Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor

HEALTH AMBASSADORS
To Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Subject: Roxon’s health ambassadors
Comment: Health Minister Roxon appointed six men as health ambassadors, showing yet again her misjudgement in her portfolio.
Two of the men are known notorious homophobes, one of whom has used an expression used by anti-semites who pretend to like Jews by saying -œsome of my best friends are Jews. He has said, -œsome of my best friends are gays.
Homophobia is rampant in our communities leading to abuse, violence and murder of gays, lesbians, transgenders and people living with HIV/AIDS (GLTH communities).
Two of these six men belong to a group called the Fatherhood Foundation which published a paper entitled 21 Reasons Why Gender Matters.
While the ALP works on futile attempts at net censorship, this sort of hate preaching on the web will continue unabated. The ALP is not known for its friendship with the GLTH communities and the support it showed for the Howard marriage bill in 2004 is an indication of its approach. Discrimination against these communities is writ large and continues unabated.
Not only should Roxon be removed from the ministry, but the second of the homophobes whom she has left as one of her ambassadors must be removed immediately.
-” Mannie De Saxe, Lesbian and Gay Solidarity, Melbourne

CONCERN FOR GHANA
I am genuinely concerned for gay and lesbian rights in British West Africa, especially Ghana.
I would like to know what the gay community in Australia plans to do about helping free our gay and lesbian people from torture, violence, and serious cases of subtle and direct discrimination in the above-mentioned region.
I have been looking on Wikipedia for information about gay life in West Africa. I have come up with Gully magazine online, www.thegullyonline.com.
I would like you to rally the gay community in Australia to help our gay brothers and sisters in British West Africa.
After all, Gambia, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Nigeria are all part of the British Commonwealth.
To reach the Gay and Lesbian Association of Ghana, email: [email protected] or [email protected]
-” Mathew, Palmerston North, New Zealand

BAREBACKING
Hi Doug,
I’m responding to your article in Southern Star (Bearly There, issue 009), and in particular the way you have written your article.
I agree with many of your points on the prevalence of unsafe sex amongst same-sex fucking around the world. However, if you wrote to the young Melbourne -œbloke the same way you wrote your article, it should come as no surprise that he had the reaction he did.
Safe sex is, as you well know, an extremely important concept to communicate to same-sex attracted men. How that message is communicated is just as important.
In your final paragraphs, after saying that -œGay men don’t like being told how to conduct their sex lives, you use the word -œwrong several times. Your article paints safe sex as being the only right way to -œconduct fucking. Unprotected sex is not -œalways wrong.
I do agree that barebacking should be discouraged in -œour bars, sex clubs, parties, but please, stay the fuck out of what I do in my home. Even if is not your intention, you come across as dictating, aggressive and disrespectful.
I encourage you to keep speaking out, but please write in a way that doesn’t make impressionable young men want to just turn the page. It makes me so angry when people rant about such important things, it just makes others switch off.
Thanks anyway.
-” Ian, Melbourne
COUPLES CONFUSION
Dear Prime Minister,
I’m not sure I understand the new government’s new stance on marriage.
It seems that little old ladies are going to be interrogated by Centrelink about their sex life, deemed as couples, and lose their pensions, while young out gay couples who just want to marry are still not allowed to.
That can’t be right, can it?
-” norrie mAy-welby, NSW

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