| Transcript |
Kennedy Urges Spotlighting AIDS
By Larry Bush
WASHINGTON, D.C.-Sen. Edward Kennedy m •
Mass.) is spearheading an effort to give AIDS more polit•
ical visibility before the Senate and the Reagan
administration. Kennedy, who was part of a team effort
that added $30 million to the Senate appropriations bill
to fund the Public Health Emergency Fund-only to
have the extra money dropped in a Senate-House conference
committee in early October-now has garnered the
signatures of 14 senators on a letter requesting that Sen.
Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) hold AIDS hearings in the Senate
Committee on Labor and Human Resources.
Among the senators cosigning Kennedy's letter are
three of the four Democratic senators seeking their par•
ty's nomination for the presidency in 1984: Alan Cranston
(Calif.), John Glenn (Ohio) and Ernest "Fritz"
Hollings (S.C.). Only Gary Hart (Colo.) is missing.
Republican heavyweight/I on the letter include Sen.
Lowell Weicker (Conn.), who is chair of the appropriations
subcommittee on health issues, and Mark Hatfield
(Ore.), chair of the full appropriations committee. In all,
seven of the 17 members of Hatch's committee signed
the letter but observers noted that among the missing
Democrats was Tom Eagleton, the Missouri senator
who was McGovern's first vice presidential nominee in
1972 and later party to a lawsuit against hi11 niece for
charging that he was involved in homosexual vacations
in Key West, F1a
While Kennedy's staff sug&ests that the letter primar•
ily will help keep political visibility on the need to monitor
the Reagan administration response to AIDS, others
such as the Federation of AIDS-Related Organizations
lobbyist Gerald Connor and National Gay Task Force
Washington representative Jeff Levi are hoping that
Hatch will decline the request for hearings.
The key concern is the make-up of the Hatch committee,
which is controlled by Republicans who are on the
New Christian Right side. Those include Jeremiah Den•
ton (R-Ala.), the ex-POW; John East (N.C.), a Jesse
Helms protege; Paula Hawkins (F1a.), a Mormon like
Hatch; Don Nickles (Okla.), outspokenly anti-gay; and
Charles Grassley (Iowa).
Kennedy pitches his hearing requegt with that makeup
in mind, noting that "Senate hearings would fOCUB
national attention on the health concerns involved in
this issue, rather than i1,volving the Committee in a
moral dispute."
Overall, Kennedy railles many of the is•ues that were
also aired in the WeiBS hearings in August in the House,
and the Waxman hearings in Los Angeles in 1982.
Looking for the
Average Gay .Texan
Columnist Joe Baker
inside
THE STAR
AUSTIN * SAN ANTONIO
Nov. 11, 1983 • Issue. 1 • Published Every Other Friday
Can We Talk?
Welcome to the first issue of THE STAR,
the new Austin/San Antonio-area gay
newspaper.
The first thing to be remembered about
this newspaper is that it is primarily, but
not exclusively, a paper for, by and about
the gay community, It will feature stones,
photographs, reviews and pieces of general
interest to and about the gay community
in Austin, San Antonio, Corpus
Christi, and the nation at large.
Secondly, this is the newspaper of the
gay community. It is your newspaper.
A 'though it will have an editorial attitude
and approach, that approach will befash1•
oned by your response to it. Thus, you are
encouraged to write, call or otherwise
inform THE STAR about what you like and
what you don't like.
Letters to the editor are heartily encouraged.
News aboutyourorganizations,811ggestions
for stories-all these and
whatever else you would like to say to THE
STAR, will be seriously considered. No
suggestion will be too "off the wall" for
THE STAR.
Finally, Austin is not only the capital of
Texas, it is also the center for the Laidback
Community, Texas' San Francisco, the
Janet Cobb and Juan Ochoa,
co-chairpersons of the Austin
lesbian Gay Political Caucus
ALGPC Meets Monthly
Officers and members of the Austin Lesbian/
Gay Political Caucus met in the CommiHioner's
Court in the Courthouse
Annex Oct. 25 for the organization's most
recent monthly meeting. Juan Ochoa and
Janet Cobb, co-chairpersons of the group,
presented i88ues.
Paul Clover spoke to the assembly about
the Waterloo Counseling Center, a non,
profit corporation offering help to the
adaptational ne..-ds and life concems of
gay men and women. Clover, one of the
founders of the ctn ter spokt'I of the servi,
c£>.s offered, including' coun cling, educat1on11l
B<'minnrs, profes111ona!
consultllt1on and commuruty services
development.
Clover emphasized that the primary
concerns of the center at the moment are
funding and a permanent location.
A lengthy discussion concerning possible
endorsement of political candidates by
ALGPC followed, ending in a move to postpone
a decision until a late~ date.
As part of this, informatio!1 abo1;1t t~e
recent ALGPC voter registration dnve m
some gay busine88es was presented. The
voter registration drive will continue, and
help for this drive is solictied.
The caucus meets the last Tuesday m
each month at 7:30 p.m. ,.,th the next
mttting srhf'dul~ for Nov. 29.
remnant of those who sought the Green•
mg of America in Texas. Austin probably
has more different kinds of alternate tab·
loids and free papers than any city in
Texas.
Memones of the old "Austin Rag" come
to mind, in the days of the free pre,s then
popular in America of the 70s. THE STAR
will continue the Austin tradition of real
freedom of the press to say what we think
our readers need and want to hear. We
need your help in doing this.
THE STAR subscribes to all major gay
news services and columnists. Some of the
best writers on and in the national 1rav
community will appear on these pagesfrom
the Jin~up at Stonewall Features to
the reporting of Larry Bush from
Washington.
THE STAR is owned by the Montro e
Voice Publishing Company, a t.hree-yearold
gay-owned publishing company based
in Houston that also publishes the Montrosl'
Voice there and Dallas Ga) Newo,
major gay community newspapers. The
owners are committed to malting THE
STAR the be~t of the thl'N! newspapers.
Enjoy THE STAR, proud to now be a new
part of the Austin San Antonio-area gay
community.
2 THE STAR / NOV. 11, 1983
Gay Membership
Splits Council
of Churches
Orthodox churches will "reaccess their
situation," according to a spokesman,
should the National Council of Churches
approve membership eligibility for the
Universial Fellowship of Metropolitan
Community Churches. a 27,000 member
denomination and haven for gay Christiana,
reports the Religious News Service.
Withdrawing from the NCC is one of the
options open to the nine orthodox
members of the 31-member ecumenical
council which voted on the issue Nov. 9.
The November vote will grant only eligibility,
not membership-that vote will be
taken in May 1984. Orthodox representative•
say that an affirmative eligibility
vote is enough for them to coneider separating
from the council.
Claire Randall, NCC general secretary,
eaid she is "very concerned" about the
Orthodox view and the division that may
result, and said that the governing board
will consider all aspects of the question.
The six Eastern and three Oriental
orthodox religions have unanimoU8ly
agreed to withdraw from NCC if the homosexual
church is allowed membership.
The Metropolitan Church was founded
in 1968 by a former Pentecostal pastor for
gay church goers.
Bible Belt Gays in
Baptist Conference
Evangelical Outreach Ministries, a
Southern-based pro-gay ministry, staffed
a booth at a national Southern Baptist
Conference on social justice issues held in
Atlanta, October 6-8.
Prominent over the EOM booth was a
large sign proclaiming "Evangelical Outreach
Ministries, A Voice for Lesbian and
Gay Men in the Bible Belt." The booth
featured pro-gay religious and secular
works for sale and free literature.
Responses to this unprecedented event
ranged from "shock" and "grim resignation"
to "glad you are here" and even "it's
about time we started addressing this
issue." EOM spokesperson David Chewning
stated, "We are elated at the warm
reception we received."
THE STAR
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Thursday, Nov. 24, Thanksgiving Day
Bernice Schubert & Fran Marquis
plus the staff at Faces
PROUDLY ANNOUNCE
Their Official
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with Tony Lawson presenting
'1he Judy Garland Show''
with Paulette Leigh as special guest
$2 tickets in advance, $3 at the door * FREE * Buffet ~9pm
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Showtime 10pm
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Austin Councilman
Named to Gay
Black-Tie Dinner
Advisory Board
Austin City Councilman Mark Spaeth
and several legislators are among those
named to be on the Dallas Dinner Committee
advisory board. The group stages a
black-tie dinner annually in Dallas to
raise money for political candidates who
favor gay-rights issues.
John Thomas, chairman of the Dallas
Dinner Committee, announced the advisory
board members. They will serve for
the next year and will be honored at the
Human Rights Campaign Fund Black-Tie
Dinner at the Fairmont Hotel in Dallas
Nov. 19.
Texas Legislature members named were
state Rep. David Cain, state Sen. Lloyd
Doggett and state Sen. Oscar Mauzy. Also
named were state Agricultural Commissioner
Jim Hightower.
Other board members, mostly from the
Dallas area, are John and Susan Albach,
Roger Albright, Don Baker, James C.
Barber, Jerry Birdwell, Ed Cloutman,
Juanita Craft, Rev. Don Eastman, Dr.
John and Harryette Ehrhardt, George
Goodwin, Steve Gutow, Anne Hall, Adlene
Harrison, Dallas City Councilman James
You're Reading
THE STAR
Amenca·s Newest Gay Community
Newspaper
Hart, Rev. Mark Herbener, Dallas Coun•
cilman Craig Holcomb, Eddie Bernice
Johneon, Dr. Jesse Jones, Betsy Julian,
Cay Kolg, Richard Longstaff, Ricardo
Medrano, Ken and Linda Molberg, Judge
Barbara Rosenber, Dallas Councilwoman
Annette Strauss, Charlotte Taft and Dallas
County Commissioner Jim Tyeon.
Virginia Apuzzo, executive director of
the National Gay Task Force, New York
Congressman Bill Green, Republican
representative for New York's Manhattan
Congreseional District, will share the
speaker's platform at the fund-raiser.
Apuzzo is known nationally for her testimony
before Congress regarding homosexual
rights. She recently appeared as an
expert witness on the effectiveness of
government programs relating to AIDS
funding and patient care. She has
appeared on Nightline, the Phil Donahue
Show and 20120 as a spokesperson for the
gay community. U.S. Rep. Green is co•
sponsor of the Gay Rights Bill in Congrese
and ie a member of the House Appropriations
Committee, which is crucial for considering
AIDS funding legislation.
The Dallas Dinner Committee's annual
$150 per person event benefits the Human
Rights Campaign Fund and the National
AIDS Federation Lobby Project, according
to Thomae.
"Visions" is the theme of this year's
dinner, borrowing from the lyrics of
"Visions" by Mark Franklin Miles _of Dallas.
The 1982 dinner at the Fairmont
raised more than $6000 for the Human
Rights Campaign Fund.
Invitations for the 1983 dinner have
been mailed, according to Thomas, and
advance ticket sales netted 240 responses;
seating is available for 500 persons.
Members of the Dinner Committee are
Rick Aiehman, Jake Jacobs, Ray Kuchling,
Jay Oppenheimer, Mike Stewart,
John Thomas William Waybourn and
Dickie Weaver' Thomae is also a member
of the Huma~ Rights Campaign Fund
Board of Directors in Washington, D.C.
All proceeds from the din_ner will be used
to elect candidates determmed to work to
eecure the civil rightll of all persona, particularly
gay men and women, and by the
National AIDS Federation Lobby Project
to urge Congress to appropriate more fed.
eral funds to find a cure for AIDS.
S
Commentary
Sweat Socks: One Woman's tory
By Sharon McDonald
When it comes to sports, I have always
been cordial but distant. AB a child, the
full extent of my athletic repetoire was the
repeated climbing of a single tree in which
I would sit for hours daydreaming of an
even less active childhood. I thought that
once I grew up, I would be free of the daily
pressures to run, jump, slide, hit and
catch. Call me naive, but I looked forward
to my adult years as a fruitful time for
affairs of the intellect.
Back then, women were allowed, no
encouraged, to let their muscles atrophy in
peace. But right around the time I would
have begun living out my happy destiny
as a sedentary grown-up, I fell in with an
energetic group of women who called
themselves by a strange new name: feminists.
At first I thought their philosophy
meant more choices for everybody: I could
be either a chemist or a karate champion.
What I didn't know was that the karate
champion didn't have to study chemistry,
but the chemist would have to take up
some arduous sport to stay in the feminist
ballgame.
Only the language had changed since
childhood. Yesterday's "Get your nose out
of that book," has become today's "Get in
touch with your body." This is a paradox
of modem feminism that I find difficult to
understand: nobody tells Rosie Casals to
write a book, why do they tell me to play
tennis?
It's important at this point to explain
that I don't dislike sports just because I'm
no good at them, although that certainly
helps. But simple ineptitude is a mere
embarrassment that's easily forgotten.
What's not easily forgotten is a lifetime of
sprains, strains, cuts, scrapes, bruises, lacerations,
concussions and temporary
embarrassments. I dislike sports because I
hurt myself doing them, sometimes quite
badly.
I can fall and chip a bone on any type of
surface you've got, from grass to concrete.
The only time I can catch a ball that's
hurtling straight at my unique and fragile
face is when it knocks my last two fingers
backwards three inches farther than they
were ever meant to go. I think it's about
time for feminists to face the fact that
some women were just not meant to totter
four inches off the ground on blades,
wheels, a foor-long slab of wood or anything
else.
Women whom I would otherwise consider
caring friends have tried to get me
out there into the danger zone.
"Look at you! You call yourself a dyke?
Look at that arm. Where's the muscle?"
"It's in my fingers. I type 90 words a ... "
"You've got to start thinking about your
health!"
"I am. I'm staying inside where it's
safe."
"You don't know what you're missing."
"Yes I do. Pain."
It doesn't help that Louise is on the side
of the athletes in this. One balmy evening
Catholic Gay Ministry To
Conduct Workshops
New Way Ministry, a national Catholic
gay ministry group, will sponsor and conduct
a tour of one-day workshops on
"Homosexuality and Family Ministry" in
six cities in Texas and Louisiana during
November and December, they
announced,
Sr. Jeannine Gramick, SSND, who
wrote the newly released Homosexuality
and the CatholiC' Church, and Fr. Robert
Nugent, SDS, A Challenge to Loue: Gay
and Lesbian CatholiC'in the Church, a nun
and priest, respectively, who have been
engaged in ministry with lesbian and gay
men since 1971, will conduct the workshop,
they said.
The workshop will explore the sociological
and pastoral dimensions of homosexuality,
and is designed for educators,
counselors, social workers, clergy, religious,
social justice advocates as well as
family and friends of lesbian and gay
Christians, they said.
The San Antonio workshop is to be Nov,
29 at Incarnate Word Motherhouse, Cen•
tennial Hall. 4515 Broadway. The Austin
workshop is scheduled for Dec. 1 at St.
Edward's University, Our Lady Queen of
Peace Chapel, 3001 S. Congress.
FREE
PERSONALS
IN
THE
STAR
See Classified & Personals
Form in the Back
when she and I were in the first glow of
new found love, she chanced to ask what
sports I enjoyed. When I said none, that
lovely period of idealized romance passed
forever into history. Some people are so
judgmental.
Louise's childhoood had been a whirl•
wind journey from championship this to
championship that. From a modest beginning
at prizewinning marbles, she went
on to conquer her neighborhood at baseball,
ping pong, basketball, skating and so
on. She once remarked to me what an easy
transition it had been to go from GAA
(Girl's Athletic Association) to GAA (Gay
Activists Alliance) without even changing
T-ehirts.
As if our relationship wasn't tenuous
enough, Louise decided that we needed to
jog together every night. I reminded her
that I considered achieving normal posture
an athletic event. She could not be
moved. I said I'd think about it.
True to my nature, I approached this
subject first from an academic angle. I
read all the books about jogging, and it
was there that I learned about cramps,
strains, faintness of breath and "overdoing
it." I stopped reading. Next, I went
shopping. After pricing jogging shoes, I
came home with the aforementioned faintness
of breath. This was soon followed by
faintness of heart.
The more I though about it, the stupider
it seemed. Being an urban dweller, certain
physical pursuits like karate or running
do make sense to me. But jogging has no
such intrinsic, pragmatic value. Whatselfrepecting
mugger responds to, "Back off,
buddy, I'm a jogger"? Not does jogging
provide you with an escape maneuver; it
just doesn't work to jog away from an
attacker. This is in sharp contrast to the
more versatile sportofrunning, which can
be utilized either to run from an attacker or
to run to attack someone. Jogging, on the
other hand, produces only two concrete
results: stronger calf muscles and better
wind, both of which are good for only one
thing-more jogging.
I presented my findings to Louise, but
you can't tell her anything. So, with our
frail relationship hanging in the balance,
I purchased the proper shoes, baggy
shorts and sweat socks and revised my
will. I was ready. Louise glanced up from
the television, lit another cigarette and
said, "Not tonight, hon. let's start tomor·
row." The next night she was meeting a
friend for dinner and suggested we wait
one more day. The following day she came
home from work exhausted. "How about
tomorrow night, sweetie?" she groaned.
By now, all I can say is it's a wonder I've
retained my sweet disposition and tolerant,
loving, giving, accepting attitude
through all this. If in the name of feminism
or health or God knows what else my
lover and friends advocate chasing a ball
around, or want to browbeat others into
doing the same, I'd be the last one to say
it's not an excellent use of time.
I mean, if they want to move their conversation
to the level of debating the
absorption capacities of different brands
of sweat socks, I'd never suggest it was a
step down. Some people might say these
women have become sweaty, ill-dad, panting
bores, but not me. Goodness, if I let a
little thing like watching my friends
beome competitive over-achievers tum me
into an unsupportive name-<:aller, well,
what would that say about friendship?
As for Louise and I, we have made a
peace of sorts by discovering a physical
activity we can do together. Although it is
more private than a jog around the local
park I will say that it has satisfied both
our ~ants by providing exercise, sweat
and exhaustion without requiring a trip to
the emergency room. Until something better
comes along, this will do just fine.
McDonald, who liues in Los Angeles. 1s
co-winner of the 1983 Certificate of Merit
for Ouutanding Work m Feature Writing
from the Gay Press Association. Her
column appears here and in other gay
newspapers.
Nov. 11, 1983 / THE STAR 3
Soap
Greetings
Well. here we are 'Soap" ,n Auston and San
Anton,o
Th,s lottle column each ,ssue ,s here to
spread the dirt-and remind you of some of the
events com,ng up at Auston and San Antonio
clubs.
-•-
Happy 36th anniversary to Jose and Leo of El
Jardin.
-•-
It's tome to start thmk,ng about Thanksgiving
Bern,ce Shubert and Fran Marqu,s of the
New Faces on San Antonio will have their Offocial
Grand Opening Thursday, Thanksg,v,ng
Night the 24th, with Tony Lawson presenting
the "Jude Garland Show " Plus free buffet &-
9pm, free champagne 7-9pm. with the show at
10pm .•
-•-
A reminder that Dirty Sally s on Auston opens
8am every morning with Qu,nt,n and happy
hour toll 2pm
-•-
Raw Power on SA. 1s now not1ust your NuWave
and Rock night club It's your Blttz night
club Open nightly w,th DJs from New York
and Sweden.
-•-
The 2015 on S A 1s determined to get you feeling
real good with beer specials Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday and Sunday nights
-•-
The El Jardin has been around San Antonio
since the early 40s as we all know. (Where
were you thirty years ago? Let the guys at El
Jardin know we·re working up a spec,al ad)
The El Jardin will be open Thanksgiving Day
from noon on with Neille Hour"
-•-
Back to Austin and Back Street Basics They re
having a Veteran's Day Mdlttary Ball th,s Sunday.
the 13th Get out your best dress or uniform
and report ,n Cash prizes for the best
dressed m11ttary couples-and drink specials
for everyone all weekend
-•-
Now, II you are looking for other reasons to
have a celebration sometime on the next two
weeks. here are several events to spark your
1magonat1on as an excuse for a party
Fnday, Nov 11 David Ignatius Walsh was
born today in 1872 So that means you can
celebrate that your middle name ,s not Ignatius.
Actually old lgg e was a U S. Senator from
Massachusets that became ,nvolved ,n a
homosexual scandal ,n 1942 Seems poloce
raided th,s New York male brothel" (bathhouse?
questions CA Tr pp in hos book The
Homosexual Maine) and arrested manager
Gustave Beekman They then offered Beekman
a deal for cooperation and he named
Walsh as a customer Newspapers plastered
Walsh·s name on the,r covers for weeks-and
the Senate conducted a sensational
onvestogatron-but 1t cleared Walash.
Poloce then prosecuted Beekman on
charges of ··sodomy." found h,m qu,lty and
sentenced horn to 20 years ,n prison.
He served every day of 11
And special thanks to Marton Gre,fs The Gay
Books ol Days. from wh,ch we gathered some
of this tnformatron
F nday ,s also Veterans Day
Monday, Nov 14 Herman Melv111e·s Moby
Dick was publoshed today on 1851 And good
God•. Joseph McCarthy was born today n
1908 But on a more relresh,ng note Arthur
Bell. gay columnist for New Yorks Village
Voice was born today 1n 1940
Tuesday, Nov 15 Pike discovered h,s peak
'oday ,n 1806
Wednesday. Nov 16 Al Capone was
released from Jail today n 1939. three years
early for good behavior
Saturday Nov 19 Apollo landed on the
moon today on 1969 And also, we'll have a full
moon very late Saturday n,ght. (Actually, the
moon ,s olhc,ally • lull" at 6·30am Sunday
morning But It II be fuller· Saturday night
than Sunday n,ght)
Monday, Nov 21 Thomas Edoson invented
the phonograph today on 1877 Th,s onvent,on
was the first step 1n a long walk leading up to
discos
Wednesday. Nov 23 Bons Karloff was born
today in 1887
Thursday, Nov 24. Ifs Thanksg,ving And
we should be reminded that a three-course
meal at Delmonico s ,n New York cost 12cents
on th,s day ,n 183<4
4 THE STAR/ Nov. 11, 1983
~.:!!!~az~.~!}_ness in Baghdad by the Bay
The assassinations of Supenisor Harvey grateful for their friendship and awed by
Milk and Mayor George Moscone in 1978 such fervent wooing. For many, it was the
changed the course of gay activism in San first_ awa~eness of an enfranchisement for
Francisco. Milk. on his third try, had been gay identity .. Itce~inl_y felt good to a then
elected to the Board of Supervisors the recently•a1;1ved_ 1mm1gr~1;1t from New
year before, becoming the first upfront York !1nd its C:1ty Council s monotonous
gay elected official of a major city. Eupho- a_nd disheartening annual rejection of gay
into the gay community seeking new
members. There was alwayA some overlap
between the memberships of the two
groups. But the GGBA board and member•
ship have long understood that the differ•
ences between GG BA and the chamber are
not only those of sexual orientation. The
chamber ie controlled by, and works in the
i!1terests of, the major downtown corpora•
tions. GGBA, on the other hand, is a group
of small merchants and professionals, On
iBSue after issue, we would not be able to
work with the chamber. Nevertheless. the
chamber was certainly viewing GGBA in
a new light. Under Dauer's successor
executive director John Jacobs the rela'.
tionship between the orga~izations
improved to the point where, in 1983, when
a new delegation from the GGBA board
called upon Mr. Jacobs, we were able to
secure an endorsement by the chamber of
the gay employment rights bill, AB-1, currently
pending in the state legislature.
On the Job
in the police force. A March 1979 GGBA
program on the subject drew an unusually
large crowd, some of whom were angry
over problems with permits and threat,>
ned closings of baths and other sexually
oriented establishments. A Chronicle
front page headline the next day trumpeted:
"Gay Businessmen Boo Police
Chief." Since 1979, GGBA has played an
active and continuing role in programs to
educate police recruits and familiarize
them with our community. In addition, we
have supported efforts to recruit lesbian
and gay officers into the San Francisco
police force.
na pr~vailed !n. the gay community. nghts . .
Estabμs~ed activists experienced a ijUrge Late m 1977, I attended a monthly
of optinusm and renewed energy in their GGBA membership meeting and unex~
uest for social change and legal protec- pec~ly found myself elected to the board
tion. Many who were previously inactive of dl.l"ectors for 1978. In the class of 1978
~ere inspired by Milk's succe88 to get were a _number o! new faces, young and
mvolved. energetic profeBS1onals, some emerging
After Dan White's shooting spree, the from the_ closet for the first time. (Local
mood changed from euphoria to bitter- gay business groups have found that
ne&11, from hope to gloom, from a sense of many of their newer members do not
genuine possibilities for positive change ?Clong to other gay organizations; the busto
a despairing of such an eventual out- mess group provides a relatively comforcome.
The example of violence against a tab!~ •. n~npolitical environment for
gay man, spread as it was across the front participation by some who feel threatened
p~g_es a1;1d _the television screens, quickly by the conte~tiou,mess, both internal and
elicited mutators. Violence against gay external. which seems inherent in politimen
and women, always a problem grew cal clubs.) It was this new energy which
markedly in frequency, a trend further brought ~GBA firmly out of the closet at
s~mulated by the implicit message con- the 1979 installation dinner. The dinner
tained in the leniency of the Dan White program described the organization as
yerdict. Many observed a new and pervad- "busi_neBS people who happen to be gay,
mg sense of anxiety in the community. working together to build a better com-
In that crucible of thwarW expecta- munity," It was the first time the word
tions and ~ashed hopes, a ~ew strength "gay" had appeared i_n ~riting in_a GGBA
was emerging from a previously unex- ?ocument. The descnption was sincere in
pected place-San Francisco's gay busi- 1!1tent and not unsophisticated in its pubneu
community and its fledgling he re)ations message. "Working together
chamber of commerce, the Golden Gate to build a better community" is about as
Busineas Aasociation. Founded in 1974 una888ilable as motherhood and apple
GGBA had kept a low and closeted profile'. pie.
(The Tavern Guild. which dates back to The board was sworn in by supervisor
Of continuing interest to GGBA has
been the thorny problem of police/ gay
relations. In my installation speech in
1979, I promised: "If there are incidents of
police harassment of gay businesses, as
has been _suggested in the press recently,
GGBA will speak out and make it clear
that anywhere, but least of all in San
Francisco, such activity is not acceptable
and will not be tolerated by this community."
Police Chief Charles Gain, an
acknowledged friend of the gay commun,
ity, was at the dinner and demanded equal
time. But the good chiefs friendship alone
was not sufficient to combat homophobia
Lazere is on the board of the San Fran
cisco Industrial Development Authority.
His column originates at the "Bay Area
Reporter," a San Francisco gay newspaper.
I
I
1/\W~
t•WfR t ,_ivttT ¢0.
the earl~ 1960s, was for many years the Hll!TY Britt, appointed by Mayor Fein-more
• vi~1ble and politically-oriented •~nJustafewweeksbeforetothevacant Gay Mayor w,·ns
orgamzation of bars, bar employees and Milk seat. My speech that evening-as
2315 San Pedro
San Antonio, Texas
734-3399
related businesaes.) newly elected president-was an articula- K W t EI •
San Francisco politicians saw the tion of the concerns I had heard expressed ey eS eCtlOn San Antonio's Only
NEW-WAVE
ROCK
potential clout of GGBA, even before it by GGBA's board and membership. The B,Y Chris Church/Nile Scene
was J>!!l'ce\ved ~y the membership of the tumultuous. and disturbing events v,a GPA Wire Service
orgamzation Itself. GGBA's annual through which we had lived in recent
dinner, at which the board of directors for months called for a more outspoken stance
the new year is installed in office, was the on iaeues that could only be effectively
first ~BA event I attended, back in 1977. pursued by an upfront organization.
Prommentonthedaieandatthespeaker's Dunng 1979, two situations arose in
rostrom were Harvey Milk (the proprietor which the newly-energized GGBA was
of a camera shop) and George Moscone. able to flex its political muscle. An ano•
Vocal in their support for this emerging nymous, aggrieved gay employee of
gay constituency, the politicians received Oakland-bMed World Airways sent me a
enthusiatic ovations from an audience copy of a memorandum, addressed by
Immigration Reform
Bill Dealt
Death Blow
By Larry Bush
WASHINGTON, D.C.-The comprehensive
immigration reform bill favored by
House and Senate committee leaders was
dealt a death blow by House speaker Tip
O'~eill, who refused to allow the bill to
come up for a vote on the grounds that
Reagan had a private plan to veto the measure.
The political do-si~o, however, may
not kill off the chances of a vote on a measure
to correct the decades-old antigay
immigration exclusion.
The House Hispanic Caucus. led by Rep.
Robert Garcia (D-!',,Y.), is drafting a new
immigration bill that it claims "will not
discriminate" against any group. Garcia,
like most of the Hispanic caucus. also is a
supporter of gay civil rights, and his staff
suggests that gays interested in seeing
that the Hispanic bill include the antigay
exclusion reform should contact Garcia.
Among the congressional blocs expected
to back the Hispanic bill, which is also
being crafted with the help of Rep. Edward
Roybal (D-Calif.), a key player in winning
House appropriations committee funding
for AIDS, are the Black Congressional
Caucus and the Women's Caucus. Both
thoae groups also are well disposed on
eliminating antigay discrimination in
laws.
Garcia's office says that the new immigration
bill should be ready to be introduced
in January, and should also move to
the floor by summer, in time for votes to be
recorded for the 1984 elections.
president Ed Daly to all employees. It
included the line: "Thie company doesn't
need hoodlums, racketeers (or) queers .... "
GGBA wrote to Daly, but its protests were
ignored. A Coors-type boycott was considered
A key problem was that World Airways
was outside of San Francisco and
subject to no law prohibiting discrimination
on the basis of sexual orientation.
When World later opened a sales office in
San Francisco, we immediately registered
a complaint with the San Francisco
Human Rights Commission. With the
cooperation-and legal force-of the Commission,
we were able to obtain a pledge of
nondiscrimination from the recalcitrant
Mr. Daly.
The second confrontation of 1979 was of
more lasting significance. After the White
Night riots. the then-prP-sidentofthe powerful
San Francisco Chamber of Comme~
ce. Bi~l Dauer, wrote a scathingly
cntical piece about the riot in the
Chamber's widely-circulated magazine.
In a television interview with gay journalist
Randy Shilts, Mr. Dauer was asked
about the importance of gay tourist dollars.
'"There are more legitimate way& to
get money," he replied, He was quoted in
the San Jose Mercury; "The positive
effects of the gay community? There are
no positive effects," It seemed to me that,
as our community's chamber of commerce,
it was the responsibility of GGBA
to confront our downtown peers. A delegation
of GGBA board members met with
Dauer and explained its concerns. To Dau•
er's credit, we never heard an anti-gay
remark from him again, and not long
after, he hired two well-known gay acti•
vista to work for the chamber.
The San Francisco Chamber, observing
the rapid growth of GGBA membership,
sent its well-commiasioned aaleepeoplf
'
Richard Heyman, 48, overcame "newcomer"
status to become Key West's new
mayor. With a 436 vote margin, Heyman
defeated Richard A. Kerr by a vote of 3605
to 3169.
Kerr's campaign streeAed "morality"
and the fact that he is a "conch"-the
islanders' term for a long-time resident.
Hi., posters trumpeted, "Your vote will set
the moral tone for our community."
Heyman stressed tourism and
preservation-one the main source of Key
West's income, and the other the problem
of inadequate utilities.
Joe Balbontin, city commissioner and
Kerr supporter, stated after Heyman·s vie•
tory that news of a gay mayor "would
bring more of them (gays) down here."
Heyman countered by saying that the
island's problems have nothing to do with
sexual preference. "We have to preserve
the character and charm of Key Weeteoit
won't become another Miami Beach," he
finished.
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. .
NOV 11, 1983 / THE STAR 5
Looking for the Average Gay
Texan and Black-Tie Dinners
Commentary
By Joe Beker
I went looking for the "average gay
Texan" recently. I wanted to find out if
there was such e person.
To be honest, I knew the answer before I
started my search. I've been around long
enough to know there is no "11.verege" anything,
especially when it comes to gay men
and women.
But I thought that my search would
make a readable story. It's fun to put the
same question to dozens of different types
of people-and see what kind ofreponses
they make.
In the newspaper business, we call this
looking for a common thread. I also
wanted to show the diversity of the people
I interviewed and their comments.
I put my question, "Is there such a thing
as an average gay Texan?," to dozens of
homosexuals across Texas. I wanted to
make them stop and think for a moment
on the subject-but not for too long.
Spontaneity is a wonderful element to
get into any good newspaper story. I
wanted to get a lot of first impressions and
thoughts from the people I interviewed.
I was not disappointed. I got spontaneity,
diversity and that common thread
connecting gay people in Texas that I was
looking for.
The results of my search can be found in
the cover story of the new issue of The
Aduocate, the national gay news magazine.
It's now on sale throughout Texas,
and I hope you pick up a copy.
Now, before you start thinking that my
column this week is merely an advertisement
for my Aduocate story-let me say
this.
Yes, it is. I might just as well be honest!
And you may ask, "So why didn't you
write it for the THE STAR? After all, we
could read it for free in there, whereas we
have to pay for The Aduocate.
So true, but you will be a better person
for buying a copy of a gay publication for a
change. And let's face it, isn't the combination
of me and The Aduocate's blushing
pink classified ad section worth shelling
out for?
Which reminds me, I want everyone to
take advantage of the STAR's free personal
ad offer. Might just as well throw in
another advertisement here.
What the hell! Why not throw in still
another? Tickets are going fast for the gay
social event of the year in Dallas. Well,
maybe not THE gay social event, yet, but it
is right up there with Razzle Dazzle Dallas
and Halloween.
The event is the black-tie dinner at the
Fairmont Hotel to benefit the Human
Rights Campaign Fund and the National
AIDS Federation Lobby Project. Austin
City Councilman Mark Spaeth is among
Winter's the Time of
Discontent
Feeling down? Gaining weight? Sleeping
more lately? You're not crazy, you're hibernating,
reports Omni.
Researchers at the National Institute of
Mental Health have discovered that some
of us get bummed out as the days start
shortening and don't come out of our blue
funks until springtime.
"I should have been a bear," complains
one sufferer. "Bears are allowed to hibernate;
humans aren't."
The researchers say they've obtained
successful results simply by plunking
their patients down under lamps to pro•
long daylight artificially. For a longerterm
cure, they suggest imitating the birds
by flying south for the winter.
But don't go too far south. Down under,
they get depressed, too, from June to
November.
those to be honored this year.
Tickets are only $150 each. Can you
believe I actually said "only?" But this is
no ordinary evening. It's first class all the
way.
Most of the price of the ticket, of course,
is being donated to two fine gay causes.
The Human Rights Campaign Fund is a
committee to helping our friends-friends
of gay rights-stay in and get elected to
Congress. The AIDS lobby project is working
to convince congressmen to continue
funding AIDS research.
I realize that $150 is a lot of money, but
besides making a much-needed donation,
you get an elegant evening.
I love my Levi 50ls-and I love looking
at hot men in Levi 50ls-but it sure is nice
to get all dressed up every once in a while
and do a different kind of partying.
I mean it's been a long time since my
junior prom. And it also sure is enjoyable
looking at hot men in tuxedos and lovely
ladies in their evening finest.
The black-tie dinner is Nov. 19, and
along with dinner and cocktails, there will
be plenty of entertainment. Guest speakers
will be U.S. Congressman Bill Green,
Reppublican rep for New York's Manhattan
Congressional District, and Virginia
Apuzzo, executive director of the National
Gay Task Force. Last Year's dinner raised
more than $6000.
If you would like more information or an
invitation, call (214) 521-8919. John Thomas,
chairman of the Dallas Dinner committee,
promises there will be nothing
"average" about the eveninit.
Now, if you are a sharp reader, you've
probably noticed that I've managed to
swing my column back to the original subject
I was writing about.
Remember, I started this issue writing
about my search for the average gay
Texan. I did this so you wouldn't think
that I was just rambling. I wanted you to
think that I was trying to make a point.
Again, the truth is that I had no intention
of trying to relate or connect my
search story with the black-tie dinner.
But on second thought, the two really do
go together. It just goes to prove that there
is nothing "average" about gay Texans.
Why? Well, you will have to pick up a
copy of The Aduocate to find out.
Ol, I'll tell you all about it at the blacktie
dinner.
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6 THE STAR/ Nov. 11, 1983
Lesbos' Sappho Remains
History's Romantic Enigma
By Patrick Franklin
Plato regarded her sohighlythathecalled
her "the tenth muse," a name that bes•
towed the status of a demi-goddess on her.
Catullus quoted her poetry in hie own. The
ancients carefully kept copies of her nine
books of poems.
But who was Sappho? The life of the
woman whose very name is used as identification
for the love between women. and
whoee birth on the island ofLesbos gives a
!lame to the women who practice that love,
1s now loat. But "lost"' is too kind a word.
The memory of Sappho brings with it a
legacy of talent and genius that was too
startling a burden to be borne by generations
of men for whom the love of woman
for woman was vile. and who demanded
that the place of women must be subservient.
But she lived. More important. she
wrote, and in such a way that the minds of
her contemporaries were stunned by the
perfection of her writing. Small-mmded
men could burn her books and try to erase
her memory, but not completely. To do so
would have required that they censor or
destroy many of the works of the great
male thinkers who admired and quoted
her.
She was born tn the late 7th century B.C.
When, exactly, is lost in time along with
the date of her death We know the name of
her father, Scamandronymus, who died
when she was only six. and we know that
he must have been a relatively wealthy
man because of the position in society that
Sappho enjoyed. She had three brothers,
who, from the poetry that remains, must
have been spendthrifts.
Very little else of unquestioned truth
remains from independent sources. What
few hints can be a88umed come from the
interior evidence of her poetry. She was a
friendly correspondent with the poet
Alcaeus, and the two of them were considered
leaders of the Aeolian school of poetry.
More important by today's standards is
that she apparently presided over a feminine
literary set at Mitylene, writing short
poems to the charms of some of those
women. It is on the basis of those small
fragments that her highly regarded repu•
tation rests. They show an unquestioned
command of feeling expressed in perfect
d1sciplined form '
It was this, her ability to combine emotional
d'epth wtth classical purity, that
made her not only the greatest woman
poet of Greece, but one of the great poets of
all time. Solon, hearing one of her verses
recited, declared that he could not die until
he had learned it.
Passing references indicate that she
was married and had borne a son. Still,
those references never show the depth of
feeling, the sincerity and the grace with
which she described her feelings for her
women friends. That bothered even the
ancients, and they believed a legend that
Sappho had thrown herself from the Leucadian
Rock in fru1tration at having failed
in love with a young man, Phaoan.
Though the story was disproved by
Roman times, it was continued by later
writers who could not understand a
woman who was complete without male
companionship.
She, in turn, frustrated other writers by
refusing to consider the pa88ing scene.
She ignored the eternal strife and struggle
of the Greeks and their interminable civil
wars. Her poetry concerned eternal
values, those of love and the relationship
of common people with the infinite. Perhaps
the only complete poem that survives
is a hymn to Aphrodite, the goddess of
love.
Her en Ure output of nine books of poetry
was small, even for thoee times. In her
own words, they were "roses, but roses
all." There were no thorns or faded blossoms
in those books, and they survived at
least until the destruction of the Library in
Alexandria, completed by the Arabs in 640
A.D.
The fathers of the church had little use
for her poetry, and all copies of Sappho's
verse were summarily burned when discovered.
They offered no support to the views
of those men, unlike the writing of other
"pagans," and posed a real threat to the
idea of male supremacy that the early
church was so devoted to. Sappho seemed
to be a dead iBSue.
Even today, when we are left with only
tantalizing fragments of what must have
been an exciting body of work, theol~ prej-udicee
appear. Robert Graves, writing the
The White Goddess, a volume extolling the
role of women in poetry and art, tells of hie
discussion with a professor about the poe•
try of Sappho. "Tell me, sir," he asked. "do
you think Sappho was a great poet?"
The Oxford don looked up and down the
street to see if anyone was listening. "Yee,
Graves," he whispered, "that's the trouble.
She was very, uery good."
Humanity can be proud that one woman
in its early history stands as a monument
Feature
to the ability of all who face prejudice. At
the same time, we must mourn for the
vicious destruction of her art.
Willa Cather said it best. "If of all the
lost riches we could have one master restored
to us, one of all the philosophers and
poets, the choice of the world would be for
the lost nine books of Sappho."
Franklin, of Carmel, Calif., is the dire-;;;;
of Stonewall Features. '1983 Stonewall
Features Syndicate.
1.--- -
Nov 11, 1983 / THE STAR 7
austin, tezas
This Issue's Photo
Stars
Brian and Monte
PHOTOS BY ED MARTINEZ
8 THE STAR/ Nov. 11, 1983
Gay Community
Pop Culture and Gay Rights
By Dan S~oeki only to see the problem, but to live it for
For a long time, I have believed that the awhile. Alliance for Gay Artists in the Entertainment
Industry, which recently presented
its third annual media awards.
expr~es!on of views on "public" issues in Hopefully, this submersion into the
media like ~l_m and ~~sic offers a special realm of the artist allows us to emerge
way fo: political actiVIsts to build support more sensitive to the problem, more open
:,or t~~,r c~u~es_. If "culture" can be called to its discussion, and more likely to partici-pohtical,
it 1s most powerfully so in pate in its solution. Were Karl Marx to
thr~ se~ses. . comment, he would surely agree that "con-
First, it ~an bnng attention to existing sciousness raising" is a necessary part of
pro~lems m a way usually ignored in any revolutionary program. I contend
~amstream political discource, and thus that it plays an important role in gay
mvol_ve us emotionally in the search for rights at the moment.
solutions. Second, because of the artist's If we agree for a moment that culture
1!~om of expressi_on, he _o: she is not can speak politically, and its expre~sion
hrm~ to the_ practical political agenda, can be used to promote a political movesolutions
or VIews of the future. An artist ment, we are still left with a towering queedefines
pr?blems more freely and has tion. What is "gay culture?" The answer
~eate_r la_titu_de to define alternate poli- seems to elude all of us. Whether or not
Cies, Institutions, lifestyles and moral there is a unique gay aesthetic, the creacodes.
Last, and most urgent, the artistic tion of a truly unique people or whether it
addr~s~ to an au~e~ce is more direct than is only the product of a ghetto-ized suba
po~tical one, 1t wms to the heart and community, are issues too large to tackle
emotions, rather than the head and rea- in this column.
son. _ Happily, though, another standard
The result 1s that though the politician offers itself for this discussion one not
ma,Y be ~ore "correct" in analysis, the based on who the artist is, but how effecartist
stnkes ':'- deeper c~rd, cre~ting pain tively that person portrays gay life. This
or fear or self-identification, urgmg us not standard is the language adopted by the
FREE
PERSONALS
IN
THE
STAR
See Classified & Personals Form in
the Back
I ,.
They are given to actors, writers and
production staffs in film, TV and theatre
for "the realistic portrayal of gay and lesbian
characters and issues in the entertainment
media." As did the earliest
Oscars and Tonys, these awards celebrated
honesty and accomplishment without
nervous nominees or declarations of
best anythings. Instead, they celebrated
the works that allowed audiences to experience
three-dimensional gay and lesbian
people, that invited non-gays to experience
our richness and difficulties and
that gave us the chance to see ourselves
onstage as we are in our private lives.
Among the most emotionally received
theatrical tributes were the late Jane
Chamber's play, Last Year at Bluefish
Cove, and the ensemble of actresses who
played it, Pat Carroll's solo performance
in Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude
Stein, Vincent Price's powerful version
of Oscar Wilde in the one-man
Diversions and Delights, and Caryl Churchill's
Cloud Nine, all productions of the
Los Angeles Theatre.
For what I consider the best film yet
made about the pains and rewards of coming
out, John Sayles' Liana won, and
received special recognition for, the performances
of Linda Griffiths and Jane Hararen.
In television, award went to
Dynasty for the honest and routine way in
which the gay character Steven Carrington
was portrayed, and to PBS for its production
of The Fifth of July, with Richard
Thomas and Jeff Daniels as the stable gay
couple-and probably the most "normal"
people in the play.
The awards evening was produced, written
and directed by members of the
Alliance and was easily more entertaining
and crisply presented than the more familiar
awards shows. I felt proud to be part of
the family.
The Alliance numbers about 250
members, its main percentage made up of
gay professionals. In addition to the
awards, year-round activities include
monitoring productions that focus on gay
life and working to eliminate stereotypes.
There are risks to open members of the
Alliance, as chairperson Chris U szler
reminded the audience, the same risks
faced by every person who chooses to
reject the closet.
Speaking for himself and the Alliance,
Uszler affirmed that he would not be
intimidated: "I am not discouraged .. . no,
far from it, for I see a new generation of
gays and lesbians emerging in our history
.... People who are willing to take
risks, refusing to pay the emotional price
of the closet, individuals who say 'I can be
myself, openly and freely, and I will work
in this town again!"
Whatever their background, sentiment
or sexuality, most artists speuk to their
audience in metaphors rather than political
tracts. If they are forced to create stereotyped
charaters, most audiences will
believe them and extend them to the real
world. How short a time it is since any gay
character found in the media was ridiculous
and disturbed! But if gay characters
were once one-dimensional and false, that
is less true each year.
The characters honored by the AGA
were complex, honest and wholly within
their dramatic context. Some were
extraordinary gay icons, like Stein and
Wilde, but most were ordinary people, like
you and me. Their sexuality was merely
an aspect of their makeup, not a constant
source of struggle and conflict. When
Americans can begin to see us in the
m~ia in all our richness and variety, we
begm to close in on our political goals.
Dr. Siminoski is a political scientist and
has been active in the gay rights movement
for about a decade. He may be written
at 1221 Redondo Blvd., Los Angeles,
CA 90019. ·•11983 Stonewall Features Srn-
<!ica~~-, ~• .,.. .. , • • • , .....,,,
Boy Scout Fights to
Get Back
Old Troop
B;r Dion B. Sanders
Vta GPA Wire Serivce
BERKELEY, Calif.-Attorneys for the
Boy Scouts of America said in October
that they will appeal a court decision
ordering an openly gay Eagle Scout to be
reinstated as an adult scout leader.
The California State Court of Appeals in
Los Angeles upheld on Oct. 6 a lower court
ruling that the BSA's 1981 ouster of
Timothy Curran, 21, whose homosexuality
was revealed in a newspaper article
that year, was "arbritrary and capricious."
BSA attorney Malcom Wheeler said
from Los Angeles that the BSA maintains
a policy of not permitting "girls, gays and
the godless."
Wheeler said that "one of the ideas of
Scouting is to get kids out in the woodsremoved
from everyday problems, one of
those problems being sexual relations."
Curran disputed the assertion, saying
that he found it "highly offensive. They
obviously think that because I'm gay, I'm
going to molest kids, and that's a garbage
stereotype of gays in general and a personal
insult to me."
Curran went on to assert the fact that
most cases of child molestation involved
girls being molested by heterosexual men.
D~vid Park, BSA national director, said
previous attempts "by several boys who
refuse to acknowledge the existence of a
Supreme Being, as well as several
females," were unsuccessful.
In fact, one of the ten "Laws of Scouting"
states that "a Scout is reverent ...
toward God."
A spokesman for the American Civil
Liberties Union said, however, that that
particular policy is unconstitutional, on
the grounds that it violates an atheistic
Scout's First Amendment rights.
"The First Amendment, while it gives us
the right to worship as we please, also
gives people the right not to worship at all,
if they so choose," the spokesman said.
California Superior Court Judge Robert
Weil ruled last July that the BSA must
prove "a rational connection between
homosexual conduct and any significant
danger of harm to the association" before
the BSA can expel anyone who is gay.
Curran asserted that "it will be difficult
for the Scouts to prove I'm immoral. They
made me an Eagle Scout; they gave me the
Order of the Arrow (one of Scouting's
highest awards). They've gone to great
lengths to prove how moral I am," Curran
continued, "and now, they're trying to
kick me out simply because I'm gay.
There's no way I'll let them do that to me
without a fight."
Park responded, "We just don't think
parents want homosexuals in the (Scout)
troops."
While national BSA leaders are opposed
to Curran's reinstatement, local officials
have openly welcomed Curran back.
David Potter, scoutmaster of Troop 37 in
Berkeley, said that "If you wanted to
select a person who has been the ideal
Scout, that person would be Tim Curran."
In an editorial, the Oakland Tribune,
the newspaper that made public Curran's
gayness in 1981, said that when questioned
about Curran being gay, nearly all of
the members of Troop 37 said, "So what?
We don't care." The editorial continued,
"And why should anybody care?"
The editorial concluded that the true
measure of a Scout's worthiness is what he
does in his capacity as a Scout, not what
he does in his private life.
' '·
Gay Porn
Star Killed
Falcon Studios model "Dick Fisk," 28, was
killed Oct. 31 with his lover and the driver
of another vehicle in an early morning
auto accident in an Atlanta, Ga., suburb,
Marietta.
Fisk, whose real name was Frank Ricky
Fitts, and his lover Billy Joe Howard, 22,
Dick Fisk in Falcon photo
were enroute home.
As reported by Atlanta's Cruise News
police said Howard was driving when hi~
car crossed the center lane and struck a
pickup truck driven by Stewart Rhette
Wallace, 31, of West Marietta.
Fisk had recently appeared in the Mandate
and Torso. His major film endeavor
was Falcon's The Other Side of Aspen.
He had recently been employed at
Atlanta gay clubs.
Moscone, Milk
Assassinations Still
Heated Issue
By Dion B. Sanders
Via GPA Wire Service
SAN FRANCISCO-With the fifth anniversary
of the assassinations of Mayor
George Moscone and openly gay city
Supervisor Harvey Milk approaching, the
Justice Department in late October
refused to either confirm or deny a local
TV news report that Attorney General William
French Smith had been urged not to
prosecute their convicted killer.
KGO-TV reported that Smith received a
recommendation from the department's
criminal division that former Supervisor
Dan White, who shot Moscone and Milk to
death at point-blank range in their City
Hall offices on Nov. 27, 1978, not be prosecuted
on charges that he violated their
civil rights.
John Russell, a Justice Department spokesman,
told The Sentinel, a local gay
newspaper, that the White case "is still
being examined by the criminal division
and no new decision has been made." '
Russell added that although he does
expect a decision to be reached soon, "I
can't tell you just what soon is."
A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Joseph
Rusoniello expressed total surprise by the
KGO-TV report. "Not only have we not
heard about this so-called recommendation,
but if it had been given, we would
have been informed."
Rusoniello himself was quoted by the
San Francisco Chronicle as saying that "I
would expect to be the first to know (if a
decision had been made). We have no
information about any decision that has
been made."
The report was attacked by the longtime
lover of Milk as "totally off-base." C. Scott
Smith, the sole heir to the Milk estate,
claimed that contrary to KGO-TV, "other
news sources said a recommendation had
not been made yet."
Moreover, Scott Smith said, the report
was broadcas, on a Monday when the Justice
Department received new information
on the case "only that weekend."
John Wahl, the attorney representing
the Milk estate, was quoted by the Chronicle
as saying that the KGO-TV report was
"a trial balloon by the Justice Department."
A KGO-TV spokesman said the station
"stand• bJ out ator:v.'1
, ' • ~ ,
PLACE
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Thursday-Margaritas-75C
Sunday-Beer Bust 8-10-$1
2015 SAN PEDRO 733-3365 SAN ANTONIO
., '·t!~~
,~i~cr~
~<°"'-""""',.. cJA ~an Antonio Tradition
106 Navarro San Antonio 223-7177 .,.
The El Jardin opened in
the early 40's and has
improved with time like
all great masterpieces.
Now a San Antonio
tradition, but better than
ever.
We will be open
Thanksgiving Day from
noon to 2am.
Remember Nellie Hour
every holiday and
Sunday with 75¢ Bloody
Marys, 75¢ Screwdrivers
and 75¢ Beer
Nov. 11, 1983 / THE STAR 9
Gays Busted for
Wearing Police
Uniforms on
Halloween
By Ernie Potvin
Via GPA Wire Service
LOS ANGELES-Two men were arrested
for impersonating a peace officer after
leaving Rafters bar in West Hollywood
Hallowc-en weekend, following a uniform
theme Halloween party.
Von Scruggo was dressed as a California
Highway Patrolman, and his friend
William Markley was in a Los Angeles
Police Department Uniform. Neither of
them wore authentic badges. utility belts,
holstered weapons, handcuffs or batons.
Scruggs said they were both membero of a
uniform club.
A,fter rounding the comer from the bar,
Scruggs and Markley were surrounded by
six CHP patrol cars, arrested and taken to
the West Hollywood Sheriffs Station
where they spent the night. Their costumes
were confiscated, and they were
charged with the misdemeanor which car•
ries a maximum penalty of up to sixmonth's
imprisonment or a fine of $500 or
both.
Scruggs said some of the officers tried to
provoke them with name calling and
harassment, but they refused to respond to
it.
He said that the clothing had been purchased
from a uniform store that services
CHP and LAPD officers, and explained
You·re Reading
lliE STAR
America's Newest Gay Community
Newspaper
how they told the sales clerk they were not
sworn officers when buying the patches .
The store swore they did not sell the uniforms
without the purchaser showing the
proper ID.
An entirely different picture was
painted by Sgt. Norris Soloman of the
LAPD who coordinates relations with the
city's numerous private patrols. Sgt. Soloman
said that he is unaware of any law
prohibiting the sale of the uniforms to civilians,
and he knows that all the uniform
saleo companies do it. He said hio office
asks private guards to mix-match the pieces
so they aren't confused with a sworn
officer's. Nevertheless, an individual
nightclub guard may try to dress identical
to the LAPD uniform, and when he is discovered,
they w:ill tell him to change it.
"Wearing of a police officer's uniform
may or may not be legal," said Soloman.
"It depends on whether or not there was
intent to deceive the public."
He cited the movie industry as the notable
exception.
Next we checked w-ith Western Costume,
the film industry's largest supplier, and
got two conflicting responses. One of the
higher-ups in the men's rental department
said they "most emphatically do not rent
police uniforms to the public." He said
they get lots of requests for cops, Nazis,
nuns and priests, which they will only
supply for bonafied theatrical use.
Another employee said that's not true.
"They're just concerned about making
costumes that might be considered in bad
taste. As for uniforms. there's ways to get
around it. We'll change some little detail,
like the width of the pant striping or a
slightly different badge, and let them go
out."
As for priests, Western Costume made
up an absolutely exquisite Pope for one
Halloween celebrant who apparently was
not arrested for impersonating the Pontiff.
Neither were any of the costumed cops
at the Uniform Sabeth party held at
Duane's, another gay bar, the night following
Scruggs and Marldey's arrests.
10 THE STAR / Nov. 11, 1983
Star Classified
Fourteen-Day Calendar
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat ---- NOV. NOV.
11 12
NOV. NOV. NOV. NOV. NOV. NOV. NOV.
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
NOV. NOV. NOV. NOV. NOV.
20 21 22 23 24
For addibonaJ 1of0<m1t,on or phone numbers tor eowents listed ~ow looll: ,o, tne apcntonng
orgenll.lition under ·org1na1bons n the The Star's Directory
Selected Events
First Week
aFRJDA Y: Veterans Day,
Nov. 11
Selected Events
in Future Weeks
•IN 1 WEEK: Full moon,
6:30am, Nov. 20
•IN 1 WEEK: Thanksgiving,
Nov. 24
•IN 2 WEEKS: Gay Academic
Union 9th National Conference,
"The Challenge of 1984:
Together We Can Make a
Difference," San Diego, Nov.
25-27
• IN 2 WEEKS: 5th Memorial
Harvey Milk/ George Moscone
March, San Francisco, Nov. 27
•IN 2 WEEKS: Monthly
meeting of Austin Lesbian/ Gay
Political Caucus, 7:30pm, Nov.
29, Courthouse Annex
•IN 2 WEEKS: First day of
Hanukah, Dec. 1
•IN ts WEEKS: Winter begins
at 4:31am, Dec. 22
•IN 6 WEEKS: Christmas,
Dec.25
• IN 11 WEEKS: Gay Press
Association Southern Regional
Conference, J an. 27-29, Houston
• IN 26 WEEKS: World's Fair
opens in New Orleans, May 12,
lasting to Nov. 11
• /.V 31 WEEKS: 1984 Gay
Pride Week begins, 15th
anniversary of Stonewall
uprising, national slogan
"United & More in '84," June
15-24
• IN 36 WEEKS: Democratic
National Convention, San
Francisco, July 16-19
•IN 40 WEEKS: Castro Street
Fair, Aug 19, San Francisco
• IN 41 WEEK S: Gay World
Series Softball Tournament
opens m Houston Aug. 28,
lasting to Sept. 2
ANNOUNCEMENTS
BustNESS OWNE.AS We hst free each ..... ,n
this directory communitY organ zati.-ons plus
ou,tnesses Nf'Vmg as Qlatrlbutlon pc)tnts to,
THE STAA
e lndlcatN 1NI '"" • • STAR dlalrlbuUon
point
EMPLOYMENT &
JOBS WANTED
STRINGERS WANTED
The Star" seeks free-lance news
writers ,n Austin and San Antonio tor
assignments Send samples of your
work to Henry McClurg. "The Star,"
3008-A Burleson Rd , Austin. TX
78741
GAY BARS
ORGANIZATIONS
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events that made the news during the past two
weeks. Look for us at clubs and shops in
Austin, San Antonio and Corpus Christi
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Gay Bartenders A11oc1at1on -c/o Zodiac
lounge. 817 Staptee- 883-7753
Metropolftan Community Church-Clo Unitar•
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By Tycho
PERSONALS
CONTACT, FANTASY, FUN
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Fortunes
For Friday evening. November 11, 1983, through Friday evening. November 25, 1983
ARIES-All of that incredible sexual energy that started out the month
has become inspirational. Your desires may not be lessened, but your
mind is working overtime on creative projects. You've been blocking
them up 'Iii now! Create your own life!
TAURUS -Making things right with your "significant other" may not
be as easy as you thought. It looks like this is a process that's going to
take some time and outside help-a trusted friend or therapist may be in
order. Look to the larger and long-run picture.
GEMINI- The impact of AIDS has given most of us a new outlook on
fast and frantic sex; so, when it comes, as it's bound to for you this week,
consider the possibilities. Maybe you can have your cake and eat it, too.
Act, but act intelligently.
CANCER-"Men at home" is the theme this week. Whether it's father,
brother, lover, boss or whatever, there will definitely be a man around
the house who wasn't there before. He will affect you deeply, completely
and require something of you that could change your life
LEO- Stop and go. Yes and no life offers a series of interesting
contrasts this week. The serious side of things is serious, indeed,
requiring lots of concentration. The lighter side 1s so light and amusing
that you're tempted to laugh it all away.
VIRGO- The search 1s on. You're digging deep and far and wide for
answers. Don't take the first one Iha: comes along. Illusion 1s easy to
grab hold of. and that's the danger this week. Let 1t pass by until a very
firm reality sets in
LIBRA- Love comes knocking at your door. This may be someone
that you thought was completely out of the picture or someone you
never imagined as a lover. The dance of romance may begin quite
suddenly- as if you saw a familiar face for the very first time.
SCORPIO- You're hoping that no plans are being made for a surprise
birthday party; while you generally like that kind of attention, you're just
not In a celebrating mood right now. You'd prefer a very quiet evening
with a few people you're closest to-so tell them so!
SAGITTARIUS- Can love and business go hand in hand without
some disastrous results? You'd like to think so. Someone you're
involved with in a working relationship could become something far
more Things could become quite complicated
CAPRICORN - The blaze 1s now a conflagration. Passion 1sa 24-hour
affair Body and mind are in a state of rapture That's the possibility; let it
happen To do so requires showing all the sides of your personality and
being completely open.
AQUARIUS Last week's obsession ,s tempered You have so many
friends around that there's simply not time to indulge your private
intrigues. All these welcome people surrounding you gives your life a
holiday feeling. Celebrate•
PISCES- So business affairs seem to be putting a damper on your
travel plans: 1f the business matters look genuinely solid and profitable.
you may want to forget travel for a while. If they're simply pie in the sky,
get all those free maps and travel books
•IN3 STONEWALL FEATURES SYNDICATE
NOV.11,1983/THESTAA 11
e Club Authn Baths-308 W 16th---.t7&-7988
SAN ANTONIO- SERVICES, ETC. "siN ANTON10-
· - Sta,-737-o017
e Club San Antomo-1802 N Main Av-735-2417
e Executrve HM.Ith Club- 723 Av 8 225-8807
AUSTJN- You're Reading
lliE STAR
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WHICH, OC4R BERNIE:, CAN
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fLUMRI!
12 THE STAR / Nov. 11, 1983
'J
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VETERAN'S DAY
1st Annual Milita1Y Ball
Sunday, Nov.13th
Get Your Best Dress or
Uniform Out
Cash Prizes for Best
Military
Dressed Couples
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All Weekend
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