[2001] Tulsa Family News, October 2001; Volume 8, Issue 10
Title
[2001] Tulsa Family News, October 2001; Volume 8, Issue 10
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
October 2001
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, September 2001; Volume 8, Issue 9
Format
Image
PDF
Online text
Online text
Language
English
Type
newspaper
periodical
periodical
Identifier
https://history.okeq.org/items/show/617
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
Bin Laden Joins Anti-Gay
Terrorist on Wanted List
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Osama bin Laden isn’ t the
only terrorist bombing suspect on the FBI’ s Ten Most
Wanted list. Right here at home, the bureau is still
hunting for Eric Robert Rudolph in connection with the
1996 Olympics bombing and other crimes.
And some of the parallels are striking: both are
trained soldiers and survivalists, accused of killing to
further extreme religious and political beliefs. Both
have eluded capture for years among sympathetic souls
in mountainous terrain, despite a huge price on their
heads. For nearly four years, agents have combed the
sawtooth ridges ofwestern North Carolinafor Rudolph,
an Army veteran and sometime carpenter charged with
four bombings, including fatal blasts at the Atlanta
Games and at an Alabama abortion clinic.
Rudolph was last seen in the area in July 1998 after
stealing supplies from a health store.owner. His truck
had been spotted there early that year. see Terror, p. 2
Iowa Rights Group Says
Add Sexual Orientation
DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) "The Iowa Civil Rights
Commission is recommending that the state’s civil
rights law specifically prohibit discrimination based on
sexual orientation. The commission voted 6-1 in September
to recommend that the Legislature add sexual
orientation to the wording of the law, marking the first
time it has gone on record backing that step.
Commission member Alicia Claypool said the move
makes sense, because there’s strong evidence of discrimination.
Republican legislative leaders have opposed
the step, saying the inclusion of Gays in the law
gives them special treatment.
A commission subcommittee that studied the proposal
said the state is facing a looming shortage of
workers and diversity is one way tO attract new people
to the state. "If we are to grow and remain a vital and
productive state, we must create a current and future
workforce that is stable, wall-educated and sees Iowa as
a viable place in which to grow up, live and work," said
a subcommittee memo.
The commission’ s recommendation likely will spark
a renewed round of debate over an issue that’ s been
around for years. The state’s civil rights law protects
people from discrimination in employment, housing
and lending based on age, color, creed, national origin,
race, religion, marital status, sex, physical disability, or
familial status:
Backers long have said that Gays and Lesbians face
discrimination as well andthat sexual orientation should
be added to the list. The Legislature specifically rejected
that step because Republicans did not want to
approve a measure they said gave special protection to
Gays. Gov. Tom Vilsack issued an executive order in
1999 that also would have banned discrimination based
Serving:Lesbian, .Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Out’Families.+ Friends
i Male on Male Rape at Webster
i Some Speculate Whether Anti-Gay Bias at Issue
¯¯ TULSA, Okla. (AP)-Two 14:year-old football players accused
of raping a teammate with a broom handle won’t be tried as
: adults, prosecutors said. The Tulsa County District Attorney’s
." Office filed rape by instrumentation charges in juvenile court
¯ against theWebster High School students. ¯
The boys are accused of forcing a 14-year-old freshman
: football player to a school locker room floor and raping him with
¯. a broom handle Sept. 21. An hour later, the students allegedly
_. spanked the same boy with a weight belt and pelted his genitals
with traffic cones. Students said no affults were in the locker room
¯ when the alleged rape occurred.
~ Tulsa Police spokesman Lucky Lamons responded that police
¯ detectives claimtherewas no anti-Gay verbal abusewhich could
indicate that this assault had aspects of a hate crime. However,
¯ several longtime community activists from TOHR and PFLAG
i speculated that the assault may have ties to issues of actual or
¯ perceived sexual orientation. Officer Lamons noted that detec-
¯ tives feel one ofthe motives may have been that victim was small.
¯: The accused have been releasedfrom ajuvenile shelter on bail.
¯ Their case will remain in thejuvenile system, where the focus is
: on rehabilitation rather than punishment, said Assistant District
: Attorney Rebecca Nightingale. She said the district attorney’s
¯ office will not seek adult certification for the teens. Prosecutors
¯ considered the boys’ sophistication and maturity, their record
: and history, the likelihood of rehabilitation in the juvenile sys-
¯ tern, and the prospects for protection of the public, she said.
: Fourteen student-athletes were suspended after the incident,
: and Webster’ s ninth-grade football season has been canceled.
: Five students received the maximum penalty allowed under
¯ the school district’ s code of conduct - suspension for the rest of
¯ the academic year. They also were banned from ever participati
ing in school sports in the district. The other nine students got
¯ five-day or 10,day suspensions.
¯" Superintendent David Sawyer warned coaches and school
district employees this week not to tolerate or ignore hazing and
: bullying;
i TOHR Drops State Bank
i overAnti-Bias Policy
: TULSA (TFN)-TulsaOklahomaus forHumanRights
." (TOHR) recently transfered its business from State
Bank and BancOne to Bank of Oklahoma because of
: BOk has an dear non-discrimination policy which
¯ includes "sexual orientation."
." Under the direction of the organization’ s treasurer,
AngelaBruce, letters were written toTOHR’ s former
i bank, informing them of the reason for the change.
¯ According to TOHR spokesman, Greg Gatewood,
¯ the move was really about doing business with those
: who support thecommunity_ and not doing business
¯ with those who do not. Gatewoodnoted that the funds
: were not an enormous amount but should have been
¯. enough to get the institution’ s attention.
¯ Bank ofOklahoma instituted a non-discrimination ¯
policy which includes "sexual orientation" a couple
i of years ago, and is the only bank in Tulsa which has
¯ included the Lesbian and Gay community in’ its
: marketing outreach. State Bank’s president Don
¯ Walker was not available for comment at press time.
¯ Candidate for US Congress at TOHR
¯ On Tuesday, NOvember 13, Democratic candidate
: for Oklahoma’s First Congressional District, Dong
: Dodd will speak at the Community Center at 21st and
¯ Memorial at 7pro. TOHR organizers note that Cathy
: Keating, one of three Republican candidates has also
: been invited to meet withTOHRand the community.
: Keating, unlike many Oklahoma Republicans, has
¯ stated that her campaign will exclude no one and
: while announcing her candidacy at the Tulsa Press
¯ Club, Mrs. Keating noted that she was not very
¯ familiarwiththeconcemsofLesbianandGayTulsans,
~ but she is willing to educate herself. And Dodd has
¯ stated publicly his opposition to a constitutional
¯ amendment to ban same gender marriages.
: Slow Come, Quick Go
i KS County Gives, Now May Drop Benefits
¯ WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Sedgwick County’s new
¯ insurance benefits for unmarried domestic partners
¯ may not last more than a week.
¯ County commissioners appear to have the votes to overturn County Manager William Buchanan’ s deci-
" sion to offer employees the option of extending their
; health coverage to gay or straight partners. Employ-
" ees were told of their option to cover domestic part-
"¯ hers in apacket ofmaterials outlininginsuranceplans
¯ for 2002. Commissioners put the item on their agenda after
¯: receiving numerous phone calls and e-mails from
.. constituents who say the policy gives official sane-
. tion to "sinful" unions.
¯ Commissioner Tim Norton said he originally was
¯ willing to defer to Buchanan and the county’ s human
¯ resources staff. But now, he said, he would probably ¯
vote to rescind the policy because that’s what resi-
: dents have toldhim they want. "I don’ t know that this
: is the right time, or the right place, for us to be
¯ stepping out and taking a leadership role on a social
¯ issue like this," he said.
¯ Commissioners Carolyn McGiunandBen Sciortino
: said last week that they oppose the policy because
¯ they think the county’s health benefits should be
: reserved for employees and their immediate families
¯ only. see-Wichita, p.]O
DIRECTORY
EDITORIAL
US & WORLD NEWS
Z ENTERTAINMENT+ MORE
¯ Rocky Horror Benefit, Oct. 27
¯ TULSA (TFN) - Tulsa’ s downtown Doubletree Hotel will host
: a new Halloween gala event which will benefit Tulsa Oklaho-
¯ mans for Human Rights (TOHR) and the Pyramid Project - the ¯
capital campaign to purchase a permanent community center.
¯ Helga’ s Horfibles will perform live their version of the Rocky
¯ Horror Picture Show beginning at 8:15, featuringHelga,Animal, ¯
Peaches Lennox, Anita Richards, Shirley Nott, Scott, Brenda
¯ Lynn Stewart, Patti, Crystal Meth and Johnny Cronin, all di-
¯ rected by Timothy Snapp.
: After the show, the Time Warp Masquerade Ball will go till
¯ midnight. Costumes are en,co.uraged, ID is required and tickets
: are $25 in advance (at Ken s Flowers, Salon 41, the Pride Store
¯" at the Center and on line at www.Pyramidproject.org) or $30 at
¯° the door. VIP tickets and tables are available. The event will offer
¯" a cash bar, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, party pies, valet
parking and a dj.
: Mr. Oklahoma Leather to Aid TOHRKulsa CARES
¯ The Mr. Oklahoma Leather contest which will be held atCW" s
: on Oct. 19-21 will benefit TOHR/the Community Center and
¯
Tulsa C.ARES. For more information, call CW" s at 610-5323.
¯ Other Community News
¯ On Saturday, Oct. 13, PFLAG is having a Come Out and Fly
¯ Your Kite event in honor of National Coming Out Day (NCOD)
¯ at a local park. Call PFLAG at 749-4901 for more information:
¯ . Annual AIDS Walk, Oct. 6, 9:00am
¯ Saturday, Oct. 6, TulsaAIDSWalk 2001 will begin and end at ¯
Veterans Park at 21st and Boulder (site of the annual Diversity
." Festival). Funds raised at the event help TCAP, the Tulsa Com-
¯" munityAIDS Partnership (TCAP). All funds will be increasedby
¯ 50% withmatching dollars from the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
TCAP helps to fund the following groups: RAIN, the
¯ Regional AIDS Interfaith Network, Tulsa CARES, theAmerican
¯ Red Cross, Red Rock Behavioral Health Services and HOPE
Testing Clinic. The Walk is now eight years old and has raised
: thousands of dollars for direct care and education/prevention for
HEALTH NEWS
on sexual orientation in state hiring, but legislative : HIV/AIDS. It is an all volunteer effort which has no administra_ : ~ GAYSTUDIES P. 10/~1
leaders successfully argued see Iowa, p.2 ¯ tive costs For more information, call 585-5551 ¯ --- ---- ~
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*CW’ s, 1737 S. Memorial
*Play-Mor, 424 S. Memorial
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*Schatzi’ s, 2619 S. Memorial
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*TNT’ s, 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box I!, 1338 E. 3rd
*Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
*The Yellow Brick Road Pub, 2630 E. 15th
832-1269
610-5323
838-9792
744-4280
585-3405
745-9998
280-1316
834-4234
660-0856
584-1308
835-2376
749-1563
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard 743-1000
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 250-5034
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 523 1 E. 41 665-4580
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15 712-1122
*Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21 712-9955
*Borders Books & Music, 8015 S. Yale 494-2665
Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria 743-5272
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria 746-0313
*Cheap Thrills, 2640 E 1 lth 295-5868
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis 581-0902, 743-4117
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker 622-0700
Tim Danid, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan
Encompass Travel, 13161H N. Memorial
Ross Edward Salon 584-0337,
Events Unlimited, 507 S. Main
Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. Peoria
Four Star Import Automotive, 9906~E. 55th H.
Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr.
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare
*Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st
Leanne M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly
*International Tours
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th
*Jared’ s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering
The Keepers, Housekeeping & Gardening
*Ken’s Flowers, 1635 E. 15
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210
*Living ArtSpace, 308 South Kenosha
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd
Mingo Valley ~Flowers, 9720c E. 31
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo
*The Pride Store
Rainbowz on the River B+B, PUB 696, 74101
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning
Teri Schutt, Ellen & Co.
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis
Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counsding
*Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis
www.gaytulsa.org - website for Tulsa Gays & Lesbians
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, PUB 4337, 74101 579-9593
All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria 743-2363
Black & White, Inc. PUB 14001, Tulsa 74159 587-7314
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6 583-7815
B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr. 583-9780
Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th PI. & Florence
Church of the Restoration UU, 1314N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community of Hope Church, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
Coundl Oak Men’ s Chorale 748-3888
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712-1511
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457
749-3620
744-5556
838-8503
369-8555
712-9379
592-0460
744-9595
610-0880
628-3709
808-8026
742-1460
459-9349
744-7440
745-1111
341-6866
712-2750
582-3018
747-0236
582-8460
599-8070
747-5466
585-1234
584-3112
663-5934
664-2951
838-7626
743-4297
747-5932
834-0617
834-7921,748-0224
481-0558
835-5563
743-1733
665-2222
592-0767
¯ 918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
." PUB 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 o! The Associated Press
¯ Issued around the 1 st ofeach month, the entire contents of this
¯ publication are protected by US copyright 2001 by Tulsa
¯ Family News andmay not be reproduced either in whole or in
¯ part without written permission from the publisher. Publica-
.- lion 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 Tulsa Family News. Each reader is entitled to 4
¯ copies of each edition at distribution points.
¯ Additional copies are available by Calling 583-1248.
: Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa- Lesbian & Gay Catholics &
: Episcopalians, PUB 701475, 74170-1475 ¯ 355-3140 *Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
." *Free SpiritWomen’ s Center,call forlocation &info: 587-4669
¯ Friend For A Friend, PUB 52344, 74152 747-6827 ¯
Friends inUnity Social Org., PUB 8542, 74101 582-0438 ¯ *Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E..Admiral 834-4194
." HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
¯ *HouseoftheHoly SpiritMinstries,1517 S.Memorial 224-4754 ¯
*MCC United,-1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715 ¯ NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111
¯ NOW, Nat’l Org. forWomen, PUB 14068, 74159 365-5658 ¯
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), PUB 9165, 74157
¯ *OSU-Tulsa
¯ PFLAG, PUB 52800, 74152 749-4901
¯ *Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152 627-2359 ¯ R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
¯ *Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
¯ St. Aidan’ s Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cincinnati 425-7882 ¯
St. Dlmstan’s Episcopal, 5635 E. 71st 492-7140 ¯ *St. Jerome’ s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088
; Soulforce-OK, Rt.4,#3534,Stigler74462 587-3248,452-2761
¯ *TulsaArea United Way, 1430 S Boulder 583-7171
" *TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225 ¯ Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 E. 15 595-4105
¯ Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only ¯
¯ TulsaOkla. for Human Rights, Gay Comm. Center 743-4297
TUL-PAC, PositiveAdvocacy Coalition, POB2687,Tulsa 74101
¯ T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform]Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
*Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
¯. *Tulsa Community College Campuses
¯
*Tulsa Gay Community Center, 21st & Memorial 743-4297
¯ Unity Churchof Christianity, 3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833
: BARTLESVILLE
¯" Bardesville Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
TAHLEQUAH
¯. Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
¯ Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church - 918-456-7900
¯ Green Country AIDS Coalition, PUB 1570 918-453-9360
¯ EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
¯ Autunm Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23 501-253-7734
¯ Jim & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main 501-253-7457
¯ DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. 501-253-6807
¯ Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. 501-253-5445
¯ Heart of the Hills B&B, 5 Summit St. 501-363-9203
." MCC of the Living Spring 501-253-9337
: Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, PUB 429 501-253-2776
.- Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery 501-253-5332
¯ Positive Idea Marketing Hans 501-624-6646
: White Light, 1 Center St. 501-253-4074
¯
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
¯ Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 417-623-4696
: * is whereyou canfindTFN. NotallareGay-owned butallare Gay.friendly.
Authorities say they also ran across some of
his camping sites and found garbage or
buried debris connected to him.
Now,a taskforce coordinating the Rudolph
search has dwindled from 200 agents to just
afew. "No question that the focus rightnow
for the immediate need of agents for time
and resources" is to investigate last week’ s
terror attacks, said Patrick Crosby, a spokes~
man for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta.
But Crosby added: "Nobody’ s dropping
anything on Rudolph or the investigation."
Rudolph, for whose capture an award of $1
million has been offered, is believed to adhere
to Christian Identity, a white supremacist
religion that is rabidly anti-Gay, anti-
Semitic and anti-foreigner. Sdme of the four
bombs Rudolph was charged with planting
included messages from the shadowy"Army
of God."
Western North Carolina has long had a
reputation as ahavenforright-wing extremists.
Many there mocked the government’ s
inability to find Rudolph with bloodhounds,
infrared-equippedhelicopters and space-age
motion detectors- and some said they would
hide him if asked.
Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi who helped
push the Soviets out of Afghanistan, has
likewise become an almost mythic figure in
Islamic militant circles. His protectors have
not been swayed by a $5 million bounty.
"These are both men who are pursuing
their personally received messages, supposedly
from God, and who are ruthless as a
result," said Mark Potok, who tracks domestic
terrorists for the Southern Poverty Law
Center in Montgomery, Ala.
"presumably, there’s a litde more national
will involved in the bin Laden case,"
he says. ’¢Fhis is a sdckin the eye ofAmerica
inaway that the Rudolph attacks really were
not."
i Cummins Ends
¯ Support for Scouts
in court that he had exceeded his authority.
Vilsack challenged lawmakers to take that
step on their own, but the issue hash’ t been
debated since the legal battle. Republican
legislative leaders have refused to bring the
measure up for debate.
Subcommittee members said the numbers
alone argue for protecting Gays and
Lesbians, because estimates are that up to
4% of the state’ s population is Gay, roughly
114,500 people. That’ s a larger population
than the 2.8% of the state that is Hispanic
and2.1% African-Americanpopulation, they
said.
¯ COLUMBUS, Ind. - Heavy engine manu-
¯ facturer Cummins Inc. almonnced Sept. 18
¯ it plans to stop sponsoring an event that
¯ raises money for the Boy Scouts ofAmerica
¯ because of the organization’ s ban on Gays
¯ serving as troop leaders, according to The
¯ Associated Press.
¯ Cnmmins has beenamajor donor to scout-
¯ ing programs, in Indiana’s Bartholomew
¯" County. seeScouts,p.11
by Rich Tafel
Everything in America has changed since the attacks of
September 11,2001. While.Americans return to work and
theirdaily lives, Washington-based special interest groups
are struggling to figureout where to go from here.
The Sierra Club, which earlier this year saw an increase
infundraising fromils attacks onnewly-inaugurated President
George W. Bush, has sent a memo to their leading
members instructing them to stop bashing the president.
Other groups preparing to spend millions onad campaigns
to fight the "lfckbox" budget wars have gone silent.
Democrats and Republicans are working together.
Gay organizations are not sure how to respond. The
debate in Washington. now revolves around a central
question - do Gay groups move ahead with the "old"
agenda items? Dothey put Gay-specific issues on hold?
Or, do they rise to meet the new challenges fa,c.ing Gay
Americans in this new period, even ifthey don t fit what
-these groups have long argued was "the Gay agenda"?
Tome whathas ehangedmost since September 11 is the
rubric for debate. Throughout the years, Gay activists
have relied on a paradigm of "victimization" to formulate
their agenda for advancing our community’ sinterests. A
divergence of reality began to take place, where our
political leaders argued our lives were getting worse and
worse while, in reality, we were gaining greater acceptance.
In the end, Gay.politics became dominated by a
"virtual victimization, with our own sogiety full of enemies
oppressing us. Obscured by this paradigm was the
reality that, while we still have barriers to dear, life for
Gay Americans has never been better.
The "virtual victimization" paradigm may have fit the
time. But there was a cost. Gay Americans who bought
into this paradigm were left to believe that the power to
live life on their own terms 4s outside their control.
"Virtual victims’" become increasingly alienated from
society, moreinward-driven, and less connected to a sense
of personal responsibility about how their lives tnm out.
We’ 11 look back on the 1990’ s with an almost embarrassing
realization of just how self-absorbed we were. The
same Gay community whose political leaders demanded
employment anti-discrimination laws and hate crime protections
was travding on RSVP cruises, packing warehouse
circuit parties, and filling black-tie dinner halls to
hear keynote addresses from Hollywood celebrities.
If the attack on September 11 shocked our nation back
to reality, it might do the same for the Gay movement. At
LEF’s July leadership conference, entitled "Redefining
the Gay Agenda," syndicated columnist Hasting Wyman
made an observation about why Vice President AI Gore,
the 2000 Democratic nominee for President, didn’t do
better among Gay voters even though he supported what
was knows as the Gay agenda: "... I think this raises an
interesting question and I say a question, not a conclusion.
...A lot of the Gay agenda, while it may be right or it may
be wrong, it’s not terribly relevant to the average Gay
person."
Hastings is right, and as we examine what is real and
relevant in our lives after September 11. Now is the time
to reject the "virtual victim" paradigm and, maybe for the
first lime ever, think of ourselves as fellow Americans,
united with the rest of the nation, confronting a common
enemy. I think Gays and Lesbians get this, even if our
leadership doesn’ t. One thing is clear as I walk through the
Gay neighborhoods of Washington, where the American
flag is draped from hundreds of windows, and as I read of
a conservative Republican Senator eulogizing Mark
Bingham as an American hero who save the U.S. Capitol,
Gays and Lesbians are part of the greatness of America
and they know it.
What unique role can Gays and Lesbians play as we
unite against the terrorists? First, Gay and Lesbian leaders
can stop the incessant negative backbiting against President
Bushand his administration. Like every other American,
we need him to succeed in this mission. Throw away
those "He’ s Not My President" t-shirts. Gay organization
leaders need to stop referring to him as the "enemy" - we
¯ have a clear enemy today, that is absolutely bent on our
¯¯ collective destruction, who brutalizes women, murders
Gays and sees a free society as the world’ s greatest evil.
: Now is not the time to attack the President. This will be
¯ the hardest for groups whosefundraising has depended on
¯ demonizing him, butnext time they doit,weall~eed to ask
¯ them to refrain. That doesn’t mean we cannot disagree
¯ with President Bush or abrogate the freedoms we are truly ¯
fighting to defend, but as fellow Americans we have a
: common moral duty to rekindle-a tone of respect for the
¯ office of the presidency, and for the burden on the man
¯ who sits there today.
"Gay organizations are not sure how
to respond. The debate in
Washington now revolves around a
central question - do Gay groups move
ahead with the old" aCenda items?
Do they put Gay-speciflc issues on hold?
Or, do they rise to meet the new
challenges facing Gay Americans
in this new period, even ff they don’t fit
what these groups have long argued
was "the Gay agenda’S."
New, more pressing issues have come to the forefront
and need our attention. Gay couples and families have
been ripped apart in the attacks. We must be vigilant in
ensuring that those left behind are not cut off from survivor
benefits and legal rights that they deserve. We as a
community should take notice of the vital importance of
partner benefits andresponsibilities in light of this tragedy
and ensure we have provided for our loved ones should
anything happen to us.
Donating blood surfaced as an issuein the days after the
¯ attacks. The RedCross policy on donating bloodis dearly ¯
out of date and harmful in how absolute its exclusion of
¯ Gay men has been since the 1980’s. The only response
¯ from Gay leaders thus far is still ringing of victimization, ¯
or has just been silence for fear of raising an issue that
: makes us all sound selfish.
¯ However, there is a "united we stand" approach to
¯ giving blood. Again, sad as it is, there will likely be need ¯
for more blood before this war is over. We should respect-
" fully, without fanfare and action alerts, approach the Red
~ Cross and explain that Gay men would like to hdp the
¯ effort. While we do understand that Gay men are more ¯
likely to be HIV positive then the general public, we
¯ should not confuse sexual orientation with health status,
: and the policy should be consistent in its approach to
¯ sexual behavior. For instance, heterosexuals with mul-
¯ . tiple partners are not screened outin thesame way as aGay
¯ man who has had sex once since 1977.
; During times of war, scapegoats are often sought out in
¯ every society. Will Gays and Lesbians become targets of
¯ greater hate crime activity? I doubt it. But I do believe that
: Arab Americans or anyonelooking like them will be. The
¯ greatest weapon against intolerance is educating our-
" selves, so we should be role models.
¯ In the "unitedwe stand" paradigm,we can explain to the
¯ public that we know what it is like to bejudged, discrimihated
against and even physically beaten because of who
: weare. Thoughweknow many Islamicleaders inAmerica
: have shown little tolerance for Gays and Lesbians, we as
¯ acommunitylove andrespect ourfellow Americaus under
¯
attack. We support them and their civil rights, so that we
: never again make the mistake of how we treated Japanese
¯ Americans in World War II.
¯ The overall paradigm of the Gay civil rights movement
¯ must change, see Change, p.ll
" Welcome to Our Reality
: by Tom Neal, editor &publisher
¯ Hate crimes have beenmuch onmymind in theseweeks ¯
since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. This
: horror has brought out the best in so many Americans but
it has also brought out the worst in a few.
Some of those few have used this mad event as an
¯" excuse to express their prejudices, theirracism, their anti-
" immigrant bigotry, and their homophobia, around the
: country as well as here in Tulsa.
¯ In Tulsa, we’ ve seen the beating of a Pakistani man and
: apparently, according to Barbara Moore of the Asian-
" American Society, others who are perceived as "foreign"
¯ have been harassed.
No one in th.e Gay communities has missed the shameless
opportunism of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson,
perhaps the greatest disgraces to contemporary
Christendom, at trying to incite violence against Lesbians
and Gay Americans and others in the wake of the terrorist
¯ attack.
: My comment to our Muslim and Asian sisters and
¯ brothers is welcome to our reality of violence, prejudice ¯
and hatredin Tulsa. What you’re experiencing as,new has
: been our ongoing reality. What you’re experiencing as a
: new sensation of lack of safety has long been our experi-
¯
But while attacks on you are decried by Tulsa’ s pro-
: foundly hypocritical "do-good" organizations: NCCJ,
¯ Jewish Federation, Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry, Tulsa ¯
Interfaith Alliance, those same groups have been shame-
: fully silent when Gay men were brutally beaten like the
¯ Tulsa Pakistani man.
¯ It’ s not that they didn’ t know that the attacks happened.
¯ Tim Beauchamp and Tony Orr’ s beating on Brookside a
few years ago was well reportedin this newspaper as well
¯ as in The World. Beauchamp and Orrlater testified before
¯ the US House of Representatives about their beating, a ¯
fact also reported by The WorM. ¯
I personally told Nancy Day ofNCCJ of themost recent
¯ beating ofaGay man which this newspaper reportedin our
¯ August issue. But neither Ms. Day nor NCCJ, nor any ¯
other of these organizations has felt it incumbent to
¯ express for Gay Tulsans what they fall over themselves to
¯ do for Muslim Tulsans.
¯ Clearly themessage here is that NCCJ, Jewish Federa- ¯
tion, and possibly TMM and Tulsa Interfaith Alliance do
¯ not consider the attacks on Gay Tulsans to rise to the same
level of concern as the attacks on other minorities. Or if
¯ perhaps their values are slightly more humane, then they ¯
are cynically utterly unwilling to expend any oftheir effort
¯ or "capital" in acting upon them.
¯ As horrible as it to contemplate, for some time I have
been convinced that the only thing that would get these
: groups off dead center would be for Tlffsa to have our own
¯ Matthew Shepard murdered- as much as I pray that such
will never happen.
¯ What is it about this city that it is so profoundly morally
¯ bankrupt that only the veritible cruxcifiction of an iuno-
¯ cent might, and only_ might, move them to acknowledge
¯ the right of Lesbian and Gay Tulsans to live unassaulted ¯
and with even a fractiOi~ of the civil rights and other legal
: protections other residents, including other minorities,
: take for granted?
¯ Indeed I am glad to see that attacks against Muslim and
¯ others are condemned. I also am glad to see new networks
¯ formed to address hate crimes but I am deeply troubled
: that this new effort, again, starts by excluding Gay and
¯ Lesbian Tulsans and describes hate crimes only as race, ¯
religion and ethnicity when those who hate, attack race,
¯ ethnicity, rdigion and sexual orientation equally, and
¯ sometimes us first. ¯
¯ The latest Tulsa anti-hate crime network did invite our
Nancy McDonald, PFLAGfounder, butit’ s not at all dear
¯ that she was invitedinher role as a more acceptable proxy
¯ for Gay folk but rather in her role as new co-convertor of ¯
the Say No to Hate Coalition.
¯
see Hate, p. 10
Czechs Seek Partners
Recognition
PRAGUE, .Czech Republic (AP) - Czech Gays and
Lesbians soon could become the first in a former
communist country to be allowed to register their
partnerships. Prime Minister Milts Zeman’ s Cabinet
has thrown its supportbehind a draftlaw grantingGays
equal rights with the rest of the population. And
backers ofthelegislation say they’ ve neverhada better
chance for passage of the measure.
The bill gives Gay and Lesbian couples the same
fights as those of heterosexual ones in areas such as
inheritance and health insurance. Couples would be
¯ allowed to seal their partnerships at local government
offices, and severing a union would require a courtapproved
divorce. The draft, approved by the Cabinet,
however; bars couples from adopting children.
Legislation that would allow homosexual unions
already has been turned down twice by the Czech
parliament, in 1997 and 1999. But this time will be
different, Gay activists say. "Public opinion has
changed," said Jiri Hromada, an activist. "Any deputy
should listen to that."
A May survey by the state-sponsored CVVM polling
agency said only33%of those polled opposed such
a law, compared to 42% in 1999. The margin of error
was 3%, To pass, supporters of the law need only a
simple majority in the 200-seat chamber. Since the
ruling party holds 74 seats, supporters say they only
need just over two dozen votes to make the measure
pass.
Several other European nations already extend legal
fights to same-sex partners. Denmark granted legal
rights in 1989, a move followed later by other countries,
including Swedenand the Netherlands. Germany
recently began to allow Gay couples to register their
unions, and in the United States, Vermont became the
first state to recognize same-sex unions last year.
The Czech Republic wouldbe the firstpost-communist
country, however, to approve such a measure.
Most post-communist societies, burdened with massive
economic troubles, have largely neglected such
social questions.
Opponents arebracing for afight. TheRomanCatholic
Church, which has long opposed such unions,
sponsored a petition to pressure the parliament to
reject the measure. Petition organizer Josef Zeman of
the Brat-based group National Center for Family says
72,000 have already signed. Some 2.7 million people
in theCzechRepublic say they are Roman Catholic: "It
will have an irreversible impact on those young people
who still are not clear about their sexual orientation,’"
Zeman warned.
The draft law should be discussed in the lower
ch~amber, the House of Deputies, by the end of this
year.
Cleveland United Way
Drops-Boy Scouts
CLEVELAND (AP) - The Clevdand chapter of the
United Way has decided to stop funding traditional
Boy Scouts programs that discriminate against Gays.
The money will instead go to Boy-Scout-affiliated
programs such as Learning for Life, a program that
does not prohibit Gay menfrom being leaders.
-. Earlier this month, United Way Services of Greater
Cleveland shifted $268,000 in Boy Scout donations to
the Learning for Life program, said Mike Benz, president
Of the local United Way organization. The program
will be taught in Cleveland, Bedford and Lakewood
public schools and teaches children to apply
classroom lessons in their everyday life.
Last year, the United Way Services gave about
$90,000 ofits Boy Scout donation to Learning for Life.
This year, the group considered cutting support to the
Boy Scouts entirely but decided instead to shift all of
its donation to~ngfor Life.
." Susan Lewis, spokeswoman for the Greater Cleve-
." land Council for the Boy Scouts of America, said
¯ shifting the money to a Boy Scout-affiliated program
: was a good compromise. She said her chapter will try
: to shiftaround other donormoney tomake upforlosing
¯¯ the United Way funding, which accounts for about
14% of t!~ir budget. Nearly 50 United Ways across the
¯ country and a dozen corporations have quit giving
¯ money to Boy Scouts of America since ihe U.S. Su-
¯ preme Court last year upheld the Scouts’ right to reject ¯
homosexual leaders.
_" Jan Cline, an Eagle Scout and associate director of
¯ the Lesbian Gay Community ServiceCenter in Cleve- ¯
land, said he wanted United Ways to stop funding the
: Boy Scouts altogether until they stop discriminating.
: "If I give to United Way, I don’ t want one cent to go
¯ to Boy Scouts," Cline said. "There’ s no betterplace for ¯
boys tolearn citizenship, personal fitness and camping
¯ skills. But by enforcing a membership standard that
: teaches young Gaymentheirfeelings are second-class,
¯ they’re teaching bigotry and discrimination." ¯
None of the Northeast Ohio United Way organiza-
¯ tions,including UuitedWay Services ofGreaterCleve-
¯ land, has employment policies that prohibit discrimi- ¯
nation against Gays.
Finland Recognizes
Same Gender Partners
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - Lawmakers passed a goveminent
proposal recently that makes Gay partnerships
legally binding but stops short of letting Gay
couples adopt children or use the same surname. The
bill, which comes into force next year, was approved
99 to 84, with 17 abstentions or absentees.
The new law says Finns who are at least 18 can
register a same-sex union in a civil ceremony comparable
to matrimony. It also give~ Gay couples the same
rights as married heterosexual couples when inheriting
each other’ s property and in cases of divorce.
TheFinnish Lesbian andGay AsSociationwelcomed
the law but said it wished it went further. ’q’his at long
last gives Gay couples the rights they deserve," said
Rainer Hiltunen, the association’s secretary-general.
"But it’ s a compromise, and we are disappointed that it
doesn’ t secure the rights of chil&en in a Gay marriage
because they can only be registered to one parent."
The Finnish Evangdical Lutheran Church, to which
85% of the 5.2 million population belongs, has opposed
giving Gay partners the same rights as married
couples. However, Archbishop Jukka Paarma has said
that the legal position of homosexual and Lesbian
couples should be improved.
The new law is in line with similar legislation in the
other Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark
and Iceland, where Gay partnerships have been legalized.
Denmark and Iceland permit adoptions by Gay
couples in certain circumstances.
Houston Partner
¯ Benefits Up for Vote
¯" HOUSTON (AP) - Houston, voters in November will
¯ consider whether the city should offer health and other
~ benefits to same-sex parmers of its employees. The
: Houston City Council approved for the Nov. 6 ballot a
¯ referendum that, ifpassed,-wouldprohibit the cityfrom
¯ providing same-sex benefits. The city doesn’t offer
: thosebenefits now, but had been considering changing
¯ its benefits policy to include them.
¯ The council approved the ballot addition by a 9-5
vote after City Secretary AnnaRnssell validatedenough
¯ signatures on petitions to call for a vote. Petitioner
¯ Dave Wilson, who,opposes offering same-sex ben-
. efits, led an effort to gather 21,028 signatures on those
¯ petitions. City law requires 20~000 valid signatures
." from registered voters in Houston to force a vote on a
¯ change to the city charter.
"1623 N. Maplewood (918) 838-1715 mcctu/saOaoLcom
Community
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
at Community ofHope
2545 South Yale, Sundays at llam, 749-0595
A Welcoming Congregation
HOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Sun. Worship, 10:45 am, Sunday School, 9:30 am
Wed. Bible Study, 7 pm, Sunday Eve. Service, 6prn
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, 800-44d-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, Sunday - Friday
12-9 pm, Saturday, all sales benefit the Center
Heart of the Hills
Bed & Breakfast
5 Summit, Eurel~a Springs, Arkansas
501 - 363 - 9203
Come Stay Us for the Next
Diversity Celebration, Nov. 2 - 4
Red Rock Tulsa
Free Confidential HIV Testing
Walk-in Cgtnics
Tues. & Thurs., 5 -8 pm
at the Center, 1307 East 38th
Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-584-2325
d
i
Ame.rlcan Red Cross
American Red Cross
Tulsa Area Chapter
10151 East Eleventh
Tulsa 74128
Dannette Mclntosh
Diversity Co-ordinator
838-1100
OPENARMS
OPEN MINDS
OPEN HEARTS
Saint Aidan Saint Dunstan
4045 N. Cincinnati, 425-7882 5635 East 71st, 492-7140
Saint John Trinity
4200 S. Atlanta Place, 742-7381 501 S. Cincinnati, 582-4128
The Episcopal Church Welcomes You
CouncilwrmanAnniseP~rker, thecity"srnly openly
Gay elected official, voted against adding the referendum
to the ballot, claiming that Russell missed errors
orirregularities on !, 101 signatures. MayorLee Brown
said he intends to oppose the referendum and that
authorities should investigate any possible fraud. Harris
County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said his
office would investigate if a complaint is fried. Wilson
said he knew of no problems with the petitions or
signatures.
Houston voters in 1985 nullified a nondiscrimination
ordinance approved by the council. Earlier this
year, the council approved.a similar ordinance protecting
Gays and Lesbians from discrimination, and the
Nov. 6 referendum does not address the ordinance.
Gay Adoption
Considered In Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - As the state Supreme Court
prepares to hear a case that could decide ifGay couples
have the right to adopt children, groups on both sides
are weighing in on the dispute. Thehigh court is to hear
the case next week of a Lincoln Lesbian who wants her
lover to be able to adopt her 3-year-old boy.
The case already has generated so-called "friend of
the court" briefs from scores of organizations, including:
theAmerican Psychological Association; the Family
Research Institute; the Alliance for Children’s
Rights; The National Organization for Women; the
National Adoption Center; and the Lambda Legal
Defense and Education Fund. The Nebraska Catholic
Conference, the Family Research Council, the Nonpartisan
Family Coalition and Family First also have
weighed in.
The boy, called "Luke" in court papers, was born to
"B.P," in 1997 through artificial inseminataon. The
boy has lived with his mother and her lover, "A.E.,"
since birth. The two women were joined in a commitment
ceremony in 1995, according to court records.
Such ceremonies are not recognized as marriages in
Nebraska, where voters last year approved a measure
to keep same-sex marriages from being legally recog-
B.P. already has custody of her 9-year-old son from
a previous marriage. While Nebraska law contains no
specific provision prohibiting adoptions by Gay
couples, Deputy Attorney General Steve Grasz said
does not mean it is legal. He also said A.E. has no legal
rights to adopt the child, even though she has helped
raise him. "Such caregivers, unlike parents, possess no
substantive liberty interest in the child," he said in
briefs filed in the case. "No fundamental constitutional
right has been accorded in the law to individuals such
as foster parents, grandparents, caregivers or ’partners’
of parents even though they have a deep emotional
attachment to the child."
Amy Miller, a lawyer with the American Civil
Liberties Union, dismissed those arguments. "The
state’ s bias is based on its discomfort with A.E. and
B.P.’ s relationship, but is irrelevant asthe real issue is
Luke’ s interests," she said. "The law only inquires into
the best interests of the child to be adopted.
Court Rejects Gag on Play
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - A federal appeals court
has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block a controversial
student play, ruling that the issue is moot since
the play has already been performed. The 7th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago last week rejected
the complaint filed by opponents of the play "Corpus
Christi" who accused Indiana University-Purdue University
ofusing taxpayermoney to support an attackon
Christianity.
Theplayfeatured aGay, Christ-like characternamed
Joshua and 12 other male characters, most of whom
had the names of Christ’s disciples.
In a one-page orderissued Sept. 19, the court said the
;" issues raised on appeal do not merit’fotther consider:
¯¯ ation because theplay has already been performed. Six sold-out performances took place Aug. 10 to 18 in a
¯ theater on the university’ s Fort Wayne campus.
¯ Opponents led by former Republican gubernatorial
: candidate John Price had argued that staging the play
¯ on the grounds of a state university_violated the consti-
: tutional separation of church and state.
¯ Attorney Stephen R. Pennell represented the univer-
¯
sity in thelawsuit. He said school leaders were pleased
¯ by the court’ s action. "The play has been performed, so
¯ there is no longer any relief the court could grant that ¯
would be effective in any way, so the point is moot,"
¯
Pennell told The Journal Gazette.
The same appeals court ruled Aug. 7 in favor of
¯ allowing "Corpus Christi" to be performed while the ¯
appeal was pending. The decision upheld a July ruling
¯
by U.S. District Judge William C. Lee, who said
: issuing a preliminary inJunction against theproduction
¯ would cause more harm than allowing the play to
: proceed.
¯ Patricia Corbat of Fort Wayne, one of the three
¯ plaintiffs participating in the appeal, was not sure
¯ whether there are any other ways to pursue the com-
. plaint.
¯° She said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks put the churchstate
relationship in a new perspective. "We don’t
¯ allow prayer in government at all, but all of a sudden
¯
everyone in government is praying," Corbat told the
¯ newspaper. "I just think that, all of a sudden, we’re
: trying to get back in God’ s graces.’"
Maine City OKs Civil
Rights Bill
BANGOR, Maine (AP) - Bangor became the 1 lth
¯
Maine city to enact a Gay civil rights ordinance when
¯ the city council approved the law by a lopsided vote.
¯ The law, approved by an 8-1 vote, bars discrimination ¯
based on sexual orientation in housing, public accom-
¯ modations, credit, education and employment. It is
." similar to measures that have been enacted by the
¯ Legislature, but overturned by Maine voters.
¯ The Bangor council’s passage came a week after a
¯ three-hour public hearing on the measure. Supporters
¯ said such a law is long overdue 17 years after a Gay
i
youth named Charlie Howard died after being thrown
off a downtown Bangor bridge by three local teen-
" agers.
¯ But opponents cited religious objections, and said it
¯ is an unneeded extension of the Maine Human Rights
¯
Act that_ should be decided by voters. Some asserted
¯ that the-law confers special rights on a specific group.
¯ Maine voters last November turned down a law that
would have outlawed discrimination based on sexual
¯
orientation. Similar bills had been rejected by the
: Legislature for two decades until 1997, when a mea-
¯ sure was enacted and signed by Gov. Angus King. ¯
Voters repealed it in 1998, and lawmakers responded
¯ by sending a new bill back to referendum.
~ While the state’ s voters repealed the Gay civil rights
¯ question in 2000, a majority of voters in Bangor ¯
favored the state law. After Monday night’s council
¯ vote, about two dozen spectators broke into applause.
¯ "Equal rights and equal dignity are not special rights,"
¯ said Councilor Joe Baldacci, who sponsored the pro-
" posal with Councilor Judy Vardamis.
: An opponent, Bangor Baptist Church Pastor Jerry
¯ Mick, said he believed a planned effort to repeal the ¯
ordinance could be successful.
¯
Challenges to Gay civil rights laws in other Maine
: cities have had mixed results. In 1992, Portland voters
¯ rejected a proposal to overturn the city’s Gay civil
", rights ordinance. But Lewiston voters repealed their
: city’ s ordinance a year later.
Los kn0olos May ment would prevent the city from provid-
Host 2006 Games
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Anonprofitgroup
will send a delegation to SouthAfricanext
month to lobby forthe city to host the2006
Gay Games, an Olympics-styl_e~l. event~that
draws Gay and Lesbian athletes trom
around the world. Los Angeles faces three
other finalists - Chicago, Atlanta and
Montreal - in its bid to host the games,
which have been held every four years
since 1982: As many as 15,000 competitors
take part in the games, drawing upward
of 250,000 spectators.
The Federation of Gay Games will begin
the selection process in Johannesburg,
South Africa on Oct. 21, with the winning
city announced four days later. The Gay
Games include more than 30 sports, from
aerobics to sailing to wrestling. The event
was founded by Olympic decathlete Tom
Waddell after enduring jokes and harassment
on the sports circuit.
The two-weekGay Games VII wouldbe
the largest single event inLos Angeles in
the next five years, according to the Los
Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The games could generate as much as
$400 million for the city.
San Francisco has played host to two
previous games. Los Angeles has bid on
the games, but has never been selected.
LOs Angeles als0 is seeking to host the
2012 summer Olympic Games. Tt{~’summer
Olympiad previously was held in the
city in 1932 and 1984. Members of the
nonprofit Los Angeles 2006 Inc. group
that is seeking to draw the Gay Games said
many Olympic venues would be used during
the event.
Michigan City to
Vote Against Gays
paign is under way here in the campaign
over an anti-Gay civil rights proposal on
the Nov. 6 city ballot. Both sides pledge to
keep debate civil. But city voters could
face an onslaught of door-to-door campaigns,
yard signs, telephone polls, radio
talk show forums and church debate.
"We feel there is a great deal of discrimination
in the impetus to getting this
ballot initiative. It just r’eally stinks," said
Robert Dempsey, campaign manager for
the group fighting the proposal.
It has been more than a year since City
Manager Pat DiGiovatmi enacted a policy
allowing Gay city employees to cover
their parmers under health insurance. Opponents
immediately moved to put before
voters a broadly worded charter amendment
that bans the city from adopting any
ordinances or policies that give special
preference based on sexual orientation.
"We plan to explain to people why this is
a bad amendment," said Dempsey, of
Kalamazoo Against Discrimination.
" The Michigan branch of the Tupelo,
Miss.-based American Family Association
is aiding the group seeking the
Kalamazoo Gays-rights b~a. The group’ s
Michigan president said he is hopeful for
its passage because the public is returning
to spirituality. "Churches are full. People
are returning to a faith in.God," said Gary
It is unclear whether the charter amending
employee benefits to Gay couples.
City attorneys say the policy does not
mention sexual orientation and therefore
maynotbevoidediftheamendmentpasses.
So far, "very few" of about 900 city employees
have applied for same-sex benefits,
said City Attorney Robert Cinabro.
Kalamazoo is among three cities in
Michigan and 17 communities nationwide
that will vote on Gay civil rights measures
in November. Huntington Woods and
Traverse City also are voting on human
rights measures.
"The whole country will be watching
the three communities in Michigan," said
;can Kosofsky, director of policy and victim
services for the Triangle Foundation, a
Detroit-based Gay civil rights organization.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force in Washington, D.C., last week announcedit
will give $10,000 to Kalamazoo
Against Discrimination.
Meanwhile, American Family Association
is supporting Kalamazoo Citizens
Voting Yes For Equal Rights Not Special
Rights, which is promoting the proposal.
That group has about 50 volunteers, about
half of whom live outside the city, the
Kalamazoo Gazette said Sunday. Among
themis the group’ s spokesman, Kalamazoo
County Commissioner Jack Hoogendyk
Jr. of Portage. "I have interest because I
work in the city," Hoogendyk said. "Most
people rig,h,t now have no clue what the
issues are.
Massachusetts
May Add Benefits
BOSTON (AP) - Gay, Lesbian and unmarried
state workers would be able to get
health insurance for their domestic partners
under a bill approved by a key state
Senate committee late in September. The
bill, approved by the Senate Ways and
MeansCommittee, would also let cities
and towns decide to offer domestic parmer
benefits as a local option.
¯ A domestic partner is defined by .the bill
¯ as someone of the same or opposite sex
¯ who shares financialresponsibilities and a
¯
home with a state employee. They must
¯ also say that they are in a relationship of
¯ "mutual support, care and commitment"
and plan to live together indefinitely.
: The Senate has approved two similar
: bills in recent yb,ars. None became law. "I
¯ approach it as a matter of basic fairness,"
¯ said Senate President Thomas Birming-
¯
ham, D-Chelsea.
¯ The full Senate is scheduled to vote on
¯ the bill soon. It is also expected to vote on
¯" bills that would allow Cambridge and
¯ Brookline to extend domesticpartner ben-
" efits to their employees.
Opponents of domestic partner benefits
¯
say they places homosexual relationships
: on the same level as heterosexual mar-
" riages. They also say that giving nnmar-
¯ ried heterosexual couples the same ben-
" efits as married couples weakens theinsti-
¯ tution of marriage.
¯ In 1998, the Legislature passed a bill
"- allowing Boston to provide the benefits -
¯
known as a"home rule petition" - but the
¯ bill was vetoed by former Gov. Paul
Cdlucci.
Conne .
Kelly Kirb.y, CPA,
Certified Public Accountant
a professional corPoration
Lesbians and Gay men face many special
tax situations whether single or as. couples¯
Electronic filing is available for faster refunds.
747-5466
SOuth Harvard Avenue, Suite 210, Tulsa 74135
:¯ HIV ACtiViStS Educate Online
¯ ~AMI (AP) - Lighted by the blue glow
¯" of a portable computer, Marc Cohen is
¯
blazing a new trail in AIDS awareness. He
: logs on to the Intemet, surfs into a busy
chat room and uses his screen name -
¯
hivoutreachmiami@aol.com- to answer
¯ questions aboutAIDS, hepatitis and other
¯ sexually transmitted diseases.
"Awareness Alert," he types in bold
¯
letters. "Miami is now secondinthenation
¯ for syphilis infection. Wilton Manors has
¯ hadan outbreak, too. STDand HIV screen-
, ings can be done free of charge."
"We are not the sex police," said Cohen,
¯ president of the United Foundation for-
¯ AIDS, a South Beach-based group-that
offers counseling; HIV screening and
¯
therapy to people with the AIDS virus that
¯ causes AIDS.
¯ With the AIDS epidemic in its third ¯
decade, Cohen and a cadre of national
¯
AIDS prevention advocates are invading
: chat rooms to get the attention of those
¯ most at risk of HIV infection. It’ s an ap-
: proach that counselors and health Officials
¯ from San Francisco to South Beach be¯
lieve is working. Finding new ways to
reach the (principal) at-risk groups - de-
" fined as young Gay and Bisexual men,
¯ especially blacks - has been a focus of
¯ AIDS awarenes~ conferences. ¯
As chat-room counselors, they answer-
" questions about HIV, hepatitis and syphi-
¯ lis that many would feel uncomfortable
¯ asking in person or on the phone. The ¯
Internet provides anonymity. "We treat it
~ as an opportunity for in-depth individual
education," said Joseph Interrante, execu¯
tive director of Tennessee’ s Nashville
CARES, an AIDS organization with staff
¯ members dispensing information in chat
¯ rooms. "The education actually becomes
¯ an online counseling session." ¯
Increasingly, warnings andAIDS statis-
¯ tics have fallen on the deaf ears of a
¯ younger, more reckless generation, health
officials say. This summer, the U.S. Cen-
¯
ters for Disease Control and Prevention
¯ reported that among young men who have
¯ sex with other men, 4.4% - about 1 in 25 ¯
- get HIV. That’ s the same infection rate
: asin the 1980s, before AIDS prevention
¯ methods andresearchtookroot. In Florida,
¯ blacks accounted for almost six of every
: 10 new cases of HIV infection in the past
¯ four years.
: Another trend: syphilis outbreaks in
¯ Wilton Manors, South Beach and Liberty
-" City. Health officials say thegrowing num-
," bers are a signal mean thatGay and Bi-
: sexual men are encouraged by news of
¯ powerfully effective drug cocktails and
longerlife spans and are less worried about
", HIV infection.
¯ "The oldmodds do notwork," said Jeff ¯
Wilkinson of the South Beach AIDS
¯
Project, where staff members cruise chat
: rooms as sobequest @aol.com. They an-
¯ swer questions and ask others to share ¯
what they learn. "The more the pebble hits
¯
the pond, the more it ripples out."
¯ Cohen says he spends at least 25 hours a
¯ week online as hivoutreachmiami on
: America Online. His online profile gives
¯ information about syphilis, how itis trans-
" mitted sexually., symptoms and telephone
numbers to call for testing. He logs on in
the afternoon and during peak chatting
times, after 7 p.m. till until as late as 2 a.m.
Since Cohen started the online campaign
in June, he has seen the number of
people who ask for HIV tests grow from a
handful to a dozen or more a night. He
takes their phone numbers, calls them and
walks them through explains the process.
He is training two volunteers to help.
"So much that went on in bathhouses and
publicparks now takes place in chatrooms,
where people meet to engage in unsafe sex
from the comfort of their living room,’"
Cohen said. "It’s opening a tremendous
dialogue in this town."
Some Blood Donors
Get Surprise
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Shocked by the
terrorist attacks in Washington and New
York, thousands havelinedupthepast two
weeks to give blood.
Now, some of those donors are the ones
asking for help. Because many people are
donating blood for the first time, more
people have learned that they have viral
diseases such as hepatitis, syphilis and
even AIDS.
Since the mid-1980S, blood has been
tested for viral diseases such as AIDS and
hepatitis, andprospective donors have been
screened for risky behavior such as intravenous
drug use. Now, with so many more
people learning they are infected, disease
hoflines have experienced an increase in
calls from donors seeking help. "They’re
really panic-stricken. They have no idea
what it means," said Thelma King Thiel,
chairman of Hepatitis Foundation International.
More than 22,000 units of blood have
been donated in the Carolinas blood services
region of the American Red Cross
since Sept. 11, spokeswoman Debbie Estes
said. The organization collected twice as
much blood as normal the week of the
attacks and donations are running about
20% to 30% more than usual every day,
Estes said. Offices are staffed 24 hours a
day and donors have been asked to make
appointments for later this fall.
Since the attacks, more than 330,000
people nationally have donated blood to
the American Red Cross, said Dr. Peter
Page, senior medical officer for the Red
Cross. The Red Cross, which supplies
about half the blood in the country, was
collecting two to three times more blood
than normal the week after the attack and
about 11/2 times more last week.
Just over 1% of donors test positive for
infections, Pagesaid. Onein20,000 wholeblood
donors to the American Association
of Blood Banks will test positive for antibodies
to HIV, said Sara Foer, spokeswoman
for the American Association of
Blood Banks in Maryland. One in 2,500
will test positive for hepatitis B and one in
500 for hepatitis C, she said.
ButThiel says itmay be goodfor donors
to find out they are infected. ’’The tests and
screens in tiff s blood drive are a good thing
for them," Thiel said. "Otherwise they
may go blissfully on their way not knowing
~ey are infected, spreading the disease.
by TFN entertainment editor
Tulsa’ s Theatre Arts will present Lionel
Bart’ s"Oliver!" outin the country atTulsa
Community College’ s PACE Theatre at
81st Street and Highway 169 from December
14th - 22nd. The production will
be directed by Jon Grodeski of NYC and
will star as "Fagin," Jamie Farr wall
known for playing
"Klinger"intelevision’ s
M.A.S.H. series.
Tulsa Family News is
delighted to note that
TFN writer and former
entertainment editor,
James Christjotm, has
been cast in the characterof"
Mr. Sowerberry,"
the undertaker that
Oliver is sold to before
he ends up in London as
Fagin’s prot~g6 pickpocket.
And on December
6th, Theatre Arts will
host "An Evening With
~Iamie Farr," at the PACE at 7pm, where
the actor will speak about his life and
career, and take audience questions. Please
call 595-777 for ticket information.
Charles Dickens’ novel,"OliverTwist,"
is the basis forLionel Bart’ s musical Oliver!
Dickens began the novel as a magazine
serial that ran in a London.monthly for
more thantwo years beginning in 1837. Its
popularitywas so greatthatDickensrushed
it to completion for publication - in three
volumes ~-in 1838. Still, the serial continued
to run for more than six months after
the publication of the book. Some wellknown
songs from the show include
"Where Is Love," "Consider Yourself,"
"Who Will Buy," "As Long as He Needs
Me," and many others.
The story of Oliver Twist begins in. a
seedy workhouse where he and the other
orphans are kept by Mr. Bumble and
Widow Comey. When Oliver asks for
morefood, Bumbleis enraged and decides
to sdl the boy. Mr. Sowerberry, the undertaker,
buys him, but Oliver is terrified of
the man and his coffins and runs away.
TheArtful Dodgerandhis gangofyoung
street thieves find Oliver woandering the
"...Tulsa
Family News
is delighted to
note that TFN
writer and former
entertainment editor,
James Christjohn, has
been east in the
character.., of the
undertaker..."
." streets of London and take him to the
¯ master pickpocket, Fagin. That training
~ quickly lands Oliver in jail, where he is
" rescuedby Mr. Brownlow,arichold gentle-
[ man who takes the boy into his home.
¯ Meanwhile, Fagin and his cohorts - Bill
¯
Sikes and Nancy - fearful of being in-
[ criminated by thelad, plot his kidnapping.
Nancy abducts him but
then is overcome with
guilt and attempts his
return to Brownlow.
Suspecting her kind
(and traitorous) intentions,
Sikes kills Nancy.
He grabs Oliver but is
foiled by the amval of
the police Finally,
Oliver is safely returned
to the arms of his benefactor,
who proves to
be his own grandfather.
Oliver! (the
name shortened for
Broadway) became a
partof themusical stage
¯ repertoire in 1960, written in total by the
¯¯ multitalented Lionel Bart, who crafted the book, the music and the lyrics. With Ron
¯ Moody. as Fagin and Georgia Brown as
¯ Nancy, Oliver! opened in London on June
: 30, 1960,and ran until September 9, 1966,
¯ foratotal of2,618 performances - making
¯ it the longest-running musical in British
¯ theatre.
¯ This production marks Christjohn’ s re-
" turn to the stage after a long absence.
¯ "Therewas apoint that I thought the talent, ¯
the gift, the ability hadleft me. SoI shut. the
¯ dooronthatdream."Ironically,thatdream
¯ began as a young boy, when he was taken
¯ to his first liveproduction- aperformance ¯
of "Oliver!" at Theatre Under The Stars
; (TUTS), in Houston, Texas. Christjoha
¯ notes, "I remember seeing the little boy
¯ singing "Where Is Love," and identifying
; completdy. I also was filled with wonder
¯ at’the ’magic’ of seeing London appear
; when they sang ’Who Will Buy?’, and
¯ seeing the city literally fly in from left,
¯
right, andabove. Andlknew then I wanted
¯ to be a l~art of that, to help make the magic
¯ happen. And I wanted the applause that
kid was getting!" Info: 595-7777.
Tulsa’ s Performing .Mas Center Trust
celebrates its 25thznniversary season with
a number of great performers. At the end
of October, on the 30th, the usually staid
and fairly stodgy Chapman Music Hall
will host nothing less than a circus!
Quebec’ s Cirque Eloize (that’ s said,"elwas")
and the Tulsa Philharmonic will
combine classical music with circus spectacular:
aerials, haru~s work,and feats of
strength (and I’m sure men and women in
fights,, could Lesbians and Gay men want
anything more.’?).
Cirque Eloize began in 1993 as part of
the "Cirque Nouveau" movement that
sprung from Quebec. Seven then recent
graduates of Montreal’ s National Circus
School began thecompany which drew on
¯ the Eurotx~tn, animal-free style of circus ¯
combining theater, music and dance.
¯ Cirque Eloize quickly gained acclaim
¯ forits acrobatics, and choreography. After
." touring Canada and the US, then in the
." United Kingdom, France and Ireland, Cir-
- que Eloize garnered rave reviews from
¯ London’ s Sunday Times, "... hauntingly
¯ heart-catching.., conjur[ing] up the spirit
¯ of a medieval fair..." and from The
." Scotsman in Edinburgh, "pure dead bill-
" liant.., this is circus with atmosphere,
¯ poetry, humor and above all, hear~..." ¯
The music ranges from Rimski-
: Korsakov, Sibelius, Grieg, Saint-Sachs,
¯ Rachmaninov and more. This is a don’ t
: miss performance. Call 596-7111 or800-
¯ 364-7111 for information or tickets.
The Twilight
of the Golds
What happens when a young couple finds
thru’ genetic testing that their unborn child
might be Gay and how their conflict about
whether to keep the child affects
the young mother’s Gay brother¯
Oct. 26th- Nov. 4th
Broken Arrow
Community Playhouse
Only 1,487 miles offBroadway
In the Main Place, 1800 South Main
258-0077 for tickets and info.
THE GILDED AGE
Treasuresfrom the Smitbsonian American Art.MuSeum
SEPTEMBER -- 4 .NOVEMBER 200I
THE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART
2727 SOUTH ROCKFORD ROAD
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - For a while,
entertainer Ha Ri-soo seemed to be everywhere:
in a film, in a music video, in ads
for makeup and wedding gowns. Television
talk shows couldn’ t get enough of the
sex symbol and her sensual dances. People
gabbed abouther athome andonthestreet,
in offices and coffee shops.
No wonder. Ha, 26, is a transsexual.
While sex change operations are old
news from the United States to Thailand,
they’re a novelty in
South Korea, where
Confucian ideals of illial
piety and a maledominatedhierarchyare
strong. So it was starfling
when Ha surged to
thetopofSouth Korea’ s
entertainment industry
this year.
"I think the society
and cnlture is changing
in Korea and it should
change," Ha said in an
interview at a beauty
salon, her hair in curlers
as makeup artists
dabbedherface with lipstick,
eyeliner andpowoperations
are old
news from the United
States to Thailand,
they’re a novelty in
South Korea, where
Confucian ideals of
filial piety and a
mah-domlnated hierarchy
are strong°. 2
character is a transsexual woman who
works as an express delivery worker by
day and moonlights as a singer. The movie
title alludes to the bleached blond look that
some young South Koreans adopt to be
rebellious.
"I chose the fi~m because I went through
a lot and I wa~ed to look back on those
days," Ha s~d. "I wanted to break the
stereotype of transsexuals - the demureness
and extreme weakness with which
they are often portrayed."
Ha’s autobiography,
~’From Adam to Eve,"
also failed to make the
best sdler list.
She got her sexchange
operation several
years ago in Japan,
where she studied hairstyling.
While in high
school, she had taken
female hormone injections
and was exempted
frommill tary service on
grounds of "mental illness."
South Korean
men must serve 26
der. "Transsexuals haven’t killed or
cheated anyone. Why should they be mistreated
when they haven’ t done anything
wrong to others?" She said.
Many South Koreans agree, but their
fascination with Ha reflects .as much prurience
as tolerance for the maverick. In a
country where women flock to clinics for
cosmetic surgery, Ha fits right in.
"I think she is popular because of her
charm and looks,, said Jeon Dong-ki, a
male university student. "It doesn’ t.mean
that people’ s prejudices against Gays and
transsexuals have changed as wall."
Ha’ s overheated presence inpop culture
has cooled some recently, and she’s had
mixed success. She appeared in "Ydlow
Hair 2," a movieabout people on society’ s
fringes that failed at the box office. Her
¯ months in the armed forces, a precau-
¯¯ tion in the event of conflict with communist
North Korea. ’¢Fhink about it: What
¯ would happen to the. military’ s discipline
¯ if a man with breasts went into the mili-
~ tary?" Ha said, laughing.
¯
Her sex changewas toughonherfamily,
¯ particularly in a society that covets male
¯ offspring. Ha said she played with dolls as
¯ a child, and her frustrated father eventu-
¯ ally accepted her femininity.
¯ Ha’ s career took off in January with a
television ad for cosmetics, but it’s un-
." dearhowlong she’ 11 stay in thepubliceye.
¯ Some religious leaders have denounced ¯
her. "It makes me angry that the media is
-." trying to make something ’abnormal’ ap-
¯ pear normal," said Lee I-Iee-ja, a 58-yearold
housewife.
Saturday, October 20, the historic town
of Medicine Park will host the first annual
DrumFest. Organizers hope to attractmore
than 800 drummers to this eventinhope of
breaking the current Guirmess Book of
World Records.
Medicine Park is located at the main
entry to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife
Refuge, the second most visited wildlife
refuge in the country - hosting almost 2
million annual visitors. The community
has a rich and colorful history. Originally
founded on July 4th, 1908- Medicine Park
was Oklahoma’s first planned tourism resort,
Medicine Park was once the "playground"
of the state’s rich, famous and
notorious. Folks would come to town for
the weekend and leave their "work-a-day"
world, troubles and reputations behind
them. Outlaws and horsethieves mixed
with noted politicians and businessmen,
families and socialites. The pages of the
¯ town’s colorful history are filled with the
¯ -likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Will Rogers,
¯ Wiley Post, Frank Phillips, Bob Wills, A1
¯ Capone, Col. Jack Abernathy, Lil Hardin,
Bonny & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, Les
¯ Brown, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and
¯ countless others.
: Ok Spoke Bike Rides
¯ All these rides begin at Ziegler Recre-
¯ ation Park, 3903West Fourth Street, at the ¯
parking lot. All rides are open to GLBT
¯ people and those who are Gayffriendly.
¯ OnOct. 6andOct. 13,there will bea20-
¯ 25mile rides beginning at 7:30am, helmet ¯ and water bottle required. Lateron the 6th,
¯ there is also 5 mile ride along the Sand
¯ Springs Trail beginning at 2pro. And on ¯
Oct. 13, therewillbea5mileridealongthe
¯ Arkansas River Trail starting at 2pro.
For more information, contact
¯ Okiebicycle@prodigy.net, orwrite to POB
9165, Tulsa 7~157.
by LamontLindstrom : the not-unhappy looking bin Laden.
The Internet slowed to a crawl on Sep- ¯ Whether F.rnpire State Building as phaltember
1 lth. People crowded the system ¯ lus, or middle finger as phallus, these folk
with messages and postings about that : imagesconceivemale-on-maleintercourse
day’ s death and destruction. We turned to ¯ as appropriate revenge. Osama-"screws"
email,chatrooms,lists,dis- ,, America; we screw him
cussion groups and clubs
to discuss, mourn, be angry
or be reflective about
the attacks: The older media
- newspapers, telephones,
radio, television -
still carry the bulk of our
words andimagery. Butthe
Internet further speeds and
spreads national (and international)
conversation,
intensifying this exchange.
.. And exchange still continues.
Since September
1 lth, I have been collecting
folk-produced images
that respond to the attacks.
These, like the Interuet’ s
bothersome chain letters
and bad jokes, are still
bouncing from site to site,
person toperson. Computer
imaging software (Photoshop
and the like) and the
WWW facilitate this outburst
of creative reaction.
Years ago, one of my
anthropology professors,
U.C. Berkeley folklorist
¯ . . equations d sex
and vlolenee are so
familiar, so
embedded in our
language and
culture, as to be
unremarkable. But
we should remark
them, at least
occasionally.
First, if we can think
it we can do it - this
is anthropology’s
message about the
power of cultural
understandings to
shape behavior..."
Alan Dundes, along with Carl Pagter published
a collection of Urban Folklore from
the Paperwork Empire (1975). Such "paper
folklore" consisted of joke letters,
memos, cartoons, drawings, and the like
that people produced and circulated using
an earlier technology -the office copy
machine: As soon as photocopiers became
a standard business appliance, people copied
and recopiedjoke memos and cartoons
that spread from office to office, and cubicle
to cubicle. Today, the Internet, like
the photocopy machine, spreads our responses
to the everyday world, and to
tragic national events.
Much of the attack-related folklore
flooding the Internet is patriotic, affirming
the goodness and the spirit of Ainerica.
Images of U.S. flags, pictures of candles
andribbons, upliftingpoems, and recycled
Canadian newspaper columns lauding
American generosity probably filled your
email boxes, as they did mine.
Other imagery, less warm-hearted, portrays
anger and revenge. Two of the folk
images that ended up in my email box
particularly caught my eye. Both strum
American cultural chords that blur violence
with sex. The first depicts a reconstructed
World Trade Center. Instead of
the Twin Towers, however, this features
five towers in a row, like fingers. The
middle tower sticks up highest into the air.
This folk image rebuilds the WTC as "the
bird," flipping off m~icious Osama bin
Laden and his terrorists.
The secondimageis ruder. In this "jpg,"
Osama’ s turbaned head is superimposed
on a nude, muscular body that bends forward.
Coming in behind is the Fxnpire
State Building. Its pointy tower sodomizes
right back.
Theserepresentations of
skyscraper as phallus (or
dildo) are no metaphorical
accident. Beyond the
deaths of 6500 innocents,
some of ,amaerica’s rage
certainly stems from this
symbolism. Osama’s hijackedplanes
ftrst appeared
to circumcise both the
mighty shafts of the WTC,
slicing into theirheads. But
then, ~brribly, the towers
collapsed completely and
New York, and America,
suffered an awful castration.
Actually, the WTC had
already lost its Big Man
claims. Since 1998,the tallest
buildings in the world
are the twin Petronas Towers
in KualaLumpur, Malaysia.
Their edifice is bigger
than our edifice. But
luckily, New York has in
hand a backup tool - the
Empire State Building
¯ (once again the tallest in the city) - that,
symbolically, can stick it to Osama.
¯ Mass murderers need be brought to jus-
¯ tice, but what does it mean when werepresentjustice
(or perhaps revenge) as homo-
" sexual anal intercourse? The penis, more
¯ than a tool , becomes awcapon. Andsexual
". intercourse, .rather than an act of love,
¯ becomes one of rape or war. I penetrate
¯ you, and thereby I dominate you.
~ These equations of sex and violence are
¯ so familiar, so embedded in our language
¯ and culture, as to be unremarkable. But we
¯ should remark them, at least occasionally.
¯ First, if we can think it we can do it - this
¯" is anthropology’ s messageaboutthepower
¯
of cultural understandings to shape behav-
¯
lOt.
¯¯ Currently, two 14-year-old boys are in
custody here in Tulsa. They, along with
". other members of their freshman football "
: team, anally raped one of their young
¯ teammates with a broom handle in their
high ~chool locker room. This is Tulsa’s
: teenaged version of the Abner Louima
: case. New York cops likewise wielded
¯ broom as dildo to prove their manliness. ¯
(The Empire State Building, presumably, -
¯ was unavailable.) Our folk fantasies of
¯ homosexual rape are far more likely to be
¯ realized here in America than in Afghani- ¯
start.
¯ Second, all those "sex = war," and "pe-
¯ uis = weapon," metaphors are danger-
. ously slippery. What, exactly, are we say-
" ing when we admit a desire to sodomize
: Osama? Where does violent hatred end
¯ and erotic desire begin? Dildos also are
: toys, and sex (of whatever sort) is play
¯ more often than it is aggression. Are we
: then to pleasure Osama to death?
Timothy W. Daniel
Attorney at Law
An Attorney who will fight for justice
& equality for Gays & Lesbians
Domestic Partnership Planning,
Personal Injury, Criminal Law & Bankruptcy
1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
128 East Broadway, Drumright, Oklahoma
Weekend and evening appointments are available:
IOTA member
Call341. 6866
International
TourSio,mo,e nio on.
TULSA COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC
PARTY
Country Club Barbering
Custom Styling for Men & Women
David Kauskey
3310 E. 51st, 747-0236, Tues.-Fri., 8:5:30, Sat. 8-5pm
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
Gospel of Jesus Christ
through worship,
service, and evangelism.
To nurture our faith, we gather for
w.orship~ prayer,
study and fellowship.
Trusting in a living, loving God,
we seek to become a compassionate
voice for peace andjustice.
Our congregation welcomes all
persons who respond 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
(One block west of Delaware and the
University of Tulsa Campus)
Tulsa’s only
professional
body-piercing
is an alternative worship
experience that
celebrates the mystery
and wonder of life,
without telling you
what to believe.
Soulful
Sundown
combines live music,
inspirational readings,
video, and audience
~articipation to create a
rand new experience.
Soulful
Sundown
happens at All Souls
Unitarian Church at
5:3oPM on Sundays. Join
us. on Oct. 7, 14, 21 and
3oth.
All people are welcome!
All Souls Unitarian Church
z95z S. Peoria, 743-z363
And it’s only 20 years now that our
oldest community organization, indeed
Oklahoma’ s oldest non-religious community
non-profit, Tulsa Oklahomans for
Human Rights, TOHR, has been around.
Any one want to bethow many more years
it will be until these groups figure out that
we exist?
It is in the end this: you are either part of
the solution, or you are part of the problem.
AndTulsais filled with those who are
not part of the solution. ~Ihey are our
mayor and most of our city councilors:
certainly they are Tulsa’ s business elite:
the ChamberofCommerce staffand board
and especially some of Tulsa Area United
Way’ s board and staff for whom I have
little doubt that Dante notes a special place
in hell; and they are TU’s unrepentent
bigot president and those prominent
Tulsans who selectedhim despitehis documented
prejudice. And it will take all these
individuals deciding that they are going to
be part of the solution rather than part of
the problem for Tulsa ever to be that which
it hopes to be.
In the meantime, I hope that Muslim
Tulsans will be safe and if God really
moves their hearts that Tulsa Muslims
might actually take their horrible experience
as being this moment’s America’s
hated "other" and will try to be do for Gay
and Lesbian Americans that what they
would have done for themselves.
Average Gays and Lesbians feel much
more in me with the American people in
the spirit of "united we stand."
For those weaned on identity politics, it
will be hard to verbalize or imagine an
America where they can speak from a
"united we stand" perspective, but this
new period will require it. We still have
challenges as Gay Americans, but the terrorist
agenda of America’ s enemies is far
more dangerous to Gay Americans than
anything we face within our own society.
These terrorists have come to our country
to murder us, and hope to eradicate our
way of life in all its forms. The Taliban of
Afghanistan, who is harboring these terrorists,
believe that homosexuality is a
crimepunishablebya sadisticdeath, which
is meted out with pride in their society.
More than ever, we should welcome the
chance to serve in defense of liberty. We
should document carefully the success of
Gay soldiers. This act of patriotism, of the
willingness to die for our country, is precisely
why the current military policy is
wrong. Our determination will be hugely
educational to an American public who
views our motives on this issue with suspicion.
We will demonstrate with action the
moral absurdity of the old policy and it
will cave-in under that moral weight.
Steve May, the hero who fought the
"don’t ask, don’t tell" policy and won, is
on message now. He said recently that it is
an obligation ofevery Gay servicemember
to acceptthe country’ s call to serve. United
we stand today, and the military’ s policy
on Gays has divided us as Americans.
We now can look at new, real heroes.
I’m g!ad Mark Bingham was such a strong
man m body and soul. He took brave
action with a small group of men and
womenwho answered the call ofservice in
that moment of crisis, sacrificing their
lives to save maybe thousands of others to
thwart the murderous actions of those who
want to destroy our country.
Can we find a maturity and resolve
inside ourselves that we have neglected
for so long, and defiaonstrate that unity
means equality? Surely, as we look
squarely at ourenemies, and see the face of
brutality and hatred that stares back at all
of us, that hates freedom and liberty in any
form and would annihilate Gays and Lesbians
at the first opportunity, the answers
to these questions become dear.
Buchanan has said that he approved the
domestic partner policy in order to keep
the county competitive in recruiting and
retaining the best employees possible. He
was not required to get the commissioners’
approval beforehand, although he did
discuss it with them.
Domestic partner benefits are common
among many of Wichita’ s major employers,
such as Boeing Co. Such benefits also
are routinely offered by government agencies
on both coasts. However, in a stretch
of the country from the Mississippi River
to Arizona, domestic partner benefits are
offered by local governments in only four
metropolitan areas: Denver; Albuquerque;
Austin, Texas; and Iowa City, Iowa.
"Nationwide, it’ s been going on for a
good while," Norton said. "But in the
Midwest, we’re probably a little far up on
the curve. Whether you call it Midwest
values or Moral Majority or whatever you
call it, I think that’ s what you have to deal
with in the Midwest."
Commissioner Tom Winters said last
week that he would back Buchanan’ s action
because it was within the manager’s
area ofresponsibility tomake suchchanges.
Commissioner Betsy Gwin said Monday
that she initially saw the policy as a
business decision to make the county a
more attractive employer and to "show
some sort of compassionate understanding
for all people." Now, she said She is
undecided after receiving about 50 phone
calls and e-mails, all but one in opposition
to the policy.
One event raises about 4.4% of the annual
budget for the Hoosier Trails Council. A
Boy Scouts spokesman told The Republic
that scouting programs in the county may
have to be scaled back if they cannot find
a replacement for Cummins’ funding.
But a company statement said that the
en.gine, manufacturer’s executives were
revzewmg their contributions to reflect the
corporation’ s values. This was not the first
time the company has confronted criticism
regarding its policies. Last year,
Cummins’ decision to extend partner benefits
to employees’ same- and oppositesex
partners was met with anger by some
employees and shareholders.
Helga’ Horribles present the
Rocky Horror
Pictu re Show
followed by the
Time Warp Ball
Saturday, October 27
8pm midnight
Doubletree Hotel Downtown
616 West Seventh
Terrorist on Wanted List
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Osama bin Laden isn’ t the
only terrorist bombing suspect on the FBI’ s Ten Most
Wanted list. Right here at home, the bureau is still
hunting for Eric Robert Rudolph in connection with the
1996 Olympics bombing and other crimes.
And some of the parallels are striking: both are
trained soldiers and survivalists, accused of killing to
further extreme religious and political beliefs. Both
have eluded capture for years among sympathetic souls
in mountainous terrain, despite a huge price on their
heads. For nearly four years, agents have combed the
sawtooth ridges ofwestern North Carolinafor Rudolph,
an Army veteran and sometime carpenter charged with
four bombings, including fatal blasts at the Atlanta
Games and at an Alabama abortion clinic.
Rudolph was last seen in the area in July 1998 after
stealing supplies from a health store.owner. His truck
had been spotted there early that year. see Terror, p. 2
Iowa Rights Group Says
Add Sexual Orientation
DES MOINES, IOWA (AP) "The Iowa Civil Rights
Commission is recommending that the state’s civil
rights law specifically prohibit discrimination based on
sexual orientation. The commission voted 6-1 in September
to recommend that the Legislature add sexual
orientation to the wording of the law, marking the first
time it has gone on record backing that step.
Commission member Alicia Claypool said the move
makes sense, because there’s strong evidence of discrimination.
Republican legislative leaders have opposed
the step, saying the inclusion of Gays in the law
gives them special treatment.
A commission subcommittee that studied the proposal
said the state is facing a looming shortage of
workers and diversity is one way tO attract new people
to the state. "If we are to grow and remain a vital and
productive state, we must create a current and future
workforce that is stable, wall-educated and sees Iowa as
a viable place in which to grow up, live and work," said
a subcommittee memo.
The commission’ s recommendation likely will spark
a renewed round of debate over an issue that’ s been
around for years. The state’s civil rights law protects
people from discrimination in employment, housing
and lending based on age, color, creed, national origin,
race, religion, marital status, sex, physical disability, or
familial status:
Backers long have said that Gays and Lesbians face
discrimination as well andthat sexual orientation should
be added to the list. The Legislature specifically rejected
that step because Republicans did not want to
approve a measure they said gave special protection to
Gays. Gov. Tom Vilsack issued an executive order in
1999 that also would have banned discrimination based
Serving:Lesbian, .Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Out’Families.+ Friends
i Male on Male Rape at Webster
i Some Speculate Whether Anti-Gay Bias at Issue
¯¯ TULSA, Okla. (AP)-Two 14:year-old football players accused
of raping a teammate with a broom handle won’t be tried as
: adults, prosecutors said. The Tulsa County District Attorney’s
." Office filed rape by instrumentation charges in juvenile court
¯ against theWebster High School students. ¯
The boys are accused of forcing a 14-year-old freshman
: football player to a school locker room floor and raping him with
¯. a broom handle Sept. 21. An hour later, the students allegedly
_. spanked the same boy with a weight belt and pelted his genitals
with traffic cones. Students said no affults were in the locker room
¯ when the alleged rape occurred.
~ Tulsa Police spokesman Lucky Lamons responded that police
¯ detectives claimtherewas no anti-Gay verbal abusewhich could
indicate that this assault had aspects of a hate crime. However,
¯ several longtime community activists from TOHR and PFLAG
i speculated that the assault may have ties to issues of actual or
¯ perceived sexual orientation. Officer Lamons noted that detec-
¯ tives feel one ofthe motives may have been that victim was small.
¯: The accused have been releasedfrom ajuvenile shelter on bail.
¯ Their case will remain in thejuvenile system, where the focus is
: on rehabilitation rather than punishment, said Assistant District
: Attorney Rebecca Nightingale. She said the district attorney’s
¯ office will not seek adult certification for the teens. Prosecutors
¯ considered the boys’ sophistication and maturity, their record
: and history, the likelihood of rehabilitation in the juvenile sys-
¯ tern, and the prospects for protection of the public, she said.
: Fourteen student-athletes were suspended after the incident,
: and Webster’ s ninth-grade football season has been canceled.
: Five students received the maximum penalty allowed under
¯ the school district’ s code of conduct - suspension for the rest of
¯ the academic year. They also were banned from ever participati
ing in school sports in the district. The other nine students got
¯ five-day or 10,day suspensions.
¯" Superintendent David Sawyer warned coaches and school
district employees this week not to tolerate or ignore hazing and
: bullying;
i TOHR Drops State Bank
i overAnti-Bias Policy
: TULSA (TFN)-TulsaOklahomaus forHumanRights
." (TOHR) recently transfered its business from State
Bank and BancOne to Bank of Oklahoma because of
: BOk has an dear non-discrimination policy which
¯ includes "sexual orientation."
." Under the direction of the organization’ s treasurer,
AngelaBruce, letters were written toTOHR’ s former
i bank, informing them of the reason for the change.
¯ According to TOHR spokesman, Greg Gatewood,
¯ the move was really about doing business with those
: who support thecommunity_ and not doing business
¯ with those who do not. Gatewoodnoted that the funds
: were not an enormous amount but should have been
¯. enough to get the institution’ s attention.
¯ Bank ofOklahoma instituted a non-discrimination ¯
policy which includes "sexual orientation" a couple
i of years ago, and is the only bank in Tulsa which has
¯ included the Lesbian and Gay community in’ its
: marketing outreach. State Bank’s president Don
¯ Walker was not available for comment at press time.
¯ Candidate for US Congress at TOHR
¯ On Tuesday, NOvember 13, Democratic candidate
: for Oklahoma’s First Congressional District, Dong
: Dodd will speak at the Community Center at 21st and
¯ Memorial at 7pro. TOHR organizers note that Cathy
: Keating, one of three Republican candidates has also
: been invited to meet withTOHRand the community.
: Keating, unlike many Oklahoma Republicans, has
¯ stated that her campaign will exclude no one and
: while announcing her candidacy at the Tulsa Press
¯ Club, Mrs. Keating noted that she was not very
¯ familiarwiththeconcemsofLesbianandGayTulsans,
~ but she is willing to educate herself. And Dodd has
¯ stated publicly his opposition to a constitutional
¯ amendment to ban same gender marriages.
: Slow Come, Quick Go
i KS County Gives, Now May Drop Benefits
¯ WICHITA, Kan. (AP) - Sedgwick County’s new
¯ insurance benefits for unmarried domestic partners
¯ may not last more than a week.
¯ County commissioners appear to have the votes to overturn County Manager William Buchanan’ s deci-
" sion to offer employees the option of extending their
; health coverage to gay or straight partners. Employ-
" ees were told of their option to cover domestic part-
"¯ hers in apacket ofmaterials outlininginsuranceplans
¯ for 2002. Commissioners put the item on their agenda after
¯: receiving numerous phone calls and e-mails from
.. constituents who say the policy gives official sane-
. tion to "sinful" unions.
¯ Commissioner Tim Norton said he originally was
¯ willing to defer to Buchanan and the county’ s human
¯ resources staff. But now, he said, he would probably ¯
vote to rescind the policy because that’s what resi-
: dents have toldhim they want. "I don’ t know that this
: is the right time, or the right place, for us to be
¯ stepping out and taking a leadership role on a social
¯ issue like this," he said.
¯ Commissioners Carolyn McGiunandBen Sciortino
: said last week that they oppose the policy because
¯ they think the county’s health benefits should be
: reserved for employees and their immediate families
¯ only. see-Wichita, p.]O
DIRECTORY
EDITORIAL
US & WORLD NEWS
Z ENTERTAINMENT+ MORE
¯ Rocky Horror Benefit, Oct. 27
¯ TULSA (TFN) - Tulsa’ s downtown Doubletree Hotel will host
: a new Halloween gala event which will benefit Tulsa Oklaho-
¯ mans for Human Rights (TOHR) and the Pyramid Project - the ¯
capital campaign to purchase a permanent community center.
¯ Helga’ s Horfibles will perform live their version of the Rocky
¯ Horror Picture Show beginning at 8:15, featuringHelga,Animal, ¯
Peaches Lennox, Anita Richards, Shirley Nott, Scott, Brenda
¯ Lynn Stewart, Patti, Crystal Meth and Johnny Cronin, all di-
¯ rected by Timothy Snapp.
: After the show, the Time Warp Masquerade Ball will go till
¯ midnight. Costumes are en,co.uraged, ID is required and tickets
: are $25 in advance (at Ken s Flowers, Salon 41, the Pride Store
¯" at the Center and on line at www.Pyramidproject.org) or $30 at
¯° the door. VIP tickets and tables are available. The event will offer
¯" a cash bar, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, party pies, valet
parking and a dj.
: Mr. Oklahoma Leather to Aid TOHRKulsa CARES
¯ The Mr. Oklahoma Leather contest which will be held atCW" s
: on Oct. 19-21 will benefit TOHR/the Community Center and
¯
Tulsa C.ARES. For more information, call CW" s at 610-5323.
¯ Other Community News
¯ On Saturday, Oct. 13, PFLAG is having a Come Out and Fly
¯ Your Kite event in honor of National Coming Out Day (NCOD)
¯ at a local park. Call PFLAG at 749-4901 for more information:
¯ . Annual AIDS Walk, Oct. 6, 9:00am
¯ Saturday, Oct. 6, TulsaAIDSWalk 2001 will begin and end at ¯
Veterans Park at 21st and Boulder (site of the annual Diversity
." Festival). Funds raised at the event help TCAP, the Tulsa Com-
¯" munityAIDS Partnership (TCAP). All funds will be increasedby
¯ 50% withmatching dollars from the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
TCAP helps to fund the following groups: RAIN, the
¯ Regional AIDS Interfaith Network, Tulsa CARES, theAmerican
¯ Red Cross, Red Rock Behavioral Health Services and HOPE
Testing Clinic. The Walk is now eight years old and has raised
: thousands of dollars for direct care and education/prevention for
HEALTH NEWS
on sexual orientation in state hiring, but legislative : HIV/AIDS. It is an all volunteer effort which has no administra_ : ~ GAYSTUDIES P. 10/~1
leaders successfully argued see Iowa, p.2 ¯ tive costs For more information, call 585-5551 ¯ --- ---- ~
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine
*CW’ s, 1737 S. Memorial
*Play-Mor, 424 S. Memorial
Polo Grill, 2038 Utica Square
*Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main
*St. Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st
*Schatzi’ s, 2619 S. Memorial
*The Star, 1565 Sheridan
*TNT’ s, 2114 S. Memorial
*Tool Box I!, 1338 E. 3rd
*Vortex, 2182 S. Sheridan
*The Yellow Brick Road Pub, 2630 E. 15th
832-1269
610-5323
838-9792
744-4280
585-3405
745-9998
280-1316
834-4234
660-0856
584-1308
835-2376
749-1563
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Assoc. in Med. & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard 743-1000
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 250-5034
Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 523 1 E. 41 665-4580
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15 712-1122
*Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21 712-9955
*Borders Books & Music, 8015 S. Yale 494-2665
Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria 743-5272
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria 746-0313
*Cheap Thrills, 2640 E 1 lth 295-5868
Cherry St. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis 581-0902, 743-4117
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker 622-0700
Tim Danid, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th
Doghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Peoria
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan
Encompass Travel, 13161H N. Memorial
Ross Edward Salon 584-0337,
Events Unlimited, 507 S. Main
Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. Peoria
Four Star Import Automotive, 9906~E. 55th H.
Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr.
Gay & Lesbian Affordable Daycare
*Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st
Leanne M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly
*International Tours
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E. 15th
*Jared’ s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering
The Keepers, Housekeeping & Gardening
*Ken’s Flowers, 1635 E. 15
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210
*Living ArtSpace, 308 South Kenosha
*Midtown Theater, 319 E. 3rd
Mingo Valley ~Flowers, 9720c E. 31
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place
Puppy Pause II, 1060 S. Mingo
*The Pride Store
Rainbowz on the River B+B, PUB 696, 74101
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning
Teri Schutt, Ellen & Co.
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis
Venus Salon, 1247 S. Harvard
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counsding
*Wherehouse Music, 5150 S. Sheridan
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis
www.gaytulsa.org - website for Tulsa Gays & Lesbians
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, PUB 4337, 74101 579-9593
All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria 743-2363
Black & White, Inc. PUB 14001, Tulsa 74159 587-7314
Bless The Lord at All Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6 583-7815
B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa United Min. Ctr. 583-9780
Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S. Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th PI. & Florence
Church of the Restoration UU, 1314N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community of Hope Church, 2545 S. Yale 747-6300
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
Coundl Oak Men’ s Chorale 748-3888
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712-1511
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457
749-3620
744-5556
838-8503
369-8555
712-9379
592-0460
744-9595
610-0880
628-3709
808-8026
742-1460
459-9349
744-7440
745-1111
341-6866
712-2750
582-3018
747-0236
582-8460
599-8070
747-5466
585-1234
584-3112
663-5934
664-2951
838-7626
743-4297
747-5932
834-0617
834-7921,748-0224
481-0558
835-5563
743-1733
665-2222
592-0767
¯ 918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615
." PUB 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 o! The Associated Press
¯ Issued around the 1 st ofeach month, the entire contents of this
¯ publication are protected by US copyright 2001 by Tulsa
¯ Family News andmay not be reproduced either in whole or in
¯ part without written permission from the publisher. Publica-
.- lion 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 Tulsa Family News. Each reader is entitled to 4
¯ copies of each edition at distribution points.
¯ Additional copies are available by Calling 583-1248.
: Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa- Lesbian & Gay Catholics &
: Episcopalians, PUB 701475, 74170-1475 ¯ 355-3140 *Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
." *Free SpiritWomen’ s Center,call forlocation &info: 587-4669
¯ Friend For A Friend, PUB 52344, 74152 747-6827 ¯
Friends inUnity Social Org., PUB 8542, 74101 582-0438 ¯ *Tulsa C.A.R.E.S., 3507 E..Admiral 834-4194
." HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
¯ *HouseoftheHoly SpiritMinstries,1517 S.Memorial 224-4754 ¯
*MCC United,-1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715 ¯ NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111
¯ NOW, Nat’l Org. forWomen, PUB 14068, 74159 365-5658 ¯
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), PUB 9165, 74157
¯ *OSU-Tulsa
¯ PFLAG, PUB 52800, 74152 749-4901
¯ *Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152 627-2359 ¯ R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
¯ *Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
¯ St. Aidan’ s Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cincinnati 425-7882 ¯
St. Dlmstan’s Episcopal, 5635 E. 71st 492-7140 ¯ *St. Jerome’ s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088
; Soulforce-OK, Rt.4,#3534,Stigler74462 587-3248,452-2761
¯ *TulsaArea United Way, 1430 S Boulder 583-7171
" *TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225 ¯ Tulsa County Health Department, 4616 E. 15 595-4105
¯ Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only ¯
¯ TulsaOkla. for Human Rights, Gay Comm. Center 743-4297
TUL-PAC, PositiveAdvocacy Coalition, POB2687,Tulsa 74101
¯ T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform]Leather Seekers Assoc. 298-0827
*Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
¯. *Tulsa Community College Campuses
¯
*Tulsa Gay Community Center, 21st & Memorial 743-4297
¯ Unity Churchof Christianity, 3355 S. Jamestown 749-8833
: BARTLESVILLE
¯" Bardesville Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
TAHLEQUAH
¯. Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
¯ Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church - 918-456-7900
¯ Green Country AIDS Coalition, PUB 1570 918-453-9360
¯ EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
¯ Autunm Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23 501-253-7734
¯ Jim & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main 501-253-7457
¯ DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St. 501-253-6807
¯ Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St. 501-253-5445
¯ Heart of the Hills B&B, 5 Summit St. 501-363-9203
." MCC of the Living Spring 501-253-9337
: Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, PUB 429 501-253-2776
.- Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery 501-253-5332
¯ Positive Idea Marketing Hans 501-624-6646
: White Light, 1 Center St. 501-253-4074
¯
JOPLIN, MISSOURI
¯ Spirit of Christ MCC, 2639 E. 32, Ste. U134 417-623-4696
: * is whereyou canfindTFN. NotallareGay-owned butallare Gay.friendly.
Authorities say they also ran across some of
his camping sites and found garbage or
buried debris connected to him.
Now,a taskforce coordinating the Rudolph
search has dwindled from 200 agents to just
afew. "No question that the focus rightnow
for the immediate need of agents for time
and resources" is to investigate last week’ s
terror attacks, said Patrick Crosby, a spokes~
man for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta.
But Crosby added: "Nobody’ s dropping
anything on Rudolph or the investigation."
Rudolph, for whose capture an award of $1
million has been offered, is believed to adhere
to Christian Identity, a white supremacist
religion that is rabidly anti-Gay, anti-
Semitic and anti-foreigner. Sdme of the four
bombs Rudolph was charged with planting
included messages from the shadowy"Army
of God."
Western North Carolina has long had a
reputation as ahavenforright-wing extremists.
Many there mocked the government’ s
inability to find Rudolph with bloodhounds,
infrared-equippedhelicopters and space-age
motion detectors- and some said they would
hide him if asked.
Bin Laden, a wealthy Saudi who helped
push the Soviets out of Afghanistan, has
likewise become an almost mythic figure in
Islamic militant circles. His protectors have
not been swayed by a $5 million bounty.
"These are both men who are pursuing
their personally received messages, supposedly
from God, and who are ruthless as a
result," said Mark Potok, who tracks domestic
terrorists for the Southern Poverty Law
Center in Montgomery, Ala.
"presumably, there’s a litde more national
will involved in the bin Laden case,"
he says. ’¢Fhis is a sdckin the eye ofAmerica
inaway that the Rudolph attacks really were
not."
i Cummins Ends
¯ Support for Scouts
in court that he had exceeded his authority.
Vilsack challenged lawmakers to take that
step on their own, but the issue hash’ t been
debated since the legal battle. Republican
legislative leaders have refused to bring the
measure up for debate.
Subcommittee members said the numbers
alone argue for protecting Gays and
Lesbians, because estimates are that up to
4% of the state’ s population is Gay, roughly
114,500 people. That’ s a larger population
than the 2.8% of the state that is Hispanic
and2.1% African-Americanpopulation, they
said.
¯ COLUMBUS, Ind. - Heavy engine manu-
¯ facturer Cummins Inc. almonnced Sept. 18
¯ it plans to stop sponsoring an event that
¯ raises money for the Boy Scouts ofAmerica
¯ because of the organization’ s ban on Gays
¯ serving as troop leaders, according to The
¯ Associated Press.
¯ Cnmmins has beenamajor donor to scout-
¯ ing programs, in Indiana’s Bartholomew
¯" County. seeScouts,p.11
by Rich Tafel
Everything in America has changed since the attacks of
September 11,2001. While.Americans return to work and
theirdaily lives, Washington-based special interest groups
are struggling to figureout where to go from here.
The Sierra Club, which earlier this year saw an increase
infundraising fromils attacks onnewly-inaugurated President
George W. Bush, has sent a memo to their leading
members instructing them to stop bashing the president.
Other groups preparing to spend millions onad campaigns
to fight the "lfckbox" budget wars have gone silent.
Democrats and Republicans are working together.
Gay organizations are not sure how to respond. The
debate in Washington. now revolves around a central
question - do Gay groups move ahead with the "old"
agenda items? Dothey put Gay-specific issues on hold?
Or, do they rise to meet the new challenges fa,c.ing Gay
Americans in this new period, even ifthey don t fit what
-these groups have long argued was "the Gay agenda"?
Tome whathas ehangedmost since September 11 is the
rubric for debate. Throughout the years, Gay activists
have relied on a paradigm of "victimization" to formulate
their agenda for advancing our community’ sinterests. A
divergence of reality began to take place, where our
political leaders argued our lives were getting worse and
worse while, in reality, we were gaining greater acceptance.
In the end, Gay.politics became dominated by a
"virtual victimization, with our own sogiety full of enemies
oppressing us. Obscured by this paradigm was the
reality that, while we still have barriers to dear, life for
Gay Americans has never been better.
The "virtual victimization" paradigm may have fit the
time. But there was a cost. Gay Americans who bought
into this paradigm were left to believe that the power to
live life on their own terms 4s outside their control.
"Virtual victims’" become increasingly alienated from
society, moreinward-driven, and less connected to a sense
of personal responsibility about how their lives tnm out.
We’ 11 look back on the 1990’ s with an almost embarrassing
realization of just how self-absorbed we were. The
same Gay community whose political leaders demanded
employment anti-discrimination laws and hate crime protections
was travding on RSVP cruises, packing warehouse
circuit parties, and filling black-tie dinner halls to
hear keynote addresses from Hollywood celebrities.
If the attack on September 11 shocked our nation back
to reality, it might do the same for the Gay movement. At
LEF’s July leadership conference, entitled "Redefining
the Gay Agenda," syndicated columnist Hasting Wyman
made an observation about why Vice President AI Gore,
the 2000 Democratic nominee for President, didn’t do
better among Gay voters even though he supported what
was knows as the Gay agenda: "... I think this raises an
interesting question and I say a question, not a conclusion.
...A lot of the Gay agenda, while it may be right or it may
be wrong, it’s not terribly relevant to the average Gay
person."
Hastings is right, and as we examine what is real and
relevant in our lives after September 11. Now is the time
to reject the "virtual victim" paradigm and, maybe for the
first lime ever, think of ourselves as fellow Americans,
united with the rest of the nation, confronting a common
enemy. I think Gays and Lesbians get this, even if our
leadership doesn’ t. One thing is clear as I walk through the
Gay neighborhoods of Washington, where the American
flag is draped from hundreds of windows, and as I read of
a conservative Republican Senator eulogizing Mark
Bingham as an American hero who save the U.S. Capitol,
Gays and Lesbians are part of the greatness of America
and they know it.
What unique role can Gays and Lesbians play as we
unite against the terrorists? First, Gay and Lesbian leaders
can stop the incessant negative backbiting against President
Bushand his administration. Like every other American,
we need him to succeed in this mission. Throw away
those "He’ s Not My President" t-shirts. Gay organization
leaders need to stop referring to him as the "enemy" - we
¯ have a clear enemy today, that is absolutely bent on our
¯¯ collective destruction, who brutalizes women, murders
Gays and sees a free society as the world’ s greatest evil.
: Now is not the time to attack the President. This will be
¯ the hardest for groups whosefundraising has depended on
¯ demonizing him, butnext time they doit,weall~eed to ask
¯ them to refrain. That doesn’t mean we cannot disagree
¯ with President Bush or abrogate the freedoms we are truly ¯
fighting to defend, but as fellow Americans we have a
: common moral duty to rekindle-a tone of respect for the
¯ office of the presidency, and for the burden on the man
¯ who sits there today.
"Gay organizations are not sure how
to respond. The debate in
Washington now revolves around a
central question - do Gay groups move
ahead with the old" aCenda items?
Do they put Gay-speciflc issues on hold?
Or, do they rise to meet the new
challenges facing Gay Americans
in this new period, even ff they don’t fit
what these groups have long argued
was "the Gay agenda’S."
New, more pressing issues have come to the forefront
and need our attention. Gay couples and families have
been ripped apart in the attacks. We must be vigilant in
ensuring that those left behind are not cut off from survivor
benefits and legal rights that they deserve. We as a
community should take notice of the vital importance of
partner benefits andresponsibilities in light of this tragedy
and ensure we have provided for our loved ones should
anything happen to us.
Donating blood surfaced as an issuein the days after the
¯ attacks. The RedCross policy on donating bloodis dearly ¯
out of date and harmful in how absolute its exclusion of
¯ Gay men has been since the 1980’s. The only response
¯ from Gay leaders thus far is still ringing of victimization, ¯
or has just been silence for fear of raising an issue that
: makes us all sound selfish.
¯ However, there is a "united we stand" approach to
¯ giving blood. Again, sad as it is, there will likely be need ¯
for more blood before this war is over. We should respect-
" fully, without fanfare and action alerts, approach the Red
~ Cross and explain that Gay men would like to hdp the
¯ effort. While we do understand that Gay men are more ¯
likely to be HIV positive then the general public, we
¯ should not confuse sexual orientation with health status,
: and the policy should be consistent in its approach to
¯ sexual behavior. For instance, heterosexuals with mul-
¯ . tiple partners are not screened outin thesame way as aGay
¯ man who has had sex once since 1977.
; During times of war, scapegoats are often sought out in
¯ every society. Will Gays and Lesbians become targets of
¯ greater hate crime activity? I doubt it. But I do believe that
: Arab Americans or anyonelooking like them will be. The
¯ greatest weapon against intolerance is educating our-
" selves, so we should be role models.
¯ In the "unitedwe stand" paradigm,we can explain to the
¯ public that we know what it is like to bejudged, discrimihated
against and even physically beaten because of who
: weare. Thoughweknow many Islamicleaders inAmerica
: have shown little tolerance for Gays and Lesbians, we as
¯ acommunitylove andrespect ourfellow Americaus under
¯
attack. We support them and their civil rights, so that we
: never again make the mistake of how we treated Japanese
¯ Americans in World War II.
¯ The overall paradigm of the Gay civil rights movement
¯ must change, see Change, p.ll
" Welcome to Our Reality
: by Tom Neal, editor &publisher
¯ Hate crimes have beenmuch onmymind in theseweeks ¯
since the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. This
: horror has brought out the best in so many Americans but
it has also brought out the worst in a few.
Some of those few have used this mad event as an
¯" excuse to express their prejudices, theirracism, their anti-
" immigrant bigotry, and their homophobia, around the
: country as well as here in Tulsa.
¯ In Tulsa, we’ ve seen the beating of a Pakistani man and
: apparently, according to Barbara Moore of the Asian-
" American Society, others who are perceived as "foreign"
¯ have been harassed.
No one in th.e Gay communities has missed the shameless
opportunism of Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson,
perhaps the greatest disgraces to contemporary
Christendom, at trying to incite violence against Lesbians
and Gay Americans and others in the wake of the terrorist
¯ attack.
: My comment to our Muslim and Asian sisters and
¯ brothers is welcome to our reality of violence, prejudice ¯
and hatredin Tulsa. What you’re experiencing as,new has
: been our ongoing reality. What you’re experiencing as a
: new sensation of lack of safety has long been our experi-
¯
But while attacks on you are decried by Tulsa’ s pro-
: foundly hypocritical "do-good" organizations: NCCJ,
¯ Jewish Federation, Tulsa Metropolitan Ministry, Tulsa ¯
Interfaith Alliance, those same groups have been shame-
: fully silent when Gay men were brutally beaten like the
¯ Tulsa Pakistani man.
¯ It’ s not that they didn’ t know that the attacks happened.
¯ Tim Beauchamp and Tony Orr’ s beating on Brookside a
few years ago was well reportedin this newspaper as well
¯ as in The World. Beauchamp and Orrlater testified before
¯ the US House of Representatives about their beating, a ¯
fact also reported by The WorM. ¯
I personally told Nancy Day ofNCCJ of themost recent
¯ beating ofaGay man which this newspaper reportedin our
¯ August issue. But neither Ms. Day nor NCCJ, nor any ¯
other of these organizations has felt it incumbent to
¯ express for Gay Tulsans what they fall over themselves to
¯ do for Muslim Tulsans.
¯ Clearly themessage here is that NCCJ, Jewish Federa- ¯
tion, and possibly TMM and Tulsa Interfaith Alliance do
¯ not consider the attacks on Gay Tulsans to rise to the same
level of concern as the attacks on other minorities. Or if
¯ perhaps their values are slightly more humane, then they ¯
are cynically utterly unwilling to expend any oftheir effort
¯ or "capital" in acting upon them.
¯ As horrible as it to contemplate, for some time I have
been convinced that the only thing that would get these
: groups off dead center would be for Tlffsa to have our own
¯ Matthew Shepard murdered- as much as I pray that such
will never happen.
¯ What is it about this city that it is so profoundly morally
¯ bankrupt that only the veritible cruxcifiction of an iuno-
¯ cent might, and only_ might, move them to acknowledge
¯ the right of Lesbian and Gay Tulsans to live unassaulted ¯
and with even a fractiOi~ of the civil rights and other legal
: protections other residents, including other minorities,
: take for granted?
¯ Indeed I am glad to see that attacks against Muslim and
¯ others are condemned. I also am glad to see new networks
¯ formed to address hate crimes but I am deeply troubled
: that this new effort, again, starts by excluding Gay and
¯ Lesbian Tulsans and describes hate crimes only as race, ¯
religion and ethnicity when those who hate, attack race,
¯ ethnicity, rdigion and sexual orientation equally, and
¯ sometimes us first. ¯
¯ The latest Tulsa anti-hate crime network did invite our
Nancy McDonald, PFLAGfounder, butit’ s not at all dear
¯ that she was invitedinher role as a more acceptable proxy
¯ for Gay folk but rather in her role as new co-convertor of ¯
the Say No to Hate Coalition.
¯
see Hate, p. 10
Czechs Seek Partners
Recognition
PRAGUE, .Czech Republic (AP) - Czech Gays and
Lesbians soon could become the first in a former
communist country to be allowed to register their
partnerships. Prime Minister Milts Zeman’ s Cabinet
has thrown its supportbehind a draftlaw grantingGays
equal rights with the rest of the population. And
backers ofthelegislation say they’ ve neverhada better
chance for passage of the measure.
The bill gives Gay and Lesbian couples the same
fights as those of heterosexual ones in areas such as
inheritance and health insurance. Couples would be
¯ allowed to seal their partnerships at local government
offices, and severing a union would require a courtapproved
divorce. The draft, approved by the Cabinet,
however; bars couples from adopting children.
Legislation that would allow homosexual unions
already has been turned down twice by the Czech
parliament, in 1997 and 1999. But this time will be
different, Gay activists say. "Public opinion has
changed," said Jiri Hromada, an activist. "Any deputy
should listen to that."
A May survey by the state-sponsored CVVM polling
agency said only33%of those polled opposed such
a law, compared to 42% in 1999. The margin of error
was 3%, To pass, supporters of the law need only a
simple majority in the 200-seat chamber. Since the
ruling party holds 74 seats, supporters say they only
need just over two dozen votes to make the measure
pass.
Several other European nations already extend legal
fights to same-sex partners. Denmark granted legal
rights in 1989, a move followed later by other countries,
including Swedenand the Netherlands. Germany
recently began to allow Gay couples to register their
unions, and in the United States, Vermont became the
first state to recognize same-sex unions last year.
The Czech Republic wouldbe the firstpost-communist
country, however, to approve such a measure.
Most post-communist societies, burdened with massive
economic troubles, have largely neglected such
social questions.
Opponents arebracing for afight. TheRomanCatholic
Church, which has long opposed such unions,
sponsored a petition to pressure the parliament to
reject the measure. Petition organizer Josef Zeman of
the Brat-based group National Center for Family says
72,000 have already signed. Some 2.7 million people
in theCzechRepublic say they are Roman Catholic: "It
will have an irreversible impact on those young people
who still are not clear about their sexual orientation,’"
Zeman warned.
The draft law should be discussed in the lower
ch~amber, the House of Deputies, by the end of this
year.
Cleveland United Way
Drops-Boy Scouts
CLEVELAND (AP) - The Clevdand chapter of the
United Way has decided to stop funding traditional
Boy Scouts programs that discriminate against Gays.
The money will instead go to Boy-Scout-affiliated
programs such as Learning for Life, a program that
does not prohibit Gay menfrom being leaders.
-. Earlier this month, United Way Services of Greater
Cleveland shifted $268,000 in Boy Scout donations to
the Learning for Life program, said Mike Benz, president
Of the local United Way organization. The program
will be taught in Cleveland, Bedford and Lakewood
public schools and teaches children to apply
classroom lessons in their everyday life.
Last year, the United Way Services gave about
$90,000 ofits Boy Scout donation to Learning for Life.
This year, the group considered cutting support to the
Boy Scouts entirely but decided instead to shift all of
its donation to~ngfor Life.
." Susan Lewis, spokeswoman for the Greater Cleve-
." land Council for the Boy Scouts of America, said
¯ shifting the money to a Boy Scout-affiliated program
: was a good compromise. She said her chapter will try
: to shiftaround other donormoney tomake upforlosing
¯¯ the United Way funding, which accounts for about
14% of t!~ir budget. Nearly 50 United Ways across the
¯ country and a dozen corporations have quit giving
¯ money to Boy Scouts of America since ihe U.S. Su-
¯ preme Court last year upheld the Scouts’ right to reject ¯
homosexual leaders.
_" Jan Cline, an Eagle Scout and associate director of
¯ the Lesbian Gay Community ServiceCenter in Cleve- ¯
land, said he wanted United Ways to stop funding the
: Boy Scouts altogether until they stop discriminating.
: "If I give to United Way, I don’ t want one cent to go
¯ to Boy Scouts," Cline said. "There’ s no betterplace for ¯
boys tolearn citizenship, personal fitness and camping
¯ skills. But by enforcing a membership standard that
: teaches young Gaymentheirfeelings are second-class,
¯ they’re teaching bigotry and discrimination." ¯
None of the Northeast Ohio United Way organiza-
¯ tions,including UuitedWay Services ofGreaterCleve-
¯ land, has employment policies that prohibit discrimi- ¯
nation against Gays.
Finland Recognizes
Same Gender Partners
HELSINKI, Finland (AP) - Lawmakers passed a goveminent
proposal recently that makes Gay partnerships
legally binding but stops short of letting Gay
couples adopt children or use the same surname. The
bill, which comes into force next year, was approved
99 to 84, with 17 abstentions or absentees.
The new law says Finns who are at least 18 can
register a same-sex union in a civil ceremony comparable
to matrimony. It also give~ Gay couples the same
rights as married heterosexual couples when inheriting
each other’ s property and in cases of divorce.
TheFinnish Lesbian andGay AsSociationwelcomed
the law but said it wished it went further. ’q’his at long
last gives Gay couples the rights they deserve," said
Rainer Hiltunen, the association’s secretary-general.
"But it’ s a compromise, and we are disappointed that it
doesn’ t secure the rights of chil&en in a Gay marriage
because they can only be registered to one parent."
The Finnish Evangdical Lutheran Church, to which
85% of the 5.2 million population belongs, has opposed
giving Gay partners the same rights as married
couples. However, Archbishop Jukka Paarma has said
that the legal position of homosexual and Lesbian
couples should be improved.
The new law is in line with similar legislation in the
other Nordic countries of Sweden, Norway, Denmark
and Iceland, where Gay partnerships have been legalized.
Denmark and Iceland permit adoptions by Gay
couples in certain circumstances.
Houston Partner
¯ Benefits Up for Vote
¯" HOUSTON (AP) - Houston, voters in November will
¯ consider whether the city should offer health and other
~ benefits to same-sex parmers of its employees. The
: Houston City Council approved for the Nov. 6 ballot a
¯ referendum that, ifpassed,-wouldprohibit the cityfrom
¯ providing same-sex benefits. The city doesn’t offer
: thosebenefits now, but had been considering changing
¯ its benefits policy to include them.
¯ The council approved the ballot addition by a 9-5
vote after City Secretary AnnaRnssell validatedenough
¯ signatures on petitions to call for a vote. Petitioner
¯ Dave Wilson, who,opposes offering same-sex ben-
. efits, led an effort to gather 21,028 signatures on those
¯ petitions. City law requires 20~000 valid signatures
." from registered voters in Houston to force a vote on a
¯ change to the city charter.
"1623 N. Maplewood (918) 838-1715 mcctu/saOaoLcom
Community
Unitarian Universalist
Congregation
at Community ofHope
2545 South Yale, Sundays at llam, 749-0595
A Welcoming Congregation
HOUSE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Sun. Worship, 10:45 am, Sunday School, 9:30 am
Wed. Bible Study, 7 pm, Sunday Eve. Service, 6prn
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, 800-44d-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, Sunday - Friday
12-9 pm, Saturday, all sales benefit the Center
Heart of the Hills
Bed & Breakfast
5 Summit, Eurel~a Springs, Arkansas
501 - 363 - 9203
Come Stay Us for the Next
Diversity Celebration, Nov. 2 - 4
Red Rock Tulsa
Free Confidential HIV Testing
Walk-in Cgtnics
Tues. & Thurs., 5 -8 pm
at the Center, 1307 East 38th
Daytime appointments available.
Call for more information:
918-584-2325
d
i
Ame.rlcan Red Cross
American Red Cross
Tulsa Area Chapter
10151 East Eleventh
Tulsa 74128
Dannette Mclntosh
Diversity Co-ordinator
838-1100
OPENARMS
OPEN MINDS
OPEN HEARTS
Saint Aidan Saint Dunstan
4045 N. Cincinnati, 425-7882 5635 East 71st, 492-7140
Saint John Trinity
4200 S. Atlanta Place, 742-7381 501 S. Cincinnati, 582-4128
The Episcopal Church Welcomes You
CouncilwrmanAnniseP~rker, thecity"srnly openly
Gay elected official, voted against adding the referendum
to the ballot, claiming that Russell missed errors
orirregularities on !, 101 signatures. MayorLee Brown
said he intends to oppose the referendum and that
authorities should investigate any possible fraud. Harris
County District Attorney Chuck Rosenthal said his
office would investigate if a complaint is fried. Wilson
said he knew of no problems with the petitions or
signatures.
Houston voters in 1985 nullified a nondiscrimination
ordinance approved by the council. Earlier this
year, the council approved.a similar ordinance protecting
Gays and Lesbians from discrimination, and the
Nov. 6 referendum does not address the ordinance.
Gay Adoption
Considered In Nebraska
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - As the state Supreme Court
prepares to hear a case that could decide ifGay couples
have the right to adopt children, groups on both sides
are weighing in on the dispute. Thehigh court is to hear
the case next week of a Lincoln Lesbian who wants her
lover to be able to adopt her 3-year-old boy.
The case already has generated so-called "friend of
the court" briefs from scores of organizations, including:
theAmerican Psychological Association; the Family
Research Institute; the Alliance for Children’s
Rights; The National Organization for Women; the
National Adoption Center; and the Lambda Legal
Defense and Education Fund. The Nebraska Catholic
Conference, the Family Research Council, the Nonpartisan
Family Coalition and Family First also have
weighed in.
The boy, called "Luke" in court papers, was born to
"B.P," in 1997 through artificial inseminataon. The
boy has lived with his mother and her lover, "A.E.,"
since birth. The two women were joined in a commitment
ceremony in 1995, according to court records.
Such ceremonies are not recognized as marriages in
Nebraska, where voters last year approved a measure
to keep same-sex marriages from being legally recog-
B.P. already has custody of her 9-year-old son from
a previous marriage. While Nebraska law contains no
specific provision prohibiting adoptions by Gay
couples, Deputy Attorney General Steve Grasz said
does not mean it is legal. He also said A.E. has no legal
rights to adopt the child, even though she has helped
raise him. "Such caregivers, unlike parents, possess no
substantive liberty interest in the child," he said in
briefs filed in the case. "No fundamental constitutional
right has been accorded in the law to individuals such
as foster parents, grandparents, caregivers or ’partners’
of parents even though they have a deep emotional
attachment to the child."
Amy Miller, a lawyer with the American Civil
Liberties Union, dismissed those arguments. "The
state’ s bias is based on its discomfort with A.E. and
B.P.’ s relationship, but is irrelevant asthe real issue is
Luke’ s interests," she said. "The law only inquires into
the best interests of the child to be adopted.
Court Rejects Gag on Play
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (AP) - A federal appeals court
has dismissed a lawsuit that sought to block a controversial
student play, ruling that the issue is moot since
the play has already been performed. The 7th Circuit
U.S. Court of Appeals in Chicago last week rejected
the complaint filed by opponents of the play "Corpus
Christi" who accused Indiana University-Purdue University
ofusing taxpayermoney to support an attackon
Christianity.
Theplayfeatured aGay, Christ-like characternamed
Joshua and 12 other male characters, most of whom
had the names of Christ’s disciples.
In a one-page orderissued Sept. 19, the court said the
;" issues raised on appeal do not merit’fotther consider:
¯¯ ation because theplay has already been performed. Six sold-out performances took place Aug. 10 to 18 in a
¯ theater on the university’ s Fort Wayne campus.
¯ Opponents led by former Republican gubernatorial
: candidate John Price had argued that staging the play
¯ on the grounds of a state university_violated the consti-
: tutional separation of church and state.
¯ Attorney Stephen R. Pennell represented the univer-
¯
sity in thelawsuit. He said school leaders were pleased
¯ by the court’ s action. "The play has been performed, so
¯ there is no longer any relief the court could grant that ¯
would be effective in any way, so the point is moot,"
¯
Pennell told The Journal Gazette.
The same appeals court ruled Aug. 7 in favor of
¯ allowing "Corpus Christi" to be performed while the ¯
appeal was pending. The decision upheld a July ruling
¯
by U.S. District Judge William C. Lee, who said
: issuing a preliminary inJunction against theproduction
¯ would cause more harm than allowing the play to
: proceed.
¯ Patricia Corbat of Fort Wayne, one of the three
¯ plaintiffs participating in the appeal, was not sure
¯ whether there are any other ways to pursue the com-
. plaint.
¯° She said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks put the churchstate
relationship in a new perspective. "We don’t
¯ allow prayer in government at all, but all of a sudden
¯
everyone in government is praying," Corbat told the
¯ newspaper. "I just think that, all of a sudden, we’re
: trying to get back in God’ s graces.’"
Maine City OKs Civil
Rights Bill
BANGOR, Maine (AP) - Bangor became the 1 lth
¯
Maine city to enact a Gay civil rights ordinance when
¯ the city council approved the law by a lopsided vote.
¯ The law, approved by an 8-1 vote, bars discrimination ¯
based on sexual orientation in housing, public accom-
¯ modations, credit, education and employment. It is
." similar to measures that have been enacted by the
¯ Legislature, but overturned by Maine voters.
¯ The Bangor council’s passage came a week after a
¯ three-hour public hearing on the measure. Supporters
¯ said such a law is long overdue 17 years after a Gay
i
youth named Charlie Howard died after being thrown
off a downtown Bangor bridge by three local teen-
" agers.
¯ But opponents cited religious objections, and said it
¯ is an unneeded extension of the Maine Human Rights
¯
Act that_ should be decided by voters. Some asserted
¯ that the-law confers special rights on a specific group.
¯ Maine voters last November turned down a law that
would have outlawed discrimination based on sexual
¯
orientation. Similar bills had been rejected by the
: Legislature for two decades until 1997, when a mea-
¯ sure was enacted and signed by Gov. Angus King. ¯
Voters repealed it in 1998, and lawmakers responded
¯ by sending a new bill back to referendum.
~ While the state’ s voters repealed the Gay civil rights
¯ question in 2000, a majority of voters in Bangor ¯
favored the state law. After Monday night’s council
¯ vote, about two dozen spectators broke into applause.
¯ "Equal rights and equal dignity are not special rights,"
¯ said Councilor Joe Baldacci, who sponsored the pro-
" posal with Councilor Judy Vardamis.
: An opponent, Bangor Baptist Church Pastor Jerry
¯ Mick, said he believed a planned effort to repeal the ¯
ordinance could be successful.
¯
Challenges to Gay civil rights laws in other Maine
: cities have had mixed results. In 1992, Portland voters
¯ rejected a proposal to overturn the city’s Gay civil
", rights ordinance. But Lewiston voters repealed their
: city’ s ordinance a year later.
Los kn0olos May ment would prevent the city from provid-
Host 2006 Games
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Anonprofitgroup
will send a delegation to SouthAfricanext
month to lobby forthe city to host the2006
Gay Games, an Olympics-styl_e~l. event~that
draws Gay and Lesbian athletes trom
around the world. Los Angeles faces three
other finalists - Chicago, Atlanta and
Montreal - in its bid to host the games,
which have been held every four years
since 1982: As many as 15,000 competitors
take part in the games, drawing upward
of 250,000 spectators.
The Federation of Gay Games will begin
the selection process in Johannesburg,
South Africa on Oct. 21, with the winning
city announced four days later. The Gay
Games include more than 30 sports, from
aerobics to sailing to wrestling. The event
was founded by Olympic decathlete Tom
Waddell after enduring jokes and harassment
on the sports circuit.
The two-weekGay Games VII wouldbe
the largest single event inLos Angeles in
the next five years, according to the Los
Angeles Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The games could generate as much as
$400 million for the city.
San Francisco has played host to two
previous games. Los Angeles has bid on
the games, but has never been selected.
LOs Angeles als0 is seeking to host the
2012 summer Olympic Games. Tt{~’summer
Olympiad previously was held in the
city in 1932 and 1984. Members of the
nonprofit Los Angeles 2006 Inc. group
that is seeking to draw the Gay Games said
many Olympic venues would be used during
the event.
Michigan City to
Vote Against Gays
paign is under way here in the campaign
over an anti-Gay civil rights proposal on
the Nov. 6 city ballot. Both sides pledge to
keep debate civil. But city voters could
face an onslaught of door-to-door campaigns,
yard signs, telephone polls, radio
talk show forums and church debate.
"We feel there is a great deal of discrimination
in the impetus to getting this
ballot initiative. It just r’eally stinks," said
Robert Dempsey, campaign manager for
the group fighting the proposal.
It has been more than a year since City
Manager Pat DiGiovatmi enacted a policy
allowing Gay city employees to cover
their parmers under health insurance. Opponents
immediately moved to put before
voters a broadly worded charter amendment
that bans the city from adopting any
ordinances or policies that give special
preference based on sexual orientation.
"We plan to explain to people why this is
a bad amendment," said Dempsey, of
Kalamazoo Against Discrimination.
" The Michigan branch of the Tupelo,
Miss.-based American Family Association
is aiding the group seeking the
Kalamazoo Gays-rights b~a. The group’ s
Michigan president said he is hopeful for
its passage because the public is returning
to spirituality. "Churches are full. People
are returning to a faith in.God," said Gary
It is unclear whether the charter amending
employee benefits to Gay couples.
City attorneys say the policy does not
mention sexual orientation and therefore
maynotbevoidediftheamendmentpasses.
So far, "very few" of about 900 city employees
have applied for same-sex benefits,
said City Attorney Robert Cinabro.
Kalamazoo is among three cities in
Michigan and 17 communities nationwide
that will vote on Gay civil rights measures
in November. Huntington Woods and
Traverse City also are voting on human
rights measures.
"The whole country will be watching
the three communities in Michigan," said
;can Kosofsky, director of policy and victim
services for the Triangle Foundation, a
Detroit-based Gay civil rights organization.
The National Gay and Lesbian Task
Force in Washington, D.C., last week announcedit
will give $10,000 to Kalamazoo
Against Discrimination.
Meanwhile, American Family Association
is supporting Kalamazoo Citizens
Voting Yes For Equal Rights Not Special
Rights, which is promoting the proposal.
That group has about 50 volunteers, about
half of whom live outside the city, the
Kalamazoo Gazette said Sunday. Among
themis the group’ s spokesman, Kalamazoo
County Commissioner Jack Hoogendyk
Jr. of Portage. "I have interest because I
work in the city," Hoogendyk said. "Most
people rig,h,t now have no clue what the
issues are.
Massachusetts
May Add Benefits
BOSTON (AP) - Gay, Lesbian and unmarried
state workers would be able to get
health insurance for their domestic partners
under a bill approved by a key state
Senate committee late in September. The
bill, approved by the Senate Ways and
MeansCommittee, would also let cities
and towns decide to offer domestic parmer
benefits as a local option.
¯ A domestic partner is defined by .the bill
¯ as someone of the same or opposite sex
¯ who shares financialresponsibilities and a
¯
home with a state employee. They must
¯ also say that they are in a relationship of
¯ "mutual support, care and commitment"
and plan to live together indefinitely.
: The Senate has approved two similar
: bills in recent yb,ars. None became law. "I
¯ approach it as a matter of basic fairness,"
¯ said Senate President Thomas Birming-
¯
ham, D-Chelsea.
¯ The full Senate is scheduled to vote on
¯ the bill soon. It is also expected to vote on
¯" bills that would allow Cambridge and
¯ Brookline to extend domesticpartner ben-
" efits to their employees.
Opponents of domestic partner benefits
¯
say they places homosexual relationships
: on the same level as heterosexual mar-
" riages. They also say that giving nnmar-
¯ ried heterosexual couples the same ben-
" efits as married couples weakens theinsti-
¯ tution of marriage.
¯ In 1998, the Legislature passed a bill
"- allowing Boston to provide the benefits -
¯
known as a"home rule petition" - but the
¯ bill was vetoed by former Gov. Paul
Cdlucci.
Conne .
Kelly Kirb.y, CPA,
Certified Public Accountant
a professional corPoration
Lesbians and Gay men face many special
tax situations whether single or as. couples¯
Electronic filing is available for faster refunds.
747-5466
SOuth Harvard Avenue, Suite 210, Tulsa 74135
:¯ HIV ACtiViStS Educate Online
¯ ~AMI (AP) - Lighted by the blue glow
¯" of a portable computer, Marc Cohen is
¯
blazing a new trail in AIDS awareness. He
: logs on to the Intemet, surfs into a busy
chat room and uses his screen name -
¯
hivoutreachmiami@aol.com- to answer
¯ questions aboutAIDS, hepatitis and other
¯ sexually transmitted diseases.
"Awareness Alert," he types in bold
¯
letters. "Miami is now secondinthenation
¯ for syphilis infection. Wilton Manors has
¯ hadan outbreak, too. STDand HIV screen-
, ings can be done free of charge."
"We are not the sex police," said Cohen,
¯ president of the United Foundation for-
¯ AIDS, a South Beach-based group-that
offers counseling; HIV screening and
¯
therapy to people with the AIDS virus that
¯ causes AIDS.
¯ With the AIDS epidemic in its third ¯
decade, Cohen and a cadre of national
¯
AIDS prevention advocates are invading
: chat rooms to get the attention of those
¯ most at risk of HIV infection. It’ s an ap-
: proach that counselors and health Officials
¯ from San Francisco to South Beach be¯
lieve is working. Finding new ways to
reach the (principal) at-risk groups - de-
" fined as young Gay and Bisexual men,
¯ especially blacks - has been a focus of
¯ AIDS awarenes~ conferences. ¯
As chat-room counselors, they answer-
" questions about HIV, hepatitis and syphi-
¯ lis that many would feel uncomfortable
¯ asking in person or on the phone. The ¯
Internet provides anonymity. "We treat it
~ as an opportunity for in-depth individual
education," said Joseph Interrante, execu¯
tive director of Tennessee’ s Nashville
CARES, an AIDS organization with staff
¯ members dispensing information in chat
¯ rooms. "The education actually becomes
¯ an online counseling session." ¯
Increasingly, warnings andAIDS statis-
¯ tics have fallen on the deaf ears of a
¯ younger, more reckless generation, health
officials say. This summer, the U.S. Cen-
¯
ters for Disease Control and Prevention
¯ reported that among young men who have
¯ sex with other men, 4.4% - about 1 in 25 ¯
- get HIV. That’ s the same infection rate
: asin the 1980s, before AIDS prevention
¯ methods andresearchtookroot. In Florida,
¯ blacks accounted for almost six of every
: 10 new cases of HIV infection in the past
¯ four years.
: Another trend: syphilis outbreaks in
¯ Wilton Manors, South Beach and Liberty
-" City. Health officials say thegrowing num-
," bers are a signal mean thatGay and Bi-
: sexual men are encouraged by news of
¯ powerfully effective drug cocktails and
longerlife spans and are less worried about
", HIV infection.
¯ "The oldmodds do notwork," said Jeff ¯
Wilkinson of the South Beach AIDS
¯
Project, where staff members cruise chat
: rooms as sobequest @aol.com. They an-
¯ swer questions and ask others to share ¯
what they learn. "The more the pebble hits
¯
the pond, the more it ripples out."
¯ Cohen says he spends at least 25 hours a
¯ week online as hivoutreachmiami on
: America Online. His online profile gives
¯ information about syphilis, how itis trans-
" mitted sexually., symptoms and telephone
numbers to call for testing. He logs on in
the afternoon and during peak chatting
times, after 7 p.m. till until as late as 2 a.m.
Since Cohen started the online campaign
in June, he has seen the number of
people who ask for HIV tests grow from a
handful to a dozen or more a night. He
takes their phone numbers, calls them and
walks them through explains the process.
He is training two volunteers to help.
"So much that went on in bathhouses and
publicparks now takes place in chatrooms,
where people meet to engage in unsafe sex
from the comfort of their living room,’"
Cohen said. "It’s opening a tremendous
dialogue in this town."
Some Blood Donors
Get Surprise
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) - Shocked by the
terrorist attacks in Washington and New
York, thousands havelinedupthepast two
weeks to give blood.
Now, some of those donors are the ones
asking for help. Because many people are
donating blood for the first time, more
people have learned that they have viral
diseases such as hepatitis, syphilis and
even AIDS.
Since the mid-1980S, blood has been
tested for viral diseases such as AIDS and
hepatitis, andprospective donors have been
screened for risky behavior such as intravenous
drug use. Now, with so many more
people learning they are infected, disease
hoflines have experienced an increase in
calls from donors seeking help. "They’re
really panic-stricken. They have no idea
what it means," said Thelma King Thiel,
chairman of Hepatitis Foundation International.
More than 22,000 units of blood have
been donated in the Carolinas blood services
region of the American Red Cross
since Sept. 11, spokeswoman Debbie Estes
said. The organization collected twice as
much blood as normal the week of the
attacks and donations are running about
20% to 30% more than usual every day,
Estes said. Offices are staffed 24 hours a
day and donors have been asked to make
appointments for later this fall.
Since the attacks, more than 330,000
people nationally have donated blood to
the American Red Cross, said Dr. Peter
Page, senior medical officer for the Red
Cross. The Red Cross, which supplies
about half the blood in the country, was
collecting two to three times more blood
than normal the week after the attack and
about 11/2 times more last week.
Just over 1% of donors test positive for
infections, Pagesaid. Onein20,000 wholeblood
donors to the American Association
of Blood Banks will test positive for antibodies
to HIV, said Sara Foer, spokeswoman
for the American Association of
Blood Banks in Maryland. One in 2,500
will test positive for hepatitis B and one in
500 for hepatitis C, she said.
ButThiel says itmay be goodfor donors
to find out they are infected. ’’The tests and
screens in tiff s blood drive are a good thing
for them," Thiel said. "Otherwise they
may go blissfully on their way not knowing
~ey are infected, spreading the disease.
by TFN entertainment editor
Tulsa’ s Theatre Arts will present Lionel
Bart’ s"Oliver!" outin the country atTulsa
Community College’ s PACE Theatre at
81st Street and Highway 169 from December
14th - 22nd. The production will
be directed by Jon Grodeski of NYC and
will star as "Fagin," Jamie Farr wall
known for playing
"Klinger"intelevision’ s
M.A.S.H. series.
Tulsa Family News is
delighted to note that
TFN writer and former
entertainment editor,
James Christjotm, has
been cast in the characterof"
Mr. Sowerberry,"
the undertaker that
Oliver is sold to before
he ends up in London as
Fagin’s prot~g6 pickpocket.
And on December
6th, Theatre Arts will
host "An Evening With
~Iamie Farr," at the PACE at 7pm, where
the actor will speak about his life and
career, and take audience questions. Please
call 595-777 for ticket information.
Charles Dickens’ novel,"OliverTwist,"
is the basis forLionel Bart’ s musical Oliver!
Dickens began the novel as a magazine
serial that ran in a London.monthly for
more thantwo years beginning in 1837. Its
popularitywas so greatthatDickensrushed
it to completion for publication - in three
volumes ~-in 1838. Still, the serial continued
to run for more than six months after
the publication of the book. Some wellknown
songs from the show include
"Where Is Love," "Consider Yourself,"
"Who Will Buy," "As Long as He Needs
Me," and many others.
The story of Oliver Twist begins in. a
seedy workhouse where he and the other
orphans are kept by Mr. Bumble and
Widow Comey. When Oliver asks for
morefood, Bumbleis enraged and decides
to sdl the boy. Mr. Sowerberry, the undertaker,
buys him, but Oliver is terrified of
the man and his coffins and runs away.
TheArtful Dodgerandhis gangofyoung
street thieves find Oliver woandering the
"...Tulsa
Family News
is delighted to
note that TFN
writer and former
entertainment editor,
James Christjohn, has
been east in the
character.., of the
undertaker..."
." streets of London and take him to the
¯ master pickpocket, Fagin. That training
~ quickly lands Oliver in jail, where he is
" rescuedby Mr. Brownlow,arichold gentle-
[ man who takes the boy into his home.
¯ Meanwhile, Fagin and his cohorts - Bill
¯
Sikes and Nancy - fearful of being in-
[ criminated by thelad, plot his kidnapping.
Nancy abducts him but
then is overcome with
guilt and attempts his
return to Brownlow.
Suspecting her kind
(and traitorous) intentions,
Sikes kills Nancy.
He grabs Oliver but is
foiled by the amval of
the police Finally,
Oliver is safely returned
to the arms of his benefactor,
who proves to
be his own grandfather.
Oliver! (the
name shortened for
Broadway) became a
partof themusical stage
¯ repertoire in 1960, written in total by the
¯¯ multitalented Lionel Bart, who crafted the book, the music and the lyrics. With Ron
¯ Moody. as Fagin and Georgia Brown as
¯ Nancy, Oliver! opened in London on June
: 30, 1960,and ran until September 9, 1966,
¯ foratotal of2,618 performances - making
¯ it the longest-running musical in British
¯ theatre.
¯ This production marks Christjohn’ s re-
" turn to the stage after a long absence.
¯ "Therewas apoint that I thought the talent, ¯
the gift, the ability hadleft me. SoI shut. the
¯ dooronthatdream."Ironically,thatdream
¯ began as a young boy, when he was taken
¯ to his first liveproduction- aperformance ¯
of "Oliver!" at Theatre Under The Stars
; (TUTS), in Houston, Texas. Christjoha
¯ notes, "I remember seeing the little boy
¯ singing "Where Is Love," and identifying
; completdy. I also was filled with wonder
¯ at’the ’magic’ of seeing London appear
; when they sang ’Who Will Buy?’, and
¯ seeing the city literally fly in from left,
¯
right, andabove. Andlknew then I wanted
¯ to be a l~art of that, to help make the magic
¯ happen. And I wanted the applause that
kid was getting!" Info: 595-7777.
Tulsa’ s Performing .Mas Center Trust
celebrates its 25thznniversary season with
a number of great performers. At the end
of October, on the 30th, the usually staid
and fairly stodgy Chapman Music Hall
will host nothing less than a circus!
Quebec’ s Cirque Eloize (that’ s said,"elwas")
and the Tulsa Philharmonic will
combine classical music with circus spectacular:
aerials, haru~s work,and feats of
strength (and I’m sure men and women in
fights,, could Lesbians and Gay men want
anything more.’?).
Cirque Eloize began in 1993 as part of
the "Cirque Nouveau" movement that
sprung from Quebec. Seven then recent
graduates of Montreal’ s National Circus
School began thecompany which drew on
¯ the Eurotx~tn, animal-free style of circus ¯
combining theater, music and dance.
¯ Cirque Eloize quickly gained acclaim
¯ forits acrobatics, and choreography. After
." touring Canada and the US, then in the
." United Kingdom, France and Ireland, Cir-
- que Eloize garnered rave reviews from
¯ London’ s Sunday Times, "... hauntingly
¯ heart-catching.., conjur[ing] up the spirit
¯ of a medieval fair..." and from The
." Scotsman in Edinburgh, "pure dead bill-
" liant.., this is circus with atmosphere,
¯ poetry, humor and above all, hear~..." ¯
The music ranges from Rimski-
: Korsakov, Sibelius, Grieg, Saint-Sachs,
¯ Rachmaninov and more. This is a don’ t
: miss performance. Call 596-7111 or800-
¯ 364-7111 for information or tickets.
The Twilight
of the Golds
What happens when a young couple finds
thru’ genetic testing that their unborn child
might be Gay and how their conflict about
whether to keep the child affects
the young mother’s Gay brother¯
Oct. 26th- Nov. 4th
Broken Arrow
Community Playhouse
Only 1,487 miles offBroadway
In the Main Place, 1800 South Main
258-0077 for tickets and info.
THE GILDED AGE
Treasuresfrom the Smitbsonian American Art.MuSeum
SEPTEMBER -- 4 .NOVEMBER 200I
THE PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART
2727 SOUTH ROCKFORD ROAD
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - For a while,
entertainer Ha Ri-soo seemed to be everywhere:
in a film, in a music video, in ads
for makeup and wedding gowns. Television
talk shows couldn’ t get enough of the
sex symbol and her sensual dances. People
gabbed abouther athome andonthestreet,
in offices and coffee shops.
No wonder. Ha, 26, is a transsexual.
While sex change operations are old
news from the United States to Thailand,
they’re a novelty in
South Korea, where
Confucian ideals of illial
piety and a maledominatedhierarchyare
strong. So it was starfling
when Ha surged to
thetopofSouth Korea’ s
entertainment industry
this year.
"I think the society
and cnlture is changing
in Korea and it should
change," Ha said in an
interview at a beauty
salon, her hair in curlers
as makeup artists
dabbedherface with lipstick,
eyeliner andpowoperations
are old
news from the United
States to Thailand,
they’re a novelty in
South Korea, where
Confucian ideals of
filial piety and a
mah-domlnated hierarchy
are strong°. 2
character is a transsexual woman who
works as an express delivery worker by
day and moonlights as a singer. The movie
title alludes to the bleached blond look that
some young South Koreans adopt to be
rebellious.
"I chose the fi~m because I went through
a lot and I wa~ed to look back on those
days," Ha s~d. "I wanted to break the
stereotype of transsexuals - the demureness
and extreme weakness with which
they are often portrayed."
Ha’s autobiography,
~’From Adam to Eve,"
also failed to make the
best sdler list.
She got her sexchange
operation several
years ago in Japan,
where she studied hairstyling.
While in high
school, she had taken
female hormone injections
and was exempted
frommill tary service on
grounds of "mental illness."
South Korean
men must serve 26
der. "Transsexuals haven’t killed or
cheated anyone. Why should they be mistreated
when they haven’ t done anything
wrong to others?" She said.
Many South Koreans agree, but their
fascination with Ha reflects .as much prurience
as tolerance for the maverick. In a
country where women flock to clinics for
cosmetic surgery, Ha fits right in.
"I think she is popular because of her
charm and looks,, said Jeon Dong-ki, a
male university student. "It doesn’ t.mean
that people’ s prejudices against Gays and
transsexuals have changed as wall."
Ha’ s overheated presence inpop culture
has cooled some recently, and she’s had
mixed success. She appeared in "Ydlow
Hair 2," a movieabout people on society’ s
fringes that failed at the box office. Her
¯ months in the armed forces, a precau-
¯¯ tion in the event of conflict with communist
North Korea. ’¢Fhink about it: What
¯ would happen to the. military’ s discipline
¯ if a man with breasts went into the mili-
~ tary?" Ha said, laughing.
¯
Her sex changewas toughonherfamily,
¯ particularly in a society that covets male
¯ offspring. Ha said she played with dolls as
¯ a child, and her frustrated father eventu-
¯ ally accepted her femininity.
¯ Ha’ s career took off in January with a
television ad for cosmetics, but it’s un-
." dearhowlong she’ 11 stay in thepubliceye.
¯ Some religious leaders have denounced ¯
her. "It makes me angry that the media is
-." trying to make something ’abnormal’ ap-
¯ pear normal," said Lee I-Iee-ja, a 58-yearold
housewife.
Saturday, October 20, the historic town
of Medicine Park will host the first annual
DrumFest. Organizers hope to attractmore
than 800 drummers to this eventinhope of
breaking the current Guirmess Book of
World Records.
Medicine Park is located at the main
entry to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife
Refuge, the second most visited wildlife
refuge in the country - hosting almost 2
million annual visitors. The community
has a rich and colorful history. Originally
founded on July 4th, 1908- Medicine Park
was Oklahoma’s first planned tourism resort,
Medicine Park was once the "playground"
of the state’s rich, famous and
notorious. Folks would come to town for
the weekend and leave their "work-a-day"
world, troubles and reputations behind
them. Outlaws and horsethieves mixed
with noted politicians and businessmen,
families and socialites. The pages of the
¯ town’s colorful history are filled with the
¯ -likes of Teddy Roosevelt, Will Rogers,
¯ Wiley Post, Frank Phillips, Bob Wills, A1
¯ Capone, Col. Jack Abernathy, Lil Hardin,
Bonny & Clyde, Pretty Boy Floyd, Les
¯ Brown, Roy Rogers and Dale Evans and
¯ countless others.
: Ok Spoke Bike Rides
¯ All these rides begin at Ziegler Recre-
¯ ation Park, 3903West Fourth Street, at the ¯
parking lot. All rides are open to GLBT
¯ people and those who are Gayffriendly.
¯ OnOct. 6andOct. 13,there will bea20-
¯ 25mile rides beginning at 7:30am, helmet ¯ and water bottle required. Lateron the 6th,
¯ there is also 5 mile ride along the Sand
¯ Springs Trail beginning at 2pro. And on ¯
Oct. 13, therewillbea5mileridealongthe
¯ Arkansas River Trail starting at 2pro.
For more information, contact
¯ Okiebicycle@prodigy.net, orwrite to POB
9165, Tulsa 7~157.
by LamontLindstrom : the not-unhappy looking bin Laden.
The Internet slowed to a crawl on Sep- ¯ Whether F.rnpire State Building as phaltember
1 lth. People crowded the system ¯ lus, or middle finger as phallus, these folk
with messages and postings about that : imagesconceivemale-on-maleintercourse
day’ s death and destruction. We turned to ¯ as appropriate revenge. Osama-"screws"
email,chatrooms,lists,dis- ,, America; we screw him
cussion groups and clubs
to discuss, mourn, be angry
or be reflective about
the attacks: The older media
- newspapers, telephones,
radio, television -
still carry the bulk of our
words andimagery. Butthe
Internet further speeds and
spreads national (and international)
conversation,
intensifying this exchange.
.. And exchange still continues.
Since September
1 lth, I have been collecting
folk-produced images
that respond to the attacks.
These, like the Interuet’ s
bothersome chain letters
and bad jokes, are still
bouncing from site to site,
person toperson. Computer
imaging software (Photoshop
and the like) and the
WWW facilitate this outburst
of creative reaction.
Years ago, one of my
anthropology professors,
U.C. Berkeley folklorist
¯ . . equations d sex
and vlolenee are so
familiar, so
embedded in our
language and
culture, as to be
unremarkable. But
we should remark
them, at least
occasionally.
First, if we can think
it we can do it - this
is anthropology’s
message about the
power of cultural
understandings to
shape behavior..."
Alan Dundes, along with Carl Pagter published
a collection of Urban Folklore from
the Paperwork Empire (1975). Such "paper
folklore" consisted of joke letters,
memos, cartoons, drawings, and the like
that people produced and circulated using
an earlier technology -the office copy
machine: As soon as photocopiers became
a standard business appliance, people copied
and recopiedjoke memos and cartoons
that spread from office to office, and cubicle
to cubicle. Today, the Internet, like
the photocopy machine, spreads our responses
to the everyday world, and to
tragic national events.
Much of the attack-related folklore
flooding the Internet is patriotic, affirming
the goodness and the spirit of Ainerica.
Images of U.S. flags, pictures of candles
andribbons, upliftingpoems, and recycled
Canadian newspaper columns lauding
American generosity probably filled your
email boxes, as they did mine.
Other imagery, less warm-hearted, portrays
anger and revenge. Two of the folk
images that ended up in my email box
particularly caught my eye. Both strum
American cultural chords that blur violence
with sex. The first depicts a reconstructed
World Trade Center. Instead of
the Twin Towers, however, this features
five towers in a row, like fingers. The
middle tower sticks up highest into the air.
This folk image rebuilds the WTC as "the
bird," flipping off m~icious Osama bin
Laden and his terrorists.
The secondimageis ruder. In this "jpg,"
Osama’ s turbaned head is superimposed
on a nude, muscular body that bends forward.
Coming in behind is the Fxnpire
State Building. Its pointy tower sodomizes
right back.
Theserepresentations of
skyscraper as phallus (or
dildo) are no metaphorical
accident. Beyond the
deaths of 6500 innocents,
some of ,amaerica’s rage
certainly stems from this
symbolism. Osama’s hijackedplanes
ftrst appeared
to circumcise both the
mighty shafts of the WTC,
slicing into theirheads. But
then, ~brribly, the towers
collapsed completely and
New York, and America,
suffered an awful castration.
Actually, the WTC had
already lost its Big Man
claims. Since 1998,the tallest
buildings in the world
are the twin Petronas Towers
in KualaLumpur, Malaysia.
Their edifice is bigger
than our edifice. But
luckily, New York has in
hand a backup tool - the
Empire State Building
¯ (once again the tallest in the city) - that,
symbolically, can stick it to Osama.
¯ Mass murderers need be brought to jus-
¯ tice, but what does it mean when werepresentjustice
(or perhaps revenge) as homo-
" sexual anal intercourse? The penis, more
¯ than a tool , becomes awcapon. Andsexual
". intercourse, .rather than an act of love,
¯ becomes one of rape or war. I penetrate
¯ you, and thereby I dominate you.
~ These equations of sex and violence are
¯ so familiar, so embedded in our language
¯ and culture, as to be unremarkable. But we
¯ should remark them, at least occasionally.
¯ First, if we can think it we can do it - this
¯" is anthropology’ s messageaboutthepower
¯
of cultural understandings to shape behav-
¯
lOt.
¯¯ Currently, two 14-year-old boys are in
custody here in Tulsa. They, along with
". other members of their freshman football "
: team, anally raped one of their young
¯ teammates with a broom handle in their
high ~chool locker room. This is Tulsa’s
: teenaged version of the Abner Louima
: case. New York cops likewise wielded
¯ broom as dildo to prove their manliness. ¯
(The Empire State Building, presumably, -
¯ was unavailable.) Our folk fantasies of
¯ homosexual rape are far more likely to be
¯ realized here in America than in Afghani- ¯
start.
¯ Second, all those "sex = war," and "pe-
¯ uis = weapon," metaphors are danger-
. ously slippery. What, exactly, are we say-
" ing when we admit a desire to sodomize
: Osama? Where does violent hatred end
¯ and erotic desire begin? Dildos also are
: toys, and sex (of whatever sort) is play
¯ more often than it is aggression. Are we
: then to pleasure Osama to death?
Timothy W. Daniel
Attorney at Law
An Attorney who will fight for justice
& equality for Gays & Lesbians
Domestic Partnership Planning,
Personal Injury, Criminal Law & Bankruptcy
1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
128 East Broadway, Drumright, Oklahoma
Weekend and evening appointments are available:
IOTA member
Call341. 6866
International
TourSio,mo,e nio on.
TULSA COUNTY
DEMOCRATIC
PARTY
Country Club Barbering
Custom Styling for Men & Women
David Kauskey
3310 E. 51st, 747-0236, Tues.-Fri., 8:5:30, Sat. 8-5pm
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
Gospel of Jesus Christ
through worship,
service, and evangelism.
To nurture our faith, we gather for
w.orship~ prayer,
study and fellowship.
Trusting in a living, loving God,
we seek to become a compassionate
voice for peace andjustice.
Our congregation welcomes all
persons who respond 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
(One block west of Delaware and the
University of Tulsa Campus)
Tulsa’s only
professional
body-piercing
is an alternative worship
experience that
celebrates the mystery
and wonder of life,
without telling you
what to believe.
Soulful
Sundown
combines live music,
inspirational readings,
video, and audience
~articipation to create a
rand new experience.
Soulful
Sundown
happens at All Souls
Unitarian Church at
5:3oPM on Sundays. Join
us. on Oct. 7, 14, 21 and
3oth.
All people are welcome!
All Souls Unitarian Church
z95z S. Peoria, 743-z363
And it’s only 20 years now that our
oldest community organization, indeed
Oklahoma’ s oldest non-religious community
non-profit, Tulsa Oklahomans for
Human Rights, TOHR, has been around.
Any one want to bethow many more years
it will be until these groups figure out that
we exist?
It is in the end this: you are either part of
the solution, or you are part of the problem.
AndTulsais filled with those who are
not part of the solution. ~Ihey are our
mayor and most of our city councilors:
certainly they are Tulsa’ s business elite:
the ChamberofCommerce staffand board
and especially some of Tulsa Area United
Way’ s board and staff for whom I have
little doubt that Dante notes a special place
in hell; and they are TU’s unrepentent
bigot president and those prominent
Tulsans who selectedhim despitehis documented
prejudice. And it will take all these
individuals deciding that they are going to
be part of the solution rather than part of
the problem for Tulsa ever to be that which
it hopes to be.
In the meantime, I hope that Muslim
Tulsans will be safe and if God really
moves their hearts that Tulsa Muslims
might actually take their horrible experience
as being this moment’s America’s
hated "other" and will try to be do for Gay
and Lesbian Americans that what they
would have done for themselves.
Average Gays and Lesbians feel much
more in me with the American people in
the spirit of "united we stand."
For those weaned on identity politics, it
will be hard to verbalize or imagine an
America where they can speak from a
"united we stand" perspective, but this
new period will require it. We still have
challenges as Gay Americans, but the terrorist
agenda of America’ s enemies is far
more dangerous to Gay Americans than
anything we face within our own society.
These terrorists have come to our country
to murder us, and hope to eradicate our
way of life in all its forms. The Taliban of
Afghanistan, who is harboring these terrorists,
believe that homosexuality is a
crimepunishablebya sadisticdeath, which
is meted out with pride in their society.
More than ever, we should welcome the
chance to serve in defense of liberty. We
should document carefully the success of
Gay soldiers. This act of patriotism, of the
willingness to die for our country, is precisely
why the current military policy is
wrong. Our determination will be hugely
educational to an American public who
views our motives on this issue with suspicion.
We will demonstrate with action the
moral absurdity of the old policy and it
will cave-in under that moral weight.
Steve May, the hero who fought the
"don’t ask, don’t tell" policy and won, is
on message now. He said recently that it is
an obligation ofevery Gay servicemember
to acceptthe country’ s call to serve. United
we stand today, and the military’ s policy
on Gays has divided us as Americans.
We now can look at new, real heroes.
I’m g!ad Mark Bingham was such a strong
man m body and soul. He took brave
action with a small group of men and
womenwho answered the call ofservice in
that moment of crisis, sacrificing their
lives to save maybe thousands of others to
thwart the murderous actions of those who
want to destroy our country.
Can we find a maturity and resolve
inside ourselves that we have neglected
for so long, and defiaonstrate that unity
means equality? Surely, as we look
squarely at ourenemies, and see the face of
brutality and hatred that stares back at all
of us, that hates freedom and liberty in any
form and would annihilate Gays and Lesbians
at the first opportunity, the answers
to these questions become dear.
Buchanan has said that he approved the
domestic partner policy in order to keep
the county competitive in recruiting and
retaining the best employees possible. He
was not required to get the commissioners’
approval beforehand, although he did
discuss it with them.
Domestic partner benefits are common
among many of Wichita’ s major employers,
such as Boeing Co. Such benefits also
are routinely offered by government agencies
on both coasts. However, in a stretch
of the country from the Mississippi River
to Arizona, domestic partner benefits are
offered by local governments in only four
metropolitan areas: Denver; Albuquerque;
Austin, Texas; and Iowa City, Iowa.
"Nationwide, it’ s been going on for a
good while," Norton said. "But in the
Midwest, we’re probably a little far up on
the curve. Whether you call it Midwest
values or Moral Majority or whatever you
call it, I think that’ s what you have to deal
with in the Midwest."
Commissioner Tom Winters said last
week that he would back Buchanan’ s action
because it was within the manager’s
area ofresponsibility tomake suchchanges.
Commissioner Betsy Gwin said Monday
that she initially saw the policy as a
business decision to make the county a
more attractive employer and to "show
some sort of compassionate understanding
for all people." Now, she said She is
undecided after receiving about 50 phone
calls and e-mails, all but one in opposition
to the policy.
One event raises about 4.4% of the annual
budget for the Hoosier Trails Council. A
Boy Scouts spokesman told The Republic
that scouting programs in the county may
have to be scaled back if they cannot find
a replacement for Cummins’ funding.
But a company statement said that the
en.gine, manufacturer’s executives were
revzewmg their contributions to reflect the
corporation’ s values. This was not the first
time the company has confronted criticism
regarding its policies. Last year,
Cummins’ decision to extend partner benefits
to employees’ same- and oppositesex
partners was met with anger by some
employees and shareholders.
Helga’ Horribles present the
Rocky Horror
Pictu re Show
followed by the
Time Warp Ball
Saturday, October 27
8pm midnight
Doubletree Hotel Downtown
616 West Seventh
Original Format
newspaper
periodical
periodical
Files
Citation
Tulsa Family News, “[2001] Tulsa Family News, October 2001; Volume 8, Issue 10,” OKEQ History Project, accessed November 21, 2024, https://history.okeq.org/items/show/617.