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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1985)
Suprem e Court has never addressed the subject. He noted that the court usually sets strict standards to protect members of m inority groups from unjust dismissals, and indicated the Rowland case offered an oppor tunity to extend fair protections to gay persons — an opportunity the court majority failed to seize. Reprinted from Bay Windows Bisexual refused appeal The GS Supreme Court last week refused to hear the appeal of an O hio high school guidance counselor who was dismissed from her jo b because she is bisexual, letting stand a lower court ruling that the counselor’s con stitutional rights were not violated. B ut Justice W illiam Brennan, joined by Justice Thurgood Marshall, dissented from the C ourt's decision, arguing that the justices should have used the case to decide for the first tim e whether a public employee could be fired solely on the basis of his or her sexual orientation. The counselor, Marjorie Rowland, was dis missed after school officials learned she had told several colleagues she is bisexual. A fed eral District Court ruled her civil rights were violated by the dismissal, but the GS Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit reversed that find ing last year. The Supreme Court’s decision to not accept the case allows the adverse ruling o f the Circuit Court of Appeals to stand. Brennan’s statement argued that there is no precedent on which lower courts might base their rulings in gay rights cases, as the Activists join GRNL Board Two gay activists, Deborah Johnson of Los Angeles and Gil Gerald of Washington, DC, have joined the Board of Directors of the Gay Rights National Lobby. The two will begin their work with the Lobby this month. Deborah Johnson currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Gay/Lesbian C om m unity Service Center in Los Angeles, as well as on the Board of Project Justice, a gay/ lesbian coalition working for justice for m inority gays/lesbians. In June 1984, Ms. Johnson and her lover, Zandra Rolon, won a discrim ination suit against Papa Choux, a Los Angeles restaurant. Gil Gerald. Executive Director of the Na- WE HAVE CHOICES! tional Coalition of Black Gays, served as whip for Jesse Jackson’s District of Columbia de legation at the 1984 Democratic Convention in San Francisco. Mr. Gerald, an architect, is also a form er board member of the Human Rights Campaign Fund and form er president of the DC Coalition of Black Gay Men and Women. Case reopened A federal appeals court has reopened the case of Diane Matthews, setting aside a fed eral magistrate's decision that reinstated Matthews, a lesbian, in the Gniversity of Maine's ROTC program. Matthews was bar red from the ROTC program in 1981 after she told a superior officer she is a lesbian. The Matthews case is currently under study because Matthews recently acknowledged she has engaged in homosexual activity "num erous times.” The 1984 ruling which reinstated the woman in the ROTC program was based on the finding that, while Matthews is an open lesbian, it could not be proved that she actually engaged in lesbian activity. Sev eral court decisions have established a pre cedent that homosexual activity, as opposed to a stated sexual preference, is grounds for dismissal from military service. Matthews will be allowed to remain in the ROTC program until a federal magistrate can For information concerning investments and IRA's Whole Foods Organic Meat & Poultry Supplements & Vitamins Fruit & Vegetable Juices Natural Treats Herbal Teas Joanne Kraft 249-3894 determ ine whether Matthews’ acknowledge m ent of lesbian activity should lead to her banishm ent from the service. Reprinted from Bay W indows Join the march for peace if ever there was a tim e for people to unite to defend their rights, this is it As Ronald Reagan and his adm inistration enter a sec ond term we see continued increases in the war budget, a build-up of the nuclear arsenal, and further support to repressive regimes in countries like South Africa. As the policies of the G.S. governm ent be com e increasingly inhum ane and militaristic, a grow ing num ber of people realize the need to oppose these policies in broad, united actions. For the past year, a coalition of over 80 organizations has planned for such an action. This coalition, representing the interests of labor, Blacks, Latins, youth, women, the Na tive American community, and senior citizens has called for five days o f activities beginning April 15th through April 22nd. This coalition has united around the demands of: • Stop G.S. military intervention in Central America • Create jobs: cut the military budget • Freeze and reverse the arms race • Oppose G.S. governm ent and corporate support for South African apartheid and overcom e racism at home. In Portland, a coalition has form ed to help build the Northwest contingent of this national m ovem ent for peace, jobs, and justice. The coalition is working to organize people in Portland to attend a dem onstration in Seattle on Saturday, April 20th. They invite all interested individuals and organizations to join in their efforts. Ten years ago, this April, the war in Vietnam ended. Recall that war and what it to o k to end it. Protests can make the differ ence. When we unite with the struggling people of the world, we have the strength to change society. Call for more inform ation, 231-0902. Weekly Specials! Open to A JI- Food Front COOPERATIVE GROCERY Open 7 days. 9 a m to 0 p m 2675 NW Thurm an 222-5658 TRI-MET BUS 53 Whole roods. Real Groceries, natural Treats. fresh Produce 4 AS OF MARCH 1ST, NO SMOKING IN OUR DINING ROOM Old Wives’ Tales Restaurant 1300 East Burnside 238-0470 Tuesday & Wednesday Buffet Lunch $3.95/Dinner $4.95 //£/■' w r *«r y THL PLACe WITH Tie KtP's PLA/ttM* f Just O ut, April 1985