SGN Aug 2, 2013 - Section 1

Issue 31 Volume 41

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County Executive Dow Constantine, i 5 AAAAA 2 DCDDD Edward Stewart 1 DR Alan Lobdell X di Good Space Guy County Council, District 1 Rod Dembowski, i 3 ABABA Naomi Wilson 3 BBCBB ? di John Fray County Council, District 9 Reagan Dunn 4 di 3 BBBBB Shari Song Kristina Macomber ? di

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E X P L A N AT I O N O F R AT I

necessarily correlate to the interview interview to ENDORSEMENT used by the SEAMEC endorsements (marked in (letter) grades, e.g. all A’s do not follows: necessarily yield a SEAMEC Rating BOLD CAPITAL letters and by a ) SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS WEEKLY 5. A are granted by a 2/3 majority of the & ofENTERTAINMENT Excellent G SEAMEC Steering Committee, in Two other ratings are possible: recognition of a clear choice of CANDIDAT importance to the LGBT community, ? UNKNOWN: SEAMEC has insufficient information to After the ca or in recognition of a distinguished determine a rating. may be one history of activism on behalf of the X NO RATING GIVEN: This means that i INCUMBE LGBT community. SEAMEC has considered but has candida CANDIDATE RATING (CR) SCALE declined to rate the candidate. SEATTLE SCHOOL BOARD position The numerical SEAMEC Candidate re-elect JUDICIAL RATING SCALE Position 4 Rating uses the following scale:  OPENLY L Judicial candidates are restricted in In 2006 Sue Peters 4 B A by A BMike A Andrew 5 - DEMONSTRATES LEADERSHIP American Unity Fund, HRC, what they can discuss by “judicial SEAME 4 - EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS Leadership Conference on Civil Suzanne Dale Estey 3 B B SGN B C BStaff Writer canons,” so SEAMEC administers a this sym 3 - MEETS EXPECTATIONS and Human National CendifferentRights, questionnaire to judicial Dean McColgan ? U LGBT ca 2 NEEDS IMPROVEMENT Transgender Equality, Nain the in-person A coalition of some of the coun- ter for candidates Position 2 1 - RESISTANT interview. In addition, Task the subject & Lesbian Force, 2013 INTE try’s largest human rights orga- tional Gay may differ slightly, but the 0 - HOSTILE Stephen Blanford 3 B B nizations B B B and labor Service Employees Inter- The questio unions have and thematter categories (at right) are used categories. are derived Union (SEIU). campaign to from passall nationalsame Olu Thomas 2 C C launched B C C a newRatings unless noted.also announced it question to information available to the SEAMEC The coalition ENDA, the Employment Non-DisSEAMEC does not rate candidates who are not opposed. In Steering Committee, including but Furthermore, the scale used for the  Equality (E Washington's “Top Two” Primary Election with only two filed not limited to: numerical SEAMEC Fairness Rating  Relations candidates for a position, the position and neither name  Information from the in-person  Age & Gen for judicial candidates is different: will not appear on the Primary Ballot, but both names will interview  Health & S be on the General Election Ballot in November. 5 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED  Interview panelists’  Awarenes 4 - RECOMMENDED recommendations 3 - ADEQUATE OTHER INT  The candidate’s voting and 2 - INADEQUATE Depend on the sponsorship record If a candida 1 - RESISTANT  The candidate’s written person inte SEAMEC Ratings? 0 - HOSTILE questionnaire (addresses his/ following in her history of activism) U UNABLE T INTERVIEW GRADES SEAMEC  Media clippings di DECLINE To the right of the SEAMEC Fairness Other organizations’ ratings decline depends on YOU! crimination Act. ENDA Matt McTighe as camwould banfromhad hired Rating are the interview letter  Information gathered outright grades, whichMcTighe are the median ran the advance- paign manager. “political insiders” Send in your discrimination in hiring, written grades2012 given by the in-personto win DRDECLINE our website a more detailed successful campaign ment, or firing See because of for sexual contributions today. orientation and explanation interview panelists. typically of each rating. marriage equality in(Panels Maine, and NS NO SHOW gender identity. consist of 3-8 volunteers, the total served as director Note: The numerical In a statementPlease released July 31, more recently schedu 1122 E. Pike St. #901 number of which varies from SEAMECitself Rating Ameridoes not of the Gill Action Fund’s Marriage Seattle, WA 98122 the coalition, calling

Massive push for ENDA launched Supporters aim to raise $2 million for all-out campaign Commissioner, Position 3 Stephanie Bowman 4 AAAAA Michael Wolfe 3 AABBB Andrew Pilloud 2 CCCCC CITY OF SEATTLE Mayor ED MURRAY ▼ Peter Steinbrueck Mike McGinn Bruce Harrell Joey Joy Gray Mary Martin Kate Martin Doug McQuaid Charlie Staadecker

5 AAAAA 5 AABBB 4 BBBCC 4 U 3 CBBCC 2 CCCCC ? di ? di ? di

Matt McTighe

Joel Page / AP

PORT OF SEATTLE

“No one should be fired for who they are or who they love, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is a bipartisan, common-sense way to put those values into federal law.”

cans for Workplace Opportunity, Project. said it would raise $2 million to BROAD-BASED EFFORT achieve its goal. “No one should be fired for who The group’s steering committee includes the ACLU, American Federation of Teachers (AFT), see enda page 19

SGN exclusive interview Pope Francis and Anna Schlecht, Olympia’s the ‘Gay lobby’ What’s really going on LGBT equality champion behind the Vatican walls?

Juan Mabromata

clayton works

Anna Schlecht at the Olympia High School “Turn Our Backs on Hate” Rally on June 7, 2012

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer

Anna Schlecht has lived in Olympia, Washington, for more than 35 years. Indeed, a lot has changed for our state capitol’s LGBT residents since 1976 – employment nondiscrimination, domestic partnerships-then-marriage, and official Pride celebrations, just to name a few. Schlecht wasn’t just there to see all of it; she helped make it happen. Today, Schlecht serves on the boards of the Olympia Rainbow Center (which she founded), Capitol City Pride, and Services and Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) Olympia. She founded Black Hills Pride in 1998, served on the Pride Foundation board for six years, was one of Olympia’s Pope Francis lead Hands Off Washington organizers, and has fought for equal by Mike Andrew documented is the specific context rights, anti-hate-crime, sexual as- SGN Staff Writer of the Pope’s remarks. The quessault, and domestic violence legistion to the Pope in his impromptu lation every chance she was able. As everybody in the world now press conference on the plane knows, Pope Francis recently back to Rome was about the soBEGINNINGS asked out loud, “If a person is Gay called “Gay lobby,” which allegIn 1982, Schlecht was working and seeks God and has good will, edly drove Francis’s predecessor, who am I to judge them?” But what has not been so wellsee schlecht page 6 see pope page 19

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Celebrating 40 Years!

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‘Who am I to judge?’

Pope Francis’s historic utterance may end Vatican’s war on Gays significance. Earlier this year, the Vatican establishment leaked a story to an Italian magazine Pope Francis may yet be the savior of the about a “homosexual lobby” in the church Roman Catholic Church. Whatever he turns hierarchy. Responding to this, Pope Francis out to be, right now he’s a much-needed stated he had investigated the reports and by Mark Segal Philadelphia Gay News

From day one of his papacy, the new pope has proved to be different and a man of this time, not 500 years ago where the church has for so long been stuck. breath of fresh air. Take that from someone who has been an unabashed opponent of recent Popes. From day one of his papacy, the new pope has proved to be different and a man of this time, not 500 years ago where the church has for so long been stuck. On his flight back from Brazil on Monday, he met with the press and made several startling announcements, so startling that it may end the truly ugly and hateful battle the church has waged against the LGBT community. First, he made it clear that Gay people could still be priests as long as they practice celibacy like heterosexual priests. That’s fair enough – Gays must follow the rules like all others. His predecessors, Pope Benedict and John Paul II, both tossed out Gay priests and made it clear the rules did not apply to them. This is a sea change, regardless of whatever spin conservatives in the church might put on it.

Steve Foiles, Scott Roger Alpert, Cookie Andrews-Hunt, James Leland Moore, Randy Peters, Lee Richeson, Shaun Shelton, Jim Tully, James Arnold

SAYING THE ‘G’ WORD Something else he said during that chat was not quite appreciated at the time, but says a lot about him as a person who respects diversity. He made the point that when speaking in Italian, each time he had to refer to homosexuality, he didn’t use that word. Instead, he spoke that word in English and used the word “Gay.” This was lost on most, but if you put it with his other statement – “If someone is Gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?” – you can clearly see its

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In Loving Memory Of

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op-ed

found them groundless. He added that while such a lobby would be an issue, he did not have anything against Gays and that their sins should be forgiven, according to media

CHCs: A VITAL RESOURCE There is much confusion about how the world of health care is changing around us. But this is what is important to know: with the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) taking effect this year, more people will have better options for primary care services. The law expands health insurance coverage to 32 million people and invests in the significant expansion of Community Health Centers. Currently, CHCs make up the largest national network of primary care providers. It is anticipated with these increased coverage opportunities that by 2015, health centers will double their current capacity to 40 million patients. Yet, with the allocated funding the act provides to the health centers, it still reduces the deficit. The cost of care at a health center is affordable, and studies prove the quality of care is as good as anyone will find in private practice. CHCs pride themselves on treating their patients with dignity and respect by a team of caring professionals focused on preventing costly illnesses before they happen.

reports. He said that homosexuals should be treated with dignity and that no one should be blackmailed or pressured because of sexual orientation. However, what he said does not suggest acceptance of anyone, priest or otherwise, engaging in homosexual acts. What in God’s name is up with the pope? Do you agree with his comments about Gays? Please take note of the Philadelphia Archdiocese and the Catholic Conference lobby in Harrisburg. These are the two organizations that make Pennsylvania the only state in the Northeast that does not offer dignity to LGBT people by having a nondiscrimination law. The most prominent lobby against that law is the Catholic Conference. They attempt to lobby quietly, but count this column as an end to that, for this columnist will continue to spotlight their activities if they continue to oppose nondiscrimination laws and try to shield pedophile priests from justice. Mark Segal, publisher of the Philadelphia Gay News, has been recognized by the National Newspaper Association, Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association, Suburban Newspapers of America, and the Society of Professional Journalists, among others. He can be reached via Facebook or Twitter.

This results in fewer hospital emergency room visits – and consumers, taxpayers, and governments save money. Even with the Obamacare expansion, a large population in King County, for myriad reasons, will remain uninsured. At Seattle’s Country Doctor Community Health Centers, where I serve as board chair, the majority of our patients are without health insurance, and 88% live on less than $23,000 annually. Yet we, and all of our sister CHCs, continue to provide care regardless of one’s ability to pay. As a result, all health centers depend on state and federal financial support to keep their doors open. Please continue to support your local CHC. Better yet, visit one during the upcoming National Health Center Week (August 11-17) and see for yourself why they are a good prescription for what ails our nation’s health care systems. Patrick Ferguson Board Chair, Country Doctor Community Health Centers Seattle

Celebrating 40 Years!

courtesy wes hurley

Local news Stranger in my homeland

Realizing I was Gay in Russia felt like a terminal disease diagnosis by Wes Hurley Special to the SGN I was around 12 or 13 years old. A time of big change and excitement. My family had anti-Communist tendencies for years, so when the Soviet Union collapsed we were thrilled and gratified. My classmates stopped wearing their red neck scarves and Lenin pins, which I had ditched long before it became acceptable. People started to profess their religious beliefs, openly embrace “Western” culture, and dream of earning a better living in the new capitalist society. For a brief time, freedom and hopefulness were in the air. Then, the darker side of change became apparent. The Communist leaders who resisted reforms for so long, but who suddenly were eager to embrace them, had the same old agenda in mind – to take for themselves. Using the unsavory practice called “privatization” they started to grab – literally, steal – public property and claim it as their own. These titans of the political elite turned government stores, stadiums, cemeteries, and parks into their own private estates and enterprises. Can you picture Barack Obama suddenly taking the Library of Congress and gifting it to his cousin? How about Sen. Patty Murray building her own private parking lot on top of a World War II memorial? In Russia such things were happening daily. Regional and municipal administrations

were robbing the public of funds until government employees (who included teachers and most doctors) weren’t getting paid for months at a time. Teachers in my school complained of not having been paid in a year. Water shortages and electrical blackouts became a normal part of life. I would scramble to finish my homework right after school because the lights would go out every afternoon. In the evenings we’d entertain ourselves looking through a telescope at the building across the street, where one of the residents was a bigwig who had ensured that his apartment never lost power. To have a bath, I had to walk half a mile with two large buckets of water, fill them up at a truck station, walk them back, heat them up on a camping stove, then sit in a tub and pour the water over myself. BULLIES RUN RAMPANT At school, I was assaulted on daily basis. Many students I knew stopped coming to school after being violently attacked several times a day. There was an ambulance by my school every week. School bathrooms were ground zero as adult gang members made them their permanent headquarters. The world felt increasingly unsafe, unjust, and brutal. I only had to walk three blocks to my school, but every day I would count several carcasses of dogs and cats, tortured, murdered, and displayed by boys and girls around my age. I couldn’t understand this kind of blind cruelty. My family was one of

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Wes Hurley

the poorest and I knew some who had even less than us, yet my own sense of desperation and misery didn’t drive me to hurt others. Some of the most violent kids in my school were some of the least disenfranchised. It’s hard to pinpoint an exact day when I felt a shift in my consciousness – the realization that I did not want to spend the rest of my life in that country, in that culture. The closest to such event was a history lesson on the Holocaust. When my teacher brought up Nazi camps, students started to heckle

August 2, 2013

her, saying things like, “Hitler should have finished the job.” Before I knew it, the entire class was chanting, “Kill kikes!” and pounding their fists on their desks. I stared at them, terrified. Adidas track suits, leather jackets, and gold crosses had replaced the Communist uniforms, but they still had the same glassy look in their eyes, the same frenzied anger, and the same impulse to be a monolithic, unquestioning lynch mob. The teacher was kind of speechless and see russia page 20

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unity the modern movement enjoys between Gay men and women was still developing then. On top of that, men tended to be more often closeted than women in the workplace in those days. Lesbians who weren’t afraid to come out were able to take a necessary step that many men were still intimidated by. Coming out made life significantly different for Schlecht. She recalled how people tended to react when she walked into a city council meeting or the like: “I could see in their eyes, “Oh my God, there’s that militant Lesbian.’ They didn’t realize how many of their own citizens needed to have these laws put in place.” Schlecht also recalled how, as a cadre member fighting to stop the damaging laws and promote the beneficial ones, one official (whom she specified was supportive), told her not to ‘worry your pretty little head.’ She replied, “I can’t wait – my pretty little head’s at risk.” “My boss over the years, even though he had [his] religious and political views, always admired that I always did what I thought was right,” said Schlecht. “It was an interesting alliance.” Despite her activism, she was able to maintain the respect of the people who counted in Olympia. She earned her B.A. from Evergreen State College in 1998 and was promoted again in 2006. “If your goal is to advance in your career, being a militant activist is not a good career move,” said Schlecht. “Many people with less credentials than I have, have gone much further. … It was not a popular thing to be pro-Gay rights in the ’70s.”

laura killian

schlecht

in carpentry with a handful of businesses, often alongside other women carpenters, both Lesbian and straight. When a carpentry position came open in the City of Olympia maintenance department, Schlecht beat out about 200 other applicants during a time when many in the department still saw the position as a man’s job. Just a year later, she was promoted to Housing Program Specialist and began overseeing construction projects. “I had to go back in the closet to some degree. There were people there that hated the fact that I was a woman, let alone a Gay woman,” Schlecht recalled. But in 1986, when the City’s Gay and Lesbian population were fighting for nondiscrimination ordinances in public services and public employment, Schlecht was poised to become a shining example of an affected city employee, for all of Olympia to see. So she came out and told her story; both campaigns were successful. “I remember being amazed – people thought, ‘Oh my God. We can do that here.’” The success became a blueprint in Schlecht’s mind, to win other victories. “This was the way to go – step by step, conversation by conversation, law by law,” Schlecht told SGN. “Getting them all on the books immediately would have been just doing the paperwork, not changing the hearts and minds. … Each law, each city, requires a tremendous amount of face to face time, walking through.” “Early on, we found that some of our supHOUSING FOR ELDERS porters were some of the hardest obstacles As housing program manager for the city – they thought we were going too far too (a position she still holds), Schlecht moved fast,” she added. up from overseeing projects to being one of Anna Schlecht helping to organize Capitol City Pride in 2011 the people who makes those very projects BUILDING UNITY happen. The longtime activist, who began now doing things like finances and grant was shot down, but it attracted national meOne issue Schlecht recalls was that the working for the city using a hammer, was writing. dia attention. “He’s one of the many people that didn’t Since she completed her master’s degree in public administration at Evergreen in live long enough to see the fruits of his 2009, she’s been more able to bridge the gap work,” said Schlecht. “That’s one of the between her professional life and her activ- things that keeps me going.” ism, particularly in regard to her work with A RECORD OF VICTORY SAGE. Over the years, Schlecht has helped to “One certainly informs the other,” Schlecht told SGN. “The focus of my mas- win a multitude of laws, policies, ordinancter’s work was on elders’ housing, specifi- es, and resolutions in Thurston County for LGBT people, including: cally, GLBT elders’ housing.” • For the city of Lacey: A hate-crimes “People still don’t recognize how GLBT people are discriminated against, particu- ordinance in 1993, an equal opportunity larly GLBT elders,” said Schlecht, pointing housing ordinance in 1994, and a municipal out that current studies still tend to reflect equal opportunity employment and services a national trend of discrimination in afford- access policy in 1997. • For the city of Tumwater: An equal opable housing toward LGBT elders, as well portunity housing ordinance in 1994, a hateas elders of color. Schlecht said that while some perceive crimes ordinance in 1996, a city employthe Lesbian and Gay communities to be bet- ment nondiscrimination policy, affirmative ter off financially than their straight coun- action resolution, and domestic partnership benefits resolution in 1997, and a municipal terparts, the reverse is actually true. “GLBT people are disproportionately employment benefits ordinance in 2001. • For the city of Olympia: A public servicpoorer, and specifically GLBT elders are disproportionately poorer,” Schlecht told es nondiscrimination ordinance and municipal employment nondiscrimination policy SGN. “People don’t tend to be drawn toward el- in 1986, a hate-crimes ordinance in 1993, a der issues,” she added. “The baby boomers domestic partnership benefits resolution in are now the elder boomers and we are now 1995, and an equal opportunity housing orpoised to overwhelm the elder care system.” dinance in 1997. She also helped achieve several countywide measures, including an employment RESPECT FORGED BY DEEDS Schlecht has done all this on top of rais- nondiscrimination policy in 1987, a domesing a son. When asked how she did it all tic partnership benefits resolution in 2001, and continues to do so, Schlecht cited her an equal opportunity housing ordinance in “hard-working immigrant” lineage. She’s 2002, and a Thurston County Commission also quick to point out that she wasn’t alone. resolution in support of marriage equality, “There’s a network of us that have been with the same resolution being passed by all around for 20, 25 years, and we’re kind three of the preceding city councils in 2004. Schlecht said her time with Hands Off of like old warriors,” Schlecht told SGN. “Some of these folks are no longer with us.” Washington was of particular import, beWhile Schlecht said there are too many cause was the “first GLBT organization” in such people to list, she mentioned Faygele history “that left the big cities to bring the fight to the rural communities where GLBT Ben-Miriam as an example. Ben-Miriam and his partner, Paul Bar- people live.” She’s paraphrased President wick, applied for a marriage license in King Franklin D. Roosevelt many times over the County on September 20, 1971. When they years, saying proudly and boldly, “If civil were denied, Ben-Miriam sued. The case rights have no meaning in the small towns, was drawn out until 1974 and ultimately then they have no meaning at all.”

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Celebrating 40 Years!

national news

A debate of Olympic proportions

Should the LGBT community boycott the 2014 Winter Games in Russia? Mary Altaffer / Associated Press

time.” Weir and Louganis are joined by Gay New Zealand speed-skater Blake Skjellerup, who announced he would compete wearing a rainbow pin while in Sochi. “For me it’s less about taking a stand and more about just being myself,” he said. “I have no interest in going back into the closet in Sochi … this is not about defiance. This is me standing up for what I believe in.”

ECHOES OF 1968 For those old enough to remember the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City, the prospect of athletes using the Sochi games as a platform for a human rights statement calls to mind the stunning action of U.S. athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos, who raised their fists in a Black Power salute on the medal stand. Progressive sportswriter Dave Zirin spoke with Carlos recently about the parallels between Mexico City and Sochi for Grantland blog. “The bottom line is, if you stay home, your message stays home with you,” Carlos said. “If you stand for justice and equality, you have an obligation to find the biggest possible megaphone to let your feelings be known. Don’t let your message be buried and don’t bury yourself. To be heard is to be greater than a boycott. Had we stayed home, we’d never have been heard from again.” Zirin raised the possibility that athletes who made a pro-Gay statement in Russia might be disciplined, or even expelled from the country. “Yes, it takes courage,” Carlos replied. “but if you have a conviction that what you are doing is right, then you’re going to make Gay-rights activists protested in front of the Russian consulate in New York the right move. Someone has to sacrifice if we are going to move forward. You might by Mike Andrew freedom of expression and freedom of as- ter Pride House Sochi! Vive Sochi Pride be forgiven in your lifetime; you might not. But if you’re in the right, your sacrifice will SGN Staff Writer sembly and to not fall accomplices to the 2014!” be appreciated.” homophobic policies by censoring [their] GAY ATHLETES WEIGH IN To boycott or not to boycott, that is the own beliefs, statements, and identities,” WILL SOCHI BE SAFE? Two of the most prominent Gay Ameriquestion. the statement continued. “The Olympics in A key question that opponents of a boyThe Russian government’s pogrom Sochi should embody the ideals and values can Olympians also joined in opposition against the country’s LGBT population of the Games and should demonstrate to to a boycott of the Sochi games. Gay figure cott must address is whether Sochi itself has put the future of the upcoming Winter everyone who is watching that the greatest skater Johnny Weir, an admirer of the theat- will be a safe place for LGBT athletes and Olympics in jeopardy, as Russian human athletes stand strong with their LGBT com- rical Russian skating style and the husband spectators. The International Olympic rights activists and the international com- petitors and partners, out or closeted, and of a Russian citizen, announced that he Committee issued a statement on July 29 saying it had “received assurances from the munity debate how to respond. that together they stand strong with LGBT would compete at Sochi. “The fact that Russia is arresting my highest levels” of the Russian government Twenty-three Russian LGBT activists people and allies everywhere. have issued a statement calling for a boycott “Do not boycott the Olympics – boycott people, and openly hating a minority and that athletes and fans would be exempt from of the Games, scheduled to begin February homophobia! Stand in solidarity with peo- violating human rights all over the place is arrest under Russia’s “Don’t say Gay” law 7, 2014, in the resort town of Sochi. ple in Russia and bring LGBT pride and heartbreaking and a travesty of international that forbids so-called “homosexual propaproportions, but I still will compete,” Weir ganda.” “International support is essential for the Nevertheless, Russian officials maintain survival of Russia’s LGBT community right that they will enforce Russian law. now,” they wrote. “Vladimir Putin’s regime Vitaly Milonov, the St. Petersburg legislawill not get away with anti-Gay violence. tor who introduced the “Don’t say Gay” law We speak out in favor of boycotting Rusin the Russian Duma, said the government sian goods and companies, and the Olympic could not suspend the law for the Olympics Games in Sochi.” even if it wanted to. “I have not heard any comments from the AN OCCASION FOR PROTEST? government of the Russian Federation, but Other Russian activists, however, are urgI know it is acting in accordance with Rusing the world to participate in the games but values of human rights and freedoms to the told the Associated Press. “I respect the LGBT community full- sian law,” Milonov told Interfax. “If a law use the occasion to protest Russia’s anti- Games in Sochi!” heartedly, but I implore the world not to has been approved by the federal legislature Gay policies. boycott the Olympic Games because of and signed by the president, then the govThe Russian LGBT Network, an NGO afPRIDE FESTIVAL PLANNED filiated with the International Lesbian and Moscow Pride leader Nikolai Alekseev Russia’s stance on LGBT rights or lack ernment has no right to suspend it. It doesn’t have the authority.” Gay Association (ILGA), called for athletes announced his group would organize a “So- thereof,” he added. Russian Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko “I beg the Gay athletes not to forget their and spectators to attend the games but vis- chi Pride” to correspond with the opening missions and fight for a chance to dazzle the confirmed on August 1 that his counibly display solidarity with Russia’s LGBT day of the Olympics. population. “It’s official! The organizing committee world. I pray that people will believe in the try would enforce the anti-Gay law, even “We believe that calls for the spectators of Moscow Gay Pride and founders of the Olympic movement no matter where the against foreign athletes. “An athlete of nontraditional sexual orito boycott Sochi, for the Olympians to re- banned Pride House Sochi decided [July 29] event is being held, because the Olympics treat from competition, and for govern- against the boycott of Winter Olympics in are history, and they do not represent their entation isn’t banned from coming to Sochi,” Mutko said in an interview with Rments, companies, and national Olympic Sochi and instead to organize Winter Sochi host – they represent the entire world.” Olympic diver and AIDS activist Greg Sport, the sports newswire of state news committees to withdraw from the event risk Pride on the day of the opening of Olympic Louganis told the New York Times that agency RIA Novosti. “But if he goes out [transforming] the powerful potential of the Games on 7 February 2014. Games [into] a less powerful gesture that “Join us! It will be much more effective “Boycotts don’t work – boycotts hurt the into the streets and starts to propagandize, would prevent the rest of the world from to draw attention to official homophobia wrong people,” meaning athletes who lose then of course he will be held accountable.” Given that Russia has already provoked joining LGBT people, their families, and al- in Russia all around the world and expose their opportunity to compete rather than the an international incident by arresting four lies in Russia in solidarity and taking a firm the hypocrisy of the International Olympic host country. Recalling the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Dutch citizens for “homosexual propaganstance against the disgraceful human rights Committee, which went into discriminatory record in this country,” the group said in a agreements with [the] Russian regime, and Moscow Olympics in protest of the Soviet da,” the stage seems to be set for a confronlong statement posted on its Facebook page. of the European Court of Human Rights, invasion of Afghanistan, Louganis said, “It tation if LGBT athletes and their supporters “We call for organizations and individu- which still has not considered our complaint was pretty devastating. For most of us, we follow through with plans for visible exals who are attending the Games to exercise concerning the unlawful denial to regis- train our entire lives for that one moment in pressions of dissent.

“Vladimir Putin’s regime will not get away with anti-Gay violence. We speak out in favor of boycotting Russian goods and companies, and the Olympic Games in Sochi.”

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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Pennsylvania Department of Health filed suit on July 30, seeking to prevent Montgomery County from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Montgomery County registrar D. Bruce Hanes began issuing marriage licenses on July 24, and the

AP Photo / Matt Rourke

PA Health Department sues to stop Gay marriages be or will be.” HANES: I WON’T STOP Hanes, who has issued 31 marriage licenses to same-sex couples through July 29, will not stop issuing licenses, according to a statement from the Montgomery County solicitor. “While it comes as no surprise that the

“Compliance with Pennsylvania law by its public officials is a mandatory obligation. Ours is a government of laws, not one of public officials exercising their will as they believe the law should be or will be.”

state’s first same-sex marriage took place the same day. “It appears that same-sex couples are proceeding with the marriage ceremonies that are not permitted by Pennsylvania law, marriage certificates are being illegally filed, and the same-sex couples are left to believe erroneously that they have entered into a valid marriage,” the suit says. The Department of Health was charged with filing the suit because it processes and records marriages for the state. The lawsuit, filed by the Department of Health’s chief counsel, asks that the court immediately force Hanes to “comply with the [Pennsylvania] Marriage Law and to direct the Clerk to immediately cease and desist issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.” “Compliance with Pennsylvania law by its public officials is a mandatory obligation,” the suit states. “Ours is a government of laws, not one of public officials exercising their will as they believe the law should

[Gov. Tom] Corbett administration has filed an action seeking to enjoin marriage equality in Montgomery County, the petition filed today in Commonwealth Court by the state Department of Health has serious flaws,” Montgomery County Solicitor Ray McGarry said. “Montgomery County will be filing a response shortly. In the meantime, the Register of Wills office will continue to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.” Citing equal protection clauses in Article 1 of the state constitution, Hanes said, “Those are provisions of the Pennsylvania Constitution which I think are diametrically opposed to the marriage law.” “Now, what am I to do?” Hanes asked. “I took an oath [to uphold the constitution].” KANE CRITICIZED Hanes is not the only elected official to come out against Pennsylvania’s state law defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman only. State Attorney General

D. Bruce Hanes, registrar for Montgomery County, Pennsylvania

Kathleen Kane also stated last month that she would not defend the state against lawsuits calling into question the legality of Pennsylvania’s Defense of Marriage Act. On the same day that the Department of Health filed its suit, Pennsylvania’s Office of General Counsel also sent a letter to Kane, alleging her declaration that she would not defend the state’s marriage law was “improper.” “The Attorney General’s unprecedented public adjudication of the state’s alleged

unconstitutionality was an improper usurpation of the role of the courts, which, at a minimum, causes confusion among those charged with administering the law,” the General Counsel’s letter said. On July 9, the ACLU of Pennsylvania filed suit on behalf of 23 Gay and Lesbian plaintiffs, and two of their teenage children, seeking to overturn Pennsylvania’s Defense of Marriage Act and to have the state recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states.

gender people and LGBT people of color – are unjustly targeted by law enforcement for harassment and policing at unbelievably high rates,” said Darlene Nipper, deputy executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. She said her group “applauds the New York City Council for passing this historic law and urges all council

members to stand up for equality and vote to override Mayor Bloomberg’s veto.” According to New York City police statistics, some 684,000 people were stopped under the policy in 2011, with the overwhelming majority being African American or Latino. Only one in eight, however, were subsequently charged with a crime.

LGBT groups challenge ‘stop-and-frisk’ Coalition says NYC policy unfairly targets marginalized communities by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

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TRANS PEOPLE TARGETED “[F]rom Stonewall to stop-and-frisk, LGBTQ people – and particularly LGBTQ people of color, LGBTQ youth, and Transgender and gender-nonconforming people – have long been targets of profiling and other forms of discriminatory policing,” the statement continued. “The consequences have ranged from death to deportation, assault to arrest, homophobic harassment to humiliation.” The coalition calls on legislators to “continue to stand firm with LGBTQ people and communities of color, and to vote against efforts to veto this landmark legislation and turn back the clock on this victory. The safety of LGBTQ New Yorkers depends on it.” “We know all too well the impact that police profiling has on marginalized communities. LGBT people – especially Trans-

August 2, 2013

caged nation

A coalition of 34 LGBT rights groups is challenging New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg over his city’s so-called “stopand-frisk” policy. The controversial practice, based on the city’s interpretation of a state statute, allows police officers to stop and search any person the officers think may have committed a crime or are about to commit a crime, even in the absence of “probable cause” to make an arrest. Critics have charged that this policy unfairly impacts the city’s communities of color and amounts to legalized racial profiling. On July 24 Bloomberg vetoed two ordinances passed by the New York City Council to limit abuses of the stop-and-frisk policy. One measure would have created an independent inspector general to monitor the New York City Police Department. The other would have expanded the definition of racial profiling and allowed people who believed they were profiled to sue police in state court. The 34 LGBT organizations charged that the city’s policy has had an adverse impact on LGBT people of color, and they demanded the City Council override Bloomberg’s veto.

“Today, national and international LGBT organizations – including the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, Lambda Legal, the National Black Justice Coalition, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, and GLAAD – joined with local LGBTQ organizations to urge New York City legislators to defend historic legislation banning discriminatory police profiling against a veto by Mayor Michael Bloomberg,” the groups said in a statement.

Celebrating 40 Years!

The neglected ‘B’ in LGBT

Study suggests most Bisexuals remain closeted, feel misunderstood author of the July 21 feature about the Pew study. “Bisexual men, in turn, struggle to persuade men and women alike that they At a time when Gay rights have made ma- aren’t just Gay men with one foot in the jor progress, and Gays and Lesbians have become far more willing to come out, the vast majority of Bisexuals are still in the closet, a Pew Research Center survey has revealed. Only 28 percent of Bisexuals said most or all of the important people in their lives knew about their sexual orientation, compared to 71 percent of Lesbians and 77 percent of Gay men, Pew found. The numbers were especially small among Bisexual men: Only 12 percent said they were out to that degree, compared to one-third of Bisexual women who said the same. The Los Angeles Times recently interviewed closeted Bisexuals who said they had avoided coming out because they didn’t want to deal with misconceptions that Bisexuals were indecisive or incapable of monogamy – stereotypes that exist among straights, Gays, and Lesbians alike. Those stereotypes make some reluctant to use the word, even after they openly acknowledge having same-sex attractions. Laura McGinnis, communications director for the Trevor Project, an LGBT youth suicide prevention group, told the Times she was 29 or 30 before she would readily share that she is Bisexual or actively correct someone who thought otherwise. by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS “I hated the label because the assumption is that you’re sleeping around,” said McGinnis, who is now raising a child with her wife. Such assumptions could make being out at work especially difficult: Only 11 percent of Bisexual people polled by Pew said most of their closest co-workers knew about their sexual orientation, compared to 48 percent of Gay men and 50 percent of Lesbians. Bisexuals were also less likely than Gay men and Lesbians to say their workplaces were accepting of them, Pew found. In a separate study published in the Journal of Bisexuality, half of Bisexual people surveyed said their Gay and straight coworkers misunderstand Bisexuality. Denise Penn, vice president of the American Institute of Bisexuality, a nonprofit that funds research, said, “Bisexuals are thought to be confused, opportunistic, and unable to make commitments – and those aren’t the kinds of things you want to see in an employee.” COMMUNITY BIAS? Some Bisexuals suggest that within the LGBT community, they are often seen as more privileged than Gays and Lesbians because they are able to duck discrimination by entering into straight relationships. Interestingly, more Bisexuals are in relationships with people of the opposite sex than with the same sex, Pew found, and they are less likely than Gay men or Lesbians to have weathered slurs or attacks, been rejected by friends or family, or treated unfairly at work, the survey showed. But according to the Times article, researchers and activists say Bisexuals face another set of frustrations, as they are sometimes shunned by the Gay and Lesbian community and the straight world alike. “Bisexual women complain they are leered at by straight men and rejected by some Lesbians as sexual ‘tourists’ who will abandon them for men,” said Emily Alpert,

closet. Both are stereotyped as oversexed swingers who cannot be trusted.” “Women would say [to me], ‘I don’t date your kind,’ ” said Mimi Hoang, who helped form Bisexual groups in Los Angeles. Such reactions left her frustrated. “I had nothing against Lesbians. I thought I could find camaraderie with people who were also sexual minorities.”

self by talking about her girlfriend, Bisexuals are often wrongly assumed to be straight or Gay depending on whom they are with,” said the Times. “Spelling out that they are Bisexual can be misconstrued as rejecting a current partner or declaring themselves up for anything.” NOT JUST A ‘PHASE’ Bisexuality is a real thing, says a University of Utah research project. Though 62 percent of Gay men once identified as Bisexual, nearly as many Bisexual men – 56 percent – had once said they were Gay, professor Lisa Diamond found. She also says more women have switched from calling

themselves Lesbian to calling themselves Bisexual than vice versa. However, studies show Bisexuals rival or exceed Gays and Lesbians in number. Even still, experts say there is still little known about Bisexuals because studies often group them with Gay men and Lesbians. Younger people seem more at ease with Bisexuality, adopting alternative labels such as “pansexual” or shrugging off labels completely, McGinnis said. In fact, Northwestern University researcher Brian Mustanski said unlike earlier studies, his research showed Bisexual youth were less likely to suffer mental disorders than Gay and Lesbian youth, which is a sign of growing recognition of sexual variability. It is no secret that during puberty, a lot of youth are still exploring their sexuality and some are not sure if they are Gay, Lesbian, straight or Bisexual. Years later, some identify as straight and although they did have Gay or Lesbian sex a few times, they have a hard time admitting it – if they ever admit it at all, studies suggest.

accurate information, but also because it is difficult to define what same-sex attraction is. Do you include in the numbers everyone who has had a same-sex thought, or just those who have had a homosexual experience? How many experiences or thoughts qualify? Alfred C. Kinsey conducted research on human sexuality in the late 1940s and early 1950s and published his findings in two landmark volumes, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953). Kinsey ranked his subjects on a seven-point scale with exclusive heterosexuality at zero and exclusive homosexuality at six. Among 25-yearold males in the United States, he claimed that 79 percent were at zero (exclusively heterosexual) and 2.9 percent were at six (exclusively homosexual). He further claimed that 10 percent of white American males between the ages of 16 and 55 were almost exclusively homosexual for at least three years; eight percent were exclusively homosexual for at least three years; and four percent were exclusively homosexual throughout their lives, after the onset of adolescence. His findings showed that 10 percent of the males had had seven or more homosexual experiences. Further, he claimed that as many as 37 percent had some kind of homosexual experience after adolescence. MORE RECENT FINDINGS Kinsey’s research methodologies have been questioned. Although he used a large number of subjects (he took sexual histories on more than 18,000 people and used data from 5,000 men and 6,000 women), he did not use methods of random sampling that scientists commonly use today. His subjects came from boarding houses, college fraternities, prisons, and wherever else he could find them (as many as 20–25 percent had been in prison, and five percent may have been male prostitutes). Still, Kinsey’s project remains to this day the most comprehensive study on sexual fluidity. In 1993, a large study by the Alan Guttmacher Institute reported that of sexually active men aged 20–39, only 2.3 percent had any same-gender sexual activity and only 1.1 percent reported exclusive homosexual contact during the last 10 years. One of the largest and most scientifically based modern surveys was concluded in 1994 by academics at the University of Chicago’s National Opinion Research Center. They asked 210 pages of questions of 3,432 Americans ages 18 to 59 and published their findings in a book, The Social Organization of Sexuality (University of Chicago Press, 2000). On the subject of homosexuality, this survey found that 2.7 percent of men and 1.3 percent of women had had sex in the past year with someone of the same gender. In addition, 7.1 percent of men and 3.8 percent of women had had sex with someone of the same gender since puberty. In addition, the study found that 6.2 percent of male and 4.4 percent of female respondents said they were still sexually attracted to people of the same gender. The survey also found larger percentages of sexual minorities in urban areas. The 12 largest cities in the United States showed more than nine percent of men identifying themselves as homosexual, as opposed to only one percent in rural areas.

RISK OF ISOLATION Questions of prejudice aside, Bisexual activists lament that the “B” is often overlooked by LGBT organizations that provide little programming specifically for them. Pew found that Bisexuals – especially men – were less likely to have belonged to such groups. More than half said they have only a few LGBT friends or none at all. Researchers believe such isolation may have dire results. According to the Times, some studies have found that Bisexual people are at greater risk of emotional woes than people who are Gay, Lesbian, or straight. Bisexual women are more likely to binge-drink and suffer depression, a George Mason UniverHARD TO QUANTIFY sity study found. Estimates of sexual minorities are probIn addition, a Kent State University study lematic not only because it is hard to get of Bisexual women found that they were more likely than straight or Lesbian women to harm themselves or endure suicidal thoughts. Other studies have also cited higher risks for Bisexual men. “I think these problems are coming from $ two places,” said Northwestern University human sexuality researcher Allen Rosenany size pizza thal. “The absence of a Bisexual community and the psychological stress of being in the 700 East Pine St., Seattle HOMEMADE closet.” HAND TOSSED Activists say Bisexuals have two closets – one straight, one Gay. “While a Gay man might casually menFREE DELIVERY • 206-322-6444 Not valid for delivery. tion his husband, or a Lesbian might out her-

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LATINO THEATRE PROJECTS & BURIEN LITTLE THEATRE – BEAUTY OF THE FATHER AUGUST 2-25 On Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., and on Sundays at 2 p.m., from August 2 through August 25, Latino Theatre Projects presents Beauty of the Father by Pulitizer Prize-winner Nilo Cruz at Burien Little Theatre (14501 Fourth Ave. S., Burien). In Beauty of the Father, a young American woman travels to Spain to meet her longestranged Gay artist father and falls for his Moroccan companion. Cruz explores the conflict between love and sacrifice in an unrequited love triangle in Andalusia, where the restless ghost of Spanish poet/playwright Federico Garcia Lorca wanders the streets, conversing with the living. Lorca is considered the premier writer in Spanish history. During the Spanish Civil War, he was executed by General Franco’s national security forces because of his leftist politics and because he was well-known to be a homosexual. After his death, he was martyred to their cause by the Republicans and, in current times, is revered by Spain’s Gay community. It is believed that some of Lorca’s best poems were written about various Gay lovers. However, he never found true love before he was murdered. Cruz brings his ghost into the play to provide a kindred spirit for the artist Emiliano as he grapples with learning to be a father again and discovers that his daughter and his Gay lover have become involved. Tickets: $7-$20. Check out special opening weekend ticket deals. 206-242-5180; www.latinotheatreprojects.org; www.burienlittletheatre.org

and Joan Holzman. Family-friendly games and food will be available, potluck style – bring some food to share. http://seattlegaysoftball.com. SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB – The Story of the Night The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday from 6-7:15 p.m., at Seattle Area Support Groups Community Center (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.) In August, the club will discuss The Story of the Night by Colm Toibin. Twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize, this Irish Gay author has written a man-to-man love story unfolding against the political turmoil of Argentina in the time of the Generals. This novel is on most lists of the 100 best Gay novels ever written. Toibin currently has a novel on the national bestseller list, Transatlantic, and also wrote the non-fiction book about Gay authors, Love in a Dark Time. All GLBTQ folks are welcome to participate in this FREE book club. For more information, visit http://faculty.washington. edu/swittet/SGLBookClub/.

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

GAY CITY ARTS – “TO TAKE THIS RISK” AUGUST 8-SEPTEMBER 9 From August 8-September 9, Gay City Arts (517 E. Pike St.) presents “To Take This Risk,” an exhibition of work by Grant Rehnberg. (An artist’s reception will be held Thursday, August 8, from 6-9 p.m.) Grant Rehnberg, a self-taught collage and mixed-media artist, draws inspiration from lost images (vintage Gay porn, old photos, archaic maps, discarded medical textbooks). Through alteration and fresh juxtaposition, these transformed images make the invisible visible, the forgotten remembered. “To Take This Risk” is one Queer’s response to life’s “crippling hurt” and restorative love. Grant strives to expose both the very real risks and infinitely more beautiful rewards of living (and loving) authentically. “There is no intensity of love or feeling that does not involve the risk of crippling hurt. It is a duty to take this risk, to love and feel without defense or reserve.” (William S. Burroughs) “To Take This Risk” is presented in conjuncion with Gay City Arts, through which

Gay City collaborates with local LGBT artists to galvanize an audience for Queer arts, foster the development of LGBT artists, and facilitate excellence across a wide range of disciplines, including theater, music, dance, fim, spoken word, literary and visual arts. For more information, visit www. grantrehnberg.com. BLITZ CAPITOL HILL ARTS WALK AUGUST 8 www.blitzcapitolhill.com UNAUTHORIZED READINGS – WALT WHITMAN’S SONG OF MYSELF On Thursday, August 8, doors at 7 p.m., readings at 8 p.m., at Fremont Abbey (4272 Fremont Ave. N.), The Unauthorized Readings kicks off with a reading of Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself. Poets Ed Skoog, Christine Deavel, Janie Miller, and Adam Boehmer will read Whitman’s Song of Myself, followed by a party with music by local funk band The Fabulous Party. The Unauthorized Readings is a new series in Seattle featuring beloved works of literature read out loud. You know – the poetry and the prose we love and usually don’t get to hear. It should be a great, fun night of celebration. Cost for this all-ages event: $7 or pay as you can; bar with ID. Hosted by The Los Angeles Review. 12TH ANNUAL SEATTLE TATTOO EXPO AUGUST 9-11 SEATTLE CENTER NW ROOMS www.seattletattooexpo.com

SEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL AUGUST 2-4 This year’s Seattle Erotic Art Festival will be held Friday, 6 p.m.-2 a.m., Saturday, 2 p.m.-2 a.m., Sunday, noon-4 p.m., at the Showbox SODO (1700 1st Ave. S.) The festival is a celebration of erotic visual, installation, literary, short film and performance art along with after-parties with DJs and late night dancing. Tickets start at $15, with full day/evening tickets, full weekend and VIP passes available. Day-Time Only passes to the art exhibit and related events are $15 and are good Saturday until 6 p.m. or Sunday until 4 p.m. and are only available at the door. After-Party Only passes to the art exhibit and related events are $15, valid 11 p.m.-2 a.m. and are only available at the door after 11 p.m. For complete details, visit www.seattleerotic.org.

BREATHE DEEP SEATTLE – A FUNDRAISING RUN & WALK TO BENEFIT LUNG CANCER RESEARCH On Saturday, August 10, at Lincoln Park (8011 Faunteroy Way SW) check-in at 8:30 a.m.; program at 9 a.m.; 5K timed run and untimed walk/fun run at 9:30 a.m.; closing ceremony at 11 a.m., join the LUNGevity Foundation for Breathe Deep Seattle, a 5K walk and timed run to raise funds for lung cancer research through the LUNGevity Foundation, the largest private funder of lung cancer research, and to raise awareness for America’s #1 cancer killer, lung cancer. LUNGevity is also able to provide a community of hope for those affected by this disease. Registration fees for the event range from $10 to $40. Event participants will receive a free t-shirt and be treated to refreshments and a DJ after the event. Event participants will also receive their own web page to raise funds toward lung cancer research and to track their individual or team goal. The Breathe Deep Seattle 5K race and walk is a wonderful way for participants to spend a summer morning. Participants will enjoy a beautiful one-mile trail run through evergreen forests, with views from a bluff to the Puget Sound below. Then they will wind their way down to the beach and run for 2 miles along the water on paved and hardpacked gravel travel. Wildlife, waves, and mountain and sound views will inspire! For more information, to register or to make a donation, visit www.lungevity.org/ seattle or call the LUNGevity office at 312464-0716.

IMPERIAL COURT OF SEATTLE KING & QUEEN OF THE SEAS PAGEANT – “SIRENS AND SAILORS” On Saturday, August 3, doors at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m., at R Place (619 E. Pine St.), the Imperial Court of Seattle cordially invites you to their 38th annual King & Queen of the Seas Pageant, “Sirens and Sailors,” hosted by Drew Paradisco and Alessandra Hunt, in celebration of the reigns of King of Seas 34 Adaam K. King and Queen of the Seas 37 Olivia LaGarce. $5 suggested donation. www.facebook.com/ISCSORE EMERALD CITY SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION AWARDS PICNIC On Sunday, August 4, from 1-4 p.m., at North SeaTac Park (S. 128th St. & 20th Ave. S., SeaTac), the Emerald City Softball Association hosts their annual Awards Picnic to celebrate the 2013 season and honor this year’s top teams and players along with ECSA Hall of Fame inductees Dan Cross

SEATTLE HEMPFEST AUGUST 16-18 MYRTLE EDWARDS PARK www.seattlehempfest.org

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Arrests made in Cameroon activist’s murder Officials try to pin killing of Eric Lembembe on his friends by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

FAMILY DENOUNCES POLICE Lembembe was an outspoken Gay rights activist in a country where attacks on LGBT people are common and where same-sex relations are punishable by up to five years in prison.

WIDESPREAD REPRESSION NGOs working in Cameroon have regularly denounced the arrest and imprisonment of Gay people, as well as the threats targeting LGBT rights organizations. A police official in Yaoundé told AP on condition of anonymity that Lembembe’s colleagues had been arrested “to give the impression that headway is being made in the case.” He said Lembembe’s case had “really embarrassed” President Paul Biya’s government. The killing drew statements of concern from France, Britain, the United States, and the United Nations. “There are fears that Cameroon may be further blacklisted by donors and denied

file photo

Cameroon authorities announced on July 28 that they had arrested three people in connection with the murder of Gay activist Eric Lembembe. The three, who were arrested July 27, were being held for “questioning,” according to Agence France Presse. The suspects were “former colleagues” of Lembembe, a lawyer said to be “close to the case” told AFP. On July 30, the Associated Press reported that only two men had been questioned, and that they were released “without charge,” according to their lawyer, Michel Togue. The two were identified as Michel Engama and Cedric Mbarga, and were said to be employees of the Cameroon AIDS Foundation, where Lembembe was executive director. AP added that they were among the last people to see Lembembe alive on July 12. Lembembe’s body was discovered in his home in the capital, Yaoundé, on July 15. The international organization Human Rights watch said his injuries showed he had been tortured to death.

A police officer said to be “close to the probe” told AFP that the attack was not antiGay, however. “We were at the scene of the murder,” the officer is quoted as saying. “We have found a certain number of clues. There will be a rapid unfolding of events and people who believe it was a homophobic act risk being surprised.” On the other hand, Alice Nkom, lawyer for the Lembembe family, denounced what she called a botched investigation and cast doubt on the decision to question the alleged suspects. “Since we formulated reservations over how the investigation was conducted, they want to find any ‘guilty ones,’” Nkom said.

Eric Lembembe

foreign aid in the near future,” the official all they did was collect testimonies from the said. “But the investigation was flawed from late Lembembe’s neighbors. I think they are the start. The interrogators arrived at the onto the wrong lead.” scene of the murder several hours late, and

Mexican state of Colima legalizes civil unions Marco Ugarte / AP

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The state of Colima, on Mexico’s Pacific coast, has become the second Mexican state to legalize same-sex civil unions. Coahuila did so in 2007. The Distrito Federal, which includes Mexico City, and the southern state of Quintana Roo have legalized same-sex marriage. Quintana Roo’s neighbor, Yucatán, banned same-sex marriage in 2009, but Mexico’s Supreme Court has ruled that legal Gay and Lesbian marriages must be recognized in every state. Civil unions in Colima required an amendment to the state’s constitution, passed by the state congress and then approved by municipal authorities. LITTLE OPPOSITION Colima’s congress passed the measure with only two dissenting votes, and those members wished to offer full marriage equality instead of limiting Gay and Lesbian couples to civil unions. The measure was then approved by seven of Colima’s ten municipalities. Mexico’s largest left-wing party, the Party of Democratic Revolution, which controls the government of Mexico City, favors marriage equality, while the centrist Institutional Revolutionary Party, which controls the presidency of the country, favors civil unions. The right-wing National Action Party, which has ties to the Catholic Church, opposes both. While the Mexican Supreme Court has ruled that all states must recognize legal

same-sex marriages, it does not have the authority to strike down state laws, so each Brazil’s congress to legalize same-sex marstate must decide on its own whether to al- riage for the whole country. Same-sex marriage was legalized in Urulow Gay and Lesbian couples to marry. guay in April this year, and in Argentina in 2010. PROGRESS ELSEWHERE In 2011, Colombia’s Constitutional Court Several Brazilian states have also legalized same-sex marriages, and a Supreme ruled that same-sex couples had a right to Court decision in May said that same-sex form families, and they gave the country’s couples must be accorded the same rights congress till June 30 this year to come up as opposite-sex spouses. A bill is pending in with a legal way for them to do that. When

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lawmakers failed to pass legislation by the deadline, judges began ordering marriages. At least one has taken place so far with one more scheduled. In July the Costa Rican legislature passed an ambiguously worded bill that some legal experts claimed could legalize same-sex civil unions, but the bill’s sponsors said the language was intended to refer only to opposite-sex couples.

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Riot police intervene to protect Baltic Pride Parade participants pelted with eggs by anti-Gay protesters

towleroad.com

Police clashed with anti-Gay protestors at this year’s Baltic Pride

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Baltic Pride went on as scheduled in Vilnius, Lithuania, on July 27, protected by a phalanx of Lithuanian riot police. According to the Associated Press, “hundreds” of Pride marchers took to the streets, waving Lithuania’s yellow, green, and red flag along with rainbow flags. They were attacked by hundreds of anti-Gay rioters, who

“It shows that we need to march until eggs aren’t thrown anymore and people can march freely and without fear.”

showered the Pride march with eggs. Among those hit were Lithuanian parliament member Giedre Purvaneckiene and Sweden’s European Union Affairs Minister, Birgitta Ohlsson, who were standing at the front of the parade along with other dignitaries. “It shows that we need to march until eggs aren’t thrown anymore and people can march freely and without fear,” said Purvaneckiene, who was not injured. RIGHTIST LEADER ARRESTED Riot police intervened to protect the Pride march, and arrested 28 anti-Gay protesters. Among them was Petras Grazulis, a right-wing anti-Gay lawmaker who rallied his followers with a bullhorn. Grazulis was thrown face-down on the ground and carried off in handcuffs by the police, only to reappear later after being released from custody. About 50 rioters tried to storm a stage where LGBT activists were scheduled to speak, but they were pushed back by police. Police said one officer was injured in the fighting. Vilnius city authorities initially refused permits for Baltic Pride, saying they feared it would provoke disorder, but they were overruled by a local court. Baltic Pride is an annual event, and the venue alternates between the capitals of the three Baltic countries – Vilnius, Lithuania; Tallinn, Estonia; and Riga, Latvia. Titled “March for Equality,” this year’s Baltic Pride is only the second such event for Lithuania, a predominantly Catholic nation of about three million people. Like Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania was part of the Soviet Union until the U.S.S.R. dissolved in 1991. As a member of the E.U., Lithuania is required to protect its LGBT residents, but activists charge that the government has not done enough to ensure LGBT rights.

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Celebrating 40 Years!

pope

continued from cover Benedict XVI, to resign. “You see a lot written about the Gay lobby [in the Vatican],” Francis replied. “I still have not yet seen anyone in the Vatican with an identity card saying they are Gay.” Francis then elaborated on the theme of Gay clergy – not Gay people in general – and addressed the scandal surrounding Monsignor Battista Ricca, who was accused of living openly with his male lover when he was a Vatican diplomat in Uruguay. The charges against Ricca concerned a sin, the Pope explained, not a crime like molesting children, and therefore the church must not only “forgive, but forget …” “The catechism of the Catholic Church explains this very well,” the Pope continued. “It says [Gays] should not be marginalized because of this, but that they must be integrated into society.” On the other hand, the Pope condemned the idea of a “Gay lobby” within the Vatican. “The problem is not having this orientation,” he said. “We must be brothers. The problem is lobbying by this orientation, or lobbies of greedy people, political lobbies, Masonic lobbies, so many lobbies. This is the worse problem.”

“It’s a honeycomb of closets,” he continued. “Not everyone knows everybody else. Everybody knows somebody who knows someone else. So there is a … game of blackmail going on. “The people with the strongest motivation to keep the current system are those people who – maybe for the best of motives – opted to ‘sacrifice’ that part of themselves [sexual orientation] for what they thought was the glory of God. They found themselves constantly having to re-enact that sacrifice for other people, as though the annihilation of who one is was actually what our Lord meant. Their sacrifice has been not only in vain, but has been a monumental act of selfdestruction. This destruction is independent of whether the person has or has not got partners.” DEFINING THE TERM Veteran Vatican correspondent John L. Allen of the National Catholic Reporter sketched a very similar scenario. The Italian term lobby gay has a different nuance than the English phrase, Allen explains. “When you say ‘Gay lobby’ to the typical English-speaker, what they’re going to think of is an interest group advancing an agenda. “That really is not what Italians mean by the term lobby gay.” What they mean is this clandestine network of people in the Vatican who have skeletons in their closets who are looking out for one another, and as far as Italians are concerned those skeletons don’t even have anything to do with sex, in some cases. “If the question is ‘Are there Gays in the Vatican?’ yes, of course there are. But if the question is ‘Is there some kind of organized network of Gays in the Vatican who are protecting one other and advancing their own interests?’ all I can tell you is that in 15 years of covering the place I’ve never seen any particular evidence of that.” German theologian David Berger has a different perspective. Berger was denounced and sacked from his teaching job when he came out in 2010 and now edits a Gay magazine. “In Rome I experienced that these [Gay] networks exist but they’re not about powergrabbing,” he said. “Nepotism exists in the Vatican anyway, based on friendships. The main aim of these circles is simply to gain access to sex in an uncomplicated way. There is also a lot of paid sex but much unpaid sex as well. There’s no Gay conspiracy in the Vatican.”

A ‘PRE-MODERN’ CULTURE So who and what is this notorious “Gay lobby”? The openly Gay English theologian James Alison estimates that more than 40% of the Catholic clergy today are Gay, but that very few are comfortable or honest about it. Other experienced observers agree with his estimate, though few inside the church will speak on the record. “The notion of a Gay lobby is complicated,” Alison told the British newspaper The Guardian. “There are so many uses of the term.” “Rome is one of the last places on earth where ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’ actually means that,” Alison explained. “It is a traditional, monosexual culture, in the same way that the British army would have been in 1890. Women, and indeed sex, are simply irrelevant. It didn’t matter what you did, so long as you weren’t caught and caused no scandal. “It’s a remarkable cultural survival of a pre-modern world. But the people inhabiting it are modern people. So you get cognitive dissonance. There are various ways of surviving. You can live a double life, with ANONYMOUS ACCUSATIONS all the pain that will lead to. You can choose Because of the secretive nature of these to shut down your emotional life and be- networks, clergy who live under their procome career-minded. tection are often exposed to scandal-mon-

gering by rival churchmen. For example, a scandal last year, when Pope Benedict’s butletter accusing a number of prominent Ger- ler passed on detailed secret information to man and Austrian clergymen, inside and journalists. outside the Vatican, of participating in Gay It is also likely that this letter was includnetworks was sent anonymously to all Ger- ed in a dossier presented to Pope Benedict man-speaking bishops last year. in February by three cardinals charged with Some of the clerics named in the letter investigating the VatiLeaks affair, and thus were accused of complicity in the maneu- it formed part of the factual basis for allegaverings around the so-called VatiLeaks tions of a “Gay lobby” in the Vatican.

enda

continued from cover they are or who they love, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act is a bipartisan, common-sense way to put those values into federal law,” McTighe said in a statement. “Our campaign will mobilize the supermajority of diverse Americans who believe in workplace fairness and push Congress to act on ENDA this year.” One of the organizations in the coalition, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, also sent a letter to members of Congress urging them to co-sponsor ENDA. Eighty-eight organizations signed on to the letter. Among them were the AFLCIO and eight of its largest unions; SEIU, United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW), and the National Education Association, which are not affiliated with the AFL-CIO; the NAACP, the National Council of La Raza, the Japanese American Citizens League, and many other groups based in communities of color; and all the largest LGBT rights organizations. “Our organizations are dedicated to the principle that every worker should be judged solely on his or her merits,” their letter said. “Hardworking Americans should not be kept from supporting their families and making a positive contribution to the economic life of our nation because of characteristics that have no bearing whatsoever on their ability to do a job. However, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Americans continue to experience high rates of discrimination in the workplace based on their sexual orientation and gender identity.”

House Education and Labor Committee in 2009, when Democrats had a majority, and its path forward in the current Republicancontrolled House is unclear. A version that excluded Transgender workers passed the House in 2007, but was never introduced in the Senate. The current version is Transinclusive. Currently, 16 states – including Washington – and the District of Columbia have enacted laws that prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Another five states bar job discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, but not gender identity. While these state laws provide important protections, employers in a majority of states can still fire, refuse to hire, or otherwise discriminate against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. ENDA would not only protect those workers, but would also allow the federal government to intervene if state remedies for anti-Gay or anti-Trans discrimination are not forthcoming.

SENATE BILL ADVANCES The latest incarnation of ENDA got a hearing in the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) committee on July 10. The HELP committee, of which Washington’s senior senator, Patty Murray, is a member, voted 15-7 to send the bill to the full Senate, with three Republicans joining all the committee’s Democrats in approving it. ENDA failed to make it through the

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russia

continued from page 5 sort of amused. She was actually smiling. An innocent, coy kind of smile, as if someone had farted. “You shouldn’t be so harsh, just because they’re all smart and have lots of money,” was her attempt at calming their anti-Semitism. That day I came home and told my mom what happened. “We have to get out of here,” she said, upset but not surprised. I don’t know why I was bullied by my classmates. The spitting, punching, switchblade pulling, death threats, hitting me with chairs lasted a couple years. I’d come to class and everyone refused to sit with me, then all of them would pounce. I wasn’t the only victim. Others fell in and out of favor. Mob mentality ruled the day. I started to carry a butcher’s knife to school. ENCOUNTERING THE ‘P’ WORD Being Gay, likewise, was not something I understood. The word pedik was most commonly used. It was an equivalent of “faggot” but also meant “pedophile.” Judging by the context of how others used it I quickly figured out that being a pedik was

absolutely the worst thing in the world. I’ve heard both my peers and adults say that pediks are viler than serial killers and that anyone admitting to be one deserves to die a terrible death. At school and around my friends, pedik was used in every conversation, to demean or dehumanize anyone you didn’t like. Yet with all the references to pediks, I also felt like they didn’t really exist. I didn’t know of a single one. Occasionally there were rumors of foreign celebrities being homosexual but these rumors were quickly dismissed. Freddy Mercury was a great example. Being the most popular man in Russia during my childhood (imagine the fan bases of Elvis, Madonna, and the Rolling Stones combined), Mercury was quickly stripped of his Gayness by Russian media and public opinion, who claimed that the rumors were either untrue or that his homosexual tendencies were simply the result of his drug abuse (he was a good boy – he couldn’t possibly be one of the pediks they hated so much). Realizing I was Gay in Russia felt like a terminal disease diagnosis. I couldn’t believe it was happening to me. What did I do to deserve it? I was just a kid. Yet there I was – a secret pedik, one of the monsters I’d heard about so much yet knew so little

about. Convinced that I was the only real Gay person in Russia, I felt completely alienated from the human race. I’d look in the mirror and imagine a reptilian creature lurking beneath my skin. If I was so unpopular already, for no apparent reason, what would happen to me if they knew? I became obsessed about concealing my secret. But having no idea what being Gay looked like, I was completely lost. I became so anxious and self-conscious that at times I would forget how to walk. Every step I took seemed like a huge undertaking. Does this step make me look pedik? Will this word sound pedik-like? Better sit still and keep my mouth shut. I had a couple close friends, who were like brothers to me growing up. Yet as they took interest in girls, I stopped hanging out with them. I couldn’t let them figure out that girls were not on my mind. AMERICAN COMPLACENCY It is with surprise that I observe the latest controversy about the lack of Gay rights in Russia. No, I’m not surprised by Russian homophobia. I’m only surprised by America’s sudden interest in brutal inhuman treatment of sexual minorities in Russia. It’s not new. It’s been that way for a long time. And to all the condescending liberal apologists: please, don’t compare the United States’ problems to what’s happening around the world. You have not the faintest idea. You are lucky, lucky, lucky to live here. I want to be optimistic about the possibility of progress in the area of Gay rights – no, human rights – in Russia. But it’s hard. It’s hard because Americans take certain things like freedom, equality, and justice for granted. Certain principles and ideals have always been here to live up to. The American progressives fighting for human rights, from abolitionists and suffragists to civil rights leaders of the ’60s to ACT UP and HRC, were able to make strides by appealing to the American public to live up to those ideals. Equality is assumed as the standard, while inequality, although common, is constantly debated and scrutinized. American homophobes have had to defend and explain their views for decades. But in Russia, there has never been such thing as equality or human rights.

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Backed by the Russian Orthodox Church, the oppressive monarchy condoned and enforced slavery and violent oppression against minorities. This monarchy was replaced with Communism, which was a different form of slavery. Everyone who had the courage to speak out against injustice was systematically murdered or sent to gulags to die. And now under the guise of democracy and the free market, the same old KGB goons are running the country as one large organized crime network, without any pretense of morality or justice. It’s hard to speak up about homophobia in such a place. Bigots in Russia don’t have to explain themselves. Violence against Gay people is not frowned upon, because violence is the way of life. For example, scores of journalists and opposition leaders questioning Russian corruption have been assassinated since the fall of the Soviet Union. If that happened in the U.S., we’d have a civil war on our hands. Gay rights in the West did not come out of a vacuum. They exist in the larger context of humanist movements – centuries of people striving for a fairer society, whether it was ending segregation or working toward gender equality. Russia doesn’t have an equivalent of these movements. Russia’s minorities, including Jews, are as despised now as they were during the reign of the Tzars. Feminism, which is such an important precursor for Gay rights, is foreign to most in the former Soviet Union. Women don’t see themselves as equal and rarely question whether that’s a good thing. An average Russian woman works her ass off, and then comes home expected to do every house chore possible while her husband reads the newspaper and drinks. March 8, International Women’s Day, which is very popular in Russia, has been appropriated by the sexist culture to mean nothing more than a day to celebrate how pretty women are and give them flowers. Domestic violence is the norm. Misogyny is as Russian as vodka. And without the assumption that women and men are equal, the concept of homosexual rights doesn’t stand a chance. CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM So, is there hope for Russia and its Gays? If America taught me anything it is that you have to be an optimist. As I try to look for a bright side, my mother comes to mind. Raised in a very bigoted family and community, she managed to come out unscathed and uncorrupted. She raised me to believe that all people are equal and deserve love and compassion. She educated me about the ridiculous nature of racism and antiSemitism. She questioned many of the gender roles and expectations which everyone around her took for granted. During our last year in Russia, we watched an episode of a Brazilian soap opera that touched upon the subject of Gay rights. It was thrilling to see this topic addressed on TV in a positive light. Yet I was also terrified to watch it with

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August 2, 2013

Celebrating 40 Years!

my mom. Will she guess, I wondered to myself? Will she ever guess I’m one of them? After the episode ended she told me how baffled she was by people who hated homosexuals. She added that if she ever had a Gay child, she wouldn’t love them any less and would support them unconditionally. I cried that night. I didn’t tell her my secret then, because I knew she would be worried for me – worried about potential danger to my life. But I couldn’t be more proud of her for being so different from everyone else I knew in Russia. So as I think about my mom, I think – yes, there’s hope. Human beings are resilient. Love, compassion, and courage will always triumph at the end. SPEAK OUT, ACT UP So how can Americans help? So many ways, but they all come down to keeping this issue in the public consciousness. Don’t stop talking about Gays in Russia. Don’t stop thinking about Gays in Russia. Talk to your friends, write about it, tweet about it, Facebook-post about it. If you have Russian friends, bring it up to them. Absolutely

call your senators and the State Department and tell them you are concerned about the situation in Russia and something needs to be done. One thing about the Russian elite – even the most backward of bigots – is their universal aspiration to be considered civilized, sophisticated, and cosmopolitan. They want to be respected and taken seriously. If Russian officials involved in passing the anti-Gay laws or spreading homophobic propaganda are banned from entering the U.S. and officially labeled human rights violators, they will be extremely upset (even if they claim otherwise). And it’s not just politicians. For example, the Seattle International Film Festival should be aware that Nikita Mikhalkov, whose work is celebrated in the West, is a far-right nationalist fanatic who has actively promoted pro-Putin and anti-Gay propaganda for years, even making a homophobic film targeting a popular effeminate performer. Some of the blood of Russian Gays is on his hands. In a perfect world, the Olympics would be moved to another city. Why legitimize

this awful proto-fascist regime? Some bring up Jesse Owens’ victory in Hitler’s Germany as if his athletic triumph made up for the deaths of millions of Jews and others. I don’t buy it. I will contact the corporate headquarters of all of the Olympic sponsors and let them know how I feel about them endorsing this event. Boycott all Russian products and tell everyone why. Russian businesses are all tied to the Russian government; it’s in the nature of that system. It’s very different from the U.S., where small businesses and corporations are free to openly pursue their own political agenda. Stoli is making excuses that only some of their vodka is manufactured in Russia. Well, let them move all of

their production elsewhere. Locally, Boeing and Microsoft should be encouraged to stop outsourcing work to Russia and not partner with Russian-based companies in any way. This may seem like a stretch right now. But so did Gay marriage, just 10 years ago.

August 2, 2013

Seattle Gay News 21

Wes Hurley is a Seattle-based filmmaker, born and raised in Russia’s Far East. His films, including the award-winning documentary Waxie Moon, have screened around the world. His last feature, a Queer pop-art comedy musical called Fallen Jewel, enjoys a cult following in Seattle, where it screens monthly. Hurley is currently working on an autobiographical film about growing up Gay in the Soviet Union.

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Celebrating 40 Years!

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