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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

An Independent Chronicle of the Northern Ohio Lesbian and Gay Community

Clinton's military policy: 'if you show, you go'

On July 19 President Clinton announced his new policy of how gays and lesbians are to be treated in the military. It was, he said, an "honorable compromise" that he expected would not please everyone. Gay rights groups immediately criticized Clinton for caving in and failing to establish equal protection.

Flanked by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and speaking to a military audience, the president frequently stressed how fair the new policy would be, and what a great step forward the military was taking. Then came the specifics.

1. Service personnel were to be judged based on conduct, not their orientation.

2. The practise of “don't ask” about sexual orientation at enlistment will continue.

3. A person openly stating homosexuality will establish the "rebuttable intention" to engage in prohibitive activities, and be subject to discharge. However the person will be given the chance to refute that intention.

4. All provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice will be applied, in an evenhanded manner, with a decent regard for privacy and the rights of all service members.

The third point is the newest, confusing twist

Man killed in lovers' fight at bar

by Stephen Wolfe

A Youngstown man was charged with aggravated murder, stemming from a shooting reportedly during a lover's quarrel at Numbers Nightclub on the morning of July 10th.

According to witnesses at the club, 20 year old Vidal Brown exchanged words with estranged lover Allen Howell, also from Youngstown, earlier on Friday evening. At 2:10 am Brown walked up to Howell and shot him in the eye with a .25 caliber handgun. Then a third man, Kenneth Tyler, wrestled the gun away from Brown and fired two shots at him. One shot grazed Brown's forehead and the other hit Kenneth Wilkerson, an innocent bystander, in the chest.

Brown fled the scene before police arrived at the club at 620 Frankfort, but was found a few blocks away. All three shooting victims were taken to St. Vincent Charity Hospital. Howell was pronounced brain dead and later died after relatives ordered life support systems removed. Wilkerson was listed in serious condition. Brown was treated and charged with aggravated murder on July 12 after Howell's death.

Tyler was arrested for felonious assault and later released.

Petitions to put Cincy's gay rights law to a vote will be counted

August 6

to the "don't tell" debate. Additional explanations by the president and Defense Secretary Les Aspin state that gay soldiers must refrain from any homosexual activity, on duty or off, and be able to refute accusations or be discharged. Congresswoman Pat Schroeder, DColo., denounced the policy for shifting the legal burden of proof to the gay soldier.

Although the president stated his intention to end witch hunts, the policy allows for wide interpretation about the off-base activities of military personnel.

Tom Stoddard of the Campaign for Military Service bitterly criticized the decision as no advancement from the current policy and a failure to fully protect gays from discrimination. Many analysts agreed the general wording of the policy will need clarification as it is implemented. ✓

Volume 9, Issue 2 July 23, 1993

SES ANY

DAIN

WHATEVER

IT TAKES

KEVIN BEANEY

Rescuing clinics from Operation Rescue

A pro-choice group prepares to defend a Chester Ave. abortion clinic against Operation Rescue, during their crusade in Cleveland July 9-17. Rescue was much more passive than in the past, and did not rush clinic doors. One T-shirt spotted in Rescue's lines: "Intolerance is a Beautiful Thing." See story on Page 6.

Study finds what we all knew: It's genetic

by Paul Recer

National Cancer Institute researchers have discovered a gene pattern linked to male homosexuality, adding powerful new evidence to the scientific conclusion that the tendency to be gay can be inherited.

Dean Hamer, principal author of the study appearing July 16 in the journal Science, said the finding does not prove homosexuality in males is genetically compelled, but it does show that the sexual orientation is powerfully influenced by inherited genes.

Evidence of a gay gene was found by studying the X chromosome in 40 pairs of gay brothers. Thirty-three of the brothers shared the same pattern variation in the tip of one arm of the chromosome, a region that may have 100 or more individual genes.

Hamer said his lab is now trying to identify the specific gene shared by the gay brothers.

A similar study searching for a genetic basis for homosexuality in females is now underway, he said.

The study is at least the fourth in recent years to identify possible biological explanations for sexual orientation and it strengthens the argument by many in the gay community that homosexuality is not a matter of choice, but of biological destiny.

A 1991 study by Simon LeVay found that a specific brain structure, the hypothalamus, was smaller in gay men than in heterosexual males.

Studies in 1991 and 1993 at Boston University of separated identical twins found a commonality of sexual orientation that suggested a genetic origin of homosexuality in both men and women.

Hamer emphasized that his study does not show that a single gene determines sexual orientation. Many factors may be involved, he said.

Judge says max sentence in bar shooting is intended to "send a message" about gay bashing

13:

"There also could be another gene on some other chromosome. Or it could be that there was some other physical or biochemical factor involved,” he said. “Or there could be some other non-biological factors related to life experiences or environment or upbringing."

The study could help to change many people's perception of homosexuality.

"It may help people look at this as a genetic issue, that it is natural and it involves

no sort of choice at all," said George Neighbors Jr. of the national P-FLAG Federation in Washington.

But he added some fear that if a biological basis for homosexuality is found, there may be some people who view it as an opportunity to medically change sexual orientation. "Is this going to lead people to look for a 'cure' of homosexuality or lead people to manipulate the gene so that it doesn't exist any more?" he asked.

Soldier of Year wages

war on discrimination

by Kevin Beaney

José Zuniga, 1992 Soldier of the Year for the Sixth Army, was in Cleveland July 7 and 8. Not as a military spokesman, although he is highly decorated, but as a

dedicated soldier who could no longer live the lie and came out as a gay man in April. He was given an honorable discharge, but not before being demoted in rank from sergeant to fourth specialist less than a month after his coming out.

Now he's a private citizen as part of a national speaking tour to "put a human face" on the issue of gays in the military, saying "that's the only way we can win this battle." His sponsor for the Ohio part of the trip was the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio which held a fund raising reception the evening of July 8. The sympathetic audience was a welcome change after the soldier-turned-ac-

INSIDE

An odyssey through both sexes and 400 years of sexism reveals the nature of humanity

Angels author Tony Kushner talks about

guilt, religion, and his play's characters

tivist had a full day of interviews with Cleveland media just one week before the President's expected decision on changing the military policy.

Zuniga, who prefers being called "Joe" rather than "José," had a simple but important message to deliver: the issue of gays in the military needs to be embraced by everyone in the lesbian and gay community because a defeat here sets the movement back and gives a victory to the conservative zealots. "If we lose this battle we're allowing the government to place a against gays. And that's not going to stop stamp of approval on discrimination in the military."

He's speaking wherever he can, pointing to his impressive record with the implication that this handsome, proud soldier could be anybody's son, and it shouldn't matter that he is gay. Continued on Page 5

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