Newsgroups: talk.religion.misc,
Subject: Family Values and Murder
From: <SECBH@CUNYVM.BITNET>
Date: Friday, 2 Oct 1992 10:59:35 EDT
Organization: City University of New York/ University Computer Center

For those who are not aware there is currently a campaign in Oregon
organized and funded by Right Wing Christian groups to amend Oregon's
state constitution so that gay men and lesbians will have no recourse
in the event of discrimination against them based on sexual orientation,
that organizations which "promote" homosexuality may not receive state
funds and further that it be actively taught in the public schools
of the state that homosexuality, which the proposed amendment lumps
together with such conduct as bestiality, be characterized to
students as wrong and perverse.

Several weeks ago I posted excerpts from a newpaper statement which
mentioned the crimes of violence, including physical harrassment
and vandalism, which have occured since the Christian groups began
their campaign.  The most serious incident in the wave of homophobia
attendant upon this Right Wing Christian drive has occured since then.

(Details of the incident are taken from a posting in another group.)
Last Saturday, a molotov cocktail was thrown through a window into a
house occupied by several people in Salem, Oregon. A lesbian and a gay
man were burned to death when they were trapped in the basement of
the house as it burned down.

The police have arrested four people, three of whom are already
charged with the murder. Two of the people arrested have known ties to
Nazi skinhead groups. Neighbours report that there was a history of
harassment by the thugs against the people who were murdered.

The police are investigating this as a bias crime, and the FBI is
investigating to determine if there were civil rights violations
(the lesbain was African-American.)

There was a candlelight vigil at the house of the people
who were murdered. Several hundred attended, and it got
plenty of media exposure.

The local media has been reporting this almost every day. The
newspaper reports have been consistently large, and every day they add
new information.

There have been various comments from No on 9 and lesbigay
resource groups linking the anti-gay campaign to an increased
acceptance of anti-queer violence.

Lon Mabon (head of OCA) got some air time saying "he thought it was a
tragedy", but that "it was inappropriate for No on 9 to be using this
event as political propaganda."
                             ---
The following is an excerpt from the _All the Rage_ a piece performed
by the Kronos Quartet and written for them.  It's theme is homophobic
hatred.  The program notes make mention of a quaint folk custom which
has evolved among we gay men and lesbians:

     Much of the peculiar sound of this music comes from
     the whistles that many lesbians and gays carry as a
     basic self-defence tool..............

Part of the libretto:

   " The first time someone said queer and I knew they
     meant me.  I'm swinging a stick as I walk past the
     stoop, eating a popsicle, glancing up and the world
     breaks open with the single word exploding out of the
     sentence...

   " The first time someone I know was killed for it.  Back
     before most of the men I know were dying, Vernon's
     down by the river one evening and a guy drives by with
     a semi-automatic rifle and opens fire, screaming
     "Faggots die." The first time someone really tries to
     kill me.  With a knife like they tried to kill Julio,
     a baseball bat like they did Jo, a bottle like Mickey,
     a two by four like Matt, a fist and a fist and a fist
     and a foot and a fist."
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jack Carroll   "Man is nice enough, when he is not excited by religion."
<SECBH@CUNYVM>
                                                             Mark Twain