Election victories for LGBTs
BamonWAMM!
Gay mayor likely for Providence, RI; Miami anti-gay ballot measure is losing.
Santa Cruz pot club the la test target of the DEA.
page 4
FI
Chet Baker at the Castro Jazz legend’s life and music explored in new film.
page 12 |
see Arts section
BaxAryaREPORTER
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Vol. 32 • No. 37 • 12 September 2002
Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971
Nonoxynol-9 under fire, part 2
Thrust into the spotlight:
SF vigil for peace
Makers defend lube, three stores pull products D by Ed Walsh
espite studies showing that lubri¬ cants with the spermicide nonoxynol-9 significantly in¬ crease the risk of HIV transmission, makers of N-9 lubricants are defend¬ ing their making of the products. The owner of the Timinsa compa¬ ny, which produces the ForPlay Plus brand of N-9 lubricants, told the Bay Area Reporter that the studies showing that N-9 lubricants are dangerous are “flawed” and that he believes N-9 lu¬ bricants are "saving lives.” Robin Ogilvie added that he also doesn’t agree with recommendations from the Cen¬ ters of Disease Control and Prevention or the World Health Organization which have unequivocally advised against N-9 use for anal intercourse. Although Ogilvie said those who are fighting to get N-9 removed from lubricants have a “hidden agenda,” he conceded that he could offer no sci¬ entific evidence to refute several stud¬ ies that have shown that N-9 lubri¬ cants strip away the protective cells lining the anus, making HIV trans¬ mission much more likely. Ogilvie said that a study using his product that showed that hundreds of sheets of protective epithelial cells were washed away in the anus as a result of its use was unfair because it used an old formulation of the product that used 1 percent N-9 instead of the current onetenth-of-one-percent used now. Sexologist and medical anthropol¬ ogist Dr. Clark Taylor, who once worked as a researcher for Ogilvie, told the B.A.R. that he believes that N-9, even at the one-tenth-of-one-percent level, is dangerous. He cited a study that showed that there was no reduc¬ tion in risk of HIV transmission when N-9 was lowered from a concentration of 1 percent to a level of a half-of-1 percent. Taylor also pointed out that no scientific studies have shown that N-9 lubricants offer any benefits. Ogilvie claimed his N-9 lubricants prevent sexually transmitted diseases, a claim that’s refuted by the WHO and other health authorities. He said he provides a product called Inner Lube to the adult entertainment industry through the nonprofit Adult Industry Monitoring Association. AIM spokes¬ woman Sharon Mitchell told the B.A.R. that her organization noticed a 66 percent reduction of both gonor¬ rhea and chlamydia when Inner Lube is used. Inner Lube is not available to the public. Ogilvie provides it free to
page 15 ►
At 5:30 a.rn. Wednesday, September 11, the one-year anniversary of the terrorist attacks, a coali¬ tion of social justice groups held a day¬ long world peace program at San Francis¬ co's Justin Herman Plaza. The morning started with a Buddhist prayer service, above, attended by about 100 people.
Assessor drafting new tax rule favoring domestic partners by Matthew S. Bajko
T
he San Francisco Assessor/Recorder’s of¬ fice is drafting a new rule that would make the city and county the first in the state not to reassess the property of domestic part¬ ners when one of the part¬ ners dies, the Bay Area Re¬ porter has learned. Once the ruling is enact¬ ed, domestic partners would no longer be penal¬ ized with sometimes crip¬ pling property tax burdens after the death of one of the partners. Due to Califor¬ nia’s skyrocketing property values, many surviving do¬ mestic partners see their property tax bill soar by the tens of thousands after their properties are re¬ assessed. The same is not true for legally married couples who are exempted by state law from having their property reassessed when a spouse dies. “We’ve heard of and dealt with many situ¬ ations where, particularly, an elderly lesbian or gay couple, who have been together for years and having owned their home some¬ times for decades, faces a reassessment upon the death of one of the partners and it is fi¬ nancially impossible for the surviving partner to pay the newly assessed property tax. The in¬ equity shows up because for heterosexual married couples the death of one spouse does not trigger a reassessment of property tax,” said Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, whose agency for years has pushed for the city to also
exempt gay couples. According to a draft copy of the ruling ob¬ tained by the B.A.R., registered gay and les¬ bian domestic partners will be deemed equiv¬ alent to lawfully married spouses and thereby be entitled to exemptions under Section 63 of the California Revenue and Taxation Code for inter-partner transfers of real property. The ruling is still being scrutinized by both the assessor’s and the city attorney’s office, and once the wording is final¬ ized, Assessor/Recorder Doris Ward has promised to sign it. “I feel it will be doing what is right and just and absolutely is applying the equal protection of the laws to that group of peo¬ ple that have been discrim¬ inated against,” Ward, who is up for re-election in No¬ vember and faces a tough challenge from former city Supervisor Mabel Teng, told the B.A.R. “I just think it is a matter of fairness and that has always been at the heart of everything I stand for: fairness for every¬ body.” Section 63 of California’s tax laws provides that any inter-spousal transfer of property by married couples is exempt from reassessment. In the ruling, the assessor’s office concludes domestic partners should be granted the same exemption because they are covered by the state’s and U.S. Constitution’s equal protec¬ tion clause, which says “persons similarly sit¬ uated with respect to the legitimate purpose of the law receive like treatment.” By applying a strict interpretation of the
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daymen cope with loss of loved ones O
by Matthew S. Bajko
ne lost his life partner. The other lost his best friend and former boyfriend. While they have never met each other, Paul Holm and Keith Bradkowski share more than they ever could have imagined before.the events pf September 11,2001. " Twelve months ago, the two men lived rather quiet lives. Neither was as outgoing as the men they mourn. Now their lives and loves have become national news stories. And both have turned to the men they once knew for inspiration and support as they move away from the horror and tragedy of a year ago.
Life, interrupted The phone rang early on Monday morning in Paul Holm’s San Francisco home. It was Septem¬ ber 17, 2001 and the mayor’s office invited Holm to a memorial service for the victims Paul Holm of the terrorist at¬ tacks. Still in shock over the death of his best friend and former boyfriend Mark Bing¬ ham, a gay public relations professional and rugby player who died aboard United Air¬ lines Flight 93 when it crashed into the Pennsylvania countryside, Holm accepted the invitation to represent Bingham’s fami¬ ly members, who were attending a memor¬ ial service at the crash site. In doing so, Holm was unaware that he would be plucked from obscurity and thrust into the public’s consciousness. “I thought I was just accepting a flag on behalf of Mark’s family. I asked if I had to say anything and was told no. It was a much bigger event than I thought,” recalled Holm, who had attended a private remembrance for Bingham the night before. “I was asked to speak and gave a talk about Mark from the heart, because in many ways I knew him best,” said the 41-year-old Holm. “I was in shock and really don’t re¬ member what I said. That is how the public first became aware of our relationship and how well I knew him.” Living a relatively quiet existence in Marin County, Keith Bradkowski spent 11 years with his partner, Jeffrey Collman, a flight attendant on American Airlines Flight 11. Their relationship was transformed into a national love story when Collman’s plane
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