HIGH GEAR/JANUARY 1978

Page 3

ODDS&ENDS

Guess who defeated former

First Lady Pat Nixon for first place in the annual Good Housekeeping magazine reader poll of "Most Admired Women"? None other than Anita Bryant! Who, according to the National Gay Task Force, is now claiming that we are threatening her after she seems to have milked most of the publicity she can out of threatening gays...Bella Abzug recently announced that she will run for the House of Representatives seat that New York

Mayor Edward Koch vacated after his election as mayor..."I did it simply because I wanted to show my strong feelings about the sexist nature of our language," said Ellen Cooperperson, of Babylon, N.Y., on hearing of a court's decision of the legality of her name change. What was her name before the change? Ellen Cooperman, of course...The Woman's Music Union of Columbus is sponsoring a women's variety show on Saturday, January 14, at the Hille! Foundation (46 East 16th) at 8:00 p.m...Fleming H. Revell Company (Old Tappan, N.J. 70675) is the publisher of The Anita Bryant Story just in case you would like to stop buying any of other their books...National Gay Task Force also reports in their newsletter that the Santa Barbara, Calif. School District became the fourth school district in the nation to adopt an official policy of non-discrimination against gays in employment under a unanimous

Piqua and surrounding area...January 18 is the official day at the Water Main. They'll have free cake for the guests and assortment of drink specials for the evening.

celebration for Lowell's Birth-

The Broward County Coalition for Human Rights, Inc. voted overwhelmingly to join the Dade County Coalition for Human Rights in supporting the Citrus Boycott. Broward County is directly north of Dade County and includes the Fort Lauder-

dale

area.

Both of the

organizations encourage all gays to support their efforts.

The Polariod Foundation has given a $3,000 grant for "service to lesbian mothers" to the Janus Counselling Association. Donna Medley of Janus told Gay Community News that Polaroid was the only company to respond favorably to the many proposals sent out during a summer fund raising campaign. In its grant, Polaroid said it was "pleased to be able to participate with you in your efforts to provide a wide range of services for lesbian mothers."

GCN also reports that State Representative Elaine Noble is considering challenging U.S. Senator Edward Brooke this year for his Senate seat.

Why are Republican Gays in California planning to vote for homophobic State Senator John Briggs? According to Gaysweek the strategy is designed to nominate the opponent least likely to defeat Democratic vote without Governor Jerry Brown. Among discussion or objection in their Republican hopefuls Briggs is September 1st meeting...Have currently considered Brown's you seen the advertising for, weakest opponent. If Brown Wendy's Hamburgers lately? seems to falter, gays will They're telling us to have a "hot switch to Attorney General and juicy holiday." Little do they know...really...

Evelle Younger who takes a more moderate line on gay issues than does Briggs.

Portland Oregan's Mayor Neil Goldschmidt issued a Gay Pride Day Proclamation last year. A group called "Citizens To Protect Our Children Committee" thought that sufficient reason to recall him. According to the Bay Area Reporter the attempt failed. Slightly more than 25,000 signatures were needed. Only 18,000 names were secured.

Homophobic Phyllis Schaiafly is considering running against Senator Charles Percy in the Illinois Republican Primary in March. The contest could turn into a gay rights debate according to The Alternative. Senator Percy was quoted as saying "regardless of my personal opinion of homosexual activities, I feel strongly that no one set of social values should be imposed on all individuals. ... I question whether it is lawful to forbid an individual to act as he pleases in the privacy of his home." Ms. Schlafly is a staunch opponent of both the Equal Rights Amendment and gay rights, often lumping both of them together.

The Vatican may have plugged one leak when they silenced Father John McNeill, but there are many others to take his place. A recent issue of U.S. Catholic Magazine reports that Catholic Sister Lois Spear feels that the homosexuals should be welcomed into the church. Sister reasons that in consideration of the rogues gallery of spiritual truants already ensconed in the church's fold, gays should be enpewed as well. Spear wrote in her article, "a church that lovingly accepts the wife-beater, the family with battered children, vowed religious leaders wearing Saks Fifth Avenue suits, corporate executives who pay their em-

JERRY ORBACH "CHICAGO"

ployees less than decent wages, and Cadillac owners consuming more than their fair share of scarce energy resources, has room in its pews for the Christian homosexual." That's quite a lineup, Lois.

The Gay Life recently featured an article on Good Shepherd Sister Gabriel Herbers, executive co-ordinator of the Alliance to End Repression. The Alliance works to secure for all people the rights guaranteed them under the Constitution and that according to Sister Gabriel includes gay rights. In 1974, the Alliance established its Gay Rights Task Force "to work to amend city, state and federal laws on housing, employment and public accommodations to prohibit discrimination based on sexual preference."

of

And lastly, The Alternative reports that the Rochester Diocesan Sisters Council has approved a three part motion calling for the study of homosexuality, the continuance special ministre to homosexuals and the furtherance of homosexua participation in the church. The Rochester bishop had no immediate comment although Bishop Joseph Hogan has always been for the liberation of persons from unjust structures and situation.

...And from the Advocate we have this bit of information... The

National Governors' Conference has changed its name to the National Governors' Association (NGA) after rejecting a change to the Federation of American Governors (FAG). A staff member pointed out that the acronym would be "less than dignified"...to say the least. Citing family matters as one reason, Massachusettes representative Elaine Noble is not running for re-election in 1978; redistricting and then opposing a political ally in Barney Frank in the election campaign were other reasons given... Is it true that Elaine may challenge Senator Edward Brooke?...Playwright Mart Crowley's "The Boys in the Band" will be the featured film on February 12 in Cleveland State University's Sunday afternoon film festival "Stage to Screen" showing in the University Center Building at East 22 and Euclid Avenue. For more information please call 687-2450...Another film to mark down on your calendar in the same series is Tennessee Willlams' "Suddenly, Last Summer" with Katherine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor... That will be shown on April 2...Wanting to end both "official and private attitudes for the American public toward homosexuality", Blueboy Publisher Don Embinder has pledged to study $10,000 to fund "the causal factors of human sexuality" in an editorial in the January issue of the magazine...Any inquiries regarding this study may be addressed to Human Sexuality Research, c/o Blueboy Magazine, 185 N.E. 166 Street, Miami, Florida, 33162, Attention: Donald Embinder.

Did you see the other day the little tidbit in Mary Strassmeyer's column in The Plain Dealer about the new boutique opening for gays only? It'll be called Clothes Encounters for the Third Kind...such a sense of humor, Mary...and in the Sunday's New Year's Day edition of the same paper Judy Sammon and Judy Pennebaker claim, in an article giving the in-things and the out-things for the coming year, that the Shaker Club is "in" for nightlife, and (wait'll you hear this!) That gays are "in" for sexual lifestyles...it sure took them long enough to find that out...Members of either sex can use the private toilet of the first woman City Council president of New York City, Carol Bellamy. A sign on the door reads: "This facility is now being utilized by men and

women. Please determine whether it is occupied before entering. Thank you. ...Now that's liberation!...Well, guys, the Man Watchers Inc. list for 1978 is out for the 10 most watchable men in the world. Heading the list is Sylvester Stallone for his fantastic body" and just a shade behind is Bruce Jenner who is, according to the majority of 3,000 members polled. "traditionally handsome." Further down the list are the likes of Joe Namath, Steve Martin, John Travolta, Neil Diamond, Ben Vereen, Sean Connery, Burt Reynolds, and Henry Winkler...And for the rest of you, better luck new year!...NGTF Action Report is looking for suggest,

ions and comments for this year's Gay Blue Jeans Day, tentatively scheduled for April or May. Send them to National Gay Task Force, 80 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10011....

... and from our very own Cleveland Plain Dealer from a feature article that they ran on newly-appointed Police Chief Richard Hongisto: "He (Hongisto) hired women, minorities and a handful of avowed homosexuals as deputy sheriffs. 'The only job a male homosexual is occupationally unqualified for is stud duty in a heterosexual whorehouse. Since when is it job-related how you find pleasure in your bedroom'?" said Hongisto to the interviewer, Neal R. Perice. 'nough said, Chief!... The Miami University Department of Religion, Together Inc., Catholic Campus Ministry, United Campus Ministry and Wesley Foundation are sponsoring on Wednesday, January 18, at 7:30 p.m. in Presser Hall on the campus of Miami University a symposium on the psychological and religious issues of homosexuality. Speakers for this meeting will be Dr. Krister Stendahl, dean of the Harvard Divinity School and author of "The Bible and the Role of Women"; Rev. Robert Springer, S.J., teacher of "Ethics of Sex" at Maryknoll Seminary and chaplain to Dignity in New York and Brooklyn.....

How do these rumors get started? One that's being passed around these days concerns the Shaker Club. Allegedly, it closed its doors on January 1st as a gay bar. Not so, says Jon Giloy, popular Shaker Club bartender. We're definitely still open to the gay community.

WILDE OSCAR IS COMING