CLEVELAND

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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

An Independent Chronicle of the Ohio Lesbian and Gay Community

APR 0 9 1994

Volume 9, Issue 19 March 25, 1994

Cleveland City Council passes lesbian-gay-bi civil rights law

by Charlton Harper

With hardly a ripple, Cleveland City Council March 14 passed new comprehensive legislation that includes sexual orientation as a status protected from discrimination in the areas of housing, employment and services. The new language bans discrimination on the basis of race, religion, color,

A break away from academic ideology

"In the Spirit of Fluxus," at Columbus' Wexner Center,

traces the development of the loose-knit art movement of the 1960s, Fluxus. Shown is Willem de Ridder's

European MailOrder Warehouse/ Fluxshop.

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sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, ethnic origin, Vietnam-era and disabled veteran status.

The measure had originally been scheduled for the March 21 Council meeting. But Council President

City AIDS fund request approved

Cleveland City Council approved without objection the final application for federal development monies that will make up part of the 1994 city AIDS budget. The vote was taken March 14.

The $125,000 in applied federal block grants breaks down into two parts: $75,000 for AIDS education and counseling services, $50,000 for AIDS housing issues. The amount "is better than we were doing, but it's still not enough," according to councilman Ray Pianka, who chairs the Commu-

nity Development Committee, the body that oversees federal funding applications.

Pianka says that the city's total AIDS budget of more than $260,000 will be helpful in addressing AIDS in Cleveland, but he knows there's still a need for more. "We've got to be more activist and we need to be more informed. We, the council, were shocked to learn that in June Cleveland moved from the second to the first tier level in numbers of AIDS cases. And the syphilis infection

rate has soared in Cleveland, skewing the Ohio statistics statewide. We need to be better at shaping public policy and demanding an-

swers."

Pianka says the funding can be expected in Cleveland sometime this spring. Other monies that make up the complete AIDS budget will come in as the state grants become available.

Final wrap-up on the complete budget should happen at the March 28 City Council meeting.

Jay Westbrook moved the issue up a week in expectation of no Council meeting on the 21st. "We've really cleared what we call our committee boxes. Council has worked hard and we're just complimenting their work by taking a week off," said Westbrook.

The ordinance takes effect upon Mayor Michael White's signing, which was expected by March 22.

The speed with which the ordinance passed caught some off guard. Councilman Michael Polensek, who cast the lone dissenting vote against the legislation, had expressed concern that the inclusion of the mentally disabled would cause problems when housing them with seniors in city housing units. "I am speaking about the mentally disabled, not the mentally retarded. We are having a tremendous problem with this very issue in city housing right now, where we have the mentally disabled assigned to housing with the elderly and people who are physically handicapped," Polensek said.

Westbrook and Councilman Ray Pianka agree that the concern for safety in public housing is an issue they too face in their wards. "Housing [in this instance] is a concern," said Westbrook. "The definition of mental illness includes substance addiction. We're going to have to work with CMHA [Cleveland Metropolitan Housing

Authority] on that.”

But it is what he felt was a lack of opportunity for debate that bothered Polensek most. “Obviously my number one concern was that there was no proper debate on this issue. There's a question about process here. There's nothing to be afraid of in a public hearing.”

Though the new inclusive language worked its way quickly through committee and council, "it wasn't bulldozed at all," said Westbrook. "I understand his [Polensek's] concern. I don't think it's a fair concern. Passage in the Finance Committee was the second committee the issue had already gone through. It had already received passage in the Legislation Committee. All materials were faxed out to the news media beforehand. It had been introduced by the mayor in January. There was more than ample public notification."

Unlike some other cities that wrestled with adding sexual orientation protection, public reaction in Cleveland to the changes in the anti-discrimination legislation has been remarkably quiet. Westbrook says "there hasn't been a lot of public response, not any significant negative response." Polensek noted most of the calls he's received have been questions about Continued on Page 9

Kiss me, I'm gay

Mary Boyle: Running on her record Lesbian and gay contingents

by Kevin Beaney Mary O. Boyle is running in the Ohio Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated this year by retiring Sen. Howard Metzenbaum. Boyle, first elected as a representative in the Ohio House in 1978, served three terms, and then ran for Cuyahoga County Commissioner in 1984. That year she became the first woman commissioner, and was reelected to the post, governing with two other elected commissioners, in 1988 and 1992.

Boyle has regularly shown strong support for the rights of

sexual minorities and AIDS issues, and holds an unwavering prochoice position. Her quest for the U.S. Senate seat faces stiff competition in the primary from the more widely-known attorney Joel Hyatt who also happens to be Metzenbaum's son-in-law. Hyatt has received the Democrat party's endorsement and has had his name in the news regularly whenever the AIDS movie Philadelphia was mentioned.

Recently the Chronicle had a chance to speak with Boyle about her candidacy and her record.

Chronicle: You're more wellknown in Northeast Ohio, but

Joe Interrante, who leaves his executive director post at HIT in April, says the time is right

It won awards in France, but Savage Nights offers

little besides pure raw emotions

how do you overcome the tremendous name recognition of Joel Hyatt by voters throughout the state?

Mary Boyle: This is a Democratic primary. The majority of voters that will make the decision starts from Cleveland and goes out. Forty-plus percent of the Democratic voters in the state of Ohio are in the media market of Cuyahoga County. I have been on the county-wide ballot three times successfully, most recently in 1992, and have strong recognition in this particular part of the state.

Yes, Joel Hyatt has high name Continued on Page 3

INSIDE

Great Lakes

Theatre

marched with little fanfare in St. Patrick's Day parades in Ireland and San Francisco, but were kept out of the New York parade. The Boston parade was canceled rather than let gays march.

The age-old struggle in Northern Ireland dominated the San Francisco parade of 248 units, including screeching bagpipes and energetic Irish dancers. But there was something new. For the first time, the event included a contingent of 30 gays and lesbians, who drew no opposition in their debut. "We wouldn't be consistent with our stand on no political or religious discrimination in Northern Ireland if they were kept out," said parade chairman Joe O'Donoghue.

Mayor Frank Jordan led the procession of marching bands, drill

B3 Taylor Hart

advises a

Festival's Taming of straight man who's

the Shrew is a stunning production

having a number of gay sexual fantasies

teams, dancers, floats and community groups from Second and Market streets to City Hall.

Boston's parade was canceled after U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter refused to grant a last-minute temporary order allowing the sponsors to ban a gay group from marching.

The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council had made it clear they would cancel the parade rather than allow members of the Gay and Lesbian Irish Bisexual Group to march. GLIB members marched in 1993.

Chester Darling, attorney for the veterans group, said he would appeal the decision of the Massachusetts state supreme court, which upheld earlier rulings, to the full U.S. Supreme Court. Continued on Page 8

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