Newspaper Page Text
12 - THE BARR. Holiday Issue
Sodomy,,' Repeal .con
tinued from page 1
organized crime and
physical abuse of the
participants in vic
timless crime.”
The cost of en
forcement was stated in
terms of police ex
penditures and the costs
of the courts, of
probation and of im
prisonment. It was
shown that 14.7 per cent
of arrests in the city of
Atlanta from 1971 to
1975 were for victimless
crimes.
Other effects of
enforcing these laws
were said to be the
potential corruption of
law enforcement
personnel and the
public’s loss of respect
for the criminal.justice
system.
“As they lose
respect for the system,
the become less
cooperative in reporting
ana testifying about
crime in generally, and
the system becomes
less effective.
Moreover, the vic
timless offenders who
are caught up in the
system are exposed to
corrupting influences,
especially in prison.
They may leave the
criminal justice system
stigmatized as
criminals, with less
compunction about
commiting a future
crime.”
The first section of
the proposal was the
legalization of adultery,
fornication, and
sodomy. The sodomy
statute would be altered
to remove simple
sodomy between con
senting adults and
would retain the
existing penalties for
aggravated sodomy,
that is, involving force
and against the will of
another person.
In the audience at
City Hall were Margo
George of Atlanta
Lesbian Feminist
Alliance, Keren Gold of
Atlanta Women’s Union
and Gil Robison of Gay
£p t i v -All i an o e..,, T he,
sodomy proposal ’ • was *
first on the agenda and
Mayor Jackson, who
has been quite sup-
S ortive of gay issues in
re past, was late for
the meeting. Just
before the vote two
other CJCC members
who were also said to be
favorable to repealing
the sodomy laws were
called from the room,
leaving a large per
centage of law en
forcement officials and
county prosecutors.
The motion to ap
prove was made after
some nervous hesitancy
and seconded by Portia
LaSonde of the Multi-
Area Rape Crisis
Center.
“All those in favor
signify by saying ‘aye.‘
A chorus of “ayes”
responded.
f *All those opposed”
was met with silence.
It had carried
unanimously. Even City
Councilman Hugh
Pieree, who in the past
has been no friend of
the gay community and
who was later to vote
against the other
recommendations, had
voted for repeal of the
sodomy laws.
The Criminal Justice
Coordinating Council’s
recommendation must
be enacted into law by
the Georgia General
Assembly.
Although 18 states
have removed sodomy
from their lists of
criminal offences,
Arkansas is the only
state in the Deep South
to do so. Georgia’s
penality of 20 years
imprisonment is among
the harshest in the
country . In tact the omy
place in the Western
worldj that is, in
countries with a Judeo-
Christian tradition,
where the penalties are
more sever is the Soviet
Union.
The sodomy laws
effect more than the
rights of gay people.
According to recent
.surveys, two thirds to
three Fourths of the
heterosexual population
engages in sodomy. If
the laws were strictly
put into force, over 80
per cent of the citizens
of Georgia could be'
imprisoned.
Of cource the law
isn’t enforced so widely,
but is enforced, ana
often at the whim of the
individual police of
ficer, who usually has
several applicable laws
from which to chose.
' It is frequently used
as a* lever in plea
bargaining. A person is
arrested for sodomy
and a lesser offense. If
he agrees to plead
guilty to the lesser
charge t the sodomy
offence is dismissed.
It is sometimes used
discriminately, as in
the case of a successful
criminal lawyer in a
middle Georgia city. He
was too successful for
the local law en
forcement officials,
espically in defending
drug cases. He was
arrested for sodomy
and possession of
marijuana, but was told
that if he left town the
charges would be
dropped. He agreed,
and no longer practises
law. He now works in
his family’s business in
a north Georgia town.
+ (What you can do) 4-
+ +
A bill to repeal the
sodomy laws will be
introduced at the next
session of General
Assembly. Although it
has, according to in
formed sources, a good
chance of succeeding,
its passage is by no
means assured.
The members of the
General Assembly are
elected by you, the
Georgia public, and are
there to serve you They
represent all of their
constituents and will
listen to what they have
to say. They are usually
especially eager to hear
the public’s feeling on
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potentially.,,. con -
troversial issues.
Many of the
legislators privately
agree that sodomy
should be legalized, but
are relucant to commit
themselves without
community support.
Those who now oppose
repeal will reconsider
their position if con
fronted with another
opinion from those who
. will be voting for them
in the next election.
Let your state
senator and
representative know
how you feel. If you
don’t know who they
are, you can find out by
contacting the
Secretary of State’s
office at the Capitol
Building (phone
number -(404) 656-2881).
The gay people of
Georgia have been
oppresed for far too
long bv these an-
tiguoiea and inhumane ,
laws
NGTF continued from
page 1
A sense of optimism
marked the recent
metting of the NGTF
board of directors held
October 23-24 in New
York. The 30-member
board recently elected
from various regions of
the country, discussed
numerous models for
regionalizing NGTF’s
activities, then voted to
futher explore ways to
expand NGTF, in
cluding the possible
establishments of
regional outposts
outside the New York
area. Currently,
NGTF’s clearing house
activities are carried
out at its national
headquarters in New
York City. A detailed
proposal for a pilot
project involving
regional expansion
aimed at one or more
G eographic areas will
e presented by NGTF
co-executive directors
Jean O’Leary and
Bruce Voeller for the
board’s consideration at
its next meeting in
February., ,
“In order for NGTF
to become truly
national in function as
well as character, we
need to explore ways to
broaden our base of
contact with local in
stitutions, agencies and
individuals,” com
mented Betty Powell,
board co-chairperson.
“Perhaps the
achievement of this
goal lies in some kind of
regional structure. Our
discussion at our next
meeting will determine
how we proceed.”
The board meeting
was highlighted by a
report from Robert
Herrick, NGTF finance
director, and the newly-
formed finance com
mittee, composed of
NGTF members who
have offered their in
valuable expertise on
matters of fund-raising
and money
management. They
presented a new budget
which the board ap
proved for NGTF*s
fourth year of
operation. This marks
the first time the
organization has had a
detailed operating
budget including a
projected cash flow of
income and ex
penditure. Also in
cluded in the finance
report was the good
news that revenue from
the third fiscal year
ending October
amounted to an 80 per
cent increase over the
preceding year--an
mpressive ac
complishment con
sidering the nation’s
slow economy.
The finance com-
mittie emphasized the
importance of two
projects being un
dertaken to increase
revenue and mem
bership. One is an
extensive direct mail
campaign in which a
special effort will be
made to persuade
women to join the Task
Force. A consultant
hired to coordinate the
project has already
begun ,'; to. , ■ survey;!
existing direct mail
lists. The other im
mediately productive
source of revenue is a
campaign to identify
and appeal to major
donors.
Other important
actions taken by the
boara were the ap
proval of a new
statement of purpose
and revision of NGTF’s
goals and objectives.
The new statement of
purpose, adopted after
lenghty discussion,
reads
“The purpose of the
National Gay Task
Force is to make it
possible for all people to
recognize and exercise
their human options,
free from societally-
imposed limitations
based on affectional
and sexual perference
and orientation or
gender role.”
The revised goals
and objectives commit
the Task Force to
promoting gay rights
legislation, changing
societal attitudes
(through the media, for
example), serving as a
clearinghouse for the
gay movement, in
creasing lesbian
visibility and helping
gays to organize.
Gary Van Ooteghem,
NGTF's board co
chairperson from
Houston, said that he
was “very impressed”
with the way the new
national board is
working toghther. “The
board is now actively
involved in the
leadership of the
organization. These
individuals represent a
richness of talent and
resources that is
provideng inspitation
For NGTF’s efforts to
build a national
movement.”
The week e n d
gathering of the board
was preceded by a
meeting of the woman’s
caucus on Friday night,
Continued on page 11
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