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From the pages of Southern Voice The 1988 t Awards *(Most memorable media makers) Page 5 Vol. 1, No. 23 Taking Pride in Our Culture January 5,1989 Dallas Judge Under Fire Nationwide Effort Underway to Unseat Judge Jack Hampton for Lenient Ruling in Murder Case Dallas-Gays and lesbians in Dallas, Texas are receiving support from every comer of the country in their efforts to unseat a judge who revealed he was lenient in sentencing a murderer because the men he killed were gay. Judge Jack Hampton told a local reporter that the reason he sentenced 18-year-old Richard Berdnarski to 30 years in prison rather than life in prison, was that his victims, Tommy Lee Trimble, 34, and Lloyd Griffin, 27, were "Queers". If his victims, said the judge, had been "a couple of housewives," the sentence would have been different. Hampton explained he didn't care for "queers cruising the streets picking up teenage boys". Testimony during die trial revealed that Bednarski and his friends went out on the night of the murder to "pester homosexuals". They picked up the two men and drove them to a deserted area and told them to undress. When the men refused, Bednarski put a gun in the mouth of one of his victims and fired three times. When the second man tried to crawl away, he stomped on his arm and shot him several times. Despite the conclusive testimony, Judge Hampton issued what is considered a light sentence, and the reasons behind the sentence became widely known after Hampton's newspaper interview. Immediately after the article appeared in the Dallas Times Herald, the offices of the Dallas Gay Alliance were flooded with calls. Newspapers across the country published scathing editorials, and the community in Dallas began a campaign to have Hampton removed from the bench. According to John Thomas, executive director of the Dallas Gay Alliance, the case has made it clear that "this can happen anywhere". In fact, said Thomas, his office has received calls from people who've received less-than-equal justice in the courts because of their sexual orientation and are now considering taking action against other bigoted judges. In Dallas, several demonstrations and rallies have been held under the auspices of gay and lesbian groups and feminist groups like the National Organization for Women. At one protest, attended by 650 people, statements read included a message from Senator Edward Kennedy, who called Hampton's actions "bigotry at its worst" Texas State Treasurer Ann Richards, keynote speaker at die Democratic Cont'd Page 3 PAMELA J. COLE Happy New Year! New Year's Eve revelers Barbara Harvey (L), Eleanor Smith, Jeff Triplett (L) and John Kappers ring in 1989 the old-fashioned way. The two couples were among several hundred people who spent the last night of the year at the Inman Park Trolley Barn at a party co-sponsored by Sister Sister Productions and Friends Atlanta. John Lewis To Co-sponsor Anti-discrimination Bill U. S. Representatives Henry Waxman (D-Califomia) and Ted Weiss (D-New York) were to re-introduce legislation prohibiting discrimination on the basis of affectional or sexual orientation to the 101st Congress on Jan. 3. John Lewis, Georgia's Democratic 5th District Representative, said he will be an original co-sponsor of the bill, which has not changed since it was introduced as H. R. 709 in the 100th Congress. H. R. 709 was the first piece of legislation Lewis sponsored during his first term in office, said his Legislative Assistant John Franklin. "Mr. Lewis has always been very up front in his support of sexual discrimination legislation," Franklin said. "We all know discrimination exists on the basis of sexual preference. Some members of Congress have said 'I cannot put my name on it yet' but have agreed to vote for it John Lewis believes the time is always right to do right," said Franklin. H. R. 709 is intended to protect all persons from discrimination in housing, employment, public accommodations and federally assisted programs on the basis of sexual orientation. These are the same protections that are now afforded to racial, ethnic, sex and religious classes by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and 1968. Opponents of civil rights protections on the basis of sexual orientation argue that the bill violates the "establishment of religion" and "free exercise of religion" clauses of the First Amendment, since certain religions hold that homosexuality is wrong. They also cite Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), the Supreme Court decision upholding the Georgia sodomy statute, as evidence that homosexual acts, and therefore homosexuals, are not protected by the Constitution. Proponents of the legislation maintain that discrimination against homosexuals constitutes a violation of basic rights that are guaranteed to all under the Constitution. They argue that disclosure of one's homosexuality frequently results in the loss of job or housing, and that discrimination is widespread, materially injurious in nature and requires legislative remedy. Since its introduction in 1987, H. R. 709 has slowly gained Congressional support, with 75 co-sponsors at the last session of Congress. Franklin said there was "no way of knowing" how many co-sponsors would sign H. R. 709 in January. "It's just a matter of building support-it's something you work for," he said. "It's a long road." - Wendy Morse