1 20 1 https://history.okeq.org/files/original/fe478eb503346b76d111ec713654575c.jpg ff08337cc5191cc189c5ab43992f499b https://history.okeq.org/files/original/09b2986511645c17d24e2596c65e850a.pdf c8ca09acf9a97df515cf3a1f54ee1045 Text A resource consisting primarily of words for reading. Examples include books, letters, dissertations, poems, newspapers, articles, archives of mailing lists. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre Text. Text Any textual data included in the document Berlin Exhibit Looks at Gay Victims of Nazis by Paul Geitner, Associated Press Writer BERLIN (AP) - Focusing attention on along-neglected group of Nazi victims, a two-part exhibition about Gays persecuted under the Nazis opened Sunday at museums m Berlin and in a former concentration camp where many of the victims were killed. The exhibits of documents, photos, drawings and other objects collected during 10 years ofresearchis the largest on the subject ever mountedinGermany, project organizers said. It documents the fate of700individuals who suffered under the Nazis’ draconian anti-Gay laws and tells 60 personal stories. "We want to return to the Gay victims of the Nazis theirnames and to show their lives, as far as possible, so as to.at, least symbolically liberate them.from the dehumamzmg barbarity of the Nazis,’" said Andreas Stemweiler, project director at the Gay Museum in Berlin, where part of the exhibit is being shown. The other half opened at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, where many Gay men - labded with a .pink triangle- ended up because of the camp’s proxim- ,ty to the capital, see Nazis, p.3 Be Counted: Effort to Include Gays in Census SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - A national campaign to include Gays and Lesbians in Census 2000 is urging same-sex couples to check offtheboxindicating they’re unmarried partners. Using e-mail, ads in Gay publications and word-ofmouth, thecampaign is an un0fficial way to get a partial indication of the nation’s Gay and Lesbian population, the San Jose Mercury News reported recently. "We want to make the point that there is such a thing as a Gay or Lesbianfamily,’" said PaulaEttelbrick, family policy director for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. The federal government added the unmarried partners category to the census in 1990, to recognize heterosexual couples who live together without being married. That year, 150,000 same-sex households were identified. "It was a vast undercount,’" said Ann Northrop, board member for the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies. Those involved in the so-called "Out the Census’" campaign say that even though individual Gays and Lesbians won’t be counted, the number of couples will provide a partial account. And additional information included on U.S. Census forms could provide a valuable snapshot of the community, including income levels, ethnicity and the number of same-sex couples raising children. While the campaign is getting nationwide attention, some Gays and Lesbians are wary ofrevealing toomuch information. Rikki Westerschulte, who is raising a daughterwith herparmer, says sheknows many couples who are nervous about declaring their sexual orientation on an official government form. The recent passage of Proposition 22, which recognizes only marriage between a man and a woman in California, adds to the suspicion. "You walk down the hall at work and wonder, ’Who is it I think I can trust, who really feels I’m immoral?’ "Westerschnlte asked. Other couples are angry they cannot declare themselves as married, see Census, p. 11 Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Our Families + Friends Tulsa’s Largest Circulation Community PaperAvailable In More Than 75 City Locations Camme,rmeyer .To Join Lougan s at Pr de 2000 TULSA - Last month, the organizers of Diversity Festival 2000 announced that US Olympic champion, Greg Louganis, would serve as Grand Marshall for the° Millennium Pride Parade this June. This month, organizers confirmed that Dr. Grethe Cammermeyer, distiguished veteran of the United States Armed Forces, will join Louganis as grand marshall. Cammermeyer challenged US anti-Gay/Lesbian policies which forced her out of her nursing positionin the United States Reserve forces. Her lifestory was madeinto a television film produced by Barbra Streisand, starring Glenn Close. Cammermeyerhas come to Tulsa before. She spoke at the Universi ty of Tulsa in the spring of 1995 to an audience of about 300 Tulsa Family New~ writer Lauri Cooper shown in the photo at right interviewed Cammermeyer. The week of Pride events begins with an interfaith worship service to be held at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center. The Reverend Dr. Mel White, author and civil rights activist, will be the principle speaker at this event. White will lead a workshop also to be held at the PAC on Saturday, June 3, from 2-5pm (free) on the principles of non-violent social change. Lougams will speak at a black tie optional dinner to be held at the prestigious Summi t Club on Friday, June 9th. Tickets for the event are $75/person and there will be a VIP reception at $50/ person. These events will benefit Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights, the parent organization of the Gay Community Center and Oklahoma’ s oldest Lesbian and Gay non-religious organization. Organizers anticipate that the parade will follow the sameroute as last year, Cooper & Cammermeyer SoulForee in Oklahoma Members of Soulforce in Oklahoma Marched at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade in January. TULSA- Oklahoma’s oldest Gay and Lesbian organizataon is a religious one, the congregation now know as MCC United, the Metropolitan Community Church United. So perhaps it is fitting that one of Oklahoma’s newest community organizations also has religious roots. "Soulforce in Oklahoma" is part of an effort begun by the Rev. Mel White and his spouse Gary Nixon. Soulforce is an ecumenical network of volunteers committed to teaching and applying the principles ofnon-violence on behalf ofsexnal minorities. Thename derives from the workofMohandas Karamchand Gandhi, a leader of India’s independence movement. Soulforce or truth force is a translation of "satyagraha" a concept Gandhi began developing as a young lawyer fighting for racial justice in South Africa. Gandhi’s thinking greatly influenced the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his work for civil rights for Black Americans. The goals of Soulforce are to end the suffering ofLesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered persons, to change the minds and hearts of religious leaders whose anti-Gay campaigns lead directly and indirectly to that suffering, to be guided by the principles of "relentless non-violent resistance, and through this, try to bring hope and healing to society. In Tulsa, Soulforce was organized by individuals involved in MCC United and the group has been holding regular meetings at the Gay Community Services Center. see Soul, p. 7 ¯ Tulsan Chosen For HRC Board ¯ Fundraiser Audra Sommers : To Join Marty Newman in DC ¯ TULSA - Audra Sommers, who is planning an ¯¯ AIDS benefit in Tulsa next month, has gained national recognition ¯ forher humanrights - efforts. Sommers ¯ has been named to the Board of Gover- ¯ nors of the Human ¯ Rights Campaign, a ¯ 300,000-member national organlza- ¯ tion that batdes dis- -¯ crimination against sexual minorities. ¯ As a board mere- ¯ ber, Audra will be ¯ responsible for re- . cmiting, promoting ¯ awareness ofhuman rights issues in Oklahoma and ¯ serving as a liaison between Oklahoma and the ¯ national organization in Washington, DC, where ¯ she will be heading for orientation this month. "I’m ¯ really, really happy that I was appointed, to the : Board of Governors," she said. ¯ Sommers joins Tulsan Marty Newman on the ¯ Board of Governors. Newman expressed delight : with Sommers selection. "Audra has a ~roven .. history of work on behalf of the commumty, and ¯ she has an enormous number of people wholook to ¯ her leadership," noted Newman. He added that ." HRC is concentrating its effolas on Tulsa at this ¯ time and he feels Sommers will add immeasurably ¯ to HRC’s strengths. see Audra, p.3 Audra Sommers Pentagon Admits Hate Speech is Widespread by Robert Burns, AP Military Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Anti-Gay speech and harassment is commonplace in the U.S. military, especially among young enlisted troops, according to a Pentagon inspector general’s survey. 85% of those surveyed said they believed that anti-Gay comments are tolerated on their base or aboard their ship, and 37% said they had personally witnessed or been the target of harassment - such as hostile gestures, graffiti or physical assault- based on perceived homosexuality. The survey released last month also found a widespread belief among troops that the Clinton administration’s so-called "don’t ask, don’t tell’" policy on Gays in the military - which Vice President A1 Gore says he would eliminate if he were elected president-is not working. President Clinton himself has said the policy, forged in 1993, is now "’out of whack.’" Defense Secretary William Cohen, responding to theinspector general’ s survey results, announced he was creating a committee of military and civilian officials to draft a plan for measures to improve the policy’s implementation. Cohen put the onus on military chiefs to fix the problem. "The report shows that military leaders must do more to make it clear that harassment based on sexual orientation violates military values,’" Cohen said in a memo to the military chiefs and service secretaries. The administration’s policy, set in law by Congress in 1993 after a heated political battle, says Gays and Lesbians may serve in the military so long as they keep their sexual orientation to themselves. Dubbed "don’t ask, don’t tell,’" the policy still bars openly homosexual people from serving in uniform. Although the policy was designed to make it easier for Gays to serve, an increasing number have been discharged in recent years. see Pentagon, p..10 Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants *Chasers, 4812 E. 33 712-2324 *CW’s, 1737 S. Memorial 610-5323 Full Moon Cafe, 1525 E. 15th 583-6666 *Gold Coast Coffee House, 3509 S. Peoria 749-4511 Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square 744-4280 *St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st 745-9998 *The Star, 1565 Sheridan 834-4234 *The Storm, 2182:S. Sheridan 835-2376 *Renegi~des/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main 585-3405 *TNT’s, 2114 S. Memorial 660-0856 *Tool Box, 1338 E. 3rd 584-1308 *The Yellow ~rick Road Pub, 2630 E. 15th , 749-15.63 Ailyanced:Wi~el~Ss 8~:PCS; Digital Cellular ~: ’~ 74%1~08) *Assoc.. in- Med. &M~ntal Health, 2325 S I Harvard 743- t000 Kent Balch & Associates, Health & Life Insurance 747-9506 *Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 250-5034 Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis *Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 4I 665-4580 ¯ Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15 712-1122 -" *Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21 712-9955 : *Borders Books & Music, 8015 S. Yale 494-2665 ," Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria 743-5272 ¯ *CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria 746-0313 : 581-0902,743-4117 ; Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker 622-0700 ¯ Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468 ¯ ¯Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th 749-3620 " ¯Devena’s Gallery, 13Brady 587-2611 " Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria 744-5556 : ¯Elite Books & Videos, 821 S Sheridan 838-8503 ¯ ¯Ross Edward Salon 584-0337, 712-9379 " Events Unlimited, 507 S. Main 592-0460 " ¯Floral Design Studio, 3404 S,~eoria 744-9595 ¯ Four Star Import Automotive, 9906 E. 55th P1. 610-0880 ¯ Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr. 628-3709 ¯ Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare 808-8026 ¯ ¯Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st 742-1460 ¯ Learme M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning 459-9349 " Mark T. Hamby, Attorney 744-7440 " ¯Sandra J. Hi~.’.ll, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly 745-1111 "_ ¯International Touts ~ 341-6866 Jacox AnimaiClinic, 2732 E. 15th 712-2750 ] ¯Jared’~ Antiques,~]602 E. 15th ~ " ~582-30i8 : David Kauskey,. Country Club Barbering 747-0236 : The Keepers, Housekeeping &Gardening 582-8460 ¯ ¯Ken’s Flowers; 1635 E. 15 599-8070 ," Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 :S. Harvard, #210 747:5466 ", ¯Living ArtSpace, 308 South Kenosha 585-1234 ¯ ¯Midtown Theater, 319E. 3rd 584-3112 ¯ Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-5934 " ¯Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951 ¯ Puppy Pause II, t060 S. Mingo 838-7626 ¯ ¯Thh Pride Store, 1307 E. 38, 2nd floor 743-4297 ", Rainbowz on the River B+B, POB 696, 74101 747-5932 " Richard’s Carpet Cleaning 834-0617 " Teri Schutt, Rex Realtors 834-7921, 747-4746 Scribner’s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square 749-6301 ¯ Paul Tay, Car Salesman 260-7829 ¯ ¯Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis 481-0558 Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard 835-5563 Fred Welch, LCSW, Counseling " 743-1733 " ¯Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan 665-2222 " ¯Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis 592-0767 " Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities " AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101 579,9593 All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria 743-2363 Black & White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159 587-7314 Bless The Lord at All Times ~tiristian Cdn’t~r, 2207 E~ ~5 ....583-78"15 ¯B/IAG/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr. 583-9780 ¯Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201 ¯Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1. &Florence ¯Churchof the RestorationUU~ !3 l~N.Greenwood 587-1314 ¯Comm’~ty ofHope United Methotttst, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300 ¯Communi~ Uniti{rian-Universalist~ongregati0n 749-0595 ,Council Oak Men’s Chorale 748-3888 ¯Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712-1511 ¯Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457 Dignity/Integrity of Tnlsa - Lesbian & Gay Catholics & .... Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74170-1475 355-3140 ¯Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777 ¯Free Spirit Women’s Center, call for location &info: 587-4669 Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827 918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615 POB 41413, Tulsa, OK 74159 e-mail: TulsaNews@ ear~hlinlc net Publisher + Editor: Tom Neal Writers + contributors: James Chfistjohn, Barry Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom, Esther Rothblum, Mary Schepers Member of The Associated Press Issued on or before the 1st of each month, the entire contents of.-.thi’s publ~cati6n are protected byUS copyright 1~98 by i~r~ ~4~ /~1~u4 and may not be reprodu~.d either in whole orin pm:twithout written permission from the publisher. Publication of a name or photo does not indicate a person’s sexual orientation. Correspondence is assumed to be for publication unless otherwise noted, must be signed & becomes the sole property of T~,~t F¢~.’. N~÷ Each reader is entitled to 4 copies of each editaon at distribution points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248. Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438 HIV ER Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd. 583-6611 *Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194 Holland Hall School, 5666 E. 81 st 481.1111 HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378 *House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438~2437, 800-284-2437 *MCt~ United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715 NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111 NOW, Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365-5658 OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157 *OSU-Tulsa PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901 *Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674 Prime-Timers, P.O. Box52118, 74152 R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195 *Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325 O’RYAN, support group:[<~r t8-24 LGBT young adults O’RYAN, Jr. support.group for 14-17 LGBT youth S.t.Aidan. s Eptseop Church, 4045 N. Cincinnati 425~7882 St. Dunstan’s Episcopal, 5635 E. 71st 492:7140 *St. Jerome’s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088 *Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171 *TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225 Tulsa County Health Deparunent, 4616 E. 15 5954105 Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on.Thursdays only 743-4297 298-0827 Tulsa Okla. for HumanRights, c/o The Pride Center T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. *Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule *Tulsa Community College Campuses *Tulsa Gay Community Center, 1307 E. 38, 74105 Unity Church ofChristianity, 3355 S. Jamestown BARTLESVILLE 743-4297 749-8833 *Bartlesville Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353 OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN Bdtders Books & Music, 3209 NWExpressway 405-848-2667 Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-573-4907 TAHLEQUAH Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900 *Tatdequah Unitarian-Universalist Church 918-456-7900 Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360 NSU School of Optometry, 1001 N. Grand HIVtesting every other Tues. 5:30-8:30, call for dates : EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS ":- 32utunui Bi~ceze- ~dstaurant, Hwy. 23 ¯ *1ira & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. ¯ Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. ; MCC of the Living Spnng ¯ Geek to Go!, PC. Specialist, POB 429 Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery ; Positive Idea Marketing Plans ; Sparky’s,Hwy. 62 East ¯ White Light, 1 Center St. JOPLIN, MISSOURI ¯ *Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 501-253-7734 501-253-7457 501-253-6807 501-253-5445 501-253-9337 501-253-2776 501-253-5332 501-624-6646 501-253-6001 501-253-4074 417-623-4696 * is where you can f’md TFN. Not all are Gay-owned but all are Gay"friendly. Some 600 homosexuals were killed there between 1939 and mid-1943 alone, according to the researchers. The Nazi anti-Gay law,knownas "Paragraph 175,’" was directly solely against Gay men, since the Nazis were mainly concerned with perceived threats to their ideal of Aryan manhood. Lesbians were generally ignored, although some were arrested as "asocials’" or "prostitutes.’" Few surviving victims ever came forward after World War II because of continning stigmaassociated withhomosexualkty, whicl~remained illegal in West Germfiny ~mder the sam~ Nazi law until 1969: Tens of thousands of men were prosecuted in those postwar years. Historians also generally ignored the Nazi per.s..e~..u;~n of homosexuals until the 1980s, meaning many survivors had’ already passedaway, organizers said. Only a handful are known to still be alive; their stories are told in a U.S.-made documentary," Paragraph 175,’" whichwon awards at film festivals in Berlin and at Sundance this year. Germany’s center-left government introduced a bill last week - 55 years after the end of the war - that would require parliament to officially recognize and apologize to Gay victims. It also calls on the government to study whether a blanket annulment should be issued for convictions under the Nazi anti-Gay law, under which even a glance between men could be cause for prosecution. - Guenter Morsch, director of tli’~ Sachsenhansen memorial, noted that protests erupted after the first plaque dedicated to Gay victims of the Nazis was hung at the Dachau concentration camp outside Munich in the 1980s. Last year, Germany’s national Holocaust memorial day commemorated Gay victims for the first time with .a ceremony at S~lchsenhansen. Events like that and the ¯ new exhibit are important, he said, be- ; cause all groups - not just those that are ¯ "politically correct’" - must be remem- -"- bered if tolerance is to be promoted. : About 200,000 people were interred at Sachsenhausen between 1936 and 1945; : including Jews, Roma, communists ",rod ¯ other political prisoners. More than 1,400 Jews were killed there, thousands more sent off to be killed in Auschwitz. Others were forced to work in adjacent factories. You mayfind the Gay Museum at www.schwulesmuseum.de Audra, who is also a volunteer fund- ¯ raiser, is currently producing her largest ¯ event to date, a three-hourAIDS benefit at Tulsa’s Performing Arts Center that wi’ll ~ feature Thrifty president Don Himelfarb : as keynote speaker. ¯ ThePAC show,"Connecting the Hearts ¯ ofTulsa,"is scheduledforApri120 atTpm ¯ and will benefit Tulsa C.A.R.E.S. Fea- ¯ tured performers include Debbie ¯ Campbell, Rebecca Ungerman and ¯ children’s musical groups from All Souls ¯ Unitarian Church. ¯ The John H. Williams Theater seats 429, andAudrahopes to sellit0ut. Tickets ¯ are $10 general admission, $20 VIP seat.- ," ing, and $5 students. ¯ For more information or tickets, call ~ 832-7919. see Audra, p. 3 by Lamont Lindstrom, Ph.D. : "Unmarried Partner." That’s the U.S. ¯ Census 2000 official term for boyfriends ; and girlfriends. It’s either that or else you " check Husband/Wife, Roomer/Boarder, ¯ Housemate/Roommate, or Other " Nonrelative. ¯ How should I label my live-in? I can’t ¯ call him Husband or Wife. He’s not a : Boarder. He’s much more than a RoOm- " mate. (TheCen~uginfbmas us tha~ Room- ¯ mates "share living quarters primarily to : share expenses.") AndOther Nonrelative; : although correct, is hopelessly inadequate. So, for lack of better alternative, the boyfriend must be an Unmarried Partner. I am pleased to see the Census Bureau demands, rather romantically, that the Unmarried Partnerhave"aclose personal relationship with Person 1" (that is, with me). I know some Unmarried Partners ° whose onetime close personal relations : have aged into an icy and tight-lipped co- ¯ erastence. " The Census, as a condensed.form of " Ameri~anculturalpresumption, thinks that : people really ought tO be related to their - roommates either by blood or by marriage. Anthropologists call such presumptions "residencerules"- expectation about who should live with whom. There are patrilocal and matrilocal societies where children live with either father’s or mother’~ people. In avunculocal situations -the tropical Trobriand Islands - hildren move an with mother s brothers. Where virilocal rules arefollowed, women reside with their new husbands. Or there is theuxorilocal opposite: traditional Hopi Indian grooms, for example, move’ their belongings into their bride’g house. And there isthe "neolocal" U.S. where all couples should establish new, independent households. All these patterns describe the co-residency of kin, and the American situation is no different. Most of us live with relafives as we grow up: "mothers, fathers, sis{~s, and brothers. And most of us live with even more relatives after we marry: husbands, wives, sons, and daughters. There are just two anomalous periods in mostAmericanlife cycles when wemight find ourselves living with non-kin (with "Other Nonrelatives," according to Census language). The first consists of the few years between leaving morn and dad behind and marriage. This typically is the time of higher educalionwhen young twenty-somethings pile up in dormitories, fraternities, sororities, and shared apartments. The second comes with old age. We agomze over the mor~ity of farming mom out to some nursing home ward full of strangers. The experience of life with non-kin and strangers is fraught with aggravations and difficulties. The common bathrooms, those dirty dishes, the housemate’s woeful taste in music. Life with mere friends or roommates is rocky and unstable. My nervous students busy themselves with inventing "fictive kinship" labels for one another. They pretend that the co-residents in their sororities or fraternities are "just like" their sisters and brothers. And they watch a lot of "Friends," relying on Hollywood to romanticize and make fun of the peculiar experience of sharing their toilet seats with the "Other Nonrelated." Weare broughtup to live with relatives. Sbared residence withkin is easier for two reasons. We are morally obliged to forgive the exasperations of our revolting brothers that we would never stand from a friend. And we ablemore easily to take our revenge on our irksome siblings, spouses, orchildren, unconstrainedby the politeness conventions that govern our relations with non-kin. Wash those dishes or you are grounded! Pick up your filthy socks, slob! Gays and Lesbians are in something of a residential quandary: many of us never mo~e beyondthis stageof life with nonkin. Straights leave behind theirfew years of shared apartments and dormitories to ¯ return to new households composed of :. kin. But since Gays and Lesbians cannot ¯ marry, officially at least, we live out our lives with roommates, other nonrelatives, ¯ and unmarried partners. ¯ This perhaps explains some of the fra- ¯ gility ofGay households. "It’sMyWay or the Highway!" is easier to demand when you aren’t shouting at relatives. Many of us havemetguys whowereperfectcouples before they made the fatal mistake of moving m together. And we have other friends who are resigned to living solo. No spare toothbrushes in theirbathrooms. They’ve relied too often on the unkind= hess of strangers. Soyou snoopingFedenumerators, come along and count me. I’m checking the Unmarried Partner box. At the moment at least, I’m happily living with the UP. I realize, given American cultural patterns, that the non-kin structure of our household is anomalous. It will require extra effort and forgiveness to keep it going. Forget or forgive those badly squeezed .toothpaste tubes. TheUPis neitherbrother nor spouse but t still want him arodttfl"to be counted in 2010: ,-:~: LamontLindstrorn teaches anttfOl~lbgy at the University of Tulsa. Among the. survey’s key findings: - 80% of the 71,500 members of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps surveyed said they had heard offensive speech or jokes or derogatory names or remarks about Gays in the past year. The service members were not asked if they had. participated in such behavior. -33% said they heard it often. It was reported most frequently in the Marine Corps and least in the Air Force. Such behavior was reported to be most common among junior enlisted troops. --Of the offensive behaviors or actions reported as directed against Gays, offensive speech was the most common. It was mentioned by 89% of those who reported witnessing or experiencing some form of harassment. Hostile gestures were reported by 35%; threats or intimidation by 20%; graffiti by 15%, vandalism of personal property by 7% and physical assault by 9%. The survey was done on 38 U.S. military bases and aboard 10 Navy ships and one submarine from Jan. 24 to Feb. 11. The spark that caused the Pentagon to take a closer look at how the Gay policy is being implemented - and the extent of anti-Gay behavior in the field - was the bludgeoning death lastJuly ofaGay Army private, Barry Winchell, at FortCampbell, Kentucky. His killer, a fellow Army private, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Medical *Excellence And Compass.ionate ’ Care S nce 1926. ’* ¯ ST. JOHN MEDICAL CENTER q P Medical Excellence ¯ Compassionate Care IGTA member Call 341. 6866 International ToutS formore inyormation. Massage Therapy Services ~!~~gar O. Cruz, L.M.T. ¯ ¯ Pager: 918-889-5255 Voice Mail: 918-697-9282 Lic. #C4133 Country Club. Barbering Custom Styling for Men & Women David Kauskey 3310 E. 51st, 747-0236, Tues.-Fri., 8-5:30, Sat. 8-5pro Mississippi House Bans Adoptions by Gays JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Mississippi may become the second state with a law banning homosexual couples from adopting children, althoughlawmakers embracing the idea say they are unaware of any cases ofGay adoptive parents. The House approved theban with no debate late in March, nearly a week after a similar proposal died for lack of action. The adoption ban was revived after an orchestrated phone call campaign by supporters. Only Florida has a law forbidding Gay adoptions, but other stateshave policies that keep homosexuals from seeking adoptions. Bill opponents and supporters said they were unaware of adoptions in Mississippi involving Gay couples or any couples hoping to adopt. Mississippi Baptists and the Tupelo-based American Family Association had lined up in support of the proposal. On the other side were the American Civil Liberties Union, which has threatened alawsuit, and homosexual groups. "It’s ridiculous,’" said Eddie Sandifer of Jackson, director of the Mississippi Gay and Lesbian Alliance. "This is going to be in court. It’s just a waste of taxpayers’ money. They know there’s going to be a lawsuit and they’ll lose eventually.’" House Public Health Commi ttee Chairman Bobby Moody, D-Louisville, said, "ff it’s the right thing to do, it doesn’t matter to me if it leads to a lawsuit or not.’" "What constitutes a family is not a homosexual couple,’" s~iid Moody. The bill was approved 107-8. There could be an attempt for a second vote. "That bill is of the assumption that anybody who’s Gay wilt,abuse children. That’ s not a good ~rgument. I can’tjudge one’ s moral turpitude. I’m not qualified to do that,’" said Rep. David Green, D-Gloster. This is the second time in three years that Mississippi lawmakers have gotten involved in Gay issues. In 1997, they banned homosexual marriages. The adoption ban was added to a bill dealing with nurse practitioners. That proposal lets the practitioners prepare paperwork about the physical or mental condi- - tion of a child being put up for adoption. Now doctors must do the paperwork. Moody said the House vote came in response to a public outcry. "There’s been a lot of publicity created around the state. It gave the false impression to some religious groups that it was happening or there was a possibility it could happen,’" he said of adoptions by Gay couples. Rep. Mary Coleman, D-Jackson, said lawmakers "’were infringing on people’s private lives.’" David Ingebretsen, director of theACLU in Mississippi, has said his group may sue on behalf of aGay couple if the bill becomes law. Other states have been sued over their adoption policies. The bill does not ban a Gay individiml from trying to adopt a child. It goes back to the Senate for more consideration. PlanetOut Website and Advocate/Out to Merge SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - PlanetOut, which caters to Gays and Lesbians, has announced plans to acquire Liberation Publications, the largest publisher of Gay and Lesbian periodicals and books in the country. Liberatiofi Publications Inc. produces the Advocate newsmagazine and will soon own Out magazine. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The companies describe the deal as a merger, but the Interact company will be the dominant partner; allowing the magazines "tO continue publishing under their own brand names. "You can characterize it as the AOL-Time Warner in the Gay space,’" said Megan J. Smith,.chief executive of PlanetOut. Her five-year-old company operates the Web site www.planetout.com, along with an online radio and film service and PlanetOut TV, which airs on the site and on Canadian television. In 1996, the San Francisco-based site became the first Gay-oriented enterprise to secure venture capital funding. The company has since established parmerships with AOL, Netscape, Yahoo! and other major Web companies as well as made advertising agreements with Arista Records, Virgin Adantic Airways and Johnson & Johnson. Liberation Publications is based in Los Angeles. It announced Feb. 21 that it. would acquire New Yorkbased Out Publishing Inc., the publisher of Out and HIV+ magazines. The Advocate, a 33-year-old bi-weekly with a circulation of about 88,000, concentrates on news, politics, business and medical information. Out~ a monthly launchedin 1992, has a circulation of 115,000 and focuses on culture, entertainment, fitness and other topics. The Gay marketis considered a prime for Intemet players because a high percentage of Gays and Lesbians use the Internet and because the Intemet )rovides.a level Of anonymity. Dr. Schlessinger’s TV Show Draws Protesters LOS ANGELES (AP) - Paramount Television says it is committed to putting tough-talking Dr. Laura Schlessinger on TV, the tough-talking protests of hundreds of angry Dr. Laura demonstrators notwithstanding. "Shame, shame, shame,’" more than 200 Gay civil rights protesters shouted outside Paramount Pictures, where they demanded the studio drop plans to put the controversial radio host on television this fall. Schlessinger, known to her listeners as Dr. Laura, dispenses relationship advice onher enormously popular radio show. She has called homosexuality a"biological error’" and "deviant.’" "When Paramount bought Laura Schlessinger’s show, they bought abattle withtheGay community,’" said Joan Garry, executive director of the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. "We’re going to do whatever it takes’" to get the ParamOunt Television Group to abandon the syndicated show, Garry said. So far Paramount has stood firm. and none of the stations signed on to air Schlessinger’s show have backed out. In arecent statement, the studio §aidit was committed to presenting moral and ethi’~fl issues without "creating or contributing to an en~cfroimaent of hurt, hate or intolerance.’" One of the signs carried by the demonstrators read "No More Matthew Shepards.’" a reference to the Gay student killed in Wyoming in 1998. Also fueling the protest is anger over the passage last month of Proposition 22, which bans same-sex marriage in California. "We will do whatever it takes to keep the pressure on. The strategies will be about advertisers and the affiliates,’" Garry said, declining to specify whether that meant station or sponsor boycotts. Countering the demonstrators were about 75 Schlessinger supporters organized by Campaign for California Families, a conservauve, nonprofit organization. "We’re the majority Of people who pay to see Paramount films and who tune in to Paramount television shows. We are in support of Dr. Laura being on the air,’" Said Cherri Gardner, a spokeswoman for the group. Conservatives Sue City Over Partners Benefits BOSTON (AP) -A conservativelaw firm is suing the city of Cambridge, claiming that the ordinance that allows homosexual couples to register as domestic partners is illegal and unconstitutionhl. "The ordinance isboth legally and morally wrong. .. This legal action is necessary to defend marriage and the family,’" Vincent P. McCarthy, Northeast counsel for the Virginia-based American Center for Law and Justice, said Tuesday in a statement. In July, the state Suprem,e Judicial Court struck down an executive order issued by Boston Mayor Thomas Menino that was intended to give health insurance coverage to Gay partners of Boston city workers. The ACLJ assisted the Catholic Action League in that case and predicted another legal victory against Cambridge. It also said it planned to file a suit against United in God’s Love MCC-United Sunday Worship Reverend Cathy Elliot 11:00 am Pastor 1623 N. Maplewood 918/838-1715 Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at Community ofHope 2545 South Yale, Sundays at llam, 749-0595 A Welcoming Congregation HOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Sun. Worship, 10:45 am, Sunday School, 9:30 am Wed. Bible Study, 7 pm 3210b S, Norwood, Info: 224-4754, Chris or Sharon Sandra Hill M.s. Licensed Professional & National Certified Counselor, Certified Hypnotherapist Psychotherapy & Clinical Consultation After Hours Appointments Available 2865 E. Skelly Drive, Suite 215,745-1111 Red Rock Tulsa - O’RYAN Oklahoma Rainbow Young Adult Network Outreach Program Thurs. Nights Meet Others in a Safe Enviroment Call for meeting times and place: 918-584-2325 Mingo Valley Flowers 9413 E. 31st St., Tulsa74145 918-663-5934, fax: 663-5834, 800-444=5934 Family Owned & Operated Trinna L. W. Burrows, LSW, ACSW Child, Family, Individual & Couple Psychotherapy (918) "743-9559 2121 South Columbia, Suite 420 Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114-3518 The Pride Store 1307 E. 38th, 2nd floor Tulsa Gay Community Services Center 743-GAYS (743-4297) 6-9 pm, Sunday - Friday 12-9 pm, Saturday, all sales benefit the Center OKLAHOMA COMMUNICATIONS Local- Long Distance Cellular- Paging 747-1508 Free Car Adaptor & Leather Case with .New Cell Phone TOM NEAL BUILDING & GARDEN DESIGN 583- 1248 Red Rock Tulsa -Free Confidential HIV.Testing Walk-in Clinics Tuesdays, 5 -8 pm, Center, 1307 East 38th Wednesdays, 5-8 pm, Red Rock, 1724 East 8th Daytime appointments available. Call for more information: 918-584-2325 KEVIN BURLESO N Keller Williams Realty 712-2252 Burleson@kw.com 2651 Ea~t 21st Street, Ste. 100, Tulsa 74114:" .~An lndep(ndent Member Broker OPENARMS,OPENMINDS,OPENHEARTS Saint Aidan 4045 N. Cincinnati. 425-7882 Saint John 4200 S. Atlanta Place, 742-7381 Saint Dunstan 5635 East 71st, 492-7140 Trinity 501 S. Cincinnati. 582-4128 The Episcopal Church Welcomes You the city of Springfield. The Catholic Action Leagueis also involved in the Cambridge case. Under the Cambridge ordinance passed in 1992, Gay couples go to City Hall and register as domestic partners. Once registered, partners of a city or school worker are entitled to the same health benefits as spouses of city and school workers. Michael Gardner, Cambridge’s personnel director, who administers the be~lefits, said he felt the ordinance was both legal and constitutional. "It was our view that we should continue to follow the ordinance passed by our legislative body,’" he said. The law firm, which brought the suit onbehalfof 12 Cambridge residents, attacked the ordinance on a number of legal fronts, but one argument was the one that succeeded in the Supreme Judicial Conrt last year. The SJC had rifled that the" Boston executive order was "inconsistent’" with a decades-old state law that granted cities the authority to provide health insurance to workers, their spouses and dependents. Gary Buseck, executive director of Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders, said he would be happy if Cambridge fought the case vigorously. But he also called on the Legislature to pass a bill designed to grant cities and towns the power to extend the benefits if they chose. The bill has passed the Senate but is pending in the House, he said. "The Legislature can put an end to all of this and ~make sure cities and towns have an option of extending health insurance to all their employees,’" Buseck said. Georgia Hate Crimes Bill Gets Final Passage ATLA~’qTA (AP) - The Georgia Senate gave final passage to a bill allowing stiffer penalties for hate crimes. Gov. Roy Barnes will have to sign off on it before it can become law. ~ The. origii~ Version of the bill specified which types ofbigo.try warranted a hate crime, but the House amended the: measure to be more vague. It now mentions only.crimes motivated by "bias or preju- Sen. Vincent D. Fort, D-Atlanta, said he would have preferred the.originalianguage but was willing to accept the ctian~e~. .A jury would, declare defendants guilty of a hate crime after they were convicted ofanother crime such as vandalism, arson, assault or murder. The initial bill would have allowed the judge to make that decision. That changeprompted Sen. Clay Land, R-Columbus, to reverse his original vote and support the measure. ~At that time,.I felt the legislation was unconstitutional because it did not provide the accused with a ¯ jury trial,’" he said. Under the bill, sentences and fines for misdemeanors would be increased by half, up to the maximum allowed, for hate crimes. Felony prison sentences ¯ would be increased byfive years up to the maximum sentence. Defendants convicted ofhate crimes would have to serve at least 90 percent of their sentences. Women Lawmakers Key To Civil Unions Win MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - A greater percentage of women than menin the Vermont House of Representatives voted in favor of the civil unions bill that passed in the House last week. Female representatives approved by a wide margin granting same-sex couples tile benefits of marriage through civil unions while their male counterparts turned it down. The women voted for the bill 35-9 while the men voted against it 60-41. All but one of 32 female Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while four of 12 Republican women voted for it. Although women make up relatively smaller proportions of each caucus, more than half of the Democrats voting yes were women, and more than a quarter of the Republicans voting yes were women. Rep. Anne Pugh, D-South Burlington, said female constituents in general asked her to support the bill, while men asked her [o oppose it. "It may have m do with the fact that women traditionally focus on family, and nurturing and relationships - that women’s identity comes from connecting,’" Pugh said. Rep. Michael Vinton, D-C01chester, a retired state trooper who has been outspoken in his criticisms of anti-Gay arguments, said he bdieved women felt less threatened by homosexuality. "For whatever reason, I feel there’s more fear among the male gender,’" Vinton said. "Men seem to be more crfical of people -it’s just our species, probably."" The trend reflects women’s greater receptiveness to homosexuals across the country, according to national policy experts. "Women overwhelnfingly support Gay aud Lesbian civil rights more than ~nen, generally speaking,’" said Paula Ettelbrick, director ofthe National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute. "’Women identify more because, like Gays and Lesbians, they have not been part of the system as a group, and theymaderstand the need and desire to be a full citizen,’" she said. However, she said the fact that the Vermont House had passed a civil unions bill at all "shows that mendike everybody else have the capacity to change on issues involving their own communities.’" The bill passed on a final margin of76 to 69. Voting yes were 57 Democrats, 14 Republicans, four Progressives mad one Independent. Voting no were 50 Republicans, 18 Democrats, and one Independent. N.M. Christian Coalition Files Phone Co. Benefits ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - The New Mexico branch of the Christian Coalition is accusing U S West of abusing public trust by providing employee benefits to homosexuals and other umnarried workers. In a document filed with the state Public RegulationCommission, theNew Mexico Christian Coalition says the policy is "offensive to decent, moral subscribers who want phone service.’" Edward Lopez Jr., U S West’s vice president in New Mexico, said he is disgusted to "see-this kind of hate and intolerance’" in a state as diverse as New Mexico. Lopez says. the policy is good business. "We believe our work force mirrors that of our. custom- : ers,’" he said. "We’ve better able to understand .our. customers needs and respond to.them.’" ¯ In its one-page filing, theChristian group contends U S West’s benefits policy promotes the spread of ¯ AIDS and other sexually transmitteddiseases. "We’re ¯ saying there’s a moral issue of unmarried people that ¯ donot deserve benefits. If there is any way to prevent ¯ that from happening, we’ll do that,’" said Mark Bur- " ton, executive director of the Albuquerque-based ¯ group. The group, affiliated with Pat Robertson’s Christian Coalition of America, also contends in the ¯ filing that homosexuals are prone to violence and ¯ child molestation. ¯ Linda Siegle, alobbyist for theCoalition forEquality, called the group’s statements "ludicrous and ¯ absurd, based on every lie and stereotype perpetrated ¯ on people who are Gay.’" About 2,500 private corporations, universities and other organizations across the nation provide domes- " tic partnership benefits, she said. ¯ In its Mar~h i0 filing,’ the New Mexico Christian ¯ Coalition requested the PRC investigate "the social ¯ implications of this heinous U S West policy.’" "The partners of homosexuals .shouldn’t have the right to ¯ get benefits fromamonopoly when I have no other choice (for servic£),’" Burton said. " " The Public Regulation Commission currently as investigating U S West’s customer rates. Commission chairman Bill Pope said he couldn’t comment on anything contained in the filing because the panel has yet to hear the rate case. South African Gays May Give Blood JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - Gay men have a constitutional right to donate blood, the South African Human Rights Commission has ruled. The commission said it was no longer Gays who were most at risk for HIV in South Africa, but people in their early 20s. The commi ssiondemandedthat ablood bank in Western Cape change its practice of not accepting blood from homosexual men. Western Cape Blood Transfusion Service director Arthur Bird on Friday said he disagreed with the decision and was seeking legal advice. The case came about after Andrew Barnes, a public relations manager, responded to an urgent plea for new donors in the midst of a severe blood shortage last year. A nurse at Western Cape Blood Transfusion Service declined Barnes’ blood afterhemarked "yes’" ontheform’ s question of whether he had had sex with a man. Barnes had been in a r~lationship with anothermanformore than two years. The commission said the decision to reject Barnes’ blood was ’~discrimination in terms of the Constitution." It said it would take the blood bank to court unless it explains what changes it will make to avoid breaching people’s constitutional right to equality before April 3. Teacher With AIDS LAKELAND, Fla. (AP) - HIV/AIDS activist Cathy Robinson was a teacher in 1991, living a storybook life with her husband, pregnant with their second child. She and her husband, Dan, went to the doctor for what was supposed to be a routine physical for life insurance and learned theunimaginable: They both Were infected with the virus that causes AIDS. Three years later, she developed AIDS. "My first instinct was, ’I know where I’ve been. Where have you been?’ " Robinson said. Then headlines flashed through her head declaring Belle Glade - where she had worked with children- the AIDS capital of the state. She wondered if she had contracted the deadly virus there. Buttwomonths later, Robinson, 34, found out she had contracted HIV from a man who died from AIDS complications in prison while doing time for raping her July 4, 1984, at a Tallalaassee convenience store where she worked. Privacy laws prohibited the prison from disclosing to Robinson that he had AIDS. She went seven years without finding out she had HIV. She gave it to her husband during that time, but her children, Garrett and Lyndsy, are HIV-free. There is only about a 20% chance a pregnant mother will pass onHIV to her baby. With medicine, the chances drop to 4%. Robinson, who also wasdiagnosed with breast cancer two year~s ago, is coping with her own mortality by spending the time she has left to promote safe sex and persuade people to get tested. Her efforts includ~lhe NAMES Project AIDS Memoria~: Quilt display, which is being displayed this month in the Hollis Wellness Center at Florida Southern College. Robinson. travels throughout Florida talking with students, sheriffs’ deputies and commumty groups about HIV and AIDS, defying stereotypes of the "typical’" AIDS victim, as a mamed, white, middle-class mother of two. Laws about HIV status disclosure vary by state. In Florida, it takes a court order to have someone convicted of sexual assault tested. "We don’t as a state mandate testing, and emergency rooms don’t have time to doit,’" Robinson said. "They (tell) victims of sexual as sault, ’In afew weeks, you should get tested.’ " Assistant State Attorney Sherri Scarborough, who handles many of the criminal sexual assault cases in Polk County, said state statutes allow the court to order HIV tests of anyone accused of a crime where bodily fluids are exchanged. But the victim has to request the tests and ask that the health department notify them of the results. Scarborough said she only remembered two cases in the past six years when a victim wanted to have his or her attacker tested. One whs aT0-year-old woman. The other was a college student. Robinson was a student at Florida State University when she was raped. Two of her attackers were convicted, but a third man never was arrested. She testified in the two trials but did not ask that her attacker be tested because there was no HIV test at the time. "In 1985, there was a test. I called right away, but they said, ~Cathy, you don’t need to worry. The only people who get HIV are Gays and drug users,’ " she said. Meanwhile, her attacker was being treated for AIDS in prison. WhenRobinson foundout she was HIVpositive, she said she didn’t tell anyone for amonth. Thev. two months passed, and she was about to give bir~ to her son, Garrett, now 8. "Three nurses refused to give us care. One, not knowing anything about me, assumed we decided to have children even though we had AIDS. She called (the Department of Children and Families) to try to get them to take our kids away,’" Robinson said. ThenRobinsonmadea choice she could never take back. She decided to talk about her story in schools and churches to raise public awareness. "By going public, there was no way I could ever teach again, which was fine,’" she said. "Then they wiped my husband’s job out of his company. We paid tbr groceries with credit cards for a while... Thenwerealized they were going to turn our lights out. We moved in with my parents in Clewiston." Cathy and Dan since have moved to Fort Myers with her best friend, a nurse. But they decided five years ago to have Garrett and Lyndsy, 9, continue to live with her parents, to ease the transition on the day the~ know will come. The Robinsons see their childrenon weekends and holidays. They write in journals and make tapes to record memories they want the kids to remember. "We knew ultimately we were going to die,’" Cathy said. "We thought it was importantfor them to transilion. Wenever thought we’d still be transitioning five years later. Our biggest fear was dying before Lyndsy and Garr’ett were old enough to remember us.’" Bill Gregory, an advertising professor at Florida Southern, fellow AIDS activist and friend, said Cathy hves to spread the message. But radiation therapy has made it more difficult in recent months. Cathy travels to Miami for radiation treatments because she can get them free in exchange for leading educational programs. She puts about 1,500 miles a week on her leased Ford Explorer traveling throughout the state for AIDS education, stressing safer sex and HIV testing. "You have to be tested,’" she said. "No. 1, you don’t want others to get infected. No. 2, they can treat you. If you are negative, you have a chance to rethink your activities that got you there.’" Timothy W. Daniel Attorney at Law An Attorney who will fight for justice & equality for Gays & Lesbians Domestic Partnership Planning, Personal Injury, Criminal Law & Bankruptcy 1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504 128 East Broadway, Drumright, Oklahoma Weekend and evening appointments are available. January April July October December Even Out Your Monthly Electric Bills. At WoO, we know that changing weather conditions throughout the year can cause your monthly electric bills to rise and fall dramatically. Which can make it tmrd to plan your household budget. That’s why~ our Average Monthly Payment plan, could be your budgeting solution. With~you pay about the same each month, because ifs based on your previous 12 months usage. That makes budgeting a breeze. And best of all, ifs free. AMPis}ust one of several flemq~le payment options PSO offers you. For more information, we’re available 24 hours a da~. Or s’tgn up forAMP on our website at www.csw.corm PUBLIC SERVICE COMPANY OF OKLAHOMA A Central and South Weat Company Kelly Kirby,. CPA, PC Certified Public Accountant a professional corporation Lesbians and Gay men face many special tax situations whether single or as couples. Electronic filing is’available for faster refunds. 747-5466 4021 South Harvard Avenue, Suite 210, Tulsa 74135 Are You Gay or Bisexual? Are You Native American?../,= Tulsa’s Two-Spirited Indian Men s Support Group is here for you~. ¯ E~ening support group meetings ¯ Relationship workshops ¯ Short trips, outings and retreats ¯ Free HIV testing For information call Tulsa Native American AIDS Prevention Project beginning at the Gay Community Center ¯ at 37th and Peoria and ending at Veterans Park at 18th and Boulder. The parade will begin at llam The Pride Festival will also begin at Veterans Park at 1 lain and will continue till about7 or8pm, finishing off the week’s events. TOHR organizers include Kerry Lewis as chairperson of the overall effort. "Humanity United for Haman Rights -Diversity Celebration 2000," Greg Gatewood, TOI-IR president and festival chair,Audra Sommers,parade chair, Lynn Moesteller, sponsor chair, Mitchell Savage, media chair, Ktis Kohl, festival entertainmentchair andNedBruha, incharge of festival booths and beverages. On June 3, Saturday, That evening also at the PAC Doenges Theatre, the TOHR Follies, not seen for a namber of years, will reprise, 100 Years of Broadway with tickets available through the PAC. Tuesday, June 6th, an art exhibit, "United" will open and on Thursday, June 8th, there will be a film night. Locations and times will be announced later. For more information about these events, call the Gay Community Services Center at 743-4297 (Gays). And while the organization has not been in Tulsa for long, already it’s become active and visible. Soulforce members along withTOHR, Tul sa Oklahomans for Haman Rights, marched in the M.L.King, Jr. Day parade, marking the first time openly Gay people and groups have partidipated. And for the kick-off for this year’s Gay Pride events, Diversity Celebration 2000, Soulforceis bringing Mel WhiteandGary Nixonback to Tulsafor aninterfaith workshop and to lead a Soulforce workshop. White and Nixon were in Tulsa several years ago for a regional conference of i~FLAG, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, held at All Souls Unitarian Church. Also on May 6-12, in Cleveland, Ohio, at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Soulforce will hold Soulforce University (SFU) SFU is arare, one-week opportunity for people offaith to learn and apply the principles of nonviolence. SFU is being held in conjunction with the world congress of the United Methodist denomination of Chris-. tianity, General Conference 2000 which will also be in Cleveland, on May 2-12. Historically, Methodists have cared about the poor, the homeless, and the outcast. Soulforce organizers state, "sadly, decisions made by their [United Methodist] General Conferences over the past three decades have ended that tradition of caring and made outcasts of God’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgendered children. We hope to help end those unjust and discriminatory policies. For thirty-t~vo years United Methodist leaders have debated the issue of homosexuality. Too many of" their delegates have ignored the historic, scientific, psychological, pastoral and even biblical evidence thathomosexuality is neither a sickness nor a sin. As a result, with almost every General Conference the U.M.C. has hardened its anti-homosexual position. That position leads to discrimination, snffeting, and death.’" Several Tulsans involved in Soulforce will participate in the Cleveland events. HEAR the Quilt The NAMES Project Tulsa Area Chapter is proud to announce the return of the Quilt to Tulsa for a major display at the Maxwell Convention Center December1 through 3, 2000. The success of a major Quilt display is dependent on volunteers from our community. To develop interest and support for this major World AIDS Day event, the Tulsa Area Chapter will host a reception on Thursday evening, April 27 at 7: 00pm at Fellowship Congregational Church, 2900 South Harvard, Tulsa. Please join us as we bring together the community in preparation for "HEAR the Quilt." We’ll have sections of the Quilt on display and lots of information about upcoming events Refreshments will be served and it will be a great opportunity to renew old friendships andmake new ones. For more information you can contact us at (918) 748-.~1 ll or at TulsaQuilt@go.com OK Spoke Club The OK Spoke Club is begimfing its tides again. A long ride (20 miles plus) will begin at Ziegler Park at 7:30am on April 8th & 15th. Water and helmet are required. A short tide (5 miles) along the Katy Bicycle path in Sand Springs will begin at 6:30 pm on April 19th. Water and helmet are strongly reconnnended. At 9am, a long ride will begin at the Pride Center, 3749 S. Peoria, rear parking lot on April 22th. Water and helmet are required. A short ride will leave from there at 6:30 pm on April 26th. Water and helmet are strongly recommended. For more information, contact the club at POB 9165, Tulsa, Ok 74157, or emaii to: Okiebicycle@prodigy.net Texas Lesbian Conference For 13 years now, Texas Lesbians have presented one of the best conferences in the US. This year’ s event, to be held at the Renaissance Hotel, Greenway Plaza on May 19-21 in Houston. The conference will feature Urvashi Vaid, former executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, cartoonist/cormnentator, Alison Bechdal, creator of"Dykes to WatchOut For," poet and author Ntozake Shange and Lesbian comic Marga Gomez. Andifthese were not enough of a draw, TLC offers a variety of workshops on legal, financial, spiritual and other issues. TLC is awoman only event for which you must be 18 to attend. For more information, write POB 66012, Houston 77266. Or "call 713-460-3435 for a registration form. . Living ArtSpace New Show Tul’sa’s contemporary art gall~ery~: Living Ai~tSpace, now located at 308 South Kenosha will present exhibition opening & gallery talk by artist, John Hitchcoek, on Thursday, April 6, 5:30-8pm. Hitchcock invites the viewer tobecome a participant in his installation by encouraging them to "play games" and receive a silk screened pnnt or an object. Using games derived from Native American traditions, the artist challenges the participant to make the comparison between traditional culture and the artwork. Once upon a time, there was a teenager named, for lack of a better moniker, Jim. He was teased most of his school life for being gay, name calling and threats of physical violencebeing the chief tactics deployed by most of the other kids -the mainstays of which were the dreaded "jocks." He had few friends, but one of the few he considered a friend happened to be Shaun. Shatm was in choir and on the football team, and Jim had known him for a few years, since Jr High. What Jim repressed and suppressed was his physical and emotional attraction for Shann. Shaun wasn’t classically handsome, but something about him was incredibly attractive to Jim. Maybe it was just that, unlike the other jocks, who singled Jim out for particular torment, Shaun always had treated him with kindness " ~roadway Damage’ is another little sleeper, low budget movie that is actually quite wonderful... The film is a ~ood old-fashloned romantle eornedy, kind of llke the old screwballs eomedles of the 30’s... It’s a well-wrltten, well-fihned, well-acted " story that is sure to brin~ a smile to anyone’s face..." and yes, even friendline,ss. This was !lJghly unusual. Jim and Shaun s friendship~ew, and they hung out a bit together. Jim continued suppressing, and just enjoyed Shaun’s company, basking in the glow of their friendship. At one point, they went to a film together. Shaun sat with legs spread wide, his leg touching Jim’ s. Wall, all Jim could focus on throughout the film was the sensfition of Shaun s leg against his; the bea~from the other boy’s body flowing in~d~s, the fact that he was really uncomfortable due to the fact that certain feelingSwere rising., feelings he’d been hiding from everyone, including himself. 0~things w~re rising too, and he had no!~deahow tohandle this. He wasn’t sure ifShaun was doing this deliberately or by accident. In ~_ospect, it had to be on purpose. Shfiuns leg never left contact wi~Jim’s tmtil the film was over. Jim wasi:terrified.~Did he dare move, and cut off~ie contact which he really so desperatdy Wanted?Or should he re~pond?Was thi~ ~test? Surely Shaun was aware of the comments and teasing; he’d seen it happen, To this day, Jim has no memory of that film or what it was. Just the sensation of Shaun’s leg and the accompanying delight/fear. Jim’s fervent yet deeply hidden desire was for Shaun and he to bein love. Yet, of course this could never be. Shaun was straight-Jim thought. Andhe was ever so aware of the fragility of friendship- he’d ~aot had many, ai~d would do nothing to jeopardize this one. One time, Shaun asked Jim to join he and some friends for a swim. When Jim got to Shaun’s house, he discovere~...that the friends.~were other members of the football team - the ones who so delighted inmakinglife aliving hell for Jim. "Well", he thought,"This should be ablast. NOT!" To his surprise, they all got along. Jim did feel incredibly out of place and utterly self-conscious the whole time they were around. Had to be careful not to slip up and steal a glance at the wrong moment, not that he could see anything without his coke-bottle glasses anyway. During the swim day, Shann told an interesting story: He had entered a bar on a certain street in. Arlington, Texas, and thought it was a real cool place - until he began to notice all the other patrons were men - and looking at him. Then he left in a hurry. You can imagine thecomments this brought on from the jocksters. It was all Jim could do not to ask WHERE. In fact, Jim did devote a considerable amount of time to thoughts onhow to get the desired information without giving myself away, but never could figure out a foolproofmethod. Some years later, Jim did go in search of the aforementioned place - and discovered it was in a shopping center with no sign age or indications of any sort that there was anything in the shopping center. You had to know where and what it was to get there and find the place. Interesting... Later that day, Shaun and I found ourselves alone in his parent’s house. He excused himself to take a shower, and was in there along time. A really long time. Jim began to wonder if he should just go home, Shaun was in there so long. Then, out he popped, completely nude - and Jim with no glasses on! (He was near blind without them.) It took a lot of control not to look down, whichhe recalls doing anyway, for a split second. Shaun probably caught it. He paused, saying, "Sorry, forgot to take my clothes i.n with me." Then went into his room. Jim was nonplused. Here Shaun is, withakidheknew was teased for being Gay, exposing himself. He spent along time inhis room, too,by the way Jimwas certain this was all atest, and the slightest wrong move would end the friendship - after all, Shaun was a good Southern Baptist boy, going to a church that literally preached coercion to get new members. Yes, Jim knows better now. There were signals being sent, Jimjust misinterpreted them. Jim wished he hadn’t, even though that would have ted to heartbreak. Jim really was in love with Shaun. Last Jim heard, Shaun was married, with kids. Sad thing is, that all Jim had to go on were negative images of Gayness. That’s all that was out there in the world then. There was no "Will and Grace", no positive movie role models. And All he knew was that one wrong step could end a friendship, Or even get him beaten - or, in one case he read about, killed. Whichleads me to aDVD review:_"Get Real". The story is pretty much the same as above, withnerdy schoNboyfallingfor upperclassmanjock. Except in the case of "Get Real", the relationship is consummated when schoolboy finds out that the jockster is indeed, homoerotically inclined. Of course, Mr. Jock is severely suppressing, and holding on to his straight identity with every’ fiber of his being. The film played Tulsa for about a week in ’96 or ’97. I’m sure not everyone got to see it, so I won’t spoil the ending. Let’s just say schoolboy .comes out publicly and discovers his inner strength. He’s accompanied by a female friend, who remindedme ofmyfriend Karin, who is now a Lesbian! More on that later, see Amuse, p. 9 GILCREASE MUSEUM April 29, May 5 & 7, 2000 Call 587-4811 Church of the Restoration Unitarian Universalist 11 am, Sunday, 1314 North Greenwood, 587-1314 EUREKASPRINGS DIVERSITYCELEBRATION -Friday, April 7 - 8:30pm to 12:30am,Dancing in the Ozark Room at the Basin Park Hotel (12 Spring Street) with DJ Jon Caswell. Sponsored by theMCC of the Living Spring. Cover: $5 per person. Cash Bar. Must be 21. - 9pm to 12:30am, Karaoke at Shaw’s Tavern (37 Spring Street) - 10pm to 2am, Breakfast at thenew Eureka House of Blues (in the basement of the x’~ :w Orleans hotel at 63 Spring Street) or, - 1 lpm to 2am, Breakfast at the Eureka Food Court (37 Spring Street) Saturday, April 8 10am to Noon, Canoe float on the White River. $25 per canoe. Singles welcome- r reservations and info, call theBeaver Dam Store at 501-253-6154. 10:30am. to Noon, Learn a littl6 of Eureka S prings’ history on a guided walking to, the Historic District. Meet at Sweet Spnngs next to Rogue’s Manor on upper !: Street. For further information, call 501-253-0070 or e-mail walking@nwaft.com. - Noon to 3:30pm "Go Fly a Kite!" Weather permitting, bring your kites and your cameras.at the beautiful Pond Mountain Lodge and Resort (two miles south on HighWay 23). For more information, contact Judy Jones at 800-583-8043. - lpm to 2:30pro Head out to Lake Leatherwood Park (off Highway 62 West) for an informative, guided trail hike. Get there a few minutes early and bring some water; some walking sticks will be provided. You can also hike on your own on one of the various trails in Eureka Springs’ "City Park". To obtain a trail map or for further information about the park, please e-mail lthrwood@ipa.net. For further information about the hike, call Steve at 501-253-9380 or 9384 or e-mail gands@ipa.net. - Please visit the unique shops and restaurants in the Eureka Springs Diversity Cooperative. Let them know you’re here for Diversity Weekend! - 3:30pm to 9pm,Check outThe Holein the Wall (191/2 Spring Street) forKaraokewith Lita! Lunch and dinner will also be served. For further information, call 501-253-8361. - 9pm to lain; Dance to the high,energy club ttmes of DJ Jon Caswdl at Center Stage (37 Spring Street). Must be 21. Cover: $5 per person. Sponsored by The Emerald Rainbow, Mark E. Cook Properties and Center Street Bar & Grill. - 9pmto 12:30am, Belt out your favorite tunes as Shaw’s Tavern (37 Spring Street) once again hosts a Karaoke night for "family" and friends. - 10pm to 2am, Brealffast at thenew Eureka House of Blues (in the basement of the New Orleans hotel at 63 Spring Street) or, - 1 lpm to 2am, Breakfast at the Eureka Food Court (37 Spring Street) Sunday, April 9 - 2pm to 6pm, Join us again at Center Stage (37 Spring Street) for a tea dance and drag show, with performances by the "girls from Tulsa" and music by DJ Jon Caswell. Must be 21. Cover: $5 per person. Sponsored by The Emerald Rainbow, Ermilio’s Restaurant and Center Street Bar & Grill. - 7pm, MCC of the Living Spring (17 Elk Street) will hold a service. Call 501-253-9337 for information. All are welcome! For a listing of businesses supporting this and similar events, check out the Eureka Springs Diversity Cooperative website at www.shimaka.coln/eureka/diversity or drop by The Emerald Rainbow at 45 1/2 Spring Street for a printed copy. Oklahoma Repertory Theatre Opens TULS A-Theatreleaders from twoTulsa : and the Boys" by So. African playwright organizations, Tulsa Repertory Theatre and Wayward Theatre Co. have joined together to create the Oklahoma Repertory Theatre (also known as OK REP). Catherine Adkins, Skip suraci. Christopher Ferguson-Long and Nathan Huntley will serve as executive artistic director, advisor, associate founding artistic director and associate artistic director, respectively. OKREP,like the companies out of which it grows is committed to "unique, professional theatre, children’s theatre, arts in education and community outreach." OK REP will open its season with the Pulitzer Prize winning, "Master Harold The film translates well to DVD, maintaining the widescreen image, and with excellent rarity. Sadly, there’s no extra features so prevalent now in DVD releases, such as director’s commentary, behind the scenes documentaries, etc. It would have been .nice to have the actor’s recollections of the making of the film and the affect it had on them. However, that does not detract from the fact it’s a well-written film with an excellent.cast and beautiful cinematography. The only thing that bothered one of my friends at the .initial showing was that jock boy Athol Fugard. The production will mn May 11-14 and May 18-20 at Tulsa’s Performing Arts Center Liddy Doenges ~[]aeatre at 8pm and Sundays at 2pro, and is supported in part by grants from the Oklahoma Arts Council and the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Tn~st. The play, directed by Nathan Huntley, is that of a young man growing up and growxng aware in 1950’s South Africa apartheid. Tulsa actors Greg Herman, Bill Thomas and Christopher Ferguson-Long perform the roles. Tickets are available at the PAC box office, 596-7111, for $12/ adults and $9/students/seniors. For more information, call OK REP at 592-6310. seems to come from a well-heeled family, yet has a working class accent. I noticed after he pointed it out, but that did not detract from the otherwise excellent performanees given by Ben Silverstone as the cuteschoolboy Steven Carter, Charlotte Britain as his friend who faints on command, and the hunky Brad Gorton as thejock upon anyone Wouldbe daft not to develop a crush. Available from Wolfe Video (www.wolfevideo.com). Along the same lines, sort of... well, not really, but there’s a well-done scene that exemplifies the kind of dynamic I wrote of regarding seeing that tmnamed film with Shaun, is "Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss." see Amuse, p. 11 by Tom Neal, editor & publisher Some Oklahomapolitical observers have noted that the one good thing for this state about a win by Republican presidential candidate, George W. Bush, is that we’d get to send the Honorable Frank Keating, Governor of Oklahoma packing back off to DC, though others have said Oklahoma’.s gain might be to the nation’s detriment. "... ff it were not enough to invoke this bigoted image ofGay people -preying on the young, he foflowed it with a comment about how Gay people are among the wealthiest Amerleans. I had to wonder if next he’d betalklng about how ’all Black people have rhythm’ or ’the international Jewish banking eonsplraey.’..." This February, t took my’father to lunch at the Press Club to see Keating do his song and dance. I imagine that Keating expected a rather friendly reception- these days the Press Club membership hardly includesany reporters but rather mostly public relations types - good enough people but hardly known for hard hitting .journalism. They’re there to put a nice spin on tttings, not to get at the truth, typically. Andyou can count on The Tulsa Worldto report only selectively on comments made there. Then there was Dad and me sitting right up front. And dear Mr. "I am not descended from a Baboon" Keating* likely did not know what he was in for. Mr. Keating waxed eloquently about how ifwe only re-made government to be like"’business," and not just coincidentally turned it all over to the Republiczins, all would be great with our state. I could nothave a~kedfor a better setup for my question to the Governor since in Oklahoma, it’s business leading the way in treating Lesbian and Gay citizens, well, like equal citizens. The question put to the Gov. was this: Oklahoma’s leading businesses,American Airlines, the state’ s largest private employer, K.imberly-Clark, Dollar-Thrifty Auto Group whose CEO, Joseph Cappy was just appointed to the State Board of Regents for Higher Education, all of these corporations promise not to discriminate on sexual orientation. Since "business" shows us the way, Keating * ina recent controversy about teaching evolution in public schools, Keating claimed he was not descended from a baboon. The Tulsa World contested that claim. Operat=on Montreal,. To ¯ was asked why state government was not following their lead. Frank’s answer was an embarrassment to the state of Oklahoma. He said there was not a public consensus to support treating all people fairly and had he stopped at this, I could hardly have argued withhim. But he went on to invoke the most shameful of stereotypes, saying that the state government of Oklahoma could not promise to treat Gay and Lesbian Oklahomans fairly because "a homosexual schoolteacher might try to ’promote’ his ’lifestyle’ to elementary school students and then the state could not discipline the teacher..." Andif it were not enough to invoke this bigoted image of Gay people preying on the young, he followed it with acomment abouthow Gay people are among the wealthiest Americans. I had to wonder if next he’d be talking about how "all Black people have rhythm" and "the international Jewish banking conspiracy." I did have the opportunity to say.his allegation about Gay "wealth" was false but not to question his premises about promising to treat public employees fairly. And this, of course, ignores the fact that it is almost unimaginable that any Gay teacher would engage in inappropriate discussions - they’re all too scared because : they know they’ll be harassed or fired in any school district in the state. Any inappropriate conversation by a ¯ teacher with students, whether heterosexual or homo- " sexual, already has avenues for remedy. I agree with Keating, Oklahoma can learn from the : example of "business." First and foremost, Frank needs ¯ to figure out that discrimination is bad for business and ¯ badforOklahoma. "Business" has figured this out. Ameri- " can and Dollar-Thrifty don’t go beyond the minimum ¯ federallaw r.eqmresjust because they regreatfolks. Th y ¯¯ do it because they can’t afford to lose good workers and ¯ some of those good workers ar’-e Gay. It really shouldn’t be that hardfor Frank Keating. All ¯ he needs to do is to reframe the questionin terms to which ¯ he can relate: shall we not include Catholics in our non- - discnmmattonlawsbecausewecouldn tfiretbemlfthey mdocmnated our children with the Cathohclifestyle m schools? Keating shouldknow that itwash’ t thatlong ago : that precisely those stereotypes were common in thisstate. After all, Keating claims to be a Christian. And as : such, he is commanded to "treat others as he would be ¯ treated." That?s pretty straightforward. I’d bet even a ¯ "lower" primate, maybe even a baboonmight be able to ¯ figure that out. The question is can our governor? by Dave Fleischer Senior Fellow, Policy Institute National Gay andLesbian Task Force Have you ever met ahomophobe? Of course you have, which is why you might not immediately be eager to campaign door-to-door using the "G" word when we need to win an election. You might be thinking: Holy Roller, don’t a lot of people go into rant mode the minute we say the Word "Gay?’" Actually, they don’t. Everywhere I’ve gone door-todoor with teams of volunteers,- once we explain in plalnlanguage the issue voters will be facing, the overwhelming majority are on .our side. Most of the rest are undecided. This has been true in Anchorage, Houston, and Fayetteville, Arkansas; in San Francisco, suburban Westchester County,.in Miami (nope, not just in South Beach) and in both Democratic and Republican parts of Spokane, Washington. And that’s just the places in 1998-and 1999 that we’ve gone door-to-door in. Sure, we start in neighborhoods wherewe believe we’ll find many supporters. But even when we broaden to a - diverse set of neighborhoods, 60 to 90% of the time, voters are surprised to learn that the basic rights, of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgendered (GLBT) people are under attack. "... I don’t want to tell you about my%exllfe - but ff I’m doing a job at my job, should my boss be able to fire me just because I’m Gay?" [long pause, she says uncertainly] "I’ve never thought about that..." "Well, I’m Gay, and this may surprise youbut it wasn’t a choice for me. And if I’m doing a goodjob at work, do you think my boss should be. able to fire mejust because I’m Gay?" "I don’t want to hear about your sex life." "I don’t want to tell you about my sex life--but if I’m ~ doing a goodjob atmyjob, shouldmy boss be able to fire me just because I’m Gay?" . [Long pause] [She says uncertainly] "I’ve never thought about that." "Well, that’s what you’ll, be voting on. Here’s the wording that will be on the ballot. Takealookatit. [Pausewhile she reads] What do you think?" I didn’t make this voter a supporter. But I did move her from leaning against us to someone who might be undecided. Theconversation took abouttwominutes. Then I was on to the next door. If we’ve trained our-volunteer team well, we communicate our key message within the limits of the voter’s attention span. Then we ask what they think. And they tell us. Soinetimes their answer isn’t easy to hear (I didn’t love Ms. Informed’s ?Gays can change"). Butifwe listen with genuine interest, and offer a clear, honest exchange, they return the favor. We usually-leave the door either knowing we’ve found someone leaning toward us, or someone who is now open to hearing more. A...J--~"~’~A~.~,~’A,,’~ (;.... ~Vhenthe~ydo, they say somethinglike. OfcourseI Benefit uur= i i i i i i~i~..,,..; :=~-agai~i’s’t--d~sc~aination, against anybody. I like/don’t care Localentrepreneurandmouth-about-townactivistNed about/dort’flike Gay people, but discriminationis always Bruha will present "Operation Montreal" at The Silver Star, 1565 So. Sheridan, at 10pm on Friday May 5th. Brnha notes, "’this night of rare comedy and mad-cap entertainment will aid Audra MarieSommers, an individual among us who has selflessly impleme.nted her .talents to l~tter the Tulsa areafor the past decade,,She has raised money for the poor and the sick." , Themoney raised the evening of thi~ event wiR,be ~used to help Payfor medications, travel and down-time trom both of lie) jobs for the transgendered Sommers as she recoups from surgery which will bring her physiology into correspondence with her gender identity. This event is called Operation Montreal because after many years of research, Sommers has chosen worldrenowned surgeons in Montreal. Any funds raised will not be used for the surgery. Sommers has underwrittem the surgery by taking a mortgage on her home. For more information about this event, call 585-1644, or write, "Operation Montreal" c/o Ned Bruha, P.O. Box 471282, Tulsa, OK. 74147-1282, or send e-mail to partygram@webzone.net wrong." So the experience of going door-to-door is enormously encouraging. It’s both productive for the campaign, and also personally affirming. This doesn’t mean that every voter is immediately happy to see us. But as a reality check, here’s the toughest door I’ve had so far. Scene: a sweaty August ’98 morning in Fayetteville, Arkansas; a white senior answers the door ..’...’.Hi, Ms. Informed?" Yes "Hi, Ms..Informed, my name is Dave Fleischer, and I’m with the Campaign for Human Dignity. A human rights resolution is on the ballot - it says that here in Fayetteville we won’t tolerate discrimination on thejob, whether you’re a man or women, black or white, Gay or non-Gay. What do you think about that?" "Well, I think that if Gay people would just go to church, they would realize it’s a choice, they don’t have to be that way". [She went on in this vein for a minute. I listened.] Nobody says this work is easy. But, contrary to our worst fears, it isn’t confrontational. It’s more like the ordinary experience of one tiuman being talking to another human being. And there’s an unexpected personal benefit. If we reopen our hearts, we are liberatedfrom a piece of internalized self-hate and our own stereotypical thinking about the public. It turns out that most of them are human, too - and more open than we give them credit for being. Most importantly, voteridentification works. SAVE Dade in Miami has built a list of.more than 15,000 Gay - and pro-Gay voters by having dbnversations just like these, by going door~to-door and by talking to voters when.they go to vote. Basic Rights Oregon beat back their last two state-wide anti-Gay ballot measures by doing voter idenlification on a large scale, and has a list of 125,000 voters statewide. Sure there are closed-minded homophobes out there. But they are far fewer and less grumpy than you’d guess -a mere needle in a Gaystack. If we’re going to win elections, we need to talk with everyone to find our supporters. Factis, voters are ready tolistentous,ifwe’re willing to listen to them. Are we? Meet Local Guys for Hot ~Odgin. 18+. Additional features fron ads guys you like The number of Gays and Lesbians in the United States is not known because of largely unreliable studies. Advocacy groups often claim 10% of the population is homosexual, basedon surveys ofsexual behavior conducted by researcher Alfred Kinsey taken in the 1940s. Other surveys put the number between 4% and 6%. Amore direct census question concerning sexual orientation isn’t likely by the lime the2010 census roils around. Itwould take afederal legislation to require collection of the data. And, advocates say, it’s a tricky ’question. "Is sexual orientation defined by feelings of attraction, exclusivity or praetors?’" Norfllrop asked. Best known for launching the career of "Willand Grace’ s" "Jack", Sean P. Hayes, that’s about the best thing about this film. It’s got some good moments, but never quite congeals into a satisfying film. Brad Rowe, Meredith Scott Lynn, and Hayes mmin good performances, but the rest of the cast falls flat, as do many of the jokes. Hayes stars as Billy, a starving artist photographer who is the other man in an unsatisfying relationship he settles for because (as he. tells everyone repeatedly in this film until youjust wantto slap him) he CAN’T FIND A MAN. He stumbles upon Gabriel (the immensely appealing Brad Rowe), and instantdysfunctional crushdevelops, in spite of the fact (?) that Gabriel is straight. Hilarity ensues (yawn). There’s the prerequisite drag queen comicrelief trio, that should never have .entered this film, because they are rather pointless to.the plot, content, and are really so bad they detract from the film..Obvibusly, theyare ~aeant to be bad, but all the ~vay t~ough the opening.sequence~ and at se{~eral points ~(way too many) through the film, they -..seem to just be inserted for no reason. If they were doing something that was plot~orthyand actually funny, itmight be a good thing. They’re not, and basically just fill time when the director can’t pull his head out long enoughto actually make a film. This DVD comes with a commentary, and even that - usually a high point and asset - is utterly boring. Yes, Sean’s a wonderful actor -now. OK, Brad was uncomfortable with thefilm and part starting out. (Why is never detailed, and that was what might have been actually interesting.) OK yes, there are lots ofhomages to old films, most of which are obvious, especially with the dream/musical sequences. Overall, Billy’s a fine addition to an avid collector ofGay film, for archival purposes. It’s amusing once through. But it’s a definite rental, not a keeper. Also available from Wolfe Video. An excellent film to have on DVD for repeated viewings and the extras, is"Gods and Monsters." It is a most moving and affecting film, and the disc has lots of goodies, along with a commentary that actually IS interesting, adocumentary with Clive Barker as host, interviews with the actors, and lots oflovely details. The film, based on Christopher Brain’s book, is a look .at what might have happened in the days leading to James Whale’s mysterious death. Whale, the director best known for the films "Frankenstein" and "Bride of Frankenstein" in the ’30’s, was found floating ¯ in his pool fully clothed. No answers ever ¯ came out of the investigation. Sir Inn ¯ McKellan, in abravuraperformance, plays ~ Whale, the absolutely dynamic Lynn ¯¯ Redgrave plays his housekeeper and caregiver Hannah, and the absolutely brilliantandbreathtakingly gorgeous Br~ndan Fraser plays a yard man that Whale be- " friends. : This didplay the major theatres,butjust ¯ in case, I won’t give away any more of the ." ending than I have. The performances ¯ were all top notch, with nary a misstep. ¯ The cinematography is beautiful, and the ¯ detail in sets, costumes, and styleis dead- " on.~(No pun intended.) As an. actor, it’s ~ ~really hard.f,0rme to see a film that makes ¯¯ ~m~fo~etI m~watehing~a film. This one did. I was surprised, as the end credits ¯ were rolling, to find I had tears runmng : down my face. The film so engrossed me ¯ that Iwasn’t even aware when that began. ¯ It’s an interesting film on many levels, ¯ the most superficial being Whale as dirty ." old man spying on the yard man; and~the ¯ deepest being the comments on aging, ¯ and the families we surround ourselves ¯ with as that happens. The interplay of ¯ straight andGay, andfear. The betrayal of ¯ ¯ the body.and time, the interplay between youth and age, the reasons we make the ¯ choices in life that we do make., all are ." explored on many levels. ¯ It’s definitely worth viewing several ¯ times, if for nothing more than seeing the ¯ details you missed first time around. The ¯ commentary, as opposed to the useless ¯ blathering on Billy’s HSK, is insightful, ¯ informative, and frequentlylamusing. ." There’s enough mix in details of how the ¯ film was made, how attention to details : was as important as performance, behind ¯ the scenes stories of what went on during ¯ filming, what it was like to deal with this ¯ or that to keep one quite amused. ." ~ And after watching the film go by wlth " the commentary, especially re~ardihg the ." director’s intentions, it’s kind of a fun ¯ game to play to seehowmuch youpieked ’’up on. ~klso, some historica~ facts_ are ." thrown in, not in a dry, witless manner, ¯ but which augment the viewing Of the : film. So, for me, it gets a definite. BUY ¯ THIS! Even if you only get the video ~ version (which may or may not have the documentary), it’s worth it. Available at ; Wolfe Video. "Broadway Damage" is another little sleeper, low budget movie that is actually quite wonderful. A romantic comedy that actually is, as~ opposed to Billy, it stars some very talented unknowns in a film that is well written and leaves you feeling good. "Nerdy Guy’~ and "Beautiful Boy" in New York looking for"Mr. RightY BB is always finding people bad for him, and pursues one that is really bad news. NB is seeking Mr Right and has a crush on BB Enter BB’s roommate Quirk~y~rl. QG is trying to make it inNYCon hiSrtwn, even though daddy’s rich. He wants her to get a job, something she’s never had to do. She and the boys form a fun trio, and have merry adventures in NYC. The film is a good old-’fashioned romantic comedy, kind oflike the old screwballs comedies of the 30’s upon which it is patterned. The ending’s predictable, but the g~tting there is fun, as with most journeys. Even if you know where you’re going,, the trip is never the same twice, right? It’s a well-written, well-filmed, well-acted story that is sure to bring a smile to anyone’s face. It should have received wider release w~h,en it played the film houses, but is a gem I m sharing with you. Yep, available at Wolfe Video on VHS and DVD. presents .... an eclectic mix of choral literature ranging from Baroque to Broadway, from pop classics of the ’50s and ’60s to a bawdy sea chantey an~J.an American Folk song featuring the Green Country Cloggers. ,Friday and Saturday, April 7 & 8, 2000 at 8pm Williams Theatre, Tulsa Performing Arts Center (reception following) Tickets: PAC box office, 596-7111 in Tulsa, 1-800-364-7111 or online at www.tulsapac.com COUNCIL oak a fellowship of gay men dedicated to musical excellence in the performance of choral literature, providing a source of pride, unity, and support, while presenting a positive image for ourselves, our community, and society as a whole. FOR MORE INFORMATION about the COUNCIL oak meN~S c~or~aLe and its parent organization, the non-profit Vocal Pride Foundation, visit our award-winning website at www.eouneiloak.org. Original Format The type of object, such as painting, sculpture, paper, photo, and additional data newspaper periodical Dublin Core The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/. Title A name given to the resource [2000] Tulsa Family News, April 2000; Volume 7, Issue 4 Subject The topic of the resource Politics, education, and social conversation toward Tulsa’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities. Description An account of the resource Tulsa Family News was a monthly newspaper; No. 1 issued December 1993-January 1994. The final issue available was published in September 0f 2001 (Volume 8, Issue 9). The newspaper brings up important, evolving topics of marriage, Pride, TOHR, HIV/AIDs, events, advice, and politics all at the local and national level. This document is available in searchable PDF attached. It is also available to be seen at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with permission. Creator An entity primarily responsible for making the resource Tulsa Family News Source A related resource from which the described resource is derived https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24 Publisher An entity responsible for making the resource available Tom Neal Date A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource April 2000 Contributor An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource James Christjohn Barry Hensley J.P. Legranbouche Lamont Lindstrom Esther Rothblum Mary Schepers Rights Information about rights held in and over the resource Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News Relation A related resource Tulsa Family News, March 2000; Volume 7, Issue 3 Format The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource Image PDF Online text Language A language of the resource English Type The nature or genre of the resource newspaper periodical Coverage The spatial or temporal topic of the resource, the spatial applicability of the resource, or the jurisdiction under which the resource is relevant Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper Tulsa---Oklahoma Oklahoma---Tulsa United States Oklahoma Tulsa United States of America (50 states) Identifier An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context https://history.okeq.org/items/show/599 "Operation Montreal" 2000 adoption AIDS AIDS Quilt aMUSEments arts and entertainment Audra Sommers Bars Blood Donation businesses Census Christian Coalition churches civil unions Council Oak Men's Chorale Diversity celebration Dr. Grethe Cammermeyer Dr. Laura Gay marriage Gay Studies Greg Louganis Harmonic Diversity hate crime bill HIV holocaust homophobia Human Rights Campaign Jim Christjohn Karin Gregory Lamont Lindstorm Liberation Publications Living ArtSpace marriage equality military inclusion NAMES Project National Gay and Lesbian Task Force OK Spoke Club Partner Benefits performing arts PlanetOut Inc Pride Raging Lesbian Read All About It restaurants Soulforce Texas Lesbian Conference Tom Neal Tulsa Family News Tulsa Repertory Theatre