Ohio Roundup draws 375
by Troy May
Gays and lesbians from 12-step recovery groups across the nation gathered in Cleveland recently for the eleventh annual Ohio roundup, titled "How It Works."
The event was started in Cleveland by a few people in Alcoholics Anonymous who "had a dream to unite Ohio's gay A.A. recovery community," said Dennis S., chairperson for the Roundup. “Only 89 people attended that first roundup; this year we had 375." (It is an A.A. custom that people use their last initial only.)
The speaker on Friday night was a member of Al-Anon, a recovery group for family and friends of alcoholics, who shared his experience in recovery. "When I first went to an Al-Anon meeting I thought those people were more sick than I was, but deep inside I knew I was sick," said Zak H. "AlAnon has taught me you can't think about your problems if your problem is your thinking," he said.
A.A. speaker Lisa S. said she used to clean the bar at 3 am just to pay her bar tab. "I hated myself, but when I started drinking, I liked myself, thought I was pretty and sexy... My ego was the enemy and pride
my problem... but now I have a relationship with me," she said.
"People here focus on personal growth and bettering themselves and you don't find that in a bar," said Scott H., a three-year veteran of the Roundup. "Recovery has meant finding balance in my life."
Although it started with A.A., the Roundup has grown to include people from all 12step recovery programs, such as Narcotics Anonymous, Codependents Anonymous, and Incest Survivors Anonymous, Dennis said. "But this event is geared toward gays and lesbians, for us to have a comfortable place to socialize and work our program," he said.
The Roundup included seminars on topics such as How to Meditate, Sex and Self Esteem, Why I Stay in A.A., and Spirituality in Recovery.
"We feel we should know how to give others pleasure, but we must have communication with our lovers to let them know what feels good and what hurts,” said the leader of the Sex and Self Esteem workshop.
Next year's Roundup will be held in Cincinnati and will feature a river boat cruise. ✓
Pro-choice Ginsburg sides with equal rights
The newest associate justice, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, is a welcome addition to the U.S. Supreme Court for those who support gay equal rights and the pro-choice agenda. The Court opens its term this year on October 4. During the hearings held by the Senate Judiciary Committee in July, Ginsburg declined to answer many hypothetical questions or voice her opinion about cases currently in the court system, citing her position as a sitting federal judge. However, she did on July 22 include gays within the civil rights cause.
Asked by Sen. Edward Kennedy, DMass., to supply her views on discrimination against people because of their sexual orientation, Ginsburg said,."I think rank discrimination against anyone is against the tradition of the United States and is to be deplored."
"This country is great because of its accommodations with diversity," she added. "The richness of the diversity of this country is a treasure and it's a constant challenge to remain tolerant and respectful of one another."
Individual members of the committee had voiced some exasperation with Ginsburg's close-to-the-vest style of answering questions. At one point, Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, groused that Clarence Thomas, now an associate Supreme Court justice, "was vilified" in the news media for refusing to tell the confirming committee his views on abortion.
Ginsburg, a 60-year-old federal appellate judge, said "civil rights acts state grand principles representing the highest principles of our nation" that everyone will have equal opportunities.
She would not directly criticize a series of Supreme Court rulings during the 1980s that narrowed some civil rights protections. But she said the high court should interpret laws "in conformance with the central meaning."
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If the court interprets a law wrongly, she said, Congress can pass a new law to reinstate its plan, as it did in enacting the 1991 Civil Rights Act.
At one point, Hatch voiced concern about a position that Ginsburg had taken as women's rights counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union. She had opposed the wording of a motion, aimed at combating sexual violence against children, that said states had a legitimate interest in prohibiting certain sexual activities.
Asked if she objected to attempts by states to protect children in this way, she replied, "None at all. What I did have a strong objection to is sexual classification. What I do object to is a vision of the world that supposes that a woman is always the victim (of sexual violence)."
...
"So my only objection to that policy was sex specificity," Ginsburg said. Hatch said he was "relieved" to hear her answer.
She said she would make her Supreme Court decisions based on the law, precedent and discussion with her colleagues in which she would urge a consensus rather than a split decision on any given issue.
Sometimes, she said, "I'm going to squelch my view" and go along.
Ginsburg endorsed the concept of a constitutional right to privacy, on which the Supreme Court based its 1973 Roe vs. Wade ruling that legalized abortion nationwide.
The right to abortion also is provided by the constitutional guarantee of equal protection, she added.
"I've always said both-that the equal protection strand should join together with the autonomy of decision-making strand,” she said. “It was a question of choice either way."
Ginsburg has criticized the Roe ruling, saying the country might have been better off if the right to abortion had been established more gradually. But she has never said the ruling was wrong.
How often should I get an AIDS test?...
ASK DR. RUBY
Send your questions about sex, safer sex, and matters of the heart to Dr. Ruby c/o the Health Issues Taskforce, 2250 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
OCTOBER 1, 1993 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 7
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