>Date: Tue, 4 Jan 1994 17:23:42 EST >From: ljyngltf@aol.com >Subject: Ovett effort to oust lesbians NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE POLICY INSTITUTE 1734 14th Street, NW, Washington, DC 20009 Ph: (202) 332-6483 / FAX: (202) 332-0207 TTY: (202) 332-6219 / ngltf@aol.com FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Robin Kane (202) 332-6483 ext. 3311 or David M. Smith (202) 332-6483 ext. 3309 or pager (800) 757-7736 MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY REAFFIRMS EFFORT TO OUST LESBIANS Community Meeting Stirs Up Passions, Raises Funds, but Fails to Outline Legal Means to Force Lesbians from the Community Ovett, Miss. -- (January 4, 1994) -- A community in Mississippi continues to organize against two lesbians who own property in the small town of Ovett. A second town meeting was held January 3, as a follow-up to a meeting organized by Ovett resident James Hendry last month. At that meeting, Hendry and others condemned Brenda and Wanda Henson and Camp Sister Spirit, a feminist educational retreat run by the Hensons. Opponents vowed to research state and county laws to find ways to force the women from the community and planned to meet again this month to discuss their findings. Unlike last month's meeting, where members of the community audience participated and expressed opinions, Hendry tightly controlled the agenda of the meeting with no audience participation beyond a few shouts, clapping and standing ovations. The meeting, held at the Ellisville Court House, included the viewing of video clips from the recent Oprah Winfrey Show on which Hendry and the Hensons appeared; area ministers reading passages of the Bible; a viewing of a clip from a Right Wing video selectively highlighting provocative events at the national gay rights March on Washington in 1993; and a plea for money to establish the "Ovett Community Defense Fund." Attorney Paul Walley, who has served as the attorney for the group seeking to oust the Hensons , reported on the lack of progress in finding a state or county law that could be used to force the women from their property. "I said (at the last meeting) that I was unaware of any quick and legal fix to this situation," Walley said. "I have looked into it and will continue to." Walley, who is also the attorney for the neighboring Perry County Board of Supervisors, said he had contacted the Hensons' neighbors and others who "do intend to take action to protect themselves and their property." He indicated that a lawsuit might be filed in the future, but did not discuss what specific legal avenues the group would pursue. After collecting donations for the "Ovett Community Defense Fund," with the assistance of Sheriff Maurice Hooks, Hendry ended the meeting without taking any questions from the audience or the media. He did not specifically define the purpose of the defense fund, beyond repeating Walley's references to helping the Hensons' neighbors "protect themselves and their property." "If the intention of Hendry and other opponents is to find a legal means to force the women from Ovett, then he should file suit and deal with the Hensons' attorney. Instead, he organizes these town meetings where people's passions and prejudices are whipped up and fear and hatred is aimed at the Hensons," said Robin Kane, Public Information Manager for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF). Kane attended the Jan. 3 town meeting to monitor the community's actions toward the Hensons. NGLTF has asked the Department of Justice to monitor and mediate the situation to prevent violence from occurring. The Community Relations Service (CRS), a division of the Justice Department, has contacted the Hensons and said it would also alert the local FBI that the agency was monitoring the situation. However, CRS has said it cannot mediate the dispute directly because the issue is not covered in its mandate. CRS is designed to mediate community tensions based on race, color and ethnicity only, not sexual orientation. "The Hensons are facing harassment, intimidation and violence because of their sexual orientation," Kane said. "Those incidents and these town meetings show how the lives of gay and lesbian people continue to be under attack with no statutory means of protection, because sexual orientation is not included in civil rights laws." About ten gay and lesbian Mississippi citizens attended the meeting. Several were from G.L. Friendly, the recently-established gay and lesbian community center in Biloxi, and others were from the gay and lesbian student group at the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg. Because of the structure of the meeting, no gay audience member had the opportunity to speak. Following the conclusion of the meeting, four gay men and a lesbian were forced out of the court house by four deputy sheriffs. Todd Emerson, who works with G.L. Friendly, was harassed by more than a dozen people as he attempted to speak to a local t.v. reporter. Following the conclusion of the interview, Emerson said he and his colleagues were grabbed by the deputies who told them they must leave the court house. After initially forcing Emerson and the others into the hallway, where they were harassed and yelled at, the deputies then forced them outside. Emerson said the officers never indicated why they were forcing Emerson and the others to leave. NGLTF will continue to pursue a meeting with Justice Department officials to gain federal intervention in the situation. "Even local officials are involved in the organized attempt to drive the Hensons from their home. Recently, Rep. Mike Parker, who represents Ovett in the U.S. House of Representatives, stated in a news article that he opposes the Hensons' existence in Ovett and supports the community's attempt to oust them," Kane said. "Clearly, the Hensons feel under siege at the local level. NGLTF is seeking federal mediation and monitoring to insure the Hensons' safety and their right to own property and live in peace on their land." - 30 -