By Ramy Eletreby

Task Force Blasts DNC Chair Howard Dean on Marriage Equality

Add another strike against Democratic National Committee Chair Howard Dean. On a segment of The 700 Club aired by the Christian Broadcast Network on May 10, Dean said, “The Democratic Party platform from 2004 says that marriage is between a man and a woman. That's what it says. I think where we may take exception with some religious leaders is that we believe in inclusion, that everybody deserves to live with dignity and respect, and that equal rights under the law are important.”

The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force disputes Dean's representation, noting that the platform supports “full inclusion” of gay and lesbian families. “In our country, marriage has been defined at the state level for 200 years, and we believe it should continue to be defined there. We repudiate President Bush's divisive effort to politicize the Constitution by pursuing a 'Federal Marriage Amendment.' Our goal is to bring Americans together, not drive them apart.”

“Disturbingly, this is not the first time [Dean] has misrepresented this important and affirming plank, and he has been asked before to correct the record and to cease making these misleading statements,” Task Force Executive Director Matt Foreman said in a statement, adding that Dean's record on LGBT issues has been “sorely and sadly lacking” since becoming DNC chair. “The Democratic Party chair should stand by and fight for the party's own platform and values. In light of Governor Dean's pandering and insulting interview today with the Christian Broadcasting Network, we have decided to return the DNC's recent $5,000 contribution to us.” Foreman hopes the money will be used to defeat anti-gay state ballot initiatives. Dean later said he "misstated the platform", but did not apologize.

Gays have been furious with Dean since last February when the Washington Blade reported that Dean removed the DNC's LGBT outreach desk. The most recent uproar came after the abrupt firing on May 2 of Donald Hitchcock, executive director of the party's new Gay Lesbian Leadership Council, who oversaw the LGBT fund-raising desk. Hitchcock's partner Paul Yandura, a former Clinton administration staffer, alleged that the firing was in retaliation for an open letter Yandura sent on April 20 to gay Democrats complaining about Dean and the DNC's failure to counter Republican-sponsored anti-gay state ballot measures, the Blade reported. Yandura advocated withholding gay dollars until the DNC responded.

The firing of Hitchcock “is retaliation [for the letter], plain and simple," Yandura told the Blade. "All I did was ask questions about what the party and Dean are doing about its GLBT constituency ... I have yet to see any answers."

“It was not retaliation," DNC spokesperson Karen Finney told the Blade. "It was decided we needed a change. We decided to hire a proven leader," former Victory Fund Director Brian Bond. Dean and party leaders, she added, are developing strategies to fight the ballot measures.

"Chairman Dean continues to listen to the needs of the LGBT community and stands as a leader in our fight for equality," Bond said in a statement.

California Assemblymember Mark Leno questions that. At the California Democratic Convention last year, where elected officials and the state party endorsed his marriage equality bill, Leno confronted Dean about his statement that the Democratic Party doesn't support gay marriage. “What the party needs to do is not fear it and embrace and re-frame marriage equality as the civil rights matter it is—Democrats support civil rights,” Leno told Dean. “Well, we're not going to win U.S. Senate seats in Kentucky by talking about gay marriage,” Leno recalls Dean as saying. “His point was—I know what I'm doing,” Leno told IN. -- Karen Ocamb

Wendy's Includes Gays and Transgenders in Employment Policy

Wendy's International has added protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity to its employment nondiscrimination policy. Equality Project, an LGBT civil rights group, and the New York City Employees Retirement Fund, one of Wendy's International's biggest shareholders, encouraged the fast food chain to update their policy.

“The good news from Wendy's proves once again that building coalitions around the Equality Principles is a strategy that works for shareholders and policy advocates alike, and deserves support by more institutions,” said Grant Lukenbill, managing director of the Equality Project, referring to the 10 core principles of the group that include anti-discrimination policies in the workplace and in advertising.

The New York City Employees Retirement Fund has repeatedly called for LGBT rights equality within the workplace. Its current battle is with ExxonMobil, the only major U.S. company to rescind a non-discrimination policy covering sexual orientation.

CDC To Release Guidelines Asking for Routine HIV Testing by Physicians

On May 8, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) announced plans to release recommendations for all physicians to do routine HIV testing as part of their regular medical exams of patients ages 13-64, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to the CDC, an estimated 25 percent of HIV-positive people in the United States do not know their status and routine testing could lead to an earlier diagnosis and earlier treatment. The recommendations also include revising the guidelines requiring patients to sign separate informed-consent forms and engage in pre-HIV test counseling. The guidelines are expected to be released in June or July in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

Meanwhile, the CDC reports that syphilis cases in the United States have risen due to the increased incidence among men who have sex with men (MSM), reports the Los Angeles Times. From 1999-2004, while syphilis cases decreased among infants, women, and blacks, the increase among MSM has caused the overall number of syphilis cases to rise. People with syphilis are three to five times as likely to contract HIV if they are exposed to the virus, according to a Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report released last November.

Bienestar and AIDS Institute Address Latino HIV/AIDS

On May 3, Bienestar Human Services and the AIDS Institute, which recently formed a partnership known as the Latino AIDS Policy Advocates, held a press briefing addressing the state of Latinos and HIV/AIDS in the United States. Jennifer Kates, director of HIV policy for the Kaiser Family Foundation, said the Latino community is disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. In 2003, Latinos represented only 14 percent of the population, but accounted for 20 percent (200,000) of HIV cases.

“Latinos make up one in five of [new HIV cases]. Approximately one quarter of HIV positive Latinos in care lack health insurance and there are no clear estimates of how many Latinos are not in care. The reauthorization of the Care Act is extremely important for the Latino community, as we as underinsured are in need of the support,” said Bienestar Executive Director Oscar De la O who, with Congressmember Hilda Solis, emphasized the importance of the Ryan White CARE Act.

Other notable speakers included Dr. Jorge Saavedra of the National Center for HIV/AIDS Control and Prevention in Mexico, who talked about immigration issues. For more information and a transcript go to www.kaisernetwork.org/health_cast/hcast_index.cfm?display=detail&hc=1708.

Mary Cheney Releases Book

In her new memoir, Now It's My Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life, political adviser Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, talks about being gay in her Republican family and coming out at 16. “[My dad is] just this great even-keeled guy, and I told him and his reaction was, 'You know, look, you're my daughter and I love you and I just want you to be happy.' And that was it,” Cheney told ABC's Primetime on May 3. Much of Cheney's memoir talks about how her sexual orientation affected her life working for the Bush campaign, facing repeated declarations from Republicans on the sanctity of marriage, which resulted in her notoriously missing Bush's State of the Union address, and the heat she received from LGBT activists who criticized her for not being outspoken enough.

The June issue of Vanity Fair features an extensive story on the Cheney family, which includes Mary's partner of 14 years, Heather Poe, and features interviews with Mary, her father and mother.