10 GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE JUNE 6, 1997

COMMUNITY FORUM

HRC's step backward

To the Editors:

I recently returned from Washington where I took part in the second annual Lobby Days by GenderPAC. While we were treated with respect and our stories listened to in sometimes shocked surprise at the total lack of civil rights that we have learned to accept as normal, at least one congressional staffer indicated to me that a representative of the Human Rights Campaign had asked their office to oppose transgendered inclusion in the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA).

That staffer was quite upset by that fact and was also impressed that our position was to support ENDA with or without transgendereds in it, but we'd prefer to be included. HRC hurt themselves in the eyes of at least that one congressional office by their position. I mention this because only one other office that I'm aware of indicated that transgendered inclusion in ENDA would affect their support of ENDA to any of us at Lobby Days.

It hurts to hear, right on the heels of being told by the Ohio Civil Rights Commission two weeks ago that I have no civil rights, that an organization named for human rights not only doesn't want me to have civil rights protection, but has also actively worked against that protection.

HRC doesn't deserve the support of any bisexual or transgendered person, support they've enjoyed and welcomed in the past. They now are all too willing to forget that transgendered people were on the front lines at Stonewall. They certainly don't deserve to

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first draft, so who decided that transgendered people aren't human? Who decided that bisexuals were a liability? Who's next in the name of political expediency? Most of the gay and lesbian groups in the country have started to include bisexuals and transgendered people in their missions. HRC's position is a major step backwards for all of us and needs to be addressed. “We must hang together or we will surely hang separately." This is as true today for all of us as it was over two hundred years ago.

Cathy Wood, president Crystal Club Columbus

call themselves the Human Rights Campaign 1,049 discriminations

while working against the human rights of

some.

Since I identify as both a bisexual and transsexual woman, I find myself twice excluded by them. It was and remains the GenderPÁC postion that it supports ENDA with or without us; we won't oppose civil rights for our gay and lesbian sisters and brothers just because not all of them support us getting civil rights as well. We urged the people we contacted to support ENDA either

way.

Read the article your paper ran about the HRC dinner and count the number of times the words bisexual or transgendered appear. It's easy because the count is zero. HRC has told transgendereds to pursue our civil rights by legal action under Title V11 legislation, knowing full well that the courts have consistantly ruled that we are not included in that language. They seem unable to grasp the idea that someone who is transphobic is likely also homophobic; after all we're all queers to those who hate. That hate crimes and discrimination against all of us spring from the same fear of gender transgression. Basically they told us to go to hell. We've been there, done that, and most of us have the tee shirt.

Why should gays and lesbians be concerned about this position by HRC? Remember the old folk tale of the Russians in a sleigh being chased by a pack of wolves? Someone was thrown off every once and a while until no one but the driver was left. HRC has thrown transgendereds and bisexuals to the wolves. The reason they gave Riki Wilchins was that our inclusion in ENDA would turn it into the "Crossdressing Teachers Act" and that would kill it dead. If I were a gay or lesbian teacher, I would be worried about whether or not I was next off the sleigh. Who follows then?

We must stand together. The HRC claims that ENDA is not about gay and lesbian rights, but rather about human rights, so why aren't we included anymore? We were in the

To the Editors:

I just received the General Accounting Office report on the "DOMA" Defense of Marriage Act [detailing 1,049 federal laws affected by marriage]. I have read the report and I am outraged on how the government is getting away with discrimination. Do the government officials think that they are better than the lesbigay community that they get to get away with this discrimination? I think that they are no better than us. The government officials are ignorant and homophobic-the way society has raised them.

Ohio House Bill 160, that is in the Commercial and Civil Law Committee, is no better. It is just the same.

I feel that the lesbigay community is being treated like second and third class citizens. I also feel that if the lesbigay community all over the U.S. would band together and file a class-action lawsuit charging the government with discrimination, that we would teach them that they cannot get away with discriminating against us.

Kevin R. Bailes Amanda, Ohio

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It would not have happened without Susan's efforts. It is expected that we will have more lobbying days in the future. All of them will follow the fine example Susan set in organizing this one.

I was proud to participate in the event and proud of our community for finally channeling some pride in the direction of the Statehouse.

Susan, we could not have done it without you!

I do, however, have two criticisms of the otherwise exceptional event.

Email: oprairie@visi.com

The first is that I think it would have been beneficial to have had a de-briefing session at the close of the organized day. I think a session like that is as important as the prebriefing, since people would have been able to share some of their thoughts with the group as a whole. This is especially important because many of the participants had never done anything like this before.

The second issue is much more serious. It deals with inclusion of the National Leather Association letter beginning "Sadomasochists Speak to You" which was included in the packets to representatives.

To preface my remarks, I want to say unequivocally that I support all of the tenets set forth in said letter. It caused me some moral dilemma initially, but I must say that the more I think about it, the less dilemma I have. I repeat that my remarks are not about sadomasochism or its acceptance within our community; rather my remarks are about political savvy and effective lobbying.

I believe the letter should have been rejected from the legislators' packets. Said letter, which came from Oregon, not Ohio, does not contain the words gay, lesbian, bisexual, nor transgendered. Either reason could have been used to justify its omission.

Since this was the first time our community has had the opportunity to meet formally with legislators, it was crucial that everything we put in their hands increased our credibility in the eyes of our "enemies" and

Shot ourselves in foot those we consider "educable," and does us

To the Editors:

I would like to take this opportunity to publicly commend and thank Susan Bader for her efforts in organizing the exceptional Gay Lobbying Day in Columbus, May 14.

The event, which was a first for our community, brought together two dozen organizations representing every niche of our community for a chance to see our state representatives face-to-face and discuss our issues.

Susan had the idea to organize this event following the introduction of H.B. 160 by Rep. Jay Hottinger to make same-sex marriage against the public policy of Ohio. She set it up, coordinated it, and saw it through. The event was productive and educational.

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no harm in the eyes of our friends. Said letter contains passages that our "enemies" would love to use against us and probably will. Those same passages could cause doubt amoung the "educable" and our friends. In other words, we shot ourselves in the foot. The specific objections are:

1. The letter deals nothing with civil rights, legislation, nor any salient GLBT issues, yet its inclusion with no other qualifications attached reinforces the lies about how we live that our enemies use against us. 2. If a critical observer finds this letter, it Continued on page 12

Correction

The artist's credit was omitted from the cover illustration on the May 30 Pride Guide special issue. It was drawn by Cleveland artist Daniel T. Postotnik.

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