=BLUE NOTES

by J. Robinson

Yes, Hadrian was one of us. He was Emperor of Rome at the zenith of the Empire A.D. 117-138. The territory controlled at that time by Rome was immense and the military might of the Roman Empire created a widespread peace that was not to occur again for several hundred years.

This was the environment in which Hadrian ruled. He succeeded Trajan, who was much more of a military leader than an administrator.

was an

Hadrian, on the other hand, intellectual, a brilliant administrator, and a thoroughly cultured individual. He worked to make the bureaucratic machinery of the Empire as efficient as possible, and many of his social service innovations lasted intact to the end of the Empire. Hadrian especially admired the Greek culture, and many of their philosophic concepts.

Hadrian

traveled

extensively

throughout the Empire, and it was on one of these exploits that he fell in love with the Bithynian youth Antinous. Bithynia was a province in northwestern Asia. The boy was noted for his consummate beauty, and he became Hadrian's constant companion and lover. (Hadrian was married, but he was rarely in Rome long enough to see his wife it was simply a marriage of convenience.)

soon

Antinous traveled throughout the Empire with Hadrian for several years. These were some of the most

productive years of the Emperor's reign. But tragedy was soon to strike. The youth thought that could extend Hadrian's life if sacrificed himself, and on an excursion in Egypt he performed an ancient Egyptian rite with the help of a priestess. He drowned himself for Hadrian's sake -or So the tale goes.

Hadrian built monuments to the

youth all over the Mediterranean, including an entire city that he designed in his lover's Antioopolis. There are still Antinous statues extant.

memory,

many

never

Hadrian went on to strengthen the Empire more and more, but he found replacement for a his great loss. Hadrian's enlightened rule of the Empire had a lasting effect on the history of the world. He was the

Continued on Page 7.

He's Gay, in prison

So who cares.

Landmark ruling

19,

On Aug. U.S. District Court Judge Thelton Henderson ruled against the Defense Department's use of security clearance to discriminate against gays and lesbians. He called the anti-gay policy "irrational," saying that engaging in homosexual "consensual sexual relations...in no way affects their trustworthiness to hold security clearance." The landmark decision applies to all lesbians and gays who work for private defense contractors and require security clearance.

can

The Department of Defense has historically run a security clearance on gays and lesbians through the Defense Investigative Services (DIS). The DIS investigates homosexuals more thoroughly than their hetrosexual counterparts, often extending a process of clearance, which ordinarily takes two months, to one that take from four to twelve months, and sometimes even longer. Moreover, the gay or lesbian is in a double bind: if you tell your employer, you go through the delays of the special review; if you don't tell your prospective employer, you're likely to be denied clearance, being untrustworthy.

Three cases Judge Henderson's decision. Timothy Dooling was denied by the DIS for a position at Lockheed because he is gay. He appealed, and won the position after a year. Joel Crawford was denied secret clearance

because of his "homosexual activity and susceptibility to coercion." Robert Weston was denied top secret clearance. Lockheed followed Defense policy in not forwarding the applications for top secret clearance for homosexuals because it would certainly require a long delay and probably result in denial.

Justice Henderson ruled that Dooling's Crawford's rights and to freedom of speech, association, and equal protection were violated. More important than just the decision itself is the way in which the decision was handed down. Henderson's 46 page ruling criticized prejudice against lesbians and gay men on societal basis rather than just il regards to the DIS, and he chose t avoid the jargon of dry legalese. Henderson attacked the notion of gays as promiscuous child molesters, out Continued on Page 7.

and lonely as hell.

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...

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Plowed under

San Francisco National Gay Rights Advocates filed suit against Farmers Insurance Company, on behalf of a gay couple, Boyce Hinman and Larry Beaty, who have been denied a joint "umbrella" liability insurance policy on their house. Farmers has insisted that they buy two seperate policies because they are not married. Since state law prohibits gay and lesbian couples from marrying, such underwriting practices effectively bar them from obtaining insurance policies on the same favorable terms as married couples. NGRA contends that Farmers" "umbrella" pricing of the policy violates the Unruh Civil Rights Act prohibiting arbitrary discrimination by business establishments.

"Boyce Hinman and Larry Beaty have lived together for seventeen years. commented NGRA Legal Director Leonard Graff. "They own a home, two cars and all of their furniture together; they share the common necessities of life and are each others' primary beneficiaries in their wills and insurance policies. Farmers has already issued them joint homeowners and automobile insurance policies, but has now refused the 'umbrella' policy. Making them buy twice seperate policies at the is quite plainly arbitrary discrimination."

two cost

same

joint

"When businesses attempt to charge gay and lesbian couples more for the to services provided heterosexual couples on the grounds that 'they aren't married,' they can expect a legal battle. Although legal marriage is not yet an option for gays and lesbians, we will use the civil to rights laws and the courts as rights legitimate

secure couples."

our

NGRA'S

cooperating attorneys on the case are Paul Dion and Maureen Sheehy from the law firm of Feldman, Walman & Kline in San Francisco. The lawsuit was filed in Sacramento County where Boyce Hinman and Larry Beaty reside.

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