Kateryna Guidos de Moshayedi gets her cholesterol tested by members of the St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan staff June 6 during a health fair at The LGBT Center sponsored by the Transgender Health Initiative of New York (THINY).
Diverse activists and allies lobby Albany for LGBT causes, including GENDA and Marriage Equality. But that’s not the real power of Equality & Justice Day.
An emotional West Village vigil marks the national Day of Silence and a slain teenager.
Aesthetic Realists wrest $4,000 in state funds for a program that allegedly teaches art to Brooklyn senior citizens. But the group has a history of “converting” gays to heterosexuals.
War, the economy and health care matter more to a majority of LGB voters.
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Friday, June 15, 2007
Transgender Health Fair Debuts at LGBT Center
June 6 marked a historic event: The debut of an annual trangender health fair. More than 150 attended the event, held at The LGBT Center and sponsored by the Transgender Health Initiative of New York (THINY), a joint project of the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund (TLDEF), the New York Association for Gender Rights Advocacy (NYAGRA) and the Center’s own Gender Identity Project. St. Vincent’s Hospital Manhattan (SVHM) and the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center also sponsored the event, which offered screenings for cholesterol, diabetes, blood pressure and more. “Transgender people face a tremendous amount of discrimination in the mainstream heatlh care system,” said Michael Silverman, executive director of TLDEF. “As a result, many of them of checked out of the system.”
Memorial Honors Gay Activist Alliance Leader Marc Rubin
Gay Activists Alliance veterans and others gathered Sunday, June 10, at The LGBT Center for a memorial tribute to Marc Rubin, who died Feb. 28, at age 74. Rubin was a leader of the GAA in the early 70s and co-founded the Gay Teachers Association in 1974. The memorial included displays, photos, music and videos. The latter ranging from television interviews with Rubin to confrontations with police. “No one who was at GAA’s weekly meetings will ever forget the power of of Rubin’s speeches to get us righteously fired up against injustice, nor the strength we drew from his strong, courageous presence at zaps, even in the face of physical danger,” recalled Joe Kennedy, an activist and author. Memorial attendees gathered on stage to give Rubin a “Gay Power” salute, many dressed in GAA lambda T-shirts. Included were Rubin’s suriving partner of 36 years, Pete Fishcer, mama Jean Deventi, former city counselmember Ronnie Eldridge and “Stonewall” author David Carter.
Bill Would Force Rape Suspects to Take HIV Test
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Rape suspects would be forced to undergo HIV testing under a bill quietly making its way into law despite some impassioned opposition by gay rights advocates. The bill, which has strong support in the Legislature, would give rape victims the option of forcing a suspect to be tested under a court order, with the results provided to the victim and the suspect. The test would be constitutional before a suspect is convicted, just as blood tests can be required of drunken driving suspects, argued the bill’s co-sponsor, Republican Sen. Stephen Saland.
The measure passed the Republican-led Senate Tuesday and faces a critical Codes Committee vote at Blade press time in the Democrat-led Assembly. The bill was favored by most of the Democratic conference in a recent meeting, said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who also supports the bill. Gov. Eliot Spitzer also supports the measure, said his spokeswoman, Christine Anderson. Supporters say the test would let victims know right away if they need to get HIV treatment.
“There are legislators who think this will be a good press release bill, but it could be very hurtful to the victim,” said Sen. Thomas Duane, a Manhattan Democrat who is gay and HIV-positive. “On the face of it, it seems like this bill makes sense. What it really shows is a misunderstanding of what will help victims and about the transmission of HIV.”
He said a rape victim should immediately accept the offer of anti-HIV treatment available in emergency rooms and not be tempted wait for a court to order the suspect to take a test for the virus that causes AIDS. Duane also said a test result might show the suspect didn’t have the virus, prompting the victim to discontinue preventive treatment, only to find out later that the suspect was the wrong person.
Housing Works, the nation’s largest community-based AIDS organization that provides housing and other services, is still lobbying to block the bill.
“Rape survivors are being horribly manipulated,” said Nina Herzog of Housing Works. ““It’s really not something that has rape survivors at the heart of it,” she said. “It’s much more about hitting hard this myth of people with HIV going out there and murdering through sexual violence.”
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