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Gay Peoples Chronicle
NATIONAL NEWS ..
Lesbian Judge Takes Bench
Lesbian Joan Lobis wea sworn in as a judge of New York City's Housing Court on January 31. Joining Judge William Thom of the Civil Court as the only openly gay judges in New York state, she is one of 7 in the nation.
In a statement issued after her swearing-in, Judge Lobis said, "I hope that my appointment and that of Jud-
ge Thom will make it easier for gay people to realize that the days of fear of disclosing one's sexual orientation are drawing to a close. That fear has caused far too much anguish. We are fast approaching a day when one's talents and energy will be the only relevant criteria upon which selection and advancement in the judiciary and other occupations will based."
April 1, 1985
Bigots Bag Fed PR Post
Claud Allen, newly appointed press spokesman for the Senate Foreign Relations committee, was Senator Jesse Helms' campaign press secretary last year. During the campaign he charged that Helms' opponent was supported by gay groups. Defending his homophobic tactics, Allen now claims that Democrats said "right-wing nuts" were supporting Helms, and explains that he thought it proper to counter by
CLERICS CLASH WITH FUNDAMENTALISTS pointing out that what he
New York religious leaders meeting in an interfaith forum on religion and AIDS on February 21 urged compassion for AIDS victims. They sharply criticized the fundamentalist belief that AIDS represents divine punishment of gay men. The New York Times reported that the Rev. Carl Flemister, executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan
New York, described the concept of divine retribution, advanced by fundamentalist ministers, as unChristian. Rabbi Balfour Brickner, of the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue, comparing the
idea to the medieval belief that Jews caused plague by poisoning wells, said, "The effects of ignorance and bigotry are terrifying and lethal."
Lawmaker Links Lesbians to AIDS
If the New Hampshire house passes a bill introduced by Republican Representative Mildred Ingram, a lesbian who donates blood may receive a 7-year prison term. Although Ms. Ingram professes to be motivated only by
concern for recipients of blood transfusions, her homophobic bias is obvious. Ignoring all high-risk AIDS groups except gay men, her bill also includes lesbians. Fortunately, it is not expected to pass.
Court Cuts Councellor's Case
On February 25 the Supreme Court voted against hearing an appeal by Marjorie H. Rowland, the Ohio high school guidance counsellor who was fired after telling colleagues that she was bisexual. Rowland sued the Mad River school district, charging that it had violated her constitutional rights.
Noting that Rowland had properly performed her professinal duties, a Federal District Court jury ruled that her dismissal was a direct result of her statement about her sexual orientation and so violated her rights of free speech. It awarded her $56,000 damages. The school district appealed the case to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, which overturned the lower
courts verdict and ruled that her constitutional rights had not been violated.
When Rowlands appeal reached the Supreme Court, only Justices Brennan and Marshall voted to hear it. In their dissenting opinion, they said that "homosexuals constitute a significant and insular minority in this country. . because of the immediate and severe opprobrium often manifested against homosexuals once so identified publicly, members of this group are particularly powerless to pursue their rights openly in the political arena." Brennan and Marshall argued that gay people should receive the special protection the Supreme Court has extended to other minority groups.
calls "queer groups" supported his opponent.
In another homophobic ap pointment, right-wing radical Patrick Buchanan was named White House director of communications. Buchanan, once a speech writer for former president Nixon, has written that gay people should be segregated and stigmatized, and called for subjecting them to legal as well as social restrictions. He also insists that AIDS represents their just punishment for daring to go against nature.
Presbies Prohibit Ordinations
The Presbyterian Church has ruled that "self-acknowledged practicing homosexuals" cannot be ordained. In 1983 the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Buffalo, N.Y., announced that while it accepted the denomination's ban on gay ministers, it was extending the right to be ordained as elders and deacons to all its members, including gay people. Other Buffalo congregations objected. On March 11 the church's Permanent Judicial Commission reaffirmed earlier stands by its General Assemblies barring gay people from being ordained in
any capacity. Five of the 24 Commission members dissented.
One of the backward denominations that accepts gay people only if they are celibate, the Presbyterian Church defines gay sexual relations as sin. Earlier this year at its National Congress on Renewal in Dallas, a Presbyterian group advocating lesbian and gay rights was refused booth space in the exhibition hall because it was supporting sin. At the same Congress, a group was organized to "heal" homosexuals through spiritual conversion.
Conservative Gays Gather in Dallas
Concerned Americans for Individual Rights (CAIR), an organization for gay people who are moderate to conservative politically, is holding its first annual meeting April 5 in Dallas. Although largely Republican in composition, CAIR decided against affiliating with the Republican party, which has shown little interest in the group. Founded last year, CAIR plans to establish new chapters and increase its fundraising activities.
Joseph Califano, who as
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare in the Carter administration concentrated on trying to stamp out cigarette smoking, claims the Democratic party has lost ground politically by acceding to the demands of pressure groups concerned with single issues. His examples are advocating civil rights for gay people and backing the constitutional right of women to have abortions, positions he says have alienated many religious people.
Gay Sex Still Illegal in Virginia
Federal District Judge Robert Merhige, Jr., ruled that the Virginia state laws criminalizing sexual relations between unmarried
people were unconstitutional. Unfortunately, his ruling applies only to heterosexual intercourse. Sex between gay people is still a criminal offense.
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BY
: Casmir Kuczynski