August, 1975

MCC International

Convention Art MacDonald

The Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches held its sixth annual General Conference in Dallas, Texas last month. Representatives from 91 congregations, out of six countries, attended the gathering of almost 2000 people. The Conference lasted six days, with the participants gathering for worship services before and after the workshops and business meetings. There were almost three hundred voting members of the conference (each minister having one vote, and every chartered church in the UFMCC sending one lay delegate for every 100 members or fraction thereof), with nonvoting members giving input during the workshops that covered such areas as alcoholism, handicapped gays, sexism in gay society, faith and Orders in the UFMCC, publications, etc.

The bulk of the conference was held in the Adolphus Hotel in downtown Dallas, with the attending members spread throughout the surrounding hotels and homes. The majority of the clubs in Dallas participated by sponsoring the conference for at least one night, and holding benefits for the UFMCC. They also provided, as a community effort, free busses to the clubs that participated.

A new awareness of the international aspects of the U-FMCC was brought to the forefront at the Conference, when the foreign delegation declared abstention on several issues, and the issues then became items for hot debate. The main issue appeared to be one of whether the foreign churches (or member congregations of World Church Extention) were to pledge loyalty to an American denomination, or whether the Universal Fellowship was to become less American Oriented.

Speakers for the General Conference were Elaine Noble, Representative in the State House, from Massachusetts, and Dr. Norman Pittenger, English theologian who has written several books on christianity and sexuality. Representative Noble gave a fiery lecture on the political responsibilities of the people present, challenging each person to write three letters and make three telephone calls in support of the E.R.A. (Equal Rights Amendment).

During the course of the Conference, Rev. Troy Perry (Founder of the UFMCC, and Moderator of the Board of Elders) was re-elected to the Board of Elders, and the Rev. Roy Birchard (NY) was replaced on the Board of Elders by Rev. Carol Cureton (St. Louis).

General Conference for 1976 is scheduled for Washington, D.C.; 1977, Denver, Colorado; 1978, Toronto, Canada; and for the Tenth Annual General Conference in 1979, Los Angeles, California, the original home of the UFMCC..

ARMY RESTRICTS ENLISTMENTS Ray Unger

HIGH GEAR

An enlisted person in the Army can no longer automatically reenlist. The Army has new, more stringent guidelines for the soldier to meet. He (or she) must be a high school graduate and have at least a specified minimum score on the Armed Forces Qualification Test. (This minimum score has been raised.) In addition, people with certain medical waivers will not be allowed to reenlist, and a ceiling has been placed on the total number of reenlistments.

Statements from commanding officers may also be used to determine a soldier's military future. Since gays are currently not permitted in the armed forces (They are given a "medical disqualification" and dismissed from the Army.), this is just one more oppressive tool to use against gays! Conceivably, a person, regardless of that person's military record, could be barred from reenlistment because a commanding officer thought the solider was gay and wrote a negative report. According to Sgt. Bibee, here in Cleveland, the rejected soldier would have no legal recourse. "The only person he could sue would be the Secretary of the Army."

FREE CLINIC

CLEVELAND, OHIO The Free Clinic (12201) Euclid has prepared a "Survival Newsletter" for distribution in and around Cleveland land. The newsletter is designed especially for new comers to the area but it has information that could be useful to anyone,

especially someone who is on a limited income. Besides giving a comprehensive list of the free health services (clinics, counseling services, public showering facilities, etc.), it also lists many other ways of getting goods and services for less. The newsletter will soon be available at the bus station, the Free Clinic, the Alternative Coffee House, and other places around town.

New Dignity Group Forming

Dignity, the national organization for gay Catholics, is now forming a chapter to serve the Greater Akron Canton area. Initial meetings are being held at the Ecumenical Campus Ministries office at 143 South Union St., Akron. For the present, and during the formation period, meetings will be at 7:30 PM on the second and fourth Mondays of every month. If you cannot attend, but are interested in joining the group, write to P.O. Box 3501, Akron, Ohio 44310, or call 928-1526 after 6 PM. During the day call Father John Saltzman through the Ecumenical Campus Ministry office at 762-8823. Meeting dates are subject to change, and should be verified by calling the numberg given above.

CHANGES IN WARREN

Tim Turner

WARREN, OHIOThe past year has been a year of change for the bar scene in the Warren-Youngstown area and the changes will keep on coming. Two bars have been added during this past year. and one familiar drinking spot will soon undergo a change in management.

Harrassment

Peter Barr

The Park Police at the Cleveland Zoo were recently responsible for the harrassment of a male gay couple who were displaying signs of affection in public while in the Zoo. A Park officer approached them and requested them to stop holding hands, demanding to see some form of identification, and taking down their names and addresses. They were then informed that if they were seen "carrying on" again, they would be asked to leave. The two men decided to leave at that time, not knowing exactly what legal rights they did and did not have.

When the Zoo director was called by a representative of the GEAR Foundation, he responded that the Park officer had responded to complaints from 'families' concerning the "unusual" conduct of the two young men. He insisted, however, that the Park officer had been acting without discrimination, and that all couples that show signs of affection in public are approached under the park ruling on 'lewd and lascivious conduct.' After all, he stated, "this IS a family park."

The matter is being looked into further by legal counsel for the GEAR Foundation, and the two men involved.

Page 3

Last December The Outpost became the first disco style bar in the area. It is located next to the Betsy Ross Motel on route 5 near turnpike exit 14. Billed as "the largest bar between Pittsburgh and Cleveland," the first floor is the typical bar set-up while the second level has the dance floor and sound system. (A disc-jockey handles the music on weekends.) On the Fourth of July they held a drag show which, according to the manager, had the place "packed" with people from as far away as Dallas, Texas and Florida.

A second new bar, the Alpine Cafe, joined the Warren scene last March. Located at 121 Pine Ave. S.E. in downtown Warren, the Alpine is a friendly neighborhood type bar complete with pool table and juke box. Behind the bar is a helpful sign listing the bartender's name and "The Boss Walt, His Boss George" -Walt's lover). Walt says that he has had some problems with police harassment in the form of strict checking and enforcement of the 2:30 a.m. closing laws, but he adds that there has been no harassment of his customers.

Across the street from the Alphine is Ann's, one of the oldest gay bars (if not the oldest) in Northeastern Ohio. After 27 years, in business, Ann has decided to go into retirement. She is currently in the process of finding a buyer. Several people have shown an interest, but they want Ann to stay and run the business. That, accorIding to Ann, is not the reason for retirement. Although details have not been finalized, Ann assures us that no matter who buys the bar, it will remain gay and not go straight.

Next time you visit the area, whether it is for the Kenley Players or just for a change, there is a new, more diversified nightlife happening in Warren.

agency is challenged

EAST LANSING, Mich. Two gay activists here have started a campaign to force the Michigan Civil Rights Commission, a state agency, to investigate discrimination complaints by homosexuals.

The campaigners are Don Gaudard, a micro biologist for the State of Michigan's Public Health Department, and Ted Kuykendall, a student.

Gaudard and Kuykendall maintain the MCRC has jurisdiction to investigate gay complaints, while the agency has claimed for years that it can only investigate complaints based on race, creed, color or national origin. Inspired by a summer project of the National Lawyers Guild and a conversation with Tom Coleman, a Los Angeles attorney who has often defended gays. Gaudard decided to investigate the civil rights laws and court cases in Michigan. Enlisting the help of Kuykendall, he combed through relevant laws and court Cases dating back 10-1871.

jurisdiction to hear complaints from gays, but that the

Commission actually is discriminating, in a legal sense, against gays by not investigating these complaints. Anticipating that the MCRC will not change its position, Gaudard already has prepared legal briefs for possible court battles in both state and federal courts. If the matter goes to court, Gaudard and Kuykendall hope to enlist the support of the National Lawyers Guild.

In their battle Gaudard and Kuykendall "hope to encourage other gays in other states to use the courts to obtain their civil rights."

"We recognize that these are only reform measures, but we maintain that gays should take steps to get what they can from the system while working to restructure. society in a way that all people truly are equal," Gaudard said.

In their legal research, Gaudard and Kuykendall eda preliminary investigation of the laws of oncluded that simil he taken in a number of these states.

Some