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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

February 26, 2010

www.GayPeoplesChronicle.com

Move to repeal 'don't ask, don't tell' gathers steam

by Anthony Glassman

Washington, D.C.-Buried among his defense of torture and Bush administration policies, former Vice President Dick Cheney restated his support for repealing the military policy preventing gay and lesbian personnel from serving openly.

"I think society has moved on," Cheney said on ABC's This Week February 14. "I think it's partly a generational question. I say, I'm reluctant to second-guess the military in this regard, because they're the ones that have got to make the judgment about how these policies affect the military capability of our units, and that first requirement that you have to look at all the time is whether or not they're still capable of achieving their mission, and does the policy change, i.e., putting

Variety

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the Womyn's Variety Show, the flagship event of Oven Productions.

The 35th show opened on Saturday night February 13 in Kangesser Hall at Park Synagogue in Cleveland Heights, where it has been held for three years.

A full chorus opened the show with "Faith Comes Out of the Closet," followed by two other songs by Windsong, Cleveland's Feminist Chorus.

Iris Bishop was back as emcee and kept the crowd of just under 425 women informed with her thoughtful introductions of each performer, mixed with her ever-present good humor and comic timing.

Bishop took delight in detailing both the

gays in the force, affect their ability to perform their mission?"

Cheney noted that Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Admiral Michael Mullen expressed support for repealing the socalled "don't ask, don't tell" policy that allows gay men and lesbians to serve only if they keep their sexual orientation a secret.

Mullen made his position clear in testimony before Congress. The Pentagon is conducting a year-long study on the repealing the measure, one of President Barack Obama's stated policy goals for his administration.

Colin Powell, who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs when the policy was passed, himself has noted that attitudes have changed and he now supports allowing gay men and lesbians to serve openly. He is joined by Gen. John

clinical and playful answers to her question, "What do you call your privates?" Perhaps this was more to mess with the sign language interpreter than to amuse the audience.

The line-up included performances by Susan Hagan, Carol Smith, Alexis Antes, Jane Tobias, first-timer Char Portman, Sue Kestranek, Maura Rogers and Robin Stone as well as the duo of Peggi Cella and Gene Epstein.

Elizabeth Berrey and Jan Held presented spoken-word pieces and the groups Telling Point and Backbone, from Oberlin, rounded out the show.

This year's event featured a skit called "Variety Show Idol" or "American Midol," as some referred to it-with look-alikes imitating American Idol's panel of judges including Randy, Ellen and Simon.

Shalikashvili, who already expressed his support for repealing it.

While repealing the policy might turn out to be a slower process than LGBT advocates would like, Pentagon officials are expected to issue some recommendations in mid-March to relax policy's enforcement, especially in cases where information servicemember's sexual orientation comes from someone else, as opposed to the personnel themselves.

on a

Despite military and even conservative support for repeal, other Republicans are not as eager to see the policy change.

Sen. John McCain, questioning Mullen and Defense Secretary Robert Gates, expressed his happiness that Congress were the ones who would have the final decision on the policy, not

Like Hoffa, Paula was nowhere to be found.

Event producer Marcia Sindelar said she was happy with the show and noted that it "runs so smoothly because we use pretty much the same crew every year." Volunteers are welcome and accepted each year but "the core group for the Variety Show and the party have been here for years," she added.

The show ended with the cast and audience joining together for an exuberant performance of "We are Family," while exiting the auditorium and filing, some in full voice, into the adjacent party room for the Fabulous Party.

"It was an incredible experience," said Carly Mesnick of Lakewood. "I've never gone before."

Of the party, she exclaimed, "I loved that everyone was on that dance floor!" She also

Gates and Mullen, who he accused of trying to repeal it "by fiat."

However, McCain said four years ago that he would "seriously consider changing" the policy if military leaders ever told him it should be repealed. Sen. Carl Levin, chair of the Armed Services Committee, may insert a moratorium on discharges during the year the Pentagon is studying the issue, or possibly even a full repeal, into the Defense Department authorization bill when it comes before his committee.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, who took over Hillary Clinton's seat when she became secretary of state, is pushing to bar the use of federal funds

to enforce DADT.

This week, Sen. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut said that he would introduce a measure to repeal DADT.

appreciated that many of the performers stayed for the party and mingled with the guests.

"It was a great experience to meet all the people that performed up close and personal," she added.

Sindelar agreed. "It was a lot of fun," she said. "We still had quite a crowd at 1 am when we had to close it down."

This marked the second year of the Variety Show's raffle, made up of donations primarily from women-owned businesses, along with others such as the Cleveland International Film Festival.

Proceeds from the raffle, along with any other money remaining after expenses are paid, will go toward producing next year's event. The date for that has been set for February 12, 2011.

Finegan

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DNA matched the rape kit from the case. With the survivor standing by his side, Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason announced the match on February 10. Wilson faces the death penalty for this crime. He is indicted on 16 charges including aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, rape, kidnapping and robbery.

Wilson was days from release when the new charges were made, according to Cold Case Director Rick Bell, whose unit reopened the case in 2009, assisted by a grant from the Ohio attorney general's office.

The grant has allowed many cases to be re-examined. Most promising are ones with biological evidence, where DNA can be

matched to other samples in the Combined DNA Index System, or CODIS.

"We looked at hundreds and hundreds of files, pulling each one out one by one, reading through it with a fresh set of eyes," Bell said.

Finegan's was the ninth case police have solved so far, of the 257 they've narrowed the immediate search down to.

"Ninth and tenth," Bell added, as he included the survivor's previously unsolved rape in his count.

The ordeal began on a Friday night, June 4, 1982.

"I had gone out to dinner with a friend and we decided to stop by Isis," the survivor began.

Richard Anthony Wilson

Isis was a popular bar at 1400 West 6th Street near the corner of Frankfort Avenue, "for the contemporary woman," according

FAD

to a July, 1982 ad in the gay monthly High Gear. It was known to women in Cleveland and Akron, where Finegan lived with her four dogs in nearby Barberton. Isis closed in 1989, and the space has since been home to a variety of businesses, though none gay or lesbian. It is now Crop Bistro and Bar.

"Mary Ann and I had broken up the week before and had no plans to meet up with each other that night," continued the survivor, now 66, who asked that her name not be printed.

"We got to the bar around 9:30 or 10 pm," said the friend who joined her for dinner that evening, who also asked that her name be kept private. She has helped care for the

survivor and been a companion to her for Continued on page 5

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