National Notes

February 19, 1993

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

Page 17

munity is not concerned with the perception of the inappropriateness of funding...[We] have heard all over the country that any such perception would be completely accurate and based quantifiable fact."

The commission's executive director, Roy Widdus, replied to LLEGO in a January 15 letter. "Please know that the commission wholeheartedly believes that the foremost challenge for policymakers is to ensure that...the growing epidemic among gay and bisexual men of color receives the appropriate level of attention and funding," Widdus wrote. "You have our assurance that if sections of the report can be read or interpreted as implying any other position, this was not our intention."

The report cited the effects of racial discrimination that are hindering efforts to stem the spread of HIV among blacks, Latinos, and other racial and ethnic minorities. AIDS cases among Latinos increased 11.5 percent between 1990 and 1991, whereas cases among whites fell slightly during the period. As of August 1992, some 29.5 percent of AIDS cases were among blacks, and 16.5 percent among Latinos.

The report also stated that sex between men accounted for 43 percent of AIDS cases among blacks; 46 percent among Latinos; 55 percent among Native Americans and 74 percent among Asians and Pacific Islanders.

The commission noted that "gay men of color are frequently left in limbo," ignored by AIDS service organizations for men of color, and by organizations that primarily serve white gay men.

Rhode Island shields state workers

Rhode Island governor Bruce Sundlum issued an executive order on January 18, barring discrimination based on sexual orientation against state employees.

The order will "establish in no uncertain terms that this administration will actively fight against discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, sexual orientation, or disability,” the Democratic governor said, according to the Boston gay newspaper Bay Windows.

The order prohibits discrimination in many areas, but not benefits. Sundlum's predecessor, Republican Gov. Edward DiPrete, issued a similar order.

Advocate drops anti-gay defense

On January 25 Liberation Publications, Inc. (LPI) publishers of the national gay magazine The Advocate, dropped a defense motion called anti-gay by critics in the community. LPI is defending itself against a male-on-male harassment complaint that was filed by a former employee. The motion, which had been scheduled for a February 1 hearing in Los Angeles Superior Court, argued that the complaint should be dis-

missed because California law did not cover same-sex sexual harassment.

Critics charged that if the courts upheld the Advocate's argument, gays in the state would lose an important legal weapon enabling them to combat harassment in the workplace. LPI's new president, David Russell, issued a statement that the motion was filed by an outside law firm hired "to take whatever action [was] necessary regarding this suit." Russell went on to state that the company intended no harm to the lesbian and gay community and, upon review, withdrew the motion. "However we will fight this suit with extraordinary vigor and in a court of law."

The complaint was filed by a former warehouse worker who maintained he was continually harassed by a supervisor for six months in 1989 and 1990. The supervisor denies the allegations and Merton says LPI management found no conclusive proof to back up the warehouse worker's claims.

Anchorage misses by one vote

Anchorage, Alaska mayor Tom Fink vetoed a bill prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation on January 15, saying he did not want to send a message that his government accepts homosexuality as an "alternate lifestyle."

The bill passed in the Anchorage Assembly with a 7-3 vote on January 12, according to the Associated Press. The assembly needs 8 votes to override Fink's veto, and one seat on the body is vacant and should be filled by the assembly soon. The leading candidate for the seat, Duane French, has pledged his support for the bill. The assembly has three weeks from the mayor's veto to override it.

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