NewsWrap for the week ending April 14, 2001 (As broadcast on This Way Out program #681, distributed 04-16-01) [Written by Cindy Friedman, with thanks to Graham Underhill, Chris Ambidge, Brian Nunes, Jason Lin, Rex Wockner, and Greg Gordon] Anchored by Cindy Friedman and Chase Schulte Scott Evertz this week was named to direct the White House Office of National AIDS Policy, becoming the first open gay ever appointed to a paying job by a Republican administration. The Democratic Clinton administration appointed 152 open gays and lesbians over the course of 8 years, but Evertz is also the first open gay ever to lead U.S. government AIDS efforts. President George W. Bush had said during his campaign that "an openly known homosexual is somebody who probably wouldn't share my philosophy." But Presidential spokespeople said that Evertz' sexual orientation had not been a consideration in his selection. They emphasized that Evertz is qualified for the job, an assessment shared by national gay and lesbian political organizations as they applauded his selection. A number of religious right groups immediately called for withdrawal of the appointment. They were particularly horrified that Evertz had said that prevention efforts required "removing the stigma" from homosexuality as well as from AIDS itself. AIDS organizations were less concerned with Evertz' selection than with the announcement of the Bush AIDS budget proposal the same day. It would keep federal funding at its current level. AIDS activists are also watching the Bush administration's restructuring of the Office of National AIDS Policy. Evertz' office will include an administrative assistant, a representative from the Department of Health and Human Services, and a representative from the Department of State to coordinate on international issues. Evertz will also sit with the powerful White House Domestic Policy Council. It's still not clear whether Bush will continue or eliminate the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS. 38-year-old Evertz is in a partnership of 7 years. He is the president of the Wisconsin chapter of the gay and lesbian Log Cabin Republicans. That chapter criticized the Log Cabin national leadership for its radio attack ads on Bush's religious right associations during the primaries. Also during the campaign, Evertz was one of the hand-picked so-called "Austin 12" gay Republicans who were the first gay group Bush ever spoke with. He's also a long-time supporter and associate of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson, now the Bush administration's Secretary of Health and Human Services. Evertz also exemplifies the Bush administration's interest in "faith-based" social services. He's been working as a fund-raiser for a Lutheran Church-run program for seniors. Evertz is a Roman Catholic who has been active with a Wisconsin anti-abortion group. His decade of AIDS activism in Wisconsin include fund-raising for a Catholic AIDS ministry there and a mission hospital in Kenya, as well as an ecumenical housing program for peo ple with AIDS in Milwaukee. Also this week, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld hired open gay Stephen Herbits as a consultant to recruit and screen high-level civilian staff for the Pentagon. His title is Special Assistant to the Secretary. Herbits had previously served under Rumsfeld a quarter-century earlier in Republican President Gerald Ford's administration, and under now-Vice President Dick Cheney in the administration of the current President's father. Herbits' hire further dismayed the religious right, particularly since he has been an outspoken critic of the so-called "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy the Bush administration supports. One of the more notorious "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" sagas came to a close this week with the official end of the military career of U.S. Army Reserve Lieutenant Steve May, an openly gay Republican member of the Arizona state House of Representatives. May had first joined the military in 1989 and his work there was always very highly praised. But after May spoke out on the Arizona House floor in defense of domestic partner benefits, making reference to his own partner in the process, the Army undertook what May's attorney described as a "search and destroy" mission to oust him. May challenged his discharge, and the Army finally made a first-of-its-kind deal to withdraw it, allowing May to finish his current term but not to reenlist. May said he holds no grudges against anyone in the Army, instead blaming the U.S. Congress for having enacted "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor Jane Swift was sworn in as acting Governor this week and promised that she would take a firm stand in opposition to same-gender marriages or so-called "civil unions" for gay and lesbian couples. That news came as something of a surprise, particularly since her administration includes Abner Mason, an openly gay African-American Republican and former Cambridge City Councilmember. Swift's predecessor Paul Cellucci has been named U.S. ambassador to Canada, despite objections from the religious right that he was too gay-supportive. But also this week, the legal advocacy group that won civil unions in Vermont filed a similar lawsuit in Massachusetts on behalf of seven gay and lesbian couples. Each of the couples had sought marriage licenses at town halls in one of five cities and been denied. Those rejections are being challenged in a lawsuit brought by Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders against the state Department of Public Health in the case that will be known as "Goodridge versus Massachusetts". Massachusetts' marriage laws use gender-neutral language, although a decision by the state's highest court in 1810 defined marriage as between "a single man and a single woman." The state's 1989 law prohibiting anti-gay discrimination includes a disclaimer that it neither legitimizes nor validates "homosexual marriage." An appeals court in Egypt this week reduced the sentences of two men convicted of indecent behavior for posting invitations for gay sex on their Web sites. Sami Gamal's 3-year sentence* was reduced to 3 months, while Gameel Gebreel's sentence of 15 months was replaced by a fine equivalent to about US$26. Three other men are being investigated on similar charges. The political situation for gays and lesbians in Namibia continues to deteriorate. The latest of President Sam Nujoma's continuing homophobic pronouncements is that any gays or lesbians attempting to enter the country through Hosea Kutako International Airport will be deported, if possible on the same aircraft that brought them. Speaking at the opening of an Agricultural Development Center, Nujoma described homosexuality as "definitely against God's will" and "the devil at work." He particularly denounced the Netherlands' new legal gay and lesbian marriages. Blaming Europe for homosexuality, he said, "In Namibia we don't allow lesbianism or homosexuality... We will combat this with vigor -- we will make sure that Namibia will get rid of homosexuality and lesbianism." This week Nujoma also declared that AIDS had been created by the U.S. for biological warfare, a comment which concerned U.S. diplomats in Namibia although they declined official response. At the other end of the political spectrum, the Central Committee of Norway's Liberal Party has come out unanimously in favor of equal adoption rights for gays and lesbians. Adoption is one of a just a few rights that distinguish Norway's registered partnerships for gays and lesbians from heterosexual marriage. The Liberals will be holding their national convention in May and adoption rights are expected to be included in the party platform by a solid majority. In March the Agrarian Party's national convention adopted a similar plank by just a handful of votes after heated debate. Those two parties have in the past formed a centrist coalition with the Christian People's Party, which opposes equal standing for adoption. A new professional poll of more than 1,000 Czechs found a substantial majority oppose adoption rights for gays and lesbians even though a majority support legal recognition of same-gender couples. The poll by Sofres-Factum found that nearly 70% of respondents opposed adoption rights, while registered partnerships were favored by a margin of 55% to 36%. Local protests have halted plans for a drag show this week in the Philippines city of Bantayan. The show's producer said the mayor had assured her of the city's support, but that the municipal government then refused to issue permits when some clergy and other local residents protested. Catholic leaders were particularly offended that the event was scheduled for the so-called "Black Saturday" between Good Friday and Easter Sunday. But Thailand's transgender "katoeys" celebrated the government's resolution of concerns over their passports. Thai passports always describe individuals by their gender as identified at birth, which had caused some awkward situations for those whose gender presentation didn't match up. This week Thailand's Foreign Ministry announced that it will solve this problem by including two photos on their passports, one in each gender presentation -- or in the case of transsexuals, "before" and "after". Many of the problems were arising with Germany, a nation which recognizes post-operative transsexuals in their self-identified gender, and so has become a destination for as many as 5,000 Thai transsexuals, many of them seeking legal marriage with German nationals. And finally, hairdresser Ha Ri-soo has become the first transsexual to appear in a TV commercial in Korea. In a pitch for "Dodo" cosmetics, Ha is shown sitting in a chair as a beautiful 22-year-old female with measurements 34-24-35. The camera slowly moves in to focus on an Adam's apple that indicates the figure is male. But Ha doesn't have a prominent Adam's apple -- that close-up used a male stand-in.