Newspaper Page Text
SO CENTS
the news monthly
for southern gays
HOLIDAY ISSUE
VoL2No.11
HOMOSEXUAL POLICE?
Atlanta Police CommIssloner A. Reginald Eaves
ATLANTA-Homosexuals will be
hired as police officers “and I have no
problem with .that” was Atlanta
Public Safety Commissioner A.
Reginald Eaves’ response to
questions of whether lie would object
to homosexuals being hired as police
officers. Eaves’ statement came at a
Sexual Privacy Project Panel
Discussion sponsored by the State Bar
of Georg ia.
The discussion centered arou nd
homosexuality. prostitution and
Georgia’s sodomy aide. Eaves
agreed that several Georgia laws were
in great need of revision, especially in
the area of sexual privacy.
He announced the quiet im
plementation of sensitivity training
for police officers. Atlanta Commutity
Relations Commissioner, Bill Smith,
in conjunction with Boston's
Homosexual Community Center
subriiittcd a police sensitivity training
pmgrani over a year ago. Com
missioner Smith told The Barb that
“The implementation of sensitivity
training is a significant step forward
for the Atlanta gay community."
The Atlanta Community Relations
Commission . called for an im
plementation of the sensitivity
program after two lengthy meetings
with gay. citizens and the police
department.
Eaves refused to backaway from his
position that there are “Victimless
crimes”. Citing the connection of
organized crime to prostitution as well
as drugs, robbery and assault related
to both homosexuality and
prostitution. Eaves stated that laws
against homosexuality and
prostitution must be enforced to
reduce the number of assaults and
robberies.
Haves restated that while these laws
must lie enforced, the emphasis in the
vice section is on gambling and lot
teries. Prostitution arrests number =
in 1975 and most of these, acairding
to Eaves were made after local hotel
and motel managers complained of
prostitution.
Atlanta attorney. Margie Homes,
charged that some 2 to 3 thousand
prostitutes were handled each year
under Atlanta’s idling and loitering
ordinance. Police entrap prostitutes
and arrest them and then reduce the
charges in exchange for cooperation
and guilty pleas.
Gay people are also harassed bv this
exchange. Arrested for solicitation
ti*r sodomy they arc convinced by
police officers to plead guilty in ex
change for a fine under Atlanta’s
idling and loitering ordinance and
contend with continued police
harassment.
Rev. Jim Snow stated that “the gay
community in Atlanta numbers at
least 100,000...our major problem is
to get police officers sensitive to'gay
people" as a first step toward ending
police harassment of gay people and
gay business establishments.
HOFHIENZ WINS
By Scott Tillinghost
HOUSTON—Mayor Fred Hofheinz
won his bid for reelection. pulling56.7
percent of the vote in the December
2nd run-off between himself and his
conservative opponent Frank Briscoe.
The total vote was: Hofheinz 137,456
and Frank Briscoe 104,650.
Mayor Hofheinz. carried all of the
precincts except one, precinct 200.
33, 34, and 123. Prcciirct 30 is almost
entirely Black: 33 has substantial
Black and Chicano populations in
addition io young people and Gays.
Precincts 34 and 123 have substantial
Gay populations and Hofheinz carried
34 by almost 73 percent. -
MATLOVICH FOUNDATION
IN THE WORKS
“It’s not just gay people but
straight people too Who are affected
by the sexu&l laws of this country."
Ex-A ir Force Sgt. Leonard Matlovich,
Atlanta, December5, 1975.
Individual rights is the medium and
gay rights the. central message of
Leonard Matlovich. Riding an un-
precendented wave of straight media
publicity, ex-Air Force Sgt. Leonard
Matlovich spoke to an Atlanta
audience of over 200 at the Atlanta
Cabana Motor Hotel on December
5tH.
In the gurgling and raspy voice
developed in over 12 years of military
service Matlovich charmed, cap
tivated and manipulated a rapt group
of listeners.
Matlovich’s transformation from
army brat, white racist to America’s'
most well-known homosexual has
been conceded in everything from
Time Magazine and the New York
Times to the Carboridale Illinois
Herald.
Matlovich’s precedent setting case
will be heard in Federal district court
in early January. Judge Gerhardt
Gesell has put the burden of proof on
the Air Force to justify its ban
against homosexuals.
In his Atlanta address Matlovich
expressed extreme confidence in his
case against the Air Force. He called
on Atlantans of all sexual preferences
to join the struggle for individual
rights and the right to privacy.
Matlovich’s speech has touches of
Frank Kameny and Bruce Voeller.
Kameny, long time gay activist, was
an early mentor of Matlovich’s and
guided him during the early stages of
his protracted struggle. Matlovich
had begun a tour on behalf of the
National Gay Task Force (NGTF)
under the direction of Bruce Voeller.
Plans for an NGTF tour have ap-
parently been dismantled in favor of a
separate Matbvich Foundation. The
foundation, acairding to Matlovich
aide A1 Sevier, is to be set up im
mediately. Local organizers will be
solicited in a short time prior to the
January court date and will continue
following the hearing.
The basic purpose of the foundation
according to Sevier will be to build a
national network of local
organizations to keep the Matlovich
case well publicized and to wrork for
right to privacy legislation.
Sevier note that “at this time there is
no national gay organization." When
“Sgt” Lenard Matlovich
questioned about the early Matlovich,
NGTF arrangement, Sevier charged
that NGTF had failed to follow
through with the Matlovich case and
had failed to provide, the necessary
funding. 'He stated that the New' York
based organization was limited in
scope and hoped that the Matlovich
Foundation could build a truly
national gay organization.
Matlovich reiterated his concern for
all sexual minorities, the physically
NATIONAL NOTES
LOS ANGELES-A decision by the
Immigration and Naturalization
Service to deport the Australian'male
spouse of a U. S. homosexual because
"a bonafide marital relationship
cannot exist between faggots” has
drawn sharp protests from gay
organizations. The agency then with
drew its original order containing the
word “faggots” and issued another
deportation order that only referred to
marriage between two males as not
being lawTul. “I am not prepared to
say whether there has been an insult
at this time”, said an official of the
service. “The word is in the dic
tionary."
PHILADELPHIA-Philadelphia
police have called in many persons
from the city’s gay aimmunity for
questioning in connection with the
death of millionaire newspaper heir
JohnS. Knight. Police, Relieving the
30-year-old heir knew his killers, said
that homosexuals were questioned
because of various items found in
Knight’s apartment. Officers said the
hems included nude photographs of
young men, tape recordings that
included accounts of sexual activities
in the apartment and diaries that
included accounts of various sexual
activities.
MOSCOW ID-The Moscow City
Council has amended the city’s
personnel code to ban discrimination ’
against gay municipal employees.
The new' ordinance makes this town of
15,000 the tenth American city to
approve gay rights guaranteed this
year.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.-It’s
traditional for this state’s governor to
crowm the homecoming queen at the
University of New Mexico but
Governor Gerry Apodaca, despite
having been extended an invitation,
bow'ed out at the last minute. The
homeaiming queen this year was T.
M. Duffey-Ingrassia, a woman wf i
has made no bones about her g y
affectional preference.
LOS ANGELES-A superior ce 1 t
judge arrested for lewd conduct • t,h
another man in a sex movie the ter.
has retired on a $29,000 a ./ear
pension. Judge Sherman W. Smith
and another man were arrested
August 1 on charges Of sex perv 'rsion
and w'ere allowed toj plead guilty to
trespassing charges. Smith applied
for a disability retireiinent submitting
medical reairds to show he suffers
from hypertension. ;
handicapped and the aged and his
desire that the Foundation be broad
based and inclusive of all those denied
their individual rights. He said that
what gay rights wifi always be the
main thrust of the Foundation. He is
concerned with the basic rights
among all people especially gay
people and the handicapped.
Sevier noted the tremendous news
that the inclusion of handicapped
persons rights had received in Car-
bondale, Illinois.
No official statement, however, has
been released by Matlovich, on the
Matlovich Foundation, on its actual
purpose and its programs. Sevier did
state that the Foundation would not
fund Matlovich’s legal expenses.
Such expenses are apparently being
carried by the American Civil
Liberties Union.
The Foundation has opened an office
in Chicago and hired im office
manager. Sevier, however, that the
Foundation would bejincorporated in
Ohio and probably open an office in
Columbus.
Donations are currently being
solicited for the Matlovich Foun
dation. Sevier told us!that donations
are not presently tax pxempt at this
WASHINGTON* D. C,-Three
starting quarterbacks in the National
Football League, none identified, are
homosexual or bisexual, the
Washington Star said Monday. The
Star said it conducted interviews with
more than sixty athletes, coaches,
sports pfficials and members of the
gay community and found that the
percentage of male gays in sports is
probably close to the estimated five
precent rate of homosexuality at large
and that the percentage of lesbians in
professional sports is close to twenty
percent. The paper also concluded
that only 10 percent of gays fit the
stereotype of effimin ate “queens”
while many of the remaining 90
percent are virile masculine looking
individuals who have interests in
sports.
PHiLADELPHIA-Gay rights activist
Mark S egal says he will begin a
hunger strike and sit-in in, a city
councilman’s office to try to force a
vote on a homosexual rights bill. The
legislation whiclj would guarantee
equal rights for gays in essential areas
has been bottled; up in the law and
government committee for a year and
the committee chairman has said he
will not release it during the current
session.
COPENHAGEN--Playwright Eugene
Ionesco angrily quit a panel here on
conditions irTth^Soviet Union when
one of the witne^sesIteftreetTtdTesfi^/-
about the persecutions of gays. The
/it ness said that he would not discuss
the problems of criminals. Ionesco
later referred to some of the witnesses
who were Soviet exiles as “intolerant
and ignorant of what freedom,
means.” .
WASHINGTON* D.C.-The Big
Brothers in theD.C. area has adopted
a policy requiring prospective big
brothers as well as staff members to
sign a sworn statement that they “are
not and never have been
.homosexuals.” The local Human
Rights' Commission is investigating
the situation.
NEW YORK-Leonard P. Matlovich
had been scheduled to appear on a
production of ABC-TV’s Saturday
night with Howard Cosell, but the
invitation was rescinded. A
spokesman for Matlovich said the
network officials cancelled because
the Cosell program aired during the
“family viewing hour”, but network
officials denied making the statement.
time. The Foundation itself will be
incorporated a!s a tax exempt foun
dation. Checks should be made
payable to Leonard Matlovich until
the- Foundation is officially in
corporated.
In summary, the Matlovich Foun
dation is considering a national fund
raising effort without incorporation,
organization, charter, statement of
purpose, tax exemption or national
office. Exactly how the donations will
be utilized is presently not known.
Matlovich’s speech received city
wide attention. All three major
networks gave him extensive
coverage. The straight media
followed the story. Matlovich’s
strong media attention has many
political benefits. His quick delivery
and spotless Air Force record makes
him an ideal media figure for the gay
rights movement.
Local activists in Atlanta while
pleased with the favorable publicity
are increasingly concerned over his
general lack of knowledge of what his
advisors are doing. The • Barb’s
editor, Bill Smith, along with other
local gay leaders, urged Matlovich to
give a great deal of thought to his
organizational set-up.
