GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE JULY 4, 1997

COMMUNITY FORUM

Good eventually wins

To the Editors:

God, nature and time, it seems, has always corrected our mistakes and we are the better for it. However, it is ironic that the issues surrounding homosexuality are being decided by those who are not lesbian or gay.

It is called a sin by some and acceptable by others, depending on who you talk with. Those who don't agree with this lifestyle have used scripture as a way of defending their position, and now they've turned to the legal system hoping that it will work for them. This is the same tactic used against women, blacks, Native Americans and any other group whose living and rights they want to suppress.

But the saving grace for Americans has been that the courts have eventually done away with that which denies law-abiding citizens their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; as written in the Constitution.

The most sensitive aspect of the gay and lesbian debate is where do they fit in religiously. Consider this: There are two ways that those who believe in God are to come to him. One is as children of the church and the other as people of the covenant. You choose which door is most comfortable for you, yet they both have the same requirement and that is that you love God and each other, love yourself, do what is right, and live in peace.

By doing these things, you have a right to the promises made by God. So, hold on lesbians and gays, your time is coming! Believe it, because history has proven time and time again that what is right does eventually

win out.

THE OPEN PRAIRIE by JOE NOOVE

THEY'RE ONE OF THE FEW THINGS WE COULD BUY FOR BILLY NOT MADE BY DISNEY!

that speak out against us so we in turn can decide not to support them.

One example is, how many gay people have dined at Wendy's Hamburgers in the past couple of weeks? Does anyone know that Wendy's canceled all advertising during the Ellen show because they did not want to be associated with “promoting homosexuality?"

I think gay people in general are becoming more organized and our voices are starting to be heard. A column of this nature would be an important part of continuing that process. Ray Kozar Cleveland

SORA TO

BAPTIST

Web Site: http://www.visi.com/~aprairie

Email: oprairie@visi.com

choir directors, church musicians, deacons, Sunday school teachers, and yes, the pastors of many Baptist congregations. Remove from the church buildings the stained glass, the pipe organs, the pianos, and other artistic elements that may have been designed and executed by gay and lesbian artisans.

Throw off the fancy robes and other attire that the leaders of the Baptist denomination wear in their pulpits, knowing full well that they had been touched by the hands of gay or lesbian crafts persons. Burn the millions of pages of the Sunday school texts that have been published by the Sunday School Board, that were designed and printed by gays and lesbians. Trash the scented bouquets of flowers that adorn the altar each Sunday because by gays and lesbians.

Work out your problems and differences Don't stop with Disney they were planted, cultivated, and arranged

and prepare for legitimacy. The rest will take care of itself. Trust God, and help fill our streets with hope.

Emmanuel G. Martin Martinsburg, W.Va.

List anti-gay firms

To the Editors:

On June 18, the 5:00 news on WJW Channel 8 in Cleveland aired a story about the Southern Baptists' boycott of Disney because of Disney's decision to employ openly gay people, offer benefits to the same-sex partners of their employees, and allow a "Gay Day" at their theme parks. The church charges that Disney is “anti-family."

As anchor Wilma Smith explained the details of the story, she asked viewers, "Tell us what you think, give us a call." The station ended up airing three callers. Two of the three were very negative against gay people, and one of those two had nothing to say about the story but rather gave her personal views on how "sick" gay people are.

I promptly wrote Channel 8 a letter expressing my disappointment with the way they chose to present the story.

One thing I would like to see in the Chronicle is an area of the paper reserved for letting us know about people or companies

JOHN F. O'CONNOR LISW ACSW Clinical Social Worker Individual Couple and Group Psychotherapy

D.L. Dunkle & Assoc.

A Gay Lesbian Pyschotherapy Practice 12417 Cedar, Suites 21-24 Cleve. Hts., Ohio 44106 (216) 229-2100

To the Editors:

Having been reared in rural Alabama, baptized Southern Baptist, taught Sunday school, sang in the choir, taught vacation Bible school, even preached a few sermons as a teenager, I am somewhat disappointed that my "brothers and sisters" didn't take the notion of the Disney boycott all the way!

In growing up in a small south Alabama town, sitting in church every Sunday morning and evening, and even most Wednesday nights for prayer meeting, I saw first hand the Baptist" version of Christianity practiced in everyday life.

On Sundays, between Sunday school and the morning worship service, the front lawn of the church would be filled with dozens of men, many of whom were either past or current deacons, hurriedly puffing away on cigarettes, cigars and pipes, snuffing them out in time to make their formal entrance and sit on the front row to hear another hellfire and damnation sermon on the evils of tobacco.

One Sunday, the fire department disrupted the morning worship service to extinguish the fire that the deacons' smoking materials had set on the dry grass of the front lawn of the church.

And then, there was the common practice of the Baptist leadership (Methodists and Presbyterians, too), who would beat their chests on Sunday morning about the evils of alcohol, only to be the prime patrons of the local taxi service which could be dispatched with a mere telephone call to go by the "green front" state liquor store to pick up the week's supply of booze. No "Christian" would ever be caught walking through the door of that evil place!

The disdain that the local churches had for the green front was carried to extreme when the daughter of one of the oldest employees of the green front wanted to get married in the church, and she was refused that privilege.

And then there was the story of the chairman of the board of deacons who carried on a notorious affair for years, all the while living just across the street from the church. But I digress from the premise of this letter.

Disney is just the tip of the iceberg that should draw the fire of the Bible-beating Baptist. Why not rip from the Broadman Hymnal every song that has been authored by a gay or lesbian composer or lyricist? Throw out every gay or lesbian member of the baptized body of believers, to include the

Rip from the pages of the Bible all references to same sex love and respect. No more Ruth and Naomi, no more Jonathan and David, no more Jesus “and the disciple whom he loved." But, let's leave in that passage which the "practicing Christians" seldom seem to recall when they are in their pulpits and on television condemning those they don't understand: “Judge not lest thou shalt be judged."

But the ultimate "boycott" should be against the King James Version of the Holy Bible. After all, it is the product of the agenda of a homosexual: King James.

James O. Yeaman Chicago, Illinois

Why no gay officials?

The following was sent to President Clinton on June 13 by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund:

Dear Mr. President,

The Board of Directors of the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund-representing members across the nation-urgently requests your attention to a matter of considerable importance to our community-the absence of high-level gay and lesbian appointments in the administration.

Here is the situation we face:

The gay and lesbian community is a significant portion of the electorate. The major networks' exit polls from last November showed that 5% of the voters nationwide identified themselves as gay or lesbian. Twothirds of these gay and lesbian voters supported the Clinton-Gore ticket. In understanding the significance of gay and lesbian voters in the country, it is worth noting that this 5% was only slightly behind the number of Hispanic voters and higher than some of the other core constituencies of the Democratic Party.

There is considerable concern in our community that gays and lesbians, although they were clearly part of the Clinton-Gore base, are not represented accordingly in this administration. In fact, there has not been a single PAS level appointment of a gay or lesbian official in morethan four years. There is not even an openly gay or lesbian director of a White House staff office.

It is not lost on our community that within hours of taking power in the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Tony Blair appointed

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Volume 13, Issue 1

PUBLISH

THE GAY

PEOPLE'S

KWIR

A DECADE

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an openly gay Cabinet minister. How do the national gay and lesbian organizations which have been trying to work with the administration explain this to our members across the country?

Please know that we very much appreciate your renewed commitment to passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act. Likewise, we appreciate your new AIDS initiative. Your administration has taken a number of steps which our community supports and applauds.

As part of your stated desire to make your administration "look like America," it is vitally important that the gay and lesbian community be represented in significant positions and appropriate numbers. We know that you are committed to fairness and that this oversight will be rectified.

Jeffrey B. Trammell, D.C. co-chair and the Board of Directors Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund Washington, D.C.

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