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Published Every Two Weeks On Recycled Paper • Volume 14, Number 8 « September 4, 1999 » FREE
Militaiy ban revisions tighten compliance
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
WASHINGTON, DC—On the heels of
1998’s record-high servicemember discharges
due to sexual orientation and the July 5 beat
ing death of a gay Army enlistee, on August 13
the military’s top brass announced revisions to
the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy regarding gays
in the armed services.
“I’ve made it clear there is no room for ha
rassment or threats in the military,” US Secre
tary of Defense William Cohen said about the
release of the guidelines.
Under the new directives, the Pentagon or
dered commanders to seek approval from se
nior civilian officials before undertaking cer
tain kinds of investigations; instituted anti-ha
rassment training at all levels of the service; and
mandated that military lawyers consult superi
ors before investigating soldiers suspected of
being gay.
The revisions came just after testimony had
wrapped up in the Article 32 hearing (the mili
tary equivalent of a grand jury hearing) for Pri
vate Calvin Glover, 18, charged with the pre
meditated murder of Pfc. Barry Winchell, 21.
A second soldier, Spc. Justin Fisher, 25, is ac
cused of encouraging Glover’s actions.
The post commander, Maj. Gen. Robert
Clark, will decide if Glover and Fisher will be
tried for their alleged crimes. At press time, he
had not issued a ruling.
According to military observers, the brutal
slaying at Fort Campbell, KY, in which Glover
is alleged to have beaten Winchell to death with
a baseball bat, provided the final push for the
policy clarifications.
“It’s truly unfortunate that some
thing so serious had to happen be
fore the Pentagon would finally move
on this,” said Stacey Sobel, senior
staff attorney for Servicemembers
Legal Defense Network (SLDN),
noting that Winchell had been the
subject of rumors and anti-gay ha
rassment for several months prior to
his murder.
“Pentagon officials have had very
similar guidance sitting on the shelf
for two-and-a-half years. It’s shame
ful that it wasn’t released earlier when so many
other servicemembers’ careers and physical
safety were at risk.”
According to a Pentagon report, 617
Defense Secretary William Cohen
servicemembers were discharged for homosexu
ality in 1994, the year “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell”
took effect. That figure soared to 1145 last year,
the highest number since 1987. T
Gay health leader
to speak at Expo
by Jeff Prince
Special to Q-Notes
GREENSBORO, NC—Dr. Saul Levin,
president-elect of the Gay and Lesbian Medi
cal Association, will be the keynote speaker at
the “Triad Wellness Expo for the Gay, Lesbian,
Bisexual and Transgender Community” on Sat
urday, September 18 at the Embassy Suites
Hotel in Greensboro. The Expo will open at
9:30am and conclude at 5:00pm. Levin’s ad
dress will be presented at 10:00am.
Dr. Levin, currently the president of a pri
vate consulting firm in Washington, DC, has
served as a special expert to the Department of
Health and Human Services and to the direc
tor of the Office on AIDS for the Clinton ad
ministration. In his role as president of the Gay
and Lesbian Medical Association, Levin will
head the organization with a membership of
more than 2000 gay and lesbian physicians.
In addition to Levin’s address on “Coming
Out of Your Health Closet,” the conference,
sponsored by Triad Health Project, Guilford
County’s leading AIDS service organization,
will feature several workshops on health-related
issues important to the GLBT community.
Topics will include aging, health-related legal
issues, body image, transgender issues, men’s
health and substance abuse.
Additional featured speakers at the confer
ence will include Dr. Cheryl Viglione, director
of Women’s Imaging at Southeastern Radiol
ogy in Greensboro, who will present a discus
sion on cancer issues in the GLBT community.
Viglione’s talk will be followed by a presenta
tion of My Left Breast, a powerful one-woman
play focusing on a lesbian dealing with breast
cancer. The play is presented by Greensboro s
L’Chaim Productions.
Dallas Denny, founder and the former ex-
See EXPO on page 24
Gay-themed cemetaiy memorial approved by VA
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
PHOENIX, AZ—In a landmark decision,
the Acting Under Secretary for Memorial Af
fairs in the National Cemetery Administration
has approved the design and donation of a
memorial for GLBT Veterans of the US Armed
Services.
The memorial is scheduled to be installed
next year in a veterans cemetary in Phoenix and
is sponsored by the local chapter of Gay, Les
bian & Bisexual Veterans of America (GLBVA).
In approving the donation. Under Secretary
Roger Rapp stated, “The design of the proposed
[memorial] conforms precisely to the estab
lished National Cemetery Administration cri
teria for size, shape, and material. The proposed
inscription is non-offensive and clearly com
memorates veteran service. The donor organi
zation — Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of
America — is an established nationwide vet
eran group which has a National Constitution
and Bylaws. It appears that the organization is
primarily patriotic in nature and its objective
is to commemorate military service.”
The Rainbow Memorial will be located in
the Founders Plaza of the National Cemetery
in North Phoenix. It will be a boulder-shaped
monument made of rainbow granite. On its
face will be inscribed “VETERANS MEMO
RIAL, In Memory of all Veterans who served
with courage and pride, donated by the Gay,
Lesbian & Bisexual Veterans of America.”
The National Memorial Cemetery of Ari
zona is currently undergoing a $13 million
improvement project, but the memorial is ex
pected to be placed in a new plaza and dedi
cated on Veterans Day 2000.
Wally Straughn, president of the Phoenix
chapter of GLBVA and a naval veteran, com
mented about the memorial, “It’s in memory
of all veterans who served, but it will be the
first memorial in any National Cemetery that
we know includes us. We invite all veterans,
servicemembers and their families to join the
Phoenix chapter of the Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual
Veterans of America in dedicating the only
monument in this country that specifically and
pointedly includes everyone who has fought for
its ideals.”
Edward Clayton, national president of
GLBVA, congratulated the Photfnix chapter.
“On behalf of the National Board of Directors,
GLBVA chapters from coast to coast and the
entire membership of Gay, Lesbian & Bisexual
Veterans of America, I extend to Phoenix
GLBVA our warmest congratulations on the
approval of the memorial. The Phoenix Chap
ter has written another important page in the
history of our organization as well as another
chapter in the distinct history of our nation.”
Additionally, Clayton, a veteran of the Ma
rine Corps who was dishonorably discharged
in 1987 due to his sexual orientation, stated,
“The membership of Phoenix GLBVA, in lead
ing this effort, exemplifies the qualities of lead
ership and dedication that is the goal of mili
tary training and they bring great distinction
to our national organization, the State of Ari
zona and the United States of America.”
Mainstream veterans groups say they have
no problem with the memorial. Julius Maklary,
a 21-year Army veteran and state commander
of the American Legion, stated, “I’m sure there
are gays and lesbians who lost their lives dur
ing wars. These people do good things. They
have their rights also. As long as they don’t in
fringe on anyone else, straight people shouldn’t
'infringe on them. They should be left alone.”
The monument is also fine with the admin
istrative officer of the statewide chapter of Vet
erans of Foreign Wars. “We’ve never protested
against anyone putting a memorial in the Na
tional Cemetery,” said Gil LaMontagne, a Navy
veteran.
For more information on The Rainbow
Memorial or GLBVA, contact Phoenix
GLBVA, 2039 W. Northview Ave., 'Phoenix,
AZ 85021; call (602) 864-6092; email
pglbva@aol.com. T
Falwell agrees to soften rhetoric; meet with gays
by Dan Van Mourik
Q-Notes Staff
LYNCHBURG, VA—The Rev. Jerry
Falwell agreed to tone down his anti-gay rheto
ric after meeting with the Rev. Mel '^ite, a
gay activist who was the ghost writer of Falwell’s
autobiography.
“It’s historic,” White said. “We are eu
phoric.”
White said he told Falwell the purpose of
the meeting was “not to
stop you from preaching
your conscience, but to
lower the volume and
shrillness of the rhetoric.”
Falwell said the discus
sion was not new. He and
White first discussed the
same issues three years ago
and Falwell noted that he
has his own concerns.
“I speak constantly
around the country and al
most invariably some of the
radical activists...disrupt
the meeting or commit vio
lent acts,” Falwell said. “It
Rev. Jerry Falwell
has been getting more precarious with passing
time....
“Mel sincerely wants to lower the rhetoric
on both sides. That is exactly what we want.”
White, who co-chairs Soulforce, Inc., said
his group will be coming to Lynchburg Octo
ber 22-24, and had been prepared to demon
strate in front of Falwell’s Thomas Road Bap
tist Church, if necessary. But now, instead of
bringing 5000 people, he will invite only 200
. who will be trained in non
violent discourse before a
Saturday night dinner with
Falwell.
While White said
Falwell invited him and his
group to dinner on Octo
ber 23, Falwell said noth
ing is firm yet. The two
plan another meeting be
fore then to finalize details.
White also asked
Falwell to have members of
his congregation house the
200 activists coming to
Lynchburg, but Falwell
declined, citing Biblical
quotations about not showing hospitality to sin
ners, White said.
White said his group sees Falwell as a victim
of misinformation and welcomes the chance to
share stories with Falwell and his people.
“Speech has power.... Words do not fade.
What starts out as a sound ends in a deed,”
said Rabbi Abraham Heschel in one of White’s
flyers. Those words describe the purpose of the
meeting with Falwell, White said.
Falwell said his anti-gay rhetoric is aimed
only at the “fringe activists” who believe in
same-sex marriages and commit violent acts,
but White disagrees.
“We have 10 years of horrible stuff,” he said.
A letter signed by Falwell about A1 and Tip
per Gore entertaining 150 members of the
Human Rights Campaign, for example, says,
“I wonder how much of our tax funds were used
to wine and dine these perverted homosexuals
who absolutely hate everything that you and I
and most decent. God-fearing citizens stand
for....
“Make no mistake. These deviants seek no
less than total control and influence in society,
politics, our schools and in our exercise of free
See FALWELL on page 24