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-
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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,
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4
AS OF MARCH 1ST, NO SMOKING
IN OUR DINING ROOM
Old Wives’ Tales Restaurant
1300 East Burnside
238-0470
Tuesday & Wednesday
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f
Just O ut, April 1985