Is Bloomberg Spinning for Mayor?
Allen Roskoff has worked for New York City politics for many years and written a blog about Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s position regarding LGBT issues and AIDS. Bloomberg claims to be an Independent, but looking at his record he seems to be more of a Conservative. I’ve highlighted some of these points and I also suggest visiting akawilliam.com for more information regarding Bloomberg and other LGBT issues. I’m still stumped, I don’t really like Bill Thompson’s positions either. You’ll have to decide for yourself, but do it before November 3rd!
Bullying in the Schools
Michael Bloomberg vetoed the Dignity for All Students Act passed by the City Council in 2004 and refused to implement it when the Council overwhelmingly overrode his veto, calling the bill “silly.” In September 2008 before having to face an election year, Bloomberg rushed an anti-bullying program into place. In a study in June of this year his efforts were condemned as totally inadequate by religious, racial and LGBT groups. Bloomberg perversely now says he supports the state Dignity in All Schools Act, which would compel him to implement a comprehensive anti-bullying program, but still refuses to implement its provisions now as leader and head of the New York City schools.
AIDS Education and Condoms in the Schools
Michael Bloomberg allowed AIDS education to be weakened, with a watered-down curriculum. Bloomberg continued Rudy Giuliani’s horrendous policy of banning condom lessons in classrooms--life-saving lessons that were common pre-Rudy? AIDS educators were able to use the lessons to demystify condom use and safe sex. It is shocking to see respectable AIDS leaders such as Sean Strub (“YIKES! I’m checking on this right now.” quote from Dave) and Dennis de Leon siding with this obstructionist whose school AIDS curriculum was panned by experts as a pathetic political document that does nothing to engage LGBT youth--an outrage when African-American and Latino LGBT youth are most at risk for HIV.
On LGBT Health Care
Michael Bloomberg’s press release claims he created an Office of Gay and Lesbian Health. Uh, that was created under Koch in the early 1980s and dropped under Rudy. Mike’s new health commissioner Thomas Farley wants to close bathhouses. His previous one, Thomas Frieden, wanted to end written consent for HIV testing over the protest of most AIDS activists.
Equal Benefits Bill
Michael Bloomberg vetoed City Council legislation to require City contractors to provide domestic partner benefits to their workers if they provide marital benefits. When the Council overrode his veto, he successfully challenged the right of the Council even to make such a policy.
Discriminatory Parades
Michael Bloomberg marches in ethnic parades that exclude LGBT members of ethnic groups from participating, particularly the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Fifth Avenue which is run by a group that refers to gay people as “perverts.” He also refuses to march the full length of the LGBT Pride Parade, always starting south of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in the Giuliani tradition of criticizing the LGBT community as disrespectful of the Catholic Church.
NYPD’S False Arrests of Gay Men
Restaurateur Florent Morellet says that “as a gay person” that “there is nowhere in the world better to live than a New York City under Mayor Bloomberg’s leadership.” Florent obviously hasn’t had the misfortune to be one of the scores of middle-aged gay men falsely arrested by Mike’s NYPD for prostitution in his zeal to close porn shops; arrests that Mike did not condemn when questioned about this outrageous miscarriage of justice.
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