02/28/2006

IFI Calls for Reinstatement of Federal Ban on HIV-Infected Travelers after Daley Helps Lift HIV Ban for Chicago 'Gay Games' in July
evidence is clear: the "extra-curricular" activities surrounding the "Gay Games" present a real health hazard to those involved and the surrounding community

GLEN ELLYN, Ill., Feb. 28 /Christian Newswire/ -- Peter LaBarbera, Executive Director of the Illinois Family Institute, issued the following statement today in reaction to reports in Chicago homosexual press that a lobbying campaign had succeeded in the Federal Government waiving its ban on HIV-infected travelers to the United States for the “Gay Games,” to be held in Chicago in July:

Today we call upon President Bush and Congress to rescind the newly-granted waiver for HIV-infected travelers participating in or attending the “Gay Games,” an athletic event drawing homosexuals from across the world to Chicago. These homosexual “games” already officially promote dangerous sexual activity: Steamworks, a 24/7 Chicago gay bathhouse, where men go for anonymous sex with other men, is listed as a “business sponsor” on the “Gay Games” website. And both Steamworks and another Chicago bathhouse, Man's Country, are listed in the “Parties & Events” section of the “Games’” website. (Man’s Country is also listed as a “sponsor” of the “Gay Games.”)

The evidence is clear: the "extra-curricular" activities surrounding the "Gay Games" present a real health hazard to those involved and the surrounding community. Inviting thousands of HIV-infected visitors to a “Gay Games” celebration that officially promotes promiscuity will only put Chicagoans at risk and help spread HIV. (Over 60 percent of male AIDS cases in Illinois involve "men who have sex with men," according to the Illinois Depart of Public Health.) Therefore, Illinois Family Institute will work with national pro- family and conservative organizations to persuade the White House and Congress to reverse this misguided waiver to the HIV-Infected Travelers Ban.

The public health goal of stopping the spread of HIV/AIDS must take precedence over the political wants of homosexual advocates. Just because Mayor Daley and the homosexual community tolerate sex clubs that facilitate immoral and reckless behavior, does not mean that the people of Chicago should. Promiscuous "gay" bathhouse activity in San Francisco spawned the national AIDS crisis in the first place; how ironic that due to the lobbying of Mayor Daley and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D), the federal government will now make it easy for HIV- infected foreign nationals to use Chicago's homosexual bathhouses and spread disease here (and across the globe).

It is presumed by many that pro-family Christians and conservatives do not care about homosexuals. On the contrary, we care enough to advocate “tough love” for those living this lifestyle—which includes closing down the commercial venues for high-risk, promiscuous sexual activity, as has been done in New York and San Francisco. (It should be noted that while bathhouses were closed down in both cities, gay sex clubs still are allowed to operate.)

Allowing homosexual bathhouses—where dangerous sexual behavior is permitted to flourish behind closed doors—to operate freely in Chicago and then passing out condoms at these establishments, is not “safe sex” nor is it a compassionate to homosexual men—or the female spouses of Chicago men on the “down low” (secretly practicing homosexual acts).

Mayor Daley has forgotten his role as Chief Protector of the people of Chicago. We call on him and the Chicago City Council to shut down the gay bathhouses and illegal sex establishments as the caring and right thing to do. Reinstating the ban on HIV-infected travelers for the July “Gay Games” is the best way to protect Illinois citizens, and people worldwide, from deadly and communicable diseases.

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For more information on HIV Ban-Gay Games controversy, see this article on IFI's website and Peter LaBarbera's online interview with Concerned Women for America.

Background: Federal Government waiving its ban on HIV-infected travelers to the United States for the "Gay Games"

Illinois Family Institute, which is associated with Focus on the Family, is dedicated to protecting marriage, family and the sanctity of life in the Land of Lincoln. IFI is proudly affiliated with Protect Marriage Illinois, which is seeking to place a referendum on the Illinois ballot in November defining marriage as between one man and one woman. All inquiries can be sent to info@illinoisfamily.org or call 630-790-8370.