Activists in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida were incensed yesterday after Mayor James Naugle held what some said was an anti-gay news conference under the guise of an initiative to stop the spread of HIV by discouraging promiscuous gay sex.
Naugle’s conference included several prominent religious activists such as Gary Cass, president of the Christian Anti-Defamation League, and DJ Janet Folger of Faith2Action. "We are going to have less of this activity and I think we're going to save some lives in this county," PinkNews.co.uk reported Naugle as saying.
In response to Naugle’s conference, the Broward County Health Department issued a clarification that HIV does not affect gay men only, and that everyone should be concerned about their risk for contracting the virus.
Beth Benne, RN, is HIV negative, but
the virus has impacted her life. She currently supervises a biannual HIV/AIDS awareness week as
the director of the student health center at Pierce College, a
community commuter school in Woodland Hills, California.
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Overheard in the Women's Forum
"I recently met a guy who is negative. I did tell him about my status and he decided to kiss me anyway (we didn't go further than that). But a day later, he called and said that he actually had a mouth ulcer that time when we kissed and he was very worried. Asked if he can get the virus from me that way. For that moment, I felt so insulted and yet I felt so bad. It was my first time having a contact with a "negative" guy."
