Newspaper Page Text
r ' 2
Editor’s Notebook
Athens, Georgia. Frank
Kammeny, long time gay
rights! activist, was on
the campus of the Uni
versity of Georgia in
- Athens as a part of Gay
Awa£enes& Week.
: i^lfeg^ffiE^saat crowd of
U@A students gathered
Jfi the fourth floor ball
room of the University
$ Center as a fiery , red
sun set below a closed
balcony veranda marred
by a tarpaper extension
roof and a creaky air?
conditioning unit.
Georgia’s sprawling;
campus like so many
other; university earn-?
puses are littered with
architectural and land
scaping atrocities. The
II ornated grace of cb-
lumned buildings tie
beingj supplanted by con^
lH crete blocks and gleam
ing glass eyesores that
gives the? campus a
, visual style for which
the only appropriate
apellation is K-Mart
V. eclectic?. ■:
The university, has
shut out the logic of
harmonious landscape
design, and each school
^competes for the
prestige of an ostentasi-
ously modernistic new
building disregarding
the ugliness :§ it will
create. '/ ;
Into my mind scramble
the long numbers of gay
students £ who - have
emerged I to be heard.
Led by Bill Green and
Julie Stanley/ the com -
mittee on Gay Educa
tion appeared as the 60’s
became the 70’s.
In the name of pre
serving the elected
disorder (of which the
perfect symbol is the
distateful, profligate,
hash of buildings), the
university refused to
allow the CGE to hold
a dance. The school
claimed that such a
dance might foster the
commission of afellony,
namely, sodomy. They
said they could not per
mit that. / <
Frink Kammeny aided
the budding CGE as he
has aided so many
groups artd -Individuals
in his long career." Kam
meny researched the
Georgia statutes and ^
asked the administra
tion a question: Does
that mean the school
will not allow any dance?
Dr. Kammeny pointed /
out that Georgia also
had a fornication statute
which ..prohibited sexual
acts!! bitween unmarried
people; if sodomy might
occur after a gay dance
might not fornication
occup after a straight
dance?
Kammeny, formerly
an astronomer employ
ed by the federal
g o v e r n m e n t has
brought cool scientific
logic to bear upon the
legal nuances that are
used to entrap gay
people. In number of
years his age easily
doubled that of anyone
in his Athens audience.
Yet his eyes radiated
Such energetic youth,
and his speech had a
. pace and style that it
is doubtful any in his
audience 4 could match
/His message for them
was clear. They could
remain hidden in the
few Secure nooks of the
world hoping for a little
beauty or a breath of
freedom. But if they
wanted to exercise their
rights as people, as gay
women and men, they
must work, they must
take, they must do.
When Dr. Kammeny
, first became involved
x in gay rights in the
fifties he and his friend
did not expect solutions
within/- the next decade,
ancT doubted they would
be found during their
lifetimes. He said that
today we can see the
problem in themor^ng,
work on it in the after
noon, and have it solved
by bedtime. For me that
seemed too optimistic a
statement. However, for
a man who has been
working for gay rights
for nearly two decades
it must seem almost
overnight when National
Gay Task Force pro
tests a television show
and within a week the
network agrees not to
re - run the program. Not
quick enough for me nor
Kanpneny, but much
faster than the re
sponses of the past.
Kammeny is not ful-u
filled by crumbs from
the table. He told his
youthful audience not to
become satisfied with
the crumbs from the
politicians table be-..... >
cause they are ours <
hJ by rights, that in fact
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the table is ours and
we should sit at it. How
we get what is justly
ours? We take it. Noth
ing will get done unless
we as gay people get out
and do it,
“If we in Washington
D. G. can do it, you can’
do it in Athens,” Kam
meny booined at his au
dience. The statement
holds true in every city
and county in the south,
If you. want the equal
protection of the law,
if you want a law that
protects your ablity to
maintain a job, housing
and public accomoda
tions you must ask for
it, work for it.
No one gives a share
of the table to anyone,
it must be taken with
the dignity and pride of
personhood. ? i /
BILL SMITH
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“THE VOICE OF THE GAY COMMUNITY’’
The Right To Love
Gibson W. Higgins
Being gay opens
avenues undreamed of
by others. As a person
comes out, : he blinks
incredulous ly at the
choices available, not
only of warm , bodies and
things to do, but of ways
to be. With experience
the person simply is
gay without an ideology.
Occasionally, one
looks around, stops and
thinks for a moment, and
says, “is this me?’’
Yes, and it is not big
deal. How could you
be satisfied as any other
person? It is a place not
reached quickly, or at
once,/or ever com
pletely, but it is there.
Liberation is a complex
complicated process
that plucks you from
your upbringing, your
conditioned behavior •,
your self - excuses
transports you through
dark forests of disbelief
and stormy seas of self
conflicts, and finally
deposits you on a new
shore of consciousness.
Unfortunately, being gay
also closes doors. That
is the role '* * society’ ’
.plays. Survival has
always depended on pro-
propagating, The evil
attributed to homo
sexuality arose in the
minds of people who
associated it with failing
to promote the general
welfare by procreating.
Only, in societies where
independent excellence
was practiced has it
been accepted. Cen
turies of reinforcement
have brought people to
revile it as evil, filthy
sinful, immoral, or,
make your own list.
The price in homo
sexual suffering has
been enormous, for
society denies the right
to be a full human being.
The ultimate irony is
that, being a member of
society, the homosexual
accepts that as his
“lot.” The word is, “be
what you want to be, if
you have to be.” This is
repeated often enought
that eventually obedient
homosexuals stand Up
and reply, “see how
good we are, we’re doing
what we’re supposed to
do.” No one can say
“nigger” as one black
person to another, and
no one can say faggot,
or queen, or dyke, as
one homosexual to
another. Society doesn’t
need an . enforcement
agency to keep queers
in their place, because
it has too many homo
sexuals doing the work
for it! “We’re all in this
together.” “Shape up,
fag.” “Girl, you never
learn.” Bullshit!
In a recent issue
of an Atlanta newspaper
and advice columnist
replied to a homosexual
to “love and let love.”
In straight talk that
means, f ‘You let us Love
and you go mess around
all you want.” Another
lie. Straight society
doesn’t accept the pre
mise that a homosexual
has the ability to love
(read that as enter into
a serious relationship
with another person).
We will allow you your
orgasms but don’t, go
getting serious. Live
together ? “We’re
roomates for twenty
years, and we don’t go
out with women.” Why
is there so much
deception??
To love another person,
to care for their happi
ness and wellbeing and
have these feelings
returned, is what makes
continued on Page 10.
CAY NAVYMAN COMES OUT
« Wes Fortner told media
reporters iii Jackson
ville of his intention~to
remain in the navy de
spite his homosexua
lity. Navy regulations
insist upon the “prompt
seperatiOn” of navy
“members involved in
homosexual -acts.” The
naval regulation states
that homosexuals “are
military liabilities who
cannot be tolerated.”
Wes Fortner is a
homosexual navy man
whose record, appears
to be anything but a
liability. In bootcamp
Wes’s abilities were
recognized by his being
named Recruit Chief
Petty Officer. and being
chosen Honorman. Re
cently Wes was chosen
Serviceman of the Quar
ter for the hospital
group at which he is
station. Both of Wes’s
supervisors in the
hospital stood with Wes
before the Navy Admihi -
strative Board. Both
testified that Mr.
Fortner was a credit
rather than a discredit
to the Navy.
The Navy regulation
does not take into ac
count anything more
than Wes’s homosexua
lity. The Navy’s admini
strative Board system
is virtually devoid of
constitutional preee*
dures. The time and cost
/
of defending himself
against the Navy’s
antiquated and dis
criminatory p o li c y
against homosexuals
will be great. The
Jacksonville Metropo
litan Community Church
of which Wes is a mem
ber has established a
legal defence fund for
Wes. Your contributions
are needed if Wes Fort
ner is to make even an
attempt to seek justice
in his case.
Tax exempt donations
can be sent to:
Metropolitan Commu
nity Church - c/o Wes
Fortner Fund - P.O.
Box 291 - Jacksonville,
FL. 322101 tVi; ‘ ^