Dear Editor:

I was thrilled to see the GL Times publish an update on the growing syphilis epidemic among gay and bisexual men in San Diego (“Syphilis infections on the rise in San Diego”).

It is troubling, however, that nowhere in your article did County of San Diego health officials disclose the role that methamphetamine use is playing in the resurgence of syphilis, gonorrhea and HIV infections among gay and bisexual men in San Diego and nationwide.

In San Diego, syphilis infection rates among gay and bisexual men have increased ten-fold since 1999 and thirty-eight percent of the gay or bisexual men diagnosed with syphilis in 2004 reported use of crystal meth, an increase from 22 percent in 2003. A study of men who have sex with men reported that meth users were twice as likely as non-users to be HIV-infected, nearly five times as likely to be diagnosed with syphilis, and nearly twice as likely to test positive for gonorrhea. Dr. Peter Kerndt, director of the Los Angeles County Sexually Transmitted Disease Program published research in April that demonstrates “men are getting infected with HIV and syphilis at the same time.”

According to your article, County health officials expect syphilis rates to increase given reports for the first four months of 2005, which begs the question, “What are they doing about it?”

Despite the proven links between meth use and increased HIV and other sexually transmitted disease rates among gay and bisexual men, county leaders have done little to respond. Where other cities in California, including LA, San Francisco, and Palm Springs have allocated new resources, issued media releases calling attention to the crisis, mobilized community groups and prioritized funding, San Diego County’s top political leaders and appointed officials have responded with indifference. In fact the advertisement accompanying your story uses a social marketing campaign from Palm Springs. The county’s Office of AIDS Coordination (which administers HIV prevention funding) and community organizations have absorbed funding cuts of more than $1.1 million since 2002.

While the primary responsibility addressing the twin epidemics of meth addiction and STD/HIV infection rests with the gay and lesbian community, county leaders must support and enhance our efforts. If County Supervisor Ron Roberts is “a friend to our community”, isn’t it time we ask him to show some leadership in mobilizing County officials in allocating new resources to fight the growing syphilis, HIV and crystal meth epidemics raving our community?

Steven B. Johnson

Dear Editor:

[Re: “The fact that Councilmember Toni Atkins and State Senator Chris Kehoe have not endorsed Frye is a disgrace.”] Actually it is to their credit to NOT endorse Frye. I live in her district. She is a do nothing councilman and she will be a do nothing Mayor.

Ron Mason

Dear Editor:

I was shocked by Brian Jackson’s arrogant letter in the June 16 edition of Gay and Lesbian Times about HIV-negative guys having a “holier than thou” attitude just because they wish to remain negative by knowing the HIV status of their sexual partners. Positive guys may not get any action if they reveal they’re positive? Well, too f**king bad! If you’re HIV-positive, the reality is that you are the carrier of a deadly, incurable, communicable disease. I know how horrible it is; I have many HIV-positive friends. But I find it deplorable that a vast majority of positive men fail to disclose their status to their sexual partners. It’s your responsibility as a decent human being to make your HIV-positive status known to those individuals you are potentially putting at risk for infection. And I find it criminal when a positive man actually lies about his status and says that he’s negative. If it isn’t already, this should be a punishable offense in all 50 states.

As a sexually active, HIV-negative gay man, I use condoms 100 percent of the time. But condoms break. This happened to me just a few months ago. Luckily, my partner and I were both negative, and we shared this information with each other beforehand.

The truth is I will reject – to some degree – a sexual partner if I learn they are HIV-positive. With a positive guy, I would only participate in those acts listed as “safe” by Mr. Jackson (i.e. massage, hugging, mutual masturbation). That’s my right. However, am I supposed to limit my sexual experiences to those “safe” activities for the rest of my life just because the majority of HIV-positive guys continue to lie about their status? Mr. Jackson seems to think so. Perhaps if the HIV-positive guys limited their sexual activities to those considered “safe,” the spread of HIV would decrease considerably.

The truth is, the HIV status of my sexual partner does matter, and it is my business. I commend those guys – both positive and negative – who have the courage and decency to disclose their status to me prior to any sexual activity.

Richard Lemko

Dear Editor:

I recently received my ballot for the upcoming mayoral race in the mail. After lengthy consideration, I have decided to return it without voting for any candidate. Although Donna Frye is excellent on LGBT issues and I have been impressed by her speaking the several times I have seen her in person, I cannot get past the personal sniping between her and Steve Francis that I observed at the Center’s recent candidate forum.

Politicians in this country (and people in general) are far too ready to engage in personal attack and demonization of their opponents to achieve their political or rhetorical goals. I believe this to be the most serious problem in our society; above GLBT equality, above choice, above the Iraq war, and above San Diego’s economic distress. I do not expect people to magically stop disagreeing or to refrain from expressing their disagreements clearly and forcefully, but I do believe that they should do so without rancor and villification of those with different points of view.

I separated from the military in 1989 as a conscientious objector, not simply because I viewed killing others in war as morally wrong, but because I viewed simply framing other nations as enemies as being immoral. That moral wrong persists below the scale of international conflict, right down to interparty and interpersonal conflicts, and making personal attacks against an opponent is symptomatic of having demonized them and framed them as an enemy.

Making an enemy of an opponent prevents communication between the conflicting parties and makes equitable resolution of the differences impossible. It makes reaching consensus - an agreement that all involved parties can support - unattainable. The only way for enemies to resolve a conflict is for one of them to overwhelm and destroy the other. War is the consequent of framing another as an enemy, and so the latter action shares the immorality of the former.

I cannot vote for a person who engages in the kind of personal attacks I observed between Donna Frye and Steve Francis, regardless of how much accord exists between their political viewpoints and my own. Since I must disqualify Frye on those grounds, and I do not believe any other electable candidate is sufficiently strong on LGBT concerns, I have decided to refrain from voting for any candidate in this election.

Rev Keith W Ramsey