The case, H a rd w ick u. Bow ers, involves a
gay m an who was arrested in his own home
by a policem an who observed the man en­
gaging in a consensual sexual coupling with
another man.
The charges against the man, Michael
Hardwick, were dropped, but he challenged
the law on the basis that it violated his right to
privacy. H ardw ick’s case was dism issed by a
district court, but the 11th C ircuit C ourt of
Appeals in Atlanta, ruled in May that the
Georgia statute “infringes” upon the funda­
m ental rights o f the hom osexual and that
the statute is “beyond the proper reach of
state regulation.”
The opinion, w ritten by C ircuit Court
Judge Frank M. Johnson, also states that
"the state m ust prove in order to prevail that it
has a com pelling interest in regulating this
behavior.”
In appealing Johnson’s ruling, the Georgia
attorney general’s office argued that sodomy
statutes have been em bodied in Ü.S. laws
since the Am erican Revolution and that a
rig h t to engage in sodom y was never con­
tem plated by the C onstitution.
Many courts have endorsed that rationale.
In O ctober, fo r example, the sodom y law in
Texas was upheld by a federal appeals court,
w hich referred to “ the strong objection to
hom osexual conduct w hich has prevailed in
W estern culture fo r the past seven centuries."
Expectations are that a petition w ill be filed
by the end o f the m onth to consolidate the
Georgia and Texas cases. Legal argum ents
in both cases involve the co n flict between the
lim its o f regulating private behavior and in­
terests o f the state in enforcing traditional
m orality.
Native Americans
fa ce relocation
disaster
b y Roseinne K in g
In less than eight m onths, 14,000 Native
A m erican people will be forced from their
ancestral hom eland.
The Navajo Hopi Land Settlem ent A c t
(P .L 93-581) passed in 1974, was the result o f
an alleged land dispute between Navajos and
Hopis over 1.8 m illion acres known as the
J o in t Use Area. The measure partitiond the
land, ordered a construction freeze and a 90
percent reduction in livestock herds.
It also form ed a com m ission to relocate all
Navajos and Hopis living in the area by July
1986.
Pro-developm ent forces favor the reloca­
tion, w hich is strongly opposed by traditional
people in both tribes. The area in question,
near the Big M ountain area o f northeastern
Arizona, is rich in coal, uranium , oil and water.
Congress earm arked $85.5 m illion to con­
tinue the reolocation in Septem ber despite
testim ony that the program is an ‘‘unprece­
dented disaster.”
Leon Berger, executive director o f the Re­
location C om m ission, resigned in January
1982. He aid the program is disastrous and
“ w ould not work.” Roger Lewis, one o f three
federally appointed relocation com m ission­
ers, resigned five m onths later. He described
the C om m ission as being “as bad as the
people w ho ran the concentration cam ps in
W orld W ar II.”
The relocation will mean m any people will
be forced into nearby cities. A ccording to
Jane Kelly o f the Northwest Big M ountain
S upport G roup, if those people disposed for
relocation do not apply for relocation aid by
Decem ber, they w ill be forced to relocate with
no assistance from the Bureau o f Indian
Affairs.
O pponents o f relocation are intensifying
th e ir efforts to repeal the Settlem ent A c t
Videos and cassettes are in production and
Kelly said “ m illions o f people” on m ailing
lists w ill be contacted. An east coast confer­
ence is in the planning stage and a W itness
fo r Peace
is also underway. W omen’s
m edia netw orking is being emphasized.
The D em ocratic Part o f King County,
Wash., has endorsed repeal and supporters
are urged to contact th e ir congressional rep­
resentatives to urge repeal o f the a c t Rep. Les
A uC oin, a m em ber o f the House A ppropria­
tio n s C om m ittee, is a good contact and co r­
respondence should be sent to him in
Program
Raytheon taken to
trial over AIDS
discrimination
W ashington, D.C., 20515.
Relief supplies o f food, tools and clothing
are also needed.
In the words o f Pauline Whitesinger. Navajo
elder fro m Big M ountain, "In our traditional
tongue, there is no word fo r relocation. To
m ove away means to disappear.”
If you can help, please contact the N orth­
west Big M ountain S upport G roup at
236-0399, P.O. Box 42640, Portland, OR
97242.
Supreme Court
to rule on
right to privacy
The Suprem e C ourt agreed on November
4 to decide whether the state o f Georgia has a
“com pelling interest" in enforcing an anti­
sodom y statute which makes it a crim e to
participate in “any sexual act involving the
sex organs o f one person and the m outh or
anus o f another.
SAN FRANCISCO — Raytheon Company,
a m ajor Defense D epartm ent contractor, will
have to defend itself this week against
charges o f discrim inating against an em ­
ployee w ho had AIDS. This is the first such
case to go to trial in the United States.
Jean O ’Leary, NGRA Executive Director,
said: “ We are putting em ployer^ on notice in
this state. They cannot m istreat someone
w ith AIDS and then get away with it because
the em ployee dies." O ’Leary com m ented
further that C hadboum e’s claim s accrue to
his estate and when Raytheon is forced to pay
that w ill set a new legal precedent which will
act as a deterrent to other em ployers.
Mens Resource Center Counseling Service
GAY THERAPISTS
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235-3433
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Financial Services
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5319 S.W. W e s tg a te Dr. # 1 6 2 • (503) 297-5651
P ortland, OR 97221
J u s t O ut. Decem ber, 1985