j u s t o u t ▼ ju n e 2 0 , 1 9 9 7 T 9
national briefs
ALABAMA
A law proposed before the Alabama state
Legislature that would institute a $ l ,000 fine for
any clergy who officiate at weddings of same-
gender couples has drawn criticism from the Rev.
Troy D. Perry, founder and moderator of the
Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Commu
nity Churches.
“I find m yself amazed that an elected
official...would endorse and introduce legisla
tion that so obviously violates the constitutional
separation of church and state, and which curtails
the free exercise of religion,” Perry said in a news
release.
The bill, sponsored by Sen. Roger Bedford,
has already passed the state House and has been
introduced in the Senate.
CALIFORNIA
The state Assembly on June 2 passed a bill that
commands insurers and health maintenance orga
nizations to offer clients the option of insuring
same- and opposite-gender domestic partners.
Carole Midgen (D-San Francisco) introduced the
bill, which was heavily amended before earning
enough votes— including four Republican nods—
to be handed over to the California Senate.
In an attempt to avoid a gubernatorial veto,
Midgen eliminated provisions calling for a state
wide domestic part
nership registry sys
tem. However, ac
cording to the Los
Angeles Times, Gov.
Pete Wilson is not
likely to approve the
scaled-back version of
the bill, which his
spokesman described
as “an effort to indirectly equate domestic part
nership to marriage.”
Meanwhile, working HIV-positive people and
people with AIDS would receive state-financed
drug coverage under legislation approved by the
Assembly, reports United Press International. The
measure, authored by Midgen, advanced to the
Senate on a 72-1 vote June 3.
Advances in drug technology have enabled
many people with HIV and AIDS to return to
work. However, Midgen says, they may choose
not to work rather than lose their Medi-Cal cover
age for the expensive, life-saving drugs. She says
the bill would ultimately save tax dollars by
having recipients at work generating tax revenue.
▼ V V
Much to the chagrin of the separatist queer set,
Ted Sahl was unanimously selected as the presi
dent of San Jose’s Pride Celebration Committee
and headed up planning for the city’s June 8 Pride
Parade, reports the San Jose Mercury News.
Sahl, 70, who describes himself as “hope
lessly heterosexual,” has a long history of in
volvement in the sexual minority community, as
an activist, historical archivist, and photogra
pher-journalist for a gay publication. He has also
published a book, Overcoming All Odds—A Photo
Documentary o f San Jose’s Gay/Lesbian Com
munity.
Sahl says his interest in gay rights may stem
partly from the fact that he is Jewish, and has
experienced discrimination firsthand. He also has
a close relative who is gay. But in part it was a
twist of fate: He photographed a gay and lesbian
protest rally in San Jose in 1978, and sold his
photos to a local gay newspaper, the Lambda
News. He ended up with a job at the paper, and
began a life-long interest and involvement in the
gay-rights movement.
CYBERSPACE
Since September 1995, Sister Mary Elizabeth
of the Sisters of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary in San
Juan Capistrano, Calif., had been allowed to use
articles from Reuters news wire service on her
Web site, AEGIS. AIDS Education Global Infor
mation System (www.aegis.com). The site is the
largest electronic HIV/AIDS information clear
inghouse in the world. But according to a CP
Communications report, in early May Sister Mary
Elizabeth was asked by the wire service to stop
posting Reuters articles and to remove them from
the archives.
‘The days of people sharing this information
charitably seem to be waning,” said David Fair,
an organizer of the Critical Path AIDS Project
(www.critpath.org). Fair is among those promot
ing an international e-mail campaign to pressure
Reuters into reversing its decision. For more
information about the campaign, point your Web
browser at www.smartlink.net/~martinjh.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
Pundits are anticipating a proposal by the
Clinton administration to expand Medicaid to
cover treatment of low-income, HIV-positive
asymptomatic people. The New York Times re
ports that the White House would not need con
gressional approval for such a change, saying that
the Department of Health and Human Services
will use state demonstration projects to assess
whether Medicaid eligibility in the early stages of
HIV infection is effective in reducing the costs of
care.
The federal government and states will spend
more than $170 billion on Medicaid this year.
Despite the high price tag for antiviral therapy,
federal officials believe that early treatment would
lower the long-term health care costs associated
with the disease.
The government estimates that about half the
217,000 U.S. citizens with AIDS will be on Med
icaid at some point.
FLORIDA
Florida authorities have arrested the alleged
leaders of a so-called computer “gang” that ac
cused, via the World Wide Web, a Lecanto high
school teacher of having a homosexual affair with
a student. United Press International reports that
state anti-gang laws are being used to prosecute
Ryan Vella and Christopher Cohen, both 19. The
two are charged with publication of material that
exposes a person to hatred, contempt or ridicule.
The offense would normally be considered a first-
degree misdemeanor, but because the suspects
operated in a gang they are facing third-degree
felony charges.
The Web site, which displayed a doctored
prom picture with the teacher’s head superim
posed overthe student’s female date, included the
home phone numbers of both the teacher and
student, as well as a recorded message saying that
the teacher “must die.” This is not the first time the
teacher has been the target of an attack: In Decem
ber, a former student was sentenced to six months
probation in connection with a harassment inci
dent.
MASSACHUSETTS
A Boston-area advertising campaign kicked
off May 20 is the first in the nation, according to
local health officials, to focus on increased access
lesbian, bisexual and
transgender commu
nities. United Press In
ternational reported
that the “Deserve the
Same Care” campaign
would
continue
through the first week
of June, the state’s
sexual minority Pride
week.
>y a 1996 study which
indicated that many young homosexuals do not
disclose their sexual orientation to health care
providers, thereby limiting the provider’s ability
to understand factors affecting the patient’s health
and to prescribe appropriate treatment.
Celebrating
18 Years
of Service to
Donald Falk, GRI
Kathleen Ira
Assoc iate Broker
John Terrill, GRI
Associate Broker
Kirsten Jenkins
Scott Bottaro, GRI
Laurie SantaMaria
Jim Bean
Sandy Mort
George Marvin
Deborah Betron
CRB, GRI
Broker/President
Jude Watson, GRI
Broker
Chris Bonner, GRI
Associate Broker
Linda Welch, GRI
Assoc iate Broker
Steve Henriekson
Val Thorpe Galvin. GRI
Gerry Federico, GRI
Carolyn MacMurray
Chris Hardy
Cathy Martine
Janelle Miller
ju lie Yoho
Gary Sadleir
Kathy Tysinger
Robert Ambes
Bob Basque
Judy Sardella
Greg Washington
Lee McKnight
Philip Beausoleil
Karen BiLsing
Jay Pevney
Beate Kanter
Bridgetown
For Those Who
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Portland, OR 97232
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Compiled by Christopher D. Cuttone