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~ -.cus- Montrose' Activity Center I,itis itK:al .. iould way, ltual- ciety NEW'S LE-TT E R diere ~- 1gen- oliti- ,f~v-/irj tlve-IMb/al( al(rI~Offeo/l(/I(<<'I('~of Iio«.,ftol( ntity lit of IDted March 1990 ". Issue 19 nthe ove- ated, The Montrose Activity Center is a non profit 50lc3 organization whose purposes are to increase understanding of social, racial and sexual minorities, and to en- courage acceptance and tolerance of alternative lifestyles so that together the citizens of the City of Houston and the State of Texas may work in the spirit of peaceful cooperation to build abetter society. The organization acts as an umbrella to other organizations. MAC, PO Box 66684, Houston, TX 77266-6684. bout re is Gay/Lesbian Hispanics Unidos ~ Team Houston ~ Names Project Houston ',or,. ness Lesbian/Gay Pride Week ~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation Advances have been steady; although at times I Gays Gain Power it seems little has changed as gays stillface a- ank long uphill struggle for respectability y is by John Jacobs pioneers, at times it seems little has changed .. gay because his voting record is similar to points in gay politics. iys. from The San Francisco Examiner "When you are talking about a sexual Frank's gave a glimpse of how much more "S tonewallbrought the hard-line people the As the only gay mayor in Orange County, identity that is abhorrent to 90 percent of work is ahead out," he said. "Anita Bryant brought out the my Robert Gentry has made extraordinary (straight) Americans, that dampens my Writers of the memo, titled ''Tom Foley: young professional doctors and lawyers .. de- progress on gay rights from the heart of perception of our gains," said San Fran- Out of the Liberal Closet," assumed that . and AIDS has done dramatically more Reagan country. cisco lesbian activist Carole Migden, chair- being branded as gay could damage the than' anything I know of in creating a res He persuaded his colleagues on the women of the County Democratic Central career of even the most powerful politi- community." Laguna Beach City Council to adopt laws _ Committee. "It matters to have clout at the cian. And Democrats, includingFrank, were Despite evidence that gay politics still banning discrimination against gays or _ ballot box, but you always-have to watch put in the position of denying that theirnew has a long uphill struggle for respectabil- people who test positive for HIV, and he's your back. That doesn't count for me as a House leader is gay. ity, advances have been steady, especially working on a domestic-partners ordinance. lasting achievement" And, one gay activist conceded privately in the Midwest, where gay political efforts But when Gentry's companion of 15 Countered Rep. BarneyFrank,D-Mass., that he fears the incident could drive deeper have exploded out of the closet in the last years died of AIDS this year and a photo of one of two openly gay members of Con- into the closet gay members of Congress six to eight years. both appeared in the Orange County Reg - gress, "Weare making progress faster than concerned that their voting records might In Chicago, for example, a divided City ASiheootygaymayoriIlomngeCooniY~ - ideritiWtfiat i!iaDborrent to 90 percent ()f work IS aneau ou~"liesai(f~'''AnitaBryantbroughtout_, Robert Gentry has made extraordinary (straight) Americans, that dampens my Writers of the memo, titled ''Tom Foley: young professional doctors and lawyers .. progress on gay rights from the heart of perception of our gains," said San Fran- Out of the Liberal Closet," assumed that . and AIDS has done dramatically more Reagan country. cisco lesbian activist Carole Migden,chair- being branded as gay could damage the than anything I know of in creating a He persuaded his colleagues on the womenoftheCountyDemocraticCentral career of even the most powerful politi- community." Laguna Beach City Council to adopt laws Committee. "It matters to have clout at the cian, And Democrats, including Frank, were Despite evidence that gay politics still banning discrimination against gays or ballot box, but you always have to watch put in the position of denying that their new has a long uphill struggle for respectabil- people who test positive for HIV, and he's your back. That doesn't count for me as a House leader is gay. ity, advances have been steady, especially working on a domestic-partners ordinance. lasting achievement" And, one gay activist conceded privately in the Midwest, where gay political efforts But when Gentry's companion of 15 Countered Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., that he fears the incident could drive deeper have exploded out of the closet in the last years died of AIDS this year and a photo of one of two openly gay members of Con- into the closet gay members of Congress six to eight years. both appeared in the Orange County Reg - gress, "We are making progress faster than concerned that their voting records might In Chicago, for exam ple, a divided Ci ty ister, Gentry got what looked like a sympa- we thought, but slower than it should be. be used to expose them. Council-with some members calling gays thy card in the mail. Someone had clipped . (Even so), the response of this country on Nevertheless, gay Los Angeles political "sissies" and "animals"-last September out the photo, drawn a red circle around his AIDS, is much more civilized than I thought consultant David Mixner maintains that rejected 26-21 a human rights ordinance lover and a line through him and scrawled it would be five years ago." "gay politics is the strongest it has ever that would have protected gay men and on the bottom, "One down and one to go." Yet, the uproar last week over a Repub- been." Mixner cited the 1969 Stonewall lesbians in housing and employment. It was a' reminder that even as gay lican National Committee memo insinuat- Inn riots in New York, the 1977 Anita But with the mayor's race in full swing, political power has spread across America ing that the new House majority leader, Bryant Florida crusade against gays and the council reversed itself three months in ways that would have astonished its Rep. Tom Foley of Washington, might be .the onslaught of AIDS as three turning see Gays Gain Power page 4 '\. Southeastern Conference 1990 _ lina) Jesse Helms would be running for It is all about living up to our possibilities By Jill C. McCoy u.s. Senate Passes ''The feeling we want to create here is office this year, and going around the as a people." like walking in to a gay community-the country slandering us, as a people, and As a means toward doing tnat; the Hate Crimes Statistic Act 2 wonder of realizing that there are things out slandering our good works," Pilkington Conference will focus on four days of The bill requires the us Department of Justice to "acquire data about cer- there for 'people like me.' It's not about added. ''They accuse us of being wasted education and recreation designed to help tain crimes which manifest evidence politics, or coming out; it's about learning, people, of not doing anything good for the people take positive things back to their of prejudice based on race, religion, and having fun, and just like Old Home communities, all sorts of erroneous things. homes. sexual orientation, or ethnicity." It's our job to prove they are wrong." Week." Registration fees for the Conference are Lesbian/Gay Pride 3 Raleigh, North Carolina will play host Pilkington said the Conference's theme, $80 per person, which includes admittance June 15-24 1990 Marcil 22-25 to the 1990 Southeastern "Working to Strengthen Our Southeastern to all activities over the four-day period. Conference for Lesbians and Gay Men, Communities", is a way for gay and lesbian The Conference will open Thursday, Calendar of Events 5 to 8 and Willie Pilkington, co-chair of the event, people to do something to stop the slander. March 22 with a candlelight vigil between The Invisible Electorate 10 was searching for words to explain what he "Our people are not going to accept this. the Radisson Plaza Hotel and the Raleigh The time is now to demand gay inclu- and other steering committee members are -The only story the community, at large Civic Center, which will be the central sion in election coverage' for 1990. This means working hard to organize hoping to bring about at this year's event knows about us is what is being spoken by location for activities. a vocal and visible presence in people who hate us, and who would rather "From its concept, it was wanting to do Directly following the vigil, the Names elections-and on the streets. something good for the Raleigh gay com- lie about us. This is the climate of the 90' s Project/National AIDS Memorial Quilt munity by bringing the most ideas and the that we're going to have to go in to." Display will open in the Raleigh Civic Partisan Politics 11 Many gay and lesbian activists began . best people in with this Conference. It has "With us strengthening our gay commu- Center, and run during the Conference. to work within the established politi- been a long time since the Conference has nities, the focus becomes real clear," Pilk- Volunteers have secured from 72 to 100 cal system of electoral politics (par- been-in the northern part of the Southeast- ington said. "We need to spread the story of 12-foot by 12-foot sections of the Quilt, ticularly within the Democratic Party), ern region," Pilkington said.