Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 14, 1993 TAG: 9303140242
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: WASHINGTON> LENGTH: Medium
THE CRUSADE FOR GAY RIGHTS
Homosexual Americans see the 1990s as their civil rights decade - one that future generations will liken to the 1960s battle for black equality.This growing gay rights movement faces entrenched - and sometimes violent - opposition, but its leaders believe President Clinton will be the pivotal figure as they launch their historic crusade.
"Bill Clinton is the Abraham Lincoln of the lesbian and gay community," said Gregory King, a spokesman for the Human Rights Campaign Fund, a pro-gay political group whose 75,000 members raised $2.5 million for the Clinton campaign.
In what would be the largest civil rights demonstration in the nation's history, organizers expect one million marchers in Washington on April 25. They aim to push Congress for homosexual rights legislation that backers and foes alike say has its best chance ever of passing.
"The quest for lesbian and gay civil rights is the preeminent civil rights issue of this decade," said King. "I think Americans will look back with pride on the progress that will be made during the '90s."
There is no doubt that homosexuals have become more powerful political players in recent years.
Voters have elected at least 75 openly gay and lesbian officials in states, localities and Congress. More than 130 states, counties or cities have enacted laws protecting gays and lesbians against discrimination.
Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., will introduce an anti-bias act in Congress. If it passes, Clinton would sign it.
Yet, several studies have shown an increase in gay-bashing - violence against homosexuals - during the 1990s.
Last November, Colorado voters overturned ordinances protecting homosexuals, and Oregon voters barely rejected a referendum equating homosexuality with pedophilia and sadism.
This year, after conservative callers jammed switchboards at the Capitol and White House, Clinton had to delay and compromise on his campaign promise to lift the ban on homosexuals serving in the military.
But the firestorm of opposition also galvanized the gay and lesbian community and publicized its concerns.
"Right now, gay people are the last minority which it is socially acceptable to disparage, defame and discriminate against," said Robert Bray, a spokesman for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
But as never before, these problems are "now being discussed in living rooms and around dinner tables," he said. "I know of some gay people not out of closet who visit their homes and sit and listen to families talk about it, but can't really participate because their folks don't know they're gay."
In a rare agreement, both sides view the policy fight over gays in the military as only the opening round.
"The military issue is just the tip of the iceberg," said Nadine Smith, an organizer of the April march for homosexual rights.
"We feel very strongly that the homosexual movement is not asking for tolerance. They're asking for a social endorsement," said Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, a leading defender of the military's ban.
"On principle, we're against extending civil rights protection to people based on what they do in bedrooms," said Gary Bauer, president of the culturally conservative Family Research Council. "If it passed, I don't see how you could avoid extending the same protections to transvestites or pedophiles."
But he agreed chances of passage are better this year than last.
Homosexual activists said these items top their agenda:
Expansion of the civil rights acts of 1964 and 1968 to prohibit anti-gay discrimination.
Legal recognition of same-gender domestic partnerships to ease access to health insurance and other everyday rights of heterosexual couples.
More money for AIDS research.
Several polls suggest that most Americans oppose discrimination against homosexuals, but harbor what Bray called a "visceral" dislike of the "so-called gay lifestyle."
To overcome that, gay activists are trying to increase awareness of homosexuals and the discrimination they face. Their tactics include grass-roots organizing, traditional lobbying, more political contributions and "coming out."