Out in the Mountains

 

 sd

The U.S. Senate passed the Hate
Crimes Statistics Act by a 92-4 vote on
February 8, serving up a stunning setback
for Senator Jesse Helms.

Prior to approving the Act, the Senate
overwhelming voted down Helms’ pro-
posed amendment, which stated that “the
homosexual movement threatens the
strength and survival of the American
family as the basic unit of society.” The
final vote to defeat that amendment was 77-
19.

Only three Senators sided with Helms
to oppose the bill itself: William Armstrong
(R-CO), Gordon Humphrey (R-NH), and
Trent Lott (R-MS).

Passage of the Hate Crimes Bill marks
a major legislative victory for the gay rights

movement.
Nsyzslluslatss

Other news from around the nation con-
tinued to flood the OIT M mailbox even as
we were busy detennining the state and fate
of the paper. Here are some of the top
stories we'll be following and reporting on
in upcoming issues:

Controversy continues at UVM over
the decision of the Acacia fraternity to deny
admittance to an openly gay pledge on the
basis of his sexual orientation. Though the
UVM administration has taken action on
the case, many argue that its response was
not sufficient.

Successful lobbying by the National
Lesbian and Gay Law Association
(NLGLA) caused the American Bar Assso-
ciation to include a ban against discrimina-
tion based on sexual orientation in its draft
Model Code of Judicial Conduct, which
means that lesbians and gay men can expect
and demand fair treatment in the judicial
system.

The New York Appellate Division
heard the first case submitted to an appel-
late court on whether a lesbian who raised
a child with her former partner (who is the
biological parent) should be allowed to
seek visitation rights as aparent. This could
establish important standards for the legal
recognition of non—biological lesbian par-
ents.

A recent survey of lesbians ranks Part-
nership Rights as their top issue for legisla-
tive advocacy. The survey was conducted
by the Lesbian Issues and Outreach Project
of the Human Rights Campaign Fund.

“Having a wonderful time, Wish you
were here on the Gay and Lesbian Civil
Rights Bill.” So read the post cards for a
major campaign launched by the National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) to
increase support for the Federal Bill in the
U.S. Congress. The campaign will run
through June as part of lobbying efforts for
the Civil Rights Amendment Act (S47
Senate, HR655 House) which would pro-
hibit discrimination on the basis of affec-
tional or sexual orientation in the areas of
housing, employment, credit, public ac-
commodations, and federally assisted pro-
grams. To obtain post cards and more infor-
mation, write to the NGLTF Post Card
Lobbying Campaign at 1517 U St. NW,
Washington DC 20009.

NGLTF will celebrate the 15th anniver-
sary of the introduction of the Federal
Lesbian and Gay Civil Rights Bill on
March 25-27 with a series of commemora-
tive events designed to increase momen-
tum and awareness of the anti-discrimina-
tion legislation.

NGLTF is also seeking data for its
Annual Violence Report and urges local
activists and organizations to provide
documentation on hanassment and vio-
lence incidents for its “1989 Anti-Gay
Victimization and Defamation Report”
The deadline is mid-March; contact Kevin
Burrill at 202-332-6483 for more informa-
tion or write NGLTFat 1517 U StreetNW,
Washington DC 20009.

Sixty-four activists lay down in the
streets of Atlanta, Georgia, to protest that
state’s 156-year-old sodomy law. The
state’s House of Representatives recently
rejected a move to repeal the “ancient stat-
ute,” drawing condemnation from NGLTF.
Meanwhile, activists in Missouri urged
their elected representatives to repeal their
state’s sexual misconduct provision.

(continued on next page)