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GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

An Independent Chronicle of the Ohio Lesbian and Gay Community

SOCIAL SCIENCES DEPT.

MAY 05 1994

Volume 9, Issue 21 April 22, 1994

JEFF NEARHOOF

Hawaii senate

passes marriage ban

Honolulu-The State Senate voted 21-4 April 12 to approve its version of the bill to block samesex marriages, setting the stage for negotiations with the House which has approved a different version of the controversial measure.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Rey Graulty led off in the 45-minute debate on the measure intended to negate the state supreme court's ruling last year that it is unconstitutional for the state to deny marriage licenses to couples of the same sex.

The Senate measure sends a clear message to the high court that the Legislature believes the court's ruling attempts to establish a state policy that should be decided by the Legislature, Graulty said.

In the same-sex marriage case, the Supreme Court "has substituted its own judgments for the will of the people of this state," Graulty said.

However, Sen. Matt Matsunaga, one of the four opposing the bill, said it attempts to set a policy outside the bounds of the state Constitution.

"The state's highest court has already ruled that denial of marriage licenses to same-gender couples is a form of gender-based discrimination, which is expressly prohibited by our state Constitution," Matsunaga said.

Sen. Randall Iwase, however, said the Constitution's prohibition of discrimination on the basis of sex does not mean sexual orientation, something he said the high court misunderstood.

Matsunaga disagreed, using the Flintstones cartoon series as an example.

"If Wilma is permitted to marry Fred, but Barney may not marry Fred, then, assuming that Fred would be a desirable spouse for either, Barney is being disadvantaged because of his gender," Matsunaga said.

Continued on Page 2

JONTH G.I.s win first round

Let u

again

One picture is worth a thousand words—in any language. "Czech" out the Cleveland Health Museum's exhibit of AIDS posters from around the world, on view through April 30, at 8911 Euclid Ave.

Study finds HIV causes cancer

San Francisco-Researchers have found that HIV directly causes cancer, and the discovery offers a possibility of better treatment for cancer and AIDS. It also raises doubts about the safety of some new forms of gene therapy.

The results, announced April 8, could lead to safer ways to treat certain forms of cancer in people with AIDS, said the study's authors, University of California at San Francisco Drs. Michael McGrath and Bruce Shiramizu.

Cancers, including lymphoma and Kaposi's sarcoma, have long been associated with AIDS. But most researchers have thought the cancerare opportunistic, taking advantage of AIDS' weakening of the immune system rather than being caused by the virus itself.

The study, however, found that when the AIDS virus inserted its genetic material into a cell's DNA it apparently switched on a nearby cancer-causing gene, starting up a less common variety of lymphoma called non-B-cell lymphoma.

The scientists spent two years reviewing 30 lymphoma cases, and found four in which the AIDS virus inserted itself into the same spot in a cell's DNA. McGrath said the researchers now have additional examples, and estimated that up to a third of non-B-cell lymphomas in AIDS patients show similar results.

But the study also casts a cloud over the goal of creating an AIDS vaccine from a form of the live HIV virus. The study authors and other scientists fear such a vaccine could trigger cancer genes while halting AIDS.

Continued on Page 4

over new

'don't tell'

New York-A federal judge ruled that six gays who sued over the Pentagon's "don't ask, don't tell" policy cannot be kicked out of the service until the case is decided.

U.S. Judge Eugene Nickerson issued the ruling April 4 on behalf of five men and a woman who challenged the constitutionality of the policy on March 7.

The policy allows gays to serve in the military as long as they remain closeted.

One of the plaintiffs, Coast Guard Petty Officer Robert Heigl, was notified last month that he would be discharged. The others feared that participating in the case could itself get them thrown out of the military.

"There is a serious question as to whether a regulation goes beyond what is reasonably necessary to protect any possible government interest when it inhil six service members from continuing to speak in court to make a constitutional challenge," Nickerson said.

Under the new Pentagon policy, recruiters are not supposed to question men and women about their sexual orientation, and military officials are not supposed to try to ferret out suspected lesbians and gay men.

Continued on Page 7

Some queer legal basics Without marriage rights, there are other protections

by Charlton Harper Mike Readinger and Dennis Giles know they're lucky. Or better yet, fortunate.

The Cleveland couple has been together for more than twelve years, but until recently they never had to give much thought to the future. Unlike lesbian and gay many couples, Readinger and Giles have always had the support of their families. Since they're healthy, they've never thought much about the future and the issues that would arise should one of them become sick or die. Would health decisions be made with the input of both part-

It's a queer phone tangle Overlooked Opinions wages a Spirit-ed legal fight

ners? What would happen to the surviving partner? And what about their families? How would they deal with after-death problemsmoney, division of property, rights of the surviving partner? "There's no question about his family's intentions," says Giles, "I know them

and I trust them. But, I have to admit, you never know."

However, many queer couples are not so lucky. Many know the very real threat when families who

don't approve of gay relationships

come forward in a time of crisis. There are numerous horror stories about parents who have denied gay spouses access to their dying partners, or effectively contested a will that left everything to the sur-

See who the Chronicle has endorsed for the primary, and then vote on May 3

viving partner. Or maybe there was no will at all. Without the legal sanction of gay marriage, there's a whole world of rights that lesbians and gay men must scramble to protect.

Wills and joint ownership

Readinger is an investment broker with Dean Witter. Ironi-

cally, in helping others plan for the future, he took a long time to own and his lover's. “In my busirealize the need to plan for his ness, when I'm doing up financial plans for people, you can't believe the amount of people who don't have wills. It's amaz-

Continued on Page 6

INSIDE

The question of AIDS origin brings up too many coincidences ignore conspiracy

SOAR members

resign from board

Joan Organ, president of the board of the Lesbian-Gay Community Service Center of Greater Cleveland has disclosed the resignations of four board members.

Phyllis Balcerzak, Mary Brigid, Peggi Cella and Leigh Robertson, who are all members of the antiracism activist group SOAR, announced their resignations in a letter sent to the executive committee, which met on April 18. The executive committee declined to reveal what reason was given by the four women for their decision. Earlier this year, SOAR mem-

They're here! The profiles

from our readership

Obituaries

ber Sumica Williams and Liberation United Church of Christ minister Dan Geslin resigned from the board. Of these six resignations, all but Cella had been elected on January 12 of this year.

The Center's board now consists of eight trustees: Organ; Al Cowger; Melvin Foote; Tom Isabel; Frank Lowery, Jr.; Bill Potoczak; Calvin Stokes; and Bill Tregoning. Organ indicated that no special election is planned to fill open board seats. Regular board elections are usually scheduled in October.

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