Newspaper Page Text
ACHR Ready to Form
Board and Advisory Committee
Page 8 THE N^WS June 20,1985
(coni, page 7)
needs of those individuals are met”,
D.D. officials have Hot discussed their
position on the implications that a
positive HTLV-ffl antibody test has about
a soldier’s sexuality,
Rumors of mandatory HTLV-III
Six months ago a groundswell of feel
ing that Atlanta's lesbian and gay com
chised not only by the local and state
political process but also by many of its
own self-appointed “spokespersons for
the gay community”. ACHR’s responce
has been to create a Board of Directors
whose primary purpose is to raise money
and an Advisory Committee (unlimited in
number) whose job it is to gather infor
mation from the community and present it
to the Board as well as to help with non-
fundraisihg activities. While members of
the Board will be chosen for their will
ingness and ability to gather dollars,
members of the Advisory Committee will
be welcomed for expertise or interest in
areas from stamp licking to public rela
tions to candidate research. Advisory
Committee members will also sit on both
the Fund Raising and the PR and Ad
vocacy Committees in an attempt to allow
the broadest possible range of input and
support for the PAC.
ACHR plans candidate questionaires
and forums jperhaps in conjunction with
First Tuesday), civic breakfasts or din
ners (where candidates can present their
views to large numbers or inembrs of the
community), and finally, distribution of
cold hard case and endorsements to can
didates who support the civil rights of gay
men and women.
“Sounds swell.” you say? “But why
should I support it?” ACHR’s organizers •
point to the successes of local PAC's in
San Francisco, New York, and par
ticularly Los Angeles where the local
PAC (MECLA) has been successful in
getting the city of Los Angeles to give a
land and building to the LA Gat Center,
to make substantial AIDS funding
available, and to provide city support for
the gay pride parade. MECLA has been
so successful that it has developed an off-
shhot foundation that funds local non
profit lesbian and gay activities.
Armas says other cities With gay PAC’s
don’t have anything over Atlanta now
that lesbians and gays here have been
shown that there is a mechanism that
gives them increased visibility in the
political process: He adds, “ APAC
allows you to make a contribution to a
number of candidates who say that they
will Work for your fights and then de
mand accountability from them when
they are elected. Your individual con
tribution of time or money might, by
itself, go unnoticed; combined with
others’, money and time and ACHR’s
commitment to hold those it supports ac
countable to their promises, the strength
of your contribution is greatly increased.
Your contribution can be time, money or
both. Your participatiort can tjp active and
public or it cap be private, if that is your
need.”
You can support ACHR and a strong
,lesbian/gay political presence in Atlanta
in the following ways:
-By giving money:
-By volunteering to be a member of
the Board and helping to raise money,
-By volunteering to be a member of
the Advisory Committee and contributing
your time and expertise.
Call Tony Armas at 875-9066 for more
information.
Gary Kaupman
testing and possible quarrantine measures
in the private sector abound. Dr. David
Williams, AIDS Project Director for the
Georgia Department of Human
Resources says, “We’re still against
that” (mandatory testing), but adds that if
some states start mandatory testing there
will be a precedent for others to follow.
Williams also said that while his office is
still officially advising people in high risk
groups to not take the test, his personal
feeling is, that were he in a high risk
group, he would take the test. He feels
that a negative result would offer great
relief and an added impetus to remain
healthy while a positive result would
serve as fair Warning to start living in the
most healthy possible manner.
Ren South of AID Atlanta remains ada
mant about not taking the test saying,
“There are still far more reasons not to
take the test than to. take it.” South also
voiced his concern over what he sees as a
steady progression towards mandatory
testing. He points out that the test was
originally designed to keep the blood sup
ply safe. Now it is being made available
for “testing” and there is more and more-
encouragement to take it. He fears the
next and logical step in the progression
will be mandatory testing and reporting.
Gary Kaupman
munity was not apathetic and was tiled of
that appelation resulted in the birth of
THE NEWS, the Metro Council (of Les
bian and Gay Organizations) and the
Atlanta Campaign for Human Rights. All
have survived the pangs of infancy and
appear headed-sometimes shakily-
towards accomplishing their early goals.
THE NEWS and the Metro Council
represent ideas tried and more than once
failed in Atlanta. ACHR, a bi-partisan
political action committee (PAC) for
local and state candidates who support
lesbian and gay rights is a first, and ap
parently successful, effort.
In its first six months ACHR has ac
cumulated over $10,000 through both
large and small fund raisers and from in
dividual contributions. Chairman, Tony
Armas says ACHR plans to raise an addi
tional $5,000 by election time this fall. In
addition to raising money, which will be
contributed directly to the campaigns of
candidates, ACHR is in the process of
forming a Board of Directors and an Ad
visory Committee that appear to be a uni
que and creative response to both the
PAC’s and the community’s needs.
Since the purpose of any PAC is to sup
port candidates, with money, raising that
money must be a primary concern of
ACHR and its 19 board members. All
well and good. But, ACHR’s founders
solicited and listened to a lot of feedback
from a.cornminity that’has felt disenfran
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