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Two
national
gay
groups
may
sue
a
member
of
the
Juvenile
Welfare
Board
of
Pinellas
County,
Fla.,
for
defamation
and
libel
in
response
to
a
memo
in
which
she
accused
the
gay
groups
of
promoting
sex
between
underage
youths
and
adults.
On
Feb.
7,
Juvenile
Welfare
Board
member
Cecilia
Burke
sent
a
memo
to
fellow
board
members
in
which
she
stated
that
the
Gay,
Lesbian
&
Straight
Education
Network
and
Parents
&
Friends
of
Lesbians
&
Gays
“endorse
unhealthy
sexual
practices
among
youth,
including
sex
between
underage
youth
and
adults.”
In
the
memo,
Burke
stated
that
PFLAG
and
GLSEN
“should
not
be
endorsed
by
JWB”
in
light
of
the
board’s
“goal
of
sexual
responsibility.”
She
criticized
a
committee
of
JWB
for
referring
children
and
families
to
PFLAG
and
GLSEN
instead
of
considering
“reparative
therapy”
for
gay
youth.
‘Spurious
allegations’
“It’s
completely
absurd
and
untrue
to
say
that
either
PFLAG
or
GLSEN
advocates
sex
between
minors
and
adults,”
said
Karen
Doering,
an
attorney
with
the
National
Center
for
Lesbian
Rights,
who
is
representing
PFLAG
and
GLSEN.
“These
organizations
are
fundamentally
about
protecting
children
and
helping
families
love
and
accept
their
children.
[For
Burke]
to
make
these
kinds
of
spurious
allegations
is
really
outrageous.”
Doering
said
Burke’s
comments
are
defamatory
and
libelous
because
she
made
a
false
statement
that
accused
the
groups
of
promoting
illegal
activity.
“She’s
entitled
to
her
opinion,
but
she’s
not
permitted
to
make
untrue,
defamatory
remarks,”
Doering
said.
Doering
sent
a
letter
to
the
JWB
and
Burke
demanding
that
she
retract
the
statement
and
apologize
in
person
at
the
next
JWB
meeting,
which
was
held
Thursday,
March
10.
But
at
the
meeting,
Burke
did
not
apologize
for
her
comments
and
none
of
the
other
board
members
spoke
out
against
her
statement,
said
Doering,
who
attended
the
meeting.
“We’ve
taken
the
first
step
[toward
a
lawsuit],”
said
Doering,
explaining
that
Florida
law
requires
potential
plaintiffs
in
a
defamation
suit
to
write
a
letter
demanding
that
a
false
statement
be
retracted
before
filing
suit.
Burke
did
not
return
two
phone
calls
seeking
comment.
But
Terry
A.
Smiljanich,
the
lawyer
for
the
Juvenile
Welfare
Board,
sent
a
letter
to
Doering
stating
that
Burke
is
“protected
by
an
absolute
privilege”
because
she
is
a
member
of
a
governmental
body.
Kathy
Helmuth,
spokesperson
for
the
Juvenile
Welfare
Board
of
Pinellas
County,
said
Burke’s
remarks
about
PFLAG
and
GLSEN
“are
her
opinion.”
“It’s
not
necessarily
reflective
of
other
board
members’
opinions
or
the
board
as
a
whole,”
Helmuth
said.
Kathy
Miller,
president
of
PFLAG
Pinellas
County,
was
so
outraged
by
Burke’s
remarks
that
she
wrote
a
letter,
which
was
published
this
week
in
the
St.
Petersburg
Times.
“We’re
not
going
to
let
people
get
away
with
slandering
gay
people
and
PFLAG,”
Miller
said.
“There
are
no
facts
to
support
what
she
said.
Our
meetings
aren’t
about
sexual
activity.
They’re
about
support,
education
and
advocacy.”
Miller,
who
has
five
children,
said
she
found
out
about
PFLAG
when
her
son,
Mark,
came
out
to
her
in
1997.
Mark
was
16.
Miller
said
she
went
through
“a
two-week
period
of
crying
about
it”
because
she
didn’t
want
her
son
to
be
subjected
to
anti-gay
harassment
and
verbal
abuse.
“Then
I
got
angry
about
it
when
I
heard
people
make
gay
jokes,”
she
said.
She
decided
to
join
PFLAG
on
her
son’s
17th
birthday.
“Now
if
I’m
in
a
restaurant
and
I
hear
a
gay
joke,
I’ll
call
them
on
it,”
she
said.
Miller
said
her
son,
who
was
going
through
a
very
difficult
period
before
he
came
out
to
her,
is
now
24
years
old
and
well
adjusted.
He
is
currently
attending
law
school
at
Rutgers
University.
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