AGLP Newsletter



				AGLP News
				Marjorie J. Hill, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the nation’s oldest AIDS service organization, has accepted the 2012 AGLP John Fryer, MD Award. APA statement to the news media regarding Hawaiian Governor Lingle's veto of a civil union bill. APA Board of Trustees Approves position statement for civil marriage equality Parenting Rights for Same-Sex Couples Advanced
				Marjorie J. Hill, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Gay Men’s Health Crisis (GMHC), the nation’s oldest AIDS service organization, has accepted the 2012 AGLP John Fryer, MD Award. The Fryer Award will be presented in conjunction with her lecture at the IPS in New York City, October 4-7, 2012. The actual date of her lecture will be determined shortly. Dr. Hill previously served as GMHC’s Managing Director for Community Health where she had responsibility for the Women’s Institute, the Institute for Gay Men’s Health (IGMH) and coordination of agency wide community level health promotion initiatives. Prior to her tenure at GMHC, Dr Hill was the Assistant Commissioner for the Bureau of HIV/AIDS at the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH). At DOHMH, Dr. Hill had administrative oversight for HIV prevention, treatment, and research and housing programs. Dr. Hill was responsible for all aspects of federally mandated community planning and for the development of citywide HIV/AIDS policy. In addition, Dr. Hill provided oversight for over 400 prevention, care and treatment programs and is especially proud of the historic expansion of Syringe Exchange Programs, enhanced NYC inter-agency collaboration and the five million male and female condoms distributed annually during her tenure. Dr. Hill formerly served as a Commissioner for the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board and as Director of the NYC Mayor’s Office for the Lesbian and Gay Community in the Dinkins' Administration. During her tenure in these positions, Dr. Hill implemented successful initiatives in public safety, citywide EEO and NYC Domestic Partnership policy. A licensed clinical psychologist, Dr. Hill has consulted and lectured on issues of cultural diversity, HIV/AIDS in communities of color, conflict resolution, organizational devolvement and homophobia. Prior faculty appointments include Yeshiva University, New York Medical College, Pace University and the College of New Rochelle. She has several publications including the American Psychiatric Press release, “Mental Health Issues in Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Communities.” Dr. Hill has also served on the Black Leadership Commission on AIDS, the New York Civil Liberties Union, The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and as chair of the Thirteen/WNET Community Advisory Board. She proudly served a seven-year plus term on the Board of GMHC, two as Co-Chair and serves on the board of the Public Health Association of New York. With a firm foundation in grass root organizing, Dr. Hill has partnered with and provided leadership to scores of community based organizations. She has received numerous awards and citations for outstanding community service locally and nationally. Dr. Hill has appeared on CBS Morning Show, Rolanda, Real Life and is featured in the documentaries “All God’s Children”, “After Stonewall” and most recently “Jane Hanson’s New York.” A proud New Yorker, Dr. Hill is committed to a career in public service. Created by AGLP in 2006, The John E Fryer, MD Award honors an individual whose work has contributed to the mental health of sexual minorities. The award was endowed through a generous grant from the Gill Foundation, a bequest from the estate of psychiatrist Frank Rundle, and contributions from many AGLP members. Other past awardees include Barbara Gittings and Franklin Kameny; Past APA President Laurence Hartmann; Psychiatrist and Researcher Richard Pillard; San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsome; LGBT activist Evan Wolfson; and Bishop Gene Robinson. American Psychiatric Association to Hawaii Legislature: Keep Trying for Civil Unions The APA released the following statement to the news media on July 8, 2010 regarding Hawaiian Governor Lingle's veto of their civil union bill: ARLINGTON, Va. (July 8, 2010) —The American Psychiatric Association strongly supports legislation recently approved by the Hawaii legislature that would have made Hawaii the 11th state, along with the District of Columbia, to recognize same-sex civil marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships. “We regret Gov. Lingle’s veto and pledge our ongoing support for enactment of same-sex civil marriage or civil union laws in Hawaii and throughout the United States,” said APA President Carol A. Bernstein, M.D. “As physicians who specialize in psychiatry, we recognize the positive influence of a stable, adult partnership on the health of all family members,” Dr. Bernstein said. “Marriage and family, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, are among the cornerstones of social relationships and other supports that help us face life’s challenges. All Americans should be able to enjoy these benefits.” In 2004, the APA Board of Trustees approved a Position Statement that “supports the legal recognition of same sex union and their associated legal rights, benefits, and responsibilities, and opposes restrictions to those same rights, benefits, and responsibilities.” In 2005, the APA Board of Trustees approved a Position Statement strongly in favor of the legal recognition of same-sex civil marriage, declaring that “In the interest of maintaining and promoting mental health, the American Psychiatric Association supports the legal recognition of same-sex civil marriage with all rights, benefits, and responsibilities conferred by civil marriage, and opposes restrictions to those same rights, benefits, and responsibilities.” The American Psychiatric Association is a national medical specialty society whose physician members specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses including substance use disorders. Visit the APA at www.psych.org and www.HealthyMinds.org. CLINICAL REPORT Sexual Orientation and Adolescents ABSTRACT The American Academy of Pediatrics issued its first statement on homosexuality and adolescents in 1983, with a revision in 1993. This report reflects the growing understanding of youth of differing sexual orientations. Young people are recognizing their sexual orientation earlier than in the past, making this a topic of importance to pediatricians. Pediatricians should be aware that some youths in their care may have concerns about their sexual orientation or that of siblings, friends, parents, relatives, or others. Health care professionals should provide factual, current, nonjudgmental information in a confidential manner. All youths, including those who know or wonder whether they are not heterosexual, may seek information from physicians about sexual orientation, sexually transmitted diseases, substance abuse, or various psychosocial difficulties. The pediatrician should be attentive to various potential psychosocial difficulties, offer counseling or refer for counseling when necessary and ensure that everysexually active youth receives a thorough medical history, physical examination, immunizations, appropriate laboratory tests, and counseling about sexually transmitted diseases (including human immunodeficiency virus infection) and appropriate treatment if necessary. Not all pediatricians may feel able to provide the type of care described in this report. Any pediatrician who is unable to care for and counsel nonheterosexual youth should refer these patients to an appropriate colleague. Abbreviations: STD, sexually transmitted disease • HIV, human immunodeficiency virus • AAP, American Academy of Pediatrics • AIDS, acquired immunodeficiency syndrome Back to Top of Page APA Board of Trustees Approves position statement for civil marriage equality Dan Karasic, MD On July 30, 2005, the Board of Trustees of the American Psychiatric Association approved a position statement supporting the legalization of same sex civil marriage, and opposing efforts to ban marriage equality. The position statement had been approved by the APA Assembly in Atlanta last May. AGLP members played an essential role in the passage to the position statement. There was much discussion on the proposed wording of the statement by AGLP members, including Jack Drescher, Dan Hicks, Marshall Forstein, Margery Sved, Mark Townsend, and many others. The statement originated in the APA’s Committee on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual Issues, chaired by Jack Drescher. Through the efforts of other AGLP members, several district branches also endorsed the statement. The statement was revised and endorsed by the Council on Minority Mental Health and Health Disparities, which is chaired by Francis Lu, MD. (Dr. Lu was honored at the AGLP Awards Banquet in San Francisco in 2003 for his work to promote LGBT equality.) The position statement then was approved by the Joint Reference Committee and sent to the APA Assembly. Drs. Drescher, Sved, Lu and numerous others helped shepherd the statement to passage in the Assembly in May. AGLP members then contacted their representatives on the APA Board of Trustees, urging that the Board also approve the statement. In the end, the Board of Trustees overwhelmingly approved the position statement on July 30. The APA can now file or sign on to amicus briefs supporting the legalization of same sex marriage, and opposing marriage equality bans. Amicus briefs, including the APA’s, were important in the Supreme Court reversing the Bowers decision in Lawrence vs. Texas, which invalidated sodomy laws. According to Lambda Legal, amicus briefs in the lawsuits over marriage equality are similarly important. Thanks to the hard work of many in AGLP, and our allies in the APA, the APA can now stand with the LGBT community in our fight for marriage equality. Here is the APA Position Statement: Position Statement in Support of Legal Recognition of Same-Sex Civil Marriage As physicians who frequently evaluate the impact of social and family relationships on child development, and the ability of adults and children to cope with stress and mental illness, psychiatrists note the invariably positive influence of a stable, adult partnership on the health of all family members. Sustained and committed marital and family relationships are cornerstones of our social support network as we face life’s challenges, including illness and loss. There is ample evidence that long-term spousal and family support enhances physical and mental health at all stages of development. This position statement is about the legal recognition of same-sex civil marriage, not religious marriage, and it does not pertain to any organized religion’s view of same-sex marriage. Heterosexual relationships have a legal framework for their existence through civil marriage, which provides a stabilizing force. In the United States, with the exception of Massachusetts, same-sex couples are currently denied the important legal benefits, rights and responsibilities of civil marriage. Same-sex couples therefore experience several kinds of state-sanctioned discrimination that can adversely affect the stability of their relationships and their mental health. The children of unmarried gay and lesbian parents do not have the same protection that civil marriage affords the children of heterosexual couples. Adoptive and divorced lesbian and gay parents face additional obstacles. An adoptive parent who is lesbian or gay is often prejudicially presumed as unfit in many U.S. jurisdictions. Furthermore, when unmarried couples do adopt, usually one parent is granted legal rights, while the other parent may have no legal standing. These obstacles occur even though no research has shown that the children raised by lesbians and gay men are less well adjusted than those reared within heterosexual relationships. As the population ages, the denial of legal recognition of civil marriage has consequences for increasing numbers of older adults in same-sex relationships who face age-related health and financial concerns. Excluding these adults from civil marriage protections of survivorship and inheritance rights, financial benefits, and legal recognition as a couple in health care settings increases the psychological burden associated with aging. The American Psychiatric Association has historically supported equity, parity, and nondiscrimination in matters that have an impact on mental health. APA has also supported same sex civil unions and the right of same-sex couples to adopt and co-parent children. This is because APA has a longstanding interest in civil rights and legal issues that affect mental health as well as a code of ethics that supports and respects human dignity. Educating the public about lesbian and gay relationships and supporting efforts to establish legal recognition of same-sex civil marriage is consistent with the Association’s advocacy for minority groups. Civil marriage is associated with a unique set of benefits that provide legal and economic protections to adults in committed relationships and to their children. Equal access to the institution of civil marriage is consistent with the APA’s opposition to discrimination based on sexual orientation. Therefore be it resolved that: "In the interest of maintaining and promoting mental health, the American Psychiatric Association supports the legal recognition of same-sex civil marriage with all rights, benefits, and responsibilities conferred by civil marriage, and opposes restrictions to those same rights, benefits, and responsibilities.” Parenting Rights for Same-Sex Couples Advanced On June 15, the American Medical Association became the latest organization to call for equal parenting rights for same-sex couples. Learn more about supportive policy statements of the following organizations: [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/mpzcUY115BTt/ ]American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/mdzcUY115BTv/ ]American Academy of Family Physicians [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/EdzcUY115BTb/ ]American Academy of Pediatrics [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/m7zcUY115BT5/ ]American Anthropological Association [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/j7zcUY115BT4/ ]American Bar Association [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/E1zcUY115BTg/ ]American Medical Association [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/E7zcUY115BT6/ ]American Psychiatric Association [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/EpzcUY115BTO/ ]American Psychoanalytic Association [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/U1zcUY115BTW/ ]American Psychological Association [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/UdzcUY115BTI/ ]Child Welfare League of America [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/m1zcUY115BTf/ ]National Association of Social Workers [ http://www.hrcactioncenter.org/ct/jpzcUY115BTr/ ]North American Council on Adoptable Children