Page 2 Gay Peoples Chronicle October, 1990

Editorial

Celebrezze supports lesbian and gay community

On November 6, 1990, all registered Ohio voters get to elect a new governor. Sadly, we must replace Dick Celeste who has done more for the lesbians and gays in the state of Ohio than any other governor to date. His inclusions of openly gay and lesbian staff members, his executive order banning discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the state government, and his participation in Pride Day events are things we have come to take for granted in the last eight years.

These things, as few as they are, (and we do not mean to say that Celeste did everything he could for us) at least were there. With this governor's race we could be on the brink of losing that executive order, our inclusion in governing and maybe a good chunk of our AIDS funding.

How could this happen, you ask? If Cleveland's former mayor is elected governor of the state of Ohio, that is how.

George Voinovich has not said he would do these things; in fact he has not said he would do anything-because he has not spoken with us. This situation is not unexpected because as mayor of Cleveland he didn't speak with us either. His silence is deafening. His lack of action for our community speaks for itself. All of you gays and lesbians who have lived in Cleveland and its suburbs for the last eight years, do you remember anything he did for us?.

We don't. The only thing we remember is a quote which credits Voinovich as saying, "If you would just follow the Ten Commandments [from the Christian Bible], you won't get AIDS."

Is this the attitude you want presiding over our state for the next four years? The other thing we remember is asking Voinovich to come to the Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Pride celebrations two years in a row. The first year we were turned down because it was Father's Day. Last year we didn't hear anything. The silence is deafening. Think about it.

Now for the other candidate, Tony Celebrezze, Jr. What about him? To be fair, we need to tell you that his office didn't get back to us either. But, thankfully, due to personal talks with him we can get a better idea about his position on gay and lesbian issues.

It is our opinion that Celebrezze is committed to the gay and lesbian community. He has recognized our legitimacy as

a voting populace and would support any legislation we might be able to get through the legislature. Celebrezze sent openly gay U.S. congressional candidate Mike Gelpi of Columbus to Pride '90 to talk about Celebrezze's position on lesbian and gay rights.

Celebrezze is also a Democrat, a party

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traditionally more supportive of lesbians and gays. He is definately more supportive of other issues that matter to us, such as reproductive freedom. (If you don't understand the connection between a woman's right to choose and the gay community, think about the connection between the right to privacy-the basis of Continued on Page 5

ON LOVING VAIL

I SUBMIT TO YOU... MY CAMPAIGN HAS BEEN RUN AN ETHICALE (THOUGH NEGATIVE, MUDSLINGING + ACCUSATORY) BASIS!

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©E.T. FARBARIK 10.40

IN A KHAR GENTLER TEAVING ALL PEOP AGREE WITH HEA!

The 'Family Candidate'?

What is a family? Are they totally and exclusively heterosexual? Does it mean a mommy and a daddy and children, (preferably male but girls count, too)?

What about all those single mothers out there whose heterosexual men have deserted them? Or other heterosexual men, trying to raise children on their own? Or those childless heterosexual couples-are they less a family? Never mind us gays and lesbians.

If you listen to Loren Loving Vail, candidate for the 25th Senate District, you would think that to be pro-family you have to be heterosexual, anti-lesbian and gay, and anti-choice. This person, who calls herself "the family candidate," is trying to win office by berating gays and lesbians and taking away a woman's right of choice.

She is supported by a number of rightwing groups, including the Right to Life Society, and has attended a Randall Terry benefit. (Terry is the jailed founder of Operation Rescue, which blockades abortion clinics and abuses women entering

Guest Opinion

Come out, come out, wherever you are!

by Sister Dana Van Iquity

Last year on October 11, millions of American gay men and lesbians participated in the second anniversary of a highly successful campaign known as National Coming Out Day (NCOD). Celebrating the first anniversary of the historic 1987 March on Washington, in a spirit of national gay pride, it was a time of "taking your next step" out of the closet. In these treacherous times of outing, however, it is not always your own choice to take that step; so I suggest you beat the outers to the punch and come out all the way. The more out_rageous the better!

The goal of the yearly NCOD campaign is to radically and suddenly increase

the visibility of the over 20 million gay men and women in American. "It was designed to include everyone in our community," said Jean O'Leary, then executive director of National Gay Rights Advocates and national co-chair of the 1989 event, "taking steps to build individual self-esteem and commitment, energize our local communities, and increase our national visibility and strength." She may have gotten a little too visible in the media, what with all the bad press concerning mismanagement of funds and personality problems on the job; but nevertheless her words ring true.

NCOD officials emphasize that homosexuality is not just a sexual issue but a political one as well (giving new meaning to the phrase, "politics makes for strange bedfellows"), requiring active visibility. Personally, I am all for visibility, as anyone can attest when they see me prancing around town dressed in nun's habit and whiteface makeup with industrial-strength fake eyelashes. If that ain't visible, what

them.) She has connections and more money to spend on this campaign than most of us make in a year and spend she is.

In the May primary, the Chronicle endorsed Eric Fingerhut for the 25th District Senate seat; out of a large field, more than one of which was pro-lesbian and gay. Fingerhut was happy for our endorsement and we like to think that it helped. We are endorsing him again. By the way, Fingerhut was the only local candidate present at Pride '90, shaking hands and kissing babies.

About the time that Dagmar Celeste made her now-famous "cunt" remark, quoting Andrea Dworkin to a Cincinnati gay banquet, Loren Loving Vail noticed that the lesbian-gay paper had endorsed her opponent Fingerhut.

Vail was outraged that the First Lady had the cultural sense to quote a lesbian poet. She fired off a letter to the media saying how shocked she was, and that she was the family candidate, because she was the only candidate not endorsed by a gay newspaper.

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Last year NCOD, supported by most of the major national gay organizations, enlisted the aid of over 8,000 groups across the country, as well as the straight media. Television talk show host Oprah Winfrey took a little break from her usual agenda of man-bashing and instead devoted an entire program to NCOD. Phil Donahue featured several lesbian and gay theme shows (but then Phil has always had lots of pro-gay programs. In fact, Phil is so incredibly homophilic, have you ever stopped to wonder whether his wife, Marlo Thomas, is in actuality a drag queen dolled up to fit into the late '60s mod image of “That Girl" with her handy dandy little black flip wig?

All ruminations aside, NCOD staff will be looking for endorsements from celebrities and leaders from religious, business and political arenas across the nation. Can you imagine what would happen if every closeted celebrity and politico in the world came roaring out of their closets at once?

gay people's

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GAY AND LESMANE

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Correction

The Sepember, 1990 Chronicle listed Victory News as the sponsor of the Cleveland Best Awards. Micheal Capri is the sponsor of the Awards. We regret the error.

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For one thing, the National Enquirer would be out of business.

National Gay Rights Advocates (a San Francisco-based gay public interest law firm) believes that gay invisibility is the core of gay oppression. NCOD is a way of letting the public at large know that we are everywhere, and we demand our full civil rights. NGRA staff members hope that by observing NCOD, gay people will help dissolve the myths and stereotypes found, for instance, within the legal system-the way homosexuals are perceived by the courts, legislators, and judges (who, by the way, in their long, basic black robes are just one strand of pearls short of being

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