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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE December, 1991
Protest set in prosecution of man claiming police abuse
Two Cincinnati groups, Gay and Lesbian March Activists and ACT-UP Cincinnati, have planned a demonstration to take place December 16 at 9:00 a.m. to protest the prosecution of Steven O'Banion.
O'Banion was charged with felonious assault and attempted murder for allegedly trying to infect Hamilton County corrections officials with HIV in September. The two groups contend that the officials beat O'Banion, subjected him to anti-gay harassment, withheld medication from him and tried to conceal the abuse with their charges.
The demonstration will take place in front of the Hamilton County Justice Center at 1000 Sycamore St. in downtown Cincinnati, beginning with a press conference.
In other developments in this story, Hamilton County officials are cited with intimidating O'Banion in an effort to dissuade him from speaking out on his abuse at the hands of corrections officers.
Although the other charges were later added, O'Banion was originally brought in for jaywalking.
O'Banion has appeared on local TV news reports, the Jerry Springer Show and CNN's Larry King Live, and has been interviewed by the national gay and mainstream press describing his treatment by corrections officers.
Despite public pressure, including formal requests from GLMA and StonewallCincinnati, Ohio Attorney General Lee Fisher will not investigate county officials' behavior without a request from the county prosecutor.
Also, O'Banion's case cannot be investigated by Fisher as a violation of civil rights based on sexual orientation because gay people are not protected under Ohio law. On October 18, the county tightened
O'Banion's home arrest restrictions in an effort to limit his access to the media. County Prosecutor Art Ney attempted unsuccessfully to have O'Banion imprisoned, but Sheriff Leis would not permit this, saying O'Banion is a health menace.
Ney's office requested that O'Banion's bond be set at nearly a half million dollars, claiming O'Banion represented a threat to society.
These acts and accusations are considered retaliation for the publicity and for the fact that two grand juries were needed to indict him.
The first grand jury was discovered to have the wife of a corrections officer among its members--an officer who worked the same shift in which O'Banion was allegedly beaten and assaulted. ▼
QUESTION OF THE MONTH
Do you have any incidents of gay bashing or other issues you would like the city of Cleveland to know about?
Each month, the Chronicle has a "Question of the Month," focusing on an event or controversy in the lesbian-gay community. Readers may call 1-900-446-KWIR (5947) to give an answer. Comments or opinions may also be recorded; we will publish excerpts of these in the following issue. The call costs 99¢ per minute. December's Question:
Last month Stonewall Cleveland held public hearings on the issue of discrimination in our community. These stories will be used as part of a data collection process to present legislation to city council banning bias based on sexual orientation. If you have any comment on this topic that you would like shared with Stonewall and the community, call 1-900-446-KWIR and let us know. We will publish the results in January. Last month's Question:
What has been your experience with racism?
How come we only get responses for the fun ones? You could barely wait to tell us who you wanted to see come out, but we're facing another deep and solemn silence on the issue of racism. Cleveland must be a veritable paradise of tolerance! Well, your responses this time can really mean something for the future of all of us. So let's hear from you.
Two wins, two losses in November elections
by Cheryl L. Coward
Gay civil rights supporters won some and lost some ballot measures in November's elections. While gays in San Francisco and St. Paul, Minn. prevailed against anti-gay repeal efforts, they were not so lucky in Concord, Calif., and Ferndale, Mich.
The gay community in San Francisco celebrated the defeat of Proposition K, a referendum which sought to repeal the city's year-old domestic partnership ordinance. Over 59 percent of the voters opposed Proposition K. The effort to repeal the ordinance was organized by a fundamentalist religious group.
In the Detroit suburb of Ferndale, 63.2 percent of the voters decided against an initia-
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tive which would have given the city a civil rights ordinance that included, among other things, sexual orientation.
The proposed measure would have barred discrimination in employment, housing, public services, and accomodations. It was introduced by Rudy Serra, a county commissioner.
Femdale, a city of 25,084 people, does not have a civil rights ordinance at all now, and Serra said that he feels that the initiative was rejected because it included sexual orientation.
Gays in Concord, Calif. suffered a defeat with the narrow passage of Measure M which deletes all references to sexual orientation in the city's human rights ordinance. Even though a court in Riverside, Calif., and the attorney for the state legislature have said that referenda like Measure Mare unconstitutional, it was on the ballot and voters supported it with 50.2 percent of the vote.
The gay community in St. Paul, Minn., triumphed in their the successful drive to defeat a referendum which would have deleted all references to sexual orientation in the city's human rights ordinance. Voters op-
posed the repeal effort with 54.3 percent of the vote. The ordinance was adopted in the summer of 1990.
A group of civil rights activists called the Campaign '90s organized the opposition to the referenda.
"We're still trying to believe that we won," said D.J. Munro, treasurer for the Campaign '90s. "It was real hard to believe that we were going to win going into this because the history of St. Paul has been so against gay rights." In 1974, St. Paul adopted a human rights ordinance which included sexual orientation, but the voters repealed the entire law in 1978.
Asked what the group will do to make sure the ordinance is protected this time, she replied, “we will continue to stay vigilant. Campaign '90s will stay focused on the i. Paul ordinance.'
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"We can never really be sure," said Munro, "that another petition will not be circulated."
Reprinted with permission from the Washington Blade.
Two CSU students researching lesbian-gay retirement housing
Kevin Kukoleck and Sharon Gomes, undergraduate students at Cleveland State University, are conducting a survey of the wants of gays and lesbians for retirement housing. They are looking for participants to complete their questionnaire. Although all age ranges are welcome, they are especially interested in gay men and lesbians who are older, isolated from the rest of the community or a member of a racial minority group. These groups have been under-represented in current gay and lesbian research. Gomes and Kukoleck are trying to do everything they can to include these vastly under-served populations.
Kukoleck has presented their preliminary findings at the American Public Heath Association's annual meeting in Atlanta
this past November. Gomes and Kukoleck will travel to San Diego to present their findings to the American Society on Aging conference this coming March.
They need your help in two ways. First, call Kukoleck at 529-9285 and volunteer to participate in the study. Second, they need financial donations to help defray the costs of printing, postage, registration and travel. If you are able to help in either or both ways, please call.
An important note: This is a recognized student research project of Cleveland State University. Participation in the study does not require any financial donation whatsoever. Great effort has been made to ensure anonymity.▼
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