[1998] Tulsa Family News, September 1998; Volume 5, Issue 9

[1998] Tulsa Family News, September 1998; Volume 5, Issue 9

Politics, education, and social conversation toward Tulsa’s Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual communities.

Tulsa Family News was a monthly newspaper; No. 1 issued December 1993-January 1994. The final issue available was published in September 0f 2001 (Volume 8, Issue 9).

The newspaper brings up important, evolving topics of marriage, Pride, TOHR, HIV/AIDs, events, advice, and politics all at the local and national level.

This document is available in searchable PDF attached. It is also available to be seen at the Dennis R. Neill Equality Center with permission.

Tulsa Family News

https://history.okeq.org/collections/show/24

Tom Neal

September 1998

Adam West
James Christjohn
Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud
Barry Hensley
J.P. Legrandbouche
Lamont Lindstrom
Esther Rothblum
Mary Schepers
The Associated Press

Tom Neal/Tulsa Family News

Tulsa Family News, August 1998; Volume 5, Issue 8

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PDF
Online text

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https://history.okeq.org/items/show/551

Tulsa(Oklahoma)---newspaper
Tulsa---Oklahoma
Oklahoma---Tulsa
United States Oklahoma Tulsa
United States of America (50 states)

New AIDS Vaccine
To Be Tested In Tulsa
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Tulsa’s participation in the
national test of a vaccine that could help prevent infection
from the virus that causes AIDS puts that city at the
forefront of science, according to one doctor.. Homosexual
menat high risk of contracting the HIV virus will
be recruited for the study as will womenin relationships
with men who are HIV-positive. Candidates could
begin enrolling as early as October.
"It puts Tulsa on a
top levelin terms ofnew
science," saidDr. Ralph
Richter of St. John
Medical Center. "Here
is the development of a
new science - a potential
breakthrough that
could protect millions
of individuals from de-
"It puts Tulsa on a
top level in terms
o~ new sclence~
- Dr. Ralpla Richter
St. Jolm Medical Center
¯ Serving Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual + Transgendered Tulsans, Our Families + Friends
! Tulsa’s Largest Circulation Community PaperAvailable In More Than 75 City Locations
¯ Pride Center VandalizedAgain Calling all Lesbians!
TULSA - A new activities-related group, GALAVanting,
wants you to come out and play. Recentl y
formedby local poetandTFNDo-It- YourselfDyke,
Mary Schepers and one ofher friends, Joan, GaLAVanting
will host a variety of activities for Tulsa
area women throughout the year.
"Not to disparage the bars, but there aren’ t many
social activities for women outside the clubs,"
explained Schepers. "If you prefer a different environment
or entertmnment, your options are limited.
Gal-A-Vanting is going to change that. And we’re
planning our activities before the regular bar hours
to avoid competition with those longtime community
institutions."
Gal-A-Vanting emerged from a conversation in
which Mary and Joan bemoaned an apparent lack
of Lesbian community in the area. They decided to
roll up their sleeves and provide those opportumties
they themselves would be interested in. "It
does sound like ’Hey kids, let’s put on a show,’ "
Schepers acknowledged, "but if we sat around
waiting for the situation to magically change, it
would be a long wait. We are the community, we
should do something about it."
Two activities are in the works for the balance of
this year: an Arts Night and a Dance. The Arts
Night is scheduled for Friday, October 23, 7:00:
9:00 p.m. at the Pride Center 1307 E. 38th on
Brookside. Featured will be works of art for display
and sale, poetry readings, and music. There is room
available to showcase more talent; call Mary at
743-6740 if you are interested. Schepers emphasizes
that, while this event is by and for women,
"our brothers are welcome, too." Most subsequent
events will be for women only. Light refreslunents
will be served and a two dollar donation, to benefit
the Pride Center, is requested.
The dance will be in November, before holiday
madness sets in. The date, nine and place haven’t
been~ s_et y,eL but the eny~ronment will be to~acc~_~
Events will be scheduled frequently throughout
1999, and Gal-A-Vanting wants to know what
activities women would like to attend. "We’ re here
to help people get together, have fun, meet new
friends. Joan and I are doing this as a non-profit
- service," Schepers said. "No agenda except a good
¯ time - come join us for a little Ms-adventure!’"
Holy Spirit Rev,val to
¯ Feature Rev, AliceJones
¯¯ TULSA -The Rev. Alice Jones, longtime Tulsa
commumty leader and former pastor of the Metro-
" politan Commmunity Church of Greater Tulsa
¯ (MCCGT) will lead a mini-revival for spiritual
¯ renewal on Sept. 23-25, Wed.-Fri. at 7pm at the ¯
House of the Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit is located at
~ 3210e South Norwood, just south of Mall 31. Rev.
; Jones will also conduct services Sunday, 9/27 at
¯ 10:45am and the church will host a potluck lunch
after the service.
Holy Spirit will also hold a garage sale at the
church on Fri. & Sat. Sept. 11 & 12. For more
information, call 224-4754.
TULSA, Okla. (AP/TFN)-Vandals targetedacenterhererunby
aGay civil rights group again, smashing the facility’s glass door,
authorities said. The door at the Pride Center, operated by Tulsa
Oklahomans for Human Rights, was broken in with a bat or a
stick of some kind after 9:30 p.m. Thursday night, said Greg
Gatewood, a volunteer at the center. The glass door was also
smashed the night of Aug. 7, and was later replaced.
The buiIding in which the center is located also houses several
other businesses, none of which were vandalized. The center
caters to Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender groups,
Gatewood said.
State law does not classify
crimes motivedby hatred toward
sexual orientation as "hate
crimes," but vandalism statutes
wouldapply to the incidents. The
police were called both times
and Pride Center organizers said
they will implement additional
security measures. Gatewood
said that in addition to a bomb
threat last fall, the center has
seen its signs taken down and
thrown away and several Pride The door ofthePride Center
flags stolen, prior to theglass replacement.
However, activities continue
at the Center with a number of organizations meeting regularly.
The Center also is now showing Lesbian and Gay-interest video
every Thurs. evening at 7:30 pm. For more info., call 743-GAYS.
’99 Parade Planning Begins
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Officers of Tulsa Oklahomans for Human
Rights (TOHR) are calling all interested community members to
come to a Lesbian/Gay Pride Parade planning meeting onThnrsday,
Sept. 22 at 7pm at the Pride Center, 1307 E 38th, 2nd ft.
While Oklahoma City has had a Gay Pride Parade for more
veloping HIV infection or AIDS." Tulsa will be among than 10 years, Tulsa had its first Pride March in 1997 with 65
nearly 40 clinical sites nationwide to participatein the people marching from Gilcrease Museum Road to the Tulsa
study. Other sites include New York, Chicago, St. ~ Pride Picnic at Owen Park.
Lo,ui~s~ ~en~~7~ PhiladelPhia and s~e~ in H-°rid~,.Tcx~ : -..~year t~e .M~ch ~i.~ a_bo..ut double..~~ip~ats~went -
Between 125 and 150 people will be recmited for the ]
Tulsa trial, Richter said. Local AIDS groups and the ]
Tulsa City-County Health Department are working on
the project and will help recruiting participants.
march can be held on the sidewalk, neither event required street
closings nor a permit. However, if there is suffioent commumty
interest,TOHR will organize a parade with street closings and the
opporttmity for community organizations to have floats. For
more information, call 743-GAYS (4297) or attend on 9/22.
Methodists: Apartheid - Yes!
¯ DALLAS (AP) -The United Methodist Church early last month
¯ elevated a guideline against same sex marriages into church
¯ canon [church law] and saidministers who perform the ceremonies
could be removed, The Judicial Council of the church, the
nation’ s second largest Protestant denomination with 9.5 million
members, ruled that ministers who violate the ban on Lesbian and
Gay Holy Unions are "liable to be" brought to church trial.
The decision of the nine-member council, which heard testimony
"in Irving, Texas, affects one sentence in the Social Principles.
It reads: "Ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions
shall not be conducted by our ministers and shall not be Conducted
in our churches." That statement was added by the 1996
General Conference, the denominati0n’ s top policy-making body.
The council decided the conference delegates "’were enacting
legislation that would be binding as the law of the church."
"The specific prohibition is law," said Bishop George W.
Bashore, president of the Council of Bishops of United Methodist
Church. The gmdeline, which was part of the congregation’ s
Social Principles, states: "Ceremonies that celebratehomosexual
unions shall not be conducted by our manisters and shall not be
conducted in our churches."
Social Principles serve as moral standards for the congregation.
The ruling has .the effect of transforming the standard into
church law, and pastors who violate the law may be.reprimanded
or even defrocked. "It has all of the potential for a minister to lose
his or her credentials in the Methodist Church," Bashore said.
The issue arose with the case of the Rev. Jimmy Creech, former
pastor of the 1,900-member First United Methodist Church of
Omaha, Neb. He was accused of disobedience after performing
a Lesbian wedding ceremony last September in defiance of his
bishop. Creech was acquitted six months later by a church jury.
The acquittal prompted the regional bishops to appeal to the
Judicial Council for a formal ruling on whether the guideline was
merely a moral standard or church law. see Apartheid, p. 3
The Food and Drug Administration approved testing
of the vaccine by a California company, VaxGen Inc., ,
in June. The AIDSvax vaccine alre?ady has been tested
in preliminary trials that included 1,200 people. Those
tests, which began in March 1992, showed that 99
percent of those-vaccinated produced strong levels of
antibodies. Final testing of the vaccine will include
5,000 U.S. volunteers at high risk of contracting the
AIDS virus and 2,500 high-risk people in Thailand.
In the "blinded" trial, two-thirds of the U.S. volunteers
will receive the vaccine, while the rest will receive
a placebo: Volunteers will participate for three years
and will receive HIV counseling about the dangers Of
unsafe sex. "We don’ t want to encourage people to go
and become more reckless," Richter said.
Volunteers will receive three injections of the genetically
engineered vaccine over several months. Those
will be followed by a series of booster shots. The
vaccine uses-engineered copies of the gpl20 protein,
which is found on the Outer coating Of the HIV virus.
Once injected, the vaccine is supposed to prompt the
immune system to make antibodies, which can attack
invading viruses before they infect healthy cells.
Opponents doubt the vaccine will be successful,
arguing that earlier tests showed the vaccine boosted
only one 15artoftheimmune system and therefore would
not be effective in large numbers of participants. Some
also question whether new strains of theAIDS virus
might render the vaccine useless.
MJ ° DIRECTORYILE’I-I’ERS P. 2/3
US & WORLD NEWS P. 4 ~ HEALTH NEWS P. 6
ENTERTAINMENT NOTES P. 8
~ COMMUNITY CALENDAR P. 9
BOOK REVIEW P, 10
DO-IT-YOURSELF P. 11
DYKE PSYCHF_JGAY STUDIES P. 12/13
---, CLASSIFIEDS + WEERWOLF P. 14
Brookside Jewelry &
TNT’s To Host Benefit
TULSA- Two Tulsa businesses will host a benefit
for Oklahoma Indian HIV/AIDS activist, Lisa Tiger,
on Saturday, Sept. 19 at TNT’s on the NW
corner of 21 st & Memorial, The evening event will
feature music and other entertainment as wall as
Tiger posters and copies of the book, Voices From
the Next Feminist Generation, for $15.
Ms. Tiger has adopted 50glala Sioux children
from South Dakota’ s Pine Ridge Reservation and
greatly needs help to care for them. Anyone unable
to attend the benefit may help by sending any
donation to Lisa Tiger, c/o Tiger Blair Gallery,
2110 East Shawnee, Muskogee, Oklahoma.
For more info. call Mdody at 743-5272.
Tulsa Clubs & Restaurants
*Bamboo Lounge, 7204 E. Pine 832-1269
*Boston Willy’s Diner, 1742 S. Boston 592-2143
*Concessions, 3340 S. Peoria 744-0896
*Empire Bar, 1516 S. Peoria 599-9512
*Full Moon Cafe, 1525 E. 15th 583-6666
*Gold Coast Coffee House, 3509 S. Peoria 749-4511
*Interurban Restaurant, 717 S. Houston 585-3134
*Jason’s Deli, 15th & Peoria 599-7777
*Lola’s, 2630 E. 15th 749-1563
*St. ,Michael’s Alley Restaurant, 3324-L E. 31st 745-9998
*Margaret’s German Restaurant, 10 E. Fifth 583-1658
*Silver Star Saloon, 1565 Sheridan 834-4234
¯ *Renegades/Rainbow Room, 1649 S. Main 585-3405
*TNT’s, 2114 S. Memorial 660-0856
*Tool Box, 1338 E: 3rd 584-1308
*Umbertos Pizzeria, 21st west of Harvard 599-9999
Tulsa Businesses, Services, & Professionals
Advanced Wireless & PCS, Digital Cellular 74%1508
*Affinity News, 8120 E. 21 610-8510
Dennis C. Arnold, Realtor 746-4620
*Assoc. in Med; & Mental Health, 2325 S. Harvard " 743-1000
Kent Balch & Associates, Health & Life Insurance 747-9506
*Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 8620 E. 71 250-5034
Body Piercing by Nicole, 2722 E. 15 712-1122
*Borders Books & Music, 2740 E. 21 712-9955
*Borders Books & Music, 8015 S. Yale 494-2665
Brookside Jewelry, 4649 S. Peoria 743-5272
*CD Warehouse, 3807c S. Peoria 746-0313
CherrySt. Psychotherapy, 1515 S. Lewis 581-0902,743-4117
Community Cleaning, Kerby Baker 622-0700
Tim Daniel, Attorney 352-9504, 800-742-9468
*Deco to Disco, 3212 E. 15th 749-3620
*Devena’s Gallery, 13 Brady 587-2611
DQghouse on Brookside, 3311 S. Pei~i’ia 744-5556
*Elite Books & Videos, 821 S. Sheridan 838-8503
*Ross Edward Salon, 2447 E. 15th 584-0337, 712-9379
*Floral Design Studio, 3404 S. Peoria 744-9595
Cathy Furlong, Ph.D., 1980 Utica Sq. Med. Ctr. 628:3709
*Gloria Jean’s Gourmet Coffee, 1758 E. 21st 742-1460
Leanne M. Gross, Insurance & financial planning 459-9349
Mark T. Hamby, Attorney 744-7440
*Sandra J. Hill, MS, Psychotherapy, 2865 E. Skelly 745-1111
*international Tours - 34t’~6866
Jacox Animal Clinic, 2732 E, 15th 712-2750
*Jared’s Antiques, 1602 E. 15th 582-3018
David Kauskey, Country Club Barbering 747-0236
*Ken’s Flowers~ 1635 E. 15 599-8070
Kelly Kirby, CPA, 4021 S. Harvard, #210 747-5466
Langley Agency & Salon, 1316 E. 36th P1 749-5533
Laredo Crossing, 1519 E. 15th 585-1555
*Living ArtSpace, 19 E. Brady 585-1234
Mingo Valley Flowers, 9720c E. 31 663-5934
*Mohawk Music, 6157 E 51 Place 664-2951
*Novel Idea Bookstore, 51st & Harvard 747-6711
David A. Paddock, CPA, 4308 S. Peoria, Ste. 633 747-7672
*Peace of Mind Bookstore, 1401 E. 15 583-1090
~he Pride Store, 1307 E. 38, 2nd floor 743-4297
Puppy Pause II, llth & Mingo 838-7626
Rainbowz on the River B+B, POB 696, 74101 747-5932
Richard’s Carpet Cleaning 834-0617
Teri Schutt, Rex Realtors 834-7921,747-4746
Christopher Spradling, attorney, 616 S. Main, #308 582-7748
*Scribner’s Bookstore, 1942 Utica Square 749-6301
*Sedona Health Foods, 8220 S. Harvard 481-0201
*Tickled Pink, 3340 S. Peoria 697-0017
*Trizza’s pots, 1448 S. Delaware 743-7687
*Tulsa Bookl~change, 3749 S. Peoria 742-2007
*Tulsa Comedy Club, 6906 S. Lewis 481-0558
Fred Welch, LCSW, Counseling 743-1733
*Whittier News Stand, 1 N. Lewis 592-0767
Tulsa Agencies, Churches, Schools & Universities
AIDS Walk Tulsa, POB 4337, 74101 - .579-9593
*All Souls Unitarian Church, 2952 S. Peoria 743-2363
Black & White, Inc. POB 14001, Tulsa 74159 587-7314
Bless The Lord atAll Times Christian Center, 2207 E. 6 583-7815
*B/L/G/T Alliance, Univ. of Tulsa Canterbury Ctr. 583-9780
*Chamber of Commerce Bldg., 616 S, Boston 585-1201
*Chapman Student Ctr., University of Tulsa, 5th PI: & Florence
*ChurchoftheRestorationUU, 1314N.Greenwood 587-1314
*Community ofHope United Methodist, 2545 S. Yale 585-1800
*Community Unitarian-Universalist Congregation 749-0595
*Council Oak Men’s Chorale 743-4297
*Delaware Playhouse, 1511 S. Delaware 712-1511
*Democratic Headquarters, 3930 E. 31 742-2457
918.583.1248, fax: 583.4615, POB 4140, Tulsa, OK 74159
o-mail: TulsaNews@ earthlink.net
wobsito: http://users.aol.com/TulsaNews/
Publisher + Editor: Tom Neal. Writers + contributors: Adam West,
James Christjohn, Jean-Claude de Flambeauchaud, Barry
Hensley, J.-P. Legrandbouche, Lamont Lindstrom, Esther
Rothblum, Mary Schepers, Member of The Associated Press
Issued on or before the 1st of each month, the entire contents of this
p~blication are protected by US copyright 1998 by T~u~ ~:..’~W
Nta,4 and may not be reproduced either in whole or in part without
written permission from the publisher. Publication of a name or
photo does not indicate a person’s sexual orientation. Correspondence
is assumed to be for publication unless otherwise noted,.oaust
be signed & becomes the sole property of T¢ff.~ ~,o~.’. h/tag,.
Each reader is entitled to 4 copies of each edition at distribution
points. Additional copies are available by calling 583-1248.
Dignity/Integrity of Tulsa- Lesbian & Gay Catholics &
Episcopalians, POB 701475, 74170-1475 355-3140
*Family of Faith MCC, 5451-E So. Mingo 622-1441
*Fellowship Congreg. Church, 2900 S. Harvard 747-7777
*Free SpiritWomen’s Center, call forlocation &info: 587-4669
Friend For A Friend, POB 52344, 74152 747-6827
Friends in Unity Social Org., POB 8542, 74101 582-0438
*HIV ER Center, 4138 Chas. Page Blvd. 583-6611
*HIV Resource ConSortium, 3507 E. Admiral 834-4194
*Holland Hall School, 5666 E. 81st 481-1111
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education 834-8378
HIV Testing, Mon/Thurs. 7-9pm, daytime by appt. only
*House of the Holy Spirit Minstries, 3210e So. Norwood
Interfaith AIDS Ministries 438-2437, 800-284-2437
*MCC of Greater Tulsa, 1623 N. Maplewood 838-1715
NAMES Project, 3507 E. Admiral P1. 748-3111
NOW, Nat’l Org. for Women, POB 14068, 74159 365-5658
OK Spokes Club (bicycling), POB 9165, 74157
*Our House, 1114 S. Quaker 584-7960
PFLAG, POB 52800, 74152 749-4901
*Planned Parenthood, 1007 S. Peoria 587-7674
*The Pride Center, 1307 E. 38, 2nd floor, 74105 743-4297
Prime-Timers, P.O. Box 52118, 74152
*R.A.I.N., Regional AIDS Interfaith Network 749-4195
Rainbow Business Guild, POB 4106, 74159 665-5174
*Red Rock Mental Center, 1724 E. 8 584-2325
O’RYAN, support group for 18-24 LGBT young adults
O’RYAN, Jr. support group for 14-17 LGBT youth
St. Aidan’s Episcopal Church, 4045 N. Cincinnati 425-7882
*St. Dunstan’s Episcopal, 5635 E. 71st 492-7140
*St. Jerome’s Parish Church, 205 W. King 582-3088
*Tulsa Area United Way, 1430 S. Boulder 583-7171
TNAAPP (Native American men), Indian Health Care 582-7225
Tulsa County Health Department, 46 16 E. 15 595-4105
Confidential HIV Testing - by appt. on Thursdays only
Tulsa Okla. for Human Rights, c/o The Pride Center 743-4297
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform/Leather Seekers Assoc. 838-1222
*Tulsa City Hall, Ground Floor Vestibule
*Tulsa Community College Campuses
*Rogers University (formerly UCT)
BARTLESVILLE
*Bartlesville Public Library, 600 S. Johnstone 918-337-5353
OKLAHOMA CITY/NORMAN
*Borders Books &Music, 3209 NWExpressway 405-848-2667
*Borders Books & Music, 300 Norman Center 405-573-4907
TAHLEQUAH
*Stonewall League, call for information: 918-456-7900
*Tahlequah Unitarian-Universalist Church 918-456-7900
*Green Country AIDS Coalition, POB 1570 918-453-9360
NSU School of Optometry, 1001 N. Grand
HIVtesting every other Tues. 5:30-8:30, call fo~ dates
EUREKA SPRINGS, ARKANSAS
*Autumn Breeze Restaurant, Hwy. 23
*Jim & Brent’s Bistro, 173 S. Main
DeVito’s Restaurant, 5 Center St.
*Emerald Rainbow, 45 &l/2 Spring St.
MCC of the Living Spring
Geek to Go!, PC Specialist, POB 429
Old Jailhouse Lodging, 15 Montgomery
Positive Idea Marketing Plans
Sparky’s, Hwy. 62 East
*White Light, 1 Center St.
FAYETTEVILLE, ARKANSAS5
*Edna’s, 9 S. School Ave.
501-253-7734
501-253-7457
501-253-6807
501-253-5445
501-253~9337
501-253~2776
501-253~5332
501-624-6646
501-253-6001
501-253-4074
501-442-2845
* is whereyou can lind TFN. Notall are Gay-owned but all are Gay-friendly.
¯ Spending Commission has lifted the donation
limit of $1000 per person for an
"issue" campaign. The sky is now the
¯ limit, and North American religious ex-
¯ tremists arepouringmoney into Hawaii’s
vote on a proposed constitutional amend-
" merit. Dobson’s group [Focus ontheFam-
¯ ily] may be spendingthe most in Hawaii,
but the ChristianCoalition is raisingmoney
~ worldwide as well to use in Hawaii.
; The key team standing up to this on-
, slaught is: Protect Our Constitution,
¯ PO Box 235704, Honolulu, HI 96823.
Donations to Protect Our Constitution are
¯ not tax deductible. Donations are reported
¯ to the campaign spending commission.
¯ Protect Our Constitution is affiliated with
~ the national Human Rights Campaign.
¯ Other Players:
¯ Supreme Court- silent; no news on the
¯ final appeal of the Baehr case
¯ Legislature -not in session; most of ¯
them runniug for re-election
." Governor - running for a second term;
: uphill battle against a charismatic woman
¯ Republican who might even be Lesbian ¯
but vigorously denies it publicly
¯ Constitutional Amendment- ffthe vote
¯ were held today; the "no" would win. A
¯ "no" vote protects the equal civil rights of
Gays and Lesbians. However, the amend-
" merit is confusing to many voters and
¯ many more have yet to realize that itis on ¯
¯ the November ballot.
Call for a Constitutional Convention -
~ more and more people realize that such a
¯ convention, held under the shadow of
¯ hysteria over same-gender marriage,
¯ would be a disaster for environmental
¯ protection, native Hawaiian gathering
¯ - rights, the right to strike, the freedom tochoose
as well as the freedom to marry.
The only question is whether this broad o
coalition of interests can deliver the votes
on November 3rd[
The exact constitutional question [is]:
"Shall the constitution of the State of
Hawaii be amended to specify that the
legislature shall have the power to reserve
mamage to opposite-sex couples."
Note that it doe-s not directly ban samegendermarriage,
butmoves the topicaway
from protection of the bill of rights in the
constitution. Note also that it is a power
grab by the legislature at the expense of
theiudependentjudiciary. As mostpeople
in Hawaii learn this, they decide to vote
"no". Can they be educated fast enough,
in 72 days? In the meantime, the opposition
is working hard to make this amendment
a referendum of whether one supports
same-sex marriage (vote "yes" if
you oppose same-sex marriage is their
campaign focus).
The Role ofMarriage Project Hawaii
- MPH is operating under a tax-deductible
status that limits its lobbying and
election activities. It continues to support
the Baehr case, to educate the public on
issues related to same-gender marriage,
and to build a. network of supporters in
Hawaii. It’s address is PO Box 11690,
Honolulu, HI 96828. - Tom Ramsey
Hawaii Marriage Update
TheBIG change- Hawaii’s Campaign
Letters Policy
Tulsa Family News welcomes letters on
issues which we’ve covered or on issues
you think need to be considered. Youmay
request that your name be withheld but
letters mustbe signed&have phonenumbers,
or be hand delivered. 200 word letters
are preferred. Letters to other publications
will be printed as is appropriate.
Creech, who now lives on Ocracoke Island, N.C., and
makes his living cleaning cottages, bitterly criticized the
nding. "I am grieving for the United Methodist Church,"
he said. "I am encouraging pastors to go ahead and
celebrate a covenant ceremony in defiance to this nding."
Creech toldTheLincolnJournal Starin aphoneinterview
that he feels the ruling is "evil." "It’ s still an unjust and,
I think, evil decision in the impact on people who are
Lesbian or Gay."
Nebraska Bishop Joel Martinez, who removed Creech
from the Omaha church, praised the Judicial Council’s
decision. "All ministers in the covenant of ordained
ministry in the United Methodist Church now have Clear
direction on this matter," Martinez Said. "I continue to
urge all United Methodists in Nebraska to berespectful in
dialogue and prayerful in attitude toward all others who
may hold opposing views on this matter."
Mel Semrad, a spokesman for church members who
left the Omaha congregation in protest over the wedding,
lauded the decision Tuesday. Semrad and about 450
others are working to start theirown Methodist church in
Omaha, saying they believe the Bible and church tradition
do not allow Gay weddings.
Mike McClellan, an Omaha attorney and member of
First United .Methodist, said he does not agree with the
Judicial Council’s decision. He called the decision a
political one, made under pressure from Methodist bishops.
"I think that they’ vejust r~ally made an unfortunate
decision," he said. "More than anything itjust sends abad
message to Gays and Lesbians. "It’ s difficult to convince
(Gays and Lesbians) to be apart of our churches.., when
the institution itself sends out such awful messages to
them, and hateful messages."
The Rev. Charlotte Abram, new ~issociate pastor of
First United Methodist in Omaha, said she was disappointed
by the nding. "First United Methodist Church
will continue to work toward the time when the United
Methodist Church will be a place where there is equality
for all God’ s children, including Gaymenand. Lesbians,"
she said. The Rev. John Thomburg, senior pastor for
Northhaven United Methodist Church of Dallas, which
has a congregation that is one-third Gay, saidhe will obey
they ruling but is disappointed.
Impact on Northern California Churches
The United Methodist Church’ s ban on Gay marriages
could have a big impact in Northern California, where
seyeral Methodist ministers have pledged support for
same-sex unions. The decision puts Northern California
Methodist Bishop Melvin Talbert between a theological
rock and an ecclesiastical hard place. Ten Methodist
ministers are among 150 Christian, Jewish and Buddhist
clergy in the regionwhohave signed a declaration stating,
"I have officiated or would be willing to officiate at the
religious marriage of a same-gender couple." In May,
Talbert said he would not discipline any minister who
performed Gay rites ",until instructed otherwise by our
Judicial Council."
But Rev. Alan Jones said he doesn’t expect Talbert to
start cracking down on clergy who perform Gay marriage.
’qThose clergy who support holy tmion will continue
to do them," said Jones, executive director of San
Francisco-based United Methodist Mission. "For me it’ s
a pastoral issue. Either I respect the integrity ofmy sisters
and brothers, or I don’ t. I don’ tbdieve in ’love the sinner,
hate the sin.’ I either love someone, or I don’t."
Still, last month’ s ruling by the church’ s equivalent of
the Supreme Court gives Talbert’s opponents more ammunition:
Local bishops like Talbert "don’t have the
authority to overrule this decision," said Thomas
McAnally, a spokesman at the United Methodist Church
headquarters. "The decision is final."
Other Christian Groups
Joe Leonard of .the National Council of Churches,
which represents 34 Protestant and Orthodox churches in
the US, said the United Church of Christ is the only
mainline Protestant church that approves of Lesbianand
Gay ceremonies. Andon Aug. 5, an international Anglican
meeting, the Lambeth Conference, declared homosexuality
to be "incompatible with Scripture" and said
Gays should not be ordained. However, declarations at
Lambeth are not binding on national Episcopal Churches
and these statements are in conflict with positions taken
by the Episcopal Church, USA. Some US bishops do
ordain openly Gay persons and do sanction Holy Unions.
by Kerry Lobel
Wehear their names again and again, like a litany from
a relentless bad dream: GOP Senate Majority Leader
Trent Lott, GOP House Majority Leader Dick Armey,
Family Research Council President Gary
Bauer, Focus on the Family President Dr.
James Dobson, California Republican Congressman
Frank RIFFS, and Colorado Republican
Congressman Joel Hefley. Together,
these men and others are controlling
the agenda of the Republican Party. Together,
they’ve launched an unprecedented
attack on the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and
transgender community.
With the 1998 Congressional elections
only months away, the Presidential primaries
will be here in a heartbeat. As expected,
the extreme right-wing is literally and figuratively
using homosexuals as their favorite
poster children in an effort to consolidate
their voting base and raise funds from them.
Several extreme right-wing groups includingChristianCoalition,
Family Research
Council, and ConcernedWomenforAmerica
ran ads last month in the New York Times,
Washington Post, andUSAToday proclaiming
"We’re standing for the truth that homosexuals
can change." The ads offer a beguiling
elixir of "hope and healing." We’ re not
fooled by this kinder, gentler bigotry. These
ads arenot aboutreligionandhealing, they’ re
about politics and intolerance. Homosexuality
is not the problem. Homophobia and
the hatred and the discrimination it fosters is
the problem. Last month the National Gay
and Lesbian Task Force and Equal Partners
in Faith gathered over 30 national religious
leaders from many faith traditions. These
"We’re standing for
the truth that
homosexuals
can change."
The ads offer a
beguiling elixir of
"hope and healing."
We’re not fooled by
this kinder,
gentler bigotry.
These ads are not
about religion and
healing, they’re
about politics and
intolerance.
Homosexuality is
not the problem.
Homophobia and
the hatred and the
dlserimlnation
it fosters is the
problem.
¯ Twenty-five years ago NGLTF was also involved in
~ effort to remove homosexuality from the American Psy-
¯ chiatricAssociaOon’ s listofmental disorders. This change
~ removed an important obstacle to our freedom, one that
the right-wing hopes to roll back. Year after
year, a growing number of Americans have
supported equality for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual
and Transgendered people. The extreme
right-wing recognizes this and has
desperately attempted to solidify their donor
and voter base by trying by selling
America the lie that Gay people need redemption.
Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual people do
not need hope, healing or prayers to change
our sexual orientation. We need our adversaries
to hope for our equality and to pray
for our civil rights. Weneed them to understand
that the only thing that needs to be
changed is the bigotry that continues to
divide our country across lines of race,
class, gender, religion and sexual orientation.
We don’t need to dignify the statements
of our adversaries by claiming that
sexual orientation is genetic or that we can’ t
change. This implies that most of us would
change if we could. Whether genetic or
chosen, sexual orientation is a deep-seated
part of our identity. One day, and I hope it
comes soon, we’ll live in a world where
people are free to explore their sexuality,
and free to live without discrimination and
violence. Until then, I’ 11 keep my eye on the
real prize, freedom, justice, and equality,
and not always focus on defending myself
from our adversaries.
Founded in 1973, the National Gay and
Lesbian Task Force works to eliminate
leaders expressed their support for Gay, Lesbian, Bi- " prejudice, violence and injustice against Gay, Lesbian,
sexual and Transgendered (GLBT) peoplein the wake of ¯ Bisexual and Transgendered people at the local, state
the recent ad campaign. They also vowed .to speak out ¯ and nationallevel. Aspart .9~a i~roader socialjustice,,~ ,.~, ~ .....
together froma f~ith~persp~fiV~’ito challengethe reli=~-:: ~mO~ifo~fr~dr~;j~’~d~’~i~u&ii~),~lqdL~’7~~
gious right’ s manipulation ofreligion to promote a political
agenda, and to affirm the spirituality and equality of
GLBT persons and supporters all across the nation.
by Tom Neal, editor &publisher
Kudos to PFLAG
Last month, I attended the PFLAG (Parents, Families
¯and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) meeting to hear and
meet the remarkable Allen Family who’d spoken recently
on The Today Show about the harassment that their
son, Will Allen,_had experienced in a local high school.
They were smart, brave and articulate. I highly commend
thelia for their willingness to witness to our nation about
the inherent dignity of Lesbian and Gay lives and what
being a family is really, really about. And of course,
PFLAGandits boardpresident,TulsanNaneyMeDonald,
deserves praise for helping to arrange this appearance.
Another Brave Family
Also, during this same time, longtime community
activists Ric & Kelly Harrison Kirby, also made their
lives public (in major stories in USA Today, Hard Copy
and I’m told onNationalPublic Radio) to help respond to
the "ex-Gays" or "Gay conversion" messages that national
ultra-extremist religious/political groups were promoting.
Kelly&Ric have served Tulsa for years, as Tulsa
Oklahomans for Human Rights (TOHR) officers and as
HIV/AIDS activists. Kelly has also served on boards
related to the Disciples of Christ denomination and is
treasurer of the national board of PFLAG.
Sometimes in our community, we don’t do a goodjob
of recognizing the gifts which community members give
us, so if you see Ric or Kelly, thank them. It’s no little
thing to give up that much of their privacy and that oftheir
four children.
Good Cop - Bad Cop
While at the PFLAG meeting, Mrs. McDonald, made
a remark some work she’ s been doing with the National
Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ, formerly
the National Conference of Christians and Jews) to
¯ creating a world that respects and celebrates the diver-
¯ sity ofhuman expression and identity where all people
mayfullyparticipate in society.
make that organization more sensitive to Lesbian and
Gay issues. I may be mistaken but the comment about not
~ pushing people into a comer seemed to have a little barb
¯ to it and it was delivered while she was looking right at
¯ me,
¯ Regular readers may recall that TFN has written several
times over a multiple year period about the failure of
the Tulsa chapter of the NCCJ, a human rights organization,
to include Lesbian and Gay issues, or Lesbians or
Gay men on its board of directors.
Iamdelighted to share thatnotonly has Mrs. McDonald
been in dialogue with the Tulsa chapter of the NCCJ but
they have invited her to be on their board of directors.
While it’s hardly a secret that Mrs. McDonald and I
frequently disagree about methods of creating social
change, she & I likely completely agree about our goals
for America’s, and Tulsa’s Lesbian/Gay/Bi and Transgendered
communities. I havefaith that she will represent
our commumty’ s interests well. And I have no doubt that
Mrs. McDonald will be as stem in correcting the NCCJ
board when she thinks they need it as she is with me ;-)
About Town is a new editorial column which will
appear occasionally. It, obviously, is an opinion piece.
Readers are welcome to call with information about
which they think this newspaper needs to know. Readers
are also welcome to respond by letter or by e-mail.
Kelly Curtis Ford, formerly of Tulsa and longtime
companion of Roger Morris, died suddenly on August
15th at the age of 52. Ford grew up in Duncan, attended
Cameron University and taught in Oklahoma schools in
Waiters and in Oologah for 23 years where he was
selected as Teacher of the Year in 1991. Ford is survived
by Morris and also by three brothers in Duncan. A
memorial service will held at 7pm on Wednesday, Sept.
3 at All Souls Unitarian Church, 29th & Peoria.
Hawaii: Wide Opposition " Phi!ly Partners’
to Same-Sex Marriage Benefits Challenged
shows more~a 2 l/2-tod m~n ,oppos~ to v~ues advo~tes have fil~ alawsuit ag~nst ~e city,
legMi~ng s~e-sexm~age. ~epoll conduct~for timing ~e institution of m~age will be i~ep~a- ~ ~ G~l~zr~~7~fyff~rts~7~n~
~e Honol~u S~ B~ledn ~d ~NL~TV fo~d 63 bly~edby a new or&n~~fing city workers
% o~os~ to legMifing m~ageS between two men wi~ s~e-sex p~ers ~e s~e benefits ~m~ I ~. burdem. ~me sMre ~ ~e~W0f ~’s
or twowomen, wi~ 24% in favor ~d 13% ~de- p~ple. ~ a battle~ck~~o~d ~e co~y, ~e
cid~. smt states ~at City Co~l&~’t have ~e au~ofi~ ~__ ~~ Cbi~renAreAlwa~sWelco~!
~en ~e s~e question w~ ~ked in Feb~y to extend h~ ~d pension benefits to Gay ~d
1997, 70% of ~e respondents voi~ op~sifion to ~sbi~p~ers~dto~o~bit&s~nafion~e h
s~e-gender ~ons, wi~ 20% in favor ~d 10% wor~la~ b~ed on m~ s~ms. "~i~ Co~ ~mm~
~s~e. Pollsters have ask~ ~e question five times ¯ shoed be uplff~g m~age, not r~efi~ng m~-
sin~ J~e 1993. ~e~ghest levd of op~sifion w~ " fiage," sMd ~e Rev. ~c~,a p~tor at Be~el
r~rd~ in M~ch 1996, when 74% of ~ose ask~ " Ddiver~Ch~chin~laddpMa.Thed~s-acfion
opposed same-sex marriage, 21% for and 6% undecided.
The poll did not ask voters how they would
vote on a November ballot question about whether to
limit legal marriages to those between one man and
one woman.
Supporters of same-sex marriage say they are not
surprised by the poll numbers, with David Smith of
the Washington-l~asedHumanRights Campaign saying
similar opposition would have been recorded in
polls 30 or 40 years ago if people had been asked
about interracial marriages. "But the U.S. Supreme
Court decided that the Constitution allows peopleto
marry who they choose in terms of race," Smith said.
Rev. Marc Alexander of Hawaii Catholic Conference
called the poll results gratifying, and said efforts
to win support for same-sex marriage .are failing.
’°Ittose figures are solid," he said. "Even with the
push to get same-sex mamage, it hasn’t made a
significant dent."
The telephone poll of 417 vote/s was conducted
from Aug. 4-7, and has a margin of error of plus of
minus 5% points.It was conducted by Mason-Dixon
Political/Media Research of Columbia, Md.
.Fayetteville
Anti-Bias Law Debated
was filed in Philadelphia County Court by the Urban
Family Council and 10 individuals~ including Lam-
Mayor Edward G. Rendell, a supl~orter of the
measdres,immediately dismissed thele~al challenge.
"It has no chance of being successful," Rendell said.
"All wedidis recognizewhatcities all across America
are doing - that ~ommitted relationships come in
different shapes and sizes."
At issue is a package of three bills passed by the
council in May that culminated a five-year battle by
Gay and Lesbian activists. Under the legislation, any
of the city’s 24,000 unionized workers with same-sex
. partners would qua~.ify for benefits after meeting
certain criteria proving that they are involved in a
"life partnership," including shared bank accounts,
dual property ownership and beneficiary designation.
The ordinance also exempted same-sex partners
from the real estate transfer tax.
More than 100 mtmicipalities across the country
give similar allowances to same-sex partners, according
to the Philadelphia-based Center forGay Law and
Public Policy. Boston MayorThomas M. Menino last
week signed an executive order to extend health
benefits to domestic partners and dependents of Gay,
Lesbian and unmarried city employees. Last month,
New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani signed a
similar measure that activists called one of the most
comprehensive in the nation.
Opponents charged that the Philadelphia measure,
¯ especially the life partnership designation, created
¯ a new legal definition of marriage that benefits samesex
partners. State law does not allow individual
¯¯ communities to amendthat definition.WilliamDevlin,
director of the Urban Family Council, said thelawsuit
¯ is not intended to be anti-Gay or anti-Lesbian. ¯
"We’re saying,’ City Council, you redefined family,
you redefined marriage - that’s inherent in the
¯ (law).’ If anything is’ anti-’, it’s City Council, being
anti-family, anti-child and anti-marriage," Devlin
¯
said. "We have come to stand for what we believe.is
¯ right today," said Mary Campbell, a Philadelphia
¯ residentwho is a plaintiff in the suit. "We believe that
we are representative of many, man?,, people in this
, city, and hope that they will join us.
Gay and ~Lesbian civil fights activists disagreed.
: "The extension of workplace benefits to G.ay_ and
: Lesbian couples denied the right of marriage is loga-
¯ cal," said Rita Adessa, executive director of the
¯ Philadelphia Gay and Lesbian Task Force." "We’re
dealing with at/issue of fairness," she said. "When
: you deny the people the right to marry, and attach
¯ benefits to marriage, it sets up a system where hetero-
¯ sexuality and marriage is privilege." ¯
Rendell said opponents to the measure should
concentrate their efforts in another direction. "The
(critics) will lose," the mayor said. "They should
probably spend their efforts promoting the values
they care ai3out rather than trying to stop this. This is.
not a big threat to our way of life."
SPRINGDALE, Atk.’(AP) - Opponents of an anti~
discrimination item on the fall ballot in Fayetteville
say the measure would affect surrounding communities
if it passes. The proposal would prohibit businesses
in One city from discriminating in hiring on the
basis of sexual orientation or family status. It also
says the city won’t discriminate on the basis of race,
sex, disability and other reasons. "When Fayetteville
sneezes, Springdale, Rogers, and Bentonville all get
wet," said Kirk Hartness of Rogers, coordinator for
the Citizens Aware Group.
Fayetteville’s city council approved the resol.ution
in April, but Mayor Fred Hanna vetoed it. The city
council overrocle the veto May 6, and a group called
. theCitizens Aware committee collected enough signatures
to put the measure on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Hartuess said that there is more to .the resolution
than meets the eye. He said businesses would be
"’forced to cave-in to hiring and benefit policies
catering to homosexuals."-He also said there would
be access to the public schools with an agenda t
teach children 5, 6, and 7-year-olds their bizarre and
. destructive sexualpractices arejustanotherlifestyle."
Hartness spoke after Christian Coalition chairman,
Brent Watson of Fayetteville, yielded the floor at a
candidate’s forum attended by about 20 people:
Hartness saidhewas asked by Rev. Gene Fulcher and
Rev. Charlie Brown, the co-chairmen of the Citizens
Aware steering group to head the campaign.
He said the group had struggled for a name of the
resolution, but "we have to be careful with these
things in the public though because we don’t want to
identify this specifically as a piece of homosexual
legislation- however you should be aware for the
purposes of discussion- that is what this is really all
about." He said similar resolutions hadbeen passed in
communities onor near college campuses and that the
resolutions are not about equal access to jobs or
education.
Citizens for Fair Government, a local political
action group, says ithopes to educatepeople about the
issue so they will vote for the resolution.
San Francisco Still
Leads in Civil Rights
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Despite a Republican
offensive against Gays, San Francisco is poised today
to solidify its stance on civil rights by asking private
businesses to extend special deals to domestic partners.
A year after the city inaugurated its domestic
partners ordinance, the Board of Supervisors is ex-
MARK T. HAMBY
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panding the controversial law. Approved unanimously
last week, the proposal gets a second vote tonight and
Mayor Willie Brown is expected to sign it.
It would make San Francisco the only city in the
nation to require private businesses - such as gyms, car
rental companies and insurance agencies - to extend
discounts they offer to married couples to domestic
parmers as well.
The vote follows on the heels of a political backlash
against Gays that may cost San Francisco millions in
federal housing funding and a prominent Gay philanthropist
an ambassadorship. Less than two weeks ago,
the House voted 214-212 - most of them Republican
votes - in favor of blocking San Francisco from federal
housing money because of its civil-rights policy.
The pioneering EqUalBenefits Ordinance requires
businesses with city contracts to extend health benefits
to its workers’ partners. Since its introduction a year
ago, the city has battled corporations unwilling to recognize
Gay partnerships - including major airlines,
Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army.
"We should not force or coerce (businesses) to adopt
policies they find morally objectionable," Rep. Frank
Riggs, who represents the rural North Coast in Congress,
said in a heated debate.
Not long before that, Senate Majority Leader Trent
Lott, R-Miss., - who likened homosexuality to a treatable
condition like alcoholism or kleptomania - said it
was unlikely James Hormel wouldbecome the nation’ s
first openly Gay ambassador. Hormel, a San Francisco
philanthropist who has supported Gay causes, has been
criticized for what opponents call his "Gay agenda."
And Republicans -unsuccessfully - sought to overturn
President Clinton’ s orderbarring discrimination against
Gays and Lesbians at federal agencies.
.-Still, supervisors are expected today to send the
newest domestic partners proposal to the mayor in.an
act that suggests a determination to set a standard for
human rights. "Banning discrimination is. no new concept,"
supervisor Mark Leno, the proposal’s sponsor,
told the San Francisco Examiner last month. "We’re
talking about inalienable rights here."
tian groups paid $35,000 to buy the ad, which will
be published in a section of the Sunday paper
prepared by the San Francisco Examiner. The
Sunday paper also contains sections produced by
the San Francisco Chronicle.
The full-page ad suggests that Gay men and
Lesbians can change their sexual orientation if they
pray and get help from "ex-Gay ministries," groups
of people who say they once were Gay but became
heterosexual. It is one of four such ads that the
groups have placed in the New York Times, Washington
Post and other papers over the last month.
Some members of San Francisco’ s Gay community
considered running an opposing ad in the same
section, which is what other groups have done in
other cities. Some said the ads were distasteful, but
said First Amendment rights come first.
"It’s frightful, it’s horrific, it’s completely disturbing
to see these ads," said Supervisor Mark
Leno. "But I think we as a Gay and Lesbian and
progressive community would belittle ourselves
and lower ourselves to our opponents’ standards if
we were to deny them this most American right of
freedom of expression, as they are denying us the
most American rights - our malienable rights of
life, liberty and pursuit of happiness."
The Christian groups, led by Janet Folger of the
Florida-based Center for Reclaiming America, first
approached the San Francisco Chronicle - which
rejected the ad. "We reviewed it, and we had
several concerns about the ad and made the decision
that we were not going to run it," Chronicle
Publisher John B. Sias said. The San Francisco
Newspaper Agency, which sells advertising for
both the Chronicle and Examiner under a joint
operating agreement, suggested the ad could run in
the Sunday news sections, which are produced by
the Examiner.
Examiner Publisher Lee J. Guittar accepted the
ad. "We do not like to censor ads or suppress the
free flow of information," Guittar said. "This is an
issue up to debate. The Examiner’ s position is that
Commerce and theSmall BusinessNetw0rk, has faced ¯ fion is espousing, we oeneve mey nave me nglat to
little opposition from business owners. "It makes good express their opinion." The newspaper will also
business sense," said Leno. "It g~ves business an additional
marketing tool and could help them compete With
other businesses."
It’s expected to have more impact as a symbolic
gesture than as a business measure. Most car rental
agencies in the city do not offer special rates to married
couples, and some gyms already include domestic partners
in its "family" categories.
At 24 Hottr Fitness near City Hall, domestic parmers
already fall under the club’s "couple membership"
category. But there’ s a hitch: live-in couples - straight
or Gay - have to bring in proof that they’re more than
just roommates looking for a good deal. "Joint bank
accounts are nice, and (City Hall) certificates are nice,"
said Rick Hernandez, a sales manager. "(IDs) that show
both names are nice, too."
¯ 24 Hour Fitness, which has clubs up and down the
coast and in other states, is simply adjusting to San
Francisco lifeby recognizing Gay couples, he said. "We
sponsor the Gay Pride Parade. We’re pretty big in the
community," Hemandez said. ’qt just makes sense.
Otherwise we’d be shooting ourselves in the foot."
Laura Gilleran, 23, says she and her live-in girlfriend,
T.C. Myers, are more excited by the import of the
ordinance than by the discounts. "It’ s important, since
(Gay) marriage is not legal. It’ s.important to do what it
takes until it becomes such," Gilleran said outside a bar
in the Castro District, the heart of Gay San Francisco.
And it was Gay pride - and the chance to live in city
that recognizes Lesbian partnerships - that brought
Myers, 20, to San Francisco. She, her brother and their
mother, who i~ also a Lesbian, were moving from
Arizona to Oregon when they stopped in San Francisco.
"My morn got into San Francisco and said, ’We’re
staying here. This is the Gay city of the world!’ "
Anti-Gay Ads in SFCA
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Christian groups are bringing
their national anti-Gay advertising campaign to San
Francisco’ s Stmday newspaper, causing concern in the
city’ s large Gay and Lesbiancommunity. Fifteen Chrisprint
an editorial that will challenge the ad. The
Examiner’s decision means that although the
Chronicle refused the ad, its readers will see it
Sunday. The Chronicle, which splits revenues with
The Examiner, also will get half the profit.
Examiner Executive Editor Phil Bronstein said
running the ad was a business decision and had
nothing to do with the newspaper’ s commitment to
coverage of Gay and Lesbian issues. "It is also our
responsibility to cover the controversy over these
ads, which we are doing," Bronstein said, "and to
deal with the deeper issues the ads raise, about
claims made in the ads, and about the obviously
contradictory, views people hold."
Candidate for Hawaii
: Gov. Says She’s Not Gay
: HONOLULU (AP) - The Republican gubernatorial
candidate in Hawaii claims the incumbent’s
¯ campaign is spreading false rumors that she is
homosexual. Linda Lingle’ s allegation was denied
¯ by Democratic Gov. Ben Cayetano, who has been hurt in the polls because of Hawaii’s slumping
¯ economy. A crowd member asked Lingle during a
¯ recent campaign stop whether she was Gay. "No, I
¯ amnot,"repliedLingle, themayor ofMaul County.
¯ Lingle then told The Honolulu Advertiser that a
¯ Democrat had given her a copy of a report from a
Cayetano campaign committee that raised questions
about her sexual orientation. Lingle cam-
" paign chair Bob Awana declined to release copies.
¯ Cayetano said his campaign does not discuss the
¯ private lives of any candidate:. He demanded that ¯ Lingleproduce evidence t0 substantiateher charge.
: "If they are going to make accusations,.they have a
: responsibility to back themup,’"he said.
¯ .Republicans believe they have a solid chance of
." w]nmng in Hawaii, where Democrats have held the
¯ governor’s office since 1962.und dominated the
¯ Legislature since 1954.
BALTIMORE (AP) - The first time Dr. ¯
Joel Gallant laid eyes on Michael Willis, :
he was struck by how truly awful his new :
pafientlooked. Askinnylittleemaclated ¯
creature" is what the doctor remembers. "
Willis was in the full grip of AIDS, coy- :
ered with eczema, partially paralyzed by ¯
aherpes infectionofthe spine, 140 pounds
and falling~ Death within a
year seemed almost cerlain.
Thatwas 21/2 years ago.
Now Willis, at 37, exudes
energy. He is-toned and
trim andhandsomeenough
tomodel two or three times
a week at the Maryland
Institute College ofArt. As
stunning as Willis’ turnaround
seems, it is hardly
unique. He is one of the
thousands of Americans
rescued from the edge of
death by the AIDS cocktail,
the combination of
pills that changed a uniformlylethal
disease into a
treatable one.
However,Willis’ storyis commoii~lace
for another reason as well. Despite his
look of health, he clearly has not escaped
HIV. In the brutally precise language of
medicine, Willis is a treatment failure.
Estimates vary, but perhaps 30 percent
to 60 percent of all people taking the
AIDS cocktails are considered treatment
failures, because HIV can still be found
on standard tests that are sensitive enough
to spot as few as 20 copies of the virus in
a milliliter of blood. Either their viral
levels never g.o.t thatlow or they rebounded
after a prormslng start.
When Willis first learned of his disease,
600,000 bits of virus circulated in
every milliliter of his blood. At the time,
he had been sick for a year, often so
exhausted he could not get out of bed. He
felt oddly relieved to learn the cause, even
though it turned out to be HIV. While he
steadily got better on a combination of the
protease inhibitor Crixivan and two other
drugs, the lowest his virus level ever fell
is around 1,000 - far from the zero that
defines success.
Most of his friends.with HIV have seen
- their wrus vanish. The failure of treatment
to do the same for him is obviously
di,s,a,ppointing. "Sometimes I cry about
it, he admits. But mostly he focuses on
his good fortune. He enjoys the pleasure
of playing and singing withhis rock band,
the Radiant Pig, enjoys feeling wall, enjoys
being alive. "I just try to ignore it,"
says Willis. "I wish somebody would tel!
me what is going to happen, but I don’t
want to ask, either."
But even if he asks, there are no clear
answers. No one knows for sure what will
happen, to those whose virus stays stubbornly
visible despite all~out .treatmen~
Fromthe Start ofthe epidemic, me amount
of virus has been the surest barometer of
the diseaser s course. Thehigher the level,
the faster it kills. Experts believe that if
there’ s enough HIVto measure, it’ s probably
continuin~ to damage the immune
system, even ~f more slowly than befor .
"Right now, we are seeing people like
Michael who are having less than satisfactory
virological responses. Yet clinically
he is doing wonderfully and is as
healthy as he has been in years," says
Gallant, anAIDSexpert at Johns .Hopkins
University. "We don’t know how long
that will last. But our assessment is that
without complete viral suppression, it
won’ t last forever." The doctors wonder:
Will these people start to go downhill in
two years? Five? Ten or even. l,o.nge.r?
They worry that the dramatic aecnne m
AIDS deaths of the past
... without
complete viral
suppression . ¯ ¯
[we] wonder...
will these
people start
to go. do lall
in two years?
Five? Ten
or even longer?
two years is a honeymoon,
a lull beforethe epidemic
reawakens.
"We are winning many
more battles than we won
before, but we still haven’ t
won the war," says Dr.
Michael Saag of the University
of Alabama at Birmingham.
His program
averaged 10 to 15 deaths a
monthamongits 700AIDS
patients in 1995. Then
came the cocktail. In 1996
and 1997, there were just
one to three deaths amonth.
But this year, the figures
are creeping up again, averaging
five to eight deaths a month. For
now, though, many like Willis continue to
thrive despite stable or even rising viral.
levels.
"You still see wonderful, wonderful
things happening with this therapy," says
Dr. Lori Fantry of the University ofMaryland.
"People come into the clinic and
they think you’ re God. Their symptoms
melt away before y,our eyes. The people
aren’.t failing yet. It s the numbers."
The Numbers
Scientists estimate that for every unit of
virus in a milliliter of blood, somewhere
in thebody between 100,000 and 150,000
infected cells are making HIV. A viral
load of 1,000, like Willis’, suggests between
100 million and 150 million virusmaking
cells.
Over time, these viruses may elude
AIDS drugs.by doing a sloppy job of
reproducing themselves. No unit of HIV
is exactly like its parent. With each copy
it makes, HIV introduces an average of
one error into its~genetic code. Chances
are, everyone with HIV carries a virus
with a random mutation that makes it
capable of resisting whatever drug comes
along.
When patients start treatment, doctors
give them three drugs - typically a protease
inhibitor and two older medicines -
that they have never taken before. The
idea is to hit the virus hard, knocking its
production so low that lurking resistant
versions never have a chance to be made
¯ in quantity.
¯ Whentreatment pushes the virus below
~ detectable levels and keeps it there, doc-
~ tors feel fairly certain that patients will
stay healthy for several years. If treatment
" fails, it’s because swarms of drug-resis-
: tant viruses have been produced.
¯ Doctors listthreemainreasons for treat-
" meatfailure: Patients neglect to take their
~ medicines on schedule; they already have
: lots of resistant virus because of earlier
: exposure to medicines, or their doctors
, treated them inadequately.
" Failure to take medicines consistently
." is probably No. 1. Missing just a few
¯ dosesallows resistant viruses to grow
explosively. Once that happens, there is
: no guarantee that switching drugs will do
: any good, seeHIVDrugs, p. 14
Medical
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Medical Excellence ¯ Comptssionate Care
Free & Anonymous Finger Stick Method
By &for, but not exclusive to the Lesbian, Gay, & Bisexual Communities.
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1307 E. 38th, 2nd floor
in the Pride Center, 743-4297
6-9 pro, Sunday - Friday
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all sales benefit the Pride Center
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Nonoxynol 9 May
Not Protect
BOSTON (AP) - A study challenges the
popular belief that spermicides protect
against AIDS and other sexually transmitted
diseases. The research, conducted
onprostitutes in Cameroon, found no sign
that combining the common spermicide
nonoxynol 9 with condoms worked any
better than condoms alone. The findings
were first reported in Washington last
year. They are now being published in a
recent issue of the New England Journal
of Medicine.
Thestudywas conductedon 1,292 HIVnegative
prostitutes and directed by Dr.
Rohald E. Roddy of Family Health International
of Durham, North Carolina.
The women were given condoms and
were randomly assigned to get either a
spermicide film or an inactive placebo
film. They were told to insert the film into
their vaginas before, intercourse and to
require their sex partners to use the condoms.
The._study~. was conducted between
March i994 and December 1996. Just
under7 percent ofwomen in both groups
became infectedwith theAIDS virus during
thecourseofthestudy. Thespermicide
also didnot reduce the risk of gonorrhea
or chlamydia infection.
The research contradicts earlier work
suggesting that nonoxynoi 9 is moderat~
y effectiveagainstgohorrheaandsome
~other sexually transmi~edinfections. Tests
in animals and test tubes have also shown
signs that spermicides can inactivate the
AIDS viruS, but studies in people have
: track people, eitherby name or by code, it
would seek permission to notify past and
: present partners of those infected with
¯¯ HIV. Parmersatriskwouldbeurgedtobe
tested. "If we continue to focus only on ¯
AIDS and not HIV, more broadly, werisk
: failing to do everything possible for prevention
and care," added Daniel Zingale,
i executive director of AIDS Action, a ha-
: tional AIDS advocacy groupin Washing-
" ton, D.C.
¯ Ms. Forbes said studies show "people ¯
will avoid getting tested altogether if they
¯ believe theirnameis going tobereported."
¯ Texas Looking at
: HIV Reporting
: AUSTIN (AP)-A Gay and Lesbian civil
~ rights group is raising concerns about a
¯ proposal that would require health-care
¯ providers to report the names of pep.pie
: who test positive for the AIDS vmm.
:’ oDfiathnee LHeasrbdiyan-GaanrdeiGa,ayexReciguhtitvseLdoibrbeyctoorf
¯ Texas, saidher organizatio~has not taken.
: a formal position against the propos~
¯ pending before the Texas Department ot
: Health.
¯ Butshe saidmanypeopleonthe group’ S
¯ 17-member board of directors are con-
" cerned about possible discrimination
¯ agaiusf those who test positive for the
: Human lmmunodeficiency Virus.
¯ Health department officials said the
: names of people with AIDS and other
¯ sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) al-
: ready are reported. But those who test
¯" ies because stringent testing meant the
¯ clinics did not carry the same risks as
¯ private donor insemination, notably the
¯ possibility of AIDS contamination.
¯ However,the state SupremeCourtover-
: turned the decision, after the clinic ap-
¯ pealed, saying it had the right to refuse
¯ treatment because the woman was not
¯ infertile:
¯" The Court of Appeal upheld the Su-
: preme Court f’mding on Tuesday, saying
¯ thewomanhadnotbeen direcdy discrimi-
: nated against on the basis of her Lesbian-
" ism.
¯ Justices Bill Pincus, Geoffrey Davies
: and James Thomas found the Lrib,nal
: president, Roslyn Atldnson, erredin find-
" ing that Lesbianism was thereason for the
¯ refusal of treatment. ¯
However, the court sent back to the
: tribunal issues of indirect discrimination
¯ and a possible exemption under the Anti-
" Discrimination ACt. "
~
: The issue of indirect discrimi_nation re,
: lates to whether the clinic: acted reasonably
in its imposition of a condition that
all women t~eated must :have a consent
: form signed by a male partner.
i Conn. City-Debates
Needle Exchange
." NEW BRITAIN, Conn.. (AP) - Heroin is
: the drug ofchoice in thisdepressed,Work-
¯ ing-class city, where addicts sharing dirty
: needles have pushed the HIV infection
_" rate to four orfive times the state average.
: The mayor acknowledges that drugs are
positive for HIV are reported to the de- - far and away the city’s the biggest law
p.ro.au.c.ea.c.om.u.c.un.g.re.su.tt~...A.~.tuu.,y.. u_f .; paa:r,,tm, .e.n.t.via 12-digit numbers. The 12- : enforcement heada$he,. ~.o h.... ~,,’,’- ,,sed for four ’ Yetsevenvearsatter~ew navenesta0-
the contracepUve sponge,, conducted on .,~. D....1.~,4,~.~..t,~,~..t~.irlth~vstem .... lish_e~dComke~ef!cuf slurs
pmsttmt.esAn Kenya, :was s:tpp~ e._arl~ : .hfi~5if~;h-t~bfllv.26 tier~entof the~gtat~’ s " ..program, ~ew B~n tias
bi~museiisefS-actuallyhadahigberrateoI : Hi---V-ca--se~’-~- " - ." r-esisted following suit. The reason can be
AIDS infection. "Weneed a more accurate and reliable " summed up m a word: Politics. "’This is
Family Health International is a non~
profit research group that focuses on improving
reproductive health, primarily
through contraception and the prevention
of sexually transmitted diseases.
Penn. Looks at
HIV Tracking
HARRISBURG, PA (AP) - The state
Health Department already tracks AIDS
cases and now is considering monitoring
HIV cases in hopes of treating people
earlierandmoreeffectively, officials said.
Monitoring HIV, the virus that causes
AIDS, has been overlooked in the past,
saidDeputyHealth Secretary Gary Gurian.
Pennsylvania is one of 19 states that
doesn’ t trackHIV cases. Thirty-two states
already track the number of people with
HIV, two of which use codes instead of
names to record HIV-infeeted people.
Thenew state.plans arebeing applauded
by AIDS advocates and officials with the
Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.
"Tracking HIV cases is important because
it helps us to understand how the
epidemic is moving and where resources
need to be allocated," Anna Forbes, an
AIDS activist and policy consultant in
Philadelphia said. In Pennsylvania, more
than 8~200 people haveAIDS, statehealth
officials said.
Within the next few months, the CDC
will establish guidelines forPennsylvania
and other states on HIV surveillance and
reporting, said Dr. Helene Gayle, director
for the CDC’s National Center for HIV
STD and TB Prevention.
But it is not known when the system
will be in place, Gurian said. The Health
Department said once it decides how to
¯ way to link populations affected by HIV,,
¯ with preventive and medical services,’ said Dr. Sharilyn Stanley, head HIV and
¯ STD-Prevention for the department. "If ¯
¯ wehavenamereporling ofHIV,wewould
be able to help a lot more people earlier."
: Ms. Hardy-Garcia said her group feels
: caught in a tough position. While they
¯ wantmore accurate counts ofpeople with ¯
HIVfor medical treatment and funding
¯ purposes, they don’ t want those people to
¯ be exposed to discriminati6n, she said. "I
think one thing that we have talked about
¯
is maybe there should be civil penalties
¯ for disclosure," she said.
¯ Ms. Stanley said the names of people ¯
with AIDS and other STDs are confiden-
: tial. Those with HIV wouldbe treated the
¯ same way, she said. "More than 45,000
¯ casesofAIDS havebeenreportedinTexas
: with no breaches of confidentiality," Ms.
~ Stanley added.
¯ The Texas Board of Health will for-
~ really consider the proposal in Novem-
¯
beg.
: Aussie Lesbian
: Loses Sperm Case
¯
BRISBANE, (AP) -Queensland,
¯ Australia’s highest state court ruled re-
. cendy that a donor sperm clinic did not
¯ discriminate against a Lesbian when .it
; refused to inseminate her.
: LastJanuary, the QucenslandAnti-Dis-
¯ crimination Tribunal found the 24-year-
¯ oldwomanhadbeendiscriminated against
: by the clinic on the basis of her sexuality.
¯ The woman, who is now a mother of
¯ two, has gone on record as saying she led
the crusade for Lesbian access to the din¯
still a very conservative, very blue-collar
kindof town," MayorLucian Pawlak says.
¯ "People are very divided on this issue."
¯ Pawlak says the prevailing sentiment is
¯ that drugs are mostly a Latino problem. ¯
Other issues, such as revitalizing the city
: andlowering the tax rate, are seen as more
¯ pressing.
¯ Hudson Birden, the city’ s health direc- ¯
tor, is more interested in stopping the
¯ spreadofAIDS than political demograph-
: its. He’ s pushing for a needle exchange
¯ program and says his seven-member
board, appointed by the mayor, is behind
¯ him. At present New Britain’s AIDS
¯ awareness program is funded strictly by ¯
state and federal money. Birden and Gail
¯
Ide, who runs the program, note that fed-
: eral funds may not be used for needle
¯ exchange programs. They hope to fund ¯
¯ their proposed program with a combination
of state and private money. Birden
¯ sa.vs he may ask for as little as $25,000, or
¯ evenhalf that. It depends on the program.
¯" "It’ s a local decision as to whether or
¯ not a city has a needle exchange proi
gram," said Kenneth Carley, an epidemi-
¯¯ ologist in the state Health Department.
"The research indicates that the program
¯ is effective in reducingtherisk ofHIV by
¯ 33 percent a year. It also gets people into
¯ drug treatment."
: Birden expects thathe will face opposi-
¯ tion in theNew BritainCommonCouncil,
~ buthe says itis very important toholdthe
¯ line against HIV. Mayor Pawlak, mean-
: while, says he’ s not sure that the program
: doesn’ t make it easier for drug addicts to
¯ shootup."I needmore informationbefore
¯ I decide... It could be that I 11 decide not
¯ to spend my political capital on such an
¯ emotionally charged issue."
=1
T
TULSA PERA
Carol I. CrawfoM
General Director
TULSA
PHILHARMOIIIIC
Marcello Angelini
Artistic Director
Kenneth Jean
Music Director
CINDERELLA
Sept. 18-20, 1998
h sweeping tale of prince gets gift. Where between
"once upon a time" and "happily ever afteh" we discover
love and romance, greed and envy, beauty and ugliness.
hnd the realization that timing is everything.
DEATH AND THE MALDEN
Light Fandango ¯ Mare Nostram
Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 1998
Matters of death and life, From t~o cho~ogr@hers.
ha established American, Robert North, takes on mortality.
The upstart Italian, Luciano C~mnito, explores irranortality.
Contempora~] ballet in classical terms. The real spice of life.
Season Special
THE NUTCRACKER
Dec. 18-27, I998 ~
Relive the holiday magic. It’s the stuff memories am
mute from. For you. For your~or your chil&,m’s
children. The Nutcracker is not a p~of the season package,
but subscribers get fimt choice on d_~ and sere. Surely
you have room for sugar plums this holiday season,
som~ere bet~en the egg nog and ~€ fruit cake!
THE GREEN TABLE
Equinoxe * lardi Tancat
Feb. -5-7, 1999
From combat, bloodshed, sWaggles, disputes to movement
redefined, stretching the limits of the dances and taking
motion to untouched depths of expression to the most
beautiful shapes the human body can make in dance.
SWAN LAKE
Apr. 9-11, 1999
Ali’s fair in love. The only emotion over wtiich countries
are won and losL Hearts are broken and mended again.
For the fLrst time eve~; TuLsa Ballet presents the four-act
Swan Lake in its entirety. With Artistic Director
Marcello Angelini re-staging the sto~ line in 6.cts I
and Ill to be more accessible to.contemporary audiences.
FOR
Emotion and Melody. Donizetti’s
LUCIA DI LAMMERMOOR
Oct. 17, 22 & 24, 1998
Emotionally heartbreaking. Musically sensual and noble.
Vocally breathtaking, Olga Kondina and Eduardo Villa
follow in the legacies of Suthefland and Pavarotti.
Conviction and Drama. Poulene’s
DIALOGUES OF THE CARMELITES
Mar. 6, 11 & 13, 1999
Faith, courage and grace in the settings of "Ave M~a,"
"Ave ~mm," and "Salve Regina_" One of the most powerful
theatrical opera productiom ever conceived.
Love and Magic. Mozart’s
THE MAGIC FLUTE
May 1, 6 & 8, 1999
and beauty dtree love. A fairy tale stor~ for all ages.
Season Specials
CAROL & FRIENDS
Sept. 12 & 19, 1998
Indulge ~ot~elf in a night of oi~ra’s
HiNSEL & GRETEL
Nov. 27-29, 1998
Exploro the powr of imagination.
h special treat awaits.
Subscribers get first priority
on seating availability!
Three grand operas for one low price.
Subscriptions start at $35. Subscribe now!
1998-1999
NATIONSBANK POPS SERIES
Peter Nero
Jules Styne’s Broadway
Doc Severinson
Great Loves of the
Silver Screen
Roberta Fl"ack
Ray Charles
Sept. 25 & 26 1998
Nov. 6 & 7, I998
Jan. 22 & 23, 1999
Feb. 12 & 13, 1999
Mar. 19 & 20, 1999
Apr. I6& 17, 1999
TULSA WORLD
MASTERWORKS SERIES
Kenneth Jean, Music Director
Music of Tchaikovsky, Prokofiev, Berlioz and Bemstein
Bernard RubensteJn with
Colin Carr, cello
Oct. 3, 1998
Alison Gaines, Principal Bass
Nov. 14, 1998
Ion Kimura Parker, piano
Jan. 16, 1999
Ida Kavafian, violin
Feb. 20, 1999
Kenneth Jean with
Tulsa Oratorio Chorus
Mar 26. & 27,1999.
Verdi, Messa da Requiem
.Peter Serkin, piano
May 22; 1999
SEASON
Pops and Masterworks concerts
hem at the Tulsa PAC.
Subscribe today for as little as $50.
BROCHURES CALL
Sponsored by: KCFlV~94.1
Tulsa’s CiVic/m
the Great’s Chalice,
Czarina Alexandra’s Wedding Crown and more...
THE PHILBROOKMUSEUM OF ART
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Saturday,Sept. 26
Veteran’s Park, 18th & Boulder
8:30 Registration, 9.’30 Kick-off
All funds raised will be matched 50% by
Tulsa Community AIDS Partnership (TCAP)
& will benefit most Tulsa-area HIT/AIDS care providers.
This advertisement donated to Walk for Life by ~ulsa Family.News.
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SUNDAYS
Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 11 am, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
Community of Hope (United Methodist), Service - 6pm, 2545 S. Yale, 585-1800
Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation
Service - 11am, 2545 S. Yale, 749-0595
Church of the Restoration Unitarian Universalist
Service - 11am, 1314 No. Greenwood, 587-1314
Family of Faith Metropolitan Community Church
Service - 5pm, Childrens Ministry - 5pro, 5451-E S. Mingo, 622-1441
House of the Holy Spirit Ministries, Inc.
Sunday School - 9:45am, Service - 10:45am, 3210e So. Norwood.
Metropolitan Community Church of Greater Tulsa
Service, 10:45am, 1623 North Maplew0od, Info: 838-1715
Parish Church of St. Jerome (Evangelical Anglican Church in America)
Mass - 11am, 205 W. King (east of No. Denver), lnfo: 582-3088
University of Tulsa BisexuaFLesbian/Gay/Transgendered Alliance
6:30 pro, Meets at the Canterbury Ctr., 5th & Evanston, 583-9780
Council Oak Men’s Chorale, rehearsals at 5pm, Info: 743-4297
~ MONDAYS
HIV Testing Clinic, Free & anonymous testing. No appointment required.
Walk in testing: 7-8:30pm, 834-TEST (8378) 3501 E. Admiral (east of Harvard)
HIV Rap Sessions at Bless the Lord At All Times Christian Center
7:30pro, 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
PFLAG, Parents, Families & Friends of Lesbians & Gays
2nd Mon/each too. 6:30pro, Fellowship Congregational Church, 2900 S. Harvard
Mixed Volleyball, Hdmerich Park, 71st & Riverside, 7pro, call Shawn 491-2036.
Women/Children & AIDS Committee, 9/28, noon, United Way, 1430 S Boulder
~" TUESDAYS
3507 E. Admiral (east of Harvard), Info: Wanda @ 834-4194
Multicultural AIDS Coalition, 9/1, 12:30pro, Urban League, 240 East Apache
Rainbow Business Guild, Business & prof. networking group, Info: 743-4297
PrimeTimers, mens group, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th
Coming Out Support Group (TOHR/HOPE)
Tuesdays, 6 pm, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th, info: 743-4297
~WEDNESDAYS
Bless The Lord At All Times Christian Center
Prayer & Bible Study, 7:30 pm 2207 E. 6th, 583-7815
Fanfily OfFaith MCC Praise/Prayer - 6:30pro, .5451-E S. Mingo. 622-1441
House of the Holy spirit Ministries, Inc. Service - 7pro, 3210e So. Norwood
Tulsa Native American Mens Support Group, more information, call 582-7225
TCC Gay & Lesbian Association of Students (GLAS), Call for info: 595-7632.
Lambda A-A, 7 pro, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd ft.
~THURSDAYS
HOPE, HIV Outreach, Prevention, Education
Anonymous HIV Testing, Testing: 7 - 8:30pm 834-8378, 3507 E. Admiral
Oklahoma Rainbow Young Adult Network (O’RYAN)
Support/social group for 18-24’ s, call Red Rock Mental Health at 584-2325
Substance Abuse Support Group for persons with HIV/AIDS, Info: 834-4194
l~" FRIDAYS
SafeHaven, Young Adults Social Group, I st Fri/cachmo. 8pm, Pride Ctr., 1307E. 38th
~ SATURDAYS
Narcotics Anonymous, 11 pm, Community of HopeA703 E 2nd, Info: 585-1800
Lambda A-A, 6 pro, Pride Center, 1307 E. 38th, 2nd ft.
~" OTHER GROUPS
T.U.L.S.A. Tulsa Uniform & Leather Seekers Association, info: 838-1222
Womens Supper Club, Call for info: 584-2978
OK Spoke Club, Gay & Lesbian Bike Organization. Info: POB 9165, Tulsa 74157,
Short tides, 6:30pro, Long rides, 7am. Meet at Zeigler Park, 3903 West 4th.-Pride
Rides from the Pride Center, 3749 S. Peoria. Write for dates.
Ifyour organization is not listed, please let us know. Call orfax 583-4615.
Read All About It
Reviewed by Barry Hensley
Tulsa City-County Library
This book includes "hundreds of ways
to get hooked up, communicate effeetivdy,
discover unusual web
sites, understand privacy is- There are many
sues, learn about health concerns
and resources, and f’md
out everything you want to
know about sex on the Net." If
you’re unsure about what the
Internet can do for you, then
this is the book for you!
AuthorLaermer,whois well
known for his Gay travel in
New York books, starts out
.simply explaining what the
Internet is and how to get
¯ .online. Unfortunately, as with
any book on computers, -this
one (copyright 1997) has some
parts-that are already out of
date, however, there is enough
Valuable information to make
it worthwhile.
There are chapters on E-
- Mail, chat lines, Lesbian sites.
andcommercial services, such
as CompuServe. There is a
scathing chapter on America
of you,
youn~ an(] old,
w]lo are not
eo.Jo~t~l,le
with the
f.t move.
~o,ld of
computers and
t~e Internet.
T~
an a~wer [or
you] A~t
Ll~ra~ ]~o~
oiler~lnternet
e~
[or
.Online (AOL). and some of
their past problems with the Gay commu~
nity. For youth, there is ~o~mation on
some young adult sites, such as Youth
Action Online and OutProud! The Advo-
: cate and Outmagazines, along with some
¯ other print publications, have websites as
: well. The Advocate site has some neat
: n.ewsgroup selections, including Small
¯ ~own Queers andGetting RidofthePeople
in Congress. There is also .a
good chapter on health, not
"only for HIV, but for mental
health, subsiance abuse and
other general topics. For newcomers
to the Net, there is a
handy glossary in the back.
GetOnwith/twill be ahelpful
tool for anyoneusing the net.
There. are many of you,
young and old, who are not
comfortablewith thefastmoving
world of computers andtheinternet.
Thelibrary has an
answer for you! Almost all
Tnlsa~ City-County Library
locations offer free interaea
-classes for bbe"gimaers. Also, ff~- .
y01i"re miabl~io have aece. -
~ ..to the interact at home or at
work, Visit the library, where
you can sign up for one hour
per day on the free public access
interact computers. The
library does have afilterwhich
will block the sex sites, but
you can still access Gay and
Lesbian sites for news, travel, politics .and
several sites oncomingout. Checkfor Get
On with It, and be sure to ask about the
free intemet access at local libraries.
¯ thatHGChasbeen acceptedinto theTulsa-
Oklahoma City singer Julia Robinson : area UnitedWay family of organizations.
by James Christjohn
and comedian Jeri James have teamed up
to offer a unique style of Lesbian and Gay
entertainment. The comedy
and singing duowill be taking Julia and Jerl
their Show on the road and
will appear in Tulsa on September
4 at Renegades, 1649
S. Main, at 11 p.m.
"Julia and Jeri are fantastic
performers and crowd
pleasers. Having thembothin
the line-up is like the proverbial
’cherry on top.’ It just
couldn’t get any better," says
Sandy Eades, owner of Oklahoma
City’s Sandman’s Coffee
Grounds.
Robinson has been singing
professionally for more .than
three, years. She has a voice
oftencomparedto AnitaBaker
with the ability to touch the
very soul of her audience.
James is an Oklahoma City
are fantastic
performers and
e owd pb. ers.
Havln~ them
both h the lineup
is like the
proverbial
’cherry on top.’
It ~ust couldn’t
~et any better,"
says Sandy
Eade~,
San,l~an’s
Coffee Grounds.
favorite witha style ofcomedy that brings
tears-of laughter while delighting both
Lesbians and Gay men. Her rantings on
"How to Tell if You,re a Lesbian,’" are
whatlegends are madeof. Formoreinformation,
contact Jeff James Productions,
405~755-4916.
Ken Johnston supervis~xl the production
ofa series of notecards to be sold to
benefit Tulsa’s only nonprofit hospice
organization, Hospice of Green Country
(HGC). His artwork is featured on one of
the cards. These cards are premiering this
September, to coincide with HGC’ s 1 lth
anniversary. Hospice is also announcing
¯ Philbrook has "A Taste for Splendor:
" Treasures from Hillwood Museum", a
display of the treasures of
Marjorie Merriweather Post,
the heiress to the Post Cereal
fortunes, who liked to collect
objets d’art, particularly those
of Russian decorative art. She
Sl~Cifically purchased Hillwood,
a neo-Georgian man-
"sion on 25acres adjoining
Washington D.C.’s Rock
Creek Park as a showcase for
her collection. The exhibit,
never before seen outside of
Hillwood museum in D.C.,
runs September 6 - November
1. Sunday September 13 at
2pro, the Archduke Geza von
HabSburg will lectureonPeter
Carl FabergeandtheHillwood
Collection. OnSaturday, September
26 at 6:30pm, Janet
and Jack Zinc will host the
¯ Philbrook Gala, and evening in the spirit
¯ ofMM Post.
: On Sunday, October 4 at 2pm, a lecture
¯ entitled "Marjorie Merriweather post:
; Collector with a Passion for Beauty" will
: be given by Frederick J. Fisher, director
¯ of Hillbrook Museum. Thursday, Octo-
~ bet 29 at 6pm, Anne Odom will present
~ "A Taste for Splendor: Luxury Art in
~ Imperial Russia". Info: 748-5330.
¯ Thefirst show ofthe Tulsa Ballet’ s new
; season is Cinderella intoning September
: 18 - 20, for tix call 749-6006. The next
¯ production willbe"Death&TheMaiden",
¯ October 30 - Nov 1.
IGTA member
Call 341.6866
international
Tours:ormoreinformation.
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Does the overt heterosexuality of your
neighbors get you down? Tired of the
bucolic voyeurism that occurs whenever
you host the Annual Miss Gay Croquet
Tournament? Do you long for privacy in
yoOx own yard? Does
thatold chainlinkfence
clash with your fabulous
landscaping?
Then, gentle reader, it
is time to install that
privacy fence. The
DIYD whimsically envisions
a barebreasted
dtaimming circle.., but
we digress.
Privacy fencing is a
majorinvestment, even
when you do it yourself,
although taking on
the labor, as always,
results in a substantial
savings. If you can persuade
yourneighbors to
help defray the cost (after
all, you are enhancing
their privacy and
property too), the
projectwillbe evenless
painful; however, a caveat
is in order. If the
guy nextdoorhelps pay,
he will be tempted-
Does the overt
heterosexuality of your
neighbors get you down?
Tired of the bucolic
voyeurism that occurs
whenever you host the
Annual Miss Gay
Croquet Tournament?
Do you lon~ for
privacy in
your own yard?
... Then, ~ent]e reader,
it is time to install
that privacy fenee.
The DIYD whlmsleally
envlslons a ]~arehreasted
drummln~ elrele
... hut we all€tess.
fence. Now, for your picket choices, in
order of expense: white wood pickets
have no protection, can be easily stained
any color you want, and will not last more
thanfiveyears or so, dependingonweather
conditions. If money is tight, go with that
optionnow,use screws
to attach them, then replace
them out later
when you can afford
to, but this is wasteful
of time, money and resources.
There arenow
pre-treated pickets,
same as above except
that you didn’ t have to
stain them. They cost
slighdy more.
Next option is pressure
treated pickets,
which have been
soaked in pickling
compounds topreserve
the wood long-term.
TheDIYDdoesn’ tcare
forthese chemicals and
strongly urges you to
use gloves when handling
them, and a dust
mask when sawing the
wood. Thepickets were
trees only a couple of
weeks ago, so they will
be heavy and damp
no, obliged-tostickhisnoseinandoffer " when you first get them and may warp
advice ad nauseum. Usually, this doesn’t ¯ when they dry. Cedar is the creme de la
extend to his actually digging a post hole : creme of pickets - beautiful, fragrant,
or hel in in an other hysical way. : enduring, lightweight, tough and expen-
P g Y" ’ " P " the ¯ ivel It is the DIYD’s oicket of choice,
Your next decision is where to put . s
u ly side ot me......, ~.................... . . ¯
<~.g;. ~.~a~ ~ho ," ¢ This may seem been ongoing - the htfle lottery fairy h.as
~ike ~no-brainer, but consider your secu- : not blessed her yet, the neighbor.s aren t
rity need~. With the stringers on the out- ¯ helping to pay, but what is up is most
side, anin,truder has an easy leg up. If your " beautiful.
neighbor s yard is secure enough, then by
:
Once you’ ve chosen your picket type,
you can determine your spacing betwee..n"
posts. Assuming a six foot fence, you wall
need to have eight feet between them for
pressure treated pickets and ten feet for
the cedar and white wood pickets. Depending
on the length of the fence, reducing
the number of holes you have to dig
may influence your picket choice! Measure
the length tbbe fenced, calculatehow
many posts you’ll need (don’t forget that
lumber length isas nominal as the width
mentioned above), andthen calculatehow
many stringers you’ll need. Stringers will
be 2x4’ s, and there will be three per section.
Calculate how many pickets you’ll
need. and add a few for a fudge factor.
For fasteners, you will use either nails
(frown, frown) or screws, and you will
use about five per picket. If you choose
cedar, be warned that only stainless steel
fasteners will work. Cedar has volatile
oils and acids that corrode metal and will
bleed’black goo down your lovely fence
otherwise. We 11 discuss thi alittle more
next month and a source will provided for
buying a superior fastener.
Ifyouhave donethe mathonthis project
already, theDIYD will fetch her smelling
salts post haste. Wood security fencing is
one of the more expensive fencing options,
after masonry-and cast iron, but it
will increase the value of your home. and
¯ the quality of your life if privacy is an
: issue, so do consider the investment until
¯
next month, when we get down and dirty
¯ with our PHDs. And learn that posthole
¯ diggers aren’t your only 0pti,o,n,, either.
¯ Stick with the DIYD, doll; she 11 see you
¯ through the rough times.
all means, let them have the homely side
of the fence - even if they help pay. After
all, you are the poor schlepp out there ¯
doing the donkey work, so reap your ben- ~
efits where you may. ¯
How much privacy do you need? No, ¯
this isn’t your mother questioning you --
through the bathroom door. If you have a ¯
pool orare surroundedby twostory houses,
an eightfoot fencemay be more appropri- ¯
ate than the standard six-footer, but keep ¯
in mind that you will be adding substantially
to your materials costs, ff you decide
to space artistically between your
fence pickets, that too is a privacy issue.
Decisions, decisions -wait, there are
more! You have choices to make about
the width of your pickets and the type of
wood. Standard widths are4 and 6inches,
nominally. Sawmills are allowed to be
scandalously generous withwhatis lostin
the milling, so a 6 inch board may only be
5-5/8 inches wide. The DIYD personally
prefers the wider picket; it is aesthetically
more pleasing, it covers more area, and
you use fewer fasteners. Woods range
from untreated white wood to pressure
treated lumber to cedar. Posts and stringers
(theboards runningbetween thepost.s)
can and shouldbe pressure treated, but the
externals are up to you.
There is now a metal po.st option, butbe
warned that the posts will cost more than
double, so think long and hard about
whether it is worthwhile. Also, part of the
workmustbe done on the other side of the
fence, so if you and the Fundies next door
detest each other, stick to the wood posts
- and stick them with the ugly side Of the
by Esther Rothblum
There has been a lot of recent media
focus on crimes that take place based on
victims’ membershipin oppressedgroups.
To find out more about anti-Lesbian and
Gay hate crimes, I phoned Dr. Jeanine
Cogan, apsychologist whohas conducted
research and influenced federal policy on
this issue.
¯¯Hate crimes are defined legally by
specific !egislations," saidJeanine Cogan,
"howeverthecommonality across the different
pieces of legislation is that hate
crimes are crimes that are based on real or
perceivedgroupmembership. Usuallythat
includes race, ethnicity, national origin,
and religion. Sometimes it also includes
sexual orientation, disability and gender.
Thatmeans you were specifically chosen,
sometimes out ofa crowd, because you
belonged to or were-thought to belong to,
one of the above groups."
Along with Drs. Gregory Herek, Roy
Gillis and Eric Ginnt at theUniversity of
California at Davis, Jeanine worked on a
long-term grant funded by the National
Institute ofMental Health (in fact, the first
grant ever funded by that organization
about Gay and Lesbian issues that did not
focus on AIDS). The purpose ogthe re=
search study was to look at the psychological
consequences of having survived
an anti-Gay or anti-Lesbian hate crime.
The researchteam also predicted that experiencing
a hate crime would have more
serious consequences than experiencing a
crime that was not based on the group
membership of the victim.
They surveyed more than 2,500 people
in the greater Sacramento, California area,
including people who lived up to 100
miles away in rural areas. "When we were
recruiting participants we never said
¯ please takepartin astudy ofhate crimes,’
because we didn’t want to bias the kind of,
personwho wouldparticipatein the study,"
said Jeanine. Instead, they referred to the
study as one examining a range of experiences
important to Lesbians, Gay men,
and Bisexuals with a focus on health and
well-being All members of the research
team were familiar members of the Gay
and Lesbian communities that-they studied.
The research team found that one in
four Gay and Bisexual men and one in
five Lesbians and Bisexual women had
experienced a hate-motivated crime since
the age of 16. Jeanine said: "We found
that individuals who experienced a hate
crime against their person - a physical or
sexual assault, an attempted assault, a
robbery - had more psychological distress
after such a hate crime-than people
who experienced a crime of Similar severity
that was not aimed at them because of
their sexual orientation. We also found a
time factor. We know that people who
experience a crime tend to be psychologically
distressed. And; over time, people
recover. In our study, we found that those
who had experienced a crime that was not
abate crime tended to feel better after two
years. But people who experienced a hate
crime took much longer - five years on
average- for their symptoms to dissipate.
So if you’re around someone who experienced
a hate-crime years ago, you may
still see some symptoms ofdistress."These
symptoms of distress could include depression,-
post-traumatic stress, anxiety
~ and anger.
¯ Thentheresearch teaminterviewed450
¯ of the 2,500 respondents. They compared
" those who had experienced a hate crime,
¯ those who had experienced a crime un~e-
¯ lated to their sexual orientation, and those
¯ who had experien,c,ed no crime. "We got a
¯ lot of information about hate crimes,"
¯ Jeaninesaid, "and those people who had
¯ experienced a bate’crime often defined it
¯ as such based on tangible evidence. For
, example, the language that was used -
¯ being called adyke while being assaulted.
¯ Or, the vandalism indicated a hate-moti-
¯¯ vated crime, such as having the word
’Lesbian’ smearedontheirdoorwithpaint.
¯ Or theirs was the only car with a rainbow
flag, and the only car damaged in a park-
. ing lot."
." Jeanine found that listening to the re-
" spondents’ stories was quite frightening
¯ to her. She counseled the other interview-
¯ ers about this fear, a phenomenon that has ¯
been termed "indirect trauma" (for ex-
¯ ample, Lesbians feeling victimized just
¯ by hearing of hate crimes happening to ¯
¯ other Lesbians). She also found a difference in the way
¯ Lesbians and Gay men were victimized.
¯ "SomeLesbianswerephysically assaulted ¯
by a formermale partner, suchas aformer
; husband, when the Lesbians came out to
~ these men," Jeanine recalled, "We ended
¯ upcallingit’heterosexualrevenge.’ Some
~ -Gay men, on the other hand, were lured to
¯ have sex by other, presumed ’straight’
] men and then assaulted by these men.
"And this. was a pattern we found only
; amongib’~ff.’,.....
¯ Jeanine is now working at the Ameri-
; can Psychological Association in Washington,
D.C., where she is involved in
~ changing hate crime policy at thenational
¯ level. "I’ve been working with Sharon
¯ Shaw Johnson, who is the director of ¯
GLOVE-Gay Menand Lesbians Oppos-
: ing Violence- and they collecthatecrimes
: dataand do interventions. Both ofus have
¯ noticed that it is the butch woman and the
; ’effeminate’ man who are at particular
¯ risk for hate crimes because they defy our
; ideas of gender."
¯ Jeanine’ s policy Workfocuses onbroad-
; ening the definition of hate crimes. As
¯ part of a hate "crimes coalition, she is
¯ ; attempting toamend a current civil rights
¯ statute that canbe used against aperpetra-
-" tor who bashes a person based on that
¯ person’s group membership. Sheis trying
; to include sexual orientation~ disability
¯ andgenderinthedefmition ofhatecrimes. ¯
’q’he real hot pOtato is gender," she says.
~ ’qqae FBI is concerned that if every rape
¯ against a woman is a hate crime, they
¯ don’t have the personnel to cope with the
¯ huge numbers." With a broad-based hate
¯ crimes coalition, Jeanine had many con-
¯. versations with.the Department of Justice
abotit the inclusion of gender as a hate
¯ crime. In the end, they supported adding
¯ gender, and President Clinton has en-
¯ dorsed the:Hate Crime Prevention Act ¯
and has put fundsinto the budget formore
: FBIagents t6 work on hate crimes.
¯ Jeanine is also thrilled to have been
¯ successful in combining research with
: policy. The Bureau of Justice Statistics
: conducts an annual survey on criminal
i
victimization. TheySample 50,000 households
in the Lr;S. about crime experiences
] in the past year. see Psyche, p. 14
Timothy W. Daniel
Attorney at Law
An Attorney who will fight for
justice &equality for
Gays & Lesbians
Domestic Partnership Planning,
Personal Injury,
Criminal Law & Bankruptcy
1-800-742-9468 or 918-352-9504
128 East Broadway, Drumright, Oklahoma
Weekend and evening appointments are available.
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THE TOOL BOX
Saturday, September 12, 1998
10:30 pm
by Lamont Lindstrom
Someone left amessage onmy answering
machine the other day and a friend,
who heard it, said that the voice sounded
like a"real woman." This was no complimerit.
My friend was disgusted
that any guy could
sound that much like a gift.
This set me thinking about
Americancultural categories
- the basic opposition we
make between masculinity
and femininity.
These categories occupy
our minds and have wormed
their way deep enough into
our bodies so that, like my
friend, we often feel emotionally
queasy when they
are challenged: When, for
example, we overhear a person
who looks boy but talks
girl.
Male and female, black
and white, on or off, dot/
dash, 1/0, straight versus
Gay. Even though the world
presents us with continuums
of difference, we often tidy
up these endless chains of
variation by squeezing everything
into two opposed
states or categories.
",in America, despite our
Crayola mix of skin colors
not to mention our promiscuo.
usancestries, many ofus
are forced to identify ourselves
in terms of a simple
For many
Americans,
trapped wit]fin
a cultural order
that permits
only pink girls
and blue-boys,
Homosexuals
are not kosher.
Like ancient
Israelites, they
define Gays
who mix up
their categories
to be unholy,
polluted,
unclean, or just
downright icky
abominations¯
opposition black or wlaite,..., _: _ .. i(-;.~~-. ’-.~.
~m~larly, despite the ~a~ ~om~ s~me
geneticists propose the existence of.five
or more "real" genders (as defined by. the
mix of an individual’ s sex chromosomes,
e.g., XY, XX, XXY, XYY, and soforth)~
all of us find ourselves slotted eithermale
or female. Just one or the other. You can’ t
be neither, and you can’ t be both at once.
Binary oppositions of this sort are ubiquitous
in human culture. Dualistic structures,
certainly, are easy and efficient
ways of breaking down the world’ s.complexity,
even if nuance and variability get
lost beneath gross simplification.
The French anthropologistClaude IMvi-
Strauss made a career of investigating the
basic binary structures he saw as inhabit:
ing human culture-and as shaping individual
thinking. Dualism almost always
demands the existence of a third category;
of something in the middle to "mediate"
relations between the two opposed sides.
Gray stands between black and whitethough
with ethnicity, the pertinent color
hereis "red," or "high-yellow," or"bright."
And many cultural orders admit a variety
of "third sexes" or hermaphrodites, real
and symbolic, positionedbetween thetwo
male/female gender poles.
The mediating position is rarely a comfortable
one. Individuals who fall through
the cracks of dual structures of understanding
inhabit a realm of anomaly and
abnormality. On the one hand, they are
neitherfully malenorfemale; ontheother,
they are both male and female. This has
positive and negative consequence. Positively~
people who are neither man nor
women can serve to bridge the two categories
that they fall between.
Homosexuals, for example, mediate a
series of oppositions in Western society
that build on a fundamental masculine/
; feminine opposition. Thesebinaries range
¯ ~rom agent/patient to culture/nature and
¯ sacred/profane.
¯ -, Cultural theorists find important sym-
¯ bolic functions for intermediateindividuals
as’well. Their existence
shores up ruling understandings
ofmasoflinityandfemininity
- to remind people of
how tO be "normal" by presenting
them with examples
of the abnormal.
The boy learns how to be
a real man by fearing the
sissy. But those who fall
between cultural crackshave
to struggle against cognitive
structures that positively
value the normal (the real
man and true woman) by
devaluing the categorically
deviant (the sissy boy, the
rough girl).
Anthropologist Mary
Douglas offers an apposite
analysis of food taboos demanded
by the Old Testament,
the so-called"Abominations
of .Leviticus." She
asks, "Why should the
camel, the hare and the rock
badger be unclean (or unholy)?
Why should some
locusts, but not all, be unclean?"
Her answer is that, in old
Hebrew culture, "holiness
was exemplified by com-
.pleteness. Holiness requlred::!~i, :
° the class to which they belonged. And
¯ holiness required that different classes of
¯ things not be confused."
: The model of good eating, for ancient
Israelites, was the cud-chewing ungulate:
- herd animals such as cattle, sheep, and
", goats. Other creatures, like the hare and
¯ rock badger, appeared to be ruminant but
¯ were anomalous in that they had paws
instead of cloven hooves. And other am-
" mals - notably the pig- walked on cloven
feet but did not chew cud. Therefore,
because pigs and hares violated categorical
definitions of the"normal" cud-chew-
" ing cloven-hoofed animal, they were un-
¯ clean.
Jewish food taboos reflected a cosmo-
¯
logical system that defined as unholy and
¯ inedible any animal who appeared abet-
¯ rant or "mixed" in terms of ruling cat-
¯ egorical structures.
¯
Insofar as wecontinue to slice the world
¯, up into male versus female, we too may
¯ feel queasy when we come across bits of ¯
reddity that escape our structures ofunder-
¯
standing. For many Americans, trapped
: within a cultural order that permits only
¯ pinkgirls and blue boys, homosexuals are
¯" not kosher. Like ancient Israelites, they
¯
define Gays who mix up their categories
¯ to be unholy, polluted, unclean, or just ¯
downright icky abominations.
¯
This comes fromliving inside theprison
¯ house ofculture-ofmindlessly accepting
¯ dualistic constraints on thought and emo-
~ tion. But cultural systems do change over
¯
time, and they may be challenged and
¯ restructured. Shake up those cultural cat-
: egones a little and pigs become good to
¯ eat. And so do delicious boys who can
¯
sound like girls.
¯ Larnont Lindstrom is a professor of
¯ anthropology at the University of.Tulsa.
since the virus.may be immune to them,
too.
However, staying on treatment isn’t easy.
It often means taking 15 or 20 pills a day
on a precise schedule. Some must go
downonanempty stomach, some onafull
one. They must be taken at just the right
time around the dock. Many trigger nasty
side effects, such as diarrhea, h~daches,
insomnia, stomach pains, numbness in
the fingers and toes and an odd-looking
rearrangement of body fat that leaves
people with potbellies and wasted arms.
As the medicines do their job, HIV
symptoms disappear. In time, people feel
perfectly well except for the side effects
of their pills. This makes sticking with
them evenharder. "It was never so easy to
be adherent as when I yeas on the brink of
serious illness," says Scan Strub, 40, of
New York City. "I couldn’t wait for my
next dose. As I felt better longer, the
treatment became more of an intrusion,
and the side effects were more bothersome."
Strub, who is publisher of Poz, a
magazine for HIV-infected people, went
on a trip andforgothis pills. So he decided
to stop taking them for a couple of weeks,
just to see what would happen. Within 10
days, he felt sick again. A blood test
showed his virus level, which had been
undetectable, spiked to over a million.
Backon therapy,it’ s now downto 30,000.
"I definitely made a mistake," he admits.
Some people are resistant to individual
components of the AIDS cocktail, often
because they took them as single drugs
before the cocktail was created. Many are
1ong-infected treatmentpioneers, eager to
try each new drug that comes along.
For instance, Nick Houpis, 43, of Boston,
has taken 10 ofthe 11 approved AIDS
medicines. The lowest his viral load ever
dropped was 37,000. Now it’s 440,000,
and this summer he had his first bout with
an AIDS-related illness. ’q’hcre arc an
awful lot of us who are just a little bit too
late," he says. "I don’t think they will
come up with something that will make
miracle stories out of us."
¯ S.om.e appear to suffer because of phyr
Slclan incompetence, too. For instance,
doctors may err by adding a protease
inhibitor to two other medicines their pa-
¯ tients are already taking, instead of starting
themon three fresh drugs. This greatly
increases the risk of rampant resistance.
AIDS-care has become so complicated,
many believe, that it now should be done
¯ only by specialists who know how to
: avoid such potentially fatal mistakes.
¯ Once someone fails AIDS treatment,
: the next step is what doctors call salvage
therapy - the art of crafting a second
¯ attempt to knock down the virus. They
¯ may prescribe five or six drugs at once.
: "You end up with a kitchen sink ap-
¯ proach," says Dr.. Kenneth Mayer of
¯
Brown University. "You try to pull to-
" gether every possible combination to keep
¯ the virus in check."
Willis is an extreme example, of this.
Gallanthas himonsevenanti-AIDS drugs,
plus an assortment of others to ward off
AIDS-related infections.
Once aweek, Willis hauls out an orange.
crate of big white pill bottles and counts
outhis week’s dosage. Hetakes afistful of
pills with breakfast, another handful with
dinner; anda couple.more at bedtime, 35
in all. "I’ve just made it part of my life,"
Willis says. "I don’t really have any options.
If I’m dead, I know that my options
are limited."
Along withmany other advocates, Jeanine
was successful¯in getting this survey to
includequestions about hate crimes. This
will allow for. national statistics about
hate crimes over the next years. Documenting
the prevalence of an issue is an
essential step for receiving an appropriate
government response. So this will be all
important contribution.
EstherRothblum teachespsychology at
the Univ. of Vermont and. edits the JournalofLesbian
Studies. Shecan be reached
at John Dewey Hall, UVM, Burlington,
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