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April 12, 1970 - Image 1

Resource type:
Text
Publication:
The Michigan Daily, 1970-04-12

Disclaimer: Computer generated plain text may have errors. Read more about this.

Gay Lib: Resisting repression of the homost

3xual

By JANE BARTMAN
and W. E. SCHROCK
Pins proclaiming "Out of the
closets into the streets" have
baffled local button watchers late-
ly. But almost as puzzling as the
slogan is its sponsor, the Gay Lib-
eration Front (GLF).
A newly established SGC-ap-
proved student organization, GLF
"is a coalition of homosexuals, les-
bians, bi-sexuals, and straights
who say NO to sexual repression."
A growing organization - over
100 attended its fourth meeting-
GLF seeks to remove the social
stigmas about homosexuality and
the resulting social harassment of
homosexuals.
By working against stereotyped
views and prejudices GLF hopes
to gain for homosexuals the free-
doms they have been denied. They
hope to make it possible for those

such as "closet queens"-gay peo-
ple who pretend to be straight
(exclusively heterosexual) because
of persecution or embarrassment
-to come out.
The writers of the Ann Arbor
GLF constitution say they organ-
ized because they are "concerned
about the problems of the homo-
sexual and the community, seeking
to improve the self-concept of
homosexuals and their relation-
ships with each other and the
community at large."
According to the group's found-
ers, GLF will "endeavor to pro-
vide counseling to homosexuals
and intends to serve as a source
of information to the academic
community concerned with studies
of sociological behavior."
The gay liberation movement be-
gan approximately two years ago
in California and has spread

across much of the nation. A De-
troit GLF organized in January
and in March spawned the A nn
Arbor group.
The largest collection of gay
liberation groups in this part of
the country is in Chicago, accord-
ing to members of the local g a y
community, while the largest and
most active gay organizations in
the nation are in San Francisco.
The Ann Arbor Gay Liberation
Front was born at a March 17
gathering of twenty people in a
local apartment.
Currently, most of GLF's work
is done through committees. Mike
Jones. a GLF leader, commented
to the Thursday night crowd at
Canterbury, "As most of you see,
this meeting is not going to be the
place where all the action in Gay
Liberation is going to take place."
One committee is concerned

with improving conditions in a
local bar patronized by many of
the gay people. They plan to offer
their services to the owner for a
clean-up session, and if refused,
may present him with a petition
listing demands and effect a boy-
cott.
"The color scheme of the place is,
well, brown," the committee chair-
man said, explaining the dusty
lining of the establishment to
those who had not been to the bar.
The GLF research and analysis
committee plans to establish a
counseling center for gay people
and hoPes to hold T-groups this
summer.
At present the committee is
trying to locate an old house for
office space to use as a center for
the group. Ultimately, the mem-
bers hope to provide more exten-
sive counseling, relevant literature,

and perhaps set up a telephone
aid service.
A public relations and publicity
committee plans to publish a
weekly newsletter which will in-
clude reprints of articles on the
gay experience. In addition, the
group hopes to distribute copies
of "A Gay Manifesto" by Carl
Wittman, at least to its own mem-
bership.
Since the group has no uniform
ideology yet, at this juncture, it
only hopes to make the community
aware of gay people as human
beings through its distribution of
literature.
The legal committee, the pri-
mary vehicle for the groups polit-
ical actions, has received support
from the Legal Aid Clinic and has
found a local lawyer who will de-
fend any member arrested for
homosexual activities.

Though the group presently
lacks funds for legal activities, it
hopes for an eventual test of the
constitutionality of laws prohibit-
ing homosexual behavior. However.
GLF members do plan immediate
lobbying for removal of existing
laws and already have one legis-
lator working on a bill to that
effect.
Jim Toy and other members
are currently arranging for the
use of University faciilties for a
Midwest Gay Liberation Confer-
ence this summer. The conference
will be attended by gay persons
from Detroit, Chicago, Lansing
and Milwaukee.
The group is also talking about
having a gay dance sometime soon
at the Union.
See GAY, Page 10

SUNDAY
DAILY
See Editorial Page

Lit zigrn

Iaitij

TANTALIZING
High-6Q
Low--37
Cloudy, warmer,
chance of showers

Vol. LXXX, No. 158 Ann Arbor, Michigan-Sunday, April 12, 1970 Ten Cents
Rockefeller

Ten pages plus Magazine
A&4

abortion bill
By The Associated Press
Gov, Nelson A. Rockefeller signed a bill
yesterday repealing New York's 140-year-old
restrictions on abortion and giving the state
the most liberal statute in the country.
Similar measures are pending before gov-
ernors of Alaska and. Maryland but are
not yet law.
The New York State Senate passed the
abortion bill Friday, one day after the As-
sembly gave its approval. It will take effect
July 1.
The new law requires only that an: abor-
tion be performed by a doctor within 24
weeks of conception with the consent of the
woman. There are no age or residency re-
quirements.
Rockefeller signed the bill without com-
ment or ceremony. New York, with a popula-
tion of over 17 million is the most populous
state to liberalize its abortion law.
The old abortion law, one of the strictest
in the nation, prohibited termination of a
pregnancy except to save the mother's life.
It has stood virtually unamended since pass-
ge in 1828.
passage of the abortion law in New York
came after lengthy and often emotional de-
bate. The bill received strong support from
women's groups and some doctors and was
opposed by the Roman Catholic Church.
The Alaska house passed a state Senate-
approved bill Friday which would , require
that abortions be performed in a hospital
or other approved medical facility and in-
cludes a 30-day residency requirement. It
would make abortion a medical matter be-
tween a doctor and his patient uintil the
fetus can sustain life outside the womb, us-
ually about the 26th week after conception.
Gov. Keith H. Miller, a Methodist whose
wife is a Roman Catholic, had said he was
opposed to a change in Alaska's current law
which prohibits abortion except to "preserv,
the life of the mother."
Both houses of the Maryland legislature
have approved a law eliminating virtually all
restrictions on abortion. Gov. Marvin Man-
del, has set a public hearing on the bill later
this month and has said he will make public
by May 1 his decision on whether to sign it.
Maryland had already liberalized its law
in 1968, allowing abortions when the physi-
cal or mental health of the mother was
threatened. when it was likely the baby
would be born deformed or when the preg-
nancy was the result of incest or rape.
Colorado, on April 25, 1967, became the
first state to liberalize its abortion law.
adopting a statute copied by about a dozen
other states, including Maryland.

-Daily-Thomas R. Copi
Earth People's Festival
Author -Ken Kesey speaks to the crowd of thousands that crammed the Union Ball-
% room last -night for an E; rth P ople's Festival sponsored by the Hog Farm. Incense,
grass, good music and lots of frienis, vej y close, made it quite an evening of rapping
and singing.
REMEWED PEACE OFFENSIVE

Tuning up
at the dump

-Daily-Thomas R. Copt
A group of musicians sets up at the city dump yesterday as part of the "pump Jump"--a garbage
collecting project sponsored by the Hog Farm as part of their weekend "Earth People's Festival."
The Hog Farm is a musical family that travels around the country with animals, children and musi-
cal instruments entertaining people.

YEAR-OLD CASE

TU

'conspiracy'

suit un resolved

400 join anti war offensive;
Sen. Craig addresses rally

By BOB SCHREINER
About ,400 persons yesterday marched to
City Hall where a rally was held to protest
U.S. involvement in Southeast Asia.
The march, which began at noon on the
Diag, coincided with the revival of nation-
wide action against the war, which is sched-
tuled to include massive protests in every
major American city.
Sponsors of the march included the Stu-
dent Mobilization Committee (SMC), New
Democratic Coalition, Ann Arbor Committee
to End the War, and the Washtenaw County
Welfare Rights Organization.,
'U' chred.
The father of a University student who
was inju ec. in a i ht with other students
in his .or rtoiy room has charg;d that the
Unin isity -acministiation "deliberately at-
tempted to coven up the incident."
Dr. Harz y F. Zomer, father of David Zem-
mer, "73 E. says he will fire assault charges
on behalf of his son a isin ou o the in-
cideit April 1.
Versions of what happened differ, how-
ever, and the three students Zimmer plans
to charge with assault are planning to file
s <=i ch Irx'Cs a i4 sOn
a ln tc "7. A nP f te 4 h -

The marchers, most of them University
and high school students, had obtained a
police permit for one side of the street, and
moved slowly down State and Liberty Streets
while police regulated traffic.
There were almost as many people on the
sidewalks watching the marchers pass by as
there were actual participants, but the
marchers encouraged spectators to join them
and succeeded in almost doubling their origi-
nal size as they went on. Eventually, as the
march approached the back of City Hall and
joined with a group from the Legal Aid
Center, it was about two blocks long and took
up the entire width of the street.
At 12:45, the marchers gathered at the
back of City Hall and chanted familiar peace
slogans in unison. The Floating Opera play-
ed a set of rock music before the first speak-
er, State Senator Roger Craig (D-Dear-
born), was introduced.
Craig told listeners that he had -a Bill
on his desk in Lansing concerning anti-war
measures similar to the one recently passed
in Massachusetts. However, the legislator
said he was reluctant to submit it because
"I'm afraid is would hurt our movement if
it was killed 'in committee, which it un-
doubtedly would be."
"The politicians in Michigan don't think
you are politically relevant," Craig -told the
audience.
"It's clear at least in my party, the demo-
cratic party, that the politicians don't take
you seriously; don't think you are for real
and aron't going to do anything for you."
"Lrt us not listen to the cop-outs who are
o in o lkn toou ahnt nolltinn in this

By BOB SCHREINER
Like the three apparitions in "A Christ-
mas Carol," the conspiracy suit against 91
members of "The so-called Ann Arbor Ten-
ants Union" is a thing of the past, present
and future.'
The suit has been alive in the courts for
almost a year - 'ever since several land-
lords and management companies sued the
Tenants Union and charged that the ulti-,
mate goal of the rent strike was an attack
on the concept of private property.
At the same time 12 of the 91 defendants
named in the suit were charged with con-
spiracy to violate existing and future leases
and to obtain libelous articles in The Daily.
Because the landlords did not wish to
recognize the existence of a tenants u n i o n-

at the time they filed the suit, however, they
named as defendants 91 strikers, "all or-
ganizations representing or belonging to the
Tenants Union and all co-conspiritors whe-
ther named or not."
The suit calls for $10,000 in individual
damages, $300,000 in exemplary damages and
recovery of more than $100,000 rent held in
escrow.
Last summer the suit was given h i g h
priority by both the landlords and the Ten-
ants Union. Both sides appeared repeatedly
in District Court to file appeals, depositions,
motions and counter-motions.
On July 21, Circuit Judge William F. Ager
set Aug. 21 as the date for the pre-trial hear-
ing. At the hearing, Judge Ager told the

TWO CHILD FAMILY

landlords they would be required to make
their books available during the trial.
When the landlords asked for time to
prepare an appeal of that decision, Judge
Ager set aside Feb. 5 for the hearing of
the appeal. However, for reasons still un-
clear, no hearing was held on that date,
and since that time the suit has been in
the hands of Judge Ager.
"Right now the'case is in a fery fine
point of limbo," says Tenants Union attorney
Ronald Reostii. "This is one of the wierdest
cases I've ever seen."
"It would be possible, I suppose, to de-
mand that the judge set a verdict," Reostii
said. "But I don't think the landlords will
do this, because I think they would like to
keep the suit hanging over the heads of the
tenants."
Reostii also mentioned other reasons for
the reluctance of the landlords to press
Judge Ager for a verdict. "If there was a
trial, the landlords would be forced to show
their books to the court, and since they claim
they are being damaged financially by t h e
strike, a look at their records would not
be favorable to them," he said.
"Probably most important, there is a
very good chance that the judge will return
a verdict that would be unfavorable to the
landlords," Roestil 'said.
.Regarding the future of th case, Reostii
said "my opinion is that the case should
be thrown out. The allegations are factually
and legally unfounded."
The Tenants Union maintains that the
suit represents a victory of sorts.
"We're pleased with the way it has gone
so far," says Tenants Union press secretary
Lynn Hallen. But it has not exactly been
paramount among TU concerns for a long
time."
"It was a good rallying point last summer,"
says Tenants Union member Norm Finkel-
stein. "We're happy to let the landlords

ZPG fig~hts for birth restraint

By DAN SCHREIBER
"Only two." the slogan of Zero Population Growth, Inc.
(ZPG) applies to babies.
It's not that ZPG thinks babies themselves are bad, but
the group is committed to stopping population growth in the
U.S. and sees two babies as the limit for every family if this
goal is to be reached.
An end to population growth, ZPG believes, can be accom-
plished -through three areas of social reform:
-the limitation of birth to no more than two per family.
Additional children should be adopted.
-an increase in'the availability of all methods of birth
control, including legalization of abortion and sterilization.
-the revision of laws to encourage small rather than large
families. Laws should not penalize parents who already have
children. but new births should be discouraged.

lobbyist in Washington pressing for revision of tax laws that
will discourage large families, Bryan explains, and the Mich-
igan chapter has already begun writing to state legislators in
attempts to have present abortion laws changed..
In addition, ZPG is working to elect congressional, legis-
lative and local officials who have pledged themselves to
population control.
Finally, in addition to its efforts to have abortion legal-
ized, the group plans to use the courts to have laws prohibiting
abortion declared unconstitutional.
According to Bryan,, the two main problems facing the
Michigan ZPG chapter at thispoint are coordination of the
state's various local chapters and misunderstandings concern-
ing the group's aims.
The Ann Arbor chapter is called the Michigan chapter,
but no actual state-wide groups exists. "The Ann Arbor group
took the initiative of calling itself the 'Michigan Chapter' only

E

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