Air Force launches
gay investigation
The G.S. A ir Force has launched a m ajor
investigation o f enlisted m en in the W ashing
ton, D.C. area. At least 45 m en w orking at the
Pentagon, Andrews A ir Force Base, Bolling
A ir Force Base and other bases were ques
tio ned about hom osexuality in early
Novem ber.
The Gay Rights N ational Lobby (GRNL)
has received reports that som e o f the men
had been encouraged to identify other gay
m en and lesbians in order to receive better
treatm ent.
O ne m an reported that his room was
“ Use S.F. gays in
m edical experients,"
says County official.
The chairm an o f the county Board o f
Supervisors and the to p elected official of
M aricopa County, Arizona recently stated that
“ hom osexuals and lesbians fro m San
F rancisco” be used in experim ents instead of
anim als fro m the pound.
Hawley Atkinson said he w ill not resign
despite the fu ro r created b> his “ facetous”
rem ark
searched w ithout a search w arrant and some
item s confiscated by A ir Force agents.
“ T his investigation and the apparent viola
tio n o f constitutional rights is an outrage,”
said GRNL spokesm an Mike Walsh. “ The in
vestigation is based on archaic stereotypes o f
gay and lesbian Am ericans."
The GRNL is encouraging m em bers o f •
C ongress to question A ir Force officials
about the nature o f the investigation and to
determ ine whether the rights o f the enlisted
m en have been violated.
“Again we see a clearly dem onstrated need
fo r C ongress to rem ove the regulation that
hom osexuality is incom patible w ith m ilitary
service,” stated Jerry Weller, GRNL Deputy
D irector.
"I have absolutely no intention o f stepping
dow n. In fa c t I w ill run again in 1984,” A t
kinson said.
A tkinson made the rem ark during an in
terview w ith a Phoenix reporter outside the
B oard o f Supervisors offices. A nother super
visor heard the interview and confirm ed the
quote.
The Arizona Gay-Lesbian Task Force
threatened to mobilize the county's estimated
150,000 gay and lesbian voters to spur a
recall election if A tkinson did not resign.
“ The last person to advocate m edical ex
perim ents on hom osexuals was A dolf Hitler.
There are m any people w ho do not like this
kind o f talk in Am erican society,” said Harry
B ritt, gay San Francisco supervisor.
Ad response costs
teacher job
A Houston, Texas gay teacher was fired
fro m his jo b recently follow ing the theft o f a
w ritten reponse to an advertisem ent in the
Advocate. The letter, in a sealed envelope,
was stolen from the briefcase o f sixth grade
teacher Jam es Frein, exam ined by an unde
term ined num ber o f students, and eventually
ended up in the hands o f school district
adm inistrators.
Frein resigned, under duress he says, on
the day the letter was stolen. Frein, in an
interview with C hristine G uilfoy o f Boston’s
Gay C om m unity News, said the letter was an
attem p t to "m eet with other Texas men. It
said I w asn't into drugs and that I did have a
lover. The letter brought out that I was gay.”
In addition, the letter contained a picture of
Frein, partially clothed.
An attorney fo r the school district said that
the letter was "a solicitation o f sexual rela
tio n s fro m other readers o f the publication."
In a confrontation with three adm inistrators
F rein adm itted the letter was his. The officials
then to ld Frein, “We just can’t have people
like you in this d is tric t You’re going to cause
a scandal. We have to avoid a scandal at all
costs. We want you to resign.” Frein asked the
adm inistrators what would happen if he did
no t resign. They said, according to Frein,
"R esign or we ll fire you.”
Frein resigned and left the school building
bu t later the same day called his union rep
resentative w ho advised him to rescind the
resignation, w hich he did w ithin 24 hours.
The school d istrict refused to accept the
recission, insisting that Frein was no longer
em ployed by the d is tric t
F rein’s attorney is pursuing the m atter in
c o u rt on the contention th a t since the school
d is tric t did not accept the resignation until
tw o weeks after the incident the resignation
co u ld have been rescinded when Frein re
quested it F rein’s attorney said, “ If we get the
resignation rescinded we’ll be facing dis
charge. W e’re trying to pin them : w hat is the
discharge for?”
S chool d istrict officials were asked if the
action taken w ould have been any different
had Frein been s tra ig h t “ No. If a straight
w om an teacher had been cau ght w ith the
sam e type o f correspondence, her picture
addressed to Playboy, o r whatever, we would
have to take the same action.”
F rein disagrees, saying th a t sexual prefer
ence is an issue, as well as the fact th a t the
letter was stolen fro m his briefcase. “ I want
people to know th a t w ith som ething obtained
illegally you should not have the rig h t to take
away som eone’s livelihood.”
No federal charges against White
Ju st one week before the fifth anniversary
o f the assassinations o f George Moscone
and Harvey M ilk, the CIS. Justice Departm ent
announced that it w ill not charge Dan W hite
w ith a federal violation o f his victim s’ civil
rights.
Stephen S. Trot, an assistant G.S. attorney,
was quoted as saying that the evidence to
sup port federal charges against W hite is
“ m anifestly insufficient” Evidence that the
killin g were politically m otivated was either
ignored o r discounted by the G.S. Justice
D ep a rtm e n t
S upport fo r the federal charges against
W hite had com e fro m the San Francisco gay
com m unity, as well as C alifornia politicans
Gov. G eorge D eukm ejian. M ayor Diane Fein-
stein, and Reps. Barbara B oxer and Sala
B urton. Rep. B urton issued a statem ent
w hich read, in part, “ I jo in the people o f San
Francisco in deploring the fact th a t the m ur
der o f tw o beloved pu blic o fficials w ill go so
lig h tly punished, w ith a sentence w hich in no
way fits the nature o f the crim es com m itted."
Dan W hite is scheduled to be released
fro m Soledad prison on January 6, having
served tw o thirds o f a seven year, e ight m onth
sentence fo r voluntary m anslaughter.
GCN Boston
A Woman Controlled, W oman’s C hoice Clinic
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Just Out December 23; January 6
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