THE MIAMI MIASMA

Officialdom around Miami have been raising much hullabaloo of late about the chartering of the Mattachine Society in Florida a few months ago. Under shivering headlines ("PRO-PERVERT CHARTER ALARMS LAW OFFICIALS") an issue of the CORAL GABLES TIMES (Nov. 1965) cited dire prophesies from numerous State officals as to the hordes of homosexuals which might be expected to invade Florida, should the Mattachine's law-reform programme become effective there. (This has never happened in Illinois, as Florida Mattachine continues to point out.) The police department, evidently seeing a reflection of its own methods, fear the "intimidation" which will be exerted if a "nationwide federation of queers" really makes a serious effort to accomplish its aims. Some of these lily-white saints in law enforcement have registered apparent astonishment that homosexuals are now "demanding equal rights. They're getting on the civil rights bandwagon." (ONE wonders where such police have been for the past fifteen years, during which homophile organizations have been doing just that beginning their efforts, in fact, long before the present civil rights movement was heard of.) It was even commented, by Det. John Sorensen, of the Sheriff's juvenile squad, that "if they are successful, then there will be no obstacles to homosexuals becoming police officers." (Well really, dolls!) Strange things seem to be going on in Florida today, not only around Miami, but in Tallahassee, where for some months now "carefully screened" Florida State University male students have been hired for "part-time work" as decoys in making homosexual arrests. According to recent reports,

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both F.S.U. and State officials have been making strenuous protests against this practice.

Longtime readers of ONE Magazine will recall that "the Miami situation" as long ago as November, 1954, was given featured treatment, and frequently since then.

ANTICS IN ATLANTA

As a further example of the progressive South, Atlanta is said (N.Y. TIMES 11/29) to be dusting off ancient city ordinances to "fight rise in prostitution." Sample ordinance is one of 1910 vintage which makes it a misdemeanor for a 'woman of notorious character' to walk or ride upon the "public thoroughfares of this city." Under this astounding ordinance, a woman who had been convicted of prostitution 3 years ago was recently arrested merely for appearing in a public dining place with a woman companion. A similar ordinance "makes it a misdemeanor for a woman to wave at or beckon to ing a conviction for prostitution." men within two years after receiv-

It is said that "hundreds and hundreds" of suspected prostitutes have been arrested under this "waving" ordinance. And this is not all from Atlanta. Other clippings suggest that either its police ing sex-obsessed, and ONE does or its residents-at-large are becom-

not believe that the latter have changed much. From the 1/10 ATLANTA CONSTITUTION comes a report authored by Dick Hebert concerning ACLU protests, on behalf of the homosexual community, against police harrassment. Earlier in January, Hebert also authored a series of articles on "Atlanta's Lonely 'Gay' World," which is one of the most thorough and objective newspaper coverages that has