National Roundup

Tennessee

A coalition of students from Metro Nashville lobbied the school board on April 9 in support of a comprehensive and all-inclusive nondiscrimination policy.

The Support Student Safety Coalition, established in June 2007, is a student-led initiative that was formed with the mission of creating the new policy. The coalition has earned support from such community organizatons as the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee and the Vanderbilt Institute for Public Policy.

The students’ proposed code reads: “It is the policy of the Metro Nashville Public Schools to afford all persons, regardless of their actual or perceived race, religion, color, disability, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, or gender, including gender identity, expression, and appearance, equal rights and opportunities in all of its educational institutions.”

Maryland

The Maryland legislature has passed a bill granting medical and funeral decisions to domestic partners, gay and straight. Anti-fairness forces predictably but unsuccessfully opposed the measure.

Couples seeking recognition under the policy would have to demonstrate "mutual interdependence" such as joint property ownership or other financial commitments.

The bill is awaiting the signature of Gov. Martin O'Malley, who has expressed support for civil unions in the past. If approved, the law will ensure such rights as riding in ambulances with a partner and making next-of-kin funeral decisions.

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North Carolina

The Medical Care Commission unanimously approved a rule at its February meeting ensuring that North Carolina hospital patients can receive the visitors who matter most to them regardless of the legal status of their relationship.

"We know how important it is that patients have their loved ones by their sides, but all too often same-sex partners have been turned away when their partner is hospitalized." said Ian Palmquist, Executive Director of Equality North Carolina.

The rule adds a provision to the Patients' Bill of Rights, stating: "A patient has the right to designate visitors who shall receive the same visitation privileges as the patient’s immediate family members, regardless of whether the visitors are legally related to the patient." The right applies to hospitals statewide.

Alabama

Jackson County Circuit Judge John Graham ruled in March that the Scottsboro school board could not ban a lesbian couple from attending their junior-senior prom. School officials had informed Chelsea Overstreet and Lauren Martin they could not attend prom as a couple two weeks earlier.

Judge Graham cited two federal court rulings in his decision. In one, the U.S. Supreme Court barred states and state agencies from "[setting]-out homosexuals for special treatment.” The other prohibits public schools “from barring same-sex couples from school functions.”

The students posed for photos in their formalwear: Overstreet, a 17-year-old junior wore her prom dress and Martin, a 16-year-old sophomore donned a tuxedo.

"This is just a dance," said Attorney Parker Edmiston, who represented the students. "Adults need not get involved."