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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 5, 1997)
just out T S ep tem b er 5. 1907 ▼ 7 They (Here the Best of Friends It lUas the Worst of Times Long-term cancer risk for those living with HIV Researchers at the University of California at San Francisco are predicting a rise in the incidence of anal cancer among gay and bisexual men, par ticularly those who are HIV-positive, reports the HIV Positive Newsline (www.hivpositive.com). At the National Lesbian and Gay Health Con ference held in Atlanta in late July, Dr. Joel Palefsky linked the anticipated rise to the fact that HIV-positive men are living longer and that anal cancer commonly takes five to 10 years to de velop. Those at highest risk for anal cancer are per sons who engage in anal intercourse and are thereby exposed to infection with a carcinogenic strain o f human papillomavirus. The incidence o f anal cancer among all men in the U.S. is less than one in 100,000 but is 35 times higher among men who practice anal intercourse, Palefsky said. As a person becomes immunosu'ppressed, the risk of anal cancer increases, according to one UCSF study, which found that only 20 percent of HIV-negative men had pre-cancerous anal dys plasia, while 75 percent o f immunosuppressed men had the same condition. Related studies have found that HIV-positive women are more likely to have both cervical and anal HPV infections, and that antiviral drug therapy has little or no effect on pre-cancerous lesions. The researchers are recommending anal pap smear screenings and coloscopic examinations for those at risk. ABA debate gets lively A heavily pro-gay audience cheered San Fran cisco M ayor Willie Brown and booed his oppo nents— including the Rev. Lou Sheldon and rep resentatives o f other conservative policy groups— at an Aug. 2 American Bar Association debate on the issue o f same-sex marriage. The San Fran cisco Examiner reports that Brown, who in March 1996 presided over a mass wedding of gay and lesbian domestic partners at City Hall, advocated state and federal recognition o f same-gender unions, calling it a matter o f equal human and civil rights. Conservative members o f the debate panel argued that, in the words o f Sheldon, “behavior- based lifestyles should not be given the same status that other minorities are.” Mike Gabbard, president of the national group Stop Promoting Homosexuality America and chair o f H awaii’s Alliance for Traditional Marriage, also pushed the controversial view that sexual minorities choose their status and compared le galization o f same-sex marriage to sanctioning polygamy. Audience members responded harshly to state ments made by American Center for Law and Justice representative Bob W halen, who claimed that more gays than straights molest children, that gay people use molestation as a recruitment tool and that lesbians have more sexually transmitted diseases than heterosexual women. Additional support for same-gender marriage was provided by attorney Matthew Coles, na tional director o f the American Civil Liberties U nion’s Lesbian and Gay Rights Project, and Kate Kendall, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco. Seattle lesbian battles for custody in Texas court A family court judge in Travis County, Texas, (where Austin isjocated) granted temporary cus tody to the father of 5- year-old twins based on the sexual orienta tion of their mother, Heidi Ray o f Seattle. A ccording to the Pride and Solutions is the nation’s leading provider of mental health and addictions treatment to the lesbian, gay and bisexual communities. We’re also HIV/AIDS-related stress, depression and grief specialists. From coast to coast, our centers offer a safe, personalized, professional and tranquil atmosphere to address the issues that effect your life. Whether it’s the company you keep, the behaviors you’ve struggled with or the overwhelming sense of helplessness - we have the solutions. Better times could be just a phone call away. Call Us Today 1-800-DIAL-GAY Medicare and Most Insurance Accepted Seattle Gay News, R ay ’s ex -h u sb an d ’s parents are seeking joint custody o f the boys with their son, which would eliminate Ray as a legal parent. The children were sent to Austin in April to visit their father and have since been staying with their grandparents, who allegedly have told them their mother is unwilling to take them back. With the assistance of Lavender Families Re source Network, a lesbian m others’ national de fense fund, Ray is seeking moral and financial support from the gay and lesbian community for what may prove to be a protracted court battle. According to Jenny Say ward, executive direc tor of the Lavender Families Resource Network, roughly 1,000 gay, lesbian and bisexual parents are presently struggling with this sort of court action. It is easy, she says, for homophobic relatives to win emergency temporary custody in a conserva tive court during visitation, thereby forcing the absent parent to spend thousands o f dollars to obtain legal counsel in another state and to travel to hearings. Many of these parents are defeated by bankruptcy, she says. For more information, contact Lavender Fami lies Resource Network at (206) 325-2643. '■ÿXissSibMii...... PPP! IRS eats its words The Internal Revenue Service has reversed its position and granted tax-exempt status to a sup port group for young queers. In July, after the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund stepped in with a letter to the IRS, the IRS admitted it was wrong to demand that the Gay and Lesbian Adolescent Support System of Greensboro, N.C., show that it discouraged “ho mosexual attitudes and propensities.” On Aug. 20, the IRS followed up and notified the youth group it would receive tax-exempt sta tus as an education and social welfare group, says Lambda lawyer David Buckel. Buckel told Reuters news service, “evidently the IRS happened to have a renegade agent” who was responsible for a controversial letter the agency sent GLASS last autumn In its letter, the IRS asked the group to “detail the procedures and safeguards in place to assure counselors and participants do not encourage or facilitate homosexual practices or encourage the development of homosexual attitudes and pro pensities by minor individuals attending your program.” Lambda argued the IRS had no business in quiring about “homosexual attitudes” since it never inquired about "heterosexual attitudes.” Compiled by Christopher D. Cuttone Photo: M artin Ryter Coalition International; It’s Time, America!; and the National Youth Advocacy Coalition. American Express Financial Advisors is the primary corporate sponsor of the event, which began as a grassroots educational campaign in part commemorating the First two lesbian and gay marches in W ashington, D.C., in October 1979 and 1987. A calendar o f history month events, a list of affiliated organizations and other information can be found at G LAAD’s homepage, www.glaad.org.