Newspaper Page Text
New Gay Rights
Bill Introduced
by Jean O’Leary and
Adam DeBaugh
Rep. Ed Koeh has
introduced the national
gay civil rights bill, The
New York City
Democrat introduced
the bill, identical to the
A DAY WITH SUNSHINE
continued from page 5.
the charter bus
delegations that jam
med the meeting
chambers.
Referring to former
president Harry
Truman’s comment
about public officials-
“If you can’t stand the
heat, get out of the
kitchen” -he
said,“Homosexuals are
perfectly free to go into
their closets, in their
bedrooms, in their
privacy and take care of
themselves there.”
LETTERS continued from
page 6.
march in Klan parades
or have affiliation with
syndicated types.
Having her advertise
a product is reason
enough for me not to use
it.
Reader
Ed’s Note:
The following letter is a copy of a
letter written by Dr. Stuart Stringer to
Channel S’s Barbara Nivens
Dear Barbara,
This letter is a very
difficult one for me to
write because I like you
and because it is always
difficult to say
something critical:
particularly when the
person is asking that I
say something nice.
However, after thinking
more about your
request that I write a
letter supporting your
documentary’s positive
impact on the gay
community, I find that I
just cannot bring myself
to do it! It would be a
betrayal to a com
munity that has seen
more than its share of
betrayal.
I personally saw only
two segments of the
five-part series: the one
on which I was in
terviewed (naturally)
and the one on which
you interviewed the
transexual. Though I
missed the remaining
three, I have yet to find
a gay person who was
not offended by every
segment of the series.
Comments ranged
from, “It was a study of
hands! All they showed
were people fidgeting
with their hands, and of
course, people are going
to about <■
be ihgWn%^4 i: lC--ma8e 8
one Rep. Bella Abzug
had introduced in the
last Congress, on the
first day of the 95th
Congress, January 4,
1977.
The bill, H.R. 415,
would amend the Civil
Rights Act of 1964 by
The proponents, led
by Bob Kunst of the
Dade and Broward
County Coalitions, -
restrained themselves,
stating their case
simply and calmly,
drawing their own
support from religious,
political, medical
and civic leaders.
Popular MIAMI
HERALD columnist
Charles Whited
described the scene, a
determined, solemn
faced crowd punctuated
by picket signs that
read, “God says NO :
gay people look anxiety-
ridden.” To comments
like, “Same old
stereotypes.”
I might add that folks
were generally un
nerved by your com
ment following my
appearance. To
paraphase your
remark, “Well, Dr.
Strenger may think that
being gay is healthy, but
there are a lot of sober
(sic) citizens who think
otherwise.” To better
understand a gay
person’s reaction,
imagine a documentary
on Atlanta’s black
community, where a
black mental health
professional is in
terviewed and the
newscaster sums the
segment with, “Well,
Dr. Smith may think
that being black is as
inherently worthwhile
as being white, but there
are a lot of sober
citizens who think
otherwise.” It is true
that there are citizens
who think that gays are
sick, or blacks are
nasty, or Jews are
money-grubbers; but a
television newscaster
ought not give
prejudicial and ignorant
people that kind of
legitimacy. And you
don’t, except when it
comes to gays. Damnrt!
My rights and dignities
as a human being are
non-negotiable, non-
controversial, and not a
subject open for debate
like whether we should
r emai n i n th e U. N.
There is absolutely no
scientific basis for the
proposition that gays
are unhealthy and to
present it as otherwise
does an enormous
disservice to a lot of
innocent people.
I . have already
^quostioned? v^wlthj wouf.
adding the words
“affectional or sexual
preference” to each list
of human conditions for
which people can not be
discriminated against.
The bill goes to the
Subcommittee on Civil
and Constitutional
Rights of the House of
Representatives
Judiciary Committee.
Rep. Koch had gotten
nine other Members of
Congress to sign with
him as prime Sponsers
Who Are You To
Say Different?”
“At such times, the
heat is on elected of
ficials,” Whited pointed
out. “There is strong
temptation to take the
safe ground,vote with
the crowd. Under such
stress,commissions
have buckled before.”
He noted that, on
first reading in early
December, the com
missioners had voted 9-0
for the ordinance.
Continued on page 16.
terviewing a transexual
in a documentary about
homosexuality.
Transexualism has no
more to do with
homosexuality than it
does with
heterosexuality: but it
is titillating, and it does
serve to reinforce the
widely-held view that
homosexuals have
confused gender in-
dentities and play
confused gender roles.
Again, I feel very badly
about having to write
this letter to you. (I also
felt badly for Ron
Taylor, the Atlanta
Journal writer who did
the series on the gay
community in Atlanta in
1976. Like you, he meant
well, and was hurt and
shocked by the outrage
his series engendered.)
If TV5 really has any
interest in serving the
approximately 200,000
gay people in its area,
then let them hire
openly gay and lesbian
TV broadcasters or do
features on bright,
interesting, and ar
ticulate members of the
gay community or do a
documentary on the
disease many
heterosexuals are af
flicted with--
homophobia-using gay
consultants, writers,
editors, and directors.
But for God’s sake, let’s
have a moratorium on
features on “Atlanta’s
Gay Community” put
together by well-
motivated but ill-
informed heterosexuals.
Stuart Strenger, Ph.D.
* -
tribe
to
arb !
WMl
of this bill when it was
introduced, and four
others have asked to be
on the bill already. They
are Reps. Jonathan"
Bingham, New York;
John Burton, Califor
nia; Ron Dellums,
California; Don Fraser,
Minnesota; Michael
Harrington,
Massachusetts;
Theodore Weiss, New
York; Parren Mitchell,
Maryland; Frederich
Richmond, New York;
Charles Rangel, New
York; and Stephen J.
Solarz, New York.
Koch sent a letter to
all Members of
Congress the last week
of January, explaning
what the bill does and
inviting additional co
sponsors. He plans to
introduce the bill again
with more co-sponsors
in Mid-February.
On the Senate side, a
bill is being prepared
through the office of
Senator Alan Cranston
(R-CA) the new
majority whip, who is
expected to be lead
sponsor for the
legislation. The Senate
bill differs from the
House bill, which is
basically an amend
ment to the 1964-68 Civil
Rights Act. The House
bill, if passed, would
guarantee the same
freedoms to gay people
as to women and blacks.
The Senate bill, on the
other hand, deals only
with employment, and
the enforcement
procedures would be
carried out by the
Department of Justice
rather than by the
Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission.
The more limited
Employment bill is
expected to have a
greater chance of
passage than the
comprehensive
amendment to the Civil
Rights Acts. It is
believed that piece
meal legislation
(seperate bills for
employment, housing,
public ac
commodations, etc.)
will be more successful,
because it does not open
up the whole question of
affirmative action for
gay people, nor will its
enforcement depend on
remedies from the
already overloaded
(and often ineffective)
EEOC.
It is generally
acknowledged that
affirmative action for
lesbians and gay men
would be next to im-
March 1977, THE BARB-15
possible to achieve, and
a goal that is not really
desirable for the gay
community. Affir
mative action raised a
series of questions:
What constitutes a g$y
person? Do bisexuals fit
into this category? How
long must a person hajfe
to be gay? Would em
ployers have to prove
somehow that 10 per
cent of their employees
are gay? (If so,
prospective employees
might have to answer
questions about their
sexual preference-an
encroachment on the
privacy of those who
beleive their sexual
orientation is no one’s
business.)
Senator Cranston
and others believed that
it was most important to
deal with fair em
ployment of gay people
as a priority. This is the
area where people are
most vulnerable and apt
to be discriminated
against most often.
We ask that you
write to your senators
and representatives
encouraging them to
support this legislation.
A copy of the bill will
soon be available from
NGTF.
COME TOC)ETHER
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