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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1994)
Judge hears first challenge to “ don’t ask, don’t tell” policy T h e first legal c h a lle n g e to th e “ n e w ” a n ti gay m ilita ry p o licy o f “ d o n ’t ask , d o n ’t te ll,” w as b a ck in c o u rt M arch 18. Able vs. USA, filed M arch 7, cam e b e fo re th e B ro o k ly n c o u rtro o m o f federal ju d g e E u g e n e N ic k erso n fo r a rg u m e n ts o n a p re lim in a ry in ju n c tio n to k e e p th e m ilita ry from b a n n in g six serv ice m e m b e rs. T h e six p la in tiffs in th e su it re p re se n t d i v e rse a c tiv e -d u ty an d re se rv e p e rso n n e l, from various b ra n c h e s o f the m ili ta r y a n d re g io n s o f th e c o u n try. “ Jan e A b le ” is a pseud- o n y m fo ra lie u te n a n t c o lo n el in th e A rm y Reserve w h o fears p ro fessio n al h arm sh o u ld h e r n am e b e u sed . N ic k e rs o n lis te n e d to a rg u m e n ts b u t d id n o t issu e a ru lin g a t th a t tim e . B e a tric e D o h m , a n a tto rn e y w ith th e L a m b d a L e g a l D e fe n s e a n d E d u c a tio n F u n d , w as o n ly m ild ly d is a p p o in te d . T h e v e te ra n ju d g e is k n o w n fo r n e v e r h a v in g is su e d a n in ju n c tio n in w ritin g . M u ch o f th e ju d g e ’s q u e stio n in g c en tered a ro u n d the sec tio n o f the re g u la tio n s d e alin g w ith the c o n c e p t o f a “ re b u tta b le p re s u m p tio n ” to o n e ’s “ p ro p e n s ity ” to e n g a g e in h o m o sex u a l activ ity . H e q u e stio n e d the c irc u la r ity o f the g o v e rn m e n t’s a rg u m e n ts, a sk in g h o w o n e c o u ld d e m o n strate the n e g ativ e — no t h a v in g su ch a p ro p e n sity . “ It seem s to m e a bit o f a h o a x ,” N ic k erso n said. T h e p la in tiff’s case h o ld s as u n c o n stitu tio n al th e re c e n tly e n ac te d fed eral law and D e p a rtm e n t o f D efen se re g u la tio n s e x clu d in g gays and lesbians from the m ilita ry . T h e policy, c o m m o n ly k n o w n as “ d o n ’t ask, d o n ’t te ll,” to o k e ffe c t F eb . 28. “ T h is is th e first p ie c e o f fe d e ra l le g is la tio n s p e c ific a lly re q u irin g d is c rim in a tio n a g a in s t le s b ia n s a n d g a y s ,” sa id a tto rn e y M a rc E lo v itz o f th e A m e ric a n C iv il L ib e r tie s U n io n . “ T h e d is tin c tio n b e tw e e n w h a t w e re re g u la tio n s a n d w h a t is n o w fe d e ra l la w is an im p o rta n t o n e .” O th e r fe d e ra l s ta t u te s h a v e m e re ly o m itte d o r ig n o re d s e x u a l m in o ritie s fro m c iv il rig h ts o r o th e r p r o te c tio n s. T h is o n e a c tiv e ly d is c rim in a te s a g a in s t th e m . CDC report shows 111 percent increase in AIDS cases The annual report o f the Centers for Disease Control shows 103,500 new cases o f people with AIDS in 1993, an 111 percent increase over the previous year. The increase stems in part from the relentless progression o f the disease, but it also reflects a change in the definition of AIDS that went into effect last January. Earlicrgovem m cntdefinitionsof AIDS had been based largely on symptoms most common to gay men. The new one made long-overdue revisions, including the addition of symptoms more prevalent in women. It brought into the pool of those classified as having AIDS a backlog o f people, disproportion ately female, who should have been counted in previous years. Heterosexually transmitted cases, defined as those not resulting from direct homosexual or I V-drug-use experience, account for only 9 percent o f the total. Approximately two-thirds o f those contracting AIDS in this manner were women. For the first time since statistics have been gathered, the gay male case load dropped below 50 percent o f the total. Fifty-four percent of cases in 1993 come under the new definition, 46 percent under the older defini tion. The latter figure is a 2 percent decrease from the previous year. The bulge o f new and old cases in 1993 has several statistical impacts: for one, decreasing the percentage of those more traditionally defined people with AIDS, i.e.,gay men. The 1993 figures showgay men as 46.6 percent o f the new cases o f AIDS, down from 66.5 percent in 1985. CDC anticipates that the gross number of new cases o f AIDS will decline in 1994— resulting from incorporation o f the 1993 definitional changes, not a decline in the actual numbers of new cases. The trend for gay men will likely reverse for a year in the next report and show an increase in cases, as a percentage o f total new cases, before reluming to a slow down ward trend. These statistics are a useful guide to keep in mind when evaluating federal, state, and local claims of increased resources being directed toward the fight against AIDS. While actual dollars spent may indeed be growing, often at impressive percentages, they seldom keep pace with the burgeoning number of people with AIDS. Gay, lesbian and bisexual local officials organize The Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Local Officials, a constituency group of the National League of Cities, met in Washington on March 13 as part of the regular NLC meeting. The group formed last fall at the NLC meeting in Orlando, Fla., and elected Seattle City Council- woman Sherry Harris as its interim chair. At that cathartic comics I YOU KNOW B0. 1 THINK CHANGING OtVA IMTO^ a n in e - y e a r old , er a c c id e n t , h a s r e a l l y , EN GOOD FOR THE OL* G|Rl WELL...SHE DOESNT SEEM NEARLY AS STUFFY/ SHE SEEMS TO ACTUALLY BE HAVING FUN LATELY. SHE ...OH. HERE SHE_COMES/j meeting the group adopted an agenda focusing on three priorities: public health and funding issues surrounding HIV/AIDS, domestic partnership, and discrimination focusing on sexual orientation. More than a dozen elected officials plus their friends and consorts filled the Washington meeting room. They spanned the gamut o f cities from Cam bridge, Mass., to Laguna Beach, Calif., from Dallas, Texas, to Moscow, Idaho. National Gay and Lesbian Task Force organizer Betsy Gressler briefed attendees on national issue priorities. Tim McFecley, executive director o f the Human Rights Campaign Fund, hosted the reception that followed. The formation of GLBLO “caused some ques tions on the part o f board members," said David J. Borut, NLC executive director. Those “questions" prompted a new, more formal process o f recognizing constituency groups and giv ing them access to NLC support. What had hereto fore been at the discretion of the executive director is now regulated: New groups must have at least 50 members in 10 states and be formally recognized by the governing board. GLBLO would not have met those standards but “essentially was grandfathered in,” Borut said. He had come to the meeting to express his support for the group. U.S. Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) stressed two points to those assembled. One was to support his efforts to rein in increased military spending. He argued, “Unless we arc able to turn this back on the military, the chance o f there being any net increase in funds available for municipalities is zero.” The tight budget situation for the next several years means, according to Frank, that more funding for the military will come at the direct expense of domestic spending. Frank’s second point was more immediate. He urged the local officials, when speaking with their congressional representatives, to strongly oppose a discriminatory amendment being proposed by U.S. Rep. Mel Hancock (R-Mo.). That amendment to the education bill, HR 6, “would cut off all federal aid to any school system which promotes or encourages homosexuality,” said Frank. The ammendment is so broadly written, it could deny funding to major school systems such as those in Los Angeles and New York City. Frank said he believes the amend ment attempt will be soundly defeated. Leavitt and publisher admit to plagiarism “Publisher kills novel over pilfered plot,” Read in The Washington Post. It marked the close o f the legal battle betw een writer David Leavitt and Stephen Spender, the octogenarian English poet who first gained n o to riety in the 1930s. T h ech arg eo f plagiarism had haunted L eavitt’s current novel, While England Sleeps, ever since the U.S. edition cam e o ff the press last fall. Leavitt tried to dow nplay the controversy while on tour prom oting the book. He told the Bay Area Reporter, “T he lesson I ’ve learned is, if y o u ’re going to write a historical novel, base it on the life o f som eone w ho is dead!" Spender sued to prevent publication o f the British edition. His grounds were that L eavitt had infringed on the copyright o f S p en d er’s autobiog raphy, World Within World, and had also violated his "m oral rig h t” regarding how the m aterial of his life m ight b e h a n d le d . T he latter co n c e p t w as e n acted into B rit ish law r e la tively recently) and has little record o f case law or trials to d e lin e a te its boundaries. In an out- of-court settle m ent L eavitt’s publisher. V iking, took two extraordinary steps. O ne was to cancel the British edition, already printed, in a w arehouse, and now presum ably to be destroyed. T he second was to cancel the U.S. paperback edition o f the book, scheduled for release next fall. V iking and Leavitt will also pay S pender’s legal fees. “ I d o n ’t bear [Leavitt) any ill will. I am 85 and on the brink o f my grave, so I try to be benevo lent,” said Spender. "The people to criticize are the publishers. T hey d o n ’t seem to have editors who save young writers from m aking these bad m istakes.” Spender had strenuously objected to the ex plicit sex in the book earlier, saying: “ I d o n ’t sec why [Leavitt] should unload all his sexual fanta sies onto me in my youth. If he w anted to write about his sexual fantasies, he should write about them as being his, not m ine.” Leavitt is believed to have agreed to rework those portions o f the novel as part o f the agree ment. The altered novel will likely then be re is sued. The original U.S. press run o f 30,(XK) is still in bookstores and will not be recalled. “ I assume th ey ’ll quickly becom e collectors’ items, and people that get them will be happy,” said Deacon M accubbin, proprietor o f Lamlxla Rising, the n atio n ’s largest gay and lesbian bookstore. H ow the story plays out for Leavitt rem ains to be seen. Som e feel that the author will be judged by his next w ork. H ow ever, one anonym ous ed ito r at a m ajor publishing house was quoted in the Post as saying: “ Literature isn ’t ice skating, at least not yet. If you pillage som eone c lsc ’s m em oir for your source m aterial, it tends to in d icate a th in n ess o f literary im a g in a tio n . L eav itt’s aura has been dam aged, to stale the o b v io u s.” S pender’s autobiography will be reissued in the fall, as will a collection o f his poem s. Compiled by Bob Roe hr featuring The Brown Bomber and Diva Touché Flambé b y P r o f . I . B . G it t e n d o w n e [HI, DIVA! HOW ARE* YOU DOING» '"QUITE FINE! AS A FELLOW PRE-TEEN I'VE (SEEN ABLE TO EFFECTIVELY ASSIST OTHER YOUNG , \ WOMEN IN EXPERIENCING EM0T0NAL DISCHARGE' [ AT THIS POINT IN THEIR LIVES , WHICH WOULD HAVEj vCAUSED PSYCHOLOGICAL HANG UPS AS ADULTS^* NOT e y a c t l y JYES, B u t YOU w o u l d a l s o MY ID EA ^ N E V E * THINK OF BRINGING OF F U N . . . .Ì DISCO BACK BY FLYING TO O.C.TO TEACH MS. CLINTON T he LYRICS TO 1 WILL SURVIVE f ) PHOTO BY MAHON FTTLNGER j u s t o u t ▼ a p r ii 1. 1 0 0 4 T 0
