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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1997)
just out ▼ S e p te m b e r 5. 10 97 T 5 national briefs CALIFORNIA criticized Alveda King, founder of King for The secretary of the state’s office has granted America, for misrepresenting the views of Dr. clearance to begin circulation of a proposed 1998 Martin Luther King Jr. ballot initiative defending “traditional” marriage, Keith Boykin, executive director of the Na reports United Press International. tional Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum, Proponents need to gather 423,269 valid sig accused King for America Aug. 25 of being natures by Jan. 2 to get the proposal, which would "willingly manipulated by the white religious amend California’s Family Code to stipulate that right that wants to divide the black community only male-female marriage is valid or recognized, cc based on sexual orientation.” on the ballot. Boykin’s remarks This effort follows the second defeat in the followed a series of state Legislature of a similar proposal. anti-gay comments made by King during ▼ ▼ T media appearances in The city of Los Angeles has agreed to pay mid-August. She compared gay $325,000 to 28 demonstrators who were beaten by police while protesting Gov. Pete Wilson’s men and lesbians to “liars, thieves, mur veto of gay rights leg- derers [and) child islation nearly six m olesters” and years ago, United warned that protect Press International re ing gay men and les ported Aug. 25. bians from discrimi Attorneys with the nation would “give a American Civil Lib death sentence to civil erties Union say po Keith Boykin rights.” lice officers beat the protesters, called them She also claimed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. anti-gay epithets and charged them on horseback would have opposed gay rights legislation. while they sat and locked hands on the median “Alveda King is simply trying to cash in on her strip in front of the Century Plaza Hotel in Los uncle’s name, and she ought to be ashamed of Angeles in October 1991. herself for doing so,” Boykin said. He also noted that Coretta Scott King, Dr. King’s widow, has The city had already agreed to pay $87,000 to been very supportive of civil rights for gay men another protester who was beaten on a different and lesbians. night at a different site. ACLU staff lawyer Taylor Flynn says, “These FLORIDA settlements send a clear and irrefutable message that police in Los Angeles must uphold the right The First District Court of Appeals in Talla hassee has withdrawn its August 1996 ruling of gay men and lesbians to lawfully protest or pay upholding a lower court decision that gave con a hefty price for violating that right.” The demonstrators were protesting the victed murderer John Ward custody of his daugh ter because the mother. Mary Ward, was a lesbian. governor’s veto of legislation to outlaw housing and employment discrimination based on sexual In a one-paragraph order issued Aug. 1, the orientation. court dismissed Mary Ward’s appeal and vacated its earlier decision, reports The Associated Press. T ▼ ▼ Trial judges around the state will no longer be Luis Alfaro, 35, an openly gay artist, play bound by the first ruling, in which the court said wright and poet who grew up in the Pico-Union its decision was based not on Ward’s sexual area of Los Angeles, was awarded a five-year, orientation but on the best interests of the child. $230,000 MacArthur Fellowship on June 12. Mary Ward had requested a second appeal, but she suffered a fatal heart attack before the court According to the Washington Blade, the joint acted on her request. director of the Latino Theater Initiative at the Mark Taper Forum was nominated for the award GEORGIA after a staging of his signature performance piece, A federal appeals court announced Aug. 1 it Down/Town, in Chicago. would not reconsider the case brought by Robin Alfaro is also the cofounder of VIVA!, a Los Shahar against Mike Bowers, the former state Angeles-based collective of gay and lesbian attorney who is now a Republican candidate for Latino/a artists; his short film Chicanismo ap governor. peared on public television and was nominated According to The Associated Press, Shahar for an Emmy. argued that Bowers’ recent admission of a de cade-long adulterous affair while in office was DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA proof he applied a double standard in firing her on The head of the nation’s largest African the basis that her participation in a lesbian com American lesbian and gay organization sharply Let Me Earn Your Business W hen buying o r selling real estate, 1 re p re s e n t yo u r interests! E xperienced Innovative U p-to-Date , , Steve Bucheri, Realtor Office: 228-9801 • Mobile: 970-3801 VM: 228-0750, ext. 142 e-mail: buchert@ teleport.com 25 NW 23rd Place, Portland. OR 97210 « I A L T O R S mitment ceremony would undermine the integ rity of the state’s legal department. The appeals court ruled 9-3 that Shahar could not introduce new evidence at this stage, suggest ing she could have questioned Bowers on the subject during the civil trial six years ago. Both sodomy and adultery continue to be illegal in the state of Georgia. ILLINOIS Chicago’s Sunday Sun-Times reported Aug. 17 that a six-block stretch of North Halsted Street will receive a $3.2 million city-financed facelift celebrating the neighborhood’s gay and lesbian community. More than 20 steel pylons to be placed along the street will include a rainbow ring of lights, reflecting the colors in the gay and lesbian pride flag—a clear message that this is a special area for gay men and lesbians. “If I were coming from out of town, [as a lesbian] I would identify this as a neighborhood that is friendly to gays,” said Mary Morten, the mayoral liaison to the lesbian and gay commu nity. “The overarching theme is that this is a diverse community. It’s not about it being only a gay hub. But clearly, there is a strong lesbian and gay population in that area.” In March, the City Council passed a domestic partners ordinance extending health insurance benefits to the live-in partners of gay and lesbian city employees. MAINE Citing a lack of volunteers willing to scour the state for signatures, Lewiston resident Paul Madore, a key leader in the drive to overturn recently passed pro-gay legislation, told the Sun-Journal newspaper he doesn’t think the campaign will succeed. The effort was launched in June by Madore’s group, the Coalition to End Spe cial Rights, and other conservative Christian groups. After 20 years of debate, the state Legislature this year amended the Maine Human Rights Act to include gay men and lesbians with other classes protected from discrimination in housing, public accommodations, credit and employment. Madore and other critics insist sexual minori ties don’t need legal protections because they are not victims of discrimination. MARYLAND Capt. Michael John, chief spokesperson for Navy Secretary John Dalton, has been charged with soliciting sex from an undercover male po lice officer. According to The Associated Press, John, who i was taken into custody Aug. 8 near an adult video store in Annapolis, was among 28 people arrested during a two-week vice squad investigation of the store conducted by local law enforcement. The 43-year-old servicemember faces two misdemeanor counts of solicitation that carry a combined maximum penalty of two years in jail and a $1,000 fine. A trial is scheduled Dec. 10. MINNESOTA A Minneapolis man has been charged with damaging property for allegedly breaking the storefront windows of a gay-oriented bookstore and spray-painting words expressing hate for gay people on the building, the Minne apolis Star Tribune reported Aug. 20 Thomas Paul John Hamilton, 49, admit ted to police that he vandalized Brother’s Touch Bookstore in Minneapolis, according to a criminal complaint filed Aug. 19 in Hennepin County District Court. Damage to the bookstore exceeds $500. NORTH CAROLINA Funding for the arts remains a hot topic in Mecklenberg County, reports the Charlotte Ob server. The issue has dominated nearly every meeting of the county commission since April 1, when objections to gay characters in a play prompted five commissioners to vote to cut the county’s funding of the Charlotte-Mecklenberg Arts and Science Council. The commission has also revised a new coun seling policy aimed at restricting dialogue about sexuality between minors and county-funded coun selors. The policy requires parental notification when sexuality is to be discussed and was voted into law as part of the arts council funding cut. TEXAS In separate Aug. 3 incidents—both classified as hate crimes by local authorities— two men leaving Fort Worth gay nightclubs were robbed and beaten, and one was also stabbed in the back after being ordered to strip. According to the Dallas Morning News, police believe two other men seen driving a white car in the area are responsible for both crimes, but did not have any suspects as of that night. Between 1994 and 1996, four fatal stabbings in Fort Worth and Irving were linked to anti-gay bias. Statewide there have been at least 21 mur- dersofgay men since 1990, reports Dianne Hardy- Garcia, executive director of the Lesbian/Gay Rights Lobby of Texas. Compiled by Christopher D. Cuttone No Embalming • No Casket Cremation is the uncomplicated, dignified alternative to a “traditional” funeral. By pre-planning with the Heritage Society, you’ll be assured that your wishes are specifically carried out at a fraction of the cost. There are no embalming or casket charges and the burden of last-minute decisions is not left to family or others. Enjoy peace of mind with Heritage Society Membership. Call to receive literature or i fill out and mail this form at no obligation. Name____________________ Address. 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