This Way Out; 79

Frankly, we're just tired of being steady. The government's way of responding to the AIDS crisis, when they don't know what to do, is to continue to steady. I'm gay and I'm an animal lover, so when I heard that there was something around that helped people with AIDS with their animals, I said I have to find it. The committee kids me about doing back flips out of the post office every time someone signs up. The greatest challenge that faces our community is in visibility. There is no place to go if we come out and you I don't find them in. Welcome to This Way Out, the International Lesbian and Gay Radio Magazine. I'm Greg Gordon. And I'm Lucia Chappelle, Echoes of Clause 28 cross the Atlantic. Singers go for the gold in the vocal exercise event. And AIDS volunteers provide pause for concern. All that and more, because you've discovered This Way Out.

I'm Sandy Dwyer, and I'm Manuel Nunez with NewsRap, a summary of some of the news in and affecting the gay and lesbian community for the weekend in October. The United States Senate passed an amendment to an education funding bill on September 21st that forbids the money to be used to produce or distribute materials for school children which, quote, promote or encourage homosexuality or use words stating that homosexuality is normal, natural or healthy. The amendment, introduced by conservative Republican Senator Gordon Humphrey of New Hampshire, passed by a vote of 85 to 13. Bevin Duffy, co -chair of the Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles, who lobbied against the measure in Washington, said that despite the lopsided vote, the prospects are good that the amendment will be defeated when it goes to the Senate House Conference which decides on the final wording. The Collective of the Consentation

Gay, the Collective for Gay Awareness in Puerto Rico, has received two grants that will assist them in their outreach to gay men and lesbians on the island. The Commutesa Society of Canada granted them $500 to establish a lesbian and gay hotline and another $500 came from National Community Funds through the Episcopal Church of Levittown, Pennsylvania, for their newsletter. The Collective, located in San Juan, currently sponsors support groups and operates a telephone line for people who have AIDS or who are HIV positive. A gay couple, both of whom are students at the University of Toronto, Canada, have been granted an apartment in the University Residence Building Research for couples. Mark Pajot and Norman Boucher were on the regular waiting list when their names came up. As with unmarried opposite sex couples, they were asked to swear under oath that they had been living together for at least a year. Having lived together since 1984, the couple now saves $300 a month.

Recently, same -sex couples at the reputedly liberal University of California Berkeley were denied couples housing. Vancouver Canada City officials continue to support gay games three, the International Sports and Cultural Festival scheduled for next August, despite the heavy lobbying efforts of anti -gay and lesbian religious groups being led by a group called Prayer Canada, headed by Arnie Bryan. Bryan claims the games are designed to lure people into homosexuality. A charge openly gave City Alterman Gordon Price, called Patent Nonsense. Vancouver Mayor Gordon Campbell said that having the games in the city was a human rights issue. According to Muriel Honey of the Mayor's office, only four of the 316 people who signed the petition opposed to the games were residents of Vancouver. She said the petition would have no effect on the city's welcoming gay games three. The Dallas Gay Alliance has announced plans to sabotage a county -wide aid survey financed by the federal government. Heidi Zemock reports,

The survey is a pilot project to determine the feasibility of doing a nationwide aid survey that would take three years and $32 million to complete. Dallas Gay Alliance President William Weiborne does his group is urging all Dallas citizens to refuse to fill in the government's questionnaire. The federal government is offering $50 to participants who complete the questionnaire and we're offering $100 to the first questionnaire that is brought to us. And for everyone after that we will pay $50 to aid research. We've challenged the county health department to do the same. Weiborne says the Dallas County Health Department is doing very little about the local aid crisis and aid study a few years ago took six months to complete. Over 100 recommendations were made and according to Weiborne nothing was done. If we believe morally wrong to have a situation where most of the aid organizations are on the verge of bankruptcy in Dallas County and have the government come in here and attempt

to spend $5 .7 million on the survey. And frankly we're just tired of being steady to begin the government's way of responding to the aid crisis when they don't know what to do to continue to study. If Dallas's gay community participates in the sabotage Weiborne says it will make the whole government study results invalid. 95 % of all people with aids in Dallas are gay. This is Heidi Zemock. Act up Kansas City, Missouri, picketed the Walmart store in Blue Springs, Missouri on September 10th in support of a former employee who alleges the Midwest discount chain fired him because it was rumored he was gay. Despite anti -gay taunts in years by some people the demonstrators passed out informational leaflets to customers entering the parking lot. The police were alerted to the protest and one officer commented that without police presence act up members very likely would have been attacked. Not everyone was anti gay however. One woman after reading about the case joined the

protest. Carl Hippentill speaking for act up said that they would keep up their pressure on Walmart until the company changed its employment policy. Act up demonstrators in Portland, Oregon have filed a lawsuit in federal court against the District of Oregon's US Marshall. Ten activists alleged they were unjustifiably strip -searched after they were arrested last February during a non -violent civil disobedience action at the federal building in Portland. All of those arrested were released within three hours and according to their attorney Tom Stinson the government will have a difficult time explaining why the activists were strip -searched for the misdemeanor offense. And finally it seems that some Star Trek fans are upset with the book titled Scandals of Shakar. The book has Starship Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock having an affair. Paramount Pictures which produces the Star Trek movies isn't too pleased either. The London news of the world quotes a Paramount spokesman saying it's a sorted and shocking book. We urge all true trekkies to shun it. However,

the Philadelphia Gay News in a September editorial wrote, it has always struck us as odd that no gaze or lesbians exist in the world of the 24th century. And while Star Trek has addressed every issue imaginable from racism to ecology, it is not boldly gone where no mass market science fiction film has gone before. The Philadelphia Gay News then advises readers to put pressure on Paramount, concluding, after all, homophobia is no more excusable in the 24th century than it is in the 20th century. That's News Wrap for the Week ending October 1st, 1989. Remember, an informed community is a strong community. Find out what's happening in your area by monitoring your local gay and lesbian media. News Wrap was written by Sandy Dwyer of the News, serving the Greater Los Angeles area with contributions from other gay and lesbian publications and broadcasts throughout the world. For this way out, I'm Manuel Nunez and I'm

Sandy Dwyer. The AIDS epidemic has spawned hundreds of innovative volunteer organizations to help deal with the many problems this health crisis has caused. From AIDS and Focus, Mike Alcalay reports on one such organization called Pets Are Wonderful Support or Paws. Emily Rosenberg has been working with Paws in the San Francisco Bay area for the past year. She says her coming to this program was a natural. I'm gay and I'm an animal lover, so when I heard that there was something around that helped people with AIDS with their animals, I said I have to find it. Emily and thousands of other folks across the nation and cities like New York, Houston and Los Angeles find that Paws is a very concrete way to help out

during this crisis. Taking care of the one thing that people with AIDS may cherish most, their pets. Paws buys and brings over cat food, takes the dog for a walk and makes sure the animal is seen by a vet when necessary. Furthermore, Emily says that Paws acts as a bridge between those humans who are sick and those who are well. Offering the animal care is often a first contact for people with AIDS and their family and friends to be involved in getting services from the AIDS service community. For many volunteers, it's the first time they've been able to reach out to somebody with AIDS and many people, men and women, gay and straight have said I want to do something about AIDS, but frankly I'm afraid to be face to face with somebody who is really sick with AIDS, but I think I could take care of a pet for them. Empathy comes easy for Emily for those who are ill with AIDS and need their favorite pet animal close by them. I was once homesick for six weeks alone with hepatitis. There was nobody around except my cat. And I know how

important it is to have that little furry creature there breathing in and breathing out with you and not caring in the least that you're sick just wanting to be with you. The growing numbers of Paws members are finding their niche in the epidemic by helping people with AIDS keep at least some semblance of their former lives. People can have as much pet as they want in their lives for as long as they want. We don't want anyone to ever have to give up a pet because they can't physically take care of it or because they can't pay for the pet food. We'll take care of that in that way they get to have their little furry or feathered or thinned friend at the fireside. That's Emily Rosenberg of Paws and in San Francisco this is Mike Anklei. We just bring summer up all home. All you have to do is call home and I'll be there. You got a friend. Say it

again. You got a friend. You got a friend. You got a friend. You got a friend. This is Charles Pierce as Catherine Hepburn here to remind you that you're listening to this way out the international lesbian and gay radio magazine. One special feature of the upcoming Gay Games 3 and Cultural Festival will be a thousand voice choir now being organized by a Denver lesbian. Kathy Musin talks with conductor Carol White about her preparations for the August 1990 event in Vancouver. The celebration 90 festival chorus as we conceive of it on our organizing committee in

Denver will be composed of a thousand voices of gays and lesbians and their parents and families and friends and we hope to have 500 women and 500 men. So that perhaps for the first time we'll have a totally evenly balanced soprano alto tenor bass gay and lesbian chorus to sing for our opening ceremonies, closing ceremonies and perhaps a concert during the week. How did you get involved in the gay and lesbian choral movement? Well, I have a master's degree in sacred music from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas and a master's degree in choral conducting from that same school. And I went into church music and I was the minister of music at a large Methodist church in Houston, Texas for four years. And at the end of the four years, the minister found out that I was gay and

I was fired from that church so that I was sort of out on the street with two worthless master's degrees because of the fact that I was a lesbian. And I became involved with an organization in Denver called parents and friends of lesbians and gays. And then when they decided to have their national convention in Denver, I decided that since we had a gay men's course of 70 members, that it would be wonderful to recruit 70 women and form a parents flag festival course to sing for the national convention of parents flag in Denver. My lover and I went to San Francisco for part of the gay games too and attended the opening ceremonies. And about a year ago, I thought, wouldn't it be a wonderful idea to have a chorus to sing for opening closing ceremonies. So I came to the October meeting in Vancouver and discovered that the cultural festival was indeed going to be as important as the sports. Suppose I wanted to join the festival course, which I won't because I sing like a toad, but if I did,

would I have to be an experienced singer or currently in a choir? You do not have to be currently in a choir. You do not have to audition for the celebration 90 festival chorus. We do prefer some previous choral experience. We prefer to have singers who have previously sung in either high school choir or college choir or church choir so that you know something about singing in a chorus. So what do you get especially excited about in organizing this course? What's your personal turn on here? To go to the celebration 90 festival chorus mailbox and receive a soprano in a bass one day or a tenor in an alto the next day. It's just so much fun. The committee kids me about doing back flips out of the post office every time someone signs up. If somebody is hearing this interview today and they don't have you brochure, how would they go about contacting you to sign up for the choir? You may send your name, address and phone number, the part you sing and the size t -shirt you wear

to celebration 90 festival chorus at box 61388. Denver, Colorado 80206 or call us at Denver, Colorado area code 3033312306. Well thank you very much for making time to talk to us today. Good luck in organizing. Thank you and Van Cooper is one of the most beautiful cities in the world so I hope everybody will come here. When's day October 11th has been declared national

coming out day here in the United States. This is the second annual coming out day held on the anniversary of the 1987 National March on Washington for lesbian and gay rights. Events have been organized all over the United States to encourage lesbians and gay men to take your next step in the coming out process. Whether that means telling a friend or coworker, signing your name to a letter to the editor about lesbian and gay issues or just attending your first meeting of a gay and lesbian organization. For some thoughts about the importance of coming out and the equally important reception that gays and lesbians provide to those who are coming out, we present two keynote speakers from the annual conference of the International Lesbian and Gay Association held in July in Vienna, Austria. First is Fenn Robinson, the only openly gay member of the Canadian Parliament, followed by Virginia Apuzzo, former executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and now New York Governor Mario Cuomo's Special Assistant for Lesbian and Gay Issues. Free

would need you. We are a family. We are a family. She writes it to the premier of the province of Saskatchewan who had attacked me for being open about my sexual orientation. She says, here Mr. Devine, the enclosed letter from my daughter, though

not out would be written, should give you some idea of no attitude such as yours do nothing but promote hate, mistrust and separateness between people. Your definition of family is a very distorted one indeed. If you would care to look outside your own narrow concept of family, you will find an amazing array of family units. Thank you very much and many of us are doing extremely well in spite of the odds against us. My partner and I are just as concerned about our kids as you are about yours. We ski on the weekends, have pets, work, playing games, do homework and communicate with each other. I do not attempt to make my daughter into anything. And she even closes a comfortable letter that her daughter writes to the premier that her daughter writes, Mr. Devine, I live with two mothers and a brother. My little mom and her girlfriend are Lesbian. When I heard about the so -called having

a lesbian mom could harm me, I thought of a student and I would be a scientist or a French teacher when I grow up. How do you know that's going to harm me at all? You're identical with sexual, are you? And then this is I think probably the most significant part of the letter. There's a PS from her mother PS. I think you should know that my daughter didn't want to put her name and address on her letter because she was afraid you would hurt me in some way. I persuaded her it is important to be courageous and honest with people, so she put her first name and last mission. The greatest challenge that faces our community, the community in Lesbian, his silence, his silencing, his invisibility. One quote from Refined Life Lesbian poet, Audrey Lauren, said, I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared,

even at the risk of having engrossed or misunderstood. And I remind myself all the time now that if I were to have been born mute or in a team at both the silence my whole life long proceeded, I would still have suffered and I would still die. We can sit in our corners mute forever while our sisters and ourselves are to wasted while our children are distorted and destroyed while our earth is poisoned. We can sit in our safe corners mute as models and we will still be no more less afraid. I was going to die if not sooner than later. Whether or not I had ever spoken myself, my silences had not protected me. Your silences will not protect you. As a lesbian,

it is critical to me that this be a movement that is not simply a movement for lesbian and gay rights theory, but that this be a movement for social change. If it is a movement that just makes it okay to be gay in lesbian, then what are we doing when we call people to come out, to come out? When people come out, my friends, they are not simply coming out, they are sending to come in to something. They are sending to come into a community when we define ourselves so narrowly as to neglect the element of racism, to neglect the element of sexism, to neglect the issue of classism,

then what we are saying to those who are the way and strictly oppressed among us is that our movement is so narrow, there really isn't any room for you. And what we create when we do that is not the rest of the political refugees. There is no place to go if we come out and who I don't invite them in, if we are not the us. Because unless we are inclusive, we do find this to each other, we create political refugees. Regardless of all that they separate us, what we share is what must always be more significant than that is life. We

share life together. The lesbian community, coming to understand this simple, this very simple point, could result in us being a most significant force adding to other most significant forces out there trying to create the kind of social and economic justice that I think it is our potential to be. With him, I will resolve to build a movement that will not end with the passage of a lesbian and gay rights bill, a movement that will not end with the recognition of our domestic partnership, a movement that will not end with the end of lesbian and gay violence, a movement that will not end with the treatment and cure for AIDS. This must be a movement that is committed to being vigilant for as long

as ignorance can bully and for as long as justice is frail. Thank you. You fight the injustice of women and not you speak for me. You combat a partake wherever it's seen. You struggle to keep the unique forest green. You fight for the rights of all people in chains. You speak for me. Yes, you speak for me. You speak for me. That was Sven Robinson, openly gay member of the

Canadian Parliament, and Virginia Opusos, Special Assistant for Lesbian and Gay Rights for the Governor of New York, speaking at the International Lesbian and Gay Association Conference. For more information about officially organized National Coming Out Day events, phone area code 505 -982 -2558, but you don't need anything official, just the desire to take your next step on National Coming Out Day Wednesday October 11th. Thanks for choosing this way out, the International Lesbian and Gay Radio Magazine. This week, Sandy Dwyer and Manuel Núñez, Heidi Zamac, Mike Alcalae, Kathy Musin, and Jim Cooper of Project Truth Free Will contributed program material. Roberta Flach and Donnie Hathaway, Chris Williamson, the original Broadway cast of Dream Girls, and Judy Small performed the music you heard, and Kim Wilson composed and performed our theme music. Sada like distribution of this way out is made possible through a grant from the Chicago Resource

Center. We'd like to hear from you with any comments, suggestions, or questions you might have. Address to this way out, post office box 38327, Los Angeles, California 90038. This way out is produced by Greg Gordon, and Lucia Chappelle, and we thank you for listening on KPFK Los Angeles, and Radio 1YC Auckland, among others, and a special welcome to WHBK Chicago and WRVL Oswego. And thanks for supporting this local community radio station. Now y 'all stay tuned.