From lobngltf@aol.com Fri Dec 10 07:41:07 1993
Date: Fri, 10 Dec 93 00:17:36 EST
From: lobngltf@aol.com
To: qrd@vector.intercon.com
Subject: More Mississippi

NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE POLICY INSTITUTE
1734 14th St., NW, Washington, DC, 20009
(202) 332-6483/FAX (202) 332-0207
TTY (202) 332-6219/ngltfrk@aol.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
contact Robin Kane (202) 332-6483 ext. 3311
or David M. Smith 202) 332-6483 ext. 3309 pager (800)  757-7736

FEDERAL AGENCY RESPONDS TO NGLTF REQUEST FOR INTERVENTION IN MISSISSIPPI 

Agency Needs Go-Ahead from Reno to Proceed Further 

 Washington, D.C.-- (December 9, 1993) -- The Community Relations Service
(CRS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Justice, intervened yesterday in a
volatile situation in Ovett, Miss. CRS responded to calls from the National
Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) for immediate assistance from the Justice
Department following a town meeting held in Ovett to condemn and try to oust
two lesbians who own land in the small Jones County community. For the past
two months, the two women have been the targets of harassment and violence.

 NGLTF Executive Director Peri Jude Radecic spoke with CRS officials Gail
Padgett, in D.C., and Sue Brown in the Atlanta bureau on Dec. 7. Radecic
informed CRS of the incidents of violence and harassment the women have
faced, and the frightening tone of the Dec. 6 Ovett community meeting. At
that meeting, 250 people gathered to denounce Brenda and Wanda Henson and
discuss ways to oust the women from their 120-acre farm. For the past two
months, the women have received threatening phone calls, strangers (some of
them armed) have been found on their property, a dead dog was hung on their
mailbox, and the mailbox has been shot at. The Hensons say they do not trust
local officials to insure their safety.

 Brown, of CRS, spoke with Brenda Henson on Dec. 8 and assured Henson that
she would contact the local sheriff and local FBI to let them know a federal
agency was monitoring the situation. Padgett informed Radecic yesterday that
CRS agrees with NGLTF's assessment that the situation is potentially violent
and needs mediation. However, CRS is mandated to mediate disputes related
only to race, color and ethnicity, not sexual orientation. Radecic has
attempted for several years to expand the mandate of CRS to include sexual
orientation. According to Radecic, Padgett agreed that the Mississippi
incident illustrates the need for CRS to expand its mandate. However, Padgett
told Radecic that with the current mandate, CRS cannot directly mediate the
dispute unless Attorney General Janet Reno directs CRS to do so.

 "This situation warrants immediate attention--the women's lives are in
danger," Radecic said. "We must convince Attorney General Janet Reno that the
Community Relations Service needs to mediate the dispute and alleviate the
potential for harm to the Hensons. CRS must change its mandate."

 CRS actions follow a letter sent by Radecic Dec. 7 to Reno. In that letter,
Radecic stated, "The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force asks that you and
the Department of Justice move immediately to support the lesbians' right to
purchase property and live free of violence and harassment. Any delay by the
Department of Justice in intervening in this explosive situation could result
in harm to the two women."

Radecic made the following urgent requests of the Department of Justice and
related agencies: 

 --The Community Relations Service should perform mediation in the community
to immediately alleviate the potential for violence. 
 --The Federal Bureau of Investigation should monitor the on-going situation.

 --The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division should investigate the
attempts to violate the civil rights of the Hensons. 
 --A representative of the Attorney General's office should attend the
January 4 Ovett community meeting.

 "Finally, we request that you meet with us and one of the women from Camp
Sister Spirit in order to work together to alleviate the violent situation
and to insure that these women may live free of violence in their community."

 Copies of the letter were also sent to the Community Relations Service
(CRS), the FBI and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.

 In order to persuade Reno to take immediate action, NGLTF Legislative
Director Tanya Domi delivered information about the issue to staff members of
Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) and  Rep. Don Edwards (D-CA), who chair
Congressional committees that oversee the Department of Justice. Domi has
asked those members to write letters to Reno encouraging Justice Department
intervention. Domi also contacted the district office of Rep. Mike Parker
(D-MS), who represents the district in Mississippi in which Ovett is located.
Domi spoke with District Director Ed Cole, who told Domi he knew of the
situation and would contact the local sheriff to inform him that Parker's
office was monitoring the events.

 NGLTF sought Justice Department intervention following calls for assistance
from the Hensons. Brenda Henson told NGLTF staffers that she fears for the
safety of the women at Camp Sister Spirit, a feminist educational center and
retreat run by the Hensons on their property.

 "Even local government officials are involved in the attempt to force us
from this land," Henson said. "I view this as an open conspiracy to deny us
our civil rights."

 At the Dec. 4 community meeting, private citizens and public officials
(including the attorney for the Board of Supervisors in neighboring Perry
County) vowed to research state and county laws, including the state
anti-sodomy law, to discover a means to force the women to leave. One
resident said he  fears that the Hensons would "approach any of the women in
this community" and another said, "these people can pick up our little girls
and take them to this place and do whatever they want to." A pastor also
stated, "[They] will intervene with women and girls in this community when
they're vulnerable and in need of help. I believe we're dealing with
something that is against nature."  The women did not attend the meeting
because they fear for their safety. A second community meeting is scheduled
for January 4, 1994.

 "These women are literally under siege," said Robin Kane, NGLTF Public
Information Manager who has been working with the women to resolve the
situation. "The hate-filled myths about lesbians expressed by some Ovett
residents obscures the fact that the Hensons are the true targets of
victimization in that community."

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