Shenandoah Valley Friends (please be patient - page takes awhile to load)
|
Shenandoah Valley Friends (please be patient - page takes awhile to load)
|
|
|
List of Articles
Friday, May 30, 1997 KKK Rally, Bomb Threat Target Barby Lou Chibbaro Jr., Washington Blade Staff Writer The married, heterosexual couple that owns a Gay bar in rural Jenner Township, Pennsylvania, vowed to keep the establishment open this week following a telephoned bomb threat last Sunday and a protest and cross burning three weeks earlier by 30 robed members of the Ku Klux Klan. The bomb threat and KKK cross burning took place about three months after members of a nearby Anabaptist church began appearing outside the bar each weekend, carrying anti-Gay placards and pointing videocameras at the bar's customers. Patricia and Merritt Cramer, owners of the Casa Nova Lounge, said they remain determined to stay in business. "Our customers are nice people and they have a right to come here," said Patricia Cramer. Many of the customers, including some who live in the D.C. area, have responded by rallying in support of the Cramers, who live in an apartment above the bar. Members of the Bible Anabaptist Church and a number of nearby residents have said they don't want a Gay bar in their rural county, which is nestled in a picturesque mountain range about 65 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. Officials with the Pennsylvania State Police said they evacuated the bar Sunday night, May 25, after an anonymous male caller told a 911 emergency operator a bomb had been placed inside the Casa Nova. Police said no bomb was found, and the bar reopened the next day. Sgt. Robert Weaver of the Pennsylvania State Police said the KKK members arrived at the site of the bar on the afternoon of Saturday, May 10. He said they assembled along the side of the road that borders on the Casa Nova, recited a prayer, denounced the bar, and departed, with the entire event lasting less than a half hour. According to Weaver, the KKK members then drove to a nearby farm, where they staged a cross burning ceremony. Weaver said the owners of the farm gave the Klan members permission to conduct the cross burning, which is legal in Pennsylvania but subject to state fire code restrictions. Klan leader Barry Black of Johnstown, Pa., told the Associated Press that Klan members decided to stage their demonstration after learning that members of the Bible Anabaptist church had agreed to stop picketing the bar for six weeks. Bishop Ronnie McRae, who heads the church, halted the weekend picketing after the Cramers agreed to let him conduct a church service inside the bar every Sunday for six weeks. But McRae ended the agreement and resumed the picketing after the second Sunday when only three or four people showed up for his services, which featured lengthy sermons. Patricia Cramer said she agreed to let McRae hold services at the bar in an attempt to diffuse what she said had become a tense, emotionally draining, and protracted confrontation with no end in sight. "I was hoping we could reach some kind of compromise," Cramer said. "I didn't see anything wrong with him preaching the Bible." McRae told the Blade in March that he believes all Gay people who fail to repent will burn in hell. Cramer said McRae, in preparation for his services at the Casa Nova, brought to the bar a piano, a pulpit, and a large collection of Bibles and hymn books. She said his wife and three children, along with other church members, accompanied him on two days he conducted services at the bar. The agreement collapsed, Cramer said, because the overwhelming majority of her customers refused to have anything to do with McRae. McRae and his followers had been shouting anti-Gay slurs at the bar's customers for nearly three months as the customers entered and left the bar. Weaver of the state police said police are still investigating a March 9 incident in which someone fired two shotgun blasts into the Casa Nova's front door, causing minor injuries to two customers. He said state police arrested a Wyoming man six weeks ago on gun possession and reckless endangerment charges after the man fired a pistol into an embankment about three hundred yards from the bar. Weaver said the man, who is a native of Jenner Township, got into an argument with someone outside the bar after visiting the bar to "find out what was going on there." The man was angry when he discovered the bar, which had operated for 58 years, had been converted to a Gay bar earlier this year, Weaver said. "We're doing all we can to see that nobody gets hurt," Weaver said. "The problem is that everybody has a legal right to be doing what they're doing, and we're not in a position to be taking sides." Copyright © 1997 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. Back to List of Articles
Friday, June 6, 1997 Virginia Men Get Stiff Sentences for Brutal AttackVictim was kidnapped, torturedby Colleen Marzec and Jane Ferguson
A Charlottesville, Virginia, judge on May 24 delivered 50-year sentences to three men for their roles in the kidnapping, robbery, torture, and beating of a man they perceived to be Gay. Charlottesville Circuit Court Judge Jay T. Swett told the court, "I cannot recall a more brutal beating under more brutal circumstances than this one," according to The Daily Progress, a Charlottesville newspaper. Swett suspended all but 20 years of each man's sentence. Chad Turner DePasquale, 23, Joseph Cain Breeden, 17, and Billy Ray McKethan, 17, are each expected to spend at least 20 years behind bars without chance of parole for their Nov. 2, 1996, beating of the man they perceived to be Gay. The attorney for one of the men felt the sentence was too severe. "I thought that a midrange guideline sentence would have been appropriate," C. James Summers, DePasquale's attorney, told the Blade this week. The victim, a 33-year-old employee of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, suffered broken bones in his face, broken ribs, bruised lungs, and cigarette burns to his hair and face. The assailants urinated on him and locked him in the trunk of his car, where police found him about two days later. "The severity of the penalty is good," said Shirley Lesser, head of Richmond-based civil rights group, Virginians for Justice, "... but [the judge] neglected to send the message that hate violence against Gays is bad." After five hours of testimony during the May 24 sentencing hearing, the judge reportedly said he still did not have a reason for the men's actions. "The question that simply has not been answered is, 'Why?'" said Swett, according to The Daily Progress. The Progress reported in November that Breeden said in his statement that the three men on the night of the crime had "wanted to go fag-bashing." Asked during the November hearing what that meant, Breeden said, "You get a Gay person and you basically beat them up." Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Claude Worrell, who prosecuted the case, on May 24 characterized the attack as a Gay-bashing, according to the Progress. But McKethan and DePasquale's attorneys disputed that in the sentencing hearing, saying the men came from troubled homes, that drugs and alcohol had played a role in the crime, and that they had suffered sexual abuse from other men. The three men may file appeals, which would have to be done within 21 days of the sentencing. McKethan's attorney indicated that he and his client had not yet decided whether to file an appeal. DePasquale's attorney concurred. "We're considering all options at this point," said Summers. "We're considering an appeal, we're looking at everything." The three men were indicted on robbery, malicious wounding, and abduction charges on Dec. 1 by a Charlottesville grand jury. All three later pleaded guilty to the charges. The incident began on Nov. 2 when DePasquale, Breeden, and McKethan abducted the man after he dropped off a friend outside the Moondance Cafe, an establishment that attracts a Gay clientele. According to Breeden's confession as reported in The Daily Progress last year, the three men got into the victim's car after approaching him to talk about a possible sexual liaison. After the man let them into his car, the three kicked and punched him until he was unconscious. They then threw him into a ditch and urinated on his clothes and face. The three decided to get cash using the victim's ATM card. Breeden said that DePasquale pulled the beaten man up by his hair and McKethan proceeded to burn his face with a lit cigarette until he divulged his ATM code. Upon learning the number, the three beat the victim back into unconsciousness and threw his body into the trunk of his car, where he stayed approximately 43 hours while the men drove around, bought chips and soda, and then abandoned the car on the road when they thought it was having mechanical troubles. Police found the victim after receiving an anonymous phone tip. The University of Virginia hospital treated the victim for eight broken ribs, an almost-collapsed lung, and facial fractures, according to The Daily Progress. Current Virginia law does not allow for enhanced sentences for crimes directed against a person because of their real or perceived sexual orientation. Gay civil rights groups have sought to expand the definition of Virginia's "hate crimes" statutes to include the victims of Gay-bashings. "Virginia hate crimes law, as it stands right now, is penalty enhancement, so individuals charged with a hate crime [receive] an additional 30 days to six months," added Lesser "... The point of having increased penalties in hate-motivated crimes is to let individuals know that hate violence is not to be tolerated." Copyright © 1997 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. Back to List of Articles
Friday, September 19, 1997 Praying for a Church of Their Ownby Kai Wright, Washington Blade Staff Writer The Rev. Becky Dickman and her partner Karen Dickman in December 1996 held the first worship service for the new Metropolitan Community Church in Charleston, West Virginia. Since that time, the church has stepped into a leadership role in the Gay community. Dickman and four other members of the church served on the planning committee for the state's first Pride march. The church has hosted "Gay town meetings" with the mayor and police chief to discuss hate crimes against Gays. Dickman now serves as a liaison for the Gay community to the police department. And recently, she announced that she will run for the West Virginia State Assembly. If she wins, she will be the only openly Gay person ever to serve in that body. This kind of success is what Mid Atlantic District MCC officials hope to repeat as they try to do their part in meeting the United Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches' goal of doubling its 300 parishes across the country. Last month, MCC leaders from this region held an educational seminar for people interested in starting new MCC parishes in the region. Hosted by MCC of Washington, the seminar provided detailed training to around 30 MCC members on how to sponsor new parishes. "I think it's much like what Martin Luther King Jr. found, that out of churches grow movements for freedom," said Dickman. "MCC pastors, just by the position, are thrust into politics. Because we have to speak for those people that are afraid and we have to show through our actions that they won't get hurt." But seminar participants said welcoming churches offer more than political leadership to communities. They pointed to a more basic need -- a place to worship in comfort. One Gay male couple said they come all the way from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to worship at MCC Washington every Sunday. They said the Gay community in that area needs an MCC so that Gay Christians there can experience what they have found in D.C. "They can't even imagine what we have in Washington, D.C., where you can sit in church with your arm around your partner," said one of the men. His partner added that welcoming congregations "bring a breath of fresh air that allows people to see 'I'm not alone'." There are currently 25 parishes in the Mid Atlantic District, an area that includes Delaware, Washington, D.C., Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. MCC Washington board member Mary Phillips said that's not enough. "We are not reaching out to people. If we don't get over this territorial thing, there are souls out there that will be lost," said Phillips. "If we don't do something about that, who will?" The Rev. Wayne Schwandt, who was ordained in February at Open Door MCC of Boyds, Md., agreed. He said that in traveling around the region, he sees gaps that need to be filled. "I think religious organizations just bring a whole new level of health and celebration of our Gayness to people," said Schwandt. "The slogan of MCC has been Gay by God and with God. We, as Gay people, need to hear more of that." Copyright © 1997 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. Back to List of Articles
Sunday, October 12, 1997; Page B01 Republicans Have Eye on NoVA DistrictGOP Covets House Majority; Democrats Have Other Ideasby Spencer S. Hsu, Washington Post Staff Writer The road to power in Richmond this November runs through a checkout line at a busy Giant Food supermarket in Vienna Vienna, Virginia---Off Main Street, Del. George E. Lovelace (D-Fairfax) and Republican challenger Jeannemarie Devolites have canvassed shoppers near the automatic doors almost daily since summer, trolling for voters, stuffing literature into hands filled with bags and shopping carts. "We can't keep meeting like this!" an elderly man quipped one day last week as Devolites, 41, passed by with a smile. "I know who you are," huffed an overburdened woman in a hurry. Politics doesn't get much more retail than this -- or more urgent. For the second time in two years, the GOP has launched a takeover bid aimed at the House of Delegates, where Democrats have long controlled Virginia's purse strings, court system and congressional redistricting. With Democrats holding 53 of the 100 House seats, all of which are up for election, Lovelace's district in the well-to-do, conservative suburbs of Vienna, Fairfax City and Oakton is among a few that both parties consider truly up for grabs. But compared with 1995, when Gov. George Allen (R) fell short in an all-out bid to oust what he called an entrenched Democratic "oligarchy" that thwarted his plans to cut spending and taxes, 1997's battle is being waged quietly -- more chess match than grudge match. Nowhere is that truer than in Northern Virginia's 35th District, a race with a low p rofile that contrasts with its importance. In Lovelace, Democrats field a 61-year-old freshman legislator and longtime Vienna Town Council member who eked out a razor-thin majority his last time out. He faces Devolites, a statistical consultant who describes herself as a soccer mom and Girl Scout leader. She is making her fourth quest for elective or Republican Party office with the help of Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), a former chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. Republicans need to add only four seats to take over the House for the first time, and both sides' strategists have targeted the 35th District by injecting money, muscle and celebrity into the campaign. "This race is premier," said Lovelace, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and communications consultant who became the first African American elected to the General Assembly from Northern Virginia since Reconstruction. His victory in December, after the incumbent Republican retired, "ended a decade of Democratic losses in the House," Lovelace said, "and we don't want to give it back." Although the contest is turning on a mix of local issues, it is being influenced by trickle-down concerns from the governor's race, from tax cuts to fears about how to ensure the quality of schools. In that regard, the district could be an indicator of the fortunes of Democrat Donald S. Beyer Jr. and Republican James S. Gilmore III, whose campaigns for governor boil down to Beyer's street-sign slogan, "Save Our Schools," and Gilmore's "No Car Tax" pledge to virtually phase out the state's personal property tax on cars and trucks. In the 35th District race, both sides like their chances. Just two months before Lovelace won his low-turnout special election, the district backed GOP presidential nominee Robert J. Dole by 2,000 votes, or 9 percent. But Democrats cite Beyer's Northern Virginia support base and say the Alexandria car dealer's coattails could lead Lovelace to victory. Devolites doesn't buy it. She's counting on Gilmore's tax-cut plan to be a big draw on Election Day. "This car tax thing is going to pull people out to vote Republican," said Devolites, a fast-talking mother of four whose vocation is statistics but whose passion the last two years has been politics. She ran unsuccessfully for Fairfax GOP chairman and Providence District county supervisor (twice) before winning the GOP nomination to face Lovelace. This time, she has a stocked war chest and a powerful mentor. Devolites says she has raised $100,000, which is more than any Northern Virginia challenger and nearly as much as Lovelace. The state GOP has poured $33,000 into her campaign, half for slick two-minute videos introduced by her 9-year-old daughter, Alexandra, and sent to 10,000 homes in the 38,000-voter district. Also featured on the tape is Davis, a moderate Republican who went from the Fairfax County board to Congress in 1994. Davis has blanketed the district with Devolites, campaigning with her, donating $7,500 and lending his expertise, fund-raising network and political prestige -- an extraordinary statement by a sitting representative, analysts say. "We talk at least once a day," said Devolites, whose campaign has Davis and Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.) as chairmen. "Tom has put his signature on my campaign. To be a successful politician, you've got to support other politicians coming up behind you." "She's a dynamo," said Davis, who is sending $150,000 to 20 GOP House candidates this year as he prepares for a possible bid for statewide office. He said he sees no risk to himself if Devolites loses. "You show the flag," he said. "I have dedicated myself to getting more minorities and women into the party." Democrats view the alliance with suspicion. "They're joined at the hip every place they go," said Maggie Luca, Lovelace's campaign manager. "Tom Davis has said, `This seat is ours, and money is no object.' " Potential Lovelace donors have been scared away by Davis's strong support of his opponent, she said. Lovelace, a father of two, has campaigned with Vienna Mayor Charles Robinson Jr., running on his 14-year record on the Town Council, his two-year stint as a Fairfax planning commissioner and his reputation for constituent service that made him the town's top vote-getter. "When I knock on doors, people start into me -- `George, Mr. Lovelace, you're going to get rid of that personal property tax, right?' " Lovelace said. "I'll be the first one to do away with it, provided we get you the services you want first." Both candidates are bombarding voters with twice-weekly mailings. Devolites has attacked Lovelace for opposing charter schools -- taxpayer-funded public schools freed from some state regulations to compete with traditional schools -- and Gilmore's tax-cut plan. She blasts Lovelace for voting last session against, and then in favor of, a ban on same-sex marriages in Virginia. He explained the action as a misunderstanding; he is against same-sex marriage. He attacks her support for restricting abortion rights and for diverting money from traditional public schools. His campaign boasts that Devolites has branded him "too moderate." In relying on time-tested partisan stands and the outcome of the deadlocked governor's race, the Northern Virginia campaign mirrors a few other races across the state. Also facing strong competition are Del. Gladys B. Keating (D), of Springfield, and Del. Roger J. McClure (R), of Centreville. Democrats are fighting to keep their hold on Norfolk area districts that are increasingly suburban and Republican, and Republicans are defending a Southside seat with a vulnerable social conservative. Analysts in both parties also point to Charlottesville, where Paul Harris is defending an open GOP seat against Democrat Bruce Kirtley in a bid to become the first black Republican state lawmaker in more than a century. In sharp contrast to two years ago, the GOP is targeting 19 Democratic seats, half as many as in 1995, and Democrats are challenging only 20, fielding the fewest candidates in a century. Both sides say the low number of challengers is a result of several factors: fatigue from the messy 1995 campaigns, recognition that most incumbents hold safe seats, competition from the governor's race for money and attention, and reluctance to hurt their party's gubernatorial nominee by driving up turnout in districts where the opposition is strong. As for the chances of a GOP takeover of the House, Majority Leader C. Richard Cranwell (D-Roanoke) gave it "5 percent." Del. Randy J. Forbes (Chesapeake), Virginia's GOP chairman, was slightly more optimistic about the Republicans' chances, saying his party easily would pick up a couple of seats, and maybe more. © Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company Back to List of Articles
Friday, October 23, 1997 Clinic Dedicates Health Care Facility in Northern Virginiaby Christopher Jones, Washington Blade Staff Writer
Arlington, Virginia---The Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia cut the ribbon last week on its medical and mental health program with hopes of changing the Virginia branch of Whitman-Walker from a "satellite" location to "an entity in and of itself." Jay Fisette, director of the Virginia branch of the Clinic, said that the new medical and mental health services will allow WWC-NOVA to extend primary medical care to a larger number of clients. The Clinic currently offers medical care to nearly 70 people, regardless of their ability to pay. Fisette said the addition of the program, which is being housed within the Clinic's two-story office building in Arlington, will provide "truly comprehensive, multidisciplinary care under one roof." "What this really does," said James Millner, director of communications for D.C.'s Whitman-Walker Clinic, "is change the Whitman-Walker Clinic of Northern Virginia from being a satellite of the Whitman-Walker Clinic to being an entity in and of itself." The new services have been available since March, but the Clinic did not formally announce the expansion until nearly seven months because, explained Fisette, the NOVA clinic facility was not capable of handling large caseloads when it first opened. "It takes an enormous amount of work to get a program like this up and running," said Fisette. WWC-NOVA has been planning to introduce a medical and mental health services ever since it moved into its current office building in 1995, according to Fisette. After moving into the new space, preliminary steps were taken to ensure that the space on the building's ground floor, which until March was used for counseling clients, could one day be renovated into a medical and mental health facility. For example, plumbing was extended to insure that sinks could be installed in the future for medical exam rooms. According to Fisette, the NOVA clinic had to first secure the funds to do the necessary renovations on the space and for a staff of nurses and physicians. The funds for the program came from federal Ryan White funds, Fisette said. The medical facility features a nurse's station, two exam rooms, two physician offices, and a waiting area. The extended mental health facility features two rooms for counseling and two rooms devoted to Whitman-Walker Clinic's Clinical Training Institute, a program which certifies mental health professionals on Gay and HIV issues. WWC-NOVA has offered mental health services, in a lesser capacity, since 1994. Copyright © 1997 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. Back to List of Articles
Thursday, October 30, 1997; Page D01 Appeals Court In Md. Rules For Gay FatherLimits on Visitation Rights Rejected in Arundel CaseBy Amy Argetsinger, Washington Post Staff Writer A Maryland appeals court yesterday overturned an Anne Arundel County judge's controversial decision to prohibit a divorced gay man from seeing his two children in the presence of his live-in lover. In a ruling that lifts strict restrictions on Robert G. Boswell's visitation rights, the Court of Special Appeals said there was no evidence that his children were harmed by his sexual orientation or his relationship with his lover. The three-member panel of appellate judges said its unanimous ruling broke no new legal ground, but the decision was hailed as an important victory by the national gay rights organization that came to the Pasadena man's aid. "We have to fight long and hard just to get a simple application of [existing Maryland] law," said Beatrice Dohrn, the legal director for the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in New York. "It is about a gay father trying to get the same treatment at the hands of the law as someone else would get." The issue of whether a parent's homosexuality should affect his or her custody and visitation rights is still unresolved in this nation's courts, legal experts said. But increasingly, courts are taking the position that sexual orientation cannot be the sole deciding factor. Robert and Kimberly Boswell separated in October 1994. Kimberly Boswell won custody of their children -- Ryan, then 8, and Amanda, then almost 5 -- and Robert Boswell was granted visitation on Wednesdays and every other weekend. But during the April 1996 divorce proceedings, Circuit Court Judge Lawrence H. Rushworth ruled that Robert Boswell could not have his children for overnight visits or for any kind of visit in the company of his partner or "anyone having homosexual tendencies or such persuasions." The ruling caused a stir in the local gay rights community. A Washington activist group called Lesbian Avengers filed a complaint against Rushworth with the state Commission on Judicial Disabilities. A lawyer for the commission said yesterday that the commission's proceedings are confidential and that he could not comment on the status of the complaint. In yesterday's decision, the Court of Special Appeals declined to address allegations that Rushworth acted improperly and said that it would focus only on the well-being of Ryan and Amanda. But the opinion strongly rebuked Rushworth's reasoning for limiting Boswell's visitation rights. Although Ryan had told Rushworth that he did not want to stay overnight at his father's house, the appeals court noted, Amanda did not express a similar reluctance. The appeals court said the children's wishes should be reassessed when the case is returned to the Circuit Court, where it will be heard by a judge other than Rushworth. But the appeals court said there was no evidence that the children would be harmed or endangered by overnight visits with their father. Also, the appeals judges rejected Rushworth's assertion that the children should not be exposed to an "inappropriate" relationship between unmarried people. Cynthia E. Young, the Annapolis attorney for Kimberly Boswell, said her client had not seen the appeals court's opinion or decided whether to appeal the ruling. Robert Boswell could not be reached for comment. The Boswell case is reminiscent of a more famous case in Virginia. Sharon Bottoms, a lesbian from Richmond, lost custody of her young son to her mother in 1994 after a long court battle that drew national attention. Last year, Bottoms won the right to visit her son, but a Henrico County judge ruled that her live-in girlfriend could not be present for the visits. Although an appeals court reversed that decision, the case is still tied up in court. © Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company Back to List of Articles
Friday, October 31, 1997; Page B02 The Gospel According to The WinansGay Rights Groups Up in Arms About Anti-Homosexuality SongBy Lonnae O'Neal Parker, Washington Post Staff Writer For a gospel song, "Not Natural" is kicking up a very earthly ruckus. The song, from duo Angie and Debbie Winans, siblings of the Grammy Award-winning Winans family of gospel singers, uses contemporary R&B and rap tracks to denounce homosexuality, violence and fornication, and it has gay rights advocates crying foul. According to Debbie Winans, 26, inspiration for the song came to her and Angie, 29, last spring after the much-hyped "Ellen" coming-out episode on ABC. "She came out and it was just important for the truth of the matter to have the same publicity. We decided to say what God says about it -- that [homosexuality] is not natural." I was chilling on my couch one night Looking at my screen TV There were people celebrating and congratulating The new addition to the gay community I was vexed in the spirit And began to write this song It may be cold, but let the truth be told It's not natural No, that's not the way it goes It's not natural Just because it's popular, doesn't mean it's cool It's not natural No, that's not the way God planned It's time for the world to understand Tuesday, on a segment of "BET Tonight," the duo appeared along with clergy and a gay rights activist to talk about the song, and callers were invited to debate the "Morality of Homosexuality." That followed days of increasing publicity after an article in the Oct. 17 Washington Blade described the efforts of George Washington University senior Jeni Wright to keep gospel station WPGC-AM "Heaven 1580" from airing the song. While the station's initial agreement not to play the song was trumpeted as a victory for members of the gay community, according to WPGC-AM program director Matt Anderson, the ensuing publicity caused many listeners to request the song. Although the station now plays it, Anderson said the decision does not represent a reversal. "The way the song was presented initially was as if it was a song of bashing," he said. "Once we heard it, that was not the case. It was [a song] that didn't approve of several different lifestyles, but it was one where we thought our listeners should decide." Heaven 1580 first aired the song -- found on the duo's September release, "Bold" -- last Friday. After receiving overwhelming listener support, according to Anderson, the station has been playing it since. While Anderson says he continues to receive numerous requests for the song, there is less buzz about it at other gospel stations. J.C. Alexander, program director of WYCB-AM (1340), said she's heard the song, but it's not in the station's regular rotation. "If anyone would happen to request it, I'll play it and I have played it, but I don't think the song is a good song period, and it's not because of the content." Alexander said she regularly plays "I Believe," the first single off the CD, which she believes is the duo's best song. At WHUR-FM (96.3), popular gospel program hosts Patrick Ellis and Jacquie Gales Webb had not even heard of "Not Natural," although Webb plays "I Believe." Cathy Renna, spokeswoman for the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), charged that the controversy was largely manufactured by the Winans' publicists, Washington-based Capital Entertainment, to sell records. "This started about a month ago. We were alerted by someone in the African American gay press that they had received an [incendiary] Capital Entertainment press release and that other releases had gone to the gay and lesbian press," Renna said, in order to bait them. She said her organization tried to head off the controversy and was initially promised a meeting with Angie and Debbie Winans to talk about the song, but that meeting never materialized. Bill Carpenter of Capital Entertainment denied manufacturing the controversy. "If they knew it was a publicity stunt, why did [the Washington Blade] run a story? The truth is it was not a publicity stunt. We sent [a press release] to the Blade, and the gay newspaper in Baltimore, because, in fact, there was a problem. It wasn't a national problem but there was some discussion. . . . People were calling here saying they didn't like the song." Stunt or not, controversy now surrounds the record. On Oct. 12 in Washington, Angie and Debbie Winans sang at the "For Sisters Only" conference sponsored by WPGC radio, but were asked not to perform the song. They were also asked not to perform it at a scheduled appearance at last weekend's Million Woman March in Philadelphia. They ended up not performing at all because of a logistical problem. In addition to Tuesday night's appearance on BET, they have appeared on CNN, "Entertainment Tonight," E! Television and the Fox Network to talk about "Not Natural." Keith Boykin, executive director of the National Black Lesbian and Gay Leadership Forum, has denounced the song, and GLAAD has also sent out an alert to its members and posted Capital Entertainment's phone and fax number on its Web site. Others, such as Anthony Falzarano, executive director of Transformation Christian Ministries, who calls himself an "ex-gay," are championing the song. The fuss has been good for sales. The CD is currently No. 3 on Billboard's gospel chart, and local record stores report requests for it, but Debbie Winans claims a higher motivation. "The Bible says you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free. A lot of people don't wish to be in that lifestyle. We're giving them the Word of God. To those that want to be delivered from homosexuality, we're giving the message of deliverance." [Web Editor's note -- please see the sections on Stereotypes and Misconceptions and Steps To Recovery From Bible Abuse.] © Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company Back to List of Articles
Friday, November 7, 1997 Pro-Gay Candidates Win in Local Virginia Contestsby M. Jane Taylor, Washington Blade Staff Reporter Virginia Democrats narrowly retained a majority in the House of Delegates this week, bringing the count to 51 Democrats, 48 Republicans, and one Independent. In the weeks and months before the elections, some Virginia Gay organizations voiced support for certain candidates. The Virginia Partisans Gay and Lesbian Democratic Club gave its endorsement to 10 House candidates, eight of whom were successful in their races. The Log Cabin Republican Club of Northern Virginia officially endorsed three House candidates, none of whom won. Each of these groups also endorsed opposing candidates in the race for Arlington County Board, with the Partisans-backed candidates emerging as winners. All of the candidates received scores, set on a zero to 100 point scale, based on their responses to a Gay civil rights questionnaire issued by the statewide Gay civil rights group Virginians for Justice. Members who received a score of zero either did not complete or did not return their questionnaires. In the 46th District of Alexandria, the Virginia Partisans endorsed Democratic incumbent Brian Moran, who defeated Republican contender M.W. Barnes by a vote of 63 to 37 percent. Moran received a score of 92 on the Virginians for Justice questionnaire, whereas Barnes received a zero. In District 45, which includes parts of Alexandria and Fairfax, the Virginia Partisans endorsed Democratic incumbent Marian Van Landingham, who received an 82 on the questionnaire and 67 percent of the votes to defeat Republican challenger Ross B. Bell, who was endorsed by the Log Cabin Republicans. Bell received a score of zero from Virginians for Justice and 33 percent of the votes. In District 35 of Fairfax, where both candidates received zeros from Virginians for Justice, the Virginia Partisans-backed incumbent George Lovelace (D) lost to Republican Jeannemarie Devolites by a vote of 51 to 47 percent. Independent candidate Marta Howard, who received a score of 66 on the questionnaire, received only 2 percent of the votes. In District 37 of Fairfax, the Virginia Partisans-endorsed candidate, L.P. Schoene Jr. (D), lost to Republican John Rust Jr. by a vote of 57 to 43 percent. Schoene scored 96 on the questionnaire, compared to Rust’s score of zero. In District 38, which includes parts of Fairfax and Falls Church, the Virginia Partisans gave their endorsement to Democratic incumbent Robert Hull, who received a score of 91 from Virginians for Justice and 59 percent of the votes. He defeated Republican Michael G. Davis, who received a score of zero and 41 percent of the votes. In District 39 of Fairfax, the Partisans endorsed the winning Democratic incumbent Vivian E. Watts, who received 61 percent of the votes and scored a 79 on the questionnaire. Watts beat both Republican challenger Matthew J. Kershes, who scored zero and received 35 percent of the votes, as well Independent candidate C.W. Levy, who scored a 90 on the questionnaire but received only four percent of the votes. In District 44 of Fairfax, incumbent Linda Puller (D), who was endorsed by the Partisans and received a score of 82, won with 75 percent of the votes over the 25 percent received by Independent Kip Karl, who scored a 68. In District 47, which includes parts of Fairfax and Arlington, the Virginia Partisans endorsed the uncontested incumbent Jim Almand (D), who scored a 91 from Virginians for Justice. In District 48, which also includes parts of Arlington and Fairfax, the Partisans endorsed Democrat Robert Brink, who scored a 95 and received 58 percent of the votes to beat the Log Cabin-endorsed Republican John Massoud, who scored a zero and received 36 percent of the votes. Also running in that district was Virginia Reform Party candidate Dick Smith, who scored an 85 and received 6 percent of the votes. And finally, in District 49, the Virginia Partisans endorsed Democratic incumbent Karen Darner, who scored a 96 and received 62 percent of the votes to win over the Log Cabin-endorsed Sandy Bushue, who scored a 93 and received 38 percent of the votes. Also, in the race for Arlington County Board, the Virginia Partisans endorsed Barbara Favola, who scored a 99 on the Virginians for Justice questionnaire. She defeated the Log Cabin-endorsed candidate Ben Winslow, who scored a 95. Favola received 59 percent of the vote to Winslow’s 35 percent. (See related story for results of the Jay Fisette race for Arlington County Board.) Copyright © 1997 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. Back to List of Articles
Friday, November 7, 1997 Fisette Wins in Arlington LandslideOpponent’s Gay-baiting tactics stun Republicans and Democrats alikeby Lou Chibbaro, Jr., Washington Blade Staff Writer
Arlington, Virginia---Democrat Jay Fisette became the first openly Gay candidate to win election to public office in the State of Virginia Tuesday after Arlington voters gave him a landslide victory over his Republican-backed opponent for a seat on the Arlington County Board. Fisette defeated independent Amy Jones-Baskaran, who received the Republican Party endorsement, by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent. He won in all of the county's 43 precincts. Final but unofficial figures released by the Arlington elections board showed Fisette receiving 29,126 votes compared to Jones-Baskaran's 17,902 votes. Fisette's victory came three days after Jones-Baskaran stunned Democrats and Republicans alike, including Gay Republicans, by releasing a radio ad calling Fisette's campaign "a national power grab by homosexual interest groups." She also approved the mailing of a flyer to voters during the final week of the campaign that accused Fisette of "using a local election...to promote extremist special interests." Fisette's supporters said the radio spot, which aired on WAVA-FM, an affiliate of the Christian Broadcasting Network, and the mailing appeared to have backfired. They said it had little or no damaging effect on Fisette's campaign and most likely offended Republican and independent voters who were leaning toward Jones-Baskaran. Her attack ads also shocked and outraged members of the Log Cabin Club of Northern Virginia, a Gay Republican group that had endorsed Jones-Baskaran in the Spring. Log Cabin members immediately denounced the ads and urged their supporters not to vote for Jones-Baskaran, according to Dan Blatt, president of the Log Cabin Republicans of Northern Virginia. "We're appalled over what she did," Blatt said. About 200 people turned out for Fisette's victory party at Our Lady of Peace Roman Catholic Church in South Arlington. Among those in the audience were Fisette's Gay community supporters and members of his family, including his parents, his sister and her two school age children, who proudly wore Fisette stickers on their shirts. "Our campaign was positive," Fisette told the crowd. "It attempted to reach out and encourage the best of our impulses and aspirations as neighbors and as human beings...It addressed the issues of importance to the future of all of Arlington and reflected the core democratic values of our community, values like open participation, individual responsibility, learning and growth, fairness, respect, and inclusiveness." In commenting on his role as an openly Gay candidate, Fisette had this advice for future candidates. "Do not run for office or pursue any goal because you are black, Hispanic, a woman, Jewish, Catholic, or Gay," he said. "But, if you have a goal, if you have an ambition, if you want to grow and make a difference, if you have a dream, don't let your being black, Hispanic, a woman, Jewish, Catholic, or Gay get in the way."
Fisette, 41, the executive director of the Whitman-Walker Clinic's Northern Virginia office, has been a longtime Gay civil rights advocate. He was among the coalition of Gays and their supporters that, in recent years, persuaded the Arlington board to adopt a Gay civil rights ordinance and domestic partner benefits program for county workers. However, his supporters say his years of involvement in civic affairs and Democratic Party politics made it clear to both community leaders and voters that Fisette was not a one-issue candidate. Fisette's supporters credit him with putting together a campaign consisting of a broad coalition of Arlington residents, including civic activists, environmentalists, women's rights advocates, senior citizens, Gays, African Americans, and Latinos, among others. Arlington is considered one of Virginia's most Democratic leaning and progressive counties. If there is any part of Virginia that would be conducive to electing an openly Gay candidate, Arlington is the place, experts on Virginia politics have said. Fisette lost a bid for a county board seat in 1993 to independent Ben Winslow by a 205 vote margin in a special election. Political observers said a low voter turnout in the 1993 election most likely played a role in Fisette's defeat. Gay Republicans, who backed Winslow, also noted that Winslow's positions on Gay issues were stronger than Jones-Baskaran's. Similar to Jones-Baskaran's campaign, an effort to raise Fisette's sexual orientation as an issue surfaced in the last week of the Winslow-Fisette campaign. Phone calls by unidentified Winslow backers warned voters that Fisette was seeking to advance a "Gay" agenda. Winslow insisted he played no role in the last minute phone effort. Some Fisette backers speculated that the phone calls may have played a role in Fisette's 1993 defeat. But this week, Fisette's supporter said Arlington residents were better acquainted with Fisette today than they were four years ago. "Most people know he is not a single-issue person," said Andy Tracy, a member of the Gay Catholic group Dignity and a longtime Arlington resident. Some of Fisette's campaign workers reported that a number of voters identifying themselves as Republicans approached them at the polls and said they were switching their vote from Jones-Baskaran to Fisette as a result of her attack ads. "People really rejected this," said Rhonda Buckner, president of the Arlington Gay and Lesbian Alliance, a nonpartisan civic group. "Jay ran a positive, issue oriented campaign and he won big," Buckner said. "This shows that the citizens of Arlington rejected a campaign of bigotry and homophobia." In a statement released on Wednesday, the Log Cabin group said Jones-Baskaran had assured the group earlier this year that she would not make Fisette's sexual orientation an issue in her campaign. The statement said the Log Cabin Club endorsed Jones-Baskaran because it was unhappy with the Democratic Party controlled Arlington board and it hoped she would become an opposition force to the county's Democratic "machine." The Log Cabin group's decision to endorse Jones-Baskaran earlier in the year drew criticism from Gay Democrats as well as from some Gay Republicans, in part, because the group made the endorsement without asking her to state her views on specific issues such as domestic partnership rights, sodomy repeal, and Gay civil rights laws. In comments after the endorsement, she said she opposed the county's domestic partners policy, she did not favor repeal of the state's sodomy law, and that she thought sexual orientation was a matter of choice. As a member of Arlington's five-member county board, which serves as the county's legislative body, Fisette will share in decisions affecting 190,000 county residents. He will also have oversight responsibilities for the county's annual budget of $565.9 million. Fisette and his fellow board members must also approve the hiring of a new county manager following the recent announcement that County Manager Anton Gardner is leaving to take another job. Copyright © 1997 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. Back to List of Articles
Friday, November 21, 1997 Movement Showing Signs of Maturityby Rhonda Smith SAN DIEGO -- Gay civil rights activist Jean Harris lost her temper last week, in a room full of strangers who had traveled to Southern California to share political strategies.
"I just got stopped by a leader of a national Gay rights organization who said ‘Don’t do this, it hurts us,’" snapped Harris, executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, a grassroots group that wants to wage a battle for a state law there that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. "It concerns me when I have people from these national groups telling me ‘Even if you win, we lose.’" It was a complaint that Eric Bauman, president of the Stonewall Democratic Club in Southern California, and others in the room had heard before. But not all agreed with Harris’s reaction.
National Gay civil rights leaders don’t view political issues in individual states from the same angle that leaders in those states view them, explained Bauman, who also is co-chairperson of the California Democratic Party’s campaign service committee. The national leaders often have more than one priority or battle at a time. "If we’re dealing with 10 or 12 anti-Gay initiatives around the country, where is money going to come from to fight all of them?" Bauman asked. This testy reality was debated between Bauman and Harris spontaneously at the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force’s 10th annual Creating Change conference, which was held in San Diego from Nov. 12-16 and drew 1,700 politically active organizers from across the country. About 2,000 activists attended the conference in Virginia last year, but during the early 1990s, far fewer came than this year. While past Creating Change conferences focused a great deal of attention on political opponents outside the Gay community, participants at this year’s conference were more inclined to look within. They tackled such issues as sexual freedom, the importance of building bridges with allies, and how to make room for people of faith who want to become more politically active. After their workshop on political strategy, Harris, a 53-year-old activist in faded blue jeans, and Bauman, a 38-year-old business owner in a conservative suit, left together. Strolling along San Diego’s waterfront, they seemed to grasp the importance of putting differences aside for a movement that Gay civil rights leaders say has matured and is growing on various new fronts. "This audience is sophisticated. This gang has worked at it and knows what they’re talking about," said speaker Sheila James Kuehl, the first woman and first Lesbian to be named Speaker Pro Tem of the California Assembly. Kuehl spoke at the conference’s opening plenary session, on Nov. 13. During her keynote speech, Kuehl made reference to a favorite movie among many Gay people, The Wizard of Oz, to remind the crowd that most people already possess what it takes to compete for a political seat, or to serve in the Gay civil rights struggle in some other way. "The Wizard of Oz is the story of a collection of entities who think they’re deficient," Kuehl said. "They believe they have to go to a mystical entity who could give them what they wanted." "So they set out on a great quest, not realizing that they were demonstrating that they had the things they thought they needed -- a brain, a heart and courage," Kuehl said.
In addition to urging the activists to tap into their collective potential, Kuehl told them to eliminate oppressive behavior in their own communities -- behaviors related to how youth, people of color, elderly residents, and people with disabilities are treated. "We have to show up for each other; and we have to organize at home and not forget our own," she said. "Ninety-eight percent of our community is so apathetic; but, we must try to move them, in their own time." Candice Boyce, 54, came to the Creating Change conference from New York City, where she works as a computer systems manager for the Lesbian and Gay Community Services Center. "I’ve been coming for six years on a need-to-know basis," said Boyce, who also is co-founder of a 23-year-old group known as African Ancestral Lesbians. "I need to know what everybody else is doing, and I need to know about oppression across the board, because I know I’m not in this alone." Kerry Lobel, NGLTF’s executive director, said the Creating Change participants showed a great maturity about dealing with political issues. "Whenever there was a challenging issue, or people disagreed, it was dealt with matter-of-factly -- not with a lot of drama but with an eye toward the greater good," she said. Other longtime activists who were there agreed. "The level of knowledge and professionalism among local Gay activists has dramatically grown," said Urvashi Vaid, executive director of NGLTF from 1989 to 1992. "People have done more work, and that was reflected in their questions about strategy." Vaid, current head of NGLTF’s public policy institute, served as moderator for the conference’s "Elections 1998 and 2000: What’s the Strategy?" workshop. It included key leaders from the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, Log Cabin Republicans, and the Human Rights Campaign, as well as the Democratic Socialists of America. During the panel discussion, Donna Red Wing, national field director for HRC, said congressional races for Senate seats in Washington, Oregon, New York, and Illinois could hurt the Gay movement in terms of votes for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). The proposed federal bill seeks to prohibit employment discrimination based on sexual orientation. "We’re not drawing a very pretty picture for 1998 because it just isn’t a pretty picture," said Red Wing, whose comments were based on research by HRC. She did, however, predict that by February 1998, there will be 51 politicians in the U.S. Senate willing to vote for ENDA, although she did not say who the new votes would be. Last year, 49 Senators voted in favor of ENDA. "I think we have the votes on ENDA now," remarked Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans. The 1997 Creating Change conference marked the first time a national Gay Republican leader had been invited to play such a visible role. "I urged and lobbied Rich to come," Vaid said later. "He said this was a progressive conference and he was a conservative. But I think he’s got a lot to offer." "Strategically, the community has, in the past, used a one-party strategy," Tafel said at the workshop. "But we strengthen each other’s hand by working on both sides of the aisle."
The panelists also mentioned that Lesbian candidates in Wisconsin (Tammy Baldwin), California (Christine Kehoe), and Washington state (Greta Cammermeyer) will seek seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1998. In addition to workshops on electoral politics, NGLTF held an all-day "Sex-Panic Summit," as well as a community forum and four workshops about the right to sexual self-determination. The term "sex-panic" is being used nowadays to address issues over how public today’s sexual culture should be. Proponents for more sexual freedom want unrestricted access to sex clubs and public bathhouses, among other venues. A crackdown on such public places by police and state legislators has created what they describe as "sex panic." "There is new legislation -- restrictive policies and Draconian measures -- against Gay men who engage in sex in public bathhouses, sex clubs, and other places," explained Tony Valenzuela, 29, a writer and political organizer from San Diego who coordinated the related discussions at the conference. The controversial topic, which has been garnering attention primarily in New York and California, prompted a range of reactions at the conference. Longtime Lesbian activist Robin Tyler said Gay men have a responsibility to the entire community not to be promiscuous or to engage in unsafe sexual practices. Lesbians have helped Gay men during the AIDS epidemic, she said, sometimes neglecting their own unique health issues. "Do what you want," Tyler told Valenzuela and other panelists at the community forum, "but I’m not going to be there to clean up after you this time." Valenzuela, who described himself as a sex radical and as promiscuous, said the Gay community is making false links between public sex, promiscuity, and HIV infection. He identified himself as having HIV infection and noted that he earns a living by acting in pornographic movies and working as an escort for Gay men. But in defense of the sex-panic movement, Valenzuela said that no one is arguing for sex without regard for health. Proponents, he said, want the right to a sexual life without shame and stigma, and free from government intervention. "It seems the more political and cultural gains we make in the Gay community," he said, "the more we distance ourselves from our sexuality and, in particular, marginalized sexuality, such as promiscuity." In a related workshop, a panelist from the Audre Lorde Project, a center in New York that addresses issues affecting Gay people of color, said the Gay community should redefine the parameters of the sex-panic debate. Joo-Hyun Kang, spokesperson for the Audre Lorde Project, cited as an example sex panic debates in New York over a school curriculum that would have acknowledged the existence of Gay families. Another example, Kang said, involved a recent police brutality case there that involved a Haitian man, Abner Louima, who was sodomized, allegedly by police. Kang also noted that politically conservative Gay white men in San Antonio, Texas, help lead efforts to block funding for the Esperanza Peace and Justice Center in that city. "The center, which is operated by Latina Lesbians and people of color, has been defunded by 100 percent," she said, noting that critics dismissed some of the center’s arts efforts as pornographic. "That’s a result of sex panic." In addition to conversations about politics and sexuality, Gay civil rights activists who are people of faith participated in a groundbreaking roundtable discussion at the conference. "In essence, we have a need to reclaim our spirituality from those who have tried to take it away from us," said Stephanie Burns, justice ministry coordinator at a Metropolitan Community Church in Northern Virginia. Burns helped organize the faith roundtable discussion by inviting 200 faith-based activists in the Gay community from across the nation to participate.
"Many of us are feeling a sense of our wholeness and want to get on with our agenda," said the Rev. Dr. Jane Adams Spahr, a Presbyterian minister and Lesbian evangelist based in San Rafael, Calif. "I am not reactive anymore. I don’t care what ‘they’ think. I care what I think. I care what we think. We have an agenda now, and it’s around wellness and wholeness." The "Spirituality Caucus" read a statement at the conference’s closing plenary on Nov. 16, urging Gay political activists to make more room for them in the movement. NGLTF head Lobel said this was part of an effort to get Gays to reclaim their spirituality and not cede it to the religious right. "I kept hearing people say the [religious] right has churches and they can talk to people every week and collect money and that we don’t have that," she said. "I thought that was absolutely not true." "For many of us, our political activism and our spirituality fuel each other," added Lobel, who is Jewish. "The gathering helped bridge that gap." This year’s conference also offered high school and college-age students a more visible role. About 200 young adults stood and cheered during the plenary speech made on Nov. 15 by Roland Sintos Coloma, a 1996 graduate of NGLTF’s Youth Leadership Institute. "We despise and resist institutions governed by adults that continuously silence our voices, police our bodies, dictate our actions, shackle our spirits, and cage our humanity," said Coloma, a 24-year-old teacher in California. "In fact, we aim to transform these very same institutions," he added. "We dare to create our own safer spaces, push the boundaries of tolerance, and make our own moves in spite and because of other people’s refusal, neglect, incompetence, lack of vision and sincerity." Lobel said more youths are emerging in the Gay civil rights movement who want to create supportive places for themselves in response to emotional and physical attacks at schools. "All too often, I think adults aren’t responsive to youth issues and they’ve had to lead," she said. "If they were going to wait [for help from adults], they might have to wait a long time." At the other end of this spectrum were older Gays, who urged conference attendees to reserve room for them in the movement. "I am and was an activist my entire life," said Shevy Healey, 75, a member of Old Lesbians Organizing for Change (OLOC). With her partner, Ruth Silver, watching, Healey described herself as a Communist, a feminist, a Jew, a Lesbian, and an "old woman." "I survived McCarthy’s witch-hunts," Healey said. "The backlash of the religious right today comes as close to scaring me as the McCarthy days. "But it was in those days that I learned to tell people who I was," she added. "I feel the safest when I’m most open about who I am." NGLTF presented its Community Service Award at this year’s conference to longtime activists Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon, who in 1955 founded Daughters of Bilitis, a social and political organization for Lesbians. Tim Gill, who invented Quark software and heads the Gill Foundation, accepted a similar award for his ongoing efforts to help Gay organizations and activists who live in small towns. During Gill’s acceptance speech, he urged audience members to locate organizations in small towns that need money, or other forms of assistance, and report this to him at next year’s conference. "That’s the place," he said, "we’re really the most vulnerable." Copyright © 1997 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. Back to List of Articles
Friday, November 28, 1997 Gay Clergy Attend White House BreakfastOpenly Gay ministers among those invited to annual eventby Kai Wright
Two openly Gay clergy attended a White House breakfast hosted by President Clinton last week to honor the contributions of religious leaders. A White House official said organizers believe this to be the first time openly Gay clergy have attended the annual event. The Rev. Troy Perry, founder and moderator of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches, joined over 100 religious leaders at the White House breakfast. Perry's appearance stirred objections from conservative religious leaders who called his presence "embarrassing." The Rev. Peter Gomes of Harvard University was also present. Gomes, who is openly Gay, has been a minister in the Memorial Church since 1974 and is the author of the 1996 book The Good Book: Reading the Bible with Mind and Heart. He gave the benediction at President Ronald Reagan's 1985 inauguration and delivered the inaugural sermon for President George Bush in 1989. The annual event, held at the White House on Nov. 20 this year, honors religious leaders for their contribution to society. President Clinton addressed the clergy members prior to breakfast and then engaged them in a question and answer session which lasted around two hours, said Perry in describing the event. Vice President Al Gore also attended. "It was amazing," said Perry. "It was one of those rare times that you really have the president's ear." Gomes's secretary said he was not available for comment on the breakfast. Clinton did not mention Gay issues in his speech to the group and Perry said that no Gay issues came up during the question and answer period.
He noted, however, that some clergy rose to urge one another not to believe their "truths" are the only ones and not to exclude other experiences. Conservative religious groups, including the Family Research Council and the Americans for "Truth" about Homosexuality, released a statement prior to the breakfast condemning "the Administration's moral meltdown" for having invited Perry. The statement did not mention Gomes. The groups pointed to a 1992 essay Perry contributed to the book Leatherfolk: Radical Sex, People, Politics and Practice, decrying his affiliation with what they defined as a "subspecies of homosexuality." Perry said he was "disturbed" by the groups' objections to his invitation at first, but realized after arriving at the breakfast that the groups were out of step with most religious leaders. He said he found his fellow clergy members at the gathering entirely welcoming. "A lot of people knew who I was, and they were very gracious and came over and spoke," said Perry. "I made sure I cut up...I always testify that I'm a Gay male, and no one ever blinked an eye." Dr. Raleigh Washington of the Promise Keepers, an all-male Christian organization founded by former college football coach Bill McCartney, was also invited to the breakfast. Gay activists protested McCartney and the organization when they held a march on Washington late this summer. Perry said he did not interact with Washington, but that he did have a "wonderful conversation" with the presiding bishop of the Church of God in Christ, a conservative denomination that rejects the belief that homosexuality is acceptable. The breakfast was Perry's second visit to the White House this month. On Nov. 3, he participated in the president's hate crimes conference. Perry said he has been impressed with Clinton in both meetings. "Bill Clinton certainly isn't perfect," said Perry, "but he is certainly the best president we've had on our issues." Perry will continue his statesmanship next month when he travels to South Africa where he will meet the Rev. Desmond Tutu to discuss Gay religious issues in the country. Copyright © 1997 The Washington Blade Inc. A member of the gay.net community. Back to List of Articles
Friday, December 12, 1997 Untapped Majority StirsInformation technology may help explain growth in number of donors to Gay groups
|
|
Send mail to shenandoah@mailcity.com
with questions or comments about this website.
|
