Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

State Dept. Sued on HIV Hiring Banc
by Bob Roehr
2003-09-10

This article shared 2124 times since Wed Sep 10, 2003
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email


An HIV-positive gay man is suing the U.S. Department of State to become a diplomat. The lawsuit seeks to knock down the only place in the U.S., besides military service, that still refuses to hire someone who is infected with the virus. Lambda Legal, with co-counsel from the prestigious firm of Arnold & Porter, filed the suit on his behalf in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 3. It is Taylor v. Powell.

In this exclusive interview the plaintiff, for the first time, sits down to talk about the road that led him to the courthouse.

'I've always wanted to be a foreign service officer,' says Lorenzo Taylor, 47, a native of Birmingham, Ala. He spent a year in Grenoble, France as a high school exchange student and was drawn to Washington to attend the renowned School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University.

Upon graduation, his mastery of French and Spanish led the State Department to hire Taylor as an escort/interpreter, an independent contractor with the agency. He traveled the country, often for weeks on end, translating and explaining America to foreign community leaders who were visiting on a fellowship program. He often worked with political, social, and academic leaders from Africa.

And then Taylor learned he was carrying the virus. 'I had a partner at the time who developed HIV in December 1984,' soon after the epidemic acquired that name. Taylor had the same physician and when the FDA approved the first antibody test for HIV in early 1985, it showed that he too was infected.

Those were the darkest days of the epidemic in the U.S., when AIDS was considered a death sentence. There were no treatments— AZT, the first drug, would not be approved for two more years, and protease inhibitors were a decade away—Taylor's lover deteriorated rapidly and died in September.

After 10 years of frequent travel as an escort/interpreter, Taylor was ready for a change. His desire to be a foreign service officer had cooled a bit. 'As a person living with HIV, the idea of living abroad in the late 1980s was probably not a wise thing to do,' he says. Plus, one of his best friends had been kicked out of the diplomatic corps for being gay, and would wage a multi-year legal fight to regain his job.

Taylor chose to go to the University of Minnesota to earn a masters degree in public health. His new career path focused on HIV. He worked on prevention for CDC; went to a local program in Denver; and for the last five years has been back in Washington at the Department of Health and Human Services as a project officer administering Ryan White CARE Act Title I programs on the West Coast.

Love, and a policy change, got him to thinking again about a career in the State Department. The agency policy is that foreign service officers must be available for worldwide service, and HIV is an automatic exclusion to being hired. U.S. diplomats are tested for HIV as a part of regular medical care and, like the military, an exception is made for those already employed who seroconvert. They can remain on the job as long as they are healthy.

In August 2001 the Department dropped similar HIV exclusions for hiring local employees at embassies around the world. It said the policy would 'bring our overseas hiring and workplace practices in line with global U.S. efforts to fight the AIDS pandemic. With this new policy, the U.S. sets an example consistent with its message of non-discrimination to host countries and private industry, at the same time giving priority to education and prevention efforts in promoting and maintaining employee health.'

Taylor had been dating a foreign service officer for more than a year and they knew that the fellow eventually would again be posted overseas. The ban on gays openly serving as diplomats had been lifted during the Clinton administration, and while not officially recognizing gay couples, the Department does try to arrange assignments together where possible.

He had passed several of the arduous hurdles that one must take to join the Foreign Service—the written exam that winnows down candidates and the oral interview—when, in December 2001, he hit the wall of the medical exam.

Taylor says the Department had changed the policy on local employees because they were having trouble finding qualified people in Africa who were not HIV-positive. 'We thought, maybe they would look more closely at the [remaining] policy. We thought that they would look at my full medical history and have a different attitude toward it.' That would prove not to be the case.

'I was shocked,' when the medical officer said that HIV was an automatic exclusion and they would not reconsider. He says, 'That was probably the worst day because it was realizing that this was going to be a struggle.'

Taylor began the administrative appeal process and later filed a discrimination complaint through the Equal Employment Opportunity office. He also began talking with Lambda Legal. When the EEO report came out in June of 2003 and 'didn't really say much of anything,' they decided to go to court.

'Not everybody with HIV can do this job,' he readily admits, 'but there are people with HIV who can live and work and travel abroad, in part because of the advances and the availability of medication that has made it a chronic, manageable illness' for many people.

Taylor believes each person should be evaluated on the basis of his or her individual medical history. While he tested positive for HIV in 1985, he has never been symptomatic and his viral load remains undetectable on a protease-sparing regimen. 'I'm not sure that any of the meds are really the thing that's keeping my alive,' he says with a laugh.

The hiring policy is a relic from the darkest days of AIDS. It is based on the premise that 'adequate HIV medical care is not universally available worldwide.' But it is undercut by the Department's retention of those employees who seroconvert while in the Foreign Service, and by the Peace Corp that has no such exclusion and sends people into remote villages that an American diplomat has never seen.

Taylor says the policy keeps the State Department from hiring Americans who are some of the most knowledgeable and experienced with HIV. It threatens to undermine the Bush administration $15 billion international initiative on AIDS, which, ironically, seeks to greatly increase access to therapy so that those at the heart of the pandemic can lead longer, more productive lives. Taylor says the hiring policy 'ties up our moral authority to speak authoritatively on HIV [as a country] with a policy that doesn't allow people with HIV to serve their country.' He would like the State Department to come to its senses, and his lawsuit may be the way to do that.

CABN Backs Resistor

A few dozen protesters gathered at Halsted and Roscoe last Friday to support Filipino, gay GI war resister, Stephen Funk. Funk was found guilty and faces six months in prison after being charged by Marine Corps brass for 'failure to appear for important duty.'

Chicago Anti-Bashing Network was among sponsors of the event.

CABN's Bob Schwartz read from a statement that Stephen Funk issued at the time of his declaration as a conscientious objector in April 2003. That statement read in part: 'The military coerces people into killing. I may not be a hero but I know it takes courage to disobey ... . My moral development has also been largely effected by the fact that I'm homosexual. I believe that as a gay man, someone who is misunderstood by much of the general population, I have a great deal of experience with hatred and oppression. When someone is thrust into a situation of hate and oppression because of factors they have no control over, I believe they either react with hatred back, because they've experienced it, or they learn not to be that way towards others. I have adopted the latter reaction and stand with the oppressed people of the world who know that hate and oppression do not solve any problems.'

Queer to the Left, Refuse & Resist!, Not in Our Name-Youth and Student Network, International ANSWER, and Teachers for Social Justice were represented at the rally.

See www.notinourname.net/funk/ .

----------------------------------------

Shepard March Oct, 4

The 5th annual Matthew Shepard March in Chicago will be Sat, Oct. 4, 8 p.m., starting at Roscoe and Halsted.

This year's theme is Gay Marriage Is Our Right, and the event is again sponsored by the Chicago-Anti-Bashing Network, www.CABN.org, (888) 471-0874.

'Even if you personally are never interested in marrying someone of the same gender, your life will be dragged into this debate,'

CABN states on the poster for this event. 'We have a choice. We can either allow our community to become a 'punching bag' for the bigots during an election year, or we can mobilize our community and allies in defense—and expansion—of our rights, Lesbian and gay marriage—it's our right, it's our lives, it's our right to decide.'


This article shared 2124 times since Wed Sep 10, 2003
facebook twitter google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

Coalition of LGBTQ+ advocates, health care providers release Project RAINBOW report 2024-02-12
--From a press release - SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A coalition of more than two dozen LGBTQ+ advocate organizations and health care providers are releasing a new report aimed at addressing the challenges and discrimination that ...


Gay News

Chicago firefighter receives over $500,000 settlement in City discrimination lawsuit 2024-01-20
- James Mundo, a Chicago firefighter who identifies as a gay man, settled a discrimination lawsuit against the City of Chicago for $515,000 last month. Mundo sued the city alleging it failed to take adequate measures to ...


Gay News

New HRC data: LGBTQ+ youth still lack critical support and acceptance 2023-08-10
- From a press release: WASHINGTON—The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation's largest lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) civil rights organization, released a report in partnership with the ...


Gay News

Iraq banning media from saying 'homosexuality' 2023-08-10
- Iraq's official media regulator has ordered all media and social-media companies operating in the country not to use the term "homosexuality" and to say "sexual deviance" instead, NBC News reported. The Iraqi Communications and Media Commission ...


Gay News

Okla. anti-trans order narrows gender definitions 2023-08-04
- In yet another attack on transgender people, Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has directed state agencies to use narrow definitions of "female" and "male," according to NBC News. Stitt signed the executive order surrounded by women from ...


Gay News

Future seems "gloomy" after recent Supreme Court term 2023-07-18
- The only thing worse than a bad ruling at the U.S. Supreme Court is a bad ruling that sets up the prospect that the worst is yet to come. Former Solicitor General Donald Verrelli worried about ...


Gay News

Biden administration moves to ensure equal treatment of LGBTQ+ people in federal programs, NCLR responds 2023-07-11
--From a press release - WASHINGTON, DC — The National Center for Lesbian Rights (NCLR) applauds the Biden Administration for taking steps to eradicate harmful discrimination in federally-funded social service programs. The U.S. Department of ...


Gay News

Baseball team cuts player who defends anti-LGBTQ+ post 2023-07-05
- Last month, the Toronto Blue Jays cut pitcher Anthony Bass after he said he didn't think an anti-LGBTQ+ social media post he shared last month was hateful, NBC News noted. The move happened hours before Bass ...


Gay News

Supreme Court rules in favor of anti-gay Colorado web designer, LGBTQ+ groups respond 2023-06-30
- On June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court—which has a conservative majority—ruled in favor of Lorie Smith, an evangelical Christian web designer from Colorado who refuses to work on same-sex weddings, ...


Gay News

NATIONAL Title IX, anti-drag law, Sarah McBride, march, Wellness in Action 2023-06-30
- The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) recognized the 51st anniversary of Title IX—the groundbreaking 1972 law passed to protect individuals from discrimination in education on the basis of their sex. In a statement, HRC President Kelley Robinson ...


Gay News

Trans former bus driver alleges discrimination, wrongful termination in court filing against CTA, union 2023-06-24
- Russia Brown, a former Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) bus driver whose legal wrangling years ago resulted in the agency adding gender-affirming surgery to its health insurance plan, is in the process of suing both the CTA ...


Gay News

'Our dignity is unassailable': Community readies for June 25 Pride Parade 2023-06-23
- Despite increasing discrimination against LGBTQ+ people throughout the country, thousands of people are expected to gather for Chicago's annual Pride Parade June 25. The 52nd annual parade kicks off at noon near Montrose Avenue and Broadway. ...


Gay News

NATIONAL School news, Larry Kramer, trans veteran, Steamworks battle 2023-06-23
- In a late-night vote, the Virginia Beach School Board narrowly approved a resolution that opposes discrimination and harassment of LGBTQ+ youth and adults in the school division, WVEC reported. The vote came after board members spent ...


Gay News

Equality Act reintroduced in Congress 2023-06-22
- On June 21—and, fittingly, during Pride Month—four Democratic lawmakers reintroduced the Equality Act in Congress. According to ABC News, several lawmakers—including U.S. Rep. Mark Takano as well as U.S. Sens. ...


Gay News

U.S. soccer win over Mexico marred by anti-gay chanting 2023-06-16
- On June 15 in Las Vegas, Christian Pulisic scored a brace (two goals) as the United States men's soccer team dominated Mexico 3-0 in a game ESPN called "chaotic." Among other things, the Concacaf Nations League ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.