dismissing a lawsuit that blamed a passenger for provoking a shooting.Adam Vue was taking a sport utility vehicle for a test drive on Interstate 80 in Richmond in January 2007 when a car entered the freeway and nearly hit him. He honked his horn and his passenger, auto salesman Gabriel Lobos, threw his hands in the air. According to Vue, Lobos also made an obscene gesture at the other driver.
Someone in the car fired a shot that hit Vue in the head. The 22-year-old pharmacy technician from Gold River (Sacramento County) was in a coma for six weeks and suffered permanent brain damage and impaired mobility, his lawyer said. Police never found the shooter.
Vue sued Lobos and his employer, East Bay Mitsubishi of El Cerrito, in Contra Costa County Superior Court, saying the salesman's gestures provoked a violent response that should have been foreseeable...
So, you're semi-safe to flip-off fellow drivers in California...the danger is to large extent if the driver you flip-off has a gun, and how good a shot that driver is. If (s)he's a bad shot and hits another driver, you can't be sued, but if (s)he's a good shot...eep.
• Feministe's Trial for Lateisha Green's Murder Begins Monday:
The trial of Dwight DeLee for the murder of Lateisha Green will begin in Syracuse, NY on Monday, July 13. Teish, who was a trans woman, was murdered at a party in 2008 by a gunman who is said to have made a number of hateful remarks about her gender identity and presentation and perceived sexual orientation. Her brother was also injured in the attack. The alleged murderer, DeLee, is being tried for second degree murder, with added hate crime charges.I will be following the trial as closely as I can, and if you'd like to as well, the best place to start is the Justice For Teish Facebook page. Become a member of the group, as they will have regular updates, and b e sure to invite your Facebook friends as well, as a means of spreading awareness about the case.
There will also be a Twitter presence in the courtroom. Get updates from the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund by following TLEDF, and get updates from GLAAD by following Andy_Marra. Just this morning, they covered a memorial service that was held for Teish in advance of the trial. You can also follow the hash tag #justiceforteish and use it yourself to forward information to your own Twitter followers.
A few really well written blogs -- such as Feministe, the glaadBLOG, and Transgriot -- will be following this story. We'll be covering it too, but just so y'all know, there will be other folk giving excellent coverage of this trial, as well as excellent commentary.
Folks, the Latiesha Green Hate Crime Murder Trial is important.
• Los Angeles Times' His KGB past could get him deported:
Mikhail Lennikov faces deportation to Russia because Canadian law bars onetime employees of antidemocratic spy agencies. Canadians have rallied to his defense.
• San Diego Union-Tribune's Silent vigil held outside base for slain sailor:
OCEANSIDE - About 100 people gathered along a busy road in Oceanside last night to pay tribute to Navy Seaman August Provost, who was found shot to death at Camp Pendleton last week.People held signs that read, "One is too many," along with flowers and candles during a silent vigil. The names of 100 members of the gay community who have died over the past several years were also read aloud as a bell sounded for each one.
Provost, 29, was found dead of multiple gunshot wounds about 3:30 a.m. June 30 at his guard post on Camp Pendleton.
I was there, and interviewed one of the lead organizers of the event. I'll have the video of it up later today, I hope.
• Boston Globe's Zoogoers stunned by news of woes, fate of animals:
The governor yesterday stood by his decision to slash aid, a move Boston-area zoo officials said could force them to close, and could lead to animal euthanizing.
Egads.
• Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Cheney reportedly ordered congressional blackout:
The Central Intelligence Agency withheld information about a secret counterterrorism program from Congress for eight years on direct orders from former Vice President Dick Cheney, the agency's director, Leon Panetta, has told the Senate and House intelligence committ ees, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said Saturday.The report that Cheney was behind the decision to conceal the still-unidentified program from Congress deepened the mystery surrounding it, suggesting that the Bush administration had put a high priority on the program and its secrecy...
The Bush-Cheney administration sure does appear to truly have been an imperial presidency.
So...It's an open thread! What are you reading or thinking about today?
Oh -- and pleeeeease feel free to blogwhore! 
Let's see. I guess I should start off by saying I'm straight. I support GLBTQ civil rights because I want to live in a society where all people are allowed to live with dignity and where they are not forced to hide who they are or whom they love.
I identify as African American although I'm often mistaken for everything but. I benefit from skin privilege, and I've had other African Americans ask me why I say I'm AA when I "don't have to." ::sigh:: Point being, I could hide.
I am grateful for the courageous people before me who made it possible for me to not feel compelled to pass like many of my relatives did and continue to do. Many of those courageous people weren't African American, and their support helped the African-American Civil Rights Movement, which continues to this day. (Hellllooo, Philly!) They risked their lives for a cause that they believed in, and some of them even died alonside us.
I fully support and hope to help advance the GLBTQ Civil Rights Movement. I do not know your experience, and I don't pretend to, but I empathize. I might misspeak, and I hope you'll correct me when I do, but I'm here for my closeted relatives who think they have no voice. We are all related.
Oregonwww.basicrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/gentle-tinker-300x200.jpg" alt="gentle-tinker-300×200.jpg" /> Oregon advocate Bonnie Tinker was killed in a tragic bike accident last Thursday while attending a conference in Virginia. Tinker has been a dedicated activist in Oregon’s progressive community for decades. She championed equality as founder and director of Love Makes a Family, peace through her work with Seriously P.O.’ed Grannies, and justice as a member of the Religious Society of Friends. Her energy, commitment, and vision of a more just and peaceful world will be missed. Visit Love Makes a Family for links to remembrances and information about memorial services. 
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