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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 21, 1996)
ju s t o u t ▼ juno 2 1 , 1 9 9 6 ▼ 7 national briefs y lW llL CALIFORNIA Acting to reverse an action that some had interpreted as a move to exclude transgendered physicians and medical students, the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association voted at its May quarterly board of directors meeting to re-insert the word “transgendered” in the descriptive tag line that appears on the organization’s letterhead. The action reverses a decision made at the February board meeting to remove the word from association materials. At that time, the board felt that including “transgendered” led to confusion about GLM A ’ s primary focus on lesbian, gay and bisexual health issues. Subsequent discussions with members who opposed the change led the board to reaffirm the organization’s commitment to its transgendered members and colleagues. CYBERSPACE Readers and researchers can now find all back issues of AIDS Treatment News, starting with the premiere issue of April 1986, on the World Wide Web. Users can search for material using any word or phrase that appears in any issue. The URL is http://www.immunet.org/atn. GEORG IA In a move some believe caters to right-wing voters, state Attorney General Michael Bowers ruled that an Atlanta group of progressives and gay men and lesbians must return the name “Fam ily Concerns” to conservative activist Nancy Schaefer and her supporters, reports the Atlanta gay paper Southern Voice. Bowers, who may run for governor in 1998, said that Schaefer’s conservative group is the rightful owner of the Family Concerns incorpora tion. He says the group only lost the rights to the name because of alleged tampering by a former employee in the secretary of state’s office with a mail list that should have notified Schaefer to renew the incorporation. Schaefer did not receive the notice and her control of the incorporation ended in July of 1994. The progressive group acquired the rights to the incorporation and the name Family Concerns in February 1996. ▼ ▼ ▼ Intravenous drug users continue to contract HIV disease and spread the infection to their heterosexual partners, accounting for most cases of HIV/AIDS among women and heterosexual men, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a Reuter story reported in May, the CDC said that 85 percent of the 17,686 AIDS cases reported in 1995 among heterosexual men and 66 percent of the 10,777 cases in the same year reported among women could be traced to IV drug use. The report said that 35 percent of the total 74,180 AIDS cases reported in 1995 were associ ated with IV drug use. Of that number, half of the cases occurred among African Americans, 25 percent among European Americans, and 24 per cent among Latino/as. While the rate of HIV infection from drug use is slowing in the northeastern United States, the rate is rising in the South and the West. IOWA A gay male couple from Eldora was chosen for the Foster Parents of the Year Award by the Iowa Foster and Adoptive Parents Association, according to The Des Moines Register. Gair Bridges and Ron Travis were honored for their work as foster parents to 13 children since 1989. Two years ago they adopted one of the children. Are you ready for H onest A nswers about protecting your financial future? I've worked with many organizations in our community to chart a course for their future. I can do the same for you. The award has angered some Iowans who do not believe homosexuals should be allowed to serve as foster or adoptive parents. The state of Iowa, however, does not consider a foster care applicant’s sexual orientation or marital status. The children Bridges and Travis have cared for range in age from 2 to 18 years. All have been diagnosed with behavioral problems. Bridges and Travis insist that the state notify each child’s birth parents that they are gay. To date, none has objected to having his or her child placed with the couple. NEW HAM PSHIRE Three volunteers have been terminated by the Swift Water Girl Scout Council, over disputes regarding policy, reports The Boston Globe. Two of the ousted leaders, who charge that the organi zation admits lesbians and atheists, are urging churches to stop allowing Girl Scout troops to meet in their church halls. The controversy stems from a Girl Scouts of j the USA policy that the ! organization neither dis criminates against nor endorses any lifestyle or religion. The policy also states that individuals decide w hether they want to be members by making the Girl Scout Promise, which says, “On my honor, I will try: To serve God and my country, to help people at all times, and to live by the Girl Scout law.” Some church groups objected to these policies and refused to allow the Scouts to meet in their facilities. Two leaders, who claimed they hadn’t been initially informed of the policies and find them objectionable, refused to re-sign their leader’s contracts and were terminated. A third leader, objecting to stands the organi zation has taken on abortion, birth control and sex education, wrote letters to several Catholic par ishes urging them to stop supporting the Girl Scouts. She was also ousted. NORTH CAROLINA Fearing that the Olympic torch relay would pass them by, the Spartanburg County Council voted to rescind an anti-gay resolution they had passed just days before, according to The Char lotte (N.C.) Observer. The original resolution was identical to the one that cost Cobb County, Ga., its volleyball venue and its place in the torch run. Spartanburg County is also slated to host the USA Men’s Gymnastic team. OHIO The Ohio Equal Opportunity Center ruled on May 28 that the former head of the state Health Department’s AIDS prevention unit discriminated against an employee because he was gay, reports the Associated Press. According to the ruling, Brenda Thomas used derogatory terms for gay men, told other employees homosexuality was unnatural and said she was glad she wasn’t a lesbian. Thomas, who has been transferred to another health department office, said she will fight the ruling. OREGON A search organization based in Portland is offering its services to people with HIV or AIDS who want to find family or friends they have lost touch with. Seekers of the Lost helps people locate lost relatives throughout the United States. People with HIV or AIDS can use Seekers of the Lost’s services at cost to search for family members from whom they may be estranged. The company can be reached at 1 -800-808-SEEK or at the Web site http://www.seeklost.com. 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