ELECTION DAY IS NOVEMBER 7!

Election day is just around the corner and each of us has very important decisions to make about what we believe in, who we believe will carry forward our own personal ideals and values, and what we want to support as a result of our individual votes. Perhaps you may have some individual confusion over who and what you should vote for. With polls showing that the average American is undecided in record numbers, it wouldn’t be surprising if you felt the same way about at least one of the decisions that you are about to make. From City Commonwealth’s Attorney to President, or the election of mayors to a constitutional right to hunt and fish, each of us has some major decisions to make!

Throughout this newsletter we will address issues that are important in this election and what they mean to you as an individual and to you as an activist in your community.

Inside This Issue:

Ten Reasons to Vote on November 7

In an effort to help each of you make decisions that are truly in line with your own views and beliefs we have put together a list of reasons that you should vote and that you might want to use as a basis for your vote (some ideas are pulled from the NAACP Voter Fund list of Ten Reasons to Vote). Some of these reasons may be more specific to the presidential election and some of them may be used as a basis for all levels of elected officials that you will be deciding on this Election Day.

1. The winners of this election will determine the quality of public education in the 21^st Century.
2. The winners of this election will determine the course of the American Judiciary for much of this century. It is estimated that as many as four of the current Supreme Court Justices may step down in the next four years. The president during these four years will pick the successors to those justices as well as choosing/influencing successors to judges for all levels of judiciary.
3. The winners of this election will determine if a woman’s right to choose is eliminated or severally altered over the next 20 to 50 years.
4. The winners will determine if the dramatic racial, ethnic and gender disparities that exist in our health care system will continue.
5. The winners of the next election will decide if it should be easier for the federal government to get involved with the investigation, prosecution and prevention of hate crimes.
6. The winners of the next election will decide if the nation should have comprehensive, sane and sensible gun control laws.
7. The winners of the next election will decide if all levels of government will work to expand and ensure economic opportunities to all Americans, including those historically locked out.
8. The winners of the next election will determine the rights that are afforded and enforced for gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgendered persons.
9. The winners of the next election will determine if the death penalty should continue to be handed down in a racially discriminatory manner or if a moratorium on executions will be put into place until issues of inequity are remedied.
10. The winners of the next election will be in a position to address or ignore the vast discriminatory disparities that continue to plague our American justice system.

On October 15, 2000, thousands of women from 156 countries around the world converged on Washington DC to make a statement to the world that they would no longer accept violence against women, the inequitable distribution of the world’s wealth, or inequality between men and women. Depending upon the source from which you get a count for the march, the amount of women and men in attendance was anywhere from a thousand to 25,000; but for those of us who did attend, the value of the event could not be expressed in numbers alone. Each of us who boarded the Tidewater NOW chartered bus before dawn on that Sunday and who rode for hours up and back, walked away with much more than being a number. We had been a part of an event several years in the making that, was international in scope and purpose, and had joined women from many countries together for a common purpose. The atrocities that we heard about, the pictures that we saw, the women that we spoke to from other countries or other states, who told their stories and the stories of their sisters, will be with us forever.

The march itself, although short in distance, covered miles in statement as we passed by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. "Shame" rang out in the chants from marchers as we passed those "esteemed" institutions that have promoted misogynistic practices for years; the IMF and the Monetary Fund are the leading lenders to poor countries. The spiraling debt that occurs in those countries falls with unbending rancor on those that are the poorest of the poor – namely women and children. As stated by Ramesh Sepehrrad, spokesperson for the National Committee of Women for a Democratic Iran, "This march is against the champions of patriarchy that deny the human, democratic and social welfare of women".

The march has been in the planning stages for several years and the National Organization of Women had been asked to take the lead as the United States sponsor. The march was scheduled to climax in the United States after officially beginning in Geneva in March. Since that time, marches have been held in many countries including India and Sri Lanka. The march reached its culmination in the United States with the march in Washington DC, meetings with the IMF and World Bank on Monday, and finally in meetings with the UN Secretary General Kofi Annan on Tuesday, October 17, 2000. Many United States speakers used the close proximity to our own election as a motivational tool for the upcoming election. The president of NOW, Patricia Ireland, spoke before the group by saying that "In three weeks and a few days we will carry this energy, this enthusiasm and these issues to the voting booths of this country to elect a government that will support our equality".

Regardless of the actual numbers of women and men who were in attendance, every woman and child in the world that is touched by poverty, violence and injustice was with the group of activists that converged on Washington DC on that sunny October day. If you could not be in attendance your presence was still felt and your vote in this election can still be heard.

If you would like to experience some of the sites and sounds of the World March of Women 2000 you can go to www.worldmarch.org and become a part of the experience. Also, do not forget to exercise your hard fought right to vote in the election on November 7!

Who Should You Vote For – A Cyber Answer
If you are a cyber geek and need to get your information from the web, do we have some sites for you. Listed below are sites that will provide you with information for all levels of the political arena:

Al Gore for President - www.algore2000.com
George W. Bush for President - www.georgewbush.com
Ralph Nader for President - www.votenader.com
Greens for Gore - www.greensforgore.org
Virginia Democratic Party - www.vademocrats.org
Virginia Green Party - http://organizations.rockbridge.net/greens/
Virginia Republican Party - www.rpv.org

Each of these links provide links to additional sites of interest. The Virginia sites have information on all the candidates running from that party in Virginia.

Under the leadership of Mello Johnson, who also serves as the Diversity Coordinator for Virginia State NOW, a coalition of groups from the Tidewater area began meeting a couple months ago with the goal of promoting voter registration, education and participation. Tidewater NOW has joined that coalition, and with your help, we have been an integral part in the formation of this burgeoning group. Tidewater NOW was asked to spearhead the registration of the lesbian, gay, bi and trans community in the Tidewater Area and we also headed registration at the Jazz and Blues Festival
at Town Point Park on September 29 and 30.

Tidewater NOW has managed to register approximately 100 persons at the Blues Festival and at drives held at the Hershee Bar and Lambda Rising. Tidewater NOW and the coalition would like to thank those who participated in the voter registration drives. Some of those members include the following: Jane Barbara, Lorraine Baysek, Ernie Bing, Sheila Ferguson, Bobbi Gallegos, Connie Hannah, Roz Hill, Susan Moore, Brenda Orozco, Mary Roberson, Maggie Sacra and Helene Tisdale. We apologize if we forgot anyone and we gratefully appreciate the time that you contributed.

We are still actively involved in education and in getting people to the polls on November 7. It also appears that Tidewater NOW will be able to get a grant of at least $1000 if we can commit 10 persons on the November 4, 5 and 7 to canvas a precinct and provide transportation to and from the polls to those who need it. So far we only have about half the volunteers needed to reach this goal. Please contact us as soon as possible to let us know that you are interested in participating in this important work. Not only will Tidewater NOW and the precinct that we are assigned to benefit, but you will be able to participate in the electoral process on a much broader scale, as well as provide an important community service. If you or your family or friends are interested in joining us on any of the three days mentioned, please contact Maggie Sacra at 417-0197 or e-mail us at now@tidewaternow.org.

Vigil Held in Honor/Memory of the
Victims of the Roanoke Bar Shooting
On September 22, Ronald Edward Gay went in search of a gay bar in Roanoke, Virginia. Mr. Gay had a job to do; he had a goal. He wanted to shoot some fags! Regardless of his family circumstances, his life as a Marine in Vietnam, his hard luck over the past few years, or the "persecution" he had received from others because of his last name, Mr. Gay had no real excuses for his conduct on that night. He chose to go in search of and to execute some people solely because they were different from himself. Unfortunately, Mr. Gay was successful. He found his way to the Backstreet Café, went inside, had a drink, talked to a few people, and then calmly stood up to leave, reached in his coat pocket for his gun, and began shooting. When Ronald Edward Gay was done, six people lay wounded and Danny Lee Overstreet lay dead.

In response to this horrific event,Virginians for Justice began organizing vigils to be held all over the state. Most of the vigils were held on the Thursday following the crime, including one at ODU that drew about 150 people. Along with Virginians for Justice, our own Lesbian Rights Task Force, ODU groups, and other local groups brought together a cast of speakers including Connie Hannah, President of Virginia State NOW and Helen Tisdale, President of Tidewater NOW. Messages of support were read from Virginia Beach Mayor Meyera Oberndorf, Amos D. Neill, an Independent candidate for the 15^th District State Senate Seat, and Democratic Senator Charles S. Robb of Virginia, who said that "Hate crimes tear at the very fabric of American society and scar not just the victims, but the families and communities involved as well. We will not tolerate their acts of inhumanity".

After the tragic event in Roanoke and the vigils held around the state, Republican Governor Jim Gilmore reaffirmed his position that there is no need for anti-gay hate crimes to be included in Virginia’s current hate crimes law. Republican Senator John Warner says that the "horror of this crime has to influence my judgment when this thing is brought back up on the floor of the Senate".

Please contact Senator Warner and Governor Gilmore and let them know that you support Hate Crimes Legislation.

Kelly Miller has served as Tidewater NOW's Newsletter Editor for many months and has helped us win the Virginia NOW Best Newsletter Award (and $200) for the second year! Unfortunately for us, Kelly has had to resign. We will sorely miss her expertise! Tidewater NOW will elect a new newsletter editor at the November 21st meeting. If you are interested in the position, please contact us via e-mail at now@tidewaternow.org.

Check Out Our New Web Site!!

At the September general membership meeting, we voted to acquire our own domain name and to develop a new web site. Since that time, we have hired a web developer and put together an initial site, which will serve as a base from which we can work and grow. Our development company, WebFX, is a woman owned company and has provided us with excellent service in the development stage of this process. There is still much to do and this is where all of you come into play. Please review the web pages and give us feedback. We need your input as well as your memory, photographs and expertise to flesh out this project. We would like to also add a history page in the near future and need photographs that you may have taken at past events. Please visit our new site at our new web address www.tidewaternow.org and let us know what you think.

In addition, we will be using much of the same information, photographs, etc. to create presentation boards that will be used at various events over the coming years. Please let us know if you would like to participate.

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