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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 1, 1985)
Back in 1963, Rustin was denounced on the floor of the CIS Senate for his hom osexu ality and earlier com m unist affiliation by Senator Strom Th u rm o n d , just prior to the M arch on W ashington, which the openly-gay Rustin helped organize despite the reserva tions of som e black civil rights leaders. Rustin says that m any groups cam e to his defense at that time because of the coalitions he had built with them. Valerie Terrigno, the openly lesbian m ayor of the City of West Hollywood, and Steve Schulte, one of that city’s openly-gay coun- cilm en, thanked B W M T for input in writing their new ordinance which restricts busines ses from dem anding m ore than one piece of photo ID for admission. So-called "multiple carding” has been a racially discriminatory policy docum ented by m any B W M T chapters. Atlanta has a similar ordinance in effect drafted by that city’s B W M T chapter. Th e N A B W M T Health Com m ittee has pro duced an A ID S brochure targeted at minorities. Health Com m ittee chairm an Jo n Peterson, of Berkeley, reported that third- w orld m en represent over thirty percent of m ale A ID S cases nationwide, and third-world wom en constitute over seventy percent of the national cases am ong women. A n exciting "leadership conference” is bringing m em bers to grips with the fact that white m em bers and black m em bers bring different styles to interracial gatherings. "N o black m eeting would be conducted in the form al and restrained m anner in which these business meetings were conducted,” co m m ented Jim Ivory of San Francisco. "Blacks rely m ore on dynam ic leaders,” he said. How ever, the general sessions often resembled black church meetings, with whites picking up the spirit along with the blacks. "A terrific high results from a gathering of 2 0 0 black and white m en who know that the very fact of their m eeting is unique — and w ho know that the causes they prom ote are just," com m ented Steve Dorrel, of Los Angeles, chairm an of the convention com m ittee. Fired gay wins settlement j A gay m an in rural Maryland has reached an out of court settlement in an em ploym ent discrim ination case. Frank Rockford had claim ed that Carolina Freight Carriers fired him solely because he is gay. Rockford was represented by Susan Silber and National G ay Rights Advocates, the San Francisco based public interest law firm. Th e case is the first claim of sexual orientation discrim ina tion to be prosecuted under the Howard C ounty H um an Rights law. Leonard Graff, N G R A Legal Director, said: "W e had a very strong case against Carolina. It was in their best interest to settle. And, while this settlement doesn’t set a new legal prece dent, it does send a dear message to em ployers: If you discriminate you’re going to be held accountable.” Jean O ’Leary, N G R A Executive Director, com m ented: "Th is case is a good example of the im portance of local anti-discrimination laws and how we can successfully enforce o u r rights. I want to encourage gay men and w om en to file com plaints when they have been discrim inated against” Susan Silber, N G R A’s co-operating attor ney in Maryland, said: ‘W hen the Office of H um an Rights investigated the claim , they found probable cause to believe that Frank was fired because he is gay. Th is type of discrim ination m ust end. People should not have to experience the psychological trauma of being fired for an irrational reason." Rockford was with the Carolina Freight Carriers for eight years and held a managerial position when he was let go during a depart - Just O ut. September, 1985 m ental "Reorganization.” N G R A had contended this was a mere subterfuge for discrim ination. Rockford considers the settlement to be a satisfactory compensation for his claim. Scondras warns Democrats: "Reject us and w e ll w alk" O penly G ay Boston City Councillor David Scondras, testifying before the Democratic National Com m ittee’s first Fairness C o m m ission Hearing in Boston last m onth, warned Dem ocratic Party leaders that to ig nore justice for gay and lesbian people is to ensure defeat at the polls. “Justice is not a peripheral issue,” Scondras said, “It is the soul of our party. Justice is not political baggage; it is the best way to achieve real power and the only way to keep it” Scondras drew enthusiastic response from the audience when he asked all gay and les bian people in the hearing room to stand. N oting the dozens of gay people in the audi ence contrasted with the complete lack of gay and lesbian respresentabon on the "Fairness Com m ission,” Scondras said, “ Here’s the problem . W hy aren't gay people included?" Scondras went on to cite rejections by the national and state parties of gay and lesbian caucuses and outreach efforts, the governor of Massachusetts' ban on lesbian and gay foster parents, and the party's virtual silence o n A ID S funding and policy as obstacles to full participation by gay and lesbian people in party politics. W ild applause and cheering briefly halted the hearing when Scondras told the C o m m ission, “As gay people, we are sick and tired of ‘leaders' who want our tim e, our money, o u r creativity, our com m itm ent, our work, and our votes, but reject us." 'W h e n Dem ocrats act like Republicans they force the groups they have abused and ignored to seek other independent channels to seek basic justice,” Scondras noted, refer ring to growing gay and lesbian opposition to Massachusetts G overnor Michael Dukakis. Scondras is currently seeking re-election to his second term on the Boston City Council. Surveys show anti-gay/lesbian violence In a recent com parison of seven inde pendent anti-gay/lesbian violence surveys, N G T F Violence Project Coordinator Kevin Berrill found that the results of the surveys had a high degree of correlation with one another. Th e similarity of results between the 1983 N G T F Violence Project Survey and six other separate surveys dramatically un derscores the validity of the methodologies used for all seven projects. T h e N G T F Violence Project Survey found that 20% of gay men and 10% of lesbians have been physically abused because of their sexual preference. O ver 90% of the respondents reported having experienced som e type of hom ophobia-m otivated vic timization. Results from the N G T F survey were used to gain support for a California bill (A B 8 4 8 ) protecting lesbians and gay m en from bias-motivated violence and harrassm ent Th e bill was signed into law last year. Earlier this year, the survey results were implemental in convincing the CIS. Com m ission on Civil Rights to encourage its State Advisory Com m ittees to examine anti-gay/lesbian violence. Fall Into Phoenix Rising Group Sessions Gay Men’s Therapy Group Thursdays 7-8:30 p.m. Therapy and Support Group for Gay Men and Lesbians Abused As Children Thursdays 6 8:00 p.m. Lesbians Molested as Children: Surv ivors Group Mondays 6 30 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays 10:30 am . 12:30 p.m. Orientation Group for Lesbians Molested as Children Tuesdays 5:30-7:30 p.m. Adolescent Children Living in Gay or Lesbian Households: Supfxirt Group Tuesdays 4:30 6:30 p.m. Phoenix Rising Group Program Wednesdays 6:30-10:00 p.m. Weekend Workshops Lesbians and Gay Men Dealing With Chemical Dependency Saturday, Sept. 14 9:00 a m. to 4:30 p.m. 1 f V \ * Gay and Grey Issues Thursdays, Sept. 19 & 26 7.00-10.00 p.m Partners of Lesbians Molested as Children Saturday. Sept. 28 9:30 a m. to3.00 p.m. How to Survive in Social Situations OR Everything You Wanted to Know About Small Talk Saturday, Oct. 13 10:00 a m. to 3:00 p.m. Lesbians in Transition Saturday and Sunday. Oct. 19 & 20 9:00 a m. to 4:30 p.m. Coping With Death and Dying Saturday and Sunday. Nov. 23rd & 24th 9:00 a m. to 4:30 p.m. Stop Now! Smoke Stopping Program Classes starting monthly Call T o d a y To h in d ( )ut More A b o u t These a n d O ther Mental / health P rogram s at Phoenix Rising 2 2 3 -8 2 9 9 phoenix rising foundation 408 S W 2nd Avenue Suite 407 Portland Oregon 97204 1503)223-8299 ft