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SOUTHERN
VOCE
Upstage Cafe:
Greenwich Village
moves to Decatur
, t >
Vol. 1, No. 15
Taking Pride in Our Culture
September 15,1988
Local T.V. Stations
Wc try to
Defense Blames Victim in
Lesbian Murder Case
Ithaca, NY-The murder of a lesbian and
the serious injury of her lover in a shooting on
the Appalachian Trail in May has led to the
largest lesbian and gay demonstration in the
history of Ithaca, New York.
Rebecca Wight was killed on May 13
while camping in northeastern Pennsylvania
with her lover, Claudia Brenner. Activists in
the Ithaca community responded June 27th
with a rally at which over 200 people carried
signs that read "Homophobia Kills" and "We
Want Responsible Journalism in Our Town."
They charge that the attack was motivated
by homophobia, that the suspect in the case is
using the "homosexual panic defense," and
that the local press coverage is one-sided and
sensationalistic.
Brenner testified at a preliminary hearing
June 23 that Stephen Roy Carr, the defendant,
shot the couple shortly after they had set up
camp on the evening of May 13. At the
hearing, Michael George, Carr’s court-
appointed attorney questioned Brenner in a
way that implied the couple had "provoked"
the attack. In response to the questioning,
Brenner said neither she nor Wight "put on a
show for or teased" Carr.
The homosexual panic defense, according
to Kevin Berrill, Director of the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force's Anti-Violence
Project, is a tactic that is not uncommon.
"The basic message behind the defense
tactic is to blame the victim. This is why it is
important to stand up to the tactic," said
Berrill. He added that the outpouring of
support for the survivor is very important
The Ithaca Journal panted an article the
day after the attack with a headline that read,
"Women Teased Me, Mountain Man
Testifies". The story reported Brenner and
Wight "performed sexual acts with each other
along the Appalachian Trail" the day of the
shooting. Activists claim the article failed to
present the facts in the proper context and
overemphasized the relationship between the
women.
The article was written by Associated Press
reporter David Morris. He reported of Brenner's
testimony: "Brenner said she and Wight saw Can-
several times along the trail rat May 13. But die
said she did not see Carr or anyone else when she
and Wight were shot without warning, shortly
after they engaged in sex at the campsite."
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Atlanta Gay Center administrator Richard Swanson speaking at the Bedford
Pines community meeting on behalf of a special zoning permit needed to move
the Center into the area. Pictured in the foreground are Lonnie and Mercedes
King, who offered the use of the property to the Center.
Neighborhood and Politicians
Fight Gay Center Move
The Atlanta Gay Center has become the
center of a zoning controversy involving
allegations of homophobia and politicking,
that has brought city politicians, black
neighborhood activists, and members of the
gay and lesbian community before the eye of
the local media.
The dispute grew out of a request by the
Gay Center to relocate to 525 Parkway
Drive, NJE., in the predominantly-black
Bedford-Pine neighborhood.
In a dramatic revelation before a city
zoning panel, her neighbors, and television
cameras, Mrs. Mercedes King, co-owner of
the property, revealed that she and her
husband invited the Gay Center to use the
house after their 32-year-old son died of
AIDS at about the same time that their 37-
year-old son was diagnosed with AIDS. She
offered statistics of the extent of the crisis
within the black community and made it
clear that her two gay children are part of a
terrible trend being largely ignored by the
black community.
She urged the panel and her neighbors to
allow the AIDS clinic that is part of the Gay
Center to move by supporting the zoning
request
Because the area is zoned residential, the
Center filed for a Special Use Permit which
would allow it to operate without
permanently rezoning the property.
Lonnie and Mercedes King say the
neighbors had initially expressed their
approval for the Center. B ut just two days
before the scheduled hearings of the city's
Zoning Review Board, City Council
Member Bill Campbell said dozens of
neighbors expressed concerns about the plan.
The neighbors said they didn't want any more
commercial properties in the area and
worried about the safety of their children.
Campbell called a neighborhood meeting
against a background of charges by officials
of the Center who blamed opposition on
homophobia.
The meeting brought a largely hostile
crowd before the Kings and Gay Center
officials. Among those present were two
council members, Bill Campbell and Robb
Pitts, and state legislator Nan Orrock, as well
as at least two gay men who spoke against
the Gay Center's request
Chris Hagan rose in opposition to the
special use permit saying that as a gay man,
he was "embarrassed" by statements accusing
the neighborhood of homophobia. He then
introduced Jeffrey Laymon as head of the
Metropolitan Council of Gay and Lesbian
Organizations (MACGLO). Laymon said
the issue was one of zoning, not one of gay
and lesbian rights.
The following night the discussion was
brought to the city's Zoning Review Board.
The Board is responsible for making a
recommendation to be sent to the City
Council.
More than 50 opponents of the plan came
to the meeting, while about 15 supporters
appeared.
Bill Gripp, a board member of the Gay
Center, told the Zoning Review Board "We
appear perplexed and confounded, but not
discouraged." He pointed to politicians who
"fan the flames of misunderstanding and
prejudice," adding that Atlanta "has
unfinished business in its efforts to become
the 'city too busy to hate'."
Opponents charged back with a slew of
residents who expressed concern for their
children, their property values, and the
preservation of the residential character of the
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