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2 MONTROSE VOICE / FRIDAY, DECEMBER 1'
AIDS Alliance adopts working budget for 1991
From p
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appropriate manner, from any appropriate sources, be it city, county,
state or federal, or private corporations... because the problem is so
great," Cooper said.
Service provider board members,
however, were more direct. "The
county has supported (the Alliance),
at least in terms of facilities and
corder, to work with Lee on a paper
which will be presented to city
health officials, then to council
when it begins discussions of the
1992 budget in February.
AIDS rights activists, including
members of the AIDS Equity League
and ACT UP Houston were also
asked by Lee to present their views
for the report.
Also, service provider representatives met with councilmember
Beverley Clark's staff and health department representatives last week
to discuss AIDS funding.
During the Alliance meeting,
Cooper told board members that the
budget was "flexible at this point,"
"Several things have come to my
attention this week...that could impact (the budget)," she said,
travel support, if not monetarily."
said Ann Robison, executive director of the Montrose Counseling Cen
ter and an Alliance board member.
"But the City of Houston, with all its
(verbal) support of the Alliance, has
not given a penny to this organization, or any other."
Service provider representatives
have met with city councilmembers
twice to discuss Houston's response
to AIDS since making an emotional
Denominations
struggle with
idea of
homosexual
ministers
GREENSBORO. N.C. (AP)—The
Rev. Don Martin was forced to
resign from his Presbyterian
pulpit in Richmond, Va., recently
because church officials
discovered he is a homosexual.
Martin, interim minister at
Tuckahoe Presbyterian Church
for eight months, says he is
involved in a "committed,
monogamous relationship" with
public and demand equal
treatment in the church
Much of the debate centers oi
whether or not homosexuality is
AIDS funding has been a hot topic in Houston over the past
son Lee meets with representatives of the AIDS Alliance. AIDS Foundation Houston. AIDS Equity League. Thomas Street Clinic, ACT UP Houston and others
weeks. Pictured, city council member Sheila Jack- r-nirituallu niialifiori u
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congregations. Its ar
address to the council Dec. 4 in ob- councilmember Sheila Jackson Lee
servance of World AIDS Day (Dec. on Friday, Dec. 7, persons involved
11. At a special meeting called by in AIDS services were asked to pres
ent their views on "
fixed" with the i
spouse. Robison wi
;hat needs to 1
tv's AIDS r
s appointed r
Animal celebrations for billiard, tennis leagues this weekend
Montrose Sports by GARY SHAYE Will be I
The Monlrose Voice
The Houston Metropolitan Billiards Le ague and
the Houston Tennis Club
will hold their annual
celebrations this weekend. HTC's annual election meeting and party is
scheduled for 6:00 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 16, at
Culpepper's (downtown), while (games
Montrose
Neighborhood
Sports
—Billiard
standings
At the top of the HMBL
team standings as the
season ends, C and S
Men finished first with
a match record of 15-1
147-93). Rounding out the
HMBEs season awards ceremony top four teams, who will get the
awards Sunday, are (2) Sons of
Hyde Park Station, 13-3(148-92);
(3) Past Time Precision, 13-3 (139-
101); and (4) Briar Patch, 11-6
(132-108).
Top Ave players in the Individual
standings are: (1) David Smith,
Yard Dogs, 44-4; (2) Carlos
Romero, Past Time Precision, 38-7;
(3) Jeff Minks, Past Time Precision, 40-8; (4) Bob Cypert,CandN
Men, 33-12; and (5) Roger Pruett,
6/611,36-13,
—Gay bicycle ride
The Gay Cycling Club, affiliated
with the Houston Outdoor Group,
will sponsor the "Fancy Home
Touri' a bike ride through the
Heights and River Oaks areas, beginning in the parking lot of the
Montroae Mining Company at
10:00 a.m, Saturday (Dec. 15).
Rides will vary In length from 15-
23 miles. For Information, call Dee
at 480-7998 or Marion at 628-
3401.
Christians will quote Scripture as
proof—then anyone who
continues to practice it is making
a choice to live apart from God.
If it is not, as homosexuals and
liberal Christians say, then it
becomes a barrier of spiritual
prejudice for people who need a
church community where they
can be accepted.
"Jesus never spoke once about
homosexuality." said the Rev
Christine Oscar, lesbian pastor
of the Metropolitan Community
Church congregation in
Greensboro. "Jesus spoke a lot
about love relationships."
Former gay
Scout says he
wants to be a
leader again
LOS ANGELES (APl-Sexual
' orientation has no bearing on a
person's ability to inspire youths
to be friendly, courteous and
kind, an attorney said during a
trial to reinstate a gay Eagle
Scout as a Scout leader
of the American
s Umo
Monday, Dec. 10, that California
law protects people from "the
harm to an individual's dignity in
being told, "We don't take your
George Davidson, an attorney
for the Boy Scouts of America,
said the group doesn't approve
of gay people as Scouts and
Channel 8, the local Public Broadcasting System
station, is to be commended for its "Living With
AMDS"production last Tuesday. The producers attempted to cover all aspects of AIDS in Houston,
combining the factual with the personal.
The program established that AIDS is no longer,
if it ever was, limited to the gay mate population.
Only a couple of years ago certain writers on the
Right alleged heterosexuals would not become an
affected community except for drug users (and inferred that such hardly counted). Now more than
thirty percent of new cases are not homosexuals.
And in a couple of years the majority of new cases
will be among heterosexuals.
And parallel to this, "Living With AIDS" made it
clear that the health cost is dear now and rising—
with Houston ahead of most of the country. These
two trends are already combining to overload the
system.
The producers made their point and allowed the
concerned governmental agencies to respond-
too little money too late. But here was also a clear
implication that at least the Houston Department
of Health is not doing its job, which in the case of
AIDS is primarily one of education. Granted too little money, Houston wastes much of what it does
get (although Houston cannot be accused of wasting local dollars since the City of Houston has yet
to spend a single dollar of its own money on AIDS).
Harris County fares only a little better. Its director of hospitals, Lois Moore, at least can say "gay"
and "homophobic" and sincerely wants to find
more money for patient care—a revolutionary idea
in this county. What was not even mentioned in the
report was the Greater Houston AIDS Alliance,
the umbrella organization created by the city and
the county to oversee the war on AIDS. This oversight may well have been intentional. Government,
on any level, is not noted for efficiency or action,
but the GHAA challenges all others for its inefficient inaction. It's hard to point to a single achieve
ment of the GHAA except for their monthly coffee
and donut sessions, yet they are projecting a 1991
budget of $303,000—$233,200 of which will go for
payroll expenses. That's a lot of money for inaction.
Now, thanks to the Ryan White Act, Houston
and Harris County shortly will be receiving millions of dollars as "emergency" funds to fight AIDS.
And guess who likely will administer that money?
You're correct if you said the Greater Houston
AIDS Alliance. Whatever else this will provide
more administrative jobs for more homophobes
and closet cases. And still leave a little to "buy" a
few 'AIDS activists" for window dressing.
The sad truth of this scenario and the images on
the screen Tuesday night is that white not enough
money does go for AIDS, much of what is spent enriches the bureaucrats, the medical profession,
and the drug industry. Lost in all this are the persons with AIDS. We just go on dying.
"Living With AIDS" compassionately touched on
the lives of the dying and the infected. What is too
often ignored is that the entire lesbian and gay
community of Houston is "living with AIDS" Alt of
us carry on our lives, our jobs, even our leisure—always surrounded by the constant reminders of this
epidemic. Only a few gay writers have even begun
to touch on the effect such a climate creates. No
other segment of American life can truly relate to
what we are experiencing, not even those who
lived through any of our wars. With us there in no
homefront and no battlefield—it is all the same.
But this story is yet to be told, and then not in the
mass media where it might appear to be "promoting homosexuality!' Of course, showing the devastation we are experiencing certainly would appear
attractive and a form of recruitment. And then
again, it would probably be pointless since only our
community would watch such a show—and what
would be the point, we're already living it„ living
with AIDS in Houston, Texas.
LOBO
1424-C Westheimer (at Windsor) 522-5156
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"(The Scouts) are defending
this case because they want to
continue teaching young boys
that homosexuality is immoral."
George Davidson said in
opening statements Monday,
Dec. 10, in the civil suit.
The two attorneys are not
The lawsuit was filed by
Timothy Curran, 29, who was
asked to leave the Scouts in
1980 after superiors learned he
took a male date to the prom. He
had been serving as an assistant
Scoutmaster of Berkeley Troop
37.
The first phase ended in
November, with Superior Court
Judge Sally Disco ruling the
<3ln SHemoqj of
—JERRY WAYNE
VARNER
Oct. 1
-Dec. *
1990
Never has my life been so
touched, by a man who gave so
much yet asked for so little in return Just as we were comfortably
settling into our lite together, you
were taken away so unexpectedly. I
will miss you—but your memory
Love—Kenneth
The Montrose
Voice
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