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in fact, extended official recognition to at least one ! California, which was the official sponsor of
alumni chapter that is based on common interests.
Assembly Bill 205 and ttx>k the lead in setting up
He s;iid the “Recreational Vehicle” chapter is not
a campaign committee to defend the new law.
based on members’ geographic location.
The Web site of the anti-gay Campaign for
“It is difficult for many of us gay graduates to
California Families confirms its failure to mobi
participate in the regular chapter meetings,
lize. It says Knight and Haynes “have dropped
because we .ire not welcome,” Petrie said. “Regard
their plans for a statewide ballot referendum to
less of what has happened, we still take great pride
reverse AB 205.”
in having graduated from the Naval Academy and
“We are not surprised that referendum pro
are honored to have had the opportunity to serve
ponents are having an increasingly difficult time
our country. You can’t take away our pride."
finding support for their anti-gay agenda,” Kors
said. “However, we can’t be certain that, just
because they say they aren’t collecting signa
W YOM ING
tures, they won’t actually submit signatures for
n response to a letter sent on behalf of two girls
the November election."
who were marched out of a homecoming
dance by police, the Sublette G iunty School Dis
trict has agreed that same-sex couples no longer
ssemhlymcmber John Laird, D-Santa Cruz,
will he excluded from the functions, the Ameri
can Civil Liberties Union announced Dec. 9.
denounced a plan by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger to freeze
“This is a terrific victory for the lesbian and
gay students in our schixil,” said Amanda Blair,
enrollm ent for the AIDS
a senior at Big Piney High in rural western
Dmg Assistance Program.
Wyoming. “From now on, all students, not just
The Health Subcommit
straight students, will he able to enjoy sch(X)l
tee of the Senate Budget
Committee held a hearing
dances. It’s gcxxl to know that you can make a
Dec. 10 to discuss the propos
difference by standing up for what’s right.”
al, which would cap enroll
Blair, who is heterosexual, decided to attend the
ment at a level anticipated as
Sept. 12 dance with a female friend in order to help
gay and lesbian students in her district who might
of Jan. 1. This number is
John Laird
expected to be 26,479 peo
want to bring dates to schixil dances in the future.
ple. O nce the cap has been reached, eligible
When she and her date arrived at the function they
individuals who need these drugs would be
were met by police officers, who then escorted them
placed on a waiting list.
off the premises without any explanation.
“We are very pleased that the school has decid
“This proposal will mean that approximately
3,800 low-income Californians with HIV or
ed to follow the law and do right by its lesbian and
gay students,” said Linda Burt, ACLU of AIDS will not receive life-saving dmgs through
Wyoming executive director. “It's unfortunate that
June 20, 2005,” Laird said. "As a consequence,
they will become sicker and have a higher risk of
Amanda and her date were so hnitally excluded
from participating in this year’s homecoming
death. This is unacceptable. Instead of proposing
dance. But by coming forward and standing up for enrollment caps, the administration should be
lixiking at ways to make the program more cost-
their rights, they have made the sclxxil a better
place—especially for the lesbian and gay students efficient in order to accomnuxlate those Gilitor-
who now know their school won’t exclude them
nians who rely on these medications to live.”
from dances because of who they choose to date.”
I
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n a decision made public Dec. 10, a judge
ordered Pennsylvania’s Medicaid program to
approve a life-saving liver transplant for an
HIV-positive man with advanced hepatitis.
Lambda Legal argued its appeal at a hearing
before an administrative law judge in late
November. It sought to reverse Medicaid’s denial
in light of a range of scientific data and the man’s
personal health history and experience. The
judge’s decision noted that patients with HIV
have successful transplant rates and that well-
managed HIV is not a life-limiting disease.
Altixma resident William Jean Gough, 46,
tested positive for HIV and hepatitis C in 1996.
W hile his viral load has been undetectable for
years and he suffers no disabling symptoms from
HIV, the hepatitis has caused an advanced fonn
of liver disease. H ie effects of his liver disease are
at times completely debilitating, requiring his
longtime partner, Bob Hoffman, to care for him.
Gough “could live 10, 20, 30 years or more
with a liver transplant,” Judge Bernadene
Kennedy said. “Given his ability to successfully
control his HIV, (he| may live a prolonged life
and m aintain quality of life equivalent to non-
HIV transplant patients."
Mainstream medical journals show “no evi
dence of p<xirer survival among otherwise
healthy HIV-positive patients who are receiving
anti-retroviral therapy," according to attorney
Hayley Gorenberg. She said people with HIV
are sometimes bliKked from being considered
for transplants, even though medical and scien
tific evidence makes it clear that they should be
evaluated on a case-by-case basis like any other
transplant candidates. | H
Meditative Service 9:00am
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A campaign led by California Assemblymember
Ray Haynes failed to collect enough signatures
to challenge the Domestic Partner Rights &
Responsibilities Act of 2003
CALIFORNIA
quality for California Families announced
Dec. 5 that the right-wing push to qualify a
ballot referendum in opposition to the Domestic
Partner Rights & Responsibilities A ct of 2005
has failed to submit signatures in time to qualify
for the March ballot.
Based on constitutional and statutory require
ments, the signatures would have had to be sub
mitted Dec. 4 in order to clear the certification
pnxzess in time for California voters to weigh in on
the new law next March. The referendum propo
nents, state Ben. Pete Knight, R-Palmdale, and
Assemblymember Ray Haynes, R-Riverside, now
have until Dec. 21 to submit signatures for the
measure to appear on the November 2004 ballot.
“The quick response of the LGBT communi
ty to this threat against ixir civil rights has cer
tainly put a damper on the right wing’s ability to
muster support for their anti-gay agenda," said
Geoffrey Kors, executive director of Equality
E
Complied by News Editor J im R aixtsta , who can
be reached at jim@justout .com.
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