Gay Rights Groups Press For Reform

Gay Rights Groups Press for Reform

by Jud Kempson

ANN ARBOR - 1988 was a year of intensive organizing by local gay male and lesbian activists. In response to anti-gay attacks in July, activists in August preserved Ann Arbor Police Chief William Corbett with a list of demands including, among others, the development of consistent police policy in cases of verbal harassment or physical assault, the implementation of a sensitivity training program for police, and the development of a mechanism for monitoring police conduct. Today, activists from the Anti-Violence Discrimination Task Force (AVDTF) and Community Defense Watch (CDW) are still waiting for significant movement on their demands.

The demands were presented to the Police Dept. at the end of a demonstration and march in which approximately 300 people participated. The protest was organized, according to AVDTF and CDW members, because people felt that the Ann Arbor Police responded inadequately to the victims of the July assaults.

The first of these attacks occurred on July 22, when a group of women and one man were verbally harassed outside the Michigan Union. Just four days later, a woman was physically assaulted outside the Nectarine Ballroom. Both assaults were in reaction to victims' perceived sexual orientation. In the first incident, according to AVDTF and CDW members, police refused to intervene. In the second case, AVDTF and CDW members claim, police were apathetic in pursuing the assailant and providing the victim with care.

Mixed Results

On Sept. 26, members of the AVDTF met with Chief Corbett and other members of the city administration to discuss the demands from the August 9 demonstration. After the meeting, AVDTF representatives Patti Myers and Linda Kurtz said they were encouraged by the dialogue established with the police and city hall.

First ward City Council member Ann Marie Coleman, whose ward includes the Liberty-Maynard area where the assaults occurred, was present at the meeting. She said progress was being made regarding the development of a consistent police policy for dealing with incidents of verbal harassment or physical assault.

However, the goal of implementing a sensitivity training program for police was shot down by Corbett at the meeting, according to Kurtz, because that training "would cost too much." Coleman said that it was her impression that "all training has been suspended due to budgetary matters."

At the beginning of November, Kurtz sent a letter to Corbett that called into question police procedures in complaint cases and requested another interview between AVDTF and the police chief. At a Dec. 1 meeting with AVDTF, Corbett agreed to set up procedures, but refused to put this promise in writing.

"As things stand now," says Kurtz, "it's all really ambiguous as to how to complain about police conduct." Currently, according to Kurtz, if a citizen has a complaint about an officer's conduct, the complaint is written up but the citizen is not asked to review it. After that, the matter is entirely in the hands of the police. If the department does find the complaint to be valid, the citizen is not informed of the disciplinary measures taken. Corbett told AVDTF members he would not put the procedures in writing because they constitute "internal policy."

Some Background

According to the AVDTF there is a stigma in being publicly identified as gay or lesbian. Thus, it is rare for victims of anti-gay assaults to step forward. Whcn thcy do, they often meet the same homophobic attitude in the police that thcy encountered in their assailants. Kurtz said the woman who was assaulted in front of the Nectarine was eager to press her case with AVDTF at first. "She pulled out later out of fear," Kurtz said. "That's what usually happens in these cases."

Jim Toy, the gay advocate since 1971 at the Lesbian and Gay Male Programs Office, has noticed an increase in anti-gay violence in the last few years. Toy believes that "gay males are being perceived as AIDS carriers" and that in general, "people consciously and unconsciously use AIDS as a way to express their homophobia." As for Ann Arbor police response to reports of gay harassment, Toy claims the police have "tended to believe the alleged perpetrator rather than the alleged victim."

Toy's perception of the increase of violence parallels reports at the national level. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF), a national lobby based in Washington, established an Anti-Violence Project to document violence against lesbians and gays. Their 1987 audit of reported incidents of anti-gay violence numbered 7008, a 42% increase from the previous year.

In a more direct move to halt anti-gay violence, the Lesbian and Gay Rights Organizing Committee (LaGROC) has taken to the streets with the Community Defense Watch (CDW). In October, the Nectarine Ballroom began hosting gay nights on Sundays and Fridays in addition to its traditional gay Tuesday nights.

According to Paul Lefrak of LaGROC, Ann Arbor's gay community was concerned that the additional nights might incite further incidents of violence. On Nov. 4, approximately 20 mcmbcrs of LaGROC met and formed two groups to patrol the streets around the Liberty-Maynard area. Armed with whistles and arm bands, the groups were prepared to intervene. Lefrak said that he hoped their physical presence would dissuade any would-be harassers. He indicated, however, that CDW would use physical force to break up any violence they encountered.

To report incidents of anti-gay violence contact Linda Kurtz at 747-6848, Brian Durrance at 763-4186 or Rob Boblett at 662-4735. A support group for gay male victims of violence is forming. If interested contact Rob Boblett.