MAP Advocate Vol. 7 No. 12

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MAP Advocate

AIDS Advocacy Update
Vol. 7 No. 12
July 24, 2001

In This Issue:

Take Action! Say Thank You to This Year's Hanson-Henningson Award Winners.
Legislative Session "No to Low-Gain" for HIV Advocates
Ruling Overturning Sodomy Ban Now Applies Statewide
Surgeon General Satcher Issues Call to Action on Sexual Health
Social Conservatives Misuse Study on Condoms to Promote Abstinence Education

Take Action! Say Thank You to This Year's Hanson-Henningson Award winners.

Every year, MAP presents the Hanson-Henningson award to a State Senator, Representative and citizen advocate for outstanding advocacy impacting HIV policy in Minnesota. 2001 winners are:

"Senator Steve Kelley: For outstanding leadership on HIV policy in the area of school-based and workplace education. Say "thanks" by calling his office at 651-297-8065 or email sen.steve.kelley@senate.leg.mn.us

"Representative Karen Clark: For her many years of advocacy on a broad range of issues affecting the care and fair treatment of people with HIV. Say "thanks" by calling her office at 651-296-0294 or email rep.karen.clark@house.leg.state.mn.us

"MN Civil Liberties Union: For their efforts to overturn the state's sodomy law, a tool that has been used to marginalize the GLBT community and served as a barrier to effective public health efforts. Say thanks by calling their office at 651-645-4097 or e-mail at support@mnclu.org

The awards are named after activists Dick Hanson and Burt Henningson, who died from AIDS in the late '80's. They spent the last years of their life speaking out about HIV, taking their message to the MN Senate in 1987.

Legislative Session "No to Low-Gain" for HIV Advocates

With the state government just hours away from a shutdown, funding agreements were finally reached on June 30 for HIV proposals. Senate leaders secured $350, 000 for continued funding for the K-12 HIV regional training sites and $175,000 for workplace HIV education to help employers manage HIV in the workplace. Advocates were able to reverse the Governor's $250,000 HIV prevention funding cut, but committee members failed to approve new money for STI and Teen Pregnancy prevention. Lawmakers did approve funding for the new health disparities initiative. These resources may be available for HIV and STI prevention.

MAP effectively stopped a number of damaging proposals from being enacted, including a plan by the House to add onerous reporting requirements for state HIV prevention grants and attacks on HIV prevention at the U of M. Stay posted for MAP's Legislative Report for more detailed info on the 2001 legislative session and key vote guide.

Ruling Overturning Sodomy Ban Now Applies Statewide

A Hennepin County Judge's ruling that Minnesota's sodomy ban is unconstitutional now applies to all Minnesota adults. District Judge Delila Pierce gave class-action status to a case where the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union represented eight plaintiffs who successfully challenged the state's ban on sodomy, applying ruling statewide. The ruling protects consensual sexual acts in non-commercial settings from prosecution. Attorney General Mike Hatch's office has not yet made a decision on whether to appeal the ruling.

Surgeon General Satcher Issues Call To Action on Sexual Health

Calling on Americans to begin a thoughtful discussion of sexuality and sexual health, Surgeon General Dr. David Satcher released The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior. The far-reaching report sites unacceptable levels of HIV/STI infection, unplanned pregnancy and sexual abuse and seeks to involve parents, schools and community leaders in broader efforts to educate young people about sexual health. Satcher, a Clinton appointee, is taking heat from social conservatives in the Bush administration for the report. (Find report online at www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/sexualhealth/)

Social Conservatives Misuse NIH Study on Condoms To Promote Abstinence Education

On the heels of the Surgeon General's Reports, the National Institute of Health released its report on condoms fueling the debate around sex education and causing concern for advocates as to whether the Bush Administration will try and use the report to push an abstinence-only agenda. Already social conservatives like retired Rep. Tom Coburn (R-Okla), who called for the study in the first place, have used it to suggest that "safer-sex" messages are a myth. What Coburn and other social conservatives miss is that the report clearly states that condoms are effective against HIV and gonorrhea. While the report suggests the evidence is inconclusive that latex condoms prevent transmission of other STDs, the lack of research does not mean condoms are ineffective, but instead is a call for more study.
(Find report online at http://www.niaid.nih.gov/dmid/stds/condomreport.pdf)

Last Updated: Friday, March 30, 2007
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