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Gay people across the nation will celebrate the fifth
national coming out day October 11. Supporters of the event
say that there are several reasons for the national
observance. First of all, the day 15 intended to emphaSIZe '
the personal,'soc1al,.and political importance that come
With any ind1v1dual coming out.

The day also provides '
encouragement to those who are
considering coming out, and NATIONAL AIDS ACTIVIST
reminds those who are out of theig
opportunity to encoura e an
support those who are taking the BELINDA MASON DIES
step. The Day also suggest that
there are usually ways those who Belenda Mason, a woman from the
are out can come out even more. mountains of Kentucky, who was a

Finally, having a nationally prominent national spokeswoman on
observed coming out day serves as ehalf of those suffering from
a reminder to the larger society AIDS, died September 9, in
CONTINUED ON PAGE 11 Vanderbilt University Medical

Center in Nashville, Tenn.

. Ms. Mason was the only member
of the National Commission on AIDS
who suffered from AIDS, and led
several national organizations

. concerned with AIDS. She was past
president of the National
Association of People WIth AIDS.
Ms. Mason, contracted HIV, the
virus that communicates AIDS, from
. me ou a blood transfusion given to her
, after complications accompanying
the birth of her second child. She
and her husband sued the hospital
and won an out of court
settlement.
W erev ‘ r She was quite critical of the
Bush administration's AIDS policy.
Even after she was appointed to
the National Commission on AIDS,
Ms. Mason noted her appointment
' reflected a bias of the Bush
1' e administration .
, y 0 I 0 AIDS activists had demanded for
some time that a person living
- with AIDS serve on the panel. Ms.
Mason suggests that she was chosen
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9