Britain's Outcast Magazine: Censored Before Publishing

The latest edition of Outcast, a small but well-respected gay magazine, has had to be cancelled because the company that usually prints it say their staff have been intimidated and fear reprisal attacks if they go ahead with the printing.

The February edition of Outcast contained an editorial and a half-page article detailing irregularities in the registration at Companies House of Mardi Gras 2000 Ltd.: a commercial enterprise owned in part by gay press barons Kelvin Sollis, David Bridle, and Tony Claffey.

Following the appearance of this article, solicitors Mischon de Reya acting for Chronos Publishing Limited, publishers of the Pink Paper and Boyz, wrote to Outcast's Internet Service Provider, NetBenefit PLC, fearing that Outcast might publish something defamatory in a future article that might be published on their website.

On the 29th March at 4 p.m., Outcast received a letter from NetBenefit, warning that: "we advise you that we will suspend your website with effect from 6 p.m. today unless we receive from your solicitors written assurance that the entire content of your website does not contain any defamatory material".

After such impossibly short notice, NetBenefit then shut Outcast's website down at 7 p.m.. Outcast has now been forced to move the content onto a server in America, (operating via the original URL of www.outcastmagazine.co.uk).

Outcast has traditionally printed provocative articles that challenge the 'gay scene' and the 'pink pound' economy. It has published controversial articles by writers including Ken Livingstone MP, Peter Tatchell, Mark Simpson, Emma Butcher, and Paul Burston.

This originality and independence have led to it being attacked by mainstream gay titles, most of which print only a narrow, highly commercial and 'London-centric' view of gay life.

OutRage! condemns the bullying tactics that have been used to gag Outcast and censor free speech. It would be serious enough if these tactics were being used by homophobes to silence a gay magazine: but for a powerful gay company like Chronos to be resorting to these depths indicates very strongly that they have something to hide.

We don't believe that Outcast has done anything wrong.

Their articles are checked by David Price (a leading libel lawyer who defended Scallywag magazine against John Major): and they have never been taken to court over any issue in the past. If they are guilty of anything, it is of knowing too much about how the gay establishment works 'behind the scenes', and daring to tell their readers the truth about it.

The Staff of Outcast

We were greatly saddened to hear of the death of George Buse, a stalwart in the fight for Gay and Lesbian freedom. George's active participation in the Chicago Anti-Bashing Network was just one in a long list of activities which included the Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual Veterans of America and volunteering for Rep. Larry McKeon.

In the early 1960s he was purged from the Navy for being gay. In the 1970s George was active in the Mattachine Society and wrote for early Gay newspapers such as Chicago's Gay Life, when being a Gay journalist was a far more difficult occupation.

In the 1980s he wrote for Windy City Times and was an occasional contributing writer to the Chicago Free Press up until his death.

An inductee into the Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame and World War II veteran of the Pacific theater, George was among those profiled in the landmark film "Before Stonewall," and was the subject of a lengthy feature article in last year's Gay Pride edition of Windy City Times.

Despite failing health, George rarely missed a public CABN event, marching with us in Gay Pride, participating in the October 8th Matthew Shepard march and rally, joining CABN and a host of others in Oak Park to protest the hate crimes against the Metropolitan Community Church of the Incarnation, and more. He marched in the 1979, 1987 and 1993 Marches on Washington, and while he told friends his health would not permit attendance at this year's march, he told them he would be there in spirit. Most remarkably, George left his bed at Veterans Hospital this past Saturday to participate in the Stop Dr. Laura! Coalition picket against Channel 2. Come what may, George always insisted on being a participant in making the world a better place right up to the very end.

Related Stories from the GayToday Archive: Unspeakable: The Rise of the Gay and Lesbian Press in America Bob Basker: An Activist's Life ACT UP Dissidents Emerge in San Francisco & Hollywood Related Sites: Outcast Magazine Windy City Times AIDS Statistics or GayToday does not endorse related sites.

The many individuals and organizations that George touched will definitely miss him.

Friends of George Buse have arranged a memorial service in his honor for 7-9 p.m., Thursday, May 18th at Ann Sather's Restaurant, 929 W. Belmont, 2nd Floor, Chicago. All are invited to remember and celebrate the many contributions George made to our community.

Since our first release, more friends of George have come forward to tell us of important aspects of his life:

Albert Williams, a former editor of George's during his days at GayLife and currently with The Chicago Reader, tells us that George was the model for the gay sailor character in Studs Terkel's book, The Good War. (A play based on the book will be performed May 4-7th at the Chicago Historical Society.)

Albert also credits George with encouraging Studs to participate in the pivotal 1984 rally in favor of the Human Rights Ordinance, at which Mayor Harold Washington spoke in favor of the ordinance, the first time a sitting Chicago mayor had appeared at a public Lesbian and Gay rally.

Rev. Jeffrey Phillips, pastor of the United Church of Christ, reports that George also was an ordained Presbyterian minister. In later years he fought for acceptance of Lesbians and Gays within the church.

The game of queer musical chairs, as played by San Francisco's unique interpretation of the game's rulebook, took a predictable turn in the past few months.

The San Francisco Department of Public Health up until last fall employed Dana Van Gorder as a gay and lesbian health liaison. Van Gorder quietly carried out his own agenda for six years. He didn't hold a single community town hall meeting until March 1999 when he was forced to host such a meeting to explain to his constituents what his agenda included. By all accounts he primarily worked on opening a queer community center.

When gay AIDS issues surfaced, such as the use of the Reality Female Condom as a device gay men could use during anal sex, or reopening bathhouses, Van Gorder pushed the issue over to the department's AIDS Office. He simply had little to zero time and patience for AIDS concerns. Van Gorder resigned his position last fall and took a job at the airport.

He now is the State Policy Director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation's Public Policy Department. The April newsletter from this department said the foundation is "delighted to announce that on April 24, Dan Van Gorder will taking on" this position.

Well, isn't that just keen! It should a barrel of laughs watching Van Gorder officially join the foundation's staff. For those who weren't at the May 1999 foundation board of directors meeting to personally witness Van Gorder's very public act of slobbering his tongue in the executive director's anus, let me share with you a fine excerpt from the Bay Area Reporter story of the meeting written by Cynthia Laird:

"Batting clean-up was Dana Van Gorder, the Department of Public Health (DPH) coordinator for lesbian and gay health services. 'I want to commend the board, staff, and Pat Christen for the piece in the Chronicle, [alleging gay men don't discuss HIV status]. It's the beginning of a much-needed discussion in San Francisco. Gay men are having a difficult time having conversations around serostatus. It's time for us to have a dialogue with gay men about how to take care of one another,'" the BAR reported.

(Seems as though his application process for his new job began quite some time ago.)

So who has replaced Van Gorder as the health department's queer liaison? None other than Norm Nickens, who has served as a department functionary for AIDS matters for a decade.

Nickens accepted his new position two months ago, but not a word about it appeared in the gay or straight press. When I spoke with the health department's communication director Eileen Shields this morning about Nickens' new role, she had to put me on hold and first confirm with her staff that indeed he is the queer liaison. After Shields learned of Nickens' shifting jobs I asked her what his agenda comprised.

"Will Nickens only focus on the community center? Will he hold public meetings in the gay community?" I asked Shields. "It seems odd the department has kept this news quiet. I hope this isn't an indication of how queer health issues will be addressed by our liaison to the DPH."

Shields promised to get back to me in a few days with answers to my questions. I hope she does, and that she soon issues a news release informing S.F. queers about our new health liaison.