GAZETTE Tampa Bay Gay and Lesbian News

By Dale W. Johnston
In February, a memorandum to the Board of Directors of the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board (PCJWB) was written and submitted by board member Cecilia Burke. The original intention of the memorandum was to voice Burke's opposition to a scheduled pay raise for Jim Mills, Executive Director of the PCJWB, and contained some comments which caught the attention of an anonymous "concerned citizen."

Kathy Miller, who has been President of PFLAG Pinellas (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Pinellas County chapter) since 1998, told the Gazette that she received an envelope, showing her own street address as both the destination and the return address. Inside the envelope was an anonymous note suggesting that Miller might be interested in the memo on the opposite side. On the reverse side of the note was a copy of a typewritten document with the initials "CB" (for Cecelia Burke, who was appointed to the Board of the PCJWB in 2000 by Gov. Jeb Bush).

A copy of Burke's original memorandum was given to the Gazette. In one section she writes, "With the staff's knowledge the group [the Staff under the direction of Jim Mills] was referring children and families to GLSEN [Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network] and PFLAG, homosexuality advocacy groups both of which endorse unhealthy sexual practices among youth, including sex between underage youth and adults."

Miller spoke with the Gazette while on vacation in New Orleans. She is the mother of five children. As a teenager, her youngest son, Mark, exhibited years of inexplicable and indecipherable anomalies. "I went to the places you were supposed to go. Doctors, psychiatrists, professional people didn't even consider it a possibility that he could be gay," Miller said. Upon learning of her son's almost unimaginable anguish at grappling with his own sexuality, since she had no precedent for dealing with such circumstances herself, Miller set out in search of knowledge and support. "I didn't know where to go or what to do. I know now that all the [signs] Mark had shown could have been a red flag for me. He would withdraw from school, become depressed, had thoughts of suicide." In describing her own confusion, being confronted with her son eventually coming out to her when he was 16, Miller said, "When you are brought up in a heterosexual family, you have no idea how to deal with having a gay child."

In 1997, Mark recommended that his mother look into PFLAG. Although she was hesitant at first, PFLAG provided Miller and her husband with information and resources they needed, not only to grapple with their own issues in having a gay son, but also in helping their son deal with his own issues. In PFLAG Miller found a source for the information needed to give their entire family the understanding that they were not alone. "PFLAG was the only place that I could go."

When asked about her reaction to the Cecelia Burke memorandum, Miller replied that she was "Furious! I read it and couldn't believe it. She accused us of promoting sex between children and adults. I was angry as I could be. We [PFLAG] are made up of mothers, fathers, grandparents, teachers, doctors... I mean, it's a wonderful group of people. I'm a mother of five children and I have an 11 year old granddaughter. I am amazed that people could say things like this about us. Particularly frightening to me is these are the accusations that the gay community faces every day of their lives. It's a growing problem. I wanted everyone to know about this… that this is the thinking of someone on the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board. $42 million from property taxes is used for the PCJWC. . . . I called the St. Petersburg Times."

"What she [Burke] said is that she objects to PFLAG's characterizing gay sex as normal and healthy. Gays are people, they're human beings, I treated my gay child just as I did my straight children. She is alienating them as though they are sub-human. She is misinformed, she needs to be educated. It's not abnormal to be gay. Gay people are a minority, they're not an abnormality."

"Don't eliminate people. Above all, don't alienate gay children! There aren't many places you can go. We try to promote an understanding of gay people in the community. My son did me the biggest favor by coming out to me - that's a brave thing to do. Once you've come out, you're out there; you can't go back. Twenty-five percent of kids who come out get kicked out of their house. This is a sad fact."

"Cecelia burke is WRONG! I think she is very misinformed. Putting labels of pedophilia on gay people feeds into our deepest fears and we've got to stop doing that. It is wrong and it's sad to me. We all live on this earth. Why try and make it more difficult for one segment of our population? They're people who are good people in our community. They work hard, they pay taxes and want things that everyone else wants. They should not be discriminated against. Don't spend your time making life more difficult for a certain group of people. Education is the key. I would really like Cecelia Burke to come to a PFLAG meeting. I would invite anyone to come to a PFLAG meeting! We have educational meetings and it's education we never got in school."

"I go to GSA [Gay/Straight Alliance] meetings at high schools, where gay and straight kids meet in school to learn more and support each other. Straight kids want to find out if what they've heard is right or wrong about gay students. They're not classes, they're events, held after school like a club. They meet with a teacher present, and the teacher sponsors it, just like any club in school."

"Comments like the ones Cecelia Burke made [about PFLAG and GLSEN] promote hate and fear of gay people in our community and it's not fair. Our tax dollars are paying for [the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board] activities, and we deserve better. PFLAG is there for everyone. It's an important resource. Our meetings are made up of as many gay people as straight people, and I leave every meeting with better knowledge of another person's situation."

Regarding her involvement with PFLAG, and PFLAG's role of advocacy in this instance, Miller said, "PFLAG's Mission statement stands for three things. First thing is support, to cope with an adverse society. The first thing people come to PFLAG for is support. Doctors and psychiatrists, really do not offer any useful help. Second, education, to enlighten an ill-informed public. To tell people what it's really like. Third, advocacy, to end discrimination and to secure equal civil rights. That is what PFLAG stands for, and we adhere to this. I'm not just PFLAG. It's made up of many people all over the country and we all need each other and work together on everything. PFLAG is more than just Kathy Miller."

As for the proposed pay raise for Jim Mills, it was ultimately approved by a 7 to 2 vote of the Board of the PCJWB, with Cecelia Burke and Janet Caramello (also a Bush appointee to the PCJWB) casting the dissenting votes. When the Gazette interviewed Mills, he confirmed both the existence and content of the memorandum, and indicated that he had composed a formal response, which he provided to the Gazette. In his formal response to Burke's memorandum, he states: "…neither of these groups 'endorse unhealthy sexual practices among youth, including sex between underage youth and adults.' To suggest or imply that I, or any members of the staff, many of us having decades of professional service to support and strengthen families, would sanction such behavior is irresponsible." His response goes on to say, "The letter to Principals cited by Mrs. Burke was composed with the participation of a school board member and school district personnel. It included a newspaper article on safety of gay youth in the schools reprinted from the St. Petersburg Times, a joint statement on Sexual Orientation and Youth published by the nine national major professional organizations representing pediatricians, counselors, school administrators, teachers, psychologists, school health professionals, school psychologists and social workers. They were joined in the statement by the Interfaith Alliance Foundation, which noted that the representation of transformational ministry was not representative of all people of faith - noting that 24 faith-based groups and denominations that accepted lesbian, gay and bisexual persons into fellowship and believed they should be protected from the discriminatory acts by others."

Mills said, in an attempt to characterize the contents of the Burke memorandum more clearly, "I want to make it clear that by no means do the views and statements of Cecelia Burke represent the policies or the views of the Juvenile Welfare Board." He also stated, in response to the question of whether or not he felt that Burke's comments reflected the view of Governor Bush, "No, I do not believe she consulted with the Governor on this matter. I believe these were her own views." Mr. Mills also indicated that, during it's March meeting, representatives of PFLAG and GLSEN appeared before the PCJWB Board and provided further clarification of their mission and objectives. Mr. Mills continues to serve in his capacity as Executive Director of the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board.

Cecelia Burke has a history of outspoken anti-gay sentiment under the auspices of the PCJWB, dating back to her early days on that board. For example, on September 1, 2001, the St. Petersburg Times published an article indicating that Burke had taken the initiative to issue to Board members a treatise on homosexuality published by the Catholic Church. According to the Times article, "The gist of it is that being gay is not innate, that it can be prevented or changed through counseling." In this article, Burke was also quoted as stating, "I firmly believe - well, I'm a Catholic, everyone knows - it's immoral," . . . "It's not a good practice." . . . and "My documents show there are patterns of child development that cause homosexuality," . . . "There are ways to counsel children to steer them away from that."

At press time, despite numerous messages left at the Burke household, Cecelia Burke has not responded to requests for an interview, and has been unavailable for comment.

For more information about the PFLAG and GLSEN chapters in the Tampa Bay area, please see the Community Organizations listings on page 27. For more information about the Pinellas County Juvenile Welfare Board, click here.

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