’ februaiy 7.2003
20
INUMATI news
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The budget request also indicated that the
inspector general will continue its oversight for
HIV/AIDS programs at the Gmters for Disease
Q>ntrol and Prevention. “While we strongly sup
port the monitoring of expenditures for federal
money, we hope that the inspector general’s role
will not have a chilling effect on the C D C ’s efforts
to prevent new infections,” Stachelberg said.
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Rolling Stone claims a large percentage of newly infected gay men contracted H IV on purpose
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ince its publication last month, a Feb. 6 Rolling
Stone article has drawn fire for its portrayal of
an alleged trend known as “bug chasing.” Grego
ry Freemans “In Search of Death” examines the
lives of two men who actively have sought HIV
infection, but the primary medical sources have
disputed the quotes attributed to them:
• According to Rob Cabaj, San Francisco
County behavioral health services director, who
is quoted as saying at least 25 percent of all
newly infected gay men are seeking the virus: “1
never said that. And when the fact checker
called me and asked me if 1 said that, I said no.”
• Marshall Forstein, mental health and addic
tion services medical director at Fenway Commu
nity Health in Boston, was quoted as saying “ ‘bug
chasers’ are seen regularly in the Fenway health
system, and the phenomenon is growing.” He
later told Newsweek that the quote “is entirely a
fabrication” and that “1 said, ‘We have seen a few
cases, but we have no idea how common this is.’ ”
• Shana Naomi Krochmal of the STO P
A ID S Project in San Francisco says that her
entire conversation with Freeman was off the
record and that her quotes never were intended
for inclusion in the article.
• Andrew Sullivan refutes the speculated
scope of the problem by stating on Salon.com:
“Anyone with the faintest knowledge of the HIV
epidemic knows that men who have sex with
men make up a declining number of this group—
now 42 percent, according to the (Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention). So even if you
buy the bizarre 25 percent figure, you don’t end
up with 10,000, you end up with 4,200."
As a result of the story, radical anti-gay groups
like the Traditional Values Coalition already
have stepped up to the plate and used it as
ammunition for their attacks. Fox News Chan
nel’s Hannity & Colmes picked up the article as
well, furthering sensationalism of the issue.
Thacker became infected with HIV after his
wife, Sue, contracted the disease in 1984
through a bkxxl transfusion. After the appoint
ment was announced, his
Web site contained a sec
tion promoting the discred
ited theory that gay people
can change their sexual ori
entation through prayer and
therapy.
To avoid an escalation of
mounting concerns sur
rounding his views, Thacker
deleted the “ Help for Jerry Thacker
Homosexuals" portion from
the Internet. According to The Washington Post,
he also removed a section referring to A ID S as
the “gay plague” and replaced it with “plague.”
P
resident Bush’s fiscal year 2004 requested
budget includes an increase of $100 million
for the AIDS Drugs Assistance Program and an
additional $5 million for Housing Opportunities
for People with A ID S over his fiscal year 2003
budget request— which has yet to he finalized by
Congress. However, the 2004 request showed a
$4 million cut to domestic HIV/AIDS, ST D
and tuberculosis prevention funding.
In his State of the Union address Jan. 28,
Bush unveiled his plan to commit $15 billion
over five years to combat A ID S in Africa. If his
request is ap^oved by Congress, $10 billion in
new funding would be added to the internation
al fight, with the annual budget eventually
tripling from $1.5 billion to $3 billion.
Bush’s request also included a $110 million,
or 4 percent, boost in funding for HIV/AIDS
research at the National Institutes of Health.
“At a time when so many other programs are
being cut or flat-funded, even small percentage
increases are important,” said Winnie Stachel-
berg, Human Rights Campaign political director.
he U.S. military’s policy of discharging gay
and lesbian servicemembers who reveal their
sexual orientation violates human rights and
deprives the military of skilled personnel, Human
Rights Watch said in a new report released Jan. 23.
Under “don’t ask, don’t tell,” any service-
member who acknowledges his or her homosex
uality by word or deed is discharged. Between
1994 and the end of 2001, more than 7,800
servicemembers were forced out of the military
because of the policy.
A letter sent to President Bush with the report,
Uniform Discrimiruition: The “Don't Ask, Don't
Tell" Policy of the U .S. Military, asked him to seek
an end to discharges on the basis of sexual orien
tation and to work with Gingress to repeal the
1993 law codifying the policy. “Gay and lesbian
servicemembers are discharged without regard to
their skills, training, commitment or courage—
victims of the irrational fears and stereotypes some
heterosexuals have about them,” said Jamie Fell-
ner, Human Rights Watch U.S. program director.
Supporters of “don’t ask, don’t tell" insist
that permitting acknowledged gay men or les
bians to serve would impair unit cohesiveness
and hence military effectiveness. As detailed in
the report, no evidence supports that argument.
Most members of NATO and many U.S. allies
participating in Operation Enduring Freedom per
mit open homosexuals to serve under the same
rules as heterosexuals. Indeed, during the past
decade a number of U.S. allies, including the Unit
ed Kingdom, Germany, Canada and Israel, have
changed exclusionary policies and accepted openly
gay and lesbian servicemembers in their armed
forces without impairing military effectiveness.
T
Peggy Neff
Sheila Hein
I
n what Lambda Legal called “a huge step for
ward for the federal government,” a lesbian
was awarded more than $500,000 from the fed
eral fund that was designed to compensate 9/11
victims. Peggy Neff’s partner of 18 years, Sheila
Hein, died in the attack on the Pentagon.
“The government recognized Peg’s loving
P
residential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS
appointee Jerry Thacker withdrew his name
Jan. 23 after a political firestorm ensued because
he considers homosexuality a “deathstyle.”
The offensive remarks were made on his Web
site for the Scepter Institute, an online AIDS min
istry he operates. In an apparent effort to stop the
controversy, the former Bob Jones University fac
ulty member deleted the “deathstyle" reference
from the Internet.
Thacker was one of seven new appointees to
the 35-member council, including four who are
openly gay— David Greer, Brent Minor, David
Reznik and D in Sneed. However, many obstacles
remain, including co-chairman Tom G ibu m ’s
assigned reading to the panel of Gabriel Rotello’s
hook Sexual Ecology as part of an effort to single
out and stigmatize gay people.
President Bush hands Vice President Dick Cheney a copy of his State of the Union address
Jan. 28 upon his arrival to the House Chamber at the U.S. Capitol