O.C Board Refuses to Ban Bias Against AIDS Victims : Supervisors Reject Plan on 3-2 Vote

In a 3-2 vote before a tense and emotional crowd, the Board of Supervisors today killed a proposed anti-discrimination ordinance to protect AIDS victims, making Orange County the first urban area in California to reject such a measure.

The supervisors heard about three hours of testimony from nearly 40 speakers--almost equally divided on the issue--before making their vote shortly after noon.

The opposition was led by Rev. Louis P. Sheldon’s Traditional Values Coalition based in Anaheim. Sheldon said his group sent out about 1,000 letters to encourage people to attend.

Sheldon and many other critics charged that the ordinance would grant special rights to homosexuals, a high-risk group in regards to AIDS, at the expense of others.

“They are a class of people linked together by behavior,” Sheldon said of homosexuals. “Reasonable people might want to consider their perverted sexual behavior” when asked to associate with AIDS victims in work or social situations.

Supervisor Harriett M. Wieder, who joined Supervisor Thomas F. Riley in supporting the ordinance, said, “I support the fears and concerns of those opposed to the ordinance--it is a fear of the unknown. I’m concerned about the spread of the disease. I’m concerned about ignorance spreading the disease.”

All three of the supervisors voting against the ordinance--Don Roth of Anaheim, Roger Stanton of Santa Ana, and Gaddi Vasquez of Mission Viejo--said they believe existing state and federal laws already protect AIDS victims from discrimination.