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[Sub-Series] Newsletters & Publications > Tom Neal Newsletters > Tulsa Family News
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Gays in the Military Update
More "Gays" Leaving US Armed Forces
WASHINGTON (AP) -TheAir Force andArmyreport
sharp increases in the number of troops discharged for
homosexuality, and officials believe many are discontented
non-Gay recruits looking for a way out. In
releasing the figures, the Defense Department said it
was satisfied with its "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy on
homosexuality in the services. It asserted that the 1998
dischargenumbers "align" with those ofprevious years,
even though they reached an 11-year high.
A watchdog group, the Servicemembers Legal Defense
Fund, said the’figures were fresh evidence that
Gays still are being mistreated in the 1.4-million-member
active-duty military. "Commanders are still asking,
pursuing and harassing people," said Dixon Osbum, the
group’s co-executive director. ,,,~
The "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy, adopted in 1994, is
supposed to allow Gays to serve if they keep their sexual
orientation private. It punishes those who engage in
homosexual acts or take actions that call attention to
their orientation. But critics accuse the services of
hunting down Gays and driving them out of the service.
If a service member voluntarily states his or her
homosexuality, discharge is automatic.. In the.case oLa
recruit still in basic (raining, av0iuniary declaration of
homosexuality means an admjuistrative discharge that
does not carry a bad-conduct stigma. Under the Pentagon
policy there are three grounds for discharge: if a
service member voluntarily states that he or she is Gay;
if someone is determined to have engaged in a homosee
Military, p. 3
Maryland Judge Throws
Out Sodomy Law
BALTIMORE (AP) - A judge who rtded Baltimore’s
80-year-old anti-sodomy law does not apply to consensual
acts has expanded the ruling to include anal as well
as oral sex. The ruling by Circuit Judge Richard T.
Rombto settles a 1997 clas s-action suit by theAmerican
Civil Liberties Union. "This is saying the government
will not intrude in the bedroom," said Dwight Sullivan,
a staff counsel for the ACLU’s Maryland chapter,
which sued on behalf of several Gay men and Lesbians.
State officials, who did not object to tLe ACLU’s
efforts, said the ruling was largely symbolic because
few if any state residents have been prosecuted for
sodomy. ACLU officials, however, said the existence
of the law posed a threat to privacy rights and left
homosexuals vidnerable to job discrimination and unfair
attacks in child custody cases.
Thirty-one states have rep.ealed anti-sodomy laws,
while 17 still have them on the books, including Virgiuia.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in a Georgia case
in 1986 that anti-sodomy laws are constitutional.
In 1990, the Maryland Court Of Appeals ruied the law
could not be used to prosecute consentual, nonpublic
acts of oral sex, see Maryland, p. 14
DIRECTORY/LETTERS P. 2
EDITORIAL P. 3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
HEALTH NEWS P; 6
COMMUNITY CAL ENDAR P. 9
BOOK REVIEW P. 10
DO-IT-YOURSELF-DYK E P, 11
DYKE PSYCHE P. 12
CLASSIFIEDS + WEERWOLF P. 14
ST~ervin~g Lesb[ian~, Gay,~Bisex_ual +nT~ranPsa_gl~eenrdAevraeidlabTluelIsnaMnso,reOTuhraFna7m5iClieis +LoFcraietinodnss
Hate Crimes Amendment Has
A Chance in OK Legislature
TMM - Metropolitan Ministry Endorses Amendment
TULSA/OKLAHOMA CITY - Those who knew Matthew
Shepard say that he would have wished that some good come out
of evil. And it appears that, in Oklahoma at least, some good
might come out of the horror of his murder. That at least is the
conclusion drawn by some commumty activists who see the new
willingness of Oklahoma political leaders to address hate crimes
based on actual or perceived sexual orientation.
Speaking anonymously, one clergy participantinTulsa Metropolitan
Ministry, an influential local interfaith organization,
indicated that Shepard’s murder is what helped shake the organization
out of its unwillingness to address the concerns of Lesbians
and Gay men. As she put it, they could no longer remain
silent.
And moving amazingly fast for such a diverse group, TMM
adopted as one of its legislative goals for this 1999 session, the
amendment of Oklahoma’s Malicious Intimidation Statute, otherwiseknown
as the Hate Crimes law. In fact, abill (HB 1211) for
this amendment has been introduced by Tulsa legislator, Don
Ross. HB 1211 has a companion bill introduced in the Oklahoma
Senate by Sen. Ben Brown, and Democratic party rumors have it
that Speaker of the House, Loyd Benson has committed to
support the bill. Oklahoma Attorney G~neral Drew Edmondson
already has committed publicly to supporting this amendment as
has former Tulsa County District Attorney see Hate.p. 13
Activists kick off Eq~mlity Begins at Home at fall conference.
Thousands to Go to Capitols
First Ever National Week ofAction for Equality
WASHINGTON, DC - January 25, 1999 - In the 30th aunivers.
ary year of the S tonewall rebellion- the birth of the modern Gay
rights movement - thousands of Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and
Transgender people will launch an unprecedented national week
of action for equality. Equality Begins at Home, slated for the
week of March 21 - 27, is a major initiative to push state
lawmakers to support a platform of equality.
Planning for these by local activists is well under way. In
Oklahoma, Paul Thompson, of the Oklahoma Gay & Lesbian
Political Caucus is co-ordinating the Oklahoma event at the State
Capitol on Saturday, March 27. Paid can be reached at email:
Gayoglpc@flash.net, or 405-791-0202. Tulsa Oklahomans for
Human Rights (TOHR) is working to help organize Tidsans to
go.
From Montana to Maine, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and
Transgender people will come out and speak up in simultaneous
events nationwide, most ofwhich will take place at state capitols.
These actions will, mnong other things, build support for laws
that counter hate violence, ban employment discrimination,
provide for safe schools for all students, ensure.the right to adopt
and become foster parents, and address health issues including
HIV/AIDS.
Equality Begins at Home is coordinated by the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force .and organized by the Federation of
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Statewide Political
Organizations. As part of its coordinating efforts, the Task Force
provided Federation member groups $5,000 each to support their
Equality Begins at Home organizing efforts and hired a national
coordinator for the event. Dozens of national organizations have
signed on in support of this week of action.
"Equality Begins at Home is not an end point but a beginning
point. We are going to make our statewide organizations stronger,
mobilize more people, register more voters, and demand
greater accountability from our state legislators and policy makers,"
stated Kerry Lobel, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
executive director, see EBAH, p..13
Pride CenterAnnounces
OneRecruitShortofa ToasterMembers
Drive and Gay Legal Rights Program
TULSA - How do you feel about winning a very
stylish toaster or toaster oven? That’s what Pride
Center organizers want to know. They’re hoping
that these possibilities will motivate you to join
Tulsa’s Gay & Lesbian community center, the
Pride Center and to persuade as many of your
friends, family and acquaintances to do the same.
Pride Center volunteers have organized a membership
drive from Feb. 1 to March 31 that was
inspired by Lesbian comedian, Ellen Degeneres,
and they’re offering prizes for "recruiting" new
community center members. Center spokesman,
Greg Gatewood stated that any current or new
member will receive "a toaster accessory" (what is
that???) for bringing in five new members. Ten
new members will win you a sleek new bagelcapable
toaster. And if you get 25 new memberships,
you’ll get, not just a toaster, but a toasteroven!
However, the grand prize is airfare to an exotic
seaside location so you can toast yourself in the
tropical sun. Sound good? To win this you need to
get at least 50 new memberships though the winner
will be the person who gets the most memberships
of 50 ormo~e by March 31 st. Tojoin or to get more
information, call the Center at 743-GAYS (4297).
Beginning in Feb. specifically Feb. 18 at 7:30,
the Oklahoma Lesbian and Gay Law Association
will begin a series of free legal seminars for Lesbians
and Gay men. These seminars are set up as
informal discussions drawing on the skills of attorneys
who specialize in areas of interest to the
community. Tulsa attorney Camille Quiun will
lead the first discussion on estate planning. The
discussion will be geared toward both couples and
individuals. Again for more information, call the
Center at 743-GAYS (4297)..
Other evenfs a( the ~enter include a Mardi Gras
costume party on Feb. 13 with dancing to music by
"Grandmaster DJ Tim."
see Center, p. 14
GaI-A-Vanting
TULSA - More than fourteen women met recently
to plan monthly events for "Gal-A-Vanting, Ms.
Adventures for Women." Gal-A-Vanting is a social
and cultural organization for Lesbian women.
The group seeks to provide social, cultural and selfexploration
opportunities for women as wall as a
venue for meeting and for developing a sense of
The organization was the brainchild of two
friends, Mary (also known as the Do-It-Yourself
Dyke) and Joan, who decided that there was not
enough for women to do in the Tulsa area and who,
also, were tired ofdriving to Arkansas for women’s
activities. They believed there would be enough
interest in the Tulsa community to create an organization
to provide activities here.
Approximately 20 women have attended each of
the activities hosted by Gal-A-Vanting in the past
four months. There are now more than 65 women’s
names on the mailing list. The organization has
hosted a number of events, a "women and the arts
evening" which featured poetry and various artist’s
work, a dance, a drumming circle and a movie
night.
Monthly activities are planned for the second
Samr.day ev.e.mng of each month. Also, community
service acttvltles, such as adopting a mile of road
for clean up or working with the elderly are also
planned, see Gal, p. 14
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*Boston Willy’s Diner, 1742 S. Boston
*Concessions, 3340 S. Peoria
*Empire Bar, 1516 S. Peoria
*Full Moon Cafe, 1525 E. 15th
*Gold Coast Coffee House, 3509 S. Peoria
*Interurban Restanrant,717 S. Houston
*Jason’s Deli, 15th & Peoria
*Lola’s, 2630 E. 15th
*Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*Silver Star Saloon, 1565 Sheridan
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*TNT’s, 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box, 1338 E. 3rd
832-1269
592-2143
744-0896
599-9512
583-6666
749-4511
585-3134
599-7777
¯ 749-1563
744-4280
745-9998
834-4234
585-3405
660-0856
584-1308
Tulsa Busine.~q~s, $¢ntiees,.& Professionals
Advanced Wirdess & PCS, Digital Cellular 747-1508
*Affinity News, 8120 E. 21 610-8510
Dennis C. Arnold, Realtor 746-4620
*Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard 743-1000
Kent Baler & Associates, Health & Life Insurance 747-9506
*Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 250-5034
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
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis 581-0902,743-41!7
Community Cle,qning, Kerby Baker 622-0700
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th 749-3620
*Devena’ s Gallery, 13 Brady 587-2611
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria 744-5556
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sherid~ii 838-8503
*Ross Edward Salon, 2447 E. 15th 584-0337, 712-9379
*Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. Peoria 744-9595
Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr. 628-3709
*Gloria Jean’s Gourmet COffee, 1758 E. 21st 742-1460
Leanne M. Gross, Insurance &financial planning 459-9349
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney 744-7440
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly 745-I111
*International Tours 341-6866
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th 712-2750
*Jared’s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th 582-3018
David Kanskey, Country Club Barbering 747-0236
*Ken’s Flowers, 1635 E. 15 599-8070
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210 747-5466
*Living ArtSpace, 19 E. Brady 585-1234
*Midtown Theater, 319.E. 3rd 584-3112
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-5934
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951
Novel Idea Bookstore, 51st & Harvard 747-6711
David A. Paddock, CPA, 4308 S. Peoria, Ste. 633 747-7672
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo 838-7626
*Peace of Mind Bookstore, 1401 E. 15 583-1090
The Pride Store, 1300 E. 38, 2nd floor 743-4297,
Rainbowzon the River B+B, PUB 696, 74101 747-5932
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning 834-0617
Teri Schutt, Rex Realtors 834-7921,747-4746
Christopher Spradling, attorney,616 S. Main, #308 582-7748
*Scribner’s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square 749-6301
Paul Tay, Car Salesman 260-7829
*Tickled Pink, 3340 S. Peoria 697-0017
*Tulsa Book Exchange, 3749 S. Peoria 742-2007
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis 481-0558
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counseling 743-1733
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis 592-0767
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, PUB 4337, 74101 579-9593
*All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria 743-2363
Black & White, Inc. PUB 14001, Tulsa 74159 587-7314
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6 583-7815
*B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa Canterbury Cir. 583-9780
*Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th PI. & Florence
*Churchofthe RestorationUU, 1314N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community ofHope United Methodist, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
*Council Oak Men’s Chorale 585-COMC (2662)
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712-1511
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa- Lesbian & Gay Catholics &
Episcopa]ians, PUB 701475, 74170-1475 355-3140
*FellowshiiS-Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
*FreeSpiritWomen’s Center, call for locati"on&m’ fo: 587-4669
." 918.583.1248, fax: 583.46 15, POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159
¯ e-mail: TulsaNews@earthlink_ net
¯ website: http://users.aol.com/TulsaNews/
~ Publisher + Editor:
¯ Tom Neal
¯ Writers + contributors:
¯ James Christjohn, Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud
¯ Barry Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum, Mary Schepers, Adam West
¯
Memtmr of The Associated Press
¯ Issued on or before the 1 st of each month, the entire contents of this
¯ Lg~blication are protected by US copyright 1998 byT~
. N~,and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without
written permission from the publisher. Publication of a name or
photo does not indicate a person’s sexual orientation. Correspon¯
dence is assumed to be for publication unless otherwise noted, must
¯ _be signed & becomes the sole property of T~,,~ {::~.’. Each reader is entitled to 4 copies of each edition at distribution
." points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248.
¯
Friend For A Friend, PUB 52344, 74152 747-6827
¯ Friends in Unity Social Org., PUB 8542, 74101 582-0438
¯ *HIV ER Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd. 583-6611 ¯
¯ *HIV Resource Consortium, 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194
*Holland Hall School, 5666 E. 81st 481-1111
¯ HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, EducatioN. 834-8378
¯ HIV Testing, Mon/Thurs. 7-9pm, daytime by appt. only ¯
¯ *House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood
Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438-2,437, 800-284-2437
¯ *MCC United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
¯ NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral PI. 748-3111 ¯
NOW, Nat’lOrg. forWomen, POB 14068,7"4159 365-5658 ¯
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
: *Our House, 1114 S. Quaker 584-7960
¯ PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901 ¯
*Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674 ¯
*The Pride Center, 1307 E. 38, 2rid floor, 74105 743-4297
¯ Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
¯ *R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 7494195 ¯
Rainbow Business Guild, PUB 4106, 74159 665-5174
¯ *Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
O’RYAN, support group for 18-24 LGBT young adults
¯ O’RYAN, Jr. support group for 14-17 LGBT youth
St. Aidan’s Episcopal 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 UnitedWay, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171 ¯
TNAAPP(Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
¯ Tulsa County Health DepartmenL 4616 E. 15 595-4105
¯ Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only ¯
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, c/o The Pride Center 743-4297
" T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 838-1222
¯ *Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
¯ *Tulsa Community College Campuses ¯
¯ *Rogers University (formerly UCT)
BARTLESVILLE
"° *Bartlesville Public Library, 600 S. Jotmstone 918-337-5353
¯
¯ OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN
*Borders Books &Music, 3209 NWExpressway 405-848-2667
¯
*Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-5734907
¯
TAHLEQUAH
¯
*Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
¯ *TahIequah Unitarian-UniversalistChurch 918-456-7900
*Green Country AIDS Coalition, PUB 1570 918-453-9360
¯ NSU School of Optometry, 1001 N. Grand
: HlVtestingeveryother Tues. 5:30-8:30; call for dates
¯
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
¯ *Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23 501-253-7734
¯ *Jim & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main 501-253-7457
¯ DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. 501-253-6807 ¯
*Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. 501-253-5445
¯ MCC of the Living Spring 501-253-9337
." Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, PUB 429 501-253-2776
¯ Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery 501-253-5332 ¯
Positive Idea Marketing Plans 501~624-6646
¯ Sparky’s, Hwy. 62 East 501-253-6001
¯ *White Light, 1 Center St. 501-253-4074
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS5
*Edna’s, 9 S. School Ave. 501-442-2845
¯ JOPLIN, MISSOURI
*Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 41%623-4696
* is where you can find TFN. Notall are Gay-owned but all are Gay-friendly.
Carbon Copy
KMOD Gay Bashing?
¯ Dear Phil and Brent,
¯ As a regular listener of your show, I am ¯
concerned about the words of intolerance
¯ directed toward theGay community. Your
¯ Thursday shows seem especially filled
¯ with the promotion of hate as an acceptable
behavior. Being reasonable people,
; and I assume residents of the Tulsa com-
-¯ mumty, I cannot understand your continued
promotion of hate towards a large
¯ segment of-the Tulsa community. Hate
¯ speech equals hate crimes- aproven fact.
: Your success as morning show hosts
¯ can only mean that there are a great num-
" ber ofpeople listening. The words youuse
¯ can drastically change the world of those
¯ who listen. Your words could be respon-
- sible for the next bashing or killing of a
Gay person. Is this a responsibility you
_" are ready to accept and bear for the re-
, mainder of your life?
¯ I, as you by now expect, will no longer
¯ be tuning into your show, and will encour-
¯ age my friends and acquaintances to turn
¯ the dial as well. After all, you are "the
¯ rainbow station." The rainbow has been
: mmedinto aflag. That flag represents the
¯ pride of the Gay community.
¯ I wouldhope thatKMODwouldchoose
¯ not to continue the verbal assault on our
¯ Gay citizens. I would offer that two orga-
¯ nizations I belong to, teach tolerance
; classes, and perhapsKMOD would liketo
have some of this information. Your re-
" quest may be directed to me, or to the
¯ organizations directly.
- Ned T. Bruha, Tulsa
¯ ce: TOHR
PFLAG
Great Issue
Thelatest edition [January] ofTFN was
really a great issue. Thanks for the important
work that you do. Keep it up. Our
communityneeds it. This recentissue was
a great example of the kind of quality our
community is capable of. Anyone can be
proud with that kind ofleadership. Bravo.
And thanks.
- M.S. Tulsa
In Memorium
WASHINGTON - The Human Rights
Campaign mourned the death of activist
John Thomas, 51, who died on January
20.
Mr. Thomas served on the HRC Board
from 1982 to 1985 andplayedamajorpart
in HRC’s expansion in the Dallas area.
His contributions withHRCincludedhelping
start the Dallas Black-Tie Dinner
Committee. He helped found numerous
organizations including the Gay & Lesbian
Victory Fund.
Additionally, Mr. Thomas was former
executive director.of the Foundation for
HumanUnderstandingandthe Dallas Gay
& Lesbian Community Center, now
known as the John Thomas Gay & Lesbian
Community Center.
Letters Policy
Tulsa Family News welcomes letters on
issues which we’ve covered or on issues
you think need tobe considered. Youmay
request that your name be withheld but
letters mustbe signed&have phone numbers,
or be hand delivered. 200 word letters
are preferred. Letters to other publications
will be printed as is appropriate.
sexual act; and in the case of same-sex marriage.
"In virtually every self-initiated disclosure, the second
statement made is, ’I’d also like to be discharged,"’ said
David Smith, a spokesman at Randolph Air Force Base,
Texas. He said this led officials to conclude that a growing
number of recruits are using a Gay declaration to get out.
Smith said commanders are legally prohibited from ques-
.tioning Air Forcemembers about such voluntary statements.
"You kind of have to take them at their word,".he said.
T’jae Gibson, anAir Force spokeswoman at the Pentagon,
said an official review of discharges and personnel policies
at Lacklandlast year found that most instructors and trainees
there believed the acknowledgments ofhomosexuality were
made to cut short an enlistment. Armyofficials said they "also
suspect many Gay discharges in their service involve soldiers
looking for a quick way out, but they do not consider
the trend to be a major source of worry.
Supreme Court Lets Military Policy Stand
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court once again left
intact the military’s "don’t ask, don’t tell" policy today,
rejecting a challenge by two former servicemen discharged
after declaring their, homosexuality. The court, without
comment, turned away arguments by the men that the policy
is based on prejudice agaiust homosexuals and violates their
free-speech rights. This action, while not a definitive ruling,
marked the fifth time in recent years that the highest court
has rejected efforts to invalidate the policy. Every federal
appeals court that has considered the issue has upheld the
policy.
This appeal was filed by National Guard 1st Lt. Andrew
Holmes ofSacramento, Calif.,andNavy Lt. Richard Watson.
Holmes declared his homosexuality to. his commanding
officer in 1993. Watson was serving in Bremerton, Wash.,in
October 1994 when he submitted a written statement to his
commanding officer that said, "’I have a homosexual orientation."
Both men were discharged and sued in federal
courts. A judge in San Francisco ruled for Holmes and
declared the military policy unconstitutional. But ajudge in
Seattle ruled against Watson. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals combined the cases andupheldthe "don"t ask, don’t
tell" policy.
US Law Professors Fight .Military Policy
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Hundreds of law professors are
joining the fight to get Gays and Lesbians an equal place in
the U.S. armed forces. The battlefield is a 1996 law thatlets
the government take all federal student aid from schools
which refuse to let military recruiters on campus. Scores of
universities had barred recruiters to protest the "don’t ask,
don’t tell" policy, but let them back after President Clinton
signed the law by former U.S. Rep. Gerald Solomon.
"If we had a recruiter who said, ’We won’t hire anyone
who’s black,’ there’s no doubt about us kicking them off
campus," said David V. Chavkin, director and associate
professor at American University’s Washington College of
Law. "The notion that we should treat discrimination
against our Gay and Lesbian and bisexual and trans~gender
students as different is an outrage. The law school agreed in
1997 to let military recruiters return after attorneys decided
that not only its 1,200 students, but all of the university’s
undergraduates could lose their federal aid, including lowinterest
loans and work-study money.
At the meeting, Chavkin was working a~ a table set up
outside the Association of American Law Schools’ biggest
meeting rooms to sign up people willing to work for repeal
of the law. When theAALS meeting ends, organizers hoped
to have 100 law schools represented.
U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who plans to lead the
repeal fight, thinks the law is very vulnerable, said Alan
Minuskin, a Boston College Law School professor. At one
point, 138 campusesbarred military recnfiters. By late 1997;.
the list had dwindled to 18. 17 were in Connecticut, where
the policy against discrimination was part of state law. The
federal law applies to all colleges and universities. The
repeal push is starting in law schools because most either
have longstanding rules of their own against discrimination
or belong to the AALS, which had a rule since 1990 against
dealing with any organization that discriminates. It changed
that rule last year, under protest, because of the Solomon
Amendment.
EdwinJ. Butterfoss, deah andprofessor oflaw at Hamline
University in St. Paul, Minn., said, "...we have a lot more
work to do. It [the Solomon law] undermines a law school!s
ability to enforce its own policies - not by attacking the
schools, but they’re attacking the students."
¯ The Associated Press
AtMartin LutherKing Day parades and prayer break-
, fasts, in their offices and in homes, many Blacks said
¯ they have a particular stake in the impeachment trial of
s~dent Clinton- the best thing thathas happened for
¯¯ Blacks in a long time."
"If Clinton is removed from "Dr. Kin~ ¯ office, that’s a slap in the face would be ¯ forBlack America," said Mikel
¯ Holt, editor of the Milwaukee suspect Of the ¯
¯ CommunityJournal, a Black impeael~ment newspaper. ’.’That’s inessence,
derailing the civil fights free- process l~eeause
¯¯ domtrain." he would be
Clinton has long enjoyed
¯ Black support, both from the suspect of tl~e
¯ public and in Congress, be¯
cause he socializes and prays impeaclters,"
¯ with Black people, appoints the Rev. Jesse
¯ them to high positions and un- Jackson said ¯ derstands the struggle of rac-
¯ ism, Black leaders said. a~ter a
: " As the trial entered its secondweek,
some summonedthe breal~ast
: name and message of the slain l~onorin~
¯ civil rights leader in Clinton’s
¯ defense - saying the two men in C]~iea~o.
¯ shared a common dream of Jackson
¯ equality, specffleally
¯ "Dr. King would be suspect
¯ of the impeachment process mentioned
~ because he would be suspect
¯ of the impeachers," the Rev. Senate ¯
JesseJacksonsaidafterabreak- 1MIajorlty leader
¯
fasthonoringKinginChicago. Trent Loft... ¯ Jackson specifically men-
, tioned Senate Majority leader reee_ntly linked.
¯
Trent Lott,who was recently
: linked by his uncle to an ultra- . . . to an ultra-
: conservatl/ve group accused of conservative
¯ promoting white supremacy. ~roup accused
i Lwoastt adfefniliieadteldaswt iwtheethkethgartouhpe of promo~in~
¯ and said he is opposed to rac:
ismand white supremacy. white
: Richard Bailey a historian supremacy¯
¯ and author from Montgomery,
Alabama, said he too was suspect of some of Clinton’s
: critics. "I think (Blacks) are most uncomfortable with
: the way matters are being handled and with the key
¯ players," he said. ¯
¯ "If the conservativepeoplewho are trying to impeach
the president come into power, it will be a tumbaek of
¯ the dock for Afro-Americans," said Edward Lewis Jr.,
i president of the NAACP for Idaho, Nevada and Uiah.
¯ Any current alternative to Clinton could be worse
," said Vicki Washington, director of Equal Opportunity
¯ and Diversity at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Extension
¯ in Madison, Wis. "Of all of our presidents in the recent
¯ past, Clinton seems to be more in tune with the impact
¯ of historic discrimination and how it continues to have
¯ bothapolitical and economic impact onAfriean Ameri_
.. cans and other people of color today," Washington said.
¯ To some, the impeachment itself is being driven by
- :~ fear of-minority power. "My question is, are they real[
hounding him for his personal transgressions, or (to
punish) him for making his administration the most
i
diverse that the country’s ever known? That, to me,
seems the undeit0ne," said Victoria Mares Hershey,
¯ first vice president of the NAACP in Portland, Maine.
Nan Stovall, another NAACP member from Port-
" land, said Clinton is "the best thing that has happened
: for Blacks in a long time," she said.
¯ Via the Internet
¯ Q - What do Howdy Doodie, the Muppets and Steve
Largent have in common?
: A - They all have cute faces with painted-on grins,
¯ empty heads and someone else’s hand up their ass
¯ making their mouths move.
Too vulgar, but too, too funny not to print. What’s
"- dangerous about Largent is that he’s .not stupid at
all.We don’t dispute the hand business though. - TN
by Tom Neal. editor &publisher
As a child, I learned much to my amazement that
some families actually tried to avoid discussing controversial
topics, especially at dimmer. Not mine. When
friends wonder about my interest in discussing ethics
and politics, all I need to do is to invite them to dinner
and.turn my father loose on them. They’ll never wonder
agmn. Note that I regard this familial inheritance of
debate and discussion as a wonderful, wonderful legacy
but it is, perhaps, an acquired taste. I share this bit of
personal history in order to put the following in context.
Since May, I’ve been.arguing at my family’s Sunday
night dinners that Bill Clinton, based merely on the
appearance of inappropriate conduct (that old lawyerly
standard), shouldresign. That is, ifhe were a gentleman.
Of course, we all know that if he had ever been a
gentleman, or even were vaguely acqtminted with the
notion, he wouldn’t be in this nasty PaulaJMonica/
Gennifer/whatever mess in the first place.
But regardless of Bill’s spectacular lapses in judgment,
many Gays and Lesbians, both of color and those
with less color, are going to understand the sentiments
of the adjacent editorial.
If the ultra conservatives, "wing-nuts" as Tul sa Republican
mayoral wanna-be, Terry Simonson, characterized
them, get completely back into power, it will be
a turning back the clock for Gay and Lesbian Americans
as well as for African Americans.
Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott not only is dosdy
tied to ultra racist organizations like the Concerned
Citizens Council but has had his anti-Gay views well
documented. And I suspect that the ccc is just about as
anti-Gay as it is racist. And while Lott is now denying
that he shares the CCC’s racist and white supremacy
views, he’s not bothering to deny his heterosexist supremacy
stances. Clearly, we Gay folks really haven’t
gotten as far along in the fight for equality as non-Gay
Blacks.
I think it is safe to sa$ that the folks who hate Clinton
because he treats Blacks more fairly than any previous
president, also hate him because he’s treated Gay folks
more fairly than any other too.
Granted his record’s not perfect. He reneged on his
promise to end our military’s ban on Gay soldiers. And
his talk about AIDS is better than his walk has been
much of the time. But he’s appointed more openly Gay
individuals to significant governmental positions than
ever before and he’s used his executive power to ban
discrimination in civilian parts of our government.
And look who’s out to get him: the slimiest of the
slime: Bob Barr, Newt Gingrich, Helen Chenowith,
Bob Livingston (something of a gentleman at least for
resigning), and Henry Hyde, adulterers, fornicators and
hypocrites all.
Note also that all of these folks were big, big supporters
of the Defense of Marriage Act that banned samegender
marriages, if and when they should happen. Let
me see, when did cheating on your spouse become part
of supporting "traditional" marriage? Bill, of course,
also signed this patently unconstitutional law.
Andone hears from time to time a runaor or two about
our saintly First District representative, Steve Largent.
One wonders what he’d say about his sex life under
oath. After all, even if he’s been utterly faithful to his
spouse, he was a great college athletic star and who
hasn’t heard of a fomieating football player? Maybe at
Brigham Young, and then only maybe. Last I checked,
fornication was still illegal in Oklahoma though it is
hardly one of our frequently enforced laws.
However, I do have to give Henry Hyde some credit
for redefining the notion of"youthful indiscretion." Mr.
Hyde cheated onhis wife at the age of 41. This 41 yearold
editor is delighted to learn that anything I do at this
point in my life still has some hope of being declared a
"youthful indiscretion."
I do digress. The bottom line: I don’t like Bill,’s
dishonesty, but I don’t like the behavior of most of the
Congress. I don’t like Congress’ "witch hunt." The $50
million Stair spent could have bought a whole lot of
drugs or food or housing to keep people living with
AIDS alive, or done any number of genuinely worthy
things for our country.
Maybe we could just impeach them all.
Hormel Renominated
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Clinton has renominated
James Hormel as ambassador to Luxembourg,
and a White House official said Tuesday the
administration hopes "fairness will prevail" in the
new Congress so he can be approved for thejob. The
Senate last year refused to vote on the nomination of
Hormel after several conservative Republicans accused
him of promoting homosexual views: The
White House accused lawmakers of prejudice.
Hormel, who is Gay, was appro,ced by the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, but Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lott, R-Miss., didn’ t allow his nomination
to come to the floor in the face of scattered GOP
objections. White House spokesperson, Barry Toiv
said Hormel was among a number of.renominations
Clinton submitted to the new Congress, which began
its work this month. If approved, Hormel wonld be
the first openly Gay U.S. envoy.
Chiistian right groups had’attacked Hormel, a
vocal supporter of Gay rights and AIDS causes, over
his sponsorship ofaGay and Lesbian center at the San
Francisco Public Library that bears his name. Republican
critics called some of the material obscene and
feared Hormel might promote a "Gay agenda" as
ambassador to the tiny European nation.
Hormel must go through the entire nomination
process again, including approval at the committee
level before a Senate vote.
Florida County May Add
Partner Benefits
FORTLAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP)-Broward County
may be on its way to extending to domestic parmers
of county employees the same ,benefits that married
couples now receive. A proposed ordinance would
provide medical coverage to Gay, Lesbian and unmarried
partners of county employees to the same
extentas other employees and allow unmarriedcouples
to legally register as domestic partners. The measure
also would require contractors that handle at least
S50,000 in business with the county to offer health
benefits to partners of their own workers.
If adopted later this year, Broward would join one
other Florida county, more than 100 other state and
local governments across the country and some corpora.
tions that have given similar allowances to domestic
partners.
Some business owners in Broward, Florida’s secon&
largest county, object to being told how to run
their companies. However, the commission, which
has already 6utlawed discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation, appears receptive to the proposal.
CornmissionCha~rwoman Ilene Lieberman said she
supports most sections of the ordinance but had
doubts about imposing the mandate on private comparties
that do business with the county,
County attorneys said the proposal may conflict
with the state’s broad Defense of Marriage Act, the
1997 law that says same-sex marriages are not recognized
in Florida. Supporters said domestic partnerships
are not identical to marriages and the county’ s
proposal says nothing about child custody, divorce,
inheritance or other rights held by spouses.
Robin Bodiford and Dean Trantalis, two lawyers
and Gay civil rights activists, prepared the proposal
with the Lambda Legal Defense Fund, a national Gay
and Lesbian group.
In Florida, the Monroe County Commission agreed
in February 1998 to allow county workers to share
Lheir employee benefits with their domestic partners.
In Miami-Dade County, the state’ s largest county, the
commission approved an ordinance last month barfing
discrimination of homosextmls in the workplace
and housing.
Holocaust Coverup
Uncovered
ATLANTA (AP) - Material about Nazi persecution
of homosexuals, edited out of a teachers’ guide about
the Holocaust, will be sent to Georgia schools in a
separate letter.
The Georgia Commission on the Holocaust, which
had previously deemed the material too sexually
graphic for fifth- and sixth-grade students, agreed to
the change after a meeting with civil rights activists.
It was too late to reprint the guides, which were to be
mailed out to schools across the state by this week.
lut the commission decided to send the deleted
material to schools in a separate letter. Harry Knox,
director of the Georgia Equality Project, a civil rights
group said the new mailing also will include four
extra teachers’ guides from the U.S. Holocaust Memorial
Museum in Washington.
The 15-member Holocaust comrmssion, fornted in
1986, is a state agency. It objected to passages in the
92-page guide "Triangles, Badges, & Stars: Remembering
the Mosaic of Victims of the Holocaust." Gay
civil rights groups were upset when the commission
asked a law firm sponsonng the gnides to delete the
material. The law firm reluctandy agreed and removed
the passages from the Georgia version of the
guide. Versions of the guide were’also produced for
teachers in California and Florida.
HOmosexuals are mentioned in at least four places
in the 6,000 copies printed for Georgia middle school
and high school teachers, said SylviaWygoda, director
and chairwoman of the Holocaust commission.
Vice chairman Alex Gross said commission members
wanted only a few objectionable words removed,
not entire paragraphs.
Here are the para~aphs on Nazi treatment of homosexual
Holocanst victims which the GeorgiaCom:
unssion on the Holocaust asked to be deleted:
"German male homosexuals were targeted and
arrested because they would not breed the master
race: they were an affront to the Nazi macho image."
"’The doors of the third (cattle) car open and the
homosexuals spill forth, males only, because as
Hirnmler concluded, ’Lesbians can give birth.’ The
taunting jeers, and blows of the guards stun the men.
They will stay a night and then be rerouted to
Sachsenhausen mad Buchenwald to be with their
kind. The pink triangle they will soon wear is a result
of ajudgment that they have broken Article 175A, by
sexual act, by kissing, by embracing, by fantasy and
thought. Some will be given an opp_ortunity to recant
by successfully completing sexual activity with a
woman in the camp brothel. Most others will find
themselves tormented from all sides as they struggle
to avoid being assaulted, raped, worked and beaten to
death."
Right-Winger Seeks to
Ban Gay Student Clubs
PHOENIX (AP) - A group of conservative Republican
lawmakers is backing a bill that would ban
support groups for homosexual students from public
school grounds.
The measm’e would require school districts to ban
any student orgamzation that promotes a specific
sexual orientation, sexual activity or any kind of
criminal activity, t’We don’ t allow Playboy clubs on
,c,~tmpus to promote heterosexuality," said Rep. Linda
Gray, R-Glendale, one of the bill’s backers. "Why
should we have Gay clubs to promote homosexuality."
A 3-year-old Gay student group at Desert View
High School in the Suunyside Unified School District
has not caused any problems, said Alan Storm, the
district’s director of student services. The group’s
five members have helped educate students, teachers
and others about discrimination, Storm said. "There
arCh’ t even discussions about sex," Storm said. Storm
added the bill was a bad idea because it jeopardizes
federal funding for schools. Thefederal Equal Access
Actrequires school s to allow all extracurricular groups
to use their facilities. Backers of the federal law said
it was meant to keep schools from banning meetings
of Bible-study and other Christian groups.
Gay Teen Sues Hospital
Over ’Outing’
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - A Gay Bradford County
teen-ager who attempted suicide last February is
suing the hospital that treated him, claiming news of
his sexual orientation was leaked by an employee,
Cindy Smith, and eventually spread to his high school.
Smith could not be reached by press time, but Troy
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Community Hospital president Mark Webster issued a
statement denying the allegations.
Greg Congdon, 18 and a former football player and
wrestler, said the disclosure made him an instant pariah,
forcing him to forego his senior year at Troy High-
School and study at home by himself.
Congdon’ s lawyer, Jeffrey P. Osmond of Towanda,
said he believes the suit to be the first of its kind in
Pennsylvania. ’‘This has been a springboard for a bunch
of health-care providers in the area to doubly safeguard
their policies so that this doesn’t happen to them,;;
Osmond said.
Congdon said he realized he was Gay about a month
before the suicide attempt. He told no one, terrified of
the consequences of coming out to his parents and to a
rural, conservative community. Severely depressed,
Congdon ingested 33 Tylenols in the early morning
hours of Feb. 1, 1998, went to school, and took 10 more.
Congdon told the treating physician at Troy Community
Hospital that he tried to kill himself because he was
Gay.
Thelawsuit alleges that Smith- the mother of one of
Congdon’s football teammates -examined Congdon’s
medical records and then told "third persons" that he
was Gay.
Returning to school later, "Everybody just stared at
me,". he said. "I’d get approached by several students
and they would say, ’We heard you’re a faggot, is that
true?’ I would just say, ’Believe whatever you want,’
because I was afraid I’d get beat up." Congdon left
school less than a month after returning.
Troy High School Principal Bob Grantier said he did
not know Congdon was being harassed. "If that was
reported, which it was not, it would have been dealt
with. Bottom line," he said.
Congdon expects to take his high-school equivalency
exam in the summer and attend college next fall as a
criminal justice major. Congdon’s story was featured
last month in an ESPN documentary on Gay athletes.
He also wrote about his experience for a San Francisco-
based magazine for Gay teen-agers. "I’m being
very public with it to raise awareness. We do have a
problem in today’s society and there is hate out there
toward us and other ethnic and religious backgrounds,"
he said. "Something has to be done."
Maryland Governor
Offers Anti-Bias Bill
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Gov. Parris Glendening,
prompted by memories of a brother who died of AIDS
after hiding his homosexuality throughout a long military
career, will sponsor legislation this y~ar to ban
discrimination against Gays and Lesbians. Glendening
has endorsed similar legislation in the past, but this year
it will be part of his official administration legislative
package. His bill would add sexual orientation to a law
that already bans discrimination in housing and em-
.ployment because of sex, age, race and religion.
Kathleen Nieberding-Ryan, who has lobbied for the
bill the past few years, said the governor’ s decision to
make it part of his program "will help break down some
of our barriers." "I’ve worked on this bill for a long
time," said Ms. Nieberding-Ryan, lobbyist for MarylandNOWand
former lobbyist for the Free State Justice
Campaign, an organization representing Gays and Lesbians.
"Each year we’ ve inched closer and closer, but
could not secure the one or two votes needed for
passage," she said.
Richard Dowling, head of the Maryland Catholic
Conference, said the church has opposed the bill in the
past and probabl y will do so again. "In our tradition,
discrimination against any person in regard to basic
human fights is a sin," Dowling said. He said that
includes people whose sexual orientation is homosexual,
"but orientation and practice are not the same.’"
"Whether intended or not, this legislation would have
.the eff~t oflegitimating homosexual practice, and that,
m our view, is something government Should not do,"
Dowling said.
Glendening said it was difficult for his brother to live
with the knowledge that his’ career in the Air Force
would be ruined if his homosexuality had been discovered.
"No one should be in fear of their job, no matter
what their occupation, because of their sexual orientation,"
he said.
But ~fracy Conaty, communications director for the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Washing-
, ton, said discrimination "is a fact of life for many
Gay and Lesbian people." "This law is needed
¯ because it is still legal in the state of Maryland to
; fire somebody simply because they are Gay, Lesbian,
bi-sexual or trans-gendered," she said. "Gov.
Glendening is showing real leadership, in not only
recognizing that fact but addressing it," Ms. Conaty
: said.
:¯¯ Anti-Bias Vote May.Lead to Voter Retaliation
¯ CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - City Commis-
: sioner Nancy Evans knows there mightbefallout at
¯ the voting booth after the City Council decided to ¯ offer protection to homosexuals under the Cedar
¯ Rapids civil rights ordinance. The City Council
¯ ,~oted 3-2 early to make the addition, protecting
¯ homosexuals from discrimination in education,
: honsing, credit, employment and public accommo-
¯ dation.
¯ "This could very well cost an election. I under-
. stand that,’" Evans said. "But cost is not what’s
¯ important. If I believe this stands for intolerance, if
I believe this is injustice, then I have an affirmative
¯ duty toact,nomatterwhatitcosts." Evans and Dale
Toddboth mentioned the Novemberelections when
¯ they discussed their votes in favor of the ordinance.
Mayor Lee Clancey joined them in the majority.
¯ Commissioners Don Thomas and Ole Munson
¯ voted against the change. The Rev. Larry Johnson,
¯ a spokesman for conservative Christiar~s in Cedar
: Rapids, saidhewill try to rally political support for
¯ a new set of candidates. Johnson said, "This thing is very offensive to a lot of people. We want to
¯ investigate to see what we can come up with as far
¯ as overturning this."
Anti-Gay Adoption
Law Reconsidered ¯
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - Elizabeth Janeway and
¯ her husband wanted to become foster parents, but
: said they couldn’ t stomach the state’ s ban on Gay
¯ adoptive and foster parents. When they applied in
1991, the state asked them if they had any homo-
" sexuals in their family, Mrs. Janeway told a House
¯ committee. "I felt sick answering the question,"
i She said. "Not sick because we have a Gay son and
¯ a Lesbian daughter, but because of what the ques-
¯ tion implied about our children."
¯ Rep. Raymond Buckley, D-Manchester, wants
¯ that to end. Hehas sponsored a bill to repeal a 1987
¯
law that bans Gays and Lesbians from adopting and
¯ serving as foster parents. "This law was enacted
¯ during a time of great fear," Buckley said. "Thank-
" fully, we know much more today than we did a
¯ decade ago." The ban was passed at "the height of
." the season of hate," he said. New Hampshire is one
¯ of only two states with such restrictions; Floridais
: the other.
¯ A crowd of more than 80 doctors, ministers,
foster parents, Gay civil fights activists and others
¯ gathered to urge the committee to send the bill to
the House for a vote.
: Buckley blames the passage of the ban on fears
¯ fed by the surge of AIDS during the 1980s and
mistaken belief that homosexual parents would
molest their adopted or foster children. During the
legislative debate in 1987, one supporter of the ban
argued that Gay people wanted to "raise their own
meat" to sexually molest. "This law was enacted
despite the lack of a single complaint, not one shred
¯ of evidence, without a single incident of concern,"
¯ Buckley said.
¯ Thelaw also requires heterosexual couples wish-
. ing to adopt or be foster parents to sign a form
stating no adult in the household is homosexual.
~ "This law does more thanmerely prohibit Gays and
¯ Lesbians from adopting or serving as foster parents,"
Buckley said. "It intrudes into the homes of
¯ heterosexual couples as well."
¯ Buckley would not say whether he thought the ¯
bill was likely to pass, only that he hopes the
: Legislature has progressed since the original mea-
¯ sure passed.
Dr. ML King Would
Have Fought AIDS
LAS VEGAS (AP) - Martin Luther King
Jr. did not live to see the scourge ofAIDS,
but ifhe had, he would have been a leader
in the battle against the disease, health
care experts and religious leaders believe.
"Of course he would have been out
there talking about AIDS and advocating
programs to help stop the spread Of HIV ,"
said the Rev Lionel Starkes, an HIVi
AIDS counselor for the Clark County
Health District. Starkes was a member of
a panel that discussed the subject "AIDS:
WhatWouldBe Dr. King’ s Involvement?"
The panel was part of activities in observance
of the national holiday honoring
King’s birthday.
Ulysess Palrose, HIV/AIDS care coordinator
for Sierra Health Services, said
that nationwide, the number of people
dying from AIDS has declined, as have
the number of people infected with HIV.
But the number of blacks contracting the
vires has increased.
’Tmnot an expert on Dr. Martin Luther
King, and I don’ tknow all thereis to know
aboutAIDS, but all I doknow tellsme that
he would be a drum major" in the fight
against HIV, particularly in regard to the
African American commumty, Palrose
said.
According to national statistics, 43 percent
ofnew HIV/AIDSpatients are black.
Blacks constitute about 13 perccgt of the
population. More than 50 percent of all
babies and women infected with HIV are
’black.
Scientist Develops
New HIV Treatment
LEXINGTON, Ky. (AP) -A University
of Kentucky (UK) scientist holds patents
on two new methods for treating AIDS
and cancer with drugs that have been
around for years. Trials of the cancer
therapy are at least two years away, but
the AIDS therapy could be tested on human
patients later this year in South Af-
Dr. Vincent Gallicchio, a cell biologist
and associate dean of research in UK’s
College of Allied Health Professions, developed
and patented the AIDS treatment
independently.
Gallicchio came up with the cancer
therapy in partnership with Milton Yatvin,
professor of radiation oncology at the
Oregon Health Science Center. They
jointly hold the patent on this treatment.
In combatting AIDS, Gallicchio proposes
a combination ofAZT or DDI- two
anti-viral drugs now prescribed for the
disease - and lithium, a drug used for
decades to treat manic depression. Research
has shown that lithium, in addition
to its beneficial effects on mental illness,
stimulates the human immune system.
AIDS kills people by destroying their
immunity. Therefore, Gallicchio thinks
that an AZT-lithium "cocktail" might stabilize
AIDS patients by charging up their
immune systems.
Gallicchio and Yatvin plan to attack
cancer with a new kind of drug-delivery
system, putting standard chemotherapy
agents inside naturally occurring human
immune cells called "macrophages."
Theoretically, the macrophages would
carry thehighly toxic chemotherapy drugs
directly to the site of the cancer, leaving
healthy tissue unharmed.
Lithiumwas first suggestedformedical
use 50 years ago, and approved by the
FDA for use in manic depressive patients
about 1970. "We’ re sort of the first to put
two and two together," said Gallicchio
who, in addition to his UKpost, heads the
International Society for Lithium Research,
a.scientific group devoted to learning
more about the drug.
One reason lithium’ s potential in AIDS
hash’ t been researched before, Gallicchio
said, is economics. Lithium is cheap. So,
there’ s been little economic incentive for
pharmaceutical finns to explore its potential
in AIDS because profits wouldn’t be
great. Lithium’s toxicity also has been
problem, but Gallieehio says that’s been
solved.
Gallicchio plans to test his idea in South
Africa, where selected AIDS patients will
be given his lithium cocktail. South Africa
was chosen as the test site, he said,
because its AIDS incidence rate is one of
the world’s highest.
In battling cancer, Gallicchio and his
pamier,Yatvin, envision a system in which
.powerful drugs would zip straight to the
site of the disease, like homing pigeons,
ignoring healthy tissue. To achieve that,
they would use macrophages.
Macrophages are large immune cells,
which are manufactured in the bone marrow
and then migrate to the body’ s orgaus.
Each organ has its own macrophage,
and each macrophage somehow
knows which organ it is assigned to. A
liver macrophage knows it’ s supposed to
go to the liver; a brain macrophage knows
it’ s supposed to travel to the brain, and so
on.
Gallicchio and Yatvin propose to use
this macrophage "homing instinct."To
treat, say, liver cancer, you could pm
chemotherapy drugs inside liver macrophages,
whichthen would carry them straight
to the cancer.
The plan would be to grow macrophages
in an artificial environment, combine
them with cancer drugs, then deliver
the mixture into cancer patients intravenously.
But Gallicchio says it will be
about two years before trials in humans.
First, researchers mustprove the approach
works in animals, and that it poses no
hazards to patients.
Charity to Help
Children with AIDS
tCAMPALA, Uganda (AP)-Funds raised
by Rotary International will pay for
projects devoted to children affected by
polio and AIDS-related diseases, the
organization’s president said recently.
Speaking to reporters before the opening
of Rotary’ s International Summit on Africa,
James Lacy of Cookeville, Tenn.,
said the organization would also fund
facilities that offer corrective plastic surgery
and finance micro-credit facilities,
job training and educational programs.
More than 400 Rotary members from
23 nations have gathered for the three-day
conference opened by Prime Minister
KintuMusoke, whoread a statement from
President Yoweri Museveni. "I’m glad
¯ that President Lacy has chosen poverty as
¯ the main theme of the conference,"
¯ Museveni said in his statement. "Poverty
: is a great problem in Africa, andwehope
; you will offer practical solutions to it."
¯ Lacy, 68, said Rotary’s efforts would
: focus this yearonchildren and their health.
: "I came here to see the problems faced by
: children and to see exactly where we can
¯ help," he said.
: Rotary has committed more than $313
: million since 1985 to the goal of eradicat-
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a Diverse Community
Are You Gay or Bisexual?
Are You Native American?
Tulsa’s Two-Spirted Indian Men’s
Support Group is here for you~
¯ Evening support group meetings
¯ Relationship workshops
¯ Short trips, outings and retreats
¯ Free HIV testing
For information call Tulsa Native American AIDS Prevention Proiect
at 582-7225 Ext. 208 or 218
The perfect balance of luxury and utility.
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ing polio worldwide. The organization
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vaccine as part of the vaccination program
in sub-Saran Africa.
HIV+ Soldier Guilty
of Assault by Sex
ABERDEEN, Md. (AP) - An HIV-posifive
Army private from New York City
was sentenced to three years in military
prison after pleading guilty to aggravated
assault for having unprotected sex.
Gerland Squires, 21, also will receive a
bad-conduct discharge from the Army
and forfeit all pay and benefits. Her rank
was immediately reduced from private
first class to private.
After a 1997 blood test revealed Ms.
Squires had HIV, her commander at Aberdeen
Proving Ground ordered her to use
condoms and tell her sexual partners that
she carried the AIDS virus. But Ms.
Squires did not tell eight men she was
HIV-positive and had unprotected sex
with four of them, prosecutors said. She
told a ninth man she had the virus but did
not insist he use a condom. None of the
ninemen- six enlisted and three civilians
- has tested positive for the virus.
Ms. Squires,cryingonthe witness stand,
told jurors she had sex to escape her fear
and confusion about having HIV and
passing it on to-her daughter, who is now
9 months old. She said she feared rejeclion
if she told her sex partners she has
HIV.
Aberdeen Proving Ground, about 40
miles north of Baltimore, was the site of
the biggest sex scandal in U.S. mililary
history in 1997. Twelve drill instructors
were accused of forcing female subordinates
to have sex. One instructor was
cleared, and the remaining 11 either were
convicted or re’signed.
India’s Challenge:
AIDS Treatment
NEW DELHI, India (AP) - On paper at
least, India is ready to cope with the consequences
of increasing AIDS cases. It
hopes to avoid being overwhelmed by not
just the disease, but byfear and ignorance.
P.L. Joshi, deputy director of the
government’s National AIDS Control
Organization, confidently fingers a thick,
plastic-bound sheaf of tables and prose
that detail how nearly 1 million medical
workers, from hospital janitors to surgeons,
will be trained to care for AIDS
patients. But Joshi acknowledges the training
has barely begun, and those patients
today face being alined away by hospitals
or, when they are admitted, find that doctors
and nurses refuse even to touch them.
"’There is an element of fear," Joshi
said. "People think that if they handle
these patients, they will get the disease.
Discrimination can only be taken care of
by a strong training program."
Experts say India’s nearly 1 billion
people are in only the early stages of an
AIDS epidemic that already has swept
over Europe and America and decimated
Africa, where in some places a quarter of
the population is infected with the AIDS
virus.
.Joshi and his colleagues in India’ s campmgn
against AIDS have focused on education
and prevention, hoping to keep the
infection rate down. Now they acknowledg.
e they also must face the challenge of
canng for people with full-blown AIDS
and those infected with the virus.
The World Bank predicts that already
snuggling medical systems in developing
countries like India will be so swamped
by AIDS it will be impossible for people
with other diseases to get care.
India’ s government estimates 5 million
people, less than 1% of Indians, are infected
with the AIDS virus. That is considered
low by many experts because it is
based on very limited testing, but even
that figuremeans one of the world’ s poorest
countries has more infected people
than any other nation.
The estimate of infected Indians has
increased steadily from 2.5 million in
1996, spreading mainly through heterosexual
sex into the general public from
high-risk groups like prostitutes and intravenous
drug users. Joshi’s agency says
the number of full-blown AIDS cases has
soared from six in 1986 to 3,167 in 1996
to around 5,000 in 1998.
Knowledge about the disease is lacking
amongmostIndians,including health professionals.
Four years ago, India’ s largest
and most prestigious hospital, the All-
India Institute of Medical Sciences, surveyedits
morethan7,000 employees about
AIDS. Dr. Bir Singh, head ofAIDS training
at the institute, said he found many
staffmembers did not follow even simple
procedures like using needles properly to
ensure they did not prick themselves with
tips contaminated with a patient’s blood.
Worse, Singh found doctors and nurses
infected with the prejudices about AIDS
that are common in the rest of India. A
disease linked to sex and drugs in this
conservative society is deeply shameful,
and those infected with the virus are often
treated as if they deserve to die.
"The moment it becomes known that a
person on a ward is HIV-positive, fear
engulfs the ward. That fear is still rampant.
That shows theignorance among the
medical community," he said. "If the time
comes, God forbid, when one in four
patients is HIV+, what will we do?"
Sahara, a private residential drug treatment
program supported by international
aid groups, already faces that problem.
Director Neville Selhore estimates a third.
of the 120-130 recovering drug addicts
living at Sahara’s house in south New
Delhi are infected. "In 1990, a lot of the
people here started to fall ill," said
Selhore’ s wife and co-director, Elizabeth.
They soon learned the increasing cases of
tuberculosis and shingles pointed to the
spread of the AIDS virus and took on the
task of treating that as well as addiction.
Over the years, the Selhores have developed
a matter-of-factness about AIDS
that would be striking anywhere. The
couple and their young sons live at Sahara
along with the recovering addicts. The
boys "know about the disease, and they’ re
cool," Selhore said. "They see how we
deal with it. They know there are onlv so
many ways it can be transmitted."
At the 16-bed clinic that Sahara opened
earlier this year, attendants pat patients’
hair or help them walk with casual affection.
They counsel the patients not to
share medications like ointment, to use
condoms, to stay healthy.
Pop music plays in the background.
With books and board games on a shelf in
a room that doubles as parlor and nurse’ s
office, the atmosphere is that of an unusually
calm and orderly college dorm. The
message is simple: People with the AIDS
v~rus can live a normal life if they are
armedwithinformation. "Weteachpeople
to take care of themselves. Because how
many people can the government and
orgamzations like this take care of?"
Tulsa is blessed with quite afew excel- " eration just hasn’t seemed to work.
lent arts organizations
good fortune of this
newspaper to-be able to
work with most of
them. Tulsa Family
News was honored especially
to have been a
media sponsor for
Philbrook’s Year of
Europe in 1998. We’ve
also had the pleasure of
working with
Gilcrease, the Philharmonic,
Tulsa Ballet,
Tulsa Opera and again
the Tulsa Performing
Arts Center Trust
(TPACT).
All of these orgamzations
recognize that,
stereotypes not withstanding,
Tulsa’s Lesbian
and Gay commuand
it’s been the "
Philbrook’s new Beads exhibit
promises to be interesting
Villain no. 1: American Theatre Company.
Repeated calls to
Kitty Roberts have resulted
in no response.
Ms. Roberts apparently
thinksTheTulsaWorld
reaches everyone with
whom she needs to
bother. I mean if someone
calls repeatedly to
say they’ll give you
some free press if you
only will send a press
release, ’why not?
Surely this is not a case
of bias since a prominent
member of this
company is aGay man.
Perhaps once they
couldnothave afforded
the extra stamps but in
these days of faxes and
e-mail, what gives?
nities do support the arts, perhaps even
beyond our numbers. As the lovely
Camille Sartain, formerly ofTPACT and
now working at Gilcrease has stated, it
just doesn’t make sense for arts organizations
not to reach out to the Gaycommu-
So itmakes you wonder about the folks
who just don’t seem to get it! Ani]’they
mostly seem to be theater types, amazingly
enough. Tulsa Family News continues
to have difficulty with several organizations
whom,we will name in hope that
we .might shame them into treating Gay
people fairly. It doesn’t seem that it could
hurt since politely asking for their coop-
¯ Villain no. 2: Theatre Tulsa! run by a
¯¯ wall-known Gay man whom you can see
at Renegades’ pool tables regularly. Re-
" peated visits in person have not persuaded
these folks to share info. about their per-
" formances. Now some with more wicked
¯ tongues than I might say that no self-
" respecting Gay would want to see some of
the ponderous theatrical warhorses this
¯ company produces- still tastes do vary in
¯ ourcommtmity. Notealso, thateveaacall
." toTFboard president Dan Call stillhasn’t
¯¯ moved the mountain.
Villain no. 3: Celebrity Attractions. We
¯ save the worst for last.
¯ see Celebrity, p. 13
Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo
March 16 at 8 p.m,
Chapman
Music Hall
TULSA
PERFORMING
ARTS CENTER
Tickets
$1 O-$30
Dancing the fine line between hiqh art and high camp, Les Ballets
Trockadero de Monte Carlo delights audiences around the world.
~ Les Ballets Trockadero is the world’s foremost all,male comic ballet
company.
Sponsored in part by:
OKLAHOMA
,Join us. For a
of 2Oth century classics.
CELEBRATE THE 20TH CENTURY WITH THREE CONTEMPORARY BALLETS, ALL
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BOTH ARTISTICALLY AND ATHLETICALLY. DANCE IN PURSUIT OF WHAT’S NEXT. MUCH TO
THE DELIGHT OF OUR AUDIENCE MEMBERS.
THE GREEN TABLE. THE MORE THINGS CHANGE. THE MORE WAR STAYS THE SAME.
WHAT HAPPENED TO GIVING PEACE A CHANCE! CHOREOGRAPHY BY KURT !OOSS.
JARD! TANCAT. FIFTEEN MINUTES AND BARE FEET MA] CHANGE THE WAY YOU
THINK OF BALI_ET. FOP, EVER. CHOREOGt~PHY BY NACHO DUATO.
EQUINOXE. EYE CANDh: A ..AMI LER OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL SHAPES THE HUMAN
BODY CAN MAKE IN DANCE. CHOREOGRAI H¥ BY JAMES CANFIELD.
FRIDAY 8 PM FEBRUARY 5 / SATURDAY 8 PM FEBRUARY 6 / SUNDAY 3 PM FEBRUARY 7
TUESDAY 8 PM FEBRUARY 9 ! SERETEAN CENTER. OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY, STILLWATER
TULSA BALLET TICKET OFFICE: 749-6006 / PAC: 1-800-364-711J OR 596-7111 / CARSON ATTRACTIONS: 584-2000
WWW.WEBTEK.COM/TULSABALLET / TICKETS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE AT TULSA TIX LOCATIONS IN TULSA. BROKEN ARROW AND OTHER
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Certified Public Accountant
a professional corporation
It’s time to start on those 1998 taxes!
As you know,Lesbians and Gay men
face many special tax situations
whether single or as couples.
We can help!
Electronic filing is a’~ilable for faster refunds.
747-5466
4021 S. Harvard, Suite 21.0, Tulsa 74135
Sing Out, Sing Out,
Wherever You Are!
couNciL oak
Our voices comfort those in pain
Our voices combat oppression
Our voices educate the ignorant
Our voices inspire
Our voices win freedom
The Council Oak
Men’s Chorale
is a dedicated group of
gay men united to present
a positive image
for ourselves,
our community
and society as a whole
through excellence
in the performance
of choral music.
i For information on becoming a member
call (918) 585-COMC
Now it is time for our voices to be heard.
~= SUNDAYS
Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 11 am, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
Community ofHope (United Methodist), Service - 6pm; 2545 S. Yale, 585-1800
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Service - 1 lam, 2545 S. Yale, 749-0595
Church of the Restoration Unitarian Universalist
Service - 1 lam, 1314 No. Greenwood, 587-1314
Metropolitan Community Church United (formerly Family of Faith & MCCGT)
Service, 1 lam, 1623 North Maplewood, Info: 838-1715
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc.
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 10:45am, 3210b So. Norwood
Parish Church of St. Jerome (Evangelical Anglican Church in America)
Mass - 11am, 205 W. King (east of No. Denver), Info: 582-3088
University of Tulsa BisexuaULesbian/Gay/Transgendered Alliance
6:30 pm, Meets at the Canterbury Ctr., 5th & Evanston, 583-9780
Council Oak Men’s Chorale, rehearsals at 5pm, Info: 585-COMC (2662)
~ MONDAYS
HIV Testing Clinic, Free & anonymous testing. No appointment required.
Walk in testing: %8:30pm, 834-TEST (8378) 3501 E. Admiral (east of Harvard)
HIV Rap Sessions at Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
7:30pro, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
PFLAG, Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
2nd Mon/each mo. 6:30pm, Fellowship Congregational Church, 2900 S. Harvard
Women/Children & AIDS Committee, call for meeting date, noon~ 585-5551
I~ TUESDAYS
AIDS Coalition of Tulsa, call for next meeting date. 1430 S. Boulder, 585-5551
Live And Let Live, Community of Hope United Methodist, 7:30pro, 2545 S. Yale.
Multicultural AIDS Coalition, call for next meeting date.
Urban League, 240 East Apache, 584-0001
Rainbow Business Guild, Business & prof. networking group.
Meets typically the last Tuesday of each month. Info: 743-4297
PrimeTimers, mens group, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th
Coming Out Support Group (TOHR/HOPE)
Tuesdays, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th, info: 743-4297
~" WEDNESDAYS
Bless The Lord At All Times Christian Center
Prayer & Bible Study, 7:30 pm 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc. Service - 7pm, 3210b So. Norwood
Tulsa Native American Mens Support Group, more information, call 582-7225
TCC Gay & Lesbian Association of Students (GLAS), Call for info: 595-7632.
Lambda A-A, 7 pm, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd ft.
~" THURSDAYS
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education
Anonymous HIV Testing, Testing: 7 - 8:30pm 834-8378, 3507 E. Admiral
Oklahoma Rainbow Young Adult Network (O’RYAN)
Support/social group for 18-24’s, callRed Rock Mental Health at 584-2325
Substance Abuse Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS, Info: 834-4194
~ FRIDAYS
Safe Haven, Young Adults Social Group, 1 st Fri/eachmo. 8pm, Pride Ctr., 1307 E. 38th
~ SATURDAYS
Narcotics Anonymous, 11 pm, Community of Hope,1703 E. 2nd, Info: 585-1800
Lambda A-A, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd fl.
~ OTHER GROUPS
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform & Leather Seekers Association, info: 838-1222
Gal-A-Vanting, Womens Social & Cultural Group, Call for info: Mary at 743-6740,
Kathy at 322-6322, or Barb at 459-6825.
OK Spoke Club, Gay & Lesbian Bike Organization. Info: POB 9165, Tulsa 74157,
Short rides, 6:30pm, Long rides, 7am. Meet at Zeigler Park, 3903 West 4th. Pride
Rides from the Pride Center, 3749 S. Peoria. Write for winter schedule.
Ifyour orgamzation is not listed, please let us know. Call 583-1248 orfax 583-4615.
by Adam West
Toby Sligh is one of those characters,
heroes really, who comes along only once
a generation or so. Like Ishmael or Pip or
Hamlet, he brings out all of
0urfears anddreams andhopes
and desires. Don’t get me
wrong, Daniel Vilmure, the
author of Toby’s Lie is not yet
a Melville or Dickens. He’s
nowhere near Shakespeare.
But when this promising
young author decided to make
a worthwhile character, he really
overshot his mark.
Toby is in love with Ia~., the
one-eyed rich kid that has the
"most popular" spot at their
Jesuit-run Catholic school.
Toby wants to take Ian to the
prom. This causes quite a stir,
which gets Toby even more
confusedthanhis mothermoving
out of the house for mysterious reasons.
It confuses him morethan the beautiful
Latin priest who may or may not be the
child molester ofyoungToby’s dreams. It
confuses him more than his theoretically
drug-dealing best friend. It confuses him
almost as much as his relationship with
the AIDS-stricken priest that’]ae visits at
lan’s behest in the local hospital.
Toby’s life gets thrown around in a
whirlwindofstrangefriends, strangerfamily
and familiar strangers. It is how Toby
¯grows tofignreeverything out, andaceept
the strangeness, that makes him a hero.
And make no mistake - to the young
people growing up Gay in this world
l’oby Sligh should be a hero.
What struck me most about Toby’s Lie
was the fact that it’s a cleverly disguised
AIDS novel. Don~t be put off. We’ve all
had enough of our emotions beingjerked
around by badly written, overly soap opera-
ish, ’woe-is-me’ plays, movies, books,
articles, poems, and television specials.
But we should not become disinterested
by a work that truly captures what AIDS
has done to our community (by ’community’
I mean Earth, not the local ’ghetto’).
This problem is not over, and Toby’s
Lie reminds us of that. Finally, an author
reminds us, touches us, in a way that
provokes thought instead of stifling it.
]’oby’s problems are many. He’s bombarded
onall sides by the schemes and lies
of everyone he knows. He’s not innocent.
But he is honest.., in a way that few of us
are ever tndy so: Toby is willing to say
what he fears. And in the end when the
fear ofAIDS piles on top of all the others,
l’oby greets it with true courage.
What Toby’s Lie tinally brings us is a
unique novel in Gay literature. Vilmure
has not succumbed to the need to whine
that our supposed classics (like E.M.
Forster, Edmund White or Andrew
Ric Poston, OklahomaMr. Leather will
host a multi-family garage sale to help
with his titleholder travel fund.
This event will be held in Jenks at 420
West Eighth .on Saturday and Sunday,
Feb. 20-21, from 7am to dark. Donations
of furniture, clothes, magazines, etc. will
be accepted and can be picked up by
calling 299-6442.
Tol~ Sli~h is one
of those
~lmracters,
heroes really,
~ho come alon~
only once a
~eneratlon or so.
Like Ishmael or
Pip or Hamlet, he
brin~s out. all of
our fea~s and
dreams and hopes
and desires.
Holleran) have. Vilmure is aware of the
dangers Of being Gay and being young.
He’s aware of everything that scares us.
However, unlikemostofus who are afraid,
this author faces the fear with
introspection and grace and
dignity. Toby does not run
away fromhis fears in the end,
and that is what saves his life.
This is a coming of age novel,
but Toby grows up like most
of us do not - Toby learns to
stand up for himself. This is a
quality that is sadly lacking in
the Gay community, no matter
how many snappy queens
you know.
I’d like to digress a little
here, soforgivemeinadvance.
This is after all my last review
for you (I’m moving to New
York!). Do you remember
Blaxploitation?Thosehorren-
¯
dous movies, books and television shows
¯¯ (Yes, Shaftwasjustas awful as Blacula!)
that poured onto the market when enter-
." tainment moguls realized that Black
¯ people liked TVtoo?
¯ I’d like to send you a warning. Beware
¯¯ of Queer-ploitation. The signs of its arrival
arehere (was In andOutor To Wong
¯ Foo really for us, even if they were much
¯ loftier than Blacula?). I came across it
¯ most recently when I started a book for
¯ this very review. The book is called Eye ¯
Contact and it is a mystery with a Gay
¯ protagonist. After my years of schooling
¯ and intelligent discourse about literature, ¯
Icouldonly thinkofonewordthatsummed
¯ up this book: stupid.
¯" Don’t be fooled by the attractive half-
¯. nakedman on the cover- his picure is not worth the price. Or the support a purchase
¯ shows to the publisher who would put out
: a badly-written, ill-conceived novel, just
¯ because they discovered Gay people read
¯
tOO.
¯ Be careful what you buy. Just because a
: book has a Gay protagonist, does not
¯ mean it is good to buy. Don’t let them
¯ think they can sell us Good Times when
¯ we could be purchasing Will and Grace.
¯ Buy Toby’s Lie or Blue Coyote (reviewed ¯
last month), rather than something that
¯ has a pretty chest on the cover and no
muscle inside.
¯ Thank you for reading my reviews and
take care of us.
¯ Adam West is no longer a resident of
¯ Tulsa or Oklahoma, having relocated the
¯ Batcave to the state of New York. He ¯
practically has no credentials, and he
¯ certainly no longer has ajob.
¯ Editor’s note: Tulsa Family News would ¯
like to thank Adamfor his work as a book
¯ reviewer and to wish him good luck and
¯ much warmth as he moves to the frozen
northland.s.
¯
Poston, as Oklahoma Mr. Leather, has
¯ traveled to 14 community events in the
¯ last H weeks. He’sbeentotheDistrictof ¯
¯ Columbia twice, San Francisco and the
Mid:Atlantic redon. Poston wants corn-
¯ munity members to know that he is avail-
: abletoassistinbenefitsandalsohasgiven
¯ seminars on Gay family structurerecently
¯ to Red Rock and to PFLAG. He will be
¯ going to IML, Intemational Mr. Leather
¯ inMay, hoping to continue theOklahoma ¯
tradition of Leather leadership.
748.5304
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AMERICAN MODERN
A comprehensive retrospective of one
of the most important American artists of the
early modern period.
410W. Boyd Street, Norman, OK 405/325-3272, Free Admission, Museum Store
Organized by the Frederick R.Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and
made possible with the assistance of OAC, the NAHC HoteLrMotel Tax and the NEA.
Editor’s note: our DIYD expert is in an " try a few out, as there is some slight
alternative universe this month, at least . variation even within a similarlot ofhamaccording
to her answering machine. She ~ mers.
promises to return to earlh orbit with a o A tape measure is handy to have as
new column next month. In the meantime, well, since accurate measurements help
we repeat this useful column from last ensure successful projects. My advice is
March. to buynothing less than
by Mary Schepers Everyone al6 ft and preferably a
Everyone needs a needs a t0oll~it. 25 ft. There is a meatoolkit.
Our editor suring tape called the
laughs lasciviously and Our editor laughs "’E-Z Rule" that not
offers his own sugges- laselvlously and only has the cry.ptic
dons, which I won’t hashmarksbetweenthe
dignify by repeating, o~ers ]~is own inches but also the ac-
Whether your ambisuggestions,
whleh I tual measurement in
tions extend no further number (i.e. 1/8, 1/2,
than installing mini- won’t dignify 5/8,etc.)foraquickand
blinds, or whether it easy fix on just where
involves "project fan- by repeating, you are. I confess that,
tasies" on a regular ba- Wl~etber your prior to owning an E-Z
sis, some basic tools Rule, I sometimes had
should bc standard in ambitions extend no to count out the hash
any home. ~urtl~er than marks to verify my
To begin with; a few measurement, ttome
of the DIYD’s basic installing mlni-bllnds, repairs don’t have to
rules: first, buy the best
- or wl~etl~er it involves be that painful - oh,
tools you can afford, memories of Sister
Trust me on this one; it "project fantasies" Mary Agnes’ s math
does make adifference, class!Always try to use
and it’s a worthwhile on a regular basis, the measuring tool
maxim to follow, even some basic tools each time; this is really
if you must occasion- critical ff you are meaally
resort to layaway should, be standard suring things that need
ordelayedgratffieation, i~i any borne, to fit together, as I
Second, honor your found out to my distools
and save yoursdfalot offrustration: may inmy early handy-dyke days. Seems
keep your tools together and organized, there there’s always some variation even
They deserve b~tter than to be chucked with something as standard as measureunceremoniously
into your standardjunk ment. Of course, size queens have known
drawer, or under the seat of your car, or - this for years.
horrors! - propping up a potted plant. A few wrenches are also he~udy to have
Third, think about the tasks you do most about. My recommendations: one pair of
often and- buy the necessary tools first, normal pliers; one pair of slip joint phers
A screwdriver set is almost a given. If (channel locks); and one pair of adjustyoudon’t
thinkitis essential tohavemore able locking pliers (vise grips). This is a
than just one, used indiscriminately for bare minimum. If you are going to get
everything, please bear with me. Bare serious about home repairs, I’d also sugminimum,
four screwdrivers: large and gest a small set of combination box end/
small each of a fiat blade and a Phillips open end wrenches in the standard (not
head (cross shaped) screwdriver. Myself, metric) size, a pair of needle nose pliers,
I like four.of each type as a minimum, some wire cutters (aka, "Dykes" -Inn),
frommonstroustominute;mosttaskswill and at least one pipe wrench. However,
fall somewhere in the middle, but its great the bare minimum will take care of most
to have the extremes (no, not the Supremes) basic jobs.
on hand when you need them. Referring back to Rule no. 2, do your-
Using the proper type .and size screw- self and your tools a favor and keep them
driver helps prevent the frustration of together.I’mnotjustbeingabitanalhere;
cam-out (or"wallerin’ out", as I was raised I’m still looking for tools I used to rehab
to say) when you are halfway finished my house. Suggestions: a tool drawer in
driving a screw and can neither go further the house; a peg board with hooks in the
nor back it out. When selecting screw- garage; a plastic bucket or trays with
drivers, it is easy to ignore Rule no. 1: handles or a gatemouth bag. The there’s
Darlings, don’t do it! Cheap drivers bend, my favorite, the tool brit. I always keep a
break and lose head integrity, which also ¯ hammer, a couple of screwdrivers, ameacontributes
to cam-out. You didn’t save : suring tape and a small pair of vise grips
much money if you blow through a set of : in mine, along with a carpenter’ s pencil. I
screwdriverseveryyear.Finally,useyour ¯ can just grab that little darling and get
drivers to drive screws only. They are
° started on any basic tasks right away. It
neither cold chisels noricepicks norham- ¯ also holds the nails, screw, drill bits, etc.
mers. that I’ll be using specific to that task.
A proper hammer should also be in ° Tins brings me to a cautionary tale. My
your basic tool box anyway. There are all " friend C. was on a ladder nailing some
sortsofhammers-finishing,framiug,ball ¯ sidingrecenfly;shecarfiedhernailsinthe
peen, etc. If you only have one hammer, ¯ time-honored yet dangerous method -
make it acarpenter’s hammer. It candrive " between her lips. She and the ladder took
or pull nails, nudge a stubborn board into " a tumble, a nail went down her throat,
place, even demolish that tacky Pepto ¯ resulting in a $3500 trip to the ER. In that
pinktile tub surround. Once again, review ¯ Light, a tool belt is also very economical.
Rule no. 1. A cheap hammer will beat you If this st0ry doesn’ t convince of the merits
like a stepchild if you useit for any length ¯ of a tool belt, please consider its aesthetof
time. A hammer should feel well-bal- ¯ ics: a tool belt has a certain butchly charm
anced in your hand and comfortable to : that almost defies description. Just ask the
grip. Stanley makes a good hamm,er, but " men and women who know.
by Esther Rothblum ¯ publishers. One publisher said they had
Irecentlyhadaconversation~vithElana : too many Jews on their list already!"
Dykewomon about her latest book Be- " When Elana was doing a reading of a
yond the Pale, a novd about the lives of ¯ section of the book, an editor who hap-
RussianJewishLesbianswhoimmigrated " pened to be in the audience knew of antoNorthAmericanattheturn
"~rhen I was 12 or
other woman who was
of the century. Elana searching for Lesbian mate-
Dykewomontmsalwaysbro- 18,I tried tol~ll rial to adapt for her
ken new ground. Her book myself. I was one of storytelling performances.
Riverfinger Womanwas one "My
of the first Lesbian novels, those statistics of
section was then dramatized,"
Elana told me. "I
Beyond the Pale won the adolescent Les[rians saw this woman, Helen
1998 Lambda Literary
who attempt su~elde.
Mintz, performing it once
Award for Lesbian fiction, and I was floored. It’ s amaz-
I asked her how she be- "~hen I was . ing to see someone act your
came a writer. "I was always institutionali~d, work. She performed it in
writing. I was a writing Vancouver where the edichild,"
she said."When I was I realked tlmt tors of Press Gang Publish-
12 or 13, I tried to kill my- writers didn’t kave ers heard it and wrote to me
self. I was one of those statistics
of adolescent Lesbi- to be 0endered in the
askingmeif they could consider
publishing the book."
ans who at[empt suicide, same way that 01rls As Elana continued
WhenI was institutionalized, -. and boys did. work on the book, shehad to
I realized that writers didn’ t researchmany aspects oflife
have to be gendered in the same way that at the turn of the century. "I had toread the
. girls and boys did. That is, I could choose really dry stuff," she said, "like the history
to be neither a traditional girl nor boy; I of the grain trade in Odessa. I couldn’t go
could be a writer." Elana.found that she to Russia, so I was looking for descripcould
be eccentric and free in that m.le as tions of streets and figuring outwhat daily
a writer, life was like. My girlfriend Susan
In college at the California Institute of Levenkind is a librarian and she was very
Arts, Elanamet anumber of experimental good at finding tbings out for me. I would
poets and became active in Gay libera- read a book and then use their bibliogration.
One of her teachers knew someone phy as a starting point. I learnedhow to be
in publishing. ’¢Fhis was 1971, and they an historian." A friend gave her a book
were starting a slightly pornographic se- about the Women’ s Trade Union League,
ties for housewives to cash in on the new which turned out be quite a Lesbian orgafeminist
sexuality," Elana remembered, nization. She went to labor libraries, and
laughing, "and told me to write up my even looked up the transportation system
experiences. I wrote the first third of the in New York City at the turn of the cenbook
in !8 straight hours. I wanted to tury.
write a Lesbian novel with a happy end- At book readings, Elana prefers seeing."
But the publisher said it was not tlons of her book that describe the powhat
they were looking for. groins in Russia. "I also like to read the
By this time Elana had moved to the sectionsthathavealittlesexinthem,"she
women’ s community in Northampton, said. For example, when Chava and Rose
Massachusetts. The feminist publisher fall in love:
Daughters Inc. had sent flyers around "Rose leaned towards me, put her hand
townand afriendrecommended thatElana on my cheek to turn my face so we could
send her book to thatnew company. They see each other... ’So if you want to and I
accepted Riverfinger Woman whichcame want to, who starts?’
out in print in 1974, one year after they I pulled the tenement air down to the
published Rubyfruit Jungle. The Naiad bottom of my lungs. This was harder than
Press reprint of Riverfinger Woman con- goingout on strike. I moved my lips onto
eludes with an essay detailing Elana’s Rose’ s. Together. We had been lying in
process in getting this book published, bed together for more than two years.
Elana went on to publish three more ¯ Careful.Cousins. Leftside, rightside, I’m
books before her current novel. They Will worn out, me too, goodnight.
KnowMeByMy Teeth was a colleclion of No, I changed my mind as the kissshort
stories which she self-published in engulfed our faces and my hands found
1976. She also published abook ofpoems the soft flesh of her shoulders and pressed
entitled Fragments From Lesbos. In 1995 her close. This was easier than going on
Onlywomen Press published her book of strike. This was easier than anything."
poems Nothing Will BE As Sweet As The The response from readers has been
Taste. Elana also had a long stint as an wonderful. ’T ve gotten lots ofletters sayeditor
of the feminist periodical Sihister ing ’This is my grandmother’s Story’ or
Wisdom. ’now I understand my history’ or hetero-
Beyond the Pale began over ten years sexualwomenintheir70s or80s wholove
ago as a poem. After she had written that this story," said Elana.
poem, Elana felt that there was a longer . The "Lammies" (Lambda Literary
story there. "So I started to think who ¯ Awards) are to Lesbian writing what the
these two women would be and who their ¯ Oscars are to Hollywood. Elana’ s award
familieswouldbe, whatwouldmakethem " for Lesbian fiction is the eqnivalent of the
migrate. I started to read old books about " best actress award in the Oscars. She was
travellors in Russia at the turn of the : awarded the most recent Lammy for Lescentury.
The depths of the anti-Semitism ¯ bian fiction.
in these books was stnnning to me." For further information, contact Elana
"I wrote what became the midwife’s " Dykewomon at dyke@sfsu.edu. Beyond
story, and decided this could be a novel. ¯ the Pale was published in 1997 by Press
When the first half of the book was done, " Gang Publishers, 225 East 17th Ave.,
I got someunencouraging responses from " Vancouver, B.C. VSV IA6, Canada.
IGTA member
Call 341.6866
International
Toursformoreinformation.
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Outreach Program Thurs. Nights
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Call for meeting times and place:
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The
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1307 E. 38th, 2nd floor
in the Pride Center, 743-4297
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Saint Dunstan
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The Episcopal Church
Welcomes You
"It is this organizing at the state level that
will ultimately counter the hostility and
gridlock we have come to know from our
nation’s capital," she added.
Never before in the history of the Gay
rights movement has there been a coordinated
political campaxgn of actions in all
50 states as well as the District of Columbia
and Puerto Rico. Equality Begins at
Homerepresents anew phase of the movement
- a focus on state orgamzing and
legislatures. The vast majority of debates
and decisions about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
and Transgender equality occur in
state legislatures. Equality Begins atHome
will bolster the infrastructure of the Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual, andTransgendermovement
within the states - where the heart of
the struggle for equality lies - and lead to
greater success in the overall struggle for
equality.
Each state organization will develop
events to highlight priority issues:
* In California, activists will focus on
defeating an anti-Gay ballot measure to
be put before voters next year. Events will
include a rally and youth lobby day.
* In New Hampshire, activists will hold
a rally at the state capitol to focus attention
on the need to repeal a state law
banning Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and
Transgender people from adopting children.
* In Nebraska, organizers will target
workplace discrimination. They will hold
a lobby day and circulate a "Workplace
Fairness Petition" to business owners
Early on, Tulsa Family News was’told not
to expect fair treatment from this operation
due to the religious prejudices of the
owner, Larry Payton. And true to that
warning, Payton never has taken Tulsa’s
Gay community seriously as part of his
market.
They do send out press releases sometimes
but at least on one occasion only
after the deadlines for every monthly pul~-
lication had passed. There’s not much
point in writing about this sort of event
two weeks after it’s over.
It would be one thing if their decisions
were made on serious business rationale
such as reach of a publication or the cost
for a particular market segment. But
Payton openly admits that he is motivated
by religion; that is, as a Southern Baptist
he feels it’s his religious duty to discriminate
against Gay readers. Now what was
it that Jesus said? Love your neighbor as
yourself, wasn’t it? Is that how he would
want to be treated?
Note, however, that he doesn’t hesitate
to use Gays when it is to his advantage,
say, like many of the people with whom
he does business: the actors, the theatrical
companies, even a member of his own
staff.
The one time he advertised with this
newspaper for The Phantom ofthe Opera
was because we contacted The Phantom
company who -~magine, were mostly
Gay men. It seems they thought reaching
out to us was a good idea.
Oh well, don’t look to see info. about
these companies anytime soonif wejudge
from past performance. But we always
hold out hope for redemption, that these
hard hearts might be softened.
Meanwhile don’t miss the new shows
at Philbrook. Drop by Gilcrease too when
throughout the state.
"The battleground for equality has
moved to the states, and so have we," said
Paula Ettelbrick, Equality Begins atHome
national coordinator. "We are throwing
down the gauntlet and demanding that
state officials resist the right wing’s efforts
to deny us our basic fights as citizens,"
Ettelbrick added. Equality Begins
at Home is part of a campaign to counter
the growing muscle of the right wing and
its anti-Gay attacks. In the last few years,
the right has passed dozens of anti-Gay
laws in dozens of states.
In addition, 1998 was one of the most
vicious years in recent memory. Senate
Majority Leader Trent Lott likened homosexuality
to kleptomania and sex addiction.
Congress introduced a number of
mean-spirited anti-Gay measures. Rightwing
groups launched a major advertising
campaign attacking Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual,
and Transgender people. In addition,
voters approved anti-Gay ballot
measures in Alaska; Hawaii; Fayetteville,
Arkansas; Fort Collins, Colorado; and
Ognnquit, Maine
"Our demands are simple and in line
with basic American values: the right to
be safe, to have a family, to hold ajob, and
to participate fully as citizens. It’ s exactly
what every American wants anddeserves,"
said Gina Reiss, co-chair of the Federation
of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and
Transgender Statewide Political Orgamzations
and executive director of New
Jersey Lesbian and Gay Coalition.
For a calendar of events for Equality
Beg ins atHome, please view our web site
at http://www.equalitybeginsathome.org
Note also that February will be quite the
month for dance with the Tulsa Ballet
seemingly getter better with ev cry performance
(2/5-7 The Green Table. Equinoxe
and Jardi Tancat) and Les Ballets
Trockadero de Monte Carlo in for just
one, mind you, just one fabulous "men in
tights" performanceon March 16th. Don’t
miss it! - TFN entertainment editor
Bill Laforttme. In Republican circles, it’s
said that Gov. Frank Keating has suggested
that he would not oppose the
amendment.
Also the following bills were introduced
in the Oklahoma House:
HB1224- An Act relating to children;
amending 10 O.S. Supp. 1998, Section
7503-1.1, which relates to eligibility to
adopt a child; making persons in certain
cohabitation relationship ineligible to
adopt a child. Author - Pope, Tim.
HB 1707 - An Act relating to children:
amending 10 O.S. Supp. 1998, Section
7503-1.1, which relates to eligibility to
adopt; prohibiting certain persons from
adopting children. Author - Graves, Bill
HB 1314 - An Act relating to the Oklahoma
Department of Libraries; mandating
certain policies related to identification
and separation of sexually explicit
materials. Author - Graves, Bill
HB 1703 - An Act relating to state government;
prohibiting certain discrimanation;.
Authors - Graves, Bill
HB 1703 - An Act relating to state government;
prohibiting certain discrimination;
to any individual ol group on the
basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or
national operation in public employment,
education, or contracting.
Author - Graves, Bill
Plans for 1999 include a creative arts
night in .February both for the artistically
inclined and the not so artistically indined,
a bingo night in March, dance
lessons in February, a Sadie Hawkins
dance in May, a camping and float trip in
June, a spirituality and healing arts night
in July, a Casino night in August, a,.weekend
in Eureka Springs in October, movie
night in November, and a hiatus in December
(since so much else is going on
anyway) and then in January 2000, a progressive
potluck dinner. Additionally the
group has planned a Memorial Day alternative
picnic and softball game for May.
"We tried to create a wide diversity of
ideas and activities knowingthat not every
one enjoys the same kind of things,"
said Joan. "It was also suggested to have
mid-month bike rides, walking groups,
bowling nights and other sports related
activities ."
Joan added, "we hope to attract singles,
couples and break down some of the barriers
womenhave for attending. All of our
activities have a small fee to help offset
printing and postage and site rental costs.
We are also planning fund raisers for
different organizations."
To learn more about Gal-A-Vanting or
to get the mailing list, call Mary at 743-
6740, Kathy at 322-6322, or Barb at 459-
6825.
but specifically shielded only heterosexual,
and nothomosexual, activity. The
decision prompted protests by Gay civil
rights activists, who said the ruling denied
them eq]aal rights. The Court of Appeals
also was silent on anal sex, which
remained illegal for everyone in the state.
The ACLU asked Rombro to declare
the law unconstitutional, but the judge
instead ruled the Court of Appeals’ decision
on oral sex should extend to homosexual
activity as well. In the final ruling,
Rombro agreed that private, consensual
anal sex also cannot be prosecuted under
the law.
AlthoughACLU leaders had originally
planned to lobby the Maryland General
Assembly to rescind or amend the old
law, Sullivan said the organization is now
satisfied with the judge’s ruling. Andrew
H. Baida, an assistant attorney general,
said state officials want to keep the old
law to help prosecute cases of sexual
.assault,prostitution or sex inpublicplaces.
Center spokesman, Greg, adds that the
Center also is hosting regular Pride Dances
every other Saturday at 8pro. The Center
¯¯ now has a pool table to supplement the ping-pong and foosball tables it had be-
" fore.
Also, Centerlegal counsel, Kerry Lewis,
¯
shared that the board of directors of Tulsa
: Oklahomans for Human Rights, the par-
¯ ent organization of the Pride Center, had
: responded to the eviction notice of the
: Center’s landlord.
¯ - Without delving into the legal partieu- ¯
larities, the board responded to the notice
: saying that the Centerwas withinits rights
¯ under thelaw to post its signs and that the
¯ landlordhadWrongfully terminated their ¯
lease. The gist of the matter, according to
¯ Lewis is that all rights go to the tenant
: unless specifically restricted by the landlord.
¯ Lewis stated too that the landlord and
¯
his attorney had failed to show up at a
: meeting that was scheduled to try to re-
. solve the conflict.
: Lewis added that the landlord had been
: asked to respond in a timely fashion, or
: else, the board would seek legal redress
¯ for the damages already suffered by the
: Center.
¯ Editor’s note: TFN will provide our
¯ readers an update to this conflict in our
¯ March issue.
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give me a ca!l. (Tulsa) ’~21181
LIKE’EM BIG WM. 5’11". 170 brown/blue,
looking for.a hot, dominant top. Military or
body builder a plus. (Tulsa) ’~19326
A REAL GUY Attractive, down-to-earth
GWM, 20, 5’g’. 175 Ibs, shod brown/brown,
seeking honest, trustworthy GWM; 18-35,
5’6-5’t0", with a stocky, muscular build.
Piercings and tattoos a plus! (Tulsa)
’1~’18526
KISS ME BABY! Looking for a nice
B/WGM, who likes go out. having fun and
Idssing. (Oakimrst) ~18458
TULSA AREA BOTTOM Bhcudous WM,
21, 6’, light brown/hazal, bottom, enjoys
crsss-dressing, pleasing and having fun.
Seeking similar dominant top. (Tulsa)
’B’18341
HOT PASSIONATE SEX Sexy Gay Man,
5’10", blonde/blue, seeks really hot Men to
turn me on and to have some hot, passionate
sex. (Tulsa) ’~16479
WILD SEX Sexual, easygoing Single Man,
into long walks on the beach and hanging
out Seeking other sexual Men to have tun
with and more. (Tulsa) 1~’16285
LOTS OF FUN, WHY NOT SHARE IT? 21-
year-old GM seeks other Guys to get
together with and date. (Tulsa) ’~’15447
ARE YOU OUT THERE? Single Gay Male,
6’, 200 10S, brown/brown Seeks another
Man, 30-50, who’s into outdoor sports,
cooking and just having fun. (McAlester)
’~15297
ARE YOU THE OUTDOOR TYPE? Single
Gay Male seeks other Men. 45-55, who
likes the outdoors, hunting, fishing and having
good times. (McAlester) "~15208
BLUE COLLAR BUSINESS This Gay,
White male, 45, 5’10. 2201bs, with light,
Brown hair and Green syes, seeks a blue
collar type who’s down to eadh, ca~ing, and
enjoys sports and the outdoors. I want to
have a one on one relationship. I don’t ddnk
or oo dregs, but I do smoke cigarettes.
(Henrietta) ’~9661
BEDWARMER WANTED This hot stud ir~
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on cold nights. (Tulsa) ~’13077
TRUE LOVE This Gay White Male is 31-
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please. (Tulsa) ’~16325
CAN YOU HANDLE IT? Hey Guys, this 25
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I am very feminine. If your man enough to
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I WANT A NICE FIRM ASS This Gay
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SHARE MY TIME 22-yesr-old BIWF, 6’,
blondo/brown, enjoys the outdoors, dancing,
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SPEND TIME WITH ME 22-year-old GWF,
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DOING THINGS I’m a GBF, 25 who likes
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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
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[1999] Tulsa Family News, February 1999; Volume 6, Issue 2
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
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Tulsa Family News
Source
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https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24
Publisher
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Tom Neal
Date
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February 1999
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
James Christjohn
JEan-Claude de Flambeauchaud
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
MAry Scepers
Adam West
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Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News
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Tulsa Family News, January 1999; Volume 6, Issue 1
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English
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newspaper
periodical
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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/584
1999
adoption
AIDS/HIV
AIDS/HIV laws
AIDS/HIV research
anti-bias law
arts and entertainment
attorneys
Barry Hensley
Bars
businesses
children
churches
civil rights
Comic Strips
Dave Fleischer
Do-It-Yourself Dyke
Don't Ask Don't Tell
Dyke Psyche
Entertainment Notes
Equality Begins at Home
Esther Rothblum
Gal-A-Vanting
Gay-Straight Alliance
hate crime bill
holocaust
homophobia
Human Rights Campaign
James Christjohn
James Hormel
KMOD
Mary Schepers
military
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
National Week of Action for Equality
Native Americans
Oklahoma Mr. Leather
One Recruit Short of a Toaster
Partner Benefits
performing arts
Pride Center
Read All About It
restaurants
Ric Poston
sodomy laws
Tom Neal
Tulsa Family News
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center
Tulsa Two-Spirited Indian Men's Support Group
-
https://history.okeq.org/files/original/0f5c5a297cb644367e6ca3802399cadc.jpg
9f767686a7925d09e8f082502fc3f303
https://history.okeq.org/files/original/c52cad5db7656600ffc7b20b992d792c.pdf
b82e1103b092b333cea21afa7c6c8baf
Dublin Core
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[Sub-Series] Newsletters & Publications > Tom Neal Newsletters > Tulsa Family News
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periodical
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New Campaign for Federal
Hate Crimes Law Passage
WASHINGTON (AP) - Oregon Sens. Ron.Wyden and
Gordon Smith are renewing their campaign for an
expanded, federal hate crimes statute, hoping thatpublic
outrage over the torture and murder of black and Gay
men will spur passage. "This is about drawing a line in
the sand and saying America.is too good.., to look the
other way in the face of violent, hate-filled acts," said
Wyden, a Democratic cosponsor of the Hate Crimes
Prevention Act of 1999, a replica of last year’s bill.
Last month in Texas, John William King, a white
supremacist, was sentenced to death for chaining a
black man, James Byrd Jr., behind a pickup truck and
dragging him to his death. Two men have been charged
in the October slaying of Gay colleg.., student Matthew
.Shepard, who was pistol-whipped and’lashed to a fence
m Wyoming. Two men also have been charged with
beating to death aGay textile worker, Billy Jack Gaither,
in Alabamalast month and burning his body on a pile of
tires.
Sen. Gordon Smith, another cosponsor of the bill,
said that as a member of the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee he often travels abroad and deplores hate
crimes in other nations, see Federal, p. 3
Alabama Man Murdered
in Anti-Gay Hate crime
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) - An overflow crowd of
mourners filled Covenant Metropolitan Community
Church, honoring the memory of Billy Jack Gaither
while also calling for an end to hatred against Gays.
There was no standingroom at the 225-seat church as 17
speakers mostly clergy - decried Gaither’s death. A
handful of anti-Gay protesters picketed outside.
Steven Eric Mullins, 25, and Charles Monroe Butler,
21,.confessed to beating the 39-year-old Sylacaugaman
to death with an ax handle last month and setting his
body on fire atop kerosene-soaked tires because, they
claimed, he made a pass at one of them. Gaither’s body
was discovered by apasserby Feb. 20in CoosaCounty,
a day after he was beaten and burned.
"Mullins and Butler stated the reason they killed him
was because he was ahomosexual," said Coosa County
sheriff’s deputy Al Bradley. "We believe this to be the
true motive." Mnllins and Buffer remain in the Coosa
County jail.
Gaither met with the two men in Sylaeanga, a
community about 40 miles southeast of Birmingham,
on the night he was killed, police said. Hehad last been
seeninabarhefrequented. According to the statements,
Mullins called Gaither and asked him to go to the bar,
where they met and.apparently left together, Johnson
said. Authorities said the men apparently took Gaither
to a remote location, where the murder took place.
The memorial service drew people of all races and
ages, from all across the state, seeAlabama,p. 13
DIRECTORY)LETtERS P. 2
EDITORIAL P. $
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
HEALTH NEWS P. 6
ENTERTAINMENT P. 8
COMMUNITY CALENDAR P. 9
DO-IT-YOURSELF-DYKE P. 11
DYKE PSYCHE P. 12
GAY STUDIES P. 14
Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tuleans, Our Families + Friends
~Cir~cuistion Comm..un" Pa eravailable In More Than 75 C" Locations
Ok.lahom; iHou e K, IIs Hate ! Gay US Congres.sman
Crime Amendment, HB1.211 :: FranktoAttend Pr,de’99
by Tim Talley and Tom Neal : TULS,A -.~Wl~i,’le some details remain unresolved,
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP/TFN)- Hate crimes legislationis dead : Tulsa s Pride 99 organizers have announced that
in the Oklahoma Legislature this year following defeat of a bill : .openly .Gay US...Congress.man, Barney Frank of
that originally sought to add sexual orientation to the state’s list Mass,ach,nsetts will .attend this
of hate erimes, year s June 12th event.
An unprecedented number of supporters, including members ~ongressman Frank is _one of
of Gay and Lesbian groups and representatives of religious me most respected l)emoorganizations
such as TulSa Metropolitan Ministry, went to the _cra~cme..mbers of ~e,,United
Capitol early in March to encourage lawmakers to support House ~ tate.s Hou,s e ox,,~,epre-
Bill 1211. sentataves ana is well ~nown
But the bill’s sponsor, Tulsa Rep. Don Ross said there was not
enough bipartisan support to add sexual orientation to the
Oklahoma Hate Crimes Act. "I said from the beginning I would
not allow this issue to become a partisan wedge issue, used
exclusively against Democrats in the next election," Ross said.
The vote killing the bill followed more than an hour of
sometimes passionate debate between supporters, who said that
certain classes ofpeople deserve special protection, and opponents
who argued that all citizens should be treated equally under the
law. The bill’s final version would have made a first-offense hate
crime afelony and providedfor enhanced penalties when~iolence
was used but did not add "sexual orientation" to the existing law.
Rep. Leonard Sullivan said the measure was divxsive and
singled out certain groups for special treatment. The Oklahoma
Hate Crimes Act distinguishes offenses committed because of
race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin and disability. But
supporters said special status has been given to crimes against
children and women, and that similar recognition is needed for
other groups because of who or what they are.
"The law is an equalizing force," argued Ross, who is one of
three Black House members. "The idea of equal protection is a
very noble concept," but it is up to lawmakers to make it work,
said Rep. Russ Roach, D-Tulsa. "This legislation protects all
people," added Rep. John Sellers, D-Enid.
Ross’ substitute bill deleting ~exual orientation was drafted in
response to the Christian Coalition opposition. Toure said fear,
hatred and misunderstanding are to blame for dropping sexual
orientation from the measure. "I never knew the hatred toward
Gay people as I do now," Ross said.
TOHR’ Steve Horn shivers with Cimarron Alliance’ Terry
Gatewood andfriend at Equality Begins at Home Capitol rally,
Reverend Leslie Penrose
Resigns as Methodist Pastor
TULSA - On March 5,1999, the pastor of Community of Hope
Base Shalom Congregation, the Reverend Leslie Penrose
submitted a letter to Oklahoma MethodiSt Bishop, Bruce Blake
initiating her withdrawal from the Methodist Church: The
following is selections of her letter which circulated by e-mail in
the Tulsa community:
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
It is with prayers for its future well-being, that I initiate the
. processofwithdrawingfromtheUnitedMethodistChurch. The
", primary reason for my withdrawal after 18 years offull time
¯ ministry is the increasing focus on complaints and charges
¯ regarding my ministry of blessing same-sex covenant
relationships.ltseemsthattheoptionshavefinallybeenreduced
¯ to either withdrawing or preparing for trial. I simply will not
¯ participate inputting God’s grace- or myprivilege as apastor ¯
¯ to bless andcelebrateany andevery relationship where thefruits ofthe spirit bear witness to that grace - on trial. Nor will I hide
¯ or lie about the ministry I do.
¯ From the time six years ago when I was sent by the Oklahoma
¯ Conference to create a reconciling base community ministry in
Tulsa, see Penrose, p. 13
for his skilled and often
scathing debate.
Mitchell Savage, member
of Tulsa Gay Community
Services Center’s Pride ’99 planning committee,
also noted that in addition to attending the annual
Tulsa Pride Picnic, planned again.for Veterans
Park at 18th and Boulder, organizers are working
on a dinner at which the Congressman would likely
speak and possibly a Sunday morning event.
Congressman Frank was graduated in 1962 from
Harvard University andtaughtundergraduates there
while studying for a Ph.D. Before completing his
Ph.D. degree, Frank became Chief Assistant to
Mayor Kevin White of Boston. In 1972,
Congressman Frank was elected to the
Massachusetts Legislature, where he served for
eight years, until 1980. During that time, he entered
Harvard Law School in September, 1974 and
graduated in 1977. In 1980, Congressman Frank
was elected to the US House of Representatives. In
a recent evaluation of Congress, The Almanac of
American Politics said "Frank is one of the
intellectual and political leaders of the Democratic
Party in the House, political theorist :andpit bull at
the same time." Frank serves on the Judiciary and
the Banking Financial Services Committees.
For more information, contact the Community
Center at 743-4297.
BTW Boasts OK’s First
Gay-Straight Alliance
by Tom Neal
TULSA - Elsewhere in the United States, high
school Gay-Straight Alliances have often been met
withconsiderable controversy. In Utah, some school
districts got rid of all their campus organizations
¯ rather than allow a group which tries to supportGay
o young adults andfoster tolerance andunderstanding.
: However, Booker T. Washington High School,
¯ Tulsa’s magnet showpiece school, appears to have
¯ avoided much of that sort of uproar and is thought
: to be the first high school with such an organization
¯ in the state of Oklahoma.
¯ Former SapulpaHigh School student, Will Allen
¯ and Emily Sizemore began the work of creating a ¯
Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) latein 1998, meeting
." withformerBTWprincipal Mr. Stevens andt’mding
¯ a faculty sponsor, Doug Gronberg.
¯ Then in January this year, after creating flyers
¯ and making an public announcement on the school
¯ intercom, they held their first meeting.
¯ Muchto the astonishmentofAllen and Sizemore,
¯ 40 students showedup. In fact, Allen stated that the
¯ turnout was notable especially since that that first
: meeting conflicted with a tryoutfor the Washington
¯ Drama Club’s production of West Side Story:
¯ Apparently BTW’s Gay population is well
¯ represented in theDramaClub and therefore, many
¯ who might otherwise have been expected to attend
¯ weren’t able. Allen also notes that similar groups in
:
Chicago and Boston frequently don’thave as many
¯ attending.
: Allen said that the GSA is comparable to other
:
studentchapters on thecampus, suchas theNAACP
¯ see BTW,.p. 13
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*Boston Willy’s Diner, 1742 S. Boston
*Concessions, 3340 S. Peoria
*Empire Bar, 1516 S. Peoria
*Full Moon Care, 1525 E. 15th
*Gold Coast Coffee House, 3509 S. Peoria
*Interurban Restaurant, 717 S. Houston
*Jason’s Deli, 15th & Peoria
*Lola’s, 2630 E. 15th
"*Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*Silver Star Saloon, 1565 Sheridan
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*TNT’s, 2114 S. Memorial
832-1269
592-2143
744-0896
599-9512
583-6666
749-4511
585-3134
599-7777
749-1563
744-4280
745-9998
834-4234
585-3405
660-0856
918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615, POB 4140, Tulsa, OK74159
e-mail: TulsaNews@ earthlinlc net
wobsito: http: [/users.aol.comiTulsaNews!
Publisher + Editor:
Tom Neal
Writers + contributors:
James Christjohn, Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud
Barry Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum, Mary Schepers, Adam West
*Tool Box, 1338 E. 3rd 584-1308 "
Tulsa-Businesses, Services, & Professionals "
Advanced Wireless & PCS, Digital.Cellular 747-1508 ¯
*Affinity News, 8120 E. 21 610-8510 "
Dennis C. Arnold, Realtor
746-4620 "
*Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard 743-1000 ."
Kent Batch & Associates, Health & Life Insurance 747-9506 ¯
~’Bames & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 250-5034, "
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15
712d122 :
*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-
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis 581-0902,743-4117
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker " 622-0700
Tim Danid, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco,.3212 E. 15th "- 749-3620
*Devena’s Gallery, 13 Brady 587-2611-
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria
744-5556
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sberidan
838-8503 "
*Ross Edward Salon, 2447 E. 15th 584-0337, 712-9379 .:
*Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. P~eori~a _~ ~,~
744-9595 ¯
Cathy Furlo~g_~ PIilD., 1980 Utica bq. lvte~. ~u.
62823709. :
*Gloria Jeati s Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st
742-1460 "
Leanne M. Grbss, Insurance &financial planning
459-9349 ¯
744-7440 ¯
Mark T. Ha~by,.Attorney : ¯
*Sandra Ji Hill, M~, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly 745-1111
*international T_o.urs
341-6866 "
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th
712-2750 :
*Jared’s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th
582-3018
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering
747-0236 "
*Ken’s Flowers, 1635 E. 15
599-8070 "
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210 747-5466 :
*Living ArtSpace, 19 E. Brad),
585-1234
*MidtownTheater, 319 E. 3rd
584-3112 ".
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31
663-5934 "
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place
664-2951 ~
Novel Idea Bookstore, 51st & Harvard
747-6711 ~
David A. Paddock, CPA, 4308 S. Peoria, Ste. 633
747-7672 ~
Puppy Pause II, 1060. S. Mingo
838-7626
*Peace of MindBookstore, 1401 E. 15
583-1090
The Pride Store, 1307 E. 38, 2rid floor
743429’7
Rainbowz on the River B+B,POB 696, 74101
747-5932
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning
834-0617
Teri Sehutt, Rex Realtors
834-7921, 747.4746
Christoph~ Spra_~g, attom__e_Y:~16 ~S. Main,#308
582-7748
*Seribner s Bookstore, 1942 Utaca bquare 749-6301
260-7829
Paul Tay, CarSalesman
*Tickled Pink, 3340 S. Peoria
697-0017
*Tulsa Book Exchange, 3749 S. Peoria 742-2007
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis
.481-0558
Fred.Welch, LCSW, Counseling ....... 743:1733
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis
592-0767
Tulsa Agencies, Chumhes, 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 Christian Center, 2207 E. 6
583-7815
*B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa Canterbury Ctr. 583-9780
*Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1. & Florence
*ChurchoftheRestorationUU, 1314N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community ofHope United Methodist, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300
*Communiw Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
*Counci! O~k Men’s Chorale 585-COMC (2662)
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware
712-1511
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31
742-2457
¯ NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1.
"~ NOW, Nat’! Org. forWomen, POB 14068, 74159
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
*Our House, 1114 S. Quaker
PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152
*Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria
*The Pride Center, 1307 E. 38, 2nd floor, 74105
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
*R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network
Rainbow Business Guild, POB 4106, 74159
:riend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152
:riends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101
*HIV FaR Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd.
*HIV Resource Consortium, 3507 E. Admiral
*Holland Hall School, 5666 E. 81st
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education
HIV Testing, Mon/Thurs. 7-9pm, daytime by appt. only
*House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood
Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438-2437, 800-284-2437
*MCC United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
748-3111
365-5658
Member of The Associated Press
Issued on or before the 1st of each month the entire contents of this
pgblication are protected by US copyright 1998 byT~ ~:..~.
N~,~ and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without
written permission from the publisher. ,Pub!ica.ti.o.n of~a name or
¯
photo does not indicate a person’s sexua onentauon. ~,orrespon- .
dence ~s assumed to be for publication unless otherwise noted,.rpust .
points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248. .
747-6827
582-0438
583-6611
834-4194
481-1111
834-8378
584-7960
749-4901
587-7674
743-4297
749-4195
665~5174
~Red Rock Mental ¯Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
O’RYAN, support.group for 18-24 LGBT young adults
O’UV~,N Jr suonort group for 14-17 LGBT youth .
St. Aidan’ s Eptscopal Church, 4045 N. Cmcaunat~ 425 78
*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 Departme_nt, 4616 E. 15 , 59,5-4105
Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays omy
Tulsa Okla. for HumanRights, c/o The Pride Center 743.4297
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 838-1222
¯ *Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
¯ *Tulsa Community College Campuses
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: BARTLESVILLE
: ,BartlesvillePublicLibrary,600S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
: OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN
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~ *Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-573.4907
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’.- ~Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church 918-456-7900
¯
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918-453-9360
¯ NSU School of Optometry., I001N. Grand
; HIVtesting every Other Tues. 5:30t8:30, call for dates
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God Would Never
Advocate Hate
I am not pointing fingers. I am pointing
and pitching in.
¯It rained, and was quite cold and m~serable atSaturday’s ("EqualityBegins
At Home") rally on the capitol steps..The
graves of our Gay and African American
martyrs inAlabama,Jasper, andWyoming
are cold, lonely, andmiserable. Why were
there only aprox. 300 folks at the capitol
demanding that our innocent people’s
executions stop? Where were you?
I will speak for myself. When Mathew
Shepard died, Tulsa had a candlelight
vigil for him. It rained, and was nasty out
thatevening, therefore, I decided toremain
in the comfort of my warm home. After
seeing the number of folks from the
Westboro Baptist Church, that endured
the freezing rain at Mathew’s funeral - in
order to spew out hate and condemnation
to the coldbody ofaninnocent child- I felt
like aninsensitive, amoral, spineless snake
for staying.home. Where were you?
Howmany morefolks are going tohave
to die in order for you / us to see that we
need to attend these functions? The hate
crime law was turned down- even in the
state where Mathew Shepard was killed.
Arethe"moral majority" ofourlawmakers
hate mongers? I Thank God for MC
Smothermon, Keith Smith, Paul Barby,
and their likes. We need more folks like
them at our capitol, to defend the rights of
"minorities". We deserve better. Those
who have died because of ignorant hate
deserved better.
Perhaps the world does not fully
understand thathate crimes are committed
every day. Ourminority citizens are scared
to report attacks against themselves as
such, because offurther condemnation, or
for lack of concern by law enforcement.
¯ Folks are scared to speak up for equal ¯
rights - for fear of what few rights they
¯ currently have - will be torn away from
¯ them as a result. Receiving a pink slip
¯ from your employment, and adeath threat
: because of standing up for.equal rights !s
i reality. I know from experience. There ~s
~ plenty ofbehind the scene workthatnee~,s
¯ to be done, that will make a differencem
: your salvation - and the lives of those in
¯ danger of ignorant violence.
~ I know ofmany hate crimes committed ¯
in Tulsa alone- which have not received
¯ the attention they deserve. I am aware of
¯ "minority" children that were victims of
¯ violent I~ate crime - which cannot tell
~ their parents for fear of getting kicked out
¯ of their ho,,m_es. Obvi,o_nsly the general
" public says oh well,it s jt£st another fag,
¯ or blackie". Is the buckle of the bible belt
¯ so. tight.that it is r~.tri_cting blood flow to
; the brains of those who consider
¯ themselves "do-gooders"? God would
¯ never advocate hate. Never.
.’~ The general media image of the Gay,
Bi, Lesbian, and transgendered
community is out cruising River Park,
molesting littleboys, and spreading AIDS.
Wall, I have not used the parks for sex,
and see Letters, p. 3
Letters Policy
Tulsa Family News welcomes letters on
issues which we’ve covered Or on issues
you think need to be considered. You may
request that your name be withheld but
letters must be signed &hay e phone numbers,
or be hand delivered. 200 word lel-
¯ " " OB 701475 74170-1475 3_5.523_1.--42~. ; *~ ’ "t o~ Christ MCC ~2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 417-623-4696 ters are preIerrea~." "~’u~t.ters to other
Ep~scopahans, P , ., . Spin . ..... . ¯ " - will be rinteo as is a propna~e.
¯Fellowship Congreg. Ctxurch,2900 S. H~vard~ . ~ ~4,~-,~7~7, ,
, tswl~ere¢oucanrmaTFN-N°’~au~’eGa’’owne~~ s ap~prop_n[~.:
¯Free S~iht Women’ s Center, call for locauon ~~mo: ~o/-~,u~
.
theOklahomaStateCapitol as a local partofanational event,
Equality Begins at Home. The turnout really Wasn’ t that bad
considering that, in inimi table Oklahoma spring fashion, the
weather had turned very, very chilly and rainy. It also wasn’t
bad considering how the event’s Oklahoma City organizers
had failed thoroughly to get the word out to the statewide
community.
Their failure actually is rather surprising because those
organizers, Paul Thompson of the self proclaimed statewide
OGLPC, the Oklahoma Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus,
and Paula Hand Brown, an editor and reporter for The Gayly
Oklahomanare easily two of the mostexperienced Gay civil
fights activists in Oklahoma City.
The event itself was only symbolic. The Capitol was
locked and our only audience was, wall, ourselves and afew
media types. Thereal lobbyingwas thatdoneatthebeginning
of the month under the direction of Keith Smith and Nancy
McDonald when the Capitol was unlocked and legislators
werein attendance. But atleastOklahomacould say we were
there; wewere one of those states around the country that did
an "Equality Begins at Home" (EBAH) event.
But the event was marred by a few parochial and petty
aspects which by themselves are not that important but
which point to flaws in our national and state movement.
Th~se are the sorts of flaws that, frankly, often make u~as
effective in hindering our movement as our enemies.
One problem to which this newspaper has particular
objectionis thefailure ofthese experienced andmedia savvy
organizers to provide this newspaper with the most basic
information about the event. While TFN earlier published
" informationaboutEBAHbasedon the press releases provided
by the national sponsors, the National Gay & Lesbian Task
Force and the Federation of Stat,ewide LGBT Political
Organizations, Thompson and. Brown apparently did not
provide even the simplest press release telling precisely
when the event was going to be held.
Now in fairness, they claim that they telephoned TFN but
oddly neither I nor any otherTFN staffever found amessage
onour office number, our wireless voicemail,our e-mail, our
fax machine, or even by that old fashioned method, by post!
Some might suggest that Ms. Brown, an employee of a
somewhat rival newspaper and Mr. Thompson, wall known
to be dosdy tied to that newspaper might have had an
interest in not sharing the information fully.
Certainly, we at Tulsa Family News also acknowledge
that if the only part of rtmning this business and getting a
issue put together was to track down information from
negligentcommunity organizers, then wecould have chased
the information down as wall. However, we do have some
other events we have to cover as well. For the record,
Thompson and Brown did later telephone TFN and actually
leave messages but only after we had gone to press and only
after we complained to NGLTF organizers.
But the real issue for Oklahomain the "Equality Begins at
Home" effort is notjust that ofpoor communications. Part of
the EBAH effort was a grant of to each participating state of
$5,000. In Oklahoma, this $5K went to the Oklahoma Gay
& Lesbian Political Caucus (OGLPC).
Now if you just go by their name, you might assume that
they are genuinely a statewide-organization. However, the
organization in practice only ha~~ad a real impact in.central
Oklahoma City. In that area, they have been fairly effective.
An active OGLPC member claims that they have about 150
members, though they claim to have a mailing list of 7,000.
He surprisingly was unable to provide any numberfor Tulsa
members. And what many Gay and Lesbian civil rights
activists believe, both in Tulsa and OKC, is that OGLPC
really is just a OKC group. It’s never had any impact on
Tulsa politics.
Let us compare this with the Cimarron Alliance which,
although much newer, hasboth Tulsa and other non~OKC
members, and a track record of doing significant work
outside of OKC.
The obvious question is why did NGLTF give $5K to an
organizationwhichhadlittle credibility as agenuine statewide
organization, and which for years has seemed to be little
more than an extension of the personality of Paul Thompson
overTheCimarronAlliance withits documentable successes
across the state?
Here’s where petty local politics meets petty national
politics. NGLTF knew quite wall that OGLPC was not
widely considered credible as a statewide organization.
see Equality, p.lO
~shocked many with his.suggestion that th~ solution to
¯ .famine in Ireland, then under English domination, was
" for the Irish merely to eat their children. Swift, an
¯ Irishman himself,, indeed was being just a wee bit
¯ sarcastic and his essay is still readin literature classes as
an example of that type of essay.
It is the spirit of Swift that I’d like to
¯ invoke for part of this essay but I realize
that these words taken out of context as
¯¯ they no doubt will be, will likely provoke
shock and dismay and anger. All that said,
¯ I’d like to talk about hate crimes and hate
¯ crimes legislation, specifically that which
¯ was considered last month in our ¯
legislature.
¯ First, let us praise The Very Honorable
¯ Don Ross, one of Tulsa’s state
¯ representatives who introduced HB 1211.
¯
He can be cranky but as he once told me
¯ (and proved it), he’s one of our few
_" dependable friends in the Oklahoma
¯ House. He’s also been supportive of
¯ increased funding for people living with
¯ AIDS.
So, take some time to thank him - like
:’ your momma said, it doesn’t take that
¯ long to write a thank you note. Also don’t
¯ forget him when the next election cycle
¯ comes up. Send hima checkif you can, or ¯
volunteer. If we don’t take care of our
¯ friends, who will?
: And to highlight the positive, the
¯ progress HB1211 made is greater than ¯
anything that came before. That’s notjust
¯ my assessment but that of a Tulsa area
¯ Republican representative. He’ll be ¯
happier if I’ll leave him unnamed, but as
¯ he said, just getting the bill out of
¯ committee counts as progress. Headded that afew years
¯ ago,most of the people talking with us would not even ¯
have let us in the door.
¯ Again to recognize those whose work is making
¯ much of that difference, we need to thank Keith Smith
¯ who lobbies for our communities on his own while he ¯
does his other paid lobbying work. One day, if we are
¯ really smart as a community, we’ll figure outhow to pay
¯ Keith so that he can do even more.
¯ TulsaMetropolitanMinistry deserves great praise for
providing the initial leadership on this bill, particularly
¯ the Reverends Mildred Banks, Gary Blaine, Gaff Kecny-
¯ Mulligan and no doubt others whose names I don’t ¯
know. Attorney General Drew Edmondson and former
: DistrictAttorney Bill LaFortunealso were tremendousl)~
¯ helpfui.
Also, I would be remiss in not specifi.ca!,ly honoring
Nancy McDonald for spearheading Tulsa S efforts on
HB 1211. Standing 0utside thechamberoftheOklahoma
¯ House of Representatives with these two and~others, as
or nlzed ome
to lie in
wait outside of
notorious
"straight"-bars,
some guy walking
to his ear alone,
jump him and beat
him senseless?
Or when some
%traight" couple
has the nerve to
flaunt their
sexuality publicly,
by holding hands
or kissing, what if
we drove up on the
sidewalk to run
them down or
pulled a gun and
shot at them.
myfather and I did, is quite the education. Butnext time
we need to get more of us there!
But back to the blasphemous and scandalous, I have
¯ to wonder how quickly hate crimes laws would pass if
" the situation were reversed?
¯ What if we organized some gangs of Gay men to get
alittle drunkand liein waitoutside ofnotorious "straight"
bars, and when we see some guy walking
to his car alone, jump him and beat him
senseless. Orwhensome straight couple
has the nerve to flaunt their sexuality
publicly, byholding hands or kissing, what
if we drove up on the sidewalk to run them
down orjnstpulled agunand shot atthem?
At the very least, we could scream
epithets at them so that they’ll know how
hated and repulsive they are. And if that’s
not good enough to intimidate those
"straight" guys, wemight prevail on some
of our lipstick Lesbians to chat them up in
a bar, pretending to be "straight" and then
lure them out to where they can be beaten
or murdered or tortured - whatever.
How long do you think it would take for
hate crimes legisl.ation which included
sexual orientation to pass? Though our
legislature wouldlikely0uly makeitillegal
for us to beat up "straight" boys but leave
it just fine for them to kill us.
Mind you I do not advocate any of the
violence mentioned above; we all know it
wouldbe wrong. I think it is a testament to
the decency of most Gay people that we
face the injustice and indignity with which
we are treated with as much patience and
kindness as we do. I can’t believe that it’s
just because we have no choice.
Consider this: in the early years of the
AIDS holocaust, we had little hope; there
were no or few effective treatments; we
" had a government that was damning even more to death
¯ through its actions that were indifferent at best, and
more often hostile, and yet we never saw any of our
¯ people resorting to violence - civil disobedience, yes,
¯ butmoredidnothappenas is the casewithdesperate and
oppressed people in much else of the world. Even the
~ Jews became terrorists as old Palestine went on its way
¯ to becoming Israel.
¯ My old friend Peter and I have wondered how it is that
¯ none of those who might well have seen the world as
without hope, sought vengeance or acted in violence?
After all, when faced with the evil that Jesse Helms and
others like that represent, why no one of us sought to
send him or the many in Congress like him to the hell
they surely deserve?
But in the words of an old Holly Near song, "we are
a gentle, angry people, and we fighting, fighting for our
lives..." and maybe our persistence, along with the
righteousness of our cause will move even the hardened
hearts of Oklahoma towards justice someday.
radio programming, the (seemingly)blackmailing
Christian c~alition, and other attractive sprinkles of
ignorance. Prejudice words such as "faggot, blackie,
nigger, colored~ and queer" should never be allowed in
hateful media - of any sort. This is the dawn of a new
century political correctness changes - are we still
Neanderthals? I think that we have evolved enough to
cease advocating senseless -hate towards our brothers
and sisters.
Please make plans to attend the Pride ’99 Gay pride
parade on June 12th. Perhaps we will be more inclined
to attend a function of such ~xtreme value - if the
weather is bright and sunny. Weneed to make it known
to our leaders that hate crimes are not acceptable. Pride
’99 will be a wonderful vehicle to portray the equality
we deserve and demand. Equal rights are just that -
equal, not special.
¯ Please become more involved in advocating equality
v~a organizations such as T.O.H.R., N.A.A.C.P.,
P.F.LA.G., and others. You will be, and feel like, a
better person for your efforts.
I am not pointing t’mgers. Just pointing and pitching
in.
Conform and be dull. - Ned T. Bruha, Tulsa
Icert~ainly there are no more Gays interested in little
boys than the heterosexual community. AIDS has no
sexual preference. The words "Gay" and"black" arenot
needed as verbs. In media, when we talk about an
¯" "average" citizen, we do not say"andin thenews today,
~ a white, heterosexual groi~p of’Christians gathered in a
." local church to discuss how to stop theGays fromkilling
¯ straight folks". Please.
Why do we allow our radio stations to advocate hate
¯ via Gayjokes andracial slurs?Why does theFCC allow
." them that’’freedom of speech"? Why are websites such
¯ as the Gay Nazis, skinheads, KKK, Westboro Baptist, ¯
and Larry the Cable Guy allowed? They all seem to
." inciteignorantintolerance,hate, and sometimes violence
¯ - but when asked about what is inwriting- they refuse ¯
to admit it is hate. "We shouldbe outraged andalarmed,
¯ because theideas canlead to violent crimes"- as stated
¯ in the3/28/1999USAWeekendincludedin your Sunday
¯ papers. The minds of our innocent children are being
" soiled by seemingly innocent media: Crayons using
¯ peach as skin tone, bandages are peach- for skin tone,
Anti-Gay Stand Loses
Church Its Building
BROCKTON, Mass. (AP) - A dispute over Gay
Christians has put a priest and his parishioners who
oppose same-sex marriages on the street, so the
evicted congregation held services right on the
sidewalk. The Rev. Thomas Morris andabout adozen
members of his flock prayed outside on a recent
Sunday, despite their eviction by a judge in their
ongoing dispute with the Episcopal Diocese of
Massachusetts.
Morris and his congregation at St. Paul’s Church
opposed the diocese’s 1994 decision to sanction
same-sex unions and ordain noncelibate homosexuals
as priests. In opposition, the congregation began
withholding fees it was bound to pay the diocese.
Diocese officials maintained the dispute was not
about beliefs or issues. "What this is about is this
church needs a priest ingood standing with the bishop
and other churches in the diocese," said the Rev.
Donald Parker, the diocese vicar. The diocese is
overseen by Bishop Thomas Shaw. In the decision,
Judge Charles J. Hely said his ruling settled a legal
issue about property, not a religious issue.
In 1995, Morris’ predecessor at St. Paul’s, the Rev.
James R. HAles,was defrocked after the diocese found
him guilty of sexual misconduct. But many members
of the church stand by HAles, and say the charges
against him were concocted as punishment for his
stance against homosexuality.
Gay Irish Not Welcome
in Bronx Parade Either
NEW YORK (AP)= Members of a Gay organization
got a Bronx cheer when they tried to join the first St.
Patrick’ s Day-parade held in that borough in70 years.
Six people, including state Sen. Tom Duane and
City Councilwoman Christine Quiun, were arrested
Sunday after a.doze~! supporters of the Lavender and
Green’Al!ian.~ce stepped into the parade. "I’m an Irish
person, I’m a Gay person, I’m here to try to march,"
Duane sai& %
Lavender and Green Alliance founder BrendanFay
said his group"originally "got a call to say we were
welcome, but then we learned the welcome was being
rescindedY The ~Bronx parade’s chairman, patrick
Devine, d~d nrt ieturn telephone calls left at his home
scekin~o crniment and did not make himself fi)aifable
to reporters at.flae~ parade.....
Another gr.oup, the Irish Lesbian and. Gay
Organizafion,’hhs fifed unsuccessfully to join t13~ big
St. Patriek~sD~y??Parade down Fifth Avenue in
Manhattan f0t th(last half-dozen years criir~fruqfngs
have held ~that the.private organizauons thaVsponsor
parades may ch0.Os¢ which groups march
Quim~,Duane, Fay and the others were arrested
after the first marching band passed by and they
stepped into the parade behind the Lavender ~and
Green banner. They were stopped by a line of police
officers and informed they would be arrested if they
failed to l~ave. A few stepped aside, but others stood
fast and were led away to a police-wagon and
handcuffed before being charged with disorderly
conduct."Let themmarch!" shouted a few supporters.
"’Shame!" called outJimmy McNulty,who was among
those arrested. "Why are we not welcome?"
Several dozen spectators cheered when the parad~
resumed without the Gay group. "It’s an immoral
lifestyle," said spectator Martin O’Grady. "If they
wanted to march, the), could have marched without
their banner," said Fannie Sclafani. "t have nothing
against them, but it’s a community parade." Mary
McGarry also said they shouldn’t have tried to crash
the parade. "I have best friends who are Gay, but the
parade is not about sexual orientation. It’s about
being proud to be Irish," she said.
The parade had the feel of a small-town event,
featuring cheerleaders from parochial high schools,
kilted bagpipers, babies in strollers decorated with
Irish flags and groups like the Throgs Neck
Homeowners, which consisted of a dozen ladies
wearing off-white cable-knit fishermen’s sweaters.
Spectators were sparsdy scattered along the mileand-
a-half route along East Tremout Avenue. It was
in sharp contrast to the annual Fifth Avenue parade,
with its glitzy floats, booming drum corps and rowdy
crowds.
Stanley Rygorwas among a half-dozen people who
stood on a sidewalk behind the Lavender and Green
banner after the arrests took place. "They want them
back in the closet. They want them to be anonymous,"
said Rygor, whose wife is Irish. He said his son died
of AIDS five years ago, and he dealt with his grief by
becoming an activist. "I’m here," he added, "in
memoriam to him."
Gay Vets Want to March
FERNDALE, Mich. (AP) - A group of Gay military
veterans are taking steps to march in this Detroit
suburb s Memorial Day parade.Agroup of Ferndale s
Gay veterans hope to join members of Friends and
Neighbors of Femdale (FANS), a Gay group that has
received tentative approval to enter the parade,
according to a parade organizer.
Femdale’s parade leaders have so far downplayed
the significance of including Gays. "As far as I know,
they are planning to meet all our reqmrements,"
Barbara Earl, a secretary with the Femdale Memorial
Association, told the Detroit Free Press for a story
Monday.
The association puts on the annual parade, one of
theregion’ s biggest and oldest, dating to at least 1919.
Organizers say they will strictly enforce arequirement
limiting any show of a group’ s identity to a display of
its nagne. If enforced, that would mean FANS will
march with no explicit banner proclaiming it is an
orgamzation of Gays. "It’s not a day to promote your
own agenda," Ms. Earl said. "This is a day for the
veterans."
Gay group leaders in Ferndale said they are
ctmfortable blending in with the parade’s usual array
ofhonor guards, scout troops, high school bands and
politicians. "We wouldn’t want to do anything to
incite controversy," said Chuck Simon, president of
FANS, whichhas about 80 dues-paying members and
a mailing list of several hundred.
Parade rules require participants to refrain from
displaying their own messages and instead stick to
OffiCial Slogans, which this year are "Lest we forget"
arid "’Fgt _those who gave their all."
Navy veteran Ken Warnock, 32, who co-owns the
Jn~ 4 ~’G~y. ~0oksto~e in F~rndale, told the Free
Pre~;’fimi he will march in Ferndale’s parade with a
¯ mix ofpridd and bft-terhess. In 1987, Warnock, then
- 20, was a hrgpital Corpsman aboard a Navy ship when
he was. broughL.hefore his commanding officer,
q~esfioned abouthis sexual orientation and th]:eafen,ed
"’ With~perjury iia~e, fie said. He resisted the Navy s
" in~esfigatirnfor months, Wamock said. Ultimately,
he.r¢cgived a lessZthan2honorable discharge - not
q~-t.e as bad as a ~dishon0rable discharge, he said.
On Memorial Day, Warnock probably won’t wear
¯ his sailor s umform- it s gettang a htfle t~ght - but
beplans to carry an American flag while keeping a
watchful eye for anyone angry at Gay participants.
Despite his wariness, he said the inclusion of Gay
marchers "speaks very well for Ferndale.’"
Femdale Mayor ChuckGoedert saidhewas unaware
of the Memorial Day plans but supports the inclusion
ofFANS members and Gay veterans. "There are a lot
of groups that participate in our parade to honor those
who served. I don’t know why this would be any
different," he said.
Ohio Diocese to Reach
Out to Gay Catholics
CINCINNATI (AP) - TheArchdiocese of Cincinnati
is creating a ministry for homosexual Catholics and
their families. "The church wants to support the
homosexual person but not homosexual activity,"
said spokesman Dan Andfiacco said. "There is a need
for pastoral care of homosexual persons. The
archdiocese wants to meet that need, and not cede
teiritory to ministries that don’t support the teaching
of the church."
In recent years, RomanCatholicgroups nationwide
have started Gay ministries such as DIGNITY, New
Ways Ministry, and Parents, Friends & Family of
Lesbians & Gays. Some conservative and traditional
Catholics have criticized the groups, saying they
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Tulsa, Oklahoma 74119 Fax 744-9358
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undermine church teaching on homosexuality.
The Rev. Michael Leshney, chaplain to a Cincinnati
chapter of DIGNITY in the 1980s, will be spiritual
director for the new ministry. Archbishop Daniel
Pil~czyk will inaugurate the ministry with three prayer
services in April.
Leshney saidhomosexual Catholics oftenfeel i solated
because their parents are caught between the church’s
teaching on homosexual relations as "objectively
disordered" and their 10vefor their children. Themini stry
is an outgrowth of community meetings that Auxiliary
Bishop Carl M0eddel led in October to discuss the U.S.
bishops’ document on homosexuality, "Always Our
Children." During those discussions, there was a"sense
of urgency" among parents that the archdiocese have a
ministryforGay ah~tLesbianCatholics and theirfamili es,
Leslmey said. The Catechism of the Catholic Church
holds thathomosexual activity is "contrary to thenatural
law" and,objectively disordered," but thathomosexuals
should be "accepted with respect, compassion and
sensitivity."
Gay Dallas Church
To Televise Infomercial
DALLAS (AP) -A federal court settlement announced
Friday has cleared the way for Cathedral of Hope, the
nation’s largest Gay church, to air a controversial
infomercial onbroadcast superstationWGN-TV. Under
the settlement, Cathedral ofHope will pay the Chicagobased
cable station $35,000 for showing the program
five times. Thehalf-hour video includes testimonials by
members, scenes ofworship atthe3,000-memberchurch
and discussions with the families of church members.
Cathedral ofHope claimed the Chicago-based station
reneged on a contract to air the church’s program last
August. Church officials said the station pulled the
infomercial shortly before the air date for unspecified
reasons. WGN officials argued that they weren’t
obligated to air the program because the station did not
have binding contract with the church.
TheDallas church filed alawsuitin October, claiming
thatWGN accepted the a $13,000 check, made several
suggestions that the church followed and then broke its
contractandreturned the check after deciding the subject
was too controversial. The Rev. Michael Piazza said he
was pleased with the settlement. "Of course our desire
was for it to have been aired last year," said Piazza,
senior pastor at Cathedral of Hope. "But we’re very
grateful to be able to resolved it."
Pia77a told The Dallas Morning News that every
other broadcast outlet approached by the church had
refusedto air the program. ’qqaey don’t have to give you
reasons, but a couple of the media buyers told us that
stations were afraid the conservative religious
programming would be withdrawn if ours was shown,"
he said. The minster said Cathedral of Hope was
attracted to WGN because the station airs on cable
outlets in the rural areas surrounding Dallas and Fort
Worth.
Maryland Gov. Supports
Civil Rights Bill for Gays
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Gov. Parris Glendening
testified for the first time before a legislative committee
last month, describing his late brother’s hardship hiding
his homosexuality and urging delegates to outlaw
discrimination based on sexual orientation.
Glendening’s brother Bruce served 19 years in the
Air Force, including three tours in Vietnam. But as the
decorated veteran lay dying of AIDS - when the pain
was so great that it hurt to touch his skin - Bruce
Glendening said it was more painful to keep his sexual
orientation hidden for so long in order to keep his job,
Gleiadening testified.
"He lived in fear.. ," the governor told the House
Judiciary Committee. "This has weighed on me a long
tame... I’m here to ask ifwe couldmake this state amore
fair and just society."
Afterward, the audience applauded his three-minute
speech. One of several people in the audience who
shookGlendening’ s handas heleftwas SilviaRodriguez,
chairwomanofthe stateHumanRelations Commi ssion,
who said no other governor showed such courage in her
15 years with the group. "He knows this is just and fair
for all the people of Maryland," she said.
Delegates Sheila Hixson and Leon Billings, both
Montgomery County Democrats, havefailed to get
the bill approved for six years, but they have not
had such a prominent supporter before. Onlookers
packed the hearing room and one wall was lined
with television cameras.
The bill would add sexual orientation to a law
thatbans discriminationin housing and employment
because of aperson’s race, religion or gender. "The
issue is simply a matter ofintolerance and bigotry,"
Ms. Hixson said.
Baltimore City and Montgomery, Prince
George’s and Howard counties have similar laws
governing 49 percent of the state’s population.
Glendening said Prince George’s County hasn’t
suffered since it enacted the law in 1991 while he
was chief executive. "Western civilization hasn’t
collapsed because of the bill," he said.
Glendeningleftbefore delegates asked questions
about the bill. Several delegates appeared critical
ofit. Delegate Emmett Bums, a Baptist pastor, said
complaints from homosexuals would flood the
Human Relations Commission and create further
delays for Blacks and women who suffer
discrimination. In the hearing’s testiest exchange,
Billings retorted that everyone can suffer
discrimination.
Commission officials said 1 to3% of complaints
in counties that have the law concern sexual
orientation, Advocates argued that nobody should
be discriminated against for any reason. "We’re
trying to cast the net as broadly as possible,"
Billings said.
Teens Protest Gay
Story in Dawson’s Creek
WILMINGTON (AP) - More than 30 teen-agers
gathered outside Wilmington’s EUE Screen Gems
Studios to protest the homosexual subject matter of
thelocally filmed television show Dawson’s Creek.
Members of Youths Against the Promotion of
Homosexuality held placards Thursday reading
"Jack and Jill, Not Jack and Bill" and "Hollywood:
No More Gay Promo."
Screen Gems’ employees were greeted with
chants of "Don’t Holly-weird me!" as they drove
into the studios’ parking lots. "We’re sick and tired
of Hollywood trying to force its pro-homosexual
values down teen-agers’ throats on shows like
Dawson’s Creek," said Robert Hales, 17. "This
show is 100 times worse than Ellen because they’re
targeting high school kids with their ’pro-Gay’
propaganda." Ellen, which starred Lesbian
comedian Ellen DeGeneres, created a national stir
two years ago when the main character announced
she was a.Lesbian.
Theprotests aboutDawson’s Creek center around
a 16-year-old character who announced in a recent
episode thathe was homosexual. Kerr Smith, whose
character Jack was introduced on Dawson’s Creek
this season, said the show simply explores common
adolescent themes. "’Everybody knows that
Dawson’s Creek addresses prevalent issues about
teen-agers, and one of them is homosexuality," he
said. "It’s in the schools now. Ten years ago, it
wasn’t talked aboutbut now it is."
Killer Pleads Guilty
LOS ANGELES (AP) - A man accused of
murdering five Gay men because he thought it
would stop the spread of AIDS abruptly ended his
trial by pleading guilty to the charges, prosecutors
said. Juan Chavez, 34, avoided a possible.death
sentence in the capital case by unexpectedly
changing his plea about 1 1/2 weeks into trial,
prosecutor Mike Duarte said. He is scheduled to be
sentenced June 21.
Duarte told jurors during the trial that Chavez
lured themen to theirhomes supposedly for sex and
then robbed and strangled them Chavez coufessed
to the murders while serving a prison sentence for
an unrelated 1996 kidnapping. In September of that
year, he was charged with strangling the five men
in 1986 and 1989.
11 Year Old with
AIDS Speaks Out
CARSON CITY (AP) - Eleven-year-old
Michael Dowling wasn’t supposed to live
this long and he knows it. "I was born
HIV-positive. My morn was told that I’d
probably dieby the timeI was three years
old," Michael told the Assembly as they
designatedWednesday, March24as HIVAIDS
Awareness Day inNevada. Hestood
¯ next to his adopted mother’s friend,
Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, RLas
Vegas, as he addressed thelegislators.
The boy was born in Las Vegas to a
drug-addicted mother who passed her
disease along to him before she gave
birth. Now, l~fichael hasbeen adoptedand
is also living with full-blown AIDS.
Michael said he has to make a trip to
Washington,D.C., every couple ofmonths
so he can get two sho~ of a medication
called IL2 every day for a week. "I go to
the National Institutes of Health. The
doctors and nurses, there are the people
that have kept me alive. If not for them I
would be dead,? Mi.chael said,.
Despite his disease, the youngster says
heis planningto live afull andindependent
life. "I plan to. grow up.and be a doctor. I
do not plan to be disabled and live off
welfare and_have Medicaid pay my
doctor’s bills," he added. People.,~ith
AIDS need Nevada’s help to find "good
jobs and insurance to pay their medical
bills," he said.
After his speech, the entire 42-member
Assembly and dozens of observers in the
gallery stood~to applaud. "Mikie is not
supposed to be alive. He’s such a fighter,
he’s incredible," Cegavske said.
Surgeon General at
HIV/AIDS Meeting
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Former U.S.
Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders opened
the nation’ s annualHIV/AIDS conference
by urging the public to fight growing
complacency about the disease. "We all
have to be in this battle until it’s over, and
I want you to know it’s not over," Eiders
told about 2,000 people at the opening of
the National HIV/AIDS Update
Conference.
Few doubted that among the hundreds
of veteranAIDS health care providers and
public health workers in the crowd. But
now, Elders reminded them, there’s anew
problem: growing public complacency.
Lulledby encouraging early results from
new drag therapies,many Americans have
decided AIDS is no longer much of a
threat, said Dr. Mervyn Silverman, the
former San Francisco public health czar
and chairman of the AIDS conference,
which runs through tomorrow. He cited
survey results that suggest people mustbe
tuning out to all the AIDS awareness
campaigns.
The deadly virus is nearly always
contracted through exchange of blood or
body fluids, often during unprotected
sexual activity or from sharing intravenous
drag paraphernalia. In a survey taken in
1991, 41% still wrongly assumed that
HIV could be contracted from sharing a
drinking glass with an infected person. In
1997, the same misconception was found
in 55% of those surveyed. Similarly, 34%
of those surveyed in 1991 won-ied about
catching the AIDS virus from a public
toilet seat, as compared to 41°/0 in 1997.
87% ofyoung Americans believe they are
at no risk of contracting HIV. Yet about
one in four of every new infection occurs
in the same age group, 17- to 22-yearolds.
"Either we’re really gettingd.u.m.b.er,
or some of us in this room are notdomgI
ourjobs, Sdverm said. ’ ’ ~
Eiders offered-a familiar litany of
su ,~gestions,inclUding universal access to
health care and free needle-exchange
AIDS Researcher
Struggles for $
¯¯ )rograms, both ofwhich seem as far from
reality as when she left office in 1994.
BERKELEY, Calif. (AP) - Researcher
Peter Duesberg has become a scientific
outcast because of his unorthodox AIDS
theories. But he’s still in business, thanks
to a fund-raising approach as unconventional
as his beliefs.
Duesberg, who maintains that AIDS is
not caused by the human immunodeficiency
virus but by illegal drugs and
the AIDS medication AZT; has been
raising money from private sources for
some years, living from check to check.
Buthis fund-raising tookonaddedurgency
ast November when he.feared he was
about to lose his lab at the University of
California at Berkdey for lack of money.
Friends of Duesbergsprang into acuon,
soliciting donationsby way of the Internet
and an ad in the alumni magazine. The ad
brought in a stream of small contributions,
which along with $200,000 in foundation
money and some other big individual
donations amounted to $325,000, enough
to eke out another year of operations.
Duesberg is grateful for the kindness of
friends and strangers but said it’s a hard
way to make a living. "You also begin to
see how easy itis if youjust conform," he
said.
Twelve years ago, Duesberg filled out
grant applications and the government
sent him checks. Back then, Duesberg
was a member of the elite National
Academy of Scienees, winner of a 1985
Outstanding Investigator Award from the
National Institutes of Health and aleading
authority on retroviruses, a family that
includes the AIDS virus.
But after he published his HIV theory,
his reputation tanked. The mainstream
AIDS community has rebuffed his
theories, saying it is clear that HIV does
cause AIDS and that arguing otherwise
dangerously undercuts the safe-sex
message. "Whatever inroads we have
made to help people to practice safer sex
or to exchange needles - that all goes out
the window," said David Evans of Project
Inform, an advocacy group in San
Francisco.
Since 1987, Duesberg has had 20 grant
applications turned down. A spokesman
for the NIH declined to comment. As a
tenured professor of molecular and cell
¯ biology, Duesberg still has his salary and
: position at Berkeley. But without grant
¯ money, he cannot operate a lab, which is
¯ crucial to continuing his research.
¯ The private donauons can t overcom
¯ another problem: no students. Duesberg
¯ said students visit early in the semester
¯ andseeminterested.Butafterafew weeks,
..th.ey.t.aa.e.a.wa.y. "TheY’re told bY the
¯ graduate advisers and by their peers they
¯ may not be able to get ajob, I may not be
¯ able to pay them,,,a,n_,_d it would be bad for
their reoutations, he said.
¯ Stuar’t Lynn, head of Duesberg’s
¯ division said the Berkeley ,c~_mmumty
¯ hasn’t o~tracized Duesberg. ’ Ev,eryb.o.dy~
kind of looks at him an amusea sort oz.
way," Lynn said. "Berkele,,y has alotmore
radical people than Peter.
¯ Duesberg said his lab and money
¯ problems reflect his one-man battle with
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Serving a Diverse Community
Are You Gay or Bisexual?
Are You Native American?/
- , , / ~/;,v.e,
Tulsa s Two-Spirited Indian Men s / f/\~t~
Support Group is here for you! ~f/~-~/ ~’~
¯ Evening support group meetings
¯ Relationship workshops
¯ ,Short trips, outings and retreats
¯ Free HIVtesting
For information call Tulsa Native American AIDS Prevention Project
at 582-7225 Ext. 208 or 218
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747-5466
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scientists and drug companies who, he
maintains, have invested too much in the
HIV-AIDS connection to admit to an
alternative theory. "Most people don’t
realizehow an-freeweare to do sciencein
America," he said. ’q’hey can afford to
give mill.ions, but they cannot afford to
give me $100,000 or $200,000 to prove
them wrong."
Condom Program
in Cambodia Works
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) -
Declaring a pilot program to increase
condom use in Cambodia a success, the
World Health Organization and the
Ministry of Health announced plans on
Friday foranationwide campaign to tackle
the impoverished country’s skyrocketing
AIDS rate.
Targeting commercial sex workers who
are the mainlinkin the spread of sexually
transmitted diseases in Cambodia, the
"100% Condom-Use Program" has
significantly increased condom use in
brothels in thepilot’s targetarea, according
to a preliminary report released ahead of
nextweek’s National Conference onHIV/
AIDS.
Prostitutes in the seaside town of
Sihanoukville, 185 km (115 miles)
southwestofPlmomPerth, wereinstmcto
byhealth workers in October to require all
their customers to wear condoms. Ifmen
refused to comply, the sex workers were
encouraged to report them to police.
"Many sex establishments are actively
participating and there has been a rise in
the distribution and use of condoms,"
Health Secretary of State Mare Bun Heng
said Friday. "We are pleased with these
results and.., this year we would like to
expand the program nationwide."
The condom program was inspired by a
similar campaign in Thailand that
increased condom use in sex
establishments from 15% in 1989 tomore
than90%in 1992, preventing an estimated
2 million HIV cases, according to the
WHO.
Cambodiahas the highestHIV infection
rate in Asia, with 50 to 70 people believed
to become infected every day. Recent
studies have estimated that 3% of the
adult population in Cambodia is infected
with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
State Won.’t Require
HIV Marriage Test
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A Memphis
lawmakeris no longer pushing legislation
that would require couples wanting to get
married in Tennessee to be tested for the
HIV virus and other sexually transmitted
diseases. Rep. Henri Brooks said she
changed her mind after the Health
Departmentestimated the tests wouldcost
Tennessee taxpayers almost $5 million a
year.
She amended the bill to require county
court clerks to make information about
venereal diseases - such as chlamydia,
syphilis, gonorrhea and hepatitis B -
available to marriage license applicants.
"We are not trying to be Big Brother or
say who should and should not marry. All
we want to do is be responsible as
policymakers," the Democrat said. "The
ones who have to pay for these healthrelated
illnesses end up being the
taxpayers."
The bill,, approved by a House
subcommittee, also requires that a small
sign be conspicuously located in the area
¯¯ Wherepeopleapply formarriagelicenses.
It would read: "AIDS KILLS. HIV and
: other sexually transmitted diseases can
¯" occurwithoutyourknowledge. Don’trisk
¯ thelifeofsomeoneyoulove.BETESTED
: NOW."
: In addition, the bill requires the Health
: Department to make annual reports to the
¯ Legislature on the status of HIV and
-" sexually transmitted diseases by gender
: and ethnicity.
¯ Brooks said sheproposed thelegislation ¯
¯ because one of her constituents found out
her husband was HIV positive after they
: mamed. She said she may renew .her
¯ efforts for testing later.
Harvard to Study
AIDS in Africa
¯ BOSTON (AP) - The Harvard AIDS Institute has been given a $2.5 million
: grant to research the AIDS epidemic
¯ devastating southern Africa. The grant ¯
from the Oak Foundation will support a
¯ three-year program on research and
¯ vaccine development. The grant will also
¯ support a demonstration project to test
: drugs nsed to block mother-to-infantHIV
: transmission.
¯ The AIDS Institute’s basic research
¯ involves sequencing the genes found in
¯ theHIV strainprevalentinsouthernAfrica.
¯ No place in the world has been harder hit
: by AIDS than southern Africa. In
¯ Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and
: Zimbabwe, up to one-quarter of people
aged 15-49areinfected withHIV 0rAIDS.
AIDS has killed 10 million people in sub-
" Saharan Africa - 90% of the world’s
¯ AIDS deaths. Another 20 million are
: expected to die, Harvard researchers
¯ added.
¯ Max Essex, chairman of the Harvard
¯ AIDS Institute, and his colleagues have
." beenresearchingAIDS inAfricaformore
¯ than a decade. The Oak Foundation, an
international philanthropy, has offices in
¯ Boston, Geneva, London and Harare,
¯ Zimbabwe.
: Know Your Legal Rights
:A Seminar for People
¯ Living with HIV and AIDS ¯
¯ TULSA- TulsaOklahomans for Human
Right, theTulsaGay Community Services
¯ Center and the Oklahoma Lesbian and
¯ Gay Lawyers Association (OLGLA) are
hosting a seminar at 7pro on April 22 on
legal issues for people living with HIV/
¯ AIDS. Kathy Nelson, executive co-
. ordinator for the AIDS Legal Resource
¯ Project will conduct the seminar at the
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center at
: 38th and Peoria, 2nd floor.
¯ The AIDS Legal Resource Project was
¯ created three years ago to help provide
," people living with HIV/AIDS with the
¯ resources to meet the challenges in their
: lives. The Project provides free legal
¯ assistance to those who qualify through a
network of 150private attorneys statewide.
: The Project can assist those qualified in
receiving denied Social Security benefits
.and in addressing health, life or disability
¯ Insurance discrimination.
: Ms..Nelson is an alumna of Oklahoma
¯ State University and Oklahoma City
: University School of Law. She has had a
: private practice in oil and gas law, family
¯ law, estate planning and probate law. She ¯
also serves on the board of directors for
¯ CarePoint, Inc. a non-profit consortium
: for HIV/AIDS health care and support in
: Oklahoma City. Info: 743-4297.
by James Christjohn Broadway dance. And a relative-of mine,
"Spirit - A Journey in Dance, Drums Raymond Christjolm was one of the
and Song" combines the power of ° singers!
Broadway choreography and contem- ° The cast includes 20 dancers with both
porary music with the songs, chants and o modemand traditional training, including
dances born of Native Indian Nation dancers
Americanculture to tell Act I eontlnues with
the story of one
¯ person’s- andanation’s "An Ea~le Above." in
- search for renewal by wlaleh Ron Anquoe
exploring ancestral
roots. (Kiowa tribe, Oh|ahoma)
This multicultural per[orms t]ae ritual
performance event,
which debuted on PBS Ea~le Dance
as part of the March
1999 pledge drive and
to convey the le~eud d
will be released on the Ea$|e Feather.
video April 20, was
conceived by Peter provldln~ the youn$ man
Buffett, working in with [~uow|ed~e and
collaboration with
Chief Hawk Pope. courage [or the journey.
Buffett composed the
music for the pivotal
Fire Dance scene in Kevin Costner’s
Oscar-winning film "Dances with
Wolves." "Spirit - A Journey in Dance,
Drums and Song" features the
choreography and stage direction ofT,o.nywinner
Wayne Cilento, who blends his
demanding trademark "urban dance"
movement with traditional Native
American dance.
And by the~ way, the video is worth
getting just to view the dancers. They are
all beautiful, with appeal to Gay men,
Lesbians, straight folk.., something fol
everyone! And boy can they move! 01~
yeah, themusic’s great, too; the CD is
availablenow, and I highlyrecommendit.
Peter has been one of the few artists te
successfully blend ancient music with
modem. Usually, whenthatblendis made,
it comes out a mess, but he’s done an
excellentjob ofretaining the impact of the
ancient with the feel of the modem, rising
above time and space to create anew form
that is emotionally satisfying on a level
few reach. LoreenaMcKennitt is the only
other artist I would say that about in her
blending of ancient and modem Critic
influences on her CD’s. But I digress,
back to "Spirit: A Journey...".
Taped during the show’s premiere
performance weekend at the Weidner
Center inGreen Bay, Wisconsin,"Spirit -
A Journey in Dance, Drums and Song"
features more than 80 performers -
dancers, choir, percussionists and
orchestra - selected from the worlds of
Native-American performance and
by Allan Smithee, special contributor
Anyone see "Footloose" whileit wasin
town? It had all the appeal of a really bad
high school play. Bad script, awful
choreography and songs worthy ofmaybe
two verses stretched out till one thought
the record player had broken and was
skipping, all added up to an evening of
dreck, despite the cast’s sometimes overenergetic
performances -and especially
the nights when one cast member was off
key. It is usually against my principles to
walk out on a show, no matter how bad -
I hold that it’s rude to the actors and
people around you - but Footloose is one
I would have walked out on after the first
30 minutes.
I find it ironic that local homophobe
and religious bigot Larry Payton, famous
arrayed in fancy dress
of feathers, beads and
bones. The orchestra
features both modem
and traditional Native-
American instruments,
a string section and
percussionists playing
a variety ofdrums. The
40-voice Green Bay
and Oneida Nation
Girls’ Choir provides
additional vocals.
The program also
features soloists
Robert Mirabal (also
very handsome), a
renowned Native-
American flautist,
vocalist and percussionist; Ron Anquoe,
a traditionally trained Eagle Dancer who
is a member of the Kiowa Tribe of
Oklahoma; and Chief Hawk Pope, a
vocalist, lyricist and composer who is
Principal Chief of the Shawnee Nation,
United Renmant Band of Ohio. Chief
HawkPopenarrates. Joanne Shenandoah,
Oneida Nation of the Iroquois
confederacy, adds her beautiful voice to
the proceedings.
"Spirit - A Journey in Dance, Drums
and Song" opens Act I with "Urban
Overtures" as a group of city dwellers
reacts robotically to the stressful sounds
of daily life. Determined,to escape this
chaos, one young man decides in "Fire
Dance" to look back to his roots and
search for a new way to live. In
"Coashelleaqu (The Shawnee Letter)," a
Native-American grandfather encourages
him to begin this journey of renewal.
"Hidden Heritage" celebrates the 500
Indian Nations.
ActI continues with"AnEagleAbove,"
in which Ron Anquoe (Kiowa tribe,
Oklahoma) performs the ritual Eagle
Dance to convey the legend of the Eagle
Feather, providing the young man with
knowledge and courage for the journey.
"Passage," Robert Mirabal’s haunting
flute solo, continues the young man’s
quest to embrace the past. Act I ends with
Spirit Dance, bnngmg together dancers
from the traditional Native-American and
contemporary urban cultures for a
celebration, see Spirit, p. 10
for censoring shows andrewriting themto
make them safe for the good Baptist
families of Tulsa to see would bring in a
show that pretty much rips the views of
fundie-brand organized religion.
In case some of you are too young to
remember the film, it’s based on an
incident in Elmore, OK wherein dancing
was made illegal by virtue of a powerful
minister in town who held that dancing
would lead to all kinds of sinful behavior.
In the film and play, a kidfrom Chicago
challenges the dictatorial evil minister,
and wins the right to hold a school dance.
As a film, it was worth a couple hours at
the dollar movie. As a musical, well, it’s
not worth that much. But Tnlsans seemed
to like it - the shows were sold out. Maybe
it’s that even a bad touring show beats
anvthin~ on TV9 At any rate, the cast was
~mlfor~v cute,’so that hellxd a little.
Tulsa C.A.R.E.S. in association with PFLAG presents
Chastity Bono
at the 2nd Annual
Red Ribbon Ball
Saturday, April 17th
7:30pm, dinner + entertainment, tickets
begin at $75/person/all proceeds benefit
Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., Information: 834-4194
Spring Concert
May 7 & 8, 1999
7:00 PM
All Soul’s
Unitarian Church
2952 S. Peoria
COUNCIL OAK MEN’S CHORALE
For tickets contact a
chorale member or
call the COMC
Ticket Office.
Tel (918)585-COMC
Visa
MasterCard
Discover
American Theatre Company
presents in its 50th anniversary year
Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman
April 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 + 17 at 8 pm
April 11 at 2pm, $11-14
John Williams Theatre
Tulsa Performing Arts Center
Lisa Wilson Directing, Ken Spence as Willie Loman
This ad donated by Tulsa Family News.
~SUNDAYS
Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 11 am, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
Community of Hope (Welcoming), Service - 6pro, 2545 S. Yale, 585-1800
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Service - 1 lain, 2545 S. Yale, 749-0595
Church of the Restoration Unitarian Universalist
Scrviee - 1 lain, 1314 No. Greenwood, 587-1314
Metropolitan Community Church United (formerly Family of Faith & MCCGT)
Service, llam, 1623 North Maplewood, Info: 838-1715
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc.
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 10:45am, 3210b So. Norwood
Parish Church of St~ Jerome (Evangelical Anglican Church in America)
Mass - 1 lam, 205 W. King (east of No. Denver), Info: 582-3088
University of Tulsa Bisexual!Lesbian/Gay/Transgendered Alliance
6:30 pro, Meets at the Canterbury Ctr., 5th & Evanston, 583-9780
Council Oak Men’s Chorale, rehearsals at 5pm, Info: 585-COMC (2662)
~ MONDAYS
¯ HIV Testing Clinic, Free & anonymous testing. No appointment required.
Walk in testing: 7-8:30pm, 834-TEST (8378) 3501 E. Admiral (east of Harvard)
HIV Rap Sessions at Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
7:30pro, 2207-E. 6th, 583-7815
PFLAG, Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
2nd Mort/each mo. 6:30pm, Fellowship Congregational Church, 2900 S. Harvard
Women/Children & AIDS Committee, call for meeting date, noon, 585-5551
~ TUESDAYS
AIDS Coalition of Tulsa, call for next meeting date. 1430 S. Boulder, 585-5551
Live A~d Let Live, Community of Hope United Methodist, 7:30pm, 2545 S. Yale
Multicultural AIDS Coalition, call for next meeting date.
Urban League, 240 East Apache, 584-0001
Rainbow Business Guild, Business & prof. networking group.
Meets typically the last Tuesday of each month. Info: 743-4297
PrimeTimers, mens group, Pride Center, 1307 E. 381h
Coming Out Support Group (TOHR/HOPE)
Tuesdays, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 381h, info: 743-4297
~ WEDNESDAYS
Bless The Lord At All Times Christian Center
Prayer & Bible Study, 7:30 pm 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc. Service - 7pm, 3210b So. Norwood
Tulsa Native American Mens Support Group~ more information, call 582-7225
TCC Gay & Lesbian Association of Students (GLAS), Call for info: 595-7632.
Lambda A-A, 7 pm, 1307 E. 381h, 2nd fl.
~= THURSDAYS
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education
Anonymous HIV Testing, Testing: 7 - 8:30pm 834-8378, 3507 E. Admiral
Oklahoma Rainbow Young Adult Network (O’RYAN)
Support/social group for 18-24’s, call Red Rock Mental Health at 584-2325
Substance Abuse Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS, Info: 834-4194
~"_FRIDAYS
SafeHaven, Young Adults Social Group, 1st Fri/eachmo. 8pm, Pride Ctr., 1307 E. 38th
~ SATURDAYS
Narcotics Anonymous, 11 pm, Community of Hope~1703 E. 2nd, Info: 585-1800
Lambda A-A, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 381h, 2nd ft.
~ OTHER GROUPS
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform & Leather Seekers Association, info: 838-1222
Gal-A-Vanting, Womens Social & Cultural Group, Call for info: Mary at 743-6740,
Kathy at 322-6322, or Barb at 459-6825.
OK Spoke Club, Gay & Lesbian Bike Organization. [nfo: POB 9165, Tulsa 74157,
Short rides: Meet at Zeigler Park, 3903 West 4th. 6:30pro, 4/21, Sand Springs ride
and 4/28, Riverside fide. Long rides: 4/17, 7am, 20 mi. ride, and 4/24, 9am 20 mi.
ride. Meet at the Community Center parking lot, 38th & Peoria.
Ifyour organization is not listed, please let us know. Call 583-1248 orfax 583-4615.
It is a fabulous number to see. R makes
you want to stand up and cheer, even if it
is a video:
Act II of"Spirit- A Journey in Dance,
Drums and Song" begins with two
numbers - "The Place Where Crying
Begins" and "The Dream" - offering a
sensual exploration of the relationship of
man and woman in a more natural world.
"Aubenaubee(Prelude to Rebirth)" begins
the young man’s journey back to his own
world; m The Thunderbird, he returns
as anewly enlightenedmemberof society.
In the final number, the two cultures -
traditional andurbancontemporary - dance
in unison, recovering the true spirit of
America.
The showitselfwas a seamless blending
of ancient and modem, combining to tell
a story that many of us can relate to today
of alienation from roots, a discontent
with where man in general is today in the
world, and a yearning for reconnection to
the earth in an age where the earth has
become one more commodity to exploit.
It held me spellbound. Seamlessly
integratingmusic, dance, ..and storytelling,
it moved me to tears-- something that
doesn’t usually happen at all, especially
withregards to avideotapedperformance.
It was beautiful. I have been in
communication with the composer/
creator, Peter Buffett, and, he has
mentioned the possibility of brfilging the
live show here in the fall. (ya heard it here
first, folks!)If that happens, don’t miss it.
It willbe an experience that will touch you
deeply, as theatre was meant to do. Andif
the video is able to move me to tears
(along with several others I spoke with
that saw i0,imagine whatanimpactseeing
the performance live wouldhave! Usually
I find videos of plays, especially musical
performances, lacking. Something is lost
in the translation from live to tape. Not so
in this case.
Peter’s other CD’s are well worth
picking up: "Spirit Dance", from which
many of the numbers in "Spirit: A
Journey..." were taken, is great, and the
soundtrack to "500 Nations" is another
winner. Joanne Shenandoahhas anumber
ofCD’s out, and "Matriarch" is one ofmy
favorites ofhers. RobertMirabal has CD’s
out as wall, and he is fantastic. Peter tends
to get lumped in the "New Age"
although his musicfar surpasses theimage
that particular labding conjures up, While
the other artists are found, at least in
Borders, under "Native American". Other
places might have them under "World
Music".
They knew so because for the last two
years, a representative of Tulsa
Oldahomans for Human Rights (TOHR)
had participated in the planning for this
eventand in the creation oftheFederation.
FromTOHR,NGLTFknew thatCimarron
was the only Oklahoma group genuinely
doing statewideorganizing, Sowhy would
they give $5,000, a huge sum for a small
and under orgamzed state like Oklahoma,
to those less likely to put it to good use?
Well, it turns out that a number of the
individuals who are involved with
Cimarron have also worked closely with
NGLTF’s semi-rival, the Human Right
Campaign (HRC). And rumor has it that
NGLTF didn’t want to help an "HRC"
organization. So, the money which conid
really, really have made a difference in
: Oklahoma went to OGLPC.
¯ WhatdidOGLPCdowiththosedollars?
: They rented a bus to bring Tulsans to the
: rally, and they rented portapots and got
: the necessary, permits for the event. But
¯ interestingly they also hired and paid Ms.
: PaulaHandBrown to help co-ordinate the
¯ event. And they used the funds to pay for
: advertising in various publications, albeit
¯ not this one. (For the record, TFN
: frequently donates ads completely free of
: charge to community non-profit
: organizations unlike our rivals who
¯ typically provide atmosta20%discount.)
¯ Also, OGLPC is permitted, according to
: NGLTF organizer, Dan Haws, to keep
¯ any leftover funds to subsidize their
¯
organizational work.
¯ Perhaps, OGLPC will transcend its past
and prove worthy of the $5K they were
: granted. Butif the reasoning for choosing
: them over Cimarronis true, then OGLPC
: and Oklahoma’s communities have
¯ become once againpawns in the games of
: our"national" organizations.
¯
The bottom line is the money should go
¯ to those who can most effectively use it.
; And you have to wonder if those who
: can’tevenissue a simplepress release, are
¯ the ones who can make the best use of the
¯ money.
" "I speak out abroad, I must not be silent at
home," the Republican said. In a positive
: sign for supporters, Senate Judiciary
¯ Chairman Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, has
: scheduled hearings on the legislation for
¯
next month.
¯ But it still faces a difficult road. Some
¯¯ co.ngr.es.sionalRepublicans have expressed
mxsgxvmgs that the legislation is
¯ unnecessary because dozens of states have
~ laws protecting the groups identified in
¯ the bill.
¯
Backers are also concemed that social
: conservahves may construe thelegislation
¯ as extending special protections to ¯
homosexuals. "This is not a bill that will,
] in one way, advantage one group over
; another," said Wyden. "I can’t believe
¯ any members of the United States Senate ¯
want to be soft on violence."
Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Aden
Specter, R-Pa.., another bill cosponsor,
said he wasn’t as optimistic as some of his
colleagues. "A lot of opponents.., pick
out hate crimes legislation for a great deal
of criticism," he said. "This is a tough bill
to get very much support."
Under the bill, current law would be
expanded so theJustice Department could
prosecute crimes based on a person’s
sexual orientation, gender or disability.
Now, the statute only covers crimes based
on race, color, religion or national origin.
Also, the bill would make federal
prosecution ofhate crimes eas~er. Current
¯ law limits prosecution to situations whexe
¯ the victim is targeted for engaging in
: certain, federallyprotectedactivities,such
¯ as serving on a jury, voting or attending
¯
public school.
: Over40 states havehate crimes statutes,
¯ but only 21 cover sexual orientation, 22
~ cover gender and 21 cover disability,
¯ according to the White House, which
¯ supports the bill.
: Senator Edward Kennedy, Democrat -
¯
Massachusetts, the bill’s lead author, said
¯
the measure wouldn’t undermine the role
¯ of the states in prosecuting hate crimes, ¯
jnstbringinvestigative andother resources
¯
of the federal government to bear where
¯ necessary.
Red Rock Tulsa
Free Confidential
HIV Testing
-Walk-in Clinics
Tuesday Testing, 5 -8 pm
Pride Center, 1307 East 38th
Wednesday Testing, 5-8 pm
Red Rock, 1724 East 8th
Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-584-2325
Church
of the Restoration
Unitarian Universalist
11 am, Sunday
1314 North GreenWood
587-1314
We knowyou’re
going to love this.r
Restaurant & Cabaret
jt, tl e
:510 East First Street
918-599-9949
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~garO. Cruz, L.M.T.
¯ ¯ Pager: 918-889-5255
Voice Mail: 918-697-9282
Lic. #C4133
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Weekend and evening appointments are available.
by Mary Schepers, Do-It-Yourself-Dyke
Poor dears, your DIYD has neglected
you awfully - and she has missed you.
Honest! Sparing you the boring details,
suffice it to say that family situations
regrettably intervened, but your DIYD is
back, tmarchived and just as naughty as
ever. And isn’t that what you
really want? No, I suppose
most of you want me to get on
with that damned project you
werelefthanging withacouple
of months ago, and so I shall.
The DIYD is perfectly
confident that you have not
been squandering the intervening
months but have quite
diligently been scoping ideas
to steal and make your own in
our Kitchen remodel on the
shoestring. Now, being
Now, heln~
economical
does not equate
with being.
cheesy, so wall
the rather "
enthusia~tle
dyke with the
~tn of
Rust-o-leurn
economical does not equa[e please
with being cheesy, so will the eooIher"jets.
rather enthusiastic .dyke with ,’i-,’I
the can of Rust-o-leum please....... t ne DIYD
cool ~her jets. The DIYD
promises that she shall get her
shining moment when we
discuss refurbishing the garage
sale find garden furniture. You
have 0aonesfly] assessed both
your finances and the state’of
yourcupboards? Decidedwhat
you can livewith stylistically’?
Then lef’s get cooking.
We will be working on the
assumption that your cabinets
are sturdy enough and laid out in amanner
that is endurable until the money for the
Dream Kitchen appears (The pessimistic
side of the DIYD cautions.that any time
you have spare money, either your house
or your car will find out about it, so be
sneaky! A friend of hers adds "girlfriend"
to this .corollary.). Given those two
assumpuons, you have options. And we
all love options, don’t we?
The easiest approach may be to repaint
your cupboards, put up new hinges, and
handles and a bit of tasteful shelf paper.
Yes, you still have to prep things for
successful results. Sorry. Youwill need to
lightly sand the surfaces and clean them,
then put on a primer coat. NOT Water
based! That raises the grain of the wood or
separates the veneer..Oil based only. This
might be a good time to review the past
articles on painting and brush care. I will
always recommend that you "extinguish
pilot lights on the range if you have them
and to open windows and doors for good
ventilation. Solvents are just ugly. Then
use Kilz brand paint; it is trouble-free as
oil based paint goes, and dries in an hour
or less. The DIYD strongly recommends
taking one cabinet door at a time offwhen
repainting, and then adding thenew hinges
and handles when putting it hack on. Or
you can take the cabinets off all at once,
but mark them or handle them in some
other methodical way. Especially in older
homes, all things are not equal.
One coat of primer then, unless you get
somebleed-through, then apply two coats.
When that’s all dry, you can paint on your
finish paint. TheDIYDurges you to invest
in a semi-gloss or gloss formulated
especially for kitchens. These paints can
stand up to the moisture, and you’ll really
be grateful when you go to wipe off that
errant cake batter. Put in your shelf paper
and the you’re ready for those new hinges
promises that
she shall get
we discuss
ref~rbishin~
th..e garage sale
find g.arden
~urniture.
and handles.
Regardless of which option you choose,
you will probably want new h,ardware on
the cupboards and drawers. It s amazing
how much it spiffs things up; it is also
amazing how much it costs when you add
them all up, so take a count of what you
need, then use your calculator
when you go shopping.
It is also wise, if
possible, to find hardware that
is similar to the old as regards
screw hole placement. If you
don’t have to drill anything
new, why bother? Put a little
woodfiller in the hole, orbreak
a match stick off in it, then
attach your new hardware.
Always remember to look at
how the hardware you are
removing was attached,
especially hinges. This is not
frivolous advice!
Another option you
have is resurfacing, and this
can yield some remarkable
results. If you are handy and
rather intrepid, you can handle
the job yourself. They have
supplies and instructional
videos at Homo Depot and
other stores of that ilk. If
you’ve a bit extra tucked back
in the cookie jar and a low
reserve of patience for chaos,
by all means look into having
the job done by professional
resurfacers. They can even take care of
that god awful formica counter-top while
they’re at it. As usual, get lots of quotes,
demandreferences, and check thembefore
making this choice.
The option of last resort would be
stripping and refinishing the cabinets. You
should choose this only if a)your cabinets
are fabulous butjust dark or dingy;b) you
have prior refinishing skills; c) You have
an infinite reservoir of patience; d) your
beloved has an infinite reservoir of patience.
Nodream ofglowing wood cabine.ts
is worth a week on the couch - alone. The
dog will be in your place in bed. It can be
that bad, darlings.
As usual, it all sounds so very easy in
print, but ~rd up your channing loins,
dare to be anal retentive and methodical
and you’ll find the work rewarding. I’ll be
back next month when we deal with the
walls - if you’ve finished climbing them
by then:
and confabulations of underwear
collectors - and they establish all those
thousands of websites and chatrooms on
the Intemet. Anthropologists call these
"special interest ~oups" and, despite
pessimistic impresszons that nobody in
the country anymore talks to their folks
and neighbors, the number of interest
groups in this country has expanded
astronomically since the 1950s.
Where once people hid their fetishes as
painfully embarrassing, now, like Jay, we
happily call ourselves fetishists and
proudly broadcast our fascinations. So I
feel like I’m in good company when I’ve
got Jay working onmy toes with a dreamy
look in his eyes. It’s my contribution to
the modem American Way.
by Esther Rothblum
The Antarctic is the coldest, highest,
and driest continent on earth. Unlike the
Arctic, which consists of frozen water
surrotmded by land, the Antarctic is land
surrounded by water. Land is colder than
water, so the Antarctic has Tkere
temperatures ranging from
." here are strong spirited to start with,.and
¯¯ stronger stilluponleaving. BeingaLesbian
was not a contributing factor, whereas
¯ persistence, flexibility, emotional and
physical strength are more important.
¯ There is ajoke that usually goes around
is a joke town toward the middle of
the season: How do you get
40 degrees Fahrenheit in the
warmestpartofthe continent
in summer to minus 100
degrees Fahrenheit (.not
including the wind chill
factor) in the winter. 98% of
the continentis covered with
ice, and in fact the Antarctic
contains 90% of the world’s
ice. The ice is several miles
thick in parts oftheAntarctic
interior, so that the altitude
is similar to high mountainous
regions. Even though
the Antarctic contains 68%
of the world’s freshwater
locked up as ice, the almost
total lack of precipitation
classifies it as a desert.
Frequent blizzards and high winds form
"white outs" that make it difficult to see,
and the view is often a monotonous sheet
of white snow and ice.
Why would anyone choose to go to this
barren continent? In 1913, explorerErnest
Shackleton placed an ad in a newspaper
. that stated: "Men wanted for haTardous
journey. Small wage, bitter cold, long
months of complete darkness . . . Safe
return doubtful.., and recognition in case
of success." He received about 5,000
applications.
Most people who have come "to the
ice" in recent decades engage in scientific
research or support those who do. About
a dozen nations have built permanent
research "stations" in the Antarctic.For
several years, I conducted research on
womenin the Antarctic. I wanted to study
women who take risks, and the Antarctic
seemed the ideal setting. This work
resulted in the recent book Women in the
Antarctic(HaworthPress, 1998), co-edited
with Jacqueline Weinstock and Jessica
Morris.
Only one woman that we interviewed
for this book came out as a Lesbian, and
shewas part ofan all-women’s expedition
that skied to the South Pole. Our research
team did not feel we could ask our
participants about their sexual orientation.
In those days the U.S. Navy transported
personnel to the Antarctic (these days, it’ s
the Air Force) and as a result we were
concerned that our participants might not
want to come out to us as Lesbian or
Bisexual.
But we speculated that there might be
some Lesbians among the women who
live and work in the Antarctic. So I was
intrigued to readan article entifled"Below
the Ice: An Antarctic Journal" by Peggy
Malloy in a recent issue of Weird Sisters,
a Colorado Lesbian newspaper. I emailed
Peggy in the Antarctic (the wonders of
technology!) and she responded as
follows:
For most people who come to work in
Antarctica, it is the sense ofadventure that
draws us to this extreme environment.
Most ofus wouldnever have themoney to
be a tourist-visitor; and we would not be
able to learn to love ffduring such a short
visit, as many of us have done over the
seasons. Those who get through a season
that usually goes
around town
toward the middle
of the season:
How do you
get a date with
a woman?
Answer: be one.
There are
approximately
30g females
working in the
Antaretle program.
a date with a woman?
Answer: be one. There are
approximately36% females
working in the Antarctic
program. Yes, there are other
Lesbians in town, and a very
small handful of Gay men.
The men are quite closeted.
This was a military base at
one time and there are still
plenty ofmilitary influences
since so many ex-military
currently workfor Antarctic
Support Associates, the
civilian contracting firm in
the Antarctic. The Lesbians
are generally out, but several
are not.
This is a generally
¯ accepting environment, mainly since we ¯
all have to work andlive together forlong
¯ periods of dme. If someone doesn’t agree
¯ with a lifestyle, it’s futile to fightit. I do
¯ not try to hide my sexuality, but I don’t
¯ flaunt it either. There is always a fear that
: one won’t get rehired because of it.
¯ However, this seems to be residual from
; living in northern society, and not well
¯ founded in the hiring practices of this
¯ company. If there are any prejudices, I
¯ would say it is against women in general, ¯
not just against Lesbians. There is no
: attempt by the U.S. Antarctic Program to
¯ be Lesbian-affirmative, of which I am
¯ aware.
: I have worked at the U.S. McMurdo
¯ StationontheAntarctic continentfor three
¯" seasons so far. Each year the circle of
: friends increases: friends of friends tell
: friends,andendupcomingworkherewith
¯ us. Each year there seem to bemoremales
: who gravitate to our circle. These are
: straight men who feel more comfortable
¯ striking friendships with us,mosdy since ¯
we are"safe." There is no concern thatwe
¯ will wantanythingmorethan afriendship.
¯ Email is the best way to keep in touch
: withcommuffityfromhome. I amgratefnl
¯
to those who write and keep me informed
¯ of happenings, and gossip, and events
¯ such as the Rainbow Chorus concerts. I
: was quite involved with them before
¯ coming to work down here. This is such
¯ an isolated place, very little outside
¯ stimulation from color (th!ngs are brown
or white), smells (only the smell of fuel),
¯
and life (nothing grows here naturally
: other than some algaes). We see some
¯ seals andmaybe somepenguins at the end ¯
of the summer season. News from home
". or small care packages from friends are
¯ treasured like a long lost love’s return.
¯ Anything, and everything, is a special ¯
gift. This is also the time when I have
¯ more contact with friends than usual, as I
." can sit at the computer and drop a quick
¯ note to say, "hi, how are you doing?"
: Peggy Malloy can be contacted via
¯ email: malloyma@hotmail.eom. Esther
¯ Rothblum is Professor of Psychology at ¯
the University of Vermont and Editor of
¯ theJournal ofLesbianStudies. Shecanbe
¯ reached at Dewey Hall, University of
¯ Vermont, Burlington, Vermont. ¯
email: esther.rothblum@uvm.edu.
IGTA member
Call 341.6866
nternationa
Tours:ormoreinformation.
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Outreach Program Thurs. Nights
Meet Others in a Safe Enviroment
Call for meeting times and place:
918-584-2325
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Store
1307 E, 38th, 2nd floor
in the Pride Center, 743-4297
6-9 pm, Sunday - Friday
12-9 pm, Saturday
all sales benefit the Pride Center
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They filled thepews, stood against church
walls and packed the steps leading to the
altar. "This is far beyond my wildest
dreams," said the Rev. Marge Ragona,
Covenant’s pastor. "We are amazed so
many felt you needed to be herejust as we
felt we needed to be here."
Speakers called onthe audience to speak
out against hatred and chastised people
who use the Bible to justify hate against
homosexuals. "We’re here to celebrate
this evening that God is not hate, but God
is love," said the Rev. Lawton Higgs St. of
United Methodist Church of the
Reconciler.
Roger Lovette, pastor of the Baptist
Church of the Covenant, encouraged
people to remember Gaither as a person,
not a symbol. "He was like the rest of us
with hopes, dreams and needs," Lovette
said.
Rodney Max, co-chairman of the
Coalition Against Hate Crimes, urged
legislators to pass alaw including offenses
motivatedbyhomosexuality on the state’s
list of hate crimes. "That should never,
ever happen again in this state," Max said.
After the two-hour memorial service
inside the church, people lit small candles
and stood outside singing ’~his Little
Light of Mine."
Across the street, a small group of
protesters from Westboro Baptist Church
in Topeka, Kan., held anti-Gay signs in
protest. "We are outraged at this violent
crime, but the issue is the homosexuals
are exploiting it," said Westboro’s pastor,
the Rev. Fred Phelps. "It is no longer
merely an event for the family and friends
to grieve." Protesters held signs saying
"Billy Jack Gaither bums in hell.’"
Max Griffies, 9, stood near the church’ s
step holdin,,g a sig,n declaring, "God loves
all people. Max smother, Leah Griffies,
but that still some homophobic remarks
were expressed by afew teachers to classes
after the announcement was made. and
flyers went up. However, since a large
part of the group’s mission is to educate
faculty and other students, Allen
characterized these negative remarks as
something to be expected, until Gay and
Lesbians students and is sues become more
visible.
BTW’s GSA typically meets during an
intermittent free period in the school
schedule and the group often discusses
issues or plans for upcoming events. One
such event is the "Day of Silence" on
April 7th which is intended to be a day of
protest in support of civil rights for Gay
and Lesbian persons. Washington’s
Sizemore is actually the key organizer for
the US and Canada. Also, the BTW GSA
is planning to participate in the upcoming
Tulsa Pride Parade.
And Booker T. Washington’s example
has paved the way for GSA’s in at least
two other Tulsa high schools. Smaller and
more informal groups have come together
at Central and East Central High Schools.
All of these groups have joined together
in an organization, S.A.F.E. - Student
Alliance for Equality which meets at the
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center
(the Pride Center).
For more information, messages may
be left for the BookerT. Washington Gay-
Straight Alliance or S.A.F.E. at the Tulsa
Gay Community Services Center, 743-
GAYS (4297).
said she wanted her son "to know you
don’t kill people, regardless of who they
are, and especially for what they believe
in." The message seemed to sink in as
Max watched the protestors across the
street. "Itmakes mefeel disgusted because
everybody is created equal and all people
are created by God," he said.
Police originally charged Mullins and
Butler with murder, which carries a
maximum sentence of life imprisonment
.with a chance for parole. However, grand
jurors upgraded the charge to capital
murder, which cames only two possible
penalties: electrocution or life without
parole.
In Washington, DC, the Human Rights
Campaignissued the following comments:
"in 1997, (the latest FBI statistxcs
available) Alabama reported no hate
crimes to the FBI for any category.
Reporting of statistics is voluntary under
to the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990.
Alabama’s hate crimes law does not cover
sexual orientation. ’This case in Alabama
shows the great inconsistency between
states in tracking and prosecuting hate
crimes We call on Congress to pass the
Hate Crimes Prevention Act, to set a
uniform federal response for hate
crimes and signal that anti-gay violence is
unacceptable in our society,’ said Human
Rights Campaign Political Director
Winnie Stachelberg."
Kevin Ivers, director of public affairs
.for Log Cabin Republicans added, ’’There
IS something wrong in society when gay
people are continually murdered in this
maimer, and our leaders have amoral duty
~o address it.., The leaders of both parties
must speak out with eqtml forceagainst
the anti-gay hatred and intolerance that is
feeding such crimes. . Every political
leader, especially those who seek-the
presidency, must reflect on why this is
happening, and what they can do to,.h,elp
stop it from continuing."
those who gathered to becomd~othe
Community of Hope have i~orked to be
honest about who we are and what our
ministry is. without insisting that others
agree with or embrace our ministry, We
have consistently insisted that ministries
of healing and hope, and not, Gay
advocacy, be ourfocus; while at the.same
time naming that homophobia and
inhospitality are antithetical to the Gospel,
and refusing to be silent in the face of
them. We have asked only for tolerance
and respect, and have tried to offer the
same. However. increasinly, the goodness
and dignity of Gay and Lesbian persons
and their loving, committed relationships
are so consistently and ’officially’
devalued and dishonored within in this
Conference and by this denomination,
thatI can no longer maintain myaffiliation
with integri&.
Secondly, I have decided to withdraw
because the ministries of justice and
compassion to which God’s church has
been calledand in which this congregation
is engaged, are too urgent and too
important for us to faithfully allow any
more time or energy to be diverted by
denominational arguments aboutwhether
or not Gay and Lesbian persons are part
of the body of Christ, Since the day this
congregation was called into being, Gay
and Lesbian persons have been BEING
the body of Christ - offering their gifts
and graces, their time and energy, their
hearts andhands, in loving service to God
and neighbor - see Peurose, p. 14
while the Church has debated their
acceptability. "Anyone who does the will
of God is my brother or sister"(Mark 3:
35), Jesus said. That debate was settled
long ago. And yet, women, men, and
children in Oklahoma, in the US, and
around the world continue to be robbed of
life every day by hunger, homelessness,
abuse, addiction, and violence, while the
UMC spends more and more of its time
andresourcesfight~ng over who is allowed
to love who. Internal struggles over control
and authority, have seduced our Church
intoforgetting its call to be the bearers of
God’sgospel ofhopeandlove to a hurting
worM. I am weary ofthe ’forgetting’ and
the fighting, and want my life and our
ministry as a community offaith to once
again be about ’remembering Jesus’ in
ways that honor the life he lived among
andfor us.
Therefore, on Thursday afternoon,
by Lamont Linstrom, Ph.D.
My feet are looking niighty fine these
days. I~have been seeing a new friend
named Jay, who calls himself a foot
fetishist. And he has been working these
toes down to hubs, almost. Jay describes
foot-worshipping parties he has attended
where shoes andboots and soqks goflying
in all directions. He has intro~oced me to
foot magazines. The personal ads are
remarkable. They come withphotographs
showing everyone thrusting his best foot
forward into the camera lens. And
websites, too. The intemet is one big
fetish supermarket: rubber and latex here,
feet over there, underwear at the back. Or
uniforms:-I have another friend with a
closet full of uniforms. I never know if
he’s going to show up dressed in Boy
Scout drag, or as Marine, or perhaps a
water meter reader.
While Jay was mass_aging my feet one
afternoon I thought abouttheword"fetish"
- a term oddly shared by anthropology,
psychology, and sexology. SigmundFreud
himself seems to have been the first to
borrow "fetish" from 19th century
anthrol~i0gy. Scholars of West African
religion had.firstused thewordto describe
religip~s..objects from Ghana - small
carvings, amulets, and’the like-thatpeople
bdieve&~were inspirited with divinity.
Feti~h deriYes from the Latin facticious
whi..k once.meant "handmade" or
"man~0~tU~ed" (e.g., see also "factory,"
and "factotum"). The word’s connations
of "artificial," in the original sense of
"made" or "constructed, "expanded to
absorb secondary meanings of "unreal"
or "fake"-or "false." Thus, the fetish
originally was a man-made, artificial
image of-God that African devotees
believed to have divine powers. The term
is still used occasionally in anthropology
and beyond to refer to sacred objects. My
Bay Area newspaper, for example, last
week contained an advertisement for an
upcoming sale of Pueblo Indian jewelry
whichfeaturedZuni fetishes- these small,
carved animal figures sold as both
decorative and spiritual.
I am not sure why Freud borrowed
fetish to describe sexual kinkiness. We
can guess, however, that he shared the
same sorts of. European cultural biases
that led to th~ earlier anthropological use
of the word. The savage religious devotee
focuses his attention on the artifical fetish
- the man-made object - and thus misses
¯ March 4, I submitted the following
¯
statemen¢ to.Bishop Blake:
~ " Bishois.Bruce Blake
¯¯ Oklahoma Annual Conference
United Methodist Church
¯
It is with a deep trust in God’s steadfast
¯ and unconditional love that 1 write to
¯ informyou thatlaminitia,ting theprocess ¯
ofwithdrawalfrom Zhe United Methodist
¯
Church in order to transfer my ministerial
¯ orders to another denominate’on. 1 have
chosen to begin this process because I
¯ cannot remainfaithful to the Gospel and
¯ honor the requirement of the United
¯ Methodist Church not to celebrate and ¯
blesssamesexcovenantrelationships.As
¯
one who has been baptized to "resist.
¯ injustice and oppression" and ordained
: to"lookaftertheconcernsofChristabove
¯ all," I am called and charged to offer the
¯ full ministry ofthe church--including the
¯ blessing ofdovenant relationships- to all
: God’s people, including those who are
¯ Gay or Lesbian. I will do nothing less.
: - Rev. Leslie Peurose
the larger supernatural reality ofgod. The
: sexual fetishist similarly misdirects.his
¯ attention only to this or that body part or
: object, and also misunderstands the
¯ broader, complex whole of human
¯
sexuality. The foot fetishist sucks toes,
: but ignores everything above the ankle.
¯ The hair fetishist gets tangled and stuck
: up there and never moves along towards
¯ "normal" sex.
The 19th century anthropologist and
¯ psychologist both shared the belief that
¯
they could indeed define normal religion
¯ and natural sexuality. Whatever fell short
¯ of this standard could be defined away as ¯
artificial - just a fetish. Lucky for us,
¯
maybe, things aremuchmorecomplicated
: nowadays. Some complications have
¯ come along with 20th century Hedonism. ¯
While hardly triumphant (especially in
¯ Oklahoma),latterday influentialhedonists
: like Dr. Ruth proclaim that all forms of
¯ sexual behavior are good, as long as ¯
nobody gets hurt. And even that can be
¯ good, too, as long as a person wants to get
: hurta,ndiftheboundaries andgroundrules
¯ (we Americans are so legalistic) are
¯
negotiated beforehand.
¯ Jay finds sexuality in toes just as West
Africans discover divinity in beads and
: wood. So fixations .on feet, jocks,
: underwear, underarms, hair, rubber sheets
¯ - it’s all reoently wonderful.
¯ Well, perhaps not that kid living down
the street who’s discovered to have 2000
¯
pairs ofwomen’s panties hiddenunderhis
~ bed thai he’s stolen from neighborhood
¯ clotheslines. Butmostly fetishes are good.
Isn’t the right toa feti~h protected in the
¯ Constitution? At least they contribute to
: the economy.
¯ Sex nowadays is also complicated by ¯
the duty our culture demands of us to
¯ cultivate our individuality. Fetishes here
¯ are extremely useful. They help
¯ differentiate ourselves as unique
¯
individuals. If you remain stuck in plain
¯ old boring vanilla sex, you are just a
¯ cypher in the crowd. Youneed a focus, an
: angle. Somespecial way to define yourself
¯
whenfilling outoneofthosebearortwink
¯ codes one sometimes sees flaunted in
¯ email signature files. But the American ¯
desireforindividuality and our cultivation
¯
of sexual fetishes also eventually leads
¯ around to American sociability. Those
¯ fetishes are shared. Fetishists quickly go ¯
to work organizing societies of foot
¯
fanciers, seeAnthro, p. 11
BODY WORSHIP GWM,
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~10314
I’M WORTH THE CALL
Looking for a one-night
stand with a very muscular,
well-endowed top. If
interested, give me a call.
(Tulsa) ~r13401
NEED BEEF Looking for
a Guy, 35+, with lots of
muscle. If you’re Tulsa’s
answer to John Holmes or
Hulk Hogan, leave me a
message. (Tulsa) ’~’13126
GIVE ME THE BEEF If
you’re Tulsa’s answer to
Larry Holmes or Hulk
Hogan, give me a call. I
think you’ll find this call
worth your while. (Tulsa)
~12814
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~12606
ISO A GOOD MAN
Looking for someone who
likes to have fun, chill,
movies and who wants to
start a long-term relationship.
(Tulsa) ’~’10388
LOOKING FOR A TOP
SGM, 21, 6’2", 185 Ibs,
likes having fun, movies
and quality times at home.
Looking for a top who
would like to get together
with me. (Tulsa) ~r10006
EQUAL RELATIONSHIP
WM, 41,6’, average build,
seeking young, smooth
WM, with an average build
who doesn’t like to dominated
or submissive.
(McAlester) ~’21629
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Guy who’s also
dependable. If interested,
give me a call. (Tulsa)
~r21257
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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
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[1999] Tulsa Family News, April 1999; Volume 6, 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
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Tulsa Family News
Source
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https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24
Publisher
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Tom Neal
Date
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April 1999
Contributor
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James Christjohn
Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Adam West
Rights
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Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News
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Tulsa Family News, March 1999; Volume 6, Issue 3
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PDF
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English
Type
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newspaper
periodical
Coverage
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Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)
Identifier
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https://history.okeq.org/items/show/586
1999
Africa
AIDS Legal Research Project
AIDS/HIV
AIDS/HIV research
anti-gay activism
arts and entertainment
attorneys
Barry Hensley
Bars
Booker T. Washington High School
businesses
cambodia
Catholic Church
children
churches
civil rights
Community of Hope
condoms
Dallas
Dave Fleischer
Do-It-Yourself Dyke
Don't Ask Don't Tell
Dyke Psyche
Entertainment Notes
Esther Rothblum
gay bashing
Gay Studies
gay veterans
Gay-Straight Alliance
Gordon Smith
Harvard
hate crime
hate crimes bill
homophobia
HOPE Testing
James Christjohn
Joycelyn Elders
Lamont Lindstrom
Lavender and Green Alliance
Leslie Penrose
marriage
Mary Schepers
Methodist Church
military
Murder
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Native Americans
Oak Foundation
Oklahoma
Oregon
performing arts
Read All About It
restaurants
Ron Wyden
Surgeon General
Tom Neal
Tulsa CARES
Tulsa Family News
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights
Tulsa Two-Spirited Indian Men's Support Group
weddings
-
https://history.okeq.org/files/original/e92cbe9f6e47f9c4effc4fb0bb52afd2.jpg
ec05d0b04955b1eb5cf8a95026fa105a
https://history.okeq.org/files/original/a491daca8506c6dda15fc3c8e89d9ab3.pdf
d6c2386d3138ff49ce5369754007ff63
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[Sub-Series] Newsletters & Publications > Tom Neal Newsletters > Tulsa Family News
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periodical
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Gay Couple Murdered In
California; Senate Passes
TwoAnti-Hate Crimes Bills
HAPPY VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - In this tiny, largely
conservative farming community, Gary Matson and
Winfield Mowder were accepted. It didn’t matter that
they were Gay. They gained respect through their
community Work. They helped create alocal children’s
museum, and Matson helped establish the 20-year-old
Redding Farmer’s Market.
Now tWO brothers who Eave been linked to a series of
arson fires at Sacramento synagogues are accused of
killing the couple, police said. Authorities said one of
the alleged gunmen, Benjamin Matthew Williams,
sometimes sold vegetables andherbs atM~son’s ~narket.
"It’s beyond words that the farmers market may be
the connectionbetween the victims and thekillers," said
Margaret Jensen, who tends a market stall stocked with
squash and onions. "If they burned the synagogues, too,
that takes it to a level that is just staggering from
someplace we think of as a small community."
The bodies of Matson, 50, and Mowder, 40, were
discovered July I at theirhomeinHappy Valley, a small
community just outside of Redding in northern
California. They had been shot in their bed.
Afew days later, after one of the victims’ credit cards
was used, police staked out aYuba City business where
the creditcardpurchasewas to be delivered, andarrested
the Williams brothers. The brothers were both armed
and one was wearing a bulletproof vest, police said.
Yuba City is about 120 miles southeast of Redding.
see Hate, p. 10
Council Oak Mens Chorale
Presents August Concert
Other UpcomingEvents: Feast + AIDS Walk
TULSA-TheCouncil Oak Men’sChorale, Tulsa’s Gay
men’s singing organization will present a concert,
Brothers Forever on August 27 & 28 at 8pro in the John
Williams Theatre at Tulsa’s Performing Arts-Center.
COMC will be joined in concert by Positive Voices of
Dallas, Texas. Areception willfollow theperformances
and tickets, $12, are available through the Performing
Arts Center box office at 596-7111 or 800-364-7111
(outside of Tulsa).
Also, coming up is the annual Feast for Friends, a
ftmdraiser .for-THE NAM-ES~ PROJECT-,. the. AIDS
Memorial .Quilt. In the event, organizations and
individuals join each other for private dinners at which
theattendees donate to supportTHENAMES PROJECT
and then all of the various dinner groupS’ come together
for entertainment’and dessert at 8:30pro at the Southern
Hills Marriott. For more information, call 748-3111.
Later in October, the annual AIDS Walk will be held
on October 2nd. For more information, call 579-9593.
DIRECTORY/LETTERS P. 2
EDITORIAL P. 3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
HEALTH NEWS P. 6
ENTERTAINMENT . P. 8
COMMUNITY CALENDAR P. 9
READ ALL ABOUT IT P. 11
DYKE PSYCHE P. 12
GAY STUDIES P. 13
" Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered TuIsans, Our Families + Friends
" Tuisa’s Largest Circulation CommunityPaperAvailable In More Than 75 City Locations
° TOHR Center News: President
"Resigns; $5k Grant Received
TOHR&Community CenterformerpresidentSteve
Horn (right) and with hisfriend Phil at Pride ’99.
TULSA - Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights, Inc. (TOHR),
Oklahoma’s oldest non-religions Gay and parentorganization of
the Tulsa Gay Community Services Center has experienced a
change in leadership. Board president Steve Horn resigned in
July in order to take anew job in Dallas. Horn had been employed
with CFS. Upon his resignation, TOHR vice president, Greg
Gatewood became president.
Gatewood praised Horn for his leadership and noted that the
change in leadership would not affect any of the programs that
TOHRand the Center had planned. He noted that for August, the
¯ organization had calle~,,a work day at the,,C.enter on 8/8 at noon,
a planning meeting for MilleniumPride, the Parade and Picuic Next Gay Community ’ for 2000 on 8112 at 7:30 and acommunity potluck with a"Cajun"
" theme for 8/21at Tpm. Meeting Called for 9/14 Other significant news for the Center was the receipt of a
" $5,000 grant for general operating expenses from the Gill TULSA -. With about 40 people attending,
° Foundation. Center volunteer of the year, Tim Gillean, was representing most of Tulsa Lesbian and Gay, and
¯ responsible for writing the grant application~ New president HIV related groups, the first community wide
¯ Gatewood emphasized that while the grant would help the Center meeting in several years brought together young
:. develop a small emergency reserve, see TOHR, p. 14 and not so young, Gay and non-Gay, political and
non-partisan groups. Therepresentattves spent over
two hours discussing their group’s goals and what ¯ NGLTF Starts Family Program common ground they may have.
: VeteranAttorney Paula Ettelbrick to Lead Initiative WashingtonHigh School’sGay-StraightAlliance
and TU’s BLGT Alliance were there along with
¯ JULY 26, 1999--The Policy Institute of the National Gay and most of the Gay-friendly religaons groups in the
¯ Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) today announced creation of a city. Cimarron Alliance and Tulsa Oklahomans for
° Family Policy program to secure inclusive definitions of family Human Rights also attended with RAIN, the
¯ in national, state and local policy contexts. The Family Policy Regional AIDS Interfaith Network, and HOPE,
¯ Program will engage in research, policy analysis, coalition HIV Outreach, Prevention and Education as well.
building, strategy development and collaborative work with a Under the facilitation of Marty Newman and
¯ wide range of family-focused organizations to ensure that the DennisNeill(who’dissuedthecallforthemeeting)
¯ needsofGay, Lesbian~BisexualandTransgender(GLBT)families a number of possible community goals were
¯ are considered and protected, identified: to replace the Tulsa Community AIDS
"We are in the midst of a revolution in family creation within Partnership funding (which is due to end soon),
¯ GLBT communities, but ironically, and inaccurately, our relocate the Community Center when its lease
¯ movement is characterized as being anti-family," said NGLTF ends, ~o-ordinatecommtmity fundraisingandeven:s
: Executive Director Kerr3, Lobel. "This Program at NGLTF’s to better support various organizations, and where
Policy Institute takes aim at the myths that persist about our appropriate, do political and civil fights related
families and will formulate a genuinel y pro-family public policy work. see Aleetin~, ~. 1]
agenda from the vantage point of GLBT people’s lives."
TheFamilyPolicyprogramatthePolicyInstituteisfundedby Saint Jerome to Host major gifts from several parents., including Seattle City
Councilwoman and philanthropist Tina Podlodowski, and Ordination Ceremony
California-based donors Jennifer and Kathy Levinson through a
TULSA - The Parish Church of Saint Jerome will
gift from the Lesbian Equity Foundation of Silicon Valley.
welcome clergy and lay leaders of the Evangelical
Urvashi Vaid, director of the Policy Institute announced that
AnglicanChurchinAmericafromacross thenation
nationally known Lesbian attorney and family advocate, Paula
for the denomination’s annual ordination
Ettelbrick, has been hired to direct the Family Policy Program.
ceremonies. The RightReverendCraig Bettendoff,
Ettelbrickha~ worked onlocal, state and national family policy presiding bishop will ordai~ or receive candidates
issues for the past 13 years. She is former legal director of
duringtheregularworshipservicesofSaintJerome
Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund, where she developed on Sunday, August 8th at llam. The weekend
the group’s.emphasis on family advocacy and founded the
eventsbeginatlpmonSaturday,August7thandan
Family RelatioushipslProject. She served as publicpolicy director
Evensong service will be held that day at 6pro with
for the National Center for Lesbian Rights.
dinner to follow.
Since 1994, Ettelbrick has been legislative counsel for the
Candidatesfortbediaconatewillbepresentfrom
Fan.pire State Pride Agenda, where she is credited with helping North Carolina, Arkansas, Illinois, and Oklahoma.
wm passage of New York City’s comprehensive domestic
BishopBettendorfwillalsoordaintothe presbytery,
. partnership policy and drafting innovative municipal and state
¯ pro-GLBT family laws.
candidates fromNew Mexico,New York, Colorado,
¯ California and Florida. ¯ Ettelbrick and her partner, Suzanne Goldberg, have a two-year All events are open to the public. For more
¯ old son and are expecting another child in September. She has
information, call Father Rick Hollingsworth at the
¯ taught law for 10 years and currently teaches a course on
Parish Church of Saint Jerome, 582-3088.
." sexua!i~ty and the_law atNewYorkUni versity Law School and the
¯ UniversityofMichiganLawSchool.Earlierthisyear, Ettelbrick ¯ Served as the National Coordinator of the highly successful Tulsa C.A.R.E.S Gets
""EqualityBegiusatHome"campaigu, spousoredbyNGLTFand Phili.p Morris Grant ¯ tbe Federation ofStatewideLGBTPolitical Orgamzations, which
: encompassed 350 rallies and other events in all 50 states plus : TULSA -Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., Tulsa’s Center for
: Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia last March. ¯ AIDS Resources, Education and Support, formerly
and observed that Ettelbnck s experase will be invaluable to known as the HIV Resource Consortium, has
: .thenational GLBTmovement’s efforts to organizearoundfamily : received a grant of $15,000 to its food pantry from
¯ issues. She pointed out that as of June of 1999, almost 50 anti- : the Philip Morris Companies, Inc.
: GLBTfamilybillshadbeenfiledinstatelegislaturesthroughout ¯ Stephen C. Parrish, senior vice president for
: the country. "This nationwide mobilization against our families : corporate affairs came toTulsathelastweekofJuly
¯ comes directly from the anti-Gay religious fight and its think " to announce the award to the Tulsa Area United
¯ tanks," Vaid said. "It is an effective strategy because the GLBT : Way agency. According to comments reported by
¯ political movement at the state level remains understaffed and ¯ The TulsaWorM,executivedirector, SharonThoele,
¯ underfunded." " indicated that the grant word be matched by
The NGLTF Family Policy program will pursue three major " $15,000 from another philanthropic organization
" objectives: first, to provide the data and arguments that can " and wonldhelp purchase afreezer and refrigerator.
¯ enable activists to secure inclusive definitions of family in ¯ The award was oneof38 given to organizations in
- national, state and local policy frameworks see NGLTF, p. 3 " 24 states, and the only Oklahoma award.
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*Boston Willy’s Diner, 1742 S. Boston
Burger Sisters Restaurant, 1545 S; Sheridan
*Empire Bar, 1516 S. Peoria
*Full Moon Cafe, 1525 E. 15th
*Gold Coast Coffee House, 3509 S. Peoria
*Jason’s Deli, 15th & Peoria
*Lola’s, 2630 E. 15th
*Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*St.~ Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*Silver Star Saloon, 1565 Sheridan
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S Main
*TNT’s,. 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box, 1338 E. 3rd
832-1269
592-2143
835-1207
599-9512
583-6666
749-4511
599-7777
749-1563
744-4280
745-9998
834-4234
585-3405
660-0856
584-1308
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Advanced Wireless & PCS, Digital Cellular 747-1508
*Affinity News, 8120 E. 21 610-8510
*Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard 743-1000
Kent Balch & Associates, Health & Life Insurance 747-9506
*Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 250-5034
*Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 41 665-4580
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
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S.Lewis 581-0902, 743-4117
Community Cleaning, Ke~by Baker 622-0700
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th 749-3620
*Devena’s Gallery, 13 Brady 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
Four Star Import Automotive, 9~06 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
Leanne M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning 459-9349
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney 744-7440
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly 745-1111
*International Tours 341-6866
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th 712~2750
*Jared’.s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th 582-3018
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, 19 E. Brady 585-1234
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd 584-3112
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-5934
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951
David A. Paddock, CPA, 4308 S. Peoria, Ste. 633 747-7672
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo 838-7626
*Peace of Mind Bookstore, 1401 E. 15 583-1090
The 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
*Tickled Pink, 3340 S. Peoria 697-0017
*Tulsa Book Exchange, 3749 S..Peoria 742-2007
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis 481-0558
*Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard 835-5563
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counsding 743-1733
*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 Christian Center, 2207 E. 6 583-7815
*B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa Canterbury Ctr. 583-9780
*Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1. & Florence
*Churchofthe RestorationUU, 1314N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community ofHope United Methodist, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
*Council Oak Men’s Chorale 585-COMC (2662)
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712-1511
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457
Dignity/integrity of Tulsa- Lesbian & Gay Catholics &
Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74170-1475 355-3140
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
POB 4140. Tulsa, OK 74159
e-mail: TulsaNews@ earthlinlc net
Publisher + Editor:
Tom Neal
Writers + contributors:
James Christjohn, Barry Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche,
Lamont Lindstrom, Esther Rothblum, Mary Sehepers
Member of The Associated Press
I ssued on or before the 1st of each month, the entire contents of this ¯
~Lblication are protected by US copyright 199,8 byT~/:~.
¯
¯ and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part Without:
written permission from the publisher. Publication of a name or
photo does not indicate a person’s sexual orientation. Correspon- -"
dence is assumed to be for publication unless otherwise noted, must .
be signed & becomes the sole property of TJ.~.~N,~,~. .
Each reader is entitled to 4 copies of each edition at distribution ¯
points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248. ¯
¯Free Spirit Women’ s Center, callforlocation&info: 58%4669 "
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827
Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
¯HIV ER Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd. 583-6611 ¯
¯HIV Resource Consortium, 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194 :
¯Holland Hall School, 5666 E. 81st 481-1111o¯
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378 .
¯House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood ¯
Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438-2437, 800-284-2437 "
¯MCC 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 (formerly UCT, formerly Rogers U. whoever...)
PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901
¯Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674 "
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
¯R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195 ¯
Rainbow Business Guild, POB 4106, 74159 665-5174 "
¯Red Rock MentaI Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
O’RYAN, support group for 18-24 LGBT young adults ."
O’RYAN, Jr. support group for 14-17 LGBT youth ¯
St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cincinnati 425-7882 :
St. Dtmstan’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 Department, 46i6 E. 15 595-4105 ."
Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only ¯
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, c/o The Pride Center " 743-4297 ¯
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 838-1222 ¯
¯Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule ¯
¯Tulsa Community College Campuses ¯
¯Tulsa Gay Community Center, 1307 E. 38, 74105 743-4297
¯
Unity Church ofChristianity, 3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833 "
BARTLESVILLE "
¯Bartlesville Public Library,600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353 "
OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN
¯Borders Books &Music, 3209NWExpressway 405-848-2667 ’
¯Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-573~4907 ¯
TAHLEQUAH
¯Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900 ¯
¯Tahlequah Unitarian-UniversalistChurch 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 :
¯Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23 501-253~7734
¯Jim & Bren.t’s Bistro, 173 S. Main 501-253-7457 ¯
DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. 501-253-6807 ¯
¯Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. 501-253-5445 "
MCC of the Living Spring 501:253-9337."
Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429 501-253-2776
Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery 501-253-5332 :
Positive Idea Marketing Plans 501-624-6646 :
Sparky’s, Hwy. 62 East 501-253-6001 :
¯White Light, 1 Center St. 501~253-4074 ¯
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS5 ¯
¯Edna’s, 9 S. School Ave. 501-442-2845 ¯
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
¯ Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U 134 417-623-4696 ¯
¯ is where you can find TFN. Notall are Gay-owned butall are Gay-friendly.
Zoning Concerns
On the eve of the August 10 bond
election for street improvements, I find
myself in the awkward position of being
asked to vote ’yes’ while some of my
basic property rights are under the threat
of seizure. Againstmy very vocal protests,
the Tulsa Metropolitan Area Planning
Commission (TMAPC) recently voted to
’downzone’ myhomefrom amulti-family
to a single-family category. I purchased
my house with the intention of adding a
rental .unit in the future for supplemental
income, and I wish to retain the existing
zoning designation.
Currently, I have theright to build eleven
apartments on my property. If the zoning
is changed, I will have the right to one
single-family dwelling. This constitutes
an obvious taking of my development
rights without fair compensation, and I
resent the TMAPCIs insistence on
rezoning without my consent.
Doesn’t theTMAPChave enough to do
without tinkering with the privateproperty
of a taxpayer who is satisfied with the
existing zoning? The ’planners’ should
attend to their business of more efficient
metropolitan planning by allowing
residential infill development in the
downtownneighborhoods. Then,perhaps
we would not be faced with multi-million
dollar bond elections to support hundreds
of miles of streets and utilities sprawling
across such a sparsely populated city.
-Sincerely, Paul Uttinger, Tulsa
TITLE VII. Earlier this month, another
Eastern Districtjudgehadrejected aclaim
that harassment aimed at gays is covered
under the federal anti-discrimination
statute, Title VII ofthe Civil Rights Act of
1964. In rejecting the suit of a Gay postal
worker who claimed he was subjected to
a hostile work environment, Judge
Leonard B. Wexler ruled in Simonton v.
Runyon, that discrimination based t~pon
sexual orientation did not fall within Title
VII’s ban of "sex" discrimination.
However, Judge Spatt ruled in Qninnv.~
Nassau County Police Department, No.
97-3310, that there is no such similar
limitation upon a claim framed.directly
upon the Equal Protection clause in the
U.S. Constitution.
Title VH specifically enumerates five
types of discrimination that it bans, and
the list does not include discrimination
basedupon sexual orientation, Judge Spatt
pointed out. In contrast, he wrote~-the
Supreme Court in Romer recognized that
homosexuals are directly protected trader
the Equal Protection Clause from
"invidious and irrational discriminationbased
on sexual orientation."
Chris P. Termini, of McCabe, Collins,
McGeogh & Fowler, represented Nassau
County. Two individual defendants were
separately represented by Ronald J.
Morelli, of Mulholland, Minion & Roe,
and Alan J. Reardon. Susan Fitzgerald;of
Leeds & Morelli, also represented Mr.
Letters Policy
Tulsa Family News welcomes letters on issues
which we’ve covered or on issues you think
need to be considered. You may request that
your name be withheld but letters must be
signed & have phone numbers, or be hand
delivered. 200 wordletters are preferred. Letters
to other publications will be printed as js
appropriate.
In many parts of the United States, Gay, lesbian, " running for any office in this party." While I had good
bisexual and transgendered (GLBT) persons have
achieved an equal status in the communities in whichthey
live. But not in Oklahoma. Not yet. The Democratic
National Committee (DNC) recognizes GLBT persons.
But not the Oklahoma Democratic Party (ODP). Not yet.
In 1998 the DNC
adopted a policy
requiring each state
to nameGLBT
delegates to the
National Democratic
Conventions. The
DNC has recognized
that the majority of
GLBT persons, like
the majority of
straight persons, are
caring and
responsible citizens
entitled to an equal,
not special but equal,
presence in the DNC.
The ODP, once
moving towards
inclusion of GLBT
persons, now under
new party leadership,
rejects or ignores that DNC policy.
Much has been accomplished in Oklahoma for which
GLBT persons should all be proud. Moving a hate crimes
bill from a legislative committee to the House floor for
debateis somewhatmiraculous, considering the prevailing
Oklahoma attitudes only a few years ago when the
Oklahoma City Council rejected and terminated the
HumanRights Commission. Whathas been accomplished
can be attributed to the efforts of GLBT and affiliated
political organizations such as OGLPC (Oklahoma Gay
& Lesbian Political Committee), The Cimarron Alliance
Group, TOHR (Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights),
PFLAG (Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) with
the support of the NAACP and various labor and faith
organizations. Although these organizations are the heroes
in the efforts to date, they are not adequate for what is yet
to be accomplished. These organizations focus on issues
and review candidates from a non-partisan perspective.
What is missing in Oklahoma is the partisan participation
of GLBT persons, open partisan participation within the
major parties, not unlike the women’s organizations and
other caucuses.
Straights raise families; GLBT persons care for the
community in which those families live. Just look at who
we are. We are present in every profession and job
category as wall as present or have been present in every
elected office level, whether we admit it publicly or.not.
Throughout recorded history GLBT persons have often
been the movers and shakers for communities, the caregivers,
the compassionate, the artists, even leaders of
historical fame. Themajority ofus as GLBT persons have
the same expectations and dedication to our communities
as the majority of straights among whom we live and
work with side by side. But you would not know that if
youJistened to partisan leaders in both major Oklahoma
parties.
As a congressional candidate for Congress from
Oklahoma’s Sixth District in 1996 and again in 1998, I
made many friends with Democrats. I know and have
good contacts with Democrat. leaders in each of the 24
counties comprising the Sixth District. That is an asset
that I believe valuable as a party worker. I let it be known
that I wanted to serve as the District Secretary when the
incumbent indicated the day before the convention that
he would not run for re-election.
Without detailing the series of events leading up to the
conclusion of my attempt to place my name in line for
District Secretary, the man who became District Chair at
that April conventionblockedmefromrunning for office.
During a fifteen-minute conversation with him prior to
the Convention, hemade it clear that he and other elected
officials in the Sixth District did not want me to run for
any office. He would not say it was because I am Gay but
his remarks left me with only that justification for his
statement, "I am running for chair to keep you from
~ support among delegates I had contacted in that 24-hour
¯ period leading up to convention, I knew that it would be
." difficult to fnnction as a team. I did not seek the nomination
¯ during the convention. There was no caucus to turn to for
¯ support.
A quotation from the May 25 Daily
Oklahoman interview with the newly elected
ODP Chair, Mike Mass, speaks to my
concern as a Gay person:
"Mass said he thinks the party under Hall
has eottoned too much to what he calls
splinter groups¯ He and Hall were both at a
funetlon, and a Gay and lesbian advocate
asked Mass what he was going to do to help
the Gay eommunlty. ’Nothing,’ Mass replied.
Mass thinks the party has tended to make a
big deal about such groups."
Even amore glaring
concern for GLBT
persons is the election
of a new state chair
for the ODP during
its May 15 convention.
Representative
Mike Mass, a very
vocal opponent ofthe
hate crimes bill in the
legislature, was
elected by a two-vote
margin in an election
fraught with fraud.
(I am leading a
challenge of that
election for the
purpose of restoring
integrity to the ODP.
A petition calling for
a new election was
signed by more than
¯¯ 200 co-signors and filed with the DNC ou June 9.) ~
quotation from the May 25 Daily Oklahoman interview
with the newly elected ODP Chair, Mike Mass, speaks to
¯ my concern as a Gay person: ¯
"Mass said he thinks the party under Hall has cottoned
¯ too much to what he calls splinter groups. He and Hall
¯ were both at a function, and a Gay and lesbian advocate
¯ asked Mass what he was going to do to help the Gay ¯
community. ’Nothing,’ Mass replied. Mass thinks the
¯ party has tended to make a big deal about such groups."
¯ If therewas apartisan presenceofGLBTpersons in the ¯
ODP, or at least the acknowledgment of the DNC’s
¯ directive to include GLBT persons as delegates, this
¯ archaic attitude would be a relic of the past instead of
¯ facing us for the future in the ODP.
¯ There are national part~san organizations for both the
Democratic and Republican parties - The Log Cabin
¯ Republicans and the National Stonewall Democratic
¯ Federation (NSDF). GLBT persons in Oklahoma need
that partisan identification so that they can have a"seat at
¯ the table" when partisan political decisions are made.
: The NSDF was organized at Kansas City in May 1998
¯ for the purpose of mobilizing GLBT persons through a ¯
national grassroots network of GLBT Democratic clubs.
¯ There are GLBT Democratic clubs that are joined with
¯ their state Democratic party. Colorado and Michigan
¯ both have a federated GLBT Democratic dub within ¯ their State Democratic parties. GLBT Oklahomans need
¯ that presence in our state party. An Oklahoma Stonewall
¯ Democratic Club must be organized. I am a recently ¯
¯ electedregional director for theNSDFandurgeinterested persons to check out the website at
www.stonewalldemocrats.org or contact me by e-mail,
paulb@pldi.net.
The mere thought of a public GLBT presence in the
Oklahoma Republican Party (ORP) is breath-taldng. But
itcan midmustbe Created. WhenthoseGLBTRepnhlicafs
who have been supporting their party in the background
with contributions and party activismmake their presence
known to the ORP, then there is an opportunity for
inclusion in ORP policy making. Republican Oklahoma
GLBT persons should connect with the National Log
Cabin Republicans and establish an OklahomaLog Cabin
Republican Club.
Wemust do this. Wemust orgamze a partisan presence
of GLBT persons in each of Oklahoma’s major parties.
That is the Gay agenda that I am aware of- to be treated
as an equal in civic life as we continue to hold ourselves
to the same standards of responsibility and caring as
expected of straights. Wemust ask for a place at the table.
Editor’s note: I agree with Paul Barby but Would even
speak more strongly. We must demand our place at the
table and must challeng~ bigots like Mike Mass. We
might also question some of our "friends"like Tulsa
Democrat Sally Frasier who helpedgetMass "elected."
by Tom Neal, editor andpublisher
By now, Steve Hornis probably getting settled down in
his new home in Dallas. Steve, until his recentjob related
move, was in the middle of his second term as president
of the board ofTulsaOklahomans for Human Rights, Inc.
(TOHR) - the parent organization of Tulsa’s Gay
community center (the awkwardly renamed Tulsa Gay
Community Services Center).
Tulsa has been
fortunate in
havln~ a number
of dedleated
volunteers to our
Lesbian and Gay
eommunltles
(and BI and
Transgendered)
over many years.
Unfortunately,
we haven’t really
done a very ~ood
job of
reeognlzlng or
thanklng them
for their work.
Tulsa has been fortunate in
having a number of dedicated
~,olunteers to our Lesbian and
Gay communities (and Bi and
Transgendered) over many
years. Unfortunately, we
haven’t really done a very good
job of recognizing or thanking
them for their work. We use
themandthen ignore them when
we’re not actually vilifying
them. There are, of course, a
few exceptions, individuals who
repeatedly receive recognition
but many more don’t.
So I’d like to be one to clearly
thank Steve Horn for his
dedication to TOHR. Steve
became president just after I
served, inheriting the same big
mess with TOHR’s HIV testing
programs that I and several
previous TOHR presidents had
inherited. And while he and I
would still disagree profoundly
about how those issues were resolved, i.e. the separation
of the testing clinic into a stand-alone organization, his
work as a whole was great. He continued and expanded
onalegacy ofvolunteerism andleadership that’s continued
for nearly 20 years with TOHR. see Horn, p. ]4
Legal Win: Bias Against
Gays Unconstitutional
Editor’s note: the ruling noted below has greatpotential
for judicial remedies for anti-Gay bias in the United
States. Traditionally, many civil rights advances in this
country have come through court decisions and this
shows promise for fair treatment for Lesbian and Gay
citizens.- TN
by Daniel Wise, New York Law Journal, July 6, 1999
In a ruling believed to be one of first impression, a
federal judge in Uniondale has found discrimination
against homosexuals in an employment context to be
actionable as an Equal Protection violation.
Eastern District Judge Arthur D. Spatt issued the ruling
in upholding a $380,000 verdict that ajury awarded two
weeks ago to a former Nassau County police officer who
claimed he had been hounded out of his job by his fellow
officers and supervisors after they learned he was Gay.
The officer, James M. Quinn, resigned after enduring
nine years of taunts that included the prominent posting
in his stationhouse of cartoons labeling him a child
molester, a transvestite and a sadomasochist. "
"Judge Spatt is the first judge to explicitly recognize
that. discrimination based- upon, sexual- orientation .can
give rise to a hostile work environment claim under the
Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution," said
Mr. Quima’s lawyer, Frederic Ostrove, ofLeeds &Morelli
in Carle Place.
In concluding that harassment based upon an animus
against homosexuals was actionable lmder the Equal
Protection clause, Judge Spatt relied heavily upon a 1996
U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Romer v. Evans, 517 U.S.
620. Thatruling struck down an amendment to ColOrado’s
constitution that prohibited Gays and Lesbians from
obtaining any legal protections -legislative orjudicial -
from discrimination.
The Supreme Courtin Romerconcluded that the statute
withdrawing legal protection from homosexuals could
not stand because it was motivated by "irrational fear and
prejudice," Judge Spatt pointed out.
Similaxly, thejudge reasoned, thehatecampaignagainst
Mr. Quinn had been motivated "by irrational fear and
prejudice towards homosexuals." see Ruling, p. 2
Gay Conversion Group
Holds Convention
WHEATON, Ill. (AP) - Exodus International, a :
Seattle-based organization that claims homosexuals
can be converted to change their sexual behavior,
openedits annual conference as protesters sang gospels
softly nearby.
"A whole new chapter has opened up," said Bob
Davies, executive director of Exodus. "For the first
time in our 23 year history, the body of Christ has
gotten behind this ministry."
About 1,200 people attended the rally, the biggest
attendance, since the group began in 1976. Leaders
attributed the large turnout to a nationwide ad
campaignpromoting conversionfromhomosexuality,
As the group clapped inside, the Rev. Bradley
Mickelson of the Metropolitan Community Church
of the Incarnation in Oak Park, Ill., led a quiet march
of 50 people outside. "We need to be a voice for
people who think they’re living in sin, to tell them
how to be liberated and free," said Mickelson, whose
Chicago-area church is open to homosexuals.
Exodus International burst.into public notice a year
ago with full-page ads m major newspapers
proclaiming its belief that Gays and Lesbians can
change. Conservative groups such as the Christian
Coalitionhelped pay for the.campaign. Exodus teaches
that"freedomfromhomosexuality is possible through -.
repentance and faith in Jesus Christ" and seeks to
provide hdp for "men and women who desire to
overcome their homosexuality."
The conference, a mixture of training workshops
and inspirational rallies, is meeting at Wheaten
College, a prominent Evangelical Protestant school,
but is not sponsored by the college.
Cynthia Marquardt, member of the Oak Park
congregation, said sexual conversion is impossible
and that Exodus’ message contributes to -violence
against Gays and Lesbians. "Exodus has a right to
their message, and we will continue to proclaim that
God loves us just as we are," she said,
Exodus is afederation of 131 independentministries
located in 38 states and the District of Columbia, plus
several overseas affiliates. Theorganizationis staffed
by people from a var~,ety of Christian denominations.
Manyofthegroup sleaders saytheyusedtobeGay
or Lesbian and merely offer options to people that
want them. Exodus is closely aligned with
Homosexuals Anonymous, a twelve-step movement
patterned after Alcoholics Anonymous, and with the
National Association for Research and Therapy of
Homosexuality,madeup ofpsychological counselors
who work for change through "reparative therapy."
Both the American Psychiatric Association and
American Psychological Associationhave denounced
Christian-based reparative therapy, saying it doesn’t
work and can cause psychological damage.
Phelps to Protest
in Vermont
MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP)- Members of a church that
organized a picket outside the funeral of a murdered
University of Wyoming student last year plan a
protest on the lawn of the Vermont Statehouse next
week.
The Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kans.,
plans to have a dozen people in Montpelier on Aug.
3 to picket against Gay marriage, said Shirley Phelps-
Roper, a church a!!orney and dangh,ter of founder the
Rev.FredPhelps. Whenthenation smilitant, activist
fags brag about a place - watch out!" said an
announcement distributed by the church. "Well,
they’re bragging about Vermont from sea to shining
sea. They think Vermont will soon allow filthy fag
beasts to marry each other."
The Vermont Supreme Court is considering a
lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’ s refusal to issue
mamage licenses to same-sex couples. Some legal
experts have predicted that Vermont could become
the first state to legalize such marriages.
Phelps-Roper said a dozen members of her church
would spend the weekend in Ottawa and Montreal,
protesting a decision on domestic partnership by the
Canada Supreme Court and then picketing the
Montreal Gay pride parade. The group then will
travel to Vermont, slie said.
The church is virulently anti-Gay and pickets
frequently. In October, it picketed-outside the funeral
~fMatthew Shepard, who authorities say was killed in
part because he was Gay.
Oregon Anti-Gay
Marriage Bill Dies
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - A watered-down proposal that
began as a ban on Gay marriages failed in the Senate
last month. The proposed ballot measure would have
asked voters only whether the Legis!~ture sh.ould
have the power to define What cbiastitutes a marnage.
As passedby the House, the proposal definedmarriage
as atmionbetweenmanand woman. Sen. Neil Bryant,
R-Bend, said the measure as reworked by the Senate
set a middle ground in the dispute, but foes argued the
revised measure would accomplish nothing.
The proposal stemmed from an Oregon Court of
Appeals ruling that employers cannot discriminate
against homosexuals and must provide benefits to
same-sex partners ofgovernmentworkers. Supporters
of the anti-Gay mamage measure contended that the
court decision opened the door for legalization of Gay
marriages.
Alabama Passes
Gay-Friendly Law
MONTGOMERY, AIa. (AP) - The Alabama
Legislature is drawing praise from the National Gay
and LesbianTaskForcefor passing domestic violence
legislation that could make Alabama the first state to
cover homosexual couples. In its legislative update
July 16, the task force listed the Alabama domestic
violence legislation as one of the "highlights" of
legislative sessmns nationwide.
Butthe sponsor of thelegislation, state Rep. Yvo,,n~e
Kennedy, D-Mobile, said, "That’s way off base. At
issue is a bill passed on the Legislature’s final day
June 9, when dozens of bills were flying through the
House and Senate with little or no discussion. Gov.
Don Siegelman signed the bill imo law June 19.
Ms. Kennedy and Carol Gundlach, executive
director of the Alabama Coalition Against Domestic
Violence, said the purpose of the legislation was raise
the cost of a marriage license by $15 to provide more
funding for shelters for domestic abuse victims and to
broaden domestic abuse laws to cover more than
spouses. The legislation expands domestic abuselaws
to cover violence "occurring amongfamily, household,
dating, or engagement relationships.’"
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, a
Washington-based group that works to eliminate
prejudice and violence againstGaypersons, is focusing
eta the word "household" in the new Alabama law.
"You couldhave two peoplein a same-sex relationship
and that’s a household," said David Elliott,
communications director for the task force.
The task force’s legislative report said Alabama
"’became the first state to enact a bill expanding the
state’s definition of domestic violence to potentially
includeGay, Lesbian, bisexual and transsexual people
under Alabama’ s domestic violence law." But Elliott
concededit will probably take acourt case to determine
whether the task force’s view is correct.
Ms. Kennedy, who sponsored the bill for the
Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said the new
law is silent about sexual orientation. But she said
homosexual couples were never mentioned in any of
the legislative debate on the bill.
Ms. Gundlach said the language was copied from
Alabama’s 1989 warrantless arrest law. That law
allows police to make assault arrests without an arrest
warrant when an assault occurs between two people
living together. She said she has heard of cases where
police used the law to make arrests involving
homosexual relationships that turned violent. ’q’hat’ s
just common sense. People in homosexual
relationships can and do assault each other and the
victim needs protection," she said. But she said the
xndusion of"household" in the 1989taw and the 1999
law does not legitimize homosexual rdationships
trader state law.
Jerry Bassett, director of the Legislative Reference
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Service and chief bill-writer for the Legislature, said
the new law was supposed to apply to couples who
could get married, but chose not to. "Whether you
could extend that to people who couldn’t get married
if they wanted to, I don’t know," he said. He agreed
with the task force’s spokesman that it would take a
court case to find out.
While the legislative update from the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force complimented Alabama on
the domestic violence legislation, the state Legislature
camein forcriticismfor refusing to expandAlabama’ s
hate crimes law to cover sexual orientation despite
the Feb. 19 beating death of Billy Jack Gaither of
Sylacauga. ButAlabama was not alone. Twenty other
state legislatures turned back similar ~.egislation, the
task force noted.
Gay Couple Appeals
Adoption Ruling
ERIE, Pa. (AP) -Twomenhope an appeals court will
allow them to become adoptive parents and help
defineparental rights forGay couples in Pennsylvania.
The couple has asked the state Superior Court to
overturn a decision by Erie County Judge Shad
Connelly, who nded las t month that state law dictates
that only one man can be the legal parent of the two
children. Lower court judges have differed on the
issue, and appeals courts have not made a definitive
decision. Connelly said the Legislature should
specifically sanction Gay marriages before judges
can allow Gay couples to adopt.
The children, an 8-year-old boy and a 7-year-old
gift, were adopted by one of the men and raised since
infancy by the couple. The man who does not have
legal custody said he wants to be officially named a
parent in case his partner dies. "The children have
been and will continue to live with their family
regardless of the court’s action," said Karen Engro, a
la~vyer for the couple. "ff the adoption is granted,
everyone wins. Bydenying it, everyone loses."
The men, who are 43 and 42 years old, have been
together for 18 years and are identified only by their
initials in court records. They have asked reporters
not to use theirnames to protect the children’s privacy.
Another lawyer for the couple, Chris Biancheria,
said other Common Pleas Court judges in the state
have granted "second parent" adoptions for Gay
couples. She said a Superior Court ruling in favor of
the adoption could help establish guidelines for lower
courts. "It would mean that these type of adoptions
would have to be granted in every county," she said.
She said Connelly, in ruling against the adoption,
ignored the Legislature’s stipulation that all adoptions
be consideredin light of "the children’ s best interests."
In his ruling, Counelly wrote that the "best interest"
issue was irrelevant because the request was illegal to
begin with. "Because the Legislature has not seen fit
to specifically sanction such adoptions-as this, this
court is not empowered to grant the petitaon for
adoption," he wrote.
High School Gay-Straight
Alliance Recognized
MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) - West High School on
Thursday formally recognized a support group for
Gay and Lesbian pupils. The action, in a formal letter,
gives theWestHighGay/Straight Alliance recognition
retroactive to April 1. The letter follows the school
board’s narrow margin approval ofthe dublast week,
10 weeks after several current and former pupils filed
suit over Principal Robert Baines’ decision not to
recognize the group without school board approval.
Jennifer Levi, a lawyer from Gay & Lesbian
Advocates & Defenders, a Boston nonprofit
representing thepupils, said Thursday the recognition
"is a great day for the students at Manchester High
School West." The lawsuit charged the principal
discriminatedagainstthe group under the Equal Access
Act because no other student association has been
required to get school board approval to use school
facilities.
Supporters of the Gay Straight Alliance say it
offers support and acceptance to pupils ~ho are Gay,
Lesbian or bisexual in an often hostile environment.
Italso helps educate others abouto~fensive stereotypes
and acceptance of differences.
Court Rejects Ex’s
Visitation Appeal
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Despite pleas by Gay
civil-rights groups, the state SupremeCourthas turaed
down an appeal by an Alameda County woman who
sought the right to visit two children she helped raise
with her Lesbian partner. An appellate court ruled in
April that the woman, Kathleen C., had no parental
rights because she was not the biological mother, and
because there was no evidence that the children were
being harmed by living with their biological mother.
The state’s high court denied review of the case in
July. Only lustices Stanley Mosk and Janice Rogers
Brown voted to grant a hearing, two short of the
needed majority. The appellate ruling is now binding
on trial courts statewide.
The case was closely watched by Gay civil-rights
groups, who wanted California to follow a handful of
court rul!ngs in other states that have granted parental
rights to former members of same-sex couples.
Kathleen and her partner, Lisa W., started living
together in February 1985, when Lisa’s daughter was
almost 3. They had a child together by artificial
insemination in 1987 and separated in 1990. Kathleen
was allowed to visit the children onalternateweekend
until November 1994, when Lisa cut off visitation.
Kathleen argued that she should be considered the
children’s "de facto parent," one who develops a
parent-like relationship by providing daily care,
affection and concern over a long period.
An appellate court in New Jersey ruled this March
that a woman who had helped her .Lesbian partner
raise two children was a "psychological parent"
entitled to visitation. Courts in Wisconsin and
Pennsylvaniahave also granted limited parental rights
to former members of Lesbian couples.
ButAlamedaCounty Superior CourtJudge Roderic
Duncan ruled against Kathleen C. and was upheld by
the 1st District Court of Appeal.
Kathleen had shown the characteristics of a "de
facto parent," but there is no legal authority to grant
a non-parent visitation rights "’over the objection of
the biological parent and in the absence ofany showing
of detrimentto the child," said the opinionby Presiding
Justice Daniel Hanlon. The ruling means Kathleen
cannot see the children until they turn 18. They are
now 17 and 12.
The state Supreme Court appeal drew support from
the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the Youth
La~v Center, the American Civil Liberties Union and
other advocacy groups.
The appdlate ntling "leaves the two children...
locked in the embrace of but one of their mothers,
denied by her - and by the courts of this state - any
contact with the other woman they call ’Morn,’ "said
E. Elizabeth Summers, alawyer for Kathleen, in court
papers. She acknowledged that a Lesbian partner can
get parental rights by adopting the child with her
partner, but said not all California counties, or judges
in the same county, allow adoptions by same-sex
couples.
Mormans Lose Members
Over Anti-Gay Stance
SALT LAKECITY (AP) - The Mormon church says
it regrets a protest by dozens of dissident members
trying to quit the church because of its campaign in
California against Gay. marriages. The Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints issued a statement
saying it was defending the "traditional family" by
pushing for a California ballot initiative that seeks to
preempt legalized same-gender marriages.
The dissidents say the church crossed a line from
religion to politics by asking its 740,000 California
members to "do all you can" to assure passage of the
initiative.
Church spokesman Dale Bills said, "we regret that
any member would ask to have his or her name
removed from our records because the church has
joined a coalition in California to oppose samegender
marriage."
New Test Catches
HIV Quicker
RICHMOND,Va. (AP)-Theagency that
collects most blood donations in central
Virginiais still usingtwo standard tests to
screen blood for the AIDS virus, four
months afterfederal healthofficials urged
blood baul~ to use a new test. The new
test, called Nucleic Acid Testing; was
recommended by the Food and Drug
Administration on March 3. NAT may
significantly reduce the time thatHIV can
avoid detection in current blood tests.
¯
reaching," MethodistHealth Care System
¯
president Peter Butler said.
: Science Advances,
i Prejudice Remains ¯
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - T.J.
¯
contracted the virus that causes AIDS 18
: years ago. He says nothing’s changed.
¯ "Wall, almost nothing," "he said. "A lot
: has changed in medicine, but very little
: has changed in stigma and prejudice." So
¯
little that he feels obliged to use T.J.
¯ instead of his real name.
TheFl’)A’sreq°mmendati°n~et"w°° i ,,~’li~eitl arural’~rea~
w~s~.~f_5,re ~iPetet~b~gman; William good iqtca, (o use my name, he said. T.J.
C C~ippy ¥6tmg~" tmderwent:V~seular~ ~ hdped form the Long Term ~Survivors
surgeryat~MedicalColleg~ofVirginia : Group for people living with AIDS in
Hospitals in Richmond..Young said he : Oklahoma. It has about 200 members.
contracted HIV from a blood transfusion
he received during the surgery.
Virginia Blood Services, the regional
blood bank., last week acknowledged that
a unit of blood it sent toMCV may have
been tainted with HIV. The unidentified
donor tested negative when theblood was
given but later tested posluve.
The NAT procedure is not yet required
because it is experimental and there are
questions abouL how to implement it
nationwide But FDA spo,k,eswoman
Len0re Gelb said the test will’ help close
the window" when. HIV cannot, be
detected.
Virginia Blood Services has used the
test for another virus, hepatitis C~"since
April 15 as part of a study, said
spokeswoman Laura Cameron. She said
the procedure would be used to test blood
when it is licensed by the FDA, which is
awaiting results .of NAT experiments
around the country.
Atthe timeYoung contendshe received
the taintedblood, only afew blood centers
had the technology to implement the ne.w
test for AIDS, said Dr; Celso Bianco, the
president of America s Blood Centers¯
"Even if the (NAT) test worked, it would
not have benefited this recipient," Bianco
said.
The new test detects HIV at very small
concentrations even before the body
produces antibodies to the virus. Blood
banks now use a test that spots antibodies
to HIV and another that finds a protein
attached to the virus.
In a study published this month in the
medical journal Transfusion, scientists
studying an HIV-infected chimpanzee
discovered that the new test narrowed the
detection window by three weeks. They
also found that blood from the HIVinfected
chimp did not infect another
animal until the virus concentration was
detectable using the new test.
New Medical Center
HOUSTON (AP) - A new cell and gene
research center here could revolutionize
therapy for many illnesses, including
cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes
and AIDS, say doctors. Formation of the
International Center for Cell and Gene
Therapy, a collaboration by Baylo,r
College of Medicine, Texas Children s
Hospital andTheMethodist Hospital, was
announced this morning. Officials said
the center will be the first in the world to
combine basic science mid clinical
research with pediatric and adult celland-
gene-therapy transplant facilities.
Creation ofthe center was prompted by
new understanding of the molecular basis
ofdisease and theneedfornovel strategies
for cell and gene therapy.-"We realize the
medical possibilities are endless and the
potential impact on patients is far-
: "We’ve had members burned out of their
¯
home and run out of town," he said. "One
¯ family just recently moved to the city
¯ (from a natal community) because they
¯ couldn’t take it anymore. The mother has
AIDS." T.J. said the quality and length of
life for people living with AIDS has
¯ improved because of medical advances,
¯ but there is still a long way to go. "People
~ have started believing thatit’s over. It’s a
¯ long way from being over," he said.
Pam Cross, director of the Regional
AIDS Interfaith Network, agreed that the
¯ much of the general public remains
¯ ignorant of the disease. "People have ¯
¯ become quite complacent. They’ve taken
good news from headlines and TV about
¯ medical advances," she said. "They think
it’ s a cure for HIV and there’ s not. "We’re
~ not seeing a drop. Nationwide, we still
have 40,000 people a y,e,ar becoming
¯ infected with this disease.
T.J., who got AIDS from a Gay
; relationship, fits into the Centers for
~ Disease Co~,trol and Prevention"Pre- 1987
: Definition. That definition refers .to the,
Original list of"oppormnistic infect|ons.
In other words,he got the virus that causes
AIDS before AIDS had a name.
In Oklahoma, there have been 5,441
reported HIV/AIDS cases, according to
theOklahomaState Departmentof Health,
which began tracking the disease in 1982.
Figures show no confirmed heterosexual
¯ cases were recorded the first four years
records were kept, but in the past four
¯ years about 10% of overall cases have
¯ been heterosexual. ¯ ’t ¯ Ms. Cross said documented cases don
¯
fully represent the amount of people who
¯ have the disease. "If they’re anonymous, ¯
¯ there’s noway oftellinghowmany people
have it. I’ve heard estimates that cases
¯ could be as many as 10 times higher (than
¯ what is documented)," Ms. Cross said. ¯
’qqaere are alot of people that don’t know
~ theDyorne"iJnofhecntseodn,, ashe19s-myea. r survivor of
¯ AIDS, said he thinks the biggest reason ¯
¯ for increase in heterosexual cases is
ignorance andalackofAIDS educationin
¯ Oklahoma. "There’s still a lot of that ’It
~ can’ thappenhere’ attitude.I don’ t see the
¯ education taking place that I see in
~ California," saidJohnson,41, whois G.ay.
¯ "The schools there have a curriculum that
¯ involves HIV prevention. There is not the
¯ samecommumtyawarenesshere, hesaid.
¯
Shelly Hickman, spokeswoman f.o,r .,file
i state Department of Education, sam m.e
¯ state requires that schools have a certain
: amount of AIDS education curriculum,
¯ but much of it is left up to the schools¯
¯ ’‘There is some discretion on how it is
~ taughtandwhenitis taught," Ms. Hickman
¯ said."Weareinfavoroflocal communities
~ that they use what’s best for them."
¯ Peggy, who would not use her real
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name, said the state doesn’t do enough to
protect future generations from getting
.AIDS. "People think this diseaseis starting
to go away," she said. "This is afact oflife
- we have to protect our future and give
them the information they need to protect
themselves. How can we do that if we
have to be careful about what words we
say or don’t say in this state? "This
generation is not like generations in the
past. We can’t treat our youth like we did
three or four generations ago. They’re
having sex younger and younger."
Peggy said she got HIV from her late
husband when’he got it from a blood
transfusion in the mid-80’s. She said she
and herhusband hid their disease from the
community toprotecttheir children. "Until
society accepts this disease and is able to
talk about it, it will go on and on," she
said. "Heterosexual people are afraid to
¯¯ country can import lower-cost drugs
without infringing on patents.
¯ The issue of African access to AIDS
¯ drugs has taken on a political dimension ¯
recently. Gore has been caught in a fight
¯ between AIDS activists seeking cheap
¯ generic drugs for South African AIDS ¯
victims of the disease and U.S. laws
: intended to protect drug companies from
¯ having theirpatents violated abroad. Gore
: has saidhedoesnotopposeSouthAfrica’s
¯ attempts to produce or obtain generic
¯ AIDS medicines as long as those efforts ¯
donot violate laws protecting patents.
¯
A 1997 South African law granted the
¯ government unspecified power to obtain
¯ cheaper AIDS drugs. About 40 ¯
pharmaceuticalcompanies worldwide are
: challenging the law in South African
: courts, fearing itmay beusedin a way that
¯ violates patent rights.
be tested because they’re afraid they’ll be :
labeled as Gay. So then they go and ~x;e :
it to someone else and the cycle goes on.r’ ¯
Congress Hears
¯African Appeal
WASHINGTON (AP)-AnAIDS patient
from Malawi asked Congress for help in
settling trade-disputes that could deprive
poor African countries such as her own of
vital drugs.
Chatinkah Nkhoma, 37, believes she
would be dead now had she stayed in
Lilongwe, Malawi’s capital, where the
drugs she needs either are tmavailable or
cost too much. Millions of other Africans
are not as lucky, said Nkhoma, who came
to the United States as a graduate student.
~’I’m their voice. I’m here to cry for help,"
Nkhoma testified tearfully before the
HouseGovernmentReform subcommittee
oncriminaljustice, drug policy andhuman
resources.
The government did act in response:
Vice President Gore on Monday
announced a new $100 million proposal
to help Africa stop the spread of AIDS.
Nkhoma also appealed to lawmakers to
¯ reject arguments that the drags may cause
more harm than good in poor nations
unable to ensure AIDS patients adhere to
strict drug regimens. Experts have said
that people who do not take the drugs as
prescribed actually may become sicker or
devdop drug-resistant strains of theAIDS
virus.
AIDS deaths in the United States have
declinedbecause ofadvances in treatment,
but they remain on the increase in Africa,
where it is the leading cause of death.
Trade disputes have developed over
some countries’ efforts to reduce the cost
ofimporting AIDS drugs, withsomeblame
directed at pharmaceutical companies.
"What happens to countries who.., do
not purchase their AIDS drugs from drug
companies, instead looking to. buy them
through cheaper sellers, often times other
countries? Under direct pressure from the
pharmaceuticalindustry, they arepunished
bythe UnitedStates," Rep. Bernie Sanders,
I-Vt., said in a written statement. He said
thesecountries couldlose theirpreferential
tariff treatment "all because the
pharmaceutical companies do not wish to
lose any of their tremendous profits."
Joe Papovich, an assistant U.S. trade
representative, said the Clinton
administration believe it can resolve the
disputes, which involve drug companies’
efforts to protect their patents and help
recoup research costs. He said the
administration is working with South
Africa, where 45% of the military is
infected with the AIDS virus, so that
More Die From
: AIDSThan War
: NAIROBI, Kenya(AP)-AIDS killed 1:4
: million people in eastern .and southern
," Africa last year, overtaking armed
¯ conflicts as the No. 1 killer in the region,
," the U.N~ Children’s Fund said recently.
: Theepidemic, whichhas hit this portion
¯ of the African continent harder than
: anywhere else in the world, has left 6
: million children orphaned in eastern aud
¯ southern Africa, amounting to70% of the
¯ world’s AIDS orphans, said UNICEF ¯
DeputyExecutiveDirectorStephenLewis.
¯ 48% of the world’s AIDS cases are in this
¯ region, Lewis said during the release of
¯ UNICEF’s annual report on AIDS. It ¯
called for emergency action to curb the
¯ spread of AIDS in Africa.
¯ "Fundamentally,AIDS is spreading and
¯ stifling the economic and social
" infrastructure of the entire continent. It is
¯ killing the most productive age group,"
¯ Lewis said. "It is doubling and tripling
¯ infant mortality rates. It is returning life
-" .expectancy to the levels of 1960s." "It is
: the modern incarnationof the Dante’s
¯ Inferno," Lewis said. "Neaier has Africa
¯ faced such a plague."
~ Worldwide, some 16,000 people daily
" are infected.by HIV, the virus that causes
¯ AIDS, and there are 8.2 million AIDS
: orphans, most in sub-Saharan Africa, the
" report said. The report warned that AIDS
: could increase infant mortality in eastem
¯ and southern Africa by 75% and double
: the death rate of children under fivein the
¯ region in the next decade. "Thenumber of
: orphans in Africa constitute nothing less
¯ thananemergencyrequiring an emergency
: response," the report said.
¯ In Uganda, some 1.1 million children
¯ under 15 - or 11% of the country’s child
¯ population-have lost one or both parents ¯
to AIDS, the highest number of AIDS
¯ orphans in the world. In the developed
¯ wodd, that figure is at 1%. ¯
Especially important was educating
¯
people on prevention and on building
¯ tolerance in the region, where AIDS
¯ victims arefrequently shamedinto silence.
¯" Men, more than women, were intolerant
¯ of the disease, often refusing to be tested
: or to support wives stricken with AIDS,
¯ Lewis said.
: Lewis attacked Western nations for not
: financing the fight against the scourge in
¯ Africa. "It is morally indefensible," Lewis
~ said, "That the West is prepared to spend
: upwards of $40 billion to fight war in the
¯ Balkans then to engage in the economic
¯ restoration ofKosovo, andless than 1% of
: that to save the lives of tens of millions of
¯ women, children and men in .adriea."
by James Christjohn
Well, Just saw the new Muppets in
Space (MIS). It only served to make me
nostalgic for the days when Jim Henson
was at the helm of Muppetland. His son,
Brian, strives to follow in his footsteps
and for the most parts does a pretty good
job, but for whatever
reasons, the muppets
justseem to be puppets
now, not beings with
personalities.
In MIS, the plot
focuses on Gonzo,
who doesn’t know
what he is. Neither
does anyone else.
Turns out, he’s an
"alien from outer space
that.got left behind on
a mzsslon many years
ago, and now his
family is looking for
him. This could have
been the setup for a
really tinny "Pigs in
Space" type romp,
taking on all the big
space films, like Star
Wars, Close Encounters, Star Trek, etc.
And, while it has a few cute moments,
it fizzles like booster rockets with a furl
leak. I was really hoping it wout~d be good,
so it is with heavy heart I ~rite this.
Missing are the cameos that populated the
first three muppet films to such success,
the rapid fire jokes, and the witty
commentary on society that was the secret
weapon of the muppet minds. This is not
to say that you won’t find a few chuckles
in the film, which is worth seeing at the
dollar movie.
Especially relevant - and attention
getting - are the bits where Gonzo is
telling the gang that"I didn’ t choose to be
this way, I was’born this way." There are
other moments like that as well, which
indicates more of an overt Gay sensibility
to the film that one might suspect. These
moments are what makes the film worth
seeing.The pacing is-off on most of the
jokes - many of which absolutely depend
on the perfect timing to be funny rather
than misfires.
The ending leaves one wishing formore
- morebuildup,more climax, betterjokes.
It is kind ofperfunctory, and at no time do
the muppets sing any of the songs except
for one perfunctory number, and it’s an
oldie everyone will recognize, mainly
because it was overplayed in the 80’ s way
toe much. It was obviously thrown in at
the last minute, probably as a result of a
production meeting wherein someone said,
"But we HAVEto have a muppet musical
number! It’s expected!", and someone
else said,"Well... OK. I guess so. What’ll
we do?" "How about some old song from
the 80’s that everyone knows? That way
we won’t have to pay for songwriters?"
That, too, was disappointing, for one who
remembers the Muppet Movie for the
music as wall as the dream of one little
green frog to "make millions of people
happy."
Switching hats here, I thought I’d cross
over into TFN Book reviewer Barry
Hensley’s territory and make a
recommendation for "Queer Astrology
for Men" by Jill Dearman. Ms. Dearman
writes in a humorous style, which can
seem light until you read - really read -
whatshe’ s writing. (Shemustbea"sadge"
- Saggitarian) It makes the more
~ challenging aspects of the signs a little
¯ easier to take, and makes one aware of
¯ them without alienating or antagonizing,
¯ except in a good natured, "just kidding"
" kinda way. She’s been writing
¯ professionally aboutastrology for 9 years,
and has studied astrology since childhood,
and she does seem to
One of my favorite
numbers was the
"Jadhouse Tango",
wherein a bunch of
murderesses explain
why "they done it".
I think anyone who’s
been in a relationship
could probably
identify with many of
the reasons.
know her stuff.
As an astrologer
(Gemini MoonAstrological
Services, see
ad within these pages),
I am always on the
lookout for new and
informative
information on
astrology, especially
pertaining to Gay and
Lesbian folk This
book fits the bill quite
nicely and accurately,
Informally written,
it is an overview of
the sun sign..(themost
basic part of one’s
personality. Of
course, for a really
accuratepicture, afull
interpretation or birthchart is necessary;
since the other planets can mitigate/
amplify the sun sign’s qualities in any
given person.) As such, it is scarily on the
target.
As a Sagittarius, I found that section
(sometimes unfortunately) to be dead-on:
And having spent more than my share of
time around Leas, I read that section as an
objective "test" of the accuracy of the
writing, and again, it was quite right. So,
if you’re looking for a quick overview of
someone’s personality, and what makes
them tick, tiffs would be one of the better
book.
For a more complete picture, if you
know the person’s moon sign and rising
sign, I would recommend reading those
sections as well. Sun: basic ego quirks and
personality; rising sign or ascendant: how
they appear to others (Which explains
why a sun sign appears to be something
else entirely, emphasis on the "seems".);
and moon sign: emotions and the
subconscious - the way someone filters/
expresses emotional tendencies. Or, in
the case of one Leo I know, not.
It’ s a worthy addition to thebookshelves
of anyone curions about what makes
people tick, psychology, or mateshopping.
And, as a former total skeptic
and a psychology major, I can say give it
arty; you’llbe surprised. Forget the overly
general newspaper tidbits (especially the
Tulsa World -"Sagittarius: Today you’ll
have a day" just doesn’t cut it with me),
and go for the real stuff. This is a good
start,
If you can, check out "Chicago", at the
PAC throughAugust 1 st. The Kander and
Ebb musical starring Sandy Duncan is
worth seeing. The men and women are all
gorgeous, and the staging is perfect. The
story of the "sensationalization" of two
murders for publicity’s sake is certainly
timely. Ms. Duncan is gorgeous and turns
in a great performance, and the dancing
alone is worth seeing.
One of my favorite numbers was the
"Jailhouse Tango", wherein a bunch of
murderesses explain why "they done it",
I thinkanyonewho’s beenin arelationship
could probably identify with many of the
reasons.
see Arts, p. 11
present...
of Dallas, Texas~
Reception
Following
Performance
JO]’ll~ YdlLLIAMS THEATEll
AUG. 2"/~: 28 - 8 PM
~Made possible, in part, by a grant from
the Tulsa Performing Arts Center Trust.
Tickets $12
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~ SUNDAYS
Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 11 am, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
Community of Hope (Welcoming), Service - 6pm, 2545 S. Yale, 585-1800
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Service - 1 lam, 2545 S. Yale, 749-0595 (Welcoming)
Church of the Restoration Unitarian Universalist
Service - 1 lam, 1314 No. Greenwood, 587-1314
Metropolitan Community Church United
Service, l lain, 1623 North Maplewood, Info: 838:1715
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc.
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service.- 10:45am, 3210b So. Norwood
Parish Church of St. Jerome (Evangelical Anglican Church in America)
Mass - 1 lam, 205 W. King (east 0f N. Denver), hffo: 582-3088
Unity Church of Christianity
Services: 9:15 & 11:00 am, 3355 S. Jamestown, 749-8833
University of Tulsa Bisexual/Lesbian/Gay/Transgendered Alliance
6:30 pm, Meets at the Canterbury Ctr., 5th & Evanston, 583-9780
~ MONDAYS
Mixed Volleyball, Helmerich Park, 71st & Riverside, 6pm, call Shawn at 243-5190.
HIV Testing Clinic, Free & anonymous testing. No appointment required.
Walk in testing: 7-8:30pm, 834-TEST (8378) 3501 E. Admiral (east of Harvard)
HIV Rap Sessions at Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
7:30pro, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
PFLAG, Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
2nd MonJeach mo. 6:30pm, Fellowship Congregational Church, 2900 S. Harvard
Women/Children & AIDS Committee, call for meeting date, noon, 585-5551
Council Oak Men’s Chorale, rehearsals - call for times, info: 585-COMC (2662)
~TUESDAYS
AIDS Coalition of Tulsa, call for next meeting date. 1430 S. Boulder, 585-5551
Live And Let Live. Community of Hope United Methodi st, 7:30pm, 2545 S. Yale
Multicultural AIDS Coalition, call for next meeting date.
Urban League, 240 East Apache, 584-0001
PrimeTimers, mens group, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th
Coming Out Support Group (TOHR/HOPE)
Tuesdays, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th, info: 743-4297
~ WEDNESDAYS
Bless The Lord At All Times Christian Center
Prayer & Bible Study, 7:30 pm 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc. Service - 7pm, 3210b So: Norwood
Tulsa Native American Mens Support Group, more information, call 582-7225
TCC Gay & Lesbian Association of Students (GLAS), Call for inib: 595-7632.
Lambda A-A, 7 pm, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd ft.
~" THURSDAYS
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education
Anonymous HIV Testing, Testing: 7 - 8:30pm 834-8378, 3507 E. Admiral
Oklahoma Rainbow Young Adult Network (O’RYAN)
Support/social group for 18-24’s, call Red Rock Mental Health at 584-2325
Substance Abuse Support Group for persons with HIV AIDS, Info: 834-4194
~ FRIDAYS
SafeHaven, Young Adults Social Group, 1 st Fri/each mo. 8pm, Pride Ctr., 1307 E. 38th
~" SATURDAYS
Narcotics Anonymous, 11 pm, Community of Hope,1703 E. 2nd, Info: 585-1800
Lambda A-A, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th, 2rid ft.
~ OTHER GROUPS
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform & Leather Seekers Association, info: 838-1222
Gal-A-Vanting, Womens Social & Cultural Group
Call for info: Mary at 743-6740, Kathy at 322-6322, or Barb at 459-68251..i
OK Spoke Club, Gay & Lesbian Bike Organization. Long rides, 7am on 8~ & 8/
21. Short ride, 6:30pm on 8/5, 6pm on 8/18 from Zeigler Park. Short ride, 6:30pro, 8/
25 from Tulsa Gay Community Center. Write for info: PUB 9165, Tulsa. OK74157
lfyour organization is not listed, please let us know. Call 583-I248 orfax 583-4615.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
reviewed by Barry Hensley
Tulsa City-Couniy Library
For a short time, in 1997, the worldwas
mesmerized’by the odd and frightening
story of Andrew Cnnanart, as he went on
a killing spree across several
states, ending.with themurder Indiana’s
of fashion designer Gianni ¯ ". ~ "
Versace in Miami. This
¯recounting of Cunanan’s
interesting life and horrifying
death makes fascinating, ff
difficult, reading.
Growing up in a lower
middle class family,Cunanan
learned early in life to
embellish tte truth to make
him seem more important. He
studied the.finer things in life
beginning as a child, and by -
high school, dazzled his
teachers with his knowledge
andtaste, andwonrespectfrom
other students with his sharp
wit, easy’ demeanor and
exceedingly good looks.
As he eased into gay life in " sentence at
California, Cnnanan learned thathe couldeasilymanipulate ~’- 39~0 words!
otherpeopleinto situations that
were advantageous to him. He had a few
seim-serious relationships and even had a
sugar daddy at one point. The two people
he was serious about, David Madson and
JeffTrail, each soonrealized thatCunanan
was a fraud. To get away from him, they
each left the state, ironically both ending
up in Minnesota.
As Cunanan’s friends deserted him,
with no job and low on funds, he went to
Minnesota, hoping one of his old
boyfriends wouldinvitehim to stay awhile
- untilhe wasbackonhis feet. BothMadson
and Trail, who barely knew each other,
were simply hoping that he wouldstay for
acoupleofdays andleave. Whenitbecame
gravcst sin,
and the thing
that makes
the book so
hard to read,
is his highly
approach to
sentence
structure.
I do kd
The brothers were being held in lieu of
$150,000 bail on charges of receiving
stolen property after authorities said they
found awallet, credit card, driver’s license
and Social Security card belonging to
Matson.
Federal and local authorities said the
brothers also were being investigated in
connection with the Sacramento
synagogue fires onJune 18 that caused $1
million in damage..
TheWilliams brothers livedinamodest,
wood-frame house in Redding, where
investigators said they found material
espousing white supremacist beliefs.
Amongthematerial foundwas literature
from the Illinois-based World Church of
the Creator, according to news reports. A
former member of the church, Benjamin
Smith, killed himself last week after a
two-state shooting spree targeting
minorities inTndianaand ~linois thatkill~.~
two men and wonnded nine others.
Also found in the house was alist of32
prominent Jewish and civic leaders in
Sacramento, and FBI special agent James
Maddock said protection was ordered for
those individuals. Officials also urged
Reddin~’s only Jewish congregation,
Temple Beth Israel, to increase secun y.
ii
evident that no offers were forthcoming,
Cunanan tttmed bitter and surly. After a
minor betrayal by Jeff Trail, Cunanan
snapped, bludgeoning Trail to death with
a hammer. And so began his killing spree
which also included Madson, an elderly
friend in Chicago, an unlucky
cemetery worker whose truck
Cunanan needed, and finally,
Versace.
Author Gary Indiana did a
lotofresearch butmuch of the
book revolves around what
Cunanan was thinking, how
he formulated his plans, and
conversations between
Cunanan and his victims.
Since all of the participants
are dead, Indiana is simply
making up. a good story,, With
events that may ormay not be
true.But, Indiana’s gravestsin,
and the thing that makes the
book so hard to read, is his
highly unusual approach to
sentence structure. I clocked
one sentence at 320 words!
Frustrations aside, this
is an interesting story, and
there are some fairly good
photographs to help put faces
¯ with names. There is an unseemly photo
." Of Ctmanan’s bloody corpse, after his
¯ suicide, which is better suited to a tabloid
~ thanarespectablebook. Ctmananwas ful!
¯ of contradictions; smart but doing stupid
¯" things, sweet yet mean to those around
him, and;mostofall,complex yetshallow.
¯ His is a warning to materialistic social
". climbers that there is more to life than
superficial appearances, and if you take
¯ things too seriously, you can wind up
: hurting yourself and those you love.
¯ Check for Three Month Fever at your
: local branch library, or call the Readers
: Services departmentatthe Central Library,
¯ at 596-7966.
i Anti-Hate Crimes Legislation
: Advances in Senate
¯ WASHINGTON - The Senate has taken
i a ,strong stand against the rising tide of
hate violence in America by adding the
¯
Hate Crimds Prevention Act to the
¯ Commerce, Justice and State appro-
¯ priations bill, both the Human Rights
"_ Campaiguandthe National Gay&Lesbian
¯
Task Force asserted recently.
¯ "The Senate took a dramatic step
¯ forward in making this nation a safer ¯
place for all Americans," HRC Executive
: Director Elizabeth Birch said a day after
¯ the Senate added hate crimes language to
¯ the appropriationsmeasure. "We appla.ud ¯
this responsibleeffort to stem the growing
: trend of hate crimes in our country."
¯ ’q’his is the first concrete action taken
¯ by either chamber since America buried
¯" Matthew Shepard, James Byrd Jr., Billy
~ .Jack Gaither, and many transgendered
: people whose names and faces do not
make the newspapers," said Kerry Lobel,
¯ executive director of the National Gay
¯ and Lesbian Task Force.
_" "It is a good first step. But we have a
¯ long way to go and we must now mm to
¯ the House and tell our representatives
: how critically important this legislation
¯ is. In short, we must keep up the heat." ¯
Theamendmentapprovedby the Senate
: see Hate, p, 14
Red Rock Tulsa
Free Confidential
HIV Testing
Walk-in Clinics
Tuesday Testing, 5 -8 pm
Pride Center, 1307 East 38th
Wednesday Testing, 5-8 pm
¯ Red Rock, 1724 East 8th
Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-584-2325
Church
of the Restoration
Unitarian Universalist
11 am, Sunday
1314 North Greenwood
587-1314
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Tulsa Locations:
2001 S. Garnett, 437-2444
3733 S. Memorial, 6600344
1216 S. Harvard, 587-177~
Sapulpa Location:
109 N. Mission, 227-2322
And if you haven’t heard Sarah
Mclachlan’s "Mirrorball" CD, I would
recommend that yougo get itnow. As one
of the few artists I’ve heard that sounds as
good live as She does on her studio
recordings, this is a standout collection of
live performances that showcase her
talents to a tee. A DVD/videotape is to be
released soon of-the performances
captured on this CD, with extra songs. If
you didn’t get to see her inOKC, I can tell
you that this is the next best thing.
Also, for those who have missed the
regular "Stevie" updates, Ms. Nicks’
album is nearly completed, with an
October release date,
The most concrete action taken,
however, was acommitmenttomeetagain
as a group on Sept. 14, at the TulSa Gay
Community Services Center (the Pride
Center) at 1307 E. 38th St. probably at
6pro. For more information, call Marty
Newman at 582-4673.
Want to get involved?
Need to get tested for HIV?
Need a Coming Out Support Group?
Call 743-GAYS
Tulsa Gay Community
Services Center
1307 E. 38th at Peoria, 2nd floor
HUman Rights Campaign Fears Religious
Liberty Bill May Threaten Civil Rights
WASHINGTON - The House passed the ¯ discriminate on the basis of sext~A
~::i.: Religi~us Liberty ProtectionAct (RLPA) : orientation.
last month and defeated a substitute bill
that would have closed a dangerous
loophole in RLPA that could threaten
civil fights ff not remedied in the Senate,
according to theHaman Rights Campaign.
"In its current form, this bill poses a
grave threat to civil rights laws throughout
thecountry," saidHRCExecutive Director
Elizabeth Birch "In an unconscionable
vote~.the U.S. House of Repre.sentatives
has indicated its willingness, to trample onthb
civil rigllts ofwomen, people of color,.
people with disabilities and Gay and
Lesbian Americans."
"While we support the intentions of the
Religious Liberties Protection Act, it is
shameful that the House rejected an
alternative bill that would have protected
civil rights," said HRC Political Director
Winnie Stachelberg.
A substitute bill sponsored by Jerrold
Nadler, D-N.Y., was defeated in theHouse
190 to 234 after an hour-long debate. The
Nadler bill would have clarified RLPAby
preventing an individual from using
religious beliefs to undermine local or
state civil rights statutes. Without the
Nadlerbill, which was necessary forHRC
support, the Rep. Charles Canady0 R-Fla.,
sponsored Religious Liberty Protection
Act-a bill designed to safeguard religious
expression- passed the House306 to 118.
RLPA would prohibit any state or local
law from placing a "substantial burden"
on a "person’s religious exercise" even if.
the rule is not designed to infringe on a
person’s religious beliefs. The problem
is; the bill currently does not clarify
whether state andlocal anti-discrirhination
laws can be ignored by a person who
claims that these laws violate his or her
religious beliefs.
"We cannot support legislation that
might threatenanti:discrimination statutes
thatprotect Gay andlesbianAmericans in
11 states and 101 municipalities," said
Stachelberg.
Thefollowing is an excerpt of a letter
that was sent by HRC executive director
Elizabeth Birch to our allies who are
supporting the RLPA without civil rights
protection.
The- Human Rights Campaign is proud
to have the support of a broad-based
coalition ofreligious organizations in the
struggle for Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual
equality. However, in light of the position
many such organizations took on last
week’s House vote in support of the
Religious Liberty ProtectionAct(RLPA),
I wouldlike to share withyou our thoughts
on RLPA. First, we believe the intent of
this legislation is a worthy one - religious
freedom is an important righL But, as
currently drafted, this bill is flawed.
We strongly believe support for this
legislation, as currently drafted, is not
consistent with support for Gay and
Lesbian rights....
Like you, the Human Rights Campaign
strongly supports the principle of
protecting the free exercise of one’s
personal religious beliefs that serve as the
foundation for RLPA. Just as strongly, we
believe that Lesbian, Gay and bisexual
Americans shouldnotface discrimination
at work, at home or in their communities
because of their sexual orientation. It is
clear from statements made by members
of the coalition supporting RLPA that
they believe individual landlords and
employers should be allowed to
’_ Unfortunately, the question
¯ answered during last week’s debate <~n
: RLPA is, in my mind, the most import~zt
: one: what religious liberty fights wo~.! d
¯ be lost or weakened by the inclusion of a
: civilrights provision?Formembers of the
¯ coalition supporting this bill who profc.qs
¯ a desire to resolve this impasse in good
: faith, I find the rejection of this provision
¯ completely bafflin.g....:
¯" " Our ~ concern! ls:.com~pou,n,ded by
statements made by (he bill’.s chief:
¯ sponsor, Congressman Charles Canady,
~ and one of the leading members of your
¯ coalition, Steve McFartand, of the ¯
¯ Christian Legal Society. During
Saturday’s broadcast of the CSPAN
" program Washington Journal, Canady
¯ said"I believe there are contexts in which
: this bill could result in a claimant who is
¯ defending agmnst the application of a
¯ local Gay rights ordinance to raise a claim
that would be successful - I think this law
would trump the Gay rights ordinance."
¯ Mr. McFarland also acknowledged this
." intended use of RLPA in response to a
¯ question fromCongressman Jerry Nadler ¯
during his congressional testimony on
¯ RLPA before the House Judiciary
¯ Committee.’s Subcommittee on the
¯ Constitution on May 12, 1999. I am sure
¯
you can understand why such statements
¯ do little to dispel the very real fear that
¯ some intend to use RLPA as a sword to ¯
strike down the civil rights of others in the
¯ name of religious liberty. Whether it is
; your intent or not, opposition to a civil
¯ rights exemption ts support for
¯ discriminationbased onsexual orientation
" - a position in direct opposition to the
¯ principles that are the foundation of the
Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
: We are particularly passionate about
: the need for a civil rights provision in
¯ RLPA because of the lack of any federal
laws prohibiting employment
." discrimination on the basis of sexual
; orientation. The eleven state laws and
¯ nearly 200local laws are the few and very
: hard fought civil rights protections
] availableforGay and Lesbian Americans.
: Many of those laws took fifteen years or
¯ more of struggle by the local community
¯ to pass....
The Religious Liberty Protection Act,
.~ as currently drafted, will put more
¯ Americans at risk of discrimination, not ¯
fewer. Enacting this legislation without
: stating clearly in the bill that RLPA does
¯ not provide a defense to non-compliance
¯ with stateor local anti-discriminationlaws ¯
undercuts those laws ....
¯ To allow RLPA as a defense against
: discrimination is to defend religious
¯ practices that do real and definable harm ¯
to others. From our perspective, your
¯ opposition to the civil rights provision
." means you are defending the right of a
¯ religious individual, who chooses to be a
: landlord or employer, to impose their
¯ religious beliefs on a Gay or Lesbian
¯ American by denying them a job or a
: place to live because of their sexual
: orientation. To find ourselves in this
: disagreement with you, our long-time
¯ allies, deeply saddens and angers us... ¯
We ask you to join with us as this bill
." moves forward to strongly encourage the
: Senate to include a civil rights provision
¯ and enact areligious liberty protection act
: for all Americans.
¯ - Elizabeth Birch, Executive Director
byEsther Rothblum, Ph.D.
Giventhenumberandrange ofresearch
projects about Lesbians in recent years, it
is easy to forget how challenging it was to
survey Lesbians even a decade ago. In the
1980’ s, Caitlin Ryan and Judy Bradford
conducted @hat became the National
Lesbian Health Care Survey. This study
eventually resulted in 1,925 completed
questionnaires from Lesbians in all 50
U.S. states. It figured prominently in the
recent Institute of Medicine
Report of the National
Academy of Sciences. Even
today, there are Lesbians
(including me!) who
remember completing a
questionnaire for this study
15 years ago. I recently asked
Caiflin and Judy to describe
the "herstory" and process
of conducting the National
Lesbian Health Care Survey
in the mid- 1980s.
In the late 1970s, Caitlin suggested
forminganational organization thatwould
be multi-disciplinary, focus on Lesbian
- and Gay health issues, and sponsor
research and education. She began to talk
with other Lesbians about the need for a
survey. There was no av~i~lable
information on how Lesbians
conceptualize Lesbian health. She was
also interested in how stigma affected
health, mental health, self care, and access
to care.
Sheapplied for agrant though thenewly
formed National Lesbian and Gay Health
Foundation and hired a research
consultant, Dot Parkel, who was a
sociologist and survey researcher. Dot’s
role was to help design the study and to
develop drafts of the questionnaire, using
the input Caitlin had received from many
Lesbians.
Caitlin told me: "I remember talking
with a researcher who was herself a
closeted Lesbian, who sat down with me
and basically told me that I could not
possibly do a study like this. She just felt
that it was not feasible. And, of course,
therewas no such thing as arepresentadve
sample. I saw this womanrecently and we
laughed about her earlier skepticism. She
said, ’I told you that you couldn’t do and
you went out and did it.’ "
Judy got started by attending the
Intemational Lesbian and Gay Health and
AIDS Conference atNew YorkUniversity
with a good friend, a man who was in her
class in graduate school. They were both
interested in AIDS research, which was
just getting started then. EverywhereJudy
looked- and she went to a lot of sessions
at the conference - there were mostly
men. Then she noticed in the Conference
program a scheduled time for a women’ s
group meeting. It turned out to be an
orgamzing meeting for the National
Lesbian Health Care Survey, and Caitlin
was facilitating the group. When Judy
said she was a graduate student and
described a little of what she was doing,
she suddenly became co-investigator and
was responsible for data analysis and
preparing the survey report.
One of the things Caitlin had been very
concerned about was inclusion. So many
of the early studies, and even those
conducted today, have shown very highly
educated samples of Lesbians. Shewanted
¯ . . it is easy
to forget how
challenging it
was to survey
Lesbians even
a decade ago.
: to include women of color and women of
¯ diffeient economic backgrounds and not
¯ have language be a barrier. So she talked
with people about how to ask clinical
¯ questions in a non-clinical way. Caitlin
¯ said: "I talked with women bus drivers,
day laborers, women who had been
¯ recently diagnosed withcancer, about their
¯ experiences and how we should ask these ¯
questions. All of that helped frame how
¯
we would shape a questionnaire."
She elicited
suggestions about language
in a series of focus groups
that took place in several
different parts ofthe country.
They pre-tested the
questxonna]re at several
Lesbian and Gay
conferences and with
individuals around the
country. They would ask the
womenin the focus group to
fill out the questionnaire, and
¯ then they would sit around and talk about
¯ it alittlebit, and hearwhat people thought ¯
of it to make it more accessible. After
" several go-arounds using that process,
: they finalized the questionnaire.
¯ SinceCaitlinhaddone the early Lesbian ¯
andGayhealth organizing, shehad alarge
¯ address baseofpeopleall overthecountry
who were willing to help distribute the
¯ quesdounaires. They set up a distribution ¯
plan that was kind of an unusual approach
¯ tO snowball sampling. The methodology
¯ was intended to get the questionnaires out ¯
as broadly as possible to people all over
the country, including Alaska; They were
concernedwithgetting the survey to underrepresented
populations that hadn’t been
sampled before, so they made a
commitment to getting it to Lesbians in
the military, Lesbians living on Indian
reservations, and Lesbians in prison.
They also. tried reaching non-English
speaking women and they tried to reach
Lesbians of color in a variety of ways,
including having Lesbians of color give it
out to their networks around the country.
The National Coalition of Black Lesbians
and Gays sent a mailing about the survey
and how important it was and how to
participate. The Wisconsin Governor’s
Task Force sent out mailings that went all
over the state of Wisconsin. The National
Organization of Women sent out
information abeut the survey, and
information about it was published in a
variety of Lesbian and Gay newsletters.
The survey went out in the fall of 1984
and by early 1985 they had received
surveys back from 1,925 Lesbians from
every U.S. state. It was a wonderful
experience for them,hearing from somany
Lesbians across the country, and had the
sense of a national movement. There was
an electric energy - everyone had a great
sense of how important the survey was.
Of course, a major issue was how to
obtain money to fund data entry and data
analysis. The early 1980s was not a time
for funding Lesbian projects. Once the
struggles for funding were over (though
the study was funded on a shoestring),
Judy sent the questionnaires out to the
Virginia State Prison, where all the lab’s
data entry was done at that time. She told
¯ me: "The questionnaires did not arrive ¯
back. When our project manager called
¯
about this, seePsyche, p. 13
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by Lamont Lindstrom
For years and years I used to gethaircuts
athome. Mona, spouse, roommates,lovers
- whoever was handy with scissors - had
a whack at my head. The result varied but
the price was right. So I was a latecomer
to theworld of barbers, professional haircutters,
hairdressers, and stylists. Thefirst
time I paid someone for a haircut I was
nervous. I was 40 years old but had never
been inside a salon. That chair, the sink,
those weird tools - it all reminded me of
the dentist. However, I soon learned to
appreciate hairdressers’ skills and also
the pleasure of a shampoo and an
occasional head massage.
But I was still worried when I moved to
Japan for seven months. My hair grew
faster than I could learn Japanese. I riffled
desperately throughmyratty oldJapanese
"useful phrases for tourists" looking for
haircut vocabulary. I had the book in my
pocket when I picked a shop at random
from the scores of salons in downtown
Kagoshima.
Lucky for me, the stylist and owner had
trained with Vidal Sassoon in London.
And he remembered enough English to
understand roughly how I wanted my
hair. He had an army of assistants, too,
who shampooed me and got me ready for
the cut. (They would drape a cloth over
my eyes while working on me - I wasn’t
sure if this was to keep out the suds, or
spare me the rude view of their nostril
hair.) The shampoo always finished with
a beautifully relaxing head massage - a
standard service in Japanese salons.
I have just finished reading an analysis
of hair styling written by anthropologist
Grant McCracken: Big Hair: A Journey
into the Transformation of Self.
McCracken interviewed both stylists and
customers about the transforming powers
of hair. He suggests that we Americans
get new hairstyles in order to recreate and
change ourselves. When we reach a point
in life where we need a change, we redo
our hair. Or when the boyfriend dumps
you, a new buzz cut and goatee can help
relieve the pain.
A few years ago there was a weird
outbreak of ponytails among my 40-
something straight-guy friends
Something about hitting the Big 40 made
these aging friends cultivate their long,
graying locks. Perhaps they figured this
was the last chance before it all fell off
anyway.
Psychologists from Freudondownhave
commented on the sexual meaning of
hair. Delilah cuts away Samson’s
hewas told ,they wouldn’ t code the surveys.
I got another company to.do it and the
same thing happened. Finally when it
came to the third company I was told that
the data entry staff were afraid to touch
the questionnaires for fear of getting
AIDS !"
Over the years, wherever Judy and
Caitlin are, they continue to nm into
Lesbians who participated in the survey,
and who want to talk about the impact that
it had on them. Many women wrote pages
of material in addition to the answers they
gave to the items on the questiormaire.
For published results of the National
Lesbian Health Care Survey, see:
1. Bradford, J.B., & Ryan, C. (1991).
Who we are: Health concerns ofmiddle-
¯ manhood by fleecing his curls. Though ¯ nowadays- thanks to Michael Jordan and
¯¯ others - the bald knob is equally sexy.
Whether one goes for flowing ponytail or
¯
smooth, shiny scalp, the pointis that when
¯ life gets messy or gloomy, we run to our ¯
barber.
¯ In Kagoshima, someof themoreelegant
¯ salon assistants had dyed their black
¯ Japanese hair blond and I wondered if ¯
they were Gay. But then I felt guilty for
¯ thinking stereotypically. All hair stylists,
¯" of course, are not Gay. Warren Beatty in
Shampoo.testified to that. Still, Gay men
¯ have, been deeply involved in the
¯ emergence of today’s hair industry.
¯ McCracken reviews some of the giants of
¯ 20th century hair styling: Ernest Adler, ¯
Alexandre, and Antoine - the 1950s
forerunners of Sassoon - and many of
¯ these men dearly were Gay. ¯
Furthermore, theAmerican marketplace
¯ feeds off cultural creativity generated
~ within local, often otherwise unap¯
preciated communities. It steals hiphop
stylefromurbanstreets;itborrows stylistic
¯ developments in language, dress, and hair
from Gay men and women. The long hair
¯ of the 1960s and the cropped hair of the
¯ 1990s both largely originated in Gay
circles.
The combination ofhomosexuality and
¯ personal service is not unusual across the
¯ world. Many of the small town beauty
¯ salons springing up in the Philippines and
elsewhere, for example, are established
¯ by Gay men.
¯o It may be that culturally ambiguous
¯ homosexuality-whichstands bothoutside
and between the categorical opposition
betw.eenmal,e andfemale-makes personal
service easier. If the server is somehow
outside the arena ofordinary heterosexual
gender competition and dalliance, then
his touch is easier to bear. It is not news
that. map.y Gay men provide personal
service m restaurants, hotels, hospitals,
rest homes, as well as in hair salons.
Next time you need a new you, do
something about that hair. It may be that
developments in genetics and cloning one
day will replace plastic surgery to allow
us effortlessly to remake ourselves:
Perhaps change our skin color, orbuy new
orange eyeballs, or a bigger set ofpecs, or
trade in our ears or more personal body
parts. But until that day comes, we’ve got
our hair. You can redo with a new do.
Which renfinds me. It’s about time for
a haircut.
Lamont Lindstrom, Ph.D. teaches
anthropology at the University of Tulsa.
agedLesbians. In B. Sang, J. Warshow, &
A.J. Smith (Eds.) Lesbians atmidlife: The
creative transition (pp. 147-163). San
Fransisco, CA: Spinsters Book Company.
2. Bradford, J.B., Ryan, C.,&Rothblum,
E.D. (1994). National Lesbian Health Care
Survey: Implications for mental health
care. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 62, 228-242.
3. Ryan, C., & Bradford, J. (1993). The
NationalLesbian Health Care Survey: An
Overview. In D. Garnets & D.C. Kimmel
(Eds.) Psychological perspectives on
Lesbian and Gay male experiences. New
York: Columbia University Press.
Esther Rothblum is Professor of
Psychology at the University of Vermont
and Editor of the Journal of Lesbian
Studies. She can be reached atJohn Dewey
Hail, University of Vermont, Burlington,
VT. E-mail: esther.rothblum@uvm.edu.
and to effectively refute the anti-family
policies of the right-wing; second, to
actively build an effective and
collaborative national pro-GLBT family
network among GLBT and mainstream
organizations working on family issues;
and third, to educate the general public
about the value and values of GLBT
families.
Ettelbrick will assist NGLTF in
articulating a voice in policy debates that
have a great impact on GLBT families,
including debates on adoption, coparenting,
foster Care, alternative
insemination and recognition of "broader
family support networks. In addition,
NGLTF will raise GLBT perspectives in
debates that have traditionally excluded
consideration of GLBT perspectiyes.
Examples include definitions of family in
Social Security reform proposals~ the
Older Americans Act and immigration
policy.
Noted Vaid, "A number of legal and
advocacy groups do excellent work in the
arena of family issues, but no group
currently coordinates the efforts of our
movement in this area so that
collaboratively we can muster the
resources weneedto changefamily policy.
In addition, there is no national research
center for policy development and policy
analysis ~n family issues. With GLBT
families facing attack on so maiiy fronts,
the need for a coordinated national
approach has never been greater."
Announcement of the Family Policy
Programis partofalong-term commitmenl
on the part of the NGLTF Policy Institute
toGLBTFamilies. Beginning in the 1980s,
NGLTFhousedthefirstnational Families
Project. Throughout the 1990"s, the Task
Force worked actively on a number of
family issues. Last year, NGLTF
organized "Celebrating Our Families," a
15-city national tour to raise the visibility
of GLBT family issues and to organize
against attacks by right wing groups. In
1999, the Policy Institute published The
Domestic Partnership Organizing Manual
to help employees and citizens around the
country mobilize to obtain important
benefits for their families.
Founded in 1973, the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force works to
elimiinateprejudice, violence andinjustice
against Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
andTransgenderedpeople at thelocal, state
and national level. As part of abroader
social justice movement for freedom,
justice and equality, NGLTF iscreating a
world that respects and celebrates the
diversity ofhumanexpression andidentity
where all people may fully participate in
society.
For example, if anyone had suggested
that in the third year after weheld the first
Pride March (all 65 brave souls - likely
more non-Gay than Gay) that we would
have hnndreds at the Pride Parade and
Picnic of this year with no less than
Congressman Barney Frank as grand
marshal. While the principal credit for
that goes to Mitchell Savage and Ric
Martin and many others, it was nndcr
Steve’s leadership that these people came
together.
Andjustkeeping theCommunityCenter
afloat is no little task. While the Center
continues to serve many. groups and
members of the community, it still needs
broader support. Air conditioning has to
be paid for (air conditioning repairs have
to be paid for) as well as rent and other
expenses.
I would suggest that the greatest way in
which we can honor Steve Horn - and
those who served before him as well - is
to continue to support the work he did: to
help keep our community center open, to
improve it; maybe one day, even to help
build our own building - imagine.
would expand federal authority to
prosecute hate crimes. Currently, federal
officials canouly intervene if a victim is
engaged in a federally protected act such
as attempting to vote, go to school or serve
onajury. Federal officials catmotintervene
at all in hate crimes based on disability,
sexual orientation or gender.
The Senate also passed a watered-down
amendmentby Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah,
that does not cover sexual orientation,
disability or genderand wouldonly expand
federal jurisdiction to hate crimes
committed after the crossing of state lines.
"The Hatch amendment fails to
recognize that no one should be a target
for bias-motivated violence," Lobd said.
"Hate crimes legislation that doesn’t cover
sexual orientation, disability and gender
is a farce."
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act has
been a top. legislative priority of both
organizations and passage of the
amendment culminates months of
work."With strong administrationbacking
and bipartisan support in both houses of
Congress, we expect to be in a strong
position in the conference committee to
ensure final passage of the Hate Crimes
Prevention Act," Winnie Stachelberg,
HRC’s political director, said today.
The Hate Crimes Prevention Act has
strong supportfrom President Clinton and
the administration has made passage a
priority. Rep. Henry Hyde, R-Ill., has
scheduled a hearing on the measure in the
House Judiciary Committee on Aug. 4.
HCPA currently has morethan 180House
cosponsors from both parties.
theneed for individuals in the community
¯ to support the Center remained.
According to Tracey Conaty,
"- spokespersonfor the Gill Foundation,Tim
, Gill, software developer of Quark,
established the Fmmdation in 1994 as a
: catalyst for and’to provide resources for
: communities in pursuit of justice and
¯" equality. The foundation also seeks to
buildawareness ofthe contributions which
: Gay men and Lesbians make to American
¯ society. Since its inception, Tim Gill and
¯ the Gill Foundation have provided nearly
$13 million to hundreds of community
¯ organizations.
Gatewoodalso mentioned several other
¯" events at the Center. On Sept. 25th, the
¯ Centerwill host aFeast for Friends dinner
in support of THE NAMES PROJECT.
¯ And in Oct. the Center will present a
¯ National Coming Out Day Festival and ¯
¯ Fair. This event will include a mini film
festival as well beginning on Oct. 8th.
: More information will be available as the
¯ event approaches.
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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
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[1999] Tulsa Family News, August 1999; Volume 6, issue 8
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
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Tulsa Family News
Source
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https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24
Publisher
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Tom Neal
Date
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August 1999
Contributor
An entity responsible for making contributions to the resource
James Christjoh
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
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Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News
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Tulsa Family News, Volume 6, Issue 7
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English
Type
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newspaper
periodical
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Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)
Identifier
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https://history.okeq.org/items/show/590
adoption
AIDS deaths
AIDS testing
AIDs Walk
Anti-hate crime legislation
arts and entertainment
attorneys
Barry Hensley
Bars
businesses
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
churches
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discrimination
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Exodus International
Feast with Friends
Fred Phelps
Gary Indiana
gay bashing
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Gay Studies
Gay-Straight Alliance
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HIV/AIDS research
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Human Rights Campaign
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Lamont Lindstrom
lawsuits
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marriage equality
Murder
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performing arts
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Read All About It
religious liberty
restaurants
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Three Month Fever
Tom Neal
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Tulsa Family News
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Tulsa Two-Spirited Indian Men's Support Group
Westboro Baptist Church