'The Carolinas’ Most Comprehensive Gay & Lesbian Newspaper
The Latest Q^POLL Results
Studies show that gay men have a higher risk of
contracting Hepatitis than the general population.
Have you been vaccinated for the disease?
Yes No Not Sure
18% 82°/“ 0°/“
Vote at www.q-notes.com
-V
Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper > Volume 14, Number 7 « August 21, 1999 • FREE
Private admits killing fellow soldier
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
FORT CAMPBELL, KY—^An Army private
accused of bludgeoning a soldier to death ad
mitted he beat the victims head with a baseball
bat, a fellow soldier testified during an Article
32 hearing to determine whether there was
enough evidence to send the case against Pfc.
Calvin N. Glover, 18, to a general court mar
tial.
Several soldiers have said they believed the
killing was an anti-gay hate crime. Pfc. Barry
L. Winchell, 21, was perceived as a homosexud
by some soldiers in his unit, according to
Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, the
watchdog group for gays in the military.
Neither the Army nor Winchell’s family will
comment on, and there is conflicting evidence
concerning, the victims sexuality.
Glover was charged with premeditated mur
der in Winchell’s killing in the hallway of
Winchell’s barracks at Fort Campbell, KY while
Winchell’s roommate, Spc. Justin Fisher, en
couraged him. Fisher has also been charged in
the killing and his hearing was scheduled to
begin after press time.
Chief Warrant Officer Alfred Brown testi
fied that Winchell suffered massive head inju
ries when he was beaten with a blunt object
after a party outside the barracks on July 5.
Pfc. Ryan Futch, who served in the unit with
the three soldiers, guarded Glover after he was
taken into custody. Futch testified that during
that time, Glover told him he had hit Winchell
several times with the bat.
Futch also said he overheard Glover make
disparaging remarks about blacks and homo
sexuals to another prisoner.
Pfc. Arthur Hoffman, a member of
.Winchell’s company and a good friend of the
victim, described Glover as someone with an
apparent drinking problem who often tried to
pick fights. Hoffman testified that on July 3
Winchell had gotten the better of Glover dur
ing a fight.
Private Christopher Matthews—who knew
neither Fisher, Winchell nor Glover but at
tended the same party that evening — said he
was in the barracks area when he saw Fisher,
covered in blood, run down some steps.
Matthews testified that Fisher was “babbling
and jumping up and down.” Fisher eventually
pulled the fire alarm, out of panic, which woke
the rest of the soldiers.
Brown said investigators searched Glover’s
room and recovered gloves, a t-shirt, and socks
that appeared to have blood on them. Brown
also said blood was smeared on the door to
Glover’s room. Investigators also recovered a
pair of blue jeans covered in blood from a trash
bin near Glover’s barracks.
Sgt. Eric Dubielak, a platoon leader who
served with Winchell, testified that rumors that
the soldier was homosexual made him a fre
quent target of name-callers in his unit.
Dubielak said the rumors started late last year
and that soldiers in Winchell’s own unit started
calling him derogatory names almost daily. T
The four members of the organizing collective of the Gay Men's Health
Summit from left to right: Eric Rofes, Matt Brown, Kirk Read, Mark Beyer
Men’s health summit highlights
overlooked issues, communities
Three major airlines institute
domestic partner benefits
Ml
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
WASHINGTON, DC—In a giant leap for
ward for gay and lesbian workplace equality,
three major American airlines have released
plans to institute comprehensive domestic part
ner benefits for employees. United Airlines, the
worlds largest carrier, was the first major do
mestic airline to announce the new policy.
Within a week, they were joined by American
Airlines, typically re-
garded as the industry’s
most gay-friendly com
pany, and US Airways,
which maintains a hub in
Charlotte and is one of
the city’s largest employ
ers.
United officials said
that under the hew policy,
the company will offer
full medical, dental and COBRA benefits, de
pendent life insurance, pension survivor ben
efits, bereavement leave and travel benefits to
all employees’ same-sex domestic partners. Het
erosexual domestic partners will only receive
non-economic benefits such as bereavement or
medical leave and flight discounts. The policy
goes into effect next May.
“The recent decisions by American Airlines,
United Airlines and US AiiVays to offer do
mestic partner benefits to same-sex couples is a
good first step and recognizes the value not only
of gay and lesbian employees, but also of gay,
lesbian, bisexual and transgendered travel dol
lars,” said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force
Executive Director Kerry Lobel.
Elizabeth Birch, executive director of the
Human Rights Campaign (HRC), praised
United for blazing the benefits trail in its in
dustry. “We congratulate United for joining the
rapidly growing legion of companies who real-
Charlotte carrier on board
ize that treating all employees with dignity and
respect is good for business. United has defi
nitely earned their wings.”
Her praise, mirrored in comments by com
munity leaders across the nation, stood in sharp
contrast to the GLBT community’s recent
battles with United which have included an
active boycott for the last two years.
The boycott was instituted in June 1997
after the carrier announced plans to sue San
Francisco to overturn the
, city’s Equal Benefits Or-
' dinance, a 1996 measure
that required all busi
nesses who contract with
the city to provide do
mestic partners the same
benefits offered to mar
ried spouses.
United argued that
they did not have to com
ply with the ordinance because they were a na
tional company subject only to federal regula-
by Julie Boler
Special to Q-Notes
BOULDER, CO—Over 300 gay men from
a variety of fields and backgrounds converged
in Boulder for the first Gay Men’s Health Sum
mit over the weekend of July 28-August 1. Be
sides their luggage and business cards, they
brought high hopes for a new movement that
would address a host of issues impacting the -
lives and well-being of gay men.
According to keynote speaker Eric Rofes,
longtime activist and author of Dry Bones
Breathe, HIV/AIDS organizing during the last
two decades cannot be considered the sum to
tal.of what is needed by gay men to live whole
healthy lives.
Varied workshops presented at recent years’
National Gay and Lesbian Health Association
Conferences eventually led to this year’s gath
ering, which Rofes called “an attempt to break
the stranglehold HIV seemed to have on gay
men’s health organizing.”
Based on the comments at the opening ple
nary session the fitst night of the conference,
participants were excited and prepared to put
energy into this work. They talked about how
for many years HIV/AIDS has been synony
mous with the concept of gay men’s health.
Younger participants described never know
ing a time when HIV was not the main health
concern they could identify as important to
them. They eagerly voiced their enthusiasm for
developing structures to deal with other grow
ing health needs like other STDs, substance use,
mental health and violence.
Older attendees related that they found the
work being done at this summit reminiscent of
a more general gay men’s health movement that
had been developing in the ’70s, but was al
most completely eclipsed by AIDS.
The wide range of topics covered during the
weekend included age-related issues (with sepa
rate programs on older and younger men); the
impact of one’s generation on his understand
ing of HIV; anal health (including anal STDs,
anorectal cancers and injuries); the culture of
bodies, sex and pleasure (examined in sessions
on barebacking, tbe dance party circuit and
recreational drug use); the special needs of ru
ral gay men; mental health; spirituality; gay
prisoners; public sex issues; and the history of
gay men’s health activism.
So much was addressed, in fact, that a com
mon complaint about the weekend was that
there were too many things going on at once.
Gathering the tribes
Summit organizers placed great value on
multicultural focus and participation from the
See SUMMIT on page 15
Second suspect gets life term,
no parole in slaying of Gaither
tions.
In retaliation, GLBT community organiza
tions across the country (including Birch’s
HRC) joined with United’s own GLBT em
ployee groups and thousands of individuals on
the Internet to impose a national moratorium
on the company.
US District Court Judge Claudia Wilkin
recently ruled that San Francisco can force busi
nesses to provide “soft benefits” such as bereave
ment or medical leave, but not economic ben
efits such as pensions or health insurance. The
Air Transport Association, an organization rep
resenting the airline industry, is appealing the
ruling on behalf of its member carriers.
United’s wide-reaching domestic partner
policy, which exceeds Judge Wilkin’s decision,
hit a home run with even its staunchest critics
See AIRLINES on page 25
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
ROCKFORD, AL—Charles M. Butler Jr.,
21, the second suspect in the beating death of
Billy Jack Gaither, 39, went on trid the first
week in August on a capital murder charge. He
was accused of helping kill Gaither because of
an unwanted sexual advance. From the begin
ning, authorities have said Gaither was killed
because of his sexual orientation.
Butler was convicted of capital murder and
sentenced to life without parole. Prosecutors
waived their option of asking for the death pen
alty during the jury’s deliberations because
Gaither’s family requested that the death pen
alty be withdrawn.
The victim’s father, Marion Gaither, said his
Southern Baptist faith caused him to ask pros
ecutors not to seek the death penalty. “I go
strictly by the Bible,” he said.
“The death penalty is too quick,” Mrs.
Gaither said. “This way they’ve got to live with
what they did day by day.”
Butler’s co-defendant, Steven Mullins, 25,
who pleaded guilty earlier and testified against
Butler, also received a life sentence without
parole.
Butler blamed the crime on Mullins who
admitted cutting Gaither’s throat and, when the
bloodied victim fought back, cracking his head
open with an ax handle.
“I was in shock and didn’t know what to
do,” Butler testified.
During questioning. District Attorney Fred
Thompson pointed out that Butler had numer
ous chances to flee from the crime or get help
for the victim. “You went along every step of
See SUSPECT on page 15