GAY RIGHTS UPHELD IN SEATTLE

New York (LNS)--What began in Dade County,. Florida a year and a half ago was ended November-7: the anti-gay "winning streak" was broken Seattle voters, by nearly 2 to 1, soundly defeated the fifth nationwide attempt to repeal local gay rights protection and as a state-wide proposition targeting gay school workers went down to defeat in California.

In Seattle, close to 3,000 ecstatic Seattle gays followed the election returns 101,809 "no", 59,797 "yes" at the final count up in the city's Pike Place farmer's market, then moved through the city's

NEVER AGAIN!

FIGHT

BACK!

The pink triangle was used to identify the thousands of gay people who died in concentratior camps in Nazi Germany

Too Much Graphics/LNS streets with candles, banners and balloons,

The victory culminated a half-year's campaign by the Seattle Committee Against 13 and Women Against 13, who openly addressed the issue of homophobia. Gay forces were also aided by the more conservative Citizens to Retain Fair Employ-

ment which employed a "low-profile" strategy. Katherin Bourn of the Seattle Committee Against 13 speculates that the existence of the different organizations may in fact have contributed to the gay victory: "I think the three groups were a good idea. We each reached a different part of the population. I think Citizens to Retain Fair Employment reached a lot of people. Ours was a more labor-intensive campaign we had all the people while they had all the money. I'm sure our door-to-door canvassing also had a massive effect. While Women Against 13 gave a place to women who didn't want to work with men at all.

Seattle lesbians and gay men also benefitted from the advice of gays who'd fought; and lost, in other cities particularly Eugene, Oregon, which many took to be the best political barometer for Seattle, and thus the scariest. "That's where we got the advice," Bourn recounted, "to throw it wide open and make it really clear. They're issuing moral edicts,' they told us. 'Deal with them on that level', The campaign was real emotional on both sides."'

Another boon, she speculates, was "a certain Seattle chauvinism. As what they call 'the most liveable U.S. city,' we don't respond well" to direct vicious attacks on a segment of the population. Bourn recalled "a good strong response" while canvassing at nursing homes. Elderly people responded, she said, with an interesting sense.

there of 'who will they go for next?'''

Still another plus may have been the nature of the opposition. For Seattle's anti-gay campaign, unlike the low-key, reasonable-sounding one put forth in Eugene, was initiated by two police officers, one a long-time John Birch Society member who managed to shoot in the back and kill a mentally retarded unarmed Black during the campaign, and the other a Mormon who has petitioned on the force to increase police fire power and been found to violate police regulations by using super-charged hullets.

In comparison to other cities where gay rights legislation has been challenged and defeated (Miami, Wichita, St. Paul and Eugene), Seattle also

FBI Investigates Right To Life

NARAL announced at a press conference in Los Angeles recently that the FBI has entered an investigation of NARAL's charges that the National Right to Life Committee has filed false lobbying reports.

Early in June, the National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) received an anonymous "gift" of papers which indicated that the New York State Right to Life Committee loaned thousands and may have sent tens of thousands of dollars annually to the National Right to Life Committee. None of these loans and gifts of $500.00 or more, or the total incomes of the national group, were recorded on their lobbying forms, as required by law.

Subsequent to its initial charges, NARAL has provided the Justice Department with minutes of a New York State Right to Life board meeting which indicate that their contribution to the national office was expected to be over $90,000 in 1973, and was only a proportionate share of monies funneled from all 50 states. The national office did not file a lobbying report for that year.

Also forwarded were IRS tax returns which show that the National Right to Life Committee's receipts for their fiscal years 1974, 1975 and 1976 were in excess of $200,000 each year. Their lobbying reports stated that they had NO income for those years. Their fiscal 1977 IRS report, the year in which they claim $35,000 on their lobbying forms, shows income in excess of $500,000. Although the documents also show a close relationship between the New York State Right to Life Committee and the New York Catholic Conference (via arrangements for "Respect

Life" collections and "Save a Baby" raffles in Catholic Churches), the FBI has made it clear that it does not intend to investigate this relationship.

"This partnership between the Catholic Church and the Right to Life Committee has been the source of formidable income to the anti-abortion movement, and it is not unique to New York,' said NARAL Executive Director Karen Mulhauser. "It will be no surprise to us if the FBI unearths evidence of similar contributions in other states.

"'We are encouraged that the Justice Department recognizes the merits in our charges, and we expect that the FBI will be able to uncover the true nature and extent of the Committee's hidden resources,' she continued. "When violations are fully documented, we will urge prosecution to the fullest extent of the law."'

Filing false lobbying forms is a violation of the 1946 Lobbying Act, which can carry a penalty of up to five years in jail and a fine of $5,000. Violators can be prohibited from participating in lobbying activities for up to three years.

NARAL will continue to forward information and documents to the Justice Department and the FBI throughout the investigation. We will be glad to receive any news of contributions to local state or national Right to Life Committees which might further document wrongdoing.

had a much longer lead time to develop a solid, professional campaign," Co-director of the National Gay Task Force Dr. Bruce Voeller explained. In national terms, Voeller felt, the defeat of Initiative 13 in Seattle and of the Briggs Initiative in California represents "a backlash to the backlash, The violence, hatred and viciousness conducted in the name of the Christian religion, by Bryant, Briggs, and those police officers in Seattle, is being recognized for what it is by the American people.”

For gays in Seattle and elsewhere, the Nnvember 7 election represents a watershed. Its emotional significance, for those who marched through Seattle's streets the night of the returns, was descrihed by Bourn:

"The most beautiful thing of the whole campaign -it didn't rain all election day, which is rare here, so we knew there'd be a good turnout. And it started to rain during the demonstration. We began singing that Holly Near song that begins 'Let us he like drops of rain'. The song ends 'and the waters come again.' And this sort of cleansing rain came down."'

To help consolidate the gay victory in Seattle, send donations to SCAT for its planned efforts to analyze and share the "lessons" of the Seattle campaign. Seattle Committee Against 13, 407 E. Pike, Seattle, Wn. 98122.

Cathy Cockrell

"NO ON SIX” WINS

New York (LNS)--California voters defeated one of the most repressive anti-gay initiatives ever introduced in the U.S. John Briggs, the author of Proposition 6, the anti-gay initiative, made bis political debut working with Anita Bryant in her attack on Miami gays. He spent almost $1 million to gather signatures so that Proposition 6 would appear on the hallot. But the money, as it turned out, did not buy the vote and Proposition 6 was defeated by an overwhelming one million votes.

Public sentiment turned against Briggs' Initiative 6 about six weeks prior to the election. Before then, it was expected to pass hy almost 70 percent. But with the exception of San Bernadino County in Southern California, it was defeated in every county in the state .. even Briggs' home county of Fullerton, Gay activists attributed the proposition's defeat to their hard work, a media campaign educating the public about gay and lesbian life styles, and individual conservatives' opposition to the measure.

"The media campaign stressed that it was an unnecessary law, violated people's human rights, and would be incredibly costly to enforce, a woman at 'No on 6' told LNS. "People who couldn't handle the sexuality issue could at least relate to the expense.

"Also, a few weeks ago Ronald Reagan came out with a strong statement against the Initiative (based on considerations of privacy and individual rights]. A lot of people respect him, and besides influencing a lot of people, after he spoke out, other conservatives also did. Even Carter came out against it."'

Many other groups were vocal in their disapproval of Proposition 6 including all California labor unions,

many Black, Chicano, Asian and Filipino groups, and most religious groups.

Pedestal/LNS

Janet Beals NARAL Newsletter November 1978

December, 1978/What She Wants/Page 5