A group for gay and bisexual deaf people was set up in the central Finnish city of Tampere in the autumn of 1987. It works as part of Tampere's gay association Vagabondi. Members are in contact with each other weekly and Vagabondi has obtained a text telephone in order to facilitate communication. Unexpected problems have arisen, however. Although the national association for the deaf has taken a a fairly positive attitude towards the group, local associations have not been so forthcoming. Local deaf associations have attempted to ban announcements by the group in a national magazine for the deaf and have announced publicly that they do not wish to be associated with the group.