Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, June 7, 2002 Page: 4 of 129
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: Texas Digital Newspaper Program and was provided to UNT Digital Library by the UNT Libraries Special Collections.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
VIEWPOINTS
“V^XCE
CONTACT
214.754.8710
(Individual Extensions listed below)
214.969.7271b
www.dallasvoice.com
Address:
3000 Carlisle Sl„ Suite 200, Dallas. lexos 75204
Hours:
Mon. to Thut. 9am to 6pm, Fti 9om to 5pm
Robed Moote
lorry Mosely
PufaWiei 112
Mmristfatiw Assis 110
NEWS & EDITORIAL
Dennis Vercher
Seraor Fdrtor 113
Don Moines
Newsfdtor 128
Doniel A. Kusner
lifestyles Editor 118
David Webb
Staff Reporter 117
Dovid Toffet
f (Stood Assistant 124
Contributors-
Mekodo Muiphy
Features Writer
Arnold Woyne Jones
features Writer
Gilbert Garcia
Pop Musk Critic
Steve Warren
(ontibuhng Film Critic
Andrew Collins
Travel Features
Paulo Moitinoc
Post Out
John Beoird
Contributor
towrence Feiber
Contributor
Mubarak Dahir
Columnist
Michael Wilke
Columnist
Fom Kinney
(ofumnrsl
Candy Maicum
(olumnis!
Jennifer Vonosco
Columnist
Paul Beige
Editoriol Cartoonist
Keith N. Andeison
Cortoonisl
Dove Biousseou
(ortoorKl
Flic Orner
Cartoonist
Veronica Gonzales
Photographer
Leo Cusimano
Adverting Director 114
Gory Korwocki
Account Rep 115
Luciano Segura III
Account Rep 111
Alex Bornishin
Account Rep 126
Gieg Hoover
Cbssified Sales 123
lony Martinez
Classified Soles 127
NATIONAL ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE
Rivendell Marketing Company
212-242-6863
n
K.R. Murphy
/Wt Director
119
Don Korcz
Graphic Artist
125
r
Maryonn Ramirez
i
!
124
AFFILIATIONS
n
I , 1 National
Nr._____ Up
lilil Guild ■ TT
Associate Member
The Associated Press
©2002, Voice PiAWmg (a, he. All rights reserved Reprint pghls we ovafohie only by
specif permission oI the publisher or editor
Dolos Voire is polished weekly on Fridays [orh teoder K entitled to one hee ropy of eah
edtion obloined ot offirhl dkmbuticn lorolions. For o 1st of ikthboEon hrotions. see the
Directory pnnted elsewhere m this issue Atttricnd copies ore ovattfc orfy ot he Date Vo*e
office.
Subsections trio Fist (loss Mail we avaUJe ot the fdbwng rotes Thee months (13
ronserutive issues). S3S; Six months (26 consecutive issues). $60; One yea (52 consecutive
issues), $100 Subscriptions ore poyoble by personal check, coshers check, money order. VISA
or Mosteicord Subscriptions we moiled in o seeded envelope; the contents we not discanoide
Paid advertising copy tepcesents he doim(s) of the odvertw Bring inappropette claims
to the ottention of the Advertising Director
Onflos Voice reserves the right to enforce its own judgments legoring the sutlobdity of
odvertfsing copy, luslrotions ond/w photographs Dnsokited manuscripts we occepted ond
bonded with the caution. We connoi. however, guorontee thee safe return
Gay people and capital punishment
Calvin Burdine case shows once
again that homophobia lands
some gays, lesbians on death row
By Diann Rust-Tierney
Special Contributor
In a society where prejudice plays a major
role in criminal justice in general and the death
penalty in particular, lesbians and gay men —
like every despised minority — have good rea-
son to fear the death penalty, and to work
toward its abolition.
The United States is the only country in all
of the western industrialized nations that con-
tinues to use this cruel and unusual punish-
ment. Because the death penalty is irrevocable,
it also denies due process of law by preventing
individuals from being able to benefit from
new evidence or new legislation that might
prove her or his innocence or commute her or
his sentence to life imprisonment. The death
penalty's track record regarding the unequal
punishment of minorities proves that it vio-
lates the equal protection clause.
Lesbians and gay men are on death row
today because of homophobia. While there are
clear and convincing broader reasons for
LGBT people to oppose the death penalty, the
direct threat it presents to lesbians and gay
men is unmistakable. Sexual orientation has
been a primary factor in determining capital
punishment for a number of lesbians and gay
men.
In January 2001, Wanda Jean Allen, a poor,
mentally impaired African-American lesbian
who shot and killed her lover, was executed.
Had Allen been straight and killed her
boyfriend, she would have probably faced
charges of manslaughter — and a much lighter
sentence. Instead, Allen was tried for a capital
crime. The prosecution used homophobic
stereotypes of lesbian relationships in her trial,
arguing that Allen was "dominant" and
served as the "man" in the relationship.
Implicit in this argument was the suggestion
that Allen's "role" made her more capable of
committing the crime she was charged with —
and more capable of killing again. It worked.
In part because of anti-gay bias — and because
her defense attorney, who received a total of
$800 for her case, had never worked on a capi-
tal murder trial and was completely unequip-
ped to defend her — she was executed.
In February 2001, Stanley Lingar, a gay man
in Missouri, was executed for his part in the
kidnapping and murder of a 16-year-old male.
During the sentencing phase of his trial, the
prosecutor stated, "[T]he only evidence we'll
have to offer you at this stage ... [is] that there
was a homosexual relationship" that existed
between Lingar and David Smith, another
man who was involved in the crime. When
Lingar's defense attorney objected, the prose-
cution argued that Lingar's sexual orientation
was evidence of "character," bearing on his
death-worthiness. The Supreme Court of
Missouri agreed, even though homophobic
jurors were never asked about their biases
toward gay people before being selected to
serve.
Today, Calvin Burdine, a gay man in Texas
accused of the burglary and murder of an ex-
lover, faces a new trial after languishing for
nearly 15 years on death row.
Among the issues surrounding his appeal
are the facts that Burdine's defense attorney
It has been proven beyond any
doubt that race and class factor
heavily into who receives the
death penalty. Sexual orienta-
tion has played a role in sever-
al cases.
slept through portions of Burdine's trial and
that the attorney referred to people who
patronize gay bars as "faggots" and "fairies"
in court. Also, during closing arguments, the
prosecutor asked the jury to sentence Burdine
to death because, he argued, "sending a homo-
sexual to the penitentiary certainly isn't a very
bad punishment for a homosexual." Douglas
McCreight, also involved in the burglary and
murder, plea-bargained and served only 8
years in prison before he was paroled, even
though there is evidence that he was the "prin-
cipal actor" in the crime.
Our system of justice has shown, time and
again, that it is completely incapable of admin-
istering the death penalty equally. Our system
makes mistakes and always will. It has been
proven beyond any doubt that race and cUss
factor heavily into who receives the death
penalty. Sexual orientation has played a role in
several cases. Whatever goal the death penalty
is supposed to achieve, this is not an accept-
able price. T
Diann Rust-Tierney is director of the American
Civil Liberties Union's capital punishment project.
BImk gay pride: signal of segregation?
By Mubarak Dahir
Contributing Columnist
For Sean Dawson, the music says every-
thing.
In all of the events and parties surrounding
Houston's gay pride, not a single one offers
music geared to a black audience, like hip hop
and R & B.
"I can take only so much Cher!" says
Dawson, who is vice president of Houston
Splash, that city's black gay and lesbian pride
celebration.
Of course, the music isn't the driving force
behind the rise of black gay and lesbian pride
events around the country. But it is symbolic of
why so many black gays and lesbians have
organized their own, separate gay and lesbian
prides.
"Most of the general pride events lack a real
sense of indusiveness for black people,"
explains Bernard Henderson of California
Black Pride, the group that runs black pride in
both San Francisco and Oakland. "We're invit-
ed to march in the parade, but little else. We're
almost never at the table during the planning
process."
While some black pride events have been
taking place unofficially for more than a
decade, there has been "an explosion" of them
in the past three to five years, says Mandy
Carter, a North Carolina activist and one of the
founders of the International Federation of
Black Prides. This year, 18 cities around the
country will host black pride festivities.
In Los Angeles, an estimated 12,000 people
will show up on July 4th weekend for At The
Beach, so named for the culminating event
where thousands of people throng to the beach
at Malibu. The event has been going on for 14
years but has been officially dubbed black gay
pride just in the past three years. It's history is
telling.
Originally, going to the beach for July 4th
weekend was a straight white custom, says
Duane Bremond, one of the founders of At The
Beach. When the idea caught on with the gay
crowd, straight people abandoned the practice.
"No one's forcing blacks out of
the other gay pride celebra-
tions. But black pride events
are something we create by
ourselves, for ourselves. It's not
about segregation, it's about
enrichment."
— Duane Bremond. At the Beach
Los Angeles Black Gay Pride event
And when black gays and lesbians started join-
ing the beach celebration in large numbers,
white gays and lesbians jumped ship, too, he
JUNE 7, 2002 DALLAS VOICE
* 1 ' * - ■* * ' - 1 . i ^ ' C / v . . \ ,
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Vercher, Dennis. Dallas Voice (Dallas, Tex.), Vol. 19, No. 6, Ed. 1 Friday, June 7, 2002, newspaper, June 7, 2002; Dallas, Texas. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth616160/m1/4/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.