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