University of Memphis University of Memphis Digital Commons Gaze, 1979-1990 OUT Memphis collection 8-16-2021 Gaze, volume 1, number 11 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.memphis.edu/speccoll-mss-outmemphis3 FREE News Of Interest To - The Lesbian/Gay Community Vol. 1, No. 11 Memphis, Tennessee October, 1980 Censorship Controversy Continues Norfolk Gay Paper Sues City Of Virginia Beach NORFOLK, VA--A continuing. meeting. The single copy is not on public to initiate legal action. In that letter Len One fundamentalist leader who has dispute between the city of Virginia display with other newspapers Rubenstein, President of the ACLU of been vocal in his opposition to the Gay Beach and the Tidewater area Gay currently, nor is it indexed in the library Virginia, wrote, "a city should have no newspaper is the Rev. Rodney Bell of the newspaper, Our Own Community Press, catalogue. The paper is, instead, filedin interest in keeping the paper, Our Own , Tabemacle Baptist Church of Virginia has resulted in a lawsuit filed by the boxes containing newsletters. closed froma forum in which it so clearly 'Beach. He and a group calling Unitarian-Universalist Gay Commun­ In May the ACLU wrote to the City belongs, though members of the themselves "Citizens for the Family" ity (UUGC), in conjunction with the Manager asking the Council to resolve community and of the city govemment have been circulating a petition calling American Civil Liberties Union of the matter satisfactorily by July 1. If may object to the subject matter and the for an advisory referendum on the Virginia, against the city of Virginia this were not done, the ACLU promised . theme of the paper... " question, "Shall a publication whose Beach and its City Manager, George L.­ primary purpose is to depict or advocate, Hanbury. The dispute began several through picture or word, homosexual months ago with the banning of· Ou r acts, be displayed, distributed, or Own from Virginia Beach's public received into the libraries of Virginia libraries. Beach?" The UUGC, plaintiff in the suit, Sufficjent voters' signatures to the alleges that the recent actions of the City petition have been received by the City· Council, in effect banning distribution Council to cause the issue to be brought of Ou r Own in the Virginia Beach Public to public referendum on the November 4 Libraries, violate the First and ballot. Fourteenth Amendments of the Should the Rev. Bell's call for Constitution. The UUGC, publisher of censorship be supported by the city's Our Own, seeks to have the monthly voters, the Mayor, Dr. Henry McCoy, paper openly displayed and distributed has indicated that he believes the in. the libraries as it had been for 18 Council should adopt a city ordinance to months prior to its removal last March. impose such censorship, although he Complaints registered in March by concedes that the courts would very two city council members and area likely declare the ordinance religious fundamentalists prompted the unconstitutional. City Manager to order suspension of The Friends of the Virginia Beach display and distribution in the libraries. Library, and the Chicago-based, S#_._...,.......,WAI.U!:U.:-Board then recommended Freedom to Read Foundation, have to City Council that it withdraw the promised to file a suit against the distribution rights of the newspaper -council in hopes of having the' that had been granted in September of referendum question removed from the 1978. November ballot altogether. The Board also recommended that The attomeys acting on behalf of one file copy be kept in each library. This the UUGC and the ACLU are William recommendation was not enacted, Macali of Waldo, Macali and Tilhou of however, until after a June 16 heated Virginia Beach, and Bob Roach of debate between spokespersons for Ou r Hplifax, Virginia. Own and its opponents at a Council S.F. Democrats Endorse Anderson-- D. C.'s Remain Uncommitted San Francisco's Stonewall abstain from endorsing a candidate for phone calls "indicating that Gay disappointed that Washington's Democratic Club has officiallyendorsed the presidency. support for the Carter campaign will be Gertrude Stein Democratic Club failed Independent presidential candidate A special meeting of the club on difficultto muster in the absence of some to endorse Anderson, campaign workers ., John Anderson, says the Bay Area September 11 brought "heated debate" positive, firm.and public commitment to generally feel that their failure to Reporter. over whether to endorse Carter or · Gay rights from the President himself." endorse Carter is a positive statement of The organization, composed of Gay Anderson. The final vote was 48 for no Correspondence or calls may be the President's failure to live up to his 4- Democrats, became the first S.F. group endorsement at all .. 26 for Carter and 7 addressed to Anne Wexler, Assistant to year-old campaign promise to issue an to officially endorse any candidate for for Anderson. the President, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., executi�e order banning discrimination· the presidency. Other sources report With the obvious indecision among NW, Washington, DC 20500, phone (202) against Lesbians and Gay men in all that Gay support for Anderson has political organizations nationwide, 395-3000 extension 284. forms of Federal employment. steadily increased during the past two many groups are pointing out the Anderson campaign workers within Additional support for Anderson months as a result of his open stand in importance of the "margin of vote." If the Gay community have referred to the came recently in Nashville when that support of the civil rights of Lesbians Gay supportive candidates, they say, Stonewall Democratic Club's city's Tennessee Gay Coalition for and Gay men. are defeated by a wide margin in endorsement as a "major victory" in Human Rights officially endorsed the · A,nderson has gained widespread November, such upsets could help to gaining a wide margin of Gay support in candidate. support nationwide in recent weeks determine the decisions made on the November election. Although among both Republicans and legislative levels by lawmakers who Democrats. National media sources use voter margins to determine the reported that the Southeastern · "mood" of the people. Conference of Lesbians and Gay Men The Gertrude Stein Democratic held in Memphis on August 1 became Club ,has issued a letter to Gay /Lesbian the first Gay group to endorse the organizations nationwide saying that The Un-Christian Christian Right page3 candidate although officials connected the Carter administration has either Controversial Letters ............. page4 with that conference denied that the "ignored or assigned a low priority to the group endorsed any particular rights of Lesbians and Gay men during Council Criticizes candidate. Conference officials the past three-and-one-half years" and "Gay Power, Gay Politics" ........ pageS admitted, however, that there was "has now begun to court the various Gay "obvious support" among many of the organizations an_d communities, "' Book Review pageS persons in attendance. seeking our political endorsement, our Crossword Puzzle Contest ........ page 9 In Washington; meanwhile, that volunteer workers, and our votes." city's Gay paper, the Blade reports that . The letter asks that Gays lobby the z: PAC To Assist Gay Cause ....... page 10 the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club White House through organization­ voted by a margin of nearly two to one to sponsored . or indi,.idual letters and Ar� We Sleeping, Brother J9hn? By Bill Johnson "If the homosexuals would keep is alien to me. Am I to be forced to live by But we, Gay women and men of nevertheless encourage that you vote their sin at home and not try to burden its doctrines? America, have never been free. Now against Strickland. us with it-�in our schools and in our I have every right to walk down they are trying to restrict us even For President, we can do no better communities--we Christians would not public streets (public is everybody, further. Are we sleeping, Brother John? than to endorse John Anderson. Even have anything to protest." honey) holding hands with my lover. I "Where Gay people live and work, to have. every right to flaunt in public. · my knowledge, is not the issue, but I remember several years ago an rather how they conduct themselves in incident involving a friend who visited ppblic places, such as schools, etc." me regularly and carried one of those These two quotes appeared in letters then-new smart shoulder bags for men. to the editor in local newspapers. Let us One day I asked him to leave his "purse" • substitute "Fundamentalist Christians" in his car so my neighbors wouldn't see .in these· quotes for "homosexuals" and him carrying it into my house. "Gay people." Of course this becomes a "Bill," he said, "you're no better iittle ridiculous--the very idea that we than they are." And he was right. might advocate the denial of an It took a long time for me to realize individual's or group of individuals' that I was asking my friend not to be right to freedom of expression! himself on my front porch. I wasn't But how many of us clearly see how doing it for principles or reasons that . very much our society has denied us that ·were mine. I was doing it because of the · This nation was founded to escape our staff disagrees on this endorsement basic right, which is "guaranteed" by ."consequences." I wasn't me, I was an the same kind of single-thought religion out of fear of the possibility of Reagan theConsti tution, since our countrybegan? extension of my fag-hating neighbors. that these people are advocating today, being elected. But with the platform of How many times have we said to We are part of society.