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Houston Leaders To Be Honored
by AIDS Action

Three Houston leaders in the fight against AIDS will be honored at the AIDS Action Houston Leadership Awards on Sept. 24. They are: Jackson Hicks, Houston businessman and philanthropist who has worked on behalf of Houston's AIDS service organizations as well as serving as President of the Names Foundation, the organization that funds and supports the AIDS Quilt; Texas State Rep. Garnet Coleman, who has made improved and innovative AIDS services one of his top legislative priorities; and, the Chase Bank of Texas, which has been an outstanding example of corporate responsibility through employee programs and support for the Houston AIDS service community.

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Christian Coalition Ad
Attacks AIDS Efforts

The Christian Coalition is at it again. But this time, their cynical attempts to shore up their political base has resulted in an irresponsible and dangerous public health message. Their ad in the Aug. 10 Wall Street Journal, titled "From innocence to AIDS," urges Gay people to "change" their sexual orientation in order to avoid infection with HIV.

The premise of the ad ignores the millions of sexually-active HIV-negative Gay men as well as the fact that Lesbian sexual behavior carries an HIV infection risk lower than any other sexually-active group. If the Christian Coalition followed their own logic, they would be running ads URGING STRAIGHT WOMEN TO CHANGE AND BECOME LESBIANS in order to avoid AIDS.

Even worse, the ad furthers the stereotype of AIDS as a Gay disease despite the fact that women and minorities now make up a majority of HIV infections and AIDS cases. AIDS Action executive director Daniel Zingale wrote to Christian Coalition executive director urging him to correct misperceptions conveyed in the ad. In The Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report's story on the AIDS Action letter, Zingale argued that the Christian Coalition was "misrepresenting the state of the AIDS epidemic, furthering complacency in communities at risk for HIV and resurrecting a long ago abandoned concept that those living with HIV are somehow 'guilty' for their infection...[the] ad not only ATTEMPTS TO MAKE AIDS A BATTLE AGAINST PEOPLE but it feeds a dire public health emergency in minority communities."

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Newsweek Conducts Poll On Public Opinion

To accompany a recent cover story on so-called "conversion ministries," Newsweek cited a poll it had commissioned recently which found that "the vast majority said Gays deserve equal rights in obtaining jobs and housing (83 percent and 75 percent)," and that 52% "even said Gays should be allowed to inherit their partners' Social Security benefits. But 54 percent believe homosexuality is a 'sin,'" and only 33% of the "overall population" believes that "homosexuality is something people are born with."

But Newsweek neglects to mention pertinent facts about its poll: when it took place, the number of persons polled, criteria for participant selection (e.g., registered voters or adults over age 18), the precise wording of the questions asked and the margin of error. Kerry Lobel, Executive Director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) said, "Whether genetic or chosen, sexual orientation is deeply seated, and our goal is for a society in which individuals can explore their sexuality without risk of violence, discrimination, vilification or damnation. Whatever today's polls say, public opinion is continually moving to approval of equality and greater acceptance of Gay, Lesbian and Bisexual people. NGLTF has looked at the trend in public opinion during the past twenty years. This Newsweek poll is without context and conducted during one of the most hostile periods against GLBT people in recent memory."

For more information, contact Tracey Conaty, NGLTF Communications Director at 202.332.6483 x3303 or via e-mail at tconatv@ngltf.org. [from GLAAD]

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