Date: Mon, 12 Dec 1994 15:00:09 -0500 Reply-To: dtaylor@KSU.KSU.EDU [ Send all responses to dtaylor@KSU.KSU.EDU only. Any responses to the list or list-owners will be returned to you. ] Dear Friends, Here is the latest scoop on the Mississippi murders. Please pardon the possible misspelled words and disorganization. I'm trying to get this out to you ASAP while fighting the fatigue factor. The letters to the Governor of Mississippi are working!!! April's "insider" told her last night (12/6) that the massive amounts of letters are putting the State into an absolute uproar. The insider stated that on this Tuesday the Governor's office received a "huge bag" of letters (sorry, I don't know how this person defines "huge." My mind thinks of a big bag of letters like the ones in "Miracle on 34th Street"). As you will discover (read on), your letters have created action. I hope that by the time you finish reading this memo you will be inspired to send another letter (I suspect you will not have difficulty finding words to write). April mentioned that some of the fine folks at the Capital had the audacity to suggest that our letters (the form letters in particular) are being sent by the same few people. (Well, I have a confession to make: I have spent the past two weeks driving all over the U.S. and Canada--even took a boat to Great Britain--and have been stuffing mailboxes with these letters!) I do not think anyone seriously believes this; however, now is the time to write new letters, handwritten or from your own computers, so that they will learn the meaning of "authentic." The Mississippi Governor's Legal Counsel, Greg Hinklebein, made the first mention of the letters. He is absolutely furious with them. He said to April, and I quote, "Mississippi will no longer be the 'whipping boy' for the Nation's discrimination. Show me a State that doesn't have discrimination and intolerance." I am sad that he is missing the point. Perhaps we need to let him know (via the Governor) that yes, all States discriminate, but it is wrong, and they need to be held accountable for their actions. It just so happens that the Nation is starting with Mississippi. Given his comment, I also suspect he is clueless with respect to the multi-facetedness of this particular case (racial/sexual discrimination, medical ethics-hiv, and civil/human rights). As you will recall, I mentioned that the Governor's Chief of Staff made a Monday (12/5) appointment to meet with April. Thirty minutes before that meeting, Greg Hinklebein called to cancel it. April had already left for Jackson, MS. Unfortunately for the Governor, April arrived at the Capital with four local film crews, local reporters, and the Associated Press. The next hour or so was spent with April telling the press about the murders and about how the Governor refuses to communicate. The Associated Press article went over the wires today (12/7)--hopefully, quite a few newspapers carried it. The AP article should be fairly accurate since the reporter interviewed April. (Incidentally, the New York Times article from Tuesday (12/6) is pretty good.) The AP reporter told April that the defense attorney for McClendon (the alleged murderer) blasted the gay and lesbian efforts to seek justice for McClendon. April told me this morning that she is through with the runaround at the Governor's office. She has made quite clear to them that she will *only* speak to the Governor. In addition to the NY Times and the AP, CBS News is going to air a story soon (or so they told April). Dateline has asked for permission to do a story on the murders, but we are holding out to see if 20/20 will cover the story. We have been told by many sources that 20/20 is much more queer-friendly and is more objective with respect to queer issues than Dateline. I called the Senior Investigative Producer at 20/20 today (I have already given him info he requested earlier) to let him know of Dateline's interest. He has not yet responded. Our letters are impacting the Governor's office in a weird way. I suspect he is not happy with everyone knowing (in his eyes) about Mississippi's "dirty laundry." I suspect he also wishes the letters would quit coming so that he will no longer have to deal with us queers. He is still stalling, perhaps to wait us out (I am only speculating). For this reason, I truly believe we need to keep our letters coming. Write new letters if you have already sent one out. April suggests that we should ask the Governor why he is refusing to meet with the queer leader of Mississippi. We should also ask the Governor why gays and lesbians do not have a voice in Mississippi. At any rate, please send more letters. April and G.L. Friendly are hanging on despite fatigue, harassment, and death threats because the letters, they say, are giving them strength. (They would tell you themselves but they do not have email--which is why you're stuck with me!) Contrary to what the Governor's office might think, many letters are being sent by our straight friends. They are coming from hospital staffs, social workers, and alliance groups. Many of you are contacting groups like Amnesty International for help. This is terrific. By the way, April reports that the letters to Janet Reno are also working. The FBI finally visited G.L. Friendly and recorded all of the info on harassments and death threats from the G.L. Friendly staff. The FBI also talked to the Biloxi police. Now, reports April, the police patrols G.L. Friendly all day, and an officer stays in G.L. Friendly's parking lot all night. Some of you have begun to send donations to G.L. Friendly so they can pay their outrageous phone bills (and many others) and so April can go to Washington to hold a press conference on the Justice Department steps. Anything you can send ($10 is good!) before Christmas will help them tremendously. Thanks for your time and interest. I will update you as I receive the info. Very sincerely yours, Deb Taylor ---------------- In case you lost your addresses: Governor Kirk Fordice State Capital PO Box 139 Jackson, MS 39205 Attorney General Janet Reno Department of Justice 10th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20530 April Richards, President G.L. Friendly 311 Caillavet Street Biloxi, MS 39530 G.L. Friendly's telephone number is 601-435-2398. Please make all checks payable to G.L. Friendly. *******For those who don't know, G.L. Friendly is a queer community centre in Biloxi, MS. Biloxi is 100 miles from Laurel, the murder cite (Laurel is close to Camp Sister Spirit). There are very few queer centers in Mississippi (G.L. Friendly might be the only one--I don't know). April Richards is the President of G.L. Friendly. She and her core group of three have been working on this case since two days after the murders. April nor her staff knew the murdered gay men. They are carrying the weight and future of queer justice and civil rights for Mississippi on their shoulders because most other Mississippi queers (particularly the ones in Laurel and Biloxi) have been scared into silence. April and I were roomies at the NGLTF in Dallas this October. I have committed to passing info onto the Internet on their behalf. Please send all inquiries, ideas, suggestions, etc., to dtaylor@ksu.edu