f VO 'rtt'»»« Od '«••«O -«»MV V e t i '* ^ . W « 6 VO ••tnA»U»no ^ < n v (d »t«)«od *s*n « U o a d -n o H Inside: Briggs in Heoidsburg # Photos Page4 Aliinnce (ConfereisM Rotoms Door-to-Door Compaign Report W hy John Bnm s cam eTo by Sandy Lowe - FACT: The "little town" of Healdsbuig FACT: The ' majority of the parenu of preaeiited*si wide base of siqipoit for a school Healdsbuig were so outraged by an attempt on First: Briggs esune to Healdsbuig as a teacher knowi^to have an excellent record of the pan of a few fanatic people to railroad a / carpet-bagger of bigotry and deceit. He had read of achievement. dismissal, that they overwhelming^ threat­ the controversy surrounding Larry Berner in a Bay FACT: The teacher has lived a quiet ■«H ened to withdiaw mU their children horn the Area newspaper and, by his own admission, he private life as a resident of Healdsbuig for schooLif the school boaid dismissed the gay invited himself to Healdsburg in order to grab a few more than 5 years. He began to "campaign teacher. headlines and scare up some semblance of pubBcly" in defense of human l i g ^ only q/ker grass-roots support. Briggs annouDced hh intent to attack the A small but powerful group of mMant The fact is that, Briggs’ trip proves that in the -J riglus of an teacheri. ' ___ _____ homosexuals is determined to impose iu jffe-style on whole State of California he had not been able to the majotity of decent cUixent. Just who is really fmd any napm scandalqiiTn ease to exploit than t he School officiab tell pai euu their hand» aw tied; being harassed, the hompsexuat-advocffia or tlie~ existence of one excellent and popular openly Gay the existing law leaves them powerless to deal with public? teacher in Healdsburg. A year ago even this one case the prolilem. FACT: There b a lai;^ population of Lesbians did not exist s i n c e “came out” politically only —arid C ay men- who work, - live, ^ r i ^ thelr" in response to Briggs' bigoted campaign against Gay school offidab to deal with misconduct. In families, and h e ^ compose the majority of school workers- Hesddsbuig there has been no misconduct. decemcitiaeM, taxpayers, and home owners of The second and more insidious reason that There is no problem, which is why school Sonoma Couiuy. It b Briggs and hb few Briggs came to Healdsburg was his attempt to officiab have been "powerless" to act. siqqmiteiB who have come buo our county to authenticate his published lies. The fact is that impose their bigoted Ufe-styl^bn a "quiet Iktle Briggs' office had already issued a statement In desperation, twelve families have removed their town". concerning Larry and'the pdqp^ of Healdsburg children Grom-che schcml rathe^than expose them to which will appear as'^a rebuttal argument in the the example of an openly homosexual teacher. According to homosexual leaders many Voters Manual and Sample Ballot for the Noverhber Four of the Gve members of the Healdsburg homosexual teachers hâve hept silent unriZ now, but election. This statement, which is a loose weave of school board have voted to support Proposition 6 .' if Proposition 6 fails, they will “go public” and lies, win be mailed—at. taxpayers expeiue—to every They see it as the last hope o f restoring to parents the announce their life-style to the world, thus providing voter in the State of rialifnmia_All thU wa« freei^n^tocontToliheiLJchools. _ their students with a living example of the completed long before Briggs came to Healdsburg acceptability of the homosexual way of life. arid without consulting the people of Healdsbuig. We are reprinting b^ow a .copy of the Briggs Heoldsburg teacher FACT: Gay teachers remain silent about their “Healdsburg Argument” togetjjn with a point by * -a ■ intimate 1 ^ because they recognise, along,., point refutation. The refutation^ppear as indented with most good non-gay teachers, that the paragraphs in bold type. speaks September 18 classroom b not the proper place Coir such The homosexuals and the their supporters 'tell discussion. us the present law is jiBt fine. L any Bonier, Heaidsbury area, teacher who So the next time someone telb you “It can't WeU, let them'teU that to the citizens of has come out to tight John Briggs and iVopo- happen here” tell him to talk to the parents of Healdsburg. Those parents know we need Healdsburg, California. They know better. atioa 6, will qieaJt before local Healdsburg This quiet little toum in the Sonoma wine parents and lesfdonts S ^ tm b e r lB at 7 PM '■'“''liC B ifi.iw s , Sinclair Leiris used the phrase country has been Gg^ting unsuccessfuly to remove a ^ the IWa Chmtkieerj N: Fitch Mouo- T t canit happar here" to warn a|idast~tlie second grade teacher who has-openly admhtedTus oin Road, Healdabutgi threat of fadsm in America. Here Briggs homosexuality and has campaign pubUcly to keep perverts the phrase, failing to lesiember that homosexual teachers in our public schools. ~Tbe event, sponsored by SCRAP 6, is' open to the public. Krse childcare will be- om oOfitle^ first acts of rrprrssinn was the FACT: The quart of Healdsbuig was disnqwed dismissal of'all gay teacheia faom the Mari provided. For Airtfaer iniormation call byafewmiqpiidedbfgocs—not by a gay school schoolsystem. r r CAN HAPPEN HEREl Vote teacher. ' " SCRAP 6 headquarters at 526-1240. NO on 6 . oor-to-Door against Prop 6 '<p by KarenRycc. “That house doesn't look veiyfriendly," Joanna the No. on IS bumper^sticker b,” I suggested. ~ ' said. We divied up the tasks; she would start by doing m rilo, ette you famUmr with Pmpoeition 6f “Well, how about the one where the VW with voter regbtradon, then I would calmly ask if the Not WM, neither are we, gpodbye." voterwas familiar with Proposidon 6. We walked up "StOo, I bet yossW wotsdering tuhy rurVv The Dor to Door Conomittee of Sonoma Cqunty and knocked. No ansvrer. loMvbsg brossm paper hags a ver our beads Residents Agaiiut Proposidon 6 (SCRAP 6) will be “Well, that was easy; I hope they’re all like "HsUe, sae^ yeter heat lesbiam ..." doing a workshop Saturd|lf( September 16, from that,” I said, more than half-serious. 10:45 a.m. until S p.m. at the SCRAP 6 office, We found out quickly that we had a knack for There were no two %vays about it, going Califomia Teachers Associadon Bldg., 2490 picking the houses where no one was home, so we canvassing against the Briggs Initiative was scary. Guerrteville Road. finally found a house where the front dom was wide The first day we went we spent ejose to one half-hour Thb workshop b designed to assist and support open. We ventured down the path and up the stairs. being nervous, laughing hysterically, wondering why anyone who wishes to do door to door canvassing. Joanna knocked on the screen door, “Thb b it, a month ago we had thought b was such a good idea The first hour of the workshop b devoted to a folks,” I said-to myself. Joanna's opening line was C n to go door to door in Sonoma County to educate detailed explanadon of Proposition 6.. Later on in p^ect, “Are you registered to vote?” T ^ woman people about the Briggs Initiative. P e o ^ I had told ,the day small group discussioiu and role playing are who answered said yes, she was . Silence . about it reacted ominously. "Good luck,” they said, used as preparation for various types reactions Joanna was staring at me; the woman was staring at “you have lots of guts." I pictured eggs and tomatoes likely to be encountered when canvassing against me. I had forgotten the possibility that the woman thrown, doors slamiqed as wril as hostile sneers and Proposition 6. mig^t My yes and had been andcipadng a space of bodily threats. 1 wondered if wecould have the nerve The workshop also pipvides very good time to re lu while Joanna registered her. Quid: to to come out, (“There áre 25,000 gays in Sonoma guidelines for door to door canvassing and also recover, however, I blurted out something about an County, that's 24,998 besides us," . or the button teaches pardcipanu how to register voters.' issue oB the November ballot, and started laughing. from the Eugene, Oregon, campaign, “What do ‘ Information packets will be fundshed for '--In true comrade spirit, Joarma started laughing too. Gays want? Ask me.”) canvassers. Canvassing has been going on for over The woman was looking at us curiously and I So there we were, the day of the trial canvassing, two months and the public reaction has generally managed to get out, "I’m sorry but we’re really the time we’d planned to get so m solid “experience” been a good one. There have been'no' major nervotb.” The woman said she ctwdn't think about behind us, laughing likq,we were in grade school. I problems or hassles and the public b wilUng to listen. anytbing except her husband’s illness. We left, still couldn't rememher a sing^ logical argum t^ against Participants should bring a lunch or plan on buying laughing, with Joarma tripping in the wonum’s the Initiative. All the preparation, talking and lunch nearby. garden. role-playing fell by the wayside in the face of my Childcare will be provided and the CTA ('Truly’' a grass-uproots organization,” I nervousness.