mrmm news
M t 'aprii 5.2002
20
IDAHO
ormer state A t
torney General
David Leroy accused
the Idaho Housing
and Finance Associa
tion of violating the
security of public
health records and
developing an illegal
database containing
the personal informa
tion of HIV/AIDS
clients. A formal
complaint was an
nounced March 25
requesting an official
investigation by the
U.S. Department of AIDS activists are urging Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthome (center, proclaiming
Housing and Urban April “Couch Potato M onth” ) to protect public health records
Development and the
Fort Bragg heeded SLDN’s calls for a thorough
office of Gov. Dirk Kempthome.
investigation and has revealed the tme number
The charges allege that Kith federal and
state laws were violated and that the security of of discharges from the base,” executive director
the Idaho State HIV Surveillance Database was C. Dixon O sbum said.
T he revision brings the total number of gay
compromised. Leroy accused the association of
discharges
from the military during fiscal year
accessing confidential records without observ
2001 to 1,273. T hat is the highest figure since
ing client informed consent.
1987, seven years prior to the implementation
“We believe that executives and managers of
of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
IHFA conspired under the color of law to deprive
low-income and HIV-positive individuals and
C A L IF O R N IA
their families of rights to privacy and equal pro
Los Angeles jury returned guilty verdicts
tection under the law,” he said. “We also Kdieve
March 21 on all five counts against dog
that IHFA has accessed personal records from
owners Marjorie Knoller and Robert Noel,
project sponsors with full knowledge that
including a count of second-degree murder
informed consent was absent hut necessary.”
against Knoller. T he couple’s two presa canarios
T he complaint alleges that the association
has compiled detailed information and export fatally mauled Diane W hipple in the hallway of
her San Francisco apartm ent Jan. 26, 2001.
ed it into an independently developed database
“It’s been a long 14 months, and this is a very
to track and m onitor HIV-positive people. It
converted funding intended to develop com emotional moment for me," said Sharon Smith,
the victim’s partner of seven years.
munity-based inform ation and
“1 always felt this should he the out
referral services into an illegal sys
come, and I’m incredibly grateful
tem of records paralleling the state
that it was.”
of Idaho HIV-positive database.
Last spring, the N ational C enter
“T he HIV database tracks and
for Lesbian Rights filed a wrongful
monitors HIV-positive people, it
death action on S m ith ’s behalf
contains far more than statistical
against the dog owners. In August
information, and it was illegally
2001, San Francisco Superior Court
built and m aintained," said Mark
Judge
A. James Robertson II issued
W elch, Idaho AIDS Foundation
a groundbreaking mling in the case,
executive director. “In addition,
saying it is unconstitutional to pre
we have records indicating that Shannon M inter
clude a surviving same-sex partner
th e inform ation was - illegally
from being able to sue for wrongful death.
released to third parties.”
Smith was also instnimental in the enactment
of Assembly Bill 25 in California last year. Among
N O R TH C A R O L IN A
other new rights, the legislation allows surviving
^ort Bragg acknowledged March 22 it had
same-sex partners to bring wrongful death suits.
underreported the number of gay discharges
Knoller faces a sentence of 15 years to life,
from the Army base for fiscal year 2001 to the
and Noel could spend up to four years behind
Pentagon and public.
bars. “This verdict is a tremendous vindication
Officials admitted the mistake, which they
of our belief that Diane’s death was a direct
blamed on a misunderstanding of the “don’t ask,
result of the criminal irresponsibility of these
don’t tell” policy, after a report by Servicemem-
dog owners,” said attorney Shannon Minter,
hers Legal Defense Network revealed soldiers
received improper paperwork. The base dis who is representing Smith in her civil suit.
charged 24 people, rather than the four original
N A T IO N A L
ly reported to the U.S. Defense Department,
he final rules released by the U.S. Justice
because of sexual orientation.
JL Department concerning federal compensa
Two SLDN clients received paperwork indi
tion for survivors of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
cating “completion of required service" as the
basis for discharge, even though they actually do not explicitly extend compensation to the
were removed on the basis of sexual orientation. partners of gay and lesbian victims. Instead, Ken
The watchdog group revealed the discrepancy in Feinherg, the special master assigned to the fund,
Ctmduct Unbecoming, its annual report on “don’t
will make decisions tin a case-by-case basis,
ask, don’t tell," released March 15. As a result of
“T he final mles cnielly place gay families in
the document, which called for an investigation an unresolved state," said C had Johnson,
into the apparent misrepresentation of discharges National Stonewall Democrats executive direc-
from Fort Bragg, the base conducted a review.
tor. “W hile we arc hopeful that Ken Feinherg
The Army’s statement regarding the discrep- will treat same-sex survivors equally, the Bush
ancy stated that the supervisor in charge of proc- administration has missed a powerful opportuni-
essing the discharges thought he was required to ty to recognize gay families and to treat them
“protect the soldiers’ privacy" and therefore mis-
with equal compassion and dignity."
labeled the paperwork. “We are encouraged that I
The rules offer protections to anyone named
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