NNEWS

HIGH GEAR/JUNE 1977

NOHIO GAYS DEMAND: STOP ANITA BRYANT!

FROM FLOR TO OHIO. RIGHTS

DEFEND ST

COLUMBUS, May 15. "Here in Dade County, we are fighting for the human rights of gay citizens across America. We face a difficult campaign, but it is a campaign we can win."

This was the message heard by 259 lesbians, gay men, and their straight supporters; it was part of a statement from the Dade County Coalition for Human Rights. Both Black and white, they held a march and rally today protesting attacks on the rights of gay people in Dade County, Florida. Marching around the state house, the crowd also demanded passage of gay rights legislation in Ohio. Chanting "Save our children, defend lesbian mothers," they challenged Anita Bryant's slandering of gays as child molesters.

was

Following the march, representatives of gay groups around the state addressed a rally. A member of the Oberlin Gay Union said he "impressed with the awareness, cohesiveness, and the sense of unity and solidarity of people of today's march. Anita Bryant is retaliating against gays and it is up to us to retaliate back. Today's rally is an indication of what we as gays have to go through to show the people within the state that we deserve the same rights as straights."

He and the Columbus representative of Gay Activists Alliance both spoke optimistically about the situation in Florida.

An organizer for the Kent Gay Liberation Front expressed the solidarity of militant Kent State students with today's action. He

BRYANT

Coalition

spoke of how students had set up a tent city protesting the building of a gymnasium on the site of the May 4th shootings. He mentioned that a gay tent had been pitched. He explained that,

just as gay people don't want to forget their history, Kent State students don't want to forget theirs.

Determined not to forget her heritage as a gay person, a woman from the Gay Caucus of YAWF spoke of the heroic Stonewall rebellion of 1969. "There lesbians and gay men, tired of the countless police raids on their community, battled the cops for days on end. Our struggle began and must continue in the streets." She further stressed that, the anti gay forces are the same people who are racist, sexist, and antiworker. Not only is Bryant notoriously anti-Black and antiI worker, it is the whole, profitoriented system which seeks to divide workers, white against Black, man against women, and straight against gay. Our

Photos by Alan YAWF struggle of all oppressed people are one and the same."

Other speakers included members of Cincinnati Lesbian Activists Bureau, Central Ohio Lesbians, Columbus Lutherans Concerned, and American Civil Liberties Union. Additional cities represented on the march were Cleveland, Bowling Green, Toledo, Athens, Youngstown, and Oxford. $187.00 was collected for the Coalition in Flordia.

The demonstration ended with a second, equally spirited march. Women and men chanted "Stonewall means fight back" To the question "what are we going to do until we win?" the answer was a resounding "fight back!"

Martha Watson

PORNO CASE

CLEVELAND Two obscenity charges against publisher Larry Flynt were dropped by Municipal Court Judge Salvatore Calandra on May 17. Flynt, the 34 year old dealer of Hustler magazine faces a seven25 year prison sentence in Cincinnati after being convicted of organized crime and pandering obscenity.

A multi-millionaire, Flynt who lives in Columbus is free on $55,000 bail pending an appeal of the Cincinnati decision. The Cleveland charges were filed shortly after the Cincinnati decision.

Judge Calandra ruled Flynt was the victim of "selective and discriminatory prosecution" in Cleveland. He agreed with

PAGE 3

WOMAN RAPED NEAR CLEVELAND GAY CLUB

By SHELLEY

With the recent surge of energy flowing from local gay residents concerning Anita Bryant's "witch hunt", you'd think that incidents requiring support would readily receive it. However, this was not the case with two women who were accosted and terrorized at a Cleveland night spot.

While enjoying the bar scene downtown, two women from the east side decided to further enjoy themselves and seek a lounge type atmosphere that was less crowded. One woman, while circling the corner of the parking lot saw her companion being harassed by three black men. Her attackers seemed intent on both robbing and raping her. It was apparent to her friend that her life was truly endangered, so she intervened to assist her. One sister's strength was evidentally not enough as she struggled with two of the men in an attempt to off them, she was knocked to the ground and suffered a blow to her face, causing her to lose a front tooth. Left alone, the other woman was forced to submit to her three assaillants and proceeded to do as they comanded. They instructed her to drive to an alley a few blocks away, relinquish her purse and its contents, and indulge in sexual activities with one man while the others ripped wires from under the car's hood, making the car immobile. With this task out of the way, they continued their assault on the woman, beating her, raping her one by one, threatening her with knives, etc. She was then left unconcious in the back seat of her auto, while her attackers fled into the night with her personal belongings and their barbaric sense of satisfaction. Cleveland police found her later, made out a report, drove her to a hospital and was then sent home to the care of her parents. No trial date will ever be set for her attackers, no one will be blamed and punished for this horror, because no one had the courage to be a witness or assist these women while they were still in plain view of the bars' patrons.

This sort of violence is

outrageous wherever it occurs, but the fact that there were people around who could've helped avoid this incident and didn't is a crime in itself. One would assume that people would react helpfully in a situation of this nature instead of standing idly by, commenting on the amount of blood, torn clothing and other gruesome details. No aid was given to the woman left in the parking lot after the other was instructed to drive off, other than advice from a witness that she should "get the hell out of there." Lovely.

Is it that bar people are really so alienated from one another that they would not stoop to assist a stranger in dire need of help? Were all of them so "into" the parking lot cruise, that they didn't stop to think that someone, a sister may lose her life over what was occurring? Is it Cleveland?

It did happen....this is fact. Why? Who is to blame really? Who can answer these questions? No one probably, but if we can't stop this violence we can surely do something to help prevent further abuse, regardless of whom it is aimed at. Numerous accounts of people who have had their cars broken into while inside been dancing, etc., have reported. Granted, we don't want an entire squadron of police on duty at every gay event, but we can help one another by reporting loiterers to the doorman, if you witness something happening that looks out of place, shady or whatever, notify someone, the police, a bartender...anyone. Don't go to your car alone, no matter how closely you parked. Lock your car doors and keep valuables out of sight. These are measures that used by people everyday at their homes, in their neighborhoods. They can prove to be just as effective while in attendance of a bar, club, or any event in the metropolitan Cleveland area. Please use caution so that further incidents can be prevented. The bars can be enjoyable and your friends would rather see you there the next time, instead of reading about you in the newspaper.

GAY GROUP AWARDED

Flynt's two Buffalo attorneys SCHOLARSHIP

that the police could not solely charge Flynt with obscenity and ignore other publishers of equally "obscene" material.

The judge wrote in his opinion: "To select and prosecute this magazine only, presents a serious constitutional question."

The issue of Hustler in question contained a cartoon of Henry Kissinger, then President Ford and Nelson Rockefeller having sexual relations with the Dove Statue of Liberty to A

The Lesbian Activist Bureau, Inc., headquartered in Cincinnati, has been awarded a $295 scholarship by the Ohio Department of Economic and Community Development. This is the first time that a homosexual group has received such recognition from a state of Ohio Department.

The scholarship is to assist L.A.B. director, Sandie Garsey, in attending a week long grants

are

training seminar to be held in Cincinnati at the end of June. The training teaches skills in financial development and securing funding sources.

The Lesbian Activist Bureau is a non-profit corporation which works to educate the public on homosexual issues and provides assistance in ensuring that civil, social, and economic rights of women are not denied or abridged because of their orientation.

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