The following posting is a copy of the periodic newsletter, as sent out to Friends of Stonewall and volunteers. Stonewall Lobbying Group is an organisation aimed at lobbying the UK parliament for changes in the law. Any typographical errors are mine. If you have an queries, please contact Stonewall by post, via stonewall@georgej.demon.co.uk or to me. I will forward or respond as appropriate. ======================================================================== STONEWALL NEWS - May 1994 ======================================================================== 2 Greycoat Place, London, SW1P 1SB, UK. Tel: (071) 222-9007 Internet: stonewall@georgej.demon.co.uk Contents: 1. From the Director's Desk 2. Lords are so out of touch 3. News in brief 4. We were born this way 5. Laws without prejudice 6. Sacked because he was gay 7. Prisoners of policy 8. Mandela's ANC puts UK to shame (again) 9. s28 Party for Family Day? 10. Win a trip for two to New York (fundraiser). 11. Invest in equality 12. News ------------------------ FROM THE DIRECTOR'S DESK ------------------------ Many people will have rejoiced as the people of South Africa held their first free elections and set out to dismantle apartheid and build a multi-racial society. Their long struggle for equality and freedom has a special meaning for all those who are working to overcome discrimination. The contract between the new guarantees for lesbian and gay rights in the interim South Africa constitution and the attempt by a group of aging peers to reintroduce 21 and recriminalise us in the military could not be more marked. But we should remember that the struggle for freedom in South Africa was achieved through the long term dedication and commitment of ordinary men and women and international support and solidarity. The growing international dimension of the lesbian and gay movement is highlighted in this issue: Chris Carter, the first out gay MP in New Zealand, provides our report on South Africa; the European elections are our chance to mobilise opinion at Strasbourg: Mark Watson's imprisonment raises questions about our right to move freely and equally. But we should not underestimate how fast the tide may turn, even in this country. Since February 21, there have been six debate sin the Commons on lesbian and gay issues. British institutionalised discrimination may be out of step with world opinion and practice; we can at least draw inspiration form South Africa and courage form the conviction that we are all marching down the same road. ------------------------- LORDS ARE SO OUT OF TOUCH ------------------------- THEY may be old enough to know better, but that hasn't stopped four members of the House of Lords from trying to block reform on the age of consent and overturn decriminalisation of lesbians and gay men in the military. Debates on their amendments, to return the age of consent for gay men to 21 and re-impose harsh prison sentences for service personnel found to be lesbian or gay, are expected soon. The four are: Old Etonian, Lord Longford (89 this year); Lord Boyd-Carpenter, 86, former transport minister (under Churchill!); Admiral of the Fleet the Lord Hill-Norton, 79, author of Sea Power and No Soft Options and, stripling of the bunch, the Bishop of Chester, 63, a railway enthusiast and author of Getting through to God. They are backed by Lord Orr-Ewing, 82, who recently complained that MPs had only voted for a reduction in the age of consent because of "pressure from constituents". The 21 amendment forces another debate on the age of consent and Stonewall supporters will be tabling an equality amendment arguing for equaliy at 16. Peers who back equality will also be able to vote for three further reforms, drawn up by Stonewall, to end the prosecution of 16/17-year old gay men; equalise under-age sex penalties and recognise male rape for the first time. Britain is the only country in Europe where gay men under the age of consent are also treated as criminals. Penalties are harsher for consenting gay sex with 17-year-olds than for heterosexual offences involving 13-year-old girls. But rape sentences, where the victim is a man, carry a maximum jail term of 10 years, compared with the life sentences imposed for the rape of a woman. IT MAY have seemed that everything in the age of consent campaign was won or lost in the House of Commons on February 21. But the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill now has to go through the House of Lords, writes Douglas Slater. The Lords can amend the Bill. Any changes they make have to be agreed by the Commons, but this can take time. The Government want the Bill to become law this summer. So, especially since the age of consent is not government policy, it could get caught up in horse-trading between the Houses. There are three separate stages of the Bill in the Lords Committee, Report, and Third Reading which means there could be votes at the end of May, through June (around Pride!), up to early July. The House of Lords, unelected and largely hereditary, may seem a monstrosity; but this is not a battle about the British constitution. We need to encourage the Lords to do the right thing. So is there anything you can do to stop the four elderly Peers reversing the reduction in the age of consent and decriminalisation in the military? Yes; if you want to write to a peer, think what effect you wish to have. Write to those who support us, to thank and encourage them. Conversely, if you are angry at any of the peers who have openly opposed equality,write to them: but a word of advice. They will use an abusive letter against you, and regard their bigotry as justified by it. Polite fury is the best tactic. Also, remember your local paper and radio (the antics of peers is always news) and don't forget that most peers don't have secretaries so if you are writing to a friendly one, say you don't need a reply. You can write to any peer you like but there are three ministers in the Lords who you might like to put pressure on: The Rt. Hon. The Earl Ferrers (Home Office), The Rt. Hon. The Lord Fraser of Carmyllie QC (Scottish Office) and The Baroness Denton of Wakefield CBE (Northern Ireland Office). Address letters to The Lord X of Y, House of Lords, London SW1A OPW. Start letters simply: Dear Lord X or Lady X or Dear Duke or Dear Bishop. You can forget all that "May it please Your Grace" nonsense in the reference books. And if there's a particular bishop you want to write to, you can check with Stonewall to find out if he's one of the ones who sits in the Lords. ------------- NEWS IN BRIEF ------------- MARCH WITH US AT PRIDE: London's Pride '94 on June 18, is shaping up to be the biggest and best yet. More than 50,000 lesbians, gay men and their families and friends are expected to join the annual march, this year starting from Hyde Park at noon and ending near the Stonewall office in Victoria (coincidence only, folks!) Come and march with us, under the Stonewall banner. We will be marching with our immigration group and Rank Outsiders and our youth group YEARN. We want to have a strong lesbian contingent and invite all Stonewall lesbian supporters to join us on the march. It is really important not to miss the march but you can also meet us at the Brockwell Park festival, where we'll have an information tent. Call 071 222 9007 to volunteer your help. NICE LOLLY: Customers packed the Vauxhall Tavern on sweltering May Day when the famous London drag pub held an all-day benefit for Stonewall's Equality Fund. The event raised 511. Central Station at King's Cross raised 285 for the Fund in April , while in Leeds, Club Erotica at Mr Craig's held a benefit night raising 1,000 and in Sheffield, Isabella's, raised 1,426. Many thanks to all. PINK ANGEL DELIGHT: Stonewall will be one of the groups to benefit from this year's Pink Angel Day and festival over the late May bank holiday. The festival is a joint effort by clubs and bars in the Islington area. See gay press for details. VOLUNTEER URGENTLY NEEDED: Do you have time on your hands, like three days a week for about three months, plus admin skills? We need you, desperately! Contact Stonewall for our volunteer pack. --------------------- WE WERE BORN THIS WAY --------------------- Stonewall 25: The making of the lesbian and gay community of Britain (all royalties go to Stonewall!). A TIMELY collection of essays from amongst others, Pam St Clement, Sir Ian McKellen, Simon Fanshawe and Chris Smith MP together with writer Ellen Galford and theorist Elizabeth Wilson, coincides with the anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Edited by Stonewall's Angela Mason and journalist Emma Healey, Stonewall 25 includes a 'Gay Lives' section featuring contributions from a woman police officer plus a driving instructor and a ballroom dancer. Margaret Drabble's verdict: "A fascinating, informative, and heart-warming collection of essays on one of the most interesting issues of our times: it is packed with energy and hope." So, don't miss it! Place your orders now with: Grantham Book Services, 0476-67421. Published June 28, Virago Press 6.99. ---------------------- LAWS WITHOUT PREJUDICE ---------------------- A STRING of important reforms have been won in the wake of the age of consent debate. The Commons accepted new legislation to decriminalise lesbians and gay men in the armed forces and extend 18 to Northern Ireland. After pressure from Stonewall and Rank Outsiders, defence ministers pledged to end criminal prosecutions of gay men in the military but, despite their promises, no legislation was brought forward. So, Stonewall drafted new clauses to the Criminal Justice Bill which were tabled by Liberal Democrat Robert Mclennan. The new clause amended the Sexual Offences Act 1967 decriminalising homosexuality in the military and the Merchant Navy. The clause was accepted by the Government and will now become law. Stonewall also drafted a new clause on male rape which was tabled by Labour MP Barbara Roach and Alan Howarth, Conservative MP for Stratford-upon-Avon. An informed debate drew support from all sides of the House. The Government wanted to wait for a new sexual offences bill but supporters of the motion are seeking a meeting with the Home Office to press for its inclusion in the present Criminal Justice Bill. Decriminalisation in the armed forces coincides with the publication, by the Ministry of Defence, of new guidelines on homosexuality in the military. The guidelines replace the morbid and insensitive instructions given to investigating officers examining allegations of homosexuality used in the past. The Government was embarrassed when Stonewall leaked details of the Navy's guidelines last year. The new instructions urge senior officers to handle "suspected" lesbians and gay men with more care and accept the trauma that such investigations can involve. But the guidelines still sanction criminal investigations and continue the myth that homosexuality undermines discipline. Rank Outsiders and Stonewall will be challenging these guidelines as part of the campaign to end the ban on lesbians and gays in the military. ------------------------- SACKED BECAUSE HE WAS GAY ------------------------- Ian Agnew was hired by Comtext International to work in Hong Kong as a regional credit controller. He gave up his flat in London, sorted out his affairs and flew out to take up the post. Less than a week later he'd been sacked because he was gay. Some of the other staff thought they'd catch Aids from him. After pleading with Comtext to be allowed to address the staff, Ian managed to persuade the majority to support him. Yet the firm still fired him, blaming "cultural differences" between Ian and his new colleagues. But Ian secretly taped his dismissal interview; the tape proves he was fired for being gay. We put Ian in touch with his MP who took up the case and we called in the Equal Opportunities Commission, but, Ian's case fell outside UK law because he was employed abroad. Comtext have paid Ian 6,000 expenses revealing how important it is to challenge such sackings. Now we're looking for a good, UK-based, test case to take under the Sex Discrimination Act. We can't promise to take your case up but we will refer you on to someone who may be able to help. Please write to Anya Palmer at Stonewall. ------------------ PRISONER OF POLICY ------------------ Separated from the partner he loves, jobless and in jail, MarkWatson, 28, is the latest victim of the Home Office's heartlessimmigration policy.THE immigration ban which splits loving lesbian and gay couples isthe cruelest of all the injustices we are made to suffer. Mark Watson can testify to that. Mark is serving six months in jail, another casualty of a Home Office policy which treats lesbian and gay relationships with contempt.While unmarried heterosexual couples, where one is a foreign national, are routinely allowed leave to stay together in the UK, all applications from similar lesbian and gay partners are refused unless the British partner is terminally ill. On May 4, immigration minister, Charles Wardle, again refused to review this policy when challenged by Labour's Lynne Jones MP in an adjournment debate. But the Immigration Appeal Tribunal, in April, upheld an appeal by Stonewall Immigration Group members Bill Hendry and Javier Lizarzaburo who had protested that Javier's request to stay in Britain had been rejected on the wrong grounds. The Tribunal has told the minister such couples should not have to pass the impossible "blood relative" test but should be treated in the same way as unmarried heterosexuals. Mark Watson met his Brazilian lover, Ander, in San Paulo, while taking six months off from his job as an immigration officer to lead an expedition up the Amazon. Later, when Ander visited Britain, the couple fell in love and set up home together.In desperation, knowing Ander's visitor's visa had expired and that there was no chance they would be allowed to stay together, Mark stamped Ander's passport illegally.But the couple's home was raided, Ander was deported in January and Mark lost his job and was jailed. Awaiting his trial, Mark joined the Stonewall Immigration Group, to help other couples in a similar plight and he's also produced a detailed information booklet, available from Stonewall.You can write to immigration minister, Charles Wardle, to demand an end to this discrimination via the Home Office, 50 Queen Anne's Gate, London SW1H 9AT. If you'd like to write to Mark: Put your letter in a second envelope and post it to Stonewall. We'll ensure letters get to him wherever he is moved, as he is likely to be transferred. But don't forget, prisoners' mail is opened and read by prison staff, so please don't write, or enclose, anything which couldcause him problems. -------------------------------------- MANDELA'S ANC PUTS UK TO SHAME (AGAIN) -------------------------------------- South Africa's activist lesbian and gay community has expressed optimism about legal protection following the ANC's election triumph, writes Chris Carter, New Zealand's only out gay MP. I recently spent three weeks in South Africa as part of the Commonwealth Observer Mission monitoring the country's first democratic election. Together with Svend Robinson, Canada's only out gay MP, I made contact with a wide range of lesbian and gay organisations in Johannesburg including Exit, South Africa's only lesbian and gay newspaper. The Editor, Gerry Davidson, organised a meeting at her home and invited representatives from GLOW, the Gay and Lesbian Organisation of the Witwatersrand, and OLGA, the Organisation for Gay and Lesbian Action, the Aids project and gay counselling group. GLOW had asked political parties standing in the elections to set out their position in relation to creating laws to stop discrimination against lesbians and gay men. Only the ANC and the Democratic Party came out with firm undertakings to provide protection. Activist lesbians and gay men are quite prominent in the ANC, and helped draft their human rights legislation. Those we met were confident the ANC would remain committed to ending all forms of discrimination in South Africa and retain the anti-discrimination clauses in the interim constitution. One feature that struck me was the lack of contact between white and black lesbians and gay men. The huge black gay subculture remains mostly a separate world form the bulk of the white gay community. My South African hosts felt a major task of a post apartheid South Africa was to bridge the gap which the system has created between the racial groups contained in the gay community. That task should be easier now the battle for legal protection seems likely to be won. -------------------------------- SECTION 28 PARTY FOR FAMILY DAY? -------------------------------- Stonewall volunteer Steve McMillan has come up with the idea of holding a Lesbian and Gay Family Day on May 24 1995 the seventh anniversary of the passing of infamous Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988. The Act mocked our families as "pretended" and banned schools and local authorities from "promoting" homosexuality. Family Day, with a party in Central London, would be a chance to celebrate our lifes, our relationships and our friendships and to send cards and presents to each other, says Steve. If you would like to give him a hand researching the idea, call him via Stonewall. ------------------------------- WIN A TRIP FOR TWO TO NEW YORK! ------------------------------- Enter our raffle and win a trip for two to Stonewall 25 and the world's most exciting city! LED by drag queens and black bull dykes, the customers of the Stonewall Inn, Greenwich Village, took to the streets on the night of June 27, 1969, to riot in protest at police intimidation. They made the newspapers and they made history. ONE MILLION lesbians and gay men will take to the streets of New York on the weekend of June 27 to commemorate the anniversary of the riot which gave birth to the modern lesbian and gay rights movement. And you and a friend can be there for four nights in the luxury Dorset Hotel all for a lucky 1 raffle ticket drawn on June 3! The celebrations will coincide with the fourth International Gay Games, also in New York, which are expected to attrack 15,000 sweaty athletes. You can even catch Sir Ian McKellen in his solo Broadway show A Knight Out. A book of 10 tickets is enclosed with this newsletter and you can get more from Stonewall. ------------------ INVEST IN EQUALITY ------------------ We thank all our Friends of Stonewall who have made an ongoing committment to the fight for equality by taking out a regular donation by Standing Order. You are the backbone of our work. Each month we need an extra 50 people to join them, so we can continue to grow and fund the movement for change. No group can plan for the future without being able to rely on regular income. Will you join our other friends across the UK who recognise this and support us by committing at least 5 a month by standing order? If, however, you feel able to give more each month, we would welcome your additional support. If you are unable to complete a standing order but would like to keep in touch with developments, Stonewall Friends membership is 20 a year or 10 unwaged. Please enclose your cheque and fill in the name and address section of the Standing Order form only. Thank you for supporting our work. Michael Cashman, Chair ---- NEWS ---- Your Stonewallnews is going to be published every two months, to keep you better informed on campaigns. Why not help SPAN with its quiz of Euro election candidates or organise an election hustings in your area. You can join the House of Lords battle too and write to Mark Watson, jailed because he fell in love. Let's show the opponents of equality that we are a force to be reckoned with; our principled case for equality versus their prejudice. -- George Gardiner: Cheshire, United Kingdom.