12

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

June 6, 1997

COMMUNITY FORUM

Continued from page 10

will serve to distract from the other issues we were presenting.

3. S&M is practiced among same-sex and opposite-sex couples. There is no specific S&M agenda we needed to address legislatively.

potentially hostile folks?

The most important lesson activists need to learn when distributing material (especially in printed form) is: Know thy audience!

Again, these comments have nothing to do with S&M or the tenets set forth in said letter. They have everything to do with political gain and are to be interpreted in that respect.

Eric Resnick

hope that he not be forgotten. We have heard his hope. We will remember. He has touched the lives and hearts of more people than he could have possibly imagined. His tragedy has become our tragedy. We can only hope in return that there will indeed be no more.

Ray Newborn Lakewood

Canton He should earn it

4. The references to obscenity and internet communications are "hot-buttons" that the legislature is currently debating. Having S&M pictures on the internet is exactly the kind of Let there be no more

issue we do not need to be confusing with equal employment opportunities right now.

5. The letter in its entirety could be used as fundraising fodder for our enemies as well as be brought up to help sway legislators away from our side on issues we see as important.

Imagine what people like Jay Hottinger or Rocco Colonna will be able to do with letters like this; especially if they can claim we gave it to them!

In the interest of being "good people" and not wanting to slight people in our community or censor, we can jeopradize credibility. The last time we faced a situation like this, it was over NAMBLA [the North American ManBoy Love Assn.], and, aside from the abhorrent sex with children, we censored them because of the damage done to our movement by our enemies' ability to confuse NAMBLA with the gay rights movement and the harm done to us because of it.

The reasoning that “this information is available in other places" is not a relevant reason to justify keeping the letter in the packets. It is much different if someone finds something while surfing the net than if we put it directly in their hands!

I am especially disturbed that the people who put the packets together did not formulate a possible response to any backlash this might genreate, even within our own group.

Stonewall Akron pulled the letter from our ten packets and I know the Log Cabin Clubs pulled it from theirs, but what about the other 60 that made their way into the hands of

JIM ANDERSON'S

CITY SITES

To the Editors:

Thank you for your participation in the recent Ray & Ramona Productions "A Night to Remember" benefit in memory of Robbie Kirkland. Through the Chronicle's generous donation of advertising space, as well as the generosity of the performers and patrons, we at Ray & Ramona Productions were able to raise $1,500 for the Cleveland Lesbian-Gay Center's PRYSM (Presence and Respect for Youth in Sexual Minority) program.

The benefit was attended by nearly 500 people, including the family of Robbie Kirkland. Leslie, Robbie's mom, has asked me to extend her many thanks for helping to make people aware of the problems associated with teenagers in crisis. While gay teenagers may be up to three times more likely to commit suicide, any teenager-gay, lesbian or straight-can find themselves overwhelmed by the problems of today's complex society.

Awareness of the problem and education are the keys to making sure that there are no more needless deaths. Ray & Ramona Productions has adopted the slogan “Let there be no more." Your recent donation has helped us move towards that goal. Soon, the message will be presented to the schools as an educational presentation. It is our sincere hope that every teen will have access to help.

Again, our thanks on making the first annual "A Night to Remember" benefit a success. Let me close by saying that it was Robbie's

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To the Editors:

I recently read about Brian Bennett, the former chief of staff and long-time aide to ultra-conservative former Rep. Robert Dornan, announcing that he was gay. What astounded me was to read that he had decided to go public because he has been asked to serve on the board of directors of the Long Beach Gay and Lesbian Center and AIDS Project Long Beach.

Is the gay and lesbian community so desperate for leaders that we need to sink to recruiting someone who spent 12 years of his life playing a key national role in the persecution of gays and lesbians? Is all forgiven by simply uttering the words, "Oh by the way, now I'm one of you"?

Don't get me wrong. I'm all for having people come out-it's both healthy for the individual and for the gay and lesbian movement as a whole. But I do have a problem with simply saying that all is forgotten, and then bestowing upon them a leadership role in our community.

Community Forum

As Dornan's chief of staff, Bennett was the person in charge as he and other staffers were writing the dozens of hate-filled anti-gay bills that Dornan bombarded Congress with. He was there while angry speeches condemning homosexuals as sodomites and child molesters were being written and delivered. Bennett was there cheering Dornan on as he worked to cut AIDS funding.

And now Bennett's going to serve on the board of directors for a gay and lesbian center and an AIDS service agency?

If Bennett wants to make a positive contribution to his new-found community and eventually become a community leader, then he certainly should have that opportunity. But I, for one, want to see him earn it. I want to see him volunteering in an AIDS clinic. I want to see him stuffing envelopes for a community fundraiser. I want to see him facing an angry hate-filled crowd of far-right zealots as he demonstrates for a gay cause. I want to see him struggling to convince his extremist buddies in elected office to support gay-rights issues. I want to see him volunteering his political talents to get openly gay or lesbian leaders elected to public office.

I want to see him do what thousands of gay and lesbian activist have done before him to earn their community's respect before he's given a leadership role among his gay and lesbian peers.

Jess Durfee San Diego, Cal.

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 or fax to the addresses in the masthead on page 10, or by E-mail to letters@chronohio.com

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