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HRCF joins Supreme Court abortion case

The Human Rights Campaign Fund joined 76 other organizations committed to women's equality in a friend-of-thecourt brief supporting women's right to reproductive freedom.

The brief, prepared by the National Abortion Rights Action League and the Women's Legal Defense Fund, was filed in the U.S. Supreme Court case Webster v. Reproductive Health Services.

The case, now being considered by the high court, involves a Missouri statute that restricts women's right to choose abortion. The HRCF-signed brief on women's equality demonstrates that denying the right of choice would have a severely negative impact on women by restricting their ability to make fundamental decisions about their bodies

CAMPIN' OUT

by Patty M.

Patty M. is returning to school and this will be her last column for the Chronicle. Folk Lure

Word's out, so I don't suppose it would do any good to try and deny it's true. I'm a shameless junkie and I can hide it no longer. I'm absolutely powerless over juicy stories. People magazine? I love it! And it's pretty embarrassing. I mean, I know it's just the National Enquirer on better stock, but I can't resist. I'm a "Mag Hag". Magazines, autobiographies... I'm hungry for the scoop on other folks and how they do it. You know-how they mend their broken lives, restore forgotten communities, refurbish their mobile homes on the super-bucks they win the lottery . . . I salivate just to think of it! When my resistance is low and the urge strikes, I'm off to the book store or local library for a quick four-cornered fix.

And speaking of... I found Detour to be a tasty little recount of the life and times of Cheryl Crane, the only child of starlet Lana Turner. It's a book that takes us traveling through her guarded past, as family members keep the child Cheryl closeted from the sultry career and spicy press of her famous mother. There's the many "uncles" that sniff around the glamorous matriarch, and the parade of stepdads... including Lex Barker, a former Tarzan, who swung his vine into the bedroom of young Cheryl on more than one occasion for a night of assault and secrets. He denied it, of course, swearing to his grave that the pre-adolescent Cheryl was a combination pathological liar and seductress. Likely, Apeman.

As you may recall, there was a lot of hoopla around Ms. Crane and the 1958 murder of her mom's boyfriend, gangster Johnny Stompanato. Did Cheryl do it? Was it Lana Turner's revenge against an abusive lover and a loyal daughter's attempt to cover for her film goddess mother? The whole juicy story can be found in Detour. It's well-written, fast

and lives.

Webster poses the most serious threat of a cutback of privacy rights since the Supreme Court decided in Roe v. Wade that the choice of abortion is part of the constitutionally protected privacy right.

"The principles underpinning Roe v. Wade must be upheld in order to maintain the right to privacy," said HRCF Political Director Eric Rosenthal. "That right should also include sexual conduct between consenting adults, but if that is ever going to happen, first the basic right to privacy represented by Roe must be maintained."

In Bowers v. Hardwick, a specifically gay case decided in 1986, the Supreme

July, 1989

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Page 7

the ruling, the court struck its most damaging blow to date against gay and lesbian rights.

"Gays and lesbians need to understand how important it is for us that decisions like Roe be upheld," said Rosenthal. "If there is an erosion of women's right to have control of their own bodies, then it will be all the more difficult to persuade the courts that gay and lesbian sexual activity is privateand therefore constitutionally protected.

"To a large extent, women's rights issues are gay and lesbian civil rights is-

sues," Rosenthal added. "By working in

coalition with women's and civil rights groups, we not only advance efforts cally for gays, lesbians and people with

Court narrowly ruled that states may toward equality in general, but specifi-

regulate private sexual activity. In issuing

moving and laced with family photographs... including recent snapshots of Cheryl and her fabulous looking girlfriend, Josh. (Oh, didn't I tell you?)

If you need to buy a gift for someone you hate, then Child Star by Shirley Temple Black is a must! I wondered how anyone could bounce into Show Biz at age three,fast forward into major stardom, slide into an appointment as U.S. Diplomat, and not get all messed up in the process. Let's face it, there's been no big time scandal. No soiled gloves for our girl Shirl. How'd she do it? How did she survive Hollywood life unscathed and what kind of human being lives beneath the glitter? I'll give you this one. Ready? She's boring! That's it. Dullsville. She's not only snoozy, narrowminded and totally lacking in insight (I'm not gossiping, I'd say this to her face!), but she is also one lousy writer. Child Star is great as a history of the golden era of Hollywood, but after an icy stab at feminists and excessive praise for "real men"... well, I think I'd rather go back to my uninformed fantasy of the tapping tot, Miss Shirley Temple.

The Lives of John Lennon is another lesson in perseverance. Seven hundred pages of waiting for it to get better. Again, giving up the fantasy was the hardest part for me. I was about ten years old when "Beatlemania" descended upon this town. I adored the "Fab Four" and was thrilled to death when I got to see them perform in the stadium. Fortunately, I didn't know back then that their attitude towards their faithful fans was one of contempt and mockery. They laughed all the way to the bank... and with my allowance money, dammit! Lives exposes the use of exaggerated cockney accents, contrived personalities, controlled press releases, and with all strings leading back to Madison Avenue. I was shattered.

There's some examination into the early gay relationship between John Lennon and Beatle manager and promoter Brian Epstein. Though Brian was gay and did little to hide his preference, Beatle John on the other hand sought to minimize his years of sexual involvement

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with him. Sometimes Lennon shrugged off their intimate episodes as means to "control the controller," and other times he dismissed the flings with the "Fifth Beatle" as a humanitarian act, helping a bloke who wasn't getting any action elsewhere. More likely, it seems that John Lennon was what we in early college years referred to as a "quartrosexxual," or, one who will do anything with anyone for a quarter.

An easy book and a half could be written about John Lennon's female counterpart, Yoko Ono. Dear little Yoko. Cute, marginally talented and seriously spooky. Yoko is painted as a pint-size control machine, thoroughly obsessed with robbing her "soul mate" of his fame, money, power.and absolutely wiling to go to any length to get what she feels she deserves.

The Lives of John Lennon is drug addiction, alcoholism, lust, greed and rock & roll at its worst. Yet, the question does remain-did author Albert Goldman really write a well-documented piece of rock history on the "Magic Minstrel" John Lennon, or is it a slanderous collection of exaggerations, fabrications and hearsay? Personally, after seven hundred pages of microscopically small print, who gives a flying Double Fantasy anyway?

Looking ahead to my next “fix," I'm pretty excited about this months' anniversary issue. Its two years since the re-creation of our paper and we've celebrated with free personal ads! Meet someone, lose someone, find out what your "ex" is up to these days. I don't know about you, but I know what's cooking on my literary menu for this month. honey, it don't get much juicier than the Personals!

PURE

AIDS."

HRCF's participation in the Webster brief reflects its continuing commitment to work with organizations dedicated to civil rights and the quality of all people.

HCRF works with groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Abortion Rights Action League, the National Organization for Women and Planned Parenthood on legislative and political activities.▼

Doctors win AIDS suit

In the first real estate case involving AIDS-related discrimination to go to trial, punitive damages were awarded to two doctors who were discriminated against when the sponsors of a co-op office refused to sell because one of the doctors treated people with AIDS.

In the case, Peter Seitzman and Joseph Minola signed a contract to purchase a cooperative apartment for a medical office from the sponsor of a coop plan in New York City in October 1985. In May 1986, about two months before the closing, the seller learned that Seitzman treats people with AIDS and refused to complete the sale.

Seitzman and Minola sued for breach of contract, AIDS discrimination under New York's human rights law and punitive damages.

On March 31, after a two-week trial, the jury found that the sellers had breached the contract and discriminated against the doctors.

In his decision, Justice Harold Baer determined that while a complainant may be limited before the Human Rights Commission to compensatory damages, punitive damages may also be awarded if the case goes to court. Previous AIDSrelated discrimination cases brought only before the Human Rights Division were limited to compensatory damages.

"This is the first case involving AIDS discrimination in real estate to come to trial," said Morton Newburgh, the attorney for Seitzman and Minola. "The size of the settlement and the fact that the judge allowed punitive and compensatory damages sends a powerful message that AIDS-related discrimination will not be tolerated under any guise."

The jury awarded $50,000 in contractual damages and $40,000 for mental distress and emotional anguish and also found that the doctors were entitled to punitive damages as a result of discrimination. The case was subsequently settled for $182,500. ▼

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