THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 17, 1996 TAG: 9606170031
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 91 lines
Mount Trashmore's normally green hillside took on the colors of the rainbow Sunday - red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple - as more than 1,000 gay men and lesbians gathered for the eighth annual pride picnic.
There was something else in air, though, besides fluttering gay pride flags, the sound of song and the scent of grilled sausage: politics.
``This election is so critical,'' said former Marine Corps Sgt. Tom Swan, the keynote speaker at the festival, who urged the audience to get involved in the process and vote. In 1994 he successfully challenged the Navy's anti-gay employment policies while he was a civilian employee.
``In November we have a choice between Clinton and Dole - and at least with Clinton we finally have a dialogue. We can communicate,'' Swann said after his speech. ``Dole sends back a $1,000 contribution from gay Republicans. He doesn't even want to talk to us.''
In a second term, Clinton may be able to do more of what he promised, Swan said. Possibly even on the original pledge to lift the ban on gays serving in the military. ``They know the military thing is screwed up,'' Swann said.
Terri Gardner, 27, of Virginia Beach said: ``A lot of people thought we had won it all when Clinton was elected. He promised a lot and we assumed even more. When he didn't deliver - when he couldn't deliver - it all, we were disappointed.''
Abandoning Clinton now would be foolish, she said. ``No one else out there cares enough to even talk about us as human beings. Ralph Reed and Pat Robertson think we're animals. Bob Dole isn't much better. If they win, we lose.''
Stephen Lacks, 31, isn't so sure, however. ``Dole's not going to do anything bad to us,'' he said. ``He'll probably just ignore us. But Clinton. . and our votes and then forgot us.''
Politics aside, much of the afternoon was nothing more or less than a big family picnic.
Same-sex couples walked hand-in-hand about the park, watching ducks or just soaking up the sun that peeked through the clouds as they relaxed on the hillside. Some hugged and kissed - something many admitted they wouldn't ordinarily do in public locally for fear of the reaction of others.
``It's great to be free out in public,'' said Ron Sanderson, 20, a floral wholesaler from Ahoskie, N.C., as he stood behind his partner, Chris Farmer, arms around Farmer's waist.
``I like being with other people who are like us and we can be ourselves,'' said Farmer, 24, a brickmason who also lives in Ahoskie.
Mark Graupmann, 31, of Norfolk, said, ``It gives you confidence seeing that there are so many other people who come out and are not ashamed.''
During the picnic, organizers presented their annual community service award to Norfolk's NARO Expanded Cinema, which has screened many gay-themed films over the years and has hosted special events for the gay community.
The picnic is sponsored by the Hampton Roads Lesbian and Gay Pride Coalition, which favors a more subdued picnic over the parades held in other cities.
``It's important that we have these events every year that encourage more people to come out,'' said Ken Orr, the festival chairman. ``As gays and lesbians continue to come out, they are becoming more sure of themselves and their place in the great American culture.''
A parade probably would not be as popular in Hampton Roads, however, because of the large numbers of gays and lesbians affiliated with the military, directly or indirectly, Orr said. ``Many of them are still in the closet,'' he said.
The picnic is a less threatening, although still public, event, that ``helps affirm our feelings of being a community, a family,'' Orr said.
And there were many families - traditional and otherwise - on hand. Several participants brought their parents, siblings and friends along. Some gay couples attended with their own children.
``We're just like everyone else,'' Orr said. ``We are not a group to be afraid of.''
Some disagreed, however.
``I am not letting them stay in there with those people in there,'' an angry mother told her husband in the parking lot late Saturday afternoon. Their two children were standing nearby, somewhat confused about why their day in the park suddenly wasn't happening.
``We're with them and those people aren't bothering anyone,'' the husband said. She was unmoved. ``They're homosexuals. Homosexuals.''
She declined to give her name, but said she had every intention of writing to City Council. ``I'm furious that something like this is allowed. How can they take over our park like this?''
A gay couple passing by had paused to listen to the couple's argument. One now raised his voice: ``I pay taxes in this town, too, lady. It's my park, too.''
His partner ushered him along. ``Leave them alone,'' he said. ``If she doesn't like us, that's her problem.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
LAWRENCE JACKSON/The Virginian-Pilot
Participants carried a 90-square-foot gay pride flag, its rainbow
colors symbolizing diversity, over Mount Trashmore on Sunday. by CNB