Vol. 10, No. 1
June 1995
March
Madness
...Page 24
A Call to
Arms
...Page 25
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Sources say Helms stalling Ryan White funding
by David Jones
Q-Notes Staff
WASHINGTON, DC—North Carolina
Senator Jesse Helms has reportedly placed a
hold on a bill to re-authorize the Ryan White
CARE Act which provides services to people
with HIV and AIDS, delaying and possibly
preventing a vote on the bill by the full Senate.
Helms’ office, through a spokesperson who
said her name could not be used, refused to
confirm that he has placed a hold on the bill.
The spokesperson told Q-Notes, “holds are
supposed to be confidential.”
“The Senator does have serious problems
with the bill,” the spokesperson admitted. But
she could not or would not say whether Helms
would support an appropriation at any level or
whether he intends to try to kill the measure
altogether.
Christine Lubinski, Deputy Director of
AIDS Action, a Washington, DC lobbying
group, told Q-Notes that “A hold is in place
and we understand that it is from Senator
Helms. It seems to be related to a larger anti-
AIDS or anti-gay agenda that is becoming a
litany in the new Congress.” Carolyn Harley,
director of the state’s AIDS Care Branch
which manages the Ryan White program in
North Carolina, told Q-Notes that sources at
the Association of State and Territorial AIDS
Directors also confirmed that Helms has
blocked a vote on the bill.
The bill was recently reported out of com
mittee to the full Senate. There are 57 co
sponsors, 19 of which are Republicans, in
cluding presidential candidate Sen. Robert
Dole of Kansas, and conservative Sen. Strom
Thurmond of South Carolina. “This bill has
broad, bipartisan support,” said Lubinski. “It
is. a real tragedy that one senator can hold up
something that the American people clearly
support,” she said, “and there’s nothing con
troversial here, nothing about condoms or
educational material.”
Helms’ anonymous spokesperson was
quite willing todi^ss the bill and the senator’s
objections to it. She said that Helms does not
like the fact that HIV disease has the ninth
highest mortality of the leading causes of
death but receives the highest level of funding
through federal public health and research
agencies. “This is way out of line with other
diseases,” she said.
Figures faxed to Q-Notes by Helms’ of
fice, compiled by the Congressional Research
Service, list AIDS research, prevention and
OutCharlotte 95 receives grant from
Fund for Southern Communities
by Robert Marcus James
Special to Q-Notes
CHARLOTTE—^Naomi Swinton, Chair of
the Board of Trustees of OutCharlotte, an
nounced on May 23 that the Fund for South
ern Communities (FSC) had awarded
OutCharlotte 95 a
grant of $5,000 to
support the first fes
tival this October.
“We were very
surprised, but very
grateful, to have
been awarded the
maximum grant for a new organization,” stated
Swinton. “It bodes well for the success of
OutCharlotte, and the many things we are
trying to accomplish.”
OutCharlotte is an annual cultural festival
celebrating the lesbian/gay/bisexual/
transgender (LGBT) community. The
festival’s stated purpose is to foster aware
ness and appreciation of LGBT culture through
arts-related, educational and historical pro
grams. The first festival will be held October
11-15.
The grant application was prepared by
Festival Director Dan Kirsch. “We asked for
funds to help promote the educational compo
nents of the Festival,” said Kirsch. “We will
have workshops, seminars, performances and
speakers about all aspects of LGBT culture,
and we want to promote these programs to the
general public as well as our community.
These funds will allow us to create even more
visibility for LGBT culture.”
Jack Beckford, Program Officer for the
Fund for Southern Communities, said the
decision to give the festival a maximum grant
was quite simple. “We were supportive of the
work; we think it’s important work, and the
money was available.”
The grant awarded to OutCharlotte was
from FSC’s Southern Outlook Fund, which
specifically funds les
bian and gay projects
in North Carolina,
South Carolina and
Georgia. A signifi
cant amount of money
is available in the next
grant cycle, with ap
plications due September 1. For a grant appli
cation, write the Fund for Southern Commu
nities at 552 Hill Street SE, Atlanta GA30312,
or call (404) 577-3178.
OutCharlotte 95 will feature a public speech
by Col. Margarethe Cammermeyer, work
shops and seminars, a business & crafts fair,
an art exhibit, and several performances. In
addition, several area groups are planning
complementary events.
Swinton, though pleased with the award,
cautioned overconfidence regarding
fundraising for the Festival. “We are plan
ning a major event, and it takes money and
lots of volunteer time to produce an event this
size,” stated Swinton. “The FSC grant is a
great start, but we need the entire community
to contribute to ensure a success. This grant
is really a challenge to the community that
says, ‘come on, now do your part.’”
For more information about OutCharlotte,
including how to become a sponsor, write
OutCharlotte, PO Box 32062, Charlotte, NC
28232-2062, or call (704) 563-2699.
treatment spending at $2.7 billion in 1995
(research, $1.5 million; prevention and edu
cation, $490 million; and treatment, $660
million). $2.3 billion was spent on cancer, the
second leading cause of death. $809 million
was spent on heart disease, the leading cause
of death, in fiscal year 1995. The figures also
show that deaths due
to heart disease are
down 26%, up 3%
for cancer, while
deaths due to HIV are
up 105%.
(The spending
tables faxed by
Helms office also list
tobacco as the
nation’s leading ac
tual cause of death.
In another table,
smoking is listed as
the principal risk fac
tor for the top four
causes of death: heart
disease, cancer,
stroke and bronchi
tis/emphysema.)
“The Senator is
concerned that the
federal government
is just playing to effective lobbyists, almost
like a disease of the month,” the staffer said,
“and feels that this is a disproportionate amount
to be spending on one disease.”
Sen. Jesse Helms
Senatorial holds are supposed to be a cour
tesy, requiring only that the senator placing
the hold get 24 hours notice before a bill is
brought to the full Senate for a vote. However,
Lubinski pointed out that in many cases, like
this one, a hold is a signal that there is a serious
controversy and can result in an indefinite
delay in a bill’s consid
eration. Holds also give
the senator placing
them more time to ne
gotiate for amend
ments.
North Carolina cur
rently receives. $2.4
million in Ryan White
funds, an increase from
$1.9 million in the pre
vious year. Under a
change in the funding
formula in the pro
posed re-authorization
bill, the state would
receive from $4.5 to $5
million in the 1995 fis
cal year. Funds are used
for a wide variety of
support programs in
cluding medical and
dental care, housing as
sistance, transportation to health care ser
vices and emergency financial assistance.
Some 5,000 people have received services
Continued on page 14
Chapel Hill OKs domestic partners
CHAPEL HILL, NC—^Although gay rights
are under fire across the country, the Chapel
Hill Town Council bucked a national mood
on April 24 by unanimously approving mea
sures allowing for registration of same and
opposite sex unmarried couples.
The passage not only makes Chapel Hill
the second and largest community in North
Carolina to recognize domestic partnerships,
but also gives gay-rights activists hope, even
though the town is an anomaly among local
governments held hostage by fear from the far
right.
Five members of the public spoke in sup
port of the measures, which also provided for
family and sick leave for domestic partners of
town employees, restrictions regarding su
pervisory relationships between town em
ployees and their domestic partners, and re
porting requirements regarding the real estate
holdings of the domestic partners of elected
officials. No members of the public spoke in
opposition.
Gloria Faley, a lesbian mother and mem
ber of the Orange (County) Lesbian and Gay
Association (OLGA) spoke of many prob
lems faced by nontraditional families in the
area. She said that the domestic partnership
registration would allow the recognition of
her 17 year relationship with her partner,
Susan Johnston, and that it would help
strengthen families.
“I believe in the true meaning of family
values,” Faley said at the meeting. “Love,
respect, and commitment.”
Dan Coleman, a member of the Orange
County Greens, a local environmental group,
said the measures would help deal with social
fragmentation by continuing Chapel Hill’s
long tradition of supporting nontraditional
families.
“It’s important that the Chapel Hill Town
Council speaks out against the rhetoric of
hate,” Coleman said, adding that the mea
sures would foster relationships of care and
commitment.
Also debated at the meeting was a measure
that would have provided domestic partners
of town employees with dependent coverage
under the town’s insurance policy. The mea
sure was refened for further study to deter
mine whether any conflicts might exist with
state laws. However, according to Bob Garris,
OLGA’s communication director, the town
agreed to proceed with preparation of a bud
get assuming the coverage would be pro
vided.
Chapel Hill’s passage of domestic partner
ship legislation came during the 25 th anniver
sary of the town’s inclusion of affectional
preference in its employment anti-discrimi
nation px)licy and less than eight months after
neighboring Carrboro passed similar mea
sures. Registration of domestic partners was
made available immediately to Chapel Hill
residents who met specific requirements and
were willing to sign an affidavit. The fee for
registration is $50.