VOLUME FIVE, NO, 8—April 16, 1992—Ap 29, 1992 FREE

Give the People Light and they. will find -thefr own way. The Wisconsih Light Hate Crimes Against Gays In WVTV and WISN TV Reject AIDS Superior and Duluth Increasing Related Ads In Milwaukee [Duluth, Mrill•Betty Hupperich picked up the phone one afternoon to hear a [Milwaukee).- With over 110,000 people man's voice threatening her. dead ef AIDS nationwide and one millioe In low tortes, he told her that he and his believed to to be HIV infected, 8000 in friends planned to crash the meeting that Milwaukee .alone, WISN-TV Channel 12 night at the Lesbian center where she and WVTV Channel 18 rejected a works. non•partisan, election eve ad demigned to The women would know them, he said, acquaint people with these and other facts by their white sheets and swastikas. about the dread disease, And then he hung up, The AIDS ad wes sponsored by .ACT According to an article in the Duluth UP Milwaukee and was professiogogye News- Tribune by-lined to Laurie Hertzet, produced by Milwaukee's Dena Aron son ;es this imideni k only one of many being Video with voice•over -by Minneap.olis:a? experienced by Lesbians arid Gays in based actor Ric ()quite. .1111 Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, There was no explicit material rn the Wisconsin, It, and others like it, is an. 30-second ad, but only the face. of a '60's example of the homophobic backlash due, style clock ticking ominously, in part, tin growing acceptance of Gays In the yoke-over, an urgent voice was and Lesbians in these two northern heard accusing politicians of being silent it is also due in part, to the fact that Gay in the fare of the epidemic; of not publicly people are less hidden than they once addressing the homophobia "that were. This follows the pattern seen in the hinders safer- sex education;" of not rest of the country. changing the "seristeedefinition of AIDS Hertzel reports that people notice it in that keeps women with AIDS from getting hate-tilled letters to the editor of the local benefits;" and "not addressing the newspaptr, in anonymous threatening racism the keeps people of color out of phone calls made to Lesbian and Gay promising drug trials." The ad concluded organizations and to the homes and by urging prop le to vote on April 7. businesses of Gay individuals, 18 and 12 Give Ransom Hertzel writes that Duluth and Superior ADVANCE ANNOUNCEMENT Thv Macomb' Light and Ln Step will be co • tpcimaririg the 'W isconsin premiere opening night of Derail Jartnan's "Edward W' ai the Oriental Theatre on According to Dan Eons of ACT UP police records show very kw crimes June 11 % 1hi& ever will lxnefli Milwaukee's Pride Cofrniricc. Soo the next issue Iliad fur Milwookec, Channel 18 said that the against Gays. Ibis may be due to the fact complete details. In the pbutu above, Edward II (Ste ii Wpirldingtom) kisses the hand of station was accepting "no issue- oriented that Superior police don't categorize hate Gavexton A ndrew Tlerrnan) nK he sits on the throne. ads," but refused to put reasons for its crimes while Duluth police have just rejection of the ad in writing. started such a system, .,-..• I Compitaint by Madison Lesbians Over WISH Channel 12 rejected the ad for 'According to Rub _J arisen, Superiors Gay similar reasons, telling Fans that the ad

activist and rimier of the Main tiolV•n ar• *mg ' I to) turniffirktis it to = Superior, empioyeta -call: potatii • 0X0. a pro-choice 'or nasal-obortitun vicod, times a week with complaints of Reltaltsonl- Mildiebn health clinic "Its riot• Jou 'a • matter of getting an said, hut promised to put their reasons in harassment. probably discriminated against a Lembian appointment," Neldaughter said. writing. According to ACT UP, such a "One of the guys was harassed in the when it canceled her appointment "Discrimination gees much deeper than letter has not been forthcoming from the parking lot of the bar recently," Jansen is regarding artificial lesemiostion, an that." Neldaughter believes the clinic station. reported as saying. "I hod another guy investigator for Madison 's Equal should educate its doctors and staff to be Pons maid that they were unable to who was in the bar on March 28, and he Opportunities Commission (E0C). says. more sensitive to Gay men and Lesbians, retch executives of either station. ACT was followed by two guys,,' Mary Pietcd said the Holey, Anderson she said. "I want the right to go in there DP was told that anyone they wanted to At the Main Club, a carload of people and Torhorst Clinic probably broke and get the informetion (regarding talk to was "either in the hospital or on from Duluth crossed the bridge a couple Madison's anti- dlserhnination laws by artificial insemination)." she said. She +menden." of limes last Summer to cruise in front of canceling Stacie Neldatighter's November also wants the visit, which is no longer Roth stations did . have representatives thla bar, shouting insults and threats 21. 1991 appointment. Neldaughter, who covered by her insurance, to be paid foc speak to the Milwaukee Journal. Michael through loudspeakers. was denied artificial insemination by by the clinic. Schuch., WVTV-TV vice president and Jansen reports that while Superior University of Wisconsin Hospital last Malts at the clinic, which is headed general manager is quoted as saying. police have been "good in terms of year, filed n complaint against the clinic by Dr, James Torhorst, declined to "We Cat take or not take whoever we response," he has found them unaware with the COMMiSsiOn. comment, But in a letter to the EOC, want,. We've turned down a lot of things of Gay issues. Pierce said after interviewing Torhorst argued that the clinic was. not here we don't want put on the air, We're Jansen said that he had met with the Neldaughter and several health-care subject to the anti-discrimination laws just not taking any controversial issues," Chief of Police, the Mayet and the District workers. chant the clinic probably. because it is composed of the private Schuch is reported saying. Attorney and said they thought Gay discriminated against Neidaughter on the offices of independent physicians, The Dean tvlaytag, director of WISN-TV bashing was a form of dance, like slam basis of sexual orientation. Neldaughter. doctors do snot disetirninate, but catch one operations is quoted as saying that the dancing. a 28•yearealt• nurse. said she wee decides whether a patient is station had an "across the board" policy Police Unison Appointed satisfied with Pierce's finding and hopes psychologically capable of • dealing with of not accepting controversial or the clinic will change its policies and the emotional procedure of artificial In response to conversation:! with issue-oriented ads "and this fell into that attitudes.. insemination, Torhorst wrote., Jansen and ethers, Ilertzel reports that in category." Channel 12'p rejection not thin last week of Match, Copt. Richard Pukerna of the Superior Police expected. According to ACT UP, on Cracker Barrel Continues Anti-Gay March' 27. the station had accepted the Department appointed an officer to act as • liaison between the department. the Gay ad, signed a contract and taken payment. community and the District Attorney'e Policy as Kenosha Site Nears Opening It was only on Monday, March 30, that office, [New York, NYi . "'This employee is leaving a pink "Defy Homophobia" sign ACT UP was informed that the station The officer volunteered for the position being terminated due to violation of pasted sir Washington's statue on the would not run the ad. "WISN has repeatedly shown itself to and is reported to have seemed eager to Company policy. The employee is Gay." crotch. be in the Dark Ages with regard to AIDS make a difference. He was, however, This pink slip wa a sent to Cheryl Bigotry Not Unfamiliar Summerville and at least 16 other arid Gays in general," said Foss, He teluctant to allow hie name to be QN charges! that besides being published. employee:, Of Cracker Barrel Old Country went on to describe WISN-TV's ratings h om op hobic, the Tenn e ssee • ha sed The officer wants a chance to get to Store, a chain of "family style" .sweeps news series "Flirting With restaurants with more thao 100 location Cracker Barrel chain shows other Ettinger" ax "blatantly homophobic" know members of the Gay community and evidence of bigotry. Many of Cracker sec how they accept him, he is teported to in the South and Midwest, One is soon to and cited as further evidence the station's open in the Kenosha area. Barrel's restaurants are decorated with ultra conservative radio talk shove hosts. have said. He wants time to explain to his Confederate flags and the company sells parents the new work he'll be doing. He's In response, Queer Nation (QN) Different Opinion" "Mammy Dolls" and Amos 'a Andy afraid that his family might get harassed, chapters in various cities throughout the WM-TV Channel 6's Marisa Tully did • tapes In many ofits gift shops. country have mounted demonstration' not have the same opinion of the ad. Tully think tee important," Hertzel in !pile of numerous protesta, reports the officer as saying. 'Them and other kinds of Faecal, against the is the etatioes director of sake. She is chain. demonstrations end letters, the company SIMMS to be some acceptance of the Gay has steadily maintained its discriminatory quoted as saying, We didn't find anything controversial" 'bout the ad. and Lesbian community nationwide. But New York positions QN maintains, retaliating with it's nowhere near what it should be. On Tuesday, March 31. 1992, nearly lawsuits, assaults and the barring of Gay "-They gave ,AIDS statistics and then they eld 'vote tomorrow." Tully said that the They're still a minority row. "- 100 members of QN marched on Wall and Lesbian patrons from their states. g The officer went on to say, "They're ad was se ineocuou5, "l couldn't figure Street to "Crack the Barrel" by asking In Virginia citizens like anybody else. They deserve Cracker Barrel shareholders to pass a out the point of their expenditure." respect as humans, Their sexual resolution demanding that the company On March 29. Tim McCarthy, ai reporter The AIDS activists say they are now preference is their own private concern. rehire the fired employees with back pay for the New York City-erased Gay Cable concerned that the stations have violated They have rights like anybody else, and and put an end to Crocker Barrel's Network, was arrested by a Spotsylvania, their rights to free speech forcing the they should be able to live their lifestyle discrimination against Gays and VA, Comity Deputy Sheriff and charged group to turn to the Wisconsin Civil as they see fit." Lesbians, with trespassing while coveting a QN Libertiee Union for possible legal action, Jansen said many Cray people are !afraid The Gay activists made their way to the Sit-in at a Cracker Barrel restaurant near The activists further note that since to report crimes to the police because they !steps of George Washington's inaugural Ftedricksburg, 50 miler., south of they are widely perceived as a Guy group don't want to reveal their names. But the site, across the street from the .New York Washington. The arrest occurred while and the commercial urges politicians to liaison officer said it's difficult to help Stock Exchange to perform a "kiss in" nearly 100 Lesbian and Gay activists fight homophobia to help the struggle people who wish to remain anonymous. after which the demonstrators dispersed, TURN TO CRACKER BARREL, PAGE 11 TURN TO T.V. ADS, PAGE 11 •