Newspaper Page Text
January 18,1990 • Southern Voicel3
300 Protest Sodomy Law, 63 Arrested
Repeal, Restriction Measures Introduced
by Cliff O'Neill
Atlanta - Over 300 gay and lesbian
activists converged on the Georgia State
House on the opening day of the 1990
legislative session January 8 to call for
the repeal of that state's sodomy law.
Sixty-three demonstrators were arrested
as part of a civil disobedience action.
For over two hours, the protesters,
over half of which were from outside the
state, chanted and heard speeches from a
wide array of gay/lesbian, abortion, pros
titutes' and disability rights leaders.
"Gay, straight, Black, White.
Sodomy's a basic right," the crowd chant
ed as it made its way down Peachtree
Street, pushing a bed on wheels on which
lay two naked, life-size, inflatable rubber
dolls. Arranged to simulate simultaneous
oral sex, the dolls represented one of sev
eral sex acts made illegal by the Georgia
sex statute.
Sodomy laws, as they are called, "pro
hibit" private consensual sex acts
between adults in 25 states and the
District of Columbia, In seven of the
states, the laws are limited to same-sex
partners. Although the laws are not rou
tinely enforced, activists state, they are
regularly used by law enforcement and
politicians to harass and intimidate les
bians and gay men.
The Georgia law penalizes both
homosexual and unmarried heterosexual
adults for up to 20 years in jail for any of
a variety of sex acts.
As the demonstration took place out
side, Georgia Rep. Billy McKinney
introduced a bill to repeal the law only as
it applies to heterosexuals. Ironically, his
daughter, Rep. Cynthia McKinney intro
duced another bill the same day which
would repeal the law entirely.
The Georgia statute was upheld in
1986 in the landmark Hardwick v.
Bowers decision by the Supreme Court,
which cited a "millennia of moral teach
ing" as grounds for its ruling.
"Whose morality are they talking
about?" asked Sue Hyde, director of the
Privacy Project of the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force at the day's function.
Quoting from Supreme Court Justice
Harry Blackmun's blistering dissent in
the decision, Hyde said, "The freedom to
differ is not limited to things that do not
matter much, that would be a mere shad
ow of freedom. The real test of its sub
stance is the freedom to differ as to
things that touch the heart of the existing
order."'
Local residents' reactions throughout
the day ran from supportive-as evi
denced by a handful of construction
workers cheering atop a nearby build
ing—to confused-as seen on the faces of
most passers by.
Yet, what was most in evidence
throughout the Monday demonstration,
Barbara Snkll
however, was the scarcity of Atlantans
attending the lunchtime rally.
With over 120 members travelling to
Atlanta from the New York chapter of the
AIDS Coalition To Unleash Power (ACT
UP/NY), and other contingents from Los
Angeles, Chicago, Boston and
Washington, D.C., save for the members
of Atlanta's ACT UP, proportionately few
locals attended the event.
Prior to the gathering, a schism had
formed within the Atlanta gay and les
bian community, with many locals fear
ing the demonstration by "outsiders"
would only serve to alienate otherwise
friendly lawmakers. The controversy
was alluded to several times throughout
the demonstration.
"There are lesbians and gay men who
disagree with this action," stated Sabrina
Sojourner, outgoing chair of Atlanta's
African-American Lesbian and Gay
Alliance. "They believe that the publici
ty will cause those who would otherwise
be our friends and supporters to abandon
us. Well, let me tell them something as a
Black person, still fighting racial injus
tice: With friends like that you don't
have to worry about enemies 'cause
they're right in your own front yard.
Human rights-doing what is right and
just-should not be based on which way
the wind blows."
Still, the demonstrators did routinely
Continued on page 10
AIDS Activists Arrested at CDC
Protesters Demand Wider Definition of Disease
by Cliff O'Neill
Ar/anfa-Forty-nine AIDS activists were
arrested at the headquarters of the Centers for
Disease Control here Jan. 9, as part of a mass
demonstration calling on the federal agency to
widen their definition of AIDS and AIDS-
Related Complex.
Most of the arrested were charged with
criminal trespass or interfering with govern
ment property and were released on $240
bond. According to police at the action, CDC
officials are seeking to press charges against
the demonstrators.
Approximately 300 protesters seized con
trol of the building's front entrance for three
hours, lambasting the agency for tracking
AIDS cases and deaths and not tracking HIV
infections and infection routes.
Despite repeated requests from reporters
through the building's glass doors and to CDC
employees standing outside, the CDC had no
comment on the demonstration.
Holding signs calling on the agency to
widen investigations of AIDS in children,
women in general, and lesbians in particular,
the demonstrators tagged the CDC moniker as
standing for "Careless Demographic
Counting".
After a two-hour standoff with over 30
DeKalb County police officers-who virtually
all wore rubber gloves-waves of demonstra
tors began challenging the law enforcement
agents with a series of actions designed to call
attention to their specific demands.
At one point, a group of six women-sever-
Evktt Bbnnptt
al of whom identified themselves as HIV-pos
itive - took to the building's front entrance to
place blood-red palm prints and a large sign
reading "CDC Leaves Out Women" on the
walls and to speak about their lack of access
to drug trials based on the CDC's narrow defi
nition of AIDS.
"Since I don't have their definition of
AIDS," said one woman, "I can't get treat
ment." By their side, three male protesters
chided the CDC by covering their ears, eyes
and mouths, mocking the agency's alleged
reluctance to count many HIV-infected
Continued on page 18
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