2 ▼ augu st 1, 1997 T ju s t out
just out
s in c e
1 983
steppin’ out
PUBLISHER A N D EDITOR
Renée LaChance
VO L 14 NO. 19 AUGUST 1, 1997
N E W S EDITOR
Inga Sorensen
FEATURE
CO PY EDITOR
Kelly M. Bryan
s
Diving for dollars
REPORTERS
Bob Roehr
Rex Wockner
Queers looking to get ahead are
dipping into the multilevel
marketing pool
(p. 19)
CALENDAR EDITOR
Kristine Chatwood
PHOTOGRAPHER
Linda Kliewer
i
contents
DEPARTMENTS
OFFICE M A N A G E R
Will O’Bryan
World news
A DVERTISIN G DIRECTOR
Meg Grace
Out lesbian Patria Jiménez is
elected to the Mexican Congress
(P- 4)
ADVERTISING REP
Marty Davis
National news
State o f AIDS Forum reports
good news and bad news;
increased funding for ADAPs
passes first congressional hurdle
(PP- 5-11)
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
E. Ann Hinds
GRAPH IC D ESIG N
Rupert Kinnard
FORMATTER/TYPESETTER
Christopher D. Cuttone
DISTRIBUTION
Trina Altman
Kathy Bethel
Lynette Boatman
Jim Galluzzo
Graphics Oasis
CONTRIBUTORS
The Boston AIDS Writers Group
Christopher D. Cuttone
Lee Lynch
Will O ’Bryan
Dale Reynolds
Flora Sussely
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Local news
Frame within a frame: Sierra Lonepine Briano, artist and co-founder of Art Springs, is captured at Portland’s 1997
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Pride
guest editorial
The unhyped angle
An unsung byproduct o f the Cunanan hoopla is the way, if even briefly,
gay and straight communities were of one purpose
A
CO LU M N S
Reasons for hope
Risks for failure o f combination
therapies can be minimized
(P- 13)
Stonewall baby
Thoughts on being a model
queer citizen
(p. 33)
Theater
b y J im M a n g ia
s with every tragic situation of such magnitude,
the Andrew Cunanan murder spree, and his subse
quent suicide under pressure from the “better late
than never” manhunt, raises many more questions
than it answers. The bizarre transformation of one
human being (who went from a popular, well-liked Figure in
San Diego’s gay community to a murderer of gay people)
coupled with the violent deaths of five other human beings,
leaves many of us wondering how this could have happened.
Why would Cunanan do such a thing?
The gay community was traumatized and fearful in the
midst of the manhunt. Many of us in West Hollywood were
looking over our shoulders before we opened our front doors.
The gay communities of Miami and San Diego were even more
edgily on alert. There was a great deal of anger about the
insufficient attention paid to the Cunanan case by law enforce
ment authorities before the Versace murder. The country got to
see firsthand how the priorities of law enforcement can be
impaired by homophobia.
While the media continue to sensationalize the story in
order to sell papers, one unreported byproduct of the tragedy
was that for a brief moment gay and straight communities had
come together. Unified public pressure was brought to bear to
catch Cunanan. and the (unfortunate) normal rift between gay
and straight was briefly overcome. Of course this commonalty
of purpose coexisted with the standard anti-gay fare, like the
notion that this murder spree was merely an extension of the
"bizarre gay lifestyle,” or that Cunanan’s motive was revenge
for being HIV-infected (promoting the assertion that HIV
positive individuals are a threat to society in more ways than
one).
Nicole Ramirez-Murray, a longtime San Diego lesbian
leader who emerged as an important commentator on the
The Cunanan case points out the
need for crisis protocols;
Coors sponsorship of Pride
stirs up an old controversy
(PP- 14-17)
situation, skillfully and factually disputed these assertions,
heading off a “spin” that could have damaged our long-term
efforts toward equality and understanding.
The unsensational question raised by this tragic situation is
whether it opens up an opportunity to build more understanding
between gay and straight America. As a gay political leader who
works every day to build bridges between gay and straight
communities, I constantly ask myself and others what needs to
happen in this country to close the gap. How can we come
together in times other than those of great threat? Is there
opportunity for greater growth and understanding? What would
that entail?
Differences and conflicts between rich and poor, black and
white, gay and straight have come to permeate U.S. political and
social life. The differences in our everyday lives are no longer
a stimulant for curiosity and exploration, but are rather the cause
of anger and hatred. Every issue has become so highly politi
cized and so thoroughly partisan that the country is seriously
divided and polarized. It now takes a tragedy to bring us
together, to bring the decency which is so fundamental to being
human to the fore. The rest of the time we are busy being
manipulated to distrust each other and to oppose each other.
How do we overcome that distrust and resist that manipula
tion? Ironically, the Cunanan tragedy may have shown us a little
bit of the way. The queer community— which has shaped its
politics by emphasizing its differences with straight people (and
ended up isolated as a result)— found itself emphasizing its
commonalty with the rest of the country, and we became closer
for it. Perhaps there is a lesson here that all of us would do well
to learn.
Jim Mangia is a gay activist in California and the
national secretary for the Reform Party.
Some house hunters need to be
shielded from the whole truth
(p. 34)