JANUARY 1976

Pro Player Comes Out

WASHINGTON -Dave Kopay, former running back and special teams player for six National Football League teams publically stated in an interview with the Washington Star he has long preferred sex with men.

Said Kopay of the disclosure; "I hope it might help some people, especially younger people who are going through similar experiences and haven't had anyone to talk to about it."

Kopay, 33, was signed by the San Francisco 49'ers after graduating from the University of Washington in 1964. He said his first homosexual experience was years earlier with a fraternity brother.

After leaving college, Kopay said he long supressed his homosexuality. "I spent four years in San Francisco, playing football, dating women, and But not really making love. letting any of my feelings out." "I was uptight as hell," he said. "I never really admitted any of these feelings to myself until 1969, when I came to Washington. I mopolitan attitude where you could actually see gay people in bars, or at a party; people I could relate to.."

saw

a COS-

Kopay's public acknowledgement is thought to be the first by any pro football player. The Washington Star also published statistics they claim indicate at least 5% of men in sports are gay while 20% of women in sports are lesbians.

Lesbian Deacon Praised

NEW YORK Bishop Paul Moore Jr. of the New York Episcopal Diocese said he believes the ordination of a selfproclaimed lesbian here as a deacon in the church is a sign of a healthy change in attitude toward homosexuality.

Bishop Moore said, "Homosexuality is a condition which one does not choose; it is not a question of morality. Historically, many of the finest clergy in our church have had this personality structure."

Of Ms. Ellen Barret, the newly ordained deacon, Bishop Moore praised: "She has courage and compassion in her identification with the so-called gay community. The (diocese's) standing committee and I felt that her openness was no bar to ordination, but rather a credit to her."

Deportation Decision

On November 29, 1975, Richard Adams received the following letter from the Department of Justice, Immigration. and Naturalization Service;

DECISION:

Decision: Upon consideration, it is ordered that your visa petition filed on April 28, 1975, for classification of Anthony Corbett Sullivan as the spouse of a United States citizen be denied for the following reasons: You have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots.

On December 4, 1975, United States Senator Alan Cranston of California, issued the following statement in Washington, D.C.

"Today, at my request, officials of the U.S. Immigration. and Nationalization Service met with my staff in my Washington office to discuss the procedure of the Service in announcing its intended deportation of an Australian homosexual, Anthony Sullivan. During the session my staff informed the Service of my strong feeling that the handling of this matter raises not only a question of taste but of whether bigoted and intolerant persons made policy judgements that led to the deportation decision. In response to my concerns, the Service has assured me that it will initiate a full and complete investigation of all actions that led to the deportation decision and the manner of its announcement. Further, the Service has assured me that steps will be taken to determine the person or persons responsible for this ugly and insulting characterization of gay persons, and that appropriate disciplinary action will be taken."

Richard Adams and Anthony Sullivan were granted a legal license to marry in April of 1975 by the County Clerk of Boulder, Colorado, and legally married on April 21, 1975 by Rev. Robert Sirico, and Rev. Freda Smith, ministers of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.

The deportation decision is being appealed, and Mr. Adams and Mr. Sullivan are living in Los Angeles, California during. the proceedings. All contributions to the Anthony Sullivan Defense Fund may be sent to:

The Anthony Sullivan Defense League, Attention of Frank Zerrelli, P.O. Box 36277, Los Angeles, California, 90036.

Material and quotes are taken from IN UNITY, the international publication of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.

HIGH GEAR

Page 3

S. B. An Analysis of Potential Oppression I

As was reported in last month's High Gear, SB 1 is a proposed standardization of the federal criminal code. According to the ACLU and the Wall Street Journal, the bill has a good chance of passing.

Women's Press, Dec. 1975 and What She Wants, Cleveland's women's paper, recently presented further information on the bill. Its significance to the gay movement is indeed deep. If adopted SB 1 would:

1. Cancel the 1972 decision of the Supreme Court abolishing capital punishment by reinstating the death penalty for the federal crimes of treason, sabotage, and espionage. Pointedly, this definition of sabotage was inflated to include public demonstrations against war or defense activities.

For example, U.S. gays who publically align themselves with gays from other countries could be prosecuted for treason and murdered by the state.

2. Re-enact the Smith Act, the 1940 Sedition Act, which was used in the McCarthy witch hunt trials until was declared inoperative by a 1957 Supreme Court décision. Violation provides a 15 year/$100,000 fine for membership in an organization

allegedly advocating "revolutionary change in government." (which by definition is what the gay movement may be accused of representing.)

3. Make "physical interference" with any government function a felony with extensive prosecutorial discretion to

According to Sidney Abbott of the National Gay Task Force, a

define that interference; including peaceful picketing. ACLU lawyers state that nearly every mass demonstration or civil rights protest action falls within SB 1's prohibition including gay rights!

4. Define a riot as an "assemblage of ten persons which creates a grave danger" to "property." Violation provides 3 years/$100,000 fine. Loosely interpreted this organization leaders or making phone calls to recruit gays for a rally will be considered "leaders of a riot" under SB 1's criteria.

means

any those

5. Frees any federal officials (like Nixon, Mitchell, and Haldeman who wrote this bill) from criminal penalties for any illegal act so long as they believed "the conduct charge was required or authorized by law." Note: This means gays can be brutally oppressed, for by federal law, we have no rights! 6. Justifies government authority to maintain wiretaps up to 48 hours without any court order and legitimizes the use of evidence obtained from wiretap-

Lesbians in the Military

witch hunt is going on in the U.S. Military. Its objective: the

ping about crimes other than those specified in the court order authorizing the tapes ... It will become illegal for us to even talk about gay rights.

There is no question that SB 1 is clearly aimed at stopping all movements in this country for social change. Given the current shift of the country's mood to the right, it is not unfeasible that America could be a police state five years hence. The bill's chances for survival are considered good partly because there has been no change in the federal criminal code for decades and as one spokesperson said: "This is better than nothing."

The ACLU recommends that you write your senators and representatives in both houses explaining why you are against the bill, and that you contact your newspapers and urge them to run stories and editorials on the bill. For the sake of our people the gay community do it today!

elimination of lesbians from every phase of the armed services. Abbott reports the purging efforts are strongest in the Navy and slowly emerging in the Air Force. For the moment, the Army has not visibly moved in anyway against lesbian officers or enlisted personnel.

Some lesbians, aware of the close surveillance, are increasingly turning themselves in voluntarily, hoping for an honorable discharge. Many agree to answer questions without a lawyer presnt and are often treated in humiliating, demeaning manners, and even asked questions about their sexual techniques.

Both the National Organization of Women and the National Gay Task Force are currently helping in the preparation of court cases for several lesbians and gay men, including Pfc. Barbara Randolph, Pvt. Debbie Watson, and Sgt. Skip Keith. Their cases are now in civil courts being appealed on grounds of invasion of privacy.

For its work in the cases NGTF needs statements specifically affidavits attesting to honorable service. For further details contact the Gay Veterans Committee, NGTF Room 506, 80 Fifth Ave. N.U., N.Y. 10011.