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VIEWFOINTS
Guest Editorial
A Winning Strategy on Sodomy
by Cynthia McKinney
I have been pleased to read my mail late
ly because residents of the metro area have
expressed their support of our efforts to
repeal Georgia's sodomy statute. Supporters
of House Bill 1380 have filled my "Letters
to Answer" file; on the other hand, I have
received little negative mail on our approach
to this issue.
The telephone campaign launched in sup
port of House Bill 1380 and the lopsided
ness of the response is another indicator of
the overwhelming approval of the communi
ty to these efforts.
Then, why did we lose the vote?
The present sodomy statute is an affront;
the state has no business telling grown folks
what they can do in the privacy of their own
homes. Unfortunately repeal of the statute
has been tagged erroneously as an issue of
the gay community. Thus, baggage on the
sodomy issue consists of the stereotypes and
prejudices that are held by the community at
large about gays and lesbians. The merits of
the issue get lost in the vitriol of "morality."
And the fact that the entire community is
affected by the present law somehow
becomes lost on everyone.
Two facts must always be borne in mind
in dealing with the Georgia Legislature:
Urban legislators have chosen to abdicate
power and influence in favor of maintaining
the status quo that favors rural legislators.
And many legislators prefer doing nothing
to doing what's right on this issue—if they
can get away with it.
Our problem whenever we want to do
anything progressive in the Georgia
Legislature is that our rural colleagues are
key players in deciding the fate of a particu
lar piece of legislation. This in an environ
ment that would rather not tackle issues of
high public interest.
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Winning, then, requires that we enlist the
support of rural as well as urban legislators;
black and white, Democrat and Republican,
liberal and conservative legislators must
come together if we are to be successful.
My problem then becomes: how can I
gain the support of 91 legislators in the
House so that the measure can then be con
sidered by the Senate?
My answer is to make the conservatives,
the Republicans, and the rural legislators
comfortable with the consequences of a
favorable vote.
But the only way this can be done is by
the activism of the interested public.
Telephone calls to the homes, offices, and
workplaces of legislators are an effective
tool that demonstrates favorable public
interest. Letter campaigns are effective too
and are used by legislators as a barometer of
public opinion.
Letters to the editors of local newspapers
add to the visibility of the issue and keep it
from receding from the public mind. A letter
published each month is a very effective
way of keeping the issue on the front burn
er.
More coercive options may be available
to some well-placed members of the com
munity: one legislator informed me that a
very important business customer threat
ened retaliation if the legislator didn't show
his support for H.B. 1380.
This effort should not be just an Atlanta
issue. Lobbying should consist of locals
working with their representatives and sena
tors in addition to people from Atlanta. I
imagine that the above mentioned legislator
received the same calls and letters that I
It was mighty funny when Dr.
Strangelove’s disembodied hand/arm flew
out of control, grabbed his throat and tried
to strangle the old fool.
A look at our mail suggests that's how
many gay men and lesbians feel about the
more aggressive actions taken by ACT
UP—the seemingly unruly arm of our com
munity.
But wait. What's this? Tom Murphy,
Speaker of the Georgia House of
Representatives, native of Bremen, Georgia
and a man who has repeatedly insisted that
he knows nothing about sodomy and/or
those who do. Did this man actually invite
members of the gay and lesbian community
into his office for a tiny pow-wow?
Yes he did. And afterwards the Speaker
said it was a very nice pow-wow, thank you
very much.
Amazing, you say ? We agree.
received. But it was the call from his cus
tomer that won his support. Similarly, if the
letter or phone call comes from the legisla
tor's home town, it means far more to him or
her.
These lobbying techniques are "tried and
true" in placing the issue squarely in front of
the legislator. No one legislator can get a bill
passed, but one legislator can kill legislation.
The issue however cannot be ignored if the
public demands attention.
There has been much debate on the
effect of the ACT UP demonstration on the
vote. I would be remiss not to include my
thoughts on this issue since we want to have
a meeting of the minds on our public
approach to this issue next session.
Fact One: There were more people talk
ing about sodomy after the demonstration
than there were before it.
Fact Two: Many people used the content
of the demonstration to engage in gay
bashing.
I would like to see a demonstration on
the morning of the first day of the 1991
Session. I would ask, however, that the con
tent of the demonstration be such that would
not result in bad press and public opprobri
um. I have been challenged on this point by
those who claim that the very presence of
homosexuals is considered poor taste by
some. And as a black I could say the same
thing about blacks, but so what? Arguing at
extremes results in little but the release of
some tension.
It doesn't get bills passed. And right
now, our sole objective should be to do
whatever is necessary to get this bill passed.
We are in the position of having to ask
And notice, please, that it was members
of ACT UP with whom the venerable legis
lator requested a meeting. Not the Executive
Secretary of MACGLO, or the
Administrator of the Atlanta Gay Center, or
the Board of GAPAC, or the Editor of
Southern Voice.
You're surprised? So are we.
Maybe we shouldn't be. History sug
gests—even in stodgy old Atlanta—that
when we show up in force and make a lot of
noise, we get noticed. And when we get
noticed, people talk to us. And—except with
the most ardently homophobic, like Citizens
for Public Awareness—when we start a per
son-to-person dialogue with someone, we
tend to get what we want. Bits and pieces at
a time, perhaps. But it comes.
Our point is this: Uncomfortable as we
may be with ACT UP's sometimes rambunc
tious approach to things, we would probably
for something that should be ours. It is not
the first time and it won't be the last time
this will happen. Civil rights successes
hinged on the ability of good white people
to find some goodness in those whites less
inclined to be friends of the struggle. Blacks
were successful in getting the historic acts
of the '60s passed as a result of coalition
building that took place inside the U.S.
Capitol. The same kind of coalition-building
must take place under Georgia's Gold
Dome.
And demonstrations that let off steam,
but alienate the people who have to be
counted in on the coalition, must be
acknowledged to be dysfunctional.
The demonstration raised the issue.
Unfortunately the content of the demonstra
tion made it easier for those who might have
remained neutral to be against us. We must
not allow this to happen again. The politics
on the outside must harmonize with the pol
itics on the inside. We must work together
and I appreciate this opportunity to harmo
nize our efforts. We must provide no oppor
tunity during the course of our lobbying on
this issue for those who are against us to
point to our public conduct and shake their
heads or hands at us.
It was not the demonstration alone that
led to our loss. I have stated publicly that
imperfect implementation of a good strategy
also contributed to our defeat. In 1991 I will
work to ensure that we on the inside do not
repeat our mistakes.
Much has been said about Speaker
Murphy's attitude on this legislation. I want
to state for the record that Speaker Murphy
was our friend on this one and I would like
to sec him get some calls thanking him for
his support of Representative Jim Martin
and me on this issue and encouraging his
continued support of our efforts next ses
sion. What some politicians do privately and
what they do for public consumption are
two different things. On this one, I was
happy with the advice and support received
from the Speaker. He was not our enemy on
this one.
I was asked to write some comments on
how I saw the fight to repeal the sodomy
law and what we could do together to see
our goal achieved. I will carry on the fight
next year. With your help, we can neutralize
opposing forces with the weight of our com
munity support. I urge you to become
involved in the effort.
Cynthia Ann McKinney represents the 40th
District in the Georgia House of
Representatives.
do well to withhold opprobrium until we are
sure that such action does not produce
results.
And we'd like to suggest that ACT UP do
some healing PR within the community. For
instance: For the last few weeks of the
General Assembly, ACT-UP's answering
machine was, to our knowledge, the most
accurate and up-to-date source of informa
tion about the status of AIDS and hate
crimes legislation. Complete with who to
call and what to say.
We wish that ACT UP's brown-shirted
image did not keep the rest of the communi
ty separate from this valuable information.
We applaud ACT UP for its action and
creativity. And we respectfully request that
the organization find ways to allow less-
than-radical members of the community
access to their zeal.
Barbara Snell
Representative Cynthia McKinney speaks with members of ACT UP
Doctor ACT UP
Or how we learned to stop worrying and and grew to love zaps
6J'Southern Voice • March 15,1990