NEWS BRIEFS

AUGUST 20, 1993

GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE 9

at the Franconia Skating Center to celebrate a friend's 24th birthday.

"They did announce it was male and female couples beforehand," said Borowitz, "and we knew that potentially there would be a problem. But we felt that was all the more reason to do it."

"If anyone doesn't follow our rules, we ask them to leave," manager Charles Lowe said of the August 6 incident. He refused further comment. Police were called, but the women left peacefully.

Two years ago, officials at the same skating center forbade a 13-year-old Sikh boy to skate because the boy, citing his religion, refused to remove his turban.

Condoms are effective, says CDC

Atlanta-The government, seeking to end one of the biggest debates of the AIDS epidemic, issued its bottom line August 5: Latex condoms, used properly, do block HIV.

"The biggest problem... is failure to take the condom out of the wrapper and use it. We need to shift our focus from the product, which is reliable, to the user," said the CDC's Dr. Bert Peterson.

Twelve years into the epidemic, CDC surveys show that just 28 percent of Americans think condoms are very effective against HIV. And many don't know how to use them. Only 27 percent know that lubricating condoms with baby oil or petroleum jelly will dissolve them.

While the CDC claims condom critics are spreading myths, it said two new studies, the largest ever, show latex condoms are highly effective.

In one study, none of 123 healthy Europeans who used condoms every time they had heterosexual sex with an infected partner became infected with HIV over a twoyear period. In the other study, only three2 percent of 171 healthy Italians who used condoms for two years became infected.

"Condoms aren't 100 percent (effective) but they can be very, very close if used consistently," said the CDC's Dr. Kay Stone. She discounted a report published in the June edition of Social Science and Medicine, which said condoms were only 70 percent effective in stopping HIV..

When condoms fail, it's usually through mishandling and improper use, such as using oil-based lubricants instead of waterbased ones. Many times it's a simple failure to note expiration dates, said Stone.

AIDS activists, who have blasted the CDC for not giving Americans explicit safesex advice, welcomed the report. But they urged the CDC to aggressively educate Americans about proper condom use. Polyurethane condom is coming

New York-A thinner condom that allows more sensitivity than latex prophylactics and still protects against the AIDS virus goes on sale in the United States next year, the British-based manufacturer says.

Unlike latex condoms, the transparent polyurethane prophylactic can also be used with oil-based lubricants, such as petroleum jelly and mineral oil, London International Group PLC said August 12. Oil lubricants weaken latex.

The product is thinner than a latex condom because the polyurethane is twice as strong. It will also cost more than regular latex condoms.

Thurmond aide dies of AIDS

Columbia, S.C.-For nine years, Michael Boyle lived a double life. A trusted aide to U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond, he shared the South Carolina Republican's conservative ideology and rural upbringing.

Boyle even lived with the Thurmond family for a time, caring for the senator's young children. But he kept his gay life a secret, even after he learned in 1986 that he was ill with AIDS.

Finally, in 1991, he told Thurmond about his illness and the fact that he was gay. From then until his death, he worked to teach people about AIDS.

Boyle's politics also changed. He spoke out against cuts in AIDS education funding, and after a lifetime as a Republican, Boyle even voted for Bill Clinton last November.

Boyle died April 22 at the age of 30. At his funeral in Aiken, Thurmond sat in the second row, even though he had buried his 22-year-old daughter, Nancy Moore, the week before.

Thurmond now supports funding for AIDS research-something he opposed until his meeting with Boyle.

Denver Lesbian Avengers arrested Denver-Two members of a gay rights group were arrested August 13 during a protest at the governor's mansion.

Terry Schleder and Angela Santoro, both of Denver, were booked into the city jail after they handcuffed themselves to the fence of the mansion and demanded a gay civil rights bill, officials said. The two were arrested for blocking public access to the mansion, police said.

Schleder and Santoro, who are members of the Lesbian Avengers, were joined by about two dozen other gay rights activists in front of the mansion in a raucous protest.

Rights proposal put to vote

Portsmouth, N.H.-Portsmouth voters in November will decide whether the city should be New Hampshire's first municipality to adopt a gay rights ordinance.

The City Council's 5-4 vote August 10 calls for a non-binding referendum on the proposal, which would prohibit the city from doing business or giving money to individuals or businesses that discriminate because of sexual orientation.

The council in June rejected an equal rights ordinance that would have provided the same protections.

Tearoom entrappers catch straights; one commits suicide

Concord, N.H.-A police campaign against suspected gay sexual activity at a rest area in Alton has been blamed for one man's suicide and may prompt a lawsuit by another man.

Arthur Richardson, 50, of Alton, claims he was entrapped by Alton police during their July 23-25 sting at the Route 28 rest stop. He said he has an enlarged prostate gland that forces him to urinate often, and was relieving himself when police arrested him.

Richardson has requested representation from the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union. A decision on his lawsuit will be made next month.

Police arrested seven men. One of those arrested was Paul Eastman of Barnstead. He also claimed he was urinating when he was arrested, but was distraught about the effect

on his reputation following coverage of the arrest in local newspapers. He was found dead at his home July 28 after apparently shooting himself.

Richardson, who has lived with a woman for 13 years and says he has never had gay feelings, said he had planned to remain silent and prove his innocence in court. Reading about Eastman's death changed his mind.

If convicted of indecent exposure and lewdness, Richardson faces a fine of up to $2,000.

Brothers get max in hate rape

Hartford, Conn.-Two brothers who raped a gay man were given the maximum allowable sentences under the state's hate crime law by a judge who said he hoped their punishment would deter bigoted acts.

John L. Pittman, 21, and Johnny Pittman Jr., 30, were sentenced August 6 to prison for five years for intimidation based on bigotry or bias, said assistant state's attorney Joan Alexander.

The brothers pleaded guilty in June to raping a 25-year-old man in February. Johnny Pittman Jr., who had a prior sexual assault conviction, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and his brother to 8 years.

Connecticut's anti-bias law, passed in 1990, bans physical contact, property damage and threats that result in action because of racial, religious, ethnic or sexual bigotry.

Minnesota couple seek marriage

Duluth, Minn.-Doug Benson and Duane Gajewski want to get married. But state law won't let them, so the couple is putting its wedding wishes on hold while taking the issue to court.

The Duluth men decided to challenge laws against same-sex marriages following the rejection of their marriage license application. They hope other same-sex couples will join them in a class-action lawsuit.

While they're encouraged by the recent Hawaii Supreme Court decision supporting same-sex marriage, Benson and Gajewski don't think they'll be helped by a gay rights law that took effect Aug. 1 in Minnesota.

Idaho initiative moves ahead

Boise The Idaho Supreme Court has certified the ballot titles for a proposed antigay initiative, rejecting challenges from both supporters and opponents of the measure.

But two justices Byron Johnson and Stephen Bistline-made clear in a brief concurring opinion August 3 that the court's unanimous decision should not be viewed as a rejection of the substance of the ACLU's attack on the inititive. The ACLU had requested that the ballot titles flatly say that the measure would discriminate against gays.

The proposition needs the signatures of just over 32,000 registered voters to be on the November 1994 ballot.

Two men guilty in bashing

Santa Ana, Calif.-Two men admitted in court August 2 that they beat a 55-year-old man beyond recognition because they believed he was gay.

Jeff Michael Raines, 18, pleaded guilty to attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon. Michael Cribbons, 22, also pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon in the January 9 beating of Loc Minh Truong.

Investigators said Raines allegedly told friends he wanted to beat up some gays before going to a Laguna Beach area near three gay bars.

Police say Raines, Cribbons and several others shoved Truong off a cliff onto a rock shelf beach, then kicked him in the head so badly that it took police days to identify him.

Raines could face 15 years in prison. Sentencing is set for Oct. 8 in Santa Ana.

Witchhunt extends to civilian

San Diego-A former sailor says U.S. Navy investigators violated his civil rights by entering his home and seizing videotapes that allegedly show him and an enlisted man having sex.

Norman Furnace, 24, said five agents from the Naval Criminal Investigative Service served a search warrant at his apartment last July 29 to look for the tapes.

Furnace wouldn't identify the petty officer who is under investigation but said the man used to be his lover.

Capt. Mark Neuhart, a spokesman for Naval Base Command San Diego, said the warrant was issued by a federal magistrate. He would not identify the petty officer, citing the investigation.

Neuhart said the raid did not violate a new policy on gays in the military announced by President Clinton. The new "don't ask, don't tell, don't pursue" policy does not take effect until Oct. 1.

Furnace said he served in the Navy for 41⁄2 years and was honorably discharged in February. He has sought counsel from the ACLU in legal action against the Navy.

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