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L.A. Gay Officers Lesbians Allowed to
Charge Harassment Adopt HIV Child
Two Los Angeles police officers joined a
lawsuit which charges the Los Angeles Police
Department of harassing officers suspected of
being gay, reports the San Francisco Sentinel.
The plaintiffs also hope to secure a protective
order preventing future harassment of poten
tial witnesses.
A five-year police veteran spoke with her
back to cameras at a press conference as she
revealed what led her to join the lawsuit. The
veteran explained that she had heard other
officers say they would not back up another
officer who was gay.
That officer is Mitch Grobeson who filed
his suit, charging that he was hounded out of
the police department
Another officer who describes himself as a
twelve-year veteran who has been "harassed,
ridiculed and discriminated against because of
the 'perception' that he is gay."
The American Civil Liberties Union and a
gay and lesbian law enforcement association,
the Golden State Police Officers Association,
is also joining the suit.
Statements by LA Police Chief Daryl Gates
include, "homosexuals are evil, and they do
evil."
Assistant Chief Robert Vernon allegedly
stated that "the hiring of homosexuals as
police officers is repulsive to nearly all per
sons...Homosexual acts are inherently
immoral, abnormal and criminal..." and that
"homosexuals have a corrosive influence upon
their fellow employees because they attempt
to entice normal individuals to engage in per
verted sex practices."
Attorney Dan Stormer said "these state
ments reveal the bigotry and prejudice that
exists at the highest levels of the Los Angeles
Police Department"
A recent article in The San Francisco
Sentinel reported that attorneys for the
National Center for Lesbian Rights were
victorious in convincing courts to override the
Department of Social Service's adoption poli
cy which refuses to grant joint adoption to any
unmarried couple, straight or gay. A DSS
spokesperson pointed out that "the existing
adoption laws require that one primary person
have legal responsibility for the child."
Millie lessen and Sue Pavlik were trying to
adopt HIV positive Erick who had been under
their foster care for several years, but the cou
ple did not receive an answer for several
months after their request. "They just sat on the
decision," said lessen, "...they didn't want to
be the bad guy, but they were bound by exist
ing policies."
The women were awarded joint custody of
two-year-old Eric when the court overruled
the DSS. Roberta Achtenberg, executive
director of the National Center for Lesbian
Rights, said she had to persuade the judge to
override the DDS by pointing out that the
court needed to consider the specifics of Eric's
case to truly decide what was in the best inter
est of the child. "I don't believe the judge
awarded a joint adoption because the child has
AIDS," said Achtenberg, "but I did have to do
much less persuading ...when I pointed out
the child's special circumstances." Two-and-a-
half-year-old Eric is presently thriving under
treatment with AZT and i.v. pentamidine.
"A lot of gays and lesbians think that this
battle doesn't have anything to do with them,
but what we are really struggling for is the
validity of our relationships, not just for par
ents, but for everyone," Achtenberg said.
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o f
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Hew Year's Eve, December 31,1989
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Special Christmas Show, December 25
Lauren
Michaels
20-Yr Old Sodomy Lesbian Archivist
Conviction Dropped Hampton Dies at 87
New York-A New York State trial court on
December 1 vacated the guilty plea of a man
arrested and convicted in 1969 under statutes
since declared unconstitutional in New York.
Lambda Legal Defense and Education
Fund represents "John Doe,” a New Yorker
arrested for the first and only time in March,
1969 for the so-called crime of "consensual
sodomy." Several years ago, the Court of
Appeals, New York State's highest court,
found this statute unconstitutional because it
violated constitutional rights to privacy and
equal protection.
Twenty years after his arrest, Mr. Doe's
conviction resurfaced when his job required he
move to a foreign country.
"This case illustrates the continuing and
very real harms that consensual 'sodomy' laws
and related statutes pose to the gay communi
ty, even when they've later been overturned,"
said Evan Wolfson, the Lambda staff attorney
who handled the case.
Ultimately, the prosecutor's office agreed to
vacate Doe’s conviction and seal the record.
In addition to its efforts to overturn existing
sodomy laws, Lambda will direct its attention
to obtaining similar cooperation from prosecu
tors and courts in New York and other states
that have reformed their consensual sodomy
laws either through legislation or by court
order.
Ireland Must Repeal
Anti-Gay Law
by John Hubert
The European Court of Human Rights has
ordered the Republic of Ireland to rescind its
laws penalizing homosexual acts because they
constitute a violation of the European
Convention on Human Rights. A panel of 14
judges from different European countries
heard the case. Six of the 14 judges (from
Greece, Turkey, Austria, Ireland, West
Germany, and Spain) dissented from the
majority judgment
According to Irish law, "buggery" carries a
maximum penalty of life imprisonment, and
"acts of gross indecency between male per
sons" a sentence of two years imprisonment
The Court commented that, "Although per
sons who regard homosexuality as immoral
may be offended by private homosexual acts,
this cannot on its own warrant the application
of penal sanctions when only consenting
adults are involved".
The decision of the European Court is final,
and the effect is that the laws must be
changed. This process will be monitored by
the Committee of Ministers of the Council of
Europe. This decision, after six years of liti
gation, may mean that Cyprus, the only other
country in the Council of Europe which
imposes a total ban on homosexual acts, may
now be forced to repeal their anti-homosexual
laws.
Irish gay activists are concerned that the
Irish Parliament will delay introducing the
necessary legislation to comply with the
European Court decision and are asking for
letters from outside the country to pressure the
government to speed up the process. Write to
Prime Minister Charles Haughey, Government
Palace, Upper Merrion Street. Dublin 2,
Ireland.
For those interested in corresponding with
Irish lesbians and gays, you can write to the
National Gay Federation (NGF), Post Office
Box 931, Dublin 4, Ireland.
At age 87, Mabel Hampton, an Afro-
American lesbian activist, died of pneumonia,
as reported by the December Gay People's
Chronicle. Hampton played a major role in
founding the Lesbian Herstory Archives.
Hampton was featured in several films and
television programs such as Before
Stonewall: The Making of the Gay and
Lesbian Community. The program document
ed her involvement in the Harlem
Renaissance and in gay life before the 1970's.
Hampton's life partner from 1937 was
Lillian Foster who died in 1978.
Donations in her memory can be sent to
the Lesbian Herstory Educational Foundation,
Inc., P.O. Box 1258, New York, NY 10116,
and to Senior Action in a Gay Environment
(SAGE), 208 West 13th St., New York, NY
10011.
Massachusetts Gay
Law Will Stick
Supporters of the Massachusetts Gay
Rights Law, which was signed on November
15 by Governor Dukakis, claimed a major
victory when Attorney General James
Shannon ruled that the attempt to place the
statute on the ballot for repeal in 1990 was
unconstitutional.
Shannon released a statement on
December 7 that declared that the gay rights
law could not be subject to the referendum
process because it includes language which
exempts religious institutions from its provi
sions.
David LaFontaine, Lobbying Director for
Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, said, "We were
very confident that we could have beaten back
the repeal attempt, but we would much prefer
concentrating our energies toward moving
forward. Overturning the discriminating fos
ter care policy, for instance, may now become
top priority."
The effort to repeal the Massachusetts Gay
and Lesbian Rights Law is being spearheaded
by Senator Ed Kirby, former Governor John
Volpe and an organization named Family
First
The gay rights bill was first filed in 1973
and was finally signed into law several weeks
ago.
thirty something
Gay Episode Turns
Off Some Sponsors
In a recent article in The Washington
Blade, it was reported that about half of the
sponsors for thirtysomething pulled out at the
last minute after it was announced that the
episode would show two gay male characters
in bed together. The network lost $1.5 million
in ad revenue. Some of the time was sold to
other advertisers at a lower rate than the origi
nal one.
Executive producer, Marshall Herskowitz
said he doubts that the incident concerning the
show will have any lasting effect since the
same companies which pulled out on the
show will advertise for future shows.
Network officials are reportedly supportive
of using the gay character Russell, played by
David Marshall Grant
Herskowitz was surprised by the opposi
tion. He said "I didn't realize that there was
still this much entrenched opposition to the
very idea of homosexuality. As a culture, I
thought we were further along than that."
2/Southern Voice • December 21,1989