CLEVELAND PUBLIC LIBRARY SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPT.

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GAYOPLE'S CHRONICLE

An Independent Chronicle of the Ohio Lesbian and Gay Community

Volume 9, Issue 20 ■

April 8, 1994

MICK HICKS

House hits gay youth programs

Washington Amid an attempt by one member to 'out' another, the U.S. House approved a Missouri lawmaker's amendment denying federal funds to school districts that discuss homosexuality in a positive way. It then passed a second amendment essentially neutralizing the first one.

Rep. Mel Hancock, a Republican from Springfield, sought March 24 to bar federal funds to school districts with gay-positive activities and programs.

But in an amendment introduced by Rep. Jolene Unsoeld, D-Wash., the House, by a vote of 224-194, made the Hancock proposal virtually ineffective by limiting its application to federal-but not local-funds and stating that nothing in it would interfere with the rights of local communities to set curriculum.

Hancock's proposal was an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, a $12.4 billion education bill. The House later approved the bill 289-128.

During the debate on the Hancock amendment. Rep. Robert Dornan, R-Calif., personally attacked a Republican colleague who opposed the measure.

"He has a revolving door on his closet," Dornan said of Rep. Steve Gunderson, R-Wis., who opposed the anti-gay amendment.

Continued on Page 6

Sewing his fingers off

With a little help from some friends, Gilbert Baker rushes to finish the world's largest rainbow flag in time for the Stonewall 25 march in New York June 26. The mile-long flag will raise $500,000 for AIDS service groups across the country.

INS grants Mexican gay man asylum

San Francisco--A gay man granted asylum in the U.S. after claiming he was harassed and raped by police in his native Mexico says the action saved his life.

The man, who identified himself with the pseudonym Jose Garcia, told a news conference March 24 that he hoped the Immigration and Naturalization Service decision sent a signal to all gays "that there are countries in the world which respect the human rights of all citizens."

Garcia, who said he was in his 30s and had been in the United States illegally for about a decade, won the right to stay permanently on March 18. That right "saved my life," he said.

Frank to hold hearings in Ovett

Washington-Despite the vandalism, the threats and the neighbor who fired a gun 87 times in half an hour just to scare them, Brenda Henson says she and her life partner Wanda, have no intention of packing in their dream and moving on.

"There's no choice to do anything else as an American citizen but stand my ground," Henson said March 24 in a telephone interview from Camp Sister Spirit in Ovett, Miss.

Still, Henson welcomes plans by U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-

Mass., to hold a congressional hearing in Mississippi this spring to explore whether the government can better protect the Hensons, whose plans for a women's retreat are opposed by area residents. Cases are pending in local and federal courts.

In early March, Brenda and Wanda Henson brought their story to Washington when they paid a visit to Frank and fellow gay Massachusetts Rep. Gerry Studds. The meetings followed the Jus-

tice Department's announcement that it would postpone a mediation session in Ovett because opponents of the Henson's Camp Sister Spirit filed suit against the department.

John Allen and James Hendry stated that U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno overstepped her authority by ordering the Justice Department's Community Relations Service (CRS) into Ovett, and are asking the court to order Reno to stop her agency's attempts Continued on Page 6

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Garcia said he had established a "well-founded fear of persecution" in Mexico because of his membership in a particular “social group."

The decision was the first time that the INS has granted asylum based on a claim of persecution involving sexual orientation, said Ronald Silberstein, Garcia's attorney.

The INS had not previously concluded that gays were a "social group," a category protected by asylum laws if fear of persecution is established, Silberstein said. He said the decision, though not legally binding on other INS officers, should establish a precedent for similar cases elsewhere.

INS spokesman Duke Austin confirmed that the decision had been reviewed at INS headquarters in Washington before it was issued.

The decision sets no precedent and does not mean that all gays from Mexico are eligible for asylum, Austin said. But he said it was a logical conclusion that "if a gay who's being persecuted in Mexico can get [asylum] on that grounds, then a gay who's being persecuted in any other country can get it on that grounds."

Last July an immigration judge in San Francisco granted asylum to a Brazilian gay man, a decision the INS is appealing. In 1990, the Board of Immigration Appeals barred deportation of a Cuban gay Continued on Page 6

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Ohio AIDS service groups get grants

Three Ohio AIDS service organizations were among the recipients of the first grant awards from the Stadtlanders Foundation. The Akron-based Northeast Ohio Task Force on AIDS, the AIDS Foundation of Miami Valley in Dayton, and Lorain's Ohio Human Interest Organization were among more than 200 applicants for the grants. Forty-three grants were awarded in recognition of service in the areas of nutrition or treatment information for people living with AIDS/HIV.

The next round of grants will be presented following the Stadt-

Twentysomething and HOMES are putting on a prom; bring a date or come find one

landers Foundation's first major fundraising event, “Raise the Rainbow." That event will create the world's largest rainbow flag and raise over $500,000 for AIDS service organizations across the country. (See photo above.)

The Stadtlanders Foundation was established in 1993 by Stadtlanders Pharmacy to provide direct support on a national level for charitable work that improves the lives of people living with chronic conditions.

For more information about "Raise the Rainbow," call 412825-8105.

Symptoms and treatments of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia are the Health Watch topic

INSIDE

ACT UP Cleveland marks its first year with a death and some reflections

solve

"torso murders: now it's a gay novel

Obituaries

Editorial, Community Forum

Books

From the Hart.

B-3

Calendar.. 19 Resource.. 22 Personals.. B-2