Gann on AIDS: ‘Test Everyone, Tell Everything’

In a dramatic and emotional press conference, anti-tax crusader Paul Gann talked poignantly of his “death sentence” from AIDS Tuesday and vowed to spend the remainder of his life campaigning for more testing to identify potential sufferers of the dreaded disease.

Arguing against those who oppose widespread testing as an infringement on civil liberties, Gann--his voice cracking and tears welling in his eyes--asserted that “instead of selfishly trying to protect ourselves by keeping secrets, we should be leading the fight to protect our friends and loved ones. . . . “

“We have to face it--there’s no cure for AIDS. The only way to control it now is to find out who has it and let others know. Personally, I’m for testing everyone and telling everything.”

Gann, the first major California political figure to disclose that he has contracted AIDS, then went on to volunteer intimate details of his personal life as his wife of 55 years, Nell, and three adult children sat behind him, fighting back tears.

Stating that he contracted the AIDS virus from multiple blood transfusions during open-heart surgery in 1982, the 74-year-old, frail-looking political legend--reading from a prepared statement--said that “Nell and I have been unable to have a sexual relationship since my operation, my heart surgery. . . . “ His voice then choked and he paused for several seconds before regaining composure. “Otherwise,” he added, “the Lord knows what harm I might have inflicted on my wife. But as soon as we found out about me, she took the test herself and, thank God, she doesn’t have it.”

At another point, Gann said that any person who knowingly has AIDS and carelessly transmits the disease to another person “should be tried for murder because it’s a death sentence.”

Blood Tested Now

Only about 2% of AIDS patients have contracted the disease from transfusions of tainted blood. Since 1985, blood has been tested before transfusions to assure that it is AIDS-free. The vast majority of AIDS patients--at least two-thirds--are male homosexuals who contract the disease through sex acts. Most others have contracted it by sharing needles during intravenous drug use.

No reporter asked Gann to categorically state that he had not engaged in homosexual sex, but he was asked whether there was any other way he might have contracted the AIDS virus.

“No way--in my entire life,” he responded unhesitantly. “Somebody said, ‘Who knows for sure?’ I said, ‘Paul Gann and God.’ Because I have never had a reason to have any kind of venereal disease.”

It was certainly one of the most unusual press conferences in the history of the state capital. And the news conference room was jammed wall-to-wall, as it has not been since the peak of Ronald Reagan’s governorship in the late 1960s and early ‘70s. Gann had announced only Monday, in a three-sentence press release, that he has AIDS.

Politicos immediately began to speculate about what impact the disclosure would have on the nationwide continuing battle to generate public support for increased government efforts to control AIDS.

Gann is one of California’s best-known public figures, having co-sponsored with Howard Jarvis--who died last year of a blood disease--the property tax-cutting Proposition 13 in 1978, and then on his own the next year having successfully pushed a ballot proposition imposing an unprecedented state spending limit. He was an unsuccessful Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1980.

But any liberals who might have been looking for the conservative Gann to suddenly begin advocating more public funds for AIDS research were disappointed. California this fiscal year is spending $30 million--more than any other state--on trying to contain the disease through research and education. And Gann, in response to various questions, did not indicate that he thought that more funds are needed.

Rather, Gann’s advocacy of increased testing seemed to run counter to the efforts of many anti-AIDS activists, who are fighting mandatory testing on civil liberties grounds and pushing for more education and research.

Assemblyman Art Agnos (D-San Francisco), who represents a heavily homosexual district and has been a major sponsor of AIDS legislation, said that if mandatory testing were to result from Gann’s misfortune “it would be a tragic byproduct, because it would not add anything to the fight to find a cure or to protect the public health. It could jeopardize those efforts by driving the disease underground and making it spread even faster.”

Agnos said that Gann “probably presents the most dramatic evidence in California of the fact that this is a human disease, not a white male gay disease.”

State Sen. John Doolittle (R-Citrus Heights), the conservative chairman of the Senate Republican Caucus, sat next to Gann at the press conference and promoted AIDS legislation he currently is sponsoring. Among other things, his proposal would require AIDS testing to be offered to couples applying for marriage licenses, require testing of all prisoners and convicted prostitutes and make it a felony for anyone knowingly infected with the AIDS virus to donate blood. Gann basically endorsed the legislation.

Sitting with Gann was his physician, Dr. Dennis Ostrem of Sacramento, who said Gann was diagnosed as having AIDS a few weeks ago after complaining of loss of appetite, weakness and a persistent cough.

Gann looked noticeably thinner and was literally trembling.

“I’m here to start what may become the last campaign of my life,” he began, reading movingly from the statement he had written. “I don’t know how much more time I have, but I want to spend it doing everything I can to protect others from falling under this deadly spell. I’ll be campaigning for more openness about AIDS.

“You know, it seems as though those who have AIDS, or who might have AIDS, want to keep it all a big secret so they can keep doing what they want and keep spreading this disease to other victims. I would like to help put a stop to that.”

Speaking about himself and other AIDS sufferers, he added, “I know some of us are going to be hurt by all this testing and telling. Some people are going to be cruel to us, mostly--I would imagine--out of fear. But, you know, I have faith in people of good will. If they don’t think we’re trying to keep it a secret, they’ll do everything they can to help us. But no matter how they react to us, they have a right to know.

Will Tell Dentist

“For instance, I have a dental appointment in a few days and I’m going to tell my dentist before he works on me that I have AIDS. I don’t know what he’ll do. He may tell me he can’t treat me, or he just might put on some rubber gloves and drill and grind away just like he’s done for years. I don’t know. I’ll abide by his decision. . . . I have no right to think only of myself and risk that man’s life in order to make my remaining time a little easier.

“We should do lots more testing and let the results be known. Who knows, we (AIDS victims) might even help ourselves. Maybe if all these scientists get more information about who has AIDS and who doesn’t, they’ll learn something new and we’ll have a cure.”

Gann said that “even though I’m 74 years old”--he’ll be 75 on Friday--”I still treasure life just as much as anyone, regardless of age.”

Asked how he was feeling, Gann said: “You know, God’s been good to me. I got down to the point where I lost about 10 pounds in 10 days and I couldn’t eat. I couldn’t swallow. I was so weak that my legs literally trembled when I would stand up on them. Then last Thursday morning, I rolled out of bed and to my very shock and pleasant surprise, there was no weakness in my legs.” Adding that he had a big sandwich for lunch and “ate a whole order of spareribs” at a local restaurant for dinner, he concluded:

“I think what happened was that I got over the anger and frustration and said, ‘Hey, I was born to die--I’m going to die some day.’ But I’m going to tell you one thing, (I’m) going to put up an awful fight because I’m going to hang on and fight back and I will be doing what I’ve been doing for years until the day I can no longer get out of bed and move around and call people.”

Gann said, “As long as God lets me stay here I will be traveling around, speaking to groups, being on radio talk shows and TV. If the invitations stop arriving, so be it. . . . I have no fear.”