Greens Oppose Holsinger Nomination

WASHINGTON, DC -- Leaders of the Lavender Green Caucus
and the Green Party of the United States urged
Congress not to confirm Dr. James W. Holsinger Jr. as
Surgeon General, calling his views on homosexuality
discriminatory, unprofessional, and potentially
damaging to the health care needs of millions of
Americans.

"Congress must take into account Dr. Holsinger's
biased and hostile attitude towards gay people, which
will affect his ability to make fair decisions about
AIDS, sex education and disease prevention as well as
other health concerns of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and
transgender Americans," said Alison Duncan, the New
York State Green Party's 2006 candidate for Lt.
Governor. Ms. Duncan was the first openly gay
candidate for a gubernatorial position in the state's
history. "Dr. Holsinger has spread gross
misinformation about homosexuality, using his status
as a doctor to promote a bigoted political ideology.
His views are well outside of the mainstream medical
community. His nomination is as offensive to the
health care community as it is to the LGBT community."

Greens cited Dr. Holsinger's article "The
Pathophysiology of Male Homosexuality," written in
January 1991 for a United Methodist Church study on
homosexuality, calling the article an expression of
profound and willful ignorance, not just on gay men,
but on human sexuality in general.

"President Bush's choice of Dr. Holsinger for Surgeon
General is consistent with his administration's policy
of misrepresenting scientific research and
subordinating public health to the demands of
ideology," said Lavender Green Caucus member Rev. Dan
Rodriguez Schlorff, who serves Broadway United
Methodist Church (Chicago, Illinois) as Candidate for
Authorized Ministry. "Dr. Holsinger will do to
medical policy, especially policies affecting AIDS and
sexuality, what the White House has done to federally
funded research on global warming -- censoring and
distorting science that doesn't fit the Bush agenda."

"Congress members should have learned a lesson from
the confirmations of Justices John Roberts and Samuel
Alito, which lead to a major ruling restricting the
reproductive rights of women that was based on a
principle that women have no rights to make decisions
about their own lives. Justices Roberts and Alito
were confirmed with a significant number of Democratic
yeas," Rev. Rodriguez Schlorff added.

The Lavender Green Caucus
represents gay,
lesbian, bisexual, intersex, and queer members of the
Green Party. The party's national platform embraces
full rights and equality regardless of sexual
orientation, including same-sex marriage rights and
support for legislation ending discrimination in
employment, housing, civil marriage, medical benefits,
and child custody
.


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