>30 Voices From The Past 30 Years, Part Five

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The Advocate marked the fourth decade of the AIDS crisis by revisiting some of the people who have been there since day one:

“The first year of GMHC [Gay Men’s Health Crisis] and the first four years of ACT UP were some of the most exciting years I have ever felt in my life. I have never felt such love, support, and energy among all of us fighting for common goals.”

Author and activist Larry Kramer. August 17, 1999.
 

“Over time, while the pandemic has not left the GLBT community, it has vastly extended within the LGBT community and into other communities, including heterosexual women, the majority of whom are women of color.”

Ana Oliveira, executive director of Gay Men’s Health Crisis. August 30, 2005.

 

“If we can create an engine called Microsoft that can put a computer in virtually every home in America, if we can create an engine called Nike that can put sneakers on the feet of people all over the world, then we have to begin to create engines–multibillion-dollar engines–that are addressing the great social causes of our time.”

AIDS Ride founder Dan Pallotta. February 19, 2002.
 

“I wonder now as I look around me, Who is going to carry my torch?”

Television personality and AIDS educator Pedro Zamora, testifying before Congress. July 7, 1998.
 

“At the tender age of 41–a year longer than I once thought I would live–I have never felt better, HIV transformed my life, made me a better and braver writer, prompted me to write the first big book pushing marriage rights, got me to take better care of my health, improved my sex life, and deepened my spirituality.”

Author and political pundit Andrew Sullivan. July 5, 2005.
 

“Not until same-sex relationships are fully recognized as equal to opposite-sex relationships; not until a gay or bisexual soldier’s sacrifice is equal to that of a straight soldier; not until we put an end to the chipping away of a young boy’s self-esteem by bullying in the school yard; not until there is a time when the concern is not who we love but that we love will the stigma of HIV/AIDS fade. And only then will our nation do all it can to finally put an end to a disease that so significantly impacts gay and bisexual men and people of color.”

A joint statement by Dr. Marjorie J. Hill, chief executive officer of Gay Men’s Health Crisis; Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force; and Paul Kawara, executive director of the National Minority AIDS Council. October 1, 2010.

>30 Voices From The Past 30 Years, Part Four

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The Advocate marked the fourth decade of the AIDS crisis by revisiting some of the people who have been there since day one:

“In 1986, when a great number of people that I knew had already died and were infected, I just assumed that I was infected also, because I couldn’t imagine why I wouldn’t have been. Finally, I had the courage to go and get the test, which was one of the scarier moments of my life. I found out that I was HIV-negative. At first I didn’t understand it, and then i felt guilty because so many friends of mine were dealing with this issue and I had been released from this burden. After a period of time, I thought, I’m a very lucky man, and I have to show up in this problem, not because I’m fighting for my own life but because I have to be a part of this fight. I’ve been extraordinarily fortunate in many ways, and I want to be a part of the solution.”

Producer and philanthropist David Geffen. December 29, 1992.
 

“Slick Willie, the Republicans were right. We should never have trusted you. You are doing nothing while we die. One year later, lots of talk, but no action. Bill, while me and my community are dying in ever-increasing numbers, all you do it talk.”

ACT UP member Luke Montgomery [Luke Sissyfag], who interrupted a speech by President Bill Clinton at an AIDS ward at Georgetown University Medical Center. January 25, 1994.
 

“I heard this big, hollow thud, and then I found myself in the water. I just held my head in the hopes… I [didn’t] know if I was cut or not. But I wanted to keep the blood in, or just not let anybody touch it. Dealing with HIV was really difficult for me because I felt like, God, thee US Olympic Committee needs to know about this. But I didn’t anticipate hitting my head on the board. That’s where I became paralyzed with fear.”Olympian Greg Louganis, telling Barbara Walters about his diving accident during the 1988 games. March 21, 1995.

 

“I remember complaining, ‘Why isn’t anybody doing anything? Why isn’t anyone raising money?’ And it struck me like lightning: ‘Wait a second, I’m not doing anything.’ So with the help of several other people, we put on the first-ever gay benefit here, the Commitment to Life. Betty Ford was the guest of honor, and it took about a year to put together. I’ve never heard so many nos in my life. Oh, my God,m it was unbelievable! Nobody in this town wanted to know or be a part of it. They said, ‘No, this is one where you want to stay away from.There’s a stigma.’ I didn’t even know that Rock Hudson was sick yet. i found that out two or three months after i was involved.”

Actress and activist Elizabeth Taylor. October 15, 1996.
 

“[As gay men] we’re conditioned to think we’re always at risk for HIV. I know that anytime I’ve gone for an HIV test, I always worry, even if I don’t engage in unsafe sexual behavior or inject drugs.”

Jose Zuniga, a volunteer for a 1997 live-virus HIV vaccine trial. November 25, 1997.
 

“If my story can help people–anybody at all–it is positive. I’ve always tried to help people, whether it be as a gay man, or a Mexican-American or now, someone who is HIV-positive.”

1996 national champion figure skater Rudy Galindo. May 9, 2000.

>30 Voices From The Past 30 Years, Part Three

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The Advocate marked the fourth decade of the AIDS crisis by revisiting some of the people who have been there since day one:

“I wanted to do something about AIDS through the eyes of the gay community. There was nothing else out there, and people kept saying, ‘Why is this still a taboo subject?'”

Lindsay Law, executive producer of the film Longtime Companion. May 8, 1990.
 

“Remember that someday the AIDS crisis will be over. And when that day has come and gone, there will be people alive–gay and straight people, black and white people, men and women–who will hear that once there was a terrible disease and that a brave group of people stood up and fought and in some cases died so others might live and be free. I’m proud to be with the people I love–those who are fighting this war–and to be a part of that fight. And after we kick the shit out of this disease, I intend to be alive to kick the shit out of this system so that it will never happen again.”

Film critic, author, and GLAAD cofounder Vito Russo at the October 1988 ACT UP FDA protest. December 18, 1990.
 

“I hear people say, ‘Oh, gee, wasn’t that horrible then?’ but it’s just as horrible now. It’s just on a grander scale. Instead of spending $20 million, we spend $2 billion, but instead of having 10,000 cases we have 200,000 cases.”

Randy Shilts, former Advocate staffer and author of And The Band Played On. June 15, 1993.
 

“I tell people when I go out to speak that no matter how people got this virus, we’ve got to open our arms up to everybody–not just to me because I’m heterosexual. Until you’re able to educate society–not just about AIDS and HIV, but about gays and stuff–they’re always going to do and say stupid things.”

Retired basketball player and philanthropist Magic Johnson. April 21, 1992.
 

“For those with HIV, never despair, never give up, because things are happening all the time, because we will get there someday, and it could be sooner than some of us dare to expect.”

Mathilde Krim, founding chairman of amfAR. November 16, 1993.
 

“I’ve lost incredible numbers of people. I’m to the point where I don’t even remember who’s alive anymore… Some days I just assume everybody’s dead. I went through a one-year period where I’d say that i just don’t have anyone I love anymore. I had one friend whose ashes are buried in my backyard. I’ve done four quilts, and that’s just for people no one else had done it for.”

Actor and playwright Harvey Fierstein. October 8, 1991.

>30 Voices From The Past 30 Years, Part Two

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The Advocate marked the fourth decade of the AIDS crisis by revisiting some of the people who have been there since day one:

“Mr. Reagan, did you explain…that sometimes ignorant people act is such a way [toward people with AIDS] that is frightening… How long is it going to take before people get smart…educated people? We’re not talking about illiterate people. We’re talking about senators and congressmen and the fucking president.”

Actress Whoopi Goldberg, speaking at the 1987 March On Washington. November 10, 1987.
 

“Now I deal regularly with the phenomenon of young men who come up after a concert, with tears in their eyes, and say, ‘I just want to thank you.’ And without them saying it, I know they’ve had a friend who has died of AIDS.”

Folksinger and songwriter Joan Baez. August 18, 1987.
 

“It’s so beautiful. I think it is a strengthening and empowering statement of hope and remembrance. If people come away from here with anything, I want it to be love. I want people who come here to understand that even as this epidemic continues, we’re loving people, we take care of each other, and we’ve got the strength and the will to beat this disease.”

Activist Cleve Jones at the launch of the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the 1987 March On Washington. November 10, 1987.
 

“At first, I waited politely for the president to respond to the epidemic…. After about a year, I realized the government wasn’t going to do anything, so I started doing safer-sex education with community-based AIDS organizations. By 1985, it was becoming clear that we needed to take this a step further, that civil disobedience would be as important as caregiving if we wanted real change.”

Waiyde Palmer, an activist who helped organize and AIDS protest during the 1989 San Francisco Opera performance of Falstaff.
 

“What we don’t need is another study. What we need is leadership, and…once again, the president is hiding.”

US representative Henry Waxman, a longtime critic of President Ronald Reagan’s inaction on AIDS. September 13, 1988.
 

“Now that I’ve resigned myself to living, how am I going to make something of it? There’s a question I ask myself and ask of everybody who is struggling to heal themselves, everybody who is dealing with AIDS, dealing with being gay, dealing with this painful world: ‘Where is your passion? Why do you love, and what are you doing about it?'”

Choreographer Bill T. Jones. February 27, 1990.

>30 Voices From The Past 30 Years, Part One

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The Advocate marked the fourth decade of the AIDS crisis by revisiting some of the people who have been there since day one:

“We are seeing the beginning of a major epidemic of cancer. The disease happens to be occurring in the gay community, but what is really relevant is whatever conditions are causing Kaposi’s [sarcoma]. We are very concerned to head off a panic.”

Alvin Friedman-Kien, MD, of the NYU Medical Center, August 20, 1981

“So far, no one knows with certainty what causes the fatal new diseases. Homosexuals, one person in a monogamous relationship and not the other, even infants have succumbed. Yet many cases are centered in the gay men’;s community, especially in New York City. Most of us who know a lot of gay men also know one or more who have died. Living with this situation feels a bit like it must have felt to be alive when the plague was decimating the population of Europe.”

David Goodstein, president of Liberation Publications, publisher of The Advocate, in a letter to readers. January 20, 1983.

“Two and a half years ago, my friends wondered why I was doing this.”

Lynn Paleo, who worked with the San Francisco AIDS Foundations, in a feature about lesbians’ involvement in AIDS activism. October 14, 1986.

“AIDS is a sex-related disease, and we in the religious community have not gotten our act together on sexuality.”

The Reverend Carl Flemister, executive minister of the American Baptist Churches of Metropolitan New York, discussing the spread of HIV. April 2, 1985.

“My volunteer life at this point is limit4ed exclusively to health education against contracting AIDS. We’ve been deluged with threats and the worst possible hype–media hype–about the dangers of AIDS. Yet there have been very few sound voices coming through saying, ‘Yes, times are tough, and they may get worse, but we can do something about it.’ That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Actress Zelda Rubenstein on her involvement in an early AIDS awareness ad campaign. June, 10, 1986.

“When confronted with our own mortality, it has become common in our community to have our bodies cremated and our ashes thrown to the four winds. But with the wind goes an important part of our history. And also an important part of our future. I ask you to consider the ramifications of this action on tomorrow’s generation of lesbians and gays as they search for self-esteem. As a person with AIDS, I have thought about this a great deal. I believe that we must be the same activists in our deaths that we were in our lives. I urge those of you who are facing death to find a method of leaving a lasting record of our accomplishments–including the acknowledgement that you were lesbian or gay.”

Activist and former Air Force sergeant Leonard Matlovich. June 23, 1987.

>Today Is World AIDS Day

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And in South Carolina……..

December 1st is World AIDS Day, a day of remembering those who lost this battle and honoring those living with HIV. In South Carolina, on this 2010 World AIDS Day, there are more than 250 people on the AIDS Drug Assistance Program [ADAP] waiting list due to inadequate funding. The S.C. HIV/AIDS Care Crisis Task Force is reaching out to legislators and people around the state for assistance in advocating for funding the South Carolina AIDS Drug Assistance Program to meet the demand for life saving medications.

The cost of HIV/AIDS drugs continues to increase, and with inadequate funding for early care and treatment of HIV/AIDS, patients will continue to suffer. With adequate funding, however, people living with HIV can stay healthier and working longer, mother to child transmission can be nearly eliminated, and new infections can be prevented. If we fail to focus on HIV prevention in South Carolina, the state will continue to see increased numbers of new HIV infections and incur the severe financial burden of care for those who are uninsured.

According to Noreen O’Donnell, Ryan White Program Manager for SC DHEC STD/HIV Division, “The South Carolina AIDS Drug Assistance Program is currently facing a funding shortfall due to cuts in federal and state budgets and an increase in demand for services. As of November 24, 2010, there are 251 patients who are HIV positive on a waiting list for drugs and that number is projected to rise to over 900 people by June 30, 2011. Without additional funding the wait list will be in place for the foreseeable future.”

ADAP is growing at a rate of 10-15% annually and serves 27% of people living with HIV in South Carolina, which is 7% greater than the national average. South Carolina must ensure the provision of $3.5 million recurring, and at least $7 million in additional state supplemental funding to maintain the continuation of federal funds for ADAP. With the current $1.8 million supplemental state contribution, the SC ADAP predicts a $10 million shortfall for FY 2011.

How can you help? Contact your state legislators, Congressmen, Senators, Governors, even the President, and demand that money for ADAP be restored and that no further cuts be accepted.

It’s the least we can do for those who need our help.

>Just For Giggles: Catty Patty Cake

>I saw this earlier today, over at EllEmEllEmBee, or LMLMB, or Love Me Love My Blog, and I knew I would steal it!
Thanks Twunty!

>Read It And Weep, Old Man McCain and Miss Lindsey Graham

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Apparently the Pentagon’s long-long-awaited report on ::::gasp:::: gays in the military comes to the same conclusion that i had about, oh, seventeen-years or so ago when it was implemented:
Repealing DADT would present a low risk, low risk Johnny Boy, to the armed forces’ ability to carry out their mission.And, some 70% of service members believe it would have little or no effect on their units.
From the Washington Post:

According to a survey sent to 400,000 service members, 69 percent of those responding reported that they had served with someone in their unit who they believed to be gay or lesbian. Of those who did, 92 percent stated that their unit’s ability to work together was very good, good, or neither good nor poor, according to the sources.
Combat units reported similar responses, with 89 percent of Army combat units and 84 percent of Marine combat units saying they had good or neutral experiences working with gays and lesbians.

Of course, Gramps and Miss Lindsey will focus only on the idea of those surveyed overall–and between 40- and 60-percent of the Marine Corps–express concern about the repeal, or predicted a negative reaction, but the fact is that gay men and women have been serving in the military forever, and now we see that even members of the military, and military leaders, want discrimination to end.

>It’s Today

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Out there in Illinois, the Illinois General Assembly is expected to vote on same-sex civil unions legislation. It is expected, of course, to be a very close vote, though Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan expects lawmakers to approve the bill, and the governor has voiced his support for civil unions.
I’m a bit ambivalent about this. I think if we start getting civilly unionized, or whatever you call it, then people will say we don’t need marriage; to me, civil unions are still back of the bus. If Americans, straight Americans, can marry whomever they love, then gay Americans should be able to do so as well.
To me, it’s just that simple.
Now, don’t get me wrong, civil unions are nice, but they still feel less than. Some people are married, you know, most people, but others aren’t because they can only have civil unions. It’s different, and different is less than. See, straight couples have the option of marriage or civil union, gay couples do not.
Back of the bus.
And, if civil unions are legalized in Illinois, well, don’t take that to mean that gay marriages performed elsewhere will be recognized, because that won’t happen. The bill will provide the same spousal rights to same-sex partners when it comes to surrogate decision-making for medical treatment, survivorship, adoptions, and accident and health insurance.
Nice, but still, not good enough.
For me, it should be marriage; equal marriage only.
This is just marriage-lite. And I won’t be spoon-fed this crap.

>One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

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I was really excited about this story when I first read it, and couldn’t wait to post it.

It seems that a Texas couple, a Texas gay couple, recently got married. In Texas. Where, you know, equality for the LGBT community and marriage is not exactly a reality. So, how did Mark Reed and Dante Walkup do it?

Via Skype. Reed, who is on the board of GetEQUAL, recently married Dante Walkup at the W Dallas Victory hotel. Their wedding was officiated by Skype, from Washington, D.C., where same-sex marriage is legal. They were married in a conference room  in front of about 80 people with a 6-by-8-foot screen looming behind them. At a W hotel in Washington, marriage quality activist Sheila Alexander-Reid officiated the wedding.

Folks are calling it an “e-marriage;” a high-tech version of the proxy wedding traditionally held when one of the parties can’t be physically present — because, for example, they’re in the military stationed overseas.

Mark Reed: “The reason we wanted to do it this way is because we wanted to have a wedding here in Dallas with our family and friends. It was very important that all of our family came. It was the first time they actually met, even though we’ve been together 10 years. If we had to go to D.C., there’s no way we could have had the people there who we wanted to be there.”

Although Reed and Walkup could marry in Dallas, they first had to travel to Washington DC to register. And Reed said while DC’s marriage law has no provision against e-marriage, the validity of the procedure could be challenged in court. So, the couple is working with legal experts and legislators from states where same-sex marriage is legal to draft statutes to solidify the practice.

Reed and Walkup say they have no desire to use their e-marriage to challenge Texas’ bans on same-sex marriage, but they do want to make same-sex marriage more convenient and less expensive for gay and lesbian couples to legally wed.

One step forward, right? Except then I read that the Washington DC marriage bureau is having issues with the legality of an e-marriage.

Sheila Alexander-Reid, who officiated at the Reed-Walkup e-marriage, says: “The D.C. marriage bureau kicked back the certificate we had filed.” Apparently, the DC marriage bureau has deemed that the marriage license filed following the Skype ceremony is invalid.

Reid-Alexander says the license is said to be void because the marriage did not take place within the District. She received a fresh marriage license from the court. Alexander-Reid could use it to re-officiate a Reed-Walkup ceremony, if they choose to marry again in DC, “with all parties . . . in physical attendance.”

Two steps back.

Gay Couple Legally Weds In Texas

DC Marriage Bureau Rejects Same-Sex Skype Wedding