March, 1990

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE Page 5

CBS suspends Andy Rooney from '60 Minutes'

by Brian DeWitt

Television commentator Andy Rooney has been suspended for three months without pay from CBS' 60 Minutes following controversy about homophobic and racist comments he has made.

The suspension came after the Advocate, a national gay magazine, published an interview with Rooney about previous homophobic remarks of his. In the article, Rooney was quoted as saying, "I've believed all along that most people are born with equal intelligence, but blacks have watered down their genes because the less intelligent ones are the ones that have the most children. They drop out of school early, do drugs, and get pregnant."

The comment came in response to a question on whether Rooney would make negative statements on the air about groups other than lesbians and gays. Rooney has denied making the statement, which the magazine reporter did not tape record.

Rooney's earlier homophobic remarks include a statement in an October, 1989 syndicated newspaper column that, "I feel the same way about homosexuals as I do about cigarette smokers. I wouldn't want to spend much time in a small room with one, but they don't bother me otherwise."

In the CBS television special 1989: A

Year with Andy Rooney, aired December 28, Rooney said, "There was some recognition in 1989 of the fact that many of the ills that kill us are self-induced." He listed those ills as "too much alcohol, too much food, drugs, homosexual unions, cigarettes."

Rooney also said in the program that a "lovesick homosexual" caused the explosion aboard the battleship USS Iowa last year. The Navy has been unable to support its early statements to this effect, and many others involved with the case say it is false; an example of a homophobic Navy trying to find a scapegoat.

The special prompted protests from a number of gay and lesbian organizations. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, a media watchdog group, said in a letter to CBS News President David Burke that Rooney's statements "reinforced prejudices by implying that gay sexuality is a self-destructive vice that by its very nature causes disease. Such statements by the national media perpetuate irrational discrimination and add to the climate for anti-gay violence. [Rooney's comments are] insulting in the extreme to gay people and people with AIDS."

In response to the protest following the CBS special, Rooney sent a letter to the Advocate apologizing to the lesbian and gay community. "I'm genuinely sorry that homosexuals found the broadcast

offensive, because it was not my intention to offend them," he wrote. "It was not my intention to make their already-difficult gay life more difficult."

However, in the letter, Rooney also wondered whether or not lesbians and gays choose their orientation, and said that he found anal intercourse between men repugnant, and that it seemed ethically and morally wrong to him.

The article also quoted GLAAD assistant director Karen Schwartz saying, after the December broadcast, that if Rooney had made on-air statements about other groups similar to the ones he made about gays, he would have been immediately fired. "It points out the double standard of the networks regarding bigotry," she said. "They still tend to take racism more seriously than homophobia."

Burke met with GLAAD representatives several days before Rooney was suspended. In announcing the suspension, he said, "I have made it clear [to Rooney] that CBS News cannot tolerate such remarks, or anything that approximates such remarks...”

CBS News has agreed to allow GLAAD to conduct seminars with their staff on sensitivity to lesbian and gay is-

sues.

60 Minutes has noted during their viewer-letters segment that mail to the program has been running largely in favor of Rooney. ▼

Mass. rights bill is law-for now

State supreme court to rule whether referendum is constitutional

by Kevin Beaney

On February 13, the Massachusetts gay rights law went into effect, making that state the second in the nation to provide equal rights protection based on sexual orientation. The law, signed on November 15, 1989, amended the existing discrimination laws by adding sexual orientation to the protection provided in housing, employment, credit and in-

surance.

The law is being challenged in court and on the streets by fundamentalists who seek to have it repealed. The state attorney general, James Shannon, ruled in December that the law could not be challenged through a referendum. The law's opponents, led by the Citizens for Family First Coalition (CFFC) filed a suit with the state Supreme Judicial Court to overturn that ruling. In addition, the fundamentalists have continued to gather the signatures necessary to place the repeal question on the November ballot.

Ironically, the reason for the state attorney general's ruling and the subsequent appeal to the court is because of wording inserted into the text of the bill by fundamentalist opponents. During political maneuvering to water down the rights of gays and lesbians, the bill was amended to exclude religious institutions. The fundamentalists wanted to be sure that churches would not be required to hire or protect homosexuals.

However, the Massachusetts state constitution specifically prohibits any referendum challenges to laws that deal with religious bodies. According to the attorney general's interpretation of the constitution, no referendum can be requested to challenge this law, because of the religious clause in it.

On January 11, the court advised the CFFC that they could continue to collect signatures for the repeal petition. The court is expected to review the constitutionality of the referendum effort and issue a ruling between April and June. The majority of the court's seven members are liberal, but this does not guarantee that the attorney general's ruling will be upheld.

If the justices choose to rule on a narrow legal basis, gay rights advocates

believe the referendum petition will be rejected, allowing the law to remain in effect without threat of repeal. However, the justices may rule in a more liberal manner because of another difficuly that the law's wording has created. Before the law went into effect, equal rights protection was assured for women and ethnic groups without exception. Now, with the religious wording added, women and minorities affiliated with religious institutions are no longer protected under the law. If the justices choose to recognize this inequity in their ruling, then a referendum challenge will take place.

On January 12, the CFFC announced that they had collected over 44,000 signatures requesting a referendum. This was 19,000 more than were required. If the Supreme Judicial Court rules that the

overshadowed by the other candidates

who now include Boston University

President John Silber, an outspoken homophobe. Silber's entry into the race was quickly denounced by leaders of three of the groups he has offended in the past: gays, blacks, and Jews. His radical conservatism is expected to focus more attention on the gay rights law and possibly cause the two supportive candidates to distance themselves.

If the referendum question appears on the November ballot, at least 30 percent of the voters must answer yes or no. The result will be determined by a simple majority. ▼

Skinhead gets

referendum request is permissable by prison for

law, the question will go on the ballot in November.

The many gay groups and supporters of the legislation who worked for its passage scheduled a meeting in Boston on February 24 to plan a statewide strategy for the referendum. While the supporters worked well together for the passage of the bill in 1989-the 17th year it was introduced to the lawmakers-no

statewide umbrella group has ever existed. According to Rich Braun of the Coalition for Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights, "the Massachusetts political structure, especially the legislature, is on the side of the gay rights law. We have also seen tremendous support from a network of religious groups that respect the basic human rights of lesbians and gay men." Supporters expect it to cost $1 million to mount a statewide educational effort to fight the repeal referendum.

The law's advocates plan to coordinate their efforts through shared or combined mailing lists and through the political and religious supporters that helped put pressure on the legislature in 1989.

Adding to the political turmoil the law faces, Massachusetts voters will be electing a new governor in November. As of mid-February there were seven candidates for the gubernatorial contest, two of whom including Lieutenant Governor Evelyn Murphyare supporters of the law. Their quiet support is

bashing

Washington-In a move today that was widely acclaimed by gay rights, civil rights and anti-violence activists, Judge Robert Scott of the D.C. Superior Court sentenced David McCall, a selfproclaimed skinhead, to 10-30 years in prison for assault with intent to kill and 5-15 years for armed robbery for the vicious September 1988 beating of a Washington, D.C. gay man, Rodney Johnson.

David Hyder, another gang member who was convicted of the same charges, will be sentenced on March 12. McCall and Hyder had been held without bond since their conviction by a unanimous jury on November 17, 1989. A third skinhead indicted in the attack, Richard Grimes, fled the jurisdiction and was never found or tried; police are still looking for him.

The beating, which took place in the early morning hours while Johnson was on his way home from work, involved several gang members, some wielding baseball bats and shouting, "Die, faggot, die." Johnson, who was left for dead, suffered a concussion, collapsed lung, broken finger, and a fractured skull, ribs, and shoulder in the attack.

The sentencing comes just four months after Johnson filed a multi-mil-

Ashtabula auction raises $700 for PWAS

by Fritz

A benefit auction was held February 10 at the Leeward in Ashtabula, raising over $700 for AIDS service organizations in Northeast Ohio.

"We auctioned all sorts of things from car accessories to a new Nintendo game, donated by generous local businesses and lesbian-gay brothers and sisters," reported David Summersom, a bartender at the Leeward.

"Contributions toward any function for AIDS service and other lesbian or gay related functions are well supported by our friendly group which gathers at the Leeward in Ashtabula," said the Leeward's owner, Ellen Beitel.

Last summer another fund raiser was held at the Leeward to benefit PWAS and $600 was sent to the Living Room.

The Leeward is also planning a benefit talent show to be held in late summer. For more information contact Ellen or Dave after 6:00 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday at 993-9911. The Leeward is located at 1022 Bridge Street, near the Ashtabula Harbor Lift Bridge. ▼

Judicial homophobia prohibited

Bar association bans anti-gay bias from judicial conduct

The American Bar Association (ABA) has included a ban against discrimination based on sexual orientation in its draft Model Code of Judicial Conduct. Specific protection in the code means that lesbians and gay men can expect and demand fair treatment in the judicial system.

The code applies to judges throughout the country and subjects them to discipline if they violate its ethical canons. It will now send an explicit message to judges that they will be held personally accountable if they discriminate against gay people.

In 1988 Judge Hampton told newspaper reporters in Dallas, Texas that he had given a lighter sentence to convicted murderers because their victims were gay. He blamed the victims for their own murders. The National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (NLGLA) cited this and other outrageous examples of anti-gay discrimination by judges when it testified before the ABA Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility. Hampton has since been censured by the Texas judicial commission on ethics.

In May 1989 the committee issued a draft of the revised judicial code which banned only discrimination based on race, sex, religion and national origin. After receiving oral and written testimony from NLGLA, the draft was changed to state, “A judge shall not, in the performance of judicial duties, by words or conduct manifest bias or prejudice, including but not limited to bias or prejudice based upon race, sex, religion, national origin, disability, age, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status, and shall not permit staff court officials and others subject to the judge's direction and control to do so."

In February 1989 the ABA House of Delegates overwhelmingly passed a resolution endorsing legislation which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing and public accommodations. The House is also expected to give final approval of the revised code which will be presented at its meeting in Los Angeles.▼