Gay, Lesbian Issues Forum Is Tonight

A public forum focusing on gay and lesbian issues in Orange County will be held tonight in Laguna Beach.

The forum is being sponsored by Orange County Together, an organization formed by the United Way of Orange County and the County Human Relations Commission as a response to the civil unrest in Los Angeles last spring.

Orange County Together is a broad-based community group attempting to bring a cross-section of the business, religious, economic, social and civic communities together, according to Hector Lopez, one of the group’s coordinators.

Topics scheduled for tonight’s meeting include health and AIDS issues, gay and lesbian relations with law enforcement, friends and families of gays and lesbians, and gay and lesbian groups on campuses.

Tonight’s meeting is the third the group has held since its inception in June. The purpose of the meetings is to gather information on the needs and issues facing the different ethnic groups in the county in an effort to avoid an explosive situation such as the Los Angeles riots.

“In addition to these public dialogues, we’ve sent people out into the county to meet with different ethnic groups in their own arenas,” said Rusty Kennedy, executive director of the Human Relations Commission.

The meetings have three elements: an initial talk on the scheduled subjects; participants then break down into smaller groups for more detailed discussion, and finally an open microphone segment during which anyone can speak, Kennedy said.

Eventually, he said, the organization will issue a report on its findings and have specific recommendations on how ethnic and human relations can be improved in Orange County.

Tonight’s meeting will be at 7 at the Fred Lang Park Community Center, 21540 Wesley Drive.