In Brief

Staff Reports

Iowa Bakery Refuses To Produce Wedding Cake For Same-Sex Couple

Victoria Childress 

DES MOINES, IOWA -- The local Hearst Affiliated television news station here is reporting that an Iowa Lesbian couple, planning on completing their wedding cake order with a bakery located in Des Moines, were rudely shocked when the bakery's owner told them she wasn't going to take their business.

KCCI News Channel 8 reported that Trina Vodraska and Janelle Sievers had traveled to Victoria's Cake Cottage in Des Moines, from their home in central Iowa, to meet with owner Victoria Childress for a cake testing appointment.

"They came in and she introduced herself, and I said, 'Is this your sister?' (She said,) 'No, this is my partner.' I said, 'OK,' and I asked them to sit down and I said, 'We need to talk,'" said Victoria Childress, who runs her cake baking business from home. "I said, 'I'll tell you I'm a Christian, and I do have convictions.' And I said, 'I'm sorry to tell you, but I'm not going to be able to do your cake."

[...] I didn't do the cake because of my convictions for their lifestyle. It is my right as a business owner. It is my right, and it's not to discriminate against them. It's not so much to do with them, it's to do with me and my walk with God and what I will answer to him for." - KCCI News 8 Des Moines

Amanda Laurich, another local baker who owns and operates Three Chicks Bakery out of her Polk City home, told the station she believes the business shouldn't be a gay or straight issue.

"It is a business. It's about the people. It's about making the people happy too," said Laurich."I have a lot of gay friends and gay family members. If any of them wanted to get married, I wouldn't want them to go through the stress or feeling disappointed and having that take away from the thing that should be really special for their day," said Laurich. "I respect her convictions, but I wouldn't be truthful if I said I wasn't doing this to make money too," said Laurich.

KCCI contacted the same-sex couple, but neither woman wanted to talk on camera.

A statement they sent says in part, "Awareness of equality was our only goal in bringing this to light, it is not about cake or someone's right to refuse service to a customer. We are grateful for the outpouring of support we have received and hope that by stepping forward we have prevented someone else from experiencing the same type of bigotry."

ACLU Asks Ohio School District To Update Its Bullying Policy

COLUMBUS, OHIO -- The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio which is now representing Zach Huston- a 15 year old Ross County, Ohio youth who was beaten in what was described by his mother, Rebecca Collins, as a hate motivated gay bashing captured on cell phone video that went viral- announced Monday it is giving the school district an opportunity to discuss changes to prevent bullying of students before the ACLU launches court actions.
In a press conference held in Columbus earlier today, ACLU of Ohio legal director James L. Hardiman, told reporters “The school had a responsibility to protect Zach, but looked the other way for over a year while he was verbally and physically bullied."
The incident occurred last October 17th at the Union-Scioto High School in Chillicothe, Ohio, a city about 50 miles south of Columbus. According to Zach's mother,“The boy stood there and waited and waited on him. As soon as he walked in the door, the boy hits. [My son] walks away — ‘What did I do? Why are they doing this?’ and keeps walking away. He turns around and tries to defend himself and then he tries to get away and the boy grabs him and beats the living crap out of him.”
Her son told them, “I covered myself and shielded my body, and he kept hitting. Nobody did anything.” The beating which was captured on a cell phone video and later posted to Facebook, shows the assailant, 15-year-old suspect, Levi Sever, waiting until his Zach enters the room, at which point the violent attack begins.
Collins told the local media that two of her son’s teeth were broken due to this malicious attack, and he may also have suffered from a concussion. “It turns my stomach,” she said, “It’s my son. I don’t care, and they did it just because he’s a homosexual.” She also said that her as well as Zach's ongoing complaints about bullying to school officials were met with indifference, including one who commented that the district consists of “Bible-beaters ... what can you expect?”
The ACLU is asking Union-Scioto schools to change its anti-bullying policy to specifically mention sexual orientation, increase its education of students and staff and take steps to protect students who report bullying from retaliation.
The Columbus Dispatch newspaper wrote that Union-Scioto Superintendent Dwight Garrett could not be reached for comment. Unioto High School Principal James Obsorne said the school district is declining comment due to the threat of legal action by the ACLU of Ohio.

The accused assailant, Levi Sever, has been charged with a delinquency count of assault. Ross County Prosecutor Matthew Schmidt said Sever admitted the assault in Juvenile Court, with authorities awaiting a pre-disposition investigation and victim-impact statement prior to sentencing. Huston said Sever has not returned to school since the attack.

Huston said he was willing to come forward and speak about what occurred to him if it helps protect other gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender students from bullying. “I feel great to try to help other people,” he said. “You have to always be yourself and stand up for what you believe in.” ~ The Columbus Dispatch

State law requires schools to adopt policies prohibiting all bullying, but does not require districts to adopt language explicitly protecting students who are gay or lesbian. Some districts in the state have adopted such language.
The video captured national attention, prompting an online petition that has attracted more than 80,000 “signatures” asking the school district to protect LGBT students from bullying and expel Huston’s assailant.
The school district initially suspended the beating suspect for three days, but later “revisited” the discipline after the video surfaced. School officials have not specified what discipline the student received.

Union-Scioto High School is not alone in its attitude towards LGBT students. GLSEN, the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network reports that one in four LGBT students have experienced some kind of assault in Ohio each year. Data from its 2009 National Climate Survey showed that these students were “punched, kicked or injured with a weapon” at least once in that year because of their sexual orientation. Additionally, almost 61% of LGBT students in Ohio experienced some form of harassment or reported being threatened by other students through emails, text messaging, or through postings on social networking sites.