Lilli Vincenz (right) won a recent discrimination decision in Arlington, Va., after a video store refused to copy gay protest videos from the ’60s and ’70s.
With Vincenz is her partner, Nancy Ruth Davis
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ELIZABETH WEILL-GREENBERG
Friday, May 05, 2006
A conservative group based in Virginia is threatening to sue the Arlington County Human Rights Commission over its decision in a sexual orientation discrimination case.
In May 2005, long-time lesbian rights activist Lilli Vincenz went to Tim Bono of Bono Film & Video and asked him to duplicate two documentaries for her titled "Gay and Proud" and "Second Largest Minority," according to Raul Torres, executive director of the Arlington Human Rights Commission.
Bono refused and exchanged several e-mails with Vincenz about his position, Torres said. In one e-mail, according to Torres, Bono wrote to Vincenz, that his company "does not partake in any gay agenda no matter what the content."
Vincenz filed a complaint with the Arlington County Human Rights Commission in May 2005. Vincenz said that Tim’s father, Joe, had duplicated the same documentaries since the 1980s. The films are less than 15 minutes long and include footage of demonstrations that took place in 1968 and 1970, she said.
"Tim Bono was at first very friendly," said Vincenz. "When I told him the name and titles of the two films, he did a 180-degree turn."
Based on the e-mails, video content and testimony, the Arlington Human Rights Commission ruled on April 13 that Bono had discriminated against Vincenz because she is a lesbian, Torres said. It ordered Bono to duplicate the tapes at Vincenz’s cost or find another business to copy the tapes at his cost.
The next hearing scheduled for May 13 will determine what further action, if any, Bono and Vincenz choose to take, Torres said.
Bono refused to comment when contacted by the Blade.
Torres pointed out that Bono never viewed the tapes and only read the titles.
"He discriminated against her because she was a lesbian," said Torres.
Liberty Counsel, a conservative Christian legal group, has agreed to represent Bono. It claims Bono refused to copy the videos because of the content, not the customer’s sexual orientation.
‘Christian and ethical values’
Bono told Vincenz that he does not duplicate videos that conflict with the company’s "Christian and ethical values," according to Liberty Counsel.
"Mr. Bono does not have to reproduce a customer’s hate speech, obscenity or pornography, nor may a customer hijack Mr. Bono’s business and force him to promote a homosexual agenda," said Mat Staver, president of Liberty Counsel. "[Bono] can also refuse to duplicate a homosexual propaganda video without discriminating on the basis of a person’s sexual preference."
The Family Policy Network of Virginia is appalled by the Human Rights Commission’s decision and is considering its own lawsuit against the Commission, according to the group’s executive director, Joe Glover. The conservative group is looking for business owners who would join the lawsuit to challenge the Commission’s ruling, he said.
"I thought the gay rights movement was about being left alone to engage in certain things in private," he said. "[The commission] is forcing someone to do something to promote something with which they don’t agree."
The ruling, he argued, infringes on business owners’ religious liberties.
"The target is the Human Rights Commission on behalf of every other person of faith who owns a business in Arlington County," he said. "The Human Rights Commission is on a witch hunt, and they’re after conservative Christians."
The Human Rights Commission should not even exist, Glover said, adding that civil rights violations should be handled in the courts.
Virginia’s statewide anti-discrimination law does not include protections based on sexual orientation. Former Democratic Gov. Mark Warner modified Executive Order One to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation for state workers.
Gov. Tim Kaine (D) signed the order when he took office earlier this year. This year however, the Virginia legislature killed bills that would have expanded and codified Executive Order One.
But some localities, including Arlington and Alexandria, have local ordinances prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation. Arlington added sexual orientation to its anti-discrimination code in 1993, Torres said. Out of some 100 discrimination complaints filed each year, only about two involve allegations of anti-gay discrimination, he said. About 70 percent are alleged employment discrimination cases based on race, sex or ethnicity, he said.
Some states make exceptions in their anti-discrimination law for religious organizations, in terms of employment, according to Carrie Evans of the Human Rights Campaign. However, out of the 17 states that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation, the only exception made in the public accommodations field is for private clubs, Evans said.
"If you open yourself up to the public you have to open yourself up to the entire public including gays and lesbians in those 17 states," she said. "There are no exemptions for Christian video store owners."
Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU of Virginia, agreed that Bono can’t circumvent the law by claiming the Human Rights Commission’s decision violates his religious liberty.
"Mr. Bono is not the speaker nor is he being required to endorse the product," said Willis. "He is simply providing a service he provides to all customers. It would seem that he has no basis for arguing that Arlington is compelling him to speak or act against his beliefs."
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