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