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 Bush & AIDS Become Issues March 19 Equality Update Provides Legislative/Electoral News Organization Meets with Health & Human Services Leadership |
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Compiled by GayToday
Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS Meets The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA) met in Washington March 14-15, 2002. It was the council's 19th meeting since President Clinton created it in 1995. The Human Rights Campaign called on the council to chart an aggressive course to battle HIV/AIDS. With the epidemic disproportionately impacting communities of color and with nearly half of all new AIDS cases occurring among gay and bisexual men, a solid strategy is critical to provide care and treatment, develop a vaccine, provide adequate housing and prevent new infections from occurring. At the meeting, members of PACHA received briefings from Tommy Thompson, secretary of health and human services; Scott Evertz, director of national AIDS policy; Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health; and other federal officials. Former Rep. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., and former Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan are co-chairing the council.
HRC Meets with Health and Human Services Leadership HRC staff and members of HRC's boards met recently with Claude Allen, deputy secretary of health and human services, to discuss the department's HIV/AIDS policies. Allen is responsible for a department-wide review of all HIV/AIDS programs. HRC stressed the need to ensure that sound science guides this review. In light of the flat funding requests by the president for both the Ryan White CARE Act and for prevention efforts by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the meeting also covered the Bush administration's budget and response to fighting the epidemic - both domestically and globally. Allen stood by the Bush budget but indicated a willingness to accept increased funding if approved by Congress. As in the past, HRC will continue to work with our coalition partners, the administration and our allies on Capitol Hill to increase our nation's investment in fighting HIV/AIDS. Senator Jesse Helms on HIV/AIDS
Further comments were reported by the Winston-Salem Journal on March 6. When asked whether he was recanting his past position that government spending on domestic AIDS research was excessive, or his criticism of homosexuality, Helms was adamant that he was not. "I'd make myself sick if I did such a thing, because I don't have any idea of changing my views on that kind of activity," Helms said, referring to homosexuality. "I really did question -- and I confess my sin -- I questioned taking so much money away from scientists looking into heart problems, or other medical defects of humanity and dumping it in research on AIDS," Helms said. Gay Man Burned to Death in California Hate Crime Clint Scott Risetter, a 37-year-old gay man, died February 24 after a man poured gasoline over him while he slept and set him on fire. Police have charged Martin Thomas Hartman, 38, with murder, arson and a hate crime in connection with the killing. Santa Barbara, California, police have described Hartman as mentally troubled. He is a suspect in a number of other arsons in the city.
"Let me say that even in a community as tolerant as Santa Barbara, intolerance still has an ugly and evil face, " said Capps, a Democrat. "I will not remain silent on this issue. I am compelled to do whatever I can to prevent another hostile and tragic act on anyone because of his or her sexual orientation." "In a post-September 11 society, where tolerance and acceptance are strongly encouraged and promoted by our government and local communities, these types of crimes must not go unpunished or unexplored," she added. "Let us make the Hate Crimes Prevention Act a reality. Let us make a true commitment to every American citizen, be they gay or straight, Muslim, Christian, white, black, Hispanic or Asian. It should not take a brutal murder to jar the Congress out of acting out of common sense and basic human decency. It is too late to save the life of Mr. Risetter, but it is not too late to take the kind of action which will honor his memory." Feinstein also called for swift passage of the legislation. "Final passage of The Local Law Enforcement Act of 2001 is long overdue. It is necessary for the safety and well being of millions of Americans," Feinstein said. "No American should have to live in fear because of his or her disability. No American should be afraid to walk down the street for fear of a gender-motivated attack. And certainly, no American should be afraid to sleep in their own home because of his or her sexual orientation. "Today, I ask all of my colleagues to work to ensure that this legislation is not simply supported, but actually gets passed and signed into law. Let's send a signal to Clint Risetter's family, and to all Americans, that our nation will no longer turn a blind eye to hate crimes in this country." Military Discharges Under 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harrass' Reach Record Levels Anti-gay harassment and discharges reached a record level in 2001, according to a report released March 14 by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. According to the report, 1,250 servicemembers were discharged under the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue, Don't Harass" policy in 2001, the highest number of gay discharges since 1987. "The discharge and harassment numbers reported in 'Conduct Unbecoming' [the report's name] are an affront to liberty, unity and military readiness," said SLDN's Executive Director C. Dixon Osburn. "As lesbian, gay and bisexual servicemembers are fighting to protect our country from terrorism, they should not be denied their freedom at home." HRC applauded SLDN for its work and for highlighting the discrimination and harassment gay servicemembers still face nine years following the enactment "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." HRC also called on the military to implement the Department of Defense 13-Point Anti-Harassment Action Plan immediately. "Eventually, Congress and the administration, working with the Department of Defense, must repeal this failed policy," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. Washington Post editorial on this subject: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/ articles/A42603-2002Mar17.html Banning Discrimination Against State Employees Twenty-one states plus the District of Columbia now ban sexual orientation discrimination against their employees. On March 5, 2002, Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, a Democrat, signed Administrative Order No. 195, which prohibits employment discrimination for state employees on the basis of sexual orientation (among other protected classes). Alaskans for Civil Rights advocated for the measure, supported in part by research materials provided by HRC. The last governor to enact such a policy was Gov. Frank O'Bannon, an Indiana Democrat, just last year. O'Bannon issued a policy statement Aug. 1, adding sexual orientation to the state employee equal employment policy. HRC State Coordinator Steve Sanders, the Indiana Civil Liberties Union and Stonewall Democrats advocated for that measure. Seven states also prohibit discrimination against transgender state employees, as does the District of Columbia for its city employees. Spotlight on the States: Washington In the first major legislative victory in the 2002 session, Washington state's safe schools bill passed the House and Senate, and awaits the governor's signature. The Washington House passed the measure Feb. 6 by a vote of 81-16; on March 7, the Senate passed the measure, 41-6. Democratic Gov. Gary Locke has indicated that he will sign it into law. This bill prohibits harassment based on gender and sexual orientation by reference to another section in the code. It requires school districts to develop anti-harassment policies. And it calls for the state superintendent for public instruction to develop a model to guide each school in developing its own anti-harassment rules by Aug. 1, 2002. The bill requires that the policies include bias-motivated harassment, including harassment against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender youth. The policy's effective date is Aug. 2, 2002. HRC worked with the statewide advocacy group, Fairness Lobby, to pass this measure. For more information, contact Fairness Lobby at 1122 E. Pike St., PMB 1416, Seattle, WA 98122-3934, 206/835-5544 or visit its website at www.fairnesslobby.org. Colorado Colorado House Bill 1356 would prohibit issuance of birth certificates that list two same-sex individuals as the parents of a child. It would also disallow maternity and paternity suits by same-sex partners against one another in an attempt to undo a method of obtaining joint parental rights. A hearing on H.B. 1356 is slated for March 21 before the House State Affairs Committee. HRC is working with Colorado's statewide GLBT advocacy group, Equal Rights Colorado, to encourage constituents to attend. For more information, contact Equal Rights Colorado at 303/898-7771. Alabama Alabama Senate Bill 31 and House Bill 377 would amend the state's current hate crimes law to include sexual orientation as a protected class. The bills would allow courts to impose additional penalties if it were found that a crime was motivated by the victim's sexual orientation. The House version passed in 2001 by 45-42 but did not progress in the Senate. It is pending in the Senate Rules Committee. HRC has been working with Alabama's statewide GLBT advocacy group, Equality Begins at Home of Central Alabama, to lobby state senators for passage of these bills and to mobilize constituent support. For more information, contact Equality Begins at Home at ebahome@aol.com 334/263-4178, or the Gay and Lesbian Alliance of Alabama http://members.aol.com/galaa1/index1.html at P.O. Box 36784, Birmingham, AL 35236, 205/985-5609. Minnesota The state advocacy group, OutFront Minnesota, is conducting a public campaign that supports the union contracts for state employees, which currently contain provisions for domestic partner benefits for same-sex partners. However, the Minnesota House is threatening to reject the contracts if the provisions are not removed. Currently, Minnesota law restricts the ability of certain public employers to offer the same types of benefits that many of Minnesota's private-sector employers offer. Courts have interpreted Chapter 471.61 of the state code to restrict the definition of dependents for the purpose of employee benefits to a spouse or minor child of the employee. This prevents even home rule cities from extending employee benefits to foster children, live-in elderly parents, registered domestic partners or any other family members. OutFront Minnesota held a training March 6 for state residents on how to lobby and a rally at the state capitol. HRC participated in both efforts. For more information, please contact outfront@outfront.org, 310 38th St. East #204, Minneapolis, MN 55409-1337, 612/822-0127 or 800/800-0350. Lobby Your Members of Congress The next congressional recess is approaching and your representative and senators will probably be in their district offices from March 25 to April 5. HRC field organizers are working to make sure that members of Congress hear from their constituents on a range of GLBT issues while they are home. If you are interested in lobbying your representative during the recess, please e-mail the HRC field staff at field@hrc.org, and include your name, address and the names of your representative and senators, if you know them. You don't need to be a lawyer, lobbyist or issue expert to participate in these meetings. You just have to care about the issues. HRC says it can teach you how to be an effective constituent advocate. HRC Legal Team Publishes March 2002 Lawbriefs The Human Rights Campaign legal department has released another edition ofLAWbriefs, HRC's quarterly publication summarizing the latest GLBT legal developments. Highlights this quarter included a Georgia case concerning the recognition of civil unions outside Vermont, developments in Title VII jurisprudence and several important family law cases around the nation. To read LAWbriefs online, or to obtain a printer-friendly version of the publication, visit: http://www.hrc.org/publications/lawbriefs/v05n01.asp HRC Lobby Day is Called a Success
The reception was also a hit, with drop-ins by many members of Congress including: Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., and Reps. Brian Baird, D-Wash., Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., John Dingell, D-Mich., Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., Bob Filner, D-Calif., Barbara Lee, D-Calif., Connie Morella, R-Md., Lynn Rivers, D-Mich., Martin Olav Sabo, D-Minn., and Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill. PACHA meeting: http://www.hrc.org/newsreleases/ 2002/020314hivaids.asp PACHA: www.pacha.gov |
As reported in the Raleigh News & Observer March 6, Sen. Jesse Helms,
R-N.C., recently told a large group of Christian activists that he was
"ashamed" for not having done more to fight HIV/AIDS worldwide. However, he
later clarified his statements to indicate that he had not fully changed his
mind on the issue. Helms remains highly critical of gay rights activists and
said he still disapproves of the "homosexual lifestyle." "I don't have any
idea on changing my views on that kind of activity, which is the primary
cause of the doubling and redoubling of AIDS cases in the United States," he
told the paper.
