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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?”