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Viatical companies come under scrutiny in NC
New group forms
in NC Triad area
by Susan Tedder
Q-Notes staff
GREENSBORO—A new group has
formed in the Triad to better address the
issues confronting the gay/lesbian/bisexual/
transgender community in that area. The
Triad Advocacy Network (TAN) is the result
of months of planning and need-assessment
by community leaders.
TAN’s stated mission is; “To be social and
political advocates for the lesbian, gay, bi
sexual, transgendered community,” and the
current structuring of the organization offers
a variety of committees — voter education,
media, research, advocacy, and membership
—to attack these arenas from differing points
of view.
These committees are already hard at work
preparing the way for the 1996 election year.
The voter education committee is gathering
information about local elections in the Triad,
and the currently declared or incumbent can
didates. A summary of their findings will be
compiled and released to other organizations
in the area. This committee is also respon
sible for voter registration drives of gay and
gay-friendly persons. The media committee
is working with local TV and print media to
develop contacts, a positive rapport, and to
offer themselves as sources for issues that
may arise at any time. TAN wants to insure
that its voice is heard when community ques
tions arise. The research committee is com
piling a list of persons who have expertise in
areas of interest to the L/G/B/T community
for information and potential speaking en
gagements. The advocacy committee is de
veloping a directory of persons, agencies and
organizations that will be needed to get TAN’s
issues and concerns addressed. The member
ship committee is seeking new organizations
and individuals to join their work.
Jeff Lawson, vice-president and one of the
co-founders of TAN, mentioned many of the
organization’s current and on-going projects,
such as the survey of candidates that took
place before the last election that resulted in a
voter guide, and a letter writing campaign to
address issues such as the recent education
hearings, and supporting the Walt Disney
Company on their positive stance on gay
concerns. “Every letter we send,” Lawson
noted, “represents that many more people
who can’t write one themselves.”
Lawson, who is active in NC Pride PAC,
Human Rights Campaign, and the Triad Busi
ness Guild, feels very positive about where
tan is headed. “I am extremely excited that
the gay and lesbian community in the Triad is
Continued on page 26
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
RALEIGH—^The North Carolina Depart
ment of Insurance held a public hearing De
cember 6 to discuss proposed legislation which
would regulate the operations of viatical agen
cies who conduct business in the state. Viatical
settlement proponents are concerned that if
state restrictions are too stringent, they may
end up hurting the terminally ill citizens they
are being designed to protect by driving com
panies away.
The viatical industry is relatively new, but
its growth has been phenomenal — spurred
on by the AIDS crisis—to the point that it has
become a $300 million enterprise.
When viaticals first appeared, many
thought the concept was morbid — a viatical
company purchases a terminally ill person’s
life insurance policy for a percentage of the
policy’s value, then collects the full amount
of the policy from the insurance company
once the insured individual (viator) dies —
but opinions have changed dramatically as
increasing numbers of people have found
financial security through these arrangements.
The percentage that a policyholder will
receive from a viatical company is directly
tied to their life expectancy. Specifically, the
closer they are to death, the more money they
are likely to receive. The NC Department of
Insurance, under the direction of the General
Assembly and the state Commissioner of In
surance Jim Long, is considering setting mini
mum payouts for various life expectancy lev
els.
For example, the state might decide that
viatical companies must offer a minimum of
60 percent of a policy’s value to someone
with a two-year life expectancy and 70 per
cent to someone with a one-year life expect
ancy (these figures are simply for illustra
tion). Difficulties will arise when viatical
agencies aren’t willing to meet these mini-
mums. For instance, a woman who has been
told she has two years to live may need to sell
her insurance policy to be financially stable
through her progressing illness. If the woman
can’t find a viatical company who is willing to
meet the state’s minimum payout, she will not
Continued on page 16
Arrest gets NGLTF’s attention
by Susan Tedder
Q-Notes Staff
MEDFORD, OR—Law enforcement
agents arrested Robert Acremant, 27, for the
December 4 “execution style” murders of
Roxanne Ellis and Michele Abdill, an openly
lesbian couple.
Ellis and Abdill were very visible in the
local gay community, fought avidly against
Oregon’s anti
gay initiatives,
worked with the
local chapter of
Parents, Fami
lies and Friends
of Lesbians and
Gays (PFLAG)
and were active
in their
church.The vic
tims’bound and
gagged bodies
were found in
the back of their pick-up truck three days after
they disappeared.
“Given the pattern of anti-gay harassment
and violence that occurs in the wake of Radi
cal Right sponsored anti-gay initiatives, we
are extremely concerned and suspicious about
the motive behind the brutal killing of Roxanne
Ellis and Michelle Abdill,” stated Scot
Nakagawa, Portland-based Field Director for
the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force
(NGLTIp.
Individuals close to Acremant, an Air Force
veteran with a master’s degree in business
administration, claim the killings were not
hate motivated but were the result of a “botched
robbery.” Relatives of the slain women say
they don’t believe it.
Local authorities are still trying to piece
together the details of the murder and the
motive behind Acremant’s actions.
Although Medford Police Chief Ray
Shipley says there is little evidence to support
either robbery or gay bashing as a motive for
the killings, statements recently made by
Acremant lend credence to the hate crime
theory.
In press interviews, Acremant said the
sexual orientation of the victims had nothing
NGLTF Executive
Director Melinda Paras
called on Attorney
Generaljanet Reno and
the Depa,rtment of Justice
to become involved with
the murder case.
to do with the murders, but then went on to say
that the fact they Were lesbians “made it easier
[to kill them] because I don’t like them.”
In one alledged statement, Acremant made
his disdain for lesbians even more explicit:
“[i]t kind of made me sick to my stomach that
she [Ellis] was someone’s grandma.”
“Mr. Acremant’s reported comments...
have increased the concerns about the possi
bility of these murders being a hate crime,”
said Melinda Paras, Executive Director of the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
Paras called on Attorney General Janet
Reno and the Department of Justice to be
come involved with the case and begin a
process of recognizing the connection be
tween hate crimes and anti-gay legislative
efforts and take preventative action whenever
possible.
Pride PAC prepares for upcoming erection year
RALEIGH—On Saturday, December 2,
North Carolina Pride Political Action Com
mittee for Lesbian and Gay Equality (NC
Pride PAC), a four-year-old organization dedi
cated to improving the lives of lesbians, gays,
and bisexuals through the electoral process,
elected nine new board members, broadening
the organization’s statewide representation
and leadership.
The board also elected co-chairs and a vice
chair to lead NC Pride PAC in 1996. Co
chairs Susan Shackelford and Sue DuChanois,
both of Charlotte, and Vice Chair Michael
Armentrout, of Durham, plan to continue
making the group a player in General Assem
bly and other state races.
“NC Pride PAC is prepared to come out
strong for the 1996 elections with its T Vote
With Pride’ campaign to involve gay, lesbian
and bisexual voters in every part of the elec
toral process,” DuChanois says. “1996 repre
sents an opportunity to create a General As
sembly that represents, and respects, the les
bian, gay and bisexual community of North
Carolina.”
Adds Shackelford, “Having a board that
looks like North Carolina is a goal of NC
Pride PAC. These terrific additions to the
board bring us that much closer to that goal
and will make it easier to register, and orga
nize, new lesbian, gay and bisexual voters
from across the state.”
The nine new Board members were unani
mously elected and are as follows: Wynn
Bone (Wilson); Mandy Carter (Durham);
Marty Daughtry (Greenville); David Ferebee
(Charlotte); Jeff Lawson (Greensboro); Todd
Huffman (Durham); Cullen Gurganus
(Middlesex); Eliza Taylor (Greensboro); and
Larry Tilson (Charlotte).
NC Pride PAC is preparing an orientation
for new board members as well as a strategy
session to bring all 1996 board members
together to prepare for the “I Vote With Pride”
campaign and the upcoming endorsement
process.
Housing agency
closing its doors
by David Stout
Q-Notes Staff
CHARLOTTE—^The Brothers Founda
tion, the only agency in the city solely focused
on providing housing for people living with
HIV or AIDS, will cease operation on January
18 by a unanimous vote of the group’s board.
TTie move is a cost-cutting measure de
signed to slash almost $100,000 in adminis
trative overhead — such as rent and salaries
— but shouldn’t affect the two housing pro
grams currently being instituted since both
are independent projects.
Board chair Debbie Hirsch says that fold
ing the agency is the only fiscally responsible
action. “Our babies [The Havens and Taylor
Home] no longer need us. Both received HUD
[Department of Housing and Urban Develop
ment] 811 grants which are only given to self-
sufficient organizations. So the programs had
to have their own boards of directors, bylaws,
and 501(c)3 status. It would have been finan
cially irresponsible of us to continue to raise
money just to cover the administration of The
Brothers Foundation — the umbrella organi
zation — when both of our programs were
completely free-standing.”
ITie group launched The Havens, a 24-unit
housing complex now under construction,
last year with a $2 million grant from HUD.
Taylor Home, which has never broken ground
due to a standoff between the federal govern
ment and the Charlotte City Council over the
proposed location of the facility, received
HUD money among other funding sources.
One program that probably will be af
fected under the reorganization is Fieldstone
House. It was the Foundation’s first group
home and currently houses three people —
although it was designed for six. Hirsch calls
the venture a “financially inefficient proposi
tion,” and says that the current residents may
be moved to The Havens when it opens in
June.
If Fieldstone closes, it will be the second
Foundation project to do so. The Living Cen
ter, an adult day-care center, shut down in
September due to a lack of use.
Hirsch says she understands that people
are concerned about the loss of The Brothers
Foundation, but wants them to try and see the
necessity of the situation. “People are bound
to be confused and automatically assume the
worst. I think we are conditioned in this coun
try to believe that charitable organizations
have to have large administrative wings. In
this case, it’s just not true. Our programs don’t
need us anymore — but they will certainly
continue on without us.”