PAGE 32 THE WEEKLY NEWS MARCH 9, 1988

WAR CONFERENCE SETS NATIONAL AGENDA

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3

privacy of the individual and yet encourage people to come out? How can they use the media as a tool to tell their story and assert their rights? How can nation of lesbians and gay men respond quickly, strongly and efficiently to an immediate threat, a last-minute vote, or another Helms Amendment? How can they draw the financial strength from the community and tap untapped resources in new, different and effective ways?

A Time To Be Creative

After times to eat and times to be social, the gathering reconvened to brainstorm a vast array of suggested paths that the community could take to win the war. Ranging from plans for a national advertising campaign to plans for support of those engaging in civil disobedience, the enclaves met.

The suggestions were many and varied. To set the political agenda for the nation, mass voter registration drives were proposed to be initiated with the suggested slogan, "Voting For Our Lives." National leadership training workshops educating leaders in successful grassroots tactics around the nation also met with some enthusiasm.

Massive demonstrations were among many items discussed. Suggestions were made to have a presence at the upcoming Republican and Democratic conventions, marches on the State Houses, Memorial Day candlelight vigils and continued support for the NAMES Project's tour across the nation.

Civil disobedience and the use of boycott were also suggested as ACT NOW (AIDS Coalition To Organize and Win), a national network of ACT-UP-type direct action groups, has planned a "Spring AIDS Action" for a nationwide week of protest next month.

Other suggestions, not specifically addressed in the final draft of the conference's consensus statement, included several plans already in motion from a number of national groups.

The Fund For Human Dignity, the nation's oldest gay and lesbian education and counseling agency, suggested plans for civic education videos and seminars to be disseminated across the nation, de-mystifying the democratic process, showing the inexperienced member of the community how to write their Congressmembers and how to lobby for votes.

Some announced plans to encourage voters to send signed or anonymous postcards to those for whom they voted stating, "I am (gay or lesbian) and this is why I voted for you...'

Also suggested were media skills workshops to be held regionally; the development of new gay/lesbian hotlines and the support of the existing hotlines; and "Freedom Rides" across the South before the 1988 Democratic and Republican conventions.

A Time To Be Pragmatic

After a night of a time to be jovial and a moming of a time to be bleary-eyed, the melding process began anew. The different thoughts, conflicting egos and separate agendas had to be joined into a unified collection of differing parts. The ideas had be to synthesized into a course of action. The random

thoughts had to be made into real suggestions suggestions all could live with. The ideas that started out as germs of the imagination, now realized into specific, real goals.

The War Conference was called "to understand the nature of the movement, to assess the nature of the movement and to discuss. strategies for the movement," stated Joe Tom Easley of the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, the member chosen to collate the consensus statement.

The following are the four consensus strategies that came out of the weekend of planning:

@

A National Media Campaign: A campaign to gain acceptance of gay and lesbian individuals is to be initiated in every state and local area. Existing public service announcements and paid print and broadcast advertisements dealing with this matter are to be assembled and distributed to radio and television stations, newspapers and magazines. In order to accomplish this, leadership workshops will need to be held to train local leaders in techniques to establish rapport with local editorial boards and station managements. The campaign may also be used as a means to increase funding of the movement.

An Emergency Response Network: In order to generate constituent calls and mail to local, state and national leaders, a communications system is to be set up utilizing preauthorized mailgrams, computers, facsimile machines and telephone trees as proposed by ACT-UP.

An Annual Conference of Gay and Lesbian Activists: In order to update the national agenda and to support the efforts of local groups, an annual national conference is to be held which will be open to all gay and lesbian activists in the nation. This conference would be set up in order to prioritize and specify projects and promote cooperation among

groups.

• A National Coming Out Day: Plans are to begin immediately for a National Coming Out Day which will be held on October 11,

1988. This effort, which will take place on the one-year anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, will take place in every city and in every town of the nation. The slogan, "Take the next step," is to encourage all to go to the next level of self-determination with which they are comfortable. For some, it may be coming out to themselves, for others it may be coming out to their families. For more publicly gay individuals it may involve civil disobedience and for many who cannot afford to be public it may involve writing a check to help support a lesbian or gay organization.

Several elements of the proposed actions under all four categories are already being handled by national gay and lesbian groups. The advertising campaign is partially being handled by The Fund For Human Dignity; the Emergency Response Network is partially being handled by the Fairness Fund and ACT UP; and a National Conference similar to the proposed conference is being planned by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

A Time For Consensus

After the statement was read, the vast

AN EARLY MORNING BREAKFAST SAW AN IMPROMPTU CHORUS OF LESBIANS SERENADING CONFERENCE ATTENDEE VIRGINIA APUZZO.

LONG HOURS OF ARDUOUS DISCUSSIONS WITHIN TAUGHT GROUP SESSIONS MADE A FINAL CONSENSUS OF OPINION FOR THOSE GATHERED AT THE CONFERENCE A REALITY BY WEEK'S END. A WHO'S WHO OF GAY & LESBIAN LEADERS ATTENDED THE SUMMIT.

majority of those gathered rose for a spontaneous four and a half minute standing ovation. Yet, there were still problems left to be ironed out.

People With AIDS and several AIDS-specific leaders expressed concerns that a plank expressly directed towards AIDS was not included, and others expressed concern that their specific interests were subjugated into the body of the statement.

Additions were made.

A resolution that all co-sexual gay and lesbian groups be encouraged to gender parity and 25 percent inclusion of People of Color were adopted. Provisions for the disabled who could not have attended the conference, had they been invited, due to the structure of the facility, were also included.

Finally, save for a small number of dissenters, the group reached consensus.

A Time For Regrouping

Although some expressed concern with the "New Age Thought" process of the group, most agreed that the gathering had been productive. Allowing for a time to laugh and a time for crystals the group managed to keep alive the sense of humor that has always been at the heart of a community eternally in jeopardy.

An "Affirmation Circle" at the end of the conference saw the approximately 200 lesbians and gay men holding hands in a large circle and shouting into it what they would like the community to be. Instead of the traditional group hugs and tears that so many gatherings end in, the assembly instead burst into a serious/comical burst of pent up energy. The activists shouted at random.

"Unified... Healthy... Orgasmic ... Intergalactic... Many-Colored... Safe ... Free!"

BRENDA J. STOUT

CERTIFIED PUBLIC ACCOUNTANT Personal, payroll and corporate taxes, general ledger service and financial statements. Experienced in financial planning unique. to gay relationships.

YOU JUST KNOW... IT'S

THE UNIQUE COLLECTION OF

CABANA JOE

EXCLUSIVE BEACHWEAR AND CASUALWEAR 1905 COLLINS AVENUE MIAMI BEACH 305-532-4510

(305) 661.4224

MIAMI

Complete Legal Services

LAW OFFICES OF ANDERSON FLAXMAN 601 S. FEDERAL HWY., HOLLYWOOD

923-8000