[2000] Tulsa Family News, December 2000; Volume 7, Issue 12
Title
[2000] Tulsa Family News, December 2000; Volume 7, 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 2000
Contributor
James Christjohn
Karin Gregory
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Hughston Walkinshaw
Karin Gregory
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
Hughston Walkinshaw
Rights
Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News
Relation
Tulsa Family News, November 2000; Volume 7, Issue 11
Format
Image
PDF
Online text
Online text
Language
English
Type
newspaper
periodical
periodical
Identifier
https://history.okeq.org/items/show/607
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
Gay Students Start
LGBT Scholarships
NORMAN, Ok - The Oklahoma Lambda Intercollegiate
Coalition (OLIC) has announced the creation of
the Oklahoma Lambda Youth Scholarship which they
claim is the first such program in Oklahoma. The
Coalition is an umbrella network of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender student groups from Oklahoma
colleges and universities.
According to OLIC spokespersons, Kent Doss of the
University ofOklahoma andMandy Whitten, the President
of University of Central Oklahoma Gay Alliance
for Tolerance and Equality (GATE), the purpose of the
scholarship is to promote pride in youth activism and
foster leadership at Oklahoma college campuses.
Oklahoma high-school graduates who intend to remainin
the state throughout their college careers will be
eligible for the $1,000 award. Applicants will be selected
according see OLIC, p. 3
Tulsa ChamberAdds
"Sexual Orientation"
TULSA - The Tulsa Metro Chamber, which recently
changed i ts namefrom the MetropolitanTnlsaChamber
of Commerce, also has revised its non-discrimination
policies to add the term "sexual orientation" to more
traditional statues like race, religion, age, national origin,
sex (gender), etc.
According to Michael Hightower, media spokesperson
for the organization, the .addition of "sexual orientation"
waspart ofacomprehensivereview ofChamber’s
internal policies. The Bank of Oklahoma’s Human
Resources Dept. conducted this effort for the Chamber.
This revision is part of a trend on the part of businesses
to attract employees by committing to fair hiring
practices. According to the Human Rights Campaign, a
Washington based civil right group, 494 of the Fortune
500 companies have added "sexual orientation" to their
policies. Anumberof majorTulsaemployers,including
American Airlines, Kimberly-Clark, AEP/PSO, Dollar/
Thrifty Auto Group, and others have done the same.
Kerry Lewis, president-elect of Tulsa/Oklahomans
for Human Rights (TOHR) expressed surprise and
applauded this Chamber move. TFN publisher Tom
Neal noted "as one of the few openly Gay members of
the Chamber, I am really proud to.see the organization
welcome us. We need to support them in return."
DIRECTORY P. 2
EDITORIAL P. 3
US & WORLD NEWS P, 4
HEALTH NEWS P. 6
ENTERTAINMENT P. 8
GAY STUDIES P. 10
¯ Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Our Families + Friends
TMM’s Exclusion of
i oGfayDs iDscelriibmerinataetiAocnt ¯ Pastor Says "Sexual Orientation" Was ¯
Added But TMM Board Never Told
¯ TULSA - While the incident, a KKK visit, to which a local ¯
"diversity" statement sought io i’~spond is well past, the state-
" merit continues to brew controversy. Tulsa Metropolitan Minis-
" try, an "interfaith" religious organization issued a statement
-.¯ which defined Tulsa’s "diversity" as being composed of race,
religion andethnicity, without mentioning sexual orientation.
¯ Earlier, it appeared that the failure to mention "sexual orienta-
¯ tion"mighthavebeenanoversightbasedontheKKK’ s historical ¯
¯ attacks primarily on Jews and Blacks. However, in a return call
to the Tulsa Family News, the Rev. Russell Bennett of Fellowship
Congregational Church, UnitedChurch of Christ, stated that
¯ he participated in themeeting to draft the statement, and specifically
he called for the inclusion of "sexual orientation" in the
: statement. Bennett noted that he heard no objections to his
¯ request, and he said that he expected that "sexual orientation"
¯ would be included.
: Perry Simons, executive director of the Jewish Federation
¯ attended the meeting at Fellowship Congregational Church with
: Nancy Day of the National Conference for Community and
Justice, Dr. Sandra Rana, representing Tulsa’s Muslim commu-
: nity, the Rev. Clark Shackleford of Sand Springs, as well as
¯ Bennett. Andwhile Simmons says he does notrememberBennett
." calling for adding "sexual orientation," Simons says he feels he
¯ shouldhave raised theissue. Simons noted that Dr. Rana took the
¯ notes of what he described as a "stream of consciousness"
¯ discussion.
; However, the Rev. Radford Rader of College Hill Presbyterian
¯ and a-member of the T!VIM executive boardstated that the
¯ executive board never saw a version see TMM, p. 11
Michigan Elects First Gay Rep.
¯ LANSING, Mich. (AP)- Newly dected state House Rep: Chris ¯
Kolb heads to Lansing in January as the state’s first openly Gay
." lawmaker, but he said he has a lot more he wants to tackle than
¯ simply civil rights for Gay-people. Kolb, 42, admits his role is
; important, but it’s not his only focus. "I don’t wear it on my
: sleeve. I am who I am, but I don’t bring itinto every discussion,"
¯ he said of his sexual orientation. "It’s not my one and only ¯
crusade in life."
: The election of Kolb, a Democrat from Ann Arbor, puts
¯ Michigan among 22 states that have an openly Gay man or ¯
Lesbianin their legislatures. TheAnnArborcity councilman first
¯ got interested in politics after receiving his bachelor’s degree in
.. natural resources from the University of Michigan in 1982. He
¯ started with local government, distributing campaign literature
¯ and knocking on doors for candidates. After serving as aprecinct
¯ captain and secretary of the local Democratic Party, he won an
¯ open seat on theAnnArbor City Councilin 1993. Eventually, he ¯
became mayor pro-tern.
2 " Working on the Democratic-controlled council with former
." Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon, a Republican, has already
¯ helped Kolb learn to forge bipartisan alliances, a key skill in the
¯" state Legislature. Sheldon admits she and Kolb were competitors,
but said he never made his sexual orientation an issue. "You
¯ do not think ofhimas being the stereotypical Gay person inAnn
Arbor," Sheldon said. "He’S a regular person the way you or I
." would want to be relating to a person."
Kolb said he will work at improving the state of civil and
human rights in Michigan,but he’s also interested in tackling
¯ education and environmental issues. He wants to work on legislation
that would make it illegal in Michigan to fire employees
¯ based on their sexual orientation, something already prohibited
¯ in 11 states. "I’mnotkiddingmyself as to howfar theLegislature
will be able to be moved," he said. "But civil and human rights
: are along struggle."
¯ Kolb will be one of 14 new Democrats and seven Republicans
¯ to begin their first two-year state House terms inJanuary. He will
be seated across the aisle see Michigan, p. 3
I TOHR Celebrates
20 Years of Se.rvice
Only MCC Is Older ,n State
¯ TULSA- Itwas a different world then. Therewas no ¯
Will and Grace, few Gay or Lesbian images in print
¯ or on the airwaves, HIV was not yet discovered, and
¯ what was later called AIDS was just beginning to be
seen in New York City and San Francisco. The
¯ Stonewall Riots had only ocurred 10 years before,
¯ Gay people were still subject to arrests and harass-
" ment in most of the US, and world.
¯ In Oklahoma City, community activists began a
group calledOklahomans forHumanRights (TOHR).
¯ Tnlsans joined that group and then formed a Tulsa
; branch. This group lead by three Tulsa attorneys,
¯ Dennis Neill, Bob Inglish andMikeGreen and others ¯
later created Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights,
¯ Oklahoma’s 2nd oldest organization after Tulsa’s
¯ Metropolitan Community Church United.
¯ Twenty years later, the world has changed. Tulsa
¯
has support groups in the public schools for Lesbian
¯ and Gay young adults, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgenderedpeople are verymuchvisibleinAmeri-
¯" can media and society butTOHRis still here provid-
¯ ing community services as at the beginning with all
volunteer, staffing and not that many dollars.
¯ Longtime TOHRmember and former boardmere- ¯
ber Jonathan Stanley remembers being a member as
¯ early as 1980 or 1981, adding that he recalls Bob
¯ Inglish as president and meeting in a small upstairs
¯ room in Stonehorse, a building now known as the ¯
Consortium. A particularly vivid memory of those
¯ early days was the controversy whenTOHR rented a
¯ city pool for an event and cityofficials had the pool
¯ drained because Gay p_eopl_e_had, used. it..This was in
the very early days of AIDS when the disease was
associated exclusively with Gay men and little was
known about HIV transmission.
¯ During these years,TOHRhas provided a commu-
¯ uity information telephone line, civil rights advo-
¯ cacy, anonymous HIV anti-body testing (eventually
¯ with paid staff and HIV education outreach workers
¯ - a program which has spun off as the H.O.P.E.
¯ Testing Clinic), and for the last several years, a
¯ community center. The Center was in the Brookside
¯ neighborhood was first known as the Pride Center
¯ and featured a 5x8’ flag which flew over the building ¯
until it was repeatedly stolen. Now the Center is
¯ known as theTulsa Gay Community Services Center
: and has relocated to 21st & Memorial (2114 So.
¯ Memorial), ironically sharing a wall with one of ¯
Tulsa’s oldest Lesbian bars, TNT’s.
," However, TOHR president Greg Gatewood and
; the proposed new officers, Kerry Lewis, president,
¯ 1st v.p. Vance Reed, 2nd v.p. Don Glass, secretary ¯
Curtis Evans, and treasurer Beth Persac, are hoping
¯ the current location will be a short-term one. TOHR
¯ has announced a capital raising campaign, the Pyramid
Project, to purchase a permanent commtmity
." center.
." According to Gatewood, the Project has in hand ox
: in pledges and grants, $65,000 of their goal ot
¯ $250,000. And the organization has set up legal
restrictions such that all gifts to the Pyramid Projec!
¯ arerestricted to that useonly. Also, thoserules (whicl:
¯ were reviewed by outside legal counsel and CPA’s" ¯
restrict overhead expenditures to a maximum of
¯ and all labor for the project is volunteer.
: Gatewood notes that the organization is setting uI
web sites for TOHR and the Pyramid Projec
¯ (www.tohr.org and www.pyramidproject.org) whicl
¯ they expect to be available in mid-December.
." To celebrate the 20th anniversary of TOHR, th~
¯ group will hold a Holiday reception and silent auctiol
: on Dec. 10th from 4-7pm, see TOHR, p.
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Chasers, 4812 E. 33
*CW’s, 1737 S Memorial
*Club Cherry Bomb, 1926 E. Pine
*Club Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Sqtmre
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E 31st
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*Rene~ades/Rainbow. Rooni, 1649.S. Main
*TNT’s, 211,4 S. Memorial !
*Tool Box, 1338E! 3rd "
712-2324
610-5323
583-2119
835-2376
744-4280
745-9998
834-4234
58523405
660-0856
584-1308
*The ’Yellow Brick Road Piab; 2630 E. 15th 749-1563 ’
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 41
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15
*Borders Book~ ’& Music, 2740 E. 21
*Borders B0oks’ 8~ Music, 8015 S. Yale
Brookside JeWelry, 4649 S. Peoria
*CD Warehri~,:3807C S. Peoria
*Cheap Th~ills,~::2(~iOE. 1 lth
743-1000
250-5034
665-4580
712-1122
712-9955
494~2665
743-5272..
746-0313
295"-5868
Cherry St. Ps,yEtirthdt~py, 1515 S. Lewis 58’1-0902, 743=4117
Community’CI~ihiiig~’Kerby Baker . " 622-0700
Tim Daniel, At~tonie~ 352-9504, 800-742-9468’
*Deco to Discoi" 3212 E. 15th 749=362Q.
Doghouse 6n-.Brr0kside, 3311 S. Peoria 744-5556
*Elite Boules-& Vi~t~0S, 821 S. Sheridan 838-8503
Encompass,Travel," I3161H N. Memorial 369=8555
Ross Edwar~l:Sal6ii i 584~0337, 712~9379
Events Uniimited;; 507S. Main
¯
5920460
Floral Design-S~dioi~3404 S,. Peoria " " 744~9595
Four Star ImpOrt.AutOmotive, 9906 E. 55th P1. ’ 610-0880
Cathy Furlong;PhiD.~ 1980 Utica Sq..Med. Cir.- 628-3709
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare 808~8026
*Gloria Jear;’~ .Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st" 742-1460
Learme MTG’rO~s~’En~i~ance &financial pl,.~a~.ng. 459~9349
Mark T. Ha~by~A’ttOrney
*Sandra J. I~ll,M~S;Tsychotherapy, 2865 ~i ~kelly745:74427414101T
*Internafiol~al T~urs...... 341:6866
Jacox Aniraal Cliifie, 2732 E. 15th .... 712-2.750
*Jared’s Antlques;"1602 E. 15th - - 582-3018
David KauSk~y~:~otmtry Club Barbering 747-0236
The Keepers; HoUsekeeping & Gardening 582-8460
*Ken’s Flowers; ’1635 E. 15 599-8070
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #21C -’ 747-5466.
*Living A~tSpaee; 308 South Kenosha 585-1234
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd 584-3112~
Mingo Valley’Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-59341
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951
Puppy Pause: IF,1060 S. Mingo 838-7626
*The Pride StOre............... 743-4297
Rainbowz’0~ the River B+B, POB 696, 74101 747-5932
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning ....... 834:0617-
Teri Schutt, Rex Realtors 834~7921, 747-4746
Scribner’s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square ...... 749-~6301
Paul Tay, Car’Salesman 260-7829
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis 481-0558.
Venus Salon, 1247-S: Harvard 835-5563
Fred Welch, LCSW, Cotmsding 743-1733
*Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan 665-2222
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis 592-0767
www.gaytulsa.org - website for Tulsa Gays &Lesbians
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101 579-9593
All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria 743-2363
Black & White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159 587-7314
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6 583-7815
B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr. 583-9780
Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S~ Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1. & Florence
Church of the Restoration UU, 1314 N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community of Hope Church, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
Council Oak Men’s Chorale 748-3888
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712-1511
918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159. e-mail: TulsaNews@earthlink.net
Publisher + Editor: Tom Neal
Writers + contributors: James Christjohn, Karin Gregory, Barry
Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom, Esther
Rothblum. Mary Schepers, Hughston Walkinshaw
Member of The Associated Press
Issued on or before the 1st of each month, the entire contents
of this publication are protected by US copyright 1998 by
~oL~/:~,~Nt~v~ and may not be reproduced either in whole
or in part wi~out written permission from the publisher.
Publication of a name or photo does not indicate a person’s
sexual orientation. Correspondence is assumed to be for
publication unless otherwise noted, must be signed & becomes
the sole property of, T.oLu~./:~.’.. N~. Each reader is
entitled to 4 copies of each. edition at distribution
-points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248.
¯ *Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457 ¯
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa - Lesbian & Gay Catholics’&
¯ Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74t70-1475 " ~ 355-3140
~Fellowshipcongreg.Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
¯¯ -*FreeSpiritWomen’sCenter, callforloeation&info: 587-4669
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 " " 747-6827
¯ Friends in UnitySocial Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
: HIV ER Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd. 583-6611
¯ *Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194 ¯
HOPE,-HIV Oiitreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
¯ *HouseoftheHoly SpiritMinstries;1517 S. Memorial 224-4754
¯ *MCC United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715 ¯
NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral PI. - , 748-3111
¯ NOW;Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365-5658
¯ " ,OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
*OSU-Tuls~
seefrom anumber oflawmal~ers who signed
a letter earlier this year asking the state
Department of Education to invesugate
Grand Haven High School for allowing Gay
speakers to talk to students about being Gay
during "Diversity Days."
House Speaker-elect Rick Johnson, RLeRoy,
and~GOP Rep. Valde Garcia ;o_.[
DeWitt were two. of the nine. staie House
members who signed the iletter. Both,say,
they wi!l not have_any problems worki,r~g
with Kolb. The House will retain its 58-52
Republican majority when the new session
starts. "I don’t agree with the philosophies
of the Democratic Party, but that doesn’t
mean I don’t work with Democrats," Garcia
said. "Just because I don’t approve of his
lifestyle doesn’t mean I can’t work with
him."
¯
Kolb’s experience in government and
: ability to handle himself well even when
! others disagree with him will help him in
¯ Lansing, said Jeffrey Montgomery, executive
director of the Detroit-based Gay rights
¯ group Triangle Foundation. "He’s been
¯ aroundmany,many,,ch~lenging situations,"
.: Montgomery said. He s going to be able to
: handle ahar;dful ofignorantlegislators very
¯ easily."
¯ While Kolb believes the media makes a
¯ bigger deal about his election than anyone
: else, he knows his role~is important. He says
¯ the ultimate benefit of his election is as an
¯ example to members of the Gay community.
"Any young person, regardless of their
; sexual orientation, whohears about this will
¯"- .t~-.G, POB 52800, 74152
." ~*Planned Parenthood,1007 S. Peori~a
....tMme-’Timers, P.O: B.ox52t 18, 74152 --
R;A:L N:; Regional AIDS Interfaith Network -
¯Red.Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8
St. Aidan’S Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cincinriati
" StTDu~stan’sEpiscopal, 5635 E. 71st
.*St: Jerome’s Parish Church; 205 W. King
¯ *TulsaArea United Way,- 1430 S..Boulder
~-*TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian.Health Care. 582-7225
¯ Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 E. 15 ....... 595-4105
.......~.,2Confideufial HIV Testing -by appt. on Thursdays ionly "
:.~.Tulsi!O!d.a.T0rH,.t!m.an Rights, c/o The Pride Center 743-4297
"..- ~.U.L.S.A.iTulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
- .2 T~s~a City Hall, G~0und Floor Vestibule
;.... Tiii~ii CommUnityCoil~ge Campuse~
~ *TulsaGay Community Center, 21st & Memorial 743-4297
; Unity Church of Clirigtianity,3355 s. Jamestown 749-8833
"BARTLESVILLE
"-B~fl~svill~Piibllc Library, 600S=. Johnstone 918-337-5353
TAHLEQUAH ..........
¯ Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
49-490t ¯ "’ realiz.e..that ~ere’s a world of opportunity,"
587 76?4.... he said..,~oo often, that s not the message
our community and others hear." . - , _.
749-4195
584-2325
425-7882
492-7140
582-3088
583-7171
¯ Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church
¯ ~Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570
¯ EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS ¯
Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23
¯
Jim & Breut’s Bistro, 173 S. Main
¯ DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St.
¯ Emerald Raiiabow,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.
¯
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
¯ Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U1.34
918-456-7900
918-453-9360
501-253-7734
501-253-7457
501-253-6807
501-253-5445
501-253-9337
501-253-2776
501-253-5332
501-624-6646
501-253-6001
501-253-4074
417-623-4696
* is where you can find TFN. Notall are Gay-owned butall are Gay-friendly.
Memorabilia from the years will be on display
as well as auction items from artists and
¯ merchants such as Antiquaries inTulsa, P.S.
, Gordon, DavidHoot, T.A. Lorton, Kathleen
¯ Pendergrass, Rand’s Art & Antiques, Mary
¯
Schepers and others. Curt & Marj’s Cater-
" ing will offer refreshments as may other
¯ Tulsa restaurants.
¯" On Dec. 1 lth, TOHR and PFLAG, Par-
¯
cuts, Families and Friends of Lesbians and
¯ Gays will hold their annual joint Holiday
potluck dinner at the Center at 7pm. The
: entree will be provided as will soft drinks
." and tableware. Attendees should bring veg-
¯ etables, salads and desserts and may call ¯
743-4297. to know which of those to bring..
¯ Gatewood also notes that planning for
¯ next year’s Diversity Celebration 2001,
¯ which includes the Parade, a post-parade ¯
¯ Festival and ablack-tie dinnerwill continue
a mid-January meeting. The precise date
¯ will be announced later, t 7pro. The entree-
¯. will be provided as will soft drinks and
tableware. Attendees should bring veg-
¯ etables, salads and desserts and may call the
¯ Center at 743-4297 for which of those to
¯ bring.
Gatewood ~so notes that planning for
¯ next year’s Diversity Celebration 2001,
." which includes the Parade, a post-parade
¯ Festival and ablack-tie dinner will continue
~ a mid-January meeting¯ The precise date
¯ will be announced later.
World AIDS Day
by Chris Labonte, semorpolicy advocate
Human Rights Campaign
As we commemorate the first World AIDS Day of the
21st Century,itis important to bothcelebrate our achievements
over HIV and AIDS and work vigorously to ensure
there will be continued success in thcfuture. With success
in treatments, we risk the danger of resting on our laurels.
Instead,:we :mus~ rededicate ourselves to building upon
these victories anff creating a future without HIV and
AIDS. ~People with the diseas~e live longer and healthier
lives yet the number of those’whbar¢ newly infected in
our country each year remains steady at 40,000.
The.new barrier to treatment andprevention is complacency.
It comes from a variety of places and appears in
many forms. New highly active antiretroviral therapies
have contributed to the welcome steep decline in AIDS
deaths in our nation. Media and advertising campaigns
for these therapies signal that one can live and should live
a robust and long life - you can go rock climbing, ski
down the highest mountain, and continue to do fulfilling
work. While all of this is true, they fail to mention that
these therapies require years of medication, multiple
dtses of pills each day - sometimes with possible side
effects- and all at a great expense.
This somewhat slanted view of our treatment success
may contribute to our prevention failure. Although gay
¯ and bisexual men hage made strides in reducing the
percentage of HIV infections attributed to male-to-male
sexual contact, men who have sex with men still account
for approximately 40percent ofnew infections each year.
By not recognizing the tree costs ofHIV infection, young
gay and bisexual men are engaging in risky behavior;
such as intentional unprotected anal andoral sex.Arecent
study suggests that the more optimistic memwere about
the new treatments, the less likely they were to use safe
sex precautions or limit their number of sexual parmers.
Moreover, existing health ~disparities among commm
nitieS of color tuake treatments particularly out.of reach
for them. For the first time, the numbek Of gay men fromcommunities
of color - African Americans, Latinos,
Asian Pacific-Islanders, Native American. and others -
outnumber the number of white gay and bisexual men in
new AIDS cases, according to the Centers for Disease
Control, the federal agency :primarily responsible for
prevention of HIV/AIDS. Prevention is also particularly
concerning with communities of color, where young gay
and bisexual men of color are often confronted with both
homophobia and racism. We must address this situation
immediately and offer prevention strategies targeted to
the unique needs of gay and bisexual men of color so they
¯ can also benefit from treatments available to others. We
also cannot ignore strategies that we know have been
successful in reducing HIV transmission in the past. Far
too often, policy makers ignore proven science to score
political points at the expense of peoples’ lives. Needle
exchange programs and abstinence are two of the most
vivid examples: Successful risk reduction programs also
save money on future treatment costs.
The CDC has set forth an ambitious goal to reduce new
HIV infections inour nation. In addition, the independent
and science-based Institute ofMedicine recently released
areport, "No Time to Lose," that supported the use of cost
effective methods of reducing HIV transmission, including
needle, exchange programs. A recent study from .the
Heury.J. Kaiser Family Eotmda_tign~f.o_und that p.arents
think schools should have more comprehensive sexual
education curriculum and cover topics that are not generally
covered, such as sexual orientation. Effective prevention
methods deserve support - both financial and
political support-from Congress, the administration, the
public health community, and other impacted communities.
We must strive to continue to find even better
treatments, furthe~ reduce the number HIV infections,
provide additional assistance to nations around the globe
and develop a vaccine within a reasonable time frame.
These goals are attainable. In a nation as wealthy and
creative as ours, we should expect nothing less.
¯ Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry: Gay People Need Not Exist
¯ by Tom Neal, editor &publisher ¯ committee process and edited out that inclusion. Because
It might come as quite a surprise to you to learn that there " of their and their organization’s past involvement in acts
are no Gay people in Tulsa. There are no Gay bars, no Gay " of anti-Gay discrimination, it looks like Dr. Sandra Rana
churches, no Gay households, no Gay parents, no Gay kids ¯ and Nancy Day of the National Conference for Commu-
- you get the idea. : nity and Justice wereresponsible.TMM’s executive board
At least that’s the message that Tulsa Metropolitan " never saw an inclusive version.
Ministry (TMM) is putting out. While"cel- This does not excuse the executive
ebrating" Tulsa’s "diversity" specifically,
claiming to "... support each other’s right
to live and prosper in this great community.
¯ ." TMM. somehow managed t3 "disappear"
Gay Tulsans.
Wehave long known that some groups in
TMM are deeply prejudiced against Lesbian
and Gay persons. Usually these people
are identified as Tulsa’S Muslim community,
some of Tulsa’s Black churches and
Tulsa’s Orthodox Christian commumty.
No matter how repugnant their views are
to us, morally and theologically, wehave to
¯ support their constitutional right to hold
: those views. But usually their objections
are to.-us having those basic civil rights
protections which they enjoy themsdves.
They want for it-to continue to be legal for
us to be firedfrom ourjobs, or thrown out of
our homes or have our children taken from
us. They have objected to characterizing
assaults on us as hate crimes, even if the
"... apologlsts for
TMM ma~e the
excuse that Gay
Tulsans have
to be sold out in order
to appease the Muslims,
or the Blaeh
churches
or the Orthodox.
Gay people are ashed,
again and again, year
after year, to go along
because some good
comes out of it..."
board. In this city, and in this time, it is
very hard not to know that Gay and Lesbian
people exist. But their oversight lacks
the malice of deliberate exclusion.
Many apologists for TMM make the
excuse that Gay Tulsans have to be sold
out in order to appease the Muslims, or the
Black churches or the Orthodox. Gay
people are asked, again and again, year
after year, to go along because some good
comes out of it.
But this statement goes too far. It demands
that we collaborate in the denial of
our own existence. And those.who sign it
knowing better, knowing thatTMM’s "diversity"
statement is profoundly a lie, are
no less collaborators with evil than those
who kept silent in the face of Nazi horrors.
TMMhas long tolerated a double standard.
Gay people are asked to recognize
that Tulsa Muslims and others are "funda-
¯ mentalists" and we are asked to tolerate
same act is a hate crime when they are the target.
: Butthey hadn’t before soughtto deny our very existence.
This is largely a symbolic act but in some ways, it is more
~ powerful than the others. Even when our fundamental civil
¯ rights are denied, we are atleast acknowledged as existing.
¯ Ironically, part Of the impetus for this "diversity" statement
was a visit by a particularly virulent part.of the Klu-
Klux Klan. Traditionally, theKKK’s principle targets have
b~nJews andBlacks.But as Gay and Lesbian people have
become more visible, we have been included very explicitly
in Klan hatred. This Klan visit was-no.exception. And
while the Klan did not forget us, Tulsds "do-gooder"
hypocrites pretend that we don’t exist.
Now not all of TMM’s members take this position.
Russell Bennett of Fellowship Congregational Church
sought to add sexual¯ orientation to TMM’s "diversity"
statement. But ina deeply disturbing and shameful action,
one or two commi ttee members appear to have violated the
to three equally weighted categories; community leadership,
scholastic merit, and financial need.
This year,the scholarship selection committee is .comprised
of a student representative from five of OLIC
campus organizations, and five OklahomaGLBT community
leaders..The chair-person of this year, selectiOn committee
is Whitten. The organizers add that applications will
be available Dec. 1st from our OLIC organizations, at the
Oklahoma City and Tulsa Gay Commlmity Centers and
online at www.geocides.’com/okolic/. Applications will be
due on Feb. 15,2001 and the winners will be announced in
late March.
Also, the Oklahoma ]mmbda IntercJall:egiate C0aii~0~
hold a fundraising reception in Tulsa Oli December 2’ls(
from7 - 10pm at thehome ofRick and Susan Doss in Tulsa.
Funds raised by this event will be used for the Oklahoma
Lambda Youth Scholarship. RSVP to 405-325-4452. A
donation of $25 is suggested.
The goals of the Oklahoma Lambda Intercollegiate
Coalition are:
I. Raising awareness of GLBT youth ~ssues within our
community, schools, and society;
II. Sharing information and resources in an effort to
provide the best possible programming for sponsoring
organizations;
their bias agaanst us even as Muslims, Jews, Christians,
and. Unitarians somehow manage to respect each other.
White supremacist groups, like the Christian Identity
movement and .others who use theology much like the
Muslims do to justify their prejudice, are not welcomed
into.TMM. Buta special place is carved outfor anti,Gay
prejudice,
It is finally too much. And it is time that good people
who know better stand up for their neighbors and friends
and families, ff this means that Tulsa cannot support its
real diversity, then at least we’ll be telling .the truth.
Muslim Tulsans might have to acknowledge that they
cannot object to anti-Muslim bias while oppressing Gay
Tulsans. Black Tulsans ought to know better..And Jewish
Tulsans mightneed to do for Gay people what was done
for them by non-Jews in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s,which is
to be vocally and visibly advocates for civil rights.
It’s time now for this change.
¯ III. Supporting a Queer youth movement to impact the
: politics of our state and nation;
¯ IV. Providing resources to the Oklahoma GLBT youth
¯ community including political and health education, a ¯
safe social environment, and an opportunity to cultivate
: leadership skills, and;
¯ V. Fostering the conception and growth of new GLBT
: student groupsacross Oklahoma.
¯ For more information, contact, Oklahoma Lambda In-
¯- tercollegiateCoalition 900Asp,OMU, P,m. 363,Box 169,
Norman OK 37019-4058 or telephone to.405-325-4452.
¯ www.geocities.com]okolic
i Stout Wins Okla.Mr.Leather
: T.U.L.S. A~ (Tulsa Uniform Leather Seekers Associa-
¯ .ti.’9fa):held the annual Oklahoma Mr. Leather contest
"! ~ O.cto~b_dr 20-22 at the Silver S’t~tr in Tulsa. Four Contestants
from the state competed in c~ate~ories that included inter,
view, streetwear, physique and full leather image. Seven
judges from the US and Canada judged the contestants.
International Mr. Leather 2000 Mike Taylor was among
the distinguished panel. Contestants were Jason Pelkey of
Tulsa, Jim Stout of Ramona, Stephen Scott of OKC-Mr.
Sooner State Leather 2000, and Mark Goins of Tulsa-Mr.
Tulsa Leather 2000.
The weekend event began with a tour of the local clubs
and Tulsa’s Gay Community Services Center. The interviews
were Saturday morning and the rest of the contest
was held that night. Stephen Scott was first runner-up.
Scout Troop Defies
National Anti-Gay Ban
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A second Rhode Island
Scout troop is defying the national organization’s ban
on homosexuals, Members, leaders, and parents from
Boy ScoutTroop 28 have sentaletterto the Narragansett
Council of Boy-Scouts saying they will ignore the
policy. The troopjoins Cub Scout Pack 88, which sent
a similar letter, The Providence Journal reported.
~
.The national policy is root~,in a 1910 oath that Says
Scofi~- ~’.st ke~p~el~s-~ ,.ni0ralty straigl~t:~’iThe
’ !. b~via’g tlplldld~y!th~ Siipr~aid CourtthisS~er,but
’"about ~:d~ozen~ trbb~ ~at~oflwlde have stud thaiwill
The leaders of Pack 28 said the words "morally
straight" have nothing to do with sexual orientation.
....’The oath didnotmean to banhomosextmls but to keep
.....on the straight and narrow and do what is right," said
Y"Allen M. Dennison, an assistant scoutmaster with
Troop 28, who has four sons in Scouting. Our assessment
of whatis right is that everyone be included, and
" that includes Gay leaders and Gay Scouts."
..... The Narragansett Council will forward the letter
fromTroop28to theBoy Scouts ofAmericaheadquar-
’ ters in Irving~ Texas, as it did with the letter from Pack
88, said state ¢o,.u~,ci! Spokesman David Preston.
Pack 88hash theard from the national Boy Scouts
regarding its status and calls to the Boy Scouts of
America were not returned. Officially, troops that
" ignore Scouting rule~ Will have their charter revoked.
To date, however, the Boy.Scouts of America has not
revoked thecharter of a troop or council for ignoring
.the banon Gays.
The ban made news inRhode Island last year, when
a 16-year-old Eagle Scout filed a complaint with the
Rhode Island Human Rights Commission saying he
was denied a job at a Scout camp because he is Gay.
Maryland Can Ban "
Anti-Gay Discrimination
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Gov. Parris Glendening~s
:plan to add Gays to Maryland’s anti-discrimination
law likely would not violate the First Amendment
guarantee of free exercise of religion, according to the
state attorney general’s office.
Assistant Attomey General Kathryn M. Rowe issued
the four-page legal opinion this week at the
request of-Delegate Sandy,I. Rosenberg, who is expected
to use it to counter religious-based arguments
-.. against the proposed legislation. "I did this so we
would have a:.iegal opinion on the matter instead of
rhetoric that is not precise," Rosenberg said. "In an
- issue as emotional as .this, everybody should do their
best not to misstate the law."
Rosenberg asked for the opinion after a representative
of the Diocese ofWilmington testified against the
governor’s plan at a public heating in Salisbury.The
diocese includes Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The hearing was conducted by a commission ereated
by the governor to solicit testimony about discrimination
against Gays, Lesbians, bisexuals and
transsexuals "The teaching o.f the Catholic Church and
societal tradition does not accept homosexuality as a
legitimate lifestyle," the diocese said in a position
paper presented at the hearing.
Thepositionpaper alSO said the proposed legislation
"significantly and Wrongfully encroaches (on) the
First Amendment, free-exercise rights of religious
institutionsand ofpersons whose actions are dri-ven by
their religious beliefs."
In her opinion, Rowe said there wasprecedent for
laws with "the incidental effect of burdening certain
religious practices" - as long as the laws do not single
out one religion. There is also precedent suggesting
that the hiring of ministers would be exempt from the
proposed bill, Rowe said.
: Navy Ends Harrassment
: of Former Seaman ¯
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP)-A former midshipman who
: resigned from the U.S. Naval Academy amid accusa-
¯ tious ofhomosexuality won’thave to repay the govem-
~ ment for his education, the Navy has ruled/The deci-
¯ sion means that Tommie Watkins, 25, will not have to
." reimburse the Navy the $86,000 that covered his train-
. ing and tuition, plus interest.
i
Watkins, president of his classand an aspiring Navy
~ ~pil0t; ~s~id bewas pres’sured to. resign ~and did so
~ ~ beeau~e he feared ht~mophobia ’would preve~t him
~- fromreceiviffga fair trial:’After leaving, he acknowl-
-" edged being Gay. Officer trainees who drop out or are
¯ expelled during theirjtmior or senior years are required
¯ by Pentagon policy to repay the government for their
¯ education, either ~in cash or through enlisted service.
¯ The Navy’s Board of Correction of Naval Records
." said last year that he was a victim 6f,"error and
¯ injustice," and recommended the academy waive the
." payment. That decision was overruled in March by
." Carolyn Becraft, the assistant secretary ofthe Navy for
¯ manpower. Watkins sued, and on the day of the dead-
: line for the Navy to respond, his lawyer got word of the
: reversal.
." Watkins, who works in Miami as the project director
¯¯ for an AIDS and HIV ministry, called the decision
¯ "long overdue and totally justified." "It’s kind of
ironic, because the Navy says its core values are honor,
¯ courage and commitment," he said. "It seems like I had
_. to exhibit those qualities to win this case.’"
¯ Officials from the Naval Academy declined to com-
." ment on the decision.
¯ Iowa Order Banning Anti-
Gay Bias to Be Reviewed
¯ DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - It’s up to a Polk County
¯ district ,judge to rule on the legality-, of Gov. Tom ¯
Vilsack s’ci~il-rights order. District Judge Glenn Pille
heard lawyers’ arguments about the order during a
¯ recent hearing.
¯ Vilsack issued an executive order in September
1999, forbidding discrimination against Gays, Lesbi-
¯ ans and Transexuals in state government employment.
: The move sparked a legislative debate. Conservative
¯ legislators were particularly angry that the order ap- ¯
plies to Transsexuals. A majority of lawmakers voted
¯ to repeal the order, but Vilsack vetoed the legislation.
¯ Twenty-three legislators led by Republican Senate
¯ Majority Leader Stewart Iverson, challenged the order
¯
in a lawsuit filed in July. They said that Vilsack
¯ overstepped his authority and thathe, in effect, rewrote
¯ the law. ¯
Vilsack has said he is carrying out a state law
¯ providing equal opportunity in state employment to all
: persons. Iowa Deputy Attorney General Julie Pottorff
¯ represented Vilsack at the hearing. She said the dispute
¯ is a legal question, and that Vilsack acted within his
¯ auth6rity ensuring that legal protections apply to all
¯ executive branch employees. ’°-l’his is no more than a ¯
¯ political disagreement," Portorff told Pille.
Des Moines lawyer Mark McCormick is represent-
" ing the legislators and a former state employee. He
¯ argued at the hearing that the order infringes on the ¯
constitutional separation of powers and said "The
¯ governor has no power by- ~xecutive order to create
~ ¯ law." -
: Vatican in Tizzy About
¯ "Fake Marriages"
¯ VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican has blasted
¯ lawmakers for givinglegal recognition to so-called"de
~ facto" unions - including those between Gays - and
¯ said attempts to allow adoption by Gays were "a great
danger." A 77-page document made public in Novem-~
Community
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
at Community ofHope
2545 South Yale, Sundays at 1 lam, 749-0595
A Welcoming Congregation
HOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Sun. Worship, 10:45 am, Sunday School, 9:30 am
Wed. Bible Study, 7 pm, Sunday Eve. Service, 6pm
¯ 1517 S. Memorial, 628-0802, Info: 224-4754
The Open Arms Project
Young Adult Support Group
Outreach Program Thurs. Nights
Meet Others in a Safe Enviroment
Call for meeting times and place:
918-584-2325
Mingo Valley Flowers
9413 E. 31st St., Tulsa 74145
918-663-5934, fax: 663-5834, 800-~.4-5934
Family Owned & Operated
Trinna .L.W. Burrows, LSW, ACSW
Child, Family, Individual & Couple Psychotherapy
(918) 743-9559
2121 South Columbia, Suite 420
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114,3518
The Pride Store
21st Street & Memorial
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center
.743-.GAYS (743=4297)
6-9 pm! Sudda~ ".-.!F~’{day, ~ ~ . ~ ~ ° !
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Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-584-2325
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ber by The Pontifical Council for the Family was built
heavily around similar denunciations over the last few
years by Pope JohnPattl II.
Italian Gay groups, stung over the summer by the
Vatican’s moves to try to block Gay pride events in
Rome, denounced the latest pronouncement on homosexual
unions.
The Vatican’s council on family matters also presented
a proposal to make sex crimes against children,
including "sex tourism" exploitation, crimes against
humanity. But .the bulk of the positions ,pr.esented.
hammered away at unions betwb.en Gays as well as
legal recognition for.~tmm.arried hetgcosexual~couple~.
While not citing any particular, .country, thd .,Vatica.n,.
spoke of ’~great concern" aboutlawiiaakers’ efforts "in
many countries with an ancient Christian tradition" to
give legal status to unmarried couples.
Earlier this month, Germany.granted legal recognition
to Gay couples, following similar moves.ove~ the
1~ decade by other Western European countries.
" De facto unions ~e the result.of private behavior
andshoul’d remain 0ni~e pri~at~ 1,ev_el ," . the Vatican
said. It described as a ~erious sign, of.the-contempo,~
rary br0~tkd0wn in the s0dal an~ ~oral.conscilence,
political eftbrts tO give institutionalstatus to delfacto
couples. It Said attempts to legalize thead0ption of
children by Gay. ~Q~ple,s .added ’!an elemen_t.of ~reat
danger." - ..
NY Town offers: Benefits
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) -The Gr.eenburgh Town
Board voted un’aJaim6u~ly" tO ’offer health-be]aefits to
same-sex domestic partners 0f municipal workers.
"We want to treat all our employees as if they’re
valuable to us," said Supervisor Paul.Feiner.
New Yoj~k ~stiite,. Ne~: Yori~ City;._a~nd/~Ve’stchester
CounU,.plus several ~orporation~,~.rpv.id¢~sach:benefits
to homosexual couples. Of Westchester s-municipalities,
only. Eastchester has..acted before
Greenburgh.
Under the measure;, which goesinto effect JnJanu-
..ary, an uumarried,.town, employee who.says-in an
affidhvit that he or she has hadan exclusive relationship
for a year can extend medical.and dental coverage
to\the partner. - " . )_
Phelps at Phillips Exeter
EXET.ER, N.H. (AP) - An anti-Gay ch~ch group
opposed to Phillips ExeterAcadem~~ s p0!~gy .alirwing
homosexuals to be dorm parents protested outside the
school recently, v~aving.signs with messages .that included:
’q’hank GodforA!DS." About adoZenfol!owers
of the Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro B.aptist
Church of Topeka~ Kan., ~rrivedat ~eS~hob’i~r’rund
noon after making similar demonstrations in’Ve~ont
and Maine earlier.
The, ,church members, oppose a measure Phillips
Exeter truste~.,S approved in May that al!0ws.Gay and
,,I~,.sbian faculty and staff to serve as dormitory parents.
’ it’s destroying the fabric0fthis nation~ the~r~ls/.hat
this nation ,does have," s,aid Sam Pheligs~Roper’~ the
Rev.Phelps grandson.".It saslippeDi~lopestraightto
hell and that’s where this.country is’headed. This is a
ing match toward the end, when a group of University
of New Hampshire students arrived to denounce the
church group.
"Relax! It’sjust sex," one student shouted. "I preach
God’s word." "You preach hate." But that’s an accusation
Phelps’ followers don’t deny. They maintain
that God hates homosexuals and will destroy any
society that condones homosexual behavior. ’q’he
Christian belief is rooted not only in the love of God,
but also the hate of God. You can’t have one without
,the. 9~er.,’~’. . .Pt!_dps-Roper said. "That is definitive.
Th,e~ is~no.question, that Gq~t!ha,t~s, p~9..p!e.]’, ,,
-~~W.~[bggQ Baptist ,O~,ur..ch ~s. ~gu,t 2Pq i~im~ers.
. They have picketed~a~ ~e fun~91s of. homosexuals,
including that of Matthew Shepard,.a Gay man.who
was brutally beaten and tortured in Wyoming in Octo~
ber 1998. "He’s in hall. And everyone else who.lives
daat lifestyle will likely be in he!! with him unle{s.they
repent," Phelps-Roper said. "Of ~.course, he could.have
repented, but there’ s a snowball’, s, chance of tha~;happening."
_.
¯ The Rev. Phelps did not attend, the demonstr.a_.tion.
~ His grandson said Phelps,:was .geeded back at his
¯¯ c,,h.t~h tominister But Phe!ps~Roper.saidthe growing
acceptance of homosexualit~ made,:their message to
¯ iEx~ter all the more importan.t. ’;7~..’s.isimportant ~tuff.
¯ This is a ,matter of life and ~death,’:etemRy h~-re,"
phelps-Roper said. "When G.0~as said something is
: ~.abomination, you don’t mes~.~ith it."
¯ Representatives of 14 churches from the region
¯ j6i]aekl the university students.i0PPosing Phdps? fol-
19wers. They said that thoug~flaey:don’t all agree on
¯ the moral status of homosexu~fity, they univers~ally
oppose Phelps’ message.
."While we recognize their, right, to express their
p,ersonal views freely concermngAcademy policy and
: ~e subjectin general, we take,~.trong exception to/heir
¯ rhe.t.ori9and signs denigrati.ng0~r~eighbors,,, the,Rev’
¯
¯ DanielWeaver of theExeterUnitedMethodistChurch
said: ~’We wholcheartedly agree:thathatr’ed, expressed
¯ or implied, as well as the adVo~icy br promotion of
¯ haff~lis anathema. It is certaird:y notitt the spirit of the
¯ v0~b~dsOf Jesus, ’Love your°neiIgl~bor~ as yourself."’
¯ Accused Murderers of
" Gay Man to Stand Trial
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) =T.w,o,teen-agers will stand
: trial ear)y next year for the murder of a Gay black man
from.Marion County, a judg.e., ruled~ in November.
: David Allen Parker, whose lawyers may argue a di-
: minished .capacity defense;,is ser~ to stand trial in
¯ Becldey on Jan. 16. His co-defendarit, Jared Wilson.
¯ will l!0t be tried until February...... ¯
Par~er, 18, ofGrantTownan~tWilson, 18, ofFairview
: ar~’charged with first-degree.murder in the July 4
° beating death of Arthur "J.R." Warren. Police say the
teens pummeled the 26-year,old acquaintance with
: their fists and feet, then ran over him four times with
] Parker’s car to disguise his injuries as a hit-and-run.
¯ The assault allegedly began after ~Warren told others
¯" about a sexual relationshiphe claimed to have had with
: Parker.
~ Circuit Judge Rodney Merrifield said he will likely
message that they need." ¯ rule within 10 days whetherjurors at thetrials will hear
~ ~..m,,d~nts, at .tl],e neari~y,22Q=ye~o!d pri~vate ,high : the teens’ confessions. Defenselawyers argue sheriff’s
Schorl: apparently ~v~r~fi t irit~Stc;d~j~"h~g it~ ¯ deputies inappropriately obtained the statements the
Many students and faculty members_wore x~row- :, gtay, 9.t" Lhe_.murd,er,;an accusatton, the deputies have
colored pins, a symbol of support for homosexuals ¯ denied on the Witness ;/arid
Judy Quirm, spokeswoman for Phillips Exeter, said " Prosecutors say Warren’s DNA showed up in evithe
school’s roughly ’1,000 students decided not to
attend the~demonstration; and instead .-organized a
diversity celebration in another part of the campus.
"The values of inclusion and diversity have been
hallmarks of Phillips Exeter Academy since its formding,"
she said in a written statement. "The fact an
objection to these principles is what brings this group
to Exeter is indeed regrettable "
The otherwise peacefifl protest erupted into a shout-
: dence samples taken from the interior, exterior and
: undercarriage of Parker’s car, as well as on wood
: paneling and molding from the house where the bea~-
¯ ing began.
: Parker’s attorneys, Rebecca Tate and Stephen Fitz.
¯ also asked the judge for a delay so they could hire ~.,
~ expert to study their client for a possible diminished
o capacity defense strategy.
Bayer Seeks New
AIDS Treatments
BERLIN (AP) - Bayer AG, Germany’s
biggest drugmaker, said Tuesday it will
join the search fornew AIDS treatments as
part of a shakeup of its drug research
activities: The Leverkusen-based company,
best-known for developing aspirin,
will look for substances effective against
resistant viruses, said Wol,fgang Hartwig,
head of research in’Bayer s pharmaceuti- :
cal busine.ss group. The company declined
to specify:how muchit will invest in AIDS
research. In 2000, it budgeted a total of 1
billion euros ($845 million) for research
and development.
Bayer said it expects to identify the first
substances suitable for precliuical HIV
testing within two years. Pharmaceutical
research will in the future be focused on 13
fields, including seeking new treatments
in urology, Alzheimer’s dementia and
Parkinson’ s disease. Bayer saidit will stop
its research activities for osteoporosis, fibrosis
of the liver and stroke.
Key Protein in
AIDS. Virus Found
WASHINGTON (AP) - A protein that
does housekeeping chores inside cells plays
a key role in spreading the AIDS virus to
other cells of the body, researchers report.
In studies appearing in the Proceedings of
the National AcademyofSciences (PNAS),
researchers say that _HIV, the AIDS’virus,
uses a group of proteins, called
proteasomes, to assemble new viral partitles
and to spread those new particles.to
uninfected cells.
Ulrich Schubert of the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID) said test tube studies show that
blocking the action of the proteasome proteins
can reduce the spread of HIV infection
by about 98%. Schubert, the first
author of one study in PNAS, cautioned
that the research was conducted only in
test tubes and it is not known if the
proteasome inkibitors would work against
HIV in humans. "We would never inject
this drug into an HIV-infected person because
we do not know what would happen,"
said Schubert.
Theproteasome inhibitors will be tested
in monkeys before any human tests are
considered, and those animal studies could
take months, he said.
Dr. Jonathan W. Yewdell, a NIAID researcher
and a co-author of the study, said
that althoughinhibitingproteasome shows
promise as a strategy for treating HIV, "it
is possible that it may not have any effect
at all." He said the proteasome function is
essential for healthy cells and that a drug
thatblocks thatfunction could affect every
cell in the body. "It is possible that the
HIV-infectedcells will be more sensitive
or that there are effects against the virus
before" the healthy cells are affected, said
Yewdell.
Yewdell and Schubert said cancer researchers
are experimenting with
proteasome inhibitors for the treatment of
prostate cancer and early studies have
shown no side effects in cancer patients.
The drug, however, has not been used in
HIV-infected patients, they said.
Proteasome’s job inside the cell is to
identify and destroy old or unneeded proteins.
Another PNAS study, by researchers
at Pennsylvania State University, suggests
that amolecule calledubiquitinplays
akeyroleinhow viruses use theproteasome
function in a cell to make new viral partitles.
Still another PNAS study, by researchers
from the Dana-Farber Caneer Institute,
Harvard Medical School and the University
of Padua in Italy, also demonstrates
that ubiquitin plays a role in HIV particle
formation.
HIV spreads its infection inside thebody
by forcing white blood cells, called CD4s,
to make new viral particles. These partitles
are released from the cells and can
then infect other cells, spreading the infection
throughout the body.
The final part of this virus-making proeess
is called budding. During budding, a
new viral particle wraps itself in a membrane
from the surface of the infected cell
and completes its development. When the
budding process is completed, the virus
particle is released and can then attach to
an uninfected CD4 cell and continue to
spread the infection.
The researchers found that HIV uses the
proteasome molecules, particularly
ubiquitin, to complete the assembly of a
new viral particle at the cell membrane.
When the pro.teasome action is blocked,
HIV particle formation is crippled, they
found.
"Inhibiting proteasome causes fewer
viruses to detach from the cell and what
viru~ is madeis notas good," saidYewdell.
Proteasome is most active in the budding
phase of making a new HIV viral
particle. It is different from protease, an
enzyme that helps the HIV virus assemble
precursor proteins into active proteins.
Some HIV drugs, called protease inhibitors,
work by blocking the action of the
protease enzyme.
Power
Connect.
Public Service Compa~ny of Oklahoma
Customer Service.is Nb~Available 24
Hours A Day, Seven Days A Week.
These days, traditional 8-5 business hours
aren’t always convenient. So PSO has made it
easier than ever for you to contact us.
Our Customer Service Center operates 24/7
offering around-the-clock answers to your
questions - and better access to service.
Now it’s easier for you to inquire
about your monthly electric bill.
Or report a power outage. Or
arrange to have your
power turned on or
off. Our professionally
trained, friendly and
knowledgeable customer
service representatives are
standing by to serve you.
All, day, every day.
To provide faster response
to your needs, we have listed
our toll-free numbers below.
¯ Leftover Medicines
Help in Haiti + More
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - The jar of
AIDS medications that Moses Alicea
plucked from among pill bottles and vials
spilled across the table were bound for the
dump - worthless in the United States. But
in Haiti, where the lifesaving drugs will be
sent, they are priceless. The medications -
about $20,000 worth of protease inhibitors
that can suppress HIV and prevent
progression of AIDS - will be sent to the
Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation to
help people who would otherwise never
receive the treatment.
At the root of the salvage effort is the
vast gulfbetween availability of the medications
in affluentcountries tike the United
States and developing countries like Haiti.
"This is importantbecause there’s peqple
living with HIV who can’t get the meds
like we do," said Alicea, 36, who gave his
ownleftoverAIDS medications. "ffI can’t
use them, somebody else can. There’s alot
of stuffoutthere that’ sjustbeing dumped."
Some 95% of the more than 33 million
people with HIV and AIDS in the world
are in poor countries, according to the
World Health Orgamzation. In those regions,
the so-called drug "cocktails" -
Clip And Save "
p I I I I I I--I I I I III
CALL 24 HOURS FOR
TOLL-FREE SERVICE
Customer Services: 1-888-216-3523
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Public Service Company of Oklahoma
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Medical
Excellenc.e And
Compass.lonate
Care S nce
1926.
a ¯ ST. JOHN MEDICAL CENTER
q P Medical Excellence-Compassi’onate Care
whichcan costupwardof $20,000 per year
in the United States -are about 30 times
the average monthly income and far out of
reach for most people, according to the
group Doctors Without Borders.
The issue of global drug acess has becomeheated.
Protesters doggedVice President
A1 Gore last year about drug prices in
Africa, and the issue is apriority for institutions
like the World Health Organization
that are trying to combat the disease.
Clients of the group Cambridge -Cares
About AIDS are collecting the drugs from
friends and family members - even from
their own medicine cabinets. Most of the
donated drugs are left over when a person
with AIDS switches drug regimens because
of debilitating sitle effects. Since
last December, the group has delivered
some $200,000 worth of medications to
Parmers in Health, a Boston-based organization
with a clinic in Haiti which distributes
them to people with AIDS and HIV.
Partners in Health executive director
Dr. Jim Yong Kim said between 50 and
100 people in Haiti are regularly receiving
the medications gathered by the Cambridge
group. But there’s an enormous
unmet need that this effort cannot even
begin to solve without global attention -
and a global solution- to the drug crisis, he
said. "This is now an absolute disaster and
an absolute crisis," Kim said. "It’s a moral
problem, but it’s also an economic and
political problem.’"
TheWorld Health Organizationhas protocols
for donated drugs. But the organization
does not have separate guidelines for
AIDS medications, which generally involve
complex daily regimens of 15 to 20
different pills that require close medical
supervision. And the medication supply
must be consistent, because interrupting
the regimen can result in the HIV virus
becoming resistant to treatment.
Only a handful of groups send unused
AIDS drugs overseas. Kim said agencies
like his are "writing the book" on salvaging
AIDS drugs. There is no agency overseeing
the practice, no way of knowing
how common it is or whether groups are
adhering to WHO guidelines for drug donations,
according to Michael R. Reich,
acting chair of the Department of Populationand
International Health at the Harvard
School of Public Health.
But he said that while donations will
never fill the need for drugs in poor countries,
this effort highlights the problem.
"Troubling questions arise from gaps in
access," he said. "Haiti is a country with
extraordinary needs for good drugs, and
donations provide a mechanism for trying
to address the gap."
James Russo, spokesman for the Partnership
for Quality Medical Donations, an
organization composed of drug companies
and non-govemmen.tal organizations
thatTdistribute free drugs o~¢erseas, said it
is a"perfecfly reasonable and understandable
and decent thing to do."
Such donations may not technically be
legal, because the recipient is not the person
for whom the drugs were prescribed,
he said. But if the drugs are properly used
and distributed, thenpublichealthbenefits
override such legal issues. "The fact that it
needs doing is, to me, a tragic observation
about the state of public health policy," he
said. "Nothing but good can come from
¯ something like this."
¯ Sitting beside Alicea, Katherine Gaynes,
: 54, takes a thick marker and strikes from a
¯ bottle the name of the original patient, the
¯¯ doctor who made the prescription and the
pharmacy that filled it so the pills cannot
¯
be traced back to the original recipient.
¯ She said the huge overseas need for medications
frustrates her, but she’s glad she’s
¯
been able to do some good. "If the rest of
¯ the world doesn’t get better, then it doesn’t
; get better for us," she said. .
¯ Rise in HIV in Gays
And Natives Feared
¯ TORONTO (AP) - New numbers on HIV
infections in Canada point to a worrying
: trend away from safe sex in some segments
of the Gay community and a steep
¯ increase of infections among FirstNations
¯ people. The number of new infections
¯ amongmenwho have sex withmenjumped
¯ by 30% from 1996 to 1999, according to
¯ the latest report on HIV and AIDS preva-
¯ lence issued by Health Canada. The hum-
: ber of new infections among Aboriginal
¯ Peoples rose 91% over the same period.
: Some headway hadbeen made over that
: time in cutting the number ofnew cases of
_" HIV infection among injected drug users,
¯ the report said, noting the number of new
: cases declined 27% last year over 1996.
¯ "But no sooner did we do that than Gay
: men are starting to rebound again," Chris
¯ Archibald, Health Canada’s chief of HIV/
¯
AIDS epidemiology and surveillance, said
: from Ottawa on Thursday.
¯ Before 1996, Health Canada reported a
¯ steady drop in the number of new cases of
¯ HIV among Gay men, the population most
ravaged by HIV and AIDS. Gay men accounted
formore than 80% ofnew cases in
: 1981-83; by 1996, they made up less than
¯ a third (30%) of new cases of HIV infection.
Archibald said the upward trend has
¯ VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -
." A group of health-care advocates and in-
. jection drug users is aiming to make
Vancouver the first city in North America
to offer addicts a safe site to inject drugs.
¯ Whether the facility is a"hole in the wall"
¯ or a comprehensive health center will be
." determined by funding, says the Harm
." ReductionActionSociety, whichreleased
¯ its pilot project proposal last month.
." The society would like to have support
¯ from all levels, "but let’s get this straight,
we are going to do it," said board member
Dean Wilson. "One way or another, there
¯
will be such a facility or facilities," said
Ross Harvey, the executive director of the
¯ B.C. Peoples with AIDS Society.
The society would like to have a facility
¯
open before Valentine’s Day. The group,
¯ formed earlier this year, recently sent con-
¯. sultants to Frankfurt,Germany,where they
visited five sites set up in 1994. The city
¯
released proposal recently that included a
¯ safe-sites proposal,butMayorPhilipOwen
¯ rejected the idea, saying it would be a
magnet for drug addicts.
¯ also been reportedin the United States and
." the Netherlands.
Vancouver Looks
At Injection Site
sung. And the lyrics aren’t too bad, either.
He’s been performing since he was 6,
and appeared in the film "Latin Boys Go
To Hall" singing a song
"... Siegfried and Roy
have never been involved
..m ~r~ming
an.i.~.ii.a.lk. i"n the’ ir h,2ves.
They mold things around
the personality
of their animals."
And maybe, if the rest of.
us learned’ thattriek -
love ~hOUt
the ne~ for~.e~ntrol -
we’d h~ve better
ofhis owncomposition.
He’ s played some ofthe
most resi~ected venues
in NYC to critical acdaini.
’ ~
He ~is also named
by HXmagazine as one
of the ten hottest menin
NY. Judging from the
press photos, I’ll second
that. He’s currently
working with song-
.writer DesmondChilde,
knowi~ for being a
’ hitwriter forRickyMar-
.... ~ tin,Ch~,.and Ma~10nna.
He’il surprise you.
YOu’.dnever .guess he
was anice.Jewish bpy
relationships as well . frOmNew York - he~s ---got: that ~0ul sound
by Jim Christjohn, entertainment editor
Merry Yule and Winter Solstice, everyone!
This year has moved fast - hard to
believe we’ll be starting
a new millennium
soon. Hope everyone
h~ a ha~pp.y hoR.day.
~. ~- ~l~a ’frijOl, ~-Jim~
’ Brf~l~iffa~ ~rbtflrh~:t~o
Tut~d D~em6~r~5~il fdt
a a romantic ,evening bf
musicandfun. Ifyou’ve
?iaot seen his show be-
7~ore, .or
~ ing, it s well worfla it.
i?And he’s:iher~ ~ith
¯" ~onny oshioiia,’W~Ch
~’should
7~I’11 miss John Trbnes, a
i, family m.-..~~m~l~ ,~ho
~’ was here~th
year, but"J~bgt Doimy
does a grea~jdb ~i~the
songs. Ji~ can~take a
huge thOt~.~d make
. it seem
" room, and :he’s gOkgcous to boot - very
handsom~],~,Sf;.~tl~6~:~;i~uals are as good as
’the musi.~;.ye~, ~I,know...you really
" didn’t exp~t ~e t
without .mgn,ti.0~ngl something like that,
did you?.~tf!~y!~mmended; especially
as an earl~’. Yule gift for that sigfiffieant
other. 596~7111:fo fix.
If yo~J;~:i’6bidiag for nifty gffties of an
entertaiifi~ s0~t,’I have a few recomme,n,-
dations: Fir~ oifth~’list is "Chicken Run’,
just outOgDVD~dVHS. TheDVDis the
preferencehe~e, due to the fun extras they
threw ina~d the".claance to see the film as
it was preSgntetion screen, instead of only
half the.p.ivRtr¢fformatted to fit your TV)
on the VHS version. There’s two documentaries
9n ..tal.ent and how they made.
those chickens ttm; and it’s fun to see thecast
men~!~erswfiose ,v,oices you hear. And
it is so eff.~ecti~e.you I1 never eat chicken
pot pies again:-’ Favorite line: Ging,er
Chickefi,.:~.’.fig’ to explain why they re
having ~toi~i~aS escaping the chicken
farm/pfi~on"~to g doubting member of the
flock, says’ Do’you know what the problem
is? ~[]ie:fe~i~S.. aren’t just ’round the
farm, they’reuphe~e-in yourheads !" The
other chick~ep!ies,"Aw, give it up, ducks.
There’s.amillion toone chance we’ll ever
get out of her,e:, Ginger, mustering up thelast
bit of hope she has (All done with the
eyes), rep!iles, "Well . . there’s still a
chance then." And then there’s Nick and
Fletcher, a pair of rats who have a rather
mteresturg relataonship... And that s al
I’ll say about that, except I am surprised at.
a: c"ertai.n::’a:c"t.lw.?s~t2m. :t~o:,w~n; w;~ho~ di¯ dN, O""T"~fi.1re
~ff a s~i-ies:.6fl6tters aboi~t Gay i~dople"
being represented as rats... Even though
they’re really cute rats, in that rat-like
way, and help the chickens to escape.
A new artiste on the Gay scene, Ari
Gold, has a new CD out, and unlike many
artists capitalizing on the "I’m Gay and
out, so even if I suck, you should still buy
my stuff", it’s actually a really good CD,
filled with dance grooves and soulful ballads
that are slickly produced and well
down. He deserves our
Support, because he dell,v~rs.the goo~s:
Mostpr6moCDsfrom Gayarfists ’end
UPas coastdts 6tmini-frisb.ees. This one’s
akeeper. Great for dancing and romanc¯
ing, I give-it fivesnaps. He’ sgot awebsite:
WWW.ARIGOLD.COM
¯ For those~vith.cabl~;~the’Americanized
¯ ,)ersion of the British series "Queer as
~ ’ .F01k" begins airing On Sh0w~me Decem-
~ her 3rd. For.those Without c,],,ble, fihd a
¯ ’ friend that has ~it,; The~iow delivers a
:" Slice of.gffy life~th~t’ ~ ~corn~ellitag, ~pto-
,)ocative, and unlike any showyou’ll see.
For 22 riveting episodes, these unforgettable
men.andw0in~nr~veal tfiemselves -
i:eally reveal themselves - as no TV characters
ever have." Well,Iknow some folk,-
who are queer, who~ve seenthe original
British series, and if it’ s kept intact and not
Americanized todeath, it sh.ould be good.
: Happyw~ffChing!
.... " Open now is a duo offeline proportions
¯ ."in "Siegfried and Roy: The Magic Box."
i Now, I wonder if .we get to find out just
.*. :Who has that’magi box? "Siegfried and
: ’Roy: The Mhgic B6~" i~an’iMAX biopic
¯ ~Which includes’their Las V~gas a~t~ well
¯ as abiographical storyin-azstory ofhow
.’- the two men met .-as-boys in war-tom
¯ Germany, combining a love of magic,
’ ~animals, and each other to become the
." "world’S greatestillu~R~nistS."
¯ Anthony Hopkins Narrates the story of
¯ the two boys who meet on a cruise ship ¯
(oh, the fodder for puns that provides) and
~ form "a differen,,t kind of i~agic act using
¯ exotic .snimals, .: an~" als0 ~"forni ~an~ .ex-
¯ -ty.~me|y lohg ~erm ~-ela~o~s~i~. oli, the
~° :jokbs that come tomind. So much material
¯ to work with, so little space.
¯ Actually, they have my admiration and
¯ all due respect. To work and live together ¯
as long as they have and not to have killed
" each other in the process, and to have
¯ remained together, is no easy task. I have
¯ heardthem speakofthat, andhow attimes,
. you just wanna kill your parmer, but un-
" derneath it all is the love that keeps you
¯ working together - see Amuse, p. 10
GIFTS
OF T!tI
S ASON!:
COUNCIL OAK
WISHING YOU A
JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON &
A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR
PLEASE JOIN
TULSA OKLAHOMANS FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS
AS WE
CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS.{
HOLIDAY RECEPTION
HONORING TOHR’s 20TH ANNIVERSAF~Y
&
SILENT AUCTION
AN ~,.RT, AHTIQUES & FINE DINING.SHOWCASE
SUNDAY, DECEMBER | 0
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
TULSA GAY COMMUNI’~Y
SERVICES CENTER
2114 S MEMORIAL
PARADE OF LIGHTS
Come celebrate the spirit of the holiday season
at the AEP-Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Christmas Parade of Lights, Satu rday, Decem ber
9, downtown Tulsa at 6 p.m. View parade floats
up close, Friday, DecemberS, at the HolidayFest
(Brady Arts District) from 7 - 9 p.m.
PUBLIC
SERVICE
COMPANY OF
OKLAHOMA®
by Karin Gregory
GEls, have you ever had that Gay male
friend who does everything with you? A
Will to your Grace?AJack to your Karen?
The oneman-for some of you, theONLY
man - to whom you’d tell your secrets?
Who is warm, caring, loving,
a great listener, and in
many cases,has betterfashion.
sense than you? The
one man you can talk to all
night long? That guy who
will, even across the miles,
allow you to cry on his
shoulder about your girlfriend?
And you still remember
your own tearstained
shoulders from
when he knocked on your
door at 3 a.m. Most ofus, if
we’re lucky, have a guy
who would be the perfect
partnerforapolitically correct"
family value" couple
if he became a woman and
we became a man.
ButI’m nottalking about
him here. This is another Gay man who
possesses none ofthe abovequalities. Sure,
he can be a nice guy- whenhe wants to be.
And he DOES have better fashion sense
than I, although that’s no stretch. Butwhile
I embracedmy.Gayness before embracing
another woman, he did his embracing, and
whatever rise (eeeewww!) earl~, on, and
never really learned to enjoy being Gay.
"How sad," you might say. Don’t feel
sorry for him. Especially when you find
out where I’m spending my days lately.
Great house, DirecTV, MUCH cleaner
thanmy place, and the perfect party home.
I had become - how shall I say? - financially
non-existent and couldn’t pay my
rent (sounds like a musical, doesn’t it?).
My friend - let’s call him Vincent - offered
to put me up in his house for a few
months. OK, let’s talk realism. He was
looking for someone to help him with the
house payments. I would get oneroom and
a bathroom, as opposed to my car. Most
people in my situation wouldjump at this
arrangement. Although it .would save me
$400, the cost in psycffiatric visits overmy
lifetime would soon absorb the savings.
Let’s just say that we were the other"Odd
Couple." Picture a much more obsessive/
compulsive, anal retentive Felix Unger,
who is also emotionally constipated, and
you have Vincent. You’re not where I am
now, and I hope you never are. Let me tell
you how I got here through a progression
of nightly entries.
¯DAY ONE - Got to Vincent’s house
about 10:45 tonight after work. I can already
tell our work schedules are going to
conflict as he made a great show of"having"
to be up this late. This was HIS idea,
remember. He showed me the alarm system.
God, it feels like Fort Knox in here,
motion detectors and all. He also gave me
an extra key and garage door opener. It all
feels so official. This IS just a trial run,
after all. I’m relegated immediatdy to my
room, as small as a nun’s cell. He said I
could have one piece of furniture, but
there’s no room for anything else. i’ve
¯ been calling and calling my girlffien.: all
: night, getting nothing but a busy sig:m!
: That makes me anxious and frightenex~, se
: I tall Vincent what’s going on, hoping to
¯¯ get some sympathy. While I try to hug ¯ : : ~, : :, "ra.m,.~.com.p~,.a~ps.....Oh
"...G~gr~|s,. ,halve you no," in’d very pugquttbhe
of voi~qe; his~us~tml t0ne. He e erMd Gay pU s n< "ar0 a.me
male friend whodoes VERY gingerlg: try’ing to
everythln~ with you?
A Will to
your Grace?
A Jack to
your Karen?
The one man - for
some of you, the
ONLY man - to
whom you’d tell
your secrets?.. ?’
much me as little as possible,
as if I’m a Lesbian
leper. After he leaves, I get
into the closet (I thought
I’d left that for good!) so as
not to wake him, and call
my friend Jim. He gives
me a bigger hug over the
phone from Tulsa than I
got from Vincent. I pull
out my CD player and listen
to Melissa Etheridge
(who else?). Somehow it
makes me feel dominant.
DAY TWO - After dedaring
thatmy alarm woke
him from the other side of the house, he
leaves. Now I can walk aroundlike I want.
Ooops! I forget that he leaves the kitchen
blinds open. Well, his neighbors will just
be confused. They thooght they were living
near a Gay man!.Oa my way to work,
I find my girlfriend has called to let me
know she’s all right, which should put me
at ease, but the thought of having to live
with Vincent depresses me. It already feels
like I’m giving upmy life to live according
to his schedule. WhenI arrive at his house,
I’m in less than a pleasant mood. Anger
sets in when I realize that I forgot to tape
"Will and Grace." It doesn’t help that
Vincent goes on andon abouthow this was
the funniest episode he’s ever seen. "Did
youtapeit?" I askhopefully, already knowing
the answer. "No, I was home to watch
it," he says, cleaning up the kitchen in a
"don’t youdaremake amess" way. Selfish
bastard! This further proves my point that
when a man asks you into his life, for
whatever reason, he really means, "I want
to live my life as I always have, with no
compromises. You’ll just be around when
andif I need you." NowonderI’m Gay! He
woulddrive Pat Buchanan’s wife to Lesbianism.
I pop my popcorn (the only thing
I’ve had since noon today), and the only
thing allowed to me. I once again listen to
Melissa, who has a strangeway ofempowering
me. I fall asleep, dreaming of using
a stun gun on Vincent repeatedly.
DAY THREE-Today’s finally Friday,
and I might be allowed to watch some TV
tonight. I’m fine all day until I enter
Vincent’s abode. We’re eating pizza, and
he’s buying, an obvious splurge. But we
disagree on TV programming, so he
watches something in his room while I
have the living room all to myself to watch
a Beatles special. I’ve figured out one
thing - never trust anyone who hates the
Beatles. It’s positively UnAmerican! Another
night of silence until he comes into
the living room to switch channels so he
can watch the news. seeLesbian,p.11
by Lamont Lindstrom
"Gifts make slaves just as whips make
dogs," or so says one bit of Native American
wisdom. Keep this in mind during the
upcoming holiday orgy of giving and receiving.
Grits aremorethan
just tokens of affection.
They are’als0 ~gminde~s of
obligati’On ahdl du~. Giging
is politiCak ~Pd]~h~ps~ I
give you a present because
°I like you. Butifyou accept
mypresent,you also accept
that you are indebted to me
- at least until you can pay
me back.
Ihad, once, a studentfrom
Saudi Arabia whose father
was in the rug trade. "I’m
contacting my father," he
told me near the end of the
term. "I’d like to give you a
carpet." Oh no, I thought,
visions of Baluchis and
Kilims dancing inmy head.
How amI going to g~vehim
the "D" that he deserves?
Luckily, he presented me
with a cheap synthetic
prayer rug decorated,with
garish neon cameIs, worth
only a few dollars down at
yourlocal bazaar. I wasn’t that muchii~’his
debt after all, and I graded him down with
a lighter heart.
l~erhaps we all have had an experience
of over-receiving. Somebody g~ves us
something that is waytoo much. What can
he have in mind? What does he want in
return?A pesky acquaintance surprises us
with afine leatherjacket. But what does he
expect?A closer friendship?A date? Need
we give it up?
The fancy anthropological word for gift
giving is "reciprodty." I give something
to you, and you give something back to
me. Such exchange can be balanced or
imbalanced. Either way,. this says something
about power. If we engage in prolonged,
imbalanced gift giving, we find
ourselves in an enduring relationship of
inequality. Those fine presents have made
us into dogs and slaves.
Parents, for instance, give a lot more to
children thanchildren giveto parents. This
exchangeimbalancefuels parental authority.
Few morns and dads hand their children,
on their 18th birthdays, a bill for
$186,000. Ratherthan reciprocating the
exact dollar cost of raising us, we repay
parents in obedience. "As long as you live
inMYhouse, you’ll do what I say!" Those
gifts come with strings. .
To avoid, obligfiroh~ we must balance
gift giving. Only balanced exchange cre:
ates equality. If some one gives us a holiday
present, we feel pressured togive a
present in return. Failure to reciprocate
means either that we don’tmind shouldering
this debt and its obligations, or that we
want to break things off altogether. Does
morn send out the family’ s holiday cards?
What does she do when someone fails to
reciprocate? Cross him off the list!
Sometimes exchangeimbalancepersists
¯ for years, however. My dentist sends me a
¯ Christmas card annually. Butdo I sendone
¯ back? Nope. In this case, I amrude enough
¯ to take without giving. But I understand
¯" the deal implied by this imbalanced exchange~
I take my mouth
around to his office every
six months.
My friends in the South
Pacific go to huge efforts
to raise and give away pigs
just to get their neighbors’
pigs in return. If would be
far easier for all villagers
to eat their own pigs. But
what of us? .We are madcap
enough to enrich the
Post Office every December
by mailing, around a
blizzard of Christmas
cards. I send out about 60
each year, and in return I
receive 60 back. But if I
really am so desperate for
cards to clutterupmymantelpiece,
why don’t I just
keep those that I buy? I’d
save a 10t on postage that
way.
My island friends are
fanatic giftbalancers. They
keep exact records of how
] many pigs, baskets, and mats they receive
¯¯ so that they can give the same in return.
Butthey sometimes over-give- just alittle.
¯ This iitfleextra gift, which al~O must be
"... Perhaps we all
~have had an experhne¢
of over-reeelvlng.
Somebody gives us
something that is way
too much. What can
he have in mind?
What does he want in
return? A peshy
aeq~intanee surp~ses
us ~th a fine l~ther
~aeket. But w~t
does he expect?
A closer friendship?
A ~te? Need we
give it up... ?"
repaid at some point, keeps the :relationship
moving along.
Balanced exchanges celebrate the fact that
we are still investing in the relationship.
Youremain important to me. Butif I amto
stay your equal, I need to give you about
what you give me. I am embarrassed if I
return too little OR ff I return too much.
Imbalance in either direction implies either
that I don’t care about us as much as
you do, or that I am trying to obligate you.
Given the importance of exchange balance,
it is perverse that we remove price
tags and wrap presents. It’s a bit of a game.
We see through these pretenses that "it’s
the thought that counts." As experienced
givers, we are pretty good at striking a
balance despite the absence ofprice tags or
the concealment of gift-wrap. When a
friend drops off a gaily-wrapped present
for you, shake that box! Make a mistake in
what you give back and it could be the
doghouse for you!
Lamont Lindstrom teaches anthropology
at the University of Tulsa.
and frommurdering each other. They have
also managed to survive a business that
chews you up and spits you out.
It’s easy to makejokes at their expense,
but you know, there is a magic there, that
they’ve been able to survive that business
- andremain together, whenI’m sure there
were many times it wouldhavebeenmuch
easier to split under the pressure.
see Amuse, p. 11
Timothy W. Daniel
Attorney at Law
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ody
Tulsa’s only
professional
body-piercing
College Hill
-Presbyterian Church
In response to God’s Love,
College Hill Presbyterian Church
is a community of God’s people
called to tell others the
Gospd of-J~sus Christ
through worship,
- service, and evangelism.
To nurture our faith, we gather for
worship, prayer,
study and fellowship.
Trusting in a living~ loving God,
we seek to become a compassionate
voice for peace and justice.
Our congregation welcomes all
persons who respohd in trust and
obedience to God’s grace
in Jesus Christ, and desire to become
part of the membership and ministry
of Christ’s church.
Membership is open:.to all people
regardless of race, ethnic origin,
worldly condition, marital status, or
sexual orientation.
Sunday Worship 1 lam-
712 S. Columbia Ave., 592-5800
(Ohe block west of Delaware and the
University of Tulsa Campus)
This without saying a word to me. After -
seeing how the candidates STILL can’t "
decide this election, I put on my pajamas. "
That’s all, I swear. When I come out at ¯
9:20, the TV is turned off, along with the ¯
lights. My dorm mother has declared my
curfew. One thought goes through my "
head - I’m going to kill him; I’m going to ¯
kill him; I’m going to kill him. Big kitchen
knives flash through my mind. I go to bed "
at 9:20, again listening to Melissa. She’s "
giving me the wrong kind of strength, :
think.
DAY FOUR- This is the last day, but I "
have to spend it with HIM. I see my stu- ¯
dents at my Saturday class, knowing this :
will probably be the last time I teachi I’ve ¯
made up my mind as I arrive at Vincent’s. "
He ignores me, as usual, while he watches ¯
gymnastics on TV, laughing for some tea- ¯
son. Hewon’t laugh forlong. Even though ~
I hate the color and look bffd in it, orange :
jumpsuits will be my style for the next 20
years. Hey, they let you write,letters~in ¯
prison. Ev~nLestian~olumns, I veheard. :
"Goodbye Vincent!" 5" by Karin Gregor
#2238769480, Cell BlockH ¯
ofthe"diversity" statement whichincluded :
"sexual orientation," saying he wouldhave :
noticed its inclusion. ¯
In response,’sev~al ~gregation have
commi~ted to re=examining their endorse:
ment of the document? College Hill Pres- ¯
byterian Church and’ Fellowship Congre- "
gational Church will’bring the.issue back
to theirgov.ernmg boards. ,Andsomemere- "
bers of MCC~United, Tulsa s Metropoli: ¯
tan Community Church, members of
predominatelyLesbianand Gay denomi- "
nation, are concerned about their church’s ¯
endorsement of a statement which does
not acknowledge the existence of Lesbian -"
and Gay persons. :
The welcoming committee of Community
Unitarian-Universalist Congregation ¯
has drafted a letter to TMM saying, "we
erred in our endorsement of this state- "
ment"because thefailure toinclude sexual ¯
orientation is in conflictwith the values of ¯
the congregation and the letter further says ,"
that they wilt not endorse any future state- "
ments which are not inclusive. ¯
Other groups such as Holland Hall ¯
School, the Episcopal Diocese of Okla: "
homa, and the Eastern Oklahoma :
Presbytery -: Presbyterian Church USA, ¯
have been asked to explain their support :
for a statement which is not compatible .
with their policies. In the case of the Episcopal
Diocese and. Holland Hall School, :
staff and religious leaders were not sure if ¯
the organization’s names had been used "
with permission. ¯
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights :
(TOHR), the state’s oldest civil rights or- ¯
ganization has discussed the issue at a "
recentboardandmembershipmeeting and
president, Greg Gatewood stated that he ¯
would seek a meeting with Rana and Day :
to request an explanation of the exclusion
of "sexual orientation" from the state- ¯
ment. Further action on the part of the
organization will vary depending on their
responses.
Other congregations which signed the
"diversity" statement, like the city’s Episcopal
parishes and its Unitarian-Universalists
congregations, all of whom have
histories of being fair to Lesbian and Gay
Tulsans are also being asked to consider
withdrawing their support for the statement
because of the failure to include
"sexual orientation."
And they’ve remained incredibly successful
throughout the years andups anddowns
that showbiz life provides. Living with
someone 5 years is a major feat, much less
working with them as well. And even in
relative anonymity, it’s hard enough. To
have survived and remain together as long
as they have - 43 years - is a major feat.
FYI, Royis 5 years younger thanSiegfried.
About the biographical aspects of the
film, Roy says "It’s ~way~ a difficult step
to open yourself up beeauge ~ou make
yourself very vulnerabl~. That fneans you
have to let your guard down andeveryone
has access to you." Scary iild~gd. The
cameras were allowed full access to the
home and grounds of theirestate’. He goes
on to say "I have to say;~it’s~ been pretty
good to do it. It goes way badk" to when I
was a boy. I had a catching smile, but in
reality I was a loner. I wa~ n0t too good
with people. As a mattel: offact, I didn’t
trustinpeople. I trustedmy animals more."
I can relate to that.
The interesting thing is that,-aozording
to producer Bernie Yuman,’"Roy has a
bond with these animals whereby there’s
no force. Force createsforce. There’s alot
of love. There’s a lot of.voice intonation
and camaraderie - and a lot of meat - but
affection and conditioning, Roy’s never
trained an animal, and Siegfried and Roy
have never been involved.in, training ammalsin
their lives. Theymoldthings around
the personality of their animals." And
maybe, if the rest of us learned that tricklove
without the need for control - we’d
have longer lasting relationships .as well.
Food for thought. And so, for all the nasty
S&Rjokes I could make, I find I reallyjust
have too much respect for what they’ve
accomplished to make them.
In the film, you get behind the scenes
visits to their home - which is like designer
overkill, given their taste_~or opulence.
And you get to see their private
wildlife sanctuary, where they live with
and raise the white tigers used in the act.
Their love of the animals is evident.
It’s filmed in 3-D, so you’ll be able to
see Siegfried and Roy up close and personal.
Numerous digital techniques were
used to recreate the Europe of their childhoods.
As for the magic shots, they were
specifically filmed uncut as master shots,
so that the audience would no that no
camera tricks were used. Andrew Dunlap,
who plays young Roy, was also in the all
male version of "Importance of Being
Earnest," which was interesting to note.
Also playing is Fantasia 2000 and 3D
Mania: Encounter in the 3rd Dimension;
71st and Highway 169.
Healing
E
E ECT IIII
AIDS Memorial Quilt
re.n.esS
World AIDS Day Candlelight Memorial March
Friday, December 1st, 6:30pm
Tulsa Civic Center Plaza, 5th & Denver
The NAMES Project Quilt Opening, 8pm
This advertisement is donated by Tulsa Family News. TFN appreciates the opportunity to support this showing of the Quilt, and The NAMES Project.
LGBT Scholarships
NORMAN, Ok - The Oklahoma Lambda Intercollegiate
Coalition (OLIC) has announced the creation of
the Oklahoma Lambda Youth Scholarship which they
claim is the first such program in Oklahoma. The
Coalition is an umbrella network of Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual, and Transgender student groups from Oklahoma
colleges and universities.
According to OLIC spokespersons, Kent Doss of the
University ofOklahoma andMandy Whitten, the President
of University of Central Oklahoma Gay Alliance
for Tolerance and Equality (GATE), the purpose of the
scholarship is to promote pride in youth activism and
foster leadership at Oklahoma college campuses.
Oklahoma high-school graduates who intend to remainin
the state throughout their college careers will be
eligible for the $1,000 award. Applicants will be selected
according see OLIC, p. 3
Tulsa ChamberAdds
"Sexual Orientation"
TULSA - The Tulsa Metro Chamber, which recently
changed i ts namefrom the MetropolitanTnlsaChamber
of Commerce, also has revised its non-discrimination
policies to add the term "sexual orientation" to more
traditional statues like race, religion, age, national origin,
sex (gender), etc.
According to Michael Hightower, media spokesperson
for the organization, the .addition of "sexual orientation"
waspart ofacomprehensivereview ofChamber’s
internal policies. The Bank of Oklahoma’s Human
Resources Dept. conducted this effort for the Chamber.
This revision is part of a trend on the part of businesses
to attract employees by committing to fair hiring
practices. According to the Human Rights Campaign, a
Washington based civil right group, 494 of the Fortune
500 companies have added "sexual orientation" to their
policies. Anumberof majorTulsaemployers,including
American Airlines, Kimberly-Clark, AEP/PSO, Dollar/
Thrifty Auto Group, and others have done the same.
Kerry Lewis, president-elect of Tulsa/Oklahomans
for Human Rights (TOHR) expressed surprise and
applauded this Chamber move. TFN publisher Tom
Neal noted "as one of the few openly Gay members of
the Chamber, I am really proud to.see the organization
welcome us. We need to support them in return."
DIRECTORY P. 2
EDITORIAL P. 3
US & WORLD NEWS P, 4
HEALTH NEWS P. 6
ENTERTAINMENT P. 8
GAY STUDIES P. 10
¯ Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Our Families + Friends
TMM’s Exclusion of
i oGfayDs iDscelriibmerinataetiAocnt ¯ Pastor Says "Sexual Orientation" Was ¯
Added But TMM Board Never Told
¯ TULSA - While the incident, a KKK visit, to which a local ¯
"diversity" statement sought io i’~spond is well past, the state-
" merit continues to brew controversy. Tulsa Metropolitan Minis-
" try, an "interfaith" religious organization issued a statement
-.¯ which defined Tulsa’s "diversity" as being composed of race,
religion andethnicity, without mentioning sexual orientation.
¯ Earlier, it appeared that the failure to mention "sexual orienta-
¯ tion"mighthavebeenanoversightbasedontheKKK’ s historical ¯
¯ attacks primarily on Jews and Blacks. However, in a return call
to the Tulsa Family News, the Rev. Russell Bennett of Fellowship
Congregational Church, UnitedChurch of Christ, stated that
¯ he participated in themeeting to draft the statement, and specifically
he called for the inclusion of "sexual orientation" in the
: statement. Bennett noted that he heard no objections to his
¯ request, and he said that he expected that "sexual orientation"
¯ would be included.
: Perry Simons, executive director of the Jewish Federation
¯ attended the meeting at Fellowship Congregational Church with
: Nancy Day of the National Conference for Community and
Justice, Dr. Sandra Rana, representing Tulsa’s Muslim commu-
: nity, the Rev. Clark Shackleford of Sand Springs, as well as
¯ Bennett. Andwhile Simmons says he does notrememberBennett
." calling for adding "sexual orientation," Simons says he feels he
¯ shouldhave raised theissue. Simons noted that Dr. Rana took the
¯ notes of what he described as a "stream of consciousness"
¯ discussion.
; However, the Rev. Radford Rader of College Hill Presbyterian
¯ and a-member of the T!VIM executive boardstated that the
¯ executive board never saw a version see TMM, p. 11
Michigan Elects First Gay Rep.
¯ LANSING, Mich. (AP)- Newly dected state House Rep: Chris ¯
Kolb heads to Lansing in January as the state’s first openly Gay
." lawmaker, but he said he has a lot more he wants to tackle than
¯ simply civil rights for Gay-people. Kolb, 42, admits his role is
; important, but it’s not his only focus. "I don’t wear it on my
: sleeve. I am who I am, but I don’t bring itinto every discussion,"
¯ he said of his sexual orientation. "It’s not my one and only ¯
crusade in life."
: The election of Kolb, a Democrat from Ann Arbor, puts
¯ Michigan among 22 states that have an openly Gay man or ¯
Lesbianin their legislatures. TheAnnArborcity councilman first
¯ got interested in politics after receiving his bachelor’s degree in
.. natural resources from the University of Michigan in 1982. He
¯ started with local government, distributing campaign literature
¯ and knocking on doors for candidates. After serving as aprecinct
¯ captain and secretary of the local Democratic Party, he won an
¯ open seat on theAnnArbor City Councilin 1993. Eventually, he ¯
became mayor pro-tern.
2 " Working on the Democratic-controlled council with former
." Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon, a Republican, has already
¯ helped Kolb learn to forge bipartisan alliances, a key skill in the
¯" state Legislature. Sheldon admits she and Kolb were competitors,
but said he never made his sexual orientation an issue. "You
¯ do not think ofhimas being the stereotypical Gay person inAnn
Arbor," Sheldon said. "He’S a regular person the way you or I
." would want to be relating to a person."
Kolb said he will work at improving the state of civil and
human rights in Michigan,but he’s also interested in tackling
¯ education and environmental issues. He wants to work on legislation
that would make it illegal in Michigan to fire employees
¯ based on their sexual orientation, something already prohibited
¯ in 11 states. "I’mnotkiddingmyself as to howfar theLegislature
will be able to be moved," he said. "But civil and human rights
: are along struggle."
¯ Kolb will be one of 14 new Democrats and seven Republicans
¯ to begin their first two-year state House terms inJanuary. He will
be seated across the aisle see Michigan, p. 3
I TOHR Celebrates
20 Years of Se.rvice
Only MCC Is Older ,n State
¯ TULSA- Itwas a different world then. Therewas no ¯
Will and Grace, few Gay or Lesbian images in print
¯ or on the airwaves, HIV was not yet discovered, and
¯ what was later called AIDS was just beginning to be
seen in New York City and San Francisco. The
¯ Stonewall Riots had only ocurred 10 years before,
¯ Gay people were still subject to arrests and harass-
" ment in most of the US, and world.
¯ In Oklahoma City, community activists began a
group calledOklahomans forHumanRights (TOHR).
¯ Tnlsans joined that group and then formed a Tulsa
; branch. This group lead by three Tulsa attorneys,
¯ Dennis Neill, Bob Inglish andMikeGreen and others ¯
later created Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights,
¯ Oklahoma’s 2nd oldest organization after Tulsa’s
¯ Metropolitan Community Church United.
¯ Twenty years later, the world has changed. Tulsa
¯
has support groups in the public schools for Lesbian
¯ and Gay young adults, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
Transgenderedpeople are verymuchvisibleinAmeri-
¯" can media and society butTOHRis still here provid-
¯ ing community services as at the beginning with all
volunteer, staffing and not that many dollars.
¯ Longtime TOHRmember and former boardmere- ¯
ber Jonathan Stanley remembers being a member as
¯ early as 1980 or 1981, adding that he recalls Bob
¯ Inglish as president and meeting in a small upstairs
¯ room in Stonehorse, a building now known as the ¯
Consortium. A particularly vivid memory of those
¯ early days was the controversy whenTOHR rented a
¯ city pool for an event and cityofficials had the pool
¯ drained because Gay p_eopl_e_had, used. it..This was in
the very early days of AIDS when the disease was
associated exclusively with Gay men and little was
known about HIV transmission.
¯ During these years,TOHRhas provided a commu-
¯ uity information telephone line, civil rights advo-
¯ cacy, anonymous HIV anti-body testing (eventually
¯ with paid staff and HIV education outreach workers
¯ - a program which has spun off as the H.O.P.E.
¯ Testing Clinic), and for the last several years, a
¯ community center. The Center was in the Brookside
¯ neighborhood was first known as the Pride Center
¯ and featured a 5x8’ flag which flew over the building ¯
until it was repeatedly stolen. Now the Center is
¯ known as theTulsa Gay Community Services Center
: and has relocated to 21st & Memorial (2114 So.
¯ Memorial), ironically sharing a wall with one of ¯
Tulsa’s oldest Lesbian bars, TNT’s.
," However, TOHR president Greg Gatewood and
; the proposed new officers, Kerry Lewis, president,
¯ 1st v.p. Vance Reed, 2nd v.p. Don Glass, secretary ¯
Curtis Evans, and treasurer Beth Persac, are hoping
¯ the current location will be a short-term one. TOHR
¯ has announced a capital raising campaign, the Pyramid
Project, to purchase a permanent commtmity
." center.
." According to Gatewood, the Project has in hand ox
: in pledges and grants, $65,000 of their goal ot
¯ $250,000. And the organization has set up legal
restrictions such that all gifts to the Pyramid Projec!
¯ arerestricted to that useonly. Also, thoserules (whicl:
¯ were reviewed by outside legal counsel and CPA’s" ¯
restrict overhead expenditures to a maximum of
¯ and all labor for the project is volunteer.
: Gatewood notes that the organization is setting uI
web sites for TOHR and the Pyramid Projec
¯ (www.tohr.org and www.pyramidproject.org) whicl
¯ they expect to be available in mid-December.
." To celebrate the 20th anniversary of TOHR, th~
¯ group will hold a Holiday reception and silent auctiol
: on Dec. 10th from 4-7pm, see TOHR, p.
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Chasers, 4812 E. 33
*CW’s, 1737 S Memorial
*Club Cherry Bomb, 1926 E. Pine
*Club Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Sqtmre
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E 31st
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*Rene~ades/Rainbow. Rooni, 1649.S. Main
*TNT’s, 211,4 S. Memorial !
*Tool Box, 1338E! 3rd "
712-2324
610-5323
583-2119
835-2376
744-4280
745-9998
834-4234
58523405
660-0856
584-1308
*The ’Yellow Brick Road Piab; 2630 E. 15th 749-1563 ’
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 5231 E. 41
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15
*Borders Book~ ’& Music, 2740 E. 21
*Borders B0oks’ 8~ Music, 8015 S. Yale
Brookside JeWelry, 4649 S. Peoria
*CD Warehri~,:3807C S. Peoria
*Cheap Th~ills,~::2(~iOE. 1 lth
743-1000
250-5034
665-4580
712-1122
712-9955
494~2665
743-5272..
746-0313
295"-5868
Cherry St. Ps,yEtirthdt~py, 1515 S. Lewis 58’1-0902, 743=4117
Community’CI~ihiiig~’Kerby Baker . " 622-0700
Tim Daniel, At~tonie~ 352-9504, 800-742-9468’
*Deco to Discoi" 3212 E. 15th 749=362Q.
Doghouse 6n-.Brr0kside, 3311 S. Peoria 744-5556
*Elite Boules-& Vi~t~0S, 821 S. Sheridan 838-8503
Encompass,Travel," I3161H N. Memorial 369=8555
Ross Edwar~l:Sal6ii i 584~0337, 712~9379
Events Uniimited;; 507S. Main
¯
5920460
Floral Design-S~dioi~3404 S,. Peoria " " 744~9595
Four Star ImpOrt.AutOmotive, 9906 E. 55th P1. ’ 610-0880
Cathy Furlong;PhiD.~ 1980 Utica Sq..Med. Cir.- 628-3709
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare 808~8026
*Gloria Jear;’~ .Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st" 742-1460
Learme MTG’rO~s~’En~i~ance &financial pl,.~a~.ng. 459~9349
Mark T. Ha~by~A’ttOrney
*Sandra J. I~ll,M~S;Tsychotherapy, 2865 ~i ~kelly745:74427414101T
*Internafiol~al T~urs...... 341:6866
Jacox Aniraal Cliifie, 2732 E. 15th .... 712-2.750
*Jared’s Antlques;"1602 E. 15th - - 582-3018
David KauSk~y~:~otmtry Club Barbering 747-0236
The Keepers; HoUsekeeping & Gardening 582-8460
*Ken’s Flowers; ’1635 E. 15 599-8070
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #21C -’ 747-5466.
*Living A~tSpaee; 308 South Kenosha 585-1234
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd 584-3112~
Mingo Valley’Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-59341
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951
Puppy Pause: IF,1060 S. Mingo 838-7626
*The Pride StOre............... 743-4297
Rainbowz’0~ the River B+B, POB 696, 74101 747-5932
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning ....... 834:0617-
Teri Schutt, Rex Realtors 834~7921, 747-4746
Scribner’s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square ...... 749-~6301
Paul Tay, Car’Salesman 260-7829
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis 481-0558.
Venus Salon, 1247-S: Harvard 835-5563
Fred Welch, LCSW, Cotmsding 743-1733
*Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan 665-2222
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis 592-0767
www.gaytulsa.org - website for Tulsa Gays &Lesbians
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101 579-9593
All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria 743-2363
Black & White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159 587-7314
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6 583-7815
B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr. 583-9780
Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S~ Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th P1. & Florence
Church of the Restoration UU, 1314 N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community of Hope Church, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
Council Oak Men’s Chorale 748-3888
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712-1511
918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159. e-mail: TulsaNews@earthlink.net
Publisher + Editor: Tom Neal
Writers + contributors: James Christjohn, Karin Gregory, Barry
Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom, Esther
Rothblum. Mary Schepers, Hughston Walkinshaw
Member of The Associated Press
Issued on or before the 1st of each month, the entire contents
of this publication are protected by US copyright 1998 by
~oL~/:~,~Nt~v~ and may not be reproduced either in whole
or in part wi~out written permission from the publisher.
Publication of a name or photo does not indicate a person’s
sexual orientation. Correspondence is assumed to be for
publication unless otherwise noted, must be signed & becomes
the sole property of, T.oLu~./:~.’.. N~. Each reader is
entitled to 4 copies of each. edition at distribution
-points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248.
¯ *Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457 ¯
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa - Lesbian & Gay Catholics’&
¯ Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74t70-1475 " ~ 355-3140
~Fellowshipcongreg.Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
¯¯ -*FreeSpiritWomen’sCenter, callforloeation&info: 587-4669
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 " " 747-6827
¯ Friends in UnitySocial Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
: HIV ER Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd. 583-6611
¯ *Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194 ¯
HOPE,-HIV Oiitreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
¯ *HouseoftheHoly SpiritMinstries;1517 S. Memorial 224-4754
¯ *MCC United, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715 ¯
NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral PI. - , 748-3111
¯ NOW;Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365-5658
¯ " ,OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
*OSU-Tuls~
seefrom anumber oflawmal~ers who signed
a letter earlier this year asking the state
Department of Education to invesugate
Grand Haven High School for allowing Gay
speakers to talk to students about being Gay
during "Diversity Days."
House Speaker-elect Rick Johnson, RLeRoy,
and~GOP Rep. Valde Garcia ;o_.[
DeWitt were two. of the nine. staie House
members who signed the iletter. Both,say,
they wi!l not have_any problems worki,r~g
with Kolb. The House will retain its 58-52
Republican majority when the new session
starts. "I don’t agree with the philosophies
of the Democratic Party, but that doesn’t
mean I don’t work with Democrats," Garcia
said. "Just because I don’t approve of his
lifestyle doesn’t mean I can’t work with
him."
¯
Kolb’s experience in government and
: ability to handle himself well even when
! others disagree with him will help him in
¯ Lansing, said Jeffrey Montgomery, executive
director of the Detroit-based Gay rights
¯ group Triangle Foundation. "He’s been
¯ aroundmany,many,,ch~lenging situations,"
.: Montgomery said. He s going to be able to
: handle ahar;dful ofignorantlegislators very
¯ easily."
¯ While Kolb believes the media makes a
¯ bigger deal about his election than anyone
: else, he knows his role~is important. He says
¯ the ultimate benefit of his election is as an
¯ example to members of the Gay community.
"Any young person, regardless of their
; sexual orientation, whohears about this will
¯"- .t~-.G, POB 52800, 74152
." ~*Planned Parenthood,1007 S. Peori~a
....tMme-’Timers, P.O: B.ox52t 18, 74152 --
R;A:L N:; Regional AIDS Interfaith Network -
¯Red.Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8
St. Aidan’S Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cincinriati
" StTDu~stan’sEpiscopal, 5635 E. 71st
.*St: Jerome’s Parish Church; 205 W. King
¯ *TulsaArea United Way,- 1430 S..Boulder
~-*TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian.Health Care. 582-7225
¯ Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 E. 15 ....... 595-4105
.......~.,2Confideufial HIV Testing -by appt. on Thursdays ionly "
:.~.Tulsi!O!d.a.T0rH,.t!m.an Rights, c/o The Pride Center 743-4297
"..- ~.U.L.S.A.iTulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
- .2 T~s~a City Hall, G~0und Floor Vestibule
;.... Tiii~ii CommUnityCoil~ge Campuse~
~ *TulsaGay Community Center, 21st & Memorial 743-4297
; Unity Church of Clirigtianity,3355 s. Jamestown 749-8833
"BARTLESVILLE
"-B~fl~svill~Piibllc Library, 600S=. Johnstone 918-337-5353
TAHLEQUAH ..........
¯ Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
49-490t ¯ "’ realiz.e..that ~ere’s a world of opportunity,"
587 76?4.... he said..,~oo often, that s not the message
our community and others hear." . - , _.
749-4195
584-2325
425-7882
492-7140
582-3088
583-7171
¯ Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church
¯ ~Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570
¯ EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS ¯
Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23
¯
Jim & Breut’s Bistro, 173 S. Main
¯ DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St.
¯ Emerald Raiiabow,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.
¯
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
¯ Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U1.34
918-456-7900
918-453-9360
501-253-7734
501-253-7457
501-253-6807
501-253-5445
501-253-9337
501-253-2776
501-253-5332
501-624-6646
501-253-6001
501-253-4074
417-623-4696
* is where you can find TFN. Notall are Gay-owned butall are Gay-friendly.
Memorabilia from the years will be on display
as well as auction items from artists and
¯ merchants such as Antiquaries inTulsa, P.S.
, Gordon, DavidHoot, T.A. Lorton, Kathleen
¯ Pendergrass, Rand’s Art & Antiques, Mary
¯
Schepers and others. Curt & Marj’s Cater-
" ing will offer refreshments as may other
¯ Tulsa restaurants.
¯" On Dec. 1 lth, TOHR and PFLAG, Par-
¯
cuts, Families and Friends of Lesbians and
¯ Gays will hold their annual joint Holiday
potluck dinner at the Center at 7pm. The
: entree will be provided as will soft drinks
." and tableware. Attendees should bring veg-
¯ etables, salads and desserts and may call ¯
743-4297. to know which of those to bring..
¯ Gatewood also notes that planning for
¯ next year’s Diversity Celebration 2001,
¯ which includes the Parade, a post-parade ¯
¯ Festival and ablack-tie dinnerwill continue
a mid-January meeting. The precise date
¯ will be announced later, t 7pro. The entree-
¯. will be provided as will soft drinks and
tableware. Attendees should bring veg-
¯ etables, salads and desserts and may call the
¯ Center at 743-4297 for which of those to
¯ bring.
Gatewood ~so notes that planning for
¯ next year’s Diversity Celebration 2001,
." which includes the Parade, a post-parade
¯ Festival and ablack-tie dinner will continue
~ a mid-January meeting¯ The precise date
¯ will be announced later.
World AIDS Day
by Chris Labonte, semorpolicy advocate
Human Rights Campaign
As we commemorate the first World AIDS Day of the
21st Century,itis important to bothcelebrate our achievements
over HIV and AIDS and work vigorously to ensure
there will be continued success in thcfuture. With success
in treatments, we risk the danger of resting on our laurels.
Instead,:we :mus~ rededicate ourselves to building upon
these victories anff creating a future without HIV and
AIDS. ~People with the diseas~e live longer and healthier
lives yet the number of those’whbar¢ newly infected in
our country each year remains steady at 40,000.
The.new barrier to treatment andprevention is complacency.
It comes from a variety of places and appears in
many forms. New highly active antiretroviral therapies
have contributed to the welcome steep decline in AIDS
deaths in our nation. Media and advertising campaigns
for these therapies signal that one can live and should live
a robust and long life - you can go rock climbing, ski
down the highest mountain, and continue to do fulfilling
work. While all of this is true, they fail to mention that
these therapies require years of medication, multiple
dtses of pills each day - sometimes with possible side
effects- and all at a great expense.
This somewhat slanted view of our treatment success
may contribute to our prevention failure. Although gay
¯ and bisexual men hage made strides in reducing the
percentage of HIV infections attributed to male-to-male
sexual contact, men who have sex with men still account
for approximately 40percent ofnew infections each year.
By not recognizing the tree costs ofHIV infection, young
gay and bisexual men are engaging in risky behavior;
such as intentional unprotected anal andoral sex.Arecent
study suggests that the more optimistic memwere about
the new treatments, the less likely they were to use safe
sex precautions or limit their number of sexual parmers.
Moreover, existing health ~disparities among commm
nitieS of color tuake treatments particularly out.of reach
for them. For the first time, the numbek Of gay men fromcommunities
of color - African Americans, Latinos,
Asian Pacific-Islanders, Native American. and others -
outnumber the number of white gay and bisexual men in
new AIDS cases, according to the Centers for Disease
Control, the federal agency :primarily responsible for
prevention of HIV/AIDS. Prevention is also particularly
concerning with communities of color, where young gay
and bisexual men of color are often confronted with both
homophobia and racism. We must address this situation
immediately and offer prevention strategies targeted to
the unique needs of gay and bisexual men of color so they
¯ can also benefit from treatments available to others. We
also cannot ignore strategies that we know have been
successful in reducing HIV transmission in the past. Far
too often, policy makers ignore proven science to score
political points at the expense of peoples’ lives. Needle
exchange programs and abstinence are two of the most
vivid examples: Successful risk reduction programs also
save money on future treatment costs.
The CDC has set forth an ambitious goal to reduce new
HIV infections inour nation. In addition, the independent
and science-based Institute ofMedicine recently released
areport, "No Time to Lose," that supported the use of cost
effective methods of reducing HIV transmission, including
needle, exchange programs. A recent study from .the
Heury.J. Kaiser Family Eotmda_tign~f.o_und that p.arents
think schools should have more comprehensive sexual
education curriculum and cover topics that are not generally
covered, such as sexual orientation. Effective prevention
methods deserve support - both financial and
political support-from Congress, the administration, the
public health community, and other impacted communities.
We must strive to continue to find even better
treatments, furthe~ reduce the number HIV infections,
provide additional assistance to nations around the globe
and develop a vaccine within a reasonable time frame.
These goals are attainable. In a nation as wealthy and
creative as ours, we should expect nothing less.
¯ Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry: Gay People Need Not Exist
¯ by Tom Neal, editor &publisher ¯ committee process and edited out that inclusion. Because
It might come as quite a surprise to you to learn that there " of their and their organization’s past involvement in acts
are no Gay people in Tulsa. There are no Gay bars, no Gay " of anti-Gay discrimination, it looks like Dr. Sandra Rana
churches, no Gay households, no Gay parents, no Gay kids ¯ and Nancy Day of the National Conference for Commu-
- you get the idea. : nity and Justice wereresponsible.TMM’s executive board
At least that’s the message that Tulsa Metropolitan " never saw an inclusive version.
Ministry (TMM) is putting out. While"cel- This does not excuse the executive
ebrating" Tulsa’s "diversity" specifically,
claiming to "... support each other’s right
to live and prosper in this great community.
¯ ." TMM. somehow managed t3 "disappear"
Gay Tulsans.
Wehave long known that some groups in
TMM are deeply prejudiced against Lesbian
and Gay persons. Usually these people
are identified as Tulsa’S Muslim community,
some of Tulsa’s Black churches and
Tulsa’s Orthodox Christian commumty.
No matter how repugnant their views are
to us, morally and theologically, wehave to
¯ support their constitutional right to hold
: those views. But usually their objections
are to.-us having those basic civil rights
protections which they enjoy themsdves.
They want for it-to continue to be legal for
us to be firedfrom ourjobs, or thrown out of
our homes or have our children taken from
us. They have objected to characterizing
assaults on us as hate crimes, even if the
"... apologlsts for
TMM ma~e the
excuse that Gay
Tulsans have
to be sold out in order
to appease the Muslims,
or the Blaeh
churches
or the Orthodox.
Gay people are ashed,
again and again, year
after year, to go along
because some good
comes out of it..."
board. In this city, and in this time, it is
very hard not to know that Gay and Lesbian
people exist. But their oversight lacks
the malice of deliberate exclusion.
Many apologists for TMM make the
excuse that Gay Tulsans have to be sold
out in order to appease the Muslims, or the
Black churches or the Orthodox. Gay
people are asked, again and again, year
after year, to go along because some good
comes out of it.
But this statement goes too far. It demands
that we collaborate in the denial of
our own existence. And those.who sign it
knowing better, knowing thatTMM’s "diversity"
statement is profoundly a lie, are
no less collaborators with evil than those
who kept silent in the face of Nazi horrors.
TMMhas long tolerated a double standard.
Gay people are asked to recognize
that Tulsa Muslims and others are "funda-
¯ mentalists" and we are asked to tolerate
same act is a hate crime when they are the target.
: Butthey hadn’t before soughtto deny our very existence.
This is largely a symbolic act but in some ways, it is more
~ powerful than the others. Even when our fundamental civil
¯ rights are denied, we are atleast acknowledged as existing.
¯ Ironically, part Of the impetus for this "diversity" statement
was a visit by a particularly virulent part.of the Klu-
Klux Klan. Traditionally, theKKK’s principle targets have
b~nJews andBlacks.But as Gay and Lesbian people have
become more visible, we have been included very explicitly
in Klan hatred. This Klan visit was-no.exception. And
while the Klan did not forget us, Tulsds "do-gooder"
hypocrites pretend that we don’t exist.
Now not all of TMM’s members take this position.
Russell Bennett of Fellowship Congregational Church
sought to add sexual¯ orientation to TMM’s "diversity"
statement. But ina deeply disturbing and shameful action,
one or two commi ttee members appear to have violated the
to three equally weighted categories; community leadership,
scholastic merit, and financial need.
This year,the scholarship selection committee is .comprised
of a student representative from five of OLIC
campus organizations, and five OklahomaGLBT community
leaders..The chair-person of this year, selectiOn committee
is Whitten. The organizers add that applications will
be available Dec. 1st from our OLIC organizations, at the
Oklahoma City and Tulsa Gay Commlmity Centers and
online at www.geocides.’com/okolic/. Applications will be
due on Feb. 15,2001 and the winners will be announced in
late March.
Also, the Oklahoma ]mmbda IntercJall:egiate C0aii~0~
hold a fundraising reception in Tulsa Oli December 2’ls(
from7 - 10pm at thehome ofRick and Susan Doss in Tulsa.
Funds raised by this event will be used for the Oklahoma
Lambda Youth Scholarship. RSVP to 405-325-4452. A
donation of $25 is suggested.
The goals of the Oklahoma Lambda Intercollegiate
Coalition are:
I. Raising awareness of GLBT youth ~ssues within our
community, schools, and society;
II. Sharing information and resources in an effort to
provide the best possible programming for sponsoring
organizations;
their bias agaanst us even as Muslims, Jews, Christians,
and. Unitarians somehow manage to respect each other.
White supremacist groups, like the Christian Identity
movement and .others who use theology much like the
Muslims do to justify their prejudice, are not welcomed
into.TMM. Buta special place is carved outfor anti,Gay
prejudice,
It is finally too much. And it is time that good people
who know better stand up for their neighbors and friends
and families, ff this means that Tulsa cannot support its
real diversity, then at least we’ll be telling .the truth.
Muslim Tulsans might have to acknowledge that they
cannot object to anti-Muslim bias while oppressing Gay
Tulsans. Black Tulsans ought to know better..And Jewish
Tulsans mightneed to do for Gay people what was done
for them by non-Jews in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s,which is
to be vocally and visibly advocates for civil rights.
It’s time now for this change.
¯ III. Supporting a Queer youth movement to impact the
: politics of our state and nation;
¯ IV. Providing resources to the Oklahoma GLBT youth
¯ community including political and health education, a ¯
safe social environment, and an opportunity to cultivate
: leadership skills, and;
¯ V. Fostering the conception and growth of new GLBT
: student groupsacross Oklahoma.
¯ For more information, contact, Oklahoma Lambda In-
¯- tercollegiateCoalition 900Asp,OMU, P,m. 363,Box 169,
Norman OK 37019-4058 or telephone to.405-325-4452.
¯ www.geocities.com]okolic
i Stout Wins Okla.Mr.Leather
: T.U.L.S. A~ (Tulsa Uniform Leather Seekers Associa-
¯ .ti.’9fa):held the annual Oklahoma Mr. Leather contest
"! ~ O.cto~b_dr 20-22 at the Silver S’t~tr in Tulsa. Four Contestants
from the state competed in c~ate~ories that included inter,
view, streetwear, physique and full leather image. Seven
judges from the US and Canada judged the contestants.
International Mr. Leather 2000 Mike Taylor was among
the distinguished panel. Contestants were Jason Pelkey of
Tulsa, Jim Stout of Ramona, Stephen Scott of OKC-Mr.
Sooner State Leather 2000, and Mark Goins of Tulsa-Mr.
Tulsa Leather 2000.
The weekend event began with a tour of the local clubs
and Tulsa’s Gay Community Services Center. The interviews
were Saturday morning and the rest of the contest
was held that night. Stephen Scott was first runner-up.
Scout Troop Defies
National Anti-Gay Ban
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A second Rhode Island
Scout troop is defying the national organization’s ban
on homosexuals, Members, leaders, and parents from
Boy ScoutTroop 28 have sentaletterto the Narragansett
Council of Boy-Scouts saying they will ignore the
policy. The troopjoins Cub Scout Pack 88, which sent
a similar letter, The Providence Journal reported.
~
.The national policy is root~,in a 1910 oath that Says
Scofi~- ~’.st ke~p~el~s-~ ,.ni0ralty straigl~t:~’iThe
’ !. b~via’g tlplldld~y!th~ Siipr~aid CourtthisS~er,but
’"about ~:d~ozen~ trbb~ ~at~oflwlde have stud thaiwill
The leaders of Pack 28 said the words "morally
straight" have nothing to do with sexual orientation.
....’The oath didnotmean to banhomosextmls but to keep
.....on the straight and narrow and do what is right," said
Y"Allen M. Dennison, an assistant scoutmaster with
Troop 28, who has four sons in Scouting. Our assessment
of whatis right is that everyone be included, and
" that includes Gay leaders and Gay Scouts."
..... The Narragansett Council will forward the letter
fromTroop28to theBoy Scouts ofAmericaheadquar-
’ ters in Irving~ Texas, as it did with the letter from Pack
88, said state ¢o,.u~,ci! Spokesman David Preston.
Pack 88hash theard from the national Boy Scouts
regarding its status and calls to the Boy Scouts of
America were not returned. Officially, troops that
" ignore Scouting rule~ Will have their charter revoked.
To date, however, the Boy.Scouts of America has not
revoked thecharter of a troop or council for ignoring
.the banon Gays.
The ban made news inRhode Island last year, when
a 16-year-old Eagle Scout filed a complaint with the
Rhode Island Human Rights Commission saying he
was denied a job at a Scout camp because he is Gay.
Maryland Can Ban "
Anti-Gay Discrimination
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) - Gov. Parris Glendening~s
:plan to add Gays to Maryland’s anti-discrimination
law likely would not violate the First Amendment
guarantee of free exercise of religion, according to the
state attorney general’s office.
Assistant Attomey General Kathryn M. Rowe issued
the four-page legal opinion this week at the
request of-Delegate Sandy,I. Rosenberg, who is expected
to use it to counter religious-based arguments
-.. against the proposed legislation. "I did this so we
would have a:.iegal opinion on the matter instead of
rhetoric that is not precise," Rosenberg said. "In an
- issue as emotional as .this, everybody should do their
best not to misstate the law."
Rosenberg asked for the opinion after a representative
of the Diocese ofWilmington testified against the
governor’s plan at a public heating in Salisbury.The
diocese includes Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
The hearing was conducted by a commission ereated
by the governor to solicit testimony about discrimination
against Gays, Lesbians, bisexuals and
transsexuals "The teaching o.f the Catholic Church and
societal tradition does not accept homosexuality as a
legitimate lifestyle," the diocese said in a position
paper presented at the hearing.
Thepositionpaper alSO said the proposed legislation
"significantly and Wrongfully encroaches (on) the
First Amendment, free-exercise rights of religious
institutionsand ofpersons whose actions are dri-ven by
their religious beliefs."
In her opinion, Rowe said there wasprecedent for
laws with "the incidental effect of burdening certain
religious practices" - as long as the laws do not single
out one religion. There is also precedent suggesting
that the hiring of ministers would be exempt from the
proposed bill, Rowe said.
: Navy Ends Harrassment
: of Former Seaman ¯
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP)-A former midshipman who
: resigned from the U.S. Naval Academy amid accusa-
¯ tious ofhomosexuality won’thave to repay the govem-
~ ment for his education, the Navy has ruled/The deci-
¯ sion means that Tommie Watkins, 25, will not have to
." reimburse the Navy the $86,000 that covered his train-
. ing and tuition, plus interest.
i
Watkins, president of his classand an aspiring Navy
~ ~pil0t; ~s~id bewas pres’sured to. resign ~and did so
~ ~ beeau~e he feared ht~mophobia ’would preve~t him
~- fromreceiviffga fair trial:’After leaving, he acknowl-
-" edged being Gay. Officer trainees who drop out or are
¯ expelled during theirjtmior or senior years are required
¯ by Pentagon policy to repay the government for their
¯ education, either ~in cash or through enlisted service.
¯ The Navy’s Board of Correction of Naval Records
." said last year that he was a victim 6f,"error and
¯ injustice," and recommended the academy waive the
." payment. That decision was overruled in March by
." Carolyn Becraft, the assistant secretary ofthe Navy for
¯ manpower. Watkins sued, and on the day of the dead-
: line for the Navy to respond, his lawyer got word of the
: reversal.
." Watkins, who works in Miami as the project director
¯¯ for an AIDS and HIV ministry, called the decision
¯ "long overdue and totally justified." "It’s kind of
ironic, because the Navy says its core values are honor,
¯ courage and commitment," he said. "It seems like I had
_. to exhibit those qualities to win this case.’"
¯ Officials from the Naval Academy declined to com-
." ment on the decision.
¯ Iowa Order Banning Anti-
Gay Bias to Be Reviewed
¯ DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - It’s up to a Polk County
¯ district ,judge to rule on the legality-, of Gov. Tom ¯
Vilsack s’ci~il-rights order. District Judge Glenn Pille
heard lawyers’ arguments about the order during a
¯ recent hearing.
¯ Vilsack issued an executive order in September
1999, forbidding discrimination against Gays, Lesbi-
¯ ans and Transexuals in state government employment.
: The move sparked a legislative debate. Conservative
¯ legislators were particularly angry that the order ap- ¯
plies to Transsexuals. A majority of lawmakers voted
¯ to repeal the order, but Vilsack vetoed the legislation.
¯ Twenty-three legislators led by Republican Senate
¯ Majority Leader Stewart Iverson, challenged the order
¯
in a lawsuit filed in July. They said that Vilsack
¯ overstepped his authority and thathe, in effect, rewrote
¯ the law. ¯
Vilsack has said he is carrying out a state law
¯ providing equal opportunity in state employment to all
: persons. Iowa Deputy Attorney General Julie Pottorff
¯ represented Vilsack at the hearing. She said the dispute
¯ is a legal question, and that Vilsack acted within his
¯ auth6rity ensuring that legal protections apply to all
¯ executive branch employees. ’°-l’his is no more than a ¯
¯ political disagreement," Portorff told Pille.
Des Moines lawyer Mark McCormick is represent-
" ing the legislators and a former state employee. He
¯ argued at the hearing that the order infringes on the ¯
constitutional separation of powers and said "The
¯ governor has no power by- ~xecutive order to create
~ ¯ law." -
: Vatican in Tizzy About
¯ "Fake Marriages"
¯ VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Vatican has blasted
¯ lawmakers for givinglegal recognition to so-called"de
~ facto" unions - including those between Gays - and
¯ said attempts to allow adoption by Gays were "a great
danger." A 77-page document made public in Novem-~
Community
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
at Community ofHope
2545 South Yale, Sundays at 1 lam, 749-0595
A Welcoming Congregation
HOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Sun. Worship, 10:45 am, Sunday School, 9:30 am
Wed. Bible Study, 7 pm, Sunday Eve. Service, 6pm
¯ 1517 S. Memorial, 628-0802, Info: 224-4754
The Open Arms Project
Young Adult Support Group
Outreach Program Thurs. Nights
Meet Others in a Safe Enviroment
Call for meeting times and place:
918-584-2325
Mingo Valley Flowers
9413 E. 31st St., Tulsa 74145
918-663-5934, fax: 663-5834, 800-~.4-5934
Family Owned & Operated
Trinna .L.W. Burrows, LSW, ACSW
Child, Family, Individual & Couple Psychotherapy
(918) 743-9559
2121 South Columbia, Suite 420
Tulsa, Oklahoma 74114,3518
The Pride Store
21st Street & Memorial
Tulsa Gay Community Services Center
.743-.GAYS (743=4297)
6-9 pm! Sudda~ ".-.!F~’{day, ~ ~ . ~ ~ ° !
12,9~,prn~ ~Saturday, all sales benefit the C~nte?
Important
Information
Call 212-461:2976
Interested?
Call 918=447-8602
Red Rock Tulsa. .
Free Confidentia!.HIV Testing
Walk:in Clinics
Tues. & Thurs., 5 -8 pm
at the Center,. 1307 East 38th
Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-584-2325
KIM WILKS Independent Consultant for
357-1757
~n just a matter of hours
.Kelly Kirby, CPA, PC
Certified Public Accountant
a professional corporation
747-5466
4021 South Harvard Avenue, Suite 210, Tulsa 74135
ber by The Pontifical Council for the Family was built
heavily around similar denunciations over the last few
years by Pope JohnPattl II.
Italian Gay groups, stung over the summer by the
Vatican’s moves to try to block Gay pride events in
Rome, denounced the latest pronouncement on homosexual
unions.
The Vatican’s council on family matters also presented
a proposal to make sex crimes against children,
including "sex tourism" exploitation, crimes against
humanity. But .the bulk of the positions ,pr.esented.
hammered away at unions betwb.en Gays as well as
legal recognition for.~tmm.arried hetgcosexual~couple~.
While not citing any particular, .country, thd .,Vatica.n,.
spoke of ’~great concern" aboutlawiiaakers’ efforts "in
many countries with an ancient Christian tradition" to
give legal status to unmarried couples.
Earlier this month, Germany.granted legal recognition
to Gay couples, following similar moves.ove~ the
1~ decade by other Western European countries.
" De facto unions ~e the result.of private behavior
andshoul’d remain 0ni~e pri~at~ 1,ev_el ," . the Vatican
said. It described as a ~erious sign, of.the-contempo,~
rary br0~tkd0wn in the s0dal an~ ~oral.conscilence,
political eftbrts tO give institutionalstatus to delfacto
couples. It Said attempts to legalize thead0ption of
children by Gay. ~Q~ple,s .added ’!an elemen_t.of ~reat
danger." - ..
NY Town offers: Benefits
GREENBURGH, N.Y. (AP) -The Gr.eenburgh Town
Board voted un’aJaim6u~ly" tO ’offer health-be]aefits to
same-sex domestic partners 0f municipal workers.
"We want to treat all our employees as if they’re
valuable to us," said Supervisor Paul.Feiner.
New Yoj~k ~stiite,. Ne~: Yori~ City;._a~nd/~Ve’stchester
CounU,.plus several ~orporation~,~.rpv.id¢~sach:benefits
to homosexual couples. Of Westchester s-municipalities,
only. Eastchester has..acted before
Greenburgh.
Under the measure;, which goesinto effect JnJanu-
..ary, an uumarried,.town, employee who.says-in an
affidhvit that he or she has hadan exclusive relationship
for a year can extend medical.and dental coverage
to\the partner. - " . )_
Phelps at Phillips Exeter
EXET.ER, N.H. (AP) - An anti-Gay ch~ch group
opposed to Phillips ExeterAcadem~~ s p0!~gy .alirwing
homosexuals to be dorm parents protested outside the
school recently, v~aving.signs with messages .that included:
’q’hank GodforA!DS." About adoZenfol!owers
of the Rev. Fred Phelps of the Westboro B.aptist
Church of Topeka~ Kan., ~rrivedat ~eS~hob’i~r’rund
noon after making similar demonstrations in’Ve~ont
and Maine earlier.
The, ,church members, oppose a measure Phillips
Exeter truste~.,S approved in May that al!0ws.Gay and
,,I~,.sbian faculty and staff to serve as dormitory parents.
’ it’s destroying the fabric0fthis nation~ the~r~ls/.hat
this nation ,does have," s,aid Sam Pheligs~Roper’~ the
Rev.Phelps grandson.".It saslippeDi~lopestraightto
hell and that’s where this.country is’headed. This is a
ing match toward the end, when a group of University
of New Hampshire students arrived to denounce the
church group.
"Relax! It’sjust sex," one student shouted. "I preach
God’s word." "You preach hate." But that’s an accusation
Phelps’ followers don’t deny. They maintain
that God hates homosexuals and will destroy any
society that condones homosexual behavior. ’q’he
Christian belief is rooted not only in the love of God,
but also the hate of God. You can’t have one without
,the. 9~er.,’~’. . .Pt!_dps-Roper said. "That is definitive.
Th,e~ is~no.question, that Gq~t!ha,t~s, p~9..p!e.]’, ,,
-~~W.~[bggQ Baptist ,O~,ur..ch ~s. ~gu,t 2Pq i~im~ers.
. They have picketed~a~ ~e fun~91s of. homosexuals,
including that of Matthew Shepard,.a Gay man.who
was brutally beaten and tortured in Wyoming in Octo~
ber 1998. "He’s in hall. And everyone else who.lives
daat lifestyle will likely be in he!! with him unle{s.they
repent," Phelps-Roper said. "Of ~.course, he could.have
repented, but there’ s a snowball’, s, chance of tha~;happening."
_.
¯ The Rev. Phelps did not attend, the demonstr.a_.tion.
~ His grandson said Phelps,:was .geeded back at his
¯¯ c,,h.t~h tominister But Phe!ps~Roper.saidthe growing
acceptance of homosexualit~ made,:their message to
¯ iEx~ter all the more importan.t. ’;7~..’s.isimportant ~tuff.
¯ This is a ,matter of life and ~death,’:etemRy h~-re,"
phelps-Roper said. "When G.0~as said something is
: ~.abomination, you don’t mes~.~ith it."
¯ Representatives of 14 churches from the region
¯ j6i]aekl the university students.i0PPosing Phdps? fol-
19wers. They said that thoug~flaey:don’t all agree on
¯ the moral status of homosexu~fity, they univers~ally
oppose Phelps’ message.
."While we recognize their, right, to express their
p,ersonal views freely concermngAcademy policy and
: ~e subjectin general, we take,~.trong exception to/heir
¯ rhe.t.ori9and signs denigrati.ng0~r~eighbors,,, the,Rev’
¯
¯ DanielWeaver of theExeterUnitedMethodistChurch
said: ~’We wholcheartedly agree:thathatr’ed, expressed
¯ or implied, as well as the adVo~icy br promotion of
¯ haff~lis anathema. It is certaird:y notitt the spirit of the
¯ v0~b~dsOf Jesus, ’Love your°neiIgl~bor~ as yourself."’
¯ Accused Murderers of
" Gay Man to Stand Trial
FAIRMONT, W.Va. (AP) =T.w,o,teen-agers will stand
: trial ear)y next year for the murder of a Gay black man
from.Marion County, a judg.e., ruled~ in November.
: David Allen Parker, whose lawyers may argue a di-
: minished .capacity defense;,is ser~ to stand trial in
¯ Becldey on Jan. 16. His co-defendarit, Jared Wilson.
¯ will l!0t be tried until February...... ¯
Par~er, 18, ofGrantTownan~tWilson, 18, ofFairview
: ar~’charged with first-degree.murder in the July 4
° beating death of Arthur "J.R." Warren. Police say the
teens pummeled the 26-year,old acquaintance with
: their fists and feet, then ran over him four times with
] Parker’s car to disguise his injuries as a hit-and-run.
¯ The assault allegedly began after ~Warren told others
¯" about a sexual relationshiphe claimed to have had with
: Parker.
~ Circuit Judge Rodney Merrifield said he will likely
message that they need." ¯ rule within 10 days whetherjurors at thetrials will hear
~ ~..m,,d~nts, at .tl],e neari~y,22Q=ye~o!d pri~vate ,high : the teens’ confessions. Defenselawyers argue sheriff’s
Schorl: apparently ~v~r~fi t irit~Stc;d~j~"h~g it~ ¯ deputies inappropriately obtained the statements the
Many students and faculty members_wore x~row- :, gtay, 9.t" Lhe_.murd,er,;an accusatton, the deputies have
colored pins, a symbol of support for homosexuals ¯ denied on the Witness ;/arid
Judy Quirm, spokeswoman for Phillips Exeter, said " Prosecutors say Warren’s DNA showed up in evithe
school’s roughly ’1,000 students decided not to
attend the~demonstration; and instead .-organized a
diversity celebration in another part of the campus.
"The values of inclusion and diversity have been
hallmarks of Phillips Exeter Academy since its formding,"
she said in a written statement. "The fact an
objection to these principles is what brings this group
to Exeter is indeed regrettable "
The otherwise peacefifl protest erupted into a shout-
: dence samples taken from the interior, exterior and
: undercarriage of Parker’s car, as well as on wood
: paneling and molding from the house where the bea~-
¯ ing began.
: Parker’s attorneys, Rebecca Tate and Stephen Fitz.
¯ also asked the judge for a delay so they could hire ~.,
~ expert to study their client for a possible diminished
o capacity defense strategy.
Bayer Seeks New
AIDS Treatments
BERLIN (AP) - Bayer AG, Germany’s
biggest drugmaker, said Tuesday it will
join the search fornew AIDS treatments as
part of a shakeup of its drug research
activities: The Leverkusen-based company,
best-known for developing aspirin,
will look for substances effective against
resistant viruses, said Wol,fgang Hartwig,
head of research in’Bayer s pharmaceuti- :
cal busine.ss group. The company declined
to specify:how muchit will invest in AIDS
research. In 2000, it budgeted a total of 1
billion euros ($845 million) for research
and development.
Bayer said it expects to identify the first
substances suitable for precliuical HIV
testing within two years. Pharmaceutical
research will in the future be focused on 13
fields, including seeking new treatments
in urology, Alzheimer’s dementia and
Parkinson’ s disease. Bayer saidit will stop
its research activities for osteoporosis, fibrosis
of the liver and stroke.
Key Protein in
AIDS. Virus Found
WASHINGTON (AP) - A protein that
does housekeeping chores inside cells plays
a key role in spreading the AIDS virus to
other cells of the body, researchers report.
In studies appearing in the Proceedings of
the National AcademyofSciences (PNAS),
researchers say that _HIV, the AIDS’virus,
uses a group of proteins, called
proteasomes, to assemble new viral partitles
and to spread those new particles.to
uninfected cells.
Ulrich Schubert of the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
(NIAID) said test tube studies show that
blocking the action of the proteasome proteins
can reduce the spread of HIV infection
by about 98%. Schubert, the first
author of one study in PNAS, cautioned
that the research was conducted only in
test tubes and it is not known if the
proteasome inkibitors would work against
HIV in humans. "We would never inject
this drug into an HIV-infected person because
we do not know what would happen,"
said Schubert.
Theproteasome inhibitors will be tested
in monkeys before any human tests are
considered, and those animal studies could
take months, he said.
Dr. Jonathan W. Yewdell, a NIAID researcher
and a co-author of the study, said
that althoughinhibitingproteasome shows
promise as a strategy for treating HIV, "it
is possible that it may not have any effect
at all." He said the proteasome function is
essential for healthy cells and that a drug
thatblocks thatfunction could affect every
cell in the body. "It is possible that the
HIV-infectedcells will be more sensitive
or that there are effects against the virus
before" the healthy cells are affected, said
Yewdell.
Yewdell and Schubert said cancer researchers
are experimenting with
proteasome inhibitors for the treatment of
prostate cancer and early studies have
shown no side effects in cancer patients.
The drug, however, has not been used in
HIV-infected patients, they said.
Proteasome’s job inside the cell is to
identify and destroy old or unneeded proteins.
Another PNAS study, by researchers
at Pennsylvania State University, suggests
that amolecule calledubiquitinplays
akeyroleinhow viruses use theproteasome
function in a cell to make new viral partitles.
Still another PNAS study, by researchers
from the Dana-Farber Caneer Institute,
Harvard Medical School and the University
of Padua in Italy, also demonstrates
that ubiquitin plays a role in HIV particle
formation.
HIV spreads its infection inside thebody
by forcing white blood cells, called CD4s,
to make new viral particles. These partitles
are released from the cells and can
then infect other cells, spreading the infection
throughout the body.
The final part of this virus-making proeess
is called budding. During budding, a
new viral particle wraps itself in a membrane
from the surface of the infected cell
and completes its development. When the
budding process is completed, the virus
particle is released and can then attach to
an uninfected CD4 cell and continue to
spread the infection.
The researchers found that HIV uses the
proteasome molecules, particularly
ubiquitin, to complete the assembly of a
new viral particle at the cell membrane.
When the pro.teasome action is blocked,
HIV particle formation is crippled, they
found.
"Inhibiting proteasome causes fewer
viruses to detach from the cell and what
viru~ is madeis notas good," saidYewdell.
Proteasome is most active in the budding
phase of making a new HIV viral
particle. It is different from protease, an
enzyme that helps the HIV virus assemble
precursor proteins into active proteins.
Some HIV drugs, called protease inhibitors,
work by blocking the action of the
protease enzyme.
Power
Connect.
Public Service Compa~ny of Oklahoma
Customer Service.is Nb~Available 24
Hours A Day, Seven Days A Week.
These days, traditional 8-5 business hours
aren’t always convenient. So PSO has made it
easier than ever for you to contact us.
Our Customer Service Center operates 24/7
offering around-the-clock answers to your
questions - and better access to service.
Now it’s easier for you to inquire
about your monthly electric bill.
Or report a power outage. Or
arrange to have your
power turned on or
off. Our professionally
trained, friendly and
knowledgeable customer
service representatives are
standing by to serve you.
All, day, every day.
To provide faster response
to your needs, we have listed
our toll-free numbers below.
¯ Leftover Medicines
Help in Haiti + More
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - The jar of
AIDS medications that Moses Alicea
plucked from among pill bottles and vials
spilled across the table were bound for the
dump - worthless in the United States. But
in Haiti, where the lifesaving drugs will be
sent, they are priceless. The medications -
about $20,000 worth of protease inhibitors
that can suppress HIV and prevent
progression of AIDS - will be sent to the
Western Hemisphere’s poorest nation to
help people who would otherwise never
receive the treatment.
At the root of the salvage effort is the
vast gulfbetween availability of the medications
in affluentcountries tike the United
States and developing countries like Haiti.
"This is importantbecause there’s peqple
living with HIV who can’t get the meds
like we do," said Alicea, 36, who gave his
ownleftoverAIDS medications. "ffI can’t
use them, somebody else can. There’s alot
of stuffoutthere that’ sjustbeing dumped."
Some 95% of the more than 33 million
people with HIV and AIDS in the world
are in poor countries, according to the
World Health Orgamzation. In those regions,
the so-called drug "cocktails" -
Clip And Save "
p I I I I I I--I I I I III
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Medical
Excellenc.e And
Compass.lonate
Care S nce
1926.
a ¯ ST. JOHN MEDICAL CENTER
q P Medical Excellence-Compassi’onate Care
whichcan costupwardof $20,000 per year
in the United States -are about 30 times
the average monthly income and far out of
reach for most people, according to the
group Doctors Without Borders.
The issue of global drug acess has becomeheated.
Protesters doggedVice President
A1 Gore last year about drug prices in
Africa, and the issue is apriority for institutions
like the World Health Organization
that are trying to combat the disease.
Clients of the group Cambridge -Cares
About AIDS are collecting the drugs from
friends and family members - even from
their own medicine cabinets. Most of the
donated drugs are left over when a person
with AIDS switches drug regimens because
of debilitating sitle effects. Since
last December, the group has delivered
some $200,000 worth of medications to
Parmers in Health, a Boston-based organization
with a clinic in Haiti which distributes
them to people with AIDS and HIV.
Partners in Health executive director
Dr. Jim Yong Kim said between 50 and
100 people in Haiti are regularly receiving
the medications gathered by the Cambridge
group. But there’s an enormous
unmet need that this effort cannot even
begin to solve without global attention -
and a global solution- to the drug crisis, he
said. "This is now an absolute disaster and
an absolute crisis," Kim said. "It’s a moral
problem, but it’s also an economic and
political problem.’"
TheWorld Health Organizationhas protocols
for donated drugs. But the organization
does not have separate guidelines for
AIDS medications, which generally involve
complex daily regimens of 15 to 20
different pills that require close medical
supervision. And the medication supply
must be consistent, because interrupting
the regimen can result in the HIV virus
becoming resistant to treatment.
Only a handful of groups send unused
AIDS drugs overseas. Kim said agencies
like his are "writing the book" on salvaging
AIDS drugs. There is no agency overseeing
the practice, no way of knowing
how common it is or whether groups are
adhering to WHO guidelines for drug donations,
according to Michael R. Reich,
acting chair of the Department of Populationand
International Health at the Harvard
School of Public Health.
But he said that while donations will
never fill the need for drugs in poor countries,
this effort highlights the problem.
"Troubling questions arise from gaps in
access," he said. "Haiti is a country with
extraordinary needs for good drugs, and
donations provide a mechanism for trying
to address the gap."
James Russo, spokesman for the Partnership
for Quality Medical Donations, an
organization composed of drug companies
and non-govemmen.tal organizations
thatTdistribute free drugs o~¢erseas, said it
is a"perfecfly reasonable and understandable
and decent thing to do."
Such donations may not technically be
legal, because the recipient is not the person
for whom the drugs were prescribed,
he said. But if the drugs are properly used
and distributed, thenpublichealthbenefits
override such legal issues. "The fact that it
needs doing is, to me, a tragic observation
about the state of public health policy," he
said. "Nothing but good can come from
¯ something like this."
¯ Sitting beside Alicea, Katherine Gaynes,
: 54, takes a thick marker and strikes from a
¯ bottle the name of the original patient, the
¯¯ doctor who made the prescription and the
pharmacy that filled it so the pills cannot
¯
be traced back to the original recipient.
¯ She said the huge overseas need for medications
frustrates her, but she’s glad she’s
¯
been able to do some good. "If the rest of
¯ the world doesn’t get better, then it doesn’t
; get better for us," she said. .
¯ Rise in HIV in Gays
And Natives Feared
¯ TORONTO (AP) - New numbers on HIV
infections in Canada point to a worrying
: trend away from safe sex in some segments
of the Gay community and a steep
¯ increase of infections among FirstNations
¯ people. The number of new infections
¯ amongmenwho have sex withmenjumped
¯ by 30% from 1996 to 1999, according to
¯ the latest report on HIV and AIDS preva-
¯ lence issued by Health Canada. The hum-
: ber of new infections among Aboriginal
¯ Peoples rose 91% over the same period.
: Some headway hadbeen made over that
: time in cutting the number ofnew cases of
_" HIV infection among injected drug users,
¯ the report said, noting the number of new
: cases declined 27% last year over 1996.
¯ "But no sooner did we do that than Gay
: men are starting to rebound again," Chris
¯ Archibald, Health Canada’s chief of HIV/
¯
AIDS epidemiology and surveillance, said
: from Ottawa on Thursday.
¯ Before 1996, Health Canada reported a
¯ steady drop in the number of new cases of
¯ HIV among Gay men, the population most
ravaged by HIV and AIDS. Gay men accounted
formore than 80% ofnew cases in
: 1981-83; by 1996, they made up less than
¯ a third (30%) of new cases of HIV infection.
Archibald said the upward trend has
¯ VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -
." A group of health-care advocates and in-
. jection drug users is aiming to make
Vancouver the first city in North America
to offer addicts a safe site to inject drugs.
¯ Whether the facility is a"hole in the wall"
¯ or a comprehensive health center will be
." determined by funding, says the Harm
." ReductionActionSociety, whichreleased
¯ its pilot project proposal last month.
." The society would like to have support
¯ from all levels, "but let’s get this straight,
we are going to do it," said board member
Dean Wilson. "One way or another, there
¯
will be such a facility or facilities," said
Ross Harvey, the executive director of the
¯ B.C. Peoples with AIDS Society.
The society would like to have a facility
¯
open before Valentine’s Day. The group,
¯ formed earlier this year, recently sent con-
¯. sultants to Frankfurt,Germany,where they
visited five sites set up in 1994. The city
¯
released proposal recently that included a
¯ safe-sites proposal,butMayorPhilipOwen
¯ rejected the idea, saying it would be a
magnet for drug addicts.
¯ also been reportedin the United States and
." the Netherlands.
Vancouver Looks
At Injection Site
sung. And the lyrics aren’t too bad, either.
He’s been performing since he was 6,
and appeared in the film "Latin Boys Go
To Hall" singing a song
"... Siegfried and Roy
have never been involved
..m ~r~ming
an.i.~.ii.a.lk. i"n the’ ir h,2ves.
They mold things around
the personality
of their animals."
And maybe, if the rest of.
us learned’ thattriek -
love ~hOUt
the ne~ for~.e~ntrol -
we’d h~ve better
ofhis owncomposition.
He’ s played some ofthe
most resi~ected venues
in NYC to critical acdaini.
’ ~
He ~is also named
by HXmagazine as one
of the ten hottest menin
NY. Judging from the
press photos, I’ll second
that. He’s currently
working with song-
.writer DesmondChilde,
knowi~ for being a
’ hitwriter forRickyMar-
.... ~ tin,Ch~,.and Ma~10nna.
He’il surprise you.
YOu’.dnever .guess he
was anice.Jewish bpy
relationships as well . frOmNew York - he~s ---got: that ~0ul sound
by Jim Christjohn, entertainment editor
Merry Yule and Winter Solstice, everyone!
This year has moved fast - hard to
believe we’ll be starting
a new millennium
soon. Hope everyone
h~ a ha~pp.y hoR.day.
~. ~- ~l~a ’frijOl, ~-Jim~
’ Brf~l~iffa~ ~rbtflrh~:t~o
Tut~d D~em6~r~5~il fdt
a a romantic ,evening bf
musicandfun. Ifyou’ve
?iaot seen his show be-
7~ore, .or
~ ing, it s well worfla it.
i?And he’s:iher~ ~ith
¯" ~onny oshioiia,’W~Ch
~’should
7~I’11 miss John Trbnes, a
i, family m.-..~~m~l~ ,~ho
~’ was here~th
year, but"J~bgt Doimy
does a grea~jdb ~i~the
songs. Ji~ can~take a
huge thOt~.~d make
. it seem
" room, and :he’s gOkgcous to boot - very
handsom~],~,Sf;.~tl~6~:~;i~uals are as good as
’the musi.~;.ye~, ~I,know...you really
" didn’t exp~t ~e t
without .mgn,ti.0~ngl something like that,
did you?.~tf!~y!~mmended; especially
as an earl~’. Yule gift for that sigfiffieant
other. 596~7111:fo fix.
If yo~J;~:i’6bidiag for nifty gffties of an
entertaiifi~ s0~t,’I have a few recomme,n,-
dations: Fir~ oifth~’list is "Chicken Run’,
just outOgDVD~dVHS. TheDVDis the
preferencehe~e, due to the fun extras they
threw ina~d the".claance to see the film as
it was preSgntetion screen, instead of only
half the.p.ivRtr¢fformatted to fit your TV)
on the VHS version. There’s two documentaries
9n ..tal.ent and how they made.
those chickens ttm; and it’s fun to see thecast
men~!~erswfiose ,v,oices you hear. And
it is so eff.~ecti~e.you I1 never eat chicken
pot pies again:-’ Favorite line: Ging,er
Chickefi,.:~.’.fig’ to explain why they re
having ~toi~i~aS escaping the chicken
farm/pfi~on"~to g doubting member of the
flock, says’ Do’you know what the problem
is? ~[]ie:fe~i~S.. aren’t just ’round the
farm, they’reuphe~e-in yourheads !" The
other chick~ep!ies,"Aw, give it up, ducks.
There’s.amillion toone chance we’ll ever
get out of her,e:, Ginger, mustering up thelast
bit of hope she has (All done with the
eyes), rep!iles, "Well . . there’s still a
chance then." And then there’s Nick and
Fletcher, a pair of rats who have a rather
mteresturg relataonship... And that s al
I’ll say about that, except I am surprised at.
a: c"ertai.n::’a:c"t.lw.?s~t2m. :t~o:,w~n; w;~ho~ di¯ dN, O""T"~fi.1re
~ff a s~i-ies:.6fl6tters aboi~t Gay i~dople"
being represented as rats... Even though
they’re really cute rats, in that rat-like
way, and help the chickens to escape.
A new artiste on the Gay scene, Ari
Gold, has a new CD out, and unlike many
artists capitalizing on the "I’m Gay and
out, so even if I suck, you should still buy
my stuff", it’s actually a really good CD,
filled with dance grooves and soulful ballads
that are slickly produced and well
down. He deserves our
Support, because he dell,v~rs.the goo~s:
Mostpr6moCDsfrom Gayarfists ’end
UPas coastdts 6tmini-frisb.ees. This one’s
akeeper. Great for dancing and romanc¯
ing, I give-it fivesnaps. He’ sgot awebsite:
WWW.ARIGOLD.COM
¯ For those~vith.cabl~;~the’Americanized
¯ ,)ersion of the British series "Queer as
~ ’ .F01k" begins airing On Sh0w~me Decem-
~ her 3rd. For.those Without c,],,ble, fihd a
¯ ’ friend that has ~it,; The~iow delivers a
:" Slice of.gffy life~th~t’ ~ ~corn~ellitag, ~pto-
,)ocative, and unlike any showyou’ll see.
For 22 riveting episodes, these unforgettable
men.andw0in~nr~veal tfiemselves -
i:eally reveal themselves - as no TV characters
ever have." Well,Iknow some folk,-
who are queer, who~ve seenthe original
British series, and if it’ s kept intact and not
Americanized todeath, it sh.ould be good.
: Happyw~ffChing!
.... " Open now is a duo offeline proportions
¯ ."in "Siegfried and Roy: The Magic Box."
i Now, I wonder if .we get to find out just
.*. :Who has that’magi box? "Siegfried and
: ’Roy: The Mhgic B6~" i~an’iMAX biopic
¯ ~Which includes’their Las V~gas a~t~ well
¯ as abiographical storyin-azstory ofhow
.’- the two men met .-as-boys in war-tom
¯ Germany, combining a love of magic,
’ ~animals, and each other to become the
." "world’S greatestillu~R~nistS."
¯ Anthony Hopkins Narrates the story of
¯ the two boys who meet on a cruise ship ¯
(oh, the fodder for puns that provides) and
~ form "a differen,,t kind of i~agic act using
¯ exotic .snimals, .: an~" als0 ~"forni ~an~ .ex-
¯ -ty.~me|y lohg ~erm ~-ela~o~s~i~. oli, the
~° :jokbs that come tomind. So much material
¯ to work with, so little space.
¯ Actually, they have my admiration and
¯ all due respect. To work and live together ¯
as long as they have and not to have killed
" each other in the process, and to have
¯ remained together, is no easy task. I have
¯ heardthem speakofthat, andhow attimes,
. you just wanna kill your parmer, but un-
" derneath it all is the love that keeps you
¯ working together - see Amuse, p. 10
GIFTS
OF T!tI
S ASON!:
COUNCIL OAK
WISHING YOU A
JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON &
A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR
PLEASE JOIN
TULSA OKLAHOMANS FOR
HUMAN RIGHTS
AS WE
CELEBRATE THE HOLIDAYS.{
HOLIDAY RECEPTION
HONORING TOHR’s 20TH ANNIVERSAF~Y
&
SILENT AUCTION
AN ~,.RT, AHTIQUES & FINE DINING.SHOWCASE
SUNDAY, DECEMBER | 0
4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
TULSA GAY COMMUNI’~Y
SERVICES CENTER
2114 S MEMORIAL
PARADE OF LIGHTS
Come celebrate the spirit of the holiday season
at the AEP-Public Service Company of Oklahoma
Christmas Parade of Lights, Satu rday, Decem ber
9, downtown Tulsa at 6 p.m. View parade floats
up close, Friday, DecemberS, at the HolidayFest
(Brady Arts District) from 7 - 9 p.m.
PUBLIC
SERVICE
COMPANY OF
OKLAHOMA®
by Karin Gregory
GEls, have you ever had that Gay male
friend who does everything with you? A
Will to your Grace?AJack to your Karen?
The oneman-for some of you, theONLY
man - to whom you’d tell your secrets?
Who is warm, caring, loving,
a great listener, and in
many cases,has betterfashion.
sense than you? The
one man you can talk to all
night long? That guy who
will, even across the miles,
allow you to cry on his
shoulder about your girlfriend?
And you still remember
your own tearstained
shoulders from
when he knocked on your
door at 3 a.m. Most ofus, if
we’re lucky, have a guy
who would be the perfect
partnerforapolitically correct"
family value" couple
if he became a woman and
we became a man.
ButI’m nottalking about
him here. This is another Gay man who
possesses none ofthe abovequalities. Sure,
he can be a nice guy- whenhe wants to be.
And he DOES have better fashion sense
than I, although that’s no stretch. Butwhile
I embracedmy.Gayness before embracing
another woman, he did his embracing, and
whatever rise (eeeewww!) earl~, on, and
never really learned to enjoy being Gay.
"How sad," you might say. Don’t feel
sorry for him. Especially when you find
out where I’m spending my days lately.
Great house, DirecTV, MUCH cleaner
thanmy place, and the perfect party home.
I had become - how shall I say? - financially
non-existent and couldn’t pay my
rent (sounds like a musical, doesn’t it?).
My friend - let’s call him Vincent - offered
to put me up in his house for a few
months. OK, let’s talk realism. He was
looking for someone to help him with the
house payments. I would get oneroom and
a bathroom, as opposed to my car. Most
people in my situation wouldjump at this
arrangement. Although it .would save me
$400, the cost in psycffiatric visits overmy
lifetime would soon absorb the savings.
Let’s just say that we were the other"Odd
Couple." Picture a much more obsessive/
compulsive, anal retentive Felix Unger,
who is also emotionally constipated, and
you have Vincent. You’re not where I am
now, and I hope you never are. Let me tell
you how I got here through a progression
of nightly entries.
¯DAY ONE - Got to Vincent’s house
about 10:45 tonight after work. I can already
tell our work schedules are going to
conflict as he made a great show of"having"
to be up this late. This was HIS idea,
remember. He showed me the alarm system.
God, it feels like Fort Knox in here,
motion detectors and all. He also gave me
an extra key and garage door opener. It all
feels so official. This IS just a trial run,
after all. I’m relegated immediatdy to my
room, as small as a nun’s cell. He said I
could have one piece of furniture, but
there’s no room for anything else. i’ve
¯ been calling and calling my girlffien.: all
: night, getting nothing but a busy sig:m!
: That makes me anxious and frightenex~, se
: I tall Vincent what’s going on, hoping to
¯¯ get some sympathy. While I try to hug ¯ : : ~, : :, "ra.m,.~.com.p~,.a~ps.....Oh
"...G~gr~|s,. ,halve you no," in’d very pugquttbhe
of voi~qe; his~us~tml t0ne. He e erMd Gay pU s n< "ar0 a.me
male friend whodoes VERY gingerlg: try’ing to
everythln~ with you?
A Will to
your Grace?
A Jack to
your Karen?
The one man - for
some of you, the
ONLY man - to
whom you’d tell
your secrets?.. ?’
much me as little as possible,
as if I’m a Lesbian
leper. After he leaves, I get
into the closet (I thought
I’d left that for good!) so as
not to wake him, and call
my friend Jim. He gives
me a bigger hug over the
phone from Tulsa than I
got from Vincent. I pull
out my CD player and listen
to Melissa Etheridge
(who else?). Somehow it
makes me feel dominant.
DAY TWO - After dedaring
thatmy alarm woke
him from the other side of the house, he
leaves. Now I can walk aroundlike I want.
Ooops! I forget that he leaves the kitchen
blinds open. Well, his neighbors will just
be confused. They thooght they were living
near a Gay man!.Oa my way to work,
I find my girlfriend has called to let me
know she’s all right, which should put me
at ease, but the thought of having to live
with Vincent depresses me. It already feels
like I’m giving upmy life to live according
to his schedule. WhenI arrive at his house,
I’m in less than a pleasant mood. Anger
sets in when I realize that I forgot to tape
"Will and Grace." It doesn’t help that
Vincent goes on andon abouthow this was
the funniest episode he’s ever seen. "Did
youtapeit?" I askhopefully, already knowing
the answer. "No, I was home to watch
it," he says, cleaning up the kitchen in a
"don’t youdaremake amess" way. Selfish
bastard! This further proves my point that
when a man asks you into his life, for
whatever reason, he really means, "I want
to live my life as I always have, with no
compromises. You’ll just be around when
andif I need you." NowonderI’m Gay! He
woulddrive Pat Buchanan’s wife to Lesbianism.
I pop my popcorn (the only thing
I’ve had since noon today), and the only
thing allowed to me. I once again listen to
Melissa, who has a strangeway ofempowering
me. I fall asleep, dreaming of using
a stun gun on Vincent repeatedly.
DAY THREE-Today’s finally Friday,
and I might be allowed to watch some TV
tonight. I’m fine all day until I enter
Vincent’s abode. We’re eating pizza, and
he’s buying, an obvious splurge. But we
disagree on TV programming, so he
watches something in his room while I
have the living room all to myself to watch
a Beatles special. I’ve figured out one
thing - never trust anyone who hates the
Beatles. It’s positively UnAmerican! Another
night of silence until he comes into
the living room to switch channels so he
can watch the news. seeLesbian,p.11
by Lamont Lindstrom
"Gifts make slaves just as whips make
dogs," or so says one bit of Native American
wisdom. Keep this in mind during the
upcoming holiday orgy of giving and receiving.
Grits aremorethan
just tokens of affection.
They are’als0 ~gminde~s of
obligati’On ahdl du~. Giging
is politiCak ~Pd]~h~ps~ I
give you a present because
°I like you. Butifyou accept
mypresent,you also accept
that you are indebted to me
- at least until you can pay
me back.
Ihad, once, a studentfrom
Saudi Arabia whose father
was in the rug trade. "I’m
contacting my father," he
told me near the end of the
term. "I’d like to give you a
carpet." Oh no, I thought,
visions of Baluchis and
Kilims dancing inmy head.
How amI going to g~vehim
the "D" that he deserves?
Luckily, he presented me
with a cheap synthetic
prayer rug decorated,with
garish neon cameIs, worth
only a few dollars down at
yourlocal bazaar. I wasn’t that muchii~’his
debt after all, and I graded him down with
a lighter heart.
l~erhaps we all have had an experience
of over-receiving. Somebody g~ves us
something that is waytoo much. What can
he have in mind? What does he want in
return?A pesky acquaintance surprises us
with afine leatherjacket. But what does he
expect?A closer friendship?A date? Need
we give it up?
The fancy anthropological word for gift
giving is "reciprodty." I give something
to you, and you give something back to
me. Such exchange can be balanced or
imbalanced. Either way,. this says something
about power. If we engage in prolonged,
imbalanced gift giving, we find
ourselves in an enduring relationship of
inequality. Those fine presents have made
us into dogs and slaves.
Parents, for instance, give a lot more to
children thanchildren giveto parents. This
exchangeimbalancefuels parental authority.
Few morns and dads hand their children,
on their 18th birthdays, a bill for
$186,000. Ratherthan reciprocating the
exact dollar cost of raising us, we repay
parents in obedience. "As long as you live
inMYhouse, you’ll do what I say!" Those
gifts come with strings. .
To avoid, obligfiroh~ we must balance
gift giving. Only balanced exchange cre:
ates equality. If some one gives us a holiday
present, we feel pressured togive a
present in return. Failure to reciprocate
means either that we don’tmind shouldering
this debt and its obligations, or that we
want to break things off altogether. Does
morn send out the family’ s holiday cards?
What does she do when someone fails to
reciprocate? Cross him off the list!
Sometimes exchangeimbalancepersists
¯ for years, however. My dentist sends me a
¯ Christmas card annually. Butdo I sendone
¯ back? Nope. In this case, I amrude enough
¯ to take without giving. But I understand
¯" the deal implied by this imbalanced exchange~
I take my mouth
around to his office every
six months.
My friends in the South
Pacific go to huge efforts
to raise and give away pigs
just to get their neighbors’
pigs in return. If would be
far easier for all villagers
to eat their own pigs. But
what of us? .We are madcap
enough to enrich the
Post Office every December
by mailing, around a
blizzard of Christmas
cards. I send out about 60
each year, and in return I
receive 60 back. But if I
really am so desperate for
cards to clutterupmymantelpiece,
why don’t I just
keep those that I buy? I’d
save a 10t on postage that
way.
My island friends are
fanatic giftbalancers. They
keep exact records of how
] many pigs, baskets, and mats they receive
¯¯ so that they can give the same in return.
Butthey sometimes over-give- just alittle.
¯ This iitfleextra gift, which al~O must be
"... Perhaps we all
~have had an experhne¢
of over-reeelvlng.
Somebody gives us
something that is way
too much. What can
he have in mind?
What does he want in
return? A peshy
aeq~intanee surp~ses
us ~th a fine l~ther
~aeket. But w~t
does he expect?
A closer friendship?
A ~te? Need we
give it up... ?"
repaid at some point, keeps the :relationship
moving along.
Balanced exchanges celebrate the fact that
we are still investing in the relationship.
Youremain important to me. Butif I amto
stay your equal, I need to give you about
what you give me. I am embarrassed if I
return too little OR ff I return too much.
Imbalance in either direction implies either
that I don’t care about us as much as
you do, or that I am trying to obligate you.
Given the importance of exchange balance,
it is perverse that we remove price
tags and wrap presents. It’s a bit of a game.
We see through these pretenses that "it’s
the thought that counts." As experienced
givers, we are pretty good at striking a
balance despite the absence ofprice tags or
the concealment of gift-wrap. When a
friend drops off a gaily-wrapped present
for you, shake that box! Make a mistake in
what you give back and it could be the
doghouse for you!
Lamont Lindstrom teaches anthropology
at the University of Tulsa.
and frommurdering each other. They have
also managed to survive a business that
chews you up and spits you out.
It’s easy to makejokes at their expense,
but you know, there is a magic there, that
they’ve been able to survive that business
- andremain together, whenI’m sure there
were many times it wouldhavebeenmuch
easier to split under the pressure.
see Amuse, p. 11
Timothy W. Daniel
Attorney at Law
An Attorney who will fight for justice
& equality for Gays & Lesbians
Domestic .Partnership Planning,
Personal Injury, Criminal Law & Bankruptcy
1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
128 East Broadway, Drumright, Oklahoma
Weekend and evening appoinlrnenls are available.
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ody
Tulsa’s only
professional
body-piercing
College Hill
-Presbyterian Church
In response to God’s Love,
College Hill Presbyterian Church
is a community of God’s people
called to tell others the
Gospd of-J~sus Christ
through worship,
- service, and evangelism.
To nurture our faith, we gather for
worship, prayer,
study and fellowship.
Trusting in a living~ loving God,
we seek to become a compassionate
voice for peace and justice.
Our congregation welcomes all
persons who respohd in trust and
obedience to God’s grace
in Jesus Christ, and desire to become
part of the membership and ministry
of Christ’s church.
Membership is open:.to all people
regardless of race, ethnic origin,
worldly condition, marital status, or
sexual orientation.
Sunday Worship 1 lam-
712 S. Columbia Ave., 592-5800
(Ohe block west of Delaware and the
University of Tulsa Campus)
This without saying a word to me. After -
seeing how the candidates STILL can’t "
decide this election, I put on my pajamas. "
That’s all, I swear. When I come out at ¯
9:20, the TV is turned off, along with the ¯
lights. My dorm mother has declared my
curfew. One thought goes through my "
head - I’m going to kill him; I’m going to ¯
kill him; I’m going to kill him. Big kitchen
knives flash through my mind. I go to bed "
at 9:20, again listening to Melissa. She’s "
giving me the wrong kind of strength, :
think.
DAY FOUR- This is the last day, but I "
have to spend it with HIM. I see my stu- ¯
dents at my Saturday class, knowing this :
will probably be the last time I teachi I’ve ¯
made up my mind as I arrive at Vincent’s. "
He ignores me, as usual, while he watches ¯
gymnastics on TV, laughing for some tea- ¯
son. Hewon’t laugh forlong. Even though ~
I hate the color and look bffd in it, orange :
jumpsuits will be my style for the next 20
years. Hey, they let you write,letters~in ¯
prison. Ev~nLestian~olumns, I veheard. :
"Goodbye Vincent!" 5" by Karin Gregor
#2238769480, Cell BlockH ¯
ofthe"diversity" statement whichincluded :
"sexual orientation," saying he wouldhave :
noticed its inclusion. ¯
In response,’sev~al ~gregation have
commi~ted to re=examining their endorse:
ment of the document? College Hill Pres- ¯
byterian Church and’ Fellowship Congre- "
gational Church will’bring the.issue back
to theirgov.ernmg boards. ,Andsomemere- "
bers of MCC~United, Tulsa s Metropoli: ¯
tan Community Church, members of
predominatelyLesbianand Gay denomi- "
nation, are concerned about their church’s ¯
endorsement of a statement which does
not acknowledge the existence of Lesbian -"
and Gay persons. :
The welcoming committee of Community
Unitarian-Universalist Congregation ¯
has drafted a letter to TMM saying, "we
erred in our endorsement of this state- "
ment"because thefailure toinclude sexual ¯
orientation is in conflictwith the values of ¯
the congregation and the letter further says ,"
that they wilt not endorse any future state- "
ments which are not inclusive. ¯
Other groups such as Holland Hall ¯
School, the Episcopal Diocese of Okla: "
homa, and the Eastern Oklahoma :
Presbytery -: Presbyterian Church USA, ¯
have been asked to explain their support :
for a statement which is not compatible .
with their policies. In the case of the Episcopal
Diocese and. Holland Hall School, :
staff and religious leaders were not sure if ¯
the organization’s names had been used "
with permission. ¯
Tulsa Oklahomans for Human Rights :
(TOHR), the state’s oldest civil rights or- ¯
ganization has discussed the issue at a "
recentboardandmembershipmeeting and
president, Greg Gatewood stated that he ¯
would seek a meeting with Rana and Day :
to request an explanation of the exclusion
of "sexual orientation" from the state- ¯
ment. Further action on the part of the
organization will vary depending on their
responses.
Other congregations which signed the
"diversity" statement, like the city’s Episcopal
parishes and its Unitarian-Universalists
congregations, all of whom have
histories of being fair to Lesbian and Gay
Tulsans are also being asked to consider
withdrawing their support for the statement
because of the failure to include
"sexual orientation."
And they’ve remained incredibly successful
throughout the years andups anddowns
that showbiz life provides. Living with
someone 5 years is a major feat, much less
working with them as well. And even in
relative anonymity, it’s hard enough. To
have survived and remain together as long
as they have - 43 years - is a major feat.
FYI, Royis 5 years younger thanSiegfried.
About the biographical aspects of the
film, Roy says "It’s ~way~ a difficult step
to open yourself up beeauge ~ou make
yourself very vulnerabl~. That fneans you
have to let your guard down andeveryone
has access to you." Scary iild~gd. The
cameras were allowed full access to the
home and grounds of theirestate’. He goes
on to say "I have to say;~it’s~ been pretty
good to do it. It goes way badk" to when I
was a boy. I had a catching smile, but in
reality I was a loner. I wa~ n0t too good
with people. As a mattel: offact, I didn’t
trustinpeople. I trustedmy animals more."
I can relate to that.
The interesting thing is that,-aozording
to producer Bernie Yuman,’"Roy has a
bond with these animals whereby there’s
no force. Force createsforce. There’s alot
of love. There’s a lot of.voice intonation
and camaraderie - and a lot of meat - but
affection and conditioning, Roy’s never
trained an animal, and Siegfried and Roy
have never been involved.in, training ammalsin
their lives. Theymoldthings around
the personality of their animals." And
maybe, if the rest of us learned that tricklove
without the need for control - we’d
have longer lasting relationships .as well.
Food for thought. And so, for all the nasty
S&Rjokes I could make, I find I reallyjust
have too much respect for what they’ve
accomplished to make them.
In the film, you get behind the scenes
visits to their home - which is like designer
overkill, given their taste_~or opulence.
And you get to see their private
wildlife sanctuary, where they live with
and raise the white tigers used in the act.
Their love of the animals is evident.
It’s filmed in 3-D, so you’ll be able to
see Siegfried and Roy up close and personal.
Numerous digital techniques were
used to recreate the Europe of their childhoods.
As for the magic shots, they were
specifically filmed uncut as master shots,
so that the audience would no that no
camera tricks were used. Andrew Dunlap,
who plays young Roy, was also in the all
male version of "Importance of Being
Earnest," which was interesting to note.
Also playing is Fantasia 2000 and 3D
Mania: Encounter in the 3rd Dimension;
71st and Highway 169.
Healing
E
E ECT IIII
AIDS Memorial Quilt
re.n.esS
World AIDS Day Candlelight Memorial March
Friday, December 1st, 6:30pm
Tulsa Civic Center Plaza, 5th & Denver
The NAMES Project Quilt Opening, 8pm
This advertisement is donated by Tulsa Family News. TFN appreciates the opportunity to support this showing of the Quilt, and The NAMES Project.
Original Format
newspaper
periodical
periodical
Files
Citation
Tulsa Family News, “[2000] Tulsa Family News, December 2000; Volume 7, Issue 12,” OKEQ History Project, accessed April 24, 2024, https://history.okeq.org/items/show/607.