Letter From Dannemeyer Delights ACLU

Local ACLU leaders said Wednesday they were astonished but “delighted” when they received a letter last week from conservative Rep. William E. Dannemeyer asking for their help in protecting the privacy of some AIDS victims.

They thought--maybe--that Congress’ most outspoken critic of homosexuality and a longtime opponent of the American Civil Liberties Union had completely changed his stripes.

Taken literally, the letter directly contradicts Dannemeyer’s previous positions.

Dannemeyer (R-Fullerton) could not be reached for comment Wednesday but an aide said that it’s all a misunderstanding. The congressman is “absolutely not” siding with the ACLU, said Dannemeyer aide Brett Barbre, and the letter is “all tongue-in-cheek.”

The letter to the ACLU Foundation of Southern California complains that Los Angeles County health officials appeared to be violating privacy laws intended to protect AIDS victims.

“Absent these limits, health officials would possess a virtual Orwellian power to probe into the most intimate aspects of an individual’s life,” Dannemeyer wrote. “This must not be allowed to happen.”

The congressman said he was concerned that county health officials were investigating the sexual history of a man found in Los Angeles last month to have a rare strain of AIDS, HIV-2. And he complained that the treatment was inconsistent with most common AIDS cases in which there is no background check.

“The proper course of action, in my opinion, is for these officials to treat known cases of HIV-2 in the same manner as they treat the more widespread HIV-1; i.e., no reportability or partner notification,” the letter says.

But Dannemeyer just wrote legislation earlier this year advocating reportability, meaning that health officials could contact those who test positive for HIV and question them about their sexual partners.

Dannemeyer’s letter asked the ACLU to “file for prompt judicial relief on behalf of all people infected” with HIV-2, a variety that was first reported on the West Coast last month in only the seventh case known in the United States.

ACLU Legal Director Paul Hoffman said he thought Dannemeyer’s letter was sincere.

In a written response Wednesday, Hoffman told the congressman: “We were delighted to learn that, in a dramatic shift from your prior public positions on the issue, you apparently now agree with the ACLU.”

Quoting Dannemeyer’s letter about health authorities’ “Orwellian power to probe into the most intimate aspects of an individual’s life,” Hoffman added: “We could not have said it better.”

Despite the appearance of agreement, however, Barbre said: “I think George Bush would become a cheerleader for the ACLU before the congressman would.”

Hoffman said the ACLU questioned Los Angeles County Department of Health Services about Dannemeyer’s letter. But he said the congressman’s complaint is inaccurate.

He said the health department “treats cases of infection with either virus in much the same fashion” and, in both cases, privacy is protected.

Barbre said the ACLU misinterpreted Dannemeyer’s letter.

He said the intent was to point out the inconsistency in how different varieties of AIDS were treated. And he said the congressman wanted to know the ACLU’s position on the purportedly conflicting methods, especially whether it supported the investigation of a victim’s sexual history.

“He’s trying to get their position,” Barbre said. “It’s always good to know how the left is going to handle a certain issue.”