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Men
who have sex with men may now be the highest-risk group for HIV in Africa,
IAVI study suggests
FRIDAY, February 3, 2012 (Aidsmap)
Men
who have sex with men may now be at considerably higher risk of acquiring
HIV than other at-risk groups such as female sex workers or young people
of either sex, if findings by the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative
(IAVI) of HIV incidence at two centres in Kenya can be generalised to
other populations.
The study, which compared the Kenyan populations with a largely heterosexual group from South Africa, also found lower-than-expected HIV incidence amongst female sex workers and their clients. The researchers also found that recruiting MSM into the study was easier than expected, but note that there was a particularly high dropout rate in MSM.
They comment that while MSM “need urgent risk reduction interventions, and may be a suitable cohort for future HIV prevention studies,” because African MSM face considerably legal and social hurdles in coming forward, “careful consideration of the counselling and clinical needs, follow-up schedule and social support is vital to ensure continuing research participation.”
The study
The aim of the study was to collect data on HIV and STI incidence and risk factors in three populations in Kilifi, a district north of Mombasa, and the Kangemi district of Nairobi, both in Kenya, and from Gugulethu township in Cape Town in South Africa, the better to target HIV vaccine trials.
The researchers recruited 716 people in Mombasa, 653 in Nairobi and 465 in Cape Town, The researchers primarily used participants to recruit their peers in South Africa, where background HIV prevalence at 28% is ten times higher than in Kenya, but in Kenya recruited attendees at HIV testing centres, via outreach work in bars and brothels, and via ‘snowball’ sampling (asking members of a particular group to recruit others from the same group). The original idea had been to collect data on high-risk heterosexuals including sex workers but, as the researchers comment, “it quickly became apparent that MSM were willing to come forward and participate in HIV prevention research”.
Somewhat different monitoring and follow-up criteria were used in the three centres. In Cape Town participants were monitored monthly and followed up for one year while in the two Kenyan cohorts participants were monitored quarterly for two to four years. In Mombasa participants were examined for STIs at every visit but in Nairobi and Cape Town only examined if they had symptoms. As a result annual STI incidence was much higher in Mombasa (23%) than in the other two centres (3.7% and 4.4%).
The average ago of participants was mid-20s (slightly older in Nairobi); nearly 70% were women in Cape Town, 50% in Nairobi and 36% in Mombasa. Participants in Capt Town were almost entirely heterosexual men and women and were not sex workers.
In Mombasa 56% of men (36% of the study population) was an MSM; 63% of men said they had sold sex (mainly to other men) and 54% had bought it. Three-quarters of female participants said they were female sex workers while one in 20 women said they had bought sex.
In Nairobi nearly all women defined as a sex worker and 85% of the men had bought sex; 22.5% of the men had had sex with other men and 33% defined as a male sex worker.
For the full article, click here.
Amazon
Joins Starbucks, Google, Microsoft In Supporting Gay Marriage
FRIDAY, February 3, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
Internet retailer Amazon on Wednesday became the latest high-profile Washington-based company to endorse an effort to legalize gay marriage in the state, the Seattle Times reported.
“Amazon is joining other Pacific Northwest companies, including Microsoft, Starbucks and Nike, in support of Washington state's marriage equality bills,” Amazon said in a statement. “The spirit of these bills is consistent with our longstanding employment practices.”
Amazon's support arrived just hours before the Washington Senate approved the bill by a wider margin than expected.
More than 100 companies have endorsed the effort, including Concur, Group Health Cooperative, Nike, RealNetworks and Vulcan.
Starbucks said in a statement that it was “proud to join other leading Northwest employers in support of Washington state legislation recognizing marriage equality for same-sex couples.”
“This important legislation is aligned with Starbucks' business practices and upholds our belief in the equal treatment of partners,” the company said.
Microsoft added that not allowing gay marriage could leave Washington companies at a competitive disadvantage: “Washington's employers are at a disadvantage if we cannot offer a similar, equitable and inclusive environment to our talented employees, our top recruits and their families.”
WA:
Historic Senate vote clears way for gay marriage in state
THURSDAY, February 2, 2012 (Seattle
Times)
OLYMPIA — In the end, it wasn't even close.
After more than a decade of laying the ground work and fretting that the votes would be just out of reach, state Sen. Ed Murray watched Wednesday night as the Senate easily passed legislation that would legalize gay marriage.
The vote was 28-21.
"For a lot of people in my age group, this is a stunning event," said Murray, the prime sponsor of the bill. "It's something we did not believe would happen in our lifetime."
While it wasn't final passage, the Senate always has been viewed as the biggest hurdle for same-sex marriage legislation, as it was for gay-rights bills in previous years.
The measure now heads to the House, where supporters say they have more than enough votes. It's expected to pass as early as next week. The governor strongly supports the bill as well.
Washington would become the seventh state to legalize gay marriage, depending on the outcome of a threatened referendum challenge by gay-marriage opponents.
Little sign of nervousness was apparent in the hours leading up to the Senate floor action.
Murray, a Seattle Democrat, and his longtime partner, Michael Shiosaki, actually held a celebratory news conference before the Senate went into session.
Gay-marriage supporters packed the Senate galleries, and they burst into applause when the vote tally was announced.
"It's exciting to be here and see the civil-rights movement move forward," said Kevin Moser, 31, a Seattle man who was there with his partner, Bret Tiderman.
"It means that one day our parents will be really excited to go to a wedding," Tiderman said.
Jane Sterland, 56, of Centralia, was one of the few gay-marriage opponents on hand to witness the vote.
"I'm a Christian, and this is not pleasing to God," she said. "I feel very grieved that the bill is even in question."
In addition to the 26 lawmakers who previously had announced support for the Senate measure, two more Republicans, Sens. Andy Hill of Redmond and Joe Fain of Auburn, voted for it as well. Republicans Steve Litzow of Mercer Island and Cheryl Pflug of Maple Valley had pledged support earlier.
Overall, 24 Democrats and four Republicans voted for the bill.
For the full article, click here.
On
the Verge: Washington Senate Votes Today on Marriage
WEDNESDAY, February 1, 2012 (The
Advocate)
The Washington state senate is expected to pass a marriage equality bill Wednesday — legislation that Gov. Chris Gregoire has promised to sign into law.
The senate will likely vote on the bill late Wednesday afternoon or early evening. Though the vote margin in the senate chamber is extremely narrow, the bill is expected to pass in the house by a wide margin.
If passed, Washington would become the seventh state plus the District of Columbia to extend equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. But marriage equality opponents including the National Organization for Marriage have vowed to take the issue to a voter referendum and to fund primary challenges to Republican lawmakers who voted in favor of gay marriage.
On Tuesday, Washington state senator Ed Murray, an openly gay lawmaker and lead sponsor of the bill, told The Advocate he remains confident that the 25 pledged votes needed to pass the legislation remain solid.
Gay
marriage equality in Scotland ‘by the end of 2013'
WEDNESDAY, February 1, 2012 (Pink
News)
Scotland is likely to have full marriage equality by the end of 2013 at the latest, Tim Hopkins, Director of the Equality Network told PinkNews.co.uk at a reception in the Scottish Parliament yesterday evening.
400 people attended the reception after all opposition party leaders signed up to the Equal Marriage Pledge.
The Scottish government, led by the Scottish National Party, concluded public consultation on equal marriage on 9 December. It was the government’s largest ever public consultation, with over 50,000 responses.
It will now analyse the feedback and publish their response in spring along with a draft bill, which will be open for expert consultation and voting by mid-2013, expected to pass as law by the end of 2013.
“This is the last piece of devolved legislation in Scotland that needs to be changed to introduce full equality for LGBT people in the law,” declared Hopkins.
This is in contrast to England and Wales, where the consultation process will only start in March this year.
Westminster “might move ahead at the same time scale as in Scotland, but if it doesn’t, the fact that it goes here will help campaigners in the rest of the UK” speculated Hopkins.
Speaking with PinkNews.co.uk, out bisexual MSP Patrick Harvie, leader of the Green party stated: “This is a real opportunity to shift the argument not just here but in the rest of the UK. If we are to move on this quickly Westminster will be prompted to move on this issue faster”.
Opinion polls suggest a majority of Scots support equal marriage, including the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2010 which indicated 61% support versus 19% opposition. This included a majority of respondents following all the major faiths and political parties in Scotland.
For the full article, click here.
Gay
Marriage Opponents, Supporters Testify In Maryland
WEDNESDAY, February 1, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
Opponents and supporters of a gay marriage bill on Tuesday packed a Maryland Senate committee hearing on Tuesday.
The Judicial Proceedings Committee hearing held this year's first public debate on the measure which seeks to make Maryland the seventh state to legalize gay marriage.
The committee's first speaker was Governor Martin O'Malley, who introduced the bill last week.
O'Malley argued that his bill was necessary to ensure the children of gay couples are protected.
“We all want the same thing for our children – the opportunity to live in loving, caring, committed and stable homes protected equally under the law,” O'Malley testified. “It's not right and it is not just that the children of gay couples should have lesser protections than the children of other families in our state.”
Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings Blake told the panel that the measure was about civil rights: “All couples, regardless of sexual orientation, deserve the same legal protection and rights under the law.
The measure is expected to face few obstacles clearing the committee or the full Senate, which approved a similar bill last year. However, the bill lost in the House of Delegates – a loss which supporters hope not to repeat this year.
One opponent of the measure testified that its religious exemptions were flawed because they did not extend to private businesses and individuals. Another objected to marriage equality because science has yet to determine whether sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic and used recent comments by actress Cynthia Nixon to back up her claim.
A vote on the measure is expected within the next two weeks.
Gay
Marriage Bill Clears Washington House Panel; Senate Vote Wednesday
TUESDAY, January 31, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
A bill
which would make Washington the seventh state to legalize gay marriage
cleared a House panel on Monday, the AP reported
The House Judiciary Committee approved the measure with a 7 to 6 party-line
vote.
Members rejected three amendments offered by Republicans, including one that would have expanded the bill's religious exemptions to include private businesses and individuals.
Lacey All, chair of Washington United for Marriage, thanked the committee for its work.
“As the bill continues to progress in both chambers in Olympia, it is clear that momentum is on our side,” All said in a statement. “The stories of love, honor, commitment and family that our legislators are hearing from their constituents continue to be the single most important factor that sets us apart from those who oppose this bill.”
The vote came as the Senate is expected to vote on its companion bill later this week.
Senator Ed Murray, the chief sponsor of the bill in the Senate, said he expects the measure to reach the Senator floor on Wednesday.
Supporters of marriage equality have said they have sufficient support to clear both chambers and Democratic Governor Chris Gregorie has said she will sign the bill.
However,
opponents have vowed to challenge the law with a referendum.
Washington currently recognizes gay and lesbian couples with domestic
partnerships.
Half
of Maryland residents back legalizing same-sex marriage
MONDAY, January 30, 2012 (Washington
Post)
Half
of Maryland residents now favor the legalization of same-sex marriage,
but support varies significantly along the sensitive lines of race, religion
and age, a Washington Post poll has found.
Overall, the Post poll found that 50 percent of Marylanders support allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry while 44 percent are opposed.
That is the highest recorded level of support in Maryland in a Post poll, about the same for the rest of the country — as measured by another recent Post survey — despite Maryland’s reputation as one of the nation’s most liberal states.
The new poll found a sharp divide among Maryland Democrats based on race. Among whites, 71 percent support same-sex marriage, while 24 percent do not. Among blacks, 41 percent are supportive, while 53 percent are opposed. Maryland has the largest concentration of African Americans of any state outside of the Deep South.
The poll findings highlight the challenge ahead for Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) as he tries to pass legislation this year in the heavily Democratic General Assembly, where there is a rift within his own party over gay nuptials that mirrors public sentiment.
Debate in the General Assembly is intensifying on a bill that would make Maryland the seventh state, in addition to the District, to legalize same-sex marriage.
On Monday night, a group of ministers and lawmakers have planned a large rally outside the State House to make clear they still oppose legislation that narrowly passed the Senate last year but fell a few votes short in the House of Delegates.
In advance of a Senate hearing on the bill, gay-rights supporters are planning a news conference on Tuesday morning with clergy members to show the measure has religious support in the 90-day legislative session.
For the full article, click here.
UK:
LGBT history month to launch this week
MONDAY, January 30, 2012 (Pink
News)
Peter Tatchell will join a panel of figures from gay and transgender life on Wednesday night at one of the first events in 2012's LGBT history month.
The national event, which is in its eighth year, has as its theme the issue of homophobia in sport.
A full list of events across the UK can be found at the LGBT History Month website.
Suran Dickson, CEO of the anti-bullying charity Diversity Role Models, will be hosting Queer Question Time with a panel of 5 local, national, and international LGBT icons at the first event in Southwark.
Queer Question Time will cover the special topic of homophobia in sport as well as the Olympics and the Cultural Olympiad and the broader issues facing the LGBT community.
The panellists will include sports broadcaster Bob Ballard, the FSA’s Head of Corporate Responsibility Claire Harvey, founder of the Marlin swimming group Dave Merchant and Kelly Simmons, Head of National Game for the FA.
Sue Sanders, the Co-Chair of LGBT History Month UK and Schools Out and Councillor Abdul Mohamed, Cabinet Member for Equalities and Community Engagement will be opening the evening at 7pm followed by a performance from the Pink Singers, an LGBT community choir based in London.
The launch will take place at Glaziers Hall by the river Thames on Wednesday 1 February 2012.
Doors 6 – 9.30pm,
Music from the Pink Singers 7pm, Debate 7.30pm
Entrance to the event is free but advance booking is required. Contact
Helen Laker at Southwark Council on 0207 525 0848 or Helen.Laker@southwark.gov.uk.
Chris
Gregoire, Washington State Governor, Discusses Gay Marriage, Chris Christie,
And More
MONDAY, January 30, 2012 (Huffington
Post)
Governor Chris Gregoire of Washington wishes she'd supported marriage equality for gays and lesbians years ago -- and she hopes President Obama evolves in his thinking soon. But she respects the president’s “personal journey” and asked people to “give him the time” to see it through.
Having introduced a marriage equality bill several weeks ago that now reportedly has the votes in the state legislature to pass, Gregoire, in an interview on my radio program on Sirius XM OutQ, also criticized Governor Christie of New Jersey for urging marriage equality be voted on at the ballot without a vote of the elected representatives.
The governor also spoke of the heartfelt and emotional response she’s received from the public to her decision, including from a gay teen who was contemplating suicide.
Regarding her own journey Gregoire said: “I wished I could have come to the point that I am today six years ago, seven years ago, five years ago. But it took me a journey and for that, I’m sorry that it took me as long as it did. But it’s genuine. It’s not about politics. It’s very heartfelt. it’s about my [Catholic] faith and I have struggled with it.”
She’s enormously moved by the response she’s received. “Probably the most moving -- I’ve received thousands of emails and letters and telephone calls,” she said. “And the one that just hit my heart was a sixteen year old who said, ‘I’ve thought about suicide, and now that you’ve come out as strong as you have, I feel good about myself. And one day I will not go on bended-knee and ask someone to join me in a domestic partnership -- I’ll ask them to marry me.’ That’s the exact thing that moved me to where I am and that’s only right for our children in this state and for their parents.”
Of President Obama still “evolving” on marriage, as he has put it, disappointing many LGBT supporters who want him to come out fully for equality, Gregoire asked for patience: “I think, I hope, the president will evolve in his thinking and his personal journey but I have to respect the journey he’s on. He has done, in my opinion, a great job as commander-in-chief, with respect to our military, as a voice for anti-discrimination for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of this nation. I would ask our friends, as a big an ask as it is, give him the time to see the journey through. I believe he will get to where I found myself, [New York] Governor Cuomo found himself. But people need to give him the opportunity to get there.”
Gregoire responded to Gov. Christie’s controversial suggestion that marriage equality go to the ballot in New Jersey without a vote by the representatives by discussing the politics in her own state, where ballot initiatives are commonplace and easy for citizens to launch.
“If someone out there in the community believes it should go to a ballot there’s a mechanism by which they can do that readily in our state, and do it all the time, and I respect that and believe the people of the State of Washington will stand up," she said. "But meanwhile, today, in my state I am urging every one of my senators and representatives to stand up, take the vote, do the right thing. Bear the responsibility, do not just send it to the ballot.”
For the full interview, click here.
NJ:
Black Leaders Blast Christie for Referendum Proposal
THURSDAY, January 26, 2012 (The
Advocate)
Prominent African-American elected officials including Newark Mayor Cory Booker slammed the suggestion from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie to put same-sex marriage to a public vote, while the governor, legislative leaders and advocates appeared to be girding for a protracted confrontation on Wednesday.
The Star-Ledger reports that Booker, a Democrat who has refused to perform marriages at Newark city hall until all couples have the right, stood in “unprecedented public divergence” with the Republican governor on Wednesday when he warned that minority rights should not be subjected to a majority vote.
"I shudder to think what would have happened if the civil rights gains, heroically established by courageous lawmakers in the 1960s, were instead conveniently left up to popular votes in our 50 states," said the mayor in a statement. During a news conference reported by the Associated press, he echoed senate sponsors of the bill who opposed the referendum idea the previous day.
“Dear God, we should not be putting civil rights issues to a popular vote, to be subject to the sentiments, the passions of the day,” said Booker. “No minority should have their rights subject to the passions and the sentiments of the majority. This is the fundamental bedrock of what our nation stands for.”
Christie called for the Democratic-controlled legislature to put the issue to a public vote on Tuesday at a town hall in Bridgewater while a senate judiciary committee hearing on the marriage equality bill was underway in Trenton. The panel advanced the bill in an 8-4 party line vote, but Christie also reiterated his promise to veto the measure, which threw into doubt the prospect of garnering enough Republican support for an override.
Speaker Sheila Oliver, the first African-American woman to lead the New Jersey assembly, expressed offense at additional comments from Christie on Tuesday that civil rights advocates in the South during the 1950s and ‘60s “would have been happy to have a referendum on civil rights rather than fighting and dying in the streets.”
“Governor, people were fighting and dying in the streets of the South because the majority refused to grant minorities equal rights by any method,” she said, according to the AP. “It took legislative action to bring justice to all Americans, just as legislative action is the right way to bring marriage equality to all New Jerseyans.”
A spokesman for Speaker Oliver told The Advocate that the assembly is expected to take up the bill soon.
For the full article, click here.
Washington
Archbishop Peter Sartain Testifies Against Gay Marriage Bill
THURSDAY, January 26, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
J.
Peter Sartain, the archbishop of Seattle, on Monday warned Washington
lawmakers that gay marriage poses a “grave challenge” to the
common good.
According to the Catholic News Agency, Sartain testified against the bill during a Senate committee hearing held on Tuesday.
Supporters of making Washington the seventh state to legalize gay marriage – and the first on the West Coast, not counting California which briefly legalized the union in 2008 – say they have the votes to approve the measure. Opponents have vowed to put the issue before voters.
Sartain
said that because “only the union of a man and a woman can generate
new life” that no “other human relationship is its equivalent.”
The bill, he said, “ignores the origin, purpose and value of marriage
to individuals, families and society.”
“Marriage makes a contribution to the common good of society unlike any other relationship, through the procreation, rearing and education of children,” he said. “I urge you to uphold the definition of marriage as the union of one man and one woman.”
MN:
St. Paul City Council opposes marriage amendment
THURSDAY, January 26, 2012 (Star
Tribune)
The
St. Paul City Council overwhelmingly approved a resolution Wednesday opposing
an amendment on the Nov. 6 ballot that would ban same-sex marriage.
Six of the seven City Council members sponsored the resolution so it passed easily. Only Council Member Don Bostrom didn't sign on to the proposal.
Bostrom was absent and didn't vote on the resolution. "It's not my issue," he said in explaining why he wasn't a sponsor.
The five-paragraph resolution notes that St. Paul "has long recognized the importance of equality for all citizens and has been a leader in supporting human rights, including the adoption in 1990 of an ordinance making it illegal to discriminate based on sexual orientation."
The city also adopted a domestic partnership registry in 2009. With the passage of the resolution, the council joined the coalition Minnesotans United for All Families. The group is opposing the amendment.
The Nov. 6 ballot question will read: "Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to provide that only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota?"
If approved, the amendment would add a new section to the constitution reading, "Only a union of one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as marriage in Minnesota."
N.J.
Marriage Bill Advances, Christie Wants Referendum
WEDNESDAY, January 25, 2012 (The
Advocate)
A
bill that would legalize same-sex marriage passed the New Jersey senate
judiciary committee as expected Tuesday afternoon. The 8 to 4 vote cleared
the way for the bill to come to the senate floor next month, although
Governor Chris Christie renewed his vow to veto the legislation and urged
lawmakers to “let the people of New Jersey decide” the issue
in a referendum.
Democratic lawmakers introduced the bill two weeks ago with the expectation that it would pass both houses, in contrast with 2010, when the measure died after a 20-14 vote in the senate. Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who abstained from voting two years ago, has since changed his position and become a sponsor of the legislation. He told The Advocate he planned to discuss the legislation with Christie, who could choose to veto the bill or let it become law without his signature, after it passed the senate and general assembly.
However, Christie appeared to foreclose prospects for dialogue when, at the same time as the committee hearing, he announced during a town hall that he planned to veto the bill. The governor said he wanted lawmakers to put the issue before voters in a referendum. A Quinnipiac poll last week showed that a majority (52%) of New Jersey voters support marriage equality for the first time.
"I think this is not an issue that should rest solely in my hands, or the hands of the Senate President or the Speaker or the other 118 members of the Legislature," said the governor, according to the Star-Ledger. "Let's let the people of New Jersey decide what is right for the state."
The remarks represented a departure from Christie’s more open tone of recent weeks. As recently as Monday, a Christie spokesman told The Advocate that the governor planned to allow the legislative process to unfold, and then review it in accordance with a 45-day review period, "just as he would any other piece of legislation.”
Senate President Sweeney responded with a resounding no when a speaker informed the hearing participants of the governor's announcement. His reply appeared to escalate the mounting confrontation between Democratic lawmakers and the Republican governor.
"Civil rights is not to be placed on the ballot," said Sweeney after a speaker interrupted to share the governor's announcement. "It’s to be voted on by the people in this house."
Senator Ray Lezniak, a bill sponsor, directly addressed Christie in comments before voting to advance the bill.
For the full article, click here.
Washington
Witness Says Gay Marriage Would Pollute Social Environment
TUESDAY, January 24, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
Christopher Plante of the National Organization for Marriage (NOM) on Monday testified that he objects to a proposed gay marriage bill in Washington state because it would pollute the social environment for future generations, ThinkProgress.org reported.
“Today, you can go to the supermarket and buy seventh generation cleaning products because it is politically correct to be worried about the ecology we're leaving the seventh generation. What is the social environment we're going to leave the seventh generation,” Plante told lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee reviewing the measure.
(Related: NOM pledges to work against Washington state Republicans who support gay marriage.)
Senator
Mary Margaret Haugen announced
she would vote in favor of the bill before the panel began its public
hearing, giving supporters sufficient support to make Washington the seventh
state to legalize gay marriage.
Bill Wells of the Beginning Christian Church suggested that lawmakers
were acting like Nazis.
“Hitler
tried to change and redefine what life was and it was a great failure,”
he testified. “I can't believe at the age of 58, I'd even be here
discussing something like this. It's totally an abomination and disgusting.”
Another opponent, Ken Hutcherson of the Antioch Bible Church, accused
lawmakers of second guessing God.
“So you're telling me that you know better than God,” Hutcherson said.
“You're telling me that God is not right by limiting marriage to just a man and a woman. You're doing the same thing. You're just saying God is too narrow minded, but you're just as narrow minded, because you just want to give it to two men or two women.”
First
Washington, Now New Jersey Braces for Marriage Showdown
TUESDAY, January 24, 2012 (The
Advocate)
New Jersey Senate president Stephen Sweeney admits that he made a “mistake." That's how he describes his behavior two years ago, when he abstained from voting on the marriage equality bill and contributed to the 20-14 defeat of the measure. The Democrat blames his move on politics, where he supported the substance of the bill but bowed to the political winds of his conservative South Jersey district.
“I’m a big boy, I made a mistake,” said Sweeney in an interview with The Advocate. While confirming reports that he is considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2014, he insisted his recent sponsorship of a same-sex marriage bill stems from a motivation to remedy an injustice, not career aspirations. “I am going to correct the mistake, and I am going to do what’s right for the people that were wronged," he said. "That’s all this is about.”
If successful this session, Sweeney and other leaders of the Democratic-controlled state legislature could close a bumpy chapter for the state's nine million residents. The saga began when the Supreme Court of New Jersey issued a decision in 2006 that prompted the legislature to pass a civil unions bill later that year. A state commission concluded the civil unions law created a “second-class status” in 2008, but a lame-duck legislative drive for marriage equality failed in 2010 despite a promise from outgoing Gov. Jon Corzine to sign the bill. Gov. Chris Christie, the Republican who succeeded him, does not support marriage equality, a factor that distinguishes him from the Democratic governors of New York, Washington and Maryland, all Catholics like Christie, who have pushed for the legislation. As of Monday, Washington appeared to be on the verge of becoming the seventh state plus the District of Columbia with marriage equality, after the last of the required votes emerged in the senate.
Sweeney said that last time, he agreed to be one of the 21 votes that would pass the bill, but in a “political calculation,” he refused to provide a yes vote for any bill that failed. When Gov.-elect Christie prevailed on five Republican senators to retract their support, it became apparent the legislation could not pass, and so Sweeney abstained, the equivalent of a no vote.
Fast forward two years, and Sweeney believes his chamber has enough votes to pass the bill “easily" next month. The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing and vote on the bill Tuesday, and he expects a successful floor vote on the bill on February 13. The vote would mark the first time a marriage equality bill passes either chamber of the New Jersey legislature.
“It’s going to pass,” said Sweeney. “That’s how confident I am. It will pass the senate on the 13th.”
Sweeney also expressed optimism about prospects in the general assembly led by Speaker Sheila Oliver, but passing the bill represents only part of the battle. Legislators need to gather the two-thirds majority required to override a potential veto, should Christie exercise that option after the bill reaches his desk.
“We’re getting there,” Sweeney said of the ongoing effort in his chamber. “This is an enormous lift.” Democrats control the senate 23-16, with one open seat, and Sweeney said it could be possible to get support from as many as 22 members of his conference. He said that Republican interest in the bill is “moving,” although he declined to name prospective GOP votes except Sen. Jennifer Beck, who has already announced her support. “I don’t want any more headaches for them than they’re going to get,” he said.
To continue reading this article, click here.
WA:
Legislature has enough votes to legalize gay marriage
MONDAY, January 23, 2012 (Seattle
P-I)
OLYMPIA (AP) -- Washington's Legislature now has enough votes to legalize gay marriage.
Democratic Sen. Mary Margaret Haugen says she will support the measure, becoming the 25th vote needed to pass the bill out of the Senate. The House already has enough support, and Gov. Chris Gregoire has endorsed the plan.
Washington would become the seventh state to legalize same-sex marriages, following New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont.
Washington state has had a domestic partnership law since 2007, and a "everything but marriage" law since 2009.
Haugen's announcement came has hundreds of people filled the capitol to advocate for and against gay marriage. State senators began considering the bill during a morning committee hearing.
Opponents and supporters of gay marriage packed a Senate committee hearing Monday for the first public hearing of the most high-profile issue before the Washington state Legislature this session.
Dozens of people crammed into a small Senate committee hearing room, which was quickly filled to capacity as people lined up outside the room two hours in advance of the 10 a.m. start. The Senate set up three overflow areas for the public, including the public gallery on the Senate floor.
Opponents of gay marriage wore buttons that said "Marriage. One Man. One Woman." Others wore stickers that read "Washington United for Marriage," a group that announced in November that it was forming a coalition to support same-sex marriage legislation.
Democratic Sen. Ed Murray, a gay lawmaker from Seattle who has led the push for gay civil rights and domestic partnerships, testified before the Government Operations, Tribal Relations & Elections Committee with his longtime partner, Michael Shiosaki.
"I have waited 17 years to ask this body to consider marriage equality for gay and lesbian families," said Murray, who is sponsoring the Senate bill. "I realize the issue of marriage for our families is emotional and divisive. It touches what each of us holds most dear, our families."
Opponents argued that the measure goes against traditional marriage and the Bible.
"You are saying as a committee and a Legislature that you know better than God," said Ken Hutcherson, pastor of Antioch Bible Church.
The National Organization for Marriage issued a statement Monday morning pledging a referendum campaign to fight any gay marriage law at the ballot. Last week, the group announced that it would spend $250,000 to help fund primary challenges to any Republican who crosses party lines to vote for same-sex marriage in Washington state. So far, two Republicans in the Senate, and two in the House have said they would vote in support of gay marriage.
Gay marriage has won the backing of several prominent Pacific Northwest businesses, including Microsoft Corp. and NIKE, Inc., and last week a conservative Democrat who once opposed same-sex marriage said he will now vote for it.
The state House is widely expected to have enough support to pass gay marriage, and Gov. Chris Gregoire publicly endorsed the proposal earlier this month.
The state Senate is now just one vote shy of having the 25 votes needed to approve the bill, with a half-dozen lawmakers remaining uncommitted.
In October, a University of Washington poll found that an increasing number of people in the state support same-sex marriage. About 43 percent of respondents said they support gay marriage, up from 30 percent in the same poll five years earlier. Another 22 percent said they support giving identical rights to gay couples but just not calling it marriage.
To continue reading this article, click here.
Maryland,
Washington, New Jersey Begin To Debate Gay Marriage
MONDAY, January 23, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
Gay
marriage is on the agenda Monday in three states: Maryland, Washington
and New Jersey.
In Maryland, Governor Martin O'Malley is expected to introduce his proposed legislation for this year's General Assembly, which should include the gay marriage bill he pledged to back last spring.
Senate
President Thomas V. Mike Miller, who does not support the measure, has
said the Senate will take up the issue before the House.
A similar effort last year cleared the Senate before sinking in the House.
Analysts this year say they expect a quick OK in the Senate but capturing the 141-member House remains in doubt for supporters.
Committees in Washington and New Jersey will begin holding public hearings on gay marriage bills which were filed earlier this month.
Democratic leaders in Trenton are looking for veto-proof majorities in the House and Senate to blunt an expected veto from Republican Governor Chris Christie.
However, Christie has yet to say what he would do if lawmakers approve the marriage equality bill.
A bill filed in Washington has the backing of Democratic Governor Chris Gregoire. Strong support in the House leaves little doubt the bill will clear the chamber. However, the measure remains 1 vote short in the Senate, where 2 Republican senators have voiced their support. Five senators remain undecided.
Md.
same-sex legislation to be examined in two committees, House speaker says
TUESDAY, January 17, 2012 (The
Washington Post)
In a sign of the tough road ahead for same-sex marriage legislation in Maryland, House Speaker Michael E. Busch said Monday that he would assign this year’s bill to two committees instead of one, a procedural change that could increase the measure’s chances of passage.
Busch (D-Anne Arundel) said the decision would allow more delegates to closely examine the controversial measure, which died unexpectedly on the House floor last year after narrowly passing the Senate.
But critics said the move suggests the votes are not there this year to advance the bill from the Judiciary Committee, the House panel that approved it last year, to the full chamber.
At times in the past, when bills have been “jointly referred” to two committees, House leaders have used a majority vote from just one panel as justification to send legislation to the floor. House rules are largely silent on such situations but grant the speaker considerable leeway on committee assignments.
“This issue is way too important to be playing games with,” House Minority Leader Anthony J. O’Donnell (R-Calvert), an opponent of same-sex marriage, said upon learning of Busch’s decision. “I guess it shows a great lack of confidence in the Judiciary Committee. I think that committee is capable of doing the job.”
Busch, who supports the bill, said it makes sense to have the Health and Government Operations Committee examine it as well, given that panel’s history of weighing civil rights measures. Aides have acknowledged that support for the same-sex marriage bill appears stronger on that panel.
For the full article, click here.
Effort
To Repeal Gay Marriage In Washington Already Underway
TUESDAY, January 17, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
An effort that would effectively repeal a proposed gay marriage law in Washington state is underway before passage of the law, the AP reported.
Democratic Senator Ed Murray on Friday officially filed his bill which seeks to make Washington the seventh state in the nation to grant gay and lesbian couples the right to marry.
The state currently recognizes gay couples with domestic partnerships. A 2009 expansion of the law gave gay couples all the protections of marriage. A ballot initiative to repeal the law failed.
Stephen Pidgeon, an attorney who worked with groups to overturn the state's domestic partnership law, last week filed an initiative that would affirm marriage as a heterosexual union.
“We believe this issue is even more volatile than domestic partnerships,” Pidgeon said. “The voters should get to vote on it. Let's see what they think.”
Pidgeon's initiative would alter the current state statute's definition of marriage from a civil contract between a male and a female to “between one man and one woman.”
The clarification is needed because legalizing gay marriage “will lead to the liberalization of marriage laws to allow for polygamy and other forms of relationships.”
“We believe that the critical issue here is, does the word marriage have particularized meaning, and if so we need to secure that definition as a matter of law,” Pidgeon said.
Supporters of the initiative must collect at least 241,153 valid voter signatures by July 6 to qualify for the November ballot.
Governor Chris Gregoire, who previously signed bills expanding the state's current domestic partnership law, last week publicly endorsed marriage equality for the first time.
The bill, which remains two votes shy of passage, will have its first public hearing on January 23.
Gay
Marriage In Washington: 4 Votes Short, But Many Remain Undecided
THURSDAY, January 12, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
Passage of a gay marriage bill in Washington state remains 4 votes shy of passage, but 7 lawmakers say they remain undecided.
According to a tally by The Associated Press, the measure has sufficient support to clear the House, but a 21 to 18 count leaves it 4 votes shy in the Senate, where 25 votes are needed for passage.
Governor Chris Gregoire, who previously signed bills expanding the state's current domestic partnership law, last week publicly endorsed marriage equality for the first time.
Five Democratic and two freshman Republican senators say they remain undecided.
Democratic
Senators Karen Fraser of Olympia and Rosemary McAuliffe of Bothell have
signaled they would likely favor the measure but were unwilling to commit.
Republican Senators Joe Fain of Auburn and Andy Hill of Redmond are also
leaning in favor of the measure.
Senator Ed Murray of Seattle, a Democratic leader on the issue of gay marriage, said that he's “50 percent optimistic” it will pass.
“I can't declare victory,” he said. “I don't think we'll know we have the votes until we actually vote.”
Two Republican lawmakers are among the “yes” votes: Senators Steve Litzow of Mercer Island and Cheryl Pflug of Maple Valley.
“I don't feel diminished when another human being is allowed to exercise the same rights that I enjoy,” Pflug said. “I would feel diminished if I voted to deny others the right to exercise those same rights and freedoms.”
Seattle:
Don Moreland, longtime supporter of gay rights, dies
WEDNESDAY, January 11, 2012 (Seattle
Times)
Before there were same-sex marriage and domestic partnerships, even before the rainbow flag became a symbol of gay pride, Don Moreland was fighting for the rights of gay and lesbian people.
From simple recognition, through the AIDS epidemic to such modern-day concerns as elder care, Mr. Moreland's activism spanned nearly four decades. He was a tireless champion for a community that at times had little or no voice.
"Don was never a person satisfied with the status quo," said Seattle City Councilman Tom Rasmussen, a longtime friend and gay-rights ally.
"He thought all of us in public office should do more, could do better. He was impatient ... persistent. He always wanted to keep things moving."
Mr. Moreland died early Saturday from health complications. He was 75.
Throughout the gay-rights community and beyond, people recall his kind spirit and eagerness to bridge gaps.
His younger brother, Robert Moreland, of Kent, remembers the studious kid debating politics with their father.
Mr. Moreland received a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Washington in 1958 and attended law school there for two years.
In the 1950s and 1960s, he served in the Navy Reserve.
He spent 17 years in financial positions with companies in Southern California before moving to Seattle, where he worked two decades for Skyway Luggage before retiring.
Robert Moreland said he always knew his brother was gay. And when he came out to the family "it was never an issue. It became his passion, of course."
Mr. Moreland's unyielding commitment and activism on behalf of gays and lesbians stretched from the mid-1970s until his death last week.
George Bakan, publisher of Seattle Gay News, recalls that when Seattle gay-rights leader Harvey Muggy was dying of AIDs in 1991 and none of his friends in the gay community knew quite what to do, Mr. Moreland organized a party to "say hello" to Harvey. "It was a tremendous human thing to do," Bakan said. "What a class act."
Mr. Moreland's partner, Tad Ichikawa, said the two men, who began dating in 2007, complemented each other.
"I'm more comfortable in a small group of people. He was more outgoing."
As part of Mature Friends, a local social group for gays over 40 that Mr. Moreland helped found, the partners gathered once a week with friends to play bridge. They also enjoyed traveling and Mr. Moreland held season tickets to the symphony, Ichikawa said.
"We had the most wonderful times together," he said.
In 1994 Mr. Moreland unsuccessfully ran for the 36th Legislative District seat. Bill Dubay, who did field work on Mr. Moreland's campaign, remembers he wanted to win with integrity.
"There was to be no dirty politicking, no name-calling," Dubay recalls. "He always wanted to stick to the issues."
In more recent years, Mr. Moreland was involved in issues around aging. He served as chairman of the Washington State Council On Aging and was a member of the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging and Disability Services.
Rasmussen said Mr. Moreland wanted to bridge the gap between gay-rights' organizations in Seattle and those nationally. In the mid-1980s, he served on the board of the Human Rights Campaign, a national organization focused on gay rights.
In 1985, he led a delegation that included Rasmussen and the state's first openly gay lawmaker, Cal Anderson, to the first lesbian and gay conference of gay elected and appointed officials.
The event in West Hollywood drew fewer than two dozen people, including U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, who was keynote speaker but not yet out of the closet, Rasmussen recalls. On the flight back to Seattle, he said, they decided to create Washington's first gay and lesbian political-action committee, "The Privacy Fund."
"Don never sought the limelight, never hesitated to act," Rasmussen said. "If you asked him for money, he might clutch his heart and gasp, but then would reach into his pocket and give you $50."
Besides his brother and partner, Mr. Moreland is survived by brother Kenneth, of Renton. A memorial service is planned for sometime in the spring.
Launch
of first pre-HIV exposure prevention trial for gay men in Europe
WEDNESDAY, January 11, 2012
The ANRS (French National Agency for Research on AIDS and Viral Hepatitis) is about to launch in Europe the first pre-HIV exposure prevention trial in men who have sex with men.
This phase III trial—ANRS IPERGAY—will start at the end of January 2012, in Paris (Hôpital Saint-Louis, Professor Jean-Michel Molina and Hôpital Tenon, Professor Gilles Pialoux) and Lyon (Hôpital de la Croix-Rousse, Dr Laurent Cotte), and later in Montreal in Quebec (CHUM Hôpital Hôtel Dieu, Dr Cécile Tremblay). The trial will include 300 volunteers in the pilot phase and ultimately 1900 in total.
ANRS IPERGAY will involve men who have sex with men and seronegative trans men who have anal sex with men without routine use of condoms, with at least two different sexual partners in the six months prior to trial participation. Participation will last for between 12 (minimum) and 48 (maximum) months.
The trial will compare two groups of participants, one given Truvada®, the other a placebo, taken in both cases during the period of sexual activity, starting before sexual relations and ending afterwards.
All participants, irrespective of group, will be offered various means of prevention: free condoms, regular HIV screening, regular screening for and treatment of sexually transmitted diseases, vaccination against hepatitis A and B. Participants can ask for personalized prevention advice, if they wish.
An important part of the trial will involve a social sciences study of the profiles of participants and analysis of their sexual behavior, in particular regarding condom use, and will determine whether or not they take the medication as intended.
Participants
will be invited to the hospital every two months or so for an interview
and for clinical examinations, including screening tests.
The ANRS will sponsor and fund the trial, and Gilead will supply the medication.
The HIV community-based association Aides helped draw up the protocol, is a scientific and operations partner in the trial, and is a member of the scientific board. It will coordinate recruitment in the field and provide volunteers with prevention support.
WA:
Republican Sen. Steve Litzow helps lead with gay-marriage support
MONDAY, January 9, 2012 (Seattle
Times)
SOMETIMES it takes just one individual to stand on principle and let others follow. State Sen. Steve Litzow announced he will be the first Republican in the Senate to support gay marriage.
Outstanding. Litzow is a profile in courage, a freshman lawmaker willing to act on conviction.
Litzow of Mercer Island told The Times editorial board he plans to support this historic legislation. His announcement follows last week's decision by Gov. Chris Gregoire to introduce and push a law that affords gay and lesbian couples the same rights and benefits of marriage enjoyed by other couples.
If the legislation is approved — and it should be — Washington would become the seventh state in the country to act on this compelling civil-rights issue.
"I am a traditional Republican," explained Litzow. "When you think about gay marriage, it's the right thing to do and it's very consistent with the tenets of being a Republican — such as individual freedom and personal responsibility."
Litzow is not an activist on social issues, but is a big supporter of education reform. He also is a suburban businessman, married with four children, who believes in treating all citizens fairly. He believes that if two adults of the same gender wish to commit to each other, the state should not discriminate, period. He is correct.
State Sen. Ed Murray, D-Seattle, will work the marriage-legalization bill in the Senate. He has said votes for passage probably exist in the House, but the Senate remains iffy.
Litzow's decision will be a huge factor. He likely will take some heat from fellow Republicans, but his willingness to buck his party is commendable.
An individual lawmaker has thought an issue through and decided to take a stand. His announcement should prompt other Republicans to make the same decision. It is time to legalize same-sex marriage in this state.
Litzow's announcement helps Democrats and Republicans reach that milestone. Senators or representatives who have been waffling should step up and join him.
Washington
Voters Would Keep Gay Marriage Law, Poll Finds
FRIDAY, January 6, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
New
details about an October poll shows repealing a gay marriage law in Washington
would not be easy.
The Washington Poll found that 43 percent of the 938 registered voters surveyed by telephone said gay marriage should be legal, while 22 percent endorsed either civil unions or domestic partnerships for gay and lesbian couples.
But when asked whether they would vote to repeal a gay marriage law if approved by lawmakers, a majority of respondents (55%) said they would not. And another 14 percent either favored repeal not strongly (7%) or were undecided (7%). The survey has a 3.5 percent margin of error.
The results are good news for marriage equality advocates, who on Wednesday gained a powerful new ally in Governor Chris Gregoire.
Gregoire has pledged to introduce a bill that would legalize gay marriage in the upcoming legislative session. During a news conference on the announcement, she said that she had struggled with the issue.
Opponents are expected to attempt to repeal the law at the ballot box, if approved by lawmakers.
Currently, Washington recognizes gay and lesbian couples with domestic partnerships.
Magic
Johnson On 20 Years Living With HIV, Homophobia In Hip-Hop And The Fight
Against AIDS
WEDNESDAY, January 4, 2012 (Huffington
Post)
People have looked up to Magic Johnson for most of his life, and not just because he’s 6’9.” Though an NBA superstar — he won three MVP awards and five championships with the LA Lakers — it’s the last two decades that have made Johnson a role model.
In 1991, when Johnson retired from the NBA to focus on his health, HIV and AIDS had reached epidemic proportions. At the time, many dismissed AIDS as a disease of drug addicts and homosexuals. But here was a straight, top-tier athlete announcing to the world that he had tested positive for HIV and would step down immediately from professional basketball.
Johnson’s resignation press conference on Nov. 7, 1991 was a stunner. It hammered home for many the fact that HIV could affect anyone, anywhere.
After speaking at a We Day Event in Waterloo last month, where he made the surprise announcement that he plans to start his own We Day in L.A., Johnson spoke to The Huffington Post Canada about living with HIV, homophobia in hip-hop and how his good health has been both “a blessing and a curse” in the fight against AIDS.
It’s been 20 years since you announced you had HIV and retired from the NBA. What do you think your legacy is going to be off the court?
I think it's going to be giving back. It's going to be the scholarships – we've sent tens of thousands of young people to college through the Magic Johnson Foundation. We have 18 technology centres where people can go and have access to a computer and 75 percent of their grades have gone up because the digital divide is so big in urban America. Then the health fairs that we have because a lot of them haven't had their shots as young people. So we have minivans going around in our community giving them their physicals for free and their shots for free.
And then when you think about HIV and AIDS, man, it's been over $10 million to different organizations and I will continue to raise the awareness level and make sure that people who are dealing with HIV and AIDS have a roof over their heads. We also want to continue to stop the discrimination against people who are living with HIV and AIDS whether it's in the workplace or out in public.
For the full article, click here.
Washington's
Chris Gregoire To Endorse Gay Marriage Effort
WEDNESDAY, January 4, 2012 (On
Top Magazine)
Washington Governor Chris Gregoire is expected to endorse a bid to legalize gay marriage in the state, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer reported.
Gregoire will hold a press conference on Wednesday morning to discuss the upcoming legislation.
Democratic state Senator Ed Murray from Seattle is the chief sponsor of the soon-to-be introduced gay marriage bill.
Gregoire has signed into law previous bills shoring up the state's domestic partnership law. The latest expansion approved in 2009 gives gay and lesbian couples most of the legal protections of marriage. Murray, who is openly gay, also backed these bills.
The 2009 expansion – dubbed “everything but marriage” – survived a referendum seeking to repeal the measure.
Marriage was defined as a heterosexual union with passage of a 1998 law, which survived a legal challenge in 2006.
Murray told the paper that if Gregoire announces her support for the upcoming effort, “it would certainly help us move the issue of marriage equality this session.”
A poll released in October found that 55 percent of Washingtonians would vote against a ballot initiative that attempted to repeal a gay marriage law.
Gay
men having unprotected sex think that having HIV is still a big deal,
but that it’s now harder to transmit
MONDAY, December 19, 2011 (Aidsmap)
A study of Australian gay men examining unprotected sex and the beliefs that are associated with it has found that the concept of ‘treatments optimism’ needs to be unpacked. While some men do think that having HIV is less serious than it used to be, there is more of an association between unprotected sex and men believing that treatments have made HIV-positive people less infectious.
But writing in the journal Sexually Transmitted Diseases, the researchers warn that the relationships between information, beliefs and behaviour are not straightforward, with individuals managing risk, desire and pleasure in complex ways.
Soon after the advent of combination therapy, commentators began to explain unprotected sex in gay and bisexual men in terms of ‘treatments optimism’ – the theory that reductions in illness and death had caused men to be less concerned about HIV infection, and so more willing to have unprotected sex. While a number of studies have confirmed an association between beliefs characteristic of treatments optimism and risk behaviour, it is unlikely that such beliefs – held by a minority of men – are sufficient to explain rising infection rates in gay men.
Moreover, there has always been controversy over whether treatment optimism leads to unprotected anal sex, or whether it is a way in which men rationalise their sexual behaviour, after the event.
Quantitative data
In 2009 Garrett Prestage and colleagues recruited men via social networking and gay dating websites to take part in an anonymous cross-sectional online survey. A total of 2306 men completed the survey, with 2138 answering all the questions mentioned here.
The average age was 35 and the majority of men were university educated. One in ten had been diagnosed with HIV. Whereas 28% of men without HIV reported having unprotected sex with a casual partner in the last year, 58% of positive men reported doing so.
Men were asked about their beliefs concerning HIV and antiretroviral treatment. While 55% of men agreed that “HIV is no longer a death sentence”, only a minority of men agreed that “HIV is less serious than it used to be” (28.5%) and that “HIV is becoming a controllable disease like diabetes” (31.1%).
Men who agreed with one of these ‘HIV health optimism’ statements tended to agree with the others.
Fewer men agreed with a series of statements about HIV treatment and reduced infectiousness. Only 7.6% of men agreed that “HIV-positive men who are on treatments are unlikely to pass on HIV if they fuck without a condom”, 7% agreed that “HIV treatments take the worry out of sex” and 6.6% agreed that “I fuck without condoms more often because of HIV treatments”.
Once again, men who agree with one of these ‘HIV transmission optimism’ statements usually also agreed with the others.
For the full article, click here.
Gilead
Seeks FDA Approval For Truvada In Reducing HIV Risk In Uninfected Adults
FRIDAY, December 16, 2011 (RTTNews)
(RTTNews) - Gilead Sciences Inc. (GILD: News ) Thursday filed a supplemental New Drug Application with the US Food and Drug Administration seeking approval of its blockbuster HIV drug Truvada for reducing the risk of the disease occurring through sex in uninfected adults.
Truvada was approved by the FDA in 2004 for the treatment of HIV-1 infection and is currently the most-prescribed antiretroviral treatment in the US, Gilead said. In its third quarter, Gilead reported Truvada sales of $744.7 million, up 11 percent from last year, on growth in Europe and the US.
If the sNDA is approved, Truvada would be the first agent indicated for uninfected individuals to reduce the risk of acquiring HIV through sex, a prevention approach called PrEP.
According to current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, each year some 50,000 people are newly infected with HIV in the US. Truvada is not currently indicated to reduce the risk of HIV infection.
Truvada sNDA is based on results of two large Phase 3 trials, sponsored by the US National Institutes of Health and the University of Washington respectively.
"The data from these large-scale clinical trials suggest that Truvada may have a role to play in meeting the urgent public health need to reduce new HIV infections," said Gilead CEO John Martin.
Elaborating on the trials, Gilead said that in one study, known as the Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis Initiative (iPrEx), which involved 2,499 high-risk HIV-negative homosexuals in the US and other countries, the once daily use of Truvada reduced the risk of acquiring HIV by 44 percent compared with placebo and by up to 73 percent in men who took the drug consistently. In men with enough detectable drug presence, the risk was reduced by more than 90 percent.
For the full article, click here.
US
study: Equal marriage rights improve health of single gay men
FRIDAY, December 16, 2011 (Pink
News)
A US study of the effect of equal marriage rights claims gay and bisexual men lead healthier lives when those rights are introduced, regardless of whether they have a partner.
The report looked at medical data from the year before and the year after Massachusetts introduced equal marriage laws in 2003.
Authors said medical care visits, mental health care visits and mental health care costs all decreased, by 13% for health care visits and 14% for costs.
The study, entitled “Effect of Same-Sex Marriage Laws on Health Care Use and Expenditures in Sexual Minority Men: A Quasi-Natural Experiment,” is published in the American Journal of Public Health.
It found that costs associated with hypertension, depression and adjustment disorders decreased after equal marriage rights were introduced, whether a man had a partner at the time or not.
Author Mark L. Hatzenbuehler, of the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said: “Our results suggest that removing these barriers improves the health of gay and bisexual men.
“These findings suggest that marriage equality may produce broad public health benefits by reducing the occurrence of stress-related health conditions in gay and bisexual men.”
The study examined 1,211 male patients from a large, community-based health clinic in Massachusetts. It said lesbians were not included because of the small initial sample size.
Electrocautery
ablation: safe and effective treatment of high-grade pre-cancerous anal
lesions in gay men
THURSDAY, December 15, 2011 (Aidsmap)
A clinic-based intervention offers safe and effective treatment for high-grade pre-cancerous anal lesions, US investigators report in the online edition of the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndromes.
Doctors at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, used a technique called electrocautery ablation to treat pre-cancerous anal lesions in 232 gay men, 132 of whom were HIV-positive.
Eighteen months after treatment, 83% of HIV-negative men and 69% of those with HIV were free of high-grade pre-cancerous anal lesions.
“Electrocautery ablation of high-grade anal squamous intraepithelial lesions is a safe and effective office-based procedure comparable to other available treatments,” comment the investigators.
Incidence of anal cancer has increased dramatically among gay men in recent years. HIV-positive gay men appear to be especially vulnerable to the disease, and its incidence is five-times higher in these patients compared to HIV-negative men.
Infection with high certain high-risk strains of human papillomavirus can cause cell changes in the anus, resulting in the formation of lesions. The severity of these changes is graded, and between 9% and 13% of high-grade lesions progress to anal cancer.
There are a number of treatments for these pre-cancerous lesions including infrared coagulation and topical creams such as imiquimod.
Another therapy is electrocautery ablation. The investigators described the procedure thus: “Using a gentle brushing technique the lesion was ablated [worn down] by moving [a] blade lightly across the surface like a paint-brush.” The therapy has a number of advantages and can be performed in clinics without the need for anaesthetic or sedation.
For the full article, click here.
HIV
stigma divides and fragments gay communities
WEDNESDAY, December 14, 2011 (Aidsmap)
A
review of research studies has identified a growing division within gay
communities, in which HIV-negative gay men associate mainly with other
HIV-negative men, and vice versa. Moreover stigma has negative impacts
on the health of both HIV-positive
and HIV-negative men, say the authors, writing in the online edition of
AIDS Care.
Stigma has been defined as ‘‘a process of devaluation of people either living with, or associated with, HIV and AIDS’’. The majority of the research literature on stigma deals with the attitudes of the general population, but the authors wished to draw attention to and pull together reports concerning the stigmatisation of HIV-positive men within communities of gay men.
They describe this literature as “fragmented and largely anecdotal” – and call for more empirical research – but have identified multiple references to stigma that affects gay and bisexual men.
- Seven out of ten gay male respondents to a Dutch survey had experienced stigma on the gay scene.
- HIV-positive men perceive a ‘‘rift’’ based on HIV status within their gay community.
- Fear of rejection by potential sexual partners is widely reported and causes long-lasting harm to the self-confidence and self-esteem of men with HIV.
- Older men with HIV feel particularly under-valued, believing that they are at the “lowest rung” of the “gay social hierarchy”, resented for supposedly being dependent on social benefits that are no longer available to younger men with HIV.
- Body fat changes and other physical manifestations of HIV and its treatment are regarded as unattractive. Men with such symptoms report a loss of intimacy and the avoidance of particular social spaces because they feel self-conscious or fear rejection.
- In the United States, black gay men are perceived to be at higher risk of having HIV compared to men of other ethnicities, and are sometimes avoided as sexual partners for that reason.
- Stigma has a considerable impact on mental and emotional well-being, leading to anxiety, loneliness, depression, thoughts of suicide and avoidance strategies such as social withdrawal.
- Men who only disclose their HIV-status to a limited support network often feel socially isolated.
- Some gay men with HIV report keeping social and sexual distance from other HIV-positive men, feeling that being associated with HIV-positive sexual spaces (either online or offline) would compound stigma directed against them.
- HIV-positive men who identify as ‘barebackers’ tend to report greater stigma, gay-related stress, self-blame and substance abuse coping.
- Men reporting discrimination from sexual partners and breaches of confidentiality are less likely to adhere to their medication.
The authors note that stigma has negative effects on the health of HIV-negative men too. HIV-negative men who rely on trying to avoid sexual contact with HIV-positive men as a way of avoiding HIV infection put themselves at risk – due to infrequent HIV testing, undiagnosed infection and non-disclosure of HIV status.Moreover stigmatising beliefs are associated with lower rates of HIV testing and poorer knowledge about HIV transmission.
They say that effective strategies, validated by research, to reduce stigma are urgently needed. “Such initiatives should foster a renewed dialogue about living with HIV as a gay man, create opportunities to share understanding and experience among HIV positive and HIV-negative men, and aim to reunite gay communities by reducing stigma and offering integrated medical and social support.”
Reference
Smit PJ et al. HIV-related stigma within communities of gay men: a literature review. AIDS Care, published online ahead of print, 2011. (Full text available online).
North
Cyprus leader: Proposal to repeal anti-gay laws “has been submitted"
WEDNESDAY, December 14, 2011 (Pink
News)
A
Conservative MEP who lobbied the leader of Northern Cyprus to repeal the
self-declared state’s anti-gay laws said yesterday he had written
to her confirming that the proposal had been drafted.
Marina Yannakoudakis, who represents London in Strasbourg, had been visiting Nicolosia as part of her role on an EU group for relationships with the Turkish Cypriot community when she spoke with Dervis Eroglu about decriminalisation.
Northern Cyprus, which declared itself an independent state in 1983 but has not had international recognition, currently criminalises gay sexual acts under section 154 of its penal code. Northern Cyprus is not a member of the EU, and is not bound by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Ms Yannakoudakis visited the divided city of Nicosia after three men were arrested on “suspicion of conspiring to have a sexual intercourse against the order of nature”.
She said she urged Dr Eroglu to repeal the laws which criminalise gay sex, and to implement laws which protect children from abuse.
Confirming the action he promised in October, Dr Eroglu said: “The draft proposal for the repeal of the part of the Criminal Code, Chapter 154, which penalizes same sex sexual activity has been submitted to the general Assembly on 25 October 2011 by a political party, the Communal Democracy Party. This draft legislation states that not only girls and women but also boys and men can be victims of rape and sexual abuse.”
“We gave our considered opinion to the Government that the draft proposal concerned should be adopted and section 171 should be abolished without delay.”
Marina said: “I am pleased that Dr. Eroglu has honoured the promise he made to me in October. There have been a number of concerns about human rights in the northern part of Cyprus.
“By agreeing to decriminalise homosexuality Dr. Eroglu is taking concrete measures to ensure those living in the north part of Cyprus may enjoy the same human rights as their fellow Europeans.
“I am also pleased that new legislation will protect children, especially boys, from sexual abuse. The anti-gay law had left an enormous hole in the justice system allowing children to go unprotected from rape and abuse.”
Ghana’s
education ministry “optimistic” it can stop homosexuality
WEDNESDAY, December 14, 2011 (Pink
News)
A
spokesman for Ghana’s Education Ministry has told the Accra Mail
he is confident a programme in which teachers warn students of the “adverse
consequences” of being gay will make it “a thing of the past”.
Paul Krampah, a Public Relations Officer, said his department’s HIV/AIDS Secretariat had been training teachers to educate students on the spread of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.
The Mail says calls had been made to better equip students with knowledge about the health risks involved in a sexually active lifestyle.
Mr Krampah’s statement appears to imply that by outlining the risks of sexual activity, the programme will stop young people being gay.
He said: “We are very optimistic that things will change and the incidence of homosexuality in the country will be a thing of the past.”
LGBT Asylum News points out that the Deputy Director General of the country’s Education Service said in an interview this year that homosexuality “started with single-sex schools”.
He added: “It has become prevalent and so more people have become aware of it. This is just one of the many problems we have in our educational system.”
This summer, a minister in Ghana reportedly ordered the arrest of all gays and lesbians in the country’s Western Region.
Paul Evans Aidoo also called on landlords and tenants to inform on those they believe to be gay.
According to Ghanaian news reports, he said: “All efforts are being made to get rid of these people in the society.”
In November, the country’s president, John Atta Mills, said he would “never support” the decriminalisation of homosexuality in the country, following the UK Government’s announcement on the redirection of aid.
Co-infection
with hepatitis B worsens HIV-related outcomes
TUESDAY, December 13, 2011 (Aidsmap)
Co-infection with hepatitis B virus increases the risk of AIDS or death for patients newly diagnosed with HIV, investigators from the US military report in the online edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Individuals with chronic hepatitis B infection were twice as likely to progress to AIDS/death compared to patients who were only infected with HIV.
“With compelling data confirming the risk for persons with co-infection, it is imperative that we commit to implement…additional steps to combat hepatitis B now,” write the authors of an accompanying editorial.
HIV and hepatitis B share modes of transmission. These include sexual exposure, injecting drug use and mother-to-child transmission. Therefore a significant proportion of HIV-positive patients are co-infected with HIV.
Infection with HIV can accelerate the course of hepatitis B disease.
“HIV co-infection is known to influence the natural history and course of hepatitis B by impairing the quantity and quality of the innate and adaptive immune response,” explain the authors.
There is no cure for hepatitis B, but a number of antiretroviral drugs are active against both HIV and hepatitis B and can thus help prevent liver damage and disease progression.
Studies exploring the impact of hepatitis B on HIV-related outcomes have yielded conflicting results. However, these studies were limited by their inability to control for a number of factors, including duration of infection with HIV.
In order to overcome this limitation, investigators from the US military designed a retrospective study, involving patients with an approximate date of HIV-seroconversion who were categorised according to their hepatitis B infection status. A series of analysis were then conducted to assess the impact of co-infection on the risk of progression to AIDS and death.
Patients diagnosed with HIV since 1986 were included in the study. All had been repeatedly screened for the infection and it was possible to estimate the date of their seroconversion within three years.
Their routine care involved testing for hepatitis B. This screening showed that 74% had never been infected with the virus; 20% had resolved hepatitis B infection; 4% had isolated hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAb); and 3% had chronic hepatitis B infection.
Importantly, 48% of patients were diagnosed with HIV before the advent of effective HIV therapy in 1996.
For the full article, click here.
Congress
Dumps Military Gay Marriage Ban; Keeps Sodomy Policy
TUESDAY, December 13, 2011 (On
Top Magazine)
A Congressional conference committee to reconcile differences between House and Senate defense bills has dropped two anti-gay measures but kept the military's sodomy provision.
Leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services Committee announced late Monday that they had reached agreement on the details of the $662 billion defense bill.
Gay rights advocates hailed the conference for removing two House amendments related to marriage.
In a memo
issued by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Clifford
Stanley, chaplains may officiate the marriage and civil union ceremonies
of gay couples, including on a military installation.
The amendments, sponsored by Republican Representatives Vicky Hartzer
and Todd Akin of Missouri, stated that the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA),
the 1996 law which bars federal agencies and the military from recognizing
the legal marriages of gay couples, prohibits the use of military facilities
and the participation of military personnel in such ceremonies.
“Anti-gay attacks and infusion of the so-called Defense of Marriage Act have no place in legislation designed to support all the brave men and women who fight to defend this nation,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. “Gay and lesbian servicemembers risk their lives every day and Freedom to Marry is pleased that the conference committee agreed with us and voted to remove these discriminatory anti-gay provisions from the bill.”
However, the committee decided in favor of Senator Roger Wicker's (R-Miss) amendment that reiterates that chaplains are free to decline to participate in such ceremonies.
“This amendment will allow the chaplains of our Armed Forces to maintain the freedom of conscience necessary to serve both their Nation and their religion without conflict,” Wicker said in a statement released with the amendment's introduction last month. “Protections for military chaplains should be guaranteed in any policy changes being implemented.”
Activists had also sought removal of language that outlaws sodomy in the military.
“[W]e are very disappointed that the conference voted to keep the sodomy provisions in Article 125,” said Aubrey Sarvis of Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN). “Dropping Article 125 has been recommended for more than a decade by SLDN and several groups, including the Cox Commission that includes distinguished legal scholars from the military and academia, as well as the Comprehensive Review Working Group (CRWG).”
The House and Senate must approve the final bill before it heads to the president's desk.
Long-term
use of HIV drugs is safe, does not raise risk of death, study shows
THURSDAY, December 8, 2011 (Aidsmap)
A
large international study has provided persuasive evidence of the long-term
safety of antiretroviral
therapy. Writing in the online edition of AIDS, investigators
from the EuroSIDA study report that prolonged use of antiretroviral therapy
did not increase the risk of death from non-AIDS-related illnesses.
“The main finding of our study was that there was no evidence of an increase in the risk of any non-AIDS-related death with prolonged exposure to cART [combination antiretroviral therapy],” comment the authors. “The results are reassuring that so far prolonged use of cART does not appear to be leading to increased risk of death due to some previously identified cumulative effect, or a drug effect whereby there is a long induction period before disease appears.”
It is now well recognised that effective antiretroviral therapy has significantly improved the life expectancy of many patients with HIV.
However, all anti-HIV drugs can cause side-effects, and treatment with some has been linked to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease or kidney dysfunction. Whether prolonged treatment with antiretroviral therapy carries an increased risk of death from these and other diseases is currently unclear.
Therefore investigators from the EuroSIDA cohort study looked at the outcomes of approximately 12,000 patients who received potent combination antiretroviral therapy after 1996.
These patients were categorised according to the duration of treatment (under two years; two to three years; four to six years; six to eight years; and over eight years).
Overall mortality incidence was then calculated according to treatment exposure, as was the incidence of AIDS-related and non-AIDS-related deaths. The investigators adjusted their results to take into consideration factors known to independently affect prognosis including demographics, HIV risk group, co-infection status, CD4 cell count and viral load, and previous history of AIDS-related illnesses.
During 70,000 person years of follow-up, a total of 1297 patients died. A little over two-thirds of deaths (68%) were attributed to non-AIDS-related causes.
AIDS-related mortality accounted for 32% of all deaths. The investigators attributed 9% of deaths to non-AIDS-related infections, 14% to liver-related causes, 10% to non-AIDS-related cancers, 9% to cardiovascular causes, 7% to violence (including suicide) and 7% to other causes. In addition, 12% of non-AIDS-related mortality had an unknown cause.
Incidence of all-cause mortality was 18.3 per 1000 person years; AIDS-related mortality had an incidence of 5.85 deaths per 1000 person years; and the incidence of non-AIDS-related mortality was 12.5 per 1000 person years.
For the full article, click here.
UK:
One in 20 gay men living with HIV as infection rate hits record high
TUESDAY, November 29, 2011 (Pink
News)
The
number of people living with HIV
in the UK reached an estimated 91,500 in 2010, with a quarter of those
unaware of their infection, according to Health Protection Agency figures
published today.
The data, released by the HPA ahead of World AIDS Day on Thursday, also shows the highest ever rate of new infections.
More than 3,000 gay men were diagnosed with HIV last year, as part of 6,660 new infections in the population as a whole.
The 2010 figures mean 100,000 people may be living with the virus in the UK by the end of this year.
The statistics show that one in 20 gay men are now infected with HIV nationally with one in 11 in London.
The HPA also said it was concerned that over half of those diagnosed last year had been “late” diagnoses, coming after the point at which treatment should have started, and leading to an increased risk of developing AIDS.
Paul Ward, Deputy Chief Executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, called the figures a “serious wake up call for gay men.”
“Thirty years ago, AIDS devastated gay communities across the UK, but also gave rise to an unprecedented community response.
“Effective drug treatments have made it possible for someone diagnosed with HIV today to live a long, healthy life, but that doesn’t mean we can take our foot off the gas in trying to stop its spread.
“HIV isn’t happening somewhere else or happening to other people; it’s happening right now, and the people who have or are at risk of contracting HIV are our friends, our lovers, and the guys who work on the scene. They are the men you meet at social groups, in saunas, online or on the dance floor. HIV affects all of us and it’s up to all of us to stop the spread of HIV in our community.”
For the full article, click here.
Nigeria
Senate Approves Bill That Would Outlaw Gay Marriage
TUESDAY, November 29, 2011 (On
Top Magazine)
The
Nigeria Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would criminalize gay marriage
in Africa's most populous nation, the AP reported.
The proposed legislation prescribes a fourteen year jail term for a person who enters the contract of marriage with a member of the same sex. A person – or group of persons – who witnesses, abets and aids the solemnization of a gay marriage may receive up to ten years imprisonment or a fine of 5,000 naira, about $32 in a country where the average daily income is $3. Those jail terms have increased over the bill's initial penalties of three years for the gay couple and five years for witnesses.
During debate on the Senate floor, some lawmakers called for even harsher penalties for being gay.
“Such
elements in society should be killed,” Senator Baba Dati said.
Gay sex – and by extension marriage – is already criminal
in Nigeria. A person convicted of violating “carnal knowledge against
natural order” faces the death penalty in areas under Sharia Islamic
Law or up to 14 years in prison.
Lawmakers
also brushed aside international criticism of the legislation.
“Anybody can write to us, but our values are our values,”
Senate President David Mark said. “No country has a right to interfere
in the way we make our laws.”
The bill's sponsor, Senator Domingo Obende, has previously argued that the law was necessary to protect children: “With the legalization of same-sex marriage, every school in Nigeria would be required to teach that this perversion is the moral equivalent of traditional marriage between a man and a woman.”
“Instead
of providing for father and mother, the advent of same-sex marriage will
create millions of motherless and fatherless children and this is morally
wrong.”
The bill now heads to the House of Representatives, where it is expected
to be approved.
LGV
cases almost triple in one year; UK public health officials warn against
serosorting
TUESDAY, November 29, 2011 (Aidsmap)
The number of gay men infected with the sexually transmitted infection lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) has almost tripled in one year, and the UK now has the world’s worst epidemic of LGV, the Health Protection Agency reported today. At the same time, the agency is tracking an outbreak in gay men of shigellosis, a bacterial infection that is transmitted through contact with tiny amounts of human faeces.
The HPA suspects that transmission of both infections is being fuelled by serosorting behaviour, in other words men choosing to have unprotected sex with men who have the same HIV status as themselves. While HIV-positive men who serosort may avoid passing on their HIV infection, they still risk acquiring unpleasant and often serious sexually transmitted infections such as LGV, shigella and hepatitis C. Serosorting “is unsafe”, the HPA says.
LGV is a previously rare sexually transmitted infection, seen in UK gay men since 2003. It is caused by specific strains of Chlamydia. If left untreated, symptoms can be complex and severe, including proctitis (inflammation of the anus or rectum).
Diagnoses of LGV increased from 190 in 2009 to 530 in 2010. Of the total 1560 cases seen between 2003 and 2010, more than one third have been diagnosed since the beginning of 2010.
The vast majority (83%) of LGV cases were in HIV-positive gay men. The infection is thought to be transmissible during unprotected anal intercourse, an activity which 84% of infected men report. Two-thirds of diagnoses were in London, but there are cases from across the country, especially Brighton and Manchester.
For the full article, click here.
In
brief: London clinic aims to set HIV test record on World AIDS day
MONDAY, November 28, 2011 (Pink
News)
G-A-Y Bar and the 56 Dean Street NHS clinic are seeking participants to set a new world record for the most HIV tests administered in an eight hour period.
Dr Alan McOwan, Lead Consultant at 56 Dean Street, said: “We will be using the world’s fastest HIV antibody test, which provides a result in just 60 seconds.
“One in 20 gay men in London has undiagnosed HIV and two-thirds of undiagnosed men think that they are negative. Testing early can add 16 years to someone’s life.”
G-A-Y will be donating £10 for every test performed at one of nine testing stations around the venue to the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
The record setting attempt will run from 2pm to 10pm on World AIDS Day, 1 December 2011, and will be held at the G-A-Y bar on Old Compton Street. Registration forms can be picked up from the venue in advance or completed on the day.
Marine
Corps Leader “Pleased” With DADT Repeal Process
MONDAY, November 28, 2011 (Advocate)
Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos, who once testified against the end of the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, said that he is “very pleased” with how repeal has proceeded in the past two months.
Amos, the highest-ranking Marine Corps officer, made the comments in an interview with the Associated Press during a weeklong trip that included stops in Afghanistan. He praised the smooth way U.S. troops across the world have adapted since the policy ended in September.
According to the AP, Amos was not asked about repeal at more than a dozen town-hall style meetings with Marines during his latest trip. Only once, in Bahrain on Sunday, did a Marine ask whether Amos planned to change the policy of allowing local commanders to determine how to handle complaints about negative “homosexual remarks or actions,” and Amos said no.
The general supported this absence of concern with an anecdote from the annual ball that celebrated the birth of the Marine Corps earlier this month in Washington, D.C. A female Marine introduced herself and her partner to Amos’s wife, Bonnie.
"Bonnie just looked at them and said, `Happy birthday ball. This is great. Nice to meet you,'" Amos said, according to the AP. "That is happening throughout the Marine Corps."
Prior to repeal, Amos testified before Congress last December and said that allowing gay Marines to serve openly could held “strong potential for disruption at the small unit level,” although he said that Marines would uphold any change in the law. He told the AP that his comments back then reflected his duty to express the concerns of Marines in combat roles, where a survey from the time showed that 56% of them viewed repeal negatively.
Male
circumcision debate flares in the USA
SATURDAY, November 26, 2011 (Aidsmap)
Fierce debates about male circumcision are taking place across the USA, with some groups claiming that the procedure is a human rights violation with no health benefit. Nellie Bristol reports.
For Lisa, a 35-year-old engineer from a suburb of Detroit, MI, USA, the issue was worth getting a divorce over. Pregnant and expecting a boy, Lisa's husband was insisting his newborn son undergo circumcision. “I just knew that I couldn't harm my baby like that. I didn't think it made sense”, she said.
She tried the rational approach to persuasion, researching circumcision on the internet and providing her husband with pages of highlighted material to read. Although he did not engage in either the research or conversation about the topic, he did finally agree to Lisa's approach and the procedure was declined.
Not all of the disagreements in the USA on whether to surgically remove the foreskin of newborn boys have been resolved so amicably. In California, anti-circumcision groups gathered more than 7000 signatures to get on the ballot in San Francisco a provision that would outlaw the practice. However, a judge blocked the proposal in July on the grounds that only a state can regulate a medical procedure. Democratic Governor Jerry Brown attempted to thwart any similar efforts by signing legislation in October prohibiting local governments from banning circumcision. Still, the debate continues—18 states have now eliminated Medicaid insurance for male circumcision.
Although precise figures are elusive, the proportion of infants who are circumcised in the USA is slowly falling, with in-hospital rates of about 55—57%, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). WHO says 30% of males are circumcised globally. Two-thirds of those are Muslim. In Europe, the rate is less than 20%.
For the full article, click here.
Virulence
of HIV has increased since first reports of AIDS
TUESDAY, November 22, 2011 (Aidsmap)
HIV may have evolved to become more virulent over the course of the epidemic, according to the results of a meta-analysis published in the online edition of AIDS.
The study estimates that six months after infection, the CD4 cell count of a person infected with HIV in 2010 was likely to stabliise at a level approximately 150 cells below that of a person infected in the early 1980s. This implies that HIV transmitted in recent years is likely to lead to more rapid development of illness compared with HIV transmitted 30 years ago.
US investigators analysed the results of studies conducted between 1984 and 2010 to see if two key prognostic markers - CD4 cell set point and viral load set-points (the level of CD4 cells and viral load immediately after primary infection) - had changed. All the studies involved patients from North America and Europe and most individuals were therefore infected with HIV-1 subtype B.
Increasing virulence of the virus was suggested by an annual fall in CD4 cell count of approximately 5 cells/mm3 and an increase in viral load set point of 0.013 log10 copies/ml.
“Over the course of the HIV-1 subtype B epidemic in North America and Europe there are overall trends of decreasing baseline CD4 cell counts and increasing set point viral loads,” comment the investigators.
They calculated that these changes represent “a loss of 148 CD4 cells/mm3 and an increase of 0.39 log10 copies/ml RNA over a 30 year period (from the first CDC report of the epidemic in 1981).” Even larger changes were observed in patients with a known date of infection with HIV.
However, there was evidence that the virulence of the virus had slowed in recent years.
Earlier research examining the virulence of HIV has produced conflicting results. Nevertheless, it is important to establish an accurate understanding of this issue as it has implications for both treatment and prevention strategies. If the virus has become more virulent, this could suggest that it is easier to transmit. Similarly, a more virulent virus would hasten the need for antiretroviral therapy.
Investigators therefore conduced a meta-analysis of studies examining trends in baseline CD4 cell counts and viral load set points.
A total of twelve studies monitoring CD4 cell counts were identified. They included approximately 21,000 individuals, and nine enrolled patients with an established date of HIV seroconversion.
Viral load set-point was assessed in eight studies involving approximately 11,000 patients. In six of these studies, the population comprised individuals with a documented date of seroconversion.
The studies were published between 1996 and 2009 and provided data on newly diagnosed patients over a mean of 17 years. All were conducted in Europe and North America and therefore the majority of patients were infected with subtype-B virus.
The meta-analysis showed a statistically significant decreasing trend in CD4 cell count of – 4.93 cells/mm3 each year. When analysis was restricted to seroconvertors, the mean annual loss in CD4 cell count increased to – 6.01 cells/mm3.
Viral load set-point increased by a mean of 0.013 log10 copies/ml. Restricting analysis to seroconvertors showed an even larger mean increase (0.018 log10 copies/ml).
“These trends are consistent with increased virulence of HIV-1 due to viral evolution in the human population,” suggest the investigators.
Overall, they estimate that baseline CD4 cell count has fallen by a mean 148 cells/mm3 and viral load set-point has increased by a mean of 0.39 log10 copies/ml since the first reports of AIDS in the early 1980s.
Restricting analysis to seroconvertors showed even larger changes with a mean reduction in baseline CD4 cell count of 180 cells/mm3 with a corresponding mean increase in viral load set-point of 0.54 log10 copies/ml.
They believe that their findings have both clinical significance and implications for HIV prevention.
“A 0.3 log10 copies/ml change is a clinically significant change in viral load,” write the authors. “The relationship between set point and viral load disease progression predicts that an increase in set point of 0.5 log10 copies/ml decreases the median time to AIDS by three years…and will modify the per year transmission rate by 37%.”
However, the magnitude of changes in CD4 cell count and viral load set-point lessened over time.
“Overall, our meta-analysis of trends in prognostic markers of HIV-1 disease progression suggests that HIV-1 has become more virulent over the 30-plus year history of the global HIV/AIDS epidemic,” conclude the investigators. They call for studies in other populations and locations affected by the epidemic, especially sub-Saharan Africa “to assess our findings and its future impact.”
Reference
Herbeck JT et al. Is the virulence of HIV changing. A meta-analysis of trends in prognostic markers of HIV disease progression and transmission. AIDS 25, online edition, doi: 10.1097/QAD.0b013e32834db418, 2011
Among
European gay men, rates of unsafe sex rise the further east you go
MONDAY, November 21, 2011 (Aidsmap)
The
largest ever study of the sexual behaviour of men who have sex with men,
which recruited 174,209 men from across the European continent, has found
important variations in sexual behaviour according to the country in which
men live.
Dr Axel J. Schmidt told the Future of European Prevention among MSM (FEMP) conference in Stockholm this month that compared with men living in some countries in western Europe, men in Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria and Romania had two and a half times the odds of reporting unsafe sex.
The European MSM Internet Sex Survey (EMIS) was an internet-based questionnaire that was made available in 25 languages across Europe in 2010. (Other results from EMIS, on access to sexual health services and on internalised homonegativity have been previously reported on Aidsmap). Because the survey used the same recruitment methods, questions and definitions of risky behaviour with participants across Europe, the data it produces on different countries are comparable.
The key variable in the following analysis is having had at least one episode of unprotected anal intercourse in the past year with a partner whose HIV status was either unknown or thought to be different from the respondent’s (i.e. non-concordant unprotected anal intercourse).
Schmidt argued that this measure was preferable to indicators which did not take the partner’s HIV status into account, although the issue of an HIV-positive man’s use of virally suppressive treatment remains ignored.
The EMIS results showed that the proportion of men reporting unprotected anal sex with partners not known to have the same HIV status tends to be greater the further east a country is.
Whereas across Europe, 32% of respondents reported non-concordant unprotected anal sex, this ranged from 21% to 49% depending on the country.
In a multivariate analysis which took into account the age of the respondents and the way in which they were recruited, the countries with the lowest rates were Luxembourg, Austria, Slovenia and Switzerland.
Taking that group of countries as the comparison group, respondents in the following countries had a slightly higher odds of reporting unsafe sex (odds ratios up to 1.3): France, Germany, Greece and Belgium.
The next group of countries, with odds ratios up to 1.5 were drawn from western Europe and Scandinavia: Italy, Portugal, Spain, Denmark and Finland.
The next-riskiest group (odds ratio up to 1.7) is more heterogeneous, including countries in western Europe, Scandinavia, central Europe and the Balkans: the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, Malta, Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Macedonia, Serbia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina.
The group of countries with odds ratios up to 2.0 consists of Ireland, Cyprus, Estonia, Ukraine, Russia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, and the Slovak Republic.
For the full article, click here.
Model
shows excellent prognosis for UK gay men with HIV
MONDAY, November 21, 2011 (Aidsmap)
New
UK research provides further evidence of the dramatic impact of antiretroviral
therapy on the prognosis of HIV-positive
patients. Published in the online edition of AIDS, a simulated model showed
that a non-smoking, 30-year-old gay man, whose HIV
is diagnosed promptly, could expect to live until he is 78 years of age.
A gay man who smoked, but whose HIV was detected early, had a life expectancy
of 75 years.
The model also showed that late diagnosis of HIV cut life expectancy. Nevertheless, it showed the clear benefits of HIV therapy in these circumstances. A gay man whose HIV was detected when his CD4 cell count was just 140 cells/mm3 could still expect to live until he was 71.5 years old.
“Predicted life expectancy in people with HIV is high in settings with access to multiple antiretroviral drugs,” comment the investigators. “Delays in diagnosis pose the greatest risk of excess mortality for people with HIV.”
It is now well established that modern antiretroviral therapy significantly improves the life expectancy of patients with HIV. However, investigators from the UK were concerned that studies attempting to quantify prognosis may have underestimated the benefits of treatment because they did not take into account improvements in HIV therapy and care.
They therefore developed their own prognostic model. It was based on 10,000 theoretical gay men whose HIV was diagnosed in 2010. They selected this group because factors other than HIV impact on the prognosis of the other main groups affected by HIV in the UK.
Rates of HIV testing currently observed in UK gay men were incorporated into the model. These show that HIV is generally detected early, with median CD4 cell count at the time of diagnosis being 410 cells/mm3. It assumed that the patients had fully drug-sensitive HIV, had a 40% chance of being a smoker for life, were not co-infected with hepatitis and were never lost to follow-up. HIV treatment was started when the patients’ CD4 cell count fell to 350 cells/mm3 and the patients were fully adherent to this.
Higher rates of some non-HIV-related illnesses have been observed in patients with HIV. Therefore, the investigators assumed that their simulated patients were 50% more likely to die of such diseases than individuals in the general population.
The same scenario was considered for patients whose HIV was diagnosed late.
In ideal conditions, with timely diagnosis of HIV, the life expectancy of patients was 75 years (range, 63 to 83 years). This increased to 78 years if the patient did not smoke (range, 66 to 86 years).
For the full article, click here.
STD
Rates for MSM, Communities of Color 'Shockingly High'
THURSDAY, November 17, 2011 (Bilerico)
Today, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its 2010 sexually transmitted disease (STD) surveillance data. This annual report of statistics and trends for the three reportable sexually transmitted diseases in the United States shows that STDs rates in this country are still shockingly high, particularly in communities of color and among gay men and other men who have sex with men (MSM).
"This new data shows a persistence of the same trends that we have been seeing for years--that MSM and communities of color are continuing to bear a disproportionate share of the STDs in this country," said William Smith, Executive Director of the National Coalition of STD Directors. "We should also not lose sight of a number of new additional studies this past year on the link between STDs and acquiring HIV. The 2010 STD data released today shows that we need to look closely at further investments in STD prevention as a means to prevent HIV as well," continued Smith.
While the 2010 data shows that overall rates for syphilis went down compared to 2009, the first decrease in in ten years, rates among Hispanics went up just over nine percent in the last year and MSM still account for two-thirds of the syphilis in this country. In addition, black men continue to have the highest rates of syphilis in the U.S., with young (20-24) black MSM seeing an increase of syphilis of a shocking 135 percent between 2006 and 2010. Co-infection of those with syphilis and HIV also continues; between 25-54 percent of those with primary or secondary syphilis were also HIV positive.
"The good news is that there was a drop of 8.5 percent in the rate of black men diagnosed with either primary or secondary syphilis in 2010 compared to the year prior," said Smith. "While too early to definitely assess the cause for this drop, there has been a distinct appeal for several years now to help address the explosion of syphilis among black men, particularly among young black MSM, and we must keep up efforts to prevent increasing rates of STDs and HIV among this group," concluded Smith.
Rates for Chlamydia continued to increase over the last year, as they have for twenty years. This is in part due to increased testing which is increasingly identifying positive cases, of which there were more than 1.3 million reported in 2010. Black women continue to have the highest rates for Chlamydia, as well as gonorrhea. While there was only a small increase in the overall rates of gonorrhea, the rates of gonorrhea in Hispanics went up 12 percent compared to 2009.
Across all three diseases, communities of color and young people overall continue to be most affected, though even for all ages of whites, increases were seen for all three diseases in 2010. Among whites in 2010, rates of chlamydia increased by 7.5 percent, 9.2 percent for gonorrhea, and 3.6 percent for syphilis in 2010 compared to 2009.
"We hope the unacceptably high rates of STDs in this country continue to be clarion call for securing the sexual health of all people," said Smith. "This means that state and federal investments in STD prevention remain a critical need in these times of tight budgets and that as healthcare reform continues to move ahead, that partners in every sector ensure that the safety net for these services continues to exist," continued Smith.
The full 2010 STD surveillance data can be found on the CDC website.
Global
campaign to decriminalise homosexuality to kick off in Belize court
THURSDAY, November 17, 2011 (Guardian)
A
new British legal rights group will this week kick off a global campaign
to decriminalise homosexuality in scores of countries across the world
when it embarks on a first test case in the courts of Belize.
The Human Dignity Trust (HDT), which launched its campaign in London on Thursday, is targeting the 80-odd states where consensual sexual activity between adults of the same gender is outlawed. More than half are Commonwealth countries which inherited their regulations from British colonial rule. In some like Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon and Ghana the laws are seen by some as justification for violent attacks on gay and lesbian people.
Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney general, will be among the team of lawyers fighting to overturn section 53 of Belize's criminal code, which enacts that: "Every person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person or animal shall be liable to imprisonment for 10 years."
The hearing, scheduled to begin on 5 December, has been brought by the gay Belizean activist Caleb Orozco. It is shaping up to be a constitutional legal clash with international political dimensions.
Belize's evangelical, Anglican and Catholic churches have united to oppose the application. They are expected to set out their objections in a pre-hearing review on Friday and seek to introduce evidence that homosexuality can be "cured".
In a joint statement earlier this summer, the churches in Belize declared: "In every country that has granted a new 'right' to homosexual behaviour, activists have promoted and steadily expanded this 'right' to trump universally recognised rights to religious freedom and expression."
Announcing that they have also retained a high-powered legal team, the Catholic bishop Dorick Wright, the Anglican bishop Philip Wright and the evangelical Rev Eugene Crawford said: "The people of Belize will not surrender our constitution, our moral foundations, and our way of life to predatory foreign interests."
The courtroom battle in Belize is the first in the HDT campaign. Challenges to homophobic laws in Northern Cyprus and Jamaica, where there are so-called "anti-sodomy laws", should be lodged before Christmas. Cases in other states will follow in the new year.
Criminalising homosexuality is illegal under international law, according to Jonathan Cooper, a human rights barrister who is the trust's chief executive. Among the legal authorities establishing that precedent is a 1994 ruling by the UN's human rights committee based on a case in Australia.
"But more than 80 countries, 42 of which are in the Commonwealth, have laws that criminalise homosexuality," he said. "Our initiative has nothing to do with gay marriage; human rights law has nothing to say on gay marriage.
"The laws that criminalise homosexuality in most of the Commonwealth countries are the legacy of British colonial rule. The French, Dutch and Spanish didn't leave [such an inheritance]. By the time the UK decriminalised, most of those states were independent.
"We will work through local lawyers and support them in bringing challenges. We will make sure they get all the resources they need. Gay people could be killed if we mishandle these cases."
Goldsmith and Godfrey Smith, a onetime attorney-general of Belize, are acting as leading counsel in the first challenge. Some of the cases could end up in British courts if they are appealed up to the privy council in London, which works alongside the supreme court, and still acts as the final appellate court for many Commonwealth states.
"We hope there will be a domino effect eventually," Cooper added, "with countries recognising [that they will lose the test cases] and saying 'Why don't we just decriminalise?'"
The Foreign Office has also become more active in combating laws that criminalise homosexuality. In an address during the Commonwealth summit in Australia last month, the foreign secretary, William Hague, said: "The UK would like to see the Commonwealth do more to promote the rights of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender citizens. It is wrong in our view that these groups continue to suffer persecution, violence and discrimination within the Commonwealth and that many members still have laws criminalising homosexuality."
In its founding statement the HDT says: "Criminalisation causes misery to all of those affected, compromising people's identity through illegality. It also reduces human beings to their sexual acts.
"We hope to bring approximately five to 10 cases globally each year. Where necessary we will fund cases. In the event of a prosecution we can assist lawyers in preparing a defence challenging those laws. If appropriate, we may bring cases in our own name."
The trust is chaired by Tim Otty QC, a human rights specialist. Its patrons include the Liberal Democrat Lord Lester, Lord Woolf, the former lord chief justice, Sir Shridath Ramphal, the former secretary general of the Commonwealth, Soli J Sorabjee, the former attorney general for India, and Arthur Chaskalson, the former chief justice of South Africa.
Men
who have Sex with Men (MSM) living in hostile social environments more
likely to have negative feelings about sexuality, less likely to test
for HIV
WEDNESDAY, November 16, 2011 (Aidsmap)
The largest ever international study of the sexual health of men who have sex with men (MSM), which recruited men from across the European continent, has found clear links between the social environment men live in and their own internal acceptance of their sexuality. Furthermore, men with 'internalised homonegativity' were much less likely to test for HIV.
These European results are to some extent confirmed by a study from the United States, which found that men living in states that are hostile to gay issues were more likely to have internalised homonegativity than men living in more tolerant states. However the American researchers found that the relationship between men's feelings about their sexuality and unprotected sex was quite weak.
Preliminary results from both studies were presented to the Future of European Prevention among MSM (FEMP) conference in Stockholm last week.
While the term 'homophobia' is probably better known than 'homonegativity', a number of researchers prefer the latter as it does not suggest that negative attitudes to homosexuality and homosexuals are fundamentally driven by fear. Public expressions of homonegativity may include discriminatory laws, personal rejection by family and friends, violent attacks in public spaces, disapproval from religious authorities and hostile newspaper articles.
When gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men have negative or ambivalent feelings about their own sexuality, this is termed 'internalised homonegativity'. It has been defined as "the gay person's direction of negative social attitudes toward the self, leading to a devaluation of the self and poor self-regard".
While it may seem obvious that negative social environments can create negative psychological states, the link between social factors at a country level and men's internalised homonegativity has not been clearly demonstrated before.
For the full article, click here.
A
Major Milestone? DOMA Repeal Advances in Senate
THURSDAY, November 10, 2011 (The
Advocate)
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to move forward a bill that would repeal the Defense of Marriage Act.
The committee voted 10-8 along party lines in favor of the Respect for Marriage Act. Its prospects on the Senate floor remain unknown. Introduced in the Senate in March by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), the bill currently has 30 cosponsors.
In opening remarks, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) said that as a result of DOMA, "thousands of American families are now being treated unfairly by the federal government. They are shunted aside — singled out from all other marriages recognized by the states."
But Republican senators including Ranking Member Chuck Grassley of Iowa criticized the intent of the legislation. He used common arguments against marriage rights for same-sex couples including concerns about child welfare — rhetoric discordant with the body of social science research.
As expected, there was no GOP support for the bill among committee members. Grassley said it was unlikely that the full senate has sufficient time to vote on the bill and doubted adequate support for the bill exists. Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas) concurred, and asserted in remarks that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has no intention of bringing the legislation to the floor in the current session.
A House version of the bill is not expected to move this session: Republican leadership continues to defend DOMA in multiple federal lawsuits following the Obama administration’s February announcement that it would no longer defend the law in court.
Passed in 1996 when no state or district had legalized marriage equality, DOMA prohibits recognition of legal same-sex marriages for federal purposes. The Respect for Marriage Act would amend federal code to read that an “individual shall be considered married if that individual's marriage is valid in the State where the marriage was entered into or, in the case of a marriage entered into outside any State, if the marriage is valid in the place where entered into and the marriage could have been entered into in a State.” (Text of the bill is here.)
Video of the meeting will be available at the Senate Judiciary Committee website here. The Advocate will have an updated report on the meeting later today.
Lifetime
blood donation ban for gay men lifted today
MONDAY, November 7, 2011 (Pink
News)
Regulations banning the donation of blood by men who have ever had gay sex will be lifted from today.
The Department of Health announced the changes in September, implementing a one-year deferral period instead, so that men who have had gay sex in the last 12 months may still not donate blood.
The change comes into force in England, Wales and Scotland this week.
Northern Ireland has not yet decided whether it will relax the rules, prompting an accusation of homophobia against its health minister.
The Advisory Committee on the Safety of Blood, Tissues and Organs (Sabto) carried out a review and found it could no longer support the permanent exclusion of men who have had sex with men.
Dr Lorna Williamson, NHS Blood and Transplant’s medical and research director, said: “Our priority as a blood service is to provide a safe and sufficient supply of blood for patients. This change gives us an opportunity to broaden our donor acceptance on the basis of the latest scientific evidence.
“The Sabto review concluded that the safety of the blood supply would not be affected by the change and we would like to reassure patients receiving transfusions that the blood supply is as safe as it reasonably can be and amongst the safest in the world. There has been no documented transmission of a blood-borne virus in the UK since 2005, with no HIV transmission since 2002.”
Gay rights campaigners said gay men would still be treated unfairly under the new rules implemented today, as heterosexuals engaged in higher risk sexual activity are not subject to the same restrictions.
The one-year deferral was chosen in part because of Hepatitis B, which disproportionately affects gay and bisexual men. While there is a four-week window between transmission and detection of HIV, Hepatitis B can take up to a year to be cleared by the body.
HIV charities generally welcomed the announcement, although they called for further reviews if the rates of HIV and Hepatitis B in gay men fall.
National AIDS Trust, Terrence Higgins Trust and GMFA said in a joint statement at the time of the announcement: “Whilst we are pleased to welcome this rule change for gay men, we will continue to encourage SaBTO to regularly review their restrictions on blood donation related to sexual behaviour (including other groups in addition to gay men). Particularly as the epidemics around blood-borne viruses evolve and scientific evidence changes and advances.”
The European Commission said that any ban on the basis of sexual orientation breaks EU laws.
But in response to a recent written question, John Dalli, the European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Policy, said that sexual behaviour should not be confused with sexual orientation.
Gay rights charity Stonewall said the change was a “step in the right direction” but called for donors to be screened purely on the basis of behaviour, rather than sexual orientation.
Chief executive Ben Summerskill said: “Safety must remain paramount. However at a time of national shortages in blood, everyone who can give blood at no risk to recipients should be able to donate.
“To retain a blanket ban on any man who has had sex with another man in the last year, even if he has only had oral sex, remains disproportionate on the basis of available evidence.”
He added: “Stonewall will continue to push for a donation system based on the real risks a potential donor poses. People wanting to donate blood should be asked similar questions – irrespective of their sexual orientation – that accurately assess their level of risk of infection. Sadly, the proposed new system will still fail to do this.”
Zambia
and Zimbabwe appear to reject gay rights “pressure” on aid
FRIDAY, November 4, 2011 (Pink
News)
Zambian
and Zimbabwean officials have said their countries will not enact gay
rights laws in order for their governments to receive British aid.
Government minister Given Lubinda said the Zambia would only enact laws supported by its citizens and in line with their culture.
He said: “David Cameron must be reminded of what we agreed when we met in Paris for the Paris Declaration. When we met in Ghana, we came up with the Accra Agenda for Action and both those declarations are that no country will use its aid to influence the policies of an aid receiving country.”
Speaking to Zambia’s Hot FM Radio, he continued: “It is wrong for Mr Cameron to try and use aid as a way of influencing policies and laws of Zambia. Zambia will not be pressured to formulate laws or policies by any foreign government.”
Meanwhile in Zimbabwe, one political party leader said chances for gay rights protection were “zero”, despite Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai’s assertion that gay rights are “human rights” last month.
Welshman Ncube is the leader of MDC-M, who make up around 5 percent of Zimbabwe’s House of Assembly, but said the view was widely held.
Ncube was meeting with church leaders in Bulawayo last week when he said the views of the people were clear and they did not support gay rights in the constitution, The Zimbabwean reports.
He said: “If you look at the constitution data today, the people said no to protecting gay rights and I think chances are zero”.
“If we listen to the views of people who attended COPAC [constitutional select committee] meetings, it is clear that they said no to gay rights.”
However, Mr Cameron’s announcement about how the status of gay rights could affect a country’s aid does not reflect a change of essential policy, as LGBT rights have historically fallen under the head of human rights and have always been expected to be recognised by aid-receiving countries.
Instead, the stricter implementation of the Department for International Development’s existing guidelines would see a reduction in General Budget Support, the aid that is sent directly to overseas governments, in favour of alternative funding mechanisms if those governments are not seen to recognise all human rights.
A UK Government spokesperson said: “The UK Government is at the forefront of work to promote human rights around the world, and regularly criticises Governments which violate those rights.
“This includes working to end religious intolerance, and persecution and discrimination against individuals on the basis of their sexuality.
“Our new approach, set out in detail in July this year, means we only provide aid directly to governments when we are satisfied that they share our commitments to reduce poverty; respect human rights; improve public financial management; fight corruption; and promote good governance and transparency.”
The government intends to reduce the amount given in General Budget Support to foreign governments from 16% of bilateral foreign aid in 2009/10 to 9% in 2014/15.
Ugandan and Ghanaian governments have already signalled that they will not legislate to protect gays.
Nancy
Pelosi Files Brief In Support Of Challenge To DOMA
FRIDAY, November 4, 2011 (On
Top Magazine)
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday filed an amicus brief in support of plaintiffs challenging the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the law that bars federal agencies and the military from recognizing the legal marriages of gay and lesbian couples.
The filing is supported by 132 House Democrats, including Representatives Steny Hoyer, James Clyburn, Jerrold Nadler, John Conyers, Barney Frank, Tammy Baldwin, Jared Polis and David Cicilline.
The brief argues that Congress acted hastily in approving DOMA.
“When Congress enacted DOMA in 1996, gay and lesbian couples could not marry anywhere in the world. Bowers v. Hardwick was still good law, inviting discrimination as a means of expressing moral disapproval of lesbians and gay men. In this atmosphere, many were reluctant to speak openly about themselves or their families,” the lawmakers' brief reads.
“DOMA's proponents capitalized on this, portraying the possibility of same-sex couples joining in marriage as a concerted attack by 'homosexual extremists' on heterosexual marriage and exhorting Congress to act quickly to preempt this possibility.”
The brief was filed in two cases being heard in the First Circuit Court of Appeals.
The filing makes it clear that the House is divided on the issue. House Speaker John Boehner, a Republican from Ohio, has authorized up to $1.5 million to defend the law in court.
Anal
HPV infection more likely to persist in gay men compared to heterosexual
men
THURSDAY, November 3, 2011 (Aidsmap)
An international team of investigators have found a possible explanation for the higher rates of anal cancer observed in men who have sex with men (MSM) compared to men who have sex with women (MSW). In the December 1st edition of the Journal of Infectious Diseases, researchers from the HIM study report that anal human papilloma virus (HPV) infections were significantly more likely to persist in MSM than MSW.
“Compared with MSM, we consistently observed a lower prevalence, incidence, and persistence of anal HPV among MSW,” comment the investigators.
Cigarette smoking was independently associated with the persistence of the infection in MSM.
Anal cancer can be caused by persistent infection with certain strains of HPV. Overall rates of anal cancer in men are low (approximately 1 per 100,000, but are significantly higher in men who have sex with men (36 per 100,000 before the HIV epidemic).
Prevalence of anal HPV infection alone does not appear to be a sufficient explanation for these different rates of cancer. For instance, observational studies suggest that prevalence of the infection is only four times higher in MSM compared to MSW (47% vs. 12%).
Investigators from Brazil, Mexico and the US hypothesised that the explanation for the higher rates of anal cancer in MSM was the greater persistence of anal HPV infections in MSM compared to more transient infections in MSW.
They therefore designed a prospective observational study involving 156 MSM and 954 MSW. None were HIV-positive.
The patients were screened for HPV infection at baseline and again after six months. Individuals were also asked to complete a questionnaire enquiring about their demographics, sexual behaviour, smoking habits and substance use.
Baseline screening found a similar prevalence of anogenital warts in MSM and MSW (5% vs. 6%). However, MSM were significantly more likely to have anal infection with the cancer-associated HPV-16 strain (10% vs. 3%).
At the six-month follow-up visit, incidence of new HPV-16 infections was 6.5 times higher in MSM than MSW (5 per 1000 person months vs. 0.7 per 1000 person months).
Analysis individuals with type-specific anal HPV infection at baseline showed that these infections persisted in 32% of MSM but in only 4% of MSW.
Moreover, MSM were more likely to experience persistence of infection with multiple cancer-associated HPV strains than MSW (16% vs. 2%, p < 0.001).
A total of eleven MSM had anal HPV-16 infection at baseline and three (27%) had cleared the infection by the six-month visit. In contrast all 21 MSW with anal HPV-16 at the start of the study had cleared the infection at the time of follow-up.
“These findings support our original hypothesis that anal HPV would be transient among MSW and more persistent with MSM,” write the authors.
Cigarette smoking significantly increased the risk of anal HPV persistence for MSM (PR = 1.73; 95% CI, 1.19-2.50).
“The association between smoking and anal carcinogenesis is plausible, given the potential for immune dysregulation and increased DNA mutations in anogenital epithelium,” comment the researchers.
They conclude: “Data in the current study begin to illustrate starkly different natural histories of anal HPV among MSM and MSW that helps explain the disparate anal cancer incidence among these groups observed in Western countries.”
However, as only a small number of MSM were enrolled in the study they call for further research to validate their findings.
Reference
Nyitray AG et al. Six-month incidence, persistence and factors associated with persistence of anal human papillomavirus in men: the HPV in Men Study. J Infect Dis, 204: 1711-22, 2011 (click here for the free abstract).
Gay
men warned about ‘meaner’ strains of gonorrhoea
WEDNESDAY, October 26, 2011 (Pink
News)
Gay men are being encouraged to test regularly for sexually-transmitted disease gonorrhoea.
Recently, health experts warned that some strains of the disease are becoming immune to treatments.
Gonorrhoea is a bacterial infection that, among gay men, is passed on through unprotected anal or oral sex and can spread to the throat, rectum or penis.
If left untreated, it can cause serious health problems, as well as making it easier to pick up or pass on HIV.
In men, symptoms can include drops of white or yellowish-green discharge from the end of the penis, pain when passing urine, or discomfort in the rectum. However, some cases have no symptoms.
According to HIV and sexual health charity Terrence Higgins Trust, diagnoses in gay and bisexual men in London rose 26 per cent between 2009 and 2010.
Ben Tunstall, head of health promotion at THT, said: “The emergence of drug-resistant strains of gonorrhoea is a real concern. Using condoms during anal sex will help guard against infection, but won’t protect you completely. It’s also passed on through oral sex and, if you have it in your throat, you may not have symptoms but will still be infectious.
“With rates of the infection increasing so rapidly in London, it’s really vital that gay and bi men get themselves to the clinic for a full check-up every six months, and encourage their friends and partners to do the same.”
Denmark
To Legalize Gay Marriage
MONDAY, October 24, 2011 (The
Advocate)
Legislation will be introduced early next year with the goal of allowing same-sex couples in Denmark to marry.
According to the Copenhagen Post, the government plans to introduce a bill after the New Year that would allow same-sex couples, who are currently entitled to the civil status of “registered partnerships,” to hold weddings in the Church of Denmark and be considered “married” under the law.
“The first same-sex weddings will hopefully become reality in Spring 2012. I look forward to the moment the first homosexual couple steps out of the church. I’ll be standing out there throwing rice,” said church minister Manu Sareen to the local Jyllands-Posten newspaper, according to the Post.
The proposal from the center-left government angered some local religious leaders. Others asked whether church employees, whose salaries are paid by taxes in Denmark, would be forced to marry same-sex couples. Sareen said that church employees opposed to the new law would be accommodated.
“Lots of people are mistaken in thinking that homosexual weddings are just the next step after female priests,” said Henrik Højlund, the parish priest for Løsning and Korning and chairman for the Evangelical Lutheran Network (ELN). “But it is much more consequential and beyond the boundaries for normal Christianity.”
Civil unions between same-sex partners became legal in Denmark in 1989. Recent polls show that almost 70% of the population supports allowing same-sex couples to marry in the church.
Nigeria
seeks to strengthen anti-gay laws
FRIDAY, October 21, 2011 (Pink
News)
Lawmakers in Nigeria hope to pass a bill which strengthens laws against homosexuality.
The legislation seeks to criminalise same-sex marriage. Its sponsor, Senator Domingo Obende, claimed that gay marriage is “spreading” and must be stopped.
Nigeria already punishes homosexuality with up to 14 years in prison and gay marriage is not recognised in the country.
The latest bill follows two previous attempts to strengthen anti-gay laws in 2006 and 2009. Plans were quietly dropped after international condemnation.
According to Nigerian gay rights campaigner Yemisi Ilesanmi, the bill has already passed its second reading.
She said: “A public hearing is scheduled for Monday 31st October, 2011. However, there are concerns within the Nigerian LGBT community that the recent bomb blasts in the country could be used as a pretext to deny public access to the hearing.”
Ms Ilesanmi added: “This bill would lead to harassment of people for their actual or imputed sexual orientation. It would also stifle freedom of expression and association through the proposed ban on organisations that support lesbian and gay rights.
“The passing of the bill would give official validation to the harassment of sexual minorities and many homophobic persons would use it as a licence to discriminate against lesbians and gays.”
Many senators have spoken out in support of the bill. Senator Victor Lar warned that same-sex marriage would lead to the end of the human race, while Senator Oluremi Tinubu said homosexuality causes “mental problems” in old age.
Senator Obende said: “The legalisation of same-sex marriage in our country will make the next generation never to recover from the law of committed God fearing family.
“Same sex marriage is spreading and spreading round the whole world just like pornography and terrorism which has become the order of the day if not arrested on time.”
As well as criminalising gay marriage, the bill also criminalises anyone who “witnesses, abets and aids the solemnisation of a same gender marriage contract”.
Gel
Cuts Women’s Risk of Herpes, Study Finds
FRIDAY, October 21, 2011 (NY
Times)
A vaginal gel that sharply reduces a woman’s risk of infection with the AIDS virus is even more effective against genital herpes, a much more common risk for young American women, a new study has found.
The study, by researchers from the National Institutes of Health, Gilead Sciences Inc. and universities in Belgium and Italy, suggests that the microbicide gel, which was originally developed to fight AIDS in Africa, could lower the incidence of herpes in many women.
“This could be incredibly helpful,” said Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo, a herpes expert from the University of Washington’s medical school. “Protection that a woman can control is the holy grail in this field. It’s hard for me to believe that something that protects against both H.I.V. and herpes wouldn’t be appealing to a lot of young American women.”
An executive at Gilead, the company that makes tenofovir, the anti-AIDS drug that is the gel’s active ingredient, said the company was debating whether to spend the millions of dollars needed to get the gel approved for the American market. Even if the company pressed ahead immediately, “it would be three to four years before we were ready to submit data” to the Food and Drug Administration, Norbert W. Bischofberger, Gilead’s chief scientific officer, said.
Genital herpes is far more common than AIDS. The World Health Organization estimates that 20 percent of all sexually active adults have it. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 21 percent of sexually active women have it, including 16 percent of all white women and 48 percent of all black women.
While not fatal, the infection can be very painful, ruining sexual pleasure. The blisters it causes, which resemble the cold sores caused on the lips by a related virus, can also be an entryway for more dangerous pathogens, including H.I.V. and syphilis.
To continue reading, click here.
HIV
life expectancy rises by 15 years
WEDNESDAY, October 12, 2011 (Pink
News)
Life expectancy for people living with HIV has risen by 15 years in the last decade.
Research by the University of Bristol’s School of Social and Community Medicine found that earlier treatment and modern medicine has contributed to the increase.
A team led by Dr Margaret May looked at the average 20-year-old starting treatment with anti-retroviral drugs between 1996-1999 and 2006-2008.
Between 1996 and 1999, the average life expectancy was 30 years. Ten years later, this had risen to almost 46 years.
The research found substantial differences in life expectancy for men and women.
Between 1996 and 2008, men had a 40-year life expectancy, while women’s life expectancy was 50 years.
Life expectancy is calculated as the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age.
The research, published today in the British Medical Journal, said that the age at which treatment begins has a “significant” effect on life expectancy.
Sir Nick Partridge, chief executive of Terrence Higgins Trust, said the study showed the need for HIV testing.
He said: “This is very good news for people with HIV, their families and friends. It also demonstrates why it’s so much better to know if you have HIV. Late diagnosis and late treatment mean an earlier grave, so if you’ve been at risk for HIV, get tested now.
“Of course, it’s not just length of life that’s important, but quality of life too, and having HIV can still severely damage your life’s chances. While so much has changed 30 years on from the start of the epidemic, condoms continue to be the best way to protect yourself and your partner from HIV in the first place.”
WA:
Poll finds opposition to gay marriage slipping
WEDENSDAY, October 12, 2011 (Seattle
Times)
A
poll conducted for a religious conservative group that has worked to defeat
gay-rights laws in Washington state found fewer than half of voters surveyed
last month say they oppose same-sex marriage.
The results represent the first time that support for Faith and Freedom Network's position on the question of marriage equality in Washington slipped below 50 percent.
The findings come as some state lawmakers consider a push for same-sex marriage and a consortium of religious conservatives gears up to fight them.
The telephone survey of 408 registered voters, conducted for Faith and Freedom by Elway Research, asked respondents: "Do you support legalizing homosexual marriage in Washington state?" — language gay-rights groups call jarring enough to turn some people off.
Pollster Stuart Elway said the word "homosexual" was the group's choice — not his. The results showed 48 percent of respondents answered "no" to the question, and 44 percent answered "yes."
Two years ago, when another Faith and Freedom poll asked, "Should homosexuals be allowed to legally marry?" 50 percent of respondents said no and 43 percent said yes. An earlier Seattle Times poll by Elway also showed opposition to gay marriage at 50 percent.
Given a margin of error of plus or minus 5 percentage points, the change is hardly revolutionary and indicates less support for same-sex marriage in Washington state than the nation as a whole, where a majority of Americans support same-sex marriage. But it could offer some insight into attitudes around a volatile political issue sure to ignite next year.
State Sen. Ed Murray, the state's longest-serving openly gay lawmaker, has said all along he wanted to build incrementally toward marriage equality, beginning with the creation of a domestic-partnership law four years ago.
For the full article, click here.
Home
HIV tests ‘should be legalised’
TUESDAY, October 11, 2011 (Pink
News)
UK
- Almost two-thirds of people would consider using HIV
home testing kits if they were legally available and regulated in the
UK, a survey has found.
According to the research by Terrence Higgins Trust, 63 per cent of the 657 people surveyed would consider using home HIV tests and 51 per cent thought that this would make them test more often.
Sixty per cent of gay men, who are one of the groups most at risk of HIV, said they would test more regularly for HIV if home tests were permitted.
Of those living with HIV, 35 per cent believe they would have been diagnosed sooner if home tests were legal.
Home HIV tests are currently illegal in the UK. Although they can be bought online, HIV experts say they are often unreliable and do not tell users how to get more help.
Terrence Higgins Trust is urging the government to make the tests legal.
In August, a major House of Lords reports on HIV and AIDS said that keeping the ban was “unsustainable”.
Lisa Power, policy director at Terrence Higgins Trust, said: “This research shows a clear bedrock of support for the legalisation of HIV home testing kits, particularly among gay men.
“We know some people will always be reluctant to visit traditional clinics; this legislation would give them the option to test for HIV in their own home.
“We urge the government to repeal the ban and ensure HIV home testing kits are properly regulated in the UK.”
700,000
celebrate Rio de Janeiro Pride
MONDAY, October 10, 2011 (Pink
News)
An
estimated 700,000 people joined Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro Pride on
Sunday.
Revellers with rainbow flags and fancy dress costumes congregated at Copacabana beach to call for stronger laws against homophobia.
Organisers had hoped that 1.5 million people would join the festivities but police said 700,000 attended.
Sunday’s event was the 16th Rio de Janeiro Pride.
Brazil is home to the world’s largest LGBT celebration – Sao Paulo Pride, which draws around three million guests.
Homosexuality is legal in Brazil and the country outlawed discrimination based on sexual orientation in 1988.
Gay rights campaigners are pushing for full marriage equality and an end to anti-LGBT violence.
Group
of Minnesota Republicans aligns against marriage amendment
FRIDAY, October 7, 2011 (Pioneer
Press)
ST.
PAUL - A group of Minnesota Republicans formally aligned themselves Thursday
with the movement to defeat a proposed constitutional amendment that would
define marriage as between a man and a woman.
The votes in the Legislature to place the issue on the ballot in 2012 fell largely along partisan lines, with Republicans generally in favor and Democrats against.
But the group's message is that "Republicans will be opposing this amendment in 2012" and that there are solid Republican reasons - including belief in limited government and individual freedom - to do so, said Dale Carpenter, who teaches at the University of Minnesota law school and is a board member of Republicans Against the Minnesota Marriage Amendment.
Joining Carpenter at a news conference announcing their support for Minnesotans United for All Families - the group spearheading the effort to defeat the constitutional amendment - were former gubernatorial candidate Wheelock Whitney; Rep. John Kriesel of Cottage Grove, one of four Republicans in the House to vote against sending the amendment to voters; former Bush White House counsel Richard Painter; and former St. Paul Deputy Mayor Susan Kimberly.
The Log Cabin Republicans group also is supporting Minnesotans United. Officials with Minnesotans United said the coalition now has more than 80 partners.
Whitney said he is donating $10,000 to the cause and will encourage others to do the same.
"We want to be the first state in America to stop these amendments," he said.
State GOP Chairman Tony Sutton said individual Republicans can disagree with Republican beliefs on some issues - but said the official party platform will retain its support for the constitutional gay marriage ban.
Minnesota law already defines marriage as between a man and a woman, but amendment proponents say constitutional protection is needed to guard against judicial or legislative intervention.
Voters in 30 states where a traditional marriage definition has been proposed for the state constitution have approved it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
This report includes information from the Associated Press.