Xtra asks Who dropped the Ball?
Seems we cannot get a spot at the table because we collectively dropped the ball. A Parliamentary Sub-committee on Solicitation Laws is holding hearings across Canada and many will not be able to make presentations due to our slowness in contacting the committee for a slot on the agenda.
Libby Davis has mentioned this committee for quite awhile. I have personally received several emails from Libby on this matter and have been planning to submit a written submission.
The ball was dropped by gay men, not Libby and we can not hang it on Egale either. Many gay groups out there have a serious and compelling reason to beaware of this and should now get off their collective blame pointing fingers and get to the table any way they can! Lets bring an end to raiding of bath houses.
Read Xtra's version of who dropped the ball:
Written submissions are welcome along with presentations to the committee once it returns to Ottawa.
For information on how to make submissions to the committee or to appear before the committee in Ottawa, contact Committee Clerk Marc-Olivier Girard at sslr@parl.gc.ca or 613-944-5635.
http://www.egale.ca
MP Libby Davies 613-992-6030 daviel@parl.gc.ca
Update add on: March 13, 2005
I can think of several BC groups that should be there in person, Gayway.ca and AIDS Vancouver Island's Gay Men's program, I doubt they will however as these programs are stretched to the max on limited budgets. Both are further hindered by management and board reluctance to say anything deemed controversial. The staff in these agencies would like to do more, they just need the freedom to do it.
For gay men maybe they need to divorce themselves from AIDS groups and begin their own, where they are free to advocate for our issues and or focus on issues other than just HIV. Gayway in Vancouver is a darn good start, it needs to break free now as do other gay men's programs like the Gay Men's Community Development program at AIDS Vancouver Island.
1 comment:
Absolutely!! Gay men must go it alone -- we rely on beurocratic AIDS organizations at their own peril. Across this country and in AIDS organizations from coast to coast, gay men are at the bottom in terms of funding (by a long shot), when we still make up some 80% of persons living with AIDS, and about 35% of new cases of HIV. That doesn't include the closeted gay men who said they contracted HIV heterosexually. DO THE MATH! GAY MEN ARE BEING RIPPED OFF BY A HOMOPHOBIC AIDS ESTABLISHMENT!
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