ju s t o u t ▼ juno 2 1 , 1 9 9 6 ▼ 7
national briefs
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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.
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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.
Compiled by Kristine Chatwood
Jr
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