Date: Thu, 16 Feb 1995 18:46:42 -0600 (CST) From: Kevyn Jacobs To: "Kansas Queer News [KQN]" THE FLINT HILLS OBSERVER Serving Manhattan and Kansas State Feb 95 Vol.1 No. 1 --------------------------------------------------- =================================================== ALLIANCE CREATES SPEAKER'S PANEL TRAINING MANUAL In an effort to maximize information and consistency, the Flint Hills Alliance is creating a Speaker's Panel Training Manual. Many times throughout the year, faculty at KSU ask gays, lesbians and bisexuals to speak to their classes on g/l/b issues on a Speaker's Panel. For the most part, volunteers have given wonderful presentations. At times, however, questionable remarks have been made, most particularly a bisexual's comment some time back who said being a bisexual means "feeling like chocolate some days and vanilla on other days." The Speaker's Panel Training Manual will be designed to better prepare volunteers for questions students might ask. It will also help volunteers to know what to expect before speaking, such as possible group hostility and group ignorance on g/l/b issues. The Manual will also include current g/l/b issues in Kansas and the U.S. so that volunteers will know how to respond to topics like "equal vs special rights" and the Kansas Sodomy law. Members working on the Manual are Laura Walker, Eileen Meyer, and Sarah Kanning. If you would like to see the Manual before it becomes finalized, or if you would like to offer suggestions, please call Eileen at 537-3177. The committee hopes to finalize the Manual in early March and offer its first training session around that time. Please call Eileen if you are interested in being a speaker. =================================================== =================================================== THE FLINT HILLS ALLIANCE FEBRUARY POTLUCK WILL BE SATURDAY, FEB 25, 6:30 PM, AT JOE & TOM'S. THE THEME IS MARDI GRAS, SO DRESS AND COOK CREATIVELY. (NORMAL DRESS AND CHIPS & SALSA ARE OK, TOO.) PLEASE CALL TOM OR JOE AT 776.6564 FOR DIRECTIONS =================================================== =================================================== LAWRENCE GROUP WANTS SEXUAL ORIENTATION IN CITY ORDINANCE Simply Equal is a grassroots campaign in Lawrence that is currently striving to get the City Commission to add sexual orientation to the local Human Relations Ordinance. This would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, housing, and public accommodations in Lawrence. According to Chris Hampton of LesBiGayOK at KU, opposition is coming from the usual group: "homophobic ministers fronting for the far right political extremists who have taken over the local Republican party with help from the Biblical literalists." Hampton adds that the radical Christian right has also "targeted the African American community with its 'special rights' propaganda."' At present, the Commission is divided on this issue. Two are pro, two are con, and one is undecided. One of the pro commissioners and the undecided commissioner are up for reelection in April. Simply Equal will not be voted on until after the April elections. Simply Equal tried six years ago to get sexual orientation added to Lawrence's Human Relations Ordinance, but they were defeated. This is the first year that Lawrence commissioners voted to have a study session on this issue. Simply Equal has worked diligently to bring in supporters from all over Lawrence, including ministers, social workers, and government employees. Many members of Simply Equal believe that if the two commissioners who are up for reelection win, Simply Equal will pass. ====================================================== ====================================================== METROPOLITAN COMMUNITY CHURCH WELCOMES EVERYONE The Metropolitan Community Church welcomes and caters to Christians of all sexual orientations. MCC's Spring schedule includes the following Sundays: 2/12, 2/26, 3/12, 4/9, 4/23. All times are at 3 pm. MCC meets at the First Congregational Church (Juliette and Poyntz). ====================================================== ====================================================== SHE SPEAKS... By Deb Taylor, editor This is the first issue of the Flint Hills Observer. Our goal is to keep gays, lesbians and bisexuals from Manhattan, KSU, and surrounding areas informed on issues which relate to us. The need for community among g/l/b's is strong. Now more than ever, conservative groups are joining forces in an effort to deny our existence. They wear many faces and call themselves different names. But their end goals are the same: to deny ALL of us, g/l/b or straight, the rights to fundamental civil and human rights. Our first step in preserving our individual rights is to be informed. For too long we have not thought involvement in local, state, and national politics was necessary. The radical Christian right has changed this belief. Now is the time to learn what's happening, talk to each other, and speak out to our officials and VOTE when necessary. Our silence as citizens is hurting us . The Flint Hills Observer welcomes your support, whether it comes from ideas, donations, or information. We hope to bring you a monthly newsletter with a mix of local, state, and national information. We can't always promise fun news, but we will promise truth. ================================================= ================================================= FHA CREATES COMMITTEES The Flint Hills Alliance is pleased to announce the addition of two new committees. The first committee will coordinate speakers for FHA's first Thursday meetings. This committee consists of Penny Cullers, Victor Force, Vicki Grochowski, and Angie McClure-Walker. The second committee will coordinate events for FHA's third-Thursday potlucks as well as other social events. Committee members are Jennifer Hirschfield and Tom Jackson. We need two other people to be on this committee. If interested, please call Jennifer at 587.9377. Your input and attendance are encouraged and welcomed. If you have an idea for speakers or social events, please let them know. If you would like to be a speaker at one of the meetings, information and consistency please notify the committee. ==================================================== ==================================================== MEMBERSHIP CO-CHAIRS SELECTED Bob Clark and Desiree Carlson are our Membership Drive chairpeople for the Flint Hills Alliance. FHA welcomes more members for many reasons. First, paying members get the opportunity to vote on all decisions surrounding the Alliance such as approving the Speaker's Panel Training Manual and deciding the direction FHA should be taking. Second, membership money funds important projects such as the Flint Hills Observer, mailings for special events, and national membership fees. These funds also help to send FHA members to important state and national meetings on g/l/b issues. Our hope is that when Bob or Desiree call, you will offer to send in your membership fee of $20. You can send your membership fee directly to FHA by mailing it to: Flint Hills Alliance, PO Box 2018, Manhattan. ==================================================== ==================================================== LESBIANS LEARN ABOUT GAY MALE EXPERIENCE During FHA's first-Thursday meeting on February 2, fifteen lesbians listened to six gay men share their feelings on being gay in Manhattan and America. This topic grew out of an interest in building community between gay men and lesbians in Manhattan by learning more about each other. Questions ranged from who do the men go to for support to how are they discriminated against by straight men. In March's first-Thursday meeting, the men will get to know the lesbians by asking them questions. ==================================================== =================================== THURSDAY, MARCH 2, 7:30 PM FIRST CONGREGATION CHURCH LESBIANS TALK ABOUT THEMSELVES! MEN ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND AND ASK QUESTIONS. (WOMEN WHO ATTEND ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO SPEAK.) =================================== ========================================================= HOUSE SPEAKER PROMISES TO HEAR ANTI-GAY EXTREMIST by the Human Rights Campaign Fund House Speaker Newt Gingrich told a lobbyist for the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRFC) at a town meeting in Kennesaw, GA last weekend that the House will hold hearings sought by anti-gay extremist Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Family Values Coalition. Sheldon, who has gained notoriety for declaring "open warfare" on gays and lesbians, has advocated confining HIV+ people in concentration camps. Since the November 8 elections, Sheldon has claimed in press reports that Gingrich promised to hold hearings on legislation that would target AIDS prevention programs, promote discrimination against gay youth, and seek to impose federal control over public schools. Gingrich's comments, in response to a question by HRCF Deputy Public Policy Director Cathy Woolard, who is from Georgia, marks the Speaker's first confirmation of Sheldon's claims. "I do think at some point this spring or summer, if we can have a one day hearing on whether or not taxpayer money is being spent to promote things that are literally grotesque, that's a legitimate request," Gingrich said. Sheldon's Traditional Values Coalition is a radical right special interest group that promotes discrimination against lesbian and gay people and sponsors an affiliate called the National Task Force for the Preservation of the Heterosexual ethic in America. In 1986 and 1988, Sheldon promoted anti-gay initiatives in California sponsored by far-right extremist Lyndon LaRouche to quarantine people with HIV infection, according to information provided by People For the American Way, which monitors right-wing activity. Voters rejected the initiatives. In a Nov. 26, 1989, article in the Los Angeles Times, Sheldon advocated confining people with AIDS in Cuban-style concentration camps referred to as "cities of refuge." "Sheldon's only purpose is to dehumanize lesbian and gay people and promote discrimination. The American people have rejected this agenda time and again, most recently on November 8," said HRCF executive Director Elizabeth Birch. The Republican leadership is clearly coming under pressure from anti-gay extremists. The Speaker should reject this extremism and keep focused on issues important to mainstream America." In the last Congress, Sheldon pushed legislation that would have cut off all federal funds to schools with impartial counseling or curricula addressing HIV/AIDS, anti-gay violence and teen suicide. The legislation was opposed by a broad coalition of educational organizations as an unprecedented intrusion by the federal government into local control over public schools. Civil rights organizations also deplored the attack on gay youth, who face violence and discrimination in schools. "If the Speaker proceeds with these hearings, he should invite testimony from young people who have been attacked at school for being gay or lesbian," said Daniel Zingale, HRCF Public Policy Director. "He should be prepared to hear from the mother of a gay teenager who committed suicide because he had no one to turn to. He should listen to the story of an HIV-positive young person whose infection could have been prevented with accurate information about the spread of the disease. He should know that parents, teachers, mayors and governors will speak out against this unprecedented intrusion by the federal government into local control of public schools." ================================================== ================================================== THIS ISSUE WAS FUNDED IN PART BY DONATIONS FROM: REVOLUTIONS STREETSIDE RECORDS 902 W. 7TH 1231 MORO JUNCTION CITY AGGIEVILLE **SATURDAY, FEB 18 **FREE SPECIAL ORDERS ONE YEAR "FAMILY" AVAILABLE ANNIVERSARY 776.7373 **THURSDAY, FEB 23 **DANCE MUSIC, JAZZ, "AIDS BENEFIT" WIMMINS' MUSIC, FOLK, FREE SNACKS (7-9) CLASSICAL HAPPY HOUR (8-10) PROCEEDS GO TO THE MANHATTAN AIDS PROJECT =================================================== =================================================== SO YOU'RE STILL DRINKING COORS BEER? HERE'S THE COORS FAMILY HISTORY ON CIVIL RIGHTS from a Usenet News Group William E. Coors fought against passage of the U.S. Civil Rights Act, and in 1989 told an audience of black businessmen that blacks don't succeed because they "lack intellectual capacity." (Rocky Mountain News, February 24, 1984.) The Coors Company, cited for unlawful employment discrimination in 1970, settled out of court in 1977 and paid thousands of dollars ln back pay and rehired minority and female workers. Joseph Coors supported the campaign against the Equal Rights Amendment and is a major contributor to the Moral Majority, which has called for the imprisonment of gay persons diagnosed as having AIDS. That he is connected, additionally, to Phyllis Schlafly, is no surprise. When Joseph Coors established the Heritage Foundation in 1974, he chose Roger Pearson, an outspoken anti-Semite and pro-Nazi, as co-editor of the Heritage Foundation publication Policy Review. Pearson is the author of a book on Aryan supremacy called "Race and Civilization," and has been the editor or co-editor of several racist and neo-Nazi magazines (National Guardian, May 1, 1985). The Heritage Foundation is a right-wing think tank which seeks to abolish civil rights laws, minimum wage laws, affirmative action, rights for the handicapped, and arms control. In a 1984 speech to a minority business group in Denver, William Coors told the group that if they thought it was "unfair" that their "ancestors were dragged here in chains against their will... I would urge those of you who feel that way to go back to where your ancestors come from, and you will find out that probably the greatest favor that anybody ever did you, was to drag your ancestors over here in chains, and I mean it. " Later in the same speech Coors said, "... they (Blacks) lack the intellectual capacity to succeed." The Coors family also funds a right-wing sector of Christian fundamentalism, which seeks to replace democratic pluralism with so-called "traditional family values"--that is, an authoritarian, gender-based social order. They support groups that say homosexuals are an abomination and AIDS is God's judgement on sinners. They have supported Reverend Sun Myung Moon (the "Moonies" and Christian Reconstructionists, both of whom have called for the abolition of U.S. democracy and the establishment of a theocratic state. m e Coors-funded Heritage Foundation cosponsored a 1989 forum with a pro-Nazi group, the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations. Jeff, Holly and Peter Coors were members of the CNP Board of governors in 1988, along with a former Indiana Ku Klux Klan leader. CNPers are supporters of the apartheid government of South Africa and ultraright Christian Reconstructionists who call for the execution of homosexuals, adulterers and blasphemers. ====================================================== ====================================================== INTERESTED IN ADVERTISING IN THE FLINT HILLS OBSERVER? CALL DEB AT 776.6743 FOR MORE INFORMATION. WE ALSO ACCEPT PRIVATE AND ANONYMOUS DONATIONS. ====================================================== ====================================================== MANHATTAN STORE PROMOTES RACISM Hotline Gifts, located in the Manhattan Town Center, is selling two racist t-shirts. One reads "Silly Faggot, Dix are for Chix." me other reads "It's a WHITE Thing - You Wouldn't Understand" on a Confederate flag. If you are concerned about the messages these t-shirts suggest, call Hotline Gifts at 537-3388. Petitions disapproving of the sale of these shirts are also circulating. Call Marcia at 587-9007 for details. ====================================================== ====================================================== WANTED: COPYWRITERS, TYPISTS, AND MAILER-HELPERS FOR THE FLINT HILLS OBSERVER. CALL DEB AT 776-6743 IF INTERESTED. ====================================================== ====================================================== KANSAS BRACES ITSELF FOR UPCOMING HATE LEGISLATION DARLENE CORNFIELD/TIM SHALLENBERGER QUIET FOR HOW LONG? By Doug Glaze, Equality Kansas Co-Chair Currently Shallenburger, Cornfield, and other House conservatives are in the process of coalescing their majority in that body. Several key committees in the house have been re-organized to suit the conservatives, including appointing several very anti- gay legislators as chairpersons. The Judiciary committee in particular has been reshaped in the conservative mold, and we expect it to be a major source of anti-Gay and anti-choice legislation this year, replacing Ways and Means as the vehicle for such legislation. Last years "Cornfield Resolution," which Shallenburger did co-sponsor, has not been introduced or officially circulated, though there are reports (unconfirmed) that there are plans in the works to do just that. Should that happen, there is no doubt that it will pass the house. Moderate Democrats and Republicans in the house who supported us [Equality Kansas] last year in our efforts against this Resolution have expressed their concern over last year's elections when we have contacted them this year, and do not feel they can support our opposition again this year if it is introduced. (Even if they had the numbers to effectively oppose it, which they don't.) Currently the newly-elected conservative bloc in the House is pre-occupied, also, with Republican party politics. Shallenburger and other conservatives appear to be working very hard to appeal to the moderates to form an intraparty coalition (witness the various declarations by the Speaker and others that "social issues" will not dominate the House this year). Critical to the conservative's efforts in the House this year will be their attempt to install one of their own as state GOP chair. Once the House is coordinated enough to actually begin pushing legislation, it is likely during the first few months of session (with luck, until April or May) that the conservatives will restrain their social agenda in an effort to soothe the toes they've stepped on during December and January. Shallenburger and most of the conservative leadership in the House know the importance of appearing moderate, and will likely work to make this happen, but Cornfield, O'Connor, and other conservative 'hotshots' are known for being unable to restrain themselves, especially when dealing with Gay issues. If radically anti-Gay legislation is introduced in the next month or two it will likely be the result of this type of legislator. However, if any social issue comes to the forefront of the House soon, I look for it to be the abortion issue. Already there are grumblings of discontent in the House GOP about leadership appeals for restraint on this issue. With any luck, it will split them and thus pre-occupy them for some time to come. Know that once anti-Gay legislation is introduced (and it is only a matter of time) it will almost certainly pass with little press and little debate (barring our efforts). Of course, passing the House does not make a bill law. The senate is still dominated by moderate Republicans, who were not up for election last year. many WILL BE up for re-election ln '96, though, and they will be under enormous pressure from the conservatives to give their consent to their proposals. Thus, Equality Kansas is concentrating our lobbying efforts in the Capitol in the Senate this year, and are encouraging our members to contact their Senators and urge them to reject conservative social proposals. Our efforts in the House will continue, though will be primarily restricted to observing. We do not have an "official" lobbyist in the Capitol at this time, but do have two individuals who devote a great deal of their time 'keeping an eye out for dangerous proposals in committee. (This is extremely difficult, as the leadership controls the agenda and timing of all bills, making it possible for them to 'spring' bills very fast. ) In addition, we are maintaining very close contact with lobbyists from the Pro-Choice Action League, NOW, and the A.C.L.U., all state-wide groups with extensive expertise in dealing with the legislature and empathetic to our situation. Hopefully by relying upon such informal contacts at this relatively quiet time we can reserve our limited resources until a more critical time. [Equality Kansas seeks to ensure equal rights to all people, regardless of sexual orientation.] ================================================================ ================================================================ HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER CALLS COLLEAGUE "FAG" AT PRESS CONFERENCE Compiled from Associated Press Dispatches On Friday, January 28, House Majority Leader Dick Armey of Texas, the second-ranking Republican in the House, called Democratic Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts "Barney Fag" during an interview with reporters. Armey quickly apologized and said the comment was a slip of the tongue. Frank, who is gay, told Armey he understood the remark was not intentional. But after listening to a tape of the interview, he said, "I could not accept that it was wholly accidental. " Even before the incident, Frank said the congressional landscape is looking desolate for gay and lesbian Americans. "If you project the way the Republicans have always voted, it looks pretty bleak, " Frank said. The Republican majority has been consistently and overwhelmingly anti-gay." The first two years of the Clinton administration provided gay activists exposure on such issues as gays in the military and job discrimination based on sexual orientation. They didn't win on either issue and expect to spend the next two years on the defensive, fighting off anti-gay amendments to legislation. "I believe this year, the homosexual agenda will be seriously curtailed, " said anti-gay extremist Lou Sheldon of the traditional values coalition. In December, President Clinton abandoned plans to propose philanthropist James C. Hormel, who is gay, as ambassador to Fiji, avoiding a showdown with Helms, then incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Last year, Helms and Sen. Bob Smith, R-NH, attached an amendment to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that would have cut federal funds to school districts that teach acceptance of homosexuality. A similar measure was tacked onto the House version by Rep. Mel Hancock, R-Mo. Sam Coring, a spokesman for Hancock, said the congressman had not decided whether to pursue the issue again this year. "His first responsibility is to do the work on the Contract with America," Coring said. "I think you're going to see him and probably most of the rest of the Congress focusing on that. ... but he's keeping his options open." ============================================================== ============================================================== CHRISTIAN COALITION PLEDGES $1 MILLION TO PROMOTE REPUBLICAN AGENDA Compiled from Wire Reports The Christian Coalition pledged in January to spend $1 million promoting the House Republican agenda, and its leader urged cultural conservatives to be "mature enough to be patient" for action on school, prayer and other issues. The coalition, built from religious broadcaster Pat Robertson's 1988 presidential campaign apparatus, was a major organizing force in last year's Republican midterm rout and claims more than 1 million members and supporters nationwide. While its policy agenda includes school prayer and a constitutional amendment prohibiting abortion, coalition Executive Director Ralph Reed said the organization would focus in the short term on pushing the contract, which addresses neither of those issues. The contract does include other items high on the Christian Coalition agenda, including welfare reform and tax breaks for families with children. "By the time the dust settles, we will spend an estimated $l million to deluge Capitol Hill with phone calls, faxes and telegrams," Reed said in a speech to the Detroit Economic Club, Reed also called for elimination of agencies and programs that "promote values contrary to those we teach in our homes." He specifically cited the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the Legal Services Corp, whose services include divorce work for low-income people. He also advocated eliminating the Education Department and ultimately ending all federal involvement in welfare. ============================================================ ============================================================ HELMS INTRODUCES HATE LEGISLATION TO TARGET G/L/B WORKERS By the Human Rights Campaign Fund In the first indication that anti-gay extremists in the new Republican-controlled Congress may target lesbian and gay Americans in discriminatory legislation, Sen. Jesse Helms (R- N.C.) has introduced two bills that would promote hate speech and discrimination against federal workers. The Helms bills mark the first two pieces of anti-gay legislation introduced in the 104th Congress, according to an analysis by the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF). "In a move that contradicts the Republican promise to keep focused on the business of the nation, Jesse Helms has begun to execute his own private contract on gay Americans in the first few days of the 104th Congress," said HRCF Executive Director Elizabeth Birch. "This is the first indication that Jesse Helms intends to use his newly acquired power in Congress to pursue his anti-gay obsession, a clear breach of the Republican promise to address issues that are important to Americans. Voters who changed the face of Congress have overwhelmingly rejected discriminatory measures of the ilk that Helms is proposing." The first bill, numbered S.23, would give a special exemption from workplace nondiscrimination policies to government employees who voice prejudices against lesbian and gay co-workers. S.23 would target lesbian and gay employees for discrimination by denying their employee organizations the same rights to free association and free speech guaranteed to other employee groups. [Helms says these two bills are necessary because the Clinton administration has extended homosexuals "special rights in the federal workplace, rights not accorded to most other groups or individuals."] "This legislation would promote hate speech and discrimination against federal workers," said HRCF Public Policy Director Daniel Zingale. "Americans overwhelmingly believe that no one should be singled out for discrimination in the workplace. Helms' hate legislation flies in the face of this fundamental American value." Following a growing trend in the private sector, at least 17 major federal agencies have included lesbian and gay people along with other workers in their non-discrimination policies. No federal law protects people from being fired or otherwise discriminated against in the workplace on the basis of sexual orientation. "The federal government is only now catching up to corporate America, where half of the Fortune 1000 companies have non-discrimination policies protecting their gay and lesbian employees," said Birch, who recently left a high-level management position at Apple Computers to lead the largest national lesbian and gay equal rights organization. "A growing number of successful corporations also have gay employee groups and diversity training. If successful companies like Apple and Xerox provide equal protection to their employees, the federal government would do well to follow their example." HRCF polled Members of Congress last year on their own employment practices, and found broad bipartisan support for the principle that gay and lesbian people should not be singled out for discrimination in the workplace. 82 Republicans and 23 Democrats - including majorities of both parties in the Senate - confirmed that they do not discriminate in their offices on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition, a post-election poll of voters in the November election found that majorities of Republicans, Democrats and Independents support equal rights in the workplace for lesbian and gay people. In a random survey of 800 voters conducted Nov. 8 and 9 by the independent polling firm of Mellman, Lazarus Lake, Inc., 70 percent said gay people should not face unfair job discrimination -- with 64 percent of Republicans, 71 percent of Independents and 71 percent of Democrats supporting the idea. ================================================ ========================== THE LESBIGAY AA MEETS EVERY TUESDAY, 7PM, AT THE FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH. THE LAST TUESDAY IS AN OPEN MEETING (WHICH MEANS FRIENDS/RELATIVES OF AA ATTENDEES ARE WELCOME), BUT THE OTHER TUESDAYS ARE CLOSED. CALL CHRISTINA AT 539-4921 FOR MORE INFO. ========================== =============================================== COALITION GEARS UP FOR LOCAL PRIMARIES Manhattan School Board and City Commission Primary elections are February 28. The newly formed Mainstream Coalition is sponsoring a school board candidate forum on Feb. 19, 1:30 pm, at the ECM building on Denison Ave. The Coalition plans to ask the candidates questions on the following topics: censorship, sex education, creationism, outcome-based education, religious observances/school prayer, and vouchers. Copies of the questions Mainstream plans to ask the school board candidates can be picked up at the Public library. School Board Candidates are: Rick Crow, Peter Garretson, Colleen Hampton, Joleen Hill, Phil Morgan, Mary Nichols, Deb Nuss, Michael Pearson, Larry Weaver, Kim Wells. According to Jami Ramsey of Mainstream, plans are in the works for a forum for the City Commission candidates in March. City Commission Candidates are: Stanley Crowder, Steve Hall, Ed Horne, Justin Lastner, Michael Manning, Lex Pearson, Tim Schrag, and Bruce Snead. REMEMBER, IN THE PRIMARY ELECTIONS, ONE VOTE MAKES A DIFFERENCE!