Newspaper Page Text
T
1
I
I
t
■
P
s
H
THE BARB-15
Bits and Pieces continued from
page 7.
Threat to the family?
Propagation of such trash only
perpetuates animosity toward
queers. Conversely, im
prisonment of homosexuals (for
their own “good”) as the
Husband, Wife, Mother or Father
of a conventional family denies
the particular humanity of that
person. Our magazine was careful
not to commit itself to that notion ,
rather it cited opposing points of
view as; to whether we are even
worthy of acceptance. What in
hell does it take: trial by fire,
fighting a pride of lions, swim
ming the Pacific Ocean and
slaying a dragon??? Realization
of this dilemma has brought
angry blacks into the streets
burning and looting to vent their
rage and frustration at being
discounted. Homosexuals may'
one day reach such a pinnacle.
Whether or not burning Watts
was proper behavior is immaterial
in light of the fact that this
radically assertive behavior
forced society to take notice.
Recently some gays activists have
resorted to confrontation tactics
as attention getters: media zaps,
picketing, etc. I cannot be serious
in trying to incite you to riot, but
there is the definite possibility
ATLANTA CRC Continued from
paee3 .
interest in limiting the public
actions of its citizens unless there
is a breach of public order.
It is wholly out of keeping with
the spirit and ideals of the City of
Atlanta for there to be an or
dinance on the City’s books which
permits the arrest of certain of its
citizens when they appear in
public because their lawful
conduct is such that a police
officer believes it “manifests” a
pariticular purpose. Unless the
public conduct in question is
interfering with the rights of
other or*is criminal act itself, it
cannot be limited.
Of equal importance is the fact
that there is no lawful purpose to
be served by Section 20-23 (d). It
does not proscribe offensive
conduct, since that is covered by
other ordinances. It does not
proscribe inducing, enticing or
soliciting or procuring another to
commit a criminal act; that too is
covered by other statutes;
What then is the purpose ofthe
provision? It seems that the
purpose is to permit the arrest of
persons whom the police Officers
feel are inducing, enticing,
soliciting or procuring others to
commit a criminal act without v
requiring the officers to prove this
fact, once this purpose is ar
ticulated, its unlawfulness is
manifest. The police cannot be
permitted to make arrests on the
basis of their feeelings where
they have no evidence or other
justification to support such
feelings.
The provision is not aided by
the fact that it states that the
arresting officer is to afford the
person arrested an opportunity to
explain his 4 conduct and that it
forbids conviction if the ex
planation given is true and
discloses a lawful purpose. If this
in fact meant what it said then all
a person arrested would have to
state was that he repeatedly
beckeoned to, stopped, or at
tempted to stop, or engaged
passers-by in conversation
because he enjoyed talking to
people. This explanation
that demand is the ONLY way to
get what we must have.
Homosexuals are much in
the news these days. Repeatedly
the items indicate ignorance and
bigotry on the parts of those who
should know better.
ITEM: The man who was
wounded by the bullet meant for
President Ford was recognised
for his trouble. The man who
deflected the . arm of the person
with the gun is suing Herb Caen
of the San Francisco Cronicle for
revealing that he is a homosexual.
So far as I know, the President
has shown no cpncem for this
man, for the pain and em-
barrasment he has been caused.
Lesson: Don’t try to foil an
assassination attempt if you don’t
want your homosexuality
publicized.
ITEM: A PBS broadcast on
the life of * Edward II was not
shown locally because an official
was offended by references to his
homosexuality. The man actually
believed that homosexuality is a
capital crime in Georgia. Not even
this State is that bad off! He
apparently was unmoved by the
discloses a lawful purpose and
there is no way of proving it
untrue unless the passers-by
assert that there was an attempt
to solicit them for prostitution or
sodomy. In such a case a different
ordinance would have been
violated. In other words, unless
the arrested person was actually
soliciting for the purpose of
prostitution or sodomy he could
not be convicted under this
provision, and if he were
soliciting for prostitution or
sodomy he would have violated
another law.
CITY CODE SECTION 20 -23 [d]
and [ej.
Transporting or including others
to transport or receive others with
the intent to solicit for the pur
pose of prostitution or sodomy.
(d) It shall be unlawful for any
person to loiter in or near any
thoroughfare or place open to the
public in a manner and under
circumstances manifesting the
purpose of inducing, enticing,
soliciting or procuring another to
commit an act erf prostitution or
. sodomy.' Among the cir
cumstances which may be con
sidered in determing whether
such purpose is manifested are:
:that such person is a known
prostitute, pimp, or sodomist,
repeatedly beckons to, stops or
attempts to stop, or engages
passers-by in conversation, or
repeatedly stops or attempts to
stop motor vehicle operators by
hailing, waving of arms or any
bodily gesture. No arrest shall be
made for . a violation of this
subsection if. it appears at trial
that the explanation given was
true and disclosed a lawful
purpose.
(e) For the purpose of subsection
(d), a “kftown prostitute, pimp or
sodomist” is a person who, within
one year previous to the date of
arrest for violation of this section,
has within the knowledge of the
arresting officer been convicted of
violating any ordinance of the
City of Atlanta or law of any state
defining and punishing acts of
soliciting, committing or offering
or agreeing to commit
prostitution or sodomy. (Ord. No.
1975,1,2-17-75).
fact that the show was part of a
series which includes such works
as Shakespearean drama.
ITEM: The Advocate article
on Atlanta. The scenery was nice,
but the story wasn’t. If we read
about what we know and find it at
least distorted, , why should we
believe anything else we read
there?
Such as these abound, and
they contribute to the fact that so
many of us find a safe little place
and retreat into it forever. Why
try to change things? We are
overwhelmed by it all and it’s
pointless to get all hassled over a
hopeless situation. Right?
V
v /
T
\
Atlanta’s Newest and most Intimate DISCO
DAHcmcmcmy
Entrance REAR 845 Peachtree St
I Daytooa Beach FI
Zodiac long#
(904) 7(7—4424