Article On The First International Conference For Gay And Lesbian Criminal Justice Professionals ============================================== 'It's a Matter of Pride!" GOAL NY Celebrates STONEWALL '25 by Marc Goodman (Sgt. LAPD) NEW YORK - On June 23, 1994, the Gay Officer's Action League-New York, (GOAL-NY), celebrated the first annual International Conference of Gay & Lesbian Criminal Justice Professionals. Entitled "Together in Pride," the all day conference was held at the plush Merchant's Club in Lower Manhattan. GOAL New York assembled an impressive variety of speakers and presenters, all of whom were dedicated to the subject of lesbians and gays in law enforcement. The Seminars ============= The opening remarks were given by Sgt. Edgar Rodriguez of the NYPD. A fully uniformed color guard comprised of officers from around the country posted the flags as Officer Fran Debenedictis (NYPD) sang the National Anthem. Other featured speakers at the conference included Carroll Hunter, the President of GOAL-NY, Los Angeles Police Commissioner Art Mattox, GOAL Executive Director Colleen Meenan (Sgt. NYPD), and former FBI Special Agent Frank Buttino. The seminars offered were well attended and highly informative. One of the workshops concentrated on the impact of AIDS and HIV on gay police personnel. The session, which was chaired by both Patrick Surachi (former Department Psychologist NYPD) and by openly HIV+ retired Police Sergeant Jack Lambe, was quite a success. Sgt. Lambe's personal account of living with AIDS was extremely touching, but more impressive was his courage and dedication to help others with the disease. So many New York area police officers are HIV+ that a special support group has been formed by Lambe and Surachi to deal with the epidemic. Called "Positive Police," the group has the official sanction of the NYPD and counts several dozen officers as members. The second seminar, Issues and Concerns of Lesbian Personnel, was offered by Meenan and Debenedictis. There was a large number of women and a few men who attended this section. There participants had the opportunity to discuss not only issues of homophobia, but also those of gender based bias as well. The third seminar, offered by Hunter and Stephen Leinen, focused on "Coming Out on the Job." There, a full panel of openly gay and lesbian police officers discussed the best ways to successfully come out at work. Additional sections were dedicated to improve working conditions for lesbian and gay personnel as well as building police-community relationships with the Lesbian and Gay Community at-large. The final section of the day was chaired by myself and Meenan. The focus of the seminar was "Creating an International Gay & Lesbian Police Organization." Several dozen officers attended with representation from New York, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Boulder, Miami, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, Boston and London. GOAL Exhibition ================ The entire conference was an enormous success with almost one hundred people in attendance. Perhaps the highlight of the day was a visit by the conference attendees to One Police Plaza, headquarters of the NYPD. In the second floor lobby of the building was an enormous display chronicling the contributions of gays and lesbians to law enforcement. Two 20 foot long banners marked "Gay Officers Action League New York City" draped themselves across the public entry way to One Police Plaza. The display, put diligently together by members of GOAL, included several hundred photos, newspaper articles, and other artifacts dating back to the evening of the Stonewall Riots in 1969. As an openly gay Los Angeles Police Officer, I was amazed by how far the NYPD had come in its thinking vis-a-vis the Gay and Lesbian Community. Stop. Think about it. On June 27,1969, a mere 25 years ago, cops would routinely go into gay bars in Greenwich Village and arrest people merely for suspicion of being gay or dressing in drag. Today, 25 years later, an organization of mostly open lesbian and gay police officers had decorated the headquarters of the New York City Police Department with rainbow flags and pink triangles! So much to be proud of! So much had changed. For those of us who attended the conference and had the honor to see the display at One Police Plaza, it was an unforgettable experience. Many in the crowd, myself included, were truly moved and touched by what we had seen. Recently posters had been placed by the NYPD around Police Headquarters and in all the precincts of the city. The posters depicted the shield of the NYPD and their new department motto. Their motto, much like the now famous motto Protect and Serve" coined by the LAPD, was devised to give both the public and the department a sense of mission for the organization. Therefore, it was quite ironic that the NYPD had chosen "It's a Matter of Pride," as its official slogan. It is a matter of pride. As I left the famed One Police Plaza, I wondered to myself how the NYPD had progressed so far in the past 25 years. It didn't take me long to come up with the answer. It started in 1982 with a NYPD Sergeant by the name of Charlie Cochran. The first celebrated openly gay police officer in the nation, Cochran came out, founded GOAL NY, and made a difference. For the past 12 years members of GOAL New York have struggled to bring change to a police force of almost 32,000 officers. I believe they have done just that. GOAL New York is now over 1,000 members strong and the NYPD currently has several hundred openly lesbian and gay police officers. I was truly shocked to see photographs in the GOAL display of not only openly lesbian and gay police officers, but also of gay and lesbian sergeants, lieutenants, and even captains. For those officers who worked to create the display, it became their full-time primary assignment. And when New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton dedicated the display on June 29, hundreds attended the ceremony. It was ironic then that the members of GOAL chose the Stonewall Inn as the site for their celebration of their accomplishments after Bratton's ceremony. Yes, how far they had come. A Few personal Reflections =========================== Seeing the enormous strides taken by our brothers and sisters in GOAL New York, made me extremely proud and optimistic about our possible future. But what about Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Atlanta, and yes, even San Francisco? How far have we come? Certainly there have been strides made by groups dedicated officers who have come out and made a difference. Yes, in all those cities things are better today than they were in 1969. But imagine! Imagine what we could do if we too had thousands of members. What if there were three hundred openly gay members of the LAPD, the SFPD, or the CPD? How much could we accomplish then? It is almost incomprehensible how far we have come, yet the GOAL-NY conference was a reminder of how far we have yet to go. Please, get involved in your local gay and lesbian police association. Come out at work. You don't have to hold a press conference to announce your sexual orientation. Just stop lying! Just stop lying to your friends, your family, your partners, and your co-workers. I promise, you will feel better in the long run. When you come out, you are joining the Charlie Cochrans and Jack Lambes of this world. You join a group of people who are dedicated to making our world a better place by living their lives openly and honestly. Be proud, come out and come home to your brothers and sisters who are waiting out here for you. You will be supported by those who have already taken the same journey. Consider the possibilities were we all to unite. Think about it. The New York City Police Department is exactly right: It is a matter of pride.