LAPD raids gay charity benefit, arrests 40
(Continued from Page B1)
initially held on $5,000 bail each. Barney, Embry, Mark Annou (owner of the Mark IV), and three others managed to post bond at that figure Sunday morning, while the rest stayed in jail all day and all evening during bail reduction negotiations. The former three got out in order to participate in a press conference called for Ilam by gay rights activist Morris Kight. A mysterious "computer breakdown" delayed processing of the other bail applications, but it suddenly cleared up after outside pressure was applied through the Police Commission. Finally, by 3am Monday everyone was out, 28 on their own. recognizance and 6 on $500 bond. Chief Davis, as usual whenever any major controversial action is taken by the LAPD, was out of town. However, other officials in the Department held their own press conference Monday evening, at which it was "explained" that
Lesbian-
separatists plan meet in July
LOUSVILLE, Ky. A national lesbianfeminist organizing conference, with the theme, "Building a Lesbian Nation," is planned for July 2-5 in Bloomington, Indiana. The conference is intended to be "a catalyst for establishing long-range goals toward complete. selfsufficiency."
In order to help raise enough money to meet expenses, the organizers urge everyone who is able to pre-register by May 15. Preregistration forms must be received no later than June 18 in order for the conference materials to be mailed back in time. Registration is $5.50 in advance and $7 at the door. The registration packet includes directions, information about child care, housing, health care, and food, as well as schedule of events.
Lesbians wishing to attend the conference are requested to send a stamped, self-addressed envelope with check or money order to: National Lesbianfeminist Organizing Conference, c/o Lesbian Feminist Union, P.O. Box 3764, Louisville, Ky. 40201.
NGIF
"this (raid) in no way constituted harassment of gays." "There is no harrassment of gays in Los Angeles," the police asserted. The official position is that a serious crime was in progress and that a perfectly reasonable law forcement response was made to the situation.
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The LA gay community was not alone in questioning that view. On Tuesday, April 13, the City Council unanimously passed a resolution implicitly criticizing the LAPD's priorities in conducting such a raid at a time when the level of serious crime in the city is rising and budgetary resources for law enforcement are being squeezed. The resolution further directed two Council committees jointly to investigate and report on the following: (1) the total cost of the raid, including its planning and the processing and detention of persons arrested during it; (2) the total cost of prosecuting cases arising from it; (3) the reasons for and manner by which the LAPD gave advance notification to the press, "when a similar advance notice to the organizations involved could have avoided the entire situation"; (4) the types and numbers of crimes committed elsewhere in the city during
the raid, and the response time of the LAPD to such crimes and other citizen complaints during that period; (5) "Whether the time and money spent for the entire operation could have been used for quicker and more effective suppression of crimes occuring in the City at the same time"; (6) whether the raid was carried out after consultation with the Police Commission and in' accordance with its policies; (7) whether similar charitable auctions of personal services by other organizations had ever been raided; and (8) "Whether any person was actually helped by the entire effort, or whether it was directed solely at people who were consenting adults."
The whole affair has been a continuing media sensation, with virtually daily reports on the major TV stations and in the press. According to Barney, who is also the new managing editor of the gay paper News West, most of the coverage has been fair and increasingly sympathetic as the full measure of the LAPD's over-reaching has become clear. Barney and others involved, both "masters" and "slaves", have been interviewed on TV. To illustrate the voluntary nature of the "servitude," Barney recounted
Activist coalition plans convention demonstrations
NEW YORKOn March 27, the National Coalition of Gay Activists (NCGA) held a press conference to announce plans for "massive" demonstrations at both the Democratic and Republican
National Conventions this year (the former here and the latter in Kansas City). President Morty Manford and others presented the group's "Gay Rights Platform," which contains essentially the same points adopted in February by the California Democratic Council (see story in the April Gay News). Manford commented that the conventions would be attended by "the very people who have blacked attempts to protect against job and housing discrimination in cities like Chicago, Boulder, Philadelphia, and New York."
The New York State Coalition
National Gay Task Force America's Largest Gay Civil Rights Organization Needs Your Support
Membership: $15.00 and up
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Address
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State
Zip.
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Membership includes NGTF Newsletter, "It's Time"
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of Gay Organizations (NYSCGO) is also planning to demonstrate at the Democratic Convention in Madison Square Garden, but will concentrate its efforts on one big rally for July 11, the opening day. This is in effect a substitute for the abandoned proposal to move New York's Christopher Street Liberation Day parade from its traditional June 27 date to July 11 (see story elsewhere in this section ). Participants at the "town meeting" that set the date for the gay pride parade generally experessed support for the NYSCGO plans, confident that New York's gays could and would "come out" for both events despite their closeness in time.
The NCGA plans are for continuing demonstrations throughout both convention weeks, drawing not only on local activists but those from all parts of the country. According to Manford, "The National Coalition of Gay Activists is now reaching out to gay individuals and organizations numbering in the tens of thousands for the purpose of holding militant, non-violent demonstrations at the conventions because otherwise our voices would not be heard and the plight of our oppression would be allowed to blend into the fabric of American life."
"Acquiescence to prejudice and inequality corrode the spirit of America today," he went on. "That is why we shall don the pink triangle which homosexuals in Hitler's death camps were forced to wear for identification purposes as we rally forth to demonstrate. It is a reminder of our persecution in history as well as a badge of our fight against discrimination today." Those interested in ticipating in the NCGA demonstrations may contact the group at P.O. Box A-711, Grand Central Station, New York, N.Y. 10017.
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the story of a slave purchased for her by someone else. Asked to clean her house (left in rather a mess by the cops), he responded: "OK, but I don't do windows."
District Attorney John Van. DeKamp, who is up for re-election June 8, has been the man in the middle since the raid. He announced he would make a statement on April 14, then said he would have no comment; arraignments were originally scheduled for April 16, then without explanation postponed until the 26th. There is some evidence, according to Harold Fairbanks, News West entertainment editor, that Van DeKamp knew about the raid in advance, in which case he may, in view of the community reaction, be regretting that he allowed it to go forward. He stands to look bad either way, if he pursues the cases or drops them, and will undoubtedly face suits for false arrest from anyone whose case is dismissed or who is acquitted.
Despite its comic elements, what is going on now in LA is no joke. While the LAPD and Chief Davis may be fooolish, they are not less dangerous for that. Words, even from high-ranking politicians, have no effect on them, and there has been no backing-off since the
raid in their vendetta against the gay community. On the evening of April 15, Jeanne Barney was again arrested, this time on a questionable drunk driving charge, and made to spend another night in jail. Since. then, according to News West staffers, the gallant "earth mother" of LA gay publishing has avoided going home, fearing that the police who are still following her-may have planted something there (e.g., heroin) in order to bust her again.
The "great LA slavery bust" has been an expectedly galvanizing force in the usually fractious gay community here. Fairbanks speculated that it may have a unifying effect similar to that of the Stonewall riots in New York in 1969. There it was the drag queens and "glitter" people of the gay community who were on the front lines, rallying more conventional gays to support of a common cause; here it is the equally "far out" leather community that is taking the brunt of homophobic police attitudes and policies threatening to all gay lifestyles. LA gays have long been talking about getting rid of Chief Davis, and with this raid he may finally have handed them the weapon to do it.
Exclusive report!
Inside LA bust
by Fred Halsted
Special to the Gay News
When Joey Yale and I went into the Mark IV tubs the night of the 10th, we saw that the party looked dull. No hot action and a lot of drunk faggots. We went cruising around this supposed "slave market" looking for some heavy action, but there wasn't any. However, Joey soon disappeared with 10 inches and I found myself a hot Jewish passive, so we started to have a good time anyway.
Then Val Martin, star of Sextool and Born to Raise Hell, called me over and said he wanted me to auction off the next slave outside. I told him I was busy I had three fingers up this kid's asshole and was chewing on his tits-but Val said I really had to go out and auction a slave. So since Val and I are buddies, I did. Not too successfully, though, for the bids started at 5 bucks and peaked at 10, after which I decided to offer a discount and eventually sold the attractive stud for $7.50. So much for business.
Then these fucking helicopters with blazing lights and loud megaphones blast out from overhead: "Everybody put your hands up over your heads. You're all under arrest." It looked like a hot scene was coming and I was really getting into it. Then what looked like LA's newest gay uniform club came crashing in. Some 60 nattily attired studs in black and chrome stormed into this dump, smashing the doors and creating a general atmosphere of havoc. They handcuffed everyone with those tacky plastic handcuffs, even though most people volunteered their own neat chrome and steel models.
Anyway, Val and me, and Terry Le Grand (producer of Born to Raise Hell), and John Embry (also known as "Robert Payne," the publisher of Drummer magazine) really the whole "who's who' of gay leather in LA we all got hauled down to jail. Naturally I think it's all a big joke. Terry, John, and I, and Mark Annou, the owner of the tubs, were separated from the other 40-some faggots and put into a special holding tank, while next door the rest are doing a song and dance routine from A Chorus Line.
Embry gets bailed out, and Mark gets bailed out, leaving Terry and me and this cute stud from Chicago alone in the tank with around 60 murderers, rapists, heroin pushers, and whatever. I was really glad to have two brothers with me, because in the jail tank when you come in in fullleather everyone knows you're a faggot and it can get touchy. But the other guys treated us like stars because we were on all the fucking TV news shows, so it all went really cool.
I was the last to be sprung, very tired, 28 hours later. My loving other half, Joey, who wasn't busted but was brutally "detained" with some 150 other people, was waiting, and had been for 12 hours. The local gay bars had hired buses to take demonstrators down to the jail at Parker Center, so the whole fucking lobby was jammed. And man, right then the jail lobby was the best cruising spot in town.
Political types like Sen. Alan Cranston gave us a total of $600 for our legal defense fund, and county supervisors and city councilpeople were all over the place. But really, the show was just starting. It's turned into a long-running daily serial on TV and in the papers. The cops are claiming it's out of Mandingo, but those who were there can tell you it was really Cuckoo's Nest.
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