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In San Francisco
Fire Chief Wants Gays
San Francisco fire
department chief Andy
Caspe>- has gone on
record favoring the
inclusion of gay
firefighters in his
department. Chief
Casper also stated he
would put an end to any
harrassment of gay
firefighters by their co
workers if it came to
his attention. The chief
said he could forsee no
great problems in gay
firefighters co-residing
with non- gays.
Referring to his
remarks as “the official
policy” of his depart
ment. Chief Casper
stated,'*I want the fire
department to reflect
the community. That’s
the entire community of
San Francisco; all the
minorities, women, and
gays.”
The community
relations concept is also
cited by San Francisco
Police Chief Charles
Gain. Both the Police
dept, and the fire dept,
place emphasis on
public education
programs which bring
New York City
Bor Fire Kills 9
Nine men were
killed and ten were
injured In early mor
ning fire that destroyed
the Everhard Baths in
Manhattan. The
fire, which was
discovered shortly
before 7 a.m. on May
25. started when a
mattress fire, thought to
have been extinguished
earlier, reignited.
Because many
patrons signed in under
false names, iden
tification of the
deceased proved to be
difficult. Irving Fein,
owner of the building,
estimated that there
had been 80 to 100 men
in the bathhouse when
the fire broke out.
‘‘Tuesday night was
always a good night in
this place.”
Raymond Walsh, 20,
said, he was awakened
by the heat and saw an
orange glow under his
door. “I opened the
door and saw the room
across the hall all in
flames. I started to
panic and ran into the
orgy i oom and yelled to
everybody to wake up.”
Michael James, 29,
added, "All you could
hear was people
hollering,‘This way
down , this way out’.
Fire Commissioner
John T. Hagan said that
the buildings had been
ordered to install a
sprinkler system but
had not completed the
job. “In all
probability,” he said, “a
sprinkler system would
have helped.”
police and firemen into
day-to-day contact with
the neighborhoods they
serve. The Chief said
he would not allow
“teamwork to be af
fected by someone else
because of their beliefs
o'- preferances,’’adding
“It doesn’t make any
differance to us whether
a firefighter is straight
of gay.”
When asked about
possible objections by
straights to sleeping in
the same quarters as
gays, Casper stated he
searved with “Many”
gay men in the Marines
in W’.W.II and“There
weren’t that many
problems. I’d like to
look at it the same way
here.” He added that it
would be wrong to
assume that it is always
gays making advances
to straights when it
could just as well be the
other way around. “As
long as there’s no in
terference on either side
with the other person’s
dignity it’s no
problem.”
Considering women
becoming firefighters,
Chief Casper said he
saw a “biological
problem” not present
when talking about two
males.
the news monthly
for southern
JUNE 1377
VOL. 4 NO. 5
Leonard Matlovich
Anita Bryant
Jack Campbell
Miami Voters Repeal Gay Rights
Miami - An exceptionally
large turnout of voters
in Dade County Fla.
repealed the county’s
five month old or
dinance banning the
discrimination of gays.
By a count of 202,319 to
89.562 the area, con
sidered one of the most
liberal in the country,
repealed the January
Commission action
banning discrimination
based on “affectional or
sexual preferance.”
Dade county
spokesman have called
for renewed support and
unity in the gay com
munity in the wake of
the vote. “Don’t let
anyone put you down,”
said former Air Force
Sgt. Leonard Matlovich
at an election night
gathering, “when you
walk out of here tonight
you go out of here with
your heads high and
your shoulders back and
you be proud that your
k ay.”
Jack Campell in
dicated that the Dade
County Coalition will be
investigating the
possibilities of going
through federal court to
• everse the decision. He
stressed the benefits
that have come as a
• esult of the campaign.
“We have unified the
gay community and
brought national at
tention to the issue."
Anita Bryant, who
led the ordinance repeal
fifth t because she felt it
would allow
homosexuals to “flaunt
their sexuat lifestyles to
our children”, was
ecstatic when she heard
the election results. A
Save Our Children Inc.
spokesperson said,
“Anita danced a jig.”
University Gays Face Texas Ban
Howard Weils, Sgt. B.L. Neikirt
Atlanta Vice Denies Entrapment
‘I don’t tolerate
entrapment or en
ticement and constantly
remind my men of
this,” said Vice Squad
Lt. B.L. Neikirt in his
first open meeting with
the gay community.
“But if I give you the
opportunity to commit a
crime I haven’t en
trapped you. The crime
is already in your
mind...I didn’t put it
there.”
Speaking before a
forum of the Christian
Council for the
Advancement of Gay
People, Neikirt insisted
that the Vice officers
will not suggest a
criminal act to an in
dividual. “But if
someone walks up and
says.‘What do you like 4
we might say ‘Anything’
and see what happens.”
Police are paying a
lot of attention to the
bookstores and peep-
shows as well as
Cypress Street right
now he explained
because of public
pressure. But the
general attitude toward
gays is changing.
“There are some
people in the police
force who wouldn’t give
you the time of day if
they knew you were
homosexual. This sort of
thing has to change but
it takes time.”
A sixteen year police
veteran Neikirt fielded
questions from thoese
who attended the
monthly forum at the
MCC Atlanta. He said
that he had no evidence
of organized crime in
the city’s gay
businesses and
suggested that while he
knew of no gay officers
on the force he didn’t
think that nomosex-
uality would cause an
officer to be fired.
Austin, TX. - A bill
introduced into the
Texas legislature would
ban homosexual
organizations at state
supported universities.
Introduced by Rep. Clay
Smothers of Dallas, the
bill is in part a
response to a dispute at
Texas A&M University
over whether or not to
grant recognition to a
campus gay group.
Texas A&M officials
refused to recognize the
group, and the Gay stu -
dent Services Organiza
tion has filed a lawsuit.
At a nearing recently
with the House Com
mittee on State Affairs,
Sm others
said, “Somebody has to
introduce this
legislation. If
homosexuality is not
inmoral- and I beheve it
is- then it certainly is
abnormal.”
Members of the
Texas A&M Corps clad
in military uniforms
testified against the bill.
A gay attorney and an
openly gay English
teacher at the
University of Texas at
Austin also testified
against the bill. Over
150 lesbians and gay
men were in the
audience.
The Texas bill is one
of many recent actions
in a continuing
nationwide anti-gay
backlash.
Both Arkansas and
Idaho re-instated
sodomy laws after
repeal caused in
dignation among some,
citizens. The Arkansas
la w specifically
describes gay sex acts
out fails to mention acts
between men and
women heretofore in
cluded as sodomy.
Sodomy repeal was
defeated in Oklahoma
and died in committee
in Kansas.
Hawaii and Con-
neticut defeated gay
rights bills and Penn
sylvania has pending a
proposal to ban
Homosexuals from
holding certain state
jobs.
Sodomy reform that
would single out gays is
under consideration in
Arizona and Missouri.
The Supreme Court
recently declined to
review a lower court
decision supporting a
Miss. State University
student newspaper’s
refusal to print an
advertisement by the
Mississippi Gay
Alliance.
GayReprmatativa RejectsWashiagtoa Post
Boston- Represen
tative Elaine Noble*, the
first openly gay person
elected as a state rep.
has declined three
positions to serve in a
high Washington post.
The three jobs were
within ACTION.
Noble said she felt
that Washington and the
mentally there were
“not her style.” She
feels she is more ef
fective in the com
munity she serves and
likes it there. Con
cerning the high salary,
Noble said “A sign of
success for me is not
making $48,000 anti
working for a top
agency. I think that’s
the wrong approach to
things. What would I do
with the money? Buy
another ten speed
bike?”