Newspapers / Community Connections (Asheville, N.C.) / Aug. 1, 1991, edition 1 / Page 20
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Page 20 Community Connections, August, 1991 Handmade Cotton Mattresses Handcrafted Furniture Custom Cushions Decorator Accessories Court: OK for Boy Scouts to Kick Out Gays NATIONAL NEWS 39 Broadway Asheville, N.C. 28801 704-253-H 38 Downtown Books & News 67 N. LEXINGTON AVE. ASHEVILLE, N.C. 28801 704-253-8654 ACUPUNCTURE IS AFFORDABLE! We offer a sliding scale to get you through hard times in good health! Ellen Hines M.Ac., Dipl.Ac. (NCCA) Traditional Chinese Acupuncture & Herbology L.A. Superior Court Judge Sally Disco ruled May 21 that Boy Scouts of America (BSA) has the right to refuse to allow Eagle Scout Tim Curran, an openly gay man, to be an assistant scoutmaster. Curran had served for about a year as assistant scoutmaster, and both the scoutmaster and the boys’ parents knew he was gay and said it was okay, according to Curran. But the local Boy Scout council disagreed, and an 11-year court battle ensued. Curran’s lawyer had argued that BSA is a business and therefore subject to California’s non-discrimination law. The judge agreed. However, Judge Disco expressed the opinion that the BSA’s constitutional first amendment rights of expressive association superseded state law. She wrote: "Inclusion of a homosexual scoutmaster who has publicly acknowledged her or his homosexuality would either undermine the force of the Boy Scout view that homosexuality is immoral and inconsistent with the Scout oath and law or would undermine the credibility to communicate that view." Curran’s ACLU lawyer, Jon Davidson, argued that the Scouts presented nothing written that stated that homosexuality is immoral. "There is not a single piece of paper which says that the Boy Scouts of America are out to teach that homosexuality is immoral," said Davidson. (By the way, did you know that 65% of Scout troops are church- sponsored and that more troops are sponsored by the Mormon church than by any other institution, religious or non religious?) Curran plans to appeal. Former Eagle Scout Rob Schweitz found out that if you’re gay you don’t have to ask to be a Scoutmaster to be kicked out of Scouting. Simply hearing that he was gay was all his Council California, Hawaii State, and National Board Certified (704) 252-7491 Americans: Gays OK in Military The Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF) has released results of a survey on American attitudes towards gays serving in the military. Telephone interviews with 800 randomly selected U.S. residents April 6-7 revealed that • 81 % believe that gays and lesbians should not be discharged from military service solely because of their sexual orientation; • 65% support the admission of lesbians and gays into the armed services. This is a five-point increase since the last poll was taken l^ years earlier; needed to negate Schweitz’ 13 years of scouting, and his many honors and awards, including Order of the Arrow and Eagle Scout. In April, Schweitz received a hand-delivered letter from his local Council in Mt. Vernon, IL, less than two weeks after St. Louis, MO, media announced that he had been disenrolled from ROTC because he is gay. Paraphrasing the Council’s letter, Schweitz told Community Connections the Council wrote that the Boy Scouts "reserve the right to deny membership when we feel that a member does not meet the high standards of the Boy Scouts of America." Schweitz . commented, "Here they say that I don’t meet the high standards of membership when they’ve already awarded me about everything they have." BSA Executive Director Ben Love has said that a gay man "is not the role model we want working with our young people in the program." Gay and lesbian organizations and individuals are responding in at least two ways to the BSA’s homophobic stance: 1) In areas with non-discrimination policies, United Way agencies (from which most BSA funding comes, and which are autonomous) are being contacted and urged that BSA be required to change its policy or cease accepting United Way Funds; and 2) gay Boy Scouts are resigning from BSA in protest. To register protests against the BSA policy, write Ben Love, Chief Scout Executive, Boy Scouts of America, 1325 West Walnut Hill Lane, PO Box 152079, Irving, TX 75015; or call (124)580- 2000.--Philadelphia Gay News, 5/30/91; Lesbian and Gay News-Telegraph (St. Louis), 6/91; Gay Community News, 6/9/91; GLAAD Bulletin, 7-8/91; and Arlene Zarembka (Schweitz’ attorney)* • 14% support the current Pentagon policy; • and support for allowing lesbians and gays to remain in the service was found to be strong in every demographic category. Tim McFeeley, Executive Director of HRCF, commented on the findings: "This is a major finding of support for the tens of thousands of lesbian and gay Americans who currently serve our nation in uniform. Just as President Truman ended segregation of African Americans in the military by executive order, President Bush could bring the witch hunts to an end through the stroke of his pen." —Momentum (The Human Rights Campaign Fund), Summer, 1991* National March To Be Held in '93 A call for a national march on Washington, D.C., for lesbian and gay rights has been issued for April, 1993. Nearly a hundred activists from 22 states met in the nation’s capital in May to discuss various proposals for national action on gay and lesbian issues. A national march by 650,000 lesbians and gay men in 1987 is credited with energizing the community, and supporters hope to repeat that. San Francisco organizer Ewing said that the main concern that she and her constituents have is making the march and its organizing meetings accessible to all. "We’re trying to get every face and every voice involved from the very beginning," she said. "Parity and accessibility are the key issues," she added. "We have to ensure that all people can go and that we help enable them to do it." Urvashi Vaid, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), said that NGLTF is "behind the march 100 percent," but, she added, "we’re not going to produce" it. "This march will be successful if we realize that everybody has to get involved," said Vaid. "With the amount of mobilization and fundraising it takes to put together a march of one million people, there’s lots for everyone to do," she added. A planning meeting in Chicago has been scheduled for August 3-4 to select a steering committee and set a specific date for the march. Information about the upcoming 1993 march can be obtained by calling 1-800- 832-2889, or 2X2-260-5652.-Lesbian and Gay News-Telegraph (St. Louis, MO), 6/91; Gay Community News, 5/19/91; Washington Blade, 5/17/91* Diet Important in HIV Survival A number of recent studies have found that people with AIDS are malnourished. A CDC-based study found that among HIV-infected men, 52% were deficient in vitamin B-6, 48% were deficient in zinc, and 24% were deficient in B-12, three vitamins said to be important in immune system functioning. An L.A.-based study found that "nutrients appear to have a positive impact on overall function and survival of HIV- infected people," as well as enhancing the effectiveness and reducing the side effects of the antiviral AZT. It was suggested that HIV-infected people consult dietitians or doctors before changing their eating habits or consuming vitamin supplements. —Washington Blade, 6/28/91
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