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Page 2 THE NEWS, Dec. 6, 1984 CS THE ATLANTA GAY CENTER 848 Peachtree St, 3rd Floor, Atlanta, Georgia 30308 December 6, 1984 Dear Readers: You hold in your hands the first issue of a new publication from your Atlanta Gay Center, The News. It is offered to you proudly and with high hopes for its impact and usefulness in our community. It is the product of many hours of hard work - from those who envisioned it, advocated for it, designed and developed it, wrote it, delivered it and more. We pledge to continue expending our best energy so that The News may realize its potential as a comprehensive and reliable dispenser of information to the total Metro-Atlanta gay/lesbian community. In order to accomplish these rather considerable goals we will need much more than the pledges of those already involved - we need you! You are needed to support The News and other community programming at your AGO. You are needed to utilize the services of your other gay/lesbian organizations'(whose advertisements are encouraged by rates set intentially low enough to be affordable by any group). You are needed to support our commercial advertisers. You are needed .to help in all phases of production and to be our "ears" in Atlanta and across the country. But most of all we need you to read and use The News so that the informed, cohesive, and involved gay/lesbian community envisioned today can continue becoming the reality we all know is possible tomorrow. Bill Gripp Chairperson, Board of Directors Atlanta Gay Center, Inc. ACHR ATTACKS LOCAL GAY APATHY Is Atlanta; the focal point of gay life in the southeast, waiting for a political crisis to happen before it acts? Seventy members of the community answered "No" to this question when they met for the first fundraiser for the Atlanta Campaign for Human Rights, Inc. at Gal lery Two Nine One last Friday night. Virtually all city and county officials were in vited. Among those who attended were Julian Bond, John Franklin, Jim Martin, Robb Pitts, Melinda Langston, Charles Jackson from Wyche Fowler's of fice. Mayor Young was not able to attend but sent a letter which Mary Davis read. The ACHR has been esta blished as a non-profit and non-partisan political action committee modeled after similar PAC's in Los Angeles, New York, Minnea polis and Chicago. Tony Armas, interim co-chairpe rson says, "The ACHR is concerned with two primary issues. The security of our civil and human rights and the enhancement of the gay community's influence on local and state govern ment's political and eco nomic policies." / How does the ACHR pro pose to do this? "Like many other special inter est groups, such as the Moral Majority, by raising money to support, finan cially and otherwise, lo cal and state candidates who are supportive of hu man and specifically les bian and gay rights," says Armas. The founders of the ACHR believe that gay At lanta is ready to shed its reputation as possibly the most politically apathetic large city in the country. The founders of ACHR be lieve that a PAC will attract both money and energy from many people not previously involved in gay activities. Since con tributions are private, anyone can give without the risk of public expo sure. The ‘Committee also believes that the simple lack of an organization like this has been part of the cause for the wide spread political disin terest in the community. The Committee will in itially consider funding candidates who are willing to respond to and partici pate in their fact-finding process. "Once their posi tions on lesbian and gay issues is evaluated,we l l'l- "The News" is published by the Atlanta Gay Center, Inc. for the people and organizations that make up the lesbian/gay community. This newspaper reports the events and activities of our community and en courages discussion of community concerns such as personal liberty and posi tive lesbian/gay life styles. Unsolicited contribu tions are welcomed and en couraged. Letters, manu scripts, drawings and photographs should be sub mitted to "The News", 848 Peachtree St, NE, 3rd floor, Atlanta, GA 30308. Unsolicited works will not be returned. Opinions expressed by columnists, writers, or any other artistic expres sion, are those of the writers and artists and do not necessarily represent the opinion of "The News" or the Atlanta Gay Center, and neither claim respon sibility for them. Publication of names, photographs or likeness of any person, persons, or ganizations or businesses in advertising or articles in "The News" does not imply, and is not to be construed as, any indication of the sexual orientation of such per sons or organizations. "The News" can not assume responsibility for claims made by adver tisers. "The News" reser ves the right to reject any advertisements or un solicited material for any reason. "The News" is a bi weekly publication. Sub scription are $20 per year or as part of membership to the Atlanta Gay Center. The mailing list of "The News" is confidential and will under no circum stances will it be sold or made available to any per son or organization. "The News" is Copy right, J.984, Atlanta Gay Center, Inc. Permission is hereby granted to 1 all other avowedly gay or les bian publications which affirm freedom for sexual minorities to publish ex cerpts from this newspaper provided proper credit is given to "The News, Atlanta Gay Center". Others must obtain per mission in writing. The Staff.:.'■ [Dave Schulze, Gene Koland ~i J.P. Sligh, Gary Kaupman . Alexander Wallace, Tom York. Nelson Elliott, King Thaxton A1 Cotton, Frank Page, David O'Shields,.and Aaron Taylor rate them in one of three ways. We will contribute money to - those that we agree to "sponsor." We will rate some candidates as "acceptable" but not support them with contri butions and we will rate some as "unacceptable," added Richardson. Tim Forshay, vice- president of First Tues day, said he didn't think that his group and ACHR would be doing the same work at all. "First Tuesday's pri mary interest is informing the community about the position of candidates on issues important to les bians and gays. It doesn't make contributions to can didates or attempt to di rectly influence them in the way ACHR will," says Forshay. BUSINESS GUILD ELECTS OFFICERS Thirty—six members attending the Atlanta Business and Professional Guild annual meeting on December 5 elected President — Ted Binkley V. President — Lainey Richardson Board of Directors Tony Armas Ken Exum Benjamin Nistal Moret Scott Muir Pattie O'Brien Gail Parker Tom Sands Sid Shier Dirk Ten Bosch Dick Bunn