During his recent confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Republican attorney general nominee John Ashcroft faced grilling from Democrats on a number of issues-;including gay rights, the Washington Blade reports.
In addition, across the country, local and national GLBT groups joined forces with People for the American Way and other progressive groups in calling for the removal of Ashcroft's name for consideration as attorney general. A Chicago press conference was held last week with progressive groups condemning Ashcroft.
During the Jan. 16-18 hearings, at least four senators pressed Ashcroft on his opposition to the nomination of openly gay ambassador James Hormel and his past declarations that homosexuality is a sin.
Ashcroft assured his former colleagues in the Senate that he would not discriminate against a prospective or current employee because of their sexual orientation, and he sidestepped questions about his part in Hormel's nomination process being put on hold.
"As attorney general, I will not make sexual orientation a matter to be considered in hiring or firing, for that matter," he said. "And I will enforce the law equally without regard to sexual orientation."
Ashcroft also said he would continue to allow a Department of Justice gay employee group to meet in DOJ facilities.
During his six years as senator from Missouri, Ashcroft opposed nearly every GLBT-related issue that came before the Senate.
Experts rethinking HIV drug strategies
AIDS experts are revising their advice on HIV drugs, challenging the idea that medications should be taken as early and as often as possible, Reuters reports.
"We are being a little bit more conservative in our recommendations of when to start," said Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases ( NIAID ) . "Now we are saying you might want to start treating at a little bit lower CD4 count and a little higher viral load."
Doctors have cited the drugs' uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous side effects and the drugs' inability to completely kill off the virus as reasons for their rethinking.
"We know that you are not going to eliminate, you are not going to eradicate the virus," Fauci said. "What we can do is control it very well."
He stressed that once a regimen is started, it should be strictly adhered to. The new medicinal guidelines are set to be released next month after a health conference in Chicago.
