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Gay Peoples Chronicle

September

1986

Publisher

Cleveland Gay Peoples Press, Inc. A Non-Profit Corporation

Editor-in-Chief

Charles Callender

ISIS AND THE CHRONICLE

Ominous roadblocks threaten to halt the impressive progress gay people have made in the past fifteen years and even to roll back some of our hard-won gains.

chosen

The federal courts, from the highest one down, now show the effects of the Reagan administration's ideologically appointments. We can no longer expect them to judge US fairly, let alone treat us with sympathy.

The Department of Justice, homophobic,

is

now overtly destroy

to trying

protection for people with AIDS by advising employers they can legally fire them if they give fear of contagion as the reason. It has asked the Supreme Court to rule in favor of this policy.

Massachusetts

To the fundamentalists, who have always hated us, must now be added the full weight of the Catholic hierarchy. Recent efforts to enact gay rights measures in the cities of New York, Chicago, and Providence and in the Commonwealth of have evoked strong statements of opposition from local bishops and archbishops. Except in New York, they have ensured the defeat of these measures, frightening even Jane Byrne--who has marched in gay pride parades--into unaccustomed silence. The Vatican and its allies in the American hierarchy are trying to move sexual issues, including homosexuality, into a category which allows no dissent from their position.

The AIDS epidemic continues. What Virginia Apuzzo has called an endless funeral procession is tragic enough, in itself. But it continues to be used as evidence that gay men and even lesbians are a menace to public health and that gay rights will spread AIDS.

The danger threatens all of us. Make no mistake about that. Stigmatizing gay people, church and state fuel the hatřed of us that already exists. The gay and lesbian press clearly documents growing violence against us. Closets offer less protection than people think: Much of the violence occurs in cruising areas or on the street. Our community in-

current

stitutions are also vulnerable, even here. Notice the harassment of the 1504 Club in Lorain, or for that matter, the towing of cars on Prospect.

Grim

as our future looks, we can defeat the powerful forces arrayed against us and emerge from the stuggle even stronger than åre now. But it will be a struggle. We

we

must be strong. And we must try to foster unity within our community.

We have pointed out before that national gay and lesbian leaders regard the existence of a free and vigorous gay press essential for a strong community. We are trying to provide this service for the Cleveland area.

as

on

The role of the Chronicle as a community newspaper places certain obligations us. We have to publish community news. We also feel obliged to open our paper to opinions members of this community want to express and to experiences they wish to share: even to criticisms of the Chronicle.

Because we printed a letter and a statement of opinion that the manager of the Isis Club did not want circulated. he refuses to let the Chronicle be distributed there. As a nonprofit newspaper that distributes copies without charge, we need places where people can obtain these. Because we are also a gay/lesbian newspaper, bars are important distribution points.

In denying us the right to place copies of the Chronicle in Isis for patrons to pick up, its manager is not protecting his business. We know of no bar that has ever lost business because of charges that it discriminated. He is arrogantly asserting his claim that he should determine what a community newspaper that he has never supported should be allowed to print, and claiming his right to censor its contents. He is also seriously harming the community of which we assume he is a member.

We refuse to accept any topic as untouchable, except the personal lives of Our comunity leaders, which we gladly leave to the rumor mills.

RACIAL QUOTAS

The unity that our gay/lexbian community requires will not be promoted by ignoring issues within our ranks. Open discussion, like constructive criticism, is healthy. Unless these issues are opened for dialogue, they will continue to divide and weaken us. One such issue is the frequent charge that some gay and lesbian bars maintain a quota for black patrons or that a disproportionate number of the people they exclude are black. One segment of the community vehemently opposes these practices and is determined to end them. Another segment, equally vocal and just as emotional, reacts angrily against those who raise this issue. The result, so far, has been confrontation rather than discussion. This makes it difficult to determine where most of the community stands.

Our guess is that the majority of lesbians and gay men here are indifferent. Last December's benefit dance to raise funds for the Discrimination Response System's suit against the Ritz Bar drew very few people. This tepid response

suggests indifference. True, the dance was greatly underpublicized; but that suggests that few persons were concerned enough to promote the event.

Those who want to end quotas seem_to draw very little community support. The owners and angry reaction of some bar out of employees seems completely proportion to the actual threat, whatever that may be. The most ambitious attempt to end quotas, the suit against the Ritz, was a failure.

The quota issue, which divides us as a community, also divides the Chronicle staff. Some of us would like to see racial ended. Others ask whether these quotas quotas differ from the measures taken by eastern maintain suburbs to

some

are much

themselves as integrated communities. Still others argue that there more important issues.

The only editorial position on which we can agree is a call for discussion, rather than the angry confrontation; and assurance that our pages remain open to all sides.

Writers

Charles Callender Rob Daroff Patricia Duncan Dora Forbes Mark Kroboth Casimir Kuczynski Sebastian Melmoth Martha Pontoni Phil Arula's Cat

Photographer & Cartoonist Rob Daroff

Columnists Peter Beebe Shana Blessing

Jym Roe

The Health Issues Taskforce

Production Staff Rod Caldwell Charles Callender Rob Daroff Mark Kroboth

Circulation Manager Bob Downing

Circulation Staff Ray Davis Bob Downing Jim Price Nick Santoni

Youngstown: Bill Smith Columbus: News of the Colum bus Gay & Lesbian Community Business Manager Martha Pontoni

Publication of the name, picture, or other representation of an individual, organization, or place of busIDess in The Chronicle in not indicative of his/hers/its sexual orientation Or character.

Any

materials submitted for publication will be subject to editing. The Chronicle cannot guarantee the return of any such material unless accompanied by stamped, self-addressed" envelope.

Advertisers may obtain rate sheets and other infor nation by writing The Chron icle, P:0. Box 5426, Cleveland OH 44101.

The Chronicle is distributed free of charge in any establishment that permits its distribution.

The Chronicle is copyrighted under federal law. Any reproduction of its contents is prohibited unless either written or verbal permission is obtained, Circulatin: 5,000 Distribution: Northern Ohio

Telephone: (216) 932-2195