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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 1, 1993)
jmtowt TJ««« t. 1993 ▼ 7 national briefs ^Spr CALIFO RNIA Over the past several weeks, randomly se lected books have been vandalized in the Los Angeles area at various bookstores and libraries targeted by the local white supremacist group White Aryan Resistance. Unidentified members of the racist organization have apparently been defacing shelved books by putting stamped stick ers inside them. The stickers— which bear the name and phone number of WAR and the mes sage: “ Earth’s Most Endangered Species: The White Race. Help Preserve It”— have been spot ted in bookstores such as Crow n Books, Waldenbooks, and stores operated by Barnes and Noble, in towns around the Pasadena/Glendale area. One public library, in La Crescenta, has been targeted by the group. ▼ ▼ ▼ The nation’s first gay headhunting firm has been founded in Los Angeles. McCormack and Associates was founded by Joseph A. McCormack in May, and is the first executive search firm specializing in serving gay and lesbian organiza tions. McCormack is a veteran headhunter, with 16 years experience conducting searches for ma jor U.S. corporations and non-profits. His current clients include the American Foundation for AIDS Research, AIDS Project Los Angeles, the Howard Brown Memorial Health Center in Chicago, and the National Leadership Coalition on AIDS in Washington, D.C. ▼ ▼ ▼ Speaking to a gay and lesbian rights rally of 2,000 on the steps of Pasadena City Hall, Mayor Rick Cole emphasized that the stereotype of his town as a conservative suburb is out of date. The mayor’s speech was interrupted by applause and cheers as he attacked homophobia. “We will not be silent as long as homosexuality is branded as a crime, condemned as a sin and treated as a dis ease,” he said. Pasadena’s affirmative action ordi nance prohibits discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and it was the third city in the county, after L.A. and West Hollywood, to ban discrimination against people with AIDS. COLORADO Colorado state Senator Bob Schaffer raided a state Department of Health AIDS display at the state capitol last week and confiscated pamphlets containing “explicit sexual information,” saying they could fall into children’s hands. Governor Roy Romer defended the display, but assigned a health department employee to tend it. Schaffer claimed that his actions were not censorship, defining censorship as “when we decide that something . . . is not fit for public consumption.” Senator Jana Mendez, who is of German Jewish heritage, called the confiscation a “Nazi tactic,” and was in turn admonished by the Senate presi dent. FLORIDA More than 175 lesbian and gay rights activists from across Florida gathered in South Orlando to found a new statewide organization. Participants listened to arguments favoring inclusion of group» of transsexuals, leather enthusiasts and SM prac titioners. but were unwilling to give majority supjpxjrt to any of the groups. They will oppjose efforts by right-wing groups to place anti-gay measures on the November 1994 ballot. The Tampa-based American Family Association suc ceeded recently in piersuading voters to repeal a local lesbian and gay rights ordinance. ILLIN O IS The Illinois House of Representatives passed a bill April 22 that would add sexual orientation to the state’s current civil rights code. The bill passed by 60 to 49, and now moves to the Senate, where it will be voted on by the end of May. Passage is not guaranteed in the Republican-dominated Sen ate, but Illinois Governor Jim Edgar has said he would not veto the bill if it stays in its present House-apjproved form. MARYLAND Sexual orientation will no longer be a factor in hiring or promoting members of the Maryland State Police. The px>licy change, announced April 27, was instigated by a lawsuit filed against the Maryland State Police last November by a 26- year-old lesbian candidate who charged that she was rejected solely due to her sexual orientation. The woman, who is identified as Jane Doe, ac knowledged her lesbianism in an application in terview. When she was later rejected, she was told that it was a pwlicy of the state px)lice not to hire homosexuals. Doe is being represented by the ACLU; the executive director of the Baltimore ACLU said that he expjccts Doe to be admitted to the pjolice academy. NEW YORK A man who donated his spjerm so a lesbian couple could have a child has no right to paternity or visitation rights, a New York Family Court judge has ruled. The donor, Thomas Steel, had signed an agreement giving up parental rights, and never supjpxjrted the girl, now 11. In 1991, he sued, wanting to be declared the father. The case involved Sandra Russo and Robin Young, a couple who have been together 14 years, and their daugh ter, Ry. Steel’s attorney says he will apipical the ruling. ▼ ▼ ▼ The city of Rochester, New York will appieal a state Supreme Court ruling that it discriminated against a gay group by denying it tax-exempt status, city officials said. State Supreme Court Justice Andrew Siracuse last week ordered Roch ester to give the Gay Alliance of the Genessce Valley property tax-exempt status. The city had contended that the group was ineligible for that status because it is a political organization. The Gay Alliance’s attorney, Ellen Tacknin, said the cathartic comics I ON THE OCCASION OF THIS YEARS FATHER^ DAY I FEEL IT IS MY DUTY TO SHARE WITH’ fOU GAYLORD, MY SON, AJ51T OF MY FATHERLY ADVICE/ ~ GREAT, DAD ! LAY IT ON ME,NAOMI. city was wasting taxpayer money with the appical. “Judge Siracuse said in the strongest of words that what the city was doing is wrong,” she said. “The city should take his words to heart.” ▼ ▼ ▼ Business Weekmagazine has evidenced sensi tive handling of issues relating to lesbians and gay men recently. In a February 1993 cover story, “Managing AIDS,” the subject company had a positive AIDS pjolicy, and was shown facing issues “not in the book.” In a more recent issue of the magazine, articles on Martina Navratilova’s anti-Amendment 2 efforts and the Marky Mark bias convictions were treated fairly. Comments may be addressed to the magazine’s new editor: Mark Morrison, Managing Editor, Business Week, McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1221 Avenue of the Ameri cas, New York, NY 10020. ▼ ▼ ▼ The March issue of Mademoiselle magazine features a five-p>age article called “Women in Love,” which addresses “baby dykes,” "lesbian yupjpies,” and “womyn, womon and wimmin.” The reader is taken into the world of young lesbians coming out. The story challenges many myths that both gay and straight pieople have about lesbianism. Responses may be sent to: Julie Lewit-Nirenberg, Publisher, Mademoiselle, 350 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10017. ▼ ▼ ▼ Nine lesbian and gay scuba clubs from around the country will meet at the island of Bonaire from November 6-13 for the second Life Scuba Jambo ree. Started last year as a fundraiser for AIDS service organizations. Diving for Life ‘92 raised $4,000 for the Manhattan and Los Angeles Cen ters for Living. This year’s event promises to raise significantly more, since Bonaire is considered the world’s best diving location. The stakes will be higher, and greater participation is expjectcd. For more information, contact Patrick Kelly at (212) 366-9079. ▼ ▼ ▼ The Gay M en’s Health Crisis has announced a grant of $25,000 to the Campaign for Military Service for the fight to end the ban on gay men and lesbians serving in the military. CMS is a W ash ington-based organization that was formed in January to fight the ban. “The ban on gays and lesbians keeps pieople from coming forward to get the care they need and spreads an epidemic of fear and ignorance," said GMHC Executive Director Timothy J. Sweeney. "The Joint Chiefs of Staff don’t see their own homophobia as high-risk behavior, but we need to.” The New York-based GMHC is the nation’s oldest and largest AIDS service, education, and advocacy organization, providing free services to more than 13,500pjeople with HIV illness since 1981. OKLAHOM A A Norman, Oklahoma bar pjosted a “No Dykes” sign and threw out several lesbian couples when bar owner Nicole Rankin became offended by lesbians dancing together. Rankin, owner o f The Lower Deck, told [he Norman Transcript that she was offended by the behavior of the women in the bar, and was banning them on grounds of m iscon duct, not sexual orientation. In early April, Rankin threw out 12 lesbians after one couple did the two- step on the dance floor. Rankin then closed the bar and called pxriice, who said Rankin was within her rights in ousting the women. Norman gay rights group Simply Equal is pursuing a complaint with the Norman Human Rights Commission over the incident. TEXAS American Educational Excellence repxrts that “over $6.6 billion of private-sector financial aid went unused because pnrents and students do not know where to apjply.” Not all awards are based on high academic performance, low family in come, or athletic prowess, either. AEE has a list of over 400 different scholarships available, includ ing ones for left-handed students, disabled stu dents, members of various church denomina tions, children of veterans, minority students, and David Letterman’s Scholarship for ‘C ’ students. For information on obtaining this scholarship list, send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to the U.S. Channel of Commerce for Higher Educa tion, PO Box 127, Rule, TX 79547. W ASHINGTON, D.C. A new documentary highlighting the 1993 March on Washington for Gay, Lesbian and Bi sexual Equal Rights and Liberation will air in June on PBS stations around the country. Girard Video, Inc. of Washington, D.C. is the producer of the program, called “Lives in the Balance.” A commemorative video on the march is also being offered for sale. For more information, call (800) 346-5746. W ASHINGTON STATE This year’s Gay and Lesbian National Body building Championships will be held in Seattle over the Fourth of July weekend. On Saturday, July 3, the Seattle Hilton will host the Indepen dence Day Grand Prix in the Pacific Ballroom. The Gay/Lesbian Northwest Summer Spxrts Fes tival, which is held every year that the Gay Games are not held, will also take place in various loca tions around Seattle from July 2-5. The North American Bodybuilding Judges Guild, spxinsor of the championships in conjunc tion with Team Seattle, is offering scholarships of $50 for clubs, gyms, or organizations with 4-7 entrants, and $100 scholarships for groups with eight or more participants. Contact the North American Bodybuilding Judges Guild at 4414 Fitz Dr., Bremerton, WA , 98312. For accommo dations at the Hilton, call 1-800-542-7700. Compiled by Beth Hyams and Jim Hunger featuring The Brown Bomber and Diva Touché Flambé b y P rof. I.B . G i t te n d o w n e WHEN YOU BECOME A M A N . I T WILL BE TO YOUR BENEFIT TO UPHOLD TRADITIONAL FAMILY VALUES ! 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