Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1995. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
PR Newswire - December 4, 1995
In the shadow of International World AIDS Day, a national gay and lesbian youth project sponsored by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) criticized scheduled Congressional hearings set for this week. The AFSC-sponsored Bridges Project called the hearings a misguided attempt that will further misinformation about HIV and AIDS education and ultimately scapegoat the already marginalized population of lesbian and gay youth.
The hearings, entitled, "Parents, Schools, and Values," are being held by the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Economic and Educational Opportunities Committee. These "Values" hearings are set for December 5 and 6 in Washington and have already been postponed twice under a different title due to public outcry. Former U.S. Secretary of Education William Bennett is the only confirmed witness for the hearings. It is anticipated that the hearing will use the notion of homosexual "promotion" and "recruitment" in schools to bash effective HIV/AIDS prevention and sexuality education programs. The hearings were first promised last year to Lou Sheldon of the Traditional Values Coalition by House Speaker Newt Gingrich. The Traditional Values Coalition is a prominent leader in opposing Gay civil rights legislation.
The Bridges Project of the AFSC is a national clearinghouse on gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth issues. The goal of Bridges is to build an anti-racist, anti-sexist national network with, by and for LGBT youth and their adult supporters.
The Bridges Project works with national and local organizations throughout the nation to track rising trends and needs within the LGBT youth population. Noted Jenie Hall, Director of the Bridges Project, "These hearings are highly suspect at a time when 1 in 2 new HIV and AIDS infections are among people under the age of twenty-five." Most at risk for HIV and AIDS infections are LGBT youth and youth of color who are often under-represented or absent from general safer sex prevention and education programs.
Added Hall, "When AIDS is the leading cause of death among our young people, why are taxpayers' dollars being used to attack effective HIV and AIDS prevention programs and further condemn those most in need of such programs?"
For more information, contact Aishah Shahidah Simmons, 215-241-7060, or Jenie Hall, 215-241-7133, at the American Friends Service Committee.
CONTACT: Aishah Shahidah Simmons, 215-241-7056, or Jenie Hall, 215-241-7133, both of the American Friends Service Committee/ 13:57 EST
Copyright (c) 1995/PR NewsWire. Reproduced with permission. Reproduction of this article (other than one copy for personal reference) must be cleared through the Permissions Desk, PR Newswire, 810 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019.
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