Well, it's the eve of
the great debate in Cobb County
tomorrow the county commission there
is going to vote on money for the arts in
a controversy about family values and gays.
Channel Five's Jim Kaiserski reports it's one of the hottest issues
ever to go before the Cobb County Commission.
Okay, you're against the art funding.
So many calls have come into the Cobb County Commission
about tomorrow's vote,
the county was forced to open a phone bank.
Elva Dornbusch says most of
the calls she's logged support Commissioner Gordon Wysong,
and that's a lot of calls.
How many you think you got?
Ah, oh gosh, about six thousand.
County Commissioner Gordon Wysong
has strong views about homosexuality.
Homosexuality is basically amoral in
every society that we know
of from recorded history forward.
There hasn't been any society that's adopted and
endorsed homosexuality as a normal practice.
And I don't think this should be the first.
Wysong does not believe
the County should pay for anything
contrary to what's defined as family values,
and that includes the arts in a production
that the Theatre on the Square.
in Marietta. The Theatre is
putting on a play with a Christian theme right now,
but earlier this year it put
on "Lips Together, Teeth Apart."
Wysong didn't see the play,
but two people he sent to see it
told him it had a gay theme.
Michael Horne says it wasn't so.
It was a respected Pulitzer Prize-winning play.
It had no homosexual theme as Wysong charges.
Almost ten thousand people saw the play.
We received no letters of complaint about the play,
and in fact, our subscribers,
which are 4100 people,
primarily of Cobb County,
throughout Cobb County, voted Lips Together,
Teeth Apart, their favorite play of the entire season.
Commissioner Wysong says
that the production in the Theatre on
the Square in Marietta raised his level of concern.
But what really got him started,
he said, were events in Atlanta and Washington.
In Washington there was the Gay Rights March.
Wysong says gays there announced
a goal of establishing a curriculum in
every public school which teaches
acceptance of the gay lifestyle. He's against that.
The other event was the
domestic partners debate in Atlanta.
It passed giving homosexual partners of
city workers the same benefits
as heterosexual marriage partners.
And now the legislature will
take up that issue next year.
The Cobb arts vote, he says,
will send a message to legislators.
That heterosexual marriage is sanctioned
by the government and homosexual marriage is not.
Commissioner Wysong says he believes a majority of
the five county commissioners will vote not to fund,
quote, those activities which seek
to contravene existing community standards,
end quote. That would mean a loss of
about forty thousand dollars from
the budget of the Theatre on the Square. John?
We'll see how the vote comes out.
Jim, thank you very much.
Up next on eyewitness news at six...
This is Georgia's News at Ten.
The explosive controversy over arts funding in
Cobb County comes to a boiling point tonight
as county commissioners vote to kill all arts funding.
Good evening.
I'm Kevin Cokely and I'm Karen Greer.
The vote comes after two weeks of
emotional debate over the Commission's resolution
condemning the gay lifestyle in
favor of so-called family values,
and a proposal to restrict arts funding. Earlier today,
hundreds of people attended the second public hearing,
and then tonight's commission meeting,
where are the vote cut funding altogether.
News at Ten's Lu Ann Sodano joins us now from
Marietta. Lu Ann?
Kevin and Karen, the Commission room was filled to capacity tonight.
The overflow crowd spilled out onto the Marietta Square.
They all came to hear
the final vote on the plan to cut arts funding.
The culmination of weeks of heated debate.
Harsh words among opponents subsided for
a few moments tonight at the crowd anxiously
waited for the Cobb County Commissioners.
The crowd was waiting
for the Commission's vote on whether to
kill funding for the arts in the county.
Commission Chairman Bill Byrne began
the meeting by saying that
government spending must be based on need and not desire.
I move that we remove all local grant funding
for the arts and theater from the fiscal '94 budget
and redirect those funds
to the Department of Public Safety for the purpose of purchasing
video cameras for all our police patrol cars
and to procure trained dogs for our K-9 unit
in an effort to better enforce the laws within our community.
Commissioner Bill Cooper had reportedly been
set to cast the lone dissenting vote,
but tonight set the record straight.
My position has been very consistent,
that I would not decide on the issue
the proposed ordinance change or total cancellation of the arts grants
until both public hearings had been completed.
Moments later, the vote was taken.
Motion carries, 5-0. Thank you, gentlemen.
[clapping]
Opponents of the measure say
the Commission's action could have a
devastating impact on
private funding for the arts in Cobb County.
If the community does not give to the arts,
then private contributors say that the community does not value
those arts organizations and they will not give funds.
The - There will be a domino effect that's going to hurt
the arts community well beyond
this money from the County Commission.
The sponsor of the original measure
to restrict arts funding doesn't see it that way.
That this is going to become
a cultural wasteland over a
$125 thousand is ludicrous.
It's not our job to support
that business anymore than it is to support a mall.
There are lots of businesses
in Cobb County that would love to have a subsidy.
Arts has no special rank in those businesses.
Meanwhile, outside the commission meeting room,
the reaction to the vote turned raucous.
Neo-Nazis, we say no!
Homophobia's got to go!
Neo-Nazis, we say no!
Homophobia's -
Police stood by, ready if needed.
One man in the crowd was from Athens, Georgia
and came to support the commissioners.
We don't- We've got no hate against these people.
They are the ones that's saying we hate them.
I don't hate homosexuals.
I mean, I hate the deed. I don't- I don't agree with what they-
they are, but I don't hate them.
I mean, that's not- that's the Christian way.
I disagree with any sort of hate politics,
and I was very proud of
Cobb County when it began to fund the arts.
The way it sounded tonight was that this issue didn't evolve
evolve from homophobia, but in fact, it did.
It was in fear of lawsuits and the funding of the arts.
And I'm very disappointed in Cobb County.
If in fact Cobb County commissioners were fearful that a plan to restrict
arts fundings to certain groups would trigger lawsuits,
they were right. The ACLU had planned to
file a suit if that original proposal went into effect.
Things though it may not have
changed even with this new plan
to cut arts fundings altogether for all groups.
The ACLU said it is reviewing its position
and may well in fact file suit.
Live in Cobb County, Lu Ann Sodano. Channel 46 News at Ten.
This is definitely not the end of this debate.
Yeah, far from it, right Lu Ann?
Not at all.
Thanks. An arrest -
[...] County, we say no! Homophobia's got to go!
People angry about the outcome were in the streets tonight
after the Cobb County Commission voted
to stop using any taxpayers' money for the arts.
That unanimous decision to
eliminate government funding for the arts
and the angry reaction to the vote
make up our top story here on the night beats.
The controversy erupted when
some people complained about a play.
It touched on homosexual issues.
The complaints escalated into
a firestorm over family values.
Tonight, the Cobb County Commission
voted five to nothing to
eliminate all government funding for the arts.
Channel Two's Lynn Harasin begins
our live team coverage. Lynn?
Monica, things are finally
quiet here on the square in Marietta.
That was hardly the case a few hours ago.
The three hours of public debate
this afternoon seemed to have
no effect on the commissioners.
For weeks it was expected that Cobb would get out of
the arts business and that's just what happened.
[inaudible] anti-gay! Cobb Commission KKK!
Gay protesters and arts activists expected
the Cobb Commission's vote even before it was passed.
Commission Chairman Bill Byrne,
surprised no one with his recommendation,
which he announced ten days ago.
I move that we remove all local grant
funding for the arts and theater
from the fiscal '94 budget,
redirect those funds to
the Department of Public Safety for
the purpose of purchasing
video cameras for all our police patrol cars
to procure trained dogs for our K9 unit.
Call a question. Motion carries, 5-0.
With that, Cobb County got out of the arts business,
and eleven Cobb arts groups will lose their public funding.
Still many people believe the vote was really anti-gay.
I'm angry and I'm very sad.
It was Commissioner Gordon
Wysong who introduced
both the anti-gay resolution and
the original motion to limit arts funding.
There are no negative economic
consequences from what we did.
I've gotten letters from businesses all over
the country who have praising us for what we're doing.
One who said they're opening
nine more branches in our county.
But the Chairwoman of the Board
of the Theatre in the Square says,
she's been interviewed by people all across the nation.
And everyone, she says, is appalled.
I am saddened to think that we've gotten to this place,
although I've said all along
that was the agenda to begin with.
The worst part is that we had to
do it in a very cruel fashion.
That brought all kinds of bad feelings in
among all the Cobb County citizens. I lay that at
Gordon Wysong's feet.
Commissioner Wysong told me he
believes the whole issue will now go away,
but apparently it will not.
Gay activists will hold a news conference tomorrow
on the square in Marietta to announce their next step.
We're live in Marietta, Lynn Harasin, Channel Two
Action News Night Beat. Lynn, thank you.
Reaction to the commissioners' vote was immediate,
especially outside the meeting room.
Our team coverage continues now
with Steve Filmer who reports on
the anger and the protests that follows.
On the Square, TV monitors blared the vote as it happens.
Motion carries, 5-0. Thank you, gentlemen.
Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame! Shame!
We live in Cobb County for a reason and
we support the decision that came down so far.
Gays, lesbians and
their supporters swarmed over
to the county office building.
Commission and the Klan work hand in hand!
It's always a tragedy when a county in
Georgia is seen by the rest of America as
being backwards, Southern stupid backwater
and that's what's happening in Cobb County again,
and I'm ashamed of it.
I'm not surprised at all. The thing is
that I'm here to let them know that as
a resident Cobb County
I do- I do not like what's happening here.
I do not appreciate it.
Across the street stood
supporters of the anti-gay resolution.
We don't have any morals in the world
today and we need to reinstate
the morals for the children and
the generation that's growing up behind us.
This is not an issue about taxation. That's right!
This is an issue of American culture.
Police kept a lid on it all. Within about an hour,
the shouting was over.
In many ways, this small theater is
where these big issues got
started and now the theater
is hanging out this black awning.
Not because the theatre is going to close.
The people who run this theater say it is
simply a statement about how they feel,
about what's going on in Cobb County.
In Marietta, Steve Filmer,
Channel Two Action News on the Night Beat.
So here's the bottom line on
the controversial vote on
money for the arts in Cobb County.
The county commission voted unanimously to
eliminate county funding for all arts programs.
There was an immediate and angry protest
by gay activists and art supporters.
The funding cut will take effect on October first.
The money will be reallocated to public safety.
Tonight police say-
It's Wednesday, August 25th, 1993.
World News This Morning continues with Lisa McRee.
And for those of you who are just joining us here,
the morning's top news stories.
American planes have made an airdrop
of food to starving Muslims in the Bosnian city of Mostar.
The UN hopes a truck
convoy will get food there later today.
ABC News has learned that
the Clinton administration may
help finance health care reform,
cutting $200 billion from Medicare and Medicaid.
And Michael Jackson responds to news of
a police investigation by saying he
will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
In Cobb County, Georgia,
the same county commissioners who voted
two weeks ago to condemn homosexuality,
have now voted to eliminate funding for the arts.
Last night's five to nothing vote
came after a heated public meeting.
More on that story from Cobb County and ABC's Al Dale.
Gay activists, their opponents, and members of
the arts community crowded into the hearing room to
present their views to
the County Commissioners. At issue, whether to delete
taxpayer funding of arts programs that do
not reflect family-oriented standards.
We have sexual deviants trying to
influence our schools, churches, and government.
Commissioners, there are artists
who have chosen to enrich
the quality of life in your community. Celebrate this,
don't condemn it. The commissioner
who propose taking away
the funds and who authored
a previous resolution condemning the gay lifestyle,
says he was motivated by a rising tide of
homosexual rights activities nationwide.
Holding that lifestyle up as
morally equivalent to a heterosexual lifestyle.
That is offensive because that's not true.
After three hours of public hearings,
the commissioners voted unanimously to cut off
all $100 thousand earmarked for the arts,
not just projects that might
fail their family values tests.
I call the question. Motion carries, 5-0. Thank you, gentlemen.
[clapping]
For some, bitter disappointment.
Very sad. I feel like Cobb County has turned back in time.
Others were convinced a victory had been scored.