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SOUTHERN
\OCE
Anti-AIDS
Drugs:
Update
Page 12
4th Congressional District U.S. Representative Pat Swindall "chats"
with constituents. Photo by Gerald Jones
Swindall Challenged on Civil Rights
In a carefully orchestrated ambush planned
by lesbian and gay residents of the 4th
Congressional District, eight people cornered
U.S. Representative Pat Swindall during one of
his Saturday morning "Chats with Pat". The
confrontation took place March 19,1988.
When contacted for comment, an unidentified
person at Swindall's Atlanta office told
Southern Voice that the "Chats with Pat" are
scheduled to allow the "voters a chance to bring
their concerns to Pat, and let him get a fee! for
how the electorate feels about legislation
pending in Congress."
Swindall resonded to press questions on his
intentions regarding the upcoming vote to
override President Ronald Reagan's veto of the
CRRA (Civil Rights Restoration Act), by
announcing that he is going to vote to sustain the
veto, in keeping with his previous vote on the
matter when it was before the House.
Swindall bases his opposition on two factors.
He claims that "it's (not) an appropriate title to
say it’s a civil rights restoration act, the reality is
it docs not restore civil rights that were
previously deprived. What it does do is open an
unprecedented level of federal intrusion into
previously private areas. One area that comes
particularly to mind is the area of churches and
synagougues.” Swindall illustrated his point by
saying that religious groups that offer "soup
kitchens" that receive surplus cheese from the
federal government, would be subjected to "full
regulation with respect to every law passed by
Congress that deals with discrimination for any
of the reasons protected by Congress."
Swindall stated that such regulation of
religious institutions was against "both the spririt
and the letter of the Constitution." Swindall
defended President Reagan's attempt to preserve
the fundamentalist Christian Bob Jones
University's tax exempt status when it was
accused of racial discrimination in 1981. The
intent of the CRRA is to close loopholes such as
those used in the Bob Jones University case.
Swindall has also been quoted as being
opposed to the language in the Hate Crime
Statistics Act, which specifically mentions
crimes motivated by the perceived sexual
orientation of the victim as being covered under
the Bill. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act
mandates the Department of Justice to collect
statistics on crimes motivated by hatred toward
certain oppressed groups of people.
During the "Chat with Pat", Swindall
attempted to clarify his position. He claimed
that sexual orientation "is by definition an
ambiguous term. It includes child molestation,
it includes necrophilia (sex with the deceased),
it includes virtually anything that you could
imagine...." He said that he had met with
openly gay Representative Barney Frank (D
MA), sponsor of the sexual orientation clause,
and come to an understanding of the "spirit of
what we are trying to acheive." He said that the
language would use the term "homosexual, or
whatever the terminology ought to be, so that
the bill is not ambiguous, as I think... it is
under its current form."
When contacted for comment,
Representative Frank confirmed meeting with
Continued on Page 3
The recent shootings in Midtown of Jamie
Bowman and Michael Denyou have galvanized
and polarized elements of Atlanta's lesbian and
gay community. Citing the recent attack as the
latest in a spiraling increase of anti-gay/lcsbian
violence, the Atlanta Gay Center (AGC)
announced the formation of the Task Force on
Anti-Gay Violence. They demanded an
immediate meeting with Public Safety
Commissioner George Nappcr to voice their
concerns.
According to Bill Gripp, Chairperson of the
AGC Task Force, his organization has
experienced a thirty percent increase in
telephone calls reporting incidences of bias
motivated crime for the past two consecutive
years.
Kevin Berrill, Director of the National Gay
& Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) Anti-Violence
Project, agreed with Gripp's conclusion that
hate crimes are increasing, stating that
"violence against persons for their perceived
sexual orientation has increased rapidly since
the beginning of the decade." He warned
persons at risk of violence to brace for more
danger to come, as "this problem usually gets
worse in the warmer months.”
Both Berrill and AGC Task Force members
refer to a 1987 Department of Justice
sanctioned report, "The Response of the
Criminal Justice System to Bias Crime: An
Exploratory Review", to prove their contention
that anti-gay/lcsbian violence is on the rise.
The report, prepared for the National Institute
of Justice by Abt Associates, claims that
"homosexuals are probably the most frequent
victims (of violence).. .and the most reluctant
to report bias crimes."
Many Atlanta activists, however, are not
confident that this incident was primarily bias
motivated. Richard Swanson, AGC
Administrator, answered criticisms that his
organization was grandstanding, using the
Bowman-Denyou shooting to promote the
Center's private ambitions.
"It isn't whether or not the crime was anti
gay motivated. The question is whether or not
the police were prepared to assess it as a hate
crime," he stated. He complained that the
Atlanta Police Department "will try and
Continued on Page 6
Gays in the Center for More Women-Only Space" demonstrated their support
at Charis Books & More on March 24th. See "Men for Women", Page 3.
INSIDE
Masters and'Johnson's Crisis:
Heterosexual Belmvior in the age
of AIDS is "the book that no one
wants to read." Gary Kaupman
examines and analyzes this
controversial new work which has
brought immediate and mostly
negative response. Pg 3
Jamie Bowman, the victim of a
recent Midtown shooting, recounts
the experience. Angry at the Atlanta
Journal/Constitution and the Adanta
Police department, she discusses the
anti-gay/lesbian aspects of the
attack. Pg 6
Leigh VanderEls, a lesbian mother
who lost her son in a custody batde
in Clayton County last year, shares
excerpts from her journal. Poignant
and insightful, a journey through
pain to growth...and hope. Pg 6
Tom Ammiano,"the mother of gay
comedy", comes to town on April
15th for the Southeastern Conference
for Lesbians and Gay Men. In this
candid interview, Ammiano talks
about the pros and cons of being an
openly gay comic. Pg 7
Calendar-There's lots to do and see
in the next few weeks in
Adanta:77tf Normal Heart opens
March 30th; Moral Hazard in concert
on April Fool's Day; FOCUS Adanta
on April 8th; the Adanta Feminist
Women's Chorus Spring Concert on
April 9th and much more. Pg 8
Sports- Adanta Team Tennis
Association's Hotianta Clay Court
Invitational, the first national lesbian
and gay clay court tournament in
history, was recendy held in Adanta.
. Michael McMillan covers the action,
(in his own peculiar way), and gives
the latest standings of Hotianta
Volleyball. Pg 11
AIDS Focus-An overflow Adanta
crowd attended a discussion on
experimental drug therapies for
AIDS cm March 23rd. Panelist James
Braude of Adanta and other experts
set a tone of optimism with an
emphasis cat self-education. Pg 12
Sparks Fly Over Recent Shootings