GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

JULY 22, 1994

EDITORIAL

Let's pull the plug on Project Spotlight

With an anti-gay ballot issue unlikely for Ohio's November elections, there's the tempting assumption that maybe the radical right has decided to back off in Ohio.

Well guess again.

Meet Project Spotlight, the newest form of anti-gay attack aimed right at our neighborhoods, our city councils and the progress Ohio lesbians and gays have made towards established legal protection and rights.

Project Spotlight, another brainchild of the American Family Association-the same loving folks who brought us Issue 3 in Cincinnati is a sign that the far right has shifted its focus from initiatives, because they result in drawn-out, expensive court battles, often with pro-gay outcomes.

At a cost of more than $500,000 in legal fees defending Issue 3, the AFA has realized that ballot issues are far too expensive a tool for pushing back the basic gay rights now on the books in Columbus, Cleveland, Youngstown, Yellow Springs and Cincinnati. Across the country, court decisions have begun to overturn the extremists and their hate-driven, restrictive legislation as unconstitutional, and it's clear that a change in strategy was needed to advance the right's agenda.

Instead, the AFA has targeted what they say is the root of the "problem:" city councils "stacked" with pro-gay members. It's a cagey shift in thinking. Drop the hate rhetoric and you lose the bad publicity of a gay-friendly, "biased" press. Focus instead on the people who "promote the homosexual agenda through public policy." With Columbus City Council elections set for this fall, and other Ohio council races staggered throughout 1997, the time is ripe for Project Spotlight.

The strength of this approach lies in its grassroots structure. AFA members are mobilizing in key cities throughout the state and

have designed a four-step plan tailored to local elections, in turn leading to possible wins that could spell disaster for the future of gay rights in Ohio.

Step one is the conversion of the public to their views about the so-called "gay agenda," largely through the distorted lies of the now-

A strong lesbian and gay voting block across the state of Ohio will show that our community is based on more than sexual tastes and cheap T-shirt slogans.

infamous videos Gay Rights, Special Rights and The Gay Agenda. Step two is a practical survival tip: use every opportunity available to register people to vote.

Step three involves circulating "petitions" on which voters sign a pledge to vote against gay-friendly candidates. These ersatz "petitions," like the real ones before, become mailing lists, which leads to step four: indoctrinating signers as to which pro-gay candidates to vote against, and which anti-gay candidates-who also support the rest of the Right's agenda-to vote for.

Project Spotlight is a simple, insidious plan that can work. But it's a smart plan that we can adapt and make work for us.

Grassroots organizing is not the copyrighted property of the extreme right. The life of any political movement lies in its ability to network and coalesce across broad

lines. After all, what good are state-wide efforts that lack support on local levels? This applies to gay strategizing and organizing as well as it does to fundie activity. Since the intent of Project Spotlight is to spread the battle across many fronts, it's vital that every lesbian and gay man counter this assault with an equal one. Gay political organizations have now organized across the state and stand ready for your participation and help.

Once local city councils-which have never been as pro-gay as the Right would have people believe are controlled by antigay forces bent on repeal of existing rights legislation, what's next? Think of the countless names seeking judicial positions on every ballot. How often are judicial races written off as 'so what, it's just a judge.' Yet gay rights victories are crucial in the courtroom. If legislators can be elected that will aggressively seek to deny gay equality through law, what's to stop the far right from promoting judicial candidates that will in turn pillage the Constitution for the benefit of hate and intolerance?

We must identify and support those officials, current and potential, who will continue to fight for our rights. In turn, we must support these champions for the work they do beyond our needs, the work they do for the benefit of others who will also lose should Project Spotlight win.

Educate yourself and register to vote. A strong lesbian and gay voting block across the state of Ohio will show that our community is based on more than sexual tastes and cheap T-shirt slogans.

The lack of a statewide anti-gay ballot issue this year provides us with a window of opportunity, not a victory. Look at this breathing space afforded us as a time to get involved. Let's pull the plug on Project Spotlight. Now.

COMMUNITY FORUM

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Volume 10, Issue 2

Publisher: Martha J. Pontoni Business Manager: Patti Harris Managing Editor: Charlton Harper Associate Editor: Brian De Witt Reporters & Writers: Doreen Cudnik, Barry

Daniels, John Graves, Charlton Harper, Jeff Hirst, Martha J. Pontoni, Timothy Robson Akron-Canton: Paul Schwitzgebel,

Jerry Kaiser

Art Director: Christine Hahn Production Artist: Gina Adkins Sales Manager: Patti Harris Account Executives: David A. Ebbert,

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GOP is no alternative

To the Editors:

It still surprises me to read letters from

spot for poetry, short stories, and art work by those in the community-in every issue. Dian M. Deutsch

Republicans complaining about the treatNo hate and violence

ment the gay community has received from the Democratic administration and current Democratic officeholders such as Eric Fingerhut [June 24].

What alternative does their party have to offer? Do gay Republicans think the subject of gays in the military would even have been broached if the Republicans had won in 1992? With the party under the control of right-wing bigots such as Pat Robertson, Pat Buchanan, Jesse Helms, et al, what chance do you think the topic of gay rights would even be mentioned?

I agree completely with Jack Power of the Log Cabin Club that we must hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. We supported them because of their verbal commitment to our civil rights and they didn't come through. President Clinton was politically naïve to think he could push a gays in the military agenda through Congress at this time, and perhaps we were just as naïve to think he could.

When I see the Republican platform in 1996 support rights for all people as Mr. Power has suggested, then I might consider voting for a Republican. Do I think it will happen? Not!

Essays are great

To the Editors:

Jim Kathary

Just a note to thank Leslea Newman for her piece "My Mother's Move to Acceptance" [June 24] and the Chronicle for publishing it.

It would be great to see more essays like this in the Chronicle, and perhaps even a

To the Editors:

I do not understand the hate and anger of the ACT UP people in their column, "Partying while the storm clouds gather" [July 8].

If hate is the answer, then I'm not for it; if violence is the answer, then I don't need it. Where might they draw the line? Would ACT UP like to see the entire gay community at war with the heterosexual community?

Our country had a civil war once, and the only good that came out of it was that a group of people were set free. They should never have been enslaved in the first place.

I am proud to be an American although I feel bad our nation kept a proud group of people enslaved. I am also proud to be a free gay woman who chooses a peaceful means of acceptance over an all-out war with people who don't understand why gay people are gay. I'm not into fighting someone else's ignorance. Christ hung on the cross and said, "Father forgive them, they know not what they do!"

Diana K. Tabor

The time is now for federal rights bill

To the Editors:

At all critical stages in the history of all free people, forces of oppression must be confronted in order for the frontiers of justice to be extended. For America, the time has come again. For gay men and lesbians, the time is now.

Just recently, a million Americans gath-

ered to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Stonewall, the first milestone in this long journey on freedom's road. The civil rights movement is on the march again, moving closer to the American ideal of liberty and justice for all.

We have refused to be intimidated by hate. Once again, it is time to challenge our country to live up to its founding ideals.

A great deal of progress has been made in the past quarter century. Although many miles have been travelled, there are many promises yet to keep. They are promises to a cook in Georgia fired for being a lesbian; to a postal worker in Michigan beaten unconscious by co-workers for being gay; and to a truck driver in New Hampshire, a stock broker in Maryland, a social worker in Mississippi, and countless other Americans— all fired because of prejudice despite their productivity and performance. Such flagrant discrimination is wrong, and it is time to fight back.

That is why, along with thirty of my Senate colleagues and 115 house members, I have sponsored the Employment NonDiscrimination Act of 1994. Our bipartisan legislation will extend existing federal protections against job discrimination to gay men and lesbians, and give relief to those living in fear of losing their livelihoods. Our bill will send a strong message to employers and all Americans that homophobia will not be tolerated as employment policy anywhere in the nation.

This is not about granting special rightsit is about righting senseless wrongs. Our case is strong our cause is just-and we intend to prevail. Polls show that the vast majority of Americans agree with us that lesbians and gay men should not have to face discrimination in the workplace. Many Fortune 500 corporations have already included sexual orientation in their non-discrimination policies. Eight states and more than 100 municipalities have

acted to ban discrimination against gay men and lesbians.

By joining Congressmen Barney Frank and Gerry Studds and myself at the press conference introducing this legislation, Coretta Scott King affirmed this action as the next chapter in America's civil rights history. She said: "I support the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994 because I believe that freedom and justice cannot be parceled out in pieces to suit political convenience. As my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere'."

But the fact remains that in 42 states, qualified lesbians and gay men with excellent records can be fired-with no warning just for being gay. It happens every day, and it is up to us to stop it.

Let's be clear the radical right will leave no stone unturned to block the enactment of this essential legislation. Our own commitment must be even stronger. To ensure success, we need your active support and assis-

tance.

Being right is good, but it is not enough. We need to mount a major effort in order to prevail. We must inspire the complacent and convert the skeptical. To make this bill a reality, we need you to take the following action steps now:

■If you have been discriminated against in employment or know some one who has make sure we know the facts [Committee on Labor and Human Resources, SD428, Washington, DC 20510]. Send us all the information you think will be useful in making our point. Job discrimination against gay men and lesbians is not a myth-it's a reality that is shattering lives and denying opportunities daily.

Write and call your Senators and Representatives at 202-224-3121 and tell them to co-sponsor the Employment Non-Discrimination Act of 1994 (S 2238 and HR 4636). Make sure they know this is impor-