By Ramy Eletreby

Bill Against “Gay Panic” Defense Advances in Senate

On June 27, the Gwen Araujo Justice for Victims Act (AB 1160) passed the California Senate Public Safety Committee by a 4-2 vote. Sponsored by Equality California and authored by Assemblymember Sally J. Leiber (D-San Jose), the bill would make it more difficult to use “gay panic” as a defense trial strategy in murders committed against gay and transgender persons. The bill is now in the Senate Appropriations Committee with a new provision allocating $125,000 toward developing educational materials about “gay panic” strategies for the state’s local district attorneys.

The bill is named after murdered Fremont transgender teenager Gwen Araujo. Gwen’s mother Sylvia Guerrero testified before the committee, saying that the use of such strategies allows defendants to successfully blame victims for their own murders. “Since my daughter was killed, my family and I have spent literally thousands of hours working hard to make sure that California is a state where everyone is respected and treated fairly,” said Guerrero. “[The bill] will give jurors the information they need to better understand their obligation to make decisions free of bias against the victim.”

Lesbian Teens Allowed to Sue Religious School Over Expulsion

California’s high court granted two female teens the right to file a lawsuit against a Lutheran high school in Riverside County after they were expelled last September for allegedly having a romantic relationship. An appeal was filed by the California Lutheran High School stating that as a private religious institution it is not required to abide by the state’s Unruh Act, which prohibits businesses from discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation. “Any implementation of the Unruh Act would contradict the stated position of [the school] that homosexuality is immoral,” wrote John McKay, attorney for the school, to the Supreme Court. The court refused to consider the appeal.

The suit, filed by the 16-year-old students’ parents, cites invasion of privacy and discrimination based on sexual orientation and seeks readmission, unspecified damages, and an injunction prohibiting the exclusion of gay and lesbian students from attending the school.

People Who Unknowingly Transmit HIV Can Be Sued

On July 3 the California Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that people can sue the sexual partner who infected them with HIV, even if that partner did so unknowingly. It is a felony to knowingly expose or infect an unaware partner.

The ruling involved a heterosexual couple identified as Bridget B. and John B. Prior to their marriage in July 2000, John said he was healthy and monogamous and insisted they have unprotected sex, according to the Los Angeles Times. After Bridget tested HIV positive in October 2000, John admitted he had sex with men before their marriage but said he tested negative that August and blamed Bridget for infecting him.

In 2002 Bridget sued John for allegedly negligently or intentionally infecting her with HIV and in pretrial motions demanded John’s sexual history, according to Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report. The state Supreme Court ruled that she was entitled to information for the six months before he tested negative in August.

In the majority opinion, Justice Marvin Baxter wrote that "negligent transmission of HIV does not depend solely on actual knowledge of HIV infection," but also if the person "has reason to know" he or she might be living with the virus, according to Kaiser. "If only those who have been tested [for HIV] are subject to suit, there may be an incentive for some persons to avoid diagnosis.”

In a dissent, Justice Carlos Moreno wrote that the ruling "potentially licenses invasions into sexual privacy of all sexually active Californians and may even invite abuse of the judicial process" through “vengeance lawsuits.”

“I'm not sure what to think” about the ruling, said Michael Weinstein, president of AIDS Healthcare Foundation. “In the specifics of this case he seems culpable but the broader implications could get very messy and don't seem to be the right approach.”

UC Santa Cruz Lesbian Chancellor Apparently Commits Suicide

On June 24, Dr. Denice Dee Denton died after apparently jumping from a San Francisco skyscraper. The New York Times reports the 46-year-old openly gay UC Santa Cruz chancellor had been the target of repeated criticism since taking the position with the University of California 18 months earlier. The former dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Washington, Denton was “like a rock star for women in the sciences and engineering,” professor Eve Riskin told the Times. But critics questioned money spent to renovate her on-campus residence, which colleagues later told the Times had been appropriated before her arrival. She was also criticized for offering her longtime partner, Gretchen Kalonji, a $192,000 salary to be system-wide director of international strategy development.

Denton took medical leave June 15 for treatment of a sever thyroid condition. But professor Angela Davis said at the memorial that Denton suffered “unrelenting homophobic attacks.” Carol Tomlinson-Keasey, chancellor of the University of California, Merced, told the Times, “She was a gay woman who was a chancellor and an engineer. You know that she came through some pretty difficult times, as many people who are breaking down barriers did.”

LGBT Wins, Losses and Squeakers

In a tight race against 5th District incumbent Jackie Kell, Gerrie Schipske, an open lesbian attorney, has been elected to the Long Beach City Council. Schipske emerged from a pack of seven candidates in the April 11 primary to run against Kell, who ran a write-in campaign after being termed out. On election night, Schipske led by only 166 votes, but after Kell requested a hand count, Schipske lead by an even larger margin.

Opponent Gary DeLong defeated Long Beach City Council 3rd District candidate Stephanie Loftin, also an open lesbian. She comments: “When our campaign made the run off by 16 votes on April 11, it demonstrated how much every vote counts and I hope that voters will be encouraged by that and participate in the future,” said Loftin.

In what is considered to be the closest race in the June election, Palm Springs Mayor Ron Oden was inched out by former state Assemblyman Steve Clute in the Democratic primary for the 80th Assembly District. After counting all of the provisional and absentee ballots, Clute won by only 89 votes. -- By Denise Penn

“HIV (Not) Fabulous” Ads Controversy Prompts Community Forum

A series of HIV prevention ads sponsored by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) prompted so much controversy, the organization held a community forum on June 14 in Plummer Park in West Hollywood.

The ads, entitled “HIV (Not) Fabulous,” depict real people living with AIDS and the side-effects of their AIDS medications, such as facial wasting and a bloated stomach.

Ken Howard, LCSW, a long-time AIDS survivor and member of the Community Advisory Board, L.A. County Mental Health Task Force and APLA Health and Care Management, worried about the ads’ impact on the HIV/AIDS community. “My biggest objection to it is that it is highly stigmatizing to the entire community of HIV-positive gay men. The grotesque images and its basic message really teaches people to avoid HIV-positive people, not specific high-risk sex acts,” he told IN.

Activist and writer Tony Valenzuela questioned whether the ads effectively reinforced a safer-sex message. “The ads do not address the practicalities of safer sex,” he told IN. “If the goal is to keep gay men HIV-negative, then why isn’t there any instruction on condom use? What gay men need to learn is how to have the kind of sex they want to have more safely.”

“We’re looking at how we can still get our message across and at what can be possibly altered,” Karen Mall, AHF director of prevention and testing, told IN after the forum. “We’ve definitely heard concerns and we’ve heard about how we can make changes without feeling like we’ve compromised our message or our campaign. We want to hear the dialogue—this was the purpose for having a community forum. But it’s always very difficult because we feel like many of the changes, even if we make them, won’t please everyone.” -- Joseph S. Amster

Have You Seen This Man?

Rev. Troy Perry, founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, is trying to find David Glascok, whom he fears is missing. Glascock was the first openly gay aide to County Supervisor Ed Edelman, a former president of the L.A. Gay Community Alliance in 1971, volunteered for Christopher Street West and worked with the LAPD on gay prisoner issues. According to the managers of his apartment building at 5340 Vanowen in Van Nuys, Glascock disappeared in October. Police were notified but there has been no word since. If you have any information, please contact Frank Zerilli at FrankZerilli@mccchurch.net. -- Karen Ocamb