Progress For HIV Testing

This just in from my favorite, and cutest, ISBL correspondent, Carlos:

New York Governor David Paterson stands up for the LGBT community. Again.

The Latino Commission on AIDS recognizes the leadership of Governor Paterson, Senator Thomas Duane and Assemblyman Dick Gottfried, in achieving a tremendous public health victory for the Hispanic communities with a new HIV testing law.

The decision to sign into law the Gottfried/Duane “Act to Amend the Public Health Law in Relation to HIV Testing” will contribute to expand HIV testing for all New Yorkers, and it will institute significant advances in making HIV testing routine, such as:

• It requires offering an HIV test in all public and private health care settings thereby establishing the offer of an HIV test as the standard of care.
• It extends the required offering of HIV screening to individuals ages 13-64 years old.
• It requires that informed consent be obtained prior to performing an HIV test.
• It facilitates routine testing by permitting flexibility in how informed consent is documented where rapid technology is used.
• It requires that when an HIV test is positive, with the patients’ consent, the person ordering the test must provide or arrange for follow-up medical care.

This is big news.

HIV is not over.

It is not curable.

It is, however, treatable, if you know you have it and seek treatment and counseling.

New York City is the epicenter of this disease in America. Every single year, more than 1000 New York City residents--three people each day--are diagnosed concurrently with HIV and AIDS. Many of these individuals are considered late testers who have been infected for 10 years or longer, and may have never been offered an HIV test by their health care provider. These "late testers" often receive an AIDS diagnosis when it may be too late to fully benefit from life-extending treatments.

Guillermo Chacon, President of the Latino Commission on AIDS: “This new law will allow us to intensify our ability to provide HIV testing in the context of prevention and education to more communities. The main goal is to dramatically decrease the spread of HIV across New York State and link to care those that are in need.”

File this under: Good news.

It Took A While, But Now It's Here

After nine years of trying, the New York State Senate finally approved a bill that is designed to protect students from bullying; it passed 58-3, with three Republican senators--John DeFrancisco, George Maziarz and Dale Volker--voting against it.

Republicans did, however, attempt to amend the bill to include “cyber-bullying” that might take place off school grounds, something amendment sponsor Senator Stephen Saland called a “glaring omission” from the legislation.

The bill applies to events held on school grounds and at school functions, but only at public schools. It prohibits harassment, “the creation of a hostile environment by conduct, verbal threats, intimidation or abuse that has or would unreasonably interfere with educational performance, opportunities, benefits, or physical or emotional well being, or cause fear for physical safety” an prohibits discrimination based on “actual or perceived race, color, weight, national origin, ethnic group, religion, religious practice, disability, sexual orientation, gender or sex.”

“It’s a very important bill for many many reasons to many many people, and it’s a very important bill for, I hope not too many generations....[a] students ability to excel in school is severely hampered by taunting, or intimidation or bullying....If I hadn’t been afraid in schools, I would have done better in school,” said Senator Tom Duane, who is openly gay, and the bill's sponsor.

Republicans pushed for their "cyber-bullying" amendment claiming it was more inclusive and makes the bill better. “If we look at this honestly, we should support this amendment because it’s all-inclusive,” Senator John DeFrancisco, a Republican who does not rank among the chamber’s tallest members, said. “Being still not a very big guy, I like to protect the little guys as well.”

Yet after that, he didn't support the little guy, and voted against the bill.

Hopefully, this bill will get put into law by Governor Paterson, and it will get passed around, state to state to state, because no one, no matter their height, weight, hair color, orientation, language or skin color, should be made to feel anything less than accepted oi n our public schools.

Words Out Of New York

UPDATE: Kyle, from OutLeft, offers up the email addresses for Governor Paterson, and Senators Duane, Hassell-Thompson and Savino so we can write to them and thank them for understanding that equality should not fail:
Governor Paterson HERE.
Senator Duane at: duane@senate.state.ny.us
Senator Hassell-Thompson at: hassellt@senate.state.ny.us
Senator Savino at: savino@senate.state.ny.us
Drop them an email and thank them for doing the right thing.

I always talk about the anger I feel when marriage equality fails, and how we need to be more active, not sit back and regroup for a few years. I've always said, take your money out of the DNC and give to people who truly, actively, support the LGBT community, or to groups that do the same.

Here are a few such politicians who stand by us, so we need to stand by them. They are but a few of the many politicians who understand that this is not about anything other than equal treatment, equal rights for all Americans.


New York Governor David Paterson:

“It is always darkest before the dawn. The darkest day in the history of the American civil rights movement was in 1857 when the Supreme Court ruled against Dred Scott, making slavery legal north of the 36th parallel. That was the darkest day for the abolitionists. But when we look back in history, we forget that this was only five years before the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation in September of 1862.

I understand the anger; I understand the frustration; I understand the feeling of betrayal; and I understand the profound disappointment of those who came to Albany today thinking they could get married tomorrow. But I am also here to tell you that we are not back to square one.

Governors don’t come to the Senate floor after losing a vote. This one does, because this is a fight that is bigger than one legislative vote. This is a civil rights issue. Marriage equality is as important as the emancipation of any group from oppression and the granting of equal rights to any community.

I believe in my heart that if people had voted their consciences today, we would be celebrating marriage equality tonight. That did not happen. As disappointed as we are today, let’s get up tomorrow and redouble our efforts. We are going to lay the foundation to make people feel comfortable to vote their conscience and not fear political backlash.

Now we know who we have to talk to. We are going to quash the intimidation; we are going to alleviate the pressure; we are going to move this issue back to the floor of the Senate and we are going to have marriage equality in New York State and equal rights for everybody.”

Senator Tom Duane, sponsor of the marriage equlaity bill:

"I wasn't expected to be betrayed, and so I have some justified anger. But it's just going to propel me to - I don't want to say redouble my efforts, because my efforts have been pretty strong - but I'm not going to let up. I'm angry. I'm disappointed. I am let down. I'm betrayed. But I am not going away...Unfortunately, I think there was a contagious lack of backbone that occurred here today. And I’m angry about that and sad about that, but it was contagious. Similarly, the opposite would have meant far more votes than anyone had expected but unfortunately that wasn’t the way it went today."

And we also have Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson, who surprised many with her Yes vote. Listen to her speak; pay close attention to the last minute when she says she was not elected to be the moral arbiter for her constituents, but that she was elected to represent them; listen as she says she is going against the teachings of her mother,, her sister, her church to do what's right.
One of my new heroes....Senator Ruth Hassell-Thompson.

And to add one more to the mix, here's Senator Diane Savino, a Roman Catholic.....you read that right.....who understands what a civil rights issue is, and how gay marriage does nothing to traditional marriage; straight folks have been screwing that up for eons all on their own:

Powerful

from Towleroad.
New York State Senator Tom Duane, who is gay and HIV-positive, delivered a mesmerizing, emotional 21-minute speech on the Senate floor at the end of a marathon session in favor of a bill preventing people living with HIV or AIDS and receiving public assistance from having to pay more than 30 percent of their monthly income on rent.
Powerful stuff.