Elected Gays Ask for More AIDS Funding

Delegates to the first national Conference of Lesbian and Gay Officials made a public appeal Sunday for more government funding of AIDS research and less discrimination against homosexuals.

A group of 13 elected officials attending the conference in West Hollywood released a statement that asked Americans to “reject personal prejudice as public policy” and accept gays as equal partners. It was drafted by elected state, city and county officials from California, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Massachusetts who attended the conference.

The statement also called for outlawing discrimination based on sexual preference and overturning laws that prohibit certain sexual activities between consenting adults. It said delegates also seek legislation that would recognize the legal rights of gay “domestic partners.”

The conference, which drew 200 persons, did not address the issue of whether gay bathhouses should be closed. Earlier this month, the Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles, an influential gay-oriented political organization that is co-sponsor of the three-day conference, called for the voluntary closure of Los Angeles County bathhouses to limit the spread of acquired immune deficiency syndrome.