From: rcrice@cbnewsb.cb.att.com (roger.w.crice)
Subject: Private Lives, Public Battles
Summary: Cincinnati Human Rights Ordinance Public Hearing
Keywords: Phobe Alert 
Organization: AT&T
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 18:58:12 GMT


I   attended   a  public  hearing  before  members   of
Cincinnati   City  Council's  public  law  and   safety
committee  last  night.  At issue was a proposed  Human
Rights   Ordinance  that,  when  passed,  will   extend
protections  against  discrimination  in  housing   and
employment in the public sector to individuals  without
regard  to  sexual  orientation,  marital  status,  and
Appalachian origin.  This action would broaden the list
of  categories  in which groups of people  are  already
protected,   and  restore  to  the  list  Appalachians,
quietly  removed  several  years  ago.   The  ordinance
provides     certain    exclusions    for     religious
organizations.
 
The  hearing was to have been a time for the  committee
to gather facts and data that would be submitted to the
City   Solicitor   for   legal  scrutiny.    Proponents
submitted   testimonies  of  people   who   experienced
discrimination,   who  represented  various   community
groups,   who  spoke  for  P-FLAG,  NOW,  psychological
associations,   et  al.   Opponents  submitted   mostly
arguments, hatred, misinformation and scripture.
 
I want to know from this illustrious group two things:
 
1.  From those of you in municipalities who have worked
successfully   or   unsuccessfully  to   pass   similar
ordinances, how did you deal with the opposition?   Was
your  experience similar to ours (see below if you  are
interested)?
 
2.   Since  churches these days seem  to  think  it  is
fashionable  to  have  written  into  law  their  moral
doctrines,  I  want to know where  I  can  go  to  have
homosexuality  declared  a  religion,  homosexuals  its
parishioners, and "homosexual behavior" its rites?   We
can just use the laws the religious bigots already hide
behind.   I think it would be cheaper and less trouble.
Besides, I want their tax-exempt status.
 
Two  of  my coworkers were also present at the meeting,
both on the opposite side of the issue than I am.  They
are both staunch right-to-birthers. One sits across the
aisle  from  me in the office:  we see each  other  all
day.  I have, on occasion, passed him good news for the
pro-birthers culled from the news groups;  this morning
he  handed  me  a copy of the Cincinnati  Enquirer,  in
which  the  debate made the front page.  We never  talk
about the issues.
 
Never  have  I been witness to so much hate, ignorance,
misunderstanding,  and  vitriol  in  one  place.    The
meeting left me feeling deeply disturbed.  What follows
is  an  exorcism  of sorts.  I needed  to  organize  my
thoughts  so  that I may press on with the business  at
hand.
 
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*Phobe Alert * Phobe Alert * Phobe Alert * Phobe Alert*
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Hit 'n' now if you do not wish to read about bigots and
what they have to say.
 
Hit 'n' now if you do not wish to read long posts.
 
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*Phobe Alert * Phobe Alert * Phobe Alert * Phobe Alert*
=======================================================
 
At  the  entrance to the Council Chambers,  there  were
signs  directing attendees to one side of the  hall  or
the  other,  depending  on whether  you  were  for  the
ordinance,  or against it.  Perhaps it was coincidence,
but the proponents - mostly lesbians and gays - were on
the  left, and the opponents - mostly religious  bigots
(and not surprisingly, the same people who try to block
the  abortion clinics) - were on the right.  The  crowd
assembled  more than an hour before the  meeting,  time
enough for the bigots to try to turn the gathering into
an Old-Timey Revival.
 
At  first  it  was a small sound of quiet singing,  but
soon the bigots were all singing a lovely rendition  of
the  Old One Hundredth doxology ("Praise God from  Whom
all  blessings Flooooow..."), followed by  some  modern
spiritual  I  recognized from my days as  a  practicing
Baptist,  but  have already forgotten.   The  song  was
peppy  and  soon everybody was clapping to the  beat  -
lesbigays  and  bigots alike.  The left side  responded
with a verse and chorus of "Jesus Loves Me,"  which the
bigots  didn't like, so they overlaid it with something
else  from the hymnal, which was answered by "We  Shall
Overcome."   At this, one hatemonger held  up  a  small
sign  with  big letters that declared "NOT."   (He  was
among the handful of placard carriers whose signs  were
the  source of much amusement:  "Ken and Barbie / OK  /
Ken  and  Bruce / No Way!" and "Just Say No to  Sodmy."
Apparently, they don't read their Bibles well enough to
know how to spell what it is they're against.  But then
again,  I  heard that Dan Quayle is their role  model.)
Eventually  both sides were on their feet  singing  and
clapping to "When the Saints Go Marching In."
 
Meanwhile, there were scattered prayer vigils going  on
throughout  the hall.  The woman behind me babbled  her
prayers loudly for about twenty minutes, impressing  me
with  her piety as she inserted the words "Father  God"
where  her commas should have gone.  This she  followed
with  a  mantra  of "Thank you Jaysus" and  "Mmmm"  and
kissing sounds (I was afraid to look back, so I  wasn't
sure  what  that  was all about).  Loud chants  ensued:
"HUMAN   RIGHTS!   HUMAN  RIGHTS!";  "JESUS!   JESUS!";
"Sexist,  Racist,  Anti-gay!   Born-again  bigots,   go
away!";  "JESUS! JESUS!"
 
When the meeting finally came to "order," testimony was
heard  from both sides for about two and a half  hours.
Each side had ten minutes for opening remarks, then for
two  hours three speakers were called alternately  from
one  side  or the other and were given six  minutes  to
state  their case.  From the bigots we heard the  usual
fears, lies, myths, and vitriol - some of it so bad  it
was  truly  laughable.   Several "witnesses"  used  the
opportunity to sermonize, some exhausting their time by
reading   directly  from  the  Bible.   The  proponents
offered  personal  testimonies  of  discrimination  and
harassment in housing and employment where victims have
no recourse.
 
Absolutely  chilling  was  a  moment  when   a   Rabbi,
testifying for the ordinance, attempted to point out to
the  bigots  the  fallacy of their Levitical  arguments
against  homosexuals.  "Who among you  really  consider
putting  a homosexual to death?" he asked.  "I  would!"
someone bellowed.
 
Most  of  the opposing testimony had little to do  with
the  provisions of the ordinance.  One bigot  suggested
that  the hearing was a pointless exercise because most
of City Council - the majority of whom were endorsed by
Stonewall  in  the last election - had already  pledged
their  support  for passage of the  ordinance.   As  he
blathered  on aimlessly, he accused Council members  of
having cheated their way into City Council.
 
One of the strategies of the bigots is to pit those who
have  already secured legal protections (and worked  so
hard  for it, they say) against those who have not (and
are looking for a free ride, they claim).  The irony of
a  black woman's testimony that she did not want to  be
"forced to live next to these people" left me in  total
disbelief.
 
The  meeting  was far more entertaining as the  evening
wore on.  More than half of the bigots left long before
the meeting was over, and more were absent than present
as  their names were called to speak.  Towards the end,
the  bigots  offered fewer prepared speeches  and  were
just giving the Council a piece of their minds.
 
The  best part was the opposition's summary.  Each side
was  given  three minutes to summarize their testimony.
The  bigots were first, but it appeared that  they  had
exhausted   their  set  of  registered   and   prepared
speakers.   As  they were unorganized,  three  speakers
stepped  to  the microphones, allowing only one  minute
each.   Of the three, one looked as though he had  just
crawled  out from under the local landfill and  babbled
incoherently  until he was cut off, and the  other  was
nearly a mere child (college kid, I suppose) who gave a
whiney  speech that went something like this: "My  name
is  [so-and-so]  and  I  attend [such-and-such]  church
youth  group and um ok I just want to say like I  think
it  is wrong and um well its just wrong and secondly  I
want  to  say like if a mother and her son were  having
sex  well I don't think that should be ok and  like  ok
like y'know like someday I will want to get married and
have  a  wife  and kids and say like we  move  into  an
apartment and well I wouldn't want them living above or
below I mean I wouldn't want to expose my kids to  that
kind  of thing and like I believe the in bible and like
well  also  I want to say well its like wrong  well  it
just is."
 
I've not said much about the proponents.  Virtually all
of  our  speakers  came with prepared texts,  save  the
descendant of Harriet Beecher Stowe, "a mother of three
heterosexuals," and spoke calmly and rationally.   Only
the  person  from  the Gay and Lesbian March  Activists
(related somehow to ACT-UP), who did not speak  calmly,
drew loud applause from the opposition with one of  his
remarks.  We remained strong in number to the very end.
The  supporters  on our side did not always behave  as
professionally as we should  have,  but  in comparison,
I think we made a pretty good showing.
 
Council will probably not vote on the issue until after
the November election.
 
=======================================================
 
Although  my father admitted that he knew  for  a  long
time that I was gay, when I came out to him he was most
dismayed  that  I  was "planning to lead  a  homosexual
lifestyle."   To  him,  being gay  was  not  nearly  as
horrible  as  actually "planning to lead  a  homosexual
lifestyle."
 
Dad,  not  only  do  I plan to lead  what  you  call  a
homosexual lifestyle, I will fight for my right  to  do
so with all my energy.
 
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Roger Crice
AT&T in Cincinnati