ACLU Defends gay newspaper

"The police libel suit against the Bay Area Reporter is an attempt to intimidate the people of San Francisco for speaking out against police brutality. The debate regarding the issue of police abuse is too important to be manipulated by the threat of a multi-million dollar libel suit." said Amitai Schwartz, staff consel for the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.

Schwartz was speaking at a press conference held today (Wednesday. October 14, 1981) to announce the ACLU's defense of the Bay Area Reporter (BAR) in a libel suit filed against the newspaper by the police.

The BAR is a bi-weekly newspaper published in San Francisco covering issues and events of interest to the gay community. The newspaper, its publisher Bob Ross, editor Paul Lorch, and a reporter John Karr, are being sued for $20,000.000 by two San Francisco police officers who are being supported in the suit by the San Francisco Police Officers Association (POA).

The multi-million dollar libel suit is based on an article which appeared in the May 21, 1981 issue of the BAR entitled "SFPD Brutality Aired, Toklas Club Envisions Review Board to Curb Rising Police Aggressiveness Against Gays." The story, written by John Karr,

reports a meeting of the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club where persons testified about alleged police brutality against San Francisco's gay community.

Karr attended the meeting and wrote, "The Political Action Committee of the Alice B. Toklas Memorialk Democratic Club convened last Thursday to hear testimony from victims of police brutality and discuss possible courses of action. The stories indicated 1) a rising tide of unwarranted and unchecked police brutality toward Gays and 2) the possible recourse of citizens -slow, bureaucratic and always painfully after-the-fact."

Karr reported on the testimony given by members of the gay community about specific instances of alleged police brutality and noted, "Plans are being laid to publish accounts of brutality in the hopes of deterring such events and helping the victims."

Two officers who were mentioned in the Karr article filed the multimillion dollar libel suit against the BAR on July 13, in the San Francisco Superior Court.

At the October 14, press conference, BAR publisher Bob Ross said, "No law enforcement agency of official has the right to prevent a reporter from reporting. Our reporter was

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exercising his First Amendment rights in covering that story."

BAR editor Paul Lorch, noting that the reprted meeting took place midst of the campaign by many community, legal and minority groups to establish an Office of Citizens Complaint to investigate police abuse, said, "To use the laws of libel to block reforms in the midst of a political campaign -besides being a collosal blunder -is a dangerous strategy."

Addressing the ACLU's decision to take the case, Schwartz said, "The use of libel suits to chill political expression is on the rise, and it is frightening." Schwartz noted that in addition to this case, the ACLU has several other cases on its docket in defense of journalists and campaigners against political libel suits by the police and other public officials.

The other case includes the appeal of Bay Area journalists Lowell Bergman and Raul Ramirez against a $1.7 million libel judgment for allegations they made against the police in a San Francisco Examiner series about a Chinatown murder case; the defense of The Friday Observor against a libel suit stemming from an editorial critical of the San Leandro police; and the successful defense of political campaigners in Beverly Hills who were

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sued for libel by a development corporation after campaigning against the company's plans to build private condominiums on public property.

"It is difficult to imagine a political topic that is more vital to a democracy than debate about police conduct and police brutality." Schwartz said. "Surely police, who are entrusted by society with enormous powers to use force, to make arrests and even kill, are the proper subject of accountability through criticism and debate.

"It is not unreasonable to expect that opinions about police conduct will frequently appear as fact in the rough and tumble of political debate and persuasion," Schwartz added.

Cooperating attorney Robert Lewis said, "One can look to the First Amendment and the constitutional rights which apply to criticism of public officials (and police officers are public officials for purposes of the First Amendment) to see quite clearly that the article under attack is privileged 'fair comment' by a local paper upon police conduct generally and the San Francisco Police Department in particular.

BAR editor Paul Lorch added. "For the Bay Area Reporter, today begins the process of proving the use of libel to block political expression as a forlorn strategy and one that must and will be repudiated."

Rights Bill Passes Wisconsin House

(October 27, 1981 MADISON)The Wisconsin Assembly made history today by giving final approval to a Gay Rights Bill authored by State Representative David Clarenbach (D-Madison). This is the first time any house of any state legislature has furthered such a law.

Clarenbach credited his success to grass-roots support, especially from clergy, and the legislature realistically looking at the issue. "This is not a moral issue-it is a matter of bigotry," Clarenbach countered during debate on the Assembly floor. "It is a question of whether Wisconsin will tolerate discrimination."

The measure, Assembly Bill 70, was approved on a vote of 50 to 46 and now goes to the State Senate, which Clarenbach believes will favorably act on the bill early next year. "Wisconsin will then become

the first state in the country to guarantee gay people the legal right tc recourse when they are discrimi nated against," said Clarenbach.

Three other states, California Pennsylvania, and Michigan have executive orders which offer limitec protections against discriminatior to gay persons. Clarenbach's bil provides broad protections from bias in all employment, housing and public accommodations withit the state. Also included is a requirement that all companies with state contracts not discriminate against lesbians and gay men.

"What has happened here today i: a victory for gay people every. where," continued Clarenbach. “Le the 'Moral Majority' and the hate mongers take notice that the gay rights movement and humar decency is alive and well. Thi: should serve to inspire enactment o similar laws in other states."

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