About The Barb. (Atlanta, Ga.) 197?-197? | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1975)
THE BARB - 10 Lesbian Mother Loses Custody Fight The Los Angeles TIMES reported in a copywrited story by TIMES staff wri ter Myran Oliver that a lesbian mother, of two children and been denied custody of her children by the courts. Ms. Oliver stated that the 2nd District Court of Appeal has denied a Torrance woman custody of ^ her two daughters on grounds she is a homosexual, but noted the decision was based on a “combination of factors.” In a 12-page opinion wri tten by Justice Macklin Fleming, the court upheld Superior Judge William P. Kennedy ir refusing cus tody to Lynda Mae Chaffin, who Fleming said suffers blackouts and is “unstable socially and financially.” Custody of the daughters, Tracy, 14 and Rachelle, 12 was given to the divorced woman’s parents, Jessie and Mary Frye of Mary sville, Wash., with whom the girls have spent most of their lives Fleming wrote that American Civil Liberties Union and other friends- of- the -court lawyers were wrong in claiming the case hinged solely on Mrs. Cha ffin's admission that she had been a homosexual . But he said the court was concerned about the well-being of the young girls if they shared an apartment with the mother and her female companion. “The fact that in certain respects enforcement of the criminal law against the private commission of homosexual acts may be in appropriate and may be ap proaching desuetude (dis use), if such is the case,” Fleming wrote, “does not argue that society accepts homosexuality as a pattern to which children should be exposed in their most form ative and impressionable years or as an example that should be put before them for emulation. ” The opinion Friday also cited evidence showing Mrs Chaffin had been ar rested five times in seven years for bad checks and shoplifting and had gone into bankruptcy The court said neither she nor her companion was employed and that they lived on dis ability and Social Security benefits. The grandparents, ac cording to the court opinion told probation officers Mrs Caffin only wanted custody of the children so she could receive their Social Secu rity and child support pay ments. They said the young woman's companion had “slapped the little one many times. ” Elbe Chaffin the children father who divorced Mrs. Caffin in Idaho in 1962, was quoted in the opinion as opposing their living with his former wife. ”A woman such as this should not have custody of the children,” the court document quoted the father “for she has lived with di fferent women in the past. She also has a crime record a mile long. There is no body that can guarantee that these children will not be exposed to the beha vior of their mother and her girlfirend.” Mrs. Chaffin had denied her former husband’s ac cusations and insisted her re lationship with her female companion would notbetfe- tremental, to the children. Fleming said the Fryes had. given the children ’ whatever continuity and stability has been brought into their lives” and that Mrs . Chaffin would not pro vide them the best home permanently, despite her “temporary good inten tions.” "He said^he, court must consider that homosexua- Chattanooga,. „ Chatter Well, hello, gossip lovers! It's been a while, but here I am again with all the latest grease, A few months back, a new club opened in the Scenic Ci|y, It was small but nice. However, some important things were “forgotton.” They were called licenses. Lucy Law paid a few visits and discovered this fact. After one her visits, Lucy decided that some of the “mountaineers” should pay a visit to the cross bar motel. We don’t know exactly what happened but rumor has it that the car was so crowded that a certain : “blondie” had to sit on Lucy’s lap. I’ll bet she had a ball (or two!). •(January held a lot of fun in the entertainment field around here. The Rah Rah girl of the South, Cheerleader was named director of show-and i since then the shows have ^ become better and more varied with more productions and or comedy. The other girls have been working hard as usual. Adrian Sanchez, Candy Cane, and Erica Towers are showing unlimited talent. Out of town guests included Rachel Wells, Pearl Bailee, Tina Terrell, Leslie Ross, J. B., Terry Taylor, and the sex change from Atlanta—Arpe- ge. Of course, for about a month the audience thrilled to the comical escapades of Bill’s new discovery— Ava Garbage. She disappeared quite sud denly, so we’ll just say “hello, Miss Garbage, where- ever you are!” The Kitchen is once again open, serving anything from sandwiches to pizza to waiters! Really, we got some good food, so if you’re in and aroujnd and you need some thing to eat (food that is!) you won’t have to go far- don’t even leave the bar. Continued on Page 12 column column 4 1 it y “dominates" the household Mrs, Chaffin hoped to bring the girls into, a different situation than inert 1 admission of past or casual homosex - ual behavior In exercising a choice between homosexual and hetrosexual households for purposes of child custody. ’ ‘ he wrote, "a trial court could conclude that perrna 1 nent residence 1 in a homo sexual household would be detrimental to the children and contrary to their best interest.” Nole s From Atla nta ’ s Gay Help Line By Bilbo Baggins Since the Gay Help Line began operating last summer one of the most common counseling calls we received is some vari ation on the theme of “lovers. ” The caller wants a lover, has one but still isn’t happy, seeks a deeper relationship than any he has now, thinks gay people are doomed to one night stands and so on. What can I,, as a counse lor say to these people? I don’t have a magic forr- mula * that will get some one a lover, and I don’t know of any mysterious incantations I can mumble over a troubled relation ship to make it heal. Every relationship is a living thing, a relationship must have breathing space and freedom or it is doomed to death by suffocation. God. thi& is starting to sound insipidly trite! You're read it all before in Ann Landers, haven’t you? You even read “ I Have More Fun With You Than With Anyone Else” by Lige and Jack and pat terned your last relation ship by it. So why are you sitting alone in your effici ency appartment on Friday nite reading this? I could talk to you about the prin ciples of a good relation ship for a week, give you copious notes and refer ences on the subject and coach you in every step of your next affair. We could map out a plan to gether with the objective being “years of mutual happiness with person X,” You could spend thousands of dollars ■ going to semi nars on finding a mate, sexual compatibility, cook ing for your lover, throw ing out the garbage, and deciding whose turn it is to clean up the dog shit. And after all of that, you might still be siting at home reading a future edition of this paper to tally alone. It seems that Americans today are very obsessed with having done for them. They are “entertained” by TV, movies, plays, etc., but rarely do they enter tain each other. At school we are “educated” in stead of participating in our education. Our whole lives fit into factory pre- cut patterns mass produc ed and rarely questioned. So it seems only natural that our relationships with other humans should be pre-manufactured patterns also. You see, all the things we did in the last paragraph were patterns manufactured by other people for our comsump- tion. What was missing was the basic element of any relationship, the two peiple incolved. A gay re lationship, the two people 1 at ions is unfortunately not quite what the pattern makers had in mind when they put their best selling product “marriage” on the market:. So. if you want to buy “Marriage” you’re in tne same predicament as a size 14 woman buying a size TO dress. You might be able to wiggle into the thing but one wrong move and it bursts apart at the seams. Oh yes -, there are some new products on the market, like Lige and Jack’s little number, but how do you know that one will fit? And why are you wasting all your time out shopping anyway when you’re got all of the ma terials to create your very own relationship with another person right inside your own two heads! Well, now all I have to do is tell you how to do it, right? Wrong! That is the worst thing I could do. You must do it yourself. You must create your own relationship. I do realize that creation out of noth ingness has only happened Continued on Page 7 ST. PATRICK’S DAY DINNER Corn Beef and Cabbage Boiled Potatoes,Ca rrots, Salad, Rolls,Butter and Beverage Irish Coffee $5.95 DINNER HOURS 6 till 11:30 each nite HOT SANDWICHS 11:30- 3:00 each nite NEW DINING & DRIN *MCzg*1Al4bAN*1 & £014 NQZ NO OPENING....Ma FREE hot & cold BUFFET ALL DRINKS 75< 7-9
