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NEWS IN BRIEF
P-FLAG Installs Lesbian/Gay Rights
National President Victory in Europe
C/u'cago-Parents and Friends of Lesbians
and Gays (P-FLAG) installed Paulette
Goodman as national president at the
organization's seventh annual convention
October 8th. Goodman is founder and
former president of the Metropolitan
Washington, D.C. chapter.
"Parents of gays want equal rights for
their children-no more, no less," Goodman
declared. "It is vital for these politicians to
know that parents of gay men and women
are committed to fighting for their children's
civil rights."
Goodman is keenly aware of the
discrimination suffered by gays and
lesbians, having lost her oldest sister,
grandfather, aunts and uncles to the Nazi's
in World War II Paris. She escaped in part,
by living as a "closeted jewish child."
P-FLAG is a nationwide support network
for parents, family members and friends of
lesbians and gays. There are 200 local
chapters, and contacts located in all 50
states. For more information, see the P-
FLAG listing in The Registry (page 10).
Gay Celebrities
Arrested in S. Africa
Johannesburg, South Africa-Thc
government of South Africa, which has
taken center stage in the world for its racist
policies, is now wielding its tactics of
intimidation against gays and lesbians.
Two of that country's best known
celebrities were arrested as part of a police
crackdown on what authorities called a
"huge network of homosexuals."
The two men are Don Lamprecht, a
television actor, and Tinus Esterhuizen,
program director of a major radio station.
Government officials said more arrests will
follow, and local newspapers report that
more than 120 prominent personalities are
under investigation.
This is the second time in three months
that the government has unleashed its
bigotry against gays and lesbians in South
Africa. Police arrested 67 men last August
on charges of practicing homosexuality.
Two of the suspects committed suicide.
-F.G.
Strasbourg, France-A largely symbolic
victory was won by gays and lesbians in
Europe when the case against a rarely used
law which dates back to 1861 was decided
in court.
David Norris, an Irish activist for gay
and lesbian rights, brought a challenge to
Ireland's 19th century law banning
homosexuality to the European Court of
Human Rights.
The European Court, which has no
authority to enforce its decisions, ruled that
Ireland's law constitutes a violation of
human rights and of the right to respect for
private life established by the International
Human Rights Convention. - F.G.
Turning to the
Western Front...
Under the thought you might like to
know column, two events out west deserve
special notice this week.
Three San Francisco gay/lesbian
organizations have received increases in
their allotments from the city's "Grants for
the Arts." The Lesbian/Gay Freedom Day
Parade received a 25% increase to $55,000
a year, while the Lesbian/Gay Chorus of
San Francisco and the Folsom Street Fair
were also allotted more money.
The money for the "Grants for the Arts"
comes from the San Francisco hotel/motel
tax. Approximately $154,000 of the grant
program's $6 million budget goes to
gay/lesbian organizations.
Next-door neighbor Arizona, however,
was not quite so generous.
A new Arizona law makes it illegal to
possess more than 5 dildos. Local
columnists are unsure if a double-ended
dildo counts as one or two.
The measure is reportedly intended to
hamper adult bookstores who offer dildos
for retail sale.
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Famous Faces
Sigourney Heads for the Mountains
After traveling to uncharted regions of the universe to fight outerspace beings in
"Alien" and braving rustic regions of Africa to save apes in "Gorillas in the Mist,"
Sigourney Weaver is tackling one of the most sparsely populated regions of the eastern
U.S. The actress is building a second home on the shore of a lake deep in the Adirondack
mountains. The custom timber peg home is located on 417 acres of land, a 5 1/2-hour
drive from New York where she lives with her husband, director James Simpson.
Nobody's perfect.
Spock Lets Kirk Direct Trek Five
Mr. Spock has turned command of the "Enterprise" back to Captain Kirk for the next
journey to places where no man has gone before. After directing the last two Star Trek
movies, Leonard Nimoy will now remain in front of the camera as Mr. Spock, while
William Shatner, who will once again play CapL Kirk, will direct "Star Trek Five."
Nimoy says he's happy to let someone else worry about the details.
Stevie and Friends to Hall of Fame
Stevie Wonder will be inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame early next year.
According to the Hall of Fame announcement, the fourth annual induction ceremony in
New york will bring not only Stevie, but also the Rolling Stones, Otis Redding, the
Temptations and Dion into the hall.
Stevie Wonder began his spectacular musical career when he was a child. He's
influenced music for 26 years since recording his first hit "Fingertips" at age 12.
Gay Black Activist’s
Fate Unknown in
S. Africa Treason Trial
South Africa—The status of gay black
activist Tseko Simon Nkoli is currently
unknown in his trial along with 18 other
defendants in the infamous Delmas treason
trial. Nkoli and the others are charged with
subversion, treason and conspiracy to
commit murder for the part they allegedly
played in organizing resistance to rent hikes
around Johannesburg in 1984.
In a letter to the Simon Nkoli
Antiapartheid Committee of Toronto, he
wrote that the 31 month legal proceedings
would be completed-for better or for
worse-by the end of October.
"It is quite frightening that this long trial
is coming to an end," wrote Nkoli. "We are
very scared because we don't know what is
in the judge's mind at the moment.
"Legally there is a chance of many of us
coming out as 'free men' at the end of the
case," he continued. "But if you don't hear
from me anymore after October, you must
know I am in prison serving my sentence."
If convicted, Nkoli will only be able to
contact his lawyer, and every six months,
his mother.
Despite bail restrictions prohibiting
political activity, Nkoli has remained active
in the establishment of a gay/lesbian
interracial organization in South Africa.
Nkoli vowed in his letter that if he was
freed, "I will have to go on with (the) gay
struggle. I will have to go on with
community work. Keep your fingers
crossed for us."