Issue 35 Volume 38
FRIDAY August 27, 2010 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
Celebrating 37 Years!
ASK MICHAEL p. 17 RAIN CITY SOCCER p. 18 MELISSA ETHERIDGE p. 25
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Former RNC chair SGN Exclusive Interview Ken Mehlman: Constance McMillen excited “I’m Gay” about coming to Seattle by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Constance McMillen, the renowned Itawamba, Mississippi high school student who took on the school district after she was refused permission to bring her girlfriend as a date, and to wear a tuxedo, to the Itawamba County Agricultural High School prom, is scheduled for a personal appearance in Seattle. The teen, who has since graduated high school, will join the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Washington as they celebrate 75 years of protecting civil liberties at Cal Anderson Park on September 9 from 5:30-7 p.m. Represented by the ACLU, 18-year-old Constance sued school official and won a federal court ruling in March that her Mississippi high school violated her First Amendment rights when it canceled the prom rather than let see mcmillen page 20
Republican candidate Dino Rossi’s links to R71 bigots
Constance McMillen
Pentagon mails new DADT survey
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer More anti-Gay Referendum 71 figures have resurfaced, this time in the hotly contested senate race pitting incumbent Democrat Patty Murray against Republican challenger Dino Rossi. Right-wing lawyer James Bopp Jr. is now representing a secretive group running attack ads against Murray. Bopp is best known to SGN readers as the attorney representing Protect Marriage Washington in Doe v. Reed, its suit to conceal the identities of people who signed the 2009 Referendum 71 petition challenging domestic partnership rights. Bopp also represented Dino Rossi between 2004 and 2008 in his ongoing dispute with the Washington state Public Disclosure Commission. The group Bopp now represents – ironically calling itself the Committee for Truth in Politics – has refused to file legally required disclosure forms with the Federal Elections Commission. Instead, it has sued the federal government, alleging that disclo-
Master Sgt. Ken Hammond
file photo
Republican candidate for senator Dino Rossi
ACLU
file photo
ager – the campaign that backed state initiatives to ban same-sex marriage – and former chairman of the Republican National Committee, has disclosed to family and associates the he is Gay. Mehlman is arguably the most powerful Republican in history to identify as Gay. In recent years, Mehlman, 43, had denied reports that he was Gay. “It’s taken me 43 years to get Former Chairman of the comfortable with Republican National Committee Ken Mehlman this part of my by Shaun Knittel life,” said Mehlman, now an executive with a New SGN Associate Editor York City investment house. “EvKen Mehlman, George Bush’s 2004 presidential campaign mansee mehlman page 19
The Pentagon
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Late last week, Pentagon officials mailed out 150,000 new “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) surveys, this time seeking input from military spouses about the potential repeal of the U.S. military’s discriminatory policy that prohibits Gays and Lesbians from serving openly. The Defense Department said military spouses started receiving copies of the 44-question survey on August 20. The spouse surveys were mailed to 80,000 reservecomponent and 70,000 active duty see rossi page 20 spouses. Spouses have until Sep-
tember 27 to complete it, the Pentagon said. “Your voice is important, and we need you to participate,” Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates states in a letter accompanying the survey. “The survey is confidential and will enable you to be straightforward and candid in your responses.” The new survey comes on the heels of a widely criticized survey the Pentagon sent to about 400,000 troops last month. According to Pentagon officials, about 28% responded. see pentagon page 21
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Seattle Gay News
August 27, 2010
Celebrating 37 Years!
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Seattle Gay News FOUNDED 1973
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2010
Deadlines Classifieds - Thursday at noon Calendar - Tuesday 6pm Display Ads: Space Reservation - Monday 5pm Ad copy (non-camera ready) - Tues. 5pm Ad copy (camera ready) - Wed. 5pm Letters to the Editor - Tuesday 5pm Obituaries - Call the sGn office All others - Tuesday 5pm
Editor In Chief George Bakan Associate Editor Shaun Knittel Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel Miryam Gordon, James Whitely, Tim Peter Contributing Writers Rev. Barbara Allen, Mike Andrew, Eric Andrews-Katz, Madelyn Arnold, Maggie Bloodstone, Beau Burriola, Jessica Davis, Ron Anders, Jessica Price, Milton W. Hamlin, Nevin Jefferson, Keen News Service, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, Romeo San Vicente, Rex Wockner Classifieds Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon
Civil partnerships? We must be equal before the law! by Peter Tatchell Courtesy of OutRage! A recent Pink News poll found that 98% of its readers believe that civil partnerships are not enough. They want full same-sex civil marriage. The main U.K. Gay lobby group, Stonewall, does not call or campaign for marriage equality; claiming it is not a priority. All other major LGBT groups oppose the ban on Gay marriage and want registry office civil marriages to be open to all couples, without discrimination.
Photographers Nick Ardizzone, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel, James Whitely National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published weekly by JT&A, Inc. © 2010, JT&A, Inc., all rights reserved. Reprints by permission.
Publication of names, photographs or likenesses of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business. Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper. Seattle Gay News welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication. We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write. And please play safe. It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your subscription or ad. However, credit towards any size ad will be given for the balance owed. No exceptions.
The main issue is not whether same-sex marriage is a priority, but whether LGBT people should be banned from getting married. We should not be banned. Equality is the number-one issue. No LGBT organization claiming to support equal rights should remain silent and inactive while we are denied the right to marry. Such outrageous homophobic discrimination must be challenged. Campaigning for marriage equality does not preclude us from also campaigning against homophobic bullying or for LGBT asylum rights. It is not a case of having to choose one campaign over another. It is possible to simultaneously push for equality on several fronts. Nor is the main issue whether same-sex marriage is a good thing. I share the feminist
critique. Marriage has a history of sexism and patriarchy. I would not want to get married. But as a democrat and human rights defender, I support the right of other LGBTs to marry, if they wish. I resent the fact that people are deemed ineligible to marry simply because they love a person of the same sex. Every LGBT organization should be publicly backing the right of Lesbian and Gay couples to get married in a registry office on exactly the same terms as heterosexual men and women. Imagine the outcry if the government banned black couples from getting married and required them to register their relationships through a separate system of civil partnerships instead. Most of us would condemn it as racist to have separate laws for black and white people. We’d call it apartheid, like what used to exist in South Africa. Well, black people are not banned from marriage, but Lesbian and Gay couples are. We are fobbed off with civil partnerships. Civil partnerships are not equality. They are a new form of discrimination. Separate is not equal. In terms of law, civil partnerships are a form of sexual apartheid. They create a two-tier system of partnership recognition: one law for heterosexuals (civil marriage) and another law for same-sex couples (civil partnerships). This perpetuates and extends discrimination. The homophobia of the ban on samesex civil marriage is compounded by the heterophobia of the ban on opposite-sex civil partnerships. Just as a Gay couple cannot have a civil marriage, a straight couple cannot have a civil partnership. Two wrongs don’t make a right. In a democracy, we should all be equal before the law.
No LGBT organization claiming to support equal rights should remain silent and inactive while we are denied the right to marry.
In Loving Memory Of Steve Foiles, Scott Roger Alpert, Cookie Andrews-Hunt, James Leland Moore, Randy Peters, Lee Richeson, Shaun Shelton, Jim Tully, James Arnold
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Celebrating 37 Years!
Anti-Gay student loses lawsuit by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer For the second time in two months, a federal judge has ruled that public universities may enforce the academic standards of their graduate programs, even when students claim those standards violate the principles of their religion. Georgia Judge J. Randall Hall refused on August 23 to enjoin Augusta State University from expelling Jennifer Keeton from a master’s program in counseling. She claimed that as a Christian she would recommend “conversion therapy” in the event she was called upon to counsel a Gay client. Since there is a scholarly consensus among psychologists that such therapy does not work – in other words, you can’t make Gay people straight – and can harm patients who undergo it, the university decided to intervene. Keeton’s program directors placed her in “remediation status,” citing concerns that she was unable to counsel Gay clients. Students who are placed in remediation status must complete certain requirements or they are expelled from the program. Keeton claimed that being forced to comply with the remediation program would effectively force her to change her Christian beliefs, something that she and her attorneys say a public university has no right to do. In his ruling, Hall said the case was not about freedom of religion, but about maintaining reasonable academic standards. “This is not a case pitting Christianity against homosexuality,” he wrote. Hall cited evidence submitted by the university showing that Keeton was sanctioned not for her religious views but for the university’s belief that she was going to act in ways inconsistent with the professional standards under which it trains students. Faculty members testified that they did not care about Keeton’s religious beliefs or require that she change them to continue in the program – only that she agree to treat people within the nondiscriminatory standards of the profession. The university also submitted affidavits from fellow students in which they said that Keeton told them that as a counselor she planned to tell Gay clients that their conduct was “morally wrong,” and to try to get them to “change” themselves. She also reportedly said she would seek to work in schools without any Gay people or that she would refer Gay people to other counselors. Counseling standards specifically state that it is not permitted to refer clients because of sexual orientation or other factors, and that counselors are required to be able to work with all groups. In his decision, Judge Hall wrote that these facts made the issue not one of religious belief, but of specific curriculum-based decisions appropriately made by a faculty. “The record suggests, and the testimony at the hearing bolsters, that the plan was imposed because plaintiff exhibited an inability to counsel in a professionally ethical manner – that is, an inability to resist imposing her moral viewpoint on counselees – in violation of the ACA Code of Ethics, which is part of the ASU counseling program’s curriculum.” Hall added that “matters of educational policy should be left to educators and it is not the proper role of federal judges to second guess an educator’s professional judgment.” Hall’s framing of the case as one of academic standards was very similar to last month’s ruling by a different federal judge in Michigan. In that case, Judge George Steeh rejected claims by Julea Ward that Eastern Michigan University had violated the 1st Amendment’s free exercise of religion provisions when it ordered her to counsel Gay clients or be removed from its graduate counseling
ship between the counselor and client to assist in delivering the objectives sought by the client. Educating counselors to provide such services is clearly within the expertise of the universities that provide such programs.... [Ward] knew the university’s curricular goal of teaching students to counsel
without imposing their personal values on their clients by setting up boundaries so as not to be judgmental.” Ward was represented by the Alliance Defense Fund, a right-wing Christian legal organization linked to Focus on the Family and Campus Crusade for Christ.
program. The judge found that the university was enforcing a legitimate curricular requirement – namely that counseling students learn to work with all kinds of clients in ways that did not judge their values or orientations. “Courts have traditionally given public colleges and graduate schools wide latitude to create curricula that fit schools’ understandings of their educational missions,” Steeh wrote in his decision. “Counseling, by its very nature, relies on a uniquely personal and intimate relation-
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Seattle Gay News
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INTERNATIONAL Público
NEWS
by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer
“Since 2005, Alternatives-Cameroun, Human Rights Watch and other Cameroonian and international organizations have documented abuses and violence against LGBT people in Cameroon,” Human Rights Watch said in an August 19 media release. “Suspected homosexual men have been arrested and beaten on their bodies, heads, and even the soles of their feet while in custody. Women suffer violence in their families if they are suspected of being Lesbians. In some cases, they have been forced to leave their homes or their children have been taken away from them.” Alternatives-Cameroun head Steve Nemande said that implementation of the U.N. recommendations would result in Cameroon’s doing “the bare minimum to realize the fundamental human rights enshrined in its national constitution.”
Gay divorce up in Britain Dissolution of civil partnerships in England, Scotland and Wales almost doubled in 2009 compared with 2008, The Independent reported Aug. 20. The figure jumped from 180 to 351. At the same time, the number of people entering same-sex civil partnerships dropped, from 7,169 to 6,281. Female couplings were less successful in 2009 than male unions. Sixty-three percent of English and Welsh dissolutions and 71 percent of Scottish dissolutions were between women. More than 40,000 couples have entered civil partnerships since they became legal at the end of 2005. The partnerships include all the rights and obligations of marriage, except use of the word “marriage.” With assistance from Bill Kelley
NATIONAL file photo
NEWS
by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer
Roman Catholic bishop of Guadalajara, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez
Mexico City mayor sues Guadalajara bishop for defamation The mayor of Mexico City, Marcelo Ebrard, has sued the Roman Catholic bishop of Guadalajara, Juan Sandoval Íñiguez, for saying that the Mexican Supreme Court was bribed by Ebrard and others to approve Mexico City’s law that legalized Gay marriage and adoption. The court also ruled that Mexico City same-sex marriages are valid nationwide. “I don’t think the judges would arrive at such absurd conclusions, against the sentiment of the Mexican public, without there being very big motives, and the very big motive may be the money that they are given,” Sandoval said. Ebrard filed a civil suit in the Supreme Court claiming defamation. The archdiocese responded that it has proof to back up Sandoval’s claim. “When the cardinal was talking, he didn’t do it just to hear himself speak,” said a spokesman. “Check their bank accounts,” Sandoval himself said later. In the original outburst, Sandoval reportedly also called homosexuality an aberration and said, “Would you want to be adopted by a pair of faggots or Lesbians?” German Gay couples get equal inheritance rights Gay couples in registered partnerships have the same inheritance rights as married couples, Germany’s Federal Constitutional Court ruled August 17. The decision reduces the maximum in-
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heritance tax rate for a surviving Gay partner from 50 percent to 30 percent, and lowers the minimum inheritance tax rate for a surviving Gay partner from 17 percent to 7 percent. It also equalizes the portion of an estate that is free from inheritance tax. Because the setup was unconstitutional, the government must go back and recalculate inheritance taxes in registered Gay partnerships from the point that Germany established same-sex partnerships in February 2001. Discriminatory Catholic adoption service slapped down in England A Roman Catholic adoption service in Leeds, England, was denied an exemption to the United Kingdom’s ban on discrimination against Gay people August 18. In a final determination, the Charities Commission said that Catholic Care has to follow the law like everyone else. The service had wanted to limit its services to married straight people in order to remain faithful to Roman Catholicism’s heterosexist teachings. U.N. tells Cameroon to legalize Gays The United Nations Human Rights Committee has told Cameroon to decriminalize Gay sex, end anti-LGBT prejudice and stigmatization, and assure that HIV-positive people receive adequate care. The July 29 move followed a presentation to the committee by Human Rights Watch and the LGBT group Alternatives-Cameroun.
August 27, 2010
New York Governor David Paterson
New York lawmakers address Gay divorce The legislative history of a no-fault divorce bill that passed New York’s Senate, then the Assembly, includes an Assembly memo that reaffirms New York’s recognition of same-sex marriages from elsewhere and says that married Gay couples can divorce in New York. Gov. David Paterson signed the bill August 15. The memo says: “It is the intent of this legislation to grant full recognition and respect to valid marriages of same-sex couples to obtain relief under New York State laws and in New York’s courts. ... Current New York law, written to apply to ‘husband and wife,’ has been properly interpreted by New York courts to allow relief for same-sex couples with valid marriages. It is not the intent of this legislation to alter the interpretations of this case law ... nor is it the intent of this legislation to alter New York State’s policy to recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages.” New York is one of two states – the other is Maryland – that recognize same-sex marriages that take place elsewhere even though Gay couples cannot get married in New York and Maryland. Same-sex marriage is legal in Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Mexico City, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.
Fifty-nine percent support same-sex marriage in Rhode Island Fifty-nine percent of Rhode Islanders support legalization of same-sex marriage. Rhode Island is the only New England state without same-sex marriage, apart from Maine, where, in 2009, the Legislature passed and the governor signed a law legalizing Gay marriage, then saw voters “veto” it at the ballot box. The survey of 502 likely Rhode Island voters was conducted by Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research on July 7-12. The margin of error was 4.4 percent. “This poll makes clear that there is no reason why we can’t enact a marriage equality law in Rhode Island within the next year,” said Kathy Kushnir, executive director of Marriage Equality Rhode Island. “Rhode Islanders are ready to allow loving, committed same-sex couples to gain the dignity and respect that marriage brings.” Nationally, a new poll by CNN and Opinion Research Corporation found that 52 percent of Americans support same-sex marriage. They said yes to the question, “Do you think Gays and Lesbians should have a constitutional right to get married and have their marriage recognized by law as valid?” With assistance from Bill Kelley
Celebrating 37 Years!
loway and owner/chef Jason Stratton open their doors and kitchen to the Young Professionals with Pride. Network and socialize while enjoying delicious food prepared by Chef Jason, who was just named one of compiled by Rick McKinnon Food & Wine Magazine’s Best New Chefs SGN Staff Writer for 2010! Cost is $10 for GSBA members and students, $15 for nonmembers. PALM SPRINGS For more information, contact the GSBA attle Scholarship Fund. Suggested donation COCKTAIL CHALLENGE at www.thegsba.org or 206-363-9188. $10. On Friday, August 27, from 6-9 p.m. at The Lobby Bar in Seattle (916 E. Pike St.), OUT IN FRONT SEATTLE CENTER the Palm Spring Cocktail Challenge will be SEEKS APPLICATIONS FESTÁL: TIBET FEST held. Palm Springs, America’s Gay oasis, Out in Front Seattle is now accepting onOn Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, is seeking the best bartenders in eight Gay August 29 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Cen- line applications for the Class of 2011. The clubs nationwide, including Seattle. Palm ter House and Fisher Pavilion (Seattle Cen- program starts in October. If you or someSprings is challenging bartenders to stir, ter), Seattle Center Festál presents Tibet one you know is interested in attending this mix, and shake up some poolside cocktails Fest. Symbolic masks, arts and crafts, sand nationally recognized leadership program, for its inaugural “Palm Springs Cocktail mandala demonstrations by Tibetan monks, please view our website and application at Challenge.” In addition, the Desert Gay children’s activities and traditional foods, http://www.outinfrontseattle.org. AppliTourism Guild will be distributing sum- along with prayer flags and expert speakers, cations are due before August 31. Out in mer travel deals and promotions. A winner illuminate the culture’s foundation in Bud- Front is committed to fostering the developwill be selected from each city and brought dhism. H.H Sakya Dakchen Rinpoche, head ment of “effective, engaged, and passionate to Palm Springs to compete in a cocktail of Sakya Sect, will bless the opening cer- leaders in order to build a thriving Lesbian, challenge finale on September 12, 2010 at emony. Seattle Center Director Robert Nel- Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Commu5 p.m. at AZUL/Georgie’s Alibi. Seattle’s lams will welcome guests and Tibetan artists nity.” In addition to becoming more active newest LGBT lounge, The Lobby Seattle, from Minnesota will present Tashi Shoepla members of the regional community, skills will be the venue for bartenders to compete - a good luck dance performed with colorful and expertise gained through the program and create three signature drinks (cocktail; masks and dresses. The dance has been pre- help participants be more self-confident, as signature and martinis); and will be evalu- sented since the time of the fifth Dalai Lama, well as effective employees and advocates ated on taste, presentation and name. The in 1642. Tibet Fest features Tibet’s best- for a variety of local, regional, and national bartenders will also be judging on looks and known R&B singer, Phurbu T. Namgral, causes. In order to assure a diverse cohort, attire, as well as presentation and audience along with several traditional dance troupes we are particularly interested in seeking participation. Contestants will receive bo- and singers. The two-day festival also offers applications from women, employees emnus points if “Palm” or “Springs” is in the “Narrative Glimpses of Tibet” exploring the ployed by government agencies and local name or recipe of the signature drinks. Club Tibetan government in exile and the rights businesses, members of communities of attendees can also win a six-day, five-night and responsibilities of women in Tibet, and color and local religious organizations. The vacation for two people to Palm Springs. average age of participants is roughly 31, workshops on community circle dances. For event information, visit www.PalmFor more information on this cultural se- with an age range between 22 and 45. PreSpringsCocktails.com. ries and other Seattle Center programming, vious classes have included ethnic diversity visit www.seattlecenter.com/festal or call and balanced representation from private, FOR MY WIFE… SCREENING business, and nonprofit sectors. 206 684-7200. AND DVD RELEASE PARTY – If you have questions about the program, VASHON ISLAND please call at 206-325-4595. Thank you. CRAPTACULAR On Friday, August 27, beginning at 8:30 BIG-ASS RUMMAGE SALE p.m. at The Vashon Theater (17723 Vashon THE ELITE HOSTS On Saturday, August 28 and Sunday, AuHighway SW), join Marriage Equality activ- gust 29 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. at Pilgrim ConFREE ASL LESSONS ist Charlene Strong and Sen. Joe McDermott gregational Church (500 Broadway E.), the FOR BEGINNERS for a Vashon Island screening of the award- Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence will hold Have you ever wanted to learn basic winning documentary film for my wife... their annual rummage sale. Sift through an American Sign Language? If so, you can and see the updated version of the film. A eclectic collection of clothing, shoes, elec- get some beginning ASL instruction at the reception with the filmmakers precedes the tronics, odds and ends. Sharpen your hag- Elite (1520 E. Olive Way). The FREE lesscreening, followed by an after-party at The gling skills, but don’t expect to get some- sons will be held every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Hardware Store. A reception will begin at thing for nothing – the Sisters are pros when the loft. 6:30 p.m., the screening begins at 7:30 p.m., it comes to separating you from your monand the after-party begins at 8:30 p.m. SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN ey, especially when it all goes to fantastic Screening $10, tickets at the box office. BOOK CLUB AT DUNSHEE HOUSE charitable organizations through the Sisters The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club Charity Grant Fund. THREE DOLLAR BILL meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at DunOUTDOOR CINEMA PRESENTS shee House (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas ROBERTA GREGORY “BLONDE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN” St.). All GLBTQ folks in the community are AND BRUCE TAYLOR SUMMER OUTDOOR MOVIES welcome to participate in this FREE book BOOK READING On Friday, August 27, Three Dollar Bill club. The book for September will be PorAT ELLIOTT BAY BOOKS Cinema presents Candleshoe – a fun and On Saturday, August 28 at 7 p.m. at El- trait of the Addict as a Young Man by Bill FREE movie shown at Cal Anderson Park, liott Bay Books (1521 10th Ave.), Roberta Clegg. Get ready to learn the real ferocity 11th Ave. & E. Olive St., this summer, under Gregory and Bruce Taylor will be reading of addiction, as a very human young man the stars! The screening will start at dusk – from their recently published works from tells you about his battle. It’s harrowing and around 9 p.m. To make your movie-going The Landis Review Press at The Elliott gorgeously-written, and by the time you finexperience complete, concessions will be Bay Book Company. Bruce will be reading ish it, you realize it’s also a work of art. For sold at the screenings. from the first book of a spiritual trilogy, The more information, e-mail nickdimartin@ For more information and to see trailers Mountains of the Night. Bruce (also known earthlink.net or contact Dunshee House at for the “Blonde But Not Forgotten” movie as “Mr. Magic Realism”) explores living 206-322-2437. series, visit www.threedollarbillcinema.org. with a chronic illness through the metaphor Three Dollar Bill Cinema sponsors the an- of hiking through a wilderness. Roberta FOR MY WIFE… SCREENING nual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival in Gregory, creator of “Bitchy Bitch,” will give AND DVD RELEASE PARTY – October. IN SEATTLE an entertaining visual presentation based on On Wednesday, September 1, beginning her book, Follow Your Art: Roberta’s Comic 8TH ANNUAL SEATTLE Trips, which includes pieces on her residen- at 6:30 p.m. at The Jewelbox Theater (2322 RACE CONFERENCE cy at Hedgebrook, a cross-country Amtrak 2nd Ave.), join Marriage Equality activist On Saturday, August 28, from 8 a.m. to trip and some entertaining stories about Charlene Strong for a Seattle screening of 4:30 p.m. at South Seattle Community Col- budget book tours. the award-winning documentary film for lege, Brockey Conference Center (6000 For more information, visit elliottbay- my wife... and see the updated version of the 16th Ave. SW), the 8th annual Seattle Race book.com. film. A reception with the filmmakers preConference will explore the theme “Racism cedes the screening, followed by an afterand Health Inequities: Eliminating Barriers party at the Rendezvous. A reception will PURR AND SGN’S and Healing Our Communities.” Particibegin at 6:30 p.m., the screening begins at EMMY AWARDS PARTY pants will engage in dialogue on the relaOn Sunday, August 29 at 6 p.m. at Purr 7:30 p.m., and the after-party begins at 8:30 tionship between health inequity and racism Cocktail Lounge (1518 11th Ave.), join your p.m. in the Seattle area, meet other members of friends from Purr and the SGN for the annual RSVP: Advance purchase through PayPal the community, and build relationships to Emmy Awards Party. Watch the awards on required. Screening $10, screening with specontinue to improve racial inequity in the multiple flatscreen TVs. Predict this year’s cial Rendezvous Café burger dinner $20. Seattle area. To order tickets, e-mail RSVP to: trickwinners for a chance at taking home a prize For more information, visit www.seattler- of your own! dogs@comcast.net. aceconference.org. For more information, visit www.purrseLIFE SUPPORT SCREENING – attle.com. HAIR & HEELS IN TACOMA CAR WASH On Wednesday, September 1 at 6:30 p.m. GSBA’S YOUNG PROFESSIONALS On Saturday, August 28, from 10 a.m. to at the Grand Cinema (606 S. Fawcett Ave., WITH PRIDE SOCIAL 4 p.m., join the Imperial Sovereign Court of On Tuesday, August 31 from 5:30-7:30 Tacoma), the Pierce County AIDS FoundaSeattle at the C.C. Attle’s parking lot (1501 p.m. at Cascina Spinasse (1531 14th Ave., tion invites you to attend a free screening of E. Madison St.) for the Hair & Heels Car between E. Pine & E. Pike Sts.), mix it up HBO Films’ poignant tale of one women’s Wash. Proceeds will benefit the Court of Se- Northern Italian style as owner Michael Gal- journey to the brink of self-destruction and
NORTHWEST
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August 27, 2010
her inspirational fight to gain back her dignity and her family. Starring Queen Latifah in her first Emmy-nominated role, Life Support is based on the true story of AIDS activist Andrea Williams. Following the film, there will be a dessert reception courtesy of Old Milwaukee Café and Dessert Company (3102 6th Ave., Tacoma). For more information, visit piercecountyaids.com. FREEDOM SOCIALIST DISCUSSION SERIES: THE LOGIC OF MARXISM On Wednesdays through September 15 at the Old Firehouse (402 15th Ave. E.) from 7-9 p.m., The Logic of Marxism, by socialist scholar George Novack, will be discussed. This book provides an accessible introduction to Marx’s dialectical materialism and contrasts it with other political philosophies. Free. Drop-ins welcome. Sponsored by Freedom Socialist Discussion Series. For information, call 206-722-2453 or visit www.socialism.com/seattle. FOR BOYZ IN THE WOODS LABOR DAY WEEKEND CAMP www.Qcamp.org TRIANGLE RECREATION CAMP’S MARDI GRAS MADNESS From Friday, September 3 to Monday, September 6, join Triangle Recreation Camp for their 2010 fundraiser event Mardi Gras Madness XII. A $25 donation gets you a weekend party pass. Friday: Meet and Greet. Saturday: Costume Extravaganza. Sunday: “Fright Night” Tea Dance. For more information, location, or directions, visit www.camptrc.org. NUBIAN PRIDE LABOR DAY BASH On Saturday, September 4 at 7 p.m. at Café Metropolitain (1701 E. Olive Way), Miss Jane and Quyen Luu of Nubian Pride will hold their Labor Day Bash. Celebrate with drink specials, food, and special performances by Miss Diamond St. James, Miss Regine, and Miss Victoria Love. Music by DJ Dana Dub. GSBA’S PRIME TIME EAST On Tuesday, September 7, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Embassy Suites Hotel (3225 158th SE, Bellevue), the GSBA will hold Prime Time East. Mix and mingle with others in the elegant atrium while enjoying complimentary appetizers, wine, beer, and a coffee bar. This event is FREE. For more information, visit www.thegsba. org/events. FALL RELATIONSHIP SKILLS CLASS Register by September 8 to take part in the Northwest Network of Bisexual, Trans, Lesbian and Gay Survivors of Abuse’s Fall 2010 Relationship Skills Class. The six week class will be held on Wednesdays September 15-October 20. Topics include identifying cultural norms and personal values, accountability, naming and setting boundaries, strengthening support networks, and more! This class is open to Bisexual people and their friends and loved ones, Trans people and their friends and loved ones, other LGBTQ people, and all people regardless of relationship status or history. Suggested donation $90, no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Scholarships and trades available. For more information, accessibility questions, or to register, contact Yecelica at 206568-7777 or yecelica@nwnetwork.org. You may subscribe to the list by sending an email to northwestnetwork-subscribe@lists. riseup.net. ACLU’S 75TH BIRTHDAY PARTY On Thursday, September 9 from 5:30-7 p.m. at Cal Anderson Park (11th Ave. & E. Olive St.), the ACLU of Washington will hold its 75th birthday party. Join special guest Constance McMillen to celebrate the freedom to love whomever you choose. There will be cupcakes, prom photos, and merriment. Free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.aclu-wa. org.
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The adventure continues in Africa by Barry Thorsness SGN African Correspondent
Rhoda’s birthday We learned that Rhoda, the housekeeper for where we live in Joburg, was celebrating her birthday. Rhoda has been working for our friend Sharon for about 20 years, and we see her almost every day. She lives in her own suite at the back of the house. We had never sat down and had supper with her. I had been instructed by my South African friend in Seattle not to “make the staff your friends,” as doing so would not be appreciated. So it was that after some conversation, Louis and I decided it would be nice to cook dinner for Rhoda and buy her a cake. Birthday supper turned out to be a wonderful time. We learned about her home and family in Zimbabwe, the fact that she sent money home every week so her children could live and go to school, and how excited she was to be able to see them every Christmas. When it was all over, Rhoda got up to clear the table and do the dishes. When we insisted that she didn’t have to do dishes on her birthday, she laughed and was hard to convince. A dinner party for Elton As you may remember from our third week, we have gotten to know Elton quite well over the months. He works for many of
All photos by Barry Thorsness
Louis and I are combining our journals for our seventh and eighth weeks in Africa. We have been very busy getting set up so we can travel through Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, and Uganda next week. Until then, off to the cradle of mankind! It has been believed for some time that homo sapiens originated in Africa about 200,000 years ago and then spread throughout the globe. The Maopeng Museum of Mankind was built based on the nearby Sterkfontein caves, where the skulls and skeletons of our ancestors have been found. This museum answers many questions with its great timelines and exhibits, along with skulls and skeletons of many of the mind-blowing discoveries of the last 100 years.
the friends we have met in Joburg and lives in his own room at the back of Trish’s property. We went over one afternoon to visit Trish (and, of course, drink wine) and ask her how she would feel if we cooked dinner at her house and invited Elton. She thought it was an excellent idea. Our dinner party was fun. Elton talked about visiting his home in Zimbabwe and his experiences crossing the border to get back – seems you don’t even try to go through immigration. There are paths around the checkpoints so you can meet the bus on the other side. A small bribe to an immigration
Louis at hotel
a prominent reporter for the British newspapers in London who has lived in Harare, Zimbabwe, for years. We heard his stories of Zimbabwe, his expulsions from the country, and time he had spent in jail. Again, we heard, “But you must visit Zimbabwe; it is a wonderful country.” We were asked to go to the theater with our friends, Chris and Craig from Exit. They had managed to get a couple of tickets for Doobee Boobee at the Joburg Theatre. It was an incredible show – one of the funniest drag shows I have seen in years, and certainly not for anyone with an aversion to risqué middle-aged
sexual comedy. It was hilarious. After the theater, it was drinks with the cast, and then we went out to go drinking and dancing at Risqué, a well-known Joburg Gay club. Linda and Simphiwe move in Perhaps the hardest thing for me when I travel in South Africa is when my friends say, “Barry, you don’t understand.” I usually don’t understand – then again, my friends certainly don’t understand my Canadian/ American perspective on race and equality. Sharon thought it would be great to have someone living in the house while we were away in Mpumalanga for the week. She decided it would be a treat for her employees,
Rhoda’s birthday
official and it seems they may lift the barbed wire fence to help you go through. Another birthday and Joburg theater Gavin Hayward, the owner of the Exit newspaper, held a birthday party. Louis and I arrived late at the party and suddenly found ourselves chatting with all the newspaper staff and their friends. You must be aware that the people at the party were a diverse lot, with some from Mozambique and one
Elton
The Maopeng Museum of Mankind
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Linda and Sephiwe, to live in her house. The two of us drove to Soweto to pick them up. On the way home, Linda and Simphiwe talked about work. This was to be the boys’ first time in a white person’s house. It was therefore the first time they had ever had supper at a white person’s home. I think the boys were quite amazed at all the meat on the table. We had an incredible pork roast, and also roasted chicken for those who did not eat pork. Simphiwe chatted with Louis that at his home in Soweto, the family would make a chicken last for a whole week. We are looking forward to spending some time with them at their home in the Soweto township when we get back. Next week, we are off to Mpumlanga with Sharon while she has a week’s holiday, and Louis and I explore the beautiful valleys and waterfalls in this northwestern region of South Africa.
Celebrating 37 Years!
California legislature NOH8 Campaign takes endorses DOMA repeal snapshots of Seattle The California state legislature called on the US Congress and President Obama to repeal DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act). The joint resolution – AJR 19 – passed on August 23. The vote was 22-12 in the Senate, with both Democrats and Republicans voting for repeal. The resolution passed the assembly on a voice vote. The resolution was introduced by Assembly member Julia Brownley (D - Santa Monica) and sponsored by Equality California. “President Obama has called this law abhorrent in the way it denies more than 1,000 federal rights to same-sex couples,” Assembly member Brownley said. “Congress must act now to overturn DOMA, which is rooted in irrational and unfounded prejudice. Married same-sex couples deserve equal access to these benefits.”
“[DOMA] prevents the federal government from recognizing the relationships of loving same-sex couples, even when the states where they live recognize their relationships,” said Equality California Executive Director Geoff Kors. “We’re proud of the California legislature for making the state’s opposition to DOMA official state policy. Now we must overturn this discriminatory federal law and pave the way for the marriages of same-sex couples to be recognized at the federal level.” Five states in the U.S. grant same-sex couples the right to marry, including Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, as well as the District of Columbia. Eleven countries recognize marriages between same-sex couples, including Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Iceland, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden.
james whitely
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
“Congress must act now to overturn DOMA, which is rooted in irrational and unfounded prejudice. Married samesex couples deserve equal access to these benefits.”
California stops trying to “cure” Gays by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
The law was brought to Lowenthal’s attention by Equality California, one of the leading LGBT rights groups in the state. “Sexual orientation is not a California’s Assembly voted matter of choice any more on August 23 that the state than one’s height, would no longer seek and neither can be a “cure” for homochanged,” said sexuality. Geoff Kors, the The vote on AB group’s execu2199 was 62-0, tive director. with 18 Assem“It’s time to get bly members not this phony cure voting. off the books,” said The measure then Gay Assemblyman went to the Senate, Tom Ammiano (D-San where it passed 36-0 withFrancisco) during the debate on out debate. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is expected repeal. to sign it into law. The legislation, introduced by Democratic Assembly member Bonnie Lowenthal of Long Beach, modified a 1950 law that classified Gay and Lesbian Californians as sexual deviants. It was sponsored in the Senate by Republican Sen. Roy Ashburn of Bakersfield. Ashburn revealed he was Gay earlier this year after he was cited for driving drunk while leaving a Gay bar. In the 1950 law, the California Legislature directed the Department of Mental Health (then known as the Department of Mental Hygiene) to conduct research into the causes and potential cures of homosexuality. In the same measure, the Department of Mental Hygiene was directed to conduct research into the causes of sex crimes against children. The law was written in 1950 in reaction to a series of sex crimes, including the rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl in Los Angeles. According to a progress report from 1951 titled “Sexual Deviation Research,” the state Legislature appropriated $100,000 for two years of research into the causes and cures of sex crimes. Curing homosexuality was meant to be part of that research. One research paper from the era completed as a result of the law noted that Gays might “engage in criminal aggressive behavior” as they strive to “overcome strong homosexual drives.”
The law was written in 1950 in reaction to a series of sex crimes, including the rape and murder of a 6-year-old girl in Los Angeles.
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Participants gathered at W Hotel in Seattle to join NOH8’s photo campaign.
by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer On Monday, August 23, the NOH8 Campaign set up a photo studio at Seattle’s W Hotel (1112 4th Ave.) in Downtown Seattle to shoot their popular and stylish NOH8 Portraits for Seattle-area residents. The photos of all Seattleites that attended will be featured on the NOH8 website once the images are edited by photographer Adam Bouska. According to website reports, approximately 300 Seattle residents attended the shoot. From about 3:30 to 7 p.m., anyone could join the NOH8 Campaign by wearing a plain white shirt to match the signature look of the photos. Models were given the NOH8 temporary tattoo on their faces and provided with pieces of duct tape, as per the style of the photos. Costs per photo were $40 for a solo portrait and $25 per person for group photos. The funds raised by the NOH8 Campaign are “used to continue promoting and raising awareness for marriage equality and anti-
August 27, 2010
discrimination through NOH8’s interactive media campaign.” Essentially, this means that the contributions go to sustain the campaign itself. With well-known personalities offering themselves to the camera almost daily, along with the sheer number of NOH8 photos (now over 6,000), the NOH8 campaign has no doubt become a substantial force in the fight for equality. Seattle was just one stop among many planned by co-founders Jeff Parshley and Bouska. The NOH8 Campaign is currently making an effort to travel around the country in order to find larger numbers of people to join the NOH8 Campaign. The NOH8 Campaign has photographed Gay rights movement leaders such as Cleve Jones and Dan Choi, as well as celebrities such as Kathy Griffin, Tara Reid, Lance Bass, and many others. The NOH8 Campaign is currently under consideration for 501(c)(3) status. Visit www.noh8campaign.com to get your photos or to check out the over 6,000 others.
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Celebrating 37 Years!
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by Mark Segal Courtesy of the Philadelphia Gay News If you picked up almost any newspaper in the nation Monday, you would have seen an article about the proposed Islamic Cultural Center near ground zero in Manhattan. The Washington Post story “Other Mosque Proposals Also Face Opposition” examines how there is growing opposition to mosques in other cities around the country. The New York Times decided to go political: “Lazio Finds an Issue in Furor Over Islamic Center.” Lazio, the Republican running for governor of New York, opposes the mosque at its present proposed site.
Pamela hall
Mosque issue is an LGBT issue Let’s make this simple, especially to the tea-party people who claim to be fighting for the Constitution. The Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Islam is a religion. The mosque – really a cultural center with a mosque inside at a former Burlington Coat Factory outlet – has won all permit approvals, and the group has the right to build if it chooses. Those making an issue out of it also have a right to speak their opposition, since the Constitution also protects freedom of speech, and freedom to protest. But when you call members of an entire religion “terrorists,” you cross the line. And that line is beginning to be blurred, which is dangerous to us all.
A former coat store in lower Manhattan is the planned site of a new mosque.
Calling all Muslims terrorists is a hate campaign. We, as Gay people, should know this trick. Think of all the rights denied us using hate – hate based in lies. Look through the back issues of any local LGBT newspaper and you’ll see stories about communities that tried to keep an LGBT center or business out of its neighborhood. Do we block the construction of a Catholic church because of the Inquisition and other recent crimes against humanity by the church? No. How about not allowing the Mormons to build a temple because of their opposition to the civil rights of the LGBT community? No. Do not tamper with our constitutional rights; it’s a slippery slope. Remember: The rationale being used to try and deny the cultural center is the same one that has been used against LGBT establishments. Here are the words – do they sound familiar?
They say it is “not sensitive to families.” Sensitivity and family. Does that sound like family values? “They should move it.” How far away do they want us to move? Ever feel like they didn’t want us in “their” community? Keep those Gays or Muslims away from us! “They are not part of this community.” Are the Muslims who live in that neighborhood invisible? Are we? Of course we all feel for the families of the victims of September 11, and that includes the Muslim victims who worked in the towers. But this issue has now been taken over by the right-wing politicians. The campaign to stop the cultural center is a campaign based on misinformation. We, as a community, should understand that. May I remind you of Proposition 8 in California? Mark Segal is the publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News. He can be reached at mark@epgn.com.
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Good sex and better communication by Michael Raitt SGN Contributing Writer How many of you are in a relationship and feel frustrated and horny because you are only having sex once or twice a month or a couple times a year? How many of you have reduced the explanation of your minimal sex life to, “We have different sex drives?” Active physical intimacy is an important component of every adult relationship, and sex is a key ingredient to physical and emotional well-being. Unfortunately, too many couples don’t feel like the sex they want with their significant other is rewarding, and this leaves individuals in a predicament. Ranging from your late teens through your ‘70s+, a healthy sexual appetite can be from several times per day to a few times a week or month. As long as you are physically healthy and all the sexual parts are working properly, you can look forward to an active, enjoyable sex life. (Of course, if things aren’t working properly, seek medical consultation immediately.) One thing that will always get in the way of a satisfying sex life is communication in a relationship. “How can this be possible?” you wonder. You can imagine the dynamic: both are happy, there is little conflict, things are going well, and sex occurs regularly. When there is conflict and arguments, sex dies off – “I’m not in the mood.” If couples are not resolving normal relationship conflicts, then resentments build up and rather than talking about problems, individuals begin withdrawing and withholding sex either because they are angry, sad, and/or getting passive-aggressive. Conflicts in relationships are normal. Ev-
ery person has a different way of dealing with communication and conflict. Some are direct and get things cleared up. Others fear conflict and avoid it at all costs, which results in building tension that will inevitably come out sometime and somehow, and for many couples, it’s through deadening the physical intimacy. The goal is never to eliminate conflict between the two of you. The goal is how to resolve the issues so they are not festering and interfering and resulting in sexual withholding. Remember, how you work out disagreements and problems is indicative of how you respect one another. With mutual respect, self-image increases and trust is reinforced, and these make people feel sexier and safe to be sexual. Healthy communication means there is a respectful, reciprocal dialogue between each person in the relationship. This exchange requires each person to stay engaged without blowing up or shutting down. There are two components to this kind of communication: First, practical skills about how effective communication occurs. These include such things as active listening, paraphrasing, and being curious. Second, managing the strong emotions that each has when hard topics are being discussed. Fear, anger, anxiety, guilt, and shame – these are all emotions that we all have when we are talking about issues in a relationship. The practical skills will not be effective unless and until individuals learn to manage the various feelings that come up for them. Remember, upwards of 80% - 85% of communication is done through our ac-
If one or both of you assess your sex life as being unsatisfactory, courageously look at the communication that is happening in the relationship.
tions and non-verbal behavior. Through everything you do, you have to ask yourself, “What am I trying to communicate to the person I love?” This applies to how we communicate with each other to solve problems, which effects how sex occurs in the relationship. Finally, I encourage couples to start talking about sex with each other. It is amazing that adults can have sex with one another, but many cringe at the idea of having to talk about it. Slowly open up about your fantasies and desires to experiment. I know this is a huge risk for some of you, but it is necessary if you want to nourish an important part of your overall well-being and, potentially, the well-being of the relationship. There is a group of people I respectfully and affectionately refer to as “pearl-clutching wharf-whores.” The pearl-clutching part is the part where they feel it would be improper to open up and talk about their sexual appetites or interests. They act all prim-andproper and vanilla. The wharf-whore part is the part that exists in these people where they have an active, curious, exotic side that includes activities, fetishes, and fantasies. For these people, these desires will likely
never get talked about – let alone experienced. This is sad. There is a very broad range of normal, healthy sexual activity between consenting adults, and with good communication, these can be expressed and contribute to an exciting sex life in the relationship. If one or both of you assess your sex life as being unsatisfactory, courageously look at the communication that is happening in the relationship. If you need help with it, find a professional who will support you both in the skills and self-management that is needed for effective communication. If you know you are a pearl-clutching wharf-whore, explore that. Talk to a trusted friend or therapist and then talk to your significant other. Healthy sexual expression is healthy living. Michael Raitt, MA LMHC, is a therapist and a contributing writer to the SGN. He writes a bi-monthly column in the SGN. If you would like to comment on this column, ask a question you’d like him to write about, or suggest another topic of interest, please contact him at askingmichael@comcast. net.
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Rain City in Cologne proudly displaying their silver medals
Rain City Soccer brings home the silver from Cologne, Germany by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer
Rain City Soccer Club has been busy recently. In addition to holding their Third Annual Shirts vs. Shorts game on August 21, one of the Rain City teams took home a silver medal from the 2010 Gay Games in Cologne, Germany. The Shirts vs. Shorts game was held at the Bobby Morris Playfield at Cal Anderson Park and served as a fundraiser for the GSBA Scholarship Fund. “It’s a longstanding program that’s benefited a lot of people,” said Michael Heath, the president of Rain City Soccer Club. With the help of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey of St. Joan, Rain City was able to structure and promote the game better than ever before. The game raised $1,356.80 for the GSBA
Scholarship Fund. “The first year, it wasn’t actually conceived of as a fundraiser,” Heath told SGN. “We had a bigger crowd than last year for sure, and the weather was perfect.” Rain City generally holds two to three exhibition games a year, which are mainly for fun and to raise visibility for Rain City Soccer Club. Last year, the second year of the event and the first time it was officially played as a fundraiser, the game raised money for the Lambert House. Heath also played on one of Rain City’s three teams at the Gay Games. “Because this year was also a World Cup year, level of play was really high. … People were motivated,” Heath told SGN. “It was good soccer.” Roughly 10% of the Gay Games consists of soccer/futbol events. Rain City sent three teams to the Gay Games: Surge, the women’s team; haloPony, the team Heath played on; and the Jet City Strikers, who were defending the gold medal they won in the IGLFA (International Gay and Lesbian Football Association) World Championship last year. Rain City faced competition from all over the world, including Mexico, Germany,
Australia, South America, and Asia. According to Heath, the women’s team Surge went deep into the playoffs before they were defeated. “A lot of the teams have coaches and players that have played together for a very long time,” said Heath. The Jet City Strikers made it all the way through to the Division 2 Championships, where they were unable to defend their gold medal against Argentina. They took home the silver medal. Stonewall, arguably Rain City Soccer Club’s most well-known team, who took the gold medal at last year’s Outgames in Copenhagen, Denmark, were unable to travel to Cologne to defend their medal due to not meeting their fundraising goal. Rain City will soon be holding their fall new member orientation. With help from the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence in the form of a grant, Rain City is looking to expand the number of women’s teams they have. “We are sort of beginning a Renaissance of a lot of our women’s teams,” Heath told SGN. Rain City’s upcoming new member orientation’s time and location are still TBD. Keep an eye on their website, www.raincitysoccer.org, to keep posted.
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Celebrating 37 Years!
Seattle teams “the envy of the tournament” at Gay Softball World Series
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor From August 17-21, the Gay Softball World Series (GSWS) took place in Columbus, Ohio. This year, according to Emerald City Softball (ECSA) commissioner Jeff Card, the GSWS featured more Open Division teams than ever before – 146 in total – and teams representing 37 different leagues from around the country. Playing levels range from advanced to beginner and cover four divisions (A, B, C and D), which make up Open Division play. Division placement depends primarily on player ability and overall team ability. Every year, the top team in all divisions wins entry to the GSWS. This year, the ECSA sent seven teams to the GSWS – tying with Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, and San Francisco for the largest delegations in Columbus. Representing Seattle in the B Division were the Dirty Dawgs (R Place), Maulers (Madison Pub), and Vendetta (Purr). The C Division had SIN (Chapel) and Squadron (Julia’s/ Neighbours), while the D Division had the Avengers and Stealth. According to Card, Seattle Stealth was
awarded the World Series Spirit Award. After a rough 0-3 start, Stealth won their final preliminary game and went on to win their first two double elimination games before losing to the Columbus XXX Threat, the eventual second-place finalist team. The Stealth were the most unlikely of GSWS entrants after finishing with 11 consecutive loses in the ECSA regular season to finish at 4-14 before winning the ECSA World Series Berth Tournament in July – a true Cinderella story. Card told SGN that although none of the Seattle teams won first place, the Seattle delegation became the “envy of the tournament because of our strong and enthusiastic support of our sister teams. With all divisions playing at a single complex for the first time since 2002, players from the Seattle teams were able to move from field to field to support each other.” On August 21, with all but the SIN eliminated from the tournament, a large crowd gathered to cheer on Seattle’s last hope. Card said that the SIN were eventually eliminated by the Oklahoma City Chaos after two extra innings, “but they were cheered as heroes by the nearly 100 Seattle fans watching the game.” “With so many first-time World Series athletes in this year’s delegation, I’m especially proud of the outstanding support our players showed for each other,” Card told SGN. “We didn’t bring home a trophy this year, but our players had an outstanding experience.” Seattle Squadron Team Manager Art Ruiz echoed Card’s sentiments. “Although we didn’t place near the top, we still had an awesome time,” Ruiz told SGN. “We really got to know each other even better, and met some great people from across the country. … I feel that the Squadron represented Seattle in a very positive way, on and off the field.”
“I am extremely proud of how Squadron did this year,” continued Ruiz. “We won the C Division in Seattle, and traveled to the GSWS. A few of the guys on our team were new to the league this year. They had never experienced what we just did, which made it even more exciting to share this season and World Series with them. We never let a loss get us down, and we never had drama. It’s a recreational league, which should be fun for everyone.” “Our players demonstrated yet again what
makes our league strong: spirited competition, outstanding sportsmanship, and great camaraderie,” Card told SGN. “It’s no surprise we have the fourth-biggest league in the country, and that we continue growing every year.” “I’m especially proud of the good will our players generate for Seattle’s LGBT community,” Card concluded. “We hosted an outstanding World Series in 2008, and our league has a sterling reputation in the Gay softball community.”
mehlman
or “at least offer understanding.” “What I do regret, and think a lot about, is that one of the things I talked a lot about in politics was how I tried to expand the party into neighborhoods where the message wasn’t always heard. I didn’t do this in the Gay community at all,” he said. He told The Atlantic that he wished he had come to terms with his sexual orientation earlier, “so I could have worked against the Federal Marriage Amendment and reached out to the Gay community in the way I reached out to African Americans.”
continued from cover erybody has their own path to travel, their own journey, and for me, over the past few months, I’ve told my family, friends, former colleagues, and current colleagues, and they’ve been wonderful and supportive. The process has been something that’s made me a happier and better person.” Mehlman is the latest of a number of highprofile conservatives – most, like Mehlman, involved in campaigns against Gay rights – who have come out or been outed in recent years. According to an online newszine report at The Atlantic, Mehlman had voiced support, off the record, for civil unions for years. The reporter, who broke the news on August 25, said that Mehlman told of how, in private discussions with senior Republican officials, he beat back efforts to attack same-sex marriage. He insisted, too, that President Bush was “no homophobe.” In addition, Mehlman was said to have often wondered why Gay voters never found common ground with Republican opponents of Islamic jihad, which he called “the greatest anti-Gay force in the world right now.” “I wish I was where I am today 20 years ago. The process of not being able to say who I am in public life was very difficult,” Mehlman admitted to the Atlantic reporter. “No one else knew this except me. My family didn’t know. My friends didn’t know. Anyone who watched me knew I was a guy who was clearly uncomfortable with the topic.” Mehlman’s rise to leadership of the Republican party came at a time when the party was ramping up its anti-Gay rhetoric – linking homosexuality to atheism and attempting to redefine marriage in a single state or city – but he maintains that at the time he “could not, as an individual Republican, go against the party consensus.” He admitted, as well, that he knew that Karl Rove, President Bush’s chief strategic advisor, had been working with Republicans to make sure that anti-Gay initiatives and referenda would appear on voter ballots in 2004 and 2006. “I can’t change the fact that I wasn’t in this place personally when I was in politics, and I genuinely regret that. It was very hard personally,” said Mehlman, asking that those who doubt his change could “offer support”
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL COST OF BEING CLOSETED So, Ken Mehlman has finally said he’s Gay. For many, he has some answering to do. How could a Gay man, closeted or not, lead a political party that openly advocated against LGBT equality? How could anyone manage the inner turmoil? According to Mehlman, he has raised money for the American Foundation of Equal Rights, which is backing the legal challenge to California’s Proposition 8, the ban on same-sex marriage passed by voter in 2008. That’s a start, but will that be enough? His recent actions and sentiments are common among people who come out relatively late in life, says Dr. Matthew Weissman, a Washington D.C. psychotherapist who has treated many closeted politicians. “There is a lot of literature on the psychological cost of being closeted, including depression, anxiety, and a greater risk of drinking and substance abuse and unsafe sex,” he said. “He may be burning some bridges, but he is taking a stance that is probably making him feel good about himself.” Mehlman is not currently being treated by Dr. Weissman. “What I will try to do is to persuade people, when I have conversations with them, that [being Gay] is consistent with our party’s philosophy – whether it’s the principle of individual freedom, or limited government, or encouraging adults who love each other and who want to make a lifelong commitment to each other to get married,” said Mehlman. “I hope that we, as a party, would welcome Gay and Lesbian supporters. I also think there needs to be, in the Gay community, robust and bipartisan support for marriage rights.” Mehlman has, however, continued to give money to Republican candidates who oppose same-sex marriage.
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her attend with her girlfriend. School officials then cruelly held a “decoy” prom for her while the rest of her classmates were at a private prom 30 miles away. The school district settled the lawsuit by agreeing to a payment to McMillen and the adoption of a sexual orientation non-discrimination policy. Now, months after having graduated high school in the eye of the storm, Constance tells SGN she is looking to the future with optimism. “I’m going to start college in the spring,” Constance told the SGN from Fulton, Mississippi. “I’ll be attending Northeast Community College to study psychology.” Constance says that although her primary focus will be on her school studies, her LGBT activism is something that will continue to blossom while she is in college. “I’m sort of under a microscope because people expect big things out of me,” she admits. “There are so many things I want to do with my activism. I expect a lot out of myself.” Constance’s public battle with the ugliness she faced from her peers, school administrators, and some of the high school students’ parents brought about worldwide media attention as well as attention from celebrities. She appeared on Ellen, The
Wanda Sykes Show, received the Stephen F. Kolzack Award at the 2010 GLAAD Media Awards, and was chosen as a Grand Marshall of the 2010 New York City Pride March. Constance maintains that, even after all the exposure and accolades as a leader in the LGBT youth movement, she is a regular teen that likes to “hang out with friends, Facebook, read, and paint.” “Honestly, before all of this started, I had no idea what a Gay and Straight Student Alliance or PFLAG was,” she told SGN. “I knew that other parts of the world were more progressive than Mississippi, but I really did not have any Gay role models or activist role models to look up to.” Now Constance finds herself as someone who is fulfilling that role for others. “It was amazing how many people heard about my story and reached out to help me,” she said. Constance told SGN she has some advice for small-town kids who may be faced with the same hardships that she overcame: “I’m not going to say that it’s easy, because it was not easy to stand up for myself with all that pressure,” she said. “But you’ve got to do it. I think you should come out. You have to learn how to read people, because when you live in a small town, flaunting that you’ve come out can be dangerous to your life. When you are faced with discrimination, stand up for yourself. People may tell you that you don’t have any rights because you are Gay or a different color than they are. They will say you are not as good as they are, but you have to believe that just because
you are different doesn’t make you any less of a person than they are.” “I’ve always said that diversity makes the world beautiful. Embrace who you are.” Even with all of the positive support Constance received, every now and then she gets hate mail or someone throws slurs her way. “Sometimes people would tell me that God loves me but that I was going to hell because I was Lesbian, or they would accuse me of being a troublemaker,” she recalled. “I never really felt threatened at all. In return, I would speak my mind right back. There has been so much support that it is hard to remember the hate – except the hate from my peers, I remember that. Overall, it doesn’t faze me.” Constance said that when she was invited by ACLU Washington to appear at the birthday celebration, she agreed because of all the support the ACLU has given her. “The ACLU took up my case and I was excited,” she told SGN. “I remember they didn’t think it would get as far as it did. Then, boom! I’m on CNN and my prom was canceled. The ACLU people were really nice and really helpful. They did a great job with my case, and I am very pleased with the ACLU.” “I look forward to coming to Seattle,” said Constance. “I’m very excited and happy to see what Seattle has in store for me.”
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sure of its funding sources would violate its 1st Amendment rights of corporate free speech. “We believe the U.S. Constitution protects [us] from having to file that report. The problem is having to file a report at all. To be regulated at all. To be accountable to the government at all,” Bopp said. Bopp’s group began running anti-Murray ads on Monday, August 23. The group has reportedly run about $300,000 worth of attack ads in two US House campaigns in Ohio, and it is believed that its Washington ad purchases involve similar amounts. Earlier this year, the group ran TV ads attacking financial regulation reform laws as “one big bailout” for the banking industry. The ads ran in 10 states, and sought to take public anger at big banks and turn it against the Obama administration’s efforts to reform Wall Street and establish a consumer protection bureau. According to the Campaign Media Analysis Group, the Committee for Truth in Politics spent about $5 million on advertising against financial reform. Bopp’s group has steadfastly refused to disclose the sources of this money. “It’s no surprise that an organization that
spent $5 million to oppose Wall Street reform would step in to attack Sen. Murray, who supported it,” Murray campaign spokesperson Julie Edwards told SGN. “Rossi wants to turn back the clock on reforms, but Washington voters know who is on their side,” Edwards said. “This group has consistently come down on the side of corporations, and they’ve consistently tried to hide their donors,” she added. Bopp’s relationship with Dino Rossi also revolves around disclosure issues. He represented Rossi’s Forward Washington Foundation between Rossi’s first run for governor in 2004 and his second run in 2008. While Rossi claimed that the foundation was a nonprofit think tank, Democrats complained to the state’s Public Disclosure Commission that it was a quasi-campaign organization designed to promote Rossi as a candidate in the 2008 election, and should be subject to disclosure rules. In 2007, the PDC found in Rossi’s favor in a 3-2 vote, but Rossi ultimately left the foundation to pursue his second run against Gov. Christine Gregoire. Bopp also worked for Citizens United in the January 2010 case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that corporations enjoy the same 1st Amendment rights as individual citizens, and therefore can spend as much money on political campaigns as they want. Sen. Murray has been an outspoken critic of the court’s Citizens United ruling. She subsequently introduced legislation that would require sponsors of political TV ads to identify themselves on-air and say they approved the commercials, just as candidates must do. In 2007, Bopp challenged the McCainFeingold Campaign Reform Act on behalf of the Wisconsin Right to Life Committee. In that case, the Supreme Court held that McCain-Feingold was unconstitutional as it applied to 501(c)(4) nonprofits. In addition to Protect Marriage Washington, the Committee for Truth in Politics, Forward Washington Foundation, and Citizens United, Bopp has also represented the Faith and Family Alliance. That group was a right-wing front group organized in 1999 for the sole purpose of intervening in the 2000 Virginia Republican primary on behalf of Stephen H. Martin. Although Bopp’s group distributed 40,000 fliers attacking Martin’s primary opponent, Eric Cantor, Martin was unsuccessful. The Faith and Family Alliance later became enmeshed in the Jack Abramoff scandal. Abramoff was a powerful D.C. lobbyist who is now serving a federal prison term for defrauding several Native American tribes. According to an October 2005 Washington Post report, Bopp’s group acted a conduit for money that was channeled to a lobbying firm owned by former Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed, in return for Reed’s services on behalf of Abramoff.
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Typical of Bopp organizations, the Faith and Family Alliance never filed any federal disclosure forms or sent any financial information to the IRS. Bopp is presently a vice chair of the Republican National Committee, and the author of the infamous “Purity Resolution.” That resolution listed 10 principles – including opposition to same-sex marriage, reproductive choice, and healthcare reform – that Republicans would have been required to accept. Bopp has been general counsel for the National Right to Life Committee since 1978. The Murray campaign declined to speculate about possible collusion between Bopp’s group and the Rossi campaign. “That’s a question better asked of Dino Rossi,” Edwards said. Dino Rossi’s campaign was invited to comment for this article, but they did not respond by press time.
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The Pentagon said the surveys give the review panel a baseline of information that best represents the military’s 2.2 million servicemembers and their families. The panel is studying the possible implications on the military should Congress decide to repeal DADT. The spouse survey is somewhat different from the one taken by the servicemembers. The survey is not lengthy (taking spouses about 15 to 20 minutes to complete, the Pentagon estimates) or comprehensive, and it zeroes in on family readiness. “We understand the inextricable link be-
tween the families, servicemembers, and readiness, and this survey is a way to try to better understand that,” Army General Carter F. Ham, U.S. Army Europe commander, said. Ham and Jeh C. Johnson, the Pentagon’s top lawyer, were appointed by Secretary Gates to head the special DADT review board. “What we’re trying to gauge is an assessment that if this law is repealed, and this DADT policy is changed, what will that mean to our families?” Ham said. “By better understanding the impacts of possible repeal, we’ll be able to craft policies, procedures, education, and training to address those issues.” According to news reports and Pentagon officials, the group has been meeting with troops and family members since February – months before any surveys were sent out. The survey asks whether they think the re-
spondent’s spouse has ever worked with a servicemember they believe to be Gay, and how well they knew the individual. It also asks whether spouses would like the military to provide them with information if DADT is repealed. Other questions on the survey: • How important a factor would a repeal of DADT be to you in making decisions about your spouse’s future in the military? • Would a repeal of DADT affect your willingness to recommend military service to a family member or close friend? • Assume DADT is repealed and you live in on-base housing. If a Gay or Lesbian servicemember lived in your neighborhood with their partner, would you stay on-base or would you try to move out? • Would the attendance of a Gay or Lesbian servicemember with his or her partner affect how often you attend these types of military social events?
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