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SOUTHERN VOICE OCTOBER 21/1993
NEXT WEEK
Drag-o-ween
Gear up for the high
homosexual holiday
with a look at the
newest traditions and .
all of the scary
festivities in the next
Southern Voice.
VIKWPOIN P> -.11<£.’>■ ullojim fe.d>xi»tinijingtQniin lor
the fesbiai wife gay eomtfmstty. We encourage yen to share
your ulctts, comments and feelings on these pages
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EXECl m E EDITOR: Chrato a C.s-
s.ENKRM MANAGER-fmghVanderEls
EDITOR; Richard Shumate
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EDITORIAL
Hey, hey, ho, ho, Michael Bowers has got to go
Pop quiz. What person in the state of Geor
gia has done the most to damage the cause of
human rights for lesbians and gay men?
Gordon Wysong? Billy McKinney? Tom
Murphy? No, no and no. The clear answer to
that question is Michael Bowers.
Georgia’s attorney general fought to pre
serve the state’s sodomy law, going all the
way to the U.S. Supreme Court and winning a
case that imposed his view of morality not just
on Georgia but on the rest of the country as
well. Now, in the Robin Shahar case, he has
gotten a federal judge to sanction his decision
to rescind an offer of employment to a woman
because she chose to marry her partner.
He might not be out there yelling with
Nancy Schaefer and the yahoos, but it is long
past time to speak the plain truth about Bow
ers. He is a bigot. And he has clearly demon
strated that as long as the people of Georgia
allow him to remain as attorney general, he
will continue to use the powers of his office to
oppress gay men and lesbians.
Now, Bowers has been asked to consider
whether the city of Atlanta’s decision to grant
insurance benefits to the domestic partners of
city employees is a violation of state law. Given
his past record, we fear we already know what
his answer will be.
But we don’t have to sit by helpless while
this man tightens the noose around our necks.
Michael Bowers must run for re-election in
1994. Now is the time to organize an effort to
send him packing.
What many people may not realize is that
Bowers has a legal, not a political, background.
He was appointed as attorney general in 1981
to replace his predecessor, who resigned. He
was Lhcn re-elected by voters in 1982, 1986
and 1990, without significant opposition. BuL
he has made many enemies, and not just in the
Icsbian/gay community. Many of the powers
that be in the Georgia House, for example,
view him with the same displeasure as they do
something stuck on the bottom of their shoe.
His unyielding support for provisions in state
election laws that have the effect of limiting
the ability of minority candidates to win elec
tions to judgeships and other political offices
hasn’t endeared him to African American ac
tivists, cither. In a Democratic primary, with
out the reactionary support his anti-lesbian/
gay stands would engender, he is ripe for de
struction.
In 1994, should he choose to run again, it
is imperative that Bowers face a progressive
candidate who will call him to account for his
vicious brand of hatemongering. We must or
ganize to encourage such a candidate to run.
and, if she or he docs, we must offer both
financial support and the sweat of our collec
tive brows.
It won’t be easy, and, granted, the odds of
actually driving this Neanderthal back into the
primordial soup from whence he came arc long.
But we must let him know that the days when
he could bash us with impunity, and without
consequences, have come to an end.
Michael Bowers has been willing, even
eager, to inject discomfort into the lives of
others. It is time for him to experience a dose
of discomfort himself.
RICHARD SHUMATE
LETTERS
Theory that HIV is not sexually transmitted is irresponsible
Recent studies indicate that gay men are
increasingly returning to unsafe sexual prac
tices. So the letter by Timothy Hand [SoVo,
Oct. 7], which suggests that AIDS is not sexu
ally transmitted is, therefore, pardcularly irre
sponsible and unethical.
Maintaining that AIDS is not sexually
transmitted contains an inherent message that
discounts the importance of practicing safer
sex. It has been an uphill battle to get accurate
safer sex information to our community, and
Dr. Hand’s article is a disservice to those at
risk.
The theory that AIDS is not sexually trans
mitted is based on several weak observations
by Dr. Hand. He states that AIDS does not
behave like other [sexually transmitted dis
eases], He offers the fact that AIDS in Europe
and the United Slates primarily affects males
as support for his theory that AIDS is not
sexually transmitted. Overlooked arc the facts
that AIDS in Africa is primarily a heterosexual
disease, where the sexes are equally affected,
and that, in the United Stales, the highest rate
of new infections are among women.
Dr. Hand states that “highly promiscuous
female prostitutes remain nearly untouched by
the AIDS epidemic, despite the fact that they
rarely use condoms.” A recent study in Thai
land, where HIV has only recently gained a
foothold, found 14 percent of female sex work
ers to be HIV-positive. I am not sure what Dr.
Hand would define as virtually untouched, but
studies suggest a significant impact on sex
workers who don’t practice safer sex.
Finally, there is the contention that be
cause some sex partners of people with HIV
remain negative suggests that AIDS is not sexu
ally transmitted. Dr. Hand has already pointed
out that HIV doesn’t behave like other STDs.
It is more difficult to transmit than other STDs,
which accounts for the relatively few indi
viduals who remain negative after engaging in
high-risk behaviors with HIV-positive indi
viduals. Some individuals may also have a
higher genetic resistance to HIV infection.
Dr. Hand blasts the gay and mainstream
press for not reporting more extensively on the
theory he espouses and which he claims is
gaining credibility among scientists. It would
be irresponsible of the press to devote more
attention to an unfounded theory. As people
living with HIV, we get enough misinforma
tion from the HIV research establishment. Dr.
Hand has added to the volumes of inaccurate
information on AIDS.
It is important for all of us living with this
pandemic to question the source and credibil
ity of AIDS information. And it is important
for all of us to continue practicing safer sex
until the pandemic is over.
John Kappers
Atlanta
Kappers, a registered nurse, is the board
president of the Atlanta chapter of the Na
tional Association of People with AIDS.
Letters! We Want Letters!
Got a gripe? An observation? Or better
yet, praise for something or someone? Then
help us keep the cobwebs out of our mail
box, and write us a letter. Send it to Letters
to the Editor, Southern Voice, P.O. Box
18215, Atlanta GA 30316. Letters should
be less than 200 words and must include a
name, address and daytime telephone num
ber for verification, though names will be
witheld on request. Anonymous letters will
nor be accepted. The editor reserves the
right to edit or reject any submission.
Anti-Clinton Opti-World ad offensive
SWITCHED AT BIRTH
I JUST HATE WHEN GUVS
TRy TO Ffcw ME ON A
First DAte.
I am disappointed and offended at the right
wing approach that Opti-World would have
the nerve to present to our community in its
recent ad in Southern Voice, which alluded to
a “90 Day Return Policy” on President Clinton.
For the past 12 years, 1 have experienced
feelings of near oppression, especially while
seeing friends and relatives die day after day.
And I didn’t even hear anything about it come
out of my president’s mouth as I started my
own personal battle.
I’ve had to get my perspective in order as
to why your newspaper accepted such an ad
vertisement. As in my business—printing—
I’ve had to print things that made my skin
crawl, as I had to put up with the same thing in
my former employment of, what else, newspa
per advertising sales.
How often during the last three terms would
we have wanted to return a president? Prob
ably non-stop, except for Desert Storm days.
Even when President Clinton tried and I
didn’t understand, I still thought highly of him
for trying. I’ve had to retain an attorney four
limes in less than two years to keep my health
insurance. I’ve won all four times, but I
shouldn’t have had to worry about that with
such a draining illness.
I’m glad to have a human president who
cares. 1 couldn’t find a bumper slicker to com
bat the one I see on cars, “Don’t Blame Me, I
Voted For Bush,” so I printed my own, “Blame
Me Now, Thank Me Later.. .Clinton!”
At least now, as I need reading glasses, I
know what decision not to make. It’s my 90-
second rethink policy.
Ron Judah
Atlanta