[1998] Tulsa Family News, December 1998; Volume 5, Issue 12
Title
[1998] Tulsa Family News, December 1998; Volume 5, Issue 12
Subject
Politics, education, and social conversation toward Tulsa’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities.
Description
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.
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
Tulsa Family News
Source
https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24
Publisher
Tom Neal
Date
December 1998
Contributor
Jeams Christjohn
Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Adam West
Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Adam West
Rights
Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News
Relation
Tulsa Family News, November 1998; Volume 5, Issue 11
Format
Image
PDF
Online text
Online text
Language
English
Type
newspaper
periodical
periodical
Identifier
https://history.okeq.org/items/show/554
Coverage
Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)
Text
Shepard Murder Update
LARAMIE,Wyo. (AP)-A suspect in the deathofaGay
University of Wyoming student admitted to an investigator
that he drove off with the victim and then told him:
’~3uess what. We’renot Gay. You’regonnagetjacked."
After hearing testimony at a preliminary hearing, a
judge ordered Aaron McKiuney to stand trial in the
death of Matthew Shepard, an attack thatbrought widespread
outrage, a condenmation from President Clinton
and calls for tougher hate-crime laws.
The other suspect, Russell Arthur Henderson, had
waived his fight to a preliminary heating and is scheduled
to be arraigned Dec. 2. Both men are charged with
first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery.
The21-year-old Shepard, who had been found tied to
a fence outside of town, died five days after the Oct. 7
beating.
The lead investigator, Sheriff s Detecfi~÷’e Sgt. Rob
DeBree, testified that McKiuney, 21, admitted to the
beating and implicated his friend Henderson, also 21.
According to DeBree, McKinney said that robbery was ."
the main motive but that Shepard was chosen,,as a targe~
because he was Gay. DeBreesaidMcKinney admitted °
Matthew did not hit on them or make advances" in the
.,~FiresideBar,.batthat they luredhimoutintending:to rob :
him and 6urgiari~e hi~ house. ....... :~ . 2 ~
According to DeBree, McKimaey told investigators
that the attack began after Shepard placedhis fight hand ".
on McKinney’ s leg as the trio drove on Laramie’ s east
side." ’Guess what. We’re not Gay,’ "DeBree quoted "
McKinney as saying. ’"You’re gonna get jacked. It’s
Gay Awareness Week.’"
DeBree said McKiuney admitted he hit Shepard two ¯
to three times with his fist, then pistol-whipped and
robbed him. see Shepard, p. 10
Tulsa MCC’s Merge! TULSA - After years of strife,Tulsa’ s two Mb~~poli’-
tan Community Church congregations have voted to
merge beginning at the end of November and at the
beginning of the Advent season. The Metropolitan
Church of Greater Tulsa (MCC-GT) is likely the oldest
Lesbian and Gay organization in the state at more than
20 years old. It was one of the first MCC’ s in the US to
purchase its own building in an innovative bond based
fundraising program. Family ofFaith’MCCwas younger
congregation that grew out of MCC-GT starting out in
Jenks, then later moving to a storefront in southeast
Tulsa.
Both congregations are currently without permanent
pastors and members of each congregation approved
the merger with "overwhelming majorities." The move
also enjoys denominational support. The new congregation
will meet at the building near Pine and Sheridan
which has been the home for MCC-GTbut the vision
that thenew congregationhas is tomove to anew shared
home and see MCC, p. 2
ATLANTA (AP) - Twelve years after the U.S. Supreme Court
upheld Georgia’s controversial anti-sodomy law, the state Supreme
Court threw out the statute late last month in a ruling that
Gay civil rights activists hope
will lead to the downfall of similar
laws around the country.
The state court voted 6-1 to
overturn the conviction of Anthony
Powell, now of Shreveport,
La. Hehad been foundguilty
of sod.omizing his 17-year-old
niece m 1996. He had beencharged
with rape, but his lawyers
argued that the sex was consensual
and thejury acquitted on
that charge.
The court’s majority opinion,
by ChiefJustice RobertBenham,
said the law violates the state
"We cannot think dany
other aetlvlty that
reasonable persons
would rank as more
private and more
deserving of proteetlon
from governmental
interference than
eonsensual, private,
adult sexual aetlv~ty,"
- Georgia Chld Justiee
Robert Benham
constitution’ s provision that citizens are entitled to privacy. "We
cannot think of any other activity that reasonable persons would
rank as more private and more deserving of protection from
governmental interference than consensual, private, adult sexual
activity," he wrote.
In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 165-year-old
Georgia law banning oral and anal sex, ruling that ~e U.S.
Constitution provides no right to private homosexual conduct.
see Georgia, p. 8
::WORLD AIDS DAY
DIRECTORY/t.ETFERS P. 2/3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
HEALTH NEWS P. 6
COMMUNITY CALENDAR P. 9
BOOK REVIEW P. 10
RESTAURANT REVIEW P. 11
DYKE PSYCHE/GAY STUDIES P. 12/13
CLASSIFIEDS + WEERWOLF P. 14
¯ MarriageLawsuit Heard
: MONTPEIJI~.R, Vt. (AP)- Vermont’s Supreme
¯ Courtjustices dearly wereready for thepotenfially
¯ historic case before them. Before 10 minutes had
¯ gone by in their hour-long heating on the question
¯ of same-gender marriage, Justice Denise Johnson
: cut off a lawyerandtoldher to get to the point. "We
¯ have toknow what yourtheories are that entitle you
¯ to relief,"Johnson toldlawyer Beth Robinson, who
¯ was arguing the case for three couples seeking the
¯ right to marry.
: Throughout the hearing, justices peppered law-
, yers from both sides withquestions about theories
: of law, Gay politics and common sense. Each
: jnstiee, from the chief to themost seniormember of
: the court to its most recent appointee, asked at least
¯ one question. They listened intently, cajoled, prod-
¯ ded, occasionally chuckled and scribbled notes.
: "tit’ s good to know the court is thinking about these
¯ issues, and if you think hard about this, we win,"
¯ Robinson said following the arguments.
¯ Oral arguments before the Supreme Court can be
: curious affairs. Lawyers go prepared to fill their
¯ allotted time with an oral recitation expanding on
¯ the written arguments they have previously filed.
¯ They rarely get a chance to deliver their remarks
: tminterrupted because at least one of the justices
¯ generally wants to probe a point more deeply or
¯ perhaps go off in another direction. But seldom
¯ does the court become so immersed in the case
¯ before it. Seldom does the court have as much time
¯ as it allotted Docket No. 98-32, Baker v. State of
: Vermont. Lawyers had an hour to make their case.
¯ Normally they get half that, sometimes less.
: In the hearings in November, they had to share it
¯ pretty much.eq.ually with the three men and two
: women in black robes.-It was almost l~ke a law
: school class where thefivejustices were theprofes-
¯ sots and the individual lawyers were the students
: getting uncomfortably close seruuny.
: - When Robinson rejected a notion that
Local AIDS activist, Bruce. Begley before World AIDS Day
memorial service and march. For more, see page 3.
Tulsa Is Site to Test HIV Vaccine
: TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Researchers in Tulsa are participating in
: a nationwide trial of a vaccine that may help prevent infection
: from the virus that causes AIDS. Tulsa is one ofahandful of cities
_. chosen to participate in final testing of the AIDSvax vaccine,
¯ developed by California-based VaxGen Inc.
¯ "I think it is an opportunity to make history as the first major
¯ trial to prevent HIV infection," said Dr. Ralph Richter of St. John
.. Medical Center, who is leading the local branch of the trial. "It’ s
¯ aumque opportunity, and the challenge is to prove that this works
: by doing a very highly scientific study."
¯ Researchers are recruiting HIV-negative Gay men who are
¯ considered at high risk Of contracting the disease. That includes
: those who are not in monogamous relationships. They also seek
: women who currently are in sexual relationships with HIV-
: positivemen or who have had more than one male sexual partner
¯ and have been diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases
: within the past year.
: In preliminary trials of AIDSvax, nearly 99 percent of those
: vaccinated produced strong levels of antibodies. Final testing of
¯ the vaccine is targeting 5,000 U.S: volunteers at high risk of
~ contracting the AIDS virus and 2,500 high-risk people in Thai-
" land.
¯ John Lysight, 31, recently got his first shot of the vaccine and
: will get a second injection soon. ’ofhis is a beginning vaccine of
." the future. This is what is going to start what I refer to as the super
: vaccines," Lysight said. "I think we are reaching a totally
¯ different realm of meditfine, and it needs to be taken advantage
: of." Lysightlearned ofthe vaccinefrom Richter almost ayear ago
~ and plans to help the doctor recruit study subjects. He does not
: know if he is receiving the vaccine or a placebo.
¯ see Vaccine, p. 11
:
:
:
:
:
everyone’ s goals~ Justice James Morse responded:
"So the label is everything?"
Johnson was the most animated justice. AssistantAttorney
GeneralEveJac~bs-Camahan pointed
out that no other state in the nation had legalized
Gay marriage. Johnson observed: "Somebody had
to be the first in an interracial state," referring to
states that once banned interracial marriages. Trying
to recover, Jacobs-Camahan said that common
law had always made a distinction between men
and women in marriage statutes, but not between
the races, which was what made interracial marriage
bans unconstitutional. "What does that show
other than how long-standing the discrimination
was?" Justice John Dooley asked.
Reflecting that new legal ground was potentially
being plowed with the case, Chief Justice Jeffrey
Amestoy asked Robinson to explain why the state
would want to discriminate against its citizens.
Figuring that one out is a frustration, Robinson
replied.
The State of Vermont’s representatives have
contended that limiting mamage only to heterosexual
couples is good for procreation and childrearing
- a point characterized as discriminatory
and unconstitutional by Robinson, the lawyer for
three Gay couples who brought the case. Robinson
argued that Vermont’s 28-year-old ban doesn’t
serve to protect children. "If the state’ s concern is
about protecting Children, then that would be protected
by allowing these couples to marry," she
said, noting that two of the three couples have
adopted children.
State lawyers urged the court to turn down the
see Marriage, p. 11
see Editorial, p. 3
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 Restaurant, 717 S. Houston
*Jason’ s Dell, 15th & Peoria
*Lola’s, 2630 E. 15th
*Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E
*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
31st 745-9998
834-4234
585-3405
660-0856
584=1308
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Advanced Wireless & PCS, Digital Cellular 74%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 Balch & 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, 743-4117
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker 622-0700
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th 749-3620
*Devena’ s Gallery, 13 Brady 587-2611
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria 744-5556
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan 838-8503
*Ross Edward Salon, 2447 E. 15tit 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 745-1111
*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
*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
*Peace of MindBookstore, 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
ChristopherSpradling, attorney, 616 S. Main, #308 582-7748
*Scribner’s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square 749-6301
Patti Tay, Car SMesman 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, 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, Uniw of Tdso.Cant.erbuty 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 Methodi.st, 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
*Family of Faith MCC, 5451-E So. Mingo 622-1441
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
.Free Spirit’~7"omen, s Center, call for location&info: 587-4669
9t8.583.1248, fax: 583.4615, POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159
o-mail: TulsaNews@earthlink.net
website: http://users.aol.com/TulsaNews/
Publisher + Editor:
Tom Meal
Writers + contributors:
James Christjohn, Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud
Barry Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lament Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum, Mary Schepers, Adam West
Member of The Associated Press
Issued on or before the 1 st of each month, the entire contents of this
~utau.~balincadtiomn aaryenportobteecrteedprboyduUcSedcoepityhreirgihnt w19h9o8leboyr in part without
written permlssxon from the publisher. Publication of a name or
photo does not indicate a person’s sexual orientation. Correspondence
is assumed to be for publication unless_otherwise noted, must
be signed & becomes the sole property of T~
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, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827 ¯ Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
¯" *HIV EK 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, Men/Thurs. 7-9pro, daytime by appt. only
*House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood
" Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438-2437, 800-284-2437
¯ *MCC of Greater Tulsa, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
¯ NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111 ¯
NOW, Nat’ 10rg. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 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, 2nd floor, 74105 743-4297
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
*R.A.I.N., RegionalAIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
Rainbow Business Guild, POB 4106, 74159 665-5174
*Red Re’eL 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 United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171
TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 Eo 15 595-4105
Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays ouly
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. Johnstone 918-337-5353
OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN
*Borders Books &Music, 3209 NWExpressway 405-848-2667
*Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-573-4907
TAHLEQUAH
*Stonewall league, call for information: 918-456-7900
*Talalequah Unitarian-Universalist Church 918-456-7900
*Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360
NSU School of Optometry, 1001 N. Grand
HIVtesting every other Tues. 5:30-8:30, call for dates
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
*Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23
*Jim & Brent’ s Bistro, 173 S. Main
DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St.
*Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l!2 Spring St.
MCC of the Living Spring
Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429
Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery
Positive Idea Marketing Plans
Sparky’ s, Hwy. 62 East
*White Light, 1 Center St.
FAY ETTEVI LLE, ARKANSAS5
*Edna’ s, 9 S. School Ave.
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
*Spirit of Christ IvlCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134
501-253-7734
501-253-7457
501-253-6807
50!~253,5445
501-253~9337
5012~53.2776
50t -253-5332
50-1-62~6646
501-253-6001
501-253-4074
501-442-2845
417-623-4696
:~ is where you can f’md TFN. Not allare Gay-owned but all are Gay-friendly.
Carbon Copy: Don’t Abridge
Freedom To Marry
Recently, basketball star Dennis RodmanandBaywatch
starletCarmenElectra
were able to marry on a whim at 7 a.m. in
Las Vegas after anight ofpartying that his
agent says left Mr. Rodman too drtmk to
speak or stand up.
So much for the sanctity of marriage in
this, the second year of the Defense of
Marriage Act, which was passed by Congress
and signed by President Clinton. It
only forbids gay peoplefrom getting married.
Richard Ramirez, the night stalker currently
on death row for committing 13
sadistic, torturous murders can marry a
woman ~n prison, but a gay person who
never even gotaparking ticket can’ t marry
the person he loves.
Ministers who have merely blessed
same-sex unious have found themselves
in trouble with church leadership. One
was quoted as saying "I can bless a battleship.
I can bless a nuclear weapon. I can
bless dogs or animals, but I can’ t bless two
people who want to make a commitment
to each other."
The freedom to marry the person you
love is a basic civil right, a basic human
right, and an important, individual personal
choice that bdongs to the couple in
love, not to politicians or the government:
Some day, probably not un61 the next
century, that won’ t be an unpopular idea.
- William C. Stosine. Iowa City
With Credit to
The Village Voice
The 1998 Wacko Awards: Losers, Liars,
and Other Political Lowlifes
The Human Rights Campaign
Well, the folks- at the. Human~ Rights
Campaign sure do know how to pick ’em]
After a protracted internal battle, the
country’s largest gay fights group voted to
endorse Al D’ Amato. Actually, it was the
HRC’s board- in a 15-7 vote - that chose
to support the Fonz. Mostmembers backed
Schumer, who romped in the Gay community.
For mstanee, in Manhattan’ s 66th Assembly
Dislrict, Schumerrouted D’ Amato
by about an 8-to-1 margin. This Greenwich
Village district was the first to send
an openly gay woman, Deborah Glick, to
the state assembly and provided Schumer
with his biggest vote total ofany city A.D.
In recognition of HRC"s misguided endorsement,
we present the group’ s board
with the Out ofTouch Plaque and a global
positioning system, so they are better informed
when they next get the urge to
veer right.
¯ Letters Policy
: Tulsa Family News welcomes letters on
¯ issues which we’ ve covered or on issues
¯ you thinkneed to be considered. Youmay
¯ request that your name be withheld but
¯ letters must be signed&have phone hum-
¯ bers, or be hand delivered. 200 word let-
" ters are preferred. Letters to other publi=m
¯ cations will be printed as is appropriate.
by joining forces to be able to secure a
permanent full-time pastor as well. Tins
also will allow them to increase their
outreach to the community. Both congregations
were predominenfly women and
leaders stated the hope of encouraging
men to feel welcome as well.
World AIDS Day 1998i
WASHINGTON, DC - A new studyjust released resoundingly
debunks widely held beliefs about the economic status
of. Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual (GLB) people. Contrary to
what has become the conventional wisdom on the subject,
Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual people do not earn more than
"We lmve long
known that
the myth of Gay
wealth
is ju,t that
- a myth . . .
lneome I~at~on
s~nes t~e
o~ truth on yet
another o[
The Ri~ht~
~stortlon
of the ~a~s,"
- Urv~hl Va~d
Heterosexual people. In fact, they
may even earn less.
lncome Inflation: The Myth of
AffluenceAmong Gay, Lesbian, and
Bisexual Americans was released
by the Policy Institute of the Na-
. tional Gay and Lesbian Task Force
and the Institute for Gay and Lesbian
Strategic Studies (I~LSS). The
report was authored by M.V. Lee
Badgett, Ph.D., professor of economics
at the University of Massa-
.chusetts at Amherst and executive
director of IGLSS.
Income Inflation is a startling
study of the economic status of a
frequently stereotyped population
ofAmericans. Badgett explores the
pervasive andinaccuratenotion that
GLBpeopleform aneconomic elite,
insulated from discrimination by
their wealth and disconnected frbm society at large by a
special, privileged status. After examining data from seven
different surveys, she finds that none support this stereotype.
"The evidence from many different scientifically sound
data sources points to the same dear conclusiom Gay,
Lesbian, and Bisexual people do not earn more than Heterosexual
people, either as individuals or as couples," reported
Badgett. "Some GLB people are poor, some are rich, and
most are in the middle,jnst as heterosexual people are. Now
that we have credible data, we can stop relying on flawed
stu~di.’e3, that were designed to find high income Gay people."
right-wing organizations and individuals perpetuate and
regularly exploit the myth of Gay wealth to bolster their
attacks against the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender
eommtmity. The mythis so pervasive and accepted that even
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia injected it into the
dissenting opinion in the Colorado Amendment Two ease.
"We have long known that the myth of Gay wealth is just
that - a myth," said Urvashi Vaid, director of the Policy
Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
"’Income lnflation shines the light of truth on yet another of
The Right’ s distortion of the facts," added Vaid.
by Tom Neal, editor andpublisher
One of the consolations ofgrowing older is that every
once in a while, something "right" happens you thought
you might never see. Justice sometimes prevails.
Forexample, in thelate 80’ s,my youngest
brother spent some time in the then German
"Democratic" Republic (the DDR in a program
organized by the University of Oklahoma);
and we wondered when, if ever, all
of Germany would be one again.
More recently, we’ ve seen Chilean murderer
and former dictator, Gen. Pinochet, at
least called tojustice-even ifhis age and the
legal wrangling may prevent any real payment
for his part in the systematic disaFpearance
and murder of his own, and foreign,
citizens.
So too, the decision of the Georgia Supreme
Court to say that the apparatus of the
State, here Georgia, has no compelling, legitimate
interest in regulating the private,
consensual sexual conduct of adults. Since
Georgia’s law was the impetus for the
wretched, horribly reasoned US Supreme
Court case, Bowers v. Hardwick, to have the
law undermined by its home state constitution
is sweet.
But it is a bittersweet victory because
Bowers still stands rendering Lesbian and
Gay Americans lesser citizens under our
own federal constitution. Like the 19th century
Dred Scott Supreme Court decision that
legitimized slavery, Bowers will someday
fall. But its decision, (based on primarily on
the logic that this behavior, oral and anal
sex, has always been despisedandtherefore,
based on popular revulsion, should be un- titan
constitutional, tliough note that though de~ - -
Spised, a lotof "them" are doing it too) continues to
butlress anti-Lesbian and Gay decisions, like child
custody battles where the Gay parent lives in a state
where "sodomy" is illegal.
What I like about this column is its flexibility to write
¯ . . it’s been both
~unny and l~tter
to learn that
former Georgia
Attorney
General
Michael Bowers
during the very
time in whleh
he was defending
the Georgia
"sodomy" statute
was himself
breaking a
different
Georgia law by
haGn~ an
adulterous affair.
Obdously,
all animals are
equal but some
are more e~ual
otherS.
¯ ABC’ s 20/20programhas never run a story critical of
¯ nuclear power. Come to find out, the show’ s producer
¯ Victor Neufeld’ s wife works for the nuclear industry.
¯ Rupert Murdoeh, an ultra right wing activist, (he initially offered Newt Gingrich a mulfmi!lion dollar
about any number of things without necessarily having
to pun them together into a completely coherent argument.
So be forewarned that this may wander.
Sent via the Internet: "Morality is what you do when
nobody is looking." - Oklahoma’ s own Congressman,
The Reverend J.C. Watts (R-OK) - who has fathered
two children out of wedlock. Indeed.
Also from our e-mail regarding the so-called "liberal
media": a 1996 Nexis search of sources used by major
newspapers and broadcasters, show that 7,776 medi~
citations were used from conservative think tanks (with
Heritage Foundation topping the list); 4,665 from centrist
think tanks; and 1,837fromliberal think tanks. That
means the news media used sources from conservatives
54% of the time, centrists 33% .and liberals 13%.
KABC, anABCaffiliate in Los Angeles refused to air
any anti-war protest stories during the Gulf war. This
from staffers inside the station.
: book deal thru his H,ar)pe_r Collins publishing firm),
owns the entire Fox media conglomerate, the Fox telei
visionnetwork andFox news channel. He also owns the
New York Post,and TV Guide magazine.
¯ ABC’s David Brinldey had to apologize for making
¯¯* insulting remarks about President Clinton on the air
during the 1996 election. He now is a spokesman for a
; multimillion dollar corporation. John Stossel, known
: for his ultra-rightwing pro-corporate views is a regular
reporter for ABC news.
¯
CBS canned a 60 minutes story on tobacco company
: lies because ofpressure from upper management. NBC
has squdched stories about boycotts of General Electric,
its parent company. CNN has no one as far to the
¯ It is even more bitter now that we’ ve learned that
: former Supreme Court Justice, the late Lewis Powell,
~ decided .that his vote, the"swing" votein Bowers (5-4),
¯ was a mistake. Powell never really seemed to understand
the impact of his act since he also
stated that his mistake never caused anyone
any harm. Indeed.
Also, it’ s been both funny and bitter to
learn that former Georgia Attorney General
Michael Bowers during the very time in
which he was defending the Georgia "sodomy"
statute was himself breaking a different
Georgia law by having an adulterous
affair. Obviously, all animals are equal but
some are more equal than others - if I may
paraphrase that line poorly.
Here in Oklahoma, our Supreme Court had
less courage or less commitment to fundamental
constitutional rights. Oklahoma’s
"crimes against nature" or "sodomy" statute
was declared unconstitutional in 1986. And
like the Georgia decision it involved heterosexual
citizens rather than Gay ones. But our
court chose to state explicitly that itwas only
addressing the unconstitutionality of the law
as it affectedheterosexual behavior. As Steve
Scarborough, staff attorney, Lambda Legal
Defense and Education Fund, Southern Regional
Office explained to TFN, it’s arbitrary,
it’ s unfair but it’ s what we’ ve got until
the statute’ s overturned in another statelevel
case or until Bowers v. Hardwick is overturned
at the federal level.
The great thing is that’s going to
happen. I don’ t know when, or exacdy how,
but to quote that song of solace for both
Black and Gay folk (and Black, Gay folk),
"deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall
overcome some day" Because the fssue here is not
really whatfolks are doingin theirbedrooms but whether
America’s promise, that all are created equal, is truly,
truly what we believe.
Left as Pat Buchanan is to the right on its nightly
political show Crossfire.
NBC’s reporter Pete Williams is a former Bush
administration official. CBS’ s and ABC’ s Diane Sawyer
was a Nixon administration insider before landing a
job covering the news. Britt Hume of Fox News is a
known conservative ideologue who used to play tennis
with George Bush. _
PBS has many shows dedicated to covering corporate
America - Nightly Business Report, Adam Smith’s
Money World, Tony Brown’s Journal, Wall Street
Week:etc., b~ut~noo’ s,hows dedicated to coveringconsum-
.ers or laoor, r’t~ s tongest running show is Firing Line
l~osted by ultra conservative William F. Buekley, the
editor of the conservative National Review Magazine.
Other shows hosted by conservatives regularly are:.One
on One, The MeLaughlin Group and American Interests.
Additionally, a show has been added to the PBS
lineupthat is based on holier-than-thou conservative
William Bennett’s book The Book of Virtues.
ti Talk"ra’di° is.hosted almost exclusively by conservave
talk snow hosts, headed by Rush Limbaugh, Ollie
North, Larry Elder, Michael Reagan and G. Gordon
Li’_d.dy. Former Republican presidential candidate and
religious rightleader, PatRobertson, owns theChristian
Broadcasting Network which airs nationwide. He also
owns the Family Channel and a radio news service
called Standard News.
And those are just a few things to consider about our
"liberal media" ~ except, of course, Tulsa FamilyNews
which is proudly pro-Gay, moderate to progressive in
our politics.
Hats off to Tulsa Oklahonmns for Human Rights,
the organization that provides our Gay CommRnity
Center, formounting alarge and very visible sign onthe
south face of The Pride Center. The sign can be seen
well down Brookside as you travel north. TOHR president
Steve Horn credits board member and volunteer,
Ric Martin, for getting the sign done. Kudos to Ric and
to Steve and see About, p. 14
Texas Sodomy Challenge
HOUSTON (AP) - Two men found having sex in a
private home pleaded no contest Friday to sodomy
charges, initiating a legal challenge to the 119-yearold
Texas law that bars Gay intercolarse. John Geddes
Lawrence, 55, and Tyrone Garner, 31, were arrested
for engaging in homosexual conduct on Sept. 17
when deputies- responding to a false report of an
_ armed intruder - found them having consensual sex
in Lawrence’ s apartment. Justice of the Peace Mike
Parrott fined them $125 each. The men, who want to
keep the case alive to fight the law, appealed the fine
and posted appeal bonds of $332.50 each, which
moves the case to state district court.
"I hope that the law changes," Garner said. "I feel
like my civil rights were violated and ! wash’ t doing
anything wrong." The sodomy law makes homosexual
oral and anal sex a misdemeanor, punishable
by a fine of up to $500. Although on the books for
more than a century, the law is rarely enforced. Gay
activists have worked unsuccessfully for years to
overturn the statute. Of the 19 states that have a
sodomy statute barfing consensual anal or oral sex,
Texas is one of five that specifically targets same-sex
partners. The other four are Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri
and Oklahoma, according to Lambda Legal
Defense and Education Fund Inc. of New York.
United Church of Christ
Leader Support Gays
CLEVELAND (AP) -The head of the United Church
of Christ has asked that a document he wrote supporting
the acceptance of Gay ~md Bisexual people into
the church and its clergy be read alou.d at services.
The Rev. Paul H. Sherry, president of the 1.4-million
member church, headquartered in Cleveland, mailed
a pastoral document to his denomination’ s more than
6,000 churches.
Sherry said he wrote the document in response to
the Slaying of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming and
other recent examples of anti-Gay sentiments that
have been in the news. "The hatred exposed in the
shocking murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyormng
last month underscores the critical importance of this
reflection and of the need for our voice to be heard,"
, " Sherry stated recently.
The pastoral letter is titled "Now, No Condemnations,"
and supports the full participation of Gay,
Lesbian and Bisexual persons in the membership and
clergy of the church. "Knowing how challenging this
issue can be for some in our churches, I hope it can be
helpful to you in the exercise of your leadership,
providing a way to initiate needed reflection, study
and action," Sherry wrote in a letter accompanying
the document.
Kentucky Lesbian Fired
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The Kentucky Baptist
Homes for Children fired a supervisor for being a
Lesbian after co-workers saw her pictured with her
partner in a photo contest at the Kentucky State Fair.
The fired worker, Alicia Pedreira, said she acknowledged
she was Gay when she applied for the job last
May. Pedreira¯was dismissed Oct. 23 on the grounds
that her"admitted Homosexual lifestyleis contrary to
the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children core valties."
In the wake of Pedreira’ s firing, five other employees
resigned in protest, and two universities decided
to withdraw their studentsfromthe BaptistHomes for
Children’ s programs.
The picture of Pedreira that appeared in a contest at
the state fair was takenby an amateurphotographer at
alocalAIDS walk. Thepicture, whichshows Pedreira
standing in front of partner Nance Goodman wearing
an "Isle of Lesbos" t-shirt, was entered without
Pedreira’ s consent.
In an interview, Brenda Gray, a KBHC spokeswoman,
said: "We strive to be fair in our dealings
with all people, including, certainly, our employees.
At the same time, it is important that we stay true to
our Christian values. Homosexuality is alifestyle that
would prohibit employment."
Jack Cox, the home’ s manager until he quit over
Pedreira’s firing, said Pedreira acknowledged she
was Gay when she interviewed for the job as art
therapist and supervisor at the Spring Meadows home
for emotionally disturbed boys m eastern Jefferson
County. Cox said he told her that wouldn’t be a
problem, as long as she didn’ t talk about her private
life at work. In a letter to Pedreira after her termination,
Cox said that no one can be hired or fired at
KBHC without approval of its president, William
Smithwick. Citing privacy concerns, Gray, theKBHC
spokeswoman, declined to elaborate on what promises,
if any, where made to Pedreira when she was
hired or whether Smithwick knew about her sexual
orientation then.
Pedrcira said when she returned to work from a
vacation in August, she learned that several employees
at the children’ s home had seen a picture of her
and Goodman at the state fair and were discussing it
at work. Cox said that his superiors contacted him and
told him that they wanted Pedreira to resign. She
refused. Pedreira said that KBHC. after initially saying
she’d be fired, offered what she considered a
demotion. She said she turned that down and was
fired. She said she’ s still out of work.
After Pedreira was terminated, Cox said he resigned,
as did another supervisor; an employee who
worked for Pedreira; and two clinical social workers.
Cox said Pedreira’ s termination is contrary to the
code of ethics of the National Association of Social
Workers. "For me to continue to work for an agency
that embraces that is against my ethics and personal
belief," Cox said. Spalding University and the University
of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work
said their students were leaving because discrimination
against Gays is inconsistent with the ethics and
ideals of social work.
TheKBHC,a part of the Kentucky Baptist Convention,
operates eight homes across the state for more
than 3,000 emotionally disturbed children. Most of
the children are placed th(re by the state. The KBHC
received about $12 milhon ofits $15.6 million budget
last year from state agencies, Gray said. The state can
withhold money from private child-care contractors
that discriminate against women, African-Americans
and others who are protected by state and federal law.
But, said Cary Willis, a spokesman for the Cabinetfor
Families and Children, "We can’ t base any funding
decisions on whether somebody discriminates based
on sexual orientation."
: California Marriage
Ban Advances
¯
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)-A proposal to declare
¯ that only marriages between a man and a woman
~ would be recognized as legal in California won a
¯ place on the state’ s prima~u¢ election ballot in 2000.
", The initiative was written by state Sen. Pete Knight,
¯ R-Palmdale.
¯ Knight’ s petition drive collected 677,000 signatures,
of Which more than 482,000 were projected to
: be valid voter signatures based on a random sam-
¯" piing. At least 433,269 voter signatures were needed
to qualify the measure for the March 7, 2000 primary.
¯ Iowa Town Looks at
¯ Anti-Bias Measure
¯
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - The Cedar Rapids
¯ Civil Rights Commission has agreed to recommend
¯ that the words "sexual orientation" be added to the
: city’ s civil rights ordinance. With the 6-1 vote Tues-
. day, the ordinance would prohibit discrimination
¯ based on sexual orientation in matters such as era-
¯ ployment and housing.
¯ Commission Chairman Gerald Matchett abstained
¯ from voting, while Commissioner Taha Tawil cast
: the only dissenting vote. Tawil said he thinks homo-
. sexuality is a"deadly sin" and that an amendment to
: th( civil fights ordinance would chip away at tradi-
~ tional family values. "It is an open door," Tawil said.
¯ ’q’his is a conservative city, and we need to keep it as
a family city."
: Commissioner Kathryn Coulter, who at first did
¯ not think the amendment was necessary, said she was
¯ swayed by comments made at public forums by
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opponents of theamendment. "I was very concerned by
what I saw as pretty organized prejudice in this town
against homosexuals, and I don’t think anything convinced
memore than the testimony that was given," she
said. The recommendation must now be considered by
the City Council.
Openly Bisexual Oregon
Legislator Not Hopeful
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Even though an openly Bisexual
woman now holds one of the Oregon Legislature’ s top
leadership posts, shebelieves Gay civil rights supporters
may have a hard time getting their agenda passed
next year. "I’m skeptical of the leadership," said Sen.
Kate Brown, D-Portland, the newly elected Senate
minority leader.
She noted that the breakdown in the Senate is still 17-
13 in favor of the Republicans, so despite any influence
she may have for civil rights issues, her caucus will still
be outgunned. Brown said civil rights backers might
have to settle for small steps, such as the last session’ s
funding of a state coordinator to help prevent teen
suicides, of which Gays make up a significant share.
"We’re treading lightly," said Jean Harris of Basic
Rights Oregon, thebiggest Gay civil rights organization
in the state. She sees the group’s posture as a mainly
defensive one. If the Legislature pushes an extreme
right-wing bill on Gays "we’ll be there to prevent them
from passing bad things... It’s a fight against the
religious right-wing agenda." "We’ re sort of waiting to
see how many anti-Gay things are going to come up and
whether they’ 11 pass theemploymentbil! after23 years,"
Harris said. "The employment bill is the only thing on
the front burner."
The measure to outlaw discrimination against homosexuals
in employment, first introduced in 1975, has
been a key part of the civil rights lobbying efforts for
years. The measure passed in the House in the 1997
Legislature but fell short of getting a Senate vote in the
waning days of the session. ’.’I certainly feel that’s an
unsolved issue out there," Brown said. "Gay, Lesbian
and Bisexual people still are discriminated against in
employment."
But House Speaker-elect Lynn Snodgrass, R-Boring,
who describes herself as a social conservative, said she
doesn’t particularly want to spend time dealing with
thorny social issues. "We need to focus on issues the
people sent us here to do," she said. But added she’ll
bow to the will of her caucus if the members want an
issue advanced.
Harriet Merck of Eugene, a Gay woman who works
at the University of Oregon, said it’ s discouraging that
"we still don’ t have an anti-employment discrimination
bill." But she said she doesn’ t have too much hope of
pro-Gay civil rights gains in the coming session. "You
have to work what you have to work with in any given
session," she said. "
1,000 in Chicago
Counter Phelps Protest
CHICAGO (AP) - More than 1,000 Gay-fights supporters
surrounded a church where an anti-homosexual
minister protested a marriage ceremony for two men
conducted earlier this year. The Rev. Fred Phelps of the
WestboroBaptistChurchofTopeka, Kan., and about 10
of his supporters gathered recently to protest a September
marriage presided over by the Rev. Gregory Dell,
pastor of the Broadway United Methodist Church.
Gay civil rights supporters surrounded the church,
gathered on rooftops, and held signs that read "Stop the
Hate," in anticipation of Phelps and his followers.
Phelps and his followers have engaged in anti-homosexual
picketing around the country, including a demonstration
at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a Gay
University of Wyoming student who was beaten to
death in October.
Chicago police surrounded the anti-Gay group with
barricades as they gathered on a street comer facing the
church. Phelps waved different anti-Gay signs throughout
the demonstration. One signread "God Hates Fags."
"This is tack3,, minimal, cheap, tawdry stuff," Phelps
said in referring to those protesting against him and his
followers.
Midway through the demonstration, some Gay supporters
approached Phelps and his group and were
forced back by police. The anti-Gay demonstration
ended whenPhelps andhis followers were escorted
away by police. Phelps said he plans to return to
Chicago in the next few weeks to continue the
protests.
"It’s unfortunate that individuals and groups
carry the kind of hate and fear that these folks do,"
Dell said of the Kansas protesters. "But however
offensive their message might be, the strength of
community, justice and love is stronger." Dell
performed the Gay marriage service despite a ban
on such ceremonies that was inserted in his
denomination’s "Book of I>iscipline" in August.
The United Methodist Church will put Dell on trial
next year for violating the ban. He could be
defrocked.
Is West Virginia Gov.
Gay-Friendly?
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Gov. Cecil
Underwood is exasmniDg several Gay civil rights
initiatives and has not ruled out proposing legislation
to enact them, his spokesman said recently.
"Does it fit in his legislative agenda? That is being
decided right now," Dan Page said.
Underwood sent a letter to a Gay member of the
state Republican Executive Committee saying he
does not support a "quick fix" on discrimination
issues. But he said "we shall examine very carefully
the positions" Larry Tighe Of Wheeling had
asked him to support.
Tighe asked Underwood in September whether
he stands by his 1996 campaign pledge to seek
changes in state fair housing and human rights acts
to make it illegal to discriminate against Lesbians
and Gays. Underwood said then, "I am opposed to
using sexual preference to discriminate. I feel they
are entitled to the same-protection we offer everyone."
Tighe asked Underwood specifically if he
supports amending the state I-Iumun Rights Act to
include aban against diseriminating againsthomosexuals
in empl0yment,housing andpublic accommodation.
The act now prohibits discrimination because of
race, religion, color, nationality, sex and age. Opponents
have said the additional language would
give homosexuals special privileges. Supporters
say it is necessary to protect homosexuals from
growing violence.
Tighe also asked whether Underwood would
sign an executive order banning discrimination
based on sexual orientation in state government
employment and if he would support changing
West Virginia hate crimes laws to protect homosexuals
as a class. And he asked Underwood to
include the proposals in his State of the State
address in January.
Underwood’s Nov. 20. reply, which Tighe received
Monday, said, "My position on human
rights issues is straightforward and unwavering:
No West Virginia citizen should suffer discrimination
for any reason. "We can realize the vision of
Americaembodied within ourconstitutionby maintaining
vigilance and fighting prejudice where we
find it. We cannot and should not opt for a’ quick
fix’ that touches only the surface of a problem," the
governor’ s letter said.
Page said Underwood’ s opposition to a "quick
fix" does not necessarily mean he has rejected the
legislation Tighe supports. "The governor believes
the long-term solution is changing people’ s attitudes,"
he said, noting Underwood has established
a commission to teach West Virginians about the
Holocaust and has an initiative to promote better
race relations.
Underwood’s letter said, "We should work together
to promote tolerance and understanding
among all Americans, especially those citizens
who would deny freedoms and opportunities to
others... That is a long-term process that deserves
our full attention."
Underwood opposes same-sex marriage and has
voted against ordaining Lesbians and Gays as ministers
in the United Methodist Church.
Rural Americans:
Some HIV Ignorant i!
ATLANTA (AP)-They had_unprotec~d..
sex withpartners ofthesameandoppostte
sex, somclinlcs in exchange f~ .d~gs -
yetmany neverlmew they were~il~
of gettiilg AIDS..I~,tervi.ews wire ~a~
infected pati__egts snow .tpat .s~e ¯
Americans still aren’ tgett~.gtttemessage
about how AIDS is uansmitted, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
reported recently. _ .
Despite theirrisky behavior, about~
never thought they were at risk of contracting
the AIDS virus, theCDCsaid. Of
those, roughly a third admitted they had
notdeahow thevtrus was spread. ~learly
it’ s the people who are engaging in the
higher risk behaviors who appear not to
be getting the basic information about
transmission,"CDCepidemiologistAmy
Lausky said Thursday-. "I guess we’d all
like to think that, 10 to 15 years into the
epidemic, people would know.how HIV
is spread."
Researchers interviewed608adults with
HIV living in rural areas of Georgia,
Florida, South Carol",ma. and Delaware.
Asked why they didn t consider themselves
at risk, 33% of men and 29% of
women said they didn’t know how HIV
was spread. Other reasons given included
not tl~nking their sex partners were infected
and the belief that only homosexuals
and intravenous drug users contracted
HIV. LTnprotected sex and cracl~’use were
common among those interviewed.
The CDC said it doesn, t know of any
studies in which it asked urban HIV patients
the same questions. Researchers
noted that the vast majority of AIDS cases
are concentrated in urban areas. AIDS
cases in rural areas made up fewer than
10% ofthe 641~086 cases reported through
1997, the CDC said.
ter. ’The disease also progresses faster"
in females~ she sai& She also saidwomen
and minorities are underrepresented in
clinical tri~,s, ofnew AIDS and HIV treati
ments, and There may be some biologi-
: cal and genetic differences in how some
people respond to the drugs."
! ~ Stone said everyonein her study had
i -some health insur~ce, so she eliminated
cost as a reason some were ~eated with
protease inhibitors and others were not.
i She said it appeared that patients were
more likely to get the treatment if they
knew about the drugs and asked for them.
’"Some said they had never heard of the
therapy. Whites weremuchmorelikely to
have heard of the new drugs," she said.
Heterosexuals were less likely to get
~ the therapy because they often face the
~ ailment alone, she suggested. ",Many
people get help through networks¯ Gays
i have their networks and so do IV drug
¯. users,"she said. Heterosexuals withAIDS
: usually are women who got the disease
¯ from having sex with men, who were or
: had been drug-users or Bisexual. The
: women often did not know anyone else
." with the diseas&, she said. ’~nis was sur-
¯¯ prising, but even IV drug users knew
more about AIDS than these women/’ she
: said. Of women with AIDS, 58% are
¯ black, she said. Nationally,43% ofAIDS ¯
patients are black; 36% are white, and
. 20% are Hispanic, according to data pre-
¯ sented at the conference.
i¯ HIVTreatments blot
Available to All
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Physicians sometimes
steer HIV-infected New Yorkers
away from the best drug treatment regi:
mens because they do not believe the
patients are motivated or stable enough, a
state-sponsoredpanel ofexperts has found.
Health providers often saw. those with
HIV as members of suspectpatient groups
- immigrants, homeless people, inmates,
¯
the mentally and physically disabled -
: and prescribed treatment accordingly, in-
" stead of treating cases on an individual
: basis, the group said.
¯ An HIV treatment plan "should not be
¯ based on presumptive judgments about
¯ people in any racial, ethnic, gender, age,
¯ riskor other category," thepanel declared.
¯
"The state of New York should ensure
: that every person with HIV has access to
¯ basic health services as well as to provid- ¯
ers with HI¥ expertise," the group con-
" cluded.
¯ The 44-member panel included physi-
¯ clans, medical ethicists, public health ex- ¯
perts and advocates for groups at highrisk
of contracting the virus that causes AIDS,
¯ including Gay Men’s Health Crisis and
¯ Housing Works. It was formed in mid-
" 1997 after reports surfaced that someHIV
¯ patients werereceivingless-than-op~dmum
¯ care because of who they are or because
¯ some doctors and other health care work-
" ers were not up to speed on thelatest drug
¯ treatment methods.
¯ Dr. Guthrie Birkhead, director of the
: state Health Department’s AIDS Institute
: andco-chair of the panel, said the report
: was thefirst ofits kindin theUnited States
¯ to examine the ethical issues involved ¯
with the complicated drug treatments
: which have evolved for HIV and AIDS
¯ patients. Those treatments have become
". especially prevalent in the last three or
¯ four years. Problems with matching pa-
: tients with optimum treatment regimens
¯ "are still not solved at this point" in New
: York, Birkhead said. "It’s very important
: not to make assumptions about people’s
For Some, Less
Access to Care
BOSTON (AP) -Women, minorities and
heterosexuals with AIDS are less likely
than others to get a new and effective
treatment, andignorance of the procedure
may be one of the reasons, according to a
new study, The situation maybe particularly
bad for women, who, according to
another report, may be more susceptible
than men to HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS.
The reports were given at the "AIDS at
the Millennium" conference sponsored
by the Massachusetts Medical Society
and Lemuel Shattuck Hospital. A study
by Dr. Valerie Stone of the Brown University
School of Medicine found that
nearly three-quarters ofMassachusetts and
Rhode Island men with AIDS got the
three-drug, protease inhibitors treatment,
but only half the afflictedwomendid. The
study also found that 75% of whites with
AIDS got the multi-drug, or "cocktail"
treatment, but only 58% of blacks and
50%ofHlspanics did. Half ofheterosexuals
withAIDS were being treated with the
drugs, compared with 81% of Gays and
61% of those who contracted the disease
through drug injections. The study was
made at five sites, including community
health centers and teaching hospitals.
Protease inhibitors given in combinations
have improved and prolonged the
lives of many AIDS victims. New biological
evidence suggests women may be
more susceptible to HIV than men, said
Dr. Deborah Cotton, director of AIDS
clinical research at Boston Medical Cem
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ability to work with them (medications),"
he said. "In some cases, that may mean
deferring treatment- getting peoplehousing,
drug treatment, whatever. But in no
instances does that mean denying people
proper treatment."
Doctors and researchers have had the
best results in delaying the onset ofAIDS
among HIV-infected peopleusing a combination
of "antiretroviral’ drugs which
inhibit the development Of the virus in
human beings. Often, the drugs can extend
the lives of HIV-infected people for
many years.
Typically, HIV patients take three different
drugs two to three times a day,
Birkhead said. "For the average person,
withoutany problems,keepingona(medication)
scheduleis very difficult,"he said.
With HIV and AIDS patients, doctors
must recognize a whole series of related
problems that can prevent medications
frombeing taken, including havingproper
refrigeration for the drugs and language
barriers involving non-English speaking
- HIV victims, the panel found. And,recent
studies have shown that taking HIV drugs
in proper doses and sequences is crucial
because if some drugs are stopped, the
body could develop immunities to them
that will hasten the onset of AIDS.
Thepanel ofexperts saiditis the duty of
doctors and other health care providers to
stay current about the latest drug treatments
for HIV, to make them as widely
available to patients as possible and to
help get patients into situations where
they will stick to a medicinal schedule.
Patients, the panel said, have an obligation-
to religiously take the drugs, to eat
properly, to take other steps to maximize
the effect of the medications and to otherwise
aid in their own treatmentS. In cases
where a patient "demonstrates an inability
to initiate or maintain a treatment regimen"
it may be "appropriate" for a health
care provider to discontinue drug treatment,
the panel concluded.
Amemberofthepanel, Deunis DeLeon
of the Latino Commission on AIDS, said
he would like to see its recommendation
that all NewYorkers have access to anonymous
HIV testing become reality. ’There
was not equal access to appropriate preand
post-test counsding," DeLeon said.
’~3nce a person got tested, thefollow-up
in terms of the medical referral was lacking,
even in some major urban centers
throughout the state." State health officials
estimate that between 150,000 and
200,000 New Yorkers are HIV positive,
believed to be the highest snch population
in the nation.
Quilt to Move to DC
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The AIDS
Memorial Quilt, a 52-ton symbol born in
San Francisco as the deadly epidemic
ravaged the city’s Gay community, appears
to be headed permanently to Washmgton
D.C. The board of the Names
Project voted to begin searching for new
executive offices and a place to store and
display the quilt, which has grown to
more. than 100,000 pounds of cloth and
imagery.
The vote has not been formally announced,
but Names Project Executive
Director Andy lives told the San Francisco
Examiner the move won’t happen
for several years. ’XDbviously there is a
strong emotional tie to San Francisco,
birthplace of the quilt,"he said. "But what
began 10 years ago as an ad hoc response
to this tragedy has become an icon and the
No. 1 AIDS prevention .and education
tool in the country. "My position is that
logistically, we belong in the nation’s
capital... None of us has any interest in
having the quilt be this musty, dusty relic
stored on shelves:. 2’ The Names Project
intends to keepits original storefront space
at Castro and Market streets, where the
local chapter displays a segment of the
quilt. There are 52 US chapters.
~The quilt was the concept of AIDS
activist Cleve Jones during a candlelight
march on Nov. 27, 1985 honoring slain
Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor
GeorgeMoscone. Heaskedfellow marchers
to write on pieces of cardboard ~the
names of lovers and friends claimed by
AIDS. When the marchers covered the
Federal Building with their placards, "it
looked like a patchwork quilt of lives
cruelly cut short," Jones said.
’~ understand what they’re trying to
do," said Mike Salinas, news editor of the
Bay Area Reporter, a Gay newspaper.
"Relocating to Washington will let them
reach a broader audience of visitors from
around the globe, many of whom are in
desperate need of better AIDS education."
World AIDS Watch:
Indian Youth
MANESAR, India (AP) --Hard as it is to
talk about sex with young people, involving
them in AIDS education is crucial to
preventing the spread ofthe sexually transmitteddisease,
communityworkers, health
experts andyoungpeople themselves said.
’Young people have an enormous curiosity
about sex. So let’s build an information
systemaroundthem," saidLN. Balaji,
chiefofplanning ofUNICEF, India, which
is organizing a four-day workshop on the
role of youth in fighting AIDS epidemic
and HIV, the virus that causes the fatal
disease: People in their teens and 20s who
act as. health activists in their own communities
in 17 countries are attending the
workshop. They’ll return home with new
ideas about education and counteracting
discrimination against thosewho have the
disease.
About 1.7 million people in Africa. and
700,000 others in Asia and the Pacific are
infected with HIV every year, according
to United Nations statistics. Indiaaccounts
for the most cases in the world, at 4
million. One half million of the victims in
India are young people. Their number
will rise if young people do not have
access to information, skills and services
to fight the problem, Balaji told a news
conference in Manesar, a town near New
Delhi. Many participants in the UNICEF
conference said youth in their countries
are unable to discuss sex with their elders
because of societal taboos. They usually
endup gettingbadinformationfrompeers
or reading pornographic literature or experimenting
with unsafe sex.
In India, school principals balked at the
idea of health experts talking to studentsabout
drugs, sex or even problems of
youth. ’Talking about sex was considered
outrageous," said Gunjan Shah, one of the
4,000 students and teachers trained by
Sevadham Trust, a voluntary orgamzation
in Pune that is helping spread the
message of AIDS. Sevadham volunteers
slowly persuaded authorities to talk to
teachers. "Soon, they were saying’ This is
exactly what we want.’ From then, there
was no problem." Today, nearly all public
and private schools in Ptme and many
others in Bombay have asked Sevadham
to conduct training for their staff.
That ruling came in a federal lawsuit filed
by a homosexual who had been arrested
under the Georgia law, Which carried a
maximum sentence of 20 ysars.
’This is a symbolic victory," said David
Smith, a spokesman for the Gay civil
rights group, The Human Rights Alliance.
"It sends a message - the demise of
the Georgia sodomy law that was upheld
by the U.S. Supreme Court will hopefully
be a precursor to the U.S. Supreme Court
invalidating all thenation’ s sodomy laws."
Three other states - Kentucky, Tennessee,
and Pennsylvania - have recently
overturned such laws. ’This would help
the continuation of this trend," Emory
constitutional law professor Robert
Schapiro said.
Even though the law applied to both
heterosexual and homosexual activity, it
was seen as an example of discrimination
against homosexuals. The law "has made
Gays and Lesbians a target for unjust
police action in the past and unjust prosecution.
Wehope with this, that will come
to an end," said Harry Knox, interim director
of the Georgia Equality Project
Foundation.
Powell, formerly of Norcross, spent 14
months injail beforemakingbail last year
pending his appeal. "I don’t really espouse’
the Gay lifestyle,’ but’I:understand
their point of view," said Powell, whose
defense was helped by Lambda Defense
and Education Fund, aGay andHIV rights
advocacy group. Powell is now living in
Shreveport, La.
Theruling cannotbe appealed, because
the GeorgiaSupreme Courtis theultimate
authority on the state’ s constitution. Legislators
wouldhave to amend the constitution
to pass a similar law.
FormerAttorney General Michael Bowers,
who defended the law before the U.S.
Supreme Court in the 1986 case, said he
was surprised by the ruling. "I can’ t imagine
how. they can make such a ruling... I
would be very surprised if you don’ t see a
legislative move to alter that."
The 1986 case involved a challenge by
Michael Hardwick, a Gay Atlanta bartender
who was arrested for committing
sodomy in his home. Prosecutors later
dropped the charge..Hardwick, who died
of AIDS in 1991, sued state officials to
have the law declared unconstitutional.
The Georgia Supreme Court never ruled
on Hardwick’s case because his suit was
filed in federal court.
In the lone dissent to the ruling, Justice
George H, Carley wrote that the majority
misconstrued the state constitution and
"’usurped the legislative authority of the
General Assembly to establish the public
policy of this state." Carley said the Georgia
Constitution contains "no express recognition
of a right to privacy." The antisodomy
law was upheld by the state Supreme
Court in 1996, but that case turned
on the solicitation of sodomy, not the act
itself.
Eighteen states still have laws against
sodomy. Louisiana has such a law. It is
under state court challenge and a judge’s
ruling is pending. Thosechallenging these
laws in various states now have ’Tuel and
ammunition see Georgia, p. 14
to fight the battle," said Powell’ s attorney
Steven H. Sadow.
The following are excerpts from the
majority and dissenting opinions:
The majority opinion was written by
Chief Justice Robert Benham:
’q~he right of privacy has a long and
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TULSA
PHILHARMONIC
Handel’s
Messiah
TULSA ORATORIO CHORUS
Conducted by
EDWARD BYROM
Branch Theatre, Holland Hall
December 3 & 4,1998 at 8PM
Sponsored by Omni Medical Group.
A Gospel
Christmas
Tulsa’s All Star Gospel Choir
Proudly Sponsored by
Parade of Lights.
Come celebrate the spirit of tile holiday season
at the PSO Christmas Parade of Lights.
Saturday, Decemberl 2, Downtown Tu!sa.at 6 p.m.
View parade floats up close, Friday, December 11.
at the HolidayFest (Brady Arts District) from 6-9 p.m.
Public Service Company of Oklahoma
A Central and South West Company
PRIMARY SCHOOL TOURS
Holland Hall
SCHOOL
MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL TOUR
MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL TESTING
To reserve your place, please call the Admission Office
at 481’1111, extension 251.
¯ 5666 E. 8lst Street - Between Yale & Sheridan - Tulsa
wvJw.hollandhall.org
HolI~dHalladmt~squdih’edstu~’n~ wt~h~mr~gardro rac~; sea; tz’li~bn, naubnalorcd~nt~o~4n, orph~~t~al
~ SUNDAYS
Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 11 am, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
Community of Hope (United Methodist), Service - 6pro, 2545 S. Yale, 585-1800
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Service - 1 lam, 2545 S. Yale, 749-0595
Church of the Restoration Unitarian Universalist
Service- llam, 1314 No. Greenwood, 587-1314
Tulsa’ s Metropolitan Community Church (Family of Faith & MCC-GT)
Service, 10:45am, 1623 North Maplewood, Info: 838-1715
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc.
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 10:45am, 3210e 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 Bisexuai/Lesbian~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)
~P 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
7:30pm, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
PFLAG, Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
2nd Mon/each too. 6:30pro, 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 meeung date.
United Way Bldg. 1430 S. Boulder, 585-5551
Multiculturai AIDS Coalition, call for next meeting date.
Urban League, 240 East Apache
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 (TOHRAIOPE)
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 - 7pro, 3210e So. Norwood
Tulsa Native American Mens Support Group, more information, call 582-7225
TCC Gay & Lesbian Association of Students (GLAS), Cal! for info: 595-7632.
Lambda A-A, 7 pm, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd ft.
~ THURSDAYS
HOPE, mv Outreach, Peevention, Education
Anonymous HIV Testing, Testing: 7 - 8:30pro 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/eachmo. 8pm, Pride Ctr., 1307 E. 38th
~ SATURDAYS
Narcotics Anonymous, 11 pro, Commllnity of Hope;1703 E. 2nd, Info: 585-1800
Lambda A-A, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd ft.
~ OTHER GROUPS
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform & Leather Seekers Association, info: 838-1222
Womens Supper Club, Call for info: 584-2978
OK Spoke Club, Gay & Lesbian Bike Organization. Info: PUB 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.
lfyour organization is not listed, please let us know. Call 583-1248 orfax 583-4615.
by Adam west " " "
Tulsa City-County Library
With the millenium close to an end, the
rate of novels dealing with the subject are
sure to skyrocket. Some wise individuals
got onto the trend early,
though, and one of these is
British science fiction author
Elizabeth Hand. Due to my
intense love of sci-fi, I was
recently asked to review this
bookfor theTulsaCity-County
Library system in response to
a customer’s request to have
the book withdrawn from our
shelves. Customer objections
to material are always taken
seriously, and so I found myselfreading
this The Glimmering
looking for evidence of
obscenity in its rather graphic
sexual scenes.
Before you run out and
snatch this one off the shelves,
let me warn you - the sex
scenes aren’t that graphic, and
what’s worse, they’re written
with little, attention to the
beauty of the written word and
an inordinate amount of pornlevel
vulgarity. Hand is inept
at writing worthwhile erotica,
but there are other reasons to
devote some time to this dismrbing
and elegant novel.
For those ofyouwho dislike
sci-fi, you should know that
this book is more speculative
fiction (along the lines of
Marge Pierey) than science fiction. There
are no aliens here, only some premature
advances in technology and some lessthan-
scientific consequences. This novel
should not be enjoyed for its sci-fi aspects
anyway. The real beauty of The Glimmering
shines through its characters, thanother
note to the style, The Glimmering is
in split-focus, with every other chapter
altemating between two protagonists, Jack
and Trip. It is only near the end that
everything comes together, but keep reading-
the coalescent result is smooth and
logical (albeit extremdy coincidental).
Jack is a forty-something gay man dying
of AIDS; who finds an unlikely cure
called Fusax. Trip Marlowe is a teenage
Christian Rock idol who loses his faith
¯when he discovers sex and the female
body. The two characters could hardly be
reached a sagebrush-strewn area at the
foot of the Laramie Range where the
dying Shepard was found 18 hours later.
DeBree said that McKinney was asked if
Shepard begged for his life and the defendant
replied: "Well, yeah- he was getting
the (expletive) beat out of him."
The autopsy showed that the 5-foot-2-
inch Shepard was struck in the head about
18 times, prosecutor Cal Rerucha said.
Officers testified that Shepard’s face was
caked with blood - except where it had
been partially washeddeanby tears. They
said his wrists were bound so tightly, it
was difficult to cut the rope.
Explaining the violence, McKinney told
his girlfriend, Kristin Price, "’Well, you
know how I feel about Gays,"’ Police
Detective Ben Fritzen testified. And
DeBree said McKinney repeatedly re-
: in more polar opposition. While Jack is
: noble, dignified and worldly, Trip brings
: self-absorption, infantile behavior and ig-
¯ norance to new lows. The chapters focus-
: ing on-Trip will probably be tedious for
For those d
you who dislike
sei-fi, you
should know
that this book
iS more
speeulative
fietlon...
There are no
aliens here...
This novel
should not
be enjoyed
for its sei-fi
azpeets anyway.
The real
beauty of The
Gl;mmer~ng
shines through
its characters.
anyone with depth, although
he does have his looks and a
misguidedinnocentloyalty (to
the girl he impregnates) to save
him from complete inanity.
It is nldmately the character
of Jack that makes this
book so important. Jack constanfly
berates himself for being
selfish, but he is horribly
mistaken. Jack comes from
wealth, and in the political destabilization
of 1999,his home
is one of the few havens availablein
thenovel. Thoughmost
of his family’s money is gone,
he maintains the upstate New
Yorkestatein order to give his
aging grandmother comfort
and provide his friends with a
secure getaway in times of
need.
Jack undertakes a sort of
spiritual journey that we all
sometimes feel a need for: the
process of remembering what
is important in our lives. Jack
longs for health and sex and
stability, but what he really
needs is’the "knowledge thathe
has had a positive impact in
the lives ofthe people he loves:
It’s not a complicated lesson,
but for some reason it escapes
most of us, most of the time.
I’m aware that I haven’t given you a
great amount 6f detail about this particu-
¯ lar story, and my descriptions of the characters
are rather vague, but that really
can’t be helped. Although ElizabethHand
has a complete lack of skill with erotica,
her ability to create elegant, complex stones
and characters and weave them together
so intricately with her plot is superb.
To tell you much more about the
characters would reveal too much of the
progression of the plot. Read this one
before the millenium ends. It’s not going
to be accurate, but you’ll have plenty of
ideas to consider on December31 st, 1999.
Adam West is an associate with Tulsa
City-County Library System and an OSU
alumnus. He is not now and never has
been Batman.
ferred to Shepard as "queer" and "faggot."
McKinney sat expressionless for most
of the five-hour hearing, smiling once or
twice when he spoke with l’us attorneys.
Shepard’s parents, Dennis and Judy
Shepard, sat in the front row, his mother
crying when a deputy identified photo-
., graphs of her son in the hospital.
¯ Public defender Dion Custis said the
¯ state failed to meet its burden ofproof that
" the murder was planned and said Shepard
¯
was not kidnapped, but went willingly. A
¯ watch, money and other property left at
¯ the crime scene showed that robbery was
¯¯ not a factoreither, he said. Ms. Price, 18, and Henderson’s girl-
: friend, Chasity Vera Pasley, 20, will be
¯ arraigned Dec. 9 on accessory after the ¯
fact to first-degree murder. Henderson
¯ and McKinney are being held without
¯ bond. Rerucha has not yet indicated if he
¯ will seek the death penalty.
-Kelly Kirby CPA,. PC
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by Jean-Pierre Legrandbouche
Some of oureatin’ andda’tnkin’ buddies
will go to a restaurant, f’md a dish they
like, and then order the stone food, over
andover,eve~ time they go thct~. Notus.
We prefer the adventure of tr~ng everything
on the menu, and
the variety of selecting
differententrees ondifferent
occasions. If our
waiter shouldhappento
remember a previous
-visit and suggest a repeat
sampling, invariably,
we will decline
and eat something different.
Exceptat Phill’ s.
We have the waitresses well trained by
now, and they know that any time we
come in after l0 a.m., they’d better put
aside a slice of the coconut creme pie for
us, because we always eat a piece whenever
we’ re in for luncheon. This coconut
pie is wonderful. Made from scratch -
none of that coconut-flavored vanilla
pudding stuff - with a classic creme
patisserie-style recipe,it’ s lovingly poured
into adreamy, flakey, flavorful, lardpastry
shell, and topped with clouds of real
whipped cream. It’ s not a snooty coconut
tart from a New York City bistro cooked
by a cook with a bad French accent. It’ s
just a plain old piece of good old Oklahoma
pie.
Phill’s Diner, located just east of
Harvard on 32rid Street, serves up a lot of
plain ,old .good Oklahoma cooking. In
fact, it s such a classic, that when we’re
¯ .entertaining out-of-town performing artists
in for a gig with the Phil or the Ballet
or the Opera, and they want some "Oklahoma
fOod," this is where weend up.
Only open for breakfast and lunch,
phill’ s is a classic diner. Blue plate specials.
Biscuits andgravy. Basichamburgers
and fries. Chicken fried steak. Homemade
cinnamon rolls that sell out almost
every morning. Sirloin steak and egg
breakfasts. And, unlike other popular diners
in Tulsa, Phill’ s hash’ t succumbed to
being trendy. It’ s still a neighborhood
place,marketing mostlyby wordofmouth.
But, you have to remember that this is
a low key kind of place. Vinyl banquettes
havethe occasional tapepatch. Sodafountain
bar stools face a functioning service
area. Glasses are plastic. Dinnerware is
mismatched - and includes the sundry
remnants of an IHOP going out of bnsi~
heSS sale. There is nothing pretentious
about this place.
On a recent visit, we decided to have
the grilled liver and onions, which, with a
simple Iceberg salad, two,~egetables (cho-
Two-thirds of U.S. volunteers will re-
¯ sen from the chalkboard), and a basketful
: of-freshly baked dinner rolls, only cost
: $4.99. Theliver, an easy meat to over-
. e~ok, was nicely done, and our only corn-
: plaint was that we got a few onions from
¯ the outside stem-end of the bulb which
were a bit papery. Our
companion opted for
the chicken fried steak,
which cost just a little
moreat $5.69. His steak
filled the plate, and the
aroma was wonderful.
Phill’s recipe includes
abitmore than a hint of
garlic, and the steak
was very satisfying.
: The green beans with bacon were heavily
¯ seasoned with black pepper, and that is
¯ almostatrademarkcharacteristicofPhill’s
: food. He likes things to have seasoning.
¯¯ Somemay not like things so "spicy," but,
with his tendency to use exotic ingredi-
." ents like salt, pepper, butter, onions, gar-
¯ lic, and bacon, we find the spicing charm-
: ing - kind of like visiting a friend’s
: mother’s house for supper.
Another great time to visit Phill’ s is for
¯" a late breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday
’. morning. The chalkboard specials almost
: alwayshaveanmterestmg *orunch food,
¯ ~uch asMalibu French toast (French toast ¯
with orange marmalade), an avocado,
¯
bacon, and cheddar cheese omelette, and,
¯ for those who like corned beef, a hefty
, serving of eggs and hash. Prices vary,
generally in the $4-5 range. Huge, fluffy
¯ hotcakes are also apopularmorningitem,
: with one ample cake going for $1.29, and
¯ two for $2.29. If you really think you can ¯
eat it all, they also have a triple stack for
." $3.29 (but eating like that is not going to
¯ help youfitinthosenew bicycling shorts).
¯ And, in the best Southerntradition, one ¯
can also order a brealffast side order of
¯ sliced tomatoes forjust99 cents. After all,
¯ it isn’ t breakfast without tonaatoes.
¯ Whenthe autunm weatherbegins to get ¯
more of a nip in the air, we’ 11 be looking
¯ forward to several other Phill’s staples.
¯ especially his homemade Irish stew and
his pinto beans with ham. A big bowl of
¯
one of these ($1.99 cup, $2.99 bowl) and
¯ a basketful of his cornbread is more than
¯ enough to refuel on a chilly afternoon.
." Phill’ s slogan is, "home of good food."
: Go to Phill’ s. You’ II feel at home. Andthe
¯ food certainly is good.
: I Editor’s note: Mary Schepers. our Do-
"I It-Yourself-Dyke is taking this month
: off, and so we bring you this review by
Jean-Pierre Legrandbouchewhichfirst
". ran tn our November 1997 issue.
ceive the vaccine. Richter said the Tulsa
trial has enrolled about 12 volunteers but
can enroll as many as 150. No women
have enrolled yet. Volunteers receive free
shots and about $40 to help with transportation,
Richter said.
Lysight said Tulsa has a large Gay
community, making it an ideal.site for the
study. He said he has known at least 15
people who died of AIDS complications
within the past seven years. Study volunteers
commit to participatefor three years.
They receive three injections of the genetically
engineeredvaccine over several
months. Those are followed up with a
Phill’ slogan is,
"home of goocq food."
Go to Phill’ .
You’ll feel at home¯
And the food
certainly is good.
series of booster shots. The vaccine uses
: engineered copies of a protein found on
." the outer coating of the HIV virus. It is
¯ designed toprompt theimmune system to
: make antibodies, which can attack invad-
¯ ing viruses before they infecthealthy cells.
¯ Lysight said he hopes to help pave the
¯ way for avaccinethat blocks HIV the way
~ today’s vaccines target small pox or
¯ chicken pox. "Until there is a vaccine or
: anything to help it. nobody will want to
: accept what the problem is," he said.
: Local AIDSgroups and the Tulsa City-
County Health Department are collabo-
: rating on the project and will assist’in
: recruiting trial volunteers. Other cities in
¯ the study include New York, Chicago, St.
Louis, Denver, Philadelphia and sites in
"- Florida, Texas and California.
by Esther Rothblum
I recently talked with a group of five
young women in a Vermont high school
about what it means to be Lesbian, Bi, or
questionning. These women students -
and a teacher- have been
meeting weekly in their
school after hours. Hard as it
may be for us older Lesbians
to believe, but such groups
are a part of all high schools
in the Burlington, Vermont
area.
The women were proud
that their classmates hadjust
voted in (500 in favor, 100
against) a club to be called
the "Gay and Straight Alliance."
As one woman said
"what was so good about the
process was that it was so
out there, and an explanation
went along with it, so
.... ~bool life is not
wlthout harassment,
¯ . . Another woman,
who is Bisexual,
has been called a
"dyke"by another
student.
Als0, students in
their high school will
refer to something
they don’t llke as
"gay," as in "thatdress
is so
people knew it wasn’t just a
Gay thing." In fact, one of the club’s
organizers received a school medal for
her efforts.
BUt school life is not without harassment.
One student said: "Yesterday, a kid
came up to me and said ’I would really,
appreciate it if you didn’t make out with"
other girls in the hallways.’ I’ve never
done anything like that in school." Another
woman, who is Bisexual, has been
called a "dyke" by another student: Also,
students in their high school will refer to
something they don’t like as "gay," as in
"that dress, is so gay.’"
The women I interviewed were aware
of internalized homophobia as well. One
woman said: "In eighth grade there was
this kid that everyone said he was Gay. He
couples’ request to overturn the prohibition.
In legal briefsand arguments to the
court, they said mamage historically has
been defined as a union between a man
and a woman because same-sex couples
can’t biologically bear children. ’‘To say
(otherwise) would be to say there’ s absolutely
no connection between marriage
and procreation," said Assistant Attorney
General Eve Jacobs-Camahan. "It’s a
unique social institution based on the
sexual communion of a man and a
woman."
Vermont is now the only state with a
Supreme Court considering the question
of Gay marriages. In last month’s elections,
voters in Hawaii and Alaska essentially
overturned court rulings that were
moving toward legalizing such unions.
Robinson said refusing to allow samegender
couples to marry was as discriminatory
as bans on interracial marriage,
firstoverturnedby the CaliforniaSupreme
Court in 1948. "The parallels between
that case and this case are striking," she
said. In 1948, proponents of California’ s
interracial ban used many of the same
arguments as Gay marriage opponents
today, such .as the promotion of procreation,
she said.
But Assistant Attorney General Timothy
Tomasi said bothmen and women are
given the right to marry, and a court redefining
it would cut into the rights of the
Legislature. ’‘There’ s no benefit given to
¯¯ had a very hard time with harassment.
Then when I came out my freshman year,
¯ hestartedmaking fun ofm!! I said to him:
: ’Don’t yon remember how-bad it felt
¯ when everyone made fun of you?’ He
said: ’But I wasn’t and you
are." In s,o,me ways, I was his
revenge.
Another woman was concerned
about how her heterosexual
friend would be
viewed. She said: "I think
mybeing fairly out in school
affected her. We used to sit
together in class and spend a
lot of time together. We’ve
been friends since kindergarten.
I think the fact that
we were so close actually
negalively affectedher, with
people assuming that she was
Gay as well. I found myself
pulling away from her so
that she wouldn’t be stereotyped.
I wanted her to be able to find a
boyfriend and be happy; I didn’t want her
harasssed."
In some ways, being Gay is viewed as
trendy in their school, but only when it
refers to female students, mostly those
who are Bisexual. But the women I interviewed
felt that trends are viewed as a
phase, and their classmates wonder When
this particular trend will finalh, be over.
"My friends thought I was a "~oser’ because
I told them that I was Bi," said one
woman.
Esther Rothblum teaches Psychology
at the University ofVermont andEditor of
the Journal ofLesbian Studies. Ske can be
reached at Dewey Hall, Univ. of Vt.,
Burlington or: esther.rothblum@uvm.edu
males that isn’ t given to females," he said.
The lawsuit challenges a 1975 rulingby
the state’ s attorney general advising town
clerks that Vermont law defined civil
marriage as a union between a "bride and
a groom," in effect prohibiting same-sex
couples from marrying. Ten groups, ~ncluding
a coalition of other states, wrote
briefs supporting Attorney General William
Sorrell’s definition. Seven other
groups have filed arguments that contend
Vermont" s Constitution guarantees Gays
the same rights to marriage as heterosexuals.
Hordes of people showed to watch the
arguments. Folding chairs were setup and
the court, for the first time ever, required
tickets to get in the building. They were
snatched up the moment doors opened,
hours b.efore the scheduled arguments.
From the point of view of the couples,
who found themselves at the center of a
national debate and sat in a front row, the
arguments couldn’t come soon enough.
"Twenty-five years ago, when we met
and fell in love, mamage was not something
any of us that were same-gender
couples thought about," said Holly
Puterbaugh of Milton, one of the plaintiffs.
"it just was not in the conversation,
it was not in the thinking." She and Lois
Farnham are raising a daughter together.
Want to get involved? Need to get tested
for HIV? Need a Coming Out
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the Pride Center
1307 E. 38th at Peoria, 2nd floor
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An Attorney who will fight for
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Domestic Partnership Planning,
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Criminal Law & Bankruptcy
1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
128 East Broadway, Drumright, Oklahoma
weekend and evening appointments are available.
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Are You Gay or Bisexual?
Are You Native American?
Tulsa’s Two-Spirited Indian Men’s
Support Group is here for you!
¯ Evening support group meetings
¯ Relationship workshops
¯ Short trips, outings and retreats
¯ Free HIV testing
For inforr~ation call Tulsa Native American AIDS Prevention Project
at 582-7225 Ext, 208 or 218
by Lamont Lindstrom, Ph.D.
Whenl moved into Iankahar, a
small South Pacific village in Vanuatu, I
worked hard to learn all the names of my
70 or so new neighbors. I
was proud of myself for
memorizing everyone’ s
name in just a week or two,
particularly since many
people have both a local
name and a European one.
Or I was until the day I called
out to young Joshua, an active
5-year:old who liked to
hang around my hut. He
shyly informed me that his
name was now Tio. "But
what happened to Tio?" I
asked, confused. Tio, I
thought, was the helpful son
of my neighbors Vani and
Kaisaia. Joshua, or rather
now Tio, drawing in the dirt
with his big toe, told me that
Tio was now called Kamuti.
But this was equally confusing.
Kamuti - or so I had
memorized - was an older,
childless man who lived in a.
rattletrap hut at the end of
the village.
I pestered people in my
rudimentary Pidgin English
until they" helped me understand
that old Kamuti, sensing
death, had just adopted
20-someflfing Tio who took
his name. This left open the
Ameriean Gay
culture includes
several drag
naming traditions.
Much of the
attraetlon of drag
comes from its
eonstruetlon of
hyper-femlnlnlty
- an image of
perfected
womanhood that
no real female
could, in reality,
obtain.
This is why
RuPaul and
Barble are twins -
they both are
way beyond
female reality.
name-"Tio" that the former Joshua assumed.
Men’s names on this island are
really titles. They emplace individuals
within a structure of kinship groups. Each
nmne. moreover, comes with rights to
certain land plots. Joshua’s father had
more sons than nmnes to give out, so the
bob was making do with the European
"’Joshua" until a landed personal title (like
Tio) freed up. Persona! names in Iankab,ar
thus link individuals into land-holding
kinship ~oups which are the basic building
blocks of island society.
AnthropoloNsts study personal naming
systems in order to learn more about
people’ s understandings of selfhood, and
of the ways in which they conceive of
individuality and society. In many cultures,
people may have several names at
once, or may take on additional names as
they go throughlife. ,americans are familiar
with first names, middle names, nicknames,
family or surnames, pen names,
stage names, and aliases; and the majority
of ~american women still change their
familynames at marriage (as Hillary went
from Rodham, to Clinton, to Rodham
Clinton). Still, people in other societies
may have far more opportunities than we
do to collect various names or to swap one
name for another
In some cultures, each time an individual
enters a new phase of life (childhood,
adulthood, old.age), he takes a different
name. In classic Chinese society,
important men acquired "death names";
because, dead, you ate a changed person
and you need a different name. The Japanese
borrowed this custom which is why
theformerEmperor!tirohito is now called
Showa. Elsewhere, people takenew names
after important events in their lives, such
as surviving a major illness. In Samoaand
other Polynesian cultures, people commonly
have several names, one of which
may be a tide. Names are context dependent-
people call one another by whichever
of their names best fits the occasion.
Most American names are gendered;
some are male, others female.
It is not surprising,
therefore, that transgendered
individuals, and drag queens,
almost always acquire new
names as part of their transformed
personality. Something
similar to Samoa’s
context-governed names
occurs here with American
cross-dressers and drag artists.
When you meet up with
your friend, do you use his
boy name or his gift name?
This mostly depends on
where you are at the moment
and also, of course,
what s/he’s wearing. Personal
nmnes in Iankahar give
men rights to family and
land; here in America they
give us rights to be, and to
act, male or female.
American Gay cnlture
includes Several drag naming
traditions. Much of the
attraction of drag comes
from its construction of
hyper-femininity - an image
ofperfected womanhood
that no real female could, in
reality, obtain. This is why
RuPaul and Barbie are twins
- they both are way beyond
female reality. One drag naming tradition
is the hyper-feminine. Here, the queens
take on Barbie-ish names. I surfed through
a number of drag queen websites on the
Internet (yes, those gifts are online) and
turned up hyper-ladylike names such as
Zhanna, Monique, Vaunessa, Cookky,
Felicity, Chynna, Windy, Misty De Mute,
and so on. Sometimes these names pair
with the drag equivalent of a surname.
There are named drag houses in many
cities, and a daughter takes the family
name of her drag-mother (and sometimes
also drag-father). This creates a structure
of ficdve kinship that anthropologists call
matrilineal descent.
There is a second, comic naming tradition
in American drag. Her~ the queens
celebrate the carnival foundations of their
art. There are ancient and widespread
associations of masking and naughtiness
in Western culture, as all of us learn very
young ("Trick-or-Treat, smell my feet!").
Those sly queens adore bad puns. My
quick tour of the web discovered Miss
Pencil Vania, Charity Kaesse, Paige
Turner, Evian Water, Sister Dana van
Iquity, and of course Hedda Lettuce. And
I’m sure you can bring many coarser
examples to mind. But,just like people in
Vanuatu, China, and Samoa, the more
names you have, .the more you are.
Lamont Lindstrom teaches anthropology
at the University of Tulsa.
e-mail: lindstroml@centum.utulsa.edu
PFLAG
Parents, Family & Friends of
Lesbians & Gays
Tulsa Area Chapter
POB 52800, Tulsa 74152
749-4901
distingnished history in Georgia. In 1905,
this court expressly recognized that Geor~
gia citizens have a ’liberty of privacy’
guaranteed by the Georgia constitutional
provision which declares that no person
shall be deprived of liberty except by due
process of law... This court has determined
that a citizen’ s right to privacy is
strong enough to withstand a variety of
attempts by the State to intrude in the
citizen’s life."
"v~re cannot think of any other activity
¯ .that reasonable persons would rank as
more private and more deserving of proteetion
from governmental interference
~consensual, private, adult sexual ac-
:~tivity. :. We’conclude that such activityis
at the heart of the Georgia Constitution’ s
protection of the right of privacy."
’q’he State fulfills its role in preventing
sexual assaults and shielding and protecting
the public from sexual acts by the
enactment of criminal statutes prohibiting
such conduct... The only possible
purpose for the statute is to regulate the
private conduct of consenting adults, the
public gains nobenefit, and the individual
is unduly oppressedby the invasion of the
right to privacy. Consequently, we must
conclude that the legislation exceeds the
permissible bounds of police power."
"In undertaking, the judiciary’ s constitutional
duty, it is not the prerogative of
members of the judiciary to base decisions
on their personal notions of morality.
Indeed, if wewere called upon to pass
upon the propriety of the conduct herein,
we would not condone it... While many
believe that acts of sodomy, even those
involving consenting adults, are morally
reprehensible, this repugnance alone does
not create a compelling justification for
state regulation of the activity."
"We agree with our fellow jurists that
legislative enactments setting ’social majority’
are not exempt from judicial review
testing their constitutional mettle."
The minori~ opinion was written by
Justice George H. Carley:
"Clearly, Powell has no right under the
federal constitution to engage in the act.
.. since there is no fundamental right
¯ . under theConstitution ofthe United States
~ to engage in consensual sodomy."
"The Court has exceeded the limits of
its judicial authority and usurped the legislative
power ’to enact laws to promote
¯the public health, safety, morals and welfare
of its citizens."
"Until the majority’s advancement of
: its overly expansive notion of the state
." constitutional guarantee of’liberty,’ there
¯ has never been any doubt that the General
~ Assembly,in the exercise ofpolicepower,
: has the authority to define as crimes the
¯¯ commission of acts which, withoutregard
to the infliction of any other injury, are
¯ considered to be immoral. Simply put,
¯ commission of what the Legislature has ¯
determined to be an immoral act, even if
: ¢gpsensual andprivate, is aninjury against
¯ society itself."
: "!’he majority should take no comfort
: in the fact that it has removed Georgia
¯ from the rank of those states which have
¯ held that thematteris for resolutionby the
." Legislature."
: otherboardmembers for their willingness
¯ to serve another year. ¯
Now it’ s time for the rest of us to help
¯ support the Center. Any amount will help.
¯ Andnow’sespeciallythetimeforthoseof
, you who said you wouldn’ thelp as long as
: I was on the board to getmoving andto get
¯ acheck written. You no longer have me as
¯ an excuse.
: Some of you who’ ve been fortunate to
¯¯ earn or inheritmore than the rest ofus also ought to start talking about creating an
¯ endowment for The Center. If we don’t
¯ take care of ourselves, it’s obvious no one
:¯ rise will. Think about it. Finally this is the last issue of our fifth
¯ year of thi,s labor of love of doing anews-
~ paper. We ve pissed people off regnlarly
~ so we must be doing something right.
: Enjoy the holidays whatever your faith
¯¯ tradition, celebrate the New Year, play
safe and love your neighbor. God bless.
¯" Classifieds - h~~v°tr~o ~veU,,worx rnem:a"u’~r"~"
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: word is a group of letters or numbers separated by
¯ a space. TFNreserves the right to edit or refus~ any
¯ ad. No reftmds. Send ad& payment to POB 4140,
Tulsa, OK 74159 with your name, address, tele-
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~Nhite Male, 30, seeks a distinguished older
Gentleman. 30-45. who enjoys hiking, biking,
and nude sunbathing. I have a tight
butt and give great head. (Tulsa) ’~16544
DAILY RITUAL When I get home, I like to
lay back, have a good ddnk. and think
about a hot Man and wish I had it in my
hand. Then I start massaging myself. I’d
love to talk to you. (Tulsa) ’~’16161
READY FOR FUN I’m a 5’T’, White Male.
140 los, good looking, tan and looking for
Guys in the area who are nice looking,
straight acting, with a good head on your
shoulders. (Tulsa) ’~’1Q759
LOOKING FOR SOMEONE who is ready
to date and have some fun, You must be a
non-smoker, ffulsa) ’~10964
I LOVE TO UNDRESS for a Man who likes
to give me pleasure with their lips. (Tulsa)
II’10ss2
I’M A GAY WHITE MALE, 28, who enjoys
fishing, hunting and long walks. I’m looking
for ~ends and maybe a little more, (Tulsa)
~10895
JUST TO TALK TO I’m a BM. 29, new to
the area end looking for someone to talk to
and hang out with. (Tulsa) ’~10527
HEART OF GOLD I’m a lonely 25! oowboy
who loves the outdoors, I want s M with a
heart of gold an~ not into head games,
someone to give me 110 percent of their
love, (Tulsa} ’~’20221
GETTING A LITTLE NASTY 23. 5’10".
160. I play soccer and I have a very nice
chest. I want a M who can show me some
fun times and get a little nasty. (Tulsa)
I~’1ss13
BLUE COLLAR BUSINESS This Gay,
White mala. 45. 5’10, 2201be. with light,
Brown hair and Green eyes, seeks a blue
collat type who’s down to earth, caring, and
enjoys sports and the outdoors. I want to
have a one on one relationship¯ I don’t drink
or do drugs, but I do smoke cigarettes.
(Henrietta) ’~’9661
GO FOR IT Attractive. fit, White male, 34,
6’1,1701bs, with Brown hair and Blue eyes,
seeks aggressive, fit guys, in their 20’s and
early 30% for hot times. (TulsaJ ’~9687
BEDWARMER WANTED This hot stud iv
Tulsa. needs a warm body to heat me up
on cold nights. (Tulsa) 1~13077
TRUE LOVE This Gay White Male is 31-
yearn of age. F’m looking for someone to
bave a safe discreet lime with. If your interestsd
in this message, give me a call
please. (Tulsa) ’~16325
CAN YOU HANDLE IT? Hey Guys, this 25
year old Gay White Male is looking for Gay
Men who are rea0y to have a good time. I
go Out dressed like a Woman at times and
I am very feminine. If your man enough to
handle that, then please give me a call.
(Tulsa) ’~17623
I WANT A NICE FIRM ASS This Gay
White, hairy chestad, top Man is 6’2", 175
Ibs, dark hair and blue eyes. I am seeking
a bottom with a nice firm ass so that we can
get together on a regular basis. (Tulsa)
"~’17350
SCRATCH THE ITCH I’m looking for a Bicudous
Male like myseff to have my first
experience with. I’m ill, athletic, 29. 6’, 190
It)s, tan. with brown hair, green eyes, muscular
logs, and a smooth chest, i’m seeking
the same type. (Grand Lake) ~’12004
A LII"FLE EANrrY I’m a sans. intelligent.
honest Gay white Male, 53, 6’, 170 Ibe, a
very o~al bottom. I’m seeking Gay or Bi
Males who are honest for friendship first
and a possible long-term relationship. No
games. Give me a chance. You won’t be
disappe~nted. (Tulsa) ~’17178
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LARAMIE,Wyo. (AP)-A suspect in the deathofaGay
University of Wyoming student admitted to an investigator
that he drove off with the victim and then told him:
’~3uess what. We’renot Gay. You’regonnagetjacked."
After hearing testimony at a preliminary hearing, a
judge ordered Aaron McKiuney to stand trial in the
death of Matthew Shepard, an attack thatbrought widespread
outrage, a condenmation from President Clinton
and calls for tougher hate-crime laws.
The other suspect, Russell Arthur Henderson, had
waived his fight to a preliminary heating and is scheduled
to be arraigned Dec. 2. Both men are charged with
first-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery.
The21-year-old Shepard, who had been found tied to
a fence outside of town, died five days after the Oct. 7
beating.
The lead investigator, Sheriff s Detecfi~÷’e Sgt. Rob
DeBree, testified that McKiuney, 21, admitted to the
beating and implicated his friend Henderson, also 21.
According to DeBree, McKinney said that robbery was ."
the main motive but that Shepard was chosen,,as a targe~
because he was Gay. DeBreesaidMcKinney admitted °
Matthew did not hit on them or make advances" in the
.,~FiresideBar,.batthat they luredhimoutintending:to rob :
him and 6urgiari~e hi~ house. ....... :~ . 2 ~
According to DeBree, McKimaey told investigators
that the attack began after Shepard placedhis fight hand ".
on McKinney’ s leg as the trio drove on Laramie’ s east
side." ’Guess what. We’re not Gay,’ "DeBree quoted "
McKinney as saying. ’"You’re gonna get jacked. It’s
Gay Awareness Week.’"
DeBree said McKiuney admitted he hit Shepard two ¯
to three times with his fist, then pistol-whipped and
robbed him. see Shepard, p. 10
Tulsa MCC’s Merge! TULSA - After years of strife,Tulsa’ s two Mb~~poli’-
tan Community Church congregations have voted to
merge beginning at the end of November and at the
beginning of the Advent season. The Metropolitan
Church of Greater Tulsa (MCC-GT) is likely the oldest
Lesbian and Gay organization in the state at more than
20 years old. It was one of the first MCC’ s in the US to
purchase its own building in an innovative bond based
fundraising program. Family ofFaith’MCCwas younger
congregation that grew out of MCC-GT starting out in
Jenks, then later moving to a storefront in southeast
Tulsa.
Both congregations are currently without permanent
pastors and members of each congregation approved
the merger with "overwhelming majorities." The move
also enjoys denominational support. The new congregation
will meet at the building near Pine and Sheridan
which has been the home for MCC-GTbut the vision
that thenew congregationhas is tomove to anew shared
home and see MCC, p. 2
ATLANTA (AP) - Twelve years after the U.S. Supreme Court
upheld Georgia’s controversial anti-sodomy law, the state Supreme
Court threw out the statute late last month in a ruling that
Gay civil rights activists hope
will lead to the downfall of similar
laws around the country.
The state court voted 6-1 to
overturn the conviction of Anthony
Powell, now of Shreveport,
La. Hehad been foundguilty
of sod.omizing his 17-year-old
niece m 1996. He had beencharged
with rape, but his lawyers
argued that the sex was consensual
and thejury acquitted on
that charge.
The court’s majority opinion,
by ChiefJustice RobertBenham,
said the law violates the state
"We cannot think dany
other aetlvlty that
reasonable persons
would rank as more
private and more
deserving of proteetlon
from governmental
interference than
eonsensual, private,
adult sexual aetlv~ty,"
- Georgia Chld Justiee
Robert Benham
constitution’ s provision that citizens are entitled to privacy. "We
cannot think of any other activity that reasonable persons would
rank as more private and more deserving of protection from
governmental interference than consensual, private, adult sexual
activity," he wrote.
In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the 165-year-old
Georgia law banning oral and anal sex, ruling that ~e U.S.
Constitution provides no right to private homosexual conduct.
see Georgia, p. 8
::WORLD AIDS DAY
DIRECTORY/t.ETFERS P. 2/3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4
HEALTH NEWS P. 6
COMMUNITY CALENDAR P. 9
BOOK REVIEW P. 10
RESTAURANT REVIEW P. 11
DYKE PSYCHE/GAY STUDIES P. 12/13
CLASSIFIEDS + WEERWOLF P. 14
¯ MarriageLawsuit Heard
: MONTPEIJI~.R, Vt. (AP)- Vermont’s Supreme
¯ Courtjustices dearly wereready for thepotenfially
¯ historic case before them. Before 10 minutes had
¯ gone by in their hour-long heating on the question
¯ of same-gender marriage, Justice Denise Johnson
: cut off a lawyerandtoldher to get to the point. "We
¯ have toknow what yourtheories are that entitle you
¯ to relief,"Johnson toldlawyer Beth Robinson, who
¯ was arguing the case for three couples seeking the
¯ right to marry.
: Throughout the hearing, justices peppered law-
, yers from both sides withquestions about theories
: of law, Gay politics and common sense. Each
: jnstiee, from the chief to themost seniormember of
: the court to its most recent appointee, asked at least
¯ one question. They listened intently, cajoled, prod-
¯ ded, occasionally chuckled and scribbled notes.
: "tit’ s good to know the court is thinking about these
¯ issues, and if you think hard about this, we win,"
¯ Robinson said following the arguments.
¯ Oral arguments before the Supreme Court can be
: curious affairs. Lawyers go prepared to fill their
¯ allotted time with an oral recitation expanding on
¯ the written arguments they have previously filed.
¯ They rarely get a chance to deliver their remarks
: tminterrupted because at least one of the justices
¯ generally wants to probe a point more deeply or
¯ perhaps go off in another direction. But seldom
¯ does the court become so immersed in the case
¯ before it. Seldom does the court have as much time
¯ as it allotted Docket No. 98-32, Baker v. State of
: Vermont. Lawyers had an hour to make their case.
¯ Normally they get half that, sometimes less.
: In the hearings in November, they had to share it
¯ pretty much.eq.ually with the three men and two
: women in black robes.-It was almost l~ke a law
: school class where thefivejustices were theprofes-
¯ sots and the individual lawyers were the students
: getting uncomfortably close seruuny.
: - When Robinson rejected a notion that
Local AIDS activist, Bruce. Begley before World AIDS Day
memorial service and march. For more, see page 3.
Tulsa Is Site to Test HIV Vaccine
: TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Researchers in Tulsa are participating in
: a nationwide trial of a vaccine that may help prevent infection
: from the virus that causes AIDS. Tulsa is one ofahandful of cities
_. chosen to participate in final testing of the AIDSvax vaccine,
¯ developed by California-based VaxGen Inc.
¯ "I think it is an opportunity to make history as the first major
¯ trial to prevent HIV infection," said Dr. Ralph Richter of St. John
.. Medical Center, who is leading the local branch of the trial. "It’ s
¯ aumque opportunity, and the challenge is to prove that this works
: by doing a very highly scientific study."
¯ Researchers are recruiting HIV-negative Gay men who are
¯ considered at high risk Of contracting the disease. That includes
: those who are not in monogamous relationships. They also seek
: women who currently are in sexual relationships with HIV-
: positivemen or who have had more than one male sexual partner
¯ and have been diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases
: within the past year.
: In preliminary trials of AIDSvax, nearly 99 percent of those
: vaccinated produced strong levels of antibodies. Final testing of
¯ the vaccine is targeting 5,000 U.S: volunteers at high risk of
~ contracting the AIDS virus and 2,500 high-risk people in Thai-
" land.
¯ John Lysight, 31, recently got his first shot of the vaccine and
: will get a second injection soon. ’ofhis is a beginning vaccine of
." the future. This is what is going to start what I refer to as the super
: vaccines," Lysight said. "I think we are reaching a totally
¯ different realm of meditfine, and it needs to be taken advantage
: of." Lysightlearned ofthe vaccinefrom Richter almost ayear ago
~ and plans to help the doctor recruit study subjects. He does not
: know if he is receiving the vaccine or a placebo.
¯ see Vaccine, p. 11
:
:
:
:
:
everyone’ s goals~ Justice James Morse responded:
"So the label is everything?"
Johnson was the most animated justice. AssistantAttorney
GeneralEveJac~bs-Camahan pointed
out that no other state in the nation had legalized
Gay marriage. Johnson observed: "Somebody had
to be the first in an interracial state," referring to
states that once banned interracial marriages. Trying
to recover, Jacobs-Camahan said that common
law had always made a distinction between men
and women in marriage statutes, but not between
the races, which was what made interracial marriage
bans unconstitutional. "What does that show
other than how long-standing the discrimination
was?" Justice John Dooley asked.
Reflecting that new legal ground was potentially
being plowed with the case, Chief Justice Jeffrey
Amestoy asked Robinson to explain why the state
would want to discriminate against its citizens.
Figuring that one out is a frustration, Robinson
replied.
The State of Vermont’s representatives have
contended that limiting mamage only to heterosexual
couples is good for procreation and childrearing
- a point characterized as discriminatory
and unconstitutional by Robinson, the lawyer for
three Gay couples who brought the case. Robinson
argued that Vermont’s 28-year-old ban doesn’t
serve to protect children. "If the state’ s concern is
about protecting Children, then that would be protected
by allowing these couples to marry," she
said, noting that two of the three couples have
adopted children.
State lawyers urged the court to turn down the
see Marriage, p. 11
see Editorial, p. 3
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 Restaurant, 717 S. Houston
*Jason’ s Dell, 15th & Peoria
*Lola’s, 2630 E. 15th
*Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E
*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
31st 745-9998
834-4234
585-3405
660-0856
584=1308
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Advanced Wireless & PCS, Digital Cellular 74%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 Balch & 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, 743-4117
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker 622-0700
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th 749-3620
*Devena’ s Gallery, 13 Brady 587-2611
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria 744-5556
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan 838-8503
*Ross Edward Salon, 2447 E. 15tit 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 745-1111
*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
*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
*Peace of MindBookstore, 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
ChristopherSpradling, attorney, 616 S. Main, #308 582-7748
*Scribner’s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square 749-6301
Patti Tay, Car SMesman 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, 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, Uniw of Tdso.Cant.erbuty 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 Methodi.st, 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
*Family of Faith MCC, 5451-E So. Mingo 622-1441
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
.Free Spirit’~7"omen, s Center, call for location&info: 587-4669
9t8.583.1248, fax: 583.4615, POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159
o-mail: TulsaNews@earthlink.net
website: http://users.aol.com/TulsaNews/
Publisher + Editor:
Tom Meal
Writers + contributors:
James Christjohn, Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud
Barry Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lament Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum, Mary Schepers, Adam West
Member of The Associated Press
Issued on or before the 1 st of each month, the entire contents of this
~utau.~balincadtiomn aaryenportobteecrteedprboyduUcSedcoepityhreirgihnt w19h9o8leboyr in part without
written permlssxon from the publisher. Publication of a name or
photo does not indicate a person’s sexual orientation. Correspondence
is assumed to be for publication unless_otherwise noted, must
be signed & becomes the sole property of T~
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, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827 ¯ Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
¯" *HIV EK 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, Men/Thurs. 7-9pro, daytime by appt. only
*House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood
" Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438-2437, 800-284-2437
¯ *MCC of Greater Tulsa, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
¯ NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111 ¯
NOW, Nat’ 10rg. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 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, 2nd floor, 74105 743-4297
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
*R.A.I.N., RegionalAIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
Rainbow Business Guild, POB 4106, 74159 665-5174
*Red Re’eL 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 United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171
TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 Eo 15 595-4105
Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays ouly
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. Johnstone 918-337-5353
OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN
*Borders Books &Music, 3209 NWExpressway 405-848-2667
*Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-573-4907
TAHLEQUAH
*Stonewall league, call for information: 918-456-7900
*Talalequah Unitarian-Universalist Church 918-456-7900
*Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360
NSU School of Optometry, 1001 N. Grand
HIVtesting every other Tues. 5:30-8:30, call for dates
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
*Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23
*Jim & Brent’ s Bistro, 173 S. Main
DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St.
*Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l!2 Spring St.
MCC of the Living Spring
Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429
Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery
Positive Idea Marketing Plans
Sparky’ s, Hwy. 62 East
*White Light, 1 Center St.
FAY ETTEVI LLE, ARKANSAS5
*Edna’ s, 9 S. School Ave.
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
*Spirit of Christ IvlCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134
501-253-7734
501-253-7457
501-253-6807
50!~253,5445
501-253~9337
5012~53.2776
50t -253-5332
50-1-62~6646
501-253-6001
501-253-4074
501-442-2845
417-623-4696
:~ is where you can f’md TFN. Not allare Gay-owned but all are Gay-friendly.
Carbon Copy: Don’t Abridge
Freedom To Marry
Recently, basketball star Dennis RodmanandBaywatch
starletCarmenElectra
were able to marry on a whim at 7 a.m. in
Las Vegas after anight ofpartying that his
agent says left Mr. Rodman too drtmk to
speak or stand up.
So much for the sanctity of marriage in
this, the second year of the Defense of
Marriage Act, which was passed by Congress
and signed by President Clinton. It
only forbids gay peoplefrom getting married.
Richard Ramirez, the night stalker currently
on death row for committing 13
sadistic, torturous murders can marry a
woman ~n prison, but a gay person who
never even gotaparking ticket can’ t marry
the person he loves.
Ministers who have merely blessed
same-sex unious have found themselves
in trouble with church leadership. One
was quoted as saying "I can bless a battleship.
I can bless a nuclear weapon. I can
bless dogs or animals, but I can’ t bless two
people who want to make a commitment
to each other."
The freedom to marry the person you
love is a basic civil right, a basic human
right, and an important, individual personal
choice that bdongs to the couple in
love, not to politicians or the government:
Some day, probably not un61 the next
century, that won’ t be an unpopular idea.
- William C. Stosine. Iowa City
With Credit to
The Village Voice
The 1998 Wacko Awards: Losers, Liars,
and Other Political Lowlifes
The Human Rights Campaign
Well, the folks- at the. Human~ Rights
Campaign sure do know how to pick ’em]
After a protracted internal battle, the
country’s largest gay fights group voted to
endorse Al D’ Amato. Actually, it was the
HRC’s board- in a 15-7 vote - that chose
to support the Fonz. Mostmembers backed
Schumer, who romped in the Gay community.
For mstanee, in Manhattan’ s 66th Assembly
Dislrict, Schumerrouted D’ Amato
by about an 8-to-1 margin. This Greenwich
Village district was the first to send
an openly gay woman, Deborah Glick, to
the state assembly and provided Schumer
with his biggest vote total ofany city A.D.
In recognition of HRC"s misguided endorsement,
we present the group’ s board
with the Out ofTouch Plaque and a global
positioning system, so they are better informed
when they next get the urge to
veer right.
¯ Letters Policy
: Tulsa Family News welcomes letters on
¯ issues which we’ ve covered or on issues
¯ you thinkneed to be considered. Youmay
¯ request that your name be withheld but
¯ letters must be signed&have phone hum-
¯ bers, or be hand delivered. 200 word let-
" ters are preferred. Letters to other publi=m
¯ cations will be printed as is appropriate.
by joining forces to be able to secure a
permanent full-time pastor as well. Tins
also will allow them to increase their
outreach to the community. Both congregations
were predominenfly women and
leaders stated the hope of encouraging
men to feel welcome as well.
World AIDS Day 1998i
WASHINGTON, DC - A new studyjust released resoundingly
debunks widely held beliefs about the economic status
of. Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual (GLB) people. Contrary to
what has become the conventional wisdom on the subject,
Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual people do not earn more than
"We lmve long
known that
the myth of Gay
wealth
is ju,t that
- a myth . . .
lneome I~at~on
s~nes t~e
o~ truth on yet
another o[
The Ri~ht~
~stortlon
of the ~a~s,"
- Urv~hl Va~d
Heterosexual people. In fact, they
may even earn less.
lncome Inflation: The Myth of
AffluenceAmong Gay, Lesbian, and
Bisexual Americans was released
by the Policy Institute of the Na-
. tional Gay and Lesbian Task Force
and the Institute for Gay and Lesbian
Strategic Studies (I~LSS). The
report was authored by M.V. Lee
Badgett, Ph.D., professor of economics
at the University of Massa-
.chusetts at Amherst and executive
director of IGLSS.
Income Inflation is a startling
study of the economic status of a
frequently stereotyped population
ofAmericans. Badgett explores the
pervasive andinaccuratenotion that
GLBpeopleform aneconomic elite,
insulated from discrimination by
their wealth and disconnected frbm society at large by a
special, privileged status. After examining data from seven
different surveys, she finds that none support this stereotype.
"The evidence from many different scientifically sound
data sources points to the same dear conclusiom Gay,
Lesbian, and Bisexual people do not earn more than Heterosexual
people, either as individuals or as couples," reported
Badgett. "Some GLB people are poor, some are rich, and
most are in the middle,jnst as heterosexual people are. Now
that we have credible data, we can stop relying on flawed
stu~di.’e3, that were designed to find high income Gay people."
right-wing organizations and individuals perpetuate and
regularly exploit the myth of Gay wealth to bolster their
attacks against the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender
eommtmity. The mythis so pervasive and accepted that even
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia injected it into the
dissenting opinion in the Colorado Amendment Two ease.
"We have long known that the myth of Gay wealth is just
that - a myth," said Urvashi Vaid, director of the Policy
Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
"’Income lnflation shines the light of truth on yet another of
The Right’ s distortion of the facts," added Vaid.
by Tom Neal, editor andpublisher
One of the consolations ofgrowing older is that every
once in a while, something "right" happens you thought
you might never see. Justice sometimes prevails.
Forexample, in thelate 80’ s,my youngest
brother spent some time in the then German
"Democratic" Republic (the DDR in a program
organized by the University of Oklahoma);
and we wondered when, if ever, all
of Germany would be one again.
More recently, we’ ve seen Chilean murderer
and former dictator, Gen. Pinochet, at
least called tojustice-even ifhis age and the
legal wrangling may prevent any real payment
for his part in the systematic disaFpearance
and murder of his own, and foreign,
citizens.
So too, the decision of the Georgia Supreme
Court to say that the apparatus of the
State, here Georgia, has no compelling, legitimate
interest in regulating the private,
consensual sexual conduct of adults. Since
Georgia’s law was the impetus for the
wretched, horribly reasoned US Supreme
Court case, Bowers v. Hardwick, to have the
law undermined by its home state constitution
is sweet.
But it is a bittersweet victory because
Bowers still stands rendering Lesbian and
Gay Americans lesser citizens under our
own federal constitution. Like the 19th century
Dred Scott Supreme Court decision that
legitimized slavery, Bowers will someday
fall. But its decision, (based on primarily on
the logic that this behavior, oral and anal
sex, has always been despisedandtherefore,
based on popular revulsion, should be un- titan
constitutional, tliough note that though de~ - -
Spised, a lotof "them" are doing it too) continues to
butlress anti-Lesbian and Gay decisions, like child
custody battles where the Gay parent lives in a state
where "sodomy" is illegal.
What I like about this column is its flexibility to write
¯ . . it’s been both
~unny and l~tter
to learn that
former Georgia
Attorney
General
Michael Bowers
during the very
time in whleh
he was defending
the Georgia
"sodomy" statute
was himself
breaking a
different
Georgia law by
haGn~ an
adulterous affair.
Obdously,
all animals are
equal but some
are more e~ual
otherS.
¯ ABC’ s 20/20programhas never run a story critical of
¯ nuclear power. Come to find out, the show’ s producer
¯ Victor Neufeld’ s wife works for the nuclear industry.
¯ Rupert Murdoeh, an ultra right wing activist, (he initially offered Newt Gingrich a mulfmi!lion dollar
about any number of things without necessarily having
to pun them together into a completely coherent argument.
So be forewarned that this may wander.
Sent via the Internet: "Morality is what you do when
nobody is looking." - Oklahoma’ s own Congressman,
The Reverend J.C. Watts (R-OK) - who has fathered
two children out of wedlock. Indeed.
Also from our e-mail regarding the so-called "liberal
media": a 1996 Nexis search of sources used by major
newspapers and broadcasters, show that 7,776 medi~
citations were used from conservative think tanks (with
Heritage Foundation topping the list); 4,665 from centrist
think tanks; and 1,837fromliberal think tanks. That
means the news media used sources from conservatives
54% of the time, centrists 33% .and liberals 13%.
KABC, anABCaffiliate in Los Angeles refused to air
any anti-war protest stories during the Gulf war. This
from staffers inside the station.
: book deal thru his H,ar)pe_r Collins publishing firm),
owns the entire Fox media conglomerate, the Fox telei
visionnetwork andFox news channel. He also owns the
New York Post,and TV Guide magazine.
¯ ABC’s David Brinldey had to apologize for making
¯¯* insulting remarks about President Clinton on the air
during the 1996 election. He now is a spokesman for a
; multimillion dollar corporation. John Stossel, known
: for his ultra-rightwing pro-corporate views is a regular
reporter for ABC news.
¯
CBS canned a 60 minutes story on tobacco company
: lies because ofpressure from upper management. NBC
has squdched stories about boycotts of General Electric,
its parent company. CNN has no one as far to the
¯ It is even more bitter now that we’ ve learned that
: former Supreme Court Justice, the late Lewis Powell,
~ decided .that his vote, the"swing" votein Bowers (5-4),
¯ was a mistake. Powell never really seemed to understand
the impact of his act since he also
stated that his mistake never caused anyone
any harm. Indeed.
Also, it’ s been both funny and bitter to
learn that former Georgia Attorney General
Michael Bowers during the very time in
which he was defending the Georgia "sodomy"
statute was himself breaking a different
Georgia law by having an adulterous
affair. Obviously, all animals are equal but
some are more equal than others - if I may
paraphrase that line poorly.
Here in Oklahoma, our Supreme Court had
less courage or less commitment to fundamental
constitutional rights. Oklahoma’s
"crimes against nature" or "sodomy" statute
was declared unconstitutional in 1986. And
like the Georgia decision it involved heterosexual
citizens rather than Gay ones. But our
court chose to state explicitly that itwas only
addressing the unconstitutionality of the law
as it affectedheterosexual behavior. As Steve
Scarborough, staff attorney, Lambda Legal
Defense and Education Fund, Southern Regional
Office explained to TFN, it’s arbitrary,
it’ s unfair but it’ s what we’ ve got until
the statute’ s overturned in another statelevel
case or until Bowers v. Hardwick is overturned
at the federal level.
The great thing is that’s going to
happen. I don’ t know when, or exacdy how,
but to quote that song of solace for both
Black and Gay folk (and Black, Gay folk),
"deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall
overcome some day" Because the fssue here is not
really whatfolks are doingin theirbedrooms but whether
America’s promise, that all are created equal, is truly,
truly what we believe.
Left as Pat Buchanan is to the right on its nightly
political show Crossfire.
NBC’s reporter Pete Williams is a former Bush
administration official. CBS’ s and ABC’ s Diane Sawyer
was a Nixon administration insider before landing a
job covering the news. Britt Hume of Fox News is a
known conservative ideologue who used to play tennis
with George Bush. _
PBS has many shows dedicated to covering corporate
America - Nightly Business Report, Adam Smith’s
Money World, Tony Brown’s Journal, Wall Street
Week:etc., b~ut~noo’ s,hows dedicated to coveringconsum-
.ers or laoor, r’t~ s tongest running show is Firing Line
l~osted by ultra conservative William F. Buekley, the
editor of the conservative National Review Magazine.
Other shows hosted by conservatives regularly are:.One
on One, The MeLaughlin Group and American Interests.
Additionally, a show has been added to the PBS
lineupthat is based on holier-than-thou conservative
William Bennett’s book The Book of Virtues.
ti Talk"ra’di° is.hosted almost exclusively by conservave
talk snow hosts, headed by Rush Limbaugh, Ollie
North, Larry Elder, Michael Reagan and G. Gordon
Li’_d.dy. Former Republican presidential candidate and
religious rightleader, PatRobertson, owns theChristian
Broadcasting Network which airs nationwide. He also
owns the Family Channel and a radio news service
called Standard News.
And those are just a few things to consider about our
"liberal media" ~ except, of course, Tulsa FamilyNews
which is proudly pro-Gay, moderate to progressive in
our politics.
Hats off to Tulsa Oklahonmns for Human Rights,
the organization that provides our Gay CommRnity
Center, formounting alarge and very visible sign onthe
south face of The Pride Center. The sign can be seen
well down Brookside as you travel north. TOHR president
Steve Horn credits board member and volunteer,
Ric Martin, for getting the sign done. Kudos to Ric and
to Steve and see About, p. 14
Texas Sodomy Challenge
HOUSTON (AP) - Two men found having sex in a
private home pleaded no contest Friday to sodomy
charges, initiating a legal challenge to the 119-yearold
Texas law that bars Gay intercolarse. John Geddes
Lawrence, 55, and Tyrone Garner, 31, were arrested
for engaging in homosexual conduct on Sept. 17
when deputies- responding to a false report of an
_ armed intruder - found them having consensual sex
in Lawrence’ s apartment. Justice of the Peace Mike
Parrott fined them $125 each. The men, who want to
keep the case alive to fight the law, appealed the fine
and posted appeal bonds of $332.50 each, which
moves the case to state district court.
"I hope that the law changes," Garner said. "I feel
like my civil rights were violated and ! wash’ t doing
anything wrong." The sodomy law makes homosexual
oral and anal sex a misdemeanor, punishable
by a fine of up to $500. Although on the books for
more than a century, the law is rarely enforced. Gay
activists have worked unsuccessfully for years to
overturn the statute. Of the 19 states that have a
sodomy statute barfing consensual anal or oral sex,
Texas is one of five that specifically targets same-sex
partners. The other four are Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri
and Oklahoma, according to Lambda Legal
Defense and Education Fund Inc. of New York.
United Church of Christ
Leader Support Gays
CLEVELAND (AP) -The head of the United Church
of Christ has asked that a document he wrote supporting
the acceptance of Gay ~md Bisexual people into
the church and its clergy be read alou.d at services.
The Rev. Paul H. Sherry, president of the 1.4-million
member church, headquartered in Cleveland, mailed
a pastoral document to his denomination’ s more than
6,000 churches.
Sherry said he wrote the document in response to
the Slaying of Matthew Shepard in Wyoming and
other recent examples of anti-Gay sentiments that
have been in the news. "The hatred exposed in the
shocking murder of Matthew Shepard in Wyormng
last month underscores the critical importance of this
reflection and of the need for our voice to be heard,"
, " Sherry stated recently.
The pastoral letter is titled "Now, No Condemnations,"
and supports the full participation of Gay,
Lesbian and Bisexual persons in the membership and
clergy of the church. "Knowing how challenging this
issue can be for some in our churches, I hope it can be
helpful to you in the exercise of your leadership,
providing a way to initiate needed reflection, study
and action," Sherry wrote in a letter accompanying
the document.
Kentucky Lesbian Fired
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - The Kentucky Baptist
Homes for Children fired a supervisor for being a
Lesbian after co-workers saw her pictured with her
partner in a photo contest at the Kentucky State Fair.
The fired worker, Alicia Pedreira, said she acknowledged
she was Gay when she applied for the job last
May. Pedreira¯was dismissed Oct. 23 on the grounds
that her"admitted Homosexual lifestyleis contrary to
the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children core valties."
In the wake of Pedreira’ s firing, five other employees
resigned in protest, and two universities decided
to withdraw their studentsfromthe BaptistHomes for
Children’ s programs.
The picture of Pedreira that appeared in a contest at
the state fair was takenby an amateurphotographer at
alocalAIDS walk. Thepicture, whichshows Pedreira
standing in front of partner Nance Goodman wearing
an "Isle of Lesbos" t-shirt, was entered without
Pedreira’ s consent.
In an interview, Brenda Gray, a KBHC spokeswoman,
said: "We strive to be fair in our dealings
with all people, including, certainly, our employees.
At the same time, it is important that we stay true to
our Christian values. Homosexuality is alifestyle that
would prohibit employment."
Jack Cox, the home’ s manager until he quit over
Pedreira’s firing, said Pedreira acknowledged she
was Gay when she interviewed for the job as art
therapist and supervisor at the Spring Meadows home
for emotionally disturbed boys m eastern Jefferson
County. Cox said he told her that wouldn’t be a
problem, as long as she didn’ t talk about her private
life at work. In a letter to Pedreira after her termination,
Cox said that no one can be hired or fired at
KBHC without approval of its president, William
Smithwick. Citing privacy concerns, Gray, theKBHC
spokeswoman, declined to elaborate on what promises,
if any, where made to Pedreira when she was
hired or whether Smithwick knew about her sexual
orientation then.
Pedrcira said when she returned to work from a
vacation in August, she learned that several employees
at the children’ s home had seen a picture of her
and Goodman at the state fair and were discussing it
at work. Cox said that his superiors contacted him and
told him that they wanted Pedreira to resign. She
refused. Pedreira said that KBHC. after initially saying
she’d be fired, offered what she considered a
demotion. She said she turned that down and was
fired. She said she’ s still out of work.
After Pedreira was terminated, Cox said he resigned,
as did another supervisor; an employee who
worked for Pedreira; and two clinical social workers.
Cox said Pedreira’ s termination is contrary to the
code of ethics of the National Association of Social
Workers. "For me to continue to work for an agency
that embraces that is against my ethics and personal
belief," Cox said. Spalding University and the University
of Louisville’s Kent School of Social Work
said their students were leaving because discrimination
against Gays is inconsistent with the ethics and
ideals of social work.
TheKBHC,a part of the Kentucky Baptist Convention,
operates eight homes across the state for more
than 3,000 emotionally disturbed children. Most of
the children are placed th(re by the state. The KBHC
received about $12 milhon ofits $15.6 million budget
last year from state agencies, Gray said. The state can
withhold money from private child-care contractors
that discriminate against women, African-Americans
and others who are protected by state and federal law.
But, said Cary Willis, a spokesman for the Cabinetfor
Families and Children, "We can’ t base any funding
decisions on whether somebody discriminates based
on sexual orientation."
: California Marriage
Ban Advances
¯
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP)-A proposal to declare
¯ that only marriages between a man and a woman
~ would be recognized as legal in California won a
¯ place on the state’ s prima~u¢ election ballot in 2000.
", The initiative was written by state Sen. Pete Knight,
¯ R-Palmdale.
¯ Knight’ s petition drive collected 677,000 signatures,
of Which more than 482,000 were projected to
: be valid voter signatures based on a random sam-
¯" piing. At least 433,269 voter signatures were needed
to qualify the measure for the March 7, 2000 primary.
¯ Iowa Town Looks at
¯ Anti-Bias Measure
¯
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) - The Cedar Rapids
¯ Civil Rights Commission has agreed to recommend
¯ that the words "sexual orientation" be added to the
: city’ s civil rights ordinance. With the 6-1 vote Tues-
. day, the ordinance would prohibit discrimination
¯ based on sexual orientation in matters such as era-
¯ ployment and housing.
¯ Commission Chairman Gerald Matchett abstained
¯ from voting, while Commissioner Taha Tawil cast
: the only dissenting vote. Tawil said he thinks homo-
. sexuality is a"deadly sin" and that an amendment to
: th( civil fights ordinance would chip away at tradi-
~ tional family values. "It is an open door," Tawil said.
¯ ’q’his is a conservative city, and we need to keep it as
a family city."
: Commissioner Kathryn Coulter, who at first did
¯ not think the amendment was necessary, said she was
¯ swayed by comments made at public forums by
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opponents of theamendment. "I was very concerned by
what I saw as pretty organized prejudice in this town
against homosexuals, and I don’t think anything convinced
memore than the testimony that was given," she
said. The recommendation must now be considered by
the City Council.
Openly Bisexual Oregon
Legislator Not Hopeful
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Even though an openly Bisexual
woman now holds one of the Oregon Legislature’ s top
leadership posts, shebelieves Gay civil rights supporters
may have a hard time getting their agenda passed
next year. "I’m skeptical of the leadership," said Sen.
Kate Brown, D-Portland, the newly elected Senate
minority leader.
She noted that the breakdown in the Senate is still 17-
13 in favor of the Republicans, so despite any influence
she may have for civil rights issues, her caucus will still
be outgunned. Brown said civil rights backers might
have to settle for small steps, such as the last session’ s
funding of a state coordinator to help prevent teen
suicides, of which Gays make up a significant share.
"We’re treading lightly," said Jean Harris of Basic
Rights Oregon, thebiggest Gay civil rights organization
in the state. She sees the group’s posture as a mainly
defensive one. If the Legislature pushes an extreme
right-wing bill on Gays "we’ll be there to prevent them
from passing bad things... It’s a fight against the
religious right-wing agenda." "We’ re sort of waiting to
see how many anti-Gay things are going to come up and
whether they’ 11 pass theemploymentbil! after23 years,"
Harris said. "The employment bill is the only thing on
the front burner."
The measure to outlaw discrimination against homosexuals
in employment, first introduced in 1975, has
been a key part of the civil rights lobbying efforts for
years. The measure passed in the House in the 1997
Legislature but fell short of getting a Senate vote in the
waning days of the session. ’.’I certainly feel that’s an
unsolved issue out there," Brown said. "Gay, Lesbian
and Bisexual people still are discriminated against in
employment."
But House Speaker-elect Lynn Snodgrass, R-Boring,
who describes herself as a social conservative, said she
doesn’t particularly want to spend time dealing with
thorny social issues. "We need to focus on issues the
people sent us here to do," she said. But added she’ll
bow to the will of her caucus if the members want an
issue advanced.
Harriet Merck of Eugene, a Gay woman who works
at the University of Oregon, said it’ s discouraging that
"we still don’ t have an anti-employment discrimination
bill." But she said she doesn’ t have too much hope of
pro-Gay civil rights gains in the coming session. "You
have to work what you have to work with in any given
session," she said. "
1,000 in Chicago
Counter Phelps Protest
CHICAGO (AP) - More than 1,000 Gay-fights supporters
surrounded a church where an anti-homosexual
minister protested a marriage ceremony for two men
conducted earlier this year. The Rev. Fred Phelps of the
WestboroBaptistChurchofTopeka, Kan., and about 10
of his supporters gathered recently to protest a September
marriage presided over by the Rev. Gregory Dell,
pastor of the Broadway United Methodist Church.
Gay civil rights supporters surrounded the church,
gathered on rooftops, and held signs that read "Stop the
Hate," in anticipation of Phelps and his followers.
Phelps and his followers have engaged in anti-homosexual
picketing around the country, including a demonstration
at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a Gay
University of Wyoming student who was beaten to
death in October.
Chicago police surrounded the anti-Gay group with
barricades as they gathered on a street comer facing the
church. Phelps waved different anti-Gay signs throughout
the demonstration. One signread "God Hates Fags."
"This is tack3,, minimal, cheap, tawdry stuff," Phelps
said in referring to those protesting against him and his
followers.
Midway through the demonstration, some Gay supporters
approached Phelps and his group and were
forced back by police. The anti-Gay demonstration
ended whenPhelps andhis followers were escorted
away by police. Phelps said he plans to return to
Chicago in the next few weeks to continue the
protests.
"It’s unfortunate that individuals and groups
carry the kind of hate and fear that these folks do,"
Dell said of the Kansas protesters. "But however
offensive their message might be, the strength of
community, justice and love is stronger." Dell
performed the Gay marriage service despite a ban
on such ceremonies that was inserted in his
denomination’s "Book of I>iscipline" in August.
The United Methodist Church will put Dell on trial
next year for violating the ban. He could be
defrocked.
Is West Virginia Gov.
Gay-Friendly?
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - Gov. Cecil
Underwood is exasmniDg several Gay civil rights
initiatives and has not ruled out proposing legislation
to enact them, his spokesman said recently.
"Does it fit in his legislative agenda? That is being
decided right now," Dan Page said.
Underwood sent a letter to a Gay member of the
state Republican Executive Committee saying he
does not support a "quick fix" on discrimination
issues. But he said "we shall examine very carefully
the positions" Larry Tighe Of Wheeling had
asked him to support.
Tighe asked Underwood in September whether
he stands by his 1996 campaign pledge to seek
changes in state fair housing and human rights acts
to make it illegal to discriminate against Lesbians
and Gays. Underwood said then, "I am opposed to
using sexual preference to discriminate. I feel they
are entitled to the same-protection we offer everyone."
Tighe asked Underwood specifically if he
supports amending the state I-Iumun Rights Act to
include aban against diseriminating againsthomosexuals
in empl0yment,housing andpublic accommodation.
The act now prohibits discrimination because of
race, religion, color, nationality, sex and age. Opponents
have said the additional language would
give homosexuals special privileges. Supporters
say it is necessary to protect homosexuals from
growing violence.
Tighe also asked whether Underwood would
sign an executive order banning discrimination
based on sexual orientation in state government
employment and if he would support changing
West Virginia hate crimes laws to protect homosexuals
as a class. And he asked Underwood to
include the proposals in his State of the State
address in January.
Underwood’s Nov. 20. reply, which Tighe received
Monday, said, "My position on human
rights issues is straightforward and unwavering:
No West Virginia citizen should suffer discrimination
for any reason. "We can realize the vision of
Americaembodied within ourconstitutionby maintaining
vigilance and fighting prejudice where we
find it. We cannot and should not opt for a’ quick
fix’ that touches only the surface of a problem," the
governor’ s letter said.
Page said Underwood’ s opposition to a "quick
fix" does not necessarily mean he has rejected the
legislation Tighe supports. "The governor believes
the long-term solution is changing people’ s attitudes,"
he said, noting Underwood has established
a commission to teach West Virginians about the
Holocaust and has an initiative to promote better
race relations.
Underwood’s letter said, "We should work together
to promote tolerance and understanding
among all Americans, especially those citizens
who would deny freedoms and opportunities to
others... That is a long-term process that deserves
our full attention."
Underwood opposes same-sex marriage and has
voted against ordaining Lesbians and Gays as ministers
in the United Methodist Church.
Rural Americans:
Some HIV Ignorant i!
ATLANTA (AP)-They had_unprotec~d..
sex withpartners ofthesameandoppostte
sex, somclinlcs in exchange f~ .d~gs -
yetmany neverlmew they were~il~
of gettiilg AIDS..I~,tervi.ews wire ~a~
infected pati__egts snow .tpat .s~e ¯
Americans still aren’ tgett~.gtttemessage
about how AIDS is uansmitted, the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
reported recently. _ .
Despite theirrisky behavior, about~
never thought they were at risk of contracting
the AIDS virus, theCDCsaid. Of
those, roughly a third admitted they had
notdeahow thevtrus was spread. ~learly
it’ s the people who are engaging in the
higher risk behaviors who appear not to
be getting the basic information about
transmission,"CDCepidemiologistAmy
Lausky said Thursday-. "I guess we’d all
like to think that, 10 to 15 years into the
epidemic, people would know.how HIV
is spread."
Researchers interviewed608adults with
HIV living in rural areas of Georgia,
Florida, South Carol",ma. and Delaware.
Asked why they didn t consider themselves
at risk, 33% of men and 29% of
women said they didn’t know how HIV
was spread. Other reasons given included
not tl~nking their sex partners were infected
and the belief that only homosexuals
and intravenous drug users contracted
HIV. LTnprotected sex and cracl~’use were
common among those interviewed.
The CDC said it doesn, t know of any
studies in which it asked urban HIV patients
the same questions. Researchers
noted that the vast majority of AIDS cases
are concentrated in urban areas. AIDS
cases in rural areas made up fewer than
10% ofthe 641~086 cases reported through
1997, the CDC said.
ter. ’The disease also progresses faster"
in females~ she sai& She also saidwomen
and minorities are underrepresented in
clinical tri~,s, ofnew AIDS and HIV treati
ments, and There may be some biologi-
: cal and genetic differences in how some
people respond to the drugs."
! ~ Stone said everyonein her study had
i -some health insur~ce, so she eliminated
cost as a reason some were ~eated with
protease inhibitors and others were not.
i She said it appeared that patients were
more likely to get the treatment if they
knew about the drugs and asked for them.
’"Some said they had never heard of the
therapy. Whites weremuchmorelikely to
have heard of the new drugs," she said.
Heterosexuals were less likely to get
~ the therapy because they often face the
~ ailment alone, she suggested. ",Many
people get help through networks¯ Gays
i have their networks and so do IV drug
¯. users,"she said. Heterosexuals withAIDS
: usually are women who got the disease
¯ from having sex with men, who were or
: had been drug-users or Bisexual. The
: women often did not know anyone else
." with the diseas&, she said. ’~nis was sur-
¯¯ prising, but even IV drug users knew
more about AIDS than these women/’ she
: said. Of women with AIDS, 58% are
¯ black, she said. Nationally,43% ofAIDS ¯
patients are black; 36% are white, and
. 20% are Hispanic, according to data pre-
¯ sented at the conference.
i¯ HIVTreatments blot
Available to All
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - Physicians sometimes
steer HIV-infected New Yorkers
away from the best drug treatment regi:
mens because they do not believe the
patients are motivated or stable enough, a
state-sponsoredpanel ofexperts has found.
Health providers often saw. those with
HIV as members of suspectpatient groups
- immigrants, homeless people, inmates,
¯
the mentally and physically disabled -
: and prescribed treatment accordingly, in-
" stead of treating cases on an individual
: basis, the group said.
¯ An HIV treatment plan "should not be
¯ based on presumptive judgments about
¯ people in any racial, ethnic, gender, age,
¯ riskor other category," thepanel declared.
¯
"The state of New York should ensure
: that every person with HIV has access to
¯ basic health services as well as to provid- ¯
ers with HI¥ expertise," the group con-
" cluded.
¯ The 44-member panel included physi-
¯ clans, medical ethicists, public health ex- ¯
perts and advocates for groups at highrisk
of contracting the virus that causes AIDS,
¯ including Gay Men’s Health Crisis and
¯ Housing Works. It was formed in mid-
" 1997 after reports surfaced that someHIV
¯ patients werereceivingless-than-op~dmum
¯ care because of who they are or because
¯ some doctors and other health care work-
" ers were not up to speed on thelatest drug
¯ treatment methods.
¯ Dr. Guthrie Birkhead, director of the
: state Health Department’s AIDS Institute
: andco-chair of the panel, said the report
: was thefirst ofits kindin theUnited States
¯ to examine the ethical issues involved ¯
with the complicated drug treatments
: which have evolved for HIV and AIDS
¯ patients. Those treatments have become
". especially prevalent in the last three or
¯ four years. Problems with matching pa-
: tients with optimum treatment regimens
¯ "are still not solved at this point" in New
: York, Birkhead said. "It’s very important
: not to make assumptions about people’s
For Some, Less
Access to Care
BOSTON (AP) -Women, minorities and
heterosexuals with AIDS are less likely
than others to get a new and effective
treatment, andignorance of the procedure
may be one of the reasons, according to a
new study, The situation maybe particularly
bad for women, who, according to
another report, may be more susceptible
than men to HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS.
The reports were given at the "AIDS at
the Millennium" conference sponsored
by the Massachusetts Medical Society
and Lemuel Shattuck Hospital. A study
by Dr. Valerie Stone of the Brown University
School of Medicine found that
nearly three-quarters ofMassachusetts and
Rhode Island men with AIDS got the
three-drug, protease inhibitors treatment,
but only half the afflictedwomendid. The
study also found that 75% of whites with
AIDS got the multi-drug, or "cocktail"
treatment, but only 58% of blacks and
50%ofHlspanics did. Half ofheterosexuals
withAIDS were being treated with the
drugs, compared with 81% of Gays and
61% of those who contracted the disease
through drug injections. The study was
made at five sites, including community
health centers and teaching hospitals.
Protease inhibitors given in combinations
have improved and prolonged the
lives of many AIDS victims. New biological
evidence suggests women may be
more susceptible to HIV than men, said
Dr. Deborah Cotton, director of AIDS
clinical research at Boston Medical Cem
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ability to work with them (medications),"
he said. "In some cases, that may mean
deferring treatment- getting peoplehousing,
drug treatment, whatever. But in no
instances does that mean denying people
proper treatment."
Doctors and researchers have had the
best results in delaying the onset ofAIDS
among HIV-infected peopleusing a combination
of "antiretroviral’ drugs which
inhibit the development Of the virus in
human beings. Often, the drugs can extend
the lives of HIV-infected people for
many years.
Typically, HIV patients take three different
drugs two to three times a day,
Birkhead said. "For the average person,
withoutany problems,keepingona(medication)
scheduleis very difficult,"he said.
With HIV and AIDS patients, doctors
must recognize a whole series of related
problems that can prevent medications
frombeing taken, including havingproper
refrigeration for the drugs and language
barriers involving non-English speaking
- HIV victims, the panel found. And,recent
studies have shown that taking HIV drugs
in proper doses and sequences is crucial
because if some drugs are stopped, the
body could develop immunities to them
that will hasten the onset of AIDS.
Thepanel ofexperts saiditis the duty of
doctors and other health care providers to
stay current about the latest drug treatments
for HIV, to make them as widely
available to patients as possible and to
help get patients into situations where
they will stick to a medicinal schedule.
Patients, the panel said, have an obligation-
to religiously take the drugs, to eat
properly, to take other steps to maximize
the effect of the medications and to otherwise
aid in their own treatmentS. In cases
where a patient "demonstrates an inability
to initiate or maintain a treatment regimen"
it may be "appropriate" for a health
care provider to discontinue drug treatment,
the panel concluded.
Amemberofthepanel, Deunis DeLeon
of the Latino Commission on AIDS, said
he would like to see its recommendation
that all NewYorkers have access to anonymous
HIV testing become reality. ’There
was not equal access to appropriate preand
post-test counsding," DeLeon said.
’~3nce a person got tested, thefollow-up
in terms of the medical referral was lacking,
even in some major urban centers
throughout the state." State health officials
estimate that between 150,000 and
200,000 New Yorkers are HIV positive,
believed to be the highest snch population
in the nation.
Quilt to Move to DC
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - The AIDS
Memorial Quilt, a 52-ton symbol born in
San Francisco as the deadly epidemic
ravaged the city’s Gay community, appears
to be headed permanently to Washmgton
D.C. The board of the Names
Project voted to begin searching for new
executive offices and a place to store and
display the quilt, which has grown to
more. than 100,000 pounds of cloth and
imagery.
The vote has not been formally announced,
but Names Project Executive
Director Andy lives told the San Francisco
Examiner the move won’t happen
for several years. ’XDbviously there is a
strong emotional tie to San Francisco,
birthplace of the quilt,"he said. "But what
began 10 years ago as an ad hoc response
to this tragedy has become an icon and the
No. 1 AIDS prevention .and education
tool in the country. "My position is that
logistically, we belong in the nation’s
capital... None of us has any interest in
having the quilt be this musty, dusty relic
stored on shelves:. 2’ The Names Project
intends to keepits original storefront space
at Castro and Market streets, where the
local chapter displays a segment of the
quilt. There are 52 US chapters.
~The quilt was the concept of AIDS
activist Cleve Jones during a candlelight
march on Nov. 27, 1985 honoring slain
Supervisor Harvey Milk and Mayor
GeorgeMoscone. Heaskedfellow marchers
to write on pieces of cardboard ~the
names of lovers and friends claimed by
AIDS. When the marchers covered the
Federal Building with their placards, "it
looked like a patchwork quilt of lives
cruelly cut short," Jones said.
’~ understand what they’re trying to
do," said Mike Salinas, news editor of the
Bay Area Reporter, a Gay newspaper.
"Relocating to Washington will let them
reach a broader audience of visitors from
around the globe, many of whom are in
desperate need of better AIDS education."
World AIDS Watch:
Indian Youth
MANESAR, India (AP) --Hard as it is to
talk about sex with young people, involving
them in AIDS education is crucial to
preventing the spread ofthe sexually transmitteddisease,
communityworkers, health
experts andyoungpeople themselves said.
’Young people have an enormous curiosity
about sex. So let’s build an information
systemaroundthem," saidLN. Balaji,
chiefofplanning ofUNICEF, India, which
is organizing a four-day workshop on the
role of youth in fighting AIDS epidemic
and HIV, the virus that causes the fatal
disease: People in their teens and 20s who
act as. health activists in their own communities
in 17 countries are attending the
workshop. They’ll return home with new
ideas about education and counteracting
discrimination against thosewho have the
disease.
About 1.7 million people in Africa. and
700,000 others in Asia and the Pacific are
infected with HIV every year, according
to United Nations statistics. Indiaaccounts
for the most cases in the world, at 4
million. One half million of the victims in
India are young people. Their number
will rise if young people do not have
access to information, skills and services
to fight the problem, Balaji told a news
conference in Manesar, a town near New
Delhi. Many participants in the UNICEF
conference said youth in their countries
are unable to discuss sex with their elders
because of societal taboos. They usually
endup gettingbadinformationfrompeers
or reading pornographic literature or experimenting
with unsafe sex.
In India, school principals balked at the
idea of health experts talking to studentsabout
drugs, sex or even problems of
youth. ’Talking about sex was considered
outrageous," said Gunjan Shah, one of the
4,000 students and teachers trained by
Sevadham Trust, a voluntary orgamzation
in Pune that is helping spread the
message of AIDS. Sevadham volunteers
slowly persuaded authorities to talk to
teachers. "Soon, they were saying’ This is
exactly what we want.’ From then, there
was no problem." Today, nearly all public
and private schools in Ptme and many
others in Bombay have asked Sevadham
to conduct training for their staff.
That ruling came in a federal lawsuit filed
by a homosexual who had been arrested
under the Georgia law, Which carried a
maximum sentence of 20 ysars.
’This is a symbolic victory," said David
Smith, a spokesman for the Gay civil
rights group, The Human Rights Alliance.
"It sends a message - the demise of
the Georgia sodomy law that was upheld
by the U.S. Supreme Court will hopefully
be a precursor to the U.S. Supreme Court
invalidating all thenation’ s sodomy laws."
Three other states - Kentucky, Tennessee,
and Pennsylvania - have recently
overturned such laws. ’This would help
the continuation of this trend," Emory
constitutional law professor Robert
Schapiro said.
Even though the law applied to both
heterosexual and homosexual activity, it
was seen as an example of discrimination
against homosexuals. The law "has made
Gays and Lesbians a target for unjust
police action in the past and unjust prosecution.
Wehope with this, that will come
to an end," said Harry Knox, interim director
of the Georgia Equality Project
Foundation.
Powell, formerly of Norcross, spent 14
months injail beforemakingbail last year
pending his appeal. "I don’t really espouse’
the Gay lifestyle,’ but’I:understand
their point of view," said Powell, whose
defense was helped by Lambda Defense
and Education Fund, aGay andHIV rights
advocacy group. Powell is now living in
Shreveport, La.
Theruling cannotbe appealed, because
the GeorgiaSupreme Courtis theultimate
authority on the state’ s constitution. Legislators
wouldhave to amend the constitution
to pass a similar law.
FormerAttorney General Michael Bowers,
who defended the law before the U.S.
Supreme Court in the 1986 case, said he
was surprised by the ruling. "I can’ t imagine
how. they can make such a ruling... I
would be very surprised if you don’ t see a
legislative move to alter that."
The 1986 case involved a challenge by
Michael Hardwick, a Gay Atlanta bartender
who was arrested for committing
sodomy in his home. Prosecutors later
dropped the charge..Hardwick, who died
of AIDS in 1991, sued state officials to
have the law declared unconstitutional.
The Georgia Supreme Court never ruled
on Hardwick’s case because his suit was
filed in federal court.
In the lone dissent to the ruling, Justice
George H, Carley wrote that the majority
misconstrued the state constitution and
"’usurped the legislative authority of the
General Assembly to establish the public
policy of this state." Carley said the Georgia
Constitution contains "no express recognition
of a right to privacy." The antisodomy
law was upheld by the state Supreme
Court in 1996, but that case turned
on the solicitation of sodomy, not the act
itself.
Eighteen states still have laws against
sodomy. Louisiana has such a law. It is
under state court challenge and a judge’s
ruling is pending. Thosechallenging these
laws in various states now have ’Tuel and
ammunition see Georgia, p. 14
to fight the battle," said Powell’ s attorney
Steven H. Sadow.
The following are excerpts from the
majority and dissenting opinions:
The majority opinion was written by
Chief Justice Robert Benham:
’q~he right of privacy has a long and
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TULSA
PHILHARMONIC
Handel’s
Messiah
TULSA ORATORIO CHORUS
Conducted by
EDWARD BYROM
Branch Theatre, Holland Hall
December 3 & 4,1998 at 8PM
Sponsored by Omni Medical Group.
A Gospel
Christmas
Tulsa’s All Star Gospel Choir
Proudly Sponsored by
Parade of Lights.
Come celebrate the spirit of tile holiday season
at the PSO Christmas Parade of Lights.
Saturday, Decemberl 2, Downtown Tu!sa.at 6 p.m.
View parade floats up close, Friday, December 11.
at the HolidayFest (Brady Arts District) from 6-9 p.m.
Public Service Company of Oklahoma
A Central and South West Company
PRIMARY SCHOOL TOURS
Holland Hall
SCHOOL
MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL TOUR
MIDDLE & UPPER SCHOOL TESTING
To reserve your place, please call the Admission Office
at 481’1111, extension 251.
¯ 5666 E. 8lst Street - Between Yale & Sheridan - Tulsa
wvJw.hollandhall.org
HolI~dHalladmt~squdih’edstu~’n~ wt~h~mr~gardro rac~; sea; tz’li~bn, naubnalorcd~nt~o~4n, orph~~t~al
~ SUNDAYS
Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 11 am, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
Community of Hope (United Methodist), Service - 6pro, 2545 S. Yale, 585-1800
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Service - 1 lam, 2545 S. Yale, 749-0595
Church of the Restoration Unitarian Universalist
Service- llam, 1314 No. Greenwood, 587-1314
Tulsa’ s Metropolitan Community Church (Family of Faith & MCC-GT)
Service, 10:45am, 1623 North Maplewood, Info: 838-1715
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc.
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 10:45am, 3210e 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 Bisexuai/Lesbian~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)
~P 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
7:30pm, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
PFLAG, Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
2nd Mon/each too. 6:30pro, 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 meeung date.
United Way Bldg. 1430 S. Boulder, 585-5551
Multiculturai AIDS Coalition, call for next meeting date.
Urban League, 240 East Apache
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 (TOHRAIOPE)
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 - 7pro, 3210e So. Norwood
Tulsa Native American Mens Support Group, more information, call 582-7225
TCC Gay & Lesbian Association of Students (GLAS), Cal! for info: 595-7632.
Lambda A-A, 7 pm, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd ft.
~ THURSDAYS
HOPE, mv Outreach, Peevention, Education
Anonymous HIV Testing, Testing: 7 - 8:30pro 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/eachmo. 8pm, Pride Ctr., 1307 E. 38th
~ SATURDAYS
Narcotics Anonymous, 11 pro, Commllnity of Hope;1703 E. 2nd, Info: 585-1800
Lambda A-A, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd ft.
~ OTHER GROUPS
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform & Leather Seekers Association, info: 838-1222
Womens Supper Club, Call for info: 584-2978
OK Spoke Club, Gay & Lesbian Bike Organization. Info: PUB 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.
lfyour organization is not listed, please let us know. Call 583-1248 orfax 583-4615.
by Adam west " " "
Tulsa City-County Library
With the millenium close to an end, the
rate of novels dealing with the subject are
sure to skyrocket. Some wise individuals
got onto the trend early,
though, and one of these is
British science fiction author
Elizabeth Hand. Due to my
intense love of sci-fi, I was
recently asked to review this
bookfor theTulsaCity-County
Library system in response to
a customer’s request to have
the book withdrawn from our
shelves. Customer objections
to material are always taken
seriously, and so I found myselfreading
this The Glimmering
looking for evidence of
obscenity in its rather graphic
sexual scenes.
Before you run out and
snatch this one off the shelves,
let me warn you - the sex
scenes aren’t that graphic, and
what’s worse, they’re written
with little, attention to the
beauty of the written word and
an inordinate amount of pornlevel
vulgarity. Hand is inept
at writing worthwhile erotica,
but there are other reasons to
devote some time to this dismrbing
and elegant novel.
For those ofyouwho dislike
sci-fi, you should know that
this book is more speculative
fiction (along the lines of
Marge Pierey) than science fiction. There
are no aliens here, only some premature
advances in technology and some lessthan-
scientific consequences. This novel
should not be enjoyed for its sci-fi aspects
anyway. The real beauty of The Glimmering
shines through its characters, thanother
note to the style, The Glimmering is
in split-focus, with every other chapter
altemating between two protagonists, Jack
and Trip. It is only near the end that
everything comes together, but keep reading-
the coalescent result is smooth and
logical (albeit extremdy coincidental).
Jack is a forty-something gay man dying
of AIDS; who finds an unlikely cure
called Fusax. Trip Marlowe is a teenage
Christian Rock idol who loses his faith
¯when he discovers sex and the female
body. The two characters could hardly be
reached a sagebrush-strewn area at the
foot of the Laramie Range where the
dying Shepard was found 18 hours later.
DeBree said that McKinney was asked if
Shepard begged for his life and the defendant
replied: "Well, yeah- he was getting
the (expletive) beat out of him."
The autopsy showed that the 5-foot-2-
inch Shepard was struck in the head about
18 times, prosecutor Cal Rerucha said.
Officers testified that Shepard’s face was
caked with blood - except where it had
been partially washeddeanby tears. They
said his wrists were bound so tightly, it
was difficult to cut the rope.
Explaining the violence, McKinney told
his girlfriend, Kristin Price, "’Well, you
know how I feel about Gays,"’ Police
Detective Ben Fritzen testified. And
DeBree said McKinney repeatedly re-
: in more polar opposition. While Jack is
: noble, dignified and worldly, Trip brings
: self-absorption, infantile behavior and ig-
¯ norance to new lows. The chapters focus-
: ing on-Trip will probably be tedious for
For those d
you who dislike
sei-fi, you
should know
that this book
iS more
speeulative
fietlon...
There are no
aliens here...
This novel
should not
be enjoyed
for its sei-fi
azpeets anyway.
The real
beauty of The
Gl;mmer~ng
shines through
its characters.
anyone with depth, although
he does have his looks and a
misguidedinnocentloyalty (to
the girl he impregnates) to save
him from complete inanity.
It is nldmately the character
of Jack that makes this
book so important. Jack constanfly
berates himself for being
selfish, but he is horribly
mistaken. Jack comes from
wealth, and in the political destabilization
of 1999,his home
is one of the few havens availablein
thenovel. Thoughmost
of his family’s money is gone,
he maintains the upstate New
Yorkestatein order to give his
aging grandmother comfort
and provide his friends with a
secure getaway in times of
need.
Jack undertakes a sort of
spiritual journey that we all
sometimes feel a need for: the
process of remembering what
is important in our lives. Jack
longs for health and sex and
stability, but what he really
needs is’the "knowledge thathe
has had a positive impact in
the lives ofthe people he loves:
It’s not a complicated lesson,
but for some reason it escapes
most of us, most of the time.
I’m aware that I haven’t given you a
great amount 6f detail about this particu-
¯ lar story, and my descriptions of the characters
are rather vague, but that really
can’t be helped. Although ElizabethHand
has a complete lack of skill with erotica,
her ability to create elegant, complex stones
and characters and weave them together
so intricately with her plot is superb.
To tell you much more about the
characters would reveal too much of the
progression of the plot. Read this one
before the millenium ends. It’s not going
to be accurate, but you’ll have plenty of
ideas to consider on December31 st, 1999.
Adam West is an associate with Tulsa
City-County Library System and an OSU
alumnus. He is not now and never has
been Batman.
ferred to Shepard as "queer" and "faggot."
McKinney sat expressionless for most
of the five-hour hearing, smiling once or
twice when he spoke with l’us attorneys.
Shepard’s parents, Dennis and Judy
Shepard, sat in the front row, his mother
crying when a deputy identified photo-
., graphs of her son in the hospital.
¯ Public defender Dion Custis said the
¯ state failed to meet its burden ofproof that
" the murder was planned and said Shepard
¯
was not kidnapped, but went willingly. A
¯ watch, money and other property left at
¯ the crime scene showed that robbery was
¯¯ not a factoreither, he said. Ms. Price, 18, and Henderson’s girl-
: friend, Chasity Vera Pasley, 20, will be
¯ arraigned Dec. 9 on accessory after the ¯
fact to first-degree murder. Henderson
¯ and McKinney are being held without
¯ bond. Rerucha has not yet indicated if he
¯ will seek the death penalty.
-Kelly Kirby CPA,. PC
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situations whether single or as coupleS.
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by Jean-Pierre Legrandbouche
Some of oureatin’ andda’tnkin’ buddies
will go to a restaurant, f’md a dish they
like, and then order the stone food, over
andover,eve~ time they go thct~. Notus.
We prefer the adventure of tr~ng everything
on the menu, and
the variety of selecting
differententrees ondifferent
occasions. If our
waiter shouldhappento
remember a previous
-visit and suggest a repeat
sampling, invariably,
we will decline
and eat something different.
Exceptat Phill’ s.
We have the waitresses well trained by
now, and they know that any time we
come in after l0 a.m., they’d better put
aside a slice of the coconut creme pie for
us, because we always eat a piece whenever
we’ re in for luncheon. This coconut
pie is wonderful. Made from scratch -
none of that coconut-flavored vanilla
pudding stuff - with a classic creme
patisserie-style recipe,it’ s lovingly poured
into adreamy, flakey, flavorful, lardpastry
shell, and topped with clouds of real
whipped cream. It’ s not a snooty coconut
tart from a New York City bistro cooked
by a cook with a bad French accent. It’ s
just a plain old piece of good old Oklahoma
pie.
Phill’s Diner, located just east of
Harvard on 32rid Street, serves up a lot of
plain ,old .good Oklahoma cooking. In
fact, it s such a classic, that when we’re
¯ .entertaining out-of-town performing artists
in for a gig with the Phil or the Ballet
or the Opera, and they want some "Oklahoma
fOod," this is where weend up.
Only open for breakfast and lunch,
phill’ s is a classic diner. Blue plate specials.
Biscuits andgravy. Basichamburgers
and fries. Chicken fried steak. Homemade
cinnamon rolls that sell out almost
every morning. Sirloin steak and egg
breakfasts. And, unlike other popular diners
in Tulsa, Phill’ s hash’ t succumbed to
being trendy. It’ s still a neighborhood
place,marketing mostlyby wordofmouth.
But, you have to remember that this is
a low key kind of place. Vinyl banquettes
havethe occasional tapepatch. Sodafountain
bar stools face a functioning service
area. Glasses are plastic. Dinnerware is
mismatched - and includes the sundry
remnants of an IHOP going out of bnsi~
heSS sale. There is nothing pretentious
about this place.
On a recent visit, we decided to have
the grilled liver and onions, which, with a
simple Iceberg salad, two,~egetables (cho-
Two-thirds of U.S. volunteers will re-
¯ sen from the chalkboard), and a basketful
: of-freshly baked dinner rolls, only cost
: $4.99. Theliver, an easy meat to over-
. e~ok, was nicely done, and our only corn-
: plaint was that we got a few onions from
¯ the outside stem-end of the bulb which
were a bit papery. Our
companion opted for
the chicken fried steak,
which cost just a little
moreat $5.69. His steak
filled the plate, and the
aroma was wonderful.
Phill’s recipe includes
abitmore than a hint of
garlic, and the steak
was very satisfying.
: The green beans with bacon were heavily
¯ seasoned with black pepper, and that is
¯ almostatrademarkcharacteristicofPhill’s
: food. He likes things to have seasoning.
¯¯ Somemay not like things so "spicy," but,
with his tendency to use exotic ingredi-
." ents like salt, pepper, butter, onions, gar-
¯ lic, and bacon, we find the spicing charm-
: ing - kind of like visiting a friend’s
: mother’s house for supper.
Another great time to visit Phill’ s is for
¯" a late breakfast on a Saturday or Sunday
’. morning. The chalkboard specials almost
: alwayshaveanmterestmg *orunch food,
¯ ~uch asMalibu French toast (French toast ¯
with orange marmalade), an avocado,
¯
bacon, and cheddar cheese omelette, and,
¯ for those who like corned beef, a hefty
, serving of eggs and hash. Prices vary,
generally in the $4-5 range. Huge, fluffy
¯ hotcakes are also apopularmorningitem,
: with one ample cake going for $1.29, and
¯ two for $2.29. If you really think you can ¯
eat it all, they also have a triple stack for
." $3.29 (but eating like that is not going to
¯ help youfitinthosenew bicycling shorts).
¯ And, in the best Southerntradition, one ¯
can also order a brealffast side order of
¯ sliced tomatoes forjust99 cents. After all,
¯ it isn’ t breakfast without tonaatoes.
¯ Whenthe autunm weatherbegins to get ¯
more of a nip in the air, we’ 11 be looking
¯ forward to several other Phill’s staples.
¯ especially his homemade Irish stew and
his pinto beans with ham. A big bowl of
¯
one of these ($1.99 cup, $2.99 bowl) and
¯ a basketful of his cornbread is more than
¯ enough to refuel on a chilly afternoon.
." Phill’ s slogan is, "home of good food."
: Go to Phill’ s. You’ II feel at home. Andthe
¯ food certainly is good.
: I Editor’s note: Mary Schepers. our Do-
"I It-Yourself-Dyke is taking this month
: off, and so we bring you this review by
Jean-Pierre Legrandbouchewhichfirst
". ran tn our November 1997 issue.
ceive the vaccine. Richter said the Tulsa
trial has enrolled about 12 volunteers but
can enroll as many as 150. No women
have enrolled yet. Volunteers receive free
shots and about $40 to help with transportation,
Richter said.
Lysight said Tulsa has a large Gay
community, making it an ideal.site for the
study. He said he has known at least 15
people who died of AIDS complications
within the past seven years. Study volunteers
commit to participatefor three years.
They receive three injections of the genetically
engineeredvaccine over several
months. Those are followed up with a
Phill’ slogan is,
"home of goocq food."
Go to Phill’ .
You’ll feel at home¯
And the food
certainly is good.
series of booster shots. The vaccine uses
: engineered copies of a protein found on
." the outer coating of the HIV virus. It is
¯ designed toprompt theimmune system to
: make antibodies, which can attack invad-
¯ ing viruses before they infecthealthy cells.
¯ Lysight said he hopes to help pave the
¯ way for avaccinethat blocks HIV the way
~ today’s vaccines target small pox or
¯ chicken pox. "Until there is a vaccine or
: anything to help it. nobody will want to
: accept what the problem is," he said.
: Local AIDSgroups and the Tulsa City-
County Health Department are collabo-
: rating on the project and will assist’in
: recruiting trial volunteers. Other cities in
¯ the study include New York, Chicago, St.
Louis, Denver, Philadelphia and sites in
"- Florida, Texas and California.
by Esther Rothblum
I recently talked with a group of five
young women in a Vermont high school
about what it means to be Lesbian, Bi, or
questionning. These women students -
and a teacher- have been
meeting weekly in their
school after hours. Hard as it
may be for us older Lesbians
to believe, but such groups
are a part of all high schools
in the Burlington, Vermont
area.
The women were proud
that their classmates hadjust
voted in (500 in favor, 100
against) a club to be called
the "Gay and Straight Alliance."
As one woman said
"what was so good about the
process was that it was so
out there, and an explanation
went along with it, so
.... ~bool life is not
wlthout harassment,
¯ . . Another woman,
who is Bisexual,
has been called a
"dyke"by another
student.
Als0, students in
their high school will
refer to something
they don’t llke as
"gay," as in "thatdress
is so
people knew it wasn’t just a
Gay thing." In fact, one of the club’s
organizers received a school medal for
her efforts.
BUt school life is not without harassment.
One student said: "Yesterday, a kid
came up to me and said ’I would really,
appreciate it if you didn’t make out with"
other girls in the hallways.’ I’ve never
done anything like that in school." Another
woman, who is Bisexual, has been
called a "dyke" by another student: Also,
students in their high school will refer to
something they don’t like as "gay," as in
"that dress, is so gay.’"
The women I interviewed were aware
of internalized homophobia as well. One
woman said: "In eighth grade there was
this kid that everyone said he was Gay. He
couples’ request to overturn the prohibition.
In legal briefsand arguments to the
court, they said mamage historically has
been defined as a union between a man
and a woman because same-sex couples
can’t biologically bear children. ’‘To say
(otherwise) would be to say there’ s absolutely
no connection between marriage
and procreation," said Assistant Attorney
General Eve Jacobs-Camahan. "It’s a
unique social institution based on the
sexual communion of a man and a
woman."
Vermont is now the only state with a
Supreme Court considering the question
of Gay marriages. In last month’s elections,
voters in Hawaii and Alaska essentially
overturned court rulings that were
moving toward legalizing such unions.
Robinson said refusing to allow samegender
couples to marry was as discriminatory
as bans on interracial marriage,
firstoverturnedby the CaliforniaSupreme
Court in 1948. "The parallels between
that case and this case are striking," she
said. In 1948, proponents of California’ s
interracial ban used many of the same
arguments as Gay marriage opponents
today, such .as the promotion of procreation,
she said.
But Assistant Attorney General Timothy
Tomasi said bothmen and women are
given the right to marry, and a court redefining
it would cut into the rights of the
Legislature. ’‘There’ s no benefit given to
¯¯ had a very hard time with harassment.
Then when I came out my freshman year,
¯ hestartedmaking fun ofm!! I said to him:
: ’Don’t yon remember how-bad it felt
¯ when everyone made fun of you?’ He
said: ’But I wasn’t and you
are." In s,o,me ways, I was his
revenge.
Another woman was concerned
about how her heterosexual
friend would be
viewed. She said: "I think
mybeing fairly out in school
affected her. We used to sit
together in class and spend a
lot of time together. We’ve
been friends since kindergarten.
I think the fact that
we were so close actually
negalively affectedher, with
people assuming that she was
Gay as well. I found myself
pulling away from her so
that she wouldn’t be stereotyped.
I wanted her to be able to find a
boyfriend and be happy; I didn’t want her
harasssed."
In some ways, being Gay is viewed as
trendy in their school, but only when it
refers to female students, mostly those
who are Bisexual. But the women I interviewed
felt that trends are viewed as a
phase, and their classmates wonder When
this particular trend will finalh, be over.
"My friends thought I was a "~oser’ because
I told them that I was Bi," said one
woman.
Esther Rothblum teaches Psychology
at the University ofVermont andEditor of
the Journal ofLesbian Studies. Ske can be
reached at Dewey Hall, Univ. of Vt.,
Burlington or: esther.rothblum@uvm.edu
males that isn’ t given to females," he said.
The lawsuit challenges a 1975 rulingby
the state’ s attorney general advising town
clerks that Vermont law defined civil
marriage as a union between a "bride and
a groom," in effect prohibiting same-sex
couples from marrying. Ten groups, ~ncluding
a coalition of other states, wrote
briefs supporting Attorney General William
Sorrell’s definition. Seven other
groups have filed arguments that contend
Vermont" s Constitution guarantees Gays
the same rights to marriage as heterosexuals.
Hordes of people showed to watch the
arguments. Folding chairs were setup and
the court, for the first time ever, required
tickets to get in the building. They were
snatched up the moment doors opened,
hours b.efore the scheduled arguments.
From the point of view of the couples,
who found themselves at the center of a
national debate and sat in a front row, the
arguments couldn’t come soon enough.
"Twenty-five years ago, when we met
and fell in love, mamage was not something
any of us that were same-gender
couples thought about," said Holly
Puterbaugh of Milton, one of the plaintiffs.
"it just was not in the conversation,
it was not in the thinking." She and Lois
Farnham are raising a daughter together.
Want to get involved? Need to get tested
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1307 E. 38th at Peoria, 2nd floor
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1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
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Are You Gay or Bisexual?
Are You Native American?
Tulsa’s Two-Spirited Indian Men’s
Support Group is here for you!
¯ Evening support group meetings
¯ Relationship workshops
¯ Short trips, outings and retreats
¯ Free HIV testing
For inforr~ation call Tulsa Native American AIDS Prevention Project
at 582-7225 Ext, 208 or 218
by Lamont Lindstrom, Ph.D.
Whenl moved into Iankahar, a
small South Pacific village in Vanuatu, I
worked hard to learn all the names of my
70 or so new neighbors. I
was proud of myself for
memorizing everyone’ s
name in just a week or two,
particularly since many
people have both a local
name and a European one.
Or I was until the day I called
out to young Joshua, an active
5-year:old who liked to
hang around my hut. He
shyly informed me that his
name was now Tio. "But
what happened to Tio?" I
asked, confused. Tio, I
thought, was the helpful son
of my neighbors Vani and
Kaisaia. Joshua, or rather
now Tio, drawing in the dirt
with his big toe, told me that
Tio was now called Kamuti.
But this was equally confusing.
Kamuti - or so I had
memorized - was an older,
childless man who lived in a.
rattletrap hut at the end of
the village.
I pestered people in my
rudimentary Pidgin English
until they" helped me understand
that old Kamuti, sensing
death, had just adopted
20-someflfing Tio who took
his name. This left open the
Ameriean Gay
culture includes
several drag
naming traditions.
Much of the
attraetlon of drag
comes from its
eonstruetlon of
hyper-femlnlnlty
- an image of
perfected
womanhood that
no real female
could, in reality,
obtain.
This is why
RuPaul and
Barble are twins -
they both are
way beyond
female reality.
name-"Tio" that the former Joshua assumed.
Men’s names on this island are
really titles. They emplace individuals
within a structure of kinship groups. Each
nmne. moreover, comes with rights to
certain land plots. Joshua’s father had
more sons than nmnes to give out, so the
bob was making do with the European
"’Joshua" until a landed personal title (like
Tio) freed up. Persona! names in Iankab,ar
thus link individuals into land-holding
kinship ~oups which are the basic building
blocks of island society.
AnthropoloNsts study personal naming
systems in order to learn more about
people’ s understandings of selfhood, and
of the ways in which they conceive of
individuality and society. In many cultures,
people may have several names at
once, or may take on additional names as
they go throughlife. ,americans are familiar
with first names, middle names, nicknames,
family or surnames, pen names,
stage names, and aliases; and the majority
of ~american women still change their
familynames at marriage (as Hillary went
from Rodham, to Clinton, to Rodham
Clinton). Still, people in other societies
may have far more opportunities than we
do to collect various names or to swap one
name for another
In some cultures, each time an individual
enters a new phase of life (childhood,
adulthood, old.age), he takes a different
name. In classic Chinese society,
important men acquired "death names";
because, dead, you ate a changed person
and you need a different name. The Japanese
borrowed this custom which is why
theformerEmperor!tirohito is now called
Showa. Elsewhere, people takenew names
after important events in their lives, such
as surviving a major illness. In Samoaand
other Polynesian cultures, people commonly
have several names, one of which
may be a tide. Names are context dependent-
people call one another by whichever
of their names best fits the occasion.
Most American names are gendered;
some are male, others female.
It is not surprising,
therefore, that transgendered
individuals, and drag queens,
almost always acquire new
names as part of their transformed
personality. Something
similar to Samoa’s
context-governed names
occurs here with American
cross-dressers and drag artists.
When you meet up with
your friend, do you use his
boy name or his gift name?
This mostly depends on
where you are at the moment
and also, of course,
what s/he’s wearing. Personal
nmnes in Iankahar give
men rights to family and
land; here in America they
give us rights to be, and to
act, male or female.
American Gay cnlture
includes Several drag naming
traditions. Much of the
attraction of drag comes
from its construction of
hyper-femininity - an image
ofperfected womanhood
that no real female could, in
reality, obtain. This is why
RuPaul and Barbie are twins
- they both are way beyond
female reality. One drag naming tradition
is the hyper-feminine. Here, the queens
take on Barbie-ish names. I surfed through
a number of drag queen websites on the
Internet (yes, those gifts are online) and
turned up hyper-ladylike names such as
Zhanna, Monique, Vaunessa, Cookky,
Felicity, Chynna, Windy, Misty De Mute,
and so on. Sometimes these names pair
with the drag equivalent of a surname.
There are named drag houses in many
cities, and a daughter takes the family
name of her drag-mother (and sometimes
also drag-father). This creates a structure
of ficdve kinship that anthropologists call
matrilineal descent.
There is a second, comic naming tradition
in American drag. Her~ the queens
celebrate the carnival foundations of their
art. There are ancient and widespread
associations of masking and naughtiness
in Western culture, as all of us learn very
young ("Trick-or-Treat, smell my feet!").
Those sly queens adore bad puns. My
quick tour of the web discovered Miss
Pencil Vania, Charity Kaesse, Paige
Turner, Evian Water, Sister Dana van
Iquity, and of course Hedda Lettuce. And
I’m sure you can bring many coarser
examples to mind. But,just like people in
Vanuatu, China, and Samoa, the more
names you have, .the more you are.
Lamont Lindstrom teaches anthropology
at the University of Tulsa.
e-mail: lindstroml@centum.utulsa.edu
PFLAG
Parents, Family & Friends of
Lesbians & Gays
Tulsa Area Chapter
POB 52800, Tulsa 74152
749-4901
distingnished history in Georgia. In 1905,
this court expressly recognized that Geor~
gia citizens have a ’liberty of privacy’
guaranteed by the Georgia constitutional
provision which declares that no person
shall be deprived of liberty except by due
process of law... This court has determined
that a citizen’ s right to privacy is
strong enough to withstand a variety of
attempts by the State to intrude in the
citizen’s life."
"v~re cannot think of any other activity
¯ .that reasonable persons would rank as
more private and more deserving of proteetion
from governmental interference
~consensual, private, adult sexual ac-
:~tivity. :. We’conclude that such activityis
at the heart of the Georgia Constitution’ s
protection of the right of privacy."
’q’he State fulfills its role in preventing
sexual assaults and shielding and protecting
the public from sexual acts by the
enactment of criminal statutes prohibiting
such conduct... The only possible
purpose for the statute is to regulate the
private conduct of consenting adults, the
public gains nobenefit, and the individual
is unduly oppressedby the invasion of the
right to privacy. Consequently, we must
conclude that the legislation exceeds the
permissible bounds of police power."
"In undertaking, the judiciary’ s constitutional
duty, it is not the prerogative of
members of the judiciary to base decisions
on their personal notions of morality.
Indeed, if wewere called upon to pass
upon the propriety of the conduct herein,
we would not condone it... While many
believe that acts of sodomy, even those
involving consenting adults, are morally
reprehensible, this repugnance alone does
not create a compelling justification for
state regulation of the activity."
"We agree with our fellow jurists that
legislative enactments setting ’social majority’
are not exempt from judicial review
testing their constitutional mettle."
The minori~ opinion was written by
Justice George H. Carley:
"Clearly, Powell has no right under the
federal constitution to engage in the act.
.. since there is no fundamental right
¯ . under theConstitution ofthe United States
~ to engage in consensual sodomy."
"The Court has exceeded the limits of
its judicial authority and usurped the legislative
power ’to enact laws to promote
¯the public health, safety, morals and welfare
of its citizens."
"Until the majority’s advancement of
: its overly expansive notion of the state
." constitutional guarantee of’liberty,’ there
¯ has never been any doubt that the General
~ Assembly,in the exercise ofpolicepower,
: has the authority to define as crimes the
¯¯ commission of acts which, withoutregard
to the infliction of any other injury, are
¯ considered to be immoral. Simply put,
¯ commission of what the Legislature has ¯
determined to be an immoral act, even if
: ¢gpsensual andprivate, is aninjury against
¯ society itself."
: "!’he majority should take no comfort
: in the fact that it has removed Georgia
¯ from the rank of those states which have
¯ held that thematteris for resolutionby the
." Legislature."
: otherboardmembers for their willingness
¯ to serve another year. ¯
Now it’ s time for the rest of us to help
¯ support the Center. Any amount will help.
¯ Andnow’sespeciallythetimeforthoseof
, you who said you wouldn’ thelp as long as
: I was on the board to getmoving andto get
¯ acheck written. You no longer have me as
¯ an excuse.
: Some of you who’ ve been fortunate to
¯¯ earn or inheritmore than the rest ofus also ought to start talking about creating an
¯ endowment for The Center. If we don’t
¯ take care of ourselves, it’s obvious no one
:¯ rise will. Think about it. Finally this is the last issue of our fifth
¯ year of thi,s labor of love of doing anews-
~ paper. We ve pissed people off regnlarly
~ so we must be doing something right.
: Enjoy the holidays whatever your faith
¯¯ tradition, celebrate the New Year, play
safe and love your neighbor. God bless.
¯" Classifieds - h~~v°tr~o ~veU,,worx rnem:a"u’~r"~"
First 30 Words are $10. Each additional word is
¯ 25 cents. Options for your ad:
¯ Bold headline - $1, all capital letters -
: $1, all bold & capital letters - $2, ad in
¯ box - $2, Ad reversed - $3, tear sheet
¯ mailed - $2 Blind P.O. Box - $5
¯ Please tyl~ or print your ad. Count the words -
: word is a group of letters or numbers separated by
¯ a space. TFNreserves the right to edit or refus~ any
¯ ad. No reftmds. Send ad& payment to POB 4140,
Tulsa, OK 74159 with your name, address, tele-
¯ phone. Ads will ran in the next issue after receipt.
: For Good Home
¯ Friendly, honest, & very experienced
: 42 year young realtor seeks sincere &
¯ motivated buyers &sellers. Into MLS.
¯ You won’ t be disappointed.
: John Kirk, Keller Williams, Realty
¯ 712-2252 or 745-2245
MANFIND
I LIKE’EM BIG WM. 5’11", 170 brown/blue.
Iookleg for a hot, dominant top. Militan/ or
body builder a plus. (Tulsa) I~’19326
A REAL GUY Attractive. down-to-eerth
GWM. 2.0, 5’9". 175 LOs. short brown/brown.
saeklr;~ honest, trustworthy GWM, 18-35,
5"6-5’f0", with a stocky, muscular build.
Piercings and tattoos a plus! (Tulsa)
~’18526
KISS ME BABYI Looking for a nice
BANGM, who likes go out, having fun and
kissing. (Oakhurst) ’~’18458
TULSA AREA BOTfOM Bi-cubous WM,
21. 6’. light browrvhazel, bottom, enjoys
cross-dressing, pleesingand having fun,
Seeking similar dominant top. (Tulsa)
"!~18341
HOT, PASSIONATE SEX Sexy Gay Man,
5’10", blonde/blue, seeks really hot Men to
turn me on and t6 have some hot, passionate
sex. (Tulsa) ’~’16479
WILD ~EX Sexual easygoing Single Man.
into long walks on the beach and hanging
out. Seeking other sexual Men to have fun
with arid more. (Tulsa) ~’16285
LOTS OF FUN, WHY NOT SHARE IT? ~!-
yeer-old GM, seeks other Guys to get
together with and date¯ (TuLa) ~’15447
ARE YOU OUT THERE? Single Gay Male,
6’. 200 Ibs, brown/brown. Seeks another
Man. 30-50, who’s into outdoor sports,
cooking and just having fun. {McAiaster)
11’15297
ARE YOU THE OUTDOOR "iNPE? Single
Gay Male seeks other Men. 45-55. who
likes the outdoors, hunting, fishing and having
good times. {McAlester] ’~’15208
TOTAL TOP 25-year-old GM. 175 Ibs,
5’10". brown/brown, enjoys going Out, dinar
and having fun. Seeks bottoms for serious
relationship. (Tulsa) I~14837
NO GAMES PLEASE Top M, seeks bottom
M, 18-30, for Iong-tarm-reletionship. (Tulsa)
THE BEST TIME Body building M, 34,
seeks dorninsnt, older M. over 50. wellhung
to get together with (Tulsa) ’~14115
FASCINATING SGM. seeks a good-looking
GM to have a great time and likes to
kiss a whole ~ot. (Tulsal ~’f3568
1-877-681-4560
JUST WANT TO DANCE Well built, 33
year old Man looking .for other well hung
Guys who are dominate. I want to sonrs
you. (Tulsa] ~’11SS1
MUSIC AND ANIMALS GM, 18, seeks
them. (Tulsa) ’~’11258
LONG TERM RELATIONSHIP I’m a 6’2",
160 Ibs, Man who is new to the scene and
looking for other Man, for friendship and
maybe a long term relationship. (Tulsa)
11’11267
A HEAD ABOVE THE REST This Gay
~Nhite Male, 30, seeks a distinguished older
Gentleman. 30-45. who enjoys hiking, biking,
and nude sunbathing. I have a tight
butt and give great head. (Tulsa) ’~16544
DAILY RITUAL When I get home, I like to
lay back, have a good ddnk. and think
about a hot Man and wish I had it in my
hand. Then I start massaging myself. I’d
love to talk to you. (Tulsa) ’~’16161
READY FOR FUN I’m a 5’T’, White Male.
140 los, good looking, tan and looking for
Guys in the area who are nice looking,
straight acting, with a good head on your
shoulders. (Tulsa) ’~’1Q759
LOOKING FOR SOMEONE who is ready
to date and have some fun, You must be a
non-smoker, ffulsa) ’~10964
I LOVE TO UNDRESS for a Man who likes
to give me pleasure with their lips. (Tulsa)
II’10ss2
I’M A GAY WHITE MALE, 28, who enjoys
fishing, hunting and long walks. I’m looking
for ~ends and maybe a little more, (Tulsa)
~10895
JUST TO TALK TO I’m a BM. 29, new to
the area end looking for someone to talk to
and hang out with. (Tulsa) ’~10527
HEART OF GOLD I’m a lonely 25! oowboy
who loves the outdoors, I want s M with a
heart of gold an~ not into head games,
someone to give me 110 percent of their
love, (Tulsa} ’~’20221
GETTING A LITTLE NASTY 23. 5’10".
160. I play soccer and I have a very nice
chest. I want a M who can show me some
fun times and get a little nasty. (Tulsa)
I~’1ss13
BLUE COLLAR BUSINESS This Gay,
White mala. 45. 5’10, 2201be. with light,
Brown hair and Green eyes, seeks a blue
collat type who’s down to earth, caring, and
enjoys sports and the outdoors. I want to
have a one on one relationship¯ I don’t drink
or do drugs, but I do smoke cigarettes.
(Henrietta) ’~’9661
GO FOR IT Attractive. fit, White male, 34,
6’1,1701bs, with Brown hair and Blue eyes,
seeks aggressive, fit guys, in their 20’s and
early 30% for hot times. (TulsaJ ’~9687
BEDWARMER WANTED This hot stud iv
Tulsa. needs a warm body to heat me up
on cold nights. (Tulsa) 1~13077
TRUE LOVE This Gay White Male is 31-
yearn of age. F’m looking for someone to
bave a safe discreet lime with. If your interestsd
in this message, give me a call
please. (Tulsa) ’~16325
CAN YOU HANDLE IT? Hey Guys, this 25
year old Gay White Male is looking for Gay
Men who are rea0y to have a good time. I
go Out dressed like a Woman at times and
I am very feminine. If your man enough to
handle that, then please give me a call.
(Tulsa) ’~17623
I WANT A NICE FIRM ASS This Gay
White, hairy chestad, top Man is 6’2", 175
Ibs, dark hair and blue eyes. I am seeking
a bottom with a nice firm ass so that we can
get together on a regular basis. (Tulsa)
"~’17350
SCRATCH THE ITCH I’m looking for a Bicudous
Male like myseff to have my first
experience with. I’m ill, athletic, 29. 6’, 190
It)s, tan. with brown hair, green eyes, muscular
logs, and a smooth chest, i’m seeking
the same type. (Grand Lake) ~’12004
A LII"FLE EANrrY I’m a sans. intelligent.
honest Gay white Male, 53, 6’, 170 Ibe, a
very o~al bottom. I’m seeking Gay or Bi
Males who are honest for friendship first
and a possible long-term relationship. No
games. Give me a chance. You won’t be
disappe~nted. (Tulsa) ~’17178
There’s no charge to
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Call
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SHARE MY TIME 22-year-od B~WF, 6’.
blonde/brown, enjoys the outdoors, dancing,
movies and the outdoors, Looking for
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’elationship. (Tulsa) ’~’20ss9
VERY HOT LESBIAN Very sensual GBF,
22, looking for a delicious F, who loves cuddling,
dancing an~ movies, for hot good
timss and lots of romance. (Tulsa) ’~19118
HOT AND BOTHERED 18-year-old Single
Female, into dancing. Seeks someone to
go out and have fun with. (C~airemore)
’~’16797
TAKE A CHANCE Attractive Single
Female. 32. soft butch, educated. Seeks
well built, feminine Females. to hang out
and sitare a bottle of wine. (ToIsa111’16454
SPEND TIME WITH ME 22-year-bid GWF,
into movies and the mall. Seeks someone,
under 35, to seend time with and get to
know for a possible long-tarm relationship.
(Tulsa) ’A’15257
DOING THINGS i’m a GBF, 25 who likes
the outdoors. ~iking, movies and long
walks. I’m looking for a SGWF. full figured.
190+, 5’T and up. who likes doing things.
(McAIsster) ’~’10109
BE TRUE TO YOURSELF I’m a, 27 year
old Hispanic Female, 130 Iba. 5’4". who is
looking for a special Female that is single
and not into games. I ee}oy movies, staying
at home and spending lime with you, so
please give me a call. (McAlestar) ’~’18184
CURIOSITY GOT THE CAT I’m a very cuddUe.
Married Woman. I am very open minded
and looking for a female who is also curious.
(Maceldstar) ’~’18464
MY HUSBAND AND I WANT YOU I’m a 22
year old. Bi-sexual White Female. with
brown eyes, I love music, dancing and
going Out. I want to meet someone who
eejoys the same things as I dO; I am
Married, but want-someeee who wants to
be with me and maybe my Husband also.
(McAJastaf) ’~18649
To respond, browse or
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1-900-786-4865
$1.99/MIn. 18+
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Citation
Tulsa Family News, “[1998] Tulsa Family News, December 1998; Volume 5, Issue 12,” OKEQ History Project, accessed December 22, 2024, https://history.okeq.org/items/show/554.