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“THE GROOVY NEWSPAPER SERVING ATLANTA AND,THE SOUTHEAST” VOL. 1 NO. 4 OVER 5,000 IN CIRCULATION 25 CENTS Atlanta Barb P.0. Box 82543 Atlanta, Georgia 30354 Phone 363-4789 The Barb’s Stud Of The Month CRC Passes Gay Rights Resolution the commission mem bers; the adoptinon of a program which seeks en-^ forcement powers in thea- rea of discrimination, and the passage of the gay rights resolution. Gay people in Atlanta have reason to clebrate. They have even more rea son to join together in a concerted effort to ensure that tne Atlanta City Cou ncil enacts the legislation that will make this resol ution and the entire C.R.C. program proposal an inte gral part of the ordinances of our city. endous applause trom the committee room audience. Commissioners MaryStul : ze and Mrs. Fred Patter son. had deeper reservat ion concerning the moral issue of homosexuality. Rev. John Gill, and for mer Commissioner Charles St. John, both sp oke on the issue. Rev. Gill cited several incidents of police entrapment and job discrimination, experien ced by gay citizens. Charl es St. John, briefly review- his experiences as a gay activist and C.R.C. Com missioner, which at the end of his commission term found him fired from his job and evicted from his apartment. The Commission then voted to adopt the resol ution. Chairman Dr. Randy Taylor, summed up the Tuesday night meeting with the observation that it was an historic occasion for three seperate reasons. The resignment of C.R.C. Executive Director, Nat Welch, which was received with great regret from all With fifteen of twenty- two members present, the Atlanta Community Relat ions Commission passed, without oppositon, a resol ution to seek to end dis crimination based on sex ual orientation. The crowded second floor com- mitee room of Atlanta’s City Hall had thined con siderably after more than three hours of intense dis cussion on the future pro grams and role for the C.R.C. Over twenty gay men and women sat quiet ly scattered about the ro om in small groups. Rev. John Gill^ of At lanta’s Metropolitan Com munity Church, waited anx iously as the minutes ticked by and his flight departure time grew nearer. Former Commissioner, Charles St. John, who, while serving as a Commissioner during 1973 had laid much of the necessary ground work for the resolution, also waited anxiously for the C.R.C. decision. Representatives from the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance, The Socialist workers Party and a number of concerned citizens including MCC activist minister, Rev. Jim Snow, the editor of the Atlanta Barb Newspaper, and long-time gay-activist and organizer, Shelby Cul- lon, were present. At ten fourty-five in the evening Commissioner Bill Smith, moved that the At lanta Community Relat ions Commission, in areas where it seeks to pre vent discrimination be cause of race, creed, color, etc., also seek to pre vent discrimination based on sexual orientation. Commissioner Dr. Joe Lowery, seconded the mo tion. Rabbi, Harry Ep stein, began the discussion. Noting his own religion’s view on homosexuals, he went on to eloquently ex press his committment to ending discrimination in cluding discrimination based on sexual‘orienta tion. Dr. Joe Lowery, in jected a light note on the differing views of moral- . ity, he expressed his moral reservation. He added, “A society that calls itself normal does not have to deny basic human rights to those who may be dif ferent, to protect their norms. If they do there’s something very wrong with the norms”. Like Rabbi Epstein, he too stated his committment to ending the cancer of discrimination. While not gifted with the eloquence of Rabbi Epstein or Dr. Joe Lowery, Com missioner Mittie Bell Wil liams,expressed her con cern for both the legal and social oppression of gay people. This brought trem* CRC Commision Members And Staff $$$$$$$ Watch For More Cash Prizes Coming Soon