A meeting Jan. 18 could mark the start of momentum for repealing
Article 12 of the city charter, which prohibits laws granting
equal rights to gays. Sixty-five people attended a daylong
retreat sponsored by the GLBT Coalition, according
to organizer Tom Jones.
"We want GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered
persons) who are thinking of moving to Cincinnati to know
there is a viable GLBT life here -- and we want Cincinnati
to know that the area is better because of it," Jones says.
"But Article 12 must go, for the benefit of all Cincinnati,
and the GLBT community is committed to work with its straight
allies to strengthen the city by repeal."
One of those straight allies is City Councilman David Crowley,
who was keynote speaker for the retreat.
Last weekend marked a turning point in the anti-war movement,
with the mainstream media finally giving serious coverage
to a political force that's been building for a year. CNN
reported large demonstrations in Washington, San Francisco
and Pakistan. An editorial in The New York Times grudgingly
said the protests might merit attention.
The Cincinnati Enquirer carried a detailed report
on a Fountain Square rally by Moms and Dads Against War.
That rally showed the organizational skill of the local anti-war
activists. Moms and Dads Against the War turned out some 200
people on a week's notice, just one of the pragmatic results
of a Jan. 11 anti-war workshop at St. Joseph Church (see "Ready
to Resist," page 19).
The same workshop provided tips for organizing colleges
and high schools for opposition to war on Iraq. About 50 people
turned out to protest Jan. 18 in front of the University of
Cincinnati College of Law. Bitter arctic winds proved no match
for Ryan Nissim-Sabat's bullhorn, urging participants to sign
and chant against the war.
But the big news, of course, was the number of people from
Greater Cincinnati who attended the massive anti-war rally
in Washington last weekend. The Coalition to Prevent War in
Iraq had hoped to fill a charter bus for the protest. But
so many people responded that three buses were needed,
according to Sayrah Namaste. A send-off rally at Mt. Auburn
Presbyterian Church showed that even more were willing to
go, according to Sam Robinson.
"Dozens of hopeful peace riders waited near the door throughout
the hour-long rally, ready to fill any unclaimed seat aboard
the three charter buses," Robinson says. "Auto caravans assembled,
too. Every available seat from Cincinnati was filled."
Susan Graham said the Cincinnati contingent was a diverse
lot, ranging from an 11-year-old child to retirees.
"One man came all the way from Kansas, stopping at major
cities to find a bus ride to D.C.," Graham says. "He finally
found an available seat on a bus rented by the Cincinnati
Coalition Against War in Iraq."
Agreeing to Be Disagreeable
Taking a cue from Mayor Charlie Luken, Downtown Cincinnati
Inc. (DCI) is doing its part to make a civic virtue of
stinginess. DCI has issued a pamphlet called, "How to
Say 'No' to a Panhandler." Watch for other helpful pamphlets
soon to follow: "How Not to Help Little Old Ladies Cross a
Street," "How Not to Give Directions to Lost Drivers" and
"How Not to Give Thirsty Children a Drink of Water."
Meanwhile, city council is considering bringing back
shunning as a way to get its meetings under control. Councilman
David Pepper, who proposed the restrictions on public participation
adopted last year, now wants to be able not just to throw
citizens out but also to keep them out. Under his proposal,
a person evicted from a council meeting twice in 60 days would
be barred from council chambers for four months. Never mind
the constitutional right to appeal for a redress of grievances.
The way Pepper sees it, some people should be silenced in
advance.
"We need to take some preventative steps for the people
who disrupt every week," he says.
The ease with which politicians invoke the late Rev. Martin
Luther King Jr. shows his message has been homogenized, according
to Victoria Straughn of Citizens Concerned for Justice
(CCFJ). A Jan. 19 program at Negrill on the Hill, organized
by the CCFJ, aimed to revive awareness of King's radical message:
resistance to war and to programs that hurt the poor.
"To continue to refer to Dr. Martin Luther King as someone
who simply had a dream unfulfilled is an absolute insult,"
she says.
Porkopolis TIP LINES: 513-665-4700 (ext. 138) or pork@citybeat.com
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