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NEW ORLEANS, from p.3
court’s record is “presumptively a public record, open to view by all, and requests to seal the court’s record are not lightly granted or considered.” The plaintiff had the burden to show that his interest in protecting his confidentiality outweighed the public’s “common law right of access” to such a record. “Although sexual preference is certainly a personal matter and homosexuality is one of the ‘matters of a sensitive nature’ identified in the above-cited Fifth Circuit opinion, public opinion about both homosexuality and HIV-positive status has become more diverse and accepting during the 35 years since that decision,” Wilkinson wrote. “Certainly, only the seriously uninformed today act under the
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erroneous impression that HIV transmission might occur in ordinary workplace activity.” Pointing to same-sex marriage litigation in Louisiana, he continued, “Other plaintiffs asserting claims in civil actions in which their sexual preference is an issue have done so publicly and in their real names.” And, Wilkinson added, “Defendants — whose names have already been published in the court’s record — have been the subject of public accusations by plaintiff that may do damage to their good names, reputation, and economic standing.” The judge also noted the “high” level of public interest in the issues being litigated, since most federal courts have rejected claims that anti-gay discrimination is covered by the 1964 Act’s ban on sex dis-
EDUCATION, from p.4
the core curriculum, though he said that when Billie Jean King and Bayard Rustin are discussed it is vital that the impact of their sexual orientation be considered. The panel also addressed challenges facing transgender youth in the schools — who were the subject of new guidelines developed over several years and issued by Fariña earlier this year. At their core, the guidelines make clear that students can use their chosen name even if different from their legal name and can participate in sports corresponding to their gender identity. TLDEF’s Silverman praised the guidelines as a “tremendous step forward,” but raised worries about some details, including the use of bathrooms and other sex-segregated facilities. No child can be forced to use a particular bathroom, but the issue of what bathroom they can use is left open. Konstan emphasized that the question is left to case-by-case consideration and said the schools’ policy is focused on the needs of the transgender student, not those of others. Silverman, however, warned that it is important not to leave any stu-
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HISTORY, from p.10
After leaving federal employment, James moved to the Haight-Ashbury section of San Francisco, where unfortunately events conspired to give him the opportunity to prove his commitment to multi-issue activism. As the HIV epidemic began ravaging that city in the 1980s, he founded AIDS Treatment News (ATN). Early on, the publication explored alternative medicine and experimental treat| October 02 - 15, 2014
crimination and there is a divide among courts about whether the ADA automatically protects an HIV-positive person if there is no specific evidence of a physical or mental impairment. Concluding that the plaintiff in this case would not face any “greater threat of retaliation than the typical plaintiffs alleging Title VII violations under their real names and not anonymously,” Wilkinson denied his motion. Focusing only on the Title VII sex discrimination issue, however, ignores the HIV confidentiality side of this case. The ADA recognizes the importance of this issue by requiring employers to preserve the confidentiality of their workers’ medical records. Employers may well understand that an HIV-positive employee
dent with the message that they cannot access facilities the same way any other boy or girl can. Voicing concern about what she saw as the panel’s lack of diversity, one attendee, Octavia Y. Lewis, a trans woman and an education specialist in the Hetrick-Martin Institute’s transgender program, told the crowd, “I don’t identify as gay” and insisted that policy must ensure that each student be the “narrator of their own stories.” Eunic Ortiz, Stonewall’s president, noted that one issue unaddressed on the panel — moderated by Gay City News editor Paul Schindler — was the de Blasio administration’s decision to reverse Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s defense of DOE policy that barred the use of public schools by religious congregations on weekends. Under Bloomberg, the city contested a federal lawsuit brought by the Bronx Household of Faith to overturn the DOE ban. A leader in that fight is Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera, whose unsuccessful September 9 primary challenge to Democratic State Senator Gustavo Rivera brought to light a video Cabrera made last winter in Uganda praising that nation’s virulently anti-gay regime. Ortiz made clear that the objective of at least
ments and went on to publish more than 400 editions. “When treatments were becoming available, no one wanted to cover it,” he said. “So we were talking to patients, doctors, scientists. That was my main project. I was never much into demonstrations so I think that, by far, my most important activism was AIDS Treatment News. That was my contribution.” After years in San Francisco, that cradle of high tech entrepre-
poses no risk of contagion in the workplace, but they could potentially discriminate against applicants based on assumptions they make about work attendance, longevity on the job, or the impact of their presence on co-worker morale. A decision requiring an HIV-positive person to disclose their serostatus in a public record as a condition of seeking discrimination redress seems inconsistent with the ADA, since it could strongly discourage HIV-positive people with potentially valid claims from filing suit. It is particularly at odds with the 2008 ADA Amendments Act, which Congress adopted in order to make clear that HIV-positive people are protected against discrimination, regardless of what some uncomprehending federal trial courts had concluded in the previous 18 years.
some congregations trying to use the school is the promotion of similar Christian right beliefs, noting that such culture warriors “walk the hallways of the school, and openly anti-gay churches put posters up and leave material advertising their church.” Dromm noted that a deliberate and well-documented “church-planting” strategy to put evangelical Christian congregations in place in public schools across the nation has been underway for years. Dromm brought down the house when he shifted from his critique of where the DOE has not gone far enough to his recommendations for what should be done. Students, he insisted, deserve “positive role models from out teachers” They should learn about gays and lesbians in history, lessons that serve as both a “window for straight students,” allowing them to see the contributions the LGBT community has made, and a “mirror for gay students,” emboldening them to see their potential. LGBT parents must be more involved in school life. “We need to get the message out — gay is good,” Dromm said to thunderous applause.
neurship became unaffordable, and James packed up ATN and headed back east, deciding to settle in Philadelphia, where he had a number of colleagues and friends. ATN now operates as an independent project housed at Philadelphia FIGHT, an AIDS services group. James reflected with some wonder on the city of Philadelphia’s plans to host a large-scale celebration next year to mark the 50th anniversary of the start of the Annual Reminders pickets.
“We never would have thought of any official recognition like that,” he said. “That would have been inconceivable. We were just happy to be more tolerated. We weren’t looking for anything out of the government besides just letting us live how we wanted to live and leaving us alone.” Jen Colletta (jen@epgn.com) is a staff writer at Philadelphia Gay News, which is spearheading nationwide coverage of the annual October LGBT History Month.
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