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~ o Montrose Activity Center :;;; :c- he h(f NEW S L· E T T E R h, •r- P' ~ ~ L~ ad IJaeI ~o e~~ he ~th 5- February ·1990 Issue ·18 ve / The Montrose Activity Center is a non profit 501c3 organization whose purposes are to increase understanding of social, racial and sexual minorities, and to en- he courage acceptance and tolerance of alternative lifestyles so that together the citizens of the City of Houston and the State of Texas may work in the spirit of peaceful lis cooperation to build a better society. The organization acts as an umbrella to other organizations. MAC, PO Box 66684, Houston, TX 77266-6684. g CG mlY IIL e ~ lIDfimllID !HIfi~ !P)mllIDfie ~ 1IJlIDficd!<ill~ 0 1r ® mlmID !HI<illun~ ~ <illlID 0 N mlmID® ~ lP II"<illj ® e ~ !HI<ill1111 ~ ~ <illlID I IL®~riDfimlIID/CGmlY lPII"ficd!® "VI®®Ik o CGmlY & IL®~lIDfimlIID AnnfimllID~® A~mlfilID~~ il))®1fmlmIDml~fi<illIID ist People with AIDS in Texas Struggling a .," 's, n, For Life and for Help From the State en ByBruceLambert Reasons for Apparent Apathy nation's cities behind New York, Los periments at the Southwest foundation for Id from The New York Times YetTexas ranks among theloweststates Angeles and San Francisco, according to BiomedicalResearch. Theanimals showed ill As the AIDS epidemic ranges in New in AIDS spending. Federal statistics reported in November. no ill effects, and the laboratory felt ethi- re York and California, Texas is struggling Some here attribute the phlegmatic re- Dallas was not far behind, in.12th place cally obligated to guarantee food, housing ce with a less noticed but no less destructive sponse to its AIDS epidemic to the state's with its nearly2,000cases. Hundreds more and care for the 45 years the chimps are AIDS plague of its own. conservativepoliticalbent andinparttothe are in Austin, Forth Worth and San Anto- expected to live. The response toAIDS in Texas has been strength ofreligious evangelicals in Texas nio. While the chimps are set for life, hu- mixed, even contradictory. In a state that and their often fierce hostility to homo- "A dark shadow is falling on Texas- mans with AIDS have no matching sys- has historically ranked low in spending on sexuality.About85percentofTexanswith we're in a very dire state," said the Rev. tern. Warran W. Buchingham 3d, who social problems, much of the burden has AIDS are gay or bisexual men. Chris C. Steele, an Episcopalian minister directs the AIDS Arms Network in Dallas, fallen on private groups. William W. A study by the AIDS Policy Center in in Houston. She led the StateLegislature's a coalition of private organizations, said: Wayboum, president of the Dallas Gay Washington calculated that California and recent Task Force on AIDS, which called "It's ironic in the extreme. They get a hell Alliance, calls his city,where 2,000 AIDS New York budgeted nearly $3 per resident for morestate spendingon AIDS treatment of a lot more than we have for people with ,.. __ --1 .•.!..-..._ .•• "'._... "'\_1_0(:" '.' j ".. D Y rsrtrce'rzarrroert Ke-a-suns"'ro-r-A:pparent~A.:patify nation's-cUles hehiiid-New York, Los periments at the Southwest foundation for ~ld from The New York Times Yet Texas ranks among the lowest states Angeles and San Francisco, accordjng to Biomedical Research. The animals showed ill As the AIDS epidemic ranges in New in AIDS spending. Federal statistics reported in November. no ill effects, and the laboratory felt ethi- ere York and California, Texas is struggling Some here attribute the phlegmatic re- Dallas was not far behind, in .12th place cally obligated to guarantee food, housing e with a less noticed but no less destructive sponse to its AIDS epidemic to the state's with its nearly 2,000 cases. Hundreds more and care for the 45 years the chimps are AIDS plague of its own. conservative political bent and in part to the are in Austin, Forth Worth and San Anto- expected to live. The response to AIDS in Texas has been strength of religious evangelicals in Texas nio. While the chimps are set for life, hu- mixed, even contradictory. In a state that and their often fierce hostility to homo-. "A dark shadow is falling on Texas- mans with AIDS have no matching sys- has historically ranked low in spending on sexuality. About 85 percent of Texans with . we're in a very dire state," said the Rev. tem.Warran W. Buchingham 3d, who social problems, much of the burden has AIDS are gay or bisexual men. Chris C. Steele, an Episcopalian minister directs the AIDS Arms Network in Dallas, fallen on private groups. William W. A study by the AIDS Policy Center in in Houston. She led the State Legislature's a coalition of private organizations, said: Wayboum, president of the Dallas Gay Washington calculated that California and recent Task Force on AIDS, which called "It's ironic in the extreme. They get a hell Alliance, calls his city, where 2,000 AIDS New York budgeted nearly $3 per resident for more state spending on AIDS treatment of a lot more than we have for people with cases have been diagnosed so far, "the for AIDS in 1989. Texas spent at a rate of and prevention programs. AIDS." Calcutta of the AIDS epidemic." just 14 cents on state programs. Those In one instance Texas has even produced Texas remains one of 24 states that More than 8,000 cases have already been figures do not include Federal and local a curious instance of AIDS care that is outlaws homosexual intercourse. Efforts to diagnosed in Texas, more than in any state spending. better.for animals than for humans. pass legislation protecting gay people from except New York, California and Florida Houston, a city of nearly two million In San Antonio, a retirement fund of discrimination have failed. In Dallas, Judge and about the same number as in New people, has recorded more than 3,000 AIDS more than $1 million- is being set aside for Jack Hampton was officially censured last Jersey. cases so far, ranking fourth among the about 40 chimpanzees infected during ex- seePeople with AIDS page 11 Variations on a Theme: Gay and Lesbians Couples If)'{ 'THIS issue from Newsweek ing old perceptions much faster than the In July the New York State Court of Montrose Activity Center 2 & 10 by Jean Seligmann courts are. But in many parts of the country Appeals ruled that a gay man whose long- Lesbian/Gay Pride 3 ~ What's in a family? A mommy, a daddy, lawmakers are now finally catching up and term lover had died qualified as family. The June 15-241990 a couple of kids and maybe a grandma, validating the legitimacy of the non-tradi- survivor was therefore entitled to assume Calendar of Events 5-6-7 right? Well, yes, but that's not the whole tional family. the lease of his partner:s ~ent-controll~ The Dating Game 9 " pictui:eanymore. The family tree of Ameri- Several landmark legal developments . M~attan ap~ent. S~mIlar state legis- It is important to establish a sense of can society is sending forth a variety of new this year greatly expanded the definition of lation and municipal ordmances are under being able to share and enjoy things to- and fast-growing branches. Gay and lesbian what constitutes a family. In May, San consideration nationwide. Legislators, gether. Work on developing a sense of couples (with or without children) and Francisco's Board of Supervisors passed judges and elected officials in Michigan, trust in .the first few meetings t?gether unmarried heterosexual couples are now "domestic partnership" legislation recog- Wisconsin, Washington, Maryland and the and notice whether you both enjoy and . ... ft" respect each other. commonplace. What's surprising is not so nizing homosexual and unmarried hetero- District of Columbia are forgmg e torts to much that these offshoots of the main trunk sexual couples as families. The ordinance, reach an all-inclusive understanding of GLAAD Report 10 f il As Houston GLAAD searched the are flourishing but that the public seems which was put on the ballot for a November am y. .. , station'spublicfileforsympatheticpro- more and more willing to recognize them as referendum, defines domestic partners as Some experts thmk it s no longer pos- tests by others, evidence that KLOL ig- families. Earlier this year the Massachu- "two people who have chosen to share one sible to define the family. "Family has nored the surrounding community carne setts Mutual Life Insurance Co. asked 1,200 another's lives in an intimate and commit- become a fluid concept," says Arthur Le- tolight. Not onetime was anythingdone randomly selected adults to define the word ted relationship of mutual caring." The onard, professor of law at New York Law to ~ire~tly benefit a gay or lesbian or- Oth .. d . garuzation. "family." Only 22 percent picked the legal- law's intent was to extend to qualifying Scoo.h 1 ers fear recogmzmg omesuc '. istic definition: "A group of people related - domestic partners some of the benefits partnerships will undermine the sanctity of . Gay dancm~ at Dls~eyland 11 by blood, marriage or adoption." Almost accorded married heterosexuals. Health theheterosexualnuclearfamily reducingit I am very disturbed WIthst~te~ents I . ' hear from gay men who feel fighting for three quarters instead chose a much broader benefits, property and life insurance, be- to a ,:"ere abstraction. But m, fact ,:"ost the right to dance is silly or that gay men and more emotional description: "A group reavement leave, and annuity and pension Amencanhouseholdstodaydon tconsistof should not attend male strip shows at of people who love and care for each other." rights are all under consideration.