to overt acts whether homosexual or heterosexual, the character ascribed by the laws and mores of our society. Our authority and our duty nermit no other course.

By direction of the Commission:

Sincerely yours,

John

folu. W macy)

W. Lyman

Reprinted from THE HOMOSEXUAL CITIZEN, May, 1966.

Three points may be made regarding the U.S. Civil Service Commission reply to the Mattachine Society of Washington, First, the Conmissi n makes the ludicrous claim that hom exua's do not ex. t only people who commit homosexual ac's. Th of course. in answer to the charge that the Commsn dcriminate again, homosexualɔ as a group in,it ≈ híring practices. It would be interesting › know if the Commissioners would al, rea. on that Negroes and Jews and all other minority groups do not exist. The second point concerns the Commission's definition of the word privacy. The Commission claims that it does not and, in fact, cannot ferret out knowledge about the private sexual behavior of its employees or its prospective employees, but we see that the Commissioners; have confused the concept of privacy with that of secrecy. Lastly, the Commission claims that it obliged to uphold the existing mores of our society. and that this excludes the possibility of giving homophiles the opportunity to contribute to our society through federal employment. In point of fact, we have only to look at the statements of some of our government officials in this regard to see that this argument is a lot of nonsense. In 1965 Mr.. William J. Driver, Veteran's Administrator, said: Civil Service "... also has been discovered to be an instrument of social change by which large and... recalcitrant social tasks may be accomplished." Mr. Macy himself stated in 1965 that the Commission plans a renewed attack on prejudice itself ... with the goal of eradicating every vestige from the Federal Service... the goal means full acceptance of minority associates. And finally from the Report of the President's Commission on National Goals (1960): One role of government is to stimulate changes of attitude.

...

The Mattachine Society of Washington is preparing a reply to the Commission which, we trust, will go far toward the establishment of an enlightened attitude toward homosexuality on the part of the nation's leading employer. The channels of communication have at last been opened and it is now the responsibility of the homophile community to make effective use of them.

Letters

Opinion expressed in published letters does not necessarily reflect that of the REVIEW or the Mattachine Society. No names of individuals will be exchanged for correspondence purposes.

Gentlemen:

I suddenly find myself in a quandary over the draft, I am a student at the University of California maintaining a good grade average but because I registered 3 years late, received a 1AO classification. Yesterday I received a notice to report for a phys received a notice to report for a physical which of course amounts to the first step to a two-year stretch in Vietnam.

Going into the army at this time would disrupt my college education, risk the possibility of a discharge later on (although I don't believe this is too important) and force me into a war I oppose,

I would appreciate any advice you could possibly furnish with respect to admitting my homosexuality (or "homosexual tendencies") to a psychiatrist at the preinduction exam, assuming all efforts fail eg. appeal, letters from school etc, which I imagine will.

An important question is govern-

mental employment after such an action. I'm a psychology major planning on working for local or state government eventually. Just how confidential are the records? Would fidential are the records? Would admitting to homosexuality exclude future government employment when "security checks are made?

I know my question is putting you on the spot, that you can't say yes or no and that ultimately the decision is mine to make. I understand you do quite a lot in the way of assistance and I imagine you are questioned frequently about the draft. Any suggestions you could offer would really be appreciated.

Dear Sir,

Sincerely,

Mr. C., Los Angeles

My wife and I are both gay. We don't understand what Mattachine means and would like to know. We have bought lots of books but nothing on this subject as we didn't know what it meant. Please enlighten.us. Sincerely yours,

Dear Sirs,

A., Iowa

I am very interested in the Mattachine Society and would like to see more information about it. I am taking a sociology class in school and involved in a debate and I need as much information as I can possibly get. I have already received pamphlets from One. Incorporated here in Los Angeles, but it was not enough to base a good viewpoint, I would be very happy if you could send me some more information and if possible a newspaper. I will be glad to pay the postage. I am 22 years of age and a lot of people are against my point of view. I don't want to change anybody's mind, but I would like to show them the other side of the story so they will be more informed about these matter matters, but I can't acomplish this without the proper information, Sincerely yours,

Mr. W. P., Los Angeles 31