Date: Wed, 12 Jan 94 21:15:44 EST From: kevyn@aol.com Subject: Common Ground COMMON GROUND The Official Newsletter of Equality Kansas Vol. 1 No. 1 October 1993 ************************************ Common Ground is published quarterly by Equality Kansas and is distributed free of charge to members. Interested others may obtain a copy for the price of postage by writing: Doug Glaze, Editor, 1221 N. Waco, Wichita, KS 67203. Articles and artistic submissions remain the copyright of the authors. This first issue will be distributed widely free of charge as an introductory offer. ************************************ Common Ground Wants to Hear From You! Common Ground is seeking news concerning the Lesbian and Gay community from all parts of Kansas. If something is happening in your area, tell us about it. Personal stories are also accepted. If you are Lesbian or Gay, tell us what it is like living in your town. Letters to the Editor are also accepted. Tell us what you think! Please send your submissions to the Editor, 1221 N. Waco, Wichita, KS 67203, or call 316-267-2748 for more information. (email : Doug Glaze@aol.com) ************************************ Doug Glaze, Editor Natalie Peck, Type Media Jive, Layout Kevyn Jacobs, Christopher Craig, Kathy Greenlee, Dennis Dobson, Scott Curry, Peg Jarman,Dorothy Miller Contributors ************************************ Who is EQUALITY KANSAS? We are a broad-based, grass-roots coalition of individuals along with business, religious and community groups who agree that ALL people deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. We believe in Equality, Justice, and Inclusion of all people in the democratic process. What are EQUALITY KANSAS' Goals? We seek to insure protection of EQUAL Rights under the Constitution for ALL people, regardless of their sexual orientation. We intend to expose the dangerous tactics of those who seek to redefine the Bill of Rights and restrict basic human rights. REMEMBER, if the rights of ANY people can be removed by a popular vote, then the rights of ALL people are threatened. ************************************ Equality Kansas Working Coordinating Committee October 1993 Co-Chairs Kathy Greenlee, Lawrence Christopher Craig, Topeka Secretary - Doug Glaze, Wichita Treasurer - Kathryn Minick, Wichita Outreach Chair - Kevyn Jacobs, Manhattan Legislative Action Co-Chairs Carla Dugger,Kansas City Sue Ledbetter, Wichita Media Committee Co-Chairs Phyllis Wisneski, Wichita Pat O'Brien, Kansas City Members Ann Birney, Admire David Tritle, Emporia Tom Boatright, Kansas City ************************************ HATE RESOLUTION PROPOSED Equality Kansas Responds The radical right has opened an attack on the civil rights of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Kansans. Following success in Colorado, this campaign of hate, fear and outright lies has spread to several midwestern states. You have probably heard about the initiative campaign in Missouri. A few short weeks ago, eighteen far-right members of the Kansas House of Representatives announced a resolution asking the US Congress to deny any request for protection from discrimination based on sexual orientation. While this seems like a meaningless "memo" stating the opinion of the legislature, it actually does the following: 1. Sends messages of hate and fear about Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals. Public statements like these increase the violence and prejudice against us. 2. Draws the battlelines for an Amendment to the Kansas Constitution, similar to Amendment Two in Colorado. If this resolution is successful, we expect the immediate introduction of a constitutional amendment to be placed on the ballot for November 1994. 3. Forces an early vote on a divisive issue to separate the "good" from the "evil." Legislators voting against this resolution will be singled out for harsh attacks in the 1994 elections. The radical right will use slogans about "special rights" to force their way into office - remember 1992 elections and the abortion issue around Wichita? Same program; new issue. They are making our very lives a campaign strategy. The time has come to stop the radical right in Kansas. A new organization - EQUALITY KANSAS - has been formed to do just that. Working as a communications network, strategy center and coalition-building force for equality and with the support of Scot Nakagawa from the National Gay & Lesbian Task Forces FIGHT THE RIGHT PROJECT, we intend to defeat this resolution and work for Equal Rights for lesbian, gay and bisexual people. Anyone can join our coalition, from a single citizen to churches to state-wide organizations. Many have already joined us, including the American Civil Liberties Union and the National Organization for Women. There is room for everyone in EQUALITY KANSAS. ************************************ TEXT OF THE RESOLUTION By Representatives Shallenburger and King, Boston, Bryant, Cornfield, Donovan, Jennison, Lawrence, Lloyd, Mollenkamp, Myers, Neufeld, Shore, M. Smith, Snowbarger, Vickrey, Wagle and E.Wells. A RESOLUTION memorializing Congress to refrain from enacting or amending any legislation that would define certain sexual or life-style preferences as having protected class status. WHEREAS, In this great nation, ALL citizens regardless of race, creed, color, gender or age have equal fundamental rights and have equal protection under law; and WHEREAS, These fundamental rights include the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as stated by our founders in the Declaration of Independence; and WHEREAS, The sexual and life-style preferences of all of our citizens are matters for individual decisions and such decisions are entitled to equal protection under the law. However such preferences of some people are not entitled to have priority over the preferences of any of our other citizens: Now, therefore, Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas: That we memorialize Congress to refrain from enacting or amending any legislation that defines certain sexual or life-style preferences as having protected class status; and Be it further resolved: That the Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives be directed to send enrolled copies of this resolution to each member of the Kansas Congressional Delegation. ************************************ PROUD OF OUR HISTORY The 1940's An upside-down pink triangle is used to identify homosexuals by Adolph Hitler in Germany. Thousands are charged with violating Paragraph 175, which forbid "indecent activities" between men, and are sent to the concentration camps. Most die there. When Allied troops liberated the camps in 1945, those who had survived were sent back to prison by the Allies to finish their sentence for violating Paragraph 175. The pink triangle has been ever since a grim reminder of this time and a symbol of our resolve to never forget. ************************************ THE MESSAGE AND THE MEDIA Special to Common Ground By Pacy Markman Political Consultant for Oregon's No On 9 Campaign You build a grassroots organization. You do a good job of educating new constituencies. You form interesting and important coalitions. Despite all that, lo and behold, the other side puts an initiative on the ballot. In many states, its very easy to do. And, in many states, running initiative campaigns is how the other side makes its living. In Oregon, Measure 9 in 1992 was the OCAs (Oregon Citizen Alliance) third initiative campaign in four years. Once you are in an electoral campaign against an initiative, there is one task and one task only: to defeat the initiative. By as many votes as possible. But by 50% plus 1 votes if necessary. Central to any electoral campaign, for an initiative or a candidate, is the message: experience is in political advertising. I've done the ads in three winning campaigns against anti-gay initiatives - Measure 9 in Oregon (1992) and Proposition 6 (1978) and Proposition 102 (1988) in California. But whether or not you are in an electoral campaign or not, whether you're using advertising or not, some very basic questions need to be answered for message development and delivery: (1) What are you trying to accomplish? (2) Whom do you have to convince to accomplish your goals? (3) What do you have to tell the people you want to convince, to move them to your side? (4) What is the best way, given your resources, to get the message to the people you need to convince? If you can answer these rather dumb questions with a good solution, you win. So these are the questions you need to ask yourself - and answer - over and over. If youre not in an electoral situation, you have one advantage - the luxury of time - and one probable disadvantage - very little money. Money is raised in direct proportion to the immediacy and the perceived danger of an issue. When you have time on your side, you have the chance to educate people on the issue. You can be pro-active. You can promote the visibility of Gays and Lesbians. When we're educating, research shows we have no better tool than our visibility. Everything we do to diminish the arguments of the Right lessens their strength and may inhibit them from placing initiatives on the ballot. And, even if they put an initiative on the ballot, a well-thought out, well-run period of education in the time preceding an initiative campaign may insure victory in the actual campaign. This indeed is the challenge most of the articles in this book are tackling. During a non-electoral time, we may also choose to discredit the other side in a variety of ways. We may want, for example, to point out that homosexuality is just their latest organizing and fund-raising tool, replacing communism and abortion rights. In this time, you will most likely be delivering your message through free media - the press - and in speaker forums. But youll want to develop your message in the same way we develop it during as campaign. In order to answer the four basic questions, youll want as much information as possible. Its called research. And a good deal of information can come from polling and focus groups. In a non-electoral campaign, you probably wont have the money to do your own polling. But there will still be polling information available, from Gay and other organizations. You need to be working with someone who can evaluate polls. (There are good polls and lousy polls. ) Whatever message you develop, you'll want to make sure every one on your side who speaks to the public or the press knows it and can articulate it. Think of it as "One message. Many voices." And, until you get a different answer to the four basic questions, youll want to hammer that message home, time after time after time. A classic mistake is to get bored with your message. You may have heard it a hundred times. But the reporter youre talking to, the group you're speaking in front of may be hearing it for the first time. You may not have the money to run paid advertising. But you may find a cooperative TV or radio station which will run a pro-active message as a public service announcement or PSA. (The less controversial the message, the more likely they are to run it.) You don't want to stake your life on PSAs - they tend to run at 2 in the morning. But if you have the opportunity to do one, make sure its in keeping with your message. And make sure its created and produced by someone who does advertising for a living. Think of creating advertising as doing brain surgery - you might get it right doing it yourself but why take the risk? INITIATIVE CAMPAIGNS When you're facing an electoral decision on a given date, you need a very focused message to move people to your side. You will also need to be well-organized to develop and deliver the message. Youll need a campaign manager who has real power. You'll need a professional pollster, preferably one with experience in polling on gay issues, and you'll need a professional to create your advertising, a media consultant. The campaign manager is tasked with keeping the campaign on track. One of his or her toughest jobs will be to fend off the well-meant suggestions for media advertising that everyone and his brother and sister will offer. Though organizing, fund-raising, "Get Out The Vote (GOTV)," and canvassing are important, message development and delivery command, on average, more than 50% of the campaign funds - and, in statewide races, as much as 80%. Television is the most effective way to reach people, and despite its seeming high cost, the cheapest on a per person basis. There are some basic realities about these campaigns. You have a limited amount of time. Limited personnel and financial resources. Which means you have a limited ability to deliver your message. Your audience has a limited attention span and often will be inundated with messages on a slew of other issues and candidates. Most importantly, on gay issues, you 40% against you, 10% to 15% for you. The fight is for the 45% in the middle. In Oregon, to find the right message to reach the "middle," the campaign did a poll in early 1992. Then we used focus groups to test a variety of messages against undecided voters. In my two previous anti-gay initiative campaigns, I created advertising that broadened the issue so that people were not voting on homosexuality. Thats not a vote we want people to make. In the California No on 6 campaign (1978), we made the election turn on everyones First Amendment rights. In our research in Oregon, we discovered that , again, we could not persuade undecided people to vote FOR homosexuals. What we discovered was that the OCA had very high negatives. And that our best message was to frame the initiative as an assault by extremists that posed a threat to everyone. Our campaign line was "Its a danger to us all." We created two television commercials that attacked the OCA. And we started running them fairly early so we could frame the debate on our terms. We trained speakers to make every discussion a discussion about them - the OCA - and not about us, gays and lesbians. And we worked hard at staying offensive and avoiding being defensive. There was considerable carping within our community that we weren't educating the public about gays and lesbians. Exactly right. Our goal was to win an election that in doubt. And when an election is in doubt, it is irresponsible to divert resources away from that objective. Besides, our research showed what you would expect - that no thirty-second commercial could undo more than thirty or more years of learned homophobia. There's another point to be made. We were trying to get people to vote "No." This is easier than persuading them to vote "Yes." The "Yes" side has to defend itself against every possible attack. To get people to vote "No," we only have to raise on legitimate question in peoples minds. (Think of it as the defense raising reasonable doubt in jurors minds.) We did polling, on almost a daily basis, for most of the last weeks of the campaign. This allowed us to measure the overall effect ctiveness of the campaign. It also allowed us to measure the effectiveness of individual commercials in various geographical areas in the state. Early on, we saw that our campaign line was working. A caution: polling on gay issues, like polling on racial issues, gives less than perfect results. And you have to read your numbers very carefully. People are not always honest - your numbers always look better than they are. Because the Oregon campaign was well-funded, we were able to augment our basic message with commercials against discrimination. Our research showed this was a major reason people supported us. And we did ads that mirrored the broad coalition the campaign had put together, to give people the sense that veryone was voting "No." And near the end of the campaign, we did a commercial to specifically blunt the other sides best message - "special rights." But everything - television, radio and print ads, canvassing brochures - summed up to our line "Its a danger to us all." We won - 57% to 43%. ************************************ PROUD OF OUR HISTORY The 1950's The Mattachine Society, founded in New York by Gay men, and the Daughters of Bilitis, founded in San Francisco by Lesbians, begin educational campaigns designed to dispel popular myths concerning homosexuals at a time when most people still view homosexuality as an "illness." Both campaigns were the first of their kind, and mark the earliest beginnings of the Lesbian and Gay movement in the United States. ************************************ FLINT HILLS ALLIANCE NEWS By Kevyn Jacobs Manhattan, KS On September 4, The Flint Hills Alliance, Inc., passes its sixth month of existence - and what a heady six months it has been! On March 4, 1993, several concerned individuals met at a private home in Manhattan to discuss the need for a community-based (as opposed to university-based) lesbian, bi & gay organization to provide a educational & informational resource center for the same-gender communities of Manhattan and surrounding communities. Out of that meeting was born The Flint Hills Alliance. Since that time, The Alliance has accomplished much: We have incorporated as a non-profit entity in the state of Kansas, and have applied for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status with the IRS (Application still pending at this time.) We have opened an office to serve as an information & education center for the Manhattan communities at 1221 Thurston St. in Manhattan, on the second floor of the UFM building.(Office hours are currently Thursdays from 6pm - 9pm and Saturdays from Noon - 3 pm.) We have started hosting monthly Third Thursday educational forums at UFM in Manhattan. September's Third Thursday forum will be a guest lecture by Tom Poe of the national board of GLAAD: The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, who will present Deconstructing The Gay Agenda. This program will begin at 7:30 pm on Thursday, September 16th in the Banquet Room of UFM. We have started a lending library at our office of lesbian, bi and gay-related materials: books, videos and audiocassettes are available for check-out. We have started a support group for lesbian, bi and gay individuals who wish to discuss their issues in a supportive environment. We have started a gay & lesbian information line for the city of Manhattan at 913.587.0016. The information line is currently only staffed during business hours, but on October 1st we plan on having it staffed 7 evenings a week (volunteers being sought!) We have joined Equality Kansas as a member organization so that we can receive and distribute information relating to lesbian, gay & bi issues on a state level. We are also working with other queer-related groups in the Manhattan area to make access to services easier. The Bisexual Gay & Lesbian Society at KSU, the University Counseling Services gay & lesbian support group at KSU, and Manhattans Lesbian and Gay AA are organizations that we are assisting. The Flint Hills Alliance, Inc. is funded through private donations, fund-raisers and $20 yearly membership fees. For more information, please contact The Flint Hills Alliance, Inc. PO Box 2018 Manhattan KS 66502-0023 Or call 913.587.0016. Email: kevyn@aol.com ************************************ PROUD OF OUR HISTORY The 1960's Stonewall Riots June 27, 1969 New York City Lesbians and Gay men were often subject to arrest merely for meeting in public, on the grounds that they "intended to violate" sodomy laws which forbid relations between people of the same sex. Police raids on Lesbian and Gay bars were frequent until a group of female impersonators at the Stonewall bar resisted arrest and started a riot. Weeks of protest and marches followed, and the modern Lesbian and Gay movement was born. ************************************ T.L.C. CELEBRATES TWO YEARS IN WICHITA By Dorothy Miller Wichita, KS The Lesbian Celebration (TLC) of Wichita was created by a small group of women who first met in August, 1991 to discuss the need for a meeting place for Lesbians outside the bars. Due to the enthusiasm and energy of the "founding mothers," the first meeting was held in November 1991. Advertising was limited to distribution of flyers in the bars and word of mouth. Yet sixty-five women showed up on the first night. TLC, led by a volunteer board of 12 members, sponsors twice-monthly meetings for women only, held in a church in Wichita. The first monthly meeting features a program of speakers and/or films and videos of interest to women, followed by a social hour with refreshments. Topics have included health issues, women and spirituality, politics, dealing with holiday conflicts that Gays and Lesbians must face, and building relationships. We've also had entertaining evenings of comedy and creative writing. For this meeting we ask for a donation of $3 to help meet expenses. The second meeting of the month has a completely different format: small discussion groups on topics of interest selected by the groups. Attendees of these RAP group meetings have met informally at other times for potluck dinners and recreational activities. TLC has also sponsored two dances and a womens week-end retreat. We are exploring expansion to other activities and/or services to the Lesbian community. On Saturday, October 23rd, we will be hosting a retreat/planning meeting for the Lesbian community to let us know what programs and activities they would like to see and how they would like to be involved. TLC program meetings are often attended by as many as 130 women. Our mailing list is currently over 300, including women from all over the state who travel to Wichita for these gatherings. We are extremely gratified by the response we have gotten and look forward to serving the Lesbian community for years to come. To get on the TLC confidential mailing list, write: TLC, Box 3313, Wichita, KS 67201. ************************************ PROUD OF OUR HISTORY The 1970's The Lambda becomes the symbol of a newly visible Lesbian and Gay Movement. Soon Lesbians and Gays are a publicly recognized segment of American society, though controversial. ************************************ "RESPECT OTHERS" CAMPAIGN BEGINS Special to Common Ground from the Pro-Choice Action League The 1994 legislative session is going to be primarily about the November elections. This fact cannot be ignored. The religious right will not only attempt to further restrict abortion rights but also broaden their agenda to include anti-Gay and Lesbian legislation, Christianization of public schools, and shame-based sex education. Candidates will then be labeled by the religious right as "anti-family" based on their votes during the session. They must not be allowed to define themselves as pro-family and sell the notion that all others are anti-family. We have watched this tactic develop before our eyes without any way to adequately respond. Their hate campaign can now be attacked in a television ad campaign. The idea for a TV ad campaign began with wanting a response to the "Life. What aBeautiful Choice" ads. During the development stage, it became apparent that there were additional considerations that needed to be addressed. Our campaign would have to address the religious right's entire anti-tolerance agenda. The theme of our TV ad campaign is "Respect Others." We will carry this theme to bumper stickers, pins, and billboards if enough money is raised. We will also offer this ad throughout the country to Planned Parenthoods, NARAL, and other pro-choice groups. The television spot was produced in July and developed by professionals who donated their time. Production costs were extremely low. Air time, however, is very expensive. Our goal is to raise $60,000 to purchase time to show the ads during the network sweeps, in February during the legislative session, and in October during the election campaigns. People opposed to the radical religious right must have a voice. It is very hard to compete with The DeMoss Foundation, which has $400,000,000 in the bank to fund their "Life..." TV spots. But a carefully prepared campaign using dedicated, professional people will produce quality, expertly placed ads in Wichita, Topeka, and Kansas City which will give us coverage in about 80% of the state. Now all we need is your help to raise the money to make this possible. A check of any amount will be an important statement of your concern about the religious right and the damage they can do to the freedoms that are at stake. No one we know died and left us a multi-million dollar foundation. But if we put some time and a little effort in this campaign, we can be successful. Please say YES to "Respect Others" and send a check to the Pro-Choice Action League today!. Respect Others Campaign %Pro-Choice Action League P.O. Box 3622 Wichita, KS 67201 ************************************ PROUD OF OUR HISTORY The 1980's Silence = Death The AIDS Crisis begins. Lesbians and Gay men turn the pink triangle right-side up to demonstrate their anger towards a slow and bureaucratic response by the government, and by fundamentalists' claims that AIDS is "punishment from God." The AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) forms, and takes to the streets coast-to-coast in protest, forcing the government to be more responsive to all its citizens. ************************************ WE NEED EQUALITY IN KANSAS By Kathy Greenlee Co-Chair, Equality Kansas Lawarence, KS What do the States of Colorado, Washington, Missouri, and Kansas have in common? The religious right. Lets be honest. The fundamentalist extremists are organized and organizing in far more than four mere states, and Kansas is one of them. This coming legislative session, Representative Darlene Cornfield and at least eighteen other members of the Kansas House of Representatives plan to introduce an anti-Gay/Lesbian resolution. The resolution, if passed, would be sent to the members of the Kansas Congressional delegation in Washington D.C. and it would request that they introduce no federal civil rights legislation favorable to Gays and Lesbians. The resolution, in effect, would be a non-binding request from the state legislature to the federal congress. The resolution, if passed, would in no way effect Kansas law. Or would it? Many political followers agree that a block of Christian fundamentalists were elected into the Kansas House of Representatives this past election. For the most part, these members were relatively quiet on "social issues during the 1993 legislative term. The 1994 session will be different. This coming year, the volatile issues of reproductive rights and Gay and Lesbian civil rights will surface. The debates on these topics will surely grab our attention as well as media headlines. The debates and legislative outcomes will do more than create new law; they will foretell the coming election. The 1994 election in Kansas promises to be big. The Governor and Attorney General positions are up for election, as well as one-half of the Senate and the entire House of Representatives. The events of the 1994 legislative session will be closely monitored and scrutinized by politicians. And political supporters with eyes on the 1994 fall elections. The anti-Gay/Lesbian resolution which will be introduced by these radical representatives promises to be one of the issues by which members of the religious right measure the sentiment of each member of the House. It will be a political litmus test. If the vote is recorded by individual vote, then members of the House who oppose the resolution may find the issue arising again in re-election campaigns. But this is politics, folks. There is always another side to the debate. Members of the religious right, by whatever name they choose to be called, will not be the only ones watching the debates, the headlines, the legislation and the individual votes. So will we. There are many elected officials, organizations, lobbyists, and individuals who stand ready to vote against the hatred incorporated in anti-Gay/Lesbian resolutions and legislation. Many in this group have stood for years in opposition to those who seek to infringe or curtail basic constitutional rights. Lesbians and Gays have many old friends. What we need, however, are new ones. This past summer, Lesbians, Gays, bisexuals and heterosexuals from all over Kansas met to discuss next year's legislative session. As a result of these meetings, the state-wide coalition of Equality Kansas formed. Equality Kansas seeks to insure protection of equal rights under the Constitution for all people, regardless of their sexual orientation. Communities across Kansas are vastly different. The political realities in Lawrence are different from those in Wichita or Dodge City. Equality Kansas seeks to support grassroots activism in all of its forms. Equality Kansas 1994 legislative agenda is to "fight the right" and defeat the Cornfield resolution. ************************************ PROUD OF OUR HISTORY The 1990's It's up to you. The radical right launches a nation-wide hate campaign against Lesbians and Gays. The state of Colorado passes an amendment to their constitution which bars Lesbians and Gays from seeking justice in their courts when acts of hate and violence are committed against us. Will Kansas be next? ************************************ WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY First, Join Equality Kansas. Volunteer your time. Become an intelligent consumer of the news. Clip articles about the radical right, Gay and Lesbian rights, reproductive freedom and mail them to us. Contribute money. Contact organizations you belong to and ask them to join Equality Kansas. Talk to your neighbors, friends and relatives about why the radical right is a danger to us all. If you are Gay or Lesbian, Come Out whenever possible to coworkers and family. If you are non-gay, come out as a supporter of equal treatment under the law for lesbians, gays and bisexuals. Write letters to your local newspaper, your legislators and local government. Above all - Register and vote! ************************************ FOR MORE INFORMATION ON HOW YOU CAN JOIN EQUALITY KANSAS, CONTACT equalityks@aol.com OR WRITE EQUALITY KANSAS P.O. BOX 116 TOPEKA, KS 66601-0116