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Mar 5-Mar 18, 1985 Vol. 6, No. 4 evaluating the 84 Elections. • • Compiled by Jim Baxter The overwhelming sense of a stunning Republican/ conservative sweep in this fall's elections was felt nowhere more keenly than in North Carolina. And, among minority groups, the effects were felt as strongly by gays as any other. Perhaps more so after having been used as a cudgel throughout the election. North Carolina Republicans — whose state party organization resolved that gays were “a threat” and expressed it’s “disgust” at “sexually perverted activities” — took three house seats from Democratic incumbents, and dozens of seats in the state legislature. The second Republican governor in a century was elected. “It's hard to imagine any state worse hit on November 6 than our own,” Joe Herzenberg told The (Miami) Weekly News. “It was the most devastating loss for the Democratic Party in the twentieth century.” There is no evidence that the “gay issue” had any effect on the election. To those outside the gay community, it’s possible that the gay issue never really seemed important. Moderate non-gay people looked on the “gays” versus “fundamentalists” struggle as two far-out fringe elements hassling with one another and and having nothing to do with them. Still, the effect it had on gay people in North Carolina — conservative, moderate or liberal, Republican or Democrat — was not insignificant. In an election year that featured some of the nastiest, and most expensive, mud-slinging in American history, the word “gay” was an unavoidable part of that mud. At the very least, the dissemination of misinformation about gays will take a long time to counteract. Change Partners and Dance Conservative leaders, hailing the victories of President Ronald Reagan, Senator Jesse Helms, Representative Bill Cobey and Governor James Martin, saw the election results as an overwhelming affirmation of their quest to preserve “traditional family values.” The elaborate inauguaral festivities in January, both locally and nationally, were just the icing on an already delicious cake. Ronald and Nancy, Jesse and Pat, Jim and Dorothy, were widely seen in celebration — dancing, toasting their success, surrounded by triumphant conservatives, jubilant lifetime Republicans, excited young Republicans and — of course — closeted gays. Among the inaugural festivities in the nation’s capital was the “Inaugural Ball for Young Americans.” (It was here that Reagan made his first appearance of the evening.) Costing $50 per person and offering mixed drinks at $3.50 each, the ball was held in the D.C. Armory, normally the site of circuses, rodeos and wrestling matches. David Miner, 22, a student at Campbell College (in Buies Creek, N.C.) and national vice-president of the College Republican Committee, was among those present. Asked for a few words by UPI (1/22/85), Miner enthusiastically parroted the party line: “The Democratic Party is the party of big labor bosses, homosexuals, tax increases, gloom andedoom.” It would have come as a surprise to him, then, to know that also attending the event was Jeff Snow, office manager of Concerned Americans for Individual Rights (CAIR), the group formed last year for conservative and Republican gays. Snow, 24, a native of Mobile, Alabama andlong-time participant in Republican youth groups, told The Washington Blade that he expected to surprise some of his former colleagues by informing them of his work with CAIR. Nor was Snow alone at the capital’s inaugural celebrations. (See related story this issue.) The presence of gays at national and state inaugurals brings to mind the essential question: did gays win or lose in the 84 elections? Was there a clear mandate, dictated by conservative forces and supported by the majority of voters, which indicate the end of the gay rights era? The answers to these questions, not unlike the contents of the inaugural guest lists, are not at all what you might expect. The Presidential Race In the wake of President Ronald Reagan’s landslide reelection, gay Republicans were savoring the possibility that the Reagan administration’s second term could open new opportunities for gays supporting the principles of the Republican party. They argue that Reagan’s economic and foreign policies continued on page 15 After the Ball Some Republican leaders may have been surprised to find several openly gay colleagues joining them at the Reagan inaugural committee’s nine offical Inaugural Balls on January 21. Bruce Decker, co-founder and current board member of Concerned Americans for Individual Rights, the group formed last year for politically moderate to conservative gays, told The Washington Blade just before the inauguration, “I’ve received a lot of calls from prominent gay Republicans who are planning to attend some inaugural events.” Gay Republican Frank Ricchiazzi, chairman of the Republican Party in his Los Angeles assembly district and an openly gay member of the Los Angeles County Republican Party, mingled with his gay and non-gay colleagues at several inaugural functions. Perhaps the biggest irony among the Republican establishment came with seeing former Congressman Robert Bauman, a founder of the American Conservative Union, attending inaugural functions with a male date. Not all gay Republicans attending these events were open, however. “They don’t really see why they should make an issue of their sexual preference," Decker told the Blade. “These are folks who support the president’s policies in terms of national defense and the economy. They’re part of the party establishment." Dallas, Texas, gay bar and real estate magnate Frank Craven, who has been admitted to the Republican “Eagle" club for contributing thousands of dollars to the party, attended official inaugural functions, including the gala party featuring entertainment by Frank Sinatra, with an entourage of Texas gays. Craven told the Blade that he planned to limit his activities to the official inaugural events and did not intend to “make an issue” of gay rights. Most gay Republicans, who are not openly gay, attended only the same inaugural functions as their heterosexual counterparts. Nevertheless, some closeted gay Republicans, many of them rumored to be well known within the Republican continued on page 11 The Front Page is always on the lookout for new advertisers. Some rates: Full Page $162; Half Page-$87; Quarter Page-$50; Eighth Page $32; Sixteenths 19. Other sizes are available. In many cases, there are small production charges in addition to the cost for space. Terms: payment by certified check or money order in advance. Credit only to established, approved clients. Call us for a complete rate card, or for further information. Better yet, call us to place your ad. Thank you! Next Issues On The Streets By Ad Deadline Mar 19-Apr 8 Tuesday, Mar 19 Friday, Mar 8 Apr 9-Apr 22 Tuesday, Apr 9 Friday, Mar 29 r i i ! I I I I I I I I I I I DONT MISS AN ISSUE! If you don’t pick up The Front Page by the weekend, you might not get one! A year's subscription (22 issues), mailed in a plain, sealed envelope, costs only $10.00 (bulk rate). 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