Flynn Supports Pride Committeee Participation Boston, MA - Mayor Raymond Flynn said that the Irish-American Gay, Les- bian, and Bisexual Pride Committee should be allowed to participate in Bos- ton’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, March 15. The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council rejected the group’1s request, saying a gay presence could provoke in- cidents that might threaten public safety. In response, committee members met. with the Boston Police Department and gave written assurances that they would march peacefully and refrain from dis- tributing pamphlets or condoms. “The mayor’s attitude is that public safety con- cerns raised by the parade committee have been addressed by this signed docu- ment,” said Flynn’s spokesperson. “Therefore, he believes that this group should be allowed to march.” Patrick Murphy, lawyer for the Veterans Council, said he expected the group to vote March 9th on whether to accept or reject the re- quest to participate. In New York, St. Pat:rick’s Day Parade organizers went to court to bar the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization from marching in that parade. (The Boston Globe) High School Military Recruitment Banned Cambridge, MA - Cambridge, MA be- came the first city in the U.S. to ban mil- itary recruitment in public high schools last fall. The school committee decision notes that the military violates the Cam- bridge Human Rights Ordinance by dis- crrminating against gays and lesbians. In a similar action in December, the school board in Rochester, NY also voted to pro I National/International News hibit military recruiting in public schools. The Rochester measure also re- quires counselors who provide students with recruitment literature to include a copy of the Defense Department policy prohibiting lesbians and gays from serv- ing. University of Rochester students are hoping to use the decision to force the University administration to re-evaluate its support of Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) on campus. (Outlines) United Way Boycott Washington, D.C. - The Board of Di- rectors of the Human Rights Campaign Fund (HRCF) has endorsed a national boycott of the United Way because of the organization’s financial support of the Boy Scouts of America. The Boy Scouts prohibit gay teens and adult vol- unteers from participating in their pro- grams and are engaged in controversy over their discriminatory policies. “Unit-- ed Way funding is an endorsement of the Boy Scout’s policy of discrimination. We hope to increase public awareness of the Boy Scouts misguided policy and to encourage the Scouts to accept the tradi- tional values of tolerance and diversity,” said Tim McFeeley, Executive Director of HRCF. McFeeley noted that the Girl Scouts of America, the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and other national or- ganizations serving youth do not dis- criminate against participants because of their sexual identity. In the meantime, the United Way of the Bay Area, the largest single donor to scouting programs in the San Francisco area, is on the verge of withdrawing its financial support in five counties because of the discriminatory policy. The United Way is expected to give the Scouts two options; either reverse its prohibition April 1992 against gays or give scouting organiza- tions in the region the right to “adopt a local policy that is in harmony with the social diversity, values and spirit of the Bay area.” Ben Love, Chief Executive of the Scouts, called both options totally un- acceptable, saying the Boy Scouts would find funds on their own rather than “de- stroy the program.” “Our values are not for sale, other people have a right to be- lieve what they believe, but we set our own standards. Homosexuality is not ac- cepted as a moral thought process by the majority of people in this country.” Other United Way chapters, which each set their own policy are “talking about the is- sue,” according to a spokesperson at na- tional headquarters in Alexandria, VA, but aew awaiting “a final legal de- termination in the courts.” United Way chapters across the U.S. donate $87 mi- lion a year to Boy Scout programs, ac- counting for 20 percent of thScout’s na- tional operating budget. (Washington Blade, New York Times, HCRF) First Discrimination Complaint Filed in Connecticut Hartford, CT — James Davis, who worked F as the only male secretary for a Hartford law firm, has filed the first discrimination complaint under Connecticut’s new gay rights law. The law, which took effect on October 1 last year, makes it illegal to ‘ discriminate against a person in employ- ment, housing, credit and other areas on the basis of sexual orientation. Davis, who filed the suit in December, says that while he was working at the law firm or Hoberrnan and Pollack, he was called names that ridiculed his sexual orienta- tion. He also asserts that he may have been laid off because he was a man in a job not traditionafly held by men. (The New York Times) V £317» RORERT W. ZEUNER ATTORNEY AT LAW Member National Lesbian and Gay Law Association Bauer, Gravel and Watson 362 Main Street Burlington, VT 05401 863-5538 Walter l. Zeichner, M.A., H.C.C. Certified Clinical Mental Health Counselor ~ Psychotherapy ~ Bodywork ~ Gay Positive Counseling ~ for Individuals and Couples ~ Gay Men's Therapy Group ~ L Insurance Accepted ~ 323 Pearl St.. Burlington, VT 05401 (802) 863-5510. .