Date: Mon, 3 Jun 1996 09:14:27 -0700 From: glaad@glaad.org (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Subject: GLAADAlert 06.03.96 GLAADAlert June 3, 1996 The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation THE WALL BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE The May 27th issue of Time Magazine featured a thoughtful article on same gender marriage entitled, "Gay In The Eyes Of God; Marriage Is Just One Issue Christians Need To Face." By author and critic Wilfrid Sheed, the piece discusses the "wall between church and state." Sheed defines the conflict over same gender marriage as the dichotomy between marriage as a civic institution and a religious institution. Whatever people's beliefs, Sheed contends all parties are going to have to face the issue and discuss it. Sheed also posits that the debate will eventually lead to certain questions: "What might God have had in mind, and is it significant that Christ never mentioned the subject?" Also, "What injustices may have been done to homosexuals under the old understanding, and what can be done to avoid more of them?" Sheed concludes, "None of which means gay marriages are inevitable, only that something is. The running argument between what feels Christian and what the church currently practices actually seems to be approaching climaxes on several fronts at once right now, as the roles of priest and citizen and married couple all struggle to be reborn in harmony. But this time gays will undoubtedly be part of the equation and, if all goes well, part of the harmony." Contact: Norman, Pearlstine, Editor-In-Chief,Time, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020, phone: 212.522.1212, e-mail: Letters@time.com THE SPIN ON EXODUS The June issue of Spin Magazine featured an expose entitled "Queer and Loathing," exploring the anti-gay conversion ministry known as Exodus. Writer Elizabeth Gilbert went undercover at the national Exodus conference in San Diego to investigate her piece, finding that "what the group does best is bring tormented gay Christians out of the closet." Gilbert relays that Exodus is set up more like "pop therapy" rather than a conversion ministry, using words like "recovering" and "redeem" rather than "cure." In one of the most telling segments of her article, Gilbert interviews Michael Bussee, one of Exodus' co-founders. He explains that founding Exodus with his late lover Gary Cooper made them confront the shame they harbored about their sexualities and that as a result, they were able to abandon the group, renounce the idea of conversion and come out with pride as gay men. While the article may see a greater good in Exodus, Gilbert also cautions that this is not an alternative for gay Christians to come out. She writes, "Bussee recalls one victim (of Exodus' pressure) who wrote in his suicide note, 'God will forgive me for killing myself. But He will never forgive me for having another homosexual thought.'" Write Spin Magazine and thank them for their exposing the truth behind Exodus. Contact: Bob Guccione, Jr., Editor & Publisher,Spin Magazine, 6 West 18th Street, New York, NY 10011, e-mail: spinonline@aol.com TROUBLE IN TAMPA Controversy arose when the Tampa Tribune refused to run a memorial submitted by Tampa resident Barry Adams in tribute to his longtime life partner Jack Girard. Although Adams intended to fully pay for the memorial, the Tribune policy states that memorials, "may only be taken from a spouse or a close family blood relative of the deceased, such as mother, father, son, daughter, husband, wife." Write the Tampa Tribune and urge them to change their policy. Let them know that while gay men and lesbians may not yet legally be wed, our community's unions are just as strong. Contact: Pat Jones, Tribune Classified Advertising Manager, Tampa Tribune, 202 S. Parker Street, Tampa, FL 33606-2395, phone 813.259.7580, fax 813-259-7676, e-mail: tecy45b@prodigy.com from The Tampa Bay Gazette CWA STRIKES In their continuing effort to make the persecution of gay men and lesbians one of their top fundraising priorities, the Concerned Women for America (CWA) takes several shots at the gay and lesbian community in the April issue of the Family Voice, the organization's news magazine. In the issue, Reverend Jim Woodall, the Vice President of Management for the CWA, quotes Ephesians 6:12-13 that refers to demons responsible for the evils of the world, the same demons that he states drive the gay and lesbian civil rights movement. In another article, the CWA continues to perpetuate grotesque lies about the gay community by "reporting" that gay men average "between 10 and 1,000 partners per year," and that they "regularly swallow semen and ingest the feces and urine of their partners," The article continues that "still, nothing under present law prevents active homosexuals - with or without AIDS - from working in food-handling professions, or with the elderly or young children, who are especially vulnerable to illness." Contact: Beverly LaHaye, President, and Reverend Jim Woodall, Vice President of Management, Concerned Women for America, 370 L'Enfant Promenade, SW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20024, phone: 202.488.7000, Jim Woodall's e-mail address: JWOOD10165@aol.com from Freedom Writer The GLAADAlert is the weekly activation tool of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. GLAAD is a national organization that promotes fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in the media as a means of combating homophobia and all forms of discrimination based on sexual orientation or identity. Copies of articles referred to in the GLAADAlert are available to our members by contacting GLAAD. Contact GLAAD by e-mail at glaad@glaad.org or by phone at 213.658.6775 (Los Angeles), 212.807.1700 (New York), 413.586.8928 (Northampton), 503.224.5285 (Portland, Oregon), 202.986.1360 (Washington, DC) or 415.861.2244(San Francisco). Visit GLAAD's Web Site at http://www.glaad.org "GLAADAlert," "GLAAD" and "Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation" are trademarks of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, Inc. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) glaad@glaad.org VISIT THE GLAAD WEB SITE AT http://www.glaad.org! 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