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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (June 19, 1998)
otherwise unblemished service, after he posted a note on the online computer service in which he identified himself as “Tim,” whose marital status was “gay” and whose screen name was “Boysrch.” In a separate settlement, America Online, the nation’s largest online computer service with 12 million users, has apologized to McVeigh for violating his privacy and has agreed to pay him damages. The company acknowledged that it had confirmed to a Navy investigator that McVeigh was the owner of the profile. Under the settlement, both sides agreed not to reveal the amount of money paid to McVeigh by America Online. A s a result of the case, the company has also announced new policies intended to guarantee the privacy of its users. The policies will require that all of the com pany’s nearly 5,(XX) customer service representa tives be provided with special “scenario train ing” to ensure they do not give out private infor mation about users without the user’s consent or a court order. The company has also rewritten its privacy policy to make it easier to understand and has made the new policy available online to all customers. W orld AIDS C onference B roadcast on W eb P eople around the world will be able to view actual sessions from the 12th World A ID S Conference via the World Wide Web, accord ing to organizers of this global meeting. The Webcast (www.webcast.aids98.org) will be available all day and night and will contain the presenters’ voices along with their slides. Each day of the six-day conference, slated for June 28 to July 3, will have up to 50 new pre sentations together with a summary of daily highlights. “For the first time, thousands of people who are passionately interested in new aspects of A ID S research, but unable to travel to the con ference, will be able to participate in the meet ing,” says Dr. Bernard Hirschel, conference chair. “We hope that this unprecedented global sharing of knowledge will stimulate new think ing in the battle against HIV disease.” The World A ID S Conference takes place every two years and is the largest international H IV/AIDS forum for sharing new clinical, sci entific and social data. More than 10,000 delegates are expected to attend this year’s meeting in Geneva. All select ed presentations will be available for review online within eight hours of their initial public viewing in Geneva. In addition, daily sum maries of the entire conference will be available for review and print. Q ueer C ommunity G aining A cceptance A study released in late May by the National G ay and Lesbian Task Force Policy Institute concludes that U .S. citizens over whelmingly oppose sexual orientation discrimi nation in housing and employment, and support spousal benefits for same-sex couples. Support, the report shows, is increasing on other issues like same-sex adoption and marriage. “In its opposition to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender equality, it is the right wing that is out of step with mainstream America,” insists N G LTF Executive Director Kerry Lobel. “This report empirically and objectively proves that while the voice of the anti-gay right wing may be loud in its opposition to equal rights, its claim to majority public opinion is unjustified.” According to the report, authored by Columbia University political science doctoral candidate Alan Yang, 84 percent of people in the United States support equal employment rights for sexual minority citizens; 81 percent support housing rights; 66 percent support gay men and lesbians in the mili tary; 62 percent sup port inheritance rights; and 57 percent support social security benefits for same-sex couples. Additionally, while a majority of U .S. citi zens— 56 percent in 1996— still seem to disap prove of same-sex relationships, the numbers are dropping from an all-time recorded high of 75 percent in 1987. The full report, deemed the most compre hensive analysis to date of trends in public opin ion about gay men and lesbians, may be viewed at www.ngltf.org. L ott S landers H omosexuality Celebrating 19 Years... D e b o rah B etron C RB. GRJ Broker President ■ Compiled by W ill O ’B ryan and I nga S orensen D o n ald Falk, GRI Associate Broker K are n B ilsin g .Associate Broker Scott Bottaro, GRI ,s—^ *r Éà G erry F ed erico , GRI Val T h orp eG alvin , GRI J o h n T errill, GRI Associate Broker à .a R ob ert A m bes 'M J i m B ean , GRI B e ate K a n te r %\\ K irste n J e n k in s J a y Pevn ey J u lie Y oh o, GRI G ary S a d le ir T racy T h o m a s A ft a H C aro ly n M acM urray M f C h ris H ardy SH M. K ath y T y sin g e r V «t*< ^ f til C ath y M artine. GRI 9 H ,' G e o rg e M arvin T -y K ath leen Ira Associate Broker || |V S enate Majority Leader Trent Lott said June 15 he believes homosexuality is a sin, and that gay men and lesbians should be assisted in dealing with it “just like alcohol...or sex addic tion. . .or kleptomaniacs.” T he Mississippi Republican made the remarks while taping an interview for a cable television program. When asked whether he believed homosexuality is a sin, Lott replied: “Yeah, it is. You should still love that person. You should not try to mistreat them or treat them as outcasts.... There are all kinds of prob lems, addictions, difficulties, experiences of things that are wrong, but you should try to work with that person to learn to control that problem.” Lott was immediately criticized by an official of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest lesbian and gay political organization. His comments show "how the extreme right wing has a stranglehold on the leadership” of Congress, charges Winnie Stachelberg, H R C ’s political director. Conservative leaders like Dr. James C. Dobson, president of Focus on the Family, have met in recent weeks with Lott and other con gressional leaders, urging them to push to reduce taxes for many married couples and pursue other conservative priorities, reports The Associated Press. “It also may explain why he hasn’t scheduled time for the nomination of James Hormel,” Stachelberg adds, referring to the San Francisco philanthropist and Democratic Party donor whom President Clinton nominated last year to be ambassador to Luxembourg. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved the nomination in November, but it has been stalled ever since. Earlier this month on C N N , Lott said for the first time that he opposes Hormel’s nomination, viewing him as an aggressive advocate of the gay lifestyle. A s majority leader, Lott largely controls the Senate’s agenda. C h a r is P a lm e r Broker ¡1 L J e f f G a lla g h e r T in a S c h a fe r J a y e K ra u s Ju d y S a rd e lla H ilary Nally ...of service to our com m unity. Lloyd Center Office Clackamas County Office 1000 N.E. Multnomah Portland, OR 97232 21570 Willamette Drive West Linn, OR 97068 e-mail: bridgetownlG.solnlogic.com e-mail: bridgetown2@solnlogic.com 503 / 287-9370 Visit our Web site at: http: 503 / 655-8015 m'W.solnlogic.com/hridgetown