Smallest town with a gay-rights ordinance getting big donations to revitalize struggling economy

Vicco, Ky., an Appalachian village of 334 people in the southeastern part of the state, is reaping the rewards of being in the national spotlight for becoming the nation's smallest town to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. It was featured in August on the popular Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report," with an appearance bu openly gay mayor Johnny Cummings. Now, the cash-strapped fading coal town is receiving even more unexpected good news, in the form of cash donations, with pledges and grant applications amounting to more than $200,000, Bruce Schreiner reports for The Associated Press. The town's annual budget is $300,000. (Lexington Herald-Leader photo by Pablo Alcala: Cummings at a Kentucky Fairness Alliance rally)

"A mother and son in California pledged to buy all the new playground equipment for a city park, a project that could reach $90,000, Cummings said," Schreiner writes. "The town is applying for an $80,000 grant from a private, out-of-state company that encouraged the application, he said. A company representative reached out to town leaders after hearing about the ordinance, Cummings said. The money would be used to rehab buildings and the sidewalks in the downtown area."

Other projects include "cleaning up the weed- and trash-infested banks along the North Fork of the Kentucky River, which flows through town," Schreiner writes. "The mayor wants to build a walking path and fishing piers along the river. Now, people have to fish off a bridge as traffic goes by. He hopes to renovate downtown storefronts and put in new sidewalks. A more modest update will be a new downtown bench, paid for with a $1,000 donation from another Californian. The town may even become the setting for a reality-based television show. Cummings said he expects to review a contract proposal soon from a production company, but doesn't know which network might be interested." (Read more)

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2013/09/23/2838416/money-for-town-with-anti-discrimination.html#storylink=cpy

Smallest town with a gay-rights ordinance welcomes laughs on 'The Colbert Report'

Vicco, Ky., a Appalachian village of 334 people in the southeastern part of the state, made headlines in January when it became the nation's smallest town to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation. The town is making headlines again, this time by allowing the popular Comedy Central show "The Colbert Report" to poke fun at the town and openly gay mayor Johnny Cummings, who introduced the ordinance.

Cummings told Asawin Suebsaen of Mother Jones, "Everything considered, I was remarkably pleased with the way (the segment) turned out. We got a lot of attention after that New York Times article ran (in January), and we got these offers from production companies wanting to do all this crap. So when some of them called, I was often quite rude to them. … But then I got a call from ('The Colbert Report'). I always watch 'The Colbert Report.'…To get your point across, sometimes you just gotta laugh. That's how I look at it. So I thought, okay, 'The Colbert Report' would be perfect." (Read more)

The segment was part of a segment titled "People who are Destroying America," which joked about how gay people have already taking over the big cities, and now they're taking over the small towns, and jokingly called all the people in town gay for supporting the ordinance, while also poking fun at the one detractor, a pastor who said he doesn't have a problem with homosexuals, then went into detail with what's wrong with their lifestyle:

Tiny town in Eastern Kentucky bans discrimination based on sexual orientation

A tiny Eastern Kentucky town has become only the fourth city in the state to adopt a fairness ordinance banning discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Vicco, with a population 334 and situated in the heart of the Central Appalachian coalfield, is now the smallest municipality in the U.S. with a fairness ordinance, Peter Smith of The Courier-Journal in Louisville reports. Louisville, Lexington and Covington (next to Cincinnati) are the other three cities with similar ordinances. (Sperling's Best Places map)

The Vicco ordinance bans discrimination in housing, employment and accommodations based on sexual orientation or gender identity, and adds discrimination based on other factors, including age, race and religion, which are already protected under state and federal law. "It's a great victory and we're definitely excited," the Kentucky Fairness Coalition's Chris Hartman told Smith. The group seeks to expand fairness ordinances throughout Kentucky's more conservative rural areas. Other cities, including Berea and Richmond in the east-central part of the state, have tried to pass similar measures, but were met with significant opposition that prevented adoption of such ordinances. (Read more)

Vicco city attorney Eric Ashley told Bill Estep of the Lexington Herald-Leader that there was little public opposition to the ordinance and no citizens spoke against it during the city council meeting Monday. "Most people realized it's not putting a stamp of approval on a lifestyle, it's about protecting human beings," Ashley said. Amelia Holliday of the Hazard Herald, the local newspaper, reports Police Chief Tony Vaughn said during the council meeting that he wanted the law on the books so he could protect people: "From my stand point, it just makes it easier to enforce the law."  

Rural lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender youth feel less safe at school than urban LGBT, study finds

Rural lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth reported feeling less safe, facing heightened victimization and having fewer supportive resources than their urban counterparts, according to a study from the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network. The study, Strengths and Silences: The Experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Students in Rural and Small Town Schools, was released today, and documents more than 2,300 LGBT high school students' experiences using data from GLSEN's 2011 National School Climate Survey.

An unsafe school environment for LGBT high school students contributes to poorer grade point averages, higher absenteeism and lowered aspirations to attend college, the study concludes. The study also reveals that rural LGBT youth have less access to LGBT support resources, including inclusive curricula, supportive teachers, anti-bullying policies and access to gay-straight alliance student clubs.

Other key findings from the study include: 87 percent of rural LGBT youth reported being verbally harassed because of sexual orientation, 91 percent reported hearing the word "gay" used negatively, 79 percent said they frequently heard other homophobic remarks, only 13 percent reported that school personnel ever intervened when they heard negative remarks about sexual orientation. Rural LGBT students in the South and Midwest were more likely to feel unsafe than those living in rural parts of the Northeast and West. (Read more)

Residents in Ky. towns push expansion of civil-rights ordinances to include sexual orientation

Citizens in several Kentucky towns are working with state and national organizations to petition their city councils to pass fairness ordinances, which would ban discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in housing, accommodations and employment, Peter Smith of The Courier-Journal in Louisville reports. (Photo by Aaron Borton; Andy Frueh gives Elizabethtown City Council members copies of proposed ordinance)

Only Louisville, Lexington and Covington, all in large metropolitan areas, have fairness ordinances. Residents are pushing for passage in Shelbyville, Bowling Green, Richmond, Berea and Elizabethtown. The issue is highl;y controversial; an ordinance in Henderson was repealed less than two years after being implemented, and an ordinance in Berea failed last year, though the council created a human-rights commission.

The Fairness Campaign, a state LGBT rights organization, and the Kentucky chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union are working with local citizens to get ordinances adopted, and for a state law that would eliminate the need for city-by-city ordinances but seems unlikely anytime soon. LGBT rights advocates are energized to make a large push for ordinance adoption after this year's election, Smith reports. Three states -- Maine, Maryland and Washington -- passed same-sex marriage laws by popular vote for the first time, and several polls show that young people are increasingly supportive of LGBT people. President Obama has spoken out in support of same-sex marriage, but he carried only four of Kentucky's 120 counties, two of which have fairness ordinances. (Read more)

Reporter finds Chick-fil-A debate very complex in South, where food is cultural

Chick-fil-A has recently found itself in the middle of a national debate about gay rights after the chain's CEO Dan Cathey Jr. made public statements opposing same-sex marriage. Perhaps, not since the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s has a restaurant been so embroiled in controversy. Kim Severson of The New York Times explores the complexities surrounding this issue in the South, where Chick-fil-A began in Atlanta in 1946.

Choosing to eat at Chick-fil-A "is not as simple as choosing sides in a national cultural war" for Southerners, Severson reports. Southerner Justin Breen told Severson the chain is "tradition," something she writes is "laced throughout daily life in the South." Locals tend to "be emotional about their food, which is a great defining aspect of the region."

"One of the most controversial stories I wrote was about tomato sandwiches," The Charlotte Observer's food editor Kathleen Purvis told Severson. Southerners are very "proud and fiercely protective of homegrown brands," she writes. University of North Carolina's Marcie Cohen Ferris said Southerners have strong associations with Southern-founded fast food chains because "they speak of industrialization and becoming a part of modern America, but still holding on to identity." (Read more)

High school yearbook story about gay teen creates controversy in Tennessee town

A Tennessee town has been wracked with controversy after an article about a gay high school student was published in the Lenoir City High School yearbook, reports Jeremy Styron of the local News-Herald. "It's O.K. To Be Gay," about student Zac Mitchell, left, and his experience of coming out in a small town, is part of a series of short stories about various aspects of student life.

Principal Steve Millsaps said most community response to the article has been negative, and deferred further comment to School Superintendent Wayne Miller, who wouldn't comment, Styron reported. Dueling Facebook groups were established in support of the article and against it. Lenoir City is in Loudon County, just southwest of Knoxville.

School board member Glenn McNish Sr. told Styron he didn't "think that that type of material has any place in a yearbook." Last week, the board "promised parents and residents that a full investigation will be conducted into the publication," Michael Patrick of the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports. Chair Rosemary Quillen said "All of us are working toward a permanent solution so that situations like this never happen again." Patrick reports, "Journalism teacher James Yoakley, who supervises the school newspaper and yearbook . . . has said that he believes in allowing the students to direct the production of the yearbook." For the News-Sentinel's first story on the issue, go here.

Styron's story included a comparison: "Conspicuously absent from the dialogue about the yearbook was another that appeared in the annual titled, 'Don't Stare,' in which another student recalls how her numerous piercings and tattoos enable her to more fully express herself." (Read more)

Appalachian author's play focuses on discrimination against LGBT residents in rural communities

Kentucky author Silas House intended to write his first play about mountaintop-removal coal mining, but he changed his mind because of several incidents linked to a failed attempt to establish a fairness ordinance in the town of Berea protecting rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. House is director of the Loyal Jones Appalachian Center at Berea College, and says his play, "This Is My Heart For You," is "loosely based on an incident in Hazard," Ky., in which two gay men were kicked out of a public pool for public displays of affection, reports Crystal Wylie of The Richmond Register.

The town where the play is set is divided on whether the pool manager is a bigot or a hero. House told Wylie his play "shines a light on the bigger issues of equality, hypocrisy, and compassion in America today." He got a lot of material from discussion threads about the Berea fairness ordinance and the Hazard pool incident on Topix.com. One whole scene is taken almost verbatim from a discussion on the site. "If you’re looking into the heart of a community in modern America," House said, "you must go to Topix.com." (The head of Topix has said it gets more traffic from Kentucky than any other state.)

The play is fair to both sides of the debate, House said. It's not a critique or "taking fundamentalists and tearing them apart," he said; it's a look "into the heart of a town and all their complexities." He says faith is a continuing theme in the play, with characters just trying to "stick to their beliefs." He made a point to portray gay and straight people in the play as strong believers. House also says he wanted to show Appalachia as a contemporary place. "This Is My Heart For You" will be performed Feb. 22-25 at 8p.m. and on Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. in Berea College's Jelkyl Drama Center. For reservations, call 859-985-3300. Tickets are $10 for general admission and $8 for students. (Read more)

Census data show 12% of gay couples are rural

Even though gay couples tend to concentrate in urban areas, large numbers of gay couples live in rural areas, too, the Daily Yonder reports. Census data reveals that rural counties have 12 percent of the nation's gay couples and 16 percent of the overall population. Seven percent live in exurban counties, or those that are part of large metropolitan areas, but have at least half of their residents living in rural settings. (Yonder map)

The number of gay couples nationwide has doubled over the past decade to 901,997, reports the Yonder's Bill Bishop. This data comes from demographer Gary Gates of the University of California at Los Angeles, who has been tracking same-sex couples for years. Bishop found that rural counties with high numbers of gay couples are all over the country, from East Texas to Alabama and Kentucky. New England states and North Carolina have very large numbers of rural same-sex couples, with Sussex County, Delaware, having the highest concentration. The increase in gay couples in rural America can be attributed to higher reporting rates that increase as social stigma surrounding sexual orientation decreases.

UPDATE, Sept. 28: The Census Bureau revised the total number of gay couples to 646,464, citing inconsistencies on response forms for the previous inflated number.

Bishop also found that female same-sex couples are more likely to live in rural areas than male couples. Nearly 69 percent of female couples live in rural counties, and 70 percent live in exurban, compared to just over 57 percent that live in urban areas. Gates told Bishop that this data reflects wage gaps and child-rearing. Women are less likely to be able to afford living in urban areas, and female couples are more likely to have children and want to raise them in rural areas than male couples.

Walla Walla Union-Bulletin package explores rural reality for gay and lesbian teens

Growing up as a gay or lesbian teen in a rural area can be a tough challenge. In seven stories for the Walla Walla Union-Bulletin, Sheila Hagar explores how some teens and activists are facing those challenges in the Inland Northwest. (A youth group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teens meets in U-B photo by Joe Tierney)

Hagar's package highlight various aspects of the rural reality for gay and lesbian teens, especially the lack of resources in many small towns. Hagar highlights one of the few places offering such resources, the Vista Youth Center in the Tri-Cities — the towns of Kennewick, Pasco and Richland, which have a combined population of about 80,000 and are about an hour northwest of Walla Walla. Executive Director Mark Lee told Hagar that after moving to the area from Portland he realized teens had few places to feel safe.

Hagar wrote: "What he found when he visited a Spokane center with the same mission spoke volumes, he said: teens willing to travel by bus more than an hour one way to be somewhere they felt safe, kids who had come from Idaho, kids who couldn't tell anyone they knew about being queer, Lee said." His direct quote: "The tone I got was being in a rural area and being 'out' was not safe. Expressing themselves was not safe."

Hagar added, "Those are children perhaps most in need of help. Nearly half of that demographic reports using drugs and alcohol, and a quarter say they are currently being sexually or physically abused, he said, citing figures from internal surveys done at Vista." (Read more)

In the rest of the series, Hagar addresses how some local schools are trying to curb harassment and she speaks with local teens about what they think. Here are the other stories in the series:

• Local teens describe the situation they see
• 'Triple Point' offers gatherings for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender kids
• One teenager recalls coming out in a Mexican-American home
  
• A local activist leads a support group in rural Oregon
• Middle schools and high schools seek to teach tolerance and stop bullying
• Private schools work to keep all students safe
  

This is serious reporting, and it is worth a look. The series also includes some key statistics about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender teens, which could be a good place to start similar reporting.