One legislator's tragedy.

• Author: Gordon, Dianna
• Position: Kentucky state Representative Paul Mason

She shattered all stereotypes. She was female, white, a mother and at age 33 she died -- of AIDS.

But in her memory, Kentucky has one of the strongest AIDS laws in the nation.

Belinda Mason was a writer, a wife and mother, the only AIDS patient named to President Bush's Commission on AIDS. And she was the daughter of Kentucky Representative Paul Mason.

"My daughter died of AIDS in 1991. She was infected through a transfusion in 1987 when her second child was born. Untested blood. It's now a Class D felony in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to transfuse untested blood," he recounts, voice edged with sorrow.

Paul Mason is convinced that Belinda hastened her own death. Instead of staying comfortably in her home and waiting for the disease to run its course, Belinda flew back and forth across the nation to fight the AIDS battle, trying to educate the public, trying to slow the discrimination against the disease's victims.

And it was because of Belinda Mason that much of the Kentucky Omnibus AIDS Act was written. The bill passed in 1990 and in final form reflected some of the anguish of a father.

"That is one of the best pieces of legislation on AIDS and anti-discrimination ever written,' he says quietly. Even before the Americans with Disabilities Act was passed, the Kentucky law prohibited discrimination against anyone "perceived as" having AIDS or running a risk of acquiring the disease (i.e., homosexual men).

"One time, Hollywood offered $80,000 for her story. She said, 'Daddy, I don't want $80,000. Oh, at one time, I'd have used it to buy a green Mercedes. But now, I don't want any $80,000. 1 want my children not to be stigmatized by this disease.'"

Paul Mason remembers the horror of his daughter's last days.

"The last time they took her in an ambulance, they had her restrained so she couldn't move. They strapped her down so she couldn't raise her hands to wipe the blood away from her mouth.."' his voice trails off.

Taking a breath, he continues. "She was a beautiful, intelligent child. She knew what was going on. She was driven across the state to die in another state because the hospitals here wouldn't accept her."

Paul Mason has channeled his grief into helping put together legislation aimed at educating young people about the horrors of the disease. He wants teachers trained so they can comfortably answer questions on sexually transmitted diseases, teen pregnancy and AIDS. He also supports peer education in the schools.

"I've wanted so many times to turn my back and say I've paid my dues; I've paid my dues. But I can't. She wouldn't have wanted that. There's nobody else to load the wagon."

As Paul Mason resurrects painful memories, he explains, "She was my only daughter. The price of a life is like trying to catch the wind. You can't do it. But if by telling about her, we save one life ... it's worth it."

Right now in the United States, AIDS is:

* The No. 1 cause of death of men, including African Americans, 25 to 44. Fifty-two percent of all AIDS cases have been among racial minorities, which comprise only 23 percent of the population.

* The third leading cause of death among women, 25 to 44, and the leading killer of African American women in that age group. The increase in reported cases of AIDS is greater among women than men.

* The No. 2 cause of death among African American children ages 1 to 4 in New Jersey...