Fifth Freedom, 1978-12-01

              5th Freedom Publication of the Mattachine Society of the Niagara Frontier FREE DECEMBER 1978 National Switch- Board Closes The Gay National Educational Switchboard, the San Francisco based national network of support services for people with gay feel ings, discontinued its three WATS line services on December Ist, two months after its opening. During that time over 5,000 calls were answered by 60 trained volunteers, who provided information and assistance to women and men in 48 states, at no cost to the callers. The switchboard, which received $33,000 from the Human Rights Foundation to cover startup costs, was unable to generate enough additional funds to meet its expenses, including monthly phone bills of approximately $5,000. A nationwide fundraising drive had been delayed until after November 7th; raising dollars to defeat proposition 6 in California was, until then, the priority for gay people across the country. Even as the results of the election were coming in, the GNES moved to -mount a "Save the Switchboard" drive. In a race against time, the switchboard lost. Callers are now automatically referred to the Pacific Center switchboard in Berkeley, which will utilize the extensive resource files of the GNES. In Memoriam Harvey Milk In a joint statement issued shortly after the tragedy, National Gay Task Force Co-Executive Directors Jean O'Leary and Bruce Voeller said, "The loss of San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk is a personal tragedy to all gay people in this country, and a blow to the cause of human rights As one of the first openly gay elected officials of a major American city, Harvey Milk had become a hero to our community. We mourn him as the symbol he was, and for his own personal qualities of leadership, courage, and reasoned conviction. We also mourn the death of Mayor Moscone, whose actions on Lehalf of the gay community won the respect of lesbians and gay men everywhere." _, Presidents Aide Promises Help At a White House meeting on October 27, arranged by the National Gay Task Force, presidential assistant Sarah Weddington pledged to continue the work on gay issues begun by Midge Costanza, former Assistant to the President for Public Laison . Ms. Weddington told NGTF Co-Executive Directors Jean O'Leary and Bruce Voeller, and Eleanor Smeal and Arlie Scott, president and vice-president of the National Organization for Women, that she would continue to arrange meetings between gay leaders and executives of Federal agencies. She also stated that even though she is charged with giving top priority to the ERA and other economic issues of interest to women, she has no intention of downgrading the issue of discrimination against lesbians and gay men. Since its White House meeting with Midge Costanza early in 1977, NGTF has met with top executives at the Department of Justice, the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the Bureau of Prisons, the Public Health Service and the Commission on Civil Rights, and significant progress has been made in these areas towardcon' t. on p. 8 / a *=* f J sth5th Freedom N, 'i^- Wishes VV~ The \. Happiest Holidays