juat out T octobor 20. 1905 ▼ 5
national briefs
CALIFORNIA
Two San Francisco middle school teachers
lost their state teaching credentials for bringing in
guest speakers who gave explicit descriptions of
gay and lesbian sex to sixth-graders in 1992. The
decision to revoke the credentials was made by a
committee of the state Commission on Teacher
C redentialing, reports the San Francisco
T
T
T
The NAMES Project Foundation, the organi
zation that displays the AIDS Memorial Quilt, is
in search of sponsors to fund a World Wide Web
site. The website is scheduled to be launched on
Dec. 1, World AIDS Day. Its purpose is to raise
awareness about AIDS and to heighten the vis
ibility and extend the mission of the AIDS Memo
rial Quilt.
vivid studios of San Francisco will create and
implement the website. The Quilt website will
include information about the Quilt and its dis
play schedule, promote upcoming events, serve
as an internal resource and information exchange,
act as an educational tool in the fight against
AIDS, and contribute to the formation of a digital
community to fight the AIDS epidemic.
Sponsorship levels range from the Web
Founder Circle ($ 100,000) down to the Preserva
tion Circle ($ 10,000-plus).
FLORIDA
The Key West AIDS Memorial Planning Com
mittee has announced a design competition for an
AIDS memorial to be sited on a 5,000-square-foot
area between two beaches and a pier extending
out to sea. The international design competition is
open to all. The submission deadline is Nov. 25,
1995. A guideline packet is available by writing to
Key West AIDS Memorial Competition, 1113
Fleming St., Key West, FL 33040, or calling
(414) 276-6355. All requests must be accompa
nied by a $35 entry fee. Send a check or money
order made out to Key West AIDS Memorial.
ILLINOIS
A federal appeals court heard arguments Sept.
22 on behalf of an inmate whose HIV status was
Announcing the
opening of a
second location
intentionally disclosed to other inmates and cor
rections officials by prison guards.
Dennis Anderson filed suit against two offi
cials of the Illinois Department of Corrections for
violating his constitutional right to privacy and
for subjecting him to discriminatory treatment
and medically unnecessary “precautions.” Ander
son has since died. The case, which could set a
federal precedent for prisoners and all people
with HIV, was heard by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals.
NEBRASKA
A man convicted of the December 1993 mur
der of Brandon Teena, a transgendered individual
living as a man, was sentenced to two consecutive
life sentences for two other murders. Marvin
Thomas Nissen was convicted of second-degree
murder charges in the deaths of Lisa Lambert and
Philip DeVine, reports focusPOINT, a Minneapo
lis newspaper. Nissen has not yet been sentenced
for the Teena murder. He could receive the death
penalty in that case.
Teena was a preoperative transsexual who
lived as a man in the small town of Humboldt,
Neb. His biological gender became public knowl
edge after a local newspaper printed an arrest
report that identified him as female.
The furor arose after speakers from Commu
nity United Against Violence gave a talk to two
combined classes in April 1992. The speakers
came to discuss hate crimes and violence against
lesbians and gay men. A question from a student
prompted an explanation of dildos and oral and
anal sex by the speakers. A student protested, and
her father filed a complaint in 1993, alleging that
his rights as a parent had been violated because he
had not been informed of the class discussion. He
was helped by the Rutherford Institute, a conser
vative legal aid group based in Virginia.
Both the teachers’ union and the school dis
trict were surprised by the decision. The district
may file an appeal.
Since the incident, the San Francisco school
district has issued guidelines that make clear what
topics guest speakers may discuss with students.
hlflTABOR FLORIST
NORTH CAROLINA
Mike Nelson, a member of the Carrboro Board
of Aldermen, has announced his candidacy for
mayor of Carrboro, a suburb of Raleigh.
Nelson is the only openly gay elected official
in North Carolina. He has served as an alderman
since 1993. Previously he served as vice-presi
dent of the Orange County Democratic Party. He
was also the first executive director of North
Carolina Pride PAC.
Two other candidates have entered the
mayoral race.
TEXAS
The Austin City Council will consider action
on a 10-point proposal to reduce discrimination
against lesbian, gay and bisexual youth through
school and library programs, reports The Daily
Texan.
The recommendations, submitted by the Aus
tin Human Rights Commission, are based on
testimony from state public hearings. Commis
sion officials stated they are striving to eradicate
isolation and physical or verbal assault against
gay and lesbian students. They are also attempt
ing to combat suicide among these students.
VIRGINIA
Lamar Advertising, a billboard company in
Roanoke, refused to accept an advertisement from
the Committee for
Lesbian and Gay
C o n cern s. A c
cording to a story
in the Baltimore
Gay Paper, Lamar
said the two-word
message, “Diver
sity E n ric h e s,”
which appears on
a rainbow back
ground, is too con
tro v ersial and
could hurt the
com pany’s busi
ness.
Last year Lamar leased seven billboards to the
committee reading “Celebrate Diversity.” That
message generated a number of complaints, and
several letters denouncing the signs were pub
lished in the Roanoke Times. The company also
received compliments about last year’s billboards,
but decided that the criticism was too great to sell
space to the committee again.
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