Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, February 23, 1992 TAG: 9202230168
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK LAYMAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
GAY VOTERS SEEN THIS TIME
Gays in Roanoke flexed their political muscle for the first time at Saturday's Democratic Party mass meeting."I saw folks from our community all over the place, ' said Sam Garrison, a leader in the Roanoke Valley Gay Alliance.
"We have a lot of people wearing these," he said, pointing to the rainbow ribbon pinned to his sports coat, "and a lot who aren't. . . . Things have been changing around Roanoke for the better. I think you're going to see more participation by gay and lesbian voters."
"This could not have happened even a year ago," said Roy Mitchell, who lives in Roanoke County but attended the mass meeting as an observer.
Gays and lesbians of all backgrounds showed up - young and old, white and black. It appeared that most who wore ribbons backed Howard Musser for mayor - a payback for Musser's support when gays challenged the city's anti-solicitation ordinance.
Most people arrested because of the ordinance were gays who had gone to public places, such as parks, to meet potential partners. But later, City Council agreed to change the ordinance so it would apply only to public solicitation for prostitution.
The ordinance "was being used to harass us," Mitchell said. But when gays protested, Musser's opponent for the nomination, David Bowers, "sat there. He didn't do anything."
(Bowers was absent when City Council changed the ordinance. But he later made it known that he would not have opposed the change, Garrison said.)
"Ever since [then], Musser has been open and accessible to the [gay] community," Mitchell said. "If you've never had any friends and someone comes and reaches out to you - and then you find there's substance behind those words - you stick with them."
Musser even has paid a visit to The Park, a mostly-gay disco in Roanoke. "David was never interested in our community until the word got out that Howard Musser had been to The Park," Mitchell said. "To me, that's `politics as usual.' "
Garrison said most of the Democratic candidates for mayor and City Council sought support from gays. "They got in touch with me and other people they knew who were active in the gay and lesbian community. They went to gay events, shook hands and met people. . . . They appealed to us on the same grounds they would any other voters. We're interested in taxes, roads, police, like everybody else. And they made an effort to learn about gay and lesbian issues."
Neither Musser nor Bowers, who won the Democratic nomination for mayor, had much to say when asked about gay support.
"I've been told a lot were here and that most supported Musser," was Bowers' only comment.
"They're voters," Musser said with a shrug. "I'm not going to pass up anybody's vote."
City Councilman Beverly Fitzpatrick, who was nominated for a second term Saturday, was similarly ambivalent. "You need to distinguish" between responding to a request to speak to a gay group - which he and Musser did - and actively seeking gay support, he said.
Politicians who reach out to the gay community still run the risk of a backlash. "But most seem to feel the risk is slight, judging from their behavior," Garrison said. "There was a day when it was risky for a white politician to seek black votes. But we got over that . . .. "
Gays could become a powerful political force in Roanoke, he said. By some estimates, gays make up 10 percent of the general population - which would add up to nearly 10,000 people in Roanoke. The percentage might be even higher in the city, which is a magnet for gays from smaller, less-tolerant communities, Garrison said.
"Because of the size of the [gay] population, our opinions do count," said Gary Whitmer, who was wearing a Musser sticker. "We pay taxes, we work hard. . . . I hope politicians will take an interest in what the gay community has to offer."
Mitchell agreed that gays' influence in local politics will grow "in time. . . . For some people, there's always the fear factor. But a lot of people have begun to put that aside."
One big issue for gays now is employment discrimination. Garrison said he'd like to see City Council pass an ordinance forbidding city government from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation - just as it cannot discriminate now on the basis of race, gender or religion.
"That would have great symbolic value," he said.
Despite the show of force at Saturday's meeting, gays are not as solid in their support for the Democratic Party in Roanoke as blacks are, Garrison said.
"It's good to have communication with all parties and all factions. It's too easy to be taken for granted if you don't. . . . We're not going to exclude Republican candidates in our outreach, and we hope they won't exclude us."
Keywords:
POLITICS