8
AIDS quilt returns to SF
15
21
'Without' debuts.
Study reveals AIDS drug risk
The
www.ebar.com
Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
DOMA complicates gay divorces by Matthew S. Bajko
T
he federal ban against samesex marriages not only throws up roadblocks for LGBT couples wishing to wed. It also complicates their divorce proceedings when the relationship Jane Philomen Cleland sours. Esther Lee With a number of states allowing samesex couples to marry – Washington being the most recent – and even more sanctioning domestic partnerships or civil unions, the fact that the federal government treats such relationships differently than heterosexual marriages is often overlooked during times of bliss. But a clerical error in a San Francisco lesbian couple’s divorce proceeding illustrates how the Defense of Marriage Act continues See page 14 >>
Officials silent on TL Health’s status by Seth Hemmelgarn
M
ore than a month after officials announced that Tenderloin Health would shut down, most associated with the San Francisco nonprofit still won’t talk about what will happen to Jane Philomen Cleland clients. Tenderloin Health David Fernandez provides housing, medical, and other services to some of the city’s poorest residents, including people with HIV and AIDS. The agency issued a press release January 5 stating that it would close “due to continued funding challenges.” See page 16 >>
Vol. 41 • No. 07 • February 16-22, 2012
Prop 8 repeal bid ends by Seth Hemmelgarn
C
iting a lack of funds, a bid to repeal Proposition 8 at the ballot box this November has ended. The move follows last week’s 2-1 ruling by a panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that California’s same-sex marriage ban, passed by voters in November 2008, is unconstitutional. Love Honor Cherish, the Los Angeles-based group that had launched the repeal effort in December, announced this week that it wouldn’t be able to raise the money or gather the signatures needed to place the initiative on the ballot. Eric Harrison, the organization’s interim executive director, said in a Monday, February 13 email blast that collecting the 807,615 valid signatures that would have been required by midApril wasn’t likely. “We would need more than $1.5 million in donor commitments to hire a paid signature gathering firm to assist us in this massive effort,” Harrison added. “In view of the 9th Circuit victory and the narrowness of the ruling, making [U.S.] Supreme Court review less likely, raising the additional funds needed is now not realistic. And, as we have stated, we had no illusions that the initiative could qualify based solely on our statewide volunteer signature gathering effort.” This is the second time that Love Honor Cherish has failed at undoing Prop 8. In 2010, it
Jane Philomen Cleland
The Reverend Roland Stringfellow, fourth from right, and his husband Jerry Peterson, sat with other marriage equality advocates inside the county clerk’s office at San Francisco City Hall on Valentine’s Day after being denied marriage licenses. Eight people were later detained, cited, and released during the civil disobedience.
tried to rely on volunteer signature gatherers but had to abandon that effort. The decision to end the initiative process isn’t a complete surprise. The board of Equality California, the state’s largest LGBT rights organiza-
tion, decided last fall not to move ahead with a Prop 8 repeal effort in 2012. One week later EQCA’s new executive director abruptly quit, which in turn cast a spotlight on the organization’s deSee page 6 >>
Ad campaign encourages HIV testing among black men by Matthew S. Bajko
A
n advertising campaign rolled out this month in the Bay Area provides a new twist on a years-long effort by federal health officials to get more black men who have sex with men to test for HIV. Under the headline “Testing Makes Us Stronger,” the campaign features a diverse range of black gay men, including individuals and couples, in the online, print, and outdoor advertisements. The ads launched in the East Bay on February 6 and have been running on the Bay Area Reporter’s website at www.ebar. com. A full-page ad that ran in the B.A.R.’s February 2 issue featured two men holding hands who appeared to be in their 20s. Although it is unclear what their HIV status is, the tagline on the ad states, “Our HIV status is powerful information. It helps us take better care of each other.” The advertisements direct people to the campaign website at www.hivtest.org/stronger, where they can find locations nearby to get tested confidentially for free. “Far too many black gay and bisexual men, particularly young black gay and bisexual men, continue to contract HIV each year. Too many
Courtesy CDC
The CDC’s new “Testing Makes Us Stronger” HIV prevention campaign aimed at black men who have sex with men launched in six cities, including Oakland last week.
{ FIRST OF TWO SECTIONS }
more may have HIV and remain unaware that they have the infection,” Kali Lindsey, the National Minority AIDS Council’s director of legislative and public affairs, told reporters during a conference call in late November held to discuss the new campaign. Lindsey, who learned he was HIV-positive in 2003, was part of a committee of community leaders, physicians, and other experts that helped create the new advertising. “If we are to reduce HIV transmission and the growing burden of HIV among black gay and bisexual men, it is critical that we enhance our efforts to reach men who may be unaware of their status and encourage them to get tested for HIV,” he said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is targeting the campaign, which cost $2.4 million, at gay and African-American neighborhoods in six cities where black gay and bisexual men are at greater risk of contracting HIV. In addition to Oakland, the other cities include Atlanta, Baltimore, Houston, New York City, and Washington, D.C. Based on recent data, federal health officials have found “an alarming” 48 percent increase in new HIV infections among young, black MSM 13 to 29 years old from 2006 to 2009. See page 16 >>