Newspaper Page Text
Page 3
Future Of Gay/Lesbian Rights Analyzed
For Tom Teepcn, it's "very, very bad, and not at all
promising." That’s how Teepen, the editorial page editor
of The Atlanta Constitution, describes the current
political outlook for gay and lesbian civil rights. But
while Teepen is pessimistic, Atlanta city councilpersav
Mary Davis says she's "very heartened" by some recent
developments on that same front
Teepen and Davis were two of the panelists at an
Emory University symposium last week. They were
joined by Kathy Wilde, the ACLU attorney best known
as defense counsel in the Michael Hardwick case, and
the Rev. Rex Kaney, pastor of Trinity United Methodist
Church in Atlanta.
The forum probed the question of whether the notion
of civil rights for gay and lesbian people is a logical
outgrowth of traditional American values, or a radical
departure from them.
For Davis, who sponsored the ordinance which
protects City of Atlanta employees from discrimination
based on sexual orientation, those rights are basic to a
country with a history of offering freedom to the
oppressed. "The challenge is making the fact of life meet
the myth and the dream and the hope of a free place for
everybody," she said.
"There are a couple of cases of what, to me, is clear-
cut police brutality right now,” Davis said. "Last time, I
said to George Napper, I think Tm going to have to start
doing what Hosea does, and take to the streets."
Teepen was less than optimistic about the
Florida Activists
Fight Quarantine
Proposal
Miami - Florida activists wasted no time in
responding to Governor Martinez' proposal to
quarantine AIDS carriers. Southern Voice reached
the head of Cure AIDS Now in Miami, Bob Kunst,
as he returned from a press conference where he
attacked the Governor and his proposal.
Martinez outraged people throughout the country
when he said, "The time has come to quarantine
those whose character and conduct are a clear threat
to society." His proposal was called "hysterical" by
Kunst
The proposal includes a facility to incarcerate up
to 22 people in Lanatana, and six juveniles in a state
hospital in Orlando, at a cost of $1.1 million. That
money could be put to better use, said Kunst who
heads Miami-based Cure AIDS Now. "We could
use it to provide 28 shelter beds for people living
with AIDS (PLWA), we could hire 15 social
workers, we could feed 500 sufferers, we could buy
100,000 condoms and distribute them to prostitutes,
we could buy a computer to collect AIDS
information from around the world." The chances of
success for the bill are seen as small. "1 don't really
think it's going to pass. If it does, it's only going to
Infighting, Continued
Continued From Front Page
to include all those who wanted to participate in
this discussion. I presume that in our coming
meeting we will fashion a proposed structure which
represents the community.... I learned today that
representatives of the Atlanta Gay Center have
apparently decided not to participate in this
cooperative process."
Instead, the AGC Task Force printed a proposal
to form a new advisory committee in the April 15
issue of The News, an AGC publication. That
proposal called for the Metropolitan Atlanta
Council of Gay and Lesbian Organizations
(MACGLO) to serve as the temporary organizing
group for the new committee.
Jeffrey Laymon, executive secretary of
MACGLO, said he did not receive notice of the
proposal until it was presented to him prior to the
April 20 meeting.
Local pundits have already begun to call the
Wednesday meeting the "Battle of Walton Street,"
and the "meeting that never met"
The smoldering undercurrent of tension burst into
flames when ACLU member and longtime foe of
the AGC George Brenning vociferously objected to
Wilson taping the proceedings. Said Brenning,
"They even misrepresent facts they have on tape.”
He accused Wilson of doctoring audio-tape and
printing malicious lies about him in The News,
which he referred to as "this rag."
possibilities nationally for advances toward equal rights.
"As a national proposition, I think it is utterly out of the
question for some years to come, barring some just
absolute revolution in values," he said.
He theorized that the American public, after the civil
rights struggles of the past few decades, is "simply
fatigued with change." The outlook on the legal front
may be better, he said. "I think there are still very
important opportunities to be realized through case law."
The Hardwick case, Wilde said, should have been
another step in the Supreme Court's ongoing process of
protecting the privacy of individuals, a logical follow-up
to its upholding of the rights to use contraceptives, and
have the option of abortion. "We said, there's no way to
draw the line between what you've said is the right of
individual autonomy for a single person, and what we
have in this case."
"One of the high ironies," she said, "is that [Justice
Lewis] Powell, who got a whole lot of heat after the
abortion decision, thought he was taking the easy way
out, and absolutely did not expea the swiri of political
comment that happened in the wake of the Hardwick
decision.
Although the law can be the instrument of social
change, Wilde pointed out that the judicial system needs
guidance from the populace at large.
"There are limits to what the law can do without a
community that is visibly making demands behind it,"
she said
embarrass the state. Well make sure of that"
Kunst explained the bill as "political nonsense,"
saying, "This is no more than a political move
designed to create a national campaign issue and
divert attention from the facts. The facts are that
Florida ranks 47th in the nation in health care
services and 49th in education.
Reaction from around the state seems to back the
activist's view that support is lacking. There have
been no major endorsements, although the head of
the AIDS Taskforce in the Florida Senate does
support it, but many in the Legislature have '
objected to the emphasis on the quarantine idea. In
fact, the state already lias the power to quarantine,
according to Kunst.
Cure AIDS Now is preparing a comprehensive
proposal to be sent to the Legislature. In addition to
increased care for the suffering, the proposal will
deal with education and administration of AIDS-
related services in Florida
As part of his strategy, he told Southern Voice,
he wants to collect signatures from four or five
hundred delegates to the Democratic Convention in
Atlanta That, he said, would allow him to be
nominated as a Vice Presidential candidate, giving
him the floor of the Convention for a few minutes.
Kunst requests that anyone wishing to help at the
Democratic Convention write to him at: Cure
AIDS Now, 2240 South Dixie Hwy„ Coconut
Grove, FL 33133, or call him at (305)865-1490.
-F.G.
Those present voted 5 to 4 to turn the tape
recorder off. Voting in favor were Cathy Woolard,
newly-elected president of the ACLU lesbian/gay
chapter, Max Fain, secretary, Brenning, Guerrero,
Kluka, and Laymon. Those opposed were Gripp,
Swanson, Wilson and Dr. Donid Smith, all
members of the AGC Task Force.
After losing the vote, Wilson still refused to turn
the tape recorder off, and demanded that
individuals state their votes for the record so that
the tape would pick up their voices. He declared
that he would be "physically removed" from the
premises before he would stop taping.
In light of Wilson's intransigence, Guerrero
called for and received a motion to adjourn. No
new meeting has been scheduled.
In a carefully worded statement, Woolard said,
"I think they were deliberately trying to intimidate
and disrupt the meeting." Kluka went so far as to
suggest that the entire community "consider them
(the AGC) organization non grata."
Wilson refused to comment to Southern Voice.
Gripp did agree to comment, however, and
stressed the importance of an "accurate record...
We offer to the community what was in our letter
(to Napper). A very democratic, inclusive
organization. That's what Napper said he wanted."
Commented Laymon, "No community speaks
with a single voice. The Advisory Committee has
functioned well in the past" He predicted Woolard
will appoint a diverse panel of people, as all past
presidents have done, to the Police Advisory
Committee, and re-establish relations with
Commissioner Napper.
-Chris Duncan
"The church hasn't
known what
homosexuality is
about," Rev. Rex
Kaney said. "It's time
to find out about these
folks."
"The scriptures, it
seems to me, from
beginning to end,
show God continually
identifying with the
oppressed people in
the world," he said.
Rev. Kaney
believes that readers
who approach the
Bible as a rule book
for modem living
must also consider
that it speaks
positively about the
owning of slaves,
recommends death
for anyone who
curses his or her
parents, and forbids
the wearing of clothes
made of more than
one fabric.
"That's part of
what I try to talk with
people about, in
terms of how
important is is to
stand up and say, Tm
sure you knew, but in
case ycxi didn't, this is
who I am, and you
need to keep that in
mind when you're
making decisions
about people's lives.'"
- David Tucker
Sharon U Sanders
psychotherapy
1549 Clairmont Rd
Suite 108
Decatur, GA 30033
(404) 373-0278
CHARtS books & more
419Moreland Avenue HE
Atlanta,Ga.30307 574-0304
A Feminist
Bookstore
and more
Jewelry ♦ records * children’s
books ♦ cards * t-shirts ♦
journals * buttons
Open 7 days a week
In Little Five Points
ART AUERBACH
ASSOCIATE BROKER
636-4695
MILLION DOLLAR CLUB
I
LAMBERT
■DUPREE
REAL ESTATE SERVICES
1510 PIEDMONT ROAD, N.E. ATLANrA, GEORGIA 30324 (404)892-9900
C-GU IRE’S |
BOOKSHOP p
1055 Ponce de Leon Ave., N.E. at the Plaza
875-READ
Open Mon -Tburs. 10 am-10 pm
Fri. & Sat 10 am-11 pm
Sun. 9am-9pm
Good Boolift on (very Subject— BitKiini s Specialty
''The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
has an activist agenda for gay liberation. We
work every day to create a society where lesbians and
gay men can live openly, free from violence, discrimination
and bigoted misunderstanding.
Every day, NGLTF’s programs advance gay and lesbian freedom by:
LOBBYING: Whether it's AIDS related discrimination, or gay rights protections;
Whether opposing a judicial nomination or pressing for immigration reform, NGLTF
lobbies the federal government on the full range of gay issues.
ORGANIZING: With timely and critical projects on Anti-Gay Violence, Privacy Rights, the
Media and AIDS discrimination, the Task Force challenges prejudice with constructive
education.
RFSOURCE SFIARING: Our 14 years of experience and contacts are used daily to strengthen
local efforts.
Strengthen the Force that works for you!
Join NGLTF Today!
NGLTF Membership Form
| | $30 Basic Membership
|~] Monthly Pledge
] $20 Limited Income Membership
] $ 100 Organizational Membership
Name
Address
City/State/Zip
Telephone
NGLTF membership brings you 1) subscription to our quarterly newsletter: 2) tor organizational members,
monthly organizers newsletter: 3) the right to serve on and vote for our Board of Directors: and 4) invitations
to special forums and events around the country for members only
Return FoimJa;
NGLTF
1517 U Street. N.W.
Washington. D.C. 20009
202-332-6483