Baltimore Alternative, November 1991

Music: A Grab Bag p.23 / Washboards at DC Arts Center p BALT WF MORE ALTERNATIVE November 1991 T Volume 6, Number 11 T Serving The Baltimore /Washington Community Since 1986 WASHINGTON — Baltimore’s October 12 Save Our City protest drew close to a thousand people to the nation’s capital, including gay rights and AIDS activists, to demand that the federal government return money to the country’s deteriorating urban centers. Speakers included Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-MD). Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-MD). and Mayor Kurt Schmokc, as well as the more than 40 walkers who hoofed it all the way from Annapolis to DC. A march with people from cities all over the United States will take place in April. 1992. Organizers are expecting more than 10.000 people for that march. PHOTO 8Y JOSEPH KOHL CAPITOL HILL House Passes Far-Reaching Rapist Testing Measure BY CUFF O’NEILL _ THE AUERNATIVE/WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives, as part of a sweeping anti-crime mea¬ sure passed October 22, approved a broad proposal that would order the HIV testing of any person accused of rape. As part of the anti-crime bill's expansion of federal penalties for sex crimes, the mea¬ sure would mandate testing of all accused rapists before they could be released on bail. Results of the test would be released to the defendant, the alleged victim and prosecutors. Follow-up tests would also be ordered to be administered six months and a year later unless the defendant tests positive; a judge rules there was no risk of infection from the accused rapist; or the defendant is acquitted of the rape charge. If the defendant is believed to have known, or have had reason to know he test¬ ed HIV-positive, the bill calls on the Federal Sentencing Commission to increase the penalties against him. The only excep¬ tion to this would be if the crime is deter¬ mined not to have risked transmission of the virus. Although some sources indicate funds for testing the alleged victims would be taken from the Crime Victims’ Fund, some lobbyists suggest that where the monies would be taken from for this is not speci¬ fied. Victims’ advocates are opposed to such funds being taken away from existing assis¬ tance programs, supporting instead addi¬ tional funding for new victims’ programs. The rapist HIV testing proposal, spon¬ sored by Rep. James Sensenbrenner (R- WI), was added to the House anti-crime bill in the committee stage and received little attention when the bill was discussed in the full chamber. No attempt was made to repeal the amendment of the House floor. “This issue became very emotional for See HOUSE PASSES, page 9 NATIONAL New Pentagon Report Says Gays and Lesbians Not Security Risks 1 New study leaked to Studds’ office BY CUFF O’NEILL _ THE AUERNATIVE/WASHINGTON Pentagon study, leaked to the office of Rep. Gerry Studds (D- MA) and released by tlie congress¬ man October 8, concludes that gays and les¬ bians are not security risks and that “sexual orientation is unrelated to moral character." The study, titled Homosexuality and Personnel Security, has not been officially released by the Department of Defense, according to Lt. Col. Doug Hart, the Pentagon’s official spokesman on the issue. Hart refused to comment further on the report, saying only “I have not seen it." The 39-page study focuses exclusively on the issue of security clearances and sex¬ ual orientation, examining case histories and articles about people who committed or attempted to commit breaches of security since 1945. It concludes that monetary gain, and not sexual orientation, was the chief factor in whether a person was disloy¬ al to the U.S. The report found no instances where homosexuality was a factor in a security breach. "Certainly in civilian contexts,” the report states, “there is no basis for holding the belief that homosexuals as a group are less trustworthy or less patriotic than heterosexu¬ als.” “This is the most recent in a whole series of events that shot holes in whatever flimsy rationale the Department ever had in the first place [to say gays are security risks),” said Studds in a telephone interview. The Pentagon has for several years held that “homosexuality is incompatible with See GAYS AND LESBIANS, page 11