Date: Sun, 19 Mar 1995 08:36:43 -0500 From: Song Weaver To: Multiple recipients of list GLB-NEWS Subject: Various Comments from Helms I found these comments while browsing the political record. The only difference is that now he has the power to implement such horrors. --Julie ------------------------------------------------------------- AIDS CONTROL ACT OF 1993 (Senate - January 21, 1993) `Part C--Prohibition on Awarding of Grants `The Secretary may not make a grant under this title to any State or political subdivision of any State to support a project for education, testing, or counseling concerning acquired immune deficiency syndrome unless the State has taken administrative or legislative action to require that-- `(1) any physician practicing in the State report to the appropriate State public health authorities the name and address of any individual residing in the State who is treated by such physician and known by such physician to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus; `(2) any physician or medical technician who analyzes the results of clinical tests performed in the State report to the appropriate State public health authorities the name and address of any individual residing in the State who is determined as a result of an analysis conducted by such physician or medical technician to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus; and `(3) reporting under the laws described in paragraphs (1) and (2) to be carried out in accordance with State laws regulating the confidentiality of records maintained by the State or individuals with sexually transmitted diseases.'. Part C of title XXV of the Public Health Service Act (as added by section 6) is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: `(a) Prohibition on Use of Funds: The Secretary may not make a grant under this title to any State or political subdivision of any State, nor shall any other funds made available under this Act, be obligated or expended in any State unless such State takes administrative or legislative action to require that, within 30 days of diagnosis, a good faith effort shall be made to notify a spouse of an AIDS-infected patient that such AIDS-infected patient is infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. `(b) Effective Date: Subsection (a) shall take effect with respect to a State on January 1 of the calendar year following the first regular session of the legislative body of such State that is convened following the date of enactment of this section. `(c) Definitions: As used in this section: `(1) AIDS-infected patient: The term `AIDS-infected patient' means any person who has been diagnosed by a physician or surgeon practicing medicine in such State to be infected with the human immunodeficiency virus. `(2) Good faith effort--A `good faith' effort includes, but is not limited to, a certified letter sent to the last known address of the spouse. `(3) State: The term `State' means a State, the District of Columbia, or any territory of the United States. `(4) Spouse: The term `spouse' means a person who is or at any time since December 31, 1976, has been the marriage partner of a person diagnosed as an AIDS-infected patient.'. Part C of title XXV of the Public Health Service Act (as added by section 6 and amended by section 7) is further amended by adding at the end thereof the following new section: `(a) Prohibition: None of the funds made available under this title shall be obligated or expended in any State if such State does not close all bathhouses where a pattern of continuous homosexual sexual activity or continuous illegal intravenous drug use occurs. `(b) Homosexual Activity: The homosexual activity described in subsection (a) means any sexual activity between two or more males as described in section 2256(2)(A) of title 18, United States Code. `(c) Illegal Drugs: The illegal drug use described in subsection (a) means and includes any controlled substance as defined in section 102(6) of the Controlled Substance Act (21 U.S.C. 802(6)). `(d) Bathhouse: The term `bathhouse' means any business that charges a fee for admission and for that fee offers the use of one or more of the following-- `(1) a swimming pool; `(2) a spa or whirlpool; or `(3) a communal bath. ----------------------------- THAT FAMOUS PARADE IN SAN FRANCISCO (Senate - May 24, 1993) Mr. HELMS . Mr. President, two articles about the Achtenberg nomination in the Washington Times this morning discuss the pornographic and blasphemous activities during last year's San Francisco Gay Pride parade led by Roberta Achtenberg and her partner--and their son. The second article tells of Achtenberg's efforts to obtain funding for a new `recreation and counseling center for homosexual youth,' disclosing that she was instrumental in securing $500,000 in State funds for a group called LYRIC--or Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center. The article quoted Rabbi Abraham Gross of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada as saying: This is a terrible contamination of our youth, who should be directed to traditional family values. I ask unanimous consent that both articles be printed in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks. There being no objection, the articles were ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: >From the Washington Times, May 24, 1993 Achtenberg Backed Gay Teens (By Joyce Price) A new counseling and recreation center for homosexual youth, slated to open in a neighborhood in central San Francisco, was approved and funded thanks largely to City Supervisor Roberta Achtenberg. `Lesbian, gay and bisexual youth have a great need for services, and we're supportive of their efforts to meet those needs,' Joe Van Es, an aide to Miss Achtenberg, told the San Francisco Independent newspaper. Miss Achtenberg, President Clinton's openly-lesbian nominee to be assistant secretary for fair housing at the Department of Housing and Urban Development, urged that $500,000 be provided for the Lavender Youth Recreation and Information Center. The money was to come from a $25.9 million refund the city of San Francisco received from the California state government. `Her being an activist for the gay community is nothing new. That's her constituency,' Joe Strupp, a reporter for the Independent, said in a recent telephone interview. Mr. Strupp has written articles about the LYRIC facility, which last week won unanimous approval from the San Francisco Planning Commission. But not everyone is happy with projects like LYRIC. `This is a terrible contamination of our youth, who should be directed to traditional family values,' said Rabbi Abraham Gross, a member of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada. As for Miss Achtenberg, he said: `Her views are a danger to traditional moral and family values' and her confirmation as a top-level HUD executive `may be the beginning of the breakdown of those values.' Robert Stutzman, a spokesman for the Capitol Resource Institute, a conservative policy center in Sacramento, agreed that there's good reason to be worried about Miss Achtenberg in a top HUD post. `She's primarily been an activist and advocate for the homosexual lifestyle, and I have no reason to believe she'll disembark from that course,' he said. Miss Achtenberg took a lot of heat on the Senate floor last week for efforts she initiated to punish the Boy Scouts for their policy of barring homosexuals as scoutmasters. `I find Ms. Achtenberg's behavior with regard to the Boy Scouts unwarranted, objectionable and reprehensible,' said Sen. Christopher Bond, Missouri Republican. Several other senators, including Oklahoma Republican Don Nickles, raised eyebrows at Miss Achtenberg's activism on behalf of patrons of homosexual bathhouses in San Francisco in the mid-1980s. On the Senate floor Thursday, Mr. Nickles described how Miss Achtenberg had opposed efforts by then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein and city health officials to close the bathhouses--a move they believed was necessary to slow the spread of the AIDS epidemic. Mrs. Feinstein, a Democrat who now serves as a U.S. senator from California, supports the Achtenberg nomination. Asked about Mr. Nickles' comments Friday, Mr. Van Es said, `I don't know what he was talking about. He'd have to be a lot more specific.' Strident Activism Steps on Toes: Video Raises Questions of HUD Nominee's Values (By Joyce Price) Family values groups are flooding the Senate with phone calls and copies of a videotape they hope will dissuade senators from confirming avowed lesbian Roberta Achtenberg for a top federal housing position later today. The Christian Action Network has sent each senator a copy of the videotape that shows Miss Achtenberg as a participant in the 1992 San Francisco Gay Pride Parade. In the June 28 parade, Miss Achtenberg, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, embraces and kisses her `partner,' San Francisco Municipal Judge Mary Morgan, seated on the back of a white convertible bearing the sign, `Celebrating family values.' Judge Morgan's 7-year-old son rides in the car with the women, who claim to be his `parents.' Achtenberg opponents hope the `blasphemy,' `bigotry' and `pornography' featured in the parade as captured on the videotape will derail Miss Achtenberg's nomination as an assistant secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. `We're not opposed to gays and lesbians holding federal office, but her performance in that parade is evidence she's a lesbian activist, not just a lesbian,' said CAN president Martin Mawyer. Late last week, the Senate switchboard was busy handling phone calls about the Achtenberg nomination, most of them negative. Pat Robertson urged viewers to call the Senate about the nomination during live broadcasts of `The 700 Club' Tuesday and Wednesday. Gene Kapp, a spokesman for the Christian Broadcasting Network, stressed, however, that Mr. Robertson was not trying to tip public opinion against Miss Achtenberg. `He very plainly and clearly urged viewers . . . both pro and con . . . to make the call,' Mr. Kapp said. Other family issue groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition have come out against the Achtenberg nomination. North Carolina Sen. Jesse Helms and other Republicans, including Sen. Trent Lott of Mississippi, raised objections as well, triggering sharp debate Wednesday and Thursday on the Senate floor and delaying the confirmation vote. A bipartisan agreement reached late Thursday cut off further debate and scheduled the vote for 4:30 p.m. today. Bruce Lott, spokesman for Mr. Lott, said Thursday that Achtenberg opponents recognized it would be an `uphill battle' to stop the nomination and that it appeared likely she would be confirmed. Miss Achtenberg founded the National Center for Lesbian Rights, and her record of advocacy on behalf of homosexuals is what scares some conservative and moderate senators. As assistant HUD secretary for fair housing and equal opportunity, she would run an office with 700 employees that prosecutes mortgage and housing discrimination cases that violate federal law. Senate critics describe Miss Achtenberg as an `aggressive' and `radical' activist, who would attempt to expand or create new protections for homosexuals and other groups not currently covered under existing fair housing and antidiscrimination laws. Miss Achtenberg has said she has `no intention' of doing this but would `vigorously enforce existing law.' Sen. Barbara Boxer, the California Democrat who led the floor fight on Miss Achtenberg's behalf, has charged that Republican opposition to her nomination is based on her homosexual lifestyle. `She may have a lifestyle that's different from other people, but in her public life, she's mainstream. . . . I think it's important to deal with qualifications,' Mrs. Boxer said. Pro-family organizations challenge Miss Achtenberg's advocacy for homosexual parenting, including the right to adoption and artificial insemination, as `mainstream.' There also have been serious questions raised about her qualifications for the high-level HUD post, fueled by statements she herself has made. `I'm not a fair housing expert by a long shot,' Miss Achtenberg told The Washington Times earlier this year. `I've done public interest law, and in my capacity as a county supervisor I've dealt with housing issues. . . . But I'm not a fair-housing lawyer.' ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "It is... incumbent... to... do all we can to ensure that all who hear Mr. Muhammad's message... see that his message is rejected... However... I could not bring myself to support this resolution. As disgusting as his comments were, his right to free speech is protected by our Constitution." --Rep Jolene Unsoeld, Feb 23, 1994 in the Congressional Record