Mattachine Trends

TODAY'S PROBLEMS & TOMORROW'S OUTLOOK

WITH 479 PAID SUBSCRIBING AND SUPPORTING MEMBERS IN 43 states, with an annual income that is exceeding $17,000 per year, with a magazine now in the last half of its 9th year, distributing almost 2200 copies each month, and with a series of ten annual conferences and hundreds of public discussion forums to its credit, the fact is that Mattachine Society, Inc., is truly an idea in action that is making a mark upon the modern social scene.

These visible mileposts which indicate some maturity and growth are also indicative of need and value. Further proof of this is seen in the fact that about 200 persons per month contact the Mattachine Society for some

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form of help-by mail, telephone, or in person. And to the greatest possible extent, considering limited staff, time and resources, they are getting it.

To the member, pledgee, subscriber, or interested friend at a distance, these statements carry some impact that Mattachine surely must have "arrived." But this is telling only a part of the story and in many respects it is regrettable that we are still unable to tell the other side of the situation to an audience much greater than the people who have, for the most part, made the Mattachine accomplishment possible.

The other side of the story, as our friends have long known, is the persistent problem of obtaining adequate financial support to make the ever more demanding pressure for service possible. A poverty that continues without letup is choking the very life of the organization, with the effect becoming more pronounced every day. The problems and the expenses strike down the valiant and courageous efforts of the Society's leadership so that instead of seeing how accomplishments can be made, the almost constant threat is that they cannot.

In short, at this cogent time when the Society's activities should be expanding, we are obliged to utilize all available resources merely to main tain a status quo.

On the horizon are brighter prospects for significant accomplishment in many areas which need attention and which have never been touched. But unless a way to underwrite the cost which these projects will require is found, then only limited accomplishment, if any, will be possible. Here are some items of concern and consideration:

1. REVISION OF THE CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE. At the 1960 Mattachine Conference, two California Assemblymen, A. Phillip Burton and John O'Connell, were speakers. Mr. O'Connell, then chairman of the legislature's committee on the judiciary, saw and described the need for a complete revision of the state's penal code, not only in the field of sex laws, but en toto. He called for the Governor to appoint a "Blue Ribbon Commission" to study the laws, the codes of other states, and the Model Penal Code of the American Law Institute in order that the legislature could take action in simplifying and modernizing the code.

Then, on September 26, 1963, an item appeared in many California newspapers, released in conjunction with other items from the annual State Bar Association meeting being held at the time in San Francisco: It stated that Governor Brown of California was ready to appoint a "Blue Ribbon Commission" for recommending a revised Califomia Penal Code, and that an appropriation would be available for the job.

While revision of the California Penal Code may seem like a concern that is state-wide only, let it be made clear that Illinois has already done so