Voice in the wilderness
Psychiatrists reprove AMA
IDS is the best thing that ever happened
to the practicing physician with his back
against the wall. Because if, God forbid, you
should have an AIDS virus-positive individual
with something going wrong that makes no
sense or cannot be explained in traditional
terms and you are stuck for an answer because
the patient wants an answer — then you
always have the ‘AIDS virus’ to fall back on.”
A
A
— Stephen S. Caiazza, M.D., in his book,
AIDS: One Doctor’s Struggle, bitterly
complains that orthodox medicine is failing
"AIDS" patients by not treating them fo r the
bacterial infections that are killing them.
(New York Native, January 22, ¡990)
What's
going on
here?
Racists burn cross
acists seem to be getting bolder, or may
be the rocks they’re living under are
getting too crowded. But burning a cross in
Washington Park is really a bit much.
Wouldn’t their antics be much more effective
if they burned each other?
B__ Y
R
Laurelhurst Park no place to
cruise
uring the past month, I have talked with
several men who have been attacked in
Laurelhurst Park and with others who called
to report attacks on friends or acquaintances.
The attacks have occurred between midnight
and 3 am and have involved from one to
several attackers.
One particularly frightening incident on
Christmas night involved a gay man who was
enticed into the bushes by a young man who
was then joined by three others in attacking
the gay man. The gay man was beaten with
pipes and clubs and left unconscious. He has
not yet fully recovered from the attack.
D
t its quarterly meeting on January 19, the
Oregon Psychiatric Association passed a
resolution reproving the House of Delegates
of the American Medical Association for its
recent defeat of a resolution which would
have added the words “sexual orientation to
the clause in the AMA Bylaws banning
discrimination on the basis of age, sex, race,
color, creed, religion, ethnic origin or national
origin.
The Oregon psychiatrists’ resolution fur
ther states that “Whereas such a vote allows
and even encourages discrimination against
gay and lesbian physicians...the members of
the Oregon Psychiatric Association...express
our deep regret over the AMA House of Dele
gates action and request that it be reversed..."
According to an unnamed source, the
AMA House of Delegates defeat of the
resolution occurred because a majority of
members believe that adding “sexual orienta
tion” to the anti-discrimination clause is
unnecessary because no member has ever
complained of discrimination based on sexual
orientation.
And we all thought most M.D.s were
educated?
J A Y
B R O W N
Another caller reported on an attack
against his best friend. He said his friend just
got out of his car when a young man
approached him and said, “Are you a faggot?”
and without waiting for an answer began
hitting him with his fists. The caller’s friend
said that he had fortunately not locked his car
and managed to escape before being seriously
injured.
Yesterday, a woman called to express
concern for her gay son and reported on a
recent stabbing of a gay man in Laurelhurst
Park. Another man reported two late night
attacks in the park in the last week. (See page
eight for an in-depth look at the problem from
the police point of view.)
The problem could be solved, of course, if
late-night cruisers are made aware that such
activities are extremely dangerous. There are
many people out there who are possessed with
hatred of gays and are waiting to maim and
even kill their unsuspecting victims.
Couple’s agreements guide
available
ortland attorney Cynthia Cumfer recently
published a very handy guide for living
together. Living Our Lives: Living Together
Agreements fo r Lesbian, Gay and Unmarried
Couples in Oregon is a 58 page manual with
sample agreements covering such subjects as
owning property completely separately, own
ing property completely jointly, and owning
property separately with exceptions. Also
included are chapters on joint ownership of a
home and dissolution of the living arrange
ment, pensions, and debts.
P
Since 1981, the State o f Oregon has recog
nized that the guidelines it was using for
heterosexual unmarried couples should also
be applied to same-sex couples; Cumfer’s
guide demystifies what may be confusing to
most people.
“It is my experience after a number of
years of practice as a lawyer, dealing with
unmarried couples, many of whom are lesbian
or gay couples, that most couples do not have
very extensive discussions about how they are
handling their property,” Ciimfer says in the
introduction to her guide.
Anyone who is in a relationship or is
contemplating entering a relationship should
read Cumfer’s guide. Living Our Lives at
$9.95 is a real bargain and is available from
the author: Cynthia Cumfer, PO Box,42281,
Portland OR 97242 or at A Woman’s Place
Bookstore.
Emanuel of two minds
arly this month a spokesperson repre
senting the administration of Emanuel
Hospital called to ask us to stop leaving Just
Out at the hospital, because “they feel that
Just Out is not appropriate” for their facility.
Needless to say, I was extremely offended by
their request.
About a week later, another Emanuel
employee called to say “We found out what
has been happening to the Just Outs at the
hospital. We found where security has been
putting them, and w e’ve been putting them
back out. We just thought you’d like to
know.”
Among other papers and newsmagazines
left at Emanuel are Willamette Week, Senior
Tribune, and The Skanner, which the
hospital’s administrators apparently feel are
“appropriate.” What is obvious to us is that
some of Emanuel’s employees want to read
Just Out and are going out o f their way to
make sure that it is made available. We will
not cease distribution o f Just Out to Emanuel
Hospital. We relish the adventure of a little
guerilla warfare.
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