just out ▼ fob rua ry 21, 1997 ▼ 9
tion a victory even though he says to his knowl
edge there is no history of housing discrimination
against sexual minorities in Lacey.
“This will preclude there from ever being
any,” he says.
Not everyone is applauding the amendment,
however. Tim Seth, president of an association of
300 rental unit owners, told the Tacoma News
Tribune he fears the ordinance will result in legal
actions that will increase the city’s workload and
consume more taxpayer dollars.
Washington voters favor
recognizing same-sex
marriages
An Elway poll conducted in Washington state
in January yielded some promising results for
those involved in the fight for recognition of
same-gender marriages. Fifty-six percent of re
sponding registered voters said they oppose “with
holding legal status to same-gender marriages
performed in other states.” Thirty-eight percent
said they support such a ban.
The poll notes that the results were consistent
across all geographic and demographic catego
ries. The only demographic group to show a
narrow majority in favor of disallowing recogni
tion of such marriages was among voters with
incomes greater than $60,000 per year.
Democrats were opposed by a margin of 58
percent to 34 percent, but Republicans were also
opposed, by 52 percent to 45 percent.
Virginia to consider
civil rights laws
A Virginia state senator has filed bills to
outlaw hate crimes and discrimination in housing
and employment against homosexuals, reports
the Fairfax Journal. Although sodomy is a crime
under state law and same-gender marriages are
explicitly not legal, these proposals are expected
to generate less controversy than a third bill
submitted by Sen. Patricia S. Ticer, an Alexandria
Democrat, which would allow companies to ex
tend health coverage to domestic partners.
Because present state law deals only with
spouses and dependents, companies incorporated
in Virginia cannot offer insurance to employees’
domestic partners. Although Ticer’s proposed
bill would not require companies to do so and
simply makes the option available, other legisla
tors have already stated opposition on the basis of
increased cost and the belief that such benefits
would validate nontraditional relationships.
The bill defines domestic partners as “any
person who shares a familial relationship with
another person characterized by mutual caring
and the sharing of a mutual residence,” leaving
the door open not only for same-sex and unmar
ried heterosexual couples but also for roommates
and non-nuclear and extended families.
Black gay forum chides
Christian Coalition
The National Black Gay and Lesbian Leader
ship Forum is calling on the religious right to be
more inclusive of African Americans and the
poor and to make an effort to change the divisive
climate created by years of public condemnation
of homosexuals. In a letter to Christian Coalition
leader Ralph Reed, BGLLF executive director
Keith Boykin criticized the coalition’s recently
unveiled Samaritan Project and suggested ways
the organization could better work for social and
economic justice.
Despite the plan’s positive rhetoric—which
includes an 8-point agenda for strong families,
safe neighborhoods, charitable giving, racial jus
tice and revitalizing the church— Boykin said it is
only a first step and advised members of the black
and sexual minority communities to remain skep
tical. Along with making specific recommenda
tions on improving the Samaritan Project, Boykin
asked Reed to meet with members of the black
lesbian and gay community.
In order to respond to the Christian Coalition’s
Samaritan Project and to foster a dialogue about
religion and social justice, the National Black Gay
and Lesbian Leadership Forum discussed the
issue at its 10th annual national conference, held
Feb. 13-17 in Long Beach, Calif. In addition, the
forum will distribute to churches nationwide cop
ies of the award-winning documentary All God's
Children, which deals with the role of the reli
gious right and gay and lesbian issues in the black
church.
Louganis gets a rise out of
Florida Republican
State Sen. John Grant, a Republican from
Tampa, Fla., who is chairman of the Senate Edu
cation Committee, is pressuring the University of
South Florida to
cancel a speech
by former Olym
pic diver Greg
Louganis.
A
com m ittee of
students and fac
ulty members se
lected Louganis
to deliver the
keynote address
for the school’s
third
annual
Gay and Lesbian
_
.
Awareness
Greg Louganis
Week.
According to an Associated Press story, Grant
said the appearance “represents moral decadence,”
apparently referring to the fact that Louganis is
openly gay and HIV positive. Louganis is being
paid $14,000 from student activities fees to de
liver the speech.
In a Jan. 14 letter to University of South
Florida president Betty Castor, Grant threatened
to limit future funding for state schools if student
money is used to pay for the appearance. Univer
sity officials say the speech will take place April
3 as planned.
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ACT UP is 10
Ten years after its first protest—a gathering on
Wall Street in 1987 to denounce the high price of
AZT, the only FDA-approved AIDS treatment at
that time—ACT UP will commemorate its anni
versary with a similar event March 24 in New
York. Activists will converge once again on the
nation’s financial heart for civil disobedience in
the name of lower prices for and increased access
to HIV/AIDS treatments.
Members of the group claim that protease
inhibitors, currently manufactured by Abbot Labo
ratories, Hoffman LaRoche and Merck, are grossly
overpriced. Treatment with protease inhibitors in
combination with other drugs seems to be very
effective in combating HIV, but with an annual
price tag of $20,000 such therapy is beyond the
reach of many people with AIDS.
ACT UP is also targeting the federal
government’s failure to provide adequate funding
for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which
subsidizes treatments for working people with
insufficient insurance, and the Clinton
administration’s plan to place a per capita cap on
Medicaid.
ACT UP’s 10th anniversary protest will fol
low a weekend conference of AIDS activists from
around the country.
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