Ju st o u t ▼ au gu st 18. 1 9 9 5 ▼ 7
BLUESTONE
HOCKLEY
Capitol Hill staffer wins
discrimination suit
Bruce Taylor was fired last December from his
job as press secretary to Rep. Barbara-Rose Collins
(D-Mich.), twodays after his partner died of AIDS.
The congresswoman claimed the firing was part of
a six-position cutback following Republican wins
in the November elections.
The Office of Fair Employment Practices found
that Taylor was terminated because it was per­
ceived that he was HIV positive or had AIDS and
would require time off for health reasons. This is a
violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
“The victory is not just for me and my partner
but for all caregivers throughout the country who
are dealing with a loved one with a catastrophic
illness,” said Taylor.
The ruling calls for Collins to pay Taylor back
wages through the end of July on his $40,000 a year
salary, plus associated legal expenses. It rejected
awarding punitive damages. Collins’ office said
she would appeal the decision.
“We are pleased that he [Taylor] has been able
to get redress,” said Robert Raben, a memberof the
five-person steering committee of the Lesbian and
Gay Congressional Staff Association and an em­
ployee of openly gay U.S. Rep. Barney Frank ID-
Mass.).
Raben wanted to make clear that the only
reason why Taylor had “legal standing” or protec­
tion was because of “the perception of HIV,” and
not because he was gay or black. However, “It
would be disingenuous not to acknowledge that
there is an overlap in many people’s minds be­
tween being gay and perceived HIV status. So it
resonates with us when we see somebody who gets
redress on that basis.”
He said the incident “brings to light the fact that
discrimination goes on, sometimes, unfortunately,
among people who are generally supportive” of
lesbian and gay issues.
Bob Roehr
Council asks president
for National AIDS Summit
The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/
AIDS, which held its first meeting July 27-28, is
seen by many as President Clinton’s last chance to
“get it right” on AIDS.
Chairman Dr. Scott Hitt in his opening remarks
noted “the indifference, avoidance and outright
prejudice that have characterized our government’s
response to AIDS.” He hoped that would change
with decisive leadership from Clinton.
Hitt had driven the Advisory Council members
with briefings, position papers, and conference
calls prior to this meeting. Thus they were able to
issue a seven-point paper, “Initial Steps for Presi­
dential Action,” at the end of their session.
The paper calls for the president “to use his
personal leadership to raise the level of public
education, compassion and concern by pledging to
make the battle against AIDS one of the most
visible and continuing priorities of his presidency.”
One specific is to hold a National Summit on AIDS
by the end of the year.
“It has the potential to do a lot of good, particu­
larly in the area of creating a greater understanding
of what the epidemic is like now,” said Alexander
Robinson. He is a memberof the Advisory Council
and co-chair of the National Organizations Re­
sponding to AIDS. He was disappointed, however,
that for lack of time “the details of that were not
spelled out.”
The Advisory Council said prevention efforts
are underfunded and asked the president to make
that a budget priority. But it has yet to answer one
of the questions the president asked during his
half-hour meeting with them— what are their pri­
orities for prevention funding.
The topic produced one of the most heated
exchanges of the session. Ben Schatz, executive
director of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Associa­
tion, lambasted the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention for not yet producing public ser­
vice announcements targeting gay and bisexual
men. The much touted series unveiled in January
1994 did not include a single PSA directed toward
the largest single group of those infected with HIV.
The CDC representative cited possible politi­
cal objections. Schatz responded, “Jesse Helms
has already won, if you aren’t doing it because you
are afraid he will prevent it.”
The Advisory Council members are keenly
aware of the skepticism with which many view the
Clinton administration’s handling of AIDS. “I am
not here to assuage the gay and lesbian commu­
nity,” said Schatz. “I’m here to push for action.”
“I’m looking to prove the cynics wrong,” said
Robinson. “I’m not certain that is going to happen,
but we are going to try.”
“If the door is open, you make recommenda­
tions,” said Hitt. But he is not prepared to wait very
long for the president to move on their recommen­
dations. “In October we will be able to tell,” he
said.
Bob Roehr
R E A L T Y .
N C
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A proud member o f the community
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RICHARD C. LEVY
Vice President
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(503) 222-3807
More 3TC made available
The Glaxo Wellcome pharmaceutical company
has relaxed access requirements for its promising
anti-HIV drug 3TC, which is awaiting Food and
Drug Administration approval.
Due to alleged shortages of the drug, the com­
pany was providing 3TC only to people with fewer
than 100 CD4 cells and limiting new enrollees to
350 per week, which had created a waiting list of
more than two months.
Now there are 650 slots per week, and CD4
cells can be as high as 300. The drug is free until the
FDA approves it for the market.
In trial studies, 3TC has been shown to substan­
immune-system cells, to re-
tially increase
duce HIV levels
in blood cells by
99 percent, and
to reduce levels
o f HIV in the
bloodstream by
91
percent.
These results,
which have been
shown to persist
for at least one
year (there have
been no longer
studies), occur
only when 3TC
is used in com­
bination with
AZT. It is theorized that when HIV mutates around
AZT in an individual, it is then susceptible to 3TC,
and that when it mutates around 3TC, it mutates in
a specific direction that once again makes it sus­
ceptible to AZT.
The respected Bulletin o f Experimental Treat­
ments fo r AIDS says of the 3TC/AZT combination:
“[It] produces the most pronounced and prolonged
effect of any anti-HIV regimen yet studied in
suppressing HIV replication and increasing CD4
counts. [It is] a remarkable combination.”
Glaxo Wellcome had blamed the earlier severe
shortages on inadequate production facilities. The
company said it was remodeling a factory in En­
gland to produce vastly larger quantities of the
drug.
Meanwhile, newer trial studies are hinting that
3TC and AZT taken together with a “protease
inhibitor” can produce even more dramatic results.
The protease inhibitors, of which there are several
in trial studies, are an entirely new class of anti-
HIV therapy. All previous therapies (AZT, ddl,
ddC, d4T and 3TC) belong to the “nucleoside
analog” class of drugs.
To get 3TC, one’s doctor should phone
1-800-248-9757.
Rex Wockner
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Your hosts, Marilee Haase & Sandy Pfaff
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Lincoln City (503) 994-5007 • 1-800-866-9925
TWENTY-THIRD AVENUE
B O O K S
EASTSIDE
4100 NE Fremont
My
288-3422
&PFLAG
invite you to an evening with
Bob Bernstein
author of
Keeping Fam ilies Together
RobertA.
Bernstein
Introduction by Robert Mac Neil
at the MacNeil Lehrer NewsHour
For more
information call
224-5097
Straight
Parents,
Gay
Children
Wednesday, August 30
7 -9 pm
1st United Methodist
Church
1838 SW Jefferson Ave.
Portland, OR