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▲IDS COALITION
GBEGABES EOC 199
By Peter Whiteside
The Georgia AIDS Legislative
Coalition has had no time to relax
and enjoy its success in stopping the
worst of the AIDS legislation in
this last winter's session. The :
Coalition is meeting monthly to <
gear up for next year's legislative ]
law-making, starting in January (
1989. GAP AC is a founding member 1
of this very effective group, and I
continues to be involved with the i
Coalition's efforts. (
1
This year's priorities for the I
Coalition are to resist challenges to \
existing good legislation, block any (
new bills that are not in line with (
leading world health policy and (
human rights needs, push for c
increased state funding to fight the £
AIDS epidemic, and care for those j
who are overtaken by it.
C
With the need to hire a lobbyist for C
a greater portion of the year (last t
session our lobbiest was Gil Robison,
now running for the Georgia House),
the Coalition's budget has tripled,
making money a critical issue. To
meet the budget needs, the
Coalition has won a grant to
publish a book on AIDS and
Georgia law, which will be sold to
businesses and organizations
throughout the state. The proceeds
from this annual sale will help to
defray much of the annual budget,
but contributions are still needed if
the Coalition is to be effective. If
you would like to help, send
GAPAC a check earmarked for the
Coalition. The Treasurer for the
Coalition will see that it is
deposited in the Coalition's
account. Please help this
important and effective group.
GAPAC will keep you informed of
Coalition activities in reports
throughout the year.
★
A GUBIN BY ANOTUEG NAME - JUDGE
CCULD SOUND SWEET TO GAY EAGS
By Jose He
Dick Rubin is running for Superior
Court judge against incumbent
Ralph Hicks. The interesting thing
about this race is that according to
the Canon of Judicial Ethics, the
candidates cannot address the
issues: only each other's relative
worthiness for the post. Obviously,
that could really turn into a
donnybrook, but in keeping with
the dignity of the position, the
firing line remains muted.
That can make such a race pretty
un-sexy, but this is one we should
place close attention to. Before we
get into the details pertinent to us
our lifestyle, let's just consider it
from a taxpayer's angle. Each judge
can call in a visiting judge, which
we pay for in addition to said
judge's salary. Hicks is by far the
runaway leader in calling in
substitutes. Which, when
considering the Bar Association's
consistent ranking of him as "below
competent" in all but one issue, may
not be so bad. But expensive.
And remember, this is Superior
Court. Michael Hardwick was
here. What would've happened
with a Rubin on the bench?
Considering the way the gay
community has taken it on the chin
from judges lately (remember Leigh
VanderEls?), it's refreshing to
have a candidate for the Superior
Court judgeship who has an
understanding of our issues. Mind
you, because of said Canon, he can't
make that statement himself, but
he is well enough known among the
respected legal eagles in our
community to have prompted
several calls to GAPAC endorsing
the man. And when was the last
time you heard of a candidate for a
judgeship going to MACGLO to
introduce himself and ask for
support?
Rubin has a long record of concern
for minority problems, dating all
the way back to the hippie days of
the Peachtree Strip (he wasn't the
hippy, but the attorney who
represented them), to an obvious
commitment to black voter issues
perhaps partly educated by his
past legal partnership with the
redoubtable Marvin Arrington.
He's also been intimately connected
with Neighborhood Planning Unit
issues (a cause near and dear to
many in our community).
This race will be decided on August
9th. Check your sympathies, and
your last tax bill, and think about
Rubin when you vote.
UNSPEAKABLE QUOTES
***************** *****************
Representatives of gay
rights groups said their suspicions
are compounded by their feeling
that there is a link between the
commission [on Civil Right] 's study
and hearings [legal and civil rights
issues surrounding AIDS] and an
internal Justice Department
memorandum, disclosed in
February, that urged officials to
"polarize the debate" on key legal
issues such as drugs, AIDS,
obscenity and the death penalty.
The memorandum, which
was initialed by William Bradford
Reynolds, the counselor to Attorney
General Edwin Meese 3d and
Assistant Attorney General in
charge of the Civil Rights
Division, said AIDS was not a civil
rights or privacy issue, but one of
"public health and safety."
The New York Times.
April 13,1988, p 14
CATHOLIC AIDS TASK TORCL
COAifS OCT
By Steve Schmidt
Housing and education. Without
surprise, those are the areas in
which the AIDS Task Force of the
Catholic Archdiocese of North
Georgia has placed its greatest
emphasis.
Created in the Fall of 1987, the
charge to the ecumenical Task
Force, chaired by the Revered Alan
Dillman, Catholic chaplain at
Grady Hospital, was to recommend
to the archdiocese a response to the
AIDS crisis. Discussions by the
group (comprised originally of 17
individuals representing the
clergy, business, medicine, AID
Atlanta, government and PWAs)
revolved around the great need for
housing (ranging from minimal care
to hospice settings), educating and
sensitizing church members to the
issues, and ways of getting
individual parishes involved in
being part of the solution to the
problems wrought by the epidemic.
The report to church hierarchy
submitted this Spring lists housing
as the "single most pressing need."
Hypothetical facilities were
proposed to indicate the type of
expense which wold be incurred by
investing in one of two "basic"
facilities. The report also
recommended that a position be
formed within Catholic Social
Services to coordinate the
Archdiocese's response and serve as
a resource for parishoners and
clergy alike.
The six members of the education
committee of the Task Force were
not satisfied to leave it at that.
Since the submission of the report,
this group has made presentations
to three of the six deaneries in the
North Georgia Archdiocese with
the goal of educating and
generating positive support for
efforts to deal with AIDS.
(Deanery meetings involve clergy
and educators from the various
parishes within the deanery.) The
lengthy presentations covered the
medical, theological, public policy,
and most importantly, personal
sides of AIDS.
Probably the most rewarding of the
committee's. presentations came
recently in its first presentation
outside the Catholic Church. The
minister of a South Atlanta
Methodist church which has been
touched by AIDS, a fact not openly
known among the congregation,
asked the panel to speak to his
congregation in hopes of educating
and sensitizing church members.
While two members informed the
minister that they would not come
to the meeting because of the
presence of a PWA, those who did
come were sufficiently moved to
inform the minister afterwards
that the issue would not be swept
under the rug any longer. Two
individuals with gay relatives
(the brother of one having AIDS)
"came out" during the question and
answer session to seek advice and
support from the panel. Visitors
from other churches inquired as the
the possibility of inviting the
panel to speak to their
congregations, validating a belief
of some Task Force members that
appealing directly to church
members will create the
groundswell needed to produce
action by the churches.
OMNIBUS AIDS BILL SUMMARY
Well, the "ominous Omnibus" came,
lingered in its original form far
longer than any of us would have
wanted, and with considerable
effort and help from the Georgia
AIDS Legislative Coalition,
metamorphosized into a more
acceptable (not perfect) Bill when
it passed the State Assembly.
Following is a summary of what
we'll have governing our governors,
effective July 1:
• Confidentiality fairly strict:
unauthorized disclosure is a
misdemeanor, and a sue-able
offense.
• On testing: counselling before
and after is mandated, and
testing only at the consent of
the testee. (But, pre- and post
test counselling can be
accomplished by handing over
a brochure.)
• Testing by the notorious mail
services outlawed.
• People committed in mental
health facility not
automatically tested and
segregated.
• "Reckless Conduct" provision:
seropositive person soliciting
for prostitution/sodomy for
hire, shares needle or donates
blood: felony status. 10 year
penalty.
• Allows Dept, of Human
Resources to test and treat
person considered a danger to
the public health.
• Persons applying for marriage
license get brochure; not
automatically tested.
Etcetera:
A clause protecting PWA’s from
discrimination in housing under the
handicapped status was stricken.
AID Atlanta received $100,000,
largely due to efforts of
Representative Jim Martin. First
State funding to AID Atlanta.
DHR budget cut from $2.7 million to
$660,000, effectively gutting its
educational programs to combat
AIDS.
Several exceptions to the
confidentiality clauses were too
broad in interpretation for gay
leaders' comfort.
Until July 1, a judge can, and often
does, order AIDS testing. After
this Bill goes into effect, if a person
pleads guilty or is convicted of
sodomy, prostitution, or solicitation
for same, the judge can order testing
only after consulting with the
DHR.