gay people's

I R

August, 1990

Center gets

$83K grant; will hire exec director

by Brian DeWitt

The Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center is to receive $83,000 from the Cleveland Foundation in the largest-ever single grant to a lesbian-gay organization here.

The two-year grant, awarded July 2, will fund the search for and hiring of an executive director. With this funding, the Center hopes to fill the position in September, after a nationwide search.

Center board president Robert Laycock was elated. "The Center has in the past been successful in raising large grants for AIDS-related services, specifically the Living Room," he said, "But this grant is significant in that it is for specifically lesbian-gay programs.

The Center has received several grants since 1988 to create and operate the Living Room, the largest of which was $28,000.

Laycock noted that it was also very significant that this grant was from a Cleveland establishment source. The Cleveland Foundation is one of the nation's largest community foundations.

"This is an historic opening for Cleveland's lesbian-gay community," he said. "Hopefully, this grant will open doors with other foundations and corporations."

The grant was the result of a $131,000 proposal submitted in March to both the Cleveland and George Gund foundations. The Gund Foundation turned down its share, which was to fund a twoyear program expansion. The Center will submit this $48,000 portion to other foundations for funding.

A five-member committee will conduct the search for an executive director. The position will be advertised in the

Plain Dealer, the New York Times, and in lesbian-gay papers in 15 cities, as well as by mailings to lesbian-gay organizations nationwide.

"This will be a thorough, careful, and fair search," said Laycock, "A difficult search."

The committee is advertising for someone with proven management skills, including writing grant proposals. However, says Laycock, "We also want someone who is no stranger to the community/movement they've been out

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Cleveland, Ohio

An Independent Chronicle of the Lesbian & Gay Community

Volume 6 Issue 2

Loyal Oaks entrapment case appealed in federal court

Attorneys representing four Akronarea gay men are appealing their "public indecency" convictions in a 1988 anti-gay entrapment case.

Thelma Furry and Nancy Grim filed a notice of appeal to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals on July 10, in the case of Miller v. Barberton Municipal Court.

The four men were arrested after neighbors, looking over a fence, spied them using a hot tub on the grounds of the Loyal Oaks Swim Club in Norton, Ohio during the late night hours.

The pool owner had advertised a special late night adult membership for nude swimming, and the men did not believe they could be seen by neighbors. Interestingly, despite their belief that their privacy was assured, the men were discreet. However, neighbors and police testified that after watching from a kitchen window for an hour, they observed each man step out of the Jacuzzi and reach for a towel, exposing their genitals momentarily.

Attorneys argued that there was no "public indecency" committed under Ohio law, because the nude use of a private, fenced hot tub was neither reckless nor likely to affront others, as the law

requires.

Photo by Brian DeWitt

Stallion's 20th

Greg Ammell, center, won the title of Mr. L.S.S. 1990 at the

Leather Stallion Saloon's 20th anniversary party on July 3. Steve, right, and Tony Rodriguez were first and second runnersup. Story on Page 5.

Lech Walesa

says he will

However, Judge John Judge of the 'eliminate' gays

Barberton Municipal Court convicted the men. The conviction was upheld by the state court of appeals, and the Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear a further appeal.

Attorneys then went to federal court with a petition for habeas corpus. They argued the conviction violated the federal constitutional rights of due process and privacy. The federal district court in Akron accepted the arguments of the state courts. The volunteer attorneys are now appealing this decision to the federal court of appeals in Cincinnati.

Although homosexuality was never raised directly in the courtroom, it was apparent in public discussion that this was behind the zeal to convict the four men in a hot tub. The "neutral" criminal statute for public indecency was stretched beyond its limits to drive away undesirable (that is, gay) people.

For more information, contact Thelma Furry, Attorney at Law, 50 Munroe Falls Ave., Suite One, Munroe Falls, Ohio 44262; or call 216-688-4047.▼

Karen Thompson to speak at there picketing, been on radio and TV. Black Swan Black Swan benefit

An activist, experienced with the community."

In September, 1989, the Center hired an executive director, David Cordova, but dismissed him after only six weeks. Volunteers at the time cited inexperience and a personality conflict, and a statement released by the board said they and Cordova were unable to "establish a mutually satisfactory working relationship." Second vice president Dolores Noll has been volunteering as acting executive director since then.

Laycock, who joined the board after the decision was made to hire Cordova, said he couldn't say much about the affair, except that one problem he had noticed was that the Center could not afford to pay the executive director's salary for very long.

"There was no special funding," he said. "Some money was available, but Continued on Page 4

by Deborah K. Lanham

On a typically chilly Minnesota day in November 1983, the lives of Karen Thompson and Sharon Kowalski were suddenly changed forever. Kowalski had been struck and injured by a drunken driver while driving the couple's van.

Kowalski, now a quadriplegic, requires lifelong care and rehabilitation. Thompson faces constant legal battles in her effort to ensure the quality of her partner's life.

The Black Swan, in Lakewood, in an effort to assist Thompson in meeting these costly demands, on August 12 sponsors "Give a Damn Sunday" to raise funds for Kowalski's rehabilitation. Thompson and a local attorney are scheduled to speak at this benefit and there will be live entertainment, a raffle and dinner.

During the past seven years, Thompson has been out of the closet, thrust into the media mainstream, in her quest to raise awareness to Kowalski's plight. Out of the closet, with immense risk to her teaching career and private life. Both the gay and non-gay press, CBS-TV's West 57th and numerous radio stations have aired the Kowalski/Thompson saga.

The quest started as a simple one for Thompson, to assist in Kowalski's rehabilitation and protect her "right to be self-determining of her own future." This was soon met with strong resistance from Kowalski's family. Their daughter just could not be a lesbian! Closeted security had now become an obstacle.

What began as an issue of her partner's rights has now become a campaign on the issue of human and dis"Continued on Page's

by Rex Wockner

Polish Solidarity Party leader and presidential candidate Lech Walesa has promised to "eliminate" homosexuals and drug users from Polish society if elected president, according to Polish gay-lesbian activists meeting July 5 in Stockholm, Sweden.

Walesa reportedly made the remark in late April in the city of Gdansk at Solidarity's second annual convention.

The gay activists said tape recordings of the comment were played on both Polish Radio 1 and Polish TV 1.

The group of seven Polish gays and lesbian were in Stockholm for the 12th World Conference of the International Lesbian & Gay Association.

"He said he will clean up the country of moral undesirables, drug addicts and homosexuals," said Grzegorz Okrent of Lambda Poland, the new national association of gays and lesbians.

"The actual word was 'eliminate,' said Ryszard Kisiel, editor of FILO, Poland's oldest gay magazine. "He wants to eliminate 'marginalized elements,' which he said include homosexuals and drug addicts. We heard it ourselves; we were there."

The anti-gay remark was not reported by newspapers, Kisiel said.

Asked how seriously Walesa's reported remark should be taken, Kisiel replied: "He's the stereotypical model of the Catholic Pole. He has a lot of charisma and a lot of influence among the proletariat, even though he is harshly criticized by intellectuals by people who know better and don't let themselContinued on Page 5

CONTENTS

New date for Dancin' Center's garden party Mass. rights upheld.

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page 4

page 5

Sodomy laws struck down page 6 117th/Detroit bashings page

No rights in Rhode Island page 8 run, jane, run Just Jocks Personals

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page 15