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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