IN THIS ISSUE:
Eleanor Roosevelt,
Karl Marx & Lillian
Carter Make Strange
Bedfellows p. 4
Herpes Cure p. 6
Emily Dickenson
Comes To Life p. 10
Disco Etiquette p. 11
Bonnie Raitt & Father
John in Best (& Worst)
Bets. p. 12
NC Symphony
Tour p. 12
Disco Playlist p. 13
Nude Disco p. 13
Free Personals p. 15
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Amnesty Group
Includes Gays
Amnesty International has extended its “Prisoners of
Conscience” category to include violations against
homosexuals, according to the international Gay Association in
Dublin. Amnesty International, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
for its efforts in monitoring human rights violations around the
world, will now regularly monitor and report violations of Gay
rights by local and national governments throughout the world.
Edmund Lynch, Information Secretary of the IGA, cautioned
that Amnesty’s policy change will not cover such cases as lewd
solicitation convictions. He said that Amnesty International
would construe its “Prisoners of Conscience” category narrowly.
The highly publicized executions of Gay men in Iran, as well
as lesser publicized conditions of homosexuals in the Soviet
Union, are thought to have been decisive in Amnesty
International’s policy reassessment. An estimated twelve men
have been executed in Teheran for their alleged homosexual
behavior since the Khomeni regime came to power.
In Russia, male homosexual acts are punishable with
confinement of up to five years. Male homosexual acts that are
the result of force or where one of the parties is a minor are
punished with imprisonment of up to eight years. The Soviet
courts have also applied the code to an individual’s mere
homosexuality, irrespective of any sexual activity.
Amnesty International is particularly interested in one case
where a young Leningrad poet was sentenced to four years in a
Soviet labor camp for writing poems about his love for another
man. Since beginning his sentence in 1976, the poet, Gennady
Trifonov, has succeeded in smuggling to the West first-hand
accounts of Inhumane treatment of Gay men by prison guards
and other inmates. _
Ayatollah Condemns Gays
Iran — The Ayatollah Khomeini recently told an Italian
journalist that the Iranian government he heads denies that
homosexuals have any rights whatsoever.
In an interview with Oriana Fallaci, published in the New
York times, the Ayatollah vowed “to eliminate corruption.” This
includes, the* execution of known or suspected homosexuals.
To Fallaci’s question whether it is right to shoot a poor
prostitute or a'woman who is unfaithful to her husband or a man
who loves another man, the religious leader replied:
“If your finger suffers from gangrene, what do you do? Do you
let the whole hand, and then the body, become filled with
gangrene, or do you cut the finger off? What brings corruption to
an entire country and its people must be pulled up like weeds that
infest a field of wheat. I know there are societies where women
are permitted to give themselves to satisfy the desire of men who
are not their husbands, and where men are permitted to give
themselves to satisfy other men’s desires. But the society we want
to build does not permit such things. In Islam we want to purify
society, and in order to acheive this aim we must punish those
who bring evil to our youth.”
Fallaci said, “What about the boy shot for sodomy?”
Khomeini’s reply was: “We have to eliminate corruption.”
When the interviewer pressed him on the violations of the
human rights of gays and unfaithful wives, the Ayatollah said,
“What do I know about particulars?. . .Ask the court that
condemned (a woman). Stop talking about these things. I am
getting tired. These are not important matters.”
The man who controls the destiny of millions further stated:
“If you foreigners do not understand, too bad for you. It’s
none of your business, you have nothing to do with our choices.
If some Iranians don’t understand it, too bad for them. It means
they have not understood Islam.”
A secret revolutionary court in Hamedan, Iran recently tried
and executed Houssein Amiri, described as the leader of a group
of homosexuals. The group, the “Yellow Scorpions,” were
accused of raping several boys.
National News
Documentary Cancelled
New York — The much publicized ABC News special on
Gays, scheduled to air October 11, was pre-empted at the last
moment by the World Series.
The special “ABC News Closeup — Homosexuals,” was
cancelled after rain forced the October 10 game between the
Pittsburgh Pirates and the Baltimore Orioles to be delayed for
one day.
Sources at ABC say the special may not be aired for some
time, perhaps as long as a year, because of trouble with
sponsors. Local stations reported difficulty selling local
advertising spots during the program and at least three
stations had declined to air the program — an unusual
occurence for a news documentary.
ABC, for its part, had heavily publicized the documentary,
with ads in local papers. TV Guide and Time. According to
the D.C. Blade, Gay activists who previewed the special had
given it mixed ratings. Some said the program focused too
excessively on the turmoil of Gay life, while others felt the
program achieved an overall balance.
A nti-discrimination
In a recent letter to U.S. Senators, Patsy T. Mink, president
of Americans for Democratic Action (ADA), one of the
nation’s largest liberal political/lobby groups, urged support
for legislation which Sen. Paul Tsongas (D-Ma) plans to
introduce. (See previous issue) That legislation will seek to
prohibit discrimination in employment based on sexual
orientation.
Mink’s letter stated, in part, “The principle that
employment should not be based on irrelevant criteria such as
race, creed, color, etc, but rather on ability to do the job, is
well-established. The inclusion of ‘sexual orientation’ is a
logical extension of this principle. ADA strongly urges your
co-sponsorship of the proposed fair employment legislation.”
Honorable Discharges For Gays
The deadline is January 1, 1980 for persons with less than
honorable discharges from the military for being gay to have
their discharges confidentially and automatically upgraded to
honorable.
According to Gay Community News, a little publicized law
(PL 9526) waives until January 1,1980, the usual 15-year limit
on the time a veteran has to appeal a less than honorable
discharge.
Under new regulations adopted since 1978, persons
separated from the military for being gay now typically
receive honorable discharges.
A brochure entitled “Upgrading Gay and Lesbian Veteran
Discharges” can be obtained by writing:
Gay Civil Rights Chapter
American Civil Liberties Union /
633 S. Shatto Place
Los Angeles, CA 90005
Methodist Decide
The United Methodist Church’s highest judicial body has
upheld the appointment of a homosexual pastor to one of the
denomination’s churches.
In an announcement made in Washington on November
1st, the Judicial Council - in effect the Supreme Court of the
10 million member denomination - ruled every United
Methodist minister “in good standing and in effective
relation” annual conference is eligible for appointment,
church officials said in a statement.
Continued on page 6.