Continued from page 7
the Washington Blade.
Although some people assume lesbians enjoy better health than most people, Ryan said, the survey results do not support that
assumption. She said health providers need to know if their patient is a lesbian, espe-
cially in areas of gynecological health, mental health, and counseling.
The exact data of the survey results will be released after being coded and analyzed by a computer. The survey, which Ryan presented to a recent conference of the American Public Health Association, is to provide information on the state of lesbian health care, rather than to prove hypotheses.
Archdiocese Studies Action Against AIDS
CHICAGO-Joseph Cardinal Bernardin will establish an Archidocesan Task Force to decide how the archdiocese should respond to the AIDS epidemic in metropolitan Chicago. The committee will work on improving pastoral care of people with AIDS and their families. Obtaining housing and medical facilites for AIDS patients, as well as promoting public education about the syndrome, will also be concerns of the task force, reports Windy City Times.
Catholic Newspaper Incorporates Banned Ad Into Editorial
WASHINGTON-The Catholic Standard, the weekly newspaper of the archdiocese of Washington, DC., stated in a November 14 editorial that it would not publish an advertisement submitted by the local chapter of Dignity, a gay Catholic group. The editorial then went on to note that Dignity sponsors a Mass for the 'Lesbian/Gay community' each Sunday at St. William's Chapel on the campus of Georgetown University," thus printing the contents of the advertisement.
The executive editor of the Catholic Standard, Edgar Miller, wrote in the editorial that Dignity does not meet the "minimum standards" for ministering to Catholic gay people as established by D.C. Archbishop James Hickey. These standards were outlined by Hickey in an 1984 pastoral letter, reports Lou Chibbaro, Jr., of the Washington Blade. According to Miller, the letter insists that ministries providing services to gay persons must urge them to practice "complete abstinence from all sexual activities." Dignity does not ask lesbians and gay men to compromise their sexuality, a
position unacceptable to Hickey and the
Catholic Standard.
Student Suspended For Wearing Earring Sues School
GRANITE,OK.-A 17-year-old boy has sued the Granite School System for suspending him from classes because he wore an earring in what school officials termed "the wrong ear."
Tim New, who wears his jewlery in his left ear, felt the officials may have made assumptions about his sexual orientation because of the earring. "I feel like they're accusing me of being a queer," he said. New's attorney, Matthew Salter, said the lawyer for the school system stated that "an earring in a certain ear meant that you were homosexual."
The school claims, however, that wearing an earring violates a portion of its dress code which prohibits "anything worn to attract
attention."
After Salter obtained a temporary restraining order against the suspension, New returned to school wearing his earring, reports Chis Kinyon of the Daily Oklahoman. New's mother defended her son's right to wear an earring, and to be gay if he chooses. "My son isn't a homosexual. But
even if he were, he'd still have a right to an education," she said.
Gay Switchboard Now Taking Calls From Deaf Lesbians and Gays
NEW YORK-Due to a recent purchase of a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) by the Gay Switchboard, hearingimpaired lesbians and gay men now have access to the Switchboard's services. Deaf people can dial the same number hearing gay people use (212-777-1800), to reach the Switchboard for information, referrals, or simply conversation. The phone service is building its files of resources for deaf gay people, and its volunteers have received training for the TDD and general instruction on deaf culture.
When calling, deaf persons should hit the spacebar on their TDDs to alert Switchboard volunteers that they are on the line. The Switchboard is open every day from noon to midnight.
Government Committee Recommends Protection Of Canadian Gays
OTTAWA-The Parliamentary Committee on Equality Rights, which spent the last seven months hearing testimony on discrimination against gay people and other minorities, has recommended that Canada enact substantive civil rights protections of gay men and lesbians.
The committee advised that the Canadian Human Rights Act should be amended to include "sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination." It also called for the outlawing of anti-gay bias within the military and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, jobs requiring federal security clearance, and areas under federal jusisdiction. Another recommendation was the establishment of a private consensual sex law that treats gay people and heterosexuals equally.
The remaining recommendations include legal recognition of common-law relationships, but only if the two persons in the relationship are "of the opposite sex."
Justice Minister John Crosbie said legislation relating to these proposals will be formulated after Christmas.
Polls Test French, Spanish Views of Gay People
PARIS-Public opinion surveys taken this year in France and Spain have revealed some tolerance of homosexuality in the general populations of these countries, reports The Body Politic.
The French poll, conducted by the public opinion institute IFREC, found that 41% of its respondents accepted homosexuality as a legitimate expression of human sexuality, but 53% said they would try to convince their children not to be a gay man or a lesbian.
Twenty-one percent of the French people polled said that they had been tempted to have sex with someone of their own sex at least once, but denied acting on the temptation. Half the respondents said they believed homosexual tendencies exist in everyone.
Fifteen percent of French Communists, almost double the national average, said they engage in either gay or lesbian relations.
In Spain, a poll on public attitudes towards homosexuality was conducted by the Human Rights Association and financed by the Ministry of Labor. The Spanish survey reported that 67% of its respondents believe that the expression of one's sexual orientation is a fundamental human right. Fifty percent said they tolerate gay men and lesbians. Only 27%, on the other hand, would describe homosexuality as normal, and 62% said they would attempt to make a gay child straight.
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