The Blade, August 1977

              (
· Eighth Year August 1977 Number Eight
, Mason Wins Special D.C. Election
Hilda Mason, with the endorsement of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club
and the support of most D.C. gay organizations, narrowly won the July 19
special election for the At-Large City Council seat formerly held by the late
Julius Hobson, Sr. Mason has been consistently helpful to the gay community
and supports most gay rights proposals.
To Counter Area Homophobia
House Passes
Antigay Bill
by Lou Romano .
WASHINGTON-The House of Repre­sentatives
voted last month 230 to 133
to prohibit federal legal aid money from
being issued to poor clients in cases
dealing with homosexuality or "so
called gay rights," marking the first
time either house of Congress has taken
a recorded stand on a gay issue.
The vote came in the form of an
amendment to a bill extending the life of
the Legal Services Administration, an
agency which evolved from the Ken­nedy-
Johnson antipoverty programs.
The amendment was introduced by Rep.
Larry McDonald (D-Ga.), who is a mem­ber
of the board of directors of the ultra­conservative
John Birch Society. Mc­Donald
.fust fil~ the amendment, in a
surprise move, in the form of a voice
vote. According to accounts by the
Washington Post, he was greeted with
hoots and laughter by colleagues on the
House floor, who quickly voted against
the amendment twice by unrecorded _
voice vote.
McDonald then demanded a recorded
roll call vote. This time the amendment
passed easily by a 230 to 133 vote.
Seventy House members did not vote.
Four out of the five Washington area
representatives voted against the
amendment, to the pleasant surprise of
local gay groups. The four included
Joseph Fisher (D-Arlington/Fairfax),
Herbert Harris (D-Alexandria/Fairfax),
Gladys Spellman ( D-Prince Georges/
Montgomery Counties), and Newton
Steers (R-Montgomery County). Mar-
JOr1e Holt (R-Prince μeorges/ Ana­rundal
Counties) was the only one in the
area voting in favor of the antigay
amendment.
\Baltimore area House members Clar­ance
Long, Barbara Mikulski, and Par­ren
Mitchell-all Democrats-voted
against the amendment.
As of this writing, the Senate had not
acted on the legal services bill, but was
expected to do so in late July. A source
from the Senate subcommittee with
jurisdiction over the bill indicated that
"a conservative senator" was expected
to futroduce an antigay amendment
similar to McDonald's. The source, who
asked that he not be identified, said op­ponents
of the amendment in the Senate
were hopeful that Senator Gaylord Nel­son
(D-Wis.), the floor manager of the
bill, would table the amendment, which,
in effect, would kill it.
Gay representatives were urging gay
people and their straight friends to
write to Virginia and Maryland sena­tors,
requesting that they oppose the
McDonald amendment. Activists also
said the House members who voted
against the amendment should also be
contacted and thanked.
One week prior to the passing of the
McDonald amendment to the legal ser­vices
bill, the House voted to eliminate a
newly written regulation by the Depart­ment
of Housing and Urban
Development that would have per­mitted
housing subsidies to two or more
persons, regardless of sex or sexual ori-cont.
on p. 4
Progay Coalition Fom1s
by Don Michaels _
WASHINGTON-A coalition of gay
and women's organizations has
launched a major effort to counter anti­gay
campaigns in the Washington area.
The Dialog of Human Rights, organiza­tional
name of the coalition, has mapped
- out active and amibitious community
outreach projects designed to offset
homophobic propaganda, strengthen
area-wide support for gay rights, and
gain new friends for the gay community.
The projects encompass a wide range
of activity and effort, utilizing buttons,
posters and leaflets, dialogues with area
church groups, media promotions, ral­lys,
demonstrations, an ad campaign to
promote a "D.C. Come Out Day," and
an October 1 major fundraiser.
Extensive gay community support
and involvement is needed and is being
actively solicited by the _Dialog foe Hu-man
Rights. Assuring success of its
projects is believed vital as a "defense
preparedness program" to guard
against an antigay backlash resulting
from Anita Bryant's campaign in
Miami. "The Anita Bryant victory is a
threat to all people in the District of
Columbia," says Cade Ware, Dialog's
full-time, paid coordinator. "The Save
Our Children organization is only a part
of a general growth of new right repres­siveness
and group hatred in our
country. After the gays, who's next?"
The Dialog's activities will need a
maximum of volunteers and' it is hoped
that the recent outpouring of gay com­munity
support can be effectively util­ized.
A number of volunteers have
already been enlisted to conduct a series
of leafletting efforts promoting a boy·
cott of Florida orange juice. Every Sat­urday
through August, leafletting at
area supermarkets will encourage peo­ple
to join the boycott by explaining the
issues involved.
Help is needed to organize and imple­ment
various other activities. Church
dialogues are planned, involving discus­sion
teams working with area churches
and church councils. Particular empha­sis
will be placed on fundamentalist
denominations. The media promotin
project involves promoting story and
program ideas to the media, press con­ferences,
and publicizing gay commun­ity
events. The Dialog has reprinted the
National Gay Task Force petition,
which calls for immediate implementa­tion
of civil rights for gays, and hopes
for a mass circulation locally.
Major events planned are a regional
demonstration for the weekend of Sep­tember
23 and a major fundraiser on
October 1. The demonstration plans in-
Cade Ware, Coordinator of "The Dialog
of Human Rights." '
volve a rally at the Ellipse and a candle­light
vigil, as wen as active participa­tion
by local gay bars. It is hoped that
participants will come from all over the
eastern seaboard region and the south­ern
and mid-Atlantic states.
cont.onp. 3