The News : a publication of the Atlanta Gay Center. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1984-199?, April 16, 1985, Image 1

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Newspaper Page TextChristopher's Kind - A Study in Civil Rights' Abuses The late Barbara Deming is one of the eight women and men profiled in SILENT PI QUEERS Local Groups to Premiere Film on Older Lesbians/Gays If the treatment of bookstores is a good barometer of a society's respect for its citizens' civil liber ties, then we have evidence that Atlanta's civil liberties are not in good shape. Over the last year, Gene Loring, his employees and customers at Christopher's Kind have endured just about everything that can be thrown at them. Loring has been arrested lor selling pornographic magazines, and as a result, magazines such as "Blueboy" and "Hon cho" are not available in the South's leading urban center. The store has also fought and lost an effort to keep BellSouth from censoring*Tt s~^re 11 ow Pages ad, denying it the right to use the words "gay" and "lesbian" in its ad. In ef fect denying it the right to tell its customers what kind of store it is. Do we see a trend developing here? The Yellow Pages case is interesting for the light it sheds on how a monopolistic utility can choose whether or not to treat all of its customers equally. V\fe see ads on television constantly about how effective the Yellow Pages is as an advertising technique, and yet is wants the right to deny that effectiveness to customers as it chooses. Tried in DeKalb County, the headquarters for BellSouth Advertising and Publishing (the supposedly "autonomous" arm of BellSouth that publishes the Yellow Pages), the case hinged on the decision as to whether the Yellow Pages is an autonomous publisher and can therefore edit or cen sor any ad as it chooses, or whether the Yellow Pages is an official publication of BellSouth and is required to accept all advertising of any sort from any Of its customers. Spokesman for BellSouth Advertising and Publishing, Edward Gay argued that if BellSouth were forced to compromise its advertising standards, it rt'ould ultimately be forced to print uncensored ads for massage parlors and escort services. Loring's attorneys (associated with the ACLU) countered that no complaints had been lodged because of the ad and that the censor ship was an infringement upon Loring's right to let potential customers know what services his store offered.' Judge Hilton Fuller ruled that the Yellow Pages does not have an unlimited right to publish or not publish ads, but that in this case the company had justified its decision, and the temporary restraining order which had held up publication of the Yellow Pages was lifted. The Georgia Supreme Court upheld Fuller's ruling. BellSouth is reported to be unhappy with the case's results and may be con sidering an appeal to establish its total freedom from any responsibility, as an organ of a state-regulated utility, to serve all of its customers equally. The person to whom you can register your indignation at the result is Mr. Neil M. Clay of BellSouth Advertising and Publishing, and can be reached at P.O. Box 85805, Atlanta, GA 30347. - The pornographic magazines case, however, is the most important in the realm of the abridgment of gay civil rights and ranks equal to the bath raids in seriousness. Again, the culprit is the Fulton County Solicitor James Webb, whose office twice raided Christopher's Kind and each time arrested employees of the store for selling pornographic magazines. Loring and a former employee are still serving a probationary sentence resulting from the second ar rest. When asked if he thought he and (continued, page 3) The Issue is Protecting Our Civil Rights Last issue we examined some of the assaults that have been launched om rights of lesbians and gay men. This week we're examining some of the things that others are doing and that we, ourselves, can do to be sure that this city, state, country and world are safe places for us to live. One thing that seems ob vious from all these articles is that there is something that all of tis—rich or poor—young or old - liberal or conservative—highly closeted or com pletely out - can and ought to do about protecting our civil rights. We all don't have to give lots of money or time or be highly visible (although some of us must do these things) to be "gay activsts". Because of the enormity of this subject some of the articles planned for this issue will appear in the next issue. We encourage you to read all the articles in this issue and find out what you can do to help yourself and all of us to lead the full and rich lives that we deserve. Enjoy your freedom, your life, and THE NEWS. The Atlanta Gay Center Senior Atlan tans in A Gay Environment (SAGE) and Women of Wisdom (WOW) will premiere the film "Silent Pioneers" on April 28 at 3:00pm at Illusions. The film which has been received warmly throughout the country ex amines seven individuals who are part of our community that little is known. The film shows us what being gay has meant for: —an 84-year old former monk who owns a horse ranch near Tucson, Arizona; —an 82-year old former Chicago waitress (non part-time entertainer) who had no connections to the lesbian community until her lover of 58 years died just four years ago; —a male couple who have been together for 54 years; —a Black great-grandmother from Baltimore; —a semi-retired interior decorator living in southern Florida who takes care of younger gay men; —a wealthy author/political activist living with her partner of 15 years in a remote intergenerational community of women; —a 79-year old New York City religious Jew battling a life threatening illness who befriends Harvey Marks, executive producer of the film says response from the com munity has varied. "The gay men I first spoke to were quite up tight because there we are, not looking so pretty anymore. Then all of a sudden comes a switch because the people tend to be so likeable, loveable and complex. All of a sudden there is a kind of awe that hap pens — they switch to having a really good feeling about the possiblities of what will happen when we get older." The film's producer, Fht Syndei; will at tend the showing and she will answer questions about the film and subject at the conclusion.

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The News : a publication of the Atlanta Gay Center. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1984-199?, April 16, 1985, Image 1