Bush Appointment of Homosexual Draws Fire from Conservatives
	WASHINGTON, D.C. (EP) - The Bush Administration's appointment of a homosexual to lead the new Office of National AIDS Policy has drawn criticism from some conservative and Christian organizations.     Scott Evertz, the first open homosexual to receive an executive branch appointment from a Republican president, is currently vice president of the Lutheran Manor Foundation in Milwaukee and a longtime volunteer in the AIDS community in Wisconsin. Evertz also helped raise money for a mission hospital in Kenya.     Evertz has also been politically active as an advocate of homosexuality. He is president of the Wisconsin chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans, a homosexual Republican group. He worked with state leaders on Wisconsin legislation that guarantees hospital visitation rights for homosexual "partners."     White House spokesman Ari Fleischer told reporters that Bush's policy was to pick the best people for his administration, regardless of what their backgrounds might be.     Fleischer said Bush is concerned about the spread of AIDS in Africa, and has raised the issue in meetings with foreign leaders and with members of Congress. "It's something that he wants to combat," Fleischer said.     The appointment of Evertz drew praise from the Human Rights Campaign, the nation's leading homosexual advocacy organization. "We applaud President Bush for this appointment. It is our sincere hope that this signals the new administration's commitment to providing active leadership in the national and international fight against HIV and AIDS," said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg.     Wisconsin Christians United expressed disappointment with the appointment. Pastor Ralph Ovadal, the group's director, said, "From a political perspective, Scott Evertz and George Bush are soul mates. Unfortunately, for both of their souls and the soul of this nation, they have another thing in common as well. They are both using the influence of their positions to desensitize a nation to a lawless behavior which God calls a filthy, grievous abomination."     Ovadal continued, "Scott Evertz knows what he wants and he knows how to get it, just like the president he will now serve under. George W. Bush knows what he wants and he knows how to get it. Simply put, George Bush asked the sodomites to scratch his back and now he is scratching theirs."     Family Research Council President Kenneth Connor said, "As was the case with the appointment of Paul Cellucci to serve as ambassador to Canada, the appointment of Mr. Evertz sends the wrong message to the American people." (Cellucci, governor of Massachusetts, was opposed by conservatives because of his pro-abortion and pro-homosexual views).     Connor added, "It is an inescapable fact of life that homosexual sodomy is one of the biggest risk factors in the spread of the HIV virus. Promoting an openly gay person to lead the office suggests that the White House is not prepared to deal with the root cause of the behaviors which are causing the problem. If personal responsibility is off the table, it is unlikely that the White House's approach to solving the AIDS crisis will be effective. We will not overcome the AIDS epidemic in this country by hiding our heads in the sand and ignoring the realities about mechanisms for the transmission of this disease. If we are to succeed in combating this deadly pestilence, it will be because we were willing to deal honestly and openly about the behaviors which are causing the problem and which ought to be avoided."     The Traditional Values Coalition also criticized the Evertz appointment. "We will be monitoring this regularly to make sure that this is not a bully pulpit for the advocacy of homosexuality" promised the Rev. Lou Sheldon, founder of the group. "We are going to be right there."
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