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NEWS IN BRIEF
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Gay Dad with AIDS
Wins Custody
San Francisco-In a major victory for people
with AIDS and for gay and lesbian parents, a
gay man who has AIDS has won custody of
his nine-year-old son in the first decision of its
kind in the country.
The decision to award Artie Wallace, 32,
custody of his son, Shawn, came early this
summer, but announcement of the ruling was
delayed to allow time to test the arrangement.
Wallace was represented in court by civil
rights attorney Roberta Achtenberg after
Shawn and his mother, Julia, a fundamentalist
Christian, were found hiding in Arizona by
the FBI eight months after their
disappearance.
The boy's mother will have ample visiting
rights, but Shawn will live with his father and
his father's lover.
The ruling calls for a review of the case at
the end of 1989 to test Wallace's ability to
care for Shawn.
Attorney Achtenberg noted the case was
won by clearing up misconceptions about
transmission of AIDS and prejudice against
gay parents.
-F.G.
Lesbian Columnist
Murdered in Seattle
Seattle. WA-In response to the murder of
Seattle Gay News columnist Serena Willers,
the paper last month announced the creation
of a reward fund for information leading to an
arrest.
Seattle Gay News Editor-in-Chief Geotge
Bakan said the paper has pledged $500 to start
the fund but hopes to receive $3,000-54,000
in pledges from Seattle businesses and
organizations.
Willers. a lesbian activist and frequent
columnist, died of stab wounds May 18,
apparently after a violent struggle. She was
found in her Seattle office.
"We hope that this fund will get the ball
rolling again," Bakan said of the investigation.
"We are very concerned that this will be
just another unsolved crime committed
against a gay person."
12 Lesbians to be
Ousted From Navy
Norfolk, VA - Twelve women at the Norfolk
Naval Base arc going through discharge
procedures for "confessing to be
homosexuals" after being interrogated for
hours in the middle of the night and confined
to the brig, the Virginia Pilot reported last
month.
They were removed from the U.S.S.
Yellowstone in mid-August when the
destroyer reached Marseilles, France, said Ll
Cmdr. Steve Burnett, a spokesman for the
U.S. Atlantic Fleet Command in Norfolk.
Navy lawyers arc currently reviewing the
cases for "procedural errors" to ensure that
they received due process, said Burnett.
If all twelve women are discharged, this
will mark the largest known discharge of
military personnel from one investigation into
charges of homosexuality.
In similar Marine Corps investigations at
Parris Island, South Carolina, at least seven
female Marines have been administratively
discharged. Three more are awaiting results
of preliminary hearings, and another three
have been court martialcd and convicted. The
latter three arc serving sentences at a military
prison in Quantico, Virginia.
In 1981, the U.S. Army issued regulations
requiring that gays and lesbians be denied
reenlistment.
■
San Francisco Couples
Married at City Hall
San Francisco--Just two days before National
Coming Out Day 100 gay and lesbian
couples in San Francisco held a wedding
ceremony on the steps of City Hall.
The ceremony came as part of a campaign
in the city to approve domestic partner
legislation in the city which would extend to
gay and lesbian couples the rights and
benefits afforded to heterosexuals.
San Francisco came close to approving
such legislation in 1982, but then-mayor
Dianne Feinstein vetoed it
Supervisor Harry Britt said he will re
introduce the legislation because Mayor Art
Agnos has promised to support it
Mayor Agnos came to office with support
Famous Faces
Holly Near at Kennedy Center
Washington-Legendary musician Holly Near
made an appearance in the nation's capital on
the weekend of the Names Project display.
Her performance at Kennedy Center was one
in a star-studded Tribute to Friends in the
Performing Arts Lost to AIDS. The program
held on Sunday night included singing,
dancing and readings by a slew of celebrities
including playwright Harvey Fierstein and
actress Margaux Hemingway.
Elton Stands Up for John
Worcester, Mass.-On what would have been
John Lennon's 48th birthday, his friend Elton
John told fans to remember Lennon's musical
legacy and not to buy "the Book." The book
is Albert Goldman's controversial biography
of the slain Beatle. Elton followed his plea to
those attending the concert in Worcester with
a rendition of "Empty Garden," a song he co
wrote in memory of Lennon. He concluded
the show with afleatle favorite, "Lucy in the
Sky with Diamonds."
Tracy Chapman Rocks Africa
Abijdan, Ivory Coast-The people of Africa
have now met emerging American superstar
Tracy Chapman. Tracy's appearance in the
West African nation came as pari of the
"Human Rights Now!" rock tour celebrating
the 40th anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. The event
brought 30,000 spectators to a nine-hour
concert with performances by the likes of
Bruce Springsteen and Sting.
from the city's gay and lesbians. He and his
family participated in this year's Pride Day
parade.
The event was attended by, among others,
Pat Norman, a lesbian candidate to the city
Board of Supervisors.
-F.G.
Holly Near
Bush Comes Out
Against Gay
Foster Parents
Mount ClemensMl - Vice-President George
Bush said he does not approve of homosexual
couples caring for foster children, according
to a recent Boston Globe report.
"I just don't favor that. I think a child
should be placed in a home... with a mother
and a father, and this, in my view, is the way
it ought to be," said Bush.
"There is much more love in a situation
like that, lasting love," he said.
The Democratic presidential nominee,
Massachusetts Governor Michael Dukakis
has also stated a preference for relatives and
heterosexual couples over gay couples as
foster parents. The Massachusetts Foster
Care Policy identifies lesbians, gay men,
unmarried single people and those in "non-
tradilional" families as parents of the last
resort.
-Wendy Morse
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-F.G.