LID Has launched a site on the World Wide Web. We have become the first lesbian and gay Democratic
club on the east coast, and one of approximately half a dozen nationally to create a web site.
The LID. homepage can be reached at: http://www.nycnet.com/LID and is best viewed using a Netscape
2.0 browser. LID. president George Waffle called the site "another tool in our effort to bring political,
social and cultural information to Brooklyn's vast lesbian and gay population."
The site includes information about LID, its events and endorsements as well as on-line access to Lambda
Line. Information about other Brooklyn lesbian and gay groups, how to contact elected officials, how to
register to vote, as well as links to political, Democratic and lesbian and gay sites and publications is also
included. "This is very much a work in progress, as is any web page," said site designer David Shanton.
"We hope this site will become the number one resource for all kinds of information for the borough's
lesbians and gay men."
The LID site was donated by NYC NET, New York’s gay and lesbian on-line service. LID has also
established an on-line hub on NYCNET's virtual Christopher Street in addition to the web site.
State Senate Backs Campus Discrimination
This is the second year in a row that the Senate has passed such a bill. Brooklyn members
overwhelmingly opposed the bill, with only Republican Robert DiCarlo voting in favor. Our thanks to
Senators Howard Babbush, Martin Connor, Carl Kruger, Seymour Lachman, and Ada
Smith for standing with our community. Senators Velmanette Montgomery and Nellie Santiago were
absent for the vote.
We are particularly pleased by the votes of Sen. Kruger and Sen. Lachman. Sen Kruger supported this
bill last year, but swithced his vote this time. Sen. Lachman was only recently elected to the Senate, and
in his first vote of significance on lesbian and gay issues, he did the right thing.
Please take a moment to write to your state senator and thank him or her for their support (or let Sen.
DiCarlo know you are disappointed by his vote). Do it today!
Congress Defers Decision on HIV Repeal Measure
In their latest move on the recently adopted, Department of Defense Authorization that call for the
expulsion of HIV positive people in the military, Congress has put off deciding the fate of legislation that
would repeal the discriminatory HIV-discharge provision.
You will recall that in February, President Clinton signed the 1996 Dept. of Defense Authorization Bill
which contained a virulently anti-HIV amendment authored by Rep. Bob Dornan or California. The
Dornan provision singles out service members with HIV and treats them differently from those with other
chronic medical conditions. Before it was enacted, service members with HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS, were allowed to serve their country as long as they could perform their
duties, but they were not deployed overseas. The same policy applies to service members who have other
chronic medical conditions such as diabetes,asthma, heart disease or cancer.
At the time he signed the bill, President Clinton called the amendment "abhorrent" and "unconstitutional."
Shortly thereafter, his Justice Department challenged the constitutionality of the measure. The House and
Senate both introduced bills to repeal the Dornan amendment in February. The House bill has 155 co-
sponsors including the entire Brooklyn Congressional delegation, while the Senate has 56 co-sponsors.
On March 19, the Senate unanimously agreed to an amendment to repeal the discriminatory
HIV-discharge provision, but they decided to put it forth as an amendment to the longer-term spending
measure. That measure, H.R. 3019, the Omnibus Rescissions and Appropriations Act, also known as a
"continuing resolution" that would fund many parts of the government, passed by a vote of 79-21.
House and Senate negotiators failed to reach agreement on a long-term spending bill and instead passed
another stopgap measure to keep the government running through April 24. The Senate version of the
long-term spending bill includes language, passed unanimously on March 19, that would overturn the
mandatory expulsions. The repeal effort has the support of President Clinton, Joint Chiefs of Staff
Chairman Gen. John Shalikashvili, Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, Secretary of Veterans Affairs
Jesse Brown, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled American Veterans, and the Air Force
Association.
Bias Crimes in Slope Rank 4th Citywide
According to statistics released recently by the New York City
Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, Park Slopes 78th Precinct ranked
fourth in the city for most anti-gay crimes reported in 1995. Only the
West Village, Chelsea and the East Village ranked higher. No other
Brooklyn precinct ranked in the top 10.
New York City led the nation with 625 incidents reported.
Unfortunately, New York logged only 15 arrests for anti-gay or
lesbian bias crimes.
Call for Harris Volunteers
Interested in keeping Jill Harris on School Board 15 as Brooklyn's only openly lesbian or gay elected
official? Jill's campaign needs your help for mailings, tabling, and phone banking. Tuesday nights every
week until the election on May 7th are volunteer nights. Please drop by and call Sue Bartone, the
campaign coordinator, to let her know you're coming. Phone bank volunteers are needed especially for
April 22, 23, and 24th. Call the campaign to volunteer at 596-1796.
Brooklyn P-FLAG Participates in Washington Lobbying
Several members of Brooklyn P-FLAG went Washington DC in March as part of P-FLAG's National
"Moms and Dads Go to Washington" to lobby for the Employment Nondscrimination Act. According to
Chapter President, Emily Rizzo, they had a very positive meeting with Eugene Patrone, an aide to
Republican Congress Member Susan Molinari. Patrone mentioned an alternative bill to ENDA which
will be proposed which she would co-sponsor. Patrone did indicate that she would most likely vote for
ENDA but would not co-sponsor it. He also mentioned that she had had a meeting the week before with
representatives from GMHC and was now likely to support an overturn of the Dornan amendment
on HIV+ servicemen.
Don't Forget Lunch With Lambda
Please remember to join us at our annual fundraiser and awards luncheon in April:
SATURDAY, APRIL 27TH
TIME: 12 noon
LOCATION: Montauk Club 7th Avenue at Lincoln Place in Park Slope
MC: Dr. Marjorie Hill
honorees include: Dick Dadey of the Empire State Pride Agenda; Cathy Cohen; Debra Silber; and the
Brooklyn Touch AIDS Dinner.
Call 361-3322 for more information.
Lesbian and Gay Democrats to Gather in Philadelphia
On Saturday and Sunday, May 4-5th, a national conference of lesbian and gay Democrats and Democratic
clubs will be held in the City of Philadelphia. Over a dozen lesbian and gay Democratic clubs nationally,
including LID, are sponsoring the conference titled "Win in '96 with Pride: Organizing Lesbian and Gay
Democrats." The conference idea came out of a 3-day conference hosted by the Democratic National
Committee in February of 1996 to bring together lesbian and gay Democratic "leaders" from around the
country. At that time, club representatives from around the country decided that there should be more
opportunities for lesbian and gay Democrats at the grass roots level to get together. Discussions even
began about the formation of a national network of lesbian and gay clubs.
The two-day conference in Philadelphia will feature about 15 workshops focusing on 3 main subject
areas: starting and building Democratic clubs; organizing political campaigns; learning how to use the
media more effectively for your club; and working with the Clinton/Gore reelection campaign in '96.
There will be three plenary sessions to discuss media issues in great depth. Saturday evening will feature
a paid dinner and several keynote speakers. Already a number of campaign professionals, media
consultants, and Democratic party activists have agreed to lead panel discussions. All LID members are
invited to attend. Free housing is available, but on a limited basis. For more information, call LID First
Vice President, Rodrick Dial, at 718. 499-8712 for details.
LID Endorses in Local School Boards
In preparation for the local Community School Board Elections that will take place on Tuesday, May 7th,
the LID Board met in March to endorse candidates in 3 districts. After meeting with candidates in
person, the Board has endorsed the following slates:
DISTRICT 15: Jill Harris, Heriberto Barbot, Jr., Dana Fernandez, Margaret Nuzum, Mark
Peters, Margaret Kelley and Betty Feibusch
DISTRICT 13: Chris Owens, Albert Wiltshire, Sandra Bond, Patrick Killackey, Harry Lyde, and
James Randall
DISTRICT 22: Annette Lidawer
The Board may make additional endorsements before May 7th, so we'll keep you informed.
District 13 School Board Forum on AIDS Education
School district 13, covering parts of Park Slope, Ft. Greene, Clinton
Hill, Prospect Heights and Bed-Sty, recently held a forum on an AIDS
education curriculum for middle schools. The hastily called meeting
featured our good friend Erica Zurer, a member of the AIDS Education
Advisory Council.
Attendance was sparse, and the board took no action, but several board members took the opportunity
to express support for the curriculum, including Chris Owens, who L.I.D. has endorsed for re-election
in the May 7th school board elections. L.I.D. will continue to closely watch the boards plans and inform
you of any important actions.
Are you on-line?
LID would like to be able to communicate with you as quickly as possible. So if you are on-line, e-mail
us your e-mail address. We'll be able to let you know quickly when you need to write, call or e-mail
your elected officials, and about important events which might not make it into our newsletter. We won't
fill your in box with junk messages, but will do our best to keep you informed in a timely manner. Send
your e-mail to: LID@nycnet.com