j u s t o u t ▼ July 1, 1 9 9 4 ▼ 5
national briefs
CALIFORNIA
AT&T has placed its first advertisement in a
queer publication. The Advocate. The ad is seen as
a major policy change. According to A1 Parso,
spokesman for the company’s gay and lesbian
employee group, “AT&T has included sexual
orientation in its nondiscrimination policy for
nearly 20 years but has never advertised in [queer]
media.”
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The San Francisco Board of Education has
released a report on the school district’s contro
versial Junior Reserve Officer Training Program.
The report is the result of the city attorney’s
investigation into the program, after several ca
dets were severely beaten by the rest of their drill
team in February. Despite overwhelming evi
dence that JROTC programs systematically teach
hatred and violence, most education board mem
bers asserted that the beatings were an isolated
incident.
“The JROTC brings the homophobia of the
military right into our children’s schools,” said A1
Kielwasser, spokesperson for the Gay and Les
bian Alliance Against Defamation. “It is outra
geous that the San Francisco School District con
tinues to support a program that teaches today’s
schoolchildren to be tomorrow’s gay bashers.”
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
In late May, Montgomery County Council
members voted 6-1, with two abstentions, to
repeal a provision in the human rights law that
legalized job discrimination against gay men,
lesbians and their supporters who work with chil
dren. Besides targeting sexual minorities, the
Hanna Amendment has been criticized for being
unconstitutionally vague. It said that employers
could discriminate against anyone who “advo
cates” homosexuality or bisexuality and works
with children. The repeal came in time to be
celebrated during M ontgom ery C o u n ty ’s
LesBiGay Pride Day, June 11.
Bonnie J. Berger, co-chairwoman of the Gay
and Lesbian Interests Consortium said, “People
have been asking us, ‘Well, what’s next?’ I say let
us bask in the glow of this, you know, even for 24
or 48 hours, and then we’ll tackle the next thing.
Victory is so sweet, and sometimes so elusive,
that I’d rather linger in it for just a moment.”
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Cryptosporidium has killed numbers of AIDS
patients who acquired the parasite through drink
ing tap water. Eighty-eight people with AIDS
died in Milwaukee, Wis., and 19 in Las Vegas,
Nev., after outbreaks of the organism in the cities’
water system. Dr. Jon Kaiser, a San Francisco
physician, recently told Gay Games athletes who
are HIV positive not to drink New York City tap
water. Kaiser’s warning was included in a health
advisory that was distributed to 10,000 partici
pants. Other health professionals disagree that tap
water is dangerous to people with AIDS and state
that before they will recommend bottled or fil
tered water a major study must show a major
danger.
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An amendment aimed at restricting federal
funds for universities that ban military recruiters
or Reserve Officer Training Corps was passed by
the U.S. House of Representatives in early May.
The amendment, sponsored by Rep. Gerald
Solomon (R-N.Y.) seeks to stop the National
Science Foundation from giving grants and con
tracts to recipients that have such bans in place.
Some universities have used this measure as a
means of speaking out against the military’s ban
on gay men and lesbians.
Attempts were made to have the amendment
declared non-germane to the bill it rides. How
ever, Solomon changed the wording so that this
was no longer an option, and the bill passed its
first test. Gregory King, a spokesman for the
TWENTY-THIRD AVENUE
Human Rights Campaign Fund, said he and oth
ers will be watching movement in the Senate on
this legislation and will be working to prevent this
amendment from being passed.
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In a speech given at the National Minority
AIDS Council’s "Our Place at the Table” confer
ence, U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders stated
that the AIDS epidemic is devastating communi
ties of color. Listing statistics that show AIDS
disproportionately affects people of color in the
U.S., she asked, "What does being at the table
mean? In the world of AIDS, it means knowing
how to write a grant, how to put together a
comprehensive plan, how to present yourself to
the decision-makers.”
B O CM C S
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Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders
NMAC was founded in 1987 and represents
some 450 groups, primarily community-based
AIDS service organizations which serve people
of color.
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Buying or Selling?
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You deserve representation whether you are selling or buying real estate.
MlUynn is one of the few top agents in Portland who offers buyers the same
level of representation that sellers have traditionally counted on.
American Airlines has decided to join the
International Gay Travel Association, which rep
resents more than 800 gay and lesbian companies
in the travel industry. American is the first major
U.S. airline to participate in the 11 -year-old asso
ciation. The airline recently came under fire for
dragging a person with AIDS off one of its flights.
As a result, the company is working aggressively
to increase its employees’ awareness of AIDS and
has become the first major carrier to adopt an
employment policy that bars discrimination based
on sexual orientation.
And, of course, Millynn continues to offer top personalized service to sellers,
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market evaluation if you need to sell before you buy your next home!
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MASSACHUSETTS
Results of a major study have shown that
African Americans diagnosed with HIV infection
are far less likely to be prescribed medication to
fight the infection than European Americans. The
study, published in the March 17 issue of The New
England Journal o f Medicine, asserts that while
82 percent of infected European American pa
tients are prescribed drugs that fight off the onset
of pneumocystis carinii pneumonia, a common
AIDS-related ailment, only 58 percent of HIV
positive African American patients were pre
scribed those same pneumonia-fighting drugs.
And while 68 percent of white HIV-positive pa
tients are prescribed AZT, an anti-viral medicine,
less than 48 percent of black HIV-positive pa
tients receive the drug. Dr. J. Jarrett Clinton, of the
federal agency that sponsored the study, con
cluded, "The racial differences in use of drug
therapy suggest a need to ensure uniform access
to care for those who are HIV positive.”
Multi-Million Dollar Producer
Your Real Estate Professional
(503) 287-9632, x.122
Mobile/Voice Mail 720-4642
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M illynn James,
cri
Associate Broker
I rofessionals I O O
¡REALTORS:
Y start by listening . ”
- Specializing in classic and restorable homes
in Portland's established neighborhoods -
See Classified for this m o n th ’s selected listings.
My pledge for 1994: To donate/invest at least 10% of
my commissions back into the lesbian and gay community.
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