}

POLICE METHODS ARE BEING CRITICISED.

It is not easy to detect evidence of the private behaviour of consenting adults. Yet the police have to do this in the case of homosexual relationships between men, though not in the case of female homosexuality or of partnerships between men and women. It is not their fault that they have to use methods which arouse the hostility of the public: but decent citizens don't like these methods, and are saying so more and more often. MEN ARE BEING DRIVEN TO SUICIDE.

No one would choose to be homosexual, and it is a condition which imposes a great strain on those who have to bear it. Weaker characters would benefit from expert advice and treatment, but they are the least likely to seek it while fear of the law remains. So they go downhill and become a burden to the community: and many end by taking their own lives.

BLACKMAIL IS FLOURISHING.

The late Lord Jowitt estimated that 95% of blackmail cases have a homosexual origin. Under the present law no protection can be guaranteed to victims, who are in fact sometimes prosecuted.

HOMES ARE BEING BROKEN.

In a desperate attempt to escape from a condition which makes them outlaws, many homosexuals seek refuge in marriages which are doomed to failure. If a married man indulges in homosexual behaviour, it is his wife who suffers: yet the law makes her suffer still more by branding her husband as a criminal.

The problem of homosexuality does not concern everyone, but it might concern any one. It must be tackled sensibly and tackled soon, and the Government of the country should give a lead. It is not enough to have appointed a Committee of experts to investigate the problem: the Committee's findings must be implemented.

THE PUBLIC IS WAITING FOR ACTION ON ISSUES LIKE THIS.

The Homosexual Law Reform Society, 32 Shaftesbury Avenue, London, W.1.

PUT YOUR SUPPORT BEHIND MATTACHINE SOCIETY GOALS --BECOME A SUBSCRIBING MEMBER... HERE'S HOW:

-Open to all persons over 21 years of age seriously interested in aiding solution of human sex behavior problems. Participation in activities of established Mattachine Area Councils not required. Principal purpose of subscribing memoership is to provide the organization and its publications with vital financial sup port. Included are subscription to Mattachine Review (monthly) and Interim (quarterly). Fee, $15.00 per year. Please make check or money order payable to Mattachine Society, I., San Fran isco, Calif. Subscribing members may attend meetings of the Society and its Area Councils, but may not vote unless qualified to active membership by payment of logar dues and accepted by Area Council concerned in accordance with local ries for a give membership.

16

mattachine REVIEW

Looking Forward

2

J

By WALLACE De ORTEGA MAXEY,

A.M., S.T.M., D.D.,

Director or Research, Mattachine Society, Inc.

The most commendable contribution the Mattachine Society can make to the future of human evolution, particularly to societal evolution, is in the field of sexological research. This necessitates that we look to the future wherever this is possible, and not be entirely absorbed as we are in the present or in this generation-important as it is to all of us.

(

Through the efforts of those dedicated to the psychological and philosophical tenets of sexual freedom, spreading the knowledge within the frame of thought held by leaders in the field will benefit humanity at large. By their untiring and painstaking endeavors in carefully explaining that sexual freedom must not be confused with sex license, society will be given a scientific as well as a new ethical outlook, replacing the superstitious (ignorant) views it more generally accepts with respect to sex issues and practices.

The Mattachine Society must recognize itself as a champion for the cause of liberty of conscience and freedom of thought. The so-called "social lag" is making headway in several scientific fields-medicine, sociology, civil libertiesbut humanity at large still permits the enslavement of its thought in sexual mat ters. On this subject, the world-famous authority, Dr. Rene Guyon, has said: "It is an attitude of emasculation, of renunciation, of frightened submission, which is unworthy of a human being."

· 17