gay people's

CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY Public Library

SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPT. PERIODICAL

HROT N

Cleveland, Ohio

July 17, 1992

Prizewinning

Jennie Iame and David Gabor greet onlookers as Mix Drinkery's Pride float passes through Public Square. The float won first prize in the float contest; second prize went to U4ia's float. Story on page 4.

Photo by Brian DeWitt

JUL 29 1992

Volume 8 Issue 1

soc

60 cents

On Newsstands

An Independent Chronicle of the Lesbian & Gay Community

Columbus mall evicts handholding gays on Pride day

A downtown Columbus mall overreacted to a spontaneous protest against the mall's eviction of three handholding same-sex couples, but has since issued a statement welcoming gay and lesbian couples.

Three couples, attending the Gayfest following the Columbus Gay and Lesbian Pride March, visited the nearby City Center Mall at about 4:00 p.m. on June 28. Security guards at the year-old mall asked the couples to leave, apparently because they were holding hands.

When word of this got back to the Gayfest, 40 to 60 people decided to go over to the mall and 'be visibly gay.' Overreaction by the City Center security personnel escalated to violence. At least five people were injured. Two were arrested, an Ohio State professor and a 14-year-old girl who was holding her sister's hand. Mall security called the Columbus police.

According to the Columbus Dispatch,

cooperated fully with police after they left City Center.'

When word of the situation was received at the Stonewall Union booth at the Gayfest, Stonewall leaders went to City Center and were able to help defuse the situation to prevent further injury or arrests.

The following day, Stonewall Union and other leaders of the Columbus gay and lesbian community met with City Center management to work towards avoiding this kind of incident in the future. Negotiations at first seemed to go well. Then City Center management wanted the negotiators to speak as representatives of those arrested or injured. The Stonewall negotiators refused, saying they could work on preventing similar problems in the future, but insisted that the injured and arrested parties were each entitled to their own representation and negotiations.

"Columbus police arrived after the scuffle Hand-holding gays now welcome and, according to Sgt. Matthew Farrell, 'It's just a big fiasco. We've got two sides to the story. We were just trying to ease tensions between security and this group, and we succeeded.' Farrell said protesters

Negotiations then broke down between the two parties, and Stonewall Union said that it was considering legal action against City Center on behalf of the six people originally asked to leave the mall.

However, on July 8, Stonewall and City

We're here, we're KWIR, we're not going away Center announced they had reached a mu

You hold in your hands a renewed commitment to the gay and lesbian community of northern Ohio. The Gay People's Chronicle is back, better than ever.

During our five month halt in publication we received many calls, letters and personal contacts that encouraged us to try again. So here we are, with several changes, and we expect to stay.

The reason we stopped printing was largely a lack of sufficient income each month to meet expenses. Added to that was some business inexperience, staff turnover, a demoralizing burglary, and increased agitation and apathy from the community we

serve.

Was the Chronicle a political grindstone? Were the editorials irritating certain groups? Was the paper too serious? Was there too much begging?

in needed ad revenue and adequately service existing accounts.

Appointed editorial staff that will gradually move from part-time to full-time positions.

●Committed to publishing twice monthly by the fall, so that news will be more timely.

If you've read this far you can understand how much work has been put into this paper by people who want to make it a success. We are asking for just a few simple things from you, our readers:

If you run a business, advertise in the Chronicle. It makes good marketing sense.

If you see something in the paper you really like or really hate, let us know. It's your newspaper.

on in the community, please tell us. We want to cover all stories of interest to our readers.

If you want to write for the paper, don't be bashful. The Chronicle staff continues to grow, covering the news and expressing opinion.

Support our advertisers and let them know you saw their ad in the Chronicle.

So, we're back on the streets, publishing monthly for now, but with plans to double that in the fall. We're looking to cover all events in the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities throughout northern Ohio. It won't happen immediately, but we're determined to do it right this time. We hope you like the changes. And thanks for sup-

If you know of something that's going porting us.

Those who cared enough about the paper Dale Melsness is honored

to form committees--benefit fundraiser, outside advisors, and staff--raised ques-

tions about business practices and discussed

the Chronicle's direction. All agreed that it would be a real loss to the community if the paper did not resume publishing. Another agreement was that the business had to be on solid financial footing before the next issue could be printed.

Over the last few months, KWIR Publications, the Chronicle 's publisher, has taken several steps to correct its mistakes. The company:

figure.

Reduced its debt to a manageable

• Produced a business plan to prove that the business will survive and grow. This will also be used as a tool to attract investors.

• Hired a business manager with experience in cash management and running a small business.

as a 'true American hero'

by Martha Pontoni

Dale Melsness, longtime Clevelander and local coordinator of the Names Project Quilt, has been honored by National Partners, Rep. Louis Stokes and the Congress of the United States as a "true American hero."

Melsness is one of 14 Pathfinder Award winners honored for their unique contributions to the fight against AIDS by National Partners and the U.S.Congress. Melsness was nominated through his union, Social Agencies Employees Union Local 1199, by a co-worker. There were 130 nominations from twenty national organizations.

Rep. Stokes read into the Congressional Record on June 10 a moving tribute to Melsness, calling him anong other things, "a first-class citizen, and a true American hero." Stokes also singled out Melsness a "unique Cleveland native because unlike the majority of the other 130 people recogHired additional salespeople to bring nized by National Partners, he is not a

• Produced a marketing package that describes the Chronicle and the major impact of advertising in gay and lesbian publications.

member of the health profession. Mr. Melsness has chosen to help HIV/AIDS patients out of a desire to help his fellow man. I strongly believe that people with Mr. Melsness' high caliber are a much needed rare breed."

Melsness expressed surprised at the award but was touched to be honored as an unsung local hero. "It is just nice. I do it [the Quilt] because I can do it. I spend a lot of time on the phone, sewing, talking to families." Melsness attributes his long run as a Quilt coordinator to his work with families of those people who have just died from AIDS complications. "It reinvigorates me to talk to families. Moments like when I talk to a mother about how to make a panel, keep me going."

Melsness has been coordinator of Cleveland's Names Project chapter since the Quilt first came here in 1987, and was the Chronicle's 1988 Gay Man of the Year for his work on the Names Project Quilt.▼

While we were out

Page 12

tual understanding. In a joint statement, City Center declared that it regretted the incident, and that it welcomed the patronage of the gay and lesbian community. The mall also stated that "it has no policy which interferes with the lawful rights of gay and lesbian individuals visiting the facility, including same-sex couples holding hands."

According to the statement, City Center management will ask the city prosecutor to drop any criminal charges against the two people that were arrested, and Stonewall Union agreed not to pursue any legal action against the mall. In addition, City Center has invited Stonewall Union to conduct its police sensitivity training program for security officers at the mall sometime this month.

A demonstration against the mall would go on as scheduled, according to the group that planned it. OutRage, feeling the mall's response was half-hearted at best, still planned (at Chronicle press time) to protest at the High Street entrance of the City Center at 1:00 p.m. on July 11.

CONTENTS Makeup is okay for lesbians Letters...

State Fair stalls gay booth.... Cracker Barrel demo in Toledo. 4 Chilly Pride is in the red... Outlawing gay civil rights.. Pride concerts. Bits and Pieces. Alive & Well National Notes.. Charlie's Calendar Personals ... Resource Directory. Special Auto section

...

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