"F-A-G-S" ON CAMPUS: THE NEW GAY MILITANT FRONTIER!

FAGS is the acronym for the Fellowship of Associated Gay Students and is a rapidly growing, militant, gay movement on community college campuses in San Diego county.

Some college admistrators - particularly lesbians - are NOT happy.

The letter "L" lesbian is not included in the name - and therefore isn't in the acronym, either - and that annoys the dykes. But, historically, going back to the pre-Stonewall days of the launching of Gay-Lib in San Francisco, lesbians were adamantly opposed to militant Gay Liberation then, also. Old news.

The FAGS organization is being spearheaded by its founding president, Jason Frye, 28, of North Park in San Diego. He lives with a pioneeer of the gay movement, Jay Murley, who - like me - prefers the company of young people to our senior peers.

Another young gay student living at Murley's and who is active in the FAGS organization is Glen Echon, 22, a slender Phillipino with gay activism running through his veins. Fortunately, both Frye and Echon have the movement expertise and advice of Murley, who is ready to take on the opposing college administrators . . . NOW!

These young gay students want (1) something with an edge, (2) something attention-grabbing and fun, and (3) to take back the word "fags" from the homophobics. What they are doing is working!

A few years ago, young-gay-college students did the same semantical upset by "taking back" the word "queer." Rather than a hate word used by hostile homophobics, the students began calling themselves queers, positively! And, it worked!

The FAGS organizations at several community colleges in the San Diego area have common goals: they want (1) to promote safe sex, (2) marriage equality for Gays (and to defeat California's Prop.-8 in the November election, something that is NOT yet a certainly), and (3) the right to use the FAGS name.

As to the use of the name, a City College administrator, Michelle Montanez, incorrectly told this journalist that it is a "hate" word, and therefore not protected by the First Amendment.

As a matter of Constitutional law, however, she is wrong. If the word is used in hostility, as in an an attack on someone, it is not protected. It becomes a felony if it is accompanied with a demonstrable threat of physical violence. However, when the word is used as a self-identifier, and is used positively, then it is protected by the First Amendment. There is a plethora of case law in support of this.

We can expect BIG, and possibly dramatic, developments from these gay college students of the FAGS organizations.

Also, the word "militant" is used in this story differently than the way it is used in the mainstream media. It does NOT mean terrorist, or violent, or criminal. It simply refers to actions by persons - the FAGS students herein - who are one step beyond the more passive, polite, sometimes prudish "activists" that are seen in many contemporary, communisty organizations. And, they scare the hell out of the closet queens!
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Copyright by journalist Leo E. Laurence, J.D. leopowerhere@msn.com, or call (619) 757-4909.