10 GAY PEOPle's ChroNICLE October 25, 1996

COMMUNITY FORUM

Let friends know us

To the Editors:

As a former Clevelander, I was extremely pleased to discover the Gay People's Chronicle at my local gay and lesbian bookstore here in Richmond, Virginia. I now read it regularly and find your editorials, commentary and Community Forum informative and enlightening.

Although I did not "start my life over" until several years after leaving Cleveland, and was not very aware of the goings-on of the gay and lesbian community while living there, it is nice to be able to experience the goings-on now, albeit vicariously.

Now very much out of the closet, I am an active advocate for legislative reform here in Virginia. I have come to realize (like Marvin Liebman) that, no matter how many gay men and lesbians urge their legislators to vote for reforms and repeals, nothing will be done until those in the larger community who support our efforts to achieve first-class citizenship speak out. And this will not happen until we go to them and ask them to do so.

We need them to write letters to the editor to oppose opposition to civil rights and human rights for homosexuals. We need for them to support us when derrogatory comments are made about us in the workplace. We need for them to stand up for us (and for Christian teaching) when anti-gay rhetoric is spewed from the pulpits of their churches.

Everyone knows at least one gay man or lesbian and respects them. They just do not know that they know one. We need to give these people the gift that gives back: trust. Coming out gains one more respect from more people than anything else. Why? Because it is

THE OPEN PRAIRIE by Joe Noover

AND You?

Never before has it been so important that we unite as a community and stand solidly behind President Clinton. For those of us who live on the West Side of Cleveland, in Lakewood and the surrounding communities, we must unite behind Dennis Kucinich in his battle with a man who does not represent us, and in fact has voted against us 100 percent of the time in Congress. Take yourself and all your friends to the voting booth. We are at a turning point. A defeat will set us back many years in the progress we have already achieved. Fight back! Vote!

Rich Newman Cleveland

such a courageous act and because it is such a He understands AIDS

trusting act.

As National Coming Out Day passes, I urge every gay man and lesbian to come out to at least one person who previously did not know of their sexual orientation. For coming out is our only hope.

Fate in hand

To the Editors:

Bob Greene Richmond, Va.

On November 5, the fate of every gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered person's future in America will be largely in the hands of those who are seeking to be elected, or to be re-elected, in our local, state and federal offices for the next two to four years.

These potential candidates, by and large, are anti-gay and have expressed their bigotry and hatred towards all G-L-B-T people in America. It is time for all registered G-L-B-T voters to elect and re-elect those candidates who have earned your trust and respect.

I call upon you to vote to re-elect President Clinton, who has a proven track record concerning your issues. If the Employment NonDiscrimination Act is important to you, remember that President Clinton endorsed this bill, making him the first U.S. president ever to back civil rights legislation for our community.

Bill Lyman Columbus

Support Kucinich

To the Editors:

I strongly believe that November 5 is the

To the Editors:

President Clinton understands the scope of HIV/AIDS problems in our community and is fighting to conquer them in a number of different areas.

President Clinton directed the Justice Department and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to vigorously prosecute those who discriminate against PWAs, leading to actions against health care providers and facilities that violate the Americans with Disabilities Act.

President Clinton has shown his commitment by appointing openly gay physician Scott Hitt to head the President's Council on HIV/AIDS, along with several other openly gay council members.

President Clinton has convened the Na-

YEP! OTHER THAN THE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE I DID NOT HAVE A CLUE WHO I WAS VOTING FOR. I SURE

HOPE NONE OF

THEM WERE HOMOPHOBES.

Hoover

OPEN PRANDIC SVUDICATE

Email: oprairie@visi.com

http://www.visi.com/-oprairie

employment in his administration. President Clinton has appointed more than 100 openly gay people to administration jobs, including Roberta Achtenberg, former assistant HUD secretary, and Bruce Lehman, director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, the first open lesbian and gay man to be confirmed by the Senate. He has also nominated open lesbian Deborah Batts to US District Court in New York, making her the first openly gay or lesbian federal judge in the nation's history.

I would like to encourage you to vote for President Clinton and Vice-President Gore to give us all a chance to come out of the closet. Mary Jo Hudson Columbus.

Neanderthal Dole

To the Editors:

I was shocked to read recently that Bob Dole sent a letter to the Washington Times saying, "I oppose the special interest gay agenda that runs from gays in the military and reaches as far as to suggest special status for sexual orientation under federal civil rights statutes." And then when he was asked recently whether he believes homosexuality is wrong, Dole said, "I think so. I believe it is."

Do we need any better reason to vote for President Clinton on November 5?

Barb Shoulders Columbus

tional Task Force on AIDS Drug DevelopGore pushed for ENDA

ment, accelerated the approval of protease inhibitors, and removed dozens of bureaucratic obstacles to the effective and decent treatment of people with AIDS.

President Clinton established the Office of AIDS Research at the National Institutes of Health, created the Office of National AIDS Policy, and convened the first White House summit on HIV/AIDS.

President Clinton created the first Office of AIDS Housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development to specifically address the issue.

President Clinton is our only answer toward a better way of life for people with HIV/AIDS. Vote for Clinton-Gore on November 5.

Valerie Belt Columbus

most important election of my life time. I am Come out for Clinton

a gay man living with AIDS at the age of 47, and working as a social worker in this community in the field of HIV/AIDS. Over the past twenty years I have been involved in many of the battles for equal rights for lesbians and gay men. We have made a lot of progress, even though we haven't gotten everything we've wanted and deserved.

Community Forum

To the Editors:

In October, we celebrated National Coming Out Day because being open about our lives is so important to ourselves and others. President Clinton has supported individuals making the choice to come out of the closet by making sure that sexual orientation is not a criterion for

The Chronicle encourages everyone to write and express your opinion about the community or the paper. Please, however, keep letters constructive, and avoid name-calling and personal attacks. Please be brief. We reserve the right to edit letters. We will print your name unless you specifically ask us not to.

Letters must include a street address and phone, for verification only. They can be sent via U.S. mail, fax, or E-mail to the addresses in the masthead above.

To the Editors:

There has been some criticism in the community regarding the role of Vice President Gore in the Senate vote on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). Such criticism is incomplete and misleading.

The Vice President's staff and the White House staff were in constant communication with Elizabeth Birch and representatives of the Human Rights Campaign and other civil rights organizations. Vice President Gore and President Clinton were actively lobbying various senators on the telephone the morning of the vote and the vice president was prepared to return to Washington, D.C. from Philadelphia and break the tie if that had occurred.

That ENDA should have come within one vote of passage in the Senate on its first consideration is historic. The vote would not have been so close without the active participation of President Clinton and Vice President Gore. For the first time in U.S. history, a president and vice president have advocated for many issues of importance to gay, lesbian and bisexual Americans. There have been disappointments, there will be more. The struggle for equality will be a long one. But President Clinton and Vice President Gore have done more for gay and lesbian people in four years than all other presidents combined. They deserve out enthusiastic support.

Steven M. Shellabarger Columbus

Shellabarger is a former co-chair of the Human Rights Campaign's board of direc-

tors.

GAY PEOPLES CHRONICLE

Volume 12, Issue 9

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Martha J. Pontoni

Patti Harris Doreen Cudnik Brian DeWitt Bob Boone,

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The Gay People's Chronicle is dedicated to providing a space in the Ohio lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender community for all of its members to communicate and be involved with each other. This means that every Chronicle, to the best of its ability, will be equally dedicated to both men's and women's issues, as well as issues that affect the entire community. This balance will provide lesbians and gay men with a forum to air grievances and express joys.

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