| Transcript |
• GA)' PAPER OF NORTH TEXAS 35~
March-April 1975 D1llas I Fort Worth Number 7
Bill Introduced To Repeal
•
State Homosexual Conduct Law
( Austit1) Repeal of this state's homosexual
conduct law is the aim of a bill introduced
into the Texas House of Representatives
Febrt..Jry 17 by Rep. Craig Washington
of Houston. If enacted, H.B. 759
would repeal Section 21.06 of the Texas
Penal Code, which reads:
•
Section 21.06. Homosexual Conduct
(a) A person commits an offense if he
engages in deviate sexual intercourse
with another individual of the same sex.
(b) An offense under this section is a
Class C. Misdemeanor.
The bill has been referred to the House
Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence,
which is chaired by Washington.
!louse Bill 759 would simply repeal
Sect10n 21.06, which has been singled
out by gay activists in Texas as the primary
basic cause of most (if not all) of
the discrimination gays face in employment,
housing and dealings with the police.
The Texas Gay Task Force has been
busy t:dking to the legislators to try to
build support for HB 759. Two co-sponsors
have been added to the bill, but their
names were not available at press time.
The main concern of the Task Force at
this time is to get HB759 out of committee,
which will take six positive votes
from the eleven-member committee. The
Task f-orce is arranging for a group of
psychologists, psychiatrists, lawyers. min-
A ters, educators and gay people to testify
~ Austin for the bill during the commit·
tees' open hearings which are scheduled
for April ~ . Professional and religious
support is being cultivated by the Task
Force, and the Homosexual Counseling
Conference, held in Dallas earlier this
month, was the first non-gay body to officially
pass a resolution calling for the
passage of HB759.
TGTF is planning a major campaign
throughout the state to build support for
the bill when and if it gets to the floor of
the House of Representatives.
If Texas passes HB759, it will become
the tenth state of the nation to repeal
private adult homosexual Jaws.
More information concerning the current
status of the bill may be obtained by
contacting the Texas Gay Task Force,
P.O. Box 7318, Fort Worth, TX 76111,
or (817) 338-0128.
Suit Filed Against
Fort Worth Police
KEN CYR FIRED FROM JOB IN AFTERMATH
( Fort Worth) Ken Cyr, director of A URA,
filed a class action lawsuit February 26
against Fort Worth Police Chief T.S. Walls,
Deputy Chief H.F. Hopkins, Capt. C.E.
Hogue (head of vice and intelligence) and
two unnamed police officers.
The day after the suit was made public
by the local media, Cyr was fired from his
job as a postal clerk at Texas Christian
University. The only reason given was
"inefficiency."
Filed in Federal Judge Eldon Mahon's
court, the suit charges the police with invasion
of privacy and deprivation of civil
rights.
The suit specifically centers around an
alleged incident last June 22 during the
1974 Texas Gay Conference, sponsored
by the Fort Worth Dallas 1etroplex Gay
Council at 4301 Miller 111 Fort Worth.
"On this occasion,'' the suit contends,
"the two unnamed defendant police officers
came to the location in question, circled
the church repeatedly. and very obviously,
for all to see, recorded the license
numbers of approximately thirty-six automobiles
(including plan tiff Cyr's) located
at the church. Later on the same day,
two and possibly more participants leaving
the Conference were stopped by the
same officers or other officers employed
by the Fort Worth Police Department for
questioning and a driver's license check.
The license numbers and names recorded
were later released for publication to
Fort Worth reporters."
The suit goes on to say that·· . . . this
course of harassment and surveillance has
included not onl~ the above alleged conCo111i1111cd
011 P(1ge <J)
Co111JS'elillf Collfere1Jce ~upportS' Cay Ca11S'e
(Dallas) One hundred mental health and
helping professionals from three states
attended an all-day workshop on counseling
and homosexuality in Dallas on March
l. One of a nationwide series of such
conferences sponsored by the llomosex-
11al Counseling Joumal, the Dallas conference
aimed to sharpen counselors' awareness
of the special problems of homosexuals
and their families. The Community
Semccs Division of Mountain View Col·
lege of the Dallas County Community
College District hosted the event.
Dr. Ralph Blair, psychologist and editor
of the Homosexual Cozmselmg Joumal
and director of the Homosexual Community
Counseling Center, Inc., of cw
York City, gave the keynote address. Dr.
Blair emphasized that mental health pro·
fessionals all too often carry the same
attitudes of the general public about homosexuality
and have not been adequately
prepared to deal with homosexual persons
and their families. According to Dr.
Blair, homo exuatity should be viewed as
a variety of sexual expression and not as a
deviation which must be seen as sickness
or sin.
Richard van Cleve
Allen Reid
Scott Stebelman
Communications
Director
Managing Editor
Dallas Editor
Staff: rlo, Randy Beitel, Rip Corley,
Ken Cyr, Mark Elgin, Sue Harris, Mike
Merrill, Alexander Langham.Wayne
Ribble, Kay Wilson and others.
Comm1111i(v News is published by the
~orthern Region of the Texas Gay Task
Force (Communications Committee) and
by AURA (Awareness, Unity and Research
Association), not for profit but as
a service to the Gay Community.
Opinions expressed in Community News
The psychologist contended that the
family of a homosexual person also needs
counseling if they are "blaming" themselves
and are distraught or rejecting.
"They often ask how their son or daughter
could possibly be happy as a homosexual.
I often ask them how their homo·
sexual son or daughter could possibly be
happy as a heterosexual," stated Dr. Blair.
"All that went wrong is the erroneous ex·
pectation that everyone will be a heterosexual
person." He also believes that if
the homosexual can cope with his or her
homosexuality, the other unexpected
things in life will be easier to handle.
Following Dr. Blair's address, a panel of
local mental health prof es ionals gave
brief presentations and fielded questions
from the audience. Panel members included
Dr. Robert Dain, assistant professor
of psychology at the University of
Texas Health Science Center of Dallas; Dr.
Bill West, psychiatrist; Dr. Dolores Dyer,
clinical psychologist: Ms. Shirley Switzer,
social worker; Dr. Perry Gross, a local
physician in family practice; Rip Corley,
registered nurse and specialist in crisis intervention;
and Ms. Betty King, counselor
and founding director of the "gay line," a
not necessarily reflect the views of tlus
publication, AURA, the Northern Region
of the TGTF, or of their members.
Mailing Addresses:
P.O. Box 7367
Fort Worth, TX 76111
P.O. Box 9928
Dallas, TX 75214
Telephone:
Fort Worth (817) 338-0128
Dallas (214) 827-2798
are tho e of the individual writers and do SUBSCRIPTION RATE<, is $4 (!st Class)
2 / COMMUNITY NHWS / /'.fARCll-APRIL 75
crisis intervention and information telephone.
During the afternoon session, the work.
shop participants formed small discussion
groups on various topics such as aging and
homosexuality, bisexual behavior, coming
out, parents of homosexual children, homosexual
parents, lesbian/feminists, gay
couple counseling, gay social options and
religion and homosexuality. Each group
summarized their discussion and reported
to the closing session. A compilation of
these summaries will be published in the
July issue of llomosex11a/ Counseling
Journal.
Final action of the conference was the
unanimous passage of the following resolution:
"WHEREAS homosexually oriented
persons have historically suffered from
emotional and social stress due to the
criminalization of the private homosexual
acts of con sen ting adults, and
"WHEREAS all human being , regardless
of sexual orientation have the inalienable,
fundamental right to engage in affcctional-
sexual relations with other consent·
ing adults in private, therefore:
"BE IT RESOLVED that the assembled
helpin~ professionals (psychiatrists, psy· •
cholog1sts, counselors, social workers, educators
and others) meeting together at
the Homosexual Counseling Workshop at
Dallas, Texas, on March 1, 1975, hereby
go on record in unanimous support of
H.B. 759, the current effort to repeal Section
21.06 of the Texas Penal Code."
and $3 (3rd Class) for 12 issues mailed in
plain envelope.
LETTERS to the editor of Communitv
News should be signed. However, nar~1e
will be withheld upon request. All letters
are subject to editing to meet space requirements
and to remove potentially
libelous statements.
Publication of the name of any person,
businc~s or group in Community News
should not be constured as any indication
of t~ze sexual preference of that person,
busmess or group, or of their employees
or members. •
AD RATFS available upon request.
WANT ADS Sec Wan tads section of
this paper
•
Editor:
I found Rip Corlcy's column on "What
About Being Gay on the Job?" both
amusing and terribly sad. It was nothing
but an echo of the old straight maxim
that "if you stay in your place, we won't
bother you," i.e., second-class citizen.
Corley's statement that our need for
protective employment laws was "probably
true" indicated to me a total lack of
understanding of the situation. If there
were such laws, even the most closeted,
paranoid Gay would not have to fear a
"camp" remark being directed toward
him or her. In any case, it seems that the
employer should enter such a situation
only when the persons involved fail to
resolve any difficulties. I do not wish to
under-emphasize discretion, but how one
wishes to be treated is a personal and
individual choice, and it is the individual's
responsibility to communicate this to
another, not the employer's.
Straights also use camp, and office
morale will not be upset is camp statements,
gay or straight, are taken for what
they are: humorous.
•
I also was wondering if there is anything
ubout Gay People that Mr. Corley does
like. llis first two columns seem to me to
have been telling us how to be more like
straights, and I don't think the straights
have been doing such a great job of running
the world.
Also, has Mr. Corley forgotten his Gay
Sisters? If his column is going to address
itself to the entire Gay Community, it
should stop condemning the Queens (for
they are Gay) and ignoring the Lesbians
(for they are Gay, too).
Ken Cyr
Dear Sir:
The "Rappin' with Rip (Corley)" column
in your last issue ("What about
being gay on the job?") trivializes the
issue of employment discrimination
against gays. Gays are not seeking the
right to "camp" or "tell dirty jokes" on
the job, but the right to have the job, free
from the fear of being fired if their employers
should discover that they are gay.
I have often heard the anti-gay argument:
"sure you can be gay, as long as
you don't flaunt it." Corley's argument
comes dangerously close to this, with his
distinction between "gays who are fired
merely for being gay" and gays who are
"provocative in their manner."
Would merely revealing oneself to be
gay constitute a "provocation" in Corley's
eyes?
It is unfortunate to see a gay commentator
give so much ground to the anti-gay
arguments used to justify the denial of
our rights.
Name Withheld
GAY RAIDER
Dear Brother Allen:
About your paper. It's really nice: it
gives information that is needed in the
community. We need to become more
aware of, and more in touch with our
own community, since the Het media has
blacked us out of view. I'm glad to see
that many cities around the country are
beginning to work inside the community.
as well as outside.
Please keep me on your mailing list
since I want to know all that is happening
in your area, and it seems that can be
done by reading the Community News.
In Gay Love,
Mark Segal, Executive Director
Gay Raiders
NEW TEXAS PUBLICATION
FOR LES BIAN/FE !\11~ 1 T
(Houston) Pointblank Times, a new publication
for lesbian ff eminists, began publication
in Houston this month.
The first issue includes articles such as
"Plain Brown Wrapper: The Lesbian in
Modern Novels," poetry, impressions,
news affecting lesbian/feminists and more.
Subscriptions are $3 for 12 issues from
Pointblank Times, 1241 W. Bell, No. 4,
Houston, TX 77019.
Public Action vs. Private Lobbying
An issue confronting gays in the effort to repeal Section
21.06 and other discriminatory laws is the problem of public
action vs. private lobbying. As we face a traditionally conservative
public, we have to ask ourselves which of the two approaches
will further serve the interests of gay people. Judging
from the experience of other gay groups, the answer overwhelmingly
would have to be public action.
We have seen in other states and regions campaigns which
succeeded in removing offensive statutes through quiet, compcten
t lobbying. But we have also seen these private successes
overturned by all-too-public reactionary campaigns. Reinstatement
of anti-gay statutes in Colorado and Idaho are the
best examples of this.
The inadequacy of a campaign depending entirely on private
lobbying hes in the fact that it docs not reach the closet. It
does not signal to anonymous and isolated gays the maJOrity
of Kinsey's I 0% that they have brothers and sisters who are
standing up for their rights. It should be our duty tc' aim our
efforts towards these gays, as well as to civil ltbcrtarian public
•
')pinion. A public campaign will have a chance to reach these
6ays as well as public opinion, and this 1s the important
point for gays it will have this effect even 1f the campaign is
defeated by a political reaction from the right wing. We have
nothing to fear from such a defeat.
Suppose, on the other hand, that our efforts succeed privately
but are reversed by a right-wing campaign. This is the sort
of defeat which does only harm to the gay movement. The
media, one of the few tools we have in reaching our brothers
and sisters who must remain in the closet, would carry no news
of the reform. And the public forum would be abandoned to
the repetitious and familiar arguments of the right wing, which
would only be too happy to seize the publicity we had foregone.
The defeat in New York City to enact anti-discriminat10n
ordinances was really a victory of sorts· at least we oow
know what weapons the reactionaries are going to use against
us. The gays there came very close, and the next time they
try they will likely succeed. But the gays in Colorado are in a
more difficult position.
There is a place and a need for competent lobbying. whii:h
after all is simply the petitioning of government for a redress
of grievances. But to assure meaningful results it should be
coupled with a public campaign. Defeated openly. we could
return again. And if we succeeded openly. drawing out the
poisons from the right in the process. our success woul.i more
likely be permanent.' Michael Jterri I
COilfl!U\!TY XFll'S lf tRCll-APRll. ~5 3
ENCORE SHOWS OFFER
VARIETY OF TA LENTS
The ituauon at the Encore ha. turned
out \\ackil) 11npred1ctabk After an initial
production of Applause, "hose
charms were for the most part primitive,
Gary Shannon's series of semi-drag shows
resumed in February with a Cabaret that
really delivered. Then in early March
came a reversion to amateurism with llel·
lo, D >l(v. I'm aware of the gallantry of a
cast whose show goes on in the face of
appalling offstage problems; but why did
the producers add to the onstage travail
by forcing the cast to lip-sync the dismally
corrupt soundtrack album when the
witty original-cast one is readily available.
Steve Weaver's choreography, the fire.
batons (during the "Parade" number) of
Randy Sircy, an unexpectedly touching
"It Only Takes a Moment" by Charlie
Watkins and Dan Parmer, and the energetic
presences of Parmer and Sally Marie
(wearing moustache, sideburns, and pan ts
REVIEW BY ALEXANDl~R LANGHAM
and looking good in them as Yander-gelder),
and the charmingly nervous one
of Bobby Huckabee (at la!>t! a pretty
chorus girl in the Encore line!) all helped
out the show; the technical foulups and
interminable introductory narration did
not.
Cabaret, however, was different. As
with any lip-synced show, its high points
were achieved through inspired dancing
and clever choreography - with one exception:
Corky Lawrence's gum-chewing,
sadly-out-of-condition chorus girl. certainly
in no shape to compete with the rest of
the line but gamely sweating to match the
other lovelies step by laborious step, was
a lusciously funny performance.
By late March or April the Encore will
present Purlie. Will it be terrific, or
something from which eyes are hastily
averted? Whatever the result, it's bound
to be interesting.
GOOD G \ Y BLOOD ...
Al RA's Blood Drive contmue to e
pick up support with an article in Agape
~1CC's Opc11 Door t111s month urging
people to give. It's so easy (yes, I've
done it), only takes a few minutes, real-ly
doesn't hurt ... and could one day
mean the difference bet\\een life and
death for a brother or sister in need of
blood. {Incidentally, m a blood bank
the blood is used pretty soon after be-ing
given, so we actually have only a
"paper" blood balance. This means that
while we have been fortunate in not hav-ing
to use any of the blood in our ac-count
so far. there are several "straight"
Fort Worthians running around town
now with good gay blood in their veins.)
Donate to the AURA Pool at John Peter
Smith Hospital Blood Bank any time,
night or day. Call AURA, (817) 338-
0128 if you have questions.
Correction: "Mr. Leather-Dallas '74" was
mcorrectly identified last month as Biff.
Our apologies to Mike Harold who was
actually "Mr. Leather-Dallas '74." ---
Draught Beer .... 4S
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Call Drink ...... 8S
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BOOK REVIEW By Scott Stebelman
the LIBRARY
Society and the Healthy Homosexual
Weinberg, George. Society and the Healthy
Homosexual. New York: St. Martin's
Press, 1972.
Dr. George Weinberg is a New York
psychotherapist who has been active in
Gay Liberation for years. During this
time he has counseled hundreds of homosexuals,
whose problems have ranged
from coming out, to telling their parents
about their homosexuality, to coping
with periodic !onliness. The product of
this experience is Society and the Healthy
Homosexual, a prescription for gay happiness
and an analysis of why society denies
it.
Society persecutes gays because of religious
commandments, because of latent
homosexuality within itself, because homosexuals
enjoy greater sexual and
emotional freedom than most people, and
because gays aren't concerned with perpetrating
the species. But none of these
arguments can marshall the weight of
orthodox psychiatry, which maintains
that homosexuality is a sickness in need
of a cure. Weinberg's book was written
before the American Psychiatric Association
removed homosexuality from its list
of character disorders, but there are still a
number of practitioners, notably Irving
Bieber, Charles Socraides and Albert Ellis,
who subscribe to the sickness theory.
Like others befo re him, Weinberg shows
the inadequacy of their studies: a crosssection
of homosexuals is never examined,
only psychiatric patients who are emotionally
disturbed ; and conclusions are
often arrived at deductively rather than
inductively : if it is assumed beforehand
that homosexuality is an illness, then
patient behavior will be analyzed in this
light. As to be expected, as soon as a
cross-section of gays was studied (see
Martin Weinberg's 1\Jale Homosexuals), it
became apparent that they were just as
healthy as their heterosexual counterparts.
Given this mandate of health, what does
Dr. Weinberg advise? No gay should ever
internalize the prejudices of straight society
; that is, no gay should ever see himself
as bigoted straights do. He should renounce
the image of the cowardly pansy,
of the insecure, guilt-ridden neurotic, of
the flighty, promiscuous bar hopper who
is incapable of permanent relationships.
Nor should he mimic straight stereotypes
or values: he doesn't have to arm wrestle,
or play football, or tinker \vi th cars to
prove he is a "regular fellow." If he likes
..... (Continued on Page 8 )
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COMMUN!T}' NFWS fARC/f-APRII -5 5
Gay People & the Law
This L egislation Affects You! By Randy Beitel
I\ ,\DOI flO\ to H.B.-59. \\llll'.'h \\uuld
rt'peal the ~•ate' 'odom) )J\\. there are
l\Hl other b1lh betore the legi lature that
\\Otlld enharH:e our freedom.
nyone who has ever crui ed (and "ho
hasn't) should be interested in H.B. J_,
Introdui.:ed by Rep. Jim 1attox of Dallas,
H.B. 32 1s a bill which\ ould make all
"Class c· 1111 demeanors "ttcket'' off enses.
\\'hat doe. an} of this ha\e to do with
ga} cru1 mg? Plent}. Most of the offense
\\hich a ga) person is likely to be busted
on \\l11le cru1smg are "Class c· mi demeanor
. uch a the Dallas Cit> Ordinance
agams1 loitering f-31-6 o I. com milting
lc\\d act m public parks (1:32-4) and
ohwmg for gay sex ( &31-75 31-78.
SI 'CE "CLA S C" misdemeanors carry
onl> a maximum s_oo fine and no jail
term upon com icuon. often the real pun-
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Open 2 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Seven Day a Week
1shment inflicted upon a gay person is the
mernight stint spent in the city jail \\here.
\\hile waiting for his lawyer or trying to
post bail bond. he has to expo e him elf
to the abuse of homophobic police <llld
jailers.
11.B. 32. howe,er, provide that after
being bu ted for a "Class c· misdcmeJnor
the procedure would be substantially
the ame as a traffic ticket. The arresting
officer \\Otdd be required to issue a citation
(ticket), ordering you to appear in
court on a given date. After you signed
the citation, the officer would then have
to release you. Thus. under 1 l.B.832.
there would be no abu 1ve ndes down to
the 1ty Jail. no leeples night 111 the jail
awaiting the arrival of your attorney. no
need for expensive attorney's fees to get
out of Jail, no need to post bail bond, and
no need to bother friends or family to
come get you out of jail. Additionally.
under H.B.832. when your tnal date arrived.
you could be represented by your
attorney rather than having to take oft
work to appear personally in court.
11.8 .832 would significantly reduce the
amount of harassment inflicted upon us
by the police, but harassment is not limited
to the arrest and trial procedures: arrest
and charging records are often released
to prospective employers. Thus it
behooves us to be concerned with another
bill currently pending in the Texas Legislature,
H.B.47.
INTRODUCED by Reps. Watson and
Nichols, H.B.47 provides that a person
not convicted of a crime have his arrest
and charging records expunged. Under
H.B.47, after appearing in an anonymous
court hearing, such a person has the nght
for any and all records relating to the arrest
and the charge to be destroyed, and
the person would be entitled to deny that
the arrest ever occurred or that he was
ever charged with the off en e. Thus one
could legally respond to an employment
application question which asked whether
you had e\'er been arrested or charged
with a crime, with an unabashed "no."
11.B.47 is important to gay people becau
e for years it has been a customary
police practice to harass gay by arre ting
fJ COlllfU\IJ }' NI. h'S I H1lRCll·Al'R/I, 75
us and then either failing to file charges
or di nm~ing the charges before trial.
Thus there :ue many of us who ha\'e ar-rt'st
and charging record • but no convk- •
tinns I I p1llke find they can't punish us
\\Ith ;,in arre:>t record, their motivation for
has-;Jin~· us \\ill dimi111sh.
I'IIL SL TWO bill . along with H.B.759
(sec art1de on page one). are bill whkh
it passed will directly benefit us. If \\e as
ga} people are at all eriou:. about wanting
a better hfr for oursehe in regard to
the law and police acthities, then \\C h.1ve
;,i duty to support this legislation. The
least we should all do 1s to write our State
Representatives and let them knO\\ that
their constituents are in favor of the e
bills. While it is hoped that su ·h organi-
1ations as the 'I ex.1 Ci\JI Liberties L nion
and the Tc'.\as Criminal I rial Law) er \s·
sodation \\.ill join u 111 supporting the~e
hill . the primary re pon ib11i1y is upon
us. 1ho e tn be d1rectly affected. to lobb)
for legi lative .ipproval of the e bill .
WI· 'VE S \ T B \CK and let 01hers dcrnle
the la\\S \\l11ch gO\ern us for too long: 11
''c want omc concrete change. we are
going to have to make our m\n v01ce
heard 1n \usun
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COMMU!\/ITY 11./t:WS MARCH-APRIL 75 / 7
NOT!::: March marks the first a1111iversary
of Commu11ity News. This combination
issue is the result of too few people working
on too many things: our staff is also
heavily involved in the effort to repeal
Sec ti on 21. 06 as well as in Dallas and
fort Worth City Council elections coming
up in April. We hope to be back on an
early schedule with our May issue.
Len
David Cas idy, too!
A German gay monthly magazine, Du &
lcl1, quoted pop music star David Cassidy
as telling an interviewer, "I have many
friends, men friends, whom I sleep with
and I enjoy it." He also was quoted as
saying in regard to his career, "I wouldn't
want to sing to audiences who did not
like me just because I had slept with a
man.
HO CL A SS JUST STYLE
3014 Throckmorton
Open
526-9184
llOOAM -2001'M
BEER BUST - Tue day at 8
2 to 2 Seven Days a Week
Happy Hour
4001'M -7001'M
BEER, WI E, ET-UP
and FRIE DL Y PEOPLE
2308 W. ith . treet
:!:lS-0;)0(1
Fort Worth
COMMU/\1TY NI H:.S MARC/I APR/I 75
(Continued from Page 5)
to cook, sew, and box, all these options
should be open to him. The emphasis A
here is on self-fulfillment rather than on 9'
role conformity.
In one of the most helpful chapters in
the book, "Communication with Parents,"
Dr Weinberg offers useful tips to gays
coming out to theri parents: don't talk
about blame, don't apologize for your
feelings, don't let parents give you the
third degree. Above all, be patient and
remember they will need time to adjust
to the news. Coming out, he says, can be
a time of intimate sharing of knowledge
with a loved one. It can bind family
members closer together; it can say we
Jove each other enough to be honest
about who we arc.
Dr. Weinberg's book is a cogent explanation
of why gays are persecu tcd and how
they can overcome it. Its lucid. straight·
forward prose make its ideas accessible
to everyone: it would be of particular
benefit to gays first coming out in the
community or to their parents, to those
beset by guilt, and to straight homophobes.
For some reason the book is not
widely distributed, so readers in tcrestcd
in buying it should write directly to St _..
Martin's Press, 17 5 Fifth Avenue. New W'
York, New York 10010.
"Rappin' with Rip" by Rip Corley will
resume in the next issue of CN.
WANTADS are $.50 per line, minimum
of $1. (Each line of regular copy is
limited to 35 units, including letters,
spaces and punctuation. Boldface caps
are limited to 22 units per line.) Payment
should accompany your copy.
Discount 10% for 6 or more insertions
of the same copy, paid at the same
time.
POINTBLANK TIMES
t 'e w I )u hit rn Ii"'' j'M
l.l' ,[, i1111 / Fe mini'''
Subscribe: Only $3 for 12 issues
Pointblank 1/me. 1241 W. Bell,.
No. 4, llotlltvn, Tews 77019
(Continued from Page I)
duct on June 22, 1974, but also a course
of conduct over the past several months
before and since said date, involving surveillance
and recording of license numbers
at known gay bars and night clubs,
raid111g of said clubs without evidence of
criminal activity or probable cause to believe
such activity exists; and illegal surveillance
of plain tiff Cyr personally."
Sundance
Kids
526-9173
Open Daily 2 p.m. - 2 a.m.
HAPPY HOUR: 5-8 Mon.-Fri.
Wednesday Night Keg Party
& Free Draft, 9-11 p.m.
Sunday Beer Bust: 7-9 p.m.
4025 Maple Avenue
EMOTIONAL moment as
James expresses his thanks
to all his friends at T.J.'s
Back Door. Barbra, a cast
member, accompanied him
on stage.
(See "Scene West"
on Page 11)
The suit asks Judge Mahon to issue an
injunction against the surveillance activities
of police on gay groups and gay people
generally and to issue a ruling that police
have violated federal and state laws.
The suit also asks Judge Mahon to order
police to destroy all their files and records
on gay groups and gay people generally in
this area.
At press time, Cyr was not sure what
action he would take concerning his termination
at TCU.
Because of the loss of Cyr's income, a
special fund has been established to help
him with the heavy legal fees which will
result from the lawsuit. All donations
may be sent to the "Ken Cyr Assistance
Fund," P.O. Box 7318, Fort Worth, TX
76111.
T .J.'s of Dallas
·~·
330i' McKinney
526-9369
r.J. I 8ACK DOOR
presents
DADDY's GIRLS
Every Sunday
Night
For Reservarions,
call (817) 624-0630
DRINK OF THE WEEK
Free Beer & Hot Dogs
' FREE Every Sunday
8-10 p.m.
5536 JACKSBORO HWY.
Fort Worth, Texas
mURSDA Y - SUNDAY
8:00 - 2:00 ..............•.•••••.•..•...••..•••....
If the Two of You No
Longer Communicate
Your Relationship is in
TROUBLE
LET US HELP YOU . ..
Rogers and Rogers
Psychoanalysts and Marriage
Counseling
By Appointment Only
691-5375
COMMUNITY Nt JVS MARCH-APRIL 75 / 9
I I Organizations DIRECT 0 RY Agape Metropolitan Community Church, Dignity, P.O. Box 70, Euless, TX 76039,
L _____________ ..._ P 0. Box 4589, Ft. Worth, TX 76106, (metro) 469-6669. Call for meeting
DALLAS
Act III, 3115 Live Oak, 824-9043
Bayou Landing, 2609 N. Pearl, 742-3269
Bon Soir, 4527 Cole, 526-9432
Crew Inn, 3220 N. Fitzhugh, 526-9328
Encore, 4516 McKinney, 526-9328
Entre Nuit, 3116 Live Oak, 813-0423
Highland, 3018 Monticello, 526-9551
Marlboro, 4100 Maple, 526-9487
The Place, 3019 N. Haskell, 526-9329
Old Plantation, 3717 Rawlins, 528-6550
Olive Branch Saloon, 2822 McKinney,
823-0921
One Way Inn, 2509 N. Fitzhugh (women)
824-9227
Ramrod, 3224 N. Fitzhugh, 526-9110
Sundance Kids, 4025 Maple, 526-9173
Swamp Trash, 3014 Throckmorton,
526-9184
Swinger, 4006 Maple, 526-9295
Terry's Ranch, 4117 Maple, 526-9524
T.J.'s, 3307 McKinney, 526-9368
Villa Fontana, 1315 Skiles, 823-0372
The Fifth Wheel, 1212 Oak Lawn
742-0010
ALSO in DalJas ...
Studio 9 Theater, 4817 Bryan, 823-0447
Coronet Theater, 2420 N. Fitzhugh,
821-9489
Bachelor Quarter Baths, 3116 Live Oak,
823-0432
Club Dallas Baths, 2616 Swtss, 821-1990
FORT WORTH
Other Place, 2308 W 7th, 33 5-0586
Purple Lady, 3029 S. Main, 927-9881
Regency Lounge, 1812 Hemphill,
927-9416
651Club,651 S. Jennings, 332-0417
T.J.'s Back Door, 5536 Jacksboro Hwy.,
(rear) 624-0630
MARIL LO
My Way, 523 E. 10th, 373-4792
WICllIT F LL
Carousel, 703 Travis, 322-0832
Sand Box, 3151 Seymore Hwy, 322-0866
LUBBOCK
David's Warehou e, 2402 Marshall St ,
762-1165
(Reader·: II any of these listings are not
correct, please contact Community ew )
Services at 2800 Purington, office information
( 817) 534-9406 Metropolitan Community Church of Dal-
AURA (Awareness, Unity & Research las, 3834 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX
Association), P.O. Box 7318, Fort 75204, (214) 826-0291
Worth TX 76111, ( 817) 338-0 I 28, Hobos, a motor cycle social group for wo-meetings
2nd & 4th Mondays at 5536 men. For more information contact
Jacksboro Hwy (T.J.'s Back Door) T.J.'s of Dallas
Daughter of Bilitis, P.O. Box 1242, Dal- Wranglers, a motor cycle social group for
las, TX 75221,(214) 241-4118, meet- men. For more information contact
ings first & third Fridays The Sundance Kids bar, Dallas, or write
G.0 .0.D. (Gay Organization of Dallas), The Wrangler Motorcycle Club, P.O.
3834 Ross Ave., Dallas, TX 75204, Box 35853, Dallas, TX 75235
(214) 827-2798, meetings second and Dallas Crisi Line, (214) 241-4116
fourth Fridays
REGULAR WEEKLY EVENTS
Sunday-MCC-Dallas Worship, 11 a.m.
and 7:30 p.m.
MCC-Ft. Worth Worship, 7·30 p.m.
Sundance Kids, Sunda)' N1te at the
Movies, 9 p.m_
Bayou Landing, drag show, 9:45 p.m.,
$1 cover charge
T.J.'s Back Door, drag show, 10 p.m.,
cover charge
Monday MCC-Ft. Worth Bible Study,
7:30 p.m.
Terry's Ranch Slave Auction, 10 p.m.
Tue day MCC-Ft. Worth Sign Language
Class (pastor's office), 7 30 p.m.
Wedne day-MCC-Dallas, A.A. Together
Group, 8 p.m
MCC-Ft. Worth Worship, 7:30 p.m.
The Encore Dance Contest, 10 p.m.
Bayou Landing, drag show, 9:45 p.m.,
$1 cover charge
Thursday-MCC-Ft. Worth Open Rap,
7:30 p,m.
MCC-Dallas Bible Rap, 7:30 pm
Friday - MCC-Dallas l:.xperimen tal Service,
7:30 p.m.
APRJL
Monday, April 7 Agape MCC "Gay
Sway" skating party, $1 50 at the door,
$1 in advance, at Holiday Roller Rink,
2920 Carson, Haltom City, 7 30-
9 p.m.
"Purlie" - April production at The
Encore : call (214) 526-9328 for dates,
time and reservation:.
~ SUBSCRIBE Su6scri6e SU BS CRIB E Subscribe ~;:
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~ $10 - Supporting ~ Fl c:::::::::J Name ~
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@)
flt
~ City/State/Zip c
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n §) P.O. Box 7367, Fort Worth TX 76111 ~
~SUBSCRIBE subscribe SUBSCRIBE Subscribe 0- CD
JO I CO.\fMUN/T}' Ni: ws I fARCll-APR/f, 75
'
•
•
•
By Richard van Cleve
WATCH for changes in the Old Plantation.
Soon, early in the spring, the Old
Plantation will be opening to the out-ofdoors
with the addition of a Beer Garden.
Work has been underway for the past few
weeks towards its completion. Part of the
landscaping is finished with bamboo
planted along a new eight-foot wooden
fence. Potted plants, lanterns and furniture
will shortly be installed. The bar in
the Western room is to be extended onto
the patio for the convenience of the Garden's
patrons, and the same nostalgic
music provided in the Western room will
be heard in the Garden.
The Western bar is also undergoing
changes. The dance floor is being enlarged,
and windows and a door facing
the Beer Garden will be added. More
shooting gallerys and pinball machines
for the arcade are on requisition.
SOME of the women at T.J.'s of Dallas
are forming a motorcycle club to be
known as the Hobos. The summer agenda
will include camping outings and cycling
excursions for state-wide trips the first
planned for March 23 . If you are interested
in joining, drop by T.J.'s or give
them a call at (214) 526-9368.
FOR THE PAST month, the Sundance
Kids has been showing movies each Sunday
night at 9 p.m. preceded by a beer
bust. So far, the movies have been good
- a mix of classic cam and Ii t corned
By Allen Reid
IS COORS CHICKEN?
Game time was 2 p.m. March 8 at the
Forest Park soccer field, and the mighty
651 Texans were panting for action .. .
but, alas, their challengers - Coors Distributors
didn't show.
Well, there were fans to appease and
please, so the "home" team, dressed in
their cut-offs and pullover shirts, split into
two teams of six each and played for
three-and-one-half hours of the fastest,
feistiest, funniest football ever seen in Ft.
Yet, the future programming promises to
be better - if you like horror and science
fiction, and who doesn't after a cou pie of
beers?
The date, place and event schedule of
the Wranglers' annual Stampede are set.
The date is June 20-22; the place is the
Roanoke Dude Ranch outside of Grapevine;
and the event schedule will be announced
in the next issue of CN.
FOR THOSE thirsty nomads ever in
search of a new palm-ringed watering
hole, there is one in town - for women -
the Olive Branch Saloon at 2827 McKinney.
The Olive Branch is not exactly
new, for it has been in business since late
December; but what is new, and crucially
so, is the soon-to-be-obtained liquor
license.
Shane, the manager who is fresh out of
hotel management, reports that he and
the owners are drawing up an ambitious
calendar for future months. As standard
features the Olive Branch will celebrate
each holiday with a ball and special drink
prices, groups can reserve tables for anniversaries
or birthdays, and there will be a
weekly movie night showing gay female
films.
Many of the Olive Branch's regulars are
signing up for a packaged, Saloon-sponsored
bus trip to San Antonio's April Fiesta.
And those regulars who won't be on
the trip are staying in Dallas to practice
for the season's first baseball game in Dallas
Softball League. Both the bus trip and
Worth.
Final score: 30-26. Great game, fellas!
This definitely should be done again.
Meanwhile, those Coors people have some
explaining to do . ...
• • •
A FRIEND IN NEED ...
Who says there's no community spirit in
Fort Worth. Gays in Fort Worth proved
beyond any doubt this month that they
care for their own.
When the home of James Norris burned,
individuals immediately rallied to his sup-ball
team are still open to more participants.
For more information, contact the
Saloon in person or call 824-2770 or 823-
0921.
SWAMP TRASH, that classless but in style
bistro, is having a parade of events. To
lead off the parade will be a dandy, March
30, Easter Hat party. Stepping quickly
up behind in April will be a Jockey Short
party, a pageantry of sizes, shapes, and
brand names - B.V.D.'s and Fruit of the
Loom. This progression of galas will naturally
climax in that show of shows, the
Academy Awards presentation to be
viewed (with buffet) via the color tube at
the Swamp Trash. Free gin punch will be
served every Saturday at 5 p.m. as a continuing
attraction.
POLICE harassment of Dallas gay bars?
Perhaps. It is not clear yet whether
recent encounters between the police and
the bars is intended by the police as selective
badgering of gay bars or a change
in police policy regarding all bars. But
what is known is that the police are now
enforcing an unused and forgotten city
ordinance prohibiting after hours dancing
and that police renewed enforcement of
the ordinance has been both tactless and
absurd. All the gay bars in the city have
taken a wait-and-see attitude, suspending
their after hours dancing.
GARY SHANNON of the Encore is now
casting for his new production of "Purlie."
Any interested person may contact
him at the Encore.
THE BAR had a sex change. What was
once women's is now men's. The Place
is the name, and 3019 N. Haskell is the
place. While Joe's Other Place was astrological
and mystical, The Place is Polynesian
and carefree.
port. Some of the 651 crowd got together
with MCC and presented a special benefit
show with proceeds going to assist James.
The audience also helped by bring!ng
clothes and household items to the show
for James and his mother.
Customers at the Other Place made
sandwiches and bought a keg of beer
which they sold Sunday afternoon, and at
T.J.'s Back Door, a $1 charge for reserved
tables went to the project. In addition, all
performers donated all of their tips for
the evening.
Praise to all the people who worked together
in this endeavor. Let's keep on
working together.
COMMUNITY NEWS / MARCH-APRIL 75 / 11
DO YOU WANT A BETTER GAY C0~1M Ul'ilTY ?
ARE YOU I TERESTED IN WORKING FOR GAY EQUALITY't
THEN COME TO G.0.0.D.
Address - -----------------
Gay Organization of Dallas
383 l Ross Avenue
Dallas, Texas 75204
City/State/ Zip ----------------
Membership - S/year check or money order payable to G.0.0.D. Circle of Friend ·
A UJ~A Fort Worth's only Gay Organiz t1tio11
Meeting are held every 2nd & 4th 1onday at 7:30 p.m.
at 5536 Jacksboro Hwy. (T.J.' Back Door)
ocial I Political I , ervice I Educational
Membf'r ur thf'
'rEXi~\S
GAY
TASK
l·OR<.:I·
Fo• more information call (817) 338-0128, or write AURA, P.O. Box 7318, Ft. Worth TX 76111
J 2 I COJI IUl\/T}' NI~ ws I MARCll·Al'Rll. 75
•
•
•
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