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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 1, 1987)
You scream , / scream , we all scream for testing “ Military regulations require that a dis charge be sought whenever there is prob able cause to believe that a member is homosexual or bisexual .“ Sources: The Advocate, Washington Blade, Gay Community News he US Government is expanding mandatory HIV antibody testing in more of its agencies. Beginning February I, the Job Corps will screen personnel and applicants for the presence of antibodies to the AIDS virus. The Job Corps, started under President Lyndon Johnson, gives job training to young people. Between 60-65 percent of the 40,000 full-time students are black. T Anonymous testing in Lane County n AIDS advocacy group in Eugene is providing anonymous HIV anti body testing despite a Lane County Health Department decision to offer the test only confidentially. The Midvalley Action Committee, a Eugene AIDS advo cacy and education group, has established an alternative testing program that will of fer anonymous testing, in which tests are not recorded by name. Anonymous tests are offered in a majority of Oregon counties. A The State Department began HIV anti body testing in January. The Armed Forces have been testing recruits and personnel since October, 1985. Applicants who test positive to the HIV antibody are rejected by all of the agencies. The Pentagon recently released figures detailing the results of the military testing program. Out of 640,000 recruits tested, 974 (917 men and 57 women) tested posi tive. The overall positive rate has remained at 1.5 cases per 1000. Reponse to the Midvalley VAC plan has been enormous, according to spokesperson Scott Seibert. Early publication of plans for anonymous testing resulted in a flood of phone calls. Seibert reports that all available appointments are filled through mid-February. “ An alternative site is clearly the answer,” he stated. In December the State Health Division authorized the option of anonymous test- In a related story, the Navy Times re ported that over half of all enforced dis charges in the Navy were for homosexual ity. In 1983, nearly 1800 service personnel were discharged for being gay. This figure represents 55 percent of all discharges issued. According to the magazine. lust news Censorship censored Oregon Supreme Court smashes pro-censorship law. B Y N A N C Y R W A L S E T H n an opinion critical of the United States Supreme Court’s repeated refusals over the past several decades to extend First Amendment protection to obscene materials, the Oregon Supreme Court, in a case entitled State V. Henry, has stricken down as unconstitutional an Oregon law prescribing criminal penalties for the dissemination of material depicting or containing “ nudity, sadomasochistic abuse, sexual conduct or sexual excitement.” In the wake of recent United States Supreme Court civil rights rulings and last summer’s Report of the Attorney Gener al’s Commission on Pornography, the significance of last week’s Oregon Supreme Court ruling cannot be overstated. The opinion, written by Justice Robert E. Jones (former Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge), looks to the Con stitution of the State of Oregon, rather than to the Constitution of the United States, in describing the parameters of freedom of expression in Oregon. This acknowledgment of the power of the Oregon Constitution points up one of the most overlooked and profoundly im portant elements of our federalist form of government: Any state may, under its own I laws and constitution, afford more protection of fundamental rights than is required of all states under present inter pretation of the Bill of Rights of the United States Constitution. Theoretically, the highest appellate court of Georgia could strike down Georgia’s anti-sodomy law even though the United States Supreme Court recently refused to hold it unconstitutional under the federal Constitution. Unlikely in the current religious climate, but possible. The point is, when the United States Supreme Court refused to recognize any particular federal constitutional rights, it’s not necessarily time to pack for Sweden, as most state constitutions contain their own civil rights guarantees. State v. Henry struck only one part of Oregon’s obscenity laws, that which had prohibited simple dissemination of obscene materials even in the absence of an inten tion to harm other citizens with it. The Court acknowledged a legitimate state in terest in protection of “ unwilling viewers, captive audiences, minors and beleaguered neighbors . . .” but cautioned that “ (this form of expression] may not be punished in the interest of a uniform vision on how human sexuality should be regarded or portrayed.” • ing. Three Oregon counties, including Lane County decided to offer confidential test ing only, in which test results are reported to the state by name of the testee. Despite veiled threats of economic re taliation by the County against the health facility, White Bird Clinic, on whose pre mises the testing will be offered after hours, Seibert says that the plans for anonymous testing will go ahead. “ We’ve stopped thining about what the County thinks and we’re doing what we need to do.” Drug may hinder development of AIDS ibavirin, an antiviral drug, may delay the onset of AIDS in those already infected with the HIV virus, but who have not developed frank AIDS. According to information from the manufacturer, Viratek of Costa Mesa, California, none of a group of 52 infected persons taking large doses of ribavirin de veloped AIDS. During the same 28-week period, six members of a group taking a smaller dosage developed AIDS, while out of a group taking a placebo, 10 developed AIDS. R AIDS patient advocacy groups cautioned enthusiasm, because of the brevity of the study and the manufacturer’s refusal to release important details about the study and the drug’s side effects, according to the Washington Post. ACLU rallies he ACLU sponsored a rally on January 22 to raise funds and gamer support for House Bill 2325, which would add sexual orientation to existing civil rights statutes. Over 300 people at tended the rally at the Metropolitan Com munity Church. Keynote speaker, Barbara Roberts, Oregon Secretary of State, addressed the enthusiastic crowd. Quoting Susan B. Anthony, Roberts challenged the audience not to let ‘ ‘another season of silence” pass without gaining protection from discrimi nation for Oregon’s gay citizens. Speakers from the ACLU, however, stressed the need for active support for the bill from all over the state. On Lobby Day at the Oregon Legislature in Salem, Febru ary 23, the ACLU needs testimony and advocacy from gays and gay-rights sup porters from the length and breadth of Ore gon. If you are from rural Oregon, or have supportive friends or family from outside the Willamette Valley, please see to it that your legislator is lobbied for support on HB 2325. Every vote will be important. IF YOUR DOCTOR ISN’T HELPING YOU, MAYBE YOU NEED ANOTHER KIND OF DOCTOR If you are suffering from chronic health problems such as allergy, headache, constipation, arthritis, fatigue, or lower back pain, a naturopathic doctor may be able to help where others have failed. Naturopaths are trained in laboratory and clinical diagnosis, botanical medicine, homeopathy, nutrition, spinal manipulation, massage, coun seling, and other natural therapies that enhance your body’s own healing powers (they also feel good.) These therapies often will help when conventional medical methods do not. They can also be used as preven tive medicine to enhance your immune system or keep more serious illnesses from developing. The P O R T L A N D N A T U R O P A T H IC C LIN IC , located at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine, is known through out the country as the foremost teaching clinic in natural healing methods, and specializes in the treatment of chronic or acute illnesses without surgery or synthetic drugs. PORTLAND rWUROPMHC CLINIC 255-735S# 11231 S.E. Market Street, Portland, Oregon Just Out 7 February. 1987