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Rush to judgment?
U.S., Egyptian officials try to stop the finger-pointing about the Flight 990 crash.
By Fiona Morgan
[11/19/99]

Jasper's stand
Shawn Berry was the hardest suspect to convict of the dragging murder of James Byrd Jr. Did his role in the killing come second to the town's need to clear its name?
By Ashley Craddock
[11/18/99]

Boris goes off
Although Russian President Yeltsin left early, the OSCE meeting provided evidence of the West's growing sentiment that human rights are as sacred as national sovereignty.
By Laura Rozen
[11/18/99]

Grisly precision
Inside the strange world of the NTSB.
By Phaedra Hise
[11/18/99]

Return of the stiff man
The vice president turns in an uninspired performance in an electronic town hall meeting.
By Alicia Montgomery
[11/17/99]

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In those 60 months, Bush has never said the word AIDS publicly in either a health, social or policy statement, according to leading AIDS organization leaders on a city, county and state level, reporters covering the governor's office, and gay community leaders.

"To the best of my knowledge he has never even said the word AIDS, in any form," says Rep. Glen Maxey, the state's only openly gay legislator. Echoes Don Maison, executive director of AIDS Services of Dallas: "Through the context of funding on AIDS and HIV and through two legislative sessions that we've been through with him, there's no AIDS record."

"AIDS? He's never mentioned the word," says Harry Livesay, the former director of advocacy and public policy for Bering Community Service Foundation, an AIDS service organization in Houston. Livesay founded the HIV policy group that brings together the state's agencies to work on HIV and AIDS policy.

Technically, Bush has in fact said the word "AIDS," Livesay admits, but only in "letters of commendation to organizations on anniversaries, or things like, 'Laura and I join you in praying for recovery from AIDS,'" Livesay says.

A senior Texas official, who oversees and sets policy in the AIDS and HIV field, and who spoke only under the cover of anonymity, said that "in my ... years [in this position], I have not heard AIDS addressed publicly" by Bush.

AIDS is off Bush's radar screen, period. Bush is the only governor in the country who ignored an urgent letter in September from Children Uniting Nations chairwoman Daphna Ziman for feedback or resources regarding the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

"Forty nine governors responded, including his brother," says Ziman, who just received the global peace and tolerance lifetime achievement award from the Friends of the U.N., along with Mikhail Gorbachev. "I mean, it's a crisis for everyone. Ten million children with AIDS, can you imagine? One governor helped to arrange the shipment of 100,000 basketballs. Gray Davis offered me the support from the medical facilities at UCLA. We sent Bush the letter twice. A letter and a fax. We didn't want to take a chance."

Ziman says flatly: "When it comes to AIDS, I just think he doesn't care."

POZ magazine reported this summer that a request to Bush spokeswoman Linda Edwards for transcripts of Bush's statements addressing AIDS yielded nothing beyond congratulations and condolences sentiments. A request last week by Salon News was fielded by Bush campaign spokesman Scott McLellan, who said he would respond. No transcripts were sent, and the Bush campaign offered no comment on the governor's AIDS record.

While the national media has painted Bush in lavender-friendly hues, at least partly because he doesn't engage in the gay-baiting rhetoric of a Pat Buchanan, gay, lesbian and gay-friendly Texans are alienated across the board.

AIDS is only one of several hot-button gay and lesbian issues Bush has at best ignored and at worst opposed since he took office in January 1995. He vehemently opposes both same-sex marriage and gay and lesbian child adoption. The latter has raised the ire even of gay Republican Log Cabin leader Rich Tafel, who thus far has maintained a measured response to Bush. Tafel hopes Bush is still open to being convinced.

"If he doesn't think gays are fit to be parents, that would be a serious issue for an organization like ours," Tafel says. "That's an issue our members are asking about."

It is common knowledge in political circles as well as among gay leaders that Bush scuttled the Texas hate-crimes bill that would have protected gays from discrimination based on sexual orientation. "Everyone knew that all he had to do was give the signal and the hate crimes bill would have sailed through," says Maxey.

Next page | "What I say about gays I don't mean about you personally"