October 1989 Jude, NGLTF Legislative Director. “This report provides individuals and organiza- fions with useful information on lobbying their Senators and representatives on criti- cal legislation before Congress. Copies of the report may be ordered by sending $1.00 to NGLTF, Federal Legisla- tive Report, 1517 U Street, N.W., Wash- ington, D.C. 20009. Gay /Lesbian Ads Blanket Maine; 15 Papers Refuse Portland, ME: During the week of J une 1, 1989, thirty-two Maine newspapers car- ried ads from , a gay/lesbian newpaper, offering subscription informa- tion and a free sample. Fifteen papers, including the fiangm Daily News and the Qwisjgn §;;n, refused the pre-paid ads and returned them to Qg I ljgpg without explanation. 1 Despite the refusals from the I newspapers, g 2111’ Paper received over three hundred individual requests for subscrip- tion information. Georgia Heterosexual Sodomy Convic- lion Challenged \ Georgia attorneys are challenging the conviction and jailing of an Atlanta-area man on charges resulting from private and ‘consensual sodomy with his wife. A peti- i tion for a writ of habeas corpus was filed in 1 DeKalb Superior Court on July 28 to over- 1 turn the man’s two-year jail sentence. The ipetition argues that the conviction under the 156-year old law violates the man’s , right to privacy and that the law is vague land overly broad. Winning Moseley’s re- lease from jail does not preclude a legal i challenge to the Georgia sodomy law based on his case. James Moseley was accused by his wife, from whom he was being divorced, of “D6 and aggravated oral and anal sodomy. 0nMay 12, 1988, a jury found him inno- cent on all counts of coerced sex, but con- Vlcled him of sodomy because Moseley lfistified that he had engaged in consensual jlral sex with his wife. The Judge instructed the jury that Moseley’s admission gave them the option of considering the consen- sual sodomy charge. The jury returned with a verdict of guilty and Moseley was sen- tenced to five years in jail. Moseley, eligible for parole after two years, has served 17 months. Moseley’s case has received extensive coverage in the non-gay press in Atlanta and around the state. Georgia Attorney General Michael Bowers, who argued to uphold the sodomy law in Bowers v, flam- w_iq1<_, has said that “the law would have serious constitutional problems were it to be applied to a married couple." In the wake of the Moseley case, Geor- gia gay and lesbian activists are considering a legislative repeal strategy to strike the law from the books. Federal Appeals Court Rejects Army Lesbian In the latest development in lesbian Miriam Ben-Shalom’s 13-year battle to re- enlist in the U.S. Army Reserves, the U.S. Federal Court of Appeals ruled that the Army is not required to re-enlist Ben-Sha- lom. J ustifying it s decision in part on the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Bgwgrs v, flgdwigk, in which the Court held that states could regulate the rights of gay people to engage in private, adult, consen- sual sexual behavior, the court in Bgn-§ha- lgmupheld the Arrny’sregulation discharg- ing persons who “engage in homosexual conduct, or who by their statements demon- strate a propensity to engage in homosexual conduct.” Sue Hyde, Director of the Privacy Project of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), and organizer of the Gay & Lesbian Military Freedom Project Coali- tion, condemned the court’s decision. “The damage I_Iard1ic,‘k did to the lives of gay men and lesbians continues to become clear with each new case. In , the 7th Circuit extends the dangerous logic of flagdwigk to say it’s o.k. to be gay, o.k. to say you ’re gay and you favor gay rights, but that it’s not o.k. to agt on one’s sexual Partners in Recovery and Growth, Therapist Erica Marks, B.A.S.A.C. Substance Abuse, Sexuality, Parenting, Grief, Gestalt, Spirituality, Individuals, Couples, Families, Groups Hearthstone Assoc. 182 Main St. Burlington, VT 05401 Sliding fe_e£:a1e° Phone: 865-2403 orientation, not o.k. to live our lives fully, without experiencing discrimination.” Hyde noted that the Gay & Lesbian Military Freedom Project Coalition, which NGLTF spearheads, will continue to pur- sue a Congressional strategy to overturn the anti-gay/lesbian military policy. Hyde also noted NGL'I'F’s plans to hold a Mili- tary Freedom demonstration at the White House on November 10. For more infor- mation write Gay & Lesbian Military Free- dom Project c/o National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, 1517 U StreetN.W., Washing- ton, D.C. 20009. (202) 332-6483. DHHS Report Calls for Action Against Lesbian/Gay Youth Suicide A report just released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Task Force on Youth Suicide acknowledges that lesbian and gay youth are at increased risk for suicide and calls for “an end [to] discrimination against youths on the basis of such characteristics as disability, sexual orientation, and finan- cial status.” “According to research discussed in the DHHS report, suicide is the leading cause of death among lesbian, gay, and other sexual minority youth,” said Kevin Berrill, Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force’s Anti-Violence Proj- ect. “The increased risk of suicide facing these youth is linked to growing up in a society that teaches them to hide and to hate themselves. We welcome this report and hope it will lead to action that will save lives.” Copies of the 4-volume report of the DHHS Secretary’s Task Force on Youth (Continued on page 13) Workshop: Women Loving Women Exploring Love and Relationship Deanna Alpert 0 CCSW Pathways 323 Pearl Street Burlington, VT 0540] Insurance 3620836 Benefits Accepted