The Thomas F. Coleman Collection

Index to Archives

1972-2005

Date	Title	Author	Pages	Description	Location
Public Policy Reports
1982	Report of the Commission on Personal Privacy

(Full Report)	Thomas F. Coleman	489	This Commission was convened by executive order by Governor Jerry Brown in October 1980. Thomas F. Coleman and Jay M. Kohorn wrote the draft of the executive order. 25 members. Final report issued in December 1982. Recommendations on personal privacy and sexual orientation discrimination.

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1982	Report of the Commission on Personal Privacy

(Executive Summary)	Jay M. Kohorn	189	Summary of full report.

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1982	Report of the Commission on Personal Privacy

(Supplement One)	Various authors	200	Topical reports and surveys on sexual orientation discrimination in schools, employment, child custody, sexual harassment in state government, definition of family, tax laws and alternate families

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1982	Report of the Commission on Personal Privacy

(Supplement Two)	Various authors

Nora J. Baladerian

Kiernan Prather

Mike Cronen

Wardell Pomeroy, Ph.d.

Audrey Mertz, M.D.

200	Topical reports on aging and disability, alcohol and drug programs, sex education for physicians, hospital visitation issues

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1982	Report of the Commission on Personal Privacy

(Supplement Three)	Various Authors

Gary Cooper

Diane Josephs

Richard Donohue

Godfrey Lehman

Lester Pincu, D. Crim.

200	Topical reports and surveys pertaining to government information policies and practices, informational privacy, dmv, juror privacy, prisons and corrections policies and practices

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1982	Report of the Commission on Personal Privacy

(Supplement Four)	60 witnesses	287	Transcript of public hearings (one in San Francisco and one in Los Angeles) at which 60 witnesses testified about various aspects of sexual orientation discrimination and invasions of personal privacy

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1986	Report of the Commission on Racial, Ethnic, Religious, and Minority Violence	Office of the California Attorney General	155	John Van De Kamp convened this 16 member commission in May 1984. It focused on bias-related violence targeting racial and ethnic minorities, gays and lesbians, and religious minorities as well as violence targeting vulnerable populations such as people with disabilities and seniors.

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1987	Commission on Racial, Ethnic, Religious, and Minority Violence

(Implementation Task Force Report)	Office of the California Attorney General	68	This report summarizes actions being taken by the legislature and state and local agencies to implement the recommendations of the commission as outlined in its 1986 report.

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1990	Final Report of the Commission on Racial, Ethnic, Religious, and Minority Violence	Office of the California Attorney General	160	This report documents the incidence of hte crimes in California and recommends a comprehensive approach to dealing with this problem. Chapters focus on law enforcement responses, the rights of victims, and hate crimes in schools.

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1988	Los Angeles City Task Force on Family Diversity

(Final Report)	Thomas F. Coleman	121	Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Woo convened this 37-member task force in 1986. It was co-chaired by Nora J. Baladerian and Christopher McCauley. The task force recommended 110 ways in which the city could directly or indirectly improve the quality of life for its families and households. The report contains chapters on: demographics in the USA, California, Los Angeles County and Los Angeles City; public policy and the definition of family, housing and homelessness, insurance, child care, family violence and abuse, families with elders, families with disabled members, domestic partner families, immigrant families. It also discussed how institutions, such as media, religion, and government, influence families.

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1988	Los Angeles City Task Force on Family Diversity

(Transcript of Public Hearings)	50 witnesses	329	Four public hearings were conducted by the task force in 1987. Some 50 witnesses testified, identifying areas of need. They includes academics, advocates, service providers, and city residents. This testimony formed much of the basis for the work fo the task force.

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1988	Los Angeles City Task Force on Family Diversity

(Student Research Papers)	Various authors	350	Some 18 college students jump-started the research of the task force by preparing research papers on a variety of issues affecting families. Topics included: Employee benefits, defining family, one-
person households, runaway and homeless youth, family life education, teen pregnancy and teen parenting, immigrant families, seniors issues, child care needs, domestic violence, gay and lesbian couples, philosophical definition of family, insurance discrimination, and family diversity and television.

Students were from USC Law Center, California State University at Northridge, and California School of Professional Psychology.

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1988	Los Angeles City Task Force on Family Diversity

(Reports of Research Teams)	578	Using the student research papers and the testimony of the public hearing witnesses, the task force members added their own insights and research and produced 15 topical reports: legal definition of family, family demographics, child care, immigrant families, seniors issues, media issues, gay and lesbian couples, family violence, education and counseling of youth and parents (with a report on homosexuality), disability issues, housing issues, public employee benefits, runaways and homeless youth, religion and the family, and insurance discrimination.

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1992	Los Angeles City Task Force on Family Diversity

(Progress Report)	Thomas F. Coleman

Spectrum Institute	100	This report documents the progress in implementing the recommendation of the task force. Some 400 copies of the report were distributed in 1988. Another 350 copies were distributed in the following three years. Recipients included government officials and agencies, libraries, civil rights groups, service providers, and educators. The progress report discusses leadership briefings, prodding city agencies, seniors issues, county commissions, the school district, gay and lesbian education commission, domestic partnership benefits, city contractor law, and education of political candidates.

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1989	California Legislature's Joint Select Task Force on the Changing Family

(First Year Report)	169	Both houses of the California Legislature convened a 26 member Task Force to study issues affecting families in California. In addition to six legislators, 20 members of the public were appointed. Thomas F. Coleman was appointed by the Senate Rules Committee. The first year report included several recommendations to eliminate discrimination against domestic partners.T he report was quoted by the Los Angeles Times, New York Times and other media publications.

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1989	California Legislature's Joint Select Task Force on the Changing Family

(Report of the Couples Workgroup)	Thomas F. Coleman	59	Task force members convened various workgroups to focus on issues pertaining to specific topics or constituencies. A workgroup on couples issues was chaired by Thomas F. Coleman. Margarita Contreras, a staff member for Senator David Roberti, represented the senator as a member of the group. William J. Wood, S.J., executive director of the California Catholic Conference was the third member of this group. The workgroup submitted a variety of recommendations to help married and unmarried couples in diverse families.

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1989	California Legislature's Joint Select Task Force on the Changing Family

(Supplement to the Report of the Couples Workgroup)	Thomas F. Coleman	330	This document contains research information and background papers supporting the report of the Couples Workgroup. Included is information on: survey of county clerks on marriage vows and civil ceremonies; survey of family court services in San Mateo, Fresno, and San Diego; survey of couple formation counseling services offered by various religious denominations; survey of community colleges and county boards of education on marriage and family trends; survey of private agencies offering marriage aqnd family counseling. Included were student research papers on common law marriage; wrongful death statutes, and premarital counseling. Also included was information on alcohol and drug abuse counseling, and family life education.

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1990	Consumer Task Force on Marital Status Discrimination

(Final Report)	Thomas F. Coleman	126	Los Angeles City Attorney James Hahn convened this 20-member task force in October 1989. The mandate of the group was to document the extent that government agencies and private businesses discriminated against consumers on the basis of marital status and to recommend ways to combat such discrimination. Such discrimination was found to exist in the following areas: rental housing, insurance companies, credit institutions, airlines, membership organizations, hospitals and nursing homes, mortuaries and cemeteries, and correctional facilities.

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1990	Consumer Task Force on Marital Status Discrimination

(Supplement)	336	This document contains the background papers and source materials that helped form the content for the final report and recommendations of the task force. It included letters from consumers and businesses, news articles, legal memos, agency rulings, reports from student interns, and public hearing testimony.

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1990	Official Registration of Families with the Secretary of State	Thomas F. Coleman	97	This report focuses on the legal, economic, and psychological implication of a "de facto" family registration system with the California Secretary of State. The report itemized dozens of state statutes which used the term "family" in a substantive way, conferring rights and benefits or imposing obligations, and showed whether the term was left undefined or if defined which relationships were included and which were not.

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1991	Strengthening Family Relationships in Long Beach: An Assessment of Family Diversity in Community Life

(Final Report)	David F. Link	107	This study was conducted by the Long Beach Human Relations Commission as its first major project. Spectrum Institute provided staffing. Thomas F. Coleman was principal advisor to the project. The report focused on the city as policy maker, specifically on issues pertaining to dependent care, people with disabilities, and sexual orientation. It also looked at the city as employer, contractor, and service provider. The report recommended that the city provide sick leave and bereavement leave to employees with domestic partners just as it does for employees with spouses.

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1991	Strengthening Family Relationships in Long Beach: An Assessment of Family Diversity in Community Life

(Public Hearing Testimony)	41	Some 32 witnesses testified on a variety of issues affecting families in Long Beach. Topics included the definition of family, sexual orientation discrimination, employee benefits, people with disabilities, immigrant families, homelessness, fair housing, AIDS, stepfamilies, seniors, African American families, and child abuse.

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1991	Strengthening Family Relationships in Long Beach: An Assessment of Family Diversity in Community Life

(Supplement)	210	The supplement contains background materials that helped inform commissioners as they adopted the final report and made recommendations to the city. Part 1 contains a summary of public hearing testimony. Part 2 contains materials about family diversity. Part 3 contains selected readings about family diversity, people of color, people with disabilities, intergenerationsl child care and visitation, and flexibility in employee benefits.

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1991	Counseling Client Concerning: Domestic Partnership Registration under the San Francisco Ordinance and under the State Registry – What are the Implications?	Thomas F. Coleman

and

Gary James Wood	70	This report is the result of a panel presentation co-sponsored by the Bar Association of San Francisco, the AIDS Legal Referral Panel, and the Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom. The presentation occurred on January 22, 1991. Panelists explored the benefits and detriments – legal and financial – for unmarried couples who might register as domestic partners with the city or a families with the Secretary of State.

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1991	Governor's Veto of AB101 Has Criminal Law Consequences

Thomas F. Coleman	17	This report was written in response to the veto by Governor Pete Wilson of AB101, a bill that would have added "sexual orientation" to the Fair Employment and Housing Act in California. The report was a follow up to press conferences, coordinated by Coleman, held in Los Angeles and in San Francisco on October 29, 1991, at which prosecutors promised to file criminal charges against employers who engaged in sexual orientation discrimination. The pressure of these press conferences caused Wilson to direct the state Labor Commissioner to receive complaints of discrimination and to mediate these disputes or impose civil penalties.

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1992	Analysis of the Opinion of the California Attorney General of California on the Registration of Names of Family Associations by the Secretary of State

Thomas F. Coleman

David F. Link	66	This report followed a series of political and legal attacks from conservative legislators and other officials challenging the authority of the Secretary of State to register the names of families and to issue certificates of registration to unmarried couples and other diverse families. It includes a lengthy legal analysis of why this registration procedure was lawful and within the authority of the Secretary of State. This registration procedure was discovered by Coleman and used by hundreds of unmarried couples to document their family relationships.

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1993	A Call to End Unfair Insurance Discrimination Against Unmarried Consumers

(Final Report)	Thomas F. Coleman	87	California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi convened a 62-member Anti-
Discrimination Task Force in July 1992. Members included representatives from the insurance industry, consumer activists, and equal rights advocates. A four-member workgroup on marital status was headed by Thomas F. Coleman. The workgroup adopted a report, passed it on to the 29-
member Underwriting Committee which approved it, and it was then submitted to the entire task force, which also approved it.

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1993	A Call to End Unfair Insurance Discrimination Against Unmarried Consumers

(Supplement)	186	The supplement contains background materials which helped form the content of the final report and helped shape the recommendations of the task force. Included are: legislative materials, court cases, excerpts from other studies.

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1993	Credit Unions Are Expanding Family Membership

Thomas F. Coleman	37	This report is a guide to credit union management and members on how to broaden membership criteria, including official rulings and by-law amendments approved by federal and state regulators.

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1993	Privacy Coalition is Forming to Challenge Government Intrusion into Our Bedrooms

Thomas F. Coleman	8	This report documents how 26 states continue to criminalize private sexual conduct of consenting adults. It gave examples of how people are sometimes prosecuted. It also explained that the existence of such laws on the books can have civil law consequences, such as in employment and child custody. It listed the specific statutes still on the books in these 26 states and explained whether they targeted gays only or also targeted unmarried heterosexual couples or even married couples.

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1995-1999	Hawaii Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law

(Final Report)

plus Memos and Papers	316	This report contains the findings and recommendations of a seven-member commission convened by act of the Hawaii Legislature. The commission examined major legal and economic benefits extended to married opposite-sex couples but not same-sex couples; examined public policy reasons to extend or not extent some or all of the benefits to same-sex couples; and recommended legislative action to so extend such benefits. Two major recommendations were made by the commission to the Legislature: either allow same-sex couples to marry, or enact a comprehensive domestic partnership act to extend all the benefits and obligations of marriage to same-sex couples who choose to register as domestic partners.

The report includes a summary of testimony of Thomas F. Coleman who was invited by the commission to testify on October 25, 1995.

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1995	Hawaii Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law

(Minutes of Meetings)	250	Minutes of 13 days on which the commission met to hear testimony, debate proposals, and adopt recommendations.

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1995	Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage is a Sure Bet in Hawaii – Or Is It?	Thomas F. Coleman	8	This report, published by Spectrum Institute in August 1995, focused on the decision of the Hawaii Supreme Court in 1993 suggesting that the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage might violate the equal protection clause of the state constitution. The report analyzed the court decision and public reaction throughout the nation. It explored the possibility of the Legislature passing a domestic partner law.

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1995	The Real Golden Girls: The Prevalence and Policy Treatment of Midlife and Older People Living in Nontraditional Households	Deborah Chalfie	100	This policy report was sponsored by AARP. It was an outgrowth of a special task force convened by AARP as a mini-conference in connection with the White House Conference on Aging. Thomas F. Coleman was one of the members of that task force. His participation prompted the author to include a section in the report on roommates and unmarried partners.

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1996	Domestic Partnerships: Senate Bill 3113 and Relevant Supporting Documents	Thomas F. Coleman	75	This report was submitted to each member of the Hawaii Legislature, arguing that passage of a comprehensive domestic partnership act provides safe passage through a political and legal minefield. It would avoid confrontations with the federal government and other states, while at the same time showing respect for family diversity.

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1997	Extending Employee Benefits to Domestic Partners: Resource Materials

University of California Board of Regents	Thomas F. Coleman	43	This report was submitted to the University of California Board of Regents as they were considering whether to extend benefits to domestic partners of university employees. It had a cover letter from Lloyd E. Rigler. The materials included: financial information, public opinion data, an explanation of three plans by other employers, religious support, and opposition to limiting benefits to same-
sex domestic partners.

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1997

Domestic Partnership Proposals to the City of Philadelphia	Thomas F. Coleman	30	This report is based on testimony and exhibits presented by Thomas F. Coleman to the Philadelphia City Council on May 17, 1997. The council was considering whether to adopt various ordinances intended to give rights and benefits to domestic partners.

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1998	Religious Suopport for Inclusive Definitions of "Family" and "Domestic Partnership

Philadelphia City Council

Thomas F. Coleman	56	This report was submitted to the Philadelphia City Council in connection with a public hearing on April 22, 1998. Coleman testified and submitted this report to urge the council to adopt an inclusive and gender neutral domestic partnership ordinance.

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1998	Illegal Discrimination in Oakland	Thomas F. Coleman	40	This report contains information on Oakland's inconsistent and discriminatory approach to domestic partnership, sometimes including same and opposite-sex couples and other times limiting eligibility to same sex couples. Law, public opinion, religious views, fiscal data, and positions of advocacy groups are included.

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1998	The American Civil Liberties Union and the Rights of Single People

Thomas F. Coleman	89	This report was submitted to the ACLU at its 1998 National Briefing in Washington D.C. It proposed that the ACLU should make the issue of marital status discrimination a priority. It also urged the ACLU to vigorously protect unmarried individuals and couples from discrimination byh government agencies and private-sector businesses.

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1998	California Seniors Support Domestic Partnership Rights and Benefits

Thomas F. Coleman	98	This report contained materials showing that organizations representing seniors have been supportive of domestic partnership proposals, especially in California. With backing from AARP, Older Women's League, California Senior Legislature, Gray Panthers, and the California Congress of Seniors, various bills have been approved by one or both houses of the California Legislature. It contains letters of support from seniors' groups as well as news articles about the growing trend of seniors living together as unmarried couples. Legislative committee reports on various bills are included.

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1998	National Organization for Women and Domestic Partnership Rights

Thomas F. Coleman	72	This report proposed that NOW, its Foundation, its Political Action Committee, and the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund should promote gender-neutral domestic partnership laws and benefits programs and oppose sexist restrictions in such laws and programs. It was submitted to Patricia Ireland, President of NOW, on September 14, 1998 at a meeting with her in Washington, D.C.

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1998	Press Packet

Foray v. Bell Atlantic

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Thomas F. Coleman	49	This press packet was released at a press conference held on the steps of the federal court house in Manhattan in 1998. The lawsuit involved a claim by a worker at Bell Atlantic arguing that the company violated a federal law prohibiting sex discrimination when it refused to grant domestic partner benefits to his female domestic partner. The benefits would have been granted had the partner been of the same sex as the worker.

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1999	House Bill 4258: Analysis by Spectrum Institute

Thomas F. Coleman	17	This report was submitted to the Michigan House of Representatives, Committee on Constitutional Law and Ethics. The committee was considering HB 4258, a bill that would specify that the term "marital status" in the state's civil rights act would not afford protection to unmarried cohabiting couples in housing or employment or any other business context. The bill was introduced after the Michigan Supreme Court ruled that the law did protect unmarried couples. After hearing testimony from Thomas F. Coleman and considering this report the committee decided not to move forward with the bill.

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1999	The Domestic Partnership Organizing Manual for employee benefits

Sally Kohn

The Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force

140	This publication was developed to assist activists, advocates, employees and unions, to lobby for domestic partner benefits in the workplace. Thomas F. Coleman collaborated on this project. The author stated that his assistance "was tremendously useful in crafting this key resource."

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1999

Domestic Partnership Legislation in California: A Tradition of Gender-Neutral Bills, Proposals, and Laws to Protect a Wide Range of Unmarried Adults	Thomas F. Coleman	74	This report was prepared after Governor Gray Davis abruptly insisted that any statewide domestic partnership law should be limited to same-sex couples. The report was circulated to legislators and advocacy organizations, criticizing the governor's proposal and showing how all prior efforts in California had always included same-sex and opposite-sex domestic partners.

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2000	Responding to Baker v. State: Legislative Options and Potential Consequences

Executive Summary

Vermont Legislature

House Judiciary Committee

Thomas F. Coleman	35	In Baker v. State, the Vermont Supreme Court ruled in 1999 that excluding same-sex couples from the benefits of marriage was unconstitutional. It gave the legislature an opportunity to cure the problem by either legalizing same-sex marriage or by passing a comprehensive domestic partnership act. In response, the House Judicial Committee began hearings in January 2000 to decide what to do. Thomas F. Coleman was invited to testify as an expert in domestic partnership law. His testimony focused on various options available to the legislature and examined the consequences of each option. In addition to an executive summary, Coleman submitted 7 reports to the committee.

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2000	Legislative Considerations: Some Potential Effects of the Legalization of Same-Sex Marriage

Special Report No. V-1

House Judiciary Committee

Vermont Legislature

Thomas F. Coleman	44	This report focused on some consequences of legalizing same-sex marriage in Vermont,. Potential conflict with the federal government was one of them. Potential conflict with other states was another. There would be effects on private employers. What about teenage gay marriage? Annulment law would be implicated. Would there be a presumption of paternity for a child born to a same-sex couple?

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2000	A Global View: Domestic Partnership Laws in Other Nations

Special Report No. V-2

House Judiciary Committee

Vermont Legislature

Thomas F. Coleman	92	This report examined domestic partnership or registered partnership laws in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Hungary, Netherlands, Belgium, France, and Canada. It also summarized proposals pending in Spain, Portugal, Finland, Germany, and Australia.

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2000	Hawaii Materials: Report of the Commission on Sexual Orientation and the Law

Special Report No. V-3

House Judiciary Committee

Vermont Legislature

Thomas F. Coleman	30	This report looked at the work of the Hawaii Commission. It included excerpts from the commission's report; summaries of testimony of Professor Jon Van Dyke and Thomas F. Coleman. It also included a special report published by Spectrum Institute which had been distributed to the commission by its chairperson to orient them to some of the issues they would be facing.

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2000	Hawaii Materials: Legislative Actions in Sessions 1994 ro 1999

Special Report No. V-4

House Judiciary Committee

Vermont Legislature

Thomas F. Coleman	49	This report summarizes the various legislative proposals considered by one or both houses of the Hawaii Legislature in response to the Baer v. Lewin decision in 1993. The only measure that was enacted was a reciprocal beneficiary law that gave a few rights and benefits to same-sex couples or blood relatives who registered with the state.

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2000	Tulane Law Review: The Hawaii Legislature Has Compelling Reasons to Adopt a Comprehensive Domestic Partnership Act

Special Report No. V-5

House Judiciary Committee

Vermont Legislature

Thomas F. Coleman	43	This report contains a law review article written by Thomas F. Coleman. The article was released in the summer of 1996 in the "Law and Sexuality" publication at Tulane Law School. The article explored reasons that a court might uphold the constitutionality of a domestic partnership law as an alternate to marriage. It contained a model act, including legislative findings that could be used by a legislative body.

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2000	Legislative Summary: Domestic Partnership Bills Pending in States Throughout the Nation

Special Report No. V-6

House Judiciary Committee

Vermont Legislature	Thomas F. Coleman	64	This report summarized domestic partnership bills pending in various states in 2000. It included bills in Wisconsin, Washington, Rhode Island, New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Florida, and California. It also listed municipalities with domestic partnership registries and government employers extending benefits to domestic partners of local and state workers.

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2000

Demographics: Marital Status and Households of Adults in Vermont and the USA, with Emphasis on Domestic Partners

Special Report No. V-7

House Judiciary Committee

Vermont Legislature

Thomas F. Coleman	40	This report marital status demographics in Vermont and in the United States.

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Court Briefs
1984	Board of Education of the City of Oklahoma City v. The National Gay Task Force	Thomas F. Coleman

Jay M. Kohorn	59	Brief Amicus Curiae of the American Association for Personal Privacy, Federation of Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, and Los Angeles Lawyers for Human Rights. The brief addressed the following question: Did the Court of Appeals properly invalidate on First Amendment (facial overbreadth) grounds the "advocacy" portion of the Oklahoma homosexual teacher statute? It argued: (1) that the statute was enacted in a context of social hostility to homosexuals; (2) the advocacy portion of the statute was designed to remove as a teacher anyone found to be homosexual; (3) the statute is facially overbroad.

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1989	Braschi v. Stahl Associates Company

New York Court of Appeals

Thomas F. Coleman

Jay M. Kohorn

William Gardner

70	Brief Amicus Curiae of Family Service America, Institute for the Study of Human Resources, Bar Association for Human Rights for Greater New York, and several religious leaders. The brief argued that the term "family" in the rent control ordinance could be interpreted to include unmarried individuals who live together and function like a family unit. It contained sections on: public policy, demographics, and prior judicial and legislative precedents which support a broad and inclusive definition of family.

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1991	Donahue v. Fair Employment and Housing Commission

California Court of Appeal	Thomas F. Coleman	35	This petition for rehearing asked the Court of Appeal to rehear a case in which it decided, in a two to one opinion, that a landlady has a constitutional right to discriminate against an unmarried couple despite a state law that prohibited such discrimination. The petition for rehearing was denied. The case was then petitioned to the California Supreme Court.

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1992	Donahue v. Fair Employment and Housing Commission

California Supreme Court

Thomas F. Coleman	79	Petition for Review for Verna Terry, Real Party in Interest. This brief was submitted to the Supreme Court asking it to grant review in a case in which a woman was denied an apartment because the landlady, citing religious objections, refused to rent to unmarried couples despite a state law prohibiting marital status discrimination in rental housing. Review was granted.

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1992	Donahue v. Fair Employment and Housing Commission

California Supreme Court

Thomas F. Coleman	48	Opening Brief for Verna Terry, Real Party in Interest. The brief argued that the landlady should not be granted a constitutional exemption from this statewide law of general application. The case was never decided. The court eventually dismissed the petition as improvidently granted. It is believed that when one member of the court decided to retire, it left the court equally divided. So the court probably wanted to wait until another case would come along when there was a full contingent of justices. That later occurred in the case of Smith v. Fair Employment and Housing Commission.

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1993	People v. Lino

People v. Brashier

Michigan Supreme Court

Thomas F. Coleman

Rudy A. Serra	50	Brief Amicus Curiae on behalf of Spectrum Institute, Triangle Foundation, and American Association for Personal Privacy. This brief was submitted to the Supreme Court, arguing that the gross indecency statutes are unconstitutionally vague and should be interpreted so as not to apply to private sexual conduct between consenting adults. It included a reference to precednts in other states, to data on public opinion regarding sexuality, and summarized the laws in all 50 states regulating private sexual conduct of consenting adults.

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1994	Smith v. Commission on Fair Employment and Housing

California Supreme Court

Thomas F. Coleman	40	This petition for review asked the California Supreme Court to grant hearing in a case in which the Court of Appeal ruled that even though the law prohibits housing discrimination against unmarried couples, the offending landlord should be granted a constitutional exemption from the law because unmarried cohabitation offends her religious beliefs. The petition was filed on behalf of Ken Phillips, a prospective tenant who was denied housing. The court granted the petition and eventually ruled, in a 4 to 3 decision, that the landlord should not be granted a so-called "religious" exemption from the law.

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1995	University of Alaska v. Tumeo and Wattum

Alaska Supreme Court	Thomas F. Coleman	35	Brief of Spectrum Institute as Amicus Curiae. The brief argued that the legislature did intent to prohibit marital status discrimination in health benefits. Precedents were cited from Montana, California, Wisconsin, Oregon, Minnesota, and Georgia. It included a table of statutes from 21 states which prohibit marital status discrimination in employment.

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1998

1995

Biaz v. Hoffius

McCready v. Hoffius

Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Court of Appeals	Thomas F. Coleman

Rudy Serra

Coleman and Serra	53

49	Brief Amicus Curiae on behalf of Spectrum Institute, Triangle Foundation, and the American Association for Personal Privacy.

The brief argued that Michigan law prohibits housing discrimination against unmarried couples and that landlords may not use religious beliefs to justify illegal discrimination.

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OTHER MATERIALS

1972 - 2005

Newspaper and Magazine

Stories Quoting Coleman

300+

These stories quote or mention Tom Coleman in the context of his various projects and cases over the years.

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1991

Family Registration with the California Secretary of State

Legislative Counsel Opinion

Response of Sec of State

Attorney General Opinion

Response of Sec of State

List of families who registered

100+

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1990	Family Registration

Press Packet	20+	C-5
1990	Family Registration Certificates	7	C-5
1972	Arraignment Intervention Project	Letter from Senator David Roberti	1	Support for project	C-5
1973	Coleman and Copilow Report	Barry Copilow

and Tom Coleman	18	Analysis of selective enforcement of section 647(a) of the California Penal Code by the Los Angeles Police Department	C-5
1974	Update to Coleman and Copilow Report	Chet Toy	9	More selective enforcement shown	C-5
1975-1991	Various bills over the years to prohibit sexual orientation discrimination by private employers in California

30

It started with Assemblyman John Foran in 1975, then Assemblyman art Agnos and Senator David Roberti. When a bill finally passed, it was vetoed by Gov. Pete Wilson.

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1977

People v. Pryor

Appellate Department of the Los Angeles Superior Court

1	This order affirmed the denial of a motion to suppress by the Municipal Court. Pryor was arrested in 1976 for soliciting a lewd act. When he was booked into custody, the police found a small amount of marijuana in his backpack. He was then charged with possession of marijuana. Coleman filed a motion to suppress the marijuana on the ground that his initial arrest for solicitation was unconstitutional and therefore invalid. The motion was denied. Pryor then pled guilty to the marijuana charge and went to trial on the solicitation charge. The jury was hungd, 7 to 5, favoring an acquittal. Pryor then appealed the denial of the motion to suppress. When the Appellate Department ruled against Pryor on appeal, Pryor filed a petition with the California Supreme Court to stop the retrial on the solicitation charge. Ultimately, Pryor won the supreme Court case and the solicitation charge was dismissed.

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1978	People v. Phipps

389 N.E.2d 1128 (1979)	Ohio Supreme Court	4	This file contains news releases by the National Committee for Sexual Civil Liberties and the National Lawyers Guild. Both groups filed an amicus curiae brief in the Phipps case. The Supreme Court narrowed the reach of the sexual solicitation statute, ruling that in order to convict the prosecution must prove that the defendant should have known that his words were so offensive to the listener that it was likely to cause an immediate breach of the peace.

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1979-1980

Pryor v. Municipal Court

Press Release

Supreme Court Ruling

Denial of Modification Request

Application to previous cases

Judge Arthur Gilbert

interpretation of Pryor

New Jury Instructions

Subsequent appellate decisions	California Supreme Court ruling

60 +	This file folder contains the Supreme Court ruling in Pryor and Coleman's press release about it.

Also included is a second case, Anders, saying that Pryor would be retroactive.

Then came the fun of having the Pryor decision applied to future cases. We fought for new jury instructions. We also litigated various cases in 1980 to make sure that Pryor would be applied properly by prosecutors and trial courts.

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1979-1980	Executive Order by California Governor Jerry Brown

letter to Brown prior to the order

news article

executive order

transcript of meeting with the State Personnel Board

attempt to expand the order

Opinion of Attorney General

upholding the validity of the order

letters to Attorney General

50 +	Coleman wrote an article in a gay newspaper in 1975 saying that the next step, after private sex was decriminalized, was to get the governor to issue an executive order. That suggestion eventually caught on with the gay community. Coleman wrote to Brown in March 1979, urging him to act. A week later, Brown directed his staff to draft the order. Coleman was consulted on the wording. The order was issued on April 4, 1979. Then Coleman and colleagues met with the State Personnel Board to design plans to implement the order. The following year, the Attorney General upheld Brown's authority to issue the order.

An attempt in 1980 to get the Governor to expand the order to apply to all actions by state government, not just employment, was unsuccessful.

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1979-1991	Speaking Engagement

Letters from various groups inviting Coleman to speak to them or thanking him for doing so.

30 +	Over the years, Coleman spoke to dozens of legal, political, and community groups. This folder contains letters about these presentations.

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1980	Commission on Personal Privacy

proposed executive order	Thomas Coleman

Jay Kohorn

4	Coleman and Kohorn promoted the creation of a commission by Governor Brown to study and make recommendations about personal privacy and sexual orientation discrimination.

They drafted a proposed executive order for Brown to sign. The order that was eventually executed closely mirrors the draft created by them.

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1981	State v. Tusek

630 P.2d 892

Oregon Court of Appeals

8	Coleman filed a brief with this court to challenge the constitutionality of Oregon's statute against sexual solicitation. The argument prevailed and the statute was invalidated.

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1981	National Committee for Sexual Civil Liberties

Meeting in Detroit	Arthur Warner	4	The National Committee presented Coleman with the Matthew Tobriner Sexual Civil Liberties Award. The award was presented with Tobriner's blessing. Tobriner was a member of the California Supreme Court and author of some progressive decisions. This file contains a transcript of the remarks Arthur made prior to the award being given to Coleman.

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1982	Hubert v. Williams

1	This file contains a news story about a gay housing case won by Coleman's former partner, Steve Kelber, which affirmed that housing discrimination against gays was illegal in California.

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1984-1985	Board of Education v. National Gay Task Force

United States Supreme Court

1	This file contains the order of the Supreme Court affirming the decision of the federal Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court was evenly split, 4 to 4 with one abstention. As a result, the lower court decision had to be affirmed. Coleman and Kohorn filed an amicus curiae brief in this case. The end result was that an anti-gay teacher law was invalidated.

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1985-1989	University of Southern California

Class on Rights of Domestic Partners

Coleman taught the class	4	This file contains a course description and schedule of weekly topics for this class. In 1985, this was the first law school class in the nation focusing on rights of domestic partners. The scope of the class included same and opposite sex couples.

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1985-1999	Domestic Partnership Legislation in the City of Los Angeles

100 +	In 1988, Los Angeles became the first major city in the nation to give benefits to the domestic partners of city employees.

The first proposal to do so was introduced in 1985 by councilwoman Peggy Stevenson who was challenged by Mike Woo, a proponent of domestic partner benefits. Woo won the election and followed through by convening the Task Force on Family Diviersity. Based on its recommendation, Woo convinced the council to extend sick and bereavement leave to city employees in 1988. When Woo retired from city politics, Jackie Goldberg continued to advance dp benefits. She successfully got health benefits, then disability benefits, then pension benefits. Eventually, a city contractor law was passed to require businesses to extend such benefits to their own workers.

This file contains background papers, and city council records, documenting the evolution of dp benefits over the years in the city.

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1986-1987	Lambda Lawyers Roundtable

7	Coleman and a few other activist lawyers in Los Angeles formed an informal group that met monthly to discuss legal and political issues affecting the lesbian and gay community in Los Angeles and California. This file contains some correspondence about this group.

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1987	Memo regarding a

Model Curriculum on Human Rights and Genocide	Thomas Coleman	6	The California Board of Education was considering publishing a model curriculum on human rights and genocide to teach high school students about atrocities from the past. Since gays had been victims of such atrocities, Coleman and other activists wanted the curriculum to mention this. When the draft was released, there was no mention of gays. Coleman spearheaded a protest. He wrote a memo, communicated his displeasure with Superintendent Honig, and asked Attorney General Van de Kamp for help. Eventually, when the curriculum was published, there was mention of human rights violations against gays and lesbians.

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1988	Los Angeles City Task Force on Family Diversity

Newspaper stories about the release of the task force report

15	This file contains news stories from mainstream press and gay media about the task force report and recommendations.

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1989	Family Diversity Newsletter

Thomas Coleman	8	This file contains a newsletter published in 1989 summarizing progress made in implementing recommendations of the task force. Progress was made with: domestic partner benefits, quizzing candidates for office, amending the city contractor law, policies adopted by the board of education, reaction by the police department, human relations commission, department of aging, etc.

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1989	Consumer Task Force on Marital Status Discrimination

Los Angeles City Attorney	2	This file contains news stories by the LA Times and Daily Journal about the task force convened by City Attorney Jim Hahn to study discrimination against consumers and to make recommendations to end stop.

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1989	California Task Force on the Changing Family	1	News story about the first year report of this legislatively convened task force.

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1994	Swanner v. Anchorage Equal Rights Commission	United States Supreme Court	10	This file contains an order of the US Supreme Court denying review of a decision by the Alaska Supreme Court. That court had ruled that a landlord violated state law by refusing to rent to unmarried couples and that the landlord was not entitled to a religious exemption from this law. Coleman had been monitoring this case and made an appearance as counsel of record in the US Supreme Court on behalf of a tenant who had won in the Alaska Supreme Court.

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1994	Smith v. Fair Employment and Housing Commission

California Supreme Court	10	This file contains news clippings about the California Supreme Court accepting this case for review. Coleman represented one of the tenants involved in the case.

Eventually the case was decided in favor of the tenants.

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1997	Smith v. Fair Employment and Housing Commission	United States Supreme Court	1	This file contains a news story that the US Supreme Court had refused to take this Smith case. As a result, the tenants won. Coleman represented one of the tenants.

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1996-2001	Lloyd E. Rigler

Thomas Coleman	20	This file contains correspondence between Coleman and Rigler during this era. Rigler was the primary benefactor supporting Coleman's human rights cases and projects from 1984 to 2003.

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2001	Union Rescue Mission	10	This file contains materials from a project of the American Association for Single People to get a single women's shelter reopened. The mission had closed it due to lack of funds. AASP was able to get Lloyd Rigler's foundation to donate $82,000 to the cause, which in turn leveraged another $240,000 so that the mission could reopen the shelter for single women.

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1999-2003	Unmarried America

Newsletter of the American Association for Single People (later renamed Unmarried America)

Thomas F. Coleman

Publisher and Editor	148	These newsletters were published quarterly from 1999 through 2003.

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2000	The High Cost of Being Single

Thomas F. Coleman	4	This brochure describes the various ways in which unmarried people experience economic discrimination – as workers, consumers, tenants, and taxpayers.

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2000	Stop the Stigma Campaign	4	This brochure shows how statutes and judges continue to stigmatize children born to unmarried parents by calling them bastards or illegitimate children. It calls for change to stop this stigmatization.

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2002	Unmarried and Single Americans Week

Mayors and City Councils	45	This file contains proclamations issued by cities to commemorate the third week of September as Unmarried and Single Americans Week.

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2002	Unmarried and Single Americans Week	Governors	This file contains proclamations issued by governors to commemorate the third week of September as Unmarried and Single Americans Week

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2003	Federal Issues Affecting Unmarried America	Thomas Coleman	4	This brochure explains how the federal government is not protecting unmarried Americans from marital status discrimination and urges reform. The brochure was given to every member of Congress. It was used as the basis for an informational briefing for members of Congress and staffers at the Rayburn House Office Building in 2003.

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2003

National USA Week Awards	4	Unmarried America gave awards to several people to recognize their contributions to advance the cause of equal rights for unmarried and single Americans.

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1995	Gay Marriage

Domestic Partnership

Spectrum Institute

Thomas Coleman	18	This file contains various brochures and short publications issued by Spectrum Institute about gay marriage and domestic partnership in 1985. It also contains the draft of an article on the subject written by David Link.

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1975	Letter to Governor Brown	Thomas Coleman	2	Requesting appointments of gay-friendly people to the Fair Employment Practices Commission

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1975	Consenting Adults Act	7+	AB 489 and other documents and news stories about the consenting adults act, signature by the governor and attempt to repeal it by referendum
1975	After Sodomy Reform - What Next	Press Release to gay press in California	1	After the consenting adults bill was passed, Coleman sent this release to gay press in California suggesting that the next target should be to get the Governor to issue an executive order, like PA activists had done

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1975-1976	Pennsylvania Council on Sexual Minorities	10+	Executive orders signed by Governor Shapp and materials from the Council he created to deal with sexual orientation discrimination

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1975-1982	Homophobic Conditions of Probation	10+	This file contains materials about homophobic conditions of probation imposed by judges on gay criminal defendants and the fight to stop those conditions from being imposed

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1979	Memo on the History Behind Governor Brown's Executive Order in 1979	Linda Poverny	31	This memo explains the who and how behind the push to get Governor Brown to issue an executive order prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in state employment

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1979	Letter to Sheldon Andelson	Thomas Coleman	5	This letter explains what more needs to be done above and beyond the executive order signed in April by the governor

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1979	Securing governmental protection from sexual orientation discrimination in housing in California	20+	This file contains letters, memos and other materials showing how a state bureaucrat issued a memo cutting gays out of housing protection from her agency and how Coleman and a small group of advocates turned that around and got the state to issue a memo accepting such cases

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1979	NYU Law Conference on Gay Rights	59	This document contains a transcript of the papers and presentations delivered at this national conference on gay rights. This was the first large legal conference of its kind in the nation. NY Attorney General Robert Abrams was the keynote speaker. Coleman delivered remarks on securing gay rights through constitutional litigation.

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1980	Letter from the White House	1	This letter was sent to Coleman in anticipation of a meeting at the White House to discuss gay rights issues.

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1980	Letters to the Governor's Office	10+	This file contains correspondence from Coleman and the CA Governor's office about the creation of a study commission.

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1984	Hate Crimes	Thomas Coleman	8+	This file contains a newspaper editorial against a hate crime law and a rebuttal by Coleman to that editorial

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1984	Bakersfield Violence Against Gays	2	This file contains two newspaper stories about violence against gays in Bakersfield and an investigation into such by Coleman

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1984	AB 848: Hate Crime Law	10+	This file contains a letter from Coleman to the governor urging him to sign AB 848, news stories about the new law, and a letter to a state senator from Coleman about gay harassment in Glendale, California

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1986	Bowers v. Hardwick	42	This file contains the transcript of oral argument in the US Supreme Court in the Hardwick case, a case challenging the constitutionality of Georgia's sodomy law

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1987	AAA of Southern California	20+	This file contains materials about a protest against AAA about their refusal to give a discount to the domestic partners of gay members like they did for spouses

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1988-1990	Family Diversity Project	6	This booklet is an informational packet describing the activities and purpose of the Family Diversity Project, which was an outgrowth of the Los Angeles City Task Force on Family Diversity.

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1990	ACLU Awards	5	This file contains pages from a booklet given to those attending an awards banquet given by the Lesbian and Gay Rights Chapter of the ACLU of Southern California. Coleman received an award at this reception.

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1991	Delaney Appeal	10+	This file contains materials concerning an appeal filed challenging the ruling of a Superior Court judge who concluded that city ordinances prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination in California were invalid.

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1995-1995	Law and Sexuality	Thomas F. Coleman	40	This booklet contains an article written by Coleman for a law review published by Tulane University School of Law. The topic was domestic partnership and Hawaii.

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1997	Hawaii Legislature	10+	This file contains letters from Coleman to Hawaii legislators about the cost of health benefits for same-sex partners. The legislature was considering a bill to give certain benefits to reciprocal beneficiaries.

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1995-1997	University of Alaska v. Tumeo	10+	This file contains a decision of the Alaska Supreme Court, file in 1997, that the university violated a state law against marital status discrimination when it refused to give benefits to domestic partners of employees. Coleman filed a brief in the case.

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1997-2002	University of California	50+	This file contains correspondence and other materials concerning an ongoing dispute as to whether the university should give benefits to domestic partners, and if so, whether they should be limited to same-sex couples or open to opposite-sex couples as well.

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1998	Letter from Arthur Warner	1	This letter to Thomas Coleman praises him for his work on behalf of various segments of society who have been victims of discrimination and unjust treatment.

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1998	Survey Answers from Gray Davis	4	This file contains the answers Gray Davis gave to a survey about domestic partner benefits. Davis was Lt. Governor and running for Governor when he answered these questions.

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1999-2000	Singles Rights Lobby	12	This file contains three newsletters of the Singles Rights Lobby which was affiliated with the American Association for Single People. Mostly they contain articles and info about voting, politics, and single people.

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2001	National Singles Week	These three packets are samples of what was handed to members of Congress in Sept. 2001 as part of AASP's effort to promote singles' rights during National Singles Week.

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2001-2002	Census Bureau and Singles Week	This file contains correspondence between Coleman and the Census Bureau trying to convince them to issue a Facts for Features release for Singles Week each year.

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2001

Perry Health Poems	2	This file contains two poems written by AASP member Perry Health. One was written for AASP generally and the other specifically for National Singles Week.

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2002	Vic Pelton's Case	10+	This file contains information about AASP helping Vic Pelton to convince the University of California to offer benefits to the opposite-
sex domestic partners of retirees, just like it did for same-sex partners and spouses.

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2003	BusinessWeek Magazine	9	This file contains a cover story that ran in BusinessWeek on October 20, 2003. The 9 page story disclosed how unmarried Americans would soon be a majority of households in the USA and what the implications were for government and businesses. Coleman pitched the story to the writer and worked closely with her for months to develop the story which ultimately appeared on the cover of this magazine.

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2004-2005	Emancipation Project

25+	This file contains information on the rescue of a teenage girl who live din Michigan and was abducted and forced into a facility in Montana. It also contains information on the Emancipation Project which was formed as an outgrowth of this case. It also has information about a press conference held in Utah to expose abusive practices against children and teens there.

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1985	National Committee for Sexual Civil Liberties

(Later the American Association for Personal Privacy)	Arthur C. Warner	20	This paper describes the purpose, history, and activities of the National Committee for Sexual Civil Liberties, founded in 1970, which was renamed the American Association for Personal Privacy in 1980.

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1999-2000	Singles Rights Advocate	Thomas F. Coleman

Publisher and Editor	40	Five issues of this newsletter were published from Sept. 1999 and Sept. 2000. The publication focused on single and unmarried voters and the issues that affected them because of their marital status. Most politicians have ignored unmarried voters. But some have helped to create legal and economic reforms that have helped unmarried people in a variety of ways.

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2002	AASP Elected Officials	8	list of elected officials who joined AASP	C-6
2000	AASP Presidential Survey	4	Questions asked of prez candidates	C-6
1999	Spectrum Institute brochure	8	brochure about Spectrum and letters of support	C-6
2000	AASP member materials	C-6
2001	AASP honorary members	list of all honorary members	C-6
2000	AASP national ad campaign	press release and sample ad	C-6
2004	AASP membership materials	C-6
2003	BusinessWeek Cover Story	10-20-2003 issue of magazine	C-6
1988-2000	AASP/Spectrum	letters of support and thanks	C-6
1988-1991	Correspondence with Lloyd Rigler	C-6
LEDLER	invoices, etc.	C-6
2000	Rigler power of attorney	C-6
1990-1995	Domestic partner / LA county	materials on dp issues	C-6
1995	Model DP law for cities	8	booklet on dp issues	C-6
1998	Dp issues in Santa Barbara	30+	C-6
1997	Philadelphia DP memo	includes letter to Councilman Ortiz	C-6
Laws and cases on public displays of same sex affection	California legal materials on conduct in gay bars, etc.	C-6
1986-1988	Family Diversity Task Force	papers pertaining to this L.A. task force	C-6
2002-2003	LEDLER correspondence	C-6
1985-1987	Domestic Partners Equity Fund	this file contains materials about this project, which was funded by the LEDLER Foundation, and operated under the auspices of the Institute for the Study of Human Resources (affiliated with ONE Inc.)

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1988	Debbie Deem	materials about this singles rights activist	C-6
1998	Spectrum Institute	materials about the corporation and projects	C-6
1997	Spectrum Institute	more materials	C-6
1999	Spectrum Institute	budget materials	C-6
1998	LEDLER correspondence	C-6
2001	LEDLER correspondence	C-6
1997	Spectrum reports	C-6
1996-2000	American Association for Personal Privacy	materials and correspondence about this nonprofit corporation (formerly Sexual Law Reporter and formerly National Committee for Sexual Civil Liberties)

C-6
1991	Spectrum Institute	financial papers	C-6
1999	AASP logo	C-6
1995	Spectrum Institute	releases about domestic partner issues	C-6
1983-1985	Law, Sex, and Disability	presentation materials about legal rights of people with disabilities to have sexual relations

C-6
1997	Disability, Abuse, and Personal Rights Project	materials about the 'think tank" conference	C-6