A reception for political and school-board candidates (MCCSC, RBBCSC) will be held on Oct. 12, 5:30-7:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington, 2120 N. Fee Lane.

Come share your concerns with Monroe County candidates! and hear their positions on major issues, including issues of particular interest to LGBT people!

Reception co-sponsors include: Bloomington PFLAG, Bloomington Beacon, Indiana Equality Region 9, bloomingOUT at WFHB-FM, Indiana Transgender Rights Advocacy Alliance, and Rainbow Rights Task Force of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Bloomington.

Candidates' responses to the following questions will be available at the reception.

MONROE COUNTY COMMISSIONER, DISTRICTS 2 AND 3:
1. Why should Monroe County adopt or not adopt a human-rights ordinance with sexual orientation and gender identity among the protected categories?
2. If elected, would you support extending benefits to the domestic partners of Monroe County employees?
3. Because same-sex couples have limited access to legal recognition of their relationship and their families, a domestic partner registry can be used to assist employers who wish to make domestic-partner benefits available to their employees. Would you support or oppose creation of a Domestic Partner Registry for Monroe County?

SCHOOL BOARD (MCCSC and RBBCSC):
1. Sexual orientation was added to MCCSC’s nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies in 2005 for both employees and students. Do you support this decision? / Would you support adding sexual orientation to RBBCSC’s nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies for both employees and students?
2. Would you support providing same-sex domestic-partner benefits to employees?
3. Would you support the addition of “gender identity and gender expression” to the nondiscrimination and anti-harassment policies for employees? for students?
4. Would you support mandatory annual or periodic in-service training about sexual orientation for teachers? for counselors? Would you support including issues of gender identity in such training?
5. Do you believe the family curriculum should include non-traditional families, such as families with GLBT parents, in elementary school? in middle school? in high school?
6. Do you support the right of students to form in-school student-initiated support groups for gay and straight students (gay/straight alliances)?

MONROE COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT (SEATS 6 and 8):
1. Does current Indiana decisional and statutory law permit a single person to serve as a foster parent?
2. Does Indiana decisional and statutory law permit a trial court judge to consider a parent’s sexual orientation or gender identity as a factor in deciding a child custody issue? in determining the parameters of child visitation?
3. If yes, what case law or statutory provisions would you rely upon in considering the influence of a parent’s or legal custodian’s sexual orientation or gender identity?
4. How do you interpret prevailing Indiana decisional and statutory law relating to the adoption of a child or children by a same-sex couple? fostering of a child or children by a same-sex couple?
5. In some instances, parental treatment of transgender children has become a custody or visitation issue. At what age does scientific research say that a child knows its gender identity, whether or not that identity agrees with the gender assigned to him or her at birth?