Fall

Compiled by Sharon Gittleman

Fall provides hope and new woes

Exciting news this fall helped bring many LGBT people out of the doldrums. The Mass. Supreme Court√ïs decision striking down the state√ïs gay marriage ban offered the chance of future wedded bliss for many. However, new statistics about the rise in AIDS and other sexually-transmitted diseases among gay men ended the year with a sad story.

• HRC dedicates headquarters
The Human Rights Campaign celebrated the completion of its new headquarters building in Washington, DC on Coming Out Day, Oct. 11. Over a thousand people attended a ceremony to cheer the new structure, including Representative Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) and Tipper Gore.
The building was dedicated to the LGBT movement for equality.
√íThis building will forever send a clear message to the world: We are strong, we are worthy, we are passionate and we will not rest until we have achieved perfect equality – nothing more and nothing less,√ì said HRC Executive Director Elizabeth Birch.

• Bush endorses Marriage Protection Week
President Bush endorsed the so-called Marriage Protection Week devised by anti-gay groups like the American Family Association and Concerned Women for America. MPW, held Oct. 12-18, was more or less a publicity stunt to garner support for the Federal Marriage Amendment, a constitutional amendment that would define marriage as between one man and one woman.
LGBT groups led by the Metropolitan Community Church counteracted MPW by declaring the same week Marriage Equality Week.

• Mass. High Court strikes down gay marriage ban
Seven LGBT couples sued the Mass. Dept. of Public Health in 2001, after they were denied the opportunity to file a marriage license. The case slowly wound its way through the state√ïs court system and ended at the steps of the Mass. Supreme Court. In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court held there was no constitutional basis for denying same sex couples the right to marry. The court gave the state legislature 180 days to resolve the issue.
While the decision fell short of legalizing gay marriage, many in the legal community said they viewed the ruling as historic in its scope. Triangle Foundation Executive Director Jeff Montgomery said it was, √ítime to put an end to the second class citizenship for gay and lesbian people in this country.√ì
Following the decision, LGBT marriage still faces a number of hurdles. Many states, including Michigan, are facing efforts by anti-gay activists to pass constitutional amendments limiting marriage to one man and one woman.

• Federal Marriage Amendment introduced in Senate
The Federal Marriage Amendment resolution seeking to define marriage as a union of one man and one woman was introduced in the United States Senate in Nov. right before Thanksgiving. It was sponsored by Sen. Wayne Allard of Colorado and co-sponsored by Sam Brownback of Kansas and Jeff Sessions of Alabama. The FMA was originally introduced in the U.S. House by Colorado Rep. Marilyn Musgrave in May. The FMA had over 100 co-sponsors in the House by the year's end.

• Gay men√ïs syphilis rates rising
U.S. syphilis rates increased for the second year in a row, with gay and bisexual men driving up the number of new cases. Many health officials feared the figures reflect gay men√ïs rejection of safe sex practices.
√íThe vast majority of the United States is not seeing any syphilis at all,√ì said Dr. John Douglas, director of the Center for Disease Control√ïs Division of Sexually Transmitted Diseases. √íWe√ïre seeing syphilis rise primarily in groups of gay and bisexual men.√ì
Health officials say nearly 40 percent of the new syphilis cases are found in gays and bisexuals. In San Francisco alone, 750 new cases were reported, an increase of 50 percent over 2002√ïs figures. Nearly two-thirds of these new San Francisco cases were in people already infected with HIV.
The study revealed syphilis rates are declining among women and non-Hispanic blacks.

• AIDS rates increase; new drug may help
New AIDS statistics, released by the Centers for Disease Control revealed there were five million new HIV infections in 2003, raising the global total of infected people to 36 million. In sub-Saharan Africa, AIDS has orphaned 11 million children. In Michigan, 15,000 people are infected with HIV.
A drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year has provided a hopeful note in the battle against HIV-AIDS. Experts say Fuzeon (also known as T-20 and Enfuvirtide), is demonstrating remarkable results.
Henry Ford Hospital physician Dr. John Jovanovich described Fuzeon as having a √íLazarous-effect.√ì
√íI had a couple of patients who were actually end-stage HIV disease who√ïve responded to the Fuzeon in conjunction with some other medications, very well,√ì he said.
At present, Fuzeon costs $20,000 per year per patient.

• Bush states support for Federal Marriage Amendment
On a Dec. 16 television interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC, President Bush declared his support for the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment. The FMA would define marriage as between one man and one woman in the U.S. Constitution. This was the first time Bush had expressly stated support for the measure publicly prompting Matt Foreman, executive director of The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force to declare Bush's statement, "a declaration of war on gay America."