Gay vote
(Continued From Page One)
banning government sexual orientation discrimination."
of
An NGLTF survey presidential candidates on gay/lesbian and AIDS policy issues was released in February of 1988 and showed that significant difference exist between the parties and among the candidates on these issues.
Unlike
their Republican counterparts, all Democratic candidates voiced support for and said they would sign federal legislation barring discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Mr. Jackson was the only candidate to support government recognition of gay/lesbian families and relationships. Of candidates still in the race, Jackson, Gore and Simon said they would sign Presidential Executive orders banning discrimination in government employment. None of the Republican candidates commitments on these issues.
made
"The gay/lesbian vote has played an unnoticed role in the primaries so far and we expect it to be critical in the primaries ahead. Ninetyeight percent of our responding members indicated they are registered voters. The two key primary states of New York and California have large concentrations of gay/lesbian voters.
The candidates and party platforms most responsive to this sizable vote will be its beneficiaries," noted Jeff Levi.
According to the survey the top ten gay/lesbian issues, in order of importance are: federal gay/lesbian rights legislation; increased funding for AIDS research; extension of family benefits to gay/lesbian family units; federal medical insurance for people with AIDS who are uninsured; increased funding for AIDS education; appointment of more openly gay/lesbian people to government positions; federal action to combat anti-gay/lesbian violence; federal antiAIDS discrimination legislation; executive order banning discrimination; and revision of immigration exclusion of gay men and lesbians.
Violence bill
(Continued From Page One)
during debate on the bill that "if the debate on sexual orientation were about race it be offensive, even twenty years ago". Conyers, the bill's sponsor is black.
Ohio House Representatives Oakar, Stokes, and Feighan all voted yes on the Hate Crimes Statistics Act as well as the Miller Amendment.▼
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Homophobic firing
workers.
Lambda Legal Defense and sexual orientation offended other coEducation Fund announced that it had filed a complaint with the New York City Human Rights Commission against MCI Communication and one of its branch managers. The complaint alleges that MCI violated the New York City ordinance prohibiting sexual orientation discrimination.
David Gatten, an openly gay man, worked for MCI for three years. During this time he received excellent performance reviews, three management promotions and salary increases. Suddenly, on January 18, 1988, he was fired without any warning by MCI Branch Manager Lawrence Grayson. Grayson, who joined MCI two months prior, told Mr. Gatten that he was being discharged because his
Cable call
Christopher Street West/Los Angeles has announced that the 1988 Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Pride Parade will be broadcast nationally via satellite. This is the first time such an event has been available across the country.
Arrangements are being made to make the live program available to cable TV companies via satellite. Local cable operators will then decide whether and when to broadcast the Parade. According to Gary Jonker, President of Christopher Street West/Los Angeles, "This is an opportunity for people who might
4
"The arrogance of MCI's discrimination is outrageous," said Paula L. Ettelbrick, the Lambda staff attorney representing Gatten. "Not only did MCI not follow its own personal guidelines requiring verbal and written warnings before discharge, but it discharged Mr. Gatten because of the homophobia of a fellow employee."
The New York ordinance, passed in March, 1986, prohibits discrimination against lesbians and gay men in housing, employment and public accommodations. Mr. Gatten's case will test the legality of discharging an employee simply because other employees are offended by his sexual orientation.
never see a gay and lesbian pride parade in person to experience the pride and diversity offered by the gay community."
The Parade will be Sunday, June 26, starting at 12:30 PM Pacific time. The Parade is part of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Pride Celebration that includes two full days of entertainment, crafts, food and fun.
Because coverage of events on public access cable channels is often based upon subscriber interest, Christopher Street West/Los Angeles is urging members of gay and lesbian communities across the country to contact their local cable companies and ask about the Parade.
Magazine censored
new
OUT/LOOK, the national quarterly magazine of Lesbian and Gay opinion and culture, will arrive on newsstands and at the home of subscribers two weeks later than expected, because the company contracted to print the magazine balked when it saw the contents of the first issue.
"Don Ford, the vice president of Sheridan Press in Hanover, PA, had no qualms about breaking his contract with us," explained OUT/LOOK staffer Kim Klausner. "He told me he wasn't going to print the magazine because he worried that two of the graphics in the issue would be offensive to his staff."
The two items in question were a Kris Kovick cartoon poking fun at author JoAnn Loulan's upbeat
commentary about the state of lesbian sex, and a photo by Annie Sprinkles in which a women's breasts were visible.
"Sheridan knew all along that OUT/LOOK was a Gay and Lesbian magazine," says Klausner. "It's appalling that in 1988, playful images about women's sexuality are still so threatening that a printer would break its contract and try to censor them. It's ironic, given how intellectual most of the content of OUT/LOOK is, that they would view us as pornographic."
OUT/LOOK was founded to bring together Lesbian and Gay readers and writers, in a conversation of national scope about politics, culture, psychology, and experience. The magazine can be contacted at P.O.Box 146430, San Francisco, CA 94114.▼
Protester fined
A Baltimore man has been found guilty of "demonstrating without a permit" and "unlawful crossing of a police line" after being arrested at the Supreme Court last October. Alexander Willis, a nurse, who was defended by National Gay Rights Advocates and Washington D.C. civil rights attorney Nina Kraut, was one of over 800 people arrested at a Supreme Court demonstration following the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights. On April 8th, a Washington D.C. Superior Court
Judge, Peter Wolf, found Mr. Willis guilty and sentenced him to a fine of $100, 100 hours of community service, and 1 year of supervised probation.
"Considering the symbolic nature of Alexander Willis' `crime,' the sentence was unnecessarily harsh," said NGRA Legal Director Leonard Graff. "The government has scapegoated him and we will appeal. Alex Willis could very likely end up back at the Supreme Court defending his right to free speech from inside the chambers rather than outside on the steps."▼
New AIDS column
-
Beginning with their February, 1988, issue, Discover magazine added a new feature AIDS Watch. The monthly column will monitor the medical development of the disease and probe public policy issues AIDS raises.
The February issue dealt with a brief summary of AIDS-related events such as health hazards to postal workers handling leaky, mailed blood samples, life expectancies of AIDS victims, and the search for new drugs
from existing natural substances. The March column discussed a protein decoy that fools the AIDS virus. In April, the distribution of the disease was mapped world-wide with an interesting highlight on AIDS cases in New York City.
Although oriented more to the technical, the Discover column offers timely and monthly updates to the crisis. The magazine is available by subscription or at the newsstand. Your local library should have back issues.
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