Cincinnati jury dismisses O'Banion jail abuse suit
Cincinnati-A federal court jury on May 18 dismissed a lawsuit by a man who said he was beaten at the Hamilton County jail because he is gay.
The jury of six women and two men ruled that Deputy Sheriff Robert Bowman didn't violate Steven O'Banion's civil rights.
U.S. District Judge Carl Rubin had dismissed the county and Sheriff Simon Leis Jr. from the lawsuit the day before. That left Bowman as the sole defendant. The city of Cincinnati and three city police officers also had been named in the lawsuit, but settled out of court in April for an undisclosed amount.
O'Banion, 41, who has AIDS, said that when he was arrested for jaywalking on Sept. 4, 1991, he was harassed and was beaten in a holding cell at the county jail.
O'Banion testified that he gave the officers no reason to attack him.
"I was angry that I was stopped at 11:30 at night with no traffic in sight, three blocks from my home, by an officer who called me a faggot," O'Banion said.
He said city police officers who arrested him for jaywalking had taunted him and roughed him up, then charged him with drunken and disorderly conduct.
O'Banion was charged at that time with attempted murder for allegedly threatening
to infect guards and a jail nurse with HIV and spitting bloody saliva at them. That charge was dropped.
O'Banion denied the officers' allegations. He was convicted in December 1991 of simple assault and is appealing that conviction.
O'Banion, 5 feet 8 inches and 125 pounds, testified that Bowman, a guard at the jail, slapped him three or four times and punched him in the left eye. O'Banion sustained several facial cuts and a broken nose.
"I bled continuously. There was a massive amount of blood that came from my nose and mouth. My eye was closed shut," O'Banion testified.
Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis defended Bowman and two other guards in his testimony.
"My three officers and a nurse were extremely concerned that this individual, who said he had AIDS, had spit on them, had thrown blood on them. They were visibly shaken that they had come into contact with him," Leis testified in U.S. District Court.
He said the officers were tested several times for HIV, with negative results.
O'Banion pleaded guilty in January 1992 to the original charges of jaywalking and disorderly conduct. He was fined $99 and costs. He has since moved to Hawaii.✔
Russia drops anti-gay
by Wendy Sloane
Moscow-Male homosexuality is no longer a crime in Russia, and gay activists hope the repeal of the Soviet-era law will improve Russia's ability to combat AIDS.
A decree repealing Article 121, which made consensual sex between men punishable by up to five years in prison, was signed by President Boris Yeltsin and approved by lawmakers April 29. It took effect in May.
"This is a wonderful event. We've waited a long time for them to change the law," said the editor of the Russian gay and lesbian magazine Risk, which was founded in 1990 and has a circulation of 20,000.
He uses the pseudonym Vladislav Ortanov for fear of discrimination.
"It allows people not to be scared to go to the doctor and to openly form gay relationships," he said Saturday.
Prior to the change, Russia was one of the few countries in Europe that considered being gay a crime. Last year, Ukraine repealed a similar law.
The repeal did not address lesbians since they were not acknowledged by previous Soviet governments.
Ten gay men were sent to prison in the first half of 1992, according to the latest statistics provided by the Russian Ministry
law
of Justice. In 1989, some 500 men were sent to jail for being gay.
This climate of fear has created doubt about official statistics which state that Russia has between 650 to 700 people with full-blown AIDS.
Activists say the actual number is at least 10 times higher-and say the number of people infected through sexual contact is rising rapidly.
The repeal, however, left intact the part of Article 121 which outlaws male rape and gay male sex between minors.
Nevada may drop law, too
Carson City-The Nevada state senate has voted 16-4 to legalize private gay sex. "Unnatural" acts by members of the same sex-but not heterosexuals-have been felonies in the state for 72 years. Felony penalties for public gay sex would remain. The bill now goes to the state assembly.
"The issue here isn't gay rights. It isn't morality. It isn't criminal law. It's freedom," said Sen. Mark James, R-Las Vegas, who headed the Judiciary Committee that sent SB466 to the Senate floor.
JUNE 11, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE
You Are Invited
to the
Fourth Annual Garden Party
Sunday July 25, 1993
To Be Held at a Beautiful Bratenahl Mansion
Join everyone for an afternoon of fun and food in a relaxed outdoor setting and bid on a variety of auction items: antiques▼ art work by Chris Pekoc & Andrew Wyeth film festival passes concert tickets
dinner theatre packages▼ catered dinner parties recordings restaurant meals▼ balloon ride autographed photos of Rock Hudson & Helen Hayes vacation packages to various locations and much, much more.
There will be a silent auction with art, service and entertainment tables loaded with goodies. Auctioneer extraordinaire, Evelyn Hayes, will again conduct the live auction.
Benefit donors will enjoy a delightful buffet brunch and beverages. Patrons, in addition, will have guided tours and special refreshments.
Major Benefit for the
Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center
For more information, call the Center at 5221999
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