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NEWS IN BRIEF Two Supreme Court Protesters Singled Out Washington, D.C.-Two of the estimated 800 protesters arrested at the Supreme Court lesbian and gay civil disobedience (CD) last October 13lh have ben handed harsh fines by a Superior Court judge. Alexander Willis received one year of supervised probation, 100 hours of community service and a $100 fine. Both Willis and Michael McDonogh were found guilty of demonstrating without a permit and unlawful crossing of a police line. According to Willis' attorney, Leonard Graff, the legal director of National Gay Rights Advocates, there is no "rhyme or reason" to singling out Willis and McDonogh from the 800 arrested at the largest act of civil disobedience since the antiwar protests of the early 70s. "The government simply decided that they had to make an example of these people. Considering the symbolic nature of the crime, the sentence was unnecessarily harsh." The government has scapegoated his client, he said. Organizers of the CD also decried the harsh sentences. Most of the 800 arrested pleaded guilty and paid a S50 fine; 51 others spent 48 hours in jail. Several women, however, were subjected to pelvic searches, other medical examinations and strip searches by police while in custody. One of the women reportedly suffered internal damage as a result of the examination. DC civil rights attorney Nina Kraut plans a multimillion dollar suit against the city on behalf of the women to halt forced body cavity searches. NGRA plans to appeal Willis' sentence. -Gay Community News History-making Candidacy Announced in Ohio Columbus-History was made in Columbus, Ohio, on June 23rd when Mike Gelpi announced his plans to run for the United Slates Congress. This is the first time that an openly gay candidate has announced his intentions to seek a Congressional seat. While others have announced their sexual orientations after their elections, Gelpi made the decision to announce his sexual orientation at the same time that he opened his headquarters as he wanted to run an honest, forthright campaign. The reaction from both the media and the public has been positive and supportive. Gelpi, who is running as the Democratically endorsed candidate, will face incumbent Republican Member of Congress John Kasich and Larouchite Mark Brown in the general election in November. John Kasich has been consistently unsupportive of the issues on the social and Civil Rights agenda. Kasich's one committee assignment-Armed Scrvices-has enabled him to address reduction in military spending for toilet seats. However, at the same time, he has voted for almost every weapons system and organization request proposed by the Pentagon. Gelpi says, "The issue for the gay and lesbian community is the neglect of the Reagan administration to adequately address our concerns. Kasich's lack of compassion has only intensified Reagan's efforts to disenfranchise us. Are we really better off today than we were eight years ago? Can we afford to re-elect people like John Kasich? Can we build a successful Congressional coalition that will protect our rights?" Gelpi is actively seeking support from the gay and lesbian communities across the United States. "We are asking not only for financial contributions but also for volunteers." Individuals or groups who are willing to hold fundraisers or volunteer their efforts are asked to contact the Gelpi Headquarters at (614) 464-9300. "I believe that this is an effort not only for the Twelfth Congressional District, but for gay men and lesbians regardless of where they live." Episcopalian Bishops Refuse to Condemn Homosexuality Detroit-Episcopalian bishops attending their 69th General Convention voted against a proposal to condemn homosexuality as a failure of Christian ideals. In rejecting the proposal, the House of Bishops, one of the two governing bodies of the church, decided to call for a dialogue among churches to continue on the subject of sexuality. The vote on homosexuality brought mixed responses from the delegates representing 2.6 million members of the Episcopalian Church in the United States. Many complained that the church leadership did not act decisively on the issue. The bishops endorsed a resolution affirming traditional biblical teachings on chastity and fidelity without mentioning homosexuality. The Rev. Paul Moore Jr., bishop of New York, supported the actions taken by the House of Bishops saying "Gay people going through the tragedy of AIDS should not be denied the strength of an intimate relationship with a person of the same sex." The tone of the convention brought several gestures of support for people with AIDS (PWAs), including a healing service for PWAs, and a call for church leaders of all denominations to form personal relationships with PWAs. -F.G. Gay Editor Banned From USSR Finland-ll looks like Russia and Finland are close to declaring war over the gay connection. The Soviet Union is so upset at the Finnish gay magazine, Seta, which recently featured Chairperson Gorbachev on the cover, flying through the air, with a "sexy" Superman torso, that the Seta editor, Reijo Harkoncn, has been refused a visa to visit Russia any more. Seta has been acting as the link between Western gay organizations, including the International Lesbian & Gay Association (ILGA), and the representatives of the unofficial gay movement in Leningrad and other Soviet cities. The foreign ministry in Moscow, who made the decision to ban Harkonen, have repeatedly expressed their irritation with the information about the repression of homosexuals in the USSR which has been circulating in the West thanks to reports in Seta magazine. The Soviet policy of reform has not yet made any difference to the position of lesbians and gays in Russia. - John Hubert Atlanta Police Courteous, Ineffective in Anti-Gay Case Ai/an/a-Alianta Police have made no progress on a complaint filed by four gay men after the driver and passenger of a car verbally harassed them and tried to strike them with a wooden club. The incident took place more than two months ago when the four friends stood talking in the parking lot in front of the Midtown Six Theatre. The black Volkswagen with tinted windows approached the group, the windows were rolled down and a club was swung. Two gay men who had left the theatre only moments earlier said the same car approached them. That time, the people in the VW yelled "Faggots!" and other standard homophobic insults. Police officers arrived shortly after they were called, and by all accounts were courteous and helpful. They took a report, including the tag number which the four men say they made a point to remember accurately. In addition to the police, the men reported the incident to activists and to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). After several weeks without police progress, Georgia ACLU Director Gene Guerrero spoke with police and, eventually, got a copy of the report. In the report he discovered that police had transposed numbers and checked for the wrong lag. Guerrero notified police of their error and the investigation resumed. Still, there has been no progress. Detective M.L. Sanders, the man in charge of the case, told Southern Voice that the case is "inactivated." He says the tag number still doesn't correspond to any registered vehicle. He has found a similar vehicle with a similar tag but, he says, without identification of the driver, "we're back at square one." -F.G. Teachers Union Urges Counseling for Gay/Lesbian Students New Orleans-Delegates to the National Education Association (NEA) annual convention voted to urge all school districts to offer counseling to students struggling with their sexual identity. After a heated debate, the delegates representing almost two million NEA members approved the resolution despite strong opposition from John Walters, Chief of Staff for Education Secretary William Bennett. One of the strongest supporters of the measure, NEA Secretary-Treasurer Roaxanne Bradshaw, spoke of her experience with a young student who is now in a coma after attempting suicide because of her anxiety over her sexual orientation. -F.G. U.S. Senate Votes to Repeal Part of D.C. Gay/Lesbian Rights Law; Nunn & Fowler Go Along In what some consider its first vote on gay and lesbian rights, the U.S. Senate voted 58 - 33 to force the District of Columbia to weakent its tough gay rights law. The July 11th vote would block the D.C. '89 budget of $3.7 billion unless the D.C. council votes to allow private schools with religious tics to deny services or support to gay and lesbian groups. It was introduced as an ammendment by Senator Bill Armstrong (R-CO) on the appropriations bill for the city. But lobbyists say the amendment will probably be nixed in Senate-house conference as intruding on home rule. ■ The Vote came in the wake of an '87 court ruling that the D.C. gay rights law required Georgetown University to give gay groups the same access to facilities and funding as other groups. Georgetown, which has disclaimed any involvement in the amendment, is connected to the Catholic Church. Leading the debate for gay rights were Tom Harkin (D-IA), chair of the D.C. Appropriations subcommittee, along with Alan Cranston (D-CA) and Lowell Wcicker (R-CT). "It is just good, old-fashioned, straightforward bigotry," Weicker said. "This should go back down the sewer from which it came." The amendment was not intended to harm gays but to protect the rights of schools to practice their religious beliefs, Armstrong said. He compared it with the struggle of churches in Nicaragua and Poland against their governments. Democratic Senators Sam Nunn and Wyche Fowler of Georgia voted against gays, while more of the 54 Democrats voted for gays than against (26 for). That was not nearly the case with the 46 Republicans, but 6 voted for gays, including 2 surprises: William Cohen (ME) and Dan Evans (WA), who is retiring this year. Jesse Helms did not vote because he is hospitalized for prostate problems. A strong reaction to the vote is building in D.C. council, the Washington Post reports. Chairman David Clarke said he would allow the spending freeze to take effect rather than weaken gay rights. "I hope they (Senators) are ready for no police, no firefighters and no anything else," Clarke said, predicting his colleagues would agree. - John Ward Page 2