Issue 52 Volume 37
Celebrating 36 Years!
UGANDA p. 5
A SINGLE MAN p. 28
HONDURAS p. 7
Seattle Gay News
FRIDAY December 25, 2009 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
MEXICO CITY APPROVES Marlon Reis The first Gay Congressional spouse FULL MARRIAGE EQUALITY SGN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Adam Tow / tow.com
Marlon Reis
by Scott Rice SGN Contributing Writer I met Marlon Reis in a writing workshop at the University of Colorado. I believe it was the spring semester of 2001. He was a shy, skinny 19-year-old with pretty skin, sweet eyes, and big feet. He had a profound proclivity for
Mexico City’s Legislative Assembly became the first legislative body in Latin America to legalize same-sex marriage on Monday, December 21. The bill changes the definition of marriage in the city’s Civil Code. Marriage is currently defined as the union of a man and a woman. The new definition will be “the free uniting of two people.” The new law also allows samesex couples to adopt children, apply for bank loans together, inherit each other’s property, and be included in the insurance policies of their spouse. While Mexico City passed a same-sex civil union law in December 2006, these rights were denied to same-sex couples. The bill passed easily, 39-20, to the cheers of supporters who yelled: “Yes, we could! Yes, we could!” “We are so happy,” said Temistocles Villanueva, a 23-year-old film student who celebrated by kissing his boyfriend in front of the Assembly’s offices. Assembly member Victor Romo called it a historic day. “For centusee reis page 20 ries, unjust laws banned marriage
Victorian literature and Cher. We became friends and later edited CU’s undergrad literary journal together. I’ve always had Marlon’s e-mail address in my contacts, and we’d catch up intermittently. About a year ago, we exchanged our usual semiregular biennial e-mails. Marlon wrote saying, “You’ll never guess what I’m doing.” He was correct. I would never have imagined that the skinny, shy kid who wrote like Edgar Allan Poe and listened to Cher would land in the political spotlight as the partner of Jared Polis, the first openly Gay candidate for, and eventual member of, the U.S. House of Representatives. Marlon has become the political poster boy and trailblazing pioneer of the marriage equality debate. He is smack in the middle of Washing-
Prop 8 federal trial update Ludovic Bertron
by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer On December 16, U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker said he expects to keep a trial challenging California’s ban on same-sex marriage on track for January 11, 2010. Walker will preside over a no-jury trial, expected to last several weeks, of a lawsuit in which two same-sex couples claim the
marriage ban violates their federal constitutional rights. California voters enacted the prohibition in 2008. The ban, known as Proposition 8, amended the state Constitution and made same-sex marriage illegal. The years-long series of court cases based on the issue came to an end on May 26 when California Supreme Court ruled that voters, in approving Prop. 8, had the power
to amend the state document to prohibit same-sex marriage. Proposition 8 added the words “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California” to the state Constitution. Kristen Perry and Sandra Stier of Berkley and Paul Katami and Jeffrey Zarrillio of Burbank filed the federal lawsuit in May. The Gay and Lesbian couples’ highprofile attorneys, Theodore Olson and David Boise, will argue that Proposition 8 violates their federal constitutional rights to due process and equal protection. “We’re ready,” Olson, a former U.S. solicitor general, said at a news conference following the December 16 pretrial hearing. “It’s obvious that our opponents and the judge are very well-prepared.” The lawsuit has garnered the public’s attention, in that it takes a new tack in legal battles over Gay marriage by centering on the U.S. Constitution. In the past, the merits of same-sex marriage have been argued as a separation between church and state or on the grounds of morality. Olson and Boise are saying Gay marriage is a 14th Amendment issue, and seek
reuters
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
rattles D.C. just by showing up
Gay rights activists cheer the vote
between blacks and whites or In- and state legislature for a metrodians and Europeans,” he said. politan area of almost 9 million “Today, all barriers have disap- people, is controlled by the leftist peared.” The Mexico City Legislative Assembly, a combination city council see mexico page 19
Love Takes Over targets newspapers to promote marriage equality
by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer
Love Takes Over, a nationwide initiative which calls on citizens to write to their local newspapers about marriage equality during the week of January 3-9, is gearing up for a campaign that its organizers say could make a difference in the way people talk about same-sex marriage. The articles are being coordinated to hit newspapers during the same week all around the nation. College students on winter break are encouraged to write their hometown newspapers and submit a piece to their campus newspaper at the start of the 2010, say the activists behind Love Takes Over. “The idea behind Love Takes see prop 8 page 19 Over is simple,” Jen Dugan,
proud to Be Different
We are conveniently located on-site at Lifelong AIDS Alliance below the Thrift Store.
founder and coordinator of Love Takes Over, told SGN. “One week. One unified voice. Everyone will take over America’s local newspapers to get people talking about marriage equality across the entire country at the same time.” Love Takes Over came about as a response to the astronomical cost of the same-sex marriage fight in America. Dugan says in California alone, $83 million was spent on Proposition 8. And yet, she said, there was a news article this year reporting that the governor of California had to cut funding for domestic violence shelters because the state is in an economic crisis. “Opponents of marriage equality were willing to come together and shell out millions to prevent samesee lto page 19
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Seattle Gay News
December 25, 2009
Celebrating 36 Years!
nick ardizzone
Season’s Greetings FROM THE STAFF AT SEATTLE GAY NEWS.
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December 25, 2009
Seattle Gay News
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2009
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 Tom Flint (retired) 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, Rajket Dirzhud-Rashid, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel Miryam Gordon, 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 Photographers Nick Ardizzone, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel, Rajket Dirzhud-Rashid 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. © 2009, 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.
Homo stupidicus by Leslie Robinson SGN Contributing Writer You’ve heard of Peking Man and Java Man. Now meet Mecklenburg Man. This prehistoric specimen, Bill James, is a Mecklenburg County (N.C.) commissioner. At a recent public meeting in Charlotte, commissioners debated whether to offer domesticpartner benefits to county employees. During the proceedings, James, a Republican white man, sat next to Vilma Leake, a Democratic black woman. Presumably each now wishes the other had been sitting in another country. Leake revealed her personal tie to the debate: “A son that I birthed … died of AIDS, and I did not know that in 2010 I would be sitting here to defend … his lifestyle,” she said with fervor. After her speech, James leaned over and asked, “Your son was a homo, really?” James is a caveman, really. Leake responded, “You’re going to make me hurt you. Don’t do that to me. Don’t talk
about my son.” After the vote – the board approved domestic-partner benefits for Mecklenburg County employees in same-sex relationships – Leake briefly left her seat, still smarting. She wants an apology, and the chair of the commission agrees. James told the Charlotte Observer he won’t apologize. He said he was just asking for a clarification, wasn’t making a derogatory comment, and used a slang word he grew up with. Language was limited in the cave. WBTV asked James for an interview, but he said with all the recent talking and interviews he’d lost his voice. Before you say hallelujah, check out how ignorant and nasty he can be when he types. In an e-mail to the TV station, James called Leake “a religious hypocrite” who “used her son’s ‘lifestyle’ and his death from HIV-AIDS to justify voting for benefits to allow individuals to use tax dollars to engage in the same behavior that resulted
Somewhere, a Cro-Magnon village is missing its idiot.
in her son’s death. “It is akin to someone whose son is an alcoholic and died from the disease, using his death from drinking as justification to have the taxpayers pay for more booze.” Somewhere, a Cro-Magnon village is missing its idiot. He devotes his longest paragraph to taking Leake to task for threatening him with violence, saying that’s her pattern. He has a long history of shooting from the lip, but that he omits. It seems to me the average homophobic politician of today makes an effort to avoid obviously anti-Gay language. James is below average. With people calling for his ouster for his initial insensitivity, instead of hushing up, he spewed bile till Charlotte was knee-deep. Not very politic for a politician. My guess is he likes that, views himself as a straightshooter. Or he might simply be such a Neanderthal that all he knows how to do is speak his simple mind, then if there’s trouble, automatically start swinging. He skipped evolution or evolution skipped him. Before he lost his voice, James spoke on local talk radio’s Keith Larson Show. He said, “If Vilma is, frankly, dumb enough to try to use her sick and sadly dead son as justification for allowing more sickness and more death, then I’ve got a right to challenge that, in a public setting, in the arena.” Yes, he called a fellow county commissioner dumb. Yes, he again said being Gay is lethal. Yes, a paramecium has more brains and compassion. How long will the people of Mecklenburg County put up with James? His initial slur even disturbed people who agree with him. It and his subsequent statements should get him booted from the commissioner’s chair. Perhaps he’ll land in a natural history museum, where he’ll be linked with Peking Man, Java Man and others that – to his intense embarrassment – belong to the species Homo erectus. Leslie Robinson belongs to the clique of homosexual Homo sapiens. E-mail her at LesARobinson@gmail.com.
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
4
Seattle Gay News
December 25, 2009
Celebrating 36 Years!
Ugandan president says he’ll block anti-Gay bill by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
AKDN/Gary Otte
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has promised the US State Department to block an anti-Gay bill pending in his country’s parliament. According to State Department spokesperson Jon Tollefson, Museveni twice promised Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson that he would prevent passage of the bill, or veto it if it did pass. Museveni’s assurances came first in a face-to-face meeting with Carson on October 24, soon after news of the proposed measure broke in the US, and again in a phone conversation on December 4. Reports of these conversations first surfaced in DC Agenda, the successor to the Washington Blade newspaper, on December 21, and then on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow Show on December 22. Also on December 22, State Department spokesperson Noel Clay confirmed to SGN that the conversations had taken place, but he declined to discuss the specifics of the talks. “We’ve raised this several times with the Ugandan government,” Clay said. “I haven’t read the [DC Agenda] article, so I can’t say if it’s accurate or not.” Assistant Secretary Carson reportedly briefed about 20 NGOs – including the HRC, the International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission, Human Rights First, and Human Rights Watch – on Museveni’s promises to him on December 18. The briefing was not public, but attendee Mark Bromley, chair of the Council for Global Equality, disclosed Carson’s statements to DC Agenda. “Secretary Carson made it clear that on
president to live up to that commitment….” Homosexuality is already illegal in Uganda, but the proposed anti-Gay legislation would institute the death penalty for “repeat offender” Gays and those who have sex while HIV-positive. It also requires Ugandans to inform on others suspected of being Gay. Additionally, the bill would criminalize two occasions, President Museveni has said the formation of LGBT organizations and he would stop the bill from going forward the publication or broadcast of pro-Gay ma-
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni
and he said that he’s continuing to write to him and sending messages that the US expects him to honor his word,” Bromley said. The State Department’s Tollefson has confirmed that “[Pres. Museveni] understood the concerns and said that he would do what he could to make sure the bill was not passed. He would not sign the bill. … He made a commitment to the secretary that he would work to make sure it wasn’t signed into law.” “So that being said,” Tollefson continued, “the assistant secretary is expecting the
FBI to investigate Texas hate crime by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The FBI announced on December 17 that it would use the authority it received under the newly passed Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act to investigate a kidnapping and sexual assault in Big Bend, Texas, as a possible antiGay hate crime. “We are opening a case and we’re beginning our investigation,” Special Agent Andrea Simmons of the El Paso branch office of the FBI told SGN on December 23. “I can’t comment on anything else, because
it’s now an ongoing investigation.” The victim in the case, an 18-year-old high school student, was kidnapped by two suspects on December 6 outside the Boathouse Bar and Restaurant in Terlingua, near Big Bend National Park and the TexasMexico border. The suspects then took the victim to a remote location, burned his vehicle, and repeatedly sexually assaulted him before he managed to escape, crossing three miles of harsh desert terrain on foot to get help. A Brewster County Sheriff’s Deputy found him on State Highway 118 at about 1 a.m. According to the Big Bend Gazette monthly, the victim was examined by doctors, questioned by sheriff’s deputies, and is now recovering at an undisclosed location.
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terials in Uganda. LGBT activists estimate there are some 500,000 Gay people in Uganda out of a population of about 31 million. When news of the impending legislation broke in the US, the State Department characterized it as “a significant step backwards for human rights in Uganda.” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticized the bill in two major speeches, on the occasion of World AIDS Day on December 1, and again at Georgetown University on December 14. On December 11, the White House issued Two suspects have been arrested by the Brewster County Sheriff’s Department, 46-year-old Daniel Martinez and 27-yearold Kristopher Buchanan. The two were indicted by a grand jury on December 18 on charges of aggravated sexual assault, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and arson. Bond was set at $275,000 each. Big Bend Gazette reports that Buchanan is also being held on two outstanding felony warrants from two other Texas counties. Martinez also has numerous prior arrests and convictions. Three of the four charges in the Big Bend case are first-degree felonies. Since there is no penalty enhancement available under the 2001 Texas hate crimes statute, it would be unlikely that the district attorney would prosecute the case as a hate crime. However, the FBI investigation could lead to federal hate crimes charges under the Matthew Shepard Act. That law, signed by President Obama in October, allows federal authorities to intervene in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes based on real
December 25, 2009
a statement saying that “[T]he president strongly opposes efforts, such as the draft law pending in Uganda, that would criminalize homosexuality and move against the tide of history.” The State Department would not explicitly discuss the consequences for Uganda if Museveni failed to deliver on his promises, however. The State Department’s Noel Clay told SGN “If adopted [the bill] would be a significant step backwards for human rights in Uganda and it would undermine our joint efforts to slow the spread of HIV/AIDS.” Uganda is currently one of 15 “focus countries” which are eligible for priority funding under the PEPFAR (President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief) program. Uganda receives some $287 million in PEPFAR funding for AIDS prevention and treatment. Asked whether threats to cut PEPFAR funds to Uganda might be used as a deterrent to the proposed legislation, Tollefson said that the question came up during the December 18 briefing, but US officials are reluctant to pursue that option. “Public funds to start retroviral treatment is not a one-day commitment; it’s a lifetime commitment, and we haven’t had that discussion and we don’t want to have that discussion,” Tollefson said. “And, of course, no one would want to see that happen, so it’s not something that we want to consider.” Other countries have not been so reluctant to threaten Uganda. Sweden, for example, has said it would withdraw the $50 million of aid it gives to Uganda each year if the measure becomes law. BBC News has reported that at a Commonwealth meeting in November, several leaders warned Museveni to consider the dangers the proposed law could pose to Uganda’s international standing. However, BBC also quoted Ugandan parliament member David Bahati, the sponsor of the bill and a member of Museveni’s National Resistance Movement, as saying, “Here, we don’t recognize homosexuality as a right.” or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. Matt Espenshade, a senior resident FBI agent in Midland, Texas, told the Dallas Voice newspaper on December 17 that the FBI is now monitoring the Brewster County Sheriff’s investigation, and plans to conduct its own. “Our investigation is to either establish or deny whether it was [a hate crime], but there seems to have been some indication that that was possibly a motive,” Espenshade said. “At least that has been alleged, and so we’re looking into those allegations to see if that is true or not. … I think we have to do our due diligence in order to ascertain whether this is a violation of civil rights or it isn’t.” Espenshade said he believed the attack may have been an anti-Gay hate crime based on witness statements about activity at the bar prior to the attack. He declined to elaborate on the facts of the case because he said he didn’t want to jeopardize the investigation. “We’re investigating those particular comments,” Espenshade said. “I can’t say the breadth of them right now, because it may or may not pan out that way.” It remains unclear whether the victim is in fact Gay, but the Matthew Shepard Act covers both actual and perceived sexual orientation. Espenshade said sheriff’s investigators are focused on the kidnapping and sexual assault charges and may not have wanted to “pry” into the victim’s sexual orientation. “He has not declared any sexual orientation, and we’re looking into whether that was perceived,” Espenshade said. “For the purposes of the statute, it doesn’t matter if he is a homosexual or not, it’s just what the subjects perceived.” According to Simmons, once the FBI investigation is complete, “it will go to the US Attorney’s Office, which is part of the Justice Department. Then it’s up to them whether to file charges. We just investigate. We don’t prosecute.” “We take these cases very seriously,” she added, “and it will be a serious investigation.”
Seattle Gay News
5
NEWS
DC legalizes Gay marriage The Washington, D.C., Council voted 11-2 December 15 to legalize same-sex marriage. Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the bill into law December 18, which sent it to Congress for a 30-day “review” period. Congress is not expected to block the law, multiple sources said. Gay couples should be able to begin marrying in D.C. once the review period’s 30 “legislative” days pass. “As a D.C. resident, I am personally proud of the council for standing so strongly for fairness and affirming the common humanity that bonds each of us,” said National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Executive Director Rea Carey. “It’s a huge victory,” said Human Rights Campaign President Joe Solmonese. “[It] means a great deal coming after marriage equality losses in New York and Maine.” Solmonese said it will be important to remain “vigilant” even after the weddings begin in D.C. “The U.S. Congress can choose to intervene and overturn the law at any time – a loophole the radical right is bound to try to exploit,” he said. In addition, anti-Gay activists are in Superior Court battling a decision by the D.C. Board of Elections and Ethics not to give residents an opportunity to veto the law at the ballot box. At present, D.C. grants full recognition to same-sex marriages that took place else-
Scott Wheeler/The Ledger
NATIONAL by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer where. Same-sex matrimony is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont and, starting in January, New Hampshire. It also was legalized in California and Maine, but voters later re-banned it. Internationally, same-sex couples can marry in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Sweden. Springsteen: Legalize Gay marriage in NJ Rock legend Bruce Springsteen has come out in support of same-sex marriage. He lives in New Jersey, where the Legislature is considering a bill to legalize Gay matrimony. “I’ve been following the progress of the marriage-equality legislation currently being considered in Trenton,” Springsteen wrote on his website. “I’ve long believed in and have always spoken out for the rights of same-sex couples and fully agree with Governor [Jon] Corzine when he writes that ‘The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is – a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law.’” Springsteen urged “those who support equal treatment for our Gay and Lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now.” Actress Meredith Baxter comes out Actress Meredith Baxter came out in an interview on NBC December 2. “I’m a Lesbian. It was a later-in-life recognition of that fact,” she said. “I got involved with someone I never expected to get involved with and it was that kind of awaken-
Iconic rocker Bruce Springsteen, seen here performing during the halftime show for Super Bowl XLIII in February 2009, has thrown his support behind the legalization of Gay marriage in New Jersey.
ing and I never fought it because it was like, ‘Oh, I understand why I had the issues I had early in my life.’” Baxter said she always “had a great deal of difficulty connecting with men in relationships.” “Sometimes, I assumed I was a bad picker, which I was indeed, but I also was involved with people who made me think, ‘Oh, they’re the problem,’ because there were problems with the people I chose. It never occurred to me to think, ‘Oh, it’s me.’” She said she hopes her coming out will encourage people to stop voting against LGBT people at the ballot box. “If anybody knows someone who’s Gay or Lesbian, then when they are addressing Gay or Lesbian issues, political issues, that affect their rights, they are less likely to vote against them, to take away their rights,” Baxter said. “So ... if I can be that Lesbian you know now, ‘OK, well, if I vote this way, then that actually might affect this person I know, that Meredith.’” Baxter, 62, starred in the TV shows Family and Family Ties.
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS
by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer César Ochoa courtesy of Être magazine
Kathleen Weil, who is Quebec’s justice minister, attorney general and minister responsible for the fight against homophobia, announces the province’s new anti-homophobia campaign Dec. 11 in Montreal.
UK registrars cannot shun civil partnerships England’s Court of Appeal ruled December 15 that a Christian marriage registrar who was disciplined for refusing to register Gay civil partnerships was not a victim of religious discrimination. Lillian Ladele also had claimed that local authorities in the London borough of Islington shunned and ridiculed her because of her religious convictions. 6
Seattle Gay News
December 25, 2009
She quit her job at Islington Council in September. Ladele initially won her case before the Central London Employment Tribunal, but the decision was overturned by the Employment Appeal Tribunal and that ruling now has been upheld by the Court of Appeal. The court said that “the requirements of a modern liberal democracy, such as the United Kingdom, include outlawing discrimination in the provision of goods, facilities and services on grounds of sexual orientation, subject only to very limited exceptions.” Ladele plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Gays blocked from fielding candidate in Philippine election The Philippines Commission on Elections on December 17 upheld its earlier decision to block the LGBT group Ang Ladlad from registering as a political party and fielding a candidate for Congress in the May national election. The vote by the full commission to uphold the decision by a smaller group of commis-
EQCA’s Kors: Do not support politicians who oppose Gay marriage The head of Equality California, Geoff Kors, is encouraging LGBT people to refuse to support any politician who opposes samesex marriage. “We have to support only candidates who are 100 percent for equality ... and this includes support for marriage equality and for coverage for transition-related health care for Transgender people,” he wrote at lgbtpov.com. “We must help to advance those candidates who support us all the way, and refuse to give to those candidates who do not.” “Legislators must know that if they backpedal on or do not vote for our rights, it will impact them when election time rolls around again,” Kors said. “These legislators risk their endorsements and campaign donations when they cave in to pressure from our opponents. In some districts, these legislators are putting their re-election on the line.” With assistance from Bill Kelley sioners was 4-3. It is “crystal clear,” the commission said, “that [Ang Ladlad] tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs.” “Should this Commission grant the petition, we will be exposing our youth to an environment that does not conform to the teachings of our faith,” the ruling stated. According to ABS-CBN News, the ruling also quoted the Bible and the Koran as calling homosexuality “unseemly” and “transgressive.” Ang Ladlad said it will appeal the rejection to the nation’s Supreme Court. Quebec government launches battle against homophobia The Canadian province of Quebec launched an official campaign against homophobia December 11. “By its gesture this morning, Quebec society demonstrates once again that it is in the vanguard in terms of the rights of sexual minorities,” said Kathleen Weil, who is the provincial justice minister, attorney general and minister responsible for the fight against homophobia. “La Politique québécoise de lutte contre l’homophobie” will recognize the realities of sexual minorities; promote respect for their rights; “foster their well-being, notably in offering services adapted to their needs”; and “ensure concerted action by all social actors in the fight against homophobia.” “Whether this translates into action on a large scale or simple gestures in everyday life, I am convinced that each of our actions to counter homophobia will move Quebec toward a society that is more just, more tolerant, and richer in its diversity,” Weil said. In a posting on its website, the Justice Ministry said the new campaign is just one element “in a broader strategy leading to the full and complete recognition of sexual minorities, institutional and community support for sexual minorities, and improved knowledge about sexual diversity.” With assistance from Bill Kelley
Celebrating 36 Years!
Gay bookstores: A dying breed by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer Like many Lesbians, Gay men, Bisexuals or Transgender people, I came out of the closet with the help of Gay books and Gay bookstores. Though we didn’t have a Gay bookstore in Miami when I came out in the early 1970s, I took advantage of the mail-order services provided by the newly established bookshops. My first visit to the Oscar Wilde Bookshop in Greenwich Village (1977) was like a religious pilgrimage; an experience that I repeated two years later when I first visited Lambda Rising Bookstore in Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. Both Oscar Wilde and Lambda Rising were part of a chain of bookshops that dotted the Gay ghettoes of North America: Glad Day in Boston and Toronto, Giovanni’s Room in Philadelphia, Outwrite in Atlanta, A Differ-
ent Light in West Hollywood and San Francisco, Little Sister’s in Vancouver and, of course, Lambda Passages in Miami. Sadly, the quantity and quality of exclusively Gay bookstores have declined during the first decade of the 21st century. In 2009, the Oscar Wilde Bookshop drew its last breath, and just last month Deacon Maccubbin, the founder and still co-owner of Lambda Rising Bookstore, announced plans to close his stores in Washington, D.C. and Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Maccubbin’s reasons are understandable: he and Jim Bennett, his partner and co-owner, want to retire after 35 years in the book business. But their departure will leave a gap in our community that may never be filled. The demise of Oscar Wilde and Lambda Rising bookstores (among others) leave behind only a handful of exclusively GLBT bookstores, including Giovanni’s Room,
Honduran government targets Transgender community by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
“During the state of emergency, you could feel a climate of fear, collective panic. Nothing could move here if it hadn’t been authoAs reported in last week’s SGN (Decem- rized by the armed forces, particularly the ber 18), when Gay human rights activist army,” Reyes said. “When the state of emerWalter Trochez was murdered by suspected gency was declared that day, everybody just agents of the Honduran government, he was ran home to hide and find refuge. What the authorities would do that night was documenting the regime’s attacks nobody’s responsibility.” on the local LGBT commuReyes told Amnesty Innity. “These are the that at least In an open letter he violent deaths and crimes ternational three LGBT persons released on November 16, Trochez that we have documented. It were killed in the first 24 hours of the named nine “martyrs of the LGBTT doesn’t include the many others state of emergency, community.” Of we don’t know of – the ones all of them shot in the head executionthem at least seven that are left in impunity, style. were Transgender or Red Lesbica Cat“Travesti,” the Hondulost in limbo.” trachas, a group of femiran word for cross-dressers nist artists supporting a return to who may or may not identify as democratic government in Honduras, has Transgender. In the two weeks since Trochez’s murder documented 15 murder victims, at least 10 on December 13, more killings have been of them Transgender or Travesti. The list inbrought to light, almost all of them involv- cludes the nine named by Trochez, plus six others including an anonymous victim who ing Transgender or Travesti victims. Honduran Gay activist Donny Reyes, an was not named because he was not yet out. Their report includes photos of many of organizer for the Rainbow Association, told Amnesty International in November that the dead, descriptions of the circumstances conditions for the LGBT community have of their murders, plus Honduran newspaper deteriorated sharply since the June 28 coup articles reporting on the events. They conclude with the demand “We call that deposed democratically elected Presifor a full investigation and prosecution of dent Manuel Zelaya. “We had started talks with the Public the crimes and their perpetrators, police ofProsecutor’s Office, with members of the ficers, [paramilitary] Cobra units, military police and some members of the govern- officials during the coup regime between ment for the investigation [of crimes against June 28, 2009 to the present.” Pres. Zelaya was arrested by the military the LGBT community] and access to some public services. This stopped after the coup d’etat,” Reyes said. Research conducted by Rainbow found that there were 12 killings of LGBT people in Honduras in the whole of 2008. In the four months since the coup, that figure reached 14. “These are the violent deaths and crimes that we have documented. It doesn’t include the many others we don’t know of – the ones that are left in impunity, lost in limbo,” Reyes said. According to Reyes, the most dangerous period was the weeklong “state of emergency” immediately following Pres. Zelaya’s arrest by the Honduran military on June 28.
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Outwrite, Little Sister’s and Lambda Passages, all teetering on the edge of insolvency. These and other stores cannot compete with major chain stores like Barnes & Noble or Borders, or mail-order houses like Amazon.com. Though the existence of a GLBT book section in a major chain store is, of course, a step forward for our community, it cannot take the place of our small, independently owned Queer bookshops. Long before B&N and Borders took notice, our community bookstores were making GLBT books available, supporting GLBT authors, and fostering good GLBT literature. Deacon Maccubbin himself criticized Gay writers who put links to Amazon and other online sellers on their websites: “I wonder if they really think they would have been published at all if not for the Gay bookstores that sprang up around the country in the 1980s and 1990s. … In the 1970s, that literature barely existed.” But Gay bookshops do more than sell books. According to Completely Queer: The Gay and Lesbian Encyclopedia, “Gay and Lesbian – and feminist/women’s – bookstores have traditionally served as informal community centers, offering everything from space for bulletin boards to tourist information to legal and medical referrals. Many also provide space for meetings, performances, and readings.” The late John Preston, writing in The Big Gay Book (1991), called Gay bookstores “the one single most consequential element in the development of Gay culture. These stores have been willing to stock our books when others wouldn’t have them. They represent a distribution system for our journals and newspapers. They are often the first stop that isolated Gay men [and Lesbians] make
when they get to a major city, desperate for a Gay cultural fix.” Preston’s statement holds true almost two decades later. The surviving GLBT bookshops, especially those that have coffee shops, provide a social outlet for our community members, especially Queer and questioning youth. Unlike bars, bookstores are alcohol- and stress-free and are accessible to all segments of our community. They provide us with hard-to-find items produced by Gay-owned, small book, audio and video publishers. In Lesbian and Gay bookstores, we get personalized service from knowledgeable, Gay or Gay-friendly staff members who know their merchandise and who are part of our community. Many of these shops have websites and/or catalog services that makes it is as easy for us to buy from them as it is to buy from Amazon.com. Sadly, the rise of Gay-friendly chain stores and online sellers has been fatal to Gay bookshops everywhere. Many surviving shops have had to diversify in order to survive, by selling or renting DVDs, Tshirts, greeting cards and jewelry along with books and magazines. Independent Gay bookstores, like other “Mom and Mom” or “Pop and Pop” businesses, can only thrive by providing their customers with products and services that the major chains can’t or won’t provide – such as adult videos or DVDs that are not available elsewhere. Only that – and a loyal customer base – will allow our few remaining bookshops to live long and prosper. Jesse Monteagudo is a freelance writer and Gay book lover who lives in South Florida with his life partner. You may reach him at jessemonteagudo@aol.com.
and sent out of the country on June 28. He exactly what we’ll be saying. Let’s wait and continues to insist that he is the legal presi- let the new people come into office and then dent of Honduras, and the Micheletti regime we’ll see.” which replaced him has not been recognized by any other government. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has denounced the coup and called for the restoration of constitutional government. Contacted by SGN for comment, US State department spokesperson Noel Clay reaffirmed that the US does not support the Micheletti government and that “since the coup, we remain concerned about human rights in Honduras.” “I’m not aware of the specific [Trochez] case,” he continued, “but we urge all countries not to make sexual orientation the basis for discrimination, criminalization, or attacks of any kind.” Conservative businessman Porfirio Lobo Sosa was elected President of Honduras on November 27, and will take office in January 2010, but Zelaya and his supporters have refused to recognize the legitimacy of the election. Asked if the US would insist that the new Lobo government bring those responsible for the murders to justice, Clay said, “That’s something we’d be raising but I’m not sure
December 25, 2009
Seattle Gay News
7
NORTHWEST
NEWS
compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer
MCC SEATTLE HOSTS TRANSGENDER DAY OF WORSHIP On Sunday, December 27, at 12:30 p.m., Rev. Ray Neal, pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church Seattle invites all persons from the LGBT community and their straight supporters to a Transgender Day of Worship in the Chapel at Temple de Hirsch Sinai, 1441 16th Ave. at E. Union St., and to a forum afterwards on Transgender Issues and Opportunities. Shannon Buzard, a wellknown member in Seattle’s Transgender community and a lay leader at the Ravenna United Methodist Church, will be the guest speaker. Shannon will bring the sermon during worship and will also lead the congregation in a discussion forum on Transgender Issues and Opportunities afterwards. Refreshments will be served at the forum. Lincoln Rose, a Transgender member of MCC Seattle and a member of the Pastoral Ministries Team at MCC will lead communion during worship. MCC Seattle is the oldest congregation in the Pacific Northwest founded by and for the Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Bisexual community. Rev. Ray Neal is the senior pastor, having come to Seattle in March, 2009. Rev. Michelle Carmody serves the congregation as Associate Pastor. 206-325-2421; www.mccseattle.org. IN THE LIFE TV TALKS ABOUT AIDS On Sunday, December 27, at midnight, KCT-TV will broadcast In the Life TV’s December episode, “Creating Solutions.” Over twenty million people have died from AIDS since it became known in 1981. Though leading scientists worldwide have dedicated their life’s work to understanding the virus, its genetic complexity is unprecedented and a cure is still beyond reach. This month on In the Life, producers speak with scientists working tirelessly for a cure, with advocates speaking out about the stigma of HIV, and look at the success of a cutting edge prevention effort to stop the spread of the disease. For more information and to view the program online at anytime visit www.inthelifetv.org. JAMES KNAPP’S “ABC” (ANYTHING BUT CLOTHES) BIRTHDAY BASH AT CAFÉ METROPOLITAIN TO BENEFIT LAMBERT HOUSE On Monday, December 28, from 8 p.m. to midnight, you’re invited to James Knapp’s “ABC” (Anything But Clothes) Birthday Party at Café Metropolitan, 1701 E. Olive Way, to benefit Lambert House, Greater Seattle’s LGBTQ Youth Resource Center. Miss Lady Chablis will MC the event, with DJ Jimmie Carafella spinning the BEST of REAL ‘80s music. There will be a piñata, a “Pin the Tail” game, an “Anything But Clothes” costume contest and a fundraising silent auction for items generously donated by Capitol Hill businesses. Kevin Lauer, known for his work at Hard Times, will be the “Red Carpet” photographer from 8-9:30 p.m. James Knapp writes: “Why I’m doing this: Having been born in that downhill slide to New Year’s after everyone has celebrated the holidays, I’ve NEVER had a birthday party! Everyone needs a reason to party, so why not MY birthday? Themed parties are the best, so let’s do an “ABC” party! Come wearing “Anything But Clothes” and please bring some non-perishable food items or CASH to donate for Lambert House. “So what does “Anything But Clothes” mean??? Are we going around naked? No! Although that can be fun, we can’t do that in public! But “Anything But Clothes” means you can wear your favorite garbage can, cellophane wrap, fig leaf, teddy bear jumpsuit or whatever else you can think of to cover your bits and enjoy the party! Alternatively, if you have trouble with any of that, you may wear your most creative “costume” 8
Seattle Gay News
from 2009. But your “ABC” creativity will go towards winning great prizes. “Invite your friends and family to this kickass birthday party and benefit!!!” Local businesses donating items to the ABC Birthday Bash and Lambert House Benefit include Blackbird Ice Cream Shop, Chao Bistro, Cupcake Royale, Gay City, Kaladi Brothers Coffee, Lifelong AIDS Alliance, The Lobby Bar, Purr, Retail Therapy, Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse, Target, Toys in Babeland, Under U 4 Men, with items from additional businesses expected. Thank you to Seattle Gay News for donating promotional advertising.
GAY CITY HEALTH PROJECT OFFERING “OUT TO QUIT” SMOKING CESSATION WORKSHOP On Tuesday, January 5, Gay City Health Project offers a FREE six-week smoking cessation workshop series for Gay and Bisexual men who want to: 1) make a plan and stick to it, 2) learn skills to handle stress and health, and 3) get support from other Gay and Bi men who are also “out to quit.” For more information and to register, contact Lark at 206-388-1710 or email lark@gaycity.org. SOUTHEND LGBTQ POTLUCK On Sunday, January 10, from 4-7 p.m., meet other Southend Seattle LGBTQ folks for a community potluck and to help plan fun programs for the over 40 LGBTQ crowd. Bring your favorite dish to share. FREE. Southeast Seattle Senior Center, 4655 S. Holly St. For more information, contact Ruth at 206-722-0317 or email ruthe@seniorservices.org.
THE ELITE HOSTS FREE ASL LESSONS FOR BEGINNERS NORTHWEST NETWORK Have you ever wanted to learn basic PRESENTS WINTER American Sign Language? If so, you can RELATIONSHIP SKILLS CLASS get some beginning ASL instruction at the On Wednesday evenings, January 13-FebElite, 1520 E. Olive Way. The FREE lessons will be held every Tuesday at 7 p.m. in the ruary 17, The Northwest Network presents a six-week course exploring the skills we loft. need to build the relationships we want. Topics include: identifying cultural norms SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB AT DUNSHEE HOUSE and personal values, accountability, naming The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club and setting boundaries, strengthening supmeets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Dun- port networks and more! The class is open shee House, 303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas to LGBTQ people and their friends and St. The club is pleased to announce the fol- loved ones and is open to all regardless of lowing titles to be discussed in their ongoing relationship status or history. Registration reading and discussion series: December – requested by Wednesday, January 6. SugDeath in Venice by Thomas Mann; January gested donation is $90; however, no one will – The Immoralist by Andre Gide; February be turned away for lack of funds – scholar– A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood. ships and trades are available. The class is All GLBTQ folks in the community are wel- wheelchair accessible and ASL interpreters come to participate in this free book club. can be provided with pre-registration by The reading list is chosen and the discussion Wednesday, December 30. For more inforfacilitated by Nick DiMartino, published mation, accessibility questions or to register, novelist and playwright, currently a book contact Deann at 206-568-7777 or deann@ reviewer for ShelfAwareness.com, and a 30- nwnetwork.org. www.nwnetwork.org. year employee of University Book Store. GAY BINGO For more information, email nickdimartin@ RETURNS JANUARY 16 earthlink.net or contact Dunshee House at TO BENEFIT 206-322-2437. LIFELONG AIDS ALLIANCE Lifelong AIDS Alliance’s long running “AS THE WORLD FALLS DOWN” – A LABYRINTH MASQUERADE BALL Gay Bingo season returns on Saturday, & LIFELONG AIDS ALLIANCE January 16 with Boot Camp Gay Bingo at NEW YEAR’S EVE FUNDRAISER a NEW VENUE: Fremont Studios, 155 N. On Thursday, December 31, from 8 p.m. 35th St. The season continues on February to 2 a.m., Lifelong AIDS Alliance presents 20 with Racy and Lacy Gay Bingo; March “As the World Falls Down” – A Labyrinth 20 is When in Rome Gay Bingo, April 17 is Masquerade Ball and Lifelong AIDS Al- Biker Babe Gay Bingo, May 22 is Blue Hair liance New Year’s Eve Fundraiser at Odd Gay Bingo, and June 19 is Beach Blanket Fellows Hall, 915 E. Pine St., 4th Fl. This is Gay Bingo. going to be a New Year’s Eve extravaganza Visit the NEW Lifelong AIDS Alliance you won’t want to miss when the 4th floor Gay Bingo website at www.gaybingoseatof the Odd Fellows Hall will become a daz- tle.com for more information and to buy zling world of fantasy and adventure fea- your tickets today! Or contact 206-323turing installations, puppets, art and dance 0069; gaybingo@llaa.org. magic with over 30 different performances. Gay Bingo is a community fundraiser, Visual spectacles and immersive environ- supporting the programs and services of ments include a magical Bowie-Centric Lifelong AIDS Alliance. End of the World Ballroom, a David Bowie With special thanks to our Gay Bingo Reassignment Machine, an Eternal Bog of sponsors: MOMS Pharmacy, Fremont StuSexiness, and a Wall of Hands. Tickets are dios, Barefoot Wine & Bubbly, Sazerac Li$125 each, which includes admission, full quor Company, Pyramid Breweries, Whole open bar, food, and a visual spectacle all Foods, MOViN’ 92.5, Seattle Weekly and in support of the Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Seattle Gay News. The mystical, magical, decade-ending party awaits people who are 21 and older. Attire is GAY-STRAIGHT ALLIANCE (GSA) strictly masquerade or Labyrinth costume. SEVENTH ANNUAL Purchase tickets at www.labyrinthNYE. LEADERSHIP SUMMIT com. On Monday, January 18, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., GLSEN Washington State/WashRADICAL WOMEN HOSTS ington GSA Network invites all educators, ANNUAL NEW YEAR’S students, advisors and interested adults CELEBRATION to the Seventh Annual Washington State On Thursday, December 31, at 8:30 p.m., Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) Leadership join Northwest rabble-rousers for Radical Summit, presented by the Gay, Lesbian Women’s annual New Year’s celebration, and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) at New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Ave. S., Washington State. The event will be held the red-hot spot for rebel movers and shak- at the Kirkland Teen Union Building, 348 ers. Festivities include a tantalizing Greek Kirkland Ave., Kirkland. buffet, dancing, political comedy and a “You are a vital part of the LGBTQA no-host bar. Door donation $5; buffet dona- community! Educate yourself on new and tion $17. Sliding scale and work exchanges interesting ideas that can help you work available for students, unemployed and with your school, community, or those you low-income people. Wheelchair accessible. come in contact with. GLSEN provides curFor more information, call 206-722-6057 or riculum ideas, sensitivity trainings, and reemail RWseattle@mindspring.com. sources for all educators, students, advisors
December 25, 2009
and interested adults. “Learn about opportunities for your GSA, hear new ideas and meet other students in GSAs across Washington State. Clock hours available for certified educators!” Cost is $15, which includes lunch with advance registration. (If students can’t pay the full amount, they can pay what they can at the door.) For more information, contact joe@glsenwa.org or call 206-330-2099 or 877-220-4213. To register, visit www. brownpapertickets.com/event/89894 or www.glsenwa.org. To help underwrite this event, donations can be sent to GLSEN WA, 1605 12th Ave., Ste 35, Seattle, WA 98102. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., DAY CELEBRATION IN SEATTLE On Monday, January 18, the Martin Luther King, Jr., Celebration Committee hosts the annual region-wide Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Celebration in Seattle with workshops, rally and march. This year’s theme is “Justice Now! Healthcare, Housing, Jobs & Education.” The day’s event will begin at Garfield High School, 400 23rd Ave. E., with workshops, including several geared toward youth, from 9:30-10:45 a.m. The rally with speakers, poetry and music follows at 11 a.m. At noon, the march steps off from Garfield to the Jackson Federal Building, 2nd Ave. & Marion St., in downtown Seattle, for a brief outdoor rally. The day’s events are FREE and a collection will be taken to cover the cost of the event. “Seattle has one of the largest annual Martin Luther King, Jr., Day Celebrations in the U.S. We honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for his work toward racial equality and toward economic justice for all people, for his commitment to non-violence, and for his stand against war and militarism.” www. MLKseattle.org. GAY SKATE PARTY AT BELLEVUE SKATE KING On Monday, January 18, from 7-10 p.m., enjoy an evening of roller skating at Bellevue Skate King, 2301 140th Ave. NE, Bellevue, at this LGBTQ community social event for friends and family. Cost is $8 at the door; $5 under 18. Regular skate rentals: FREE. Inline skate rentals: $4 or bring your own skates. For more information and directions, call 425-458-4707. PRIDE FOUNDATION & GSBA OFFERING $300,000 IN SCHOLARSHIPS FOR 2010-11 Pride Foundation and the Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) are accepting applications for 2010-11 scholarships to eligible LGBT students and straight allies. Currently, $300,000 in scholarship money is available during this cycle. Pride Foundation along with the GSBA offers 50 different scholarships, all through a single streamlined application. For more information on previous scholars, the scholarship process, or how to start a scholarship fund, visit www.pridefoundation.org/scholarships/ or www.PrideFoundationScholar.org or thegsbascholarship.org. Applications must be submitted by January 31, 2010 at 5 p.m. PST. IMPERIAL COURT OF SEATTLE’S JC/LADY GRAYTOP MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP FUND www.imperialcourtofseattle.com. Applications must be postmarked by January 15, 2010. QUEER FOUNDATION OFFERING THREE $1,000 COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS To the top essayists in the 2010 high school seniors English essay contest, $1,000 scholarships are available for studies in Queer theory or a related field at the U.S. college or university of their choice in 2010-11. For complete information, visit http://queerfoundation.org/Documents/essay_contest.html. Application deadline is February 26, 2010. SAFE SCHOOLS COALITION LGBT SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES www.safeschoolscoalition.org/RG-scholarships.html
Celebrating 36 Years!
Firefighters = heat in 2010 calendar The Washington State Council of Fire Fighters (WSCFF) Burn Foundation held a signing of their newly released 2010 firefighters calendar at Purr on December 16. Patrons got to mix and mingle with the firefighters, get their calendar autographed, and buy a T-shirt or wristband to support the WSCFF Burn Foundation. The firefighters calendar has become the single biggest fundraising project for the organization. Every year since the calendar’s inception in 1996, firefighters from around Washington State are selected to model for the upcoming year’s edition. According to Rod Heivilin, WSCFF Burn Foundation executive director and creator, interested firefighters submit an application January through March. A number of models are chosen during an event in May. Individuals interested in modeling for the calendar are required to be a career firefighter, member of the IAFF, and commit to 60% of the organization’s 6070 fundraising events throughout the year. As Heivilin puts it, “They have to do more than just be a pretty face.” All proceeds from calendar sales go to the WSCFF Burn Foundation. The organization, which began operating in 1987, provides funding for burn research programs as well as public burn prevention education projects. According to Heivilin, much of the research funded by the foundation has resulted in highly acclaimed and widely accepted changes in burn care. In addition to research and prevention programs, the WSCFF Burn Foundation makes it possible for several children with burn injuries to attend a week-long summer camp devoted to child burn survivors.
rocky salskov
by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer
This year’s calendar features 19 models, 15 men and four women. Each month has a different model (sometimes more than one) posed in their gear. Some models are wearing less than others, and they are always hot, hot, hot. A short bio accompanies each photo. Calendars are available on the WSCFF Burn Foundation website, www.firefightercalendar.org, or over the phone by calling 1-800-847-6572. The 2010 calendar costs $13.95, or $25 for an autographed calendar.
West Seattle anti-Gay graffiti suspect arrested by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer Ryan Cox, the man suspected of spraying anti-Gay graffiti in West Seattle, was arrested on December 17, according to the Seattle Police Department. News of the arrest was announced by Seattle Police at SPDBlotter, which read, “Ryan Cox was arrested this morning by Southwest Precinct detectives near the intersection of 44th Avenue SW and SW Alaska Street. Cox was taken into custody without incident at around 8:30 a.m. He will be booked into King County Jail. The Seattle Police Department appreciates all of the public assistance in this matter.” The arrest came less than 24 hours after police released photos of Cox, 31, in which he was caught in the act marking or painting the same three-word anti-Gay slur. Over the past three months, Cox is suspected of defacing homes and businesses. In each case, it included a message of hate. According to SPD, Cox is a repeat graffiti vandal who has prior arrests for defacing property. Paul Figueroa, an employee at Pet Elements in West Seattle, said Cox was targeting Gays. Figueroa says he’s had to clean the store’s windows several times to rid them of
the anti-Gay message. “How frustrating it is to see vulgarities when you come to work,” Figueroa said. “I consider it a hate crime, it’s foul, it’s horrible for our customers.” According to news reports, The King County Jail Register shows Cox charged with five counts of property destruction and being in possession of a “dangerous weapon.” According to Southwest Precinct Lt. Steve Paulsen, Cox was found carrying a “fixed-blade knife.” Cox is known to suffer from mental illness, police say.
Firefighter Ronny is the cover model for this year’s calender, and also has the distinction of being selected as audience favorite at the annual judging event
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10 Seattle Gay News
December 25, 2009
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Celebrating 36 Years!
Gay City Health Project offers FREE smoking cessation services in a queer-friendly environment. If you’re ready to quit, we’re here to support you! Our next series of OUT TO QUIT workshops begin on Tuesday, January 5th at 7pm. Join us at Gay City Health Project (511 E. Pike Street) to learn more about our program! For more information, contact Lark@gaycity.org or call 206.388.1710. Visit us online www.sgn.org
December 25, 2009
Seattle Gay News 11
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December 25, 2009
Celebrating 36 Years!
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Seattle Gay News 15
by James Whitely SGN Contributing Writer An evangelical church in Denver, CO, known as Highlands Church, recently opened its doors to LGBT people. Members of the congregation are now finding “open and affirming” to be synonymous with “evangelical.” “Our position is not one of lenience, but a matter of justice,” said Rev. Mark Tidd. “It’s not that we don’t acknowledge the reality of sin. It’s not a sin to be Gay or act in accordance with your nature.” Rev. Mark Tidd, 55, a married father of five, runs Highlands Church. Because of his stance on homosexuality, Tidd has become an outcast amongst many other churches. His church is an evangelical Christian church guided both by the Apostle’s Creed and the belief that Gay people can embrace their sexual orientation as God-given and seek fulfillment in committed same-sex relationships. In most evangelical churches, it’s held that
the Bible condemns homosexual acts, and most evangelicals take the stance that they should “love the sinner and hate the sin.” “Highlands Church represents a breakout position, where you have a Gay-affirming stance that moves beyond the traditional kind of liberal-conservative divide,” said Mark Achtemeier, an associate professor at University of Dubuque Theological Seminary. “I’m finding lots of moderate conservatives just think there’s something wrong with a default position of excluding Gays from the life of the church.” The congregation of Highlands Church has been met with a fluctuation of membership since Tidd took the church in an “open and affirming” direction. Some followers stood by him, others left, and new followers have since arrived. “Queer or straight here, there’s no hate here,” says Tidd. Years ago, Tidd was serving as a pastor of a Boulder, CO, Christian Reformed Church, when a couple from his congregation approached him for counsel. The couple had a young daughter – who identified as a boy – this got Tidd thinking. He began questioning the application of Biblical text word for word – after all, the Bible, read as-is, suggests that the earth is flat and contains justification for slavery. Thus, Tidd began accepting the Biblical interpretation of other “open and affirming” churches; that verses condemning homosexual behavior refer to idolatrous pagan worship or violence. If evangelicals can disagree about endtimes theology and baptism methods and still be considered authentic Christians, he thought, why can’t the same tent hold dis-
Associated Press
Affirming Evangelical Church opens in Colorado
Rev. Mark Tidd sitting in the Highlands Church in Denver, Colorado
agreements about homosexuality? Now, his church, which is less than a year old, is “radically inclusive but still rooted in the essentials of the Gospel.” The church discourages promiscuity and encourages healthy lifelong relationships. Additionally, Tidd said he supports Gay marriage and would perform same-sex blessings if asked. Since Tidd’s exodus because of his “open and affirming” beliefs, the church lost half of its attendance and two-thirds of its financial support. However, at the same time, his position began to attract new members to the church as well as strengthened the faith of some of the existing members. “We have no real reason to champion this thing, other than we think its right,” said
Chad DiPrince, a straight married member of the congregation. “I just didn’t feel God would tell a person to deny a big part of who they are and to keep it a secret.” Currently, a Gay man in a committed relationship sits on the church’s board of trustees, and Tidd says that his church is committed to social justice. David Dockery, president of Union University, a Southern Baptist school in Jackson, TN, believes Highlands Church is – and is likely to remain – outside of the mainstream of evangelical churches. “I don’t think it can be taken for granted anymore that the traditional evangelical view will be adopted by the coming generations given the changes and shifts in our culture,” said Dockery.
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December 25, 2009
Celebrating 36 Years!
Columbia University considers “genderneutral” housing
The demonstration was led by a coalition of students called “Students for Housing Equality at Yale.” In an interview with the Yale Daily News, student Rachel Schiff said, “The sleep-in is meant to protest the type of metaphorical displacement [that the] LGBT community and allies are faced by this decision.” “Transgender, Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, straight students alike will benefit from gen-
der-neutral housing. It’s about being able to choose a living situation that is most comfortable for you, whatever your reasoning may be. It’s as simple as that,” said John Yi, a Yale student. “I think it might be enlightening for our administrators if we brought in a medical professional to explain about cooties not being real,” said Dan Hansen, another Yale student.
by James Whitely SGN Contributing Writer
Columbia students are arguing that many students may feel uncomfortable sharing a room with members of their same birthColumbia University, an Ivy League assigned gender, because they are Lesbian, school in New York, may become the first Gay or Bisexual, don’t identify with their Ivy League college to allow co-ed rooming, own birth-assigned gender, or for any other which would allow students of opposite sex- reason. es to live together on campus. If the proposal is approved by administraThe idea of gender-neutral housing is tors, Columbia University will become one poised to upset many parents who consider of the estimated 30 universities and colleges sharing a room to mean sharing in the United States that offer a bed, however advocates gender-neutral housing, ac“It’s really a say that allowing hetcording to Chang. “We erosexual couples to have seen this tremenproposal for students live together is not the dous increase among who are Lesbian, Gay, primary motive for college institutions in pushing for gender- Bisexual and Transgender to the past two to three neutral housing. years moving toward According to Jef- have the opportunity to live gender-neutral housfrey Chang, co-founder with a roommate they feel ing,” Chang said. of The National Student the country, comfortable with.” thereAround Genderblind Campaign, a is still a large opposigrassroots organization which tion to gender-neutral housing. helps students and college admin“Our culture here is such that it still istrators develop gender-neutral housing lends itself that people prefer single-sex policies, schools that have adapted gender- housing,” said Danny Armitage, assistant neutral policies have not seen many couples vice president for campus services at the using the programs to move in together. At University of Memphis. universities that offer the option, usually Armitage said that the University of Memless than one percent of students choose it, phis surveys its students every three to four said Chang. years about housing issues and has found “It’s not intended to be a couples’ hous- that students, especially females, simply ing proposal,” said Sarah Weiss, a student at feel more comfortable and safe in a singleColumbia University and a student govern- sex environment because they have more ment member who voted for the proposal. privacy. “It’s really a proposal for students who are Although Columbia University may beLesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender to come the first Ivy League school to allow have the opportunity to live with a room- co-ed rooming, it has not been the first Ivy mate they feel comfortable with.” League battleground for it. The reasoning for the proposal is that stuIn early March of this year, Yale Univerdents should have the opportunity to live sity administrators backed down from a plan with whomever they feel most comfort- to implement gender-neutral housing. In able with, regardless of gender, said Weiss. retaliation, over a dozen students staged an LGBT students often feel safer living with outdoor “sleep-in” during freezing weather. someone of the opposite sex. The Yale students set up tents in the snow Most colleges today include gender iden- and ice of Yale University’s cross-campus tity and expression in their non-discrimina- quad. Students posted signs near their tents tion policies, yet some argue that housing that read, “The Only Gender-Neutral Housoptions don’t reflect this. ing at Yale.”
The Madison Tavern by Don Paulson SGN Contributing Writer Charles DeVoe remembers: “When I discovered the Madison Tavern, I was so joyful! Down the street was the old burlesque Rivoli Theater, which was turned into a children’s theater, and later an adult theater that produced plays like Tobacco Road and Dark at the Top of the Stairs. I used to watch them rehearse before I’d walk up the street to Third Avenue, where I’d catch the bus home. One night, I remember walking up the street and looking in a tavern window and seeing these women dancing together. I was thrilled, but it didn’t occur to me that there must be a place where men danced together, too, I never made that connection. I would stay 20 or 30 minutes until my bus came, no one shooed me away or contacted me. I don’t know if anyone even noticed me pressing my nose against the window. I was 14 in 1960, and innocent of the Gay life. “Waiting for the bus is where I began my first cruising. I noticed certain cars slowing down and looking me over. I thought they were out of town and lost or something, but they were cruising me. Ultimately, I got the message and got into their cars, and the rest is history. “I was waiting for affection and sex all my life – since kindergarten, when I used to kiss a boy named Donny, much to the amusement of the other kids. I needed to be touched and held and explored, and to explore another male. In my encounters on Third Avenue, no one ever took advantage of me or was violent. It was always loving,
caring, and passionate. “Until I met these men in cars, I thought I was the only one like me attracted to boys. My family were churchgoers and my grandmother took me to church two or three times a week. I would pray every night: ‘Please, Lord, don’t let me look at boys like I did today, please take this affliction away from me.’ I also heard that God was a loving God, and he knew our coming and goings. After a year of praying, I realized my attraction to men was all right with him; he didn’t take it away so I guess he wanted me to have it. It’s been in me a long time. “My father had a friend who I thought was so beautiful. I was four and sitting on his knee with my younger brother on his other knee, and we both hugged and kissed him. I felt different about him than my brother. I loved this man. I couldn’t call it romantic, it wasn’t family love. I was attracted in a very physical way. I loved it when he touched me and held my hand, when he picked me up and I could hug and kiss him – never on the lips, but on his neck and cheek. It all came home when I discovered this marvelous place, the Madison Tavern and the dancing Lesbians.
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Seattle Gay News 17
by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer
ten there are campfires up there. It’s a much nicer place to get some quick and honest sex than standing in a bar, E’d off your tits shouting at somebody and hoping they want the same thing as you do in bed. DyaknowhatImean?” –Singer George Michael to Britain’s The Guardian, December 5.
ber 2. “Christopher Rice just can’t muster another clever status line about the defeat of marriage equality in another state. I just want to throw up on those fuckers.” –Author Christopher Rice, Ann’s son, on Facebook after the New York Senate voted down a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, December 2. “It is time to seriously consider a more civil-rights-movement approach to fighting for our rights instead of pumping money into either [political] party in some sort of masochistic dance. We must consider a concerted and well-planned campaign of non-violent civil disobedience. Business as usual can not continue in this country as long as we are separated from the rest of our neighbors, families and friends who have full equality and freedom.” –Activist David Mixner writing at davidmixner.com after the New York Senate rejected a bill to legalize same-sex marriage, December 3.
“Growing up in Wasilla ... I haven’t ever seen a Gay guy in Wasilla, I don’t think. I mean, I’ve seen Gay guys but, you know, once I started doing all these tours and everything ... I just, you know, they’re people too. It doesn’t matter to me. More fans. It’s great.” “[I don’t talk about my personal life] be–Levi Johnston, the father of Sarah Palin’s cause I don’t want to bore people stiff with grandchild, on CNN, December 7. my dreary, dysfunctional, endlessly repeating similar relationships that last from three “Promises made were not honored. The weeks to three months to nine months or LGBT community and all fair-minded New whatever.” Yorkers have been betrayed. I am enraged, –Gay actor Rupert Everett to Britain’s The deeply disappointed and profoundly sad- Guardian, November 29. dened by the vote today.” –Gay state Sen. Tom Duane, D-Manhat“The handful of times a year it’s bloody tan, after the New York Senate voted down a warm enough, I’ll do it [go cruising]. I’ll bill to legalize same-sex marriage, Decem- do it on a nice summer evening. Quite of-
“I would probably never, if I wanted to, work for, say, the HRC, because anything that I ever did for them, the right wing would “I normally get up about 10 a.m., my PA come back and say, ‘This is the same guy will bring me a Starbucks, who called such-and-such I’ll have a look at my epreacher a douchenozzle.’ mails. At the moment I’ve And the internet is forever got nothing that pressurand when anyone ever gets ized other than keeping an a job of any sort of viseye on the video they’re ibility, the first thing the making for the Christmas right wing does is try and single. Then, if I’m in the look for anything that they mood, I’ll come up to the might have said that could office in Highgate, do some hurt them.” work, writing, backing –Blogger Joe. My. God., tracks or whatever. Come Joe Jervis, to this column, home. Kenny will be here, in an interview published the dogs are here. Maybe December 1. eat locally, hang out, and then probably go off and “My [reduced] interest in have a shag or have somelike going out and carousone come here and have ing and taking advantage Joe Jervis a shag ... that’s probably a of all Gay New York City couple times a week.” has to offer fortunately –Singer George Michael to Britain’s The dovetailed perfectly with my increasing Guardian, December 5. blogging, so, you know, I don’t know what I’d be doing if I wasn’t blogging as much as “Elton [John] will not be happy until I I do. Because, yes, I’ve got all of glittery, bang on his door in the middle of the night glamorous Manhattan lying at my feet but saying: ‘Please, please, help me, Elton. Take even if I wasn’t blogging, I’d be, ‘Well, you me to rehab.’ It’s not going to happen. You know, how many times can you go to the know what I heard last week? ... Geri [Halli- Empire State, and I don’t even want to go well] told Kenny that Bono, having spoken to bars.’” to Elton, had approached Geri to say, ‘What –Blogger Joe. My. God., Joe Jervis, to this can we do for George?’ This is what I have column, in an interview published Decemto deal with because I don’t want to be part ber 1. of that social clique. All I’d have to do to stop it is hang out in London, so people real“I feel overwhelmed right now because ize I don’t look close to death.” I’m not reading [online] and I’m doing this –Singer George Michael to Britain’s The interview instead, but, you know, it’s how I Guardian, December 5. regularly feel if I’m out or whatever. It’s like there is always a constant barrage of news “I was there from the beginning [of and things happening, so the struggle to AIDS]. A lot of young people weren’t there keep on top of it is a constant challenge and at the beginning of it. I was there in the I think anybody who’s in news these days ‘70s when suddenly this very strange thing understands the same thing – that it’s just, started happening to friends of mine. Even you know, like a 24-hour thing and to stay though I was on the road most of the time, on top of it, you just have to constantly keep I was very much aware of it. By 10 years reading.” into it, I had lost half my phone book. All –Towleroad.com’s Andy Towle to this these people that I had worked with and that column in an interview published NovemI knew were gone, and at a relatively young ber 21. age. I had never thought that I would be that close to death; it was shocking. ... So whenWith assistance from Bill Kelley rex wockner
“Like many of you who live in New Jersey, I’ve been following the progress of the marriage-equality legislation currently being considered in Trenton. I’ve long believed in and have always spoken out for the rights of same sex couples and fully agree with Governor Corzine when he writes that, ‘The marriage-equality issue should be recognized for what it truly is – a civil rights issue that must be approved to assure that every citizen is treated equally under the law.’ I couldn’t agree more with that statement and urge those who support equal treatment for our Gay and Lesbian brothers and sisters to let their voices be heard now.” –Rocker Bruce Springsteen on his website, December 8.
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continued from cover sex couples from marrying, but so many of these donors were nowhere to be found when it came to helping their fellow human beings,” she told SGN. “National Organization for Marriage (NOM) loves to promote themselves as champions of the ordinary American. Ordinary Americans don’t mobilize thousands of individuals to spend millions of dollars on discrimination.” Dugan said Love Takes Over was launched as a means of empowering the ordinary American through an ordinary, inexpensive action. In addition, she says the campaign will attempt to make a difference without using money. “It exposes supporters of same-sex marriage as neighbors, friends and family,” she said. “In short, it exposes supporters of same-sex marriage as ordinary Americans – thus taking the moxie out of NOM’s winning strategy.” The campaign’s organizers say writing letters to the editor is a powerful tool they intend to use. “People read the news. They talk about what they read in the news. It’s just what Americans do,” Dugan said. “Writing a letter to the editor is an inexpensive way to get people talking about a cause they are passionate about.” Open dialogue forces people to take a critical look at their opinions, she said. It challenges people to view their arguments from every angle. More importantly, though, it forces us to interact with another human being. “When we engage in dialogue with someone, we are exposed to more than just their opinion,” she told SGN. “We’re exposed to the different sides of that individual.” According to the Love Takes Over campaign, many individuals who are opposed to same-sex marriage are unaware of how many around them actually support it. Maybe the issue has never come up in conversation before, or maybe they haven’t been willing to talk about it. “So, they have an idea in their head of what a supporter of same-sex marriage looks and acts like,” Dugan pointed out. “Then they have a conversation with their best friends and realize that he or she supports same-sex marriage because a member of their family is Gay. Suddenly, the bubble they were living in was just popped.” Dugan says once that bubble is popped, these individuals are exposed to an entirely
new way of thinking, which in turn opens the door for progress. “We believe in the power of the small,” a Love Takes Over press release reads. “We believe that the small steps people take every day to educate their families, friends, and local communities are a vital part of any social justice movement.” To speak with the activists behind Love Takes Over, contact (201) 247-6419 or email ltonewspapers@gmail.com. More information can also be found at Love Takes Over’s official project blog, lovetakesover. tumblr.com.
ican city to legalize same-sex civil unions in 2002. Four other Argentine cities followed suit, as did Mexico City in 2006. Uruguay has legalized same-sex civil unions nationwide. Buenos Aires legislators introduced a bill to legalize same-sex marriage in the Argentine National Congress in October 2009, but it has stalled without a vote. Seven countries allow Gay marriages: Canada, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Belgium. US states that have legalized same-sex marriage are Iowa, Massachusetts, Vermont, Connecticut and New Hampshire.
mexico
prop 8
Party of the Democratic Revolution (PRD) which holds 34 out of 66 seats. The right-wing National Action Party (PAN) opposed the measure, as did its Roman Catholic allies. PAN also opposed the civil union bill in 2006. The Party of Institutional Revolution (PRI), which dominated Mexican politics prior to 2000, split on the issue, with two of its Mexico City deputies voting Yes, and two No. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard, a PRD member, is reportedly eager to sign the bill. In 2000, openly Lesbian politician Enoe Uranga proposed a civil union law giving same-sex couples all the rights of married spouses. The Legislative Assembly declined to take it up in the face of opposition from PAN and the Catholic Church. A more limited civil union bill passed in 2006 with the support of PRD and several smaller leftist parties. While most Mexicans are nominally Roman Catholic, the Church has had relatively little political clout for most of Mexico’s modern history. The revolutionary Constitution of 1917 was resolutely secularist, disestablishing the Church, forbidding public worship, and allowing the government to confiscate Church property. Mexican authorities then used force to put down a Catholic rebellion in the bloody Cristero War of 1926-1929. It was only when PAN candidate Vicente Fox captured the presidency in the elections of 2000 that right-wing politicians felt free to display pro-Catholic sentiments openly. Buenos Aires became the first Latin Amer-
to prove that Prop. 8 discriminates unconstitutionally on the basis of sexual orientation and gender. In other developments, Judge Walker has said he would allow television cameras (for the first time) into the San Francisco-based courtroom. On December 17, the Judicial Council of the Ninth U.S. District Court of
continued from cover
Appeals said it would allow experimental use of cameras throughout the nine-state circuit. Walker said he in not opposed to TV coverage of the lawsuit challenging California’s same-sex marriage ban. Olson and Boise told Walker they would not object to television coverage. But sponsors for Prop. 8 protested that allowing cameras was contrary to national court policy and a potential threat to trial participants. The appeals court’s new policy does not require Judge Walker to obtain consent from both sides for television coverage. Appeal court Chief Judge Alex Kozinski said the idea is to improve “public understanding of our judicial process and enhance confidence in the rule of law.”
continued from cover
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Seattle Gay News 19
reis
continued from cover
ton, D.C., shaking hands with Obama and Pelosi. He’s been featured on CNN and interviewed by The Advocate. He’s wrestled with the U.S. Congress’ Member Services department over the title on his ID card and he’s been denied spousal travel benefits while part of a congressional delegation to the U.S.-Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Meeting here in Seattle last June. My shy college friend has become a very public figure, and he’s handled himself with a graceful humility that I’ve come to admire. He’s also a terrific, if reluctant, role model. Scott Rice: How are you? Marlon Reis: It’s like a dream. I definitely would not have seen myself being a congressional spouse. I didn’t have any real interest in politics prior to meeting Jared, and then I was sort of forced into it. And I’m sort of a shy person, so being in the spotlight isn’t that comfortable for me, either. But it’s also fun. I get to meet Obama and go to the White House for holiday balls and picnics and give tours of the Capitol, so I have an interesting perspective. I can’t complain. Rice: Let’s back up before we get to Washington and talk about how you met Jared. Reis: Believe it not, it’s a funny story. I met Jared online. I was in my last year of
college … and he had just gotten out of a relationship. I was working on my honors thesis and he asked me some questions about it and that was sort of how we got started. We met the next day. We didn’t keep it virtual for very long. Rice: How long was it before you knew he was “the one”? Reis: Oh gosh, you know, I would say for the first two years I was kind of uncertain because he came from a very philosophical background in terms of thinking about his sexuality. He wasn’t one thing or the other. I didn’t even know if he wanted to come out, if that was something he was prepared to deal with because we had talked several times about the fact he had aspirations for running for public office. He was interested in leading a public life. I guess it was six months before we actually agreed that we were dating. [Laughs.] I knew we were dating, but I guess he had to say it officially. “Now we’re dating.” Rice: Did you discuss his running for Congress and what that would mean for you before he committed to run? Reis: Yeah, to a certain extent. … There was the lead-up to him coming out publically, and what he had done was alluded to it in an article that he submitted to a local newspaper in order to minimize the splash that it would make, so it wasn’t a headline. Rice: And he already had a high profile in Colorado at that time, right? Reis: Yeah, he did. He was a member of the State Board of Education and a prominent philanthropist and an internet entrepre-
neur. He had made a lot of money and was sort of seen as a benefactor in Boulder. Everyone knew he was interested in politics. We actually worked with an organization in Washington called The Victory Fund, which is devoted to helping candidates come out and then run for office, so we were coached by some people during the process. Rice: During that coaching, did you actually discuss what it would mean for you as a Congressional spouse? Reis: It was very vague, actually. I asked the people at Victory Fund what I could expect, and people were overwhelmingly positive. They said, “people will look up to you, you’ll be an example.” It was very vague and Jared had no idea, really. Rice: I don’t know if anybody knew, though. Reis: Yeah, no one knew. I would have had to have spoken to another congressional spouse, and at that time I wasn’t that well connected to the political community. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. As soon as I started attending events with him as his partner, I got a taste very quickly of what it was going to be. … In the beginning, I was having trouble being what he needed me to be because other political spouses sort of work the room when there are people members of Congress can’t get around to speaking to. Then the spouse has the role to go out and connect with them to make sure no one feels they couldn’t access the representative. Rice: That seems like it would be really tough for you. Reis: Oh god, it’s so difficult. You know, I’m the type of person that gets into a conversation with one person and it lasts two hours. [Laughs.] I’m not good at going in and talking to 50 people for two minutes. Rice: What’s the most surprising thing about being a congressional spouse? Reis: My experience is different than [that of] most congressional spouses. I don’t know if you saw the CNN special, but a lot of spouses end up staying back in the district because they either have a family or a job that ties them down. And the ones that come to D.C. come periodically and stay a few weeks and then go back. I’m a full-time D.C. spouse, and then a Boulder spouse, so I split my time evenly. The most surprising thing has been, probably, the fact that people actually pay attention to what I say now. Rice: That can be a double-edged sword, right? Reis: Oh yeah. My tendency had always been to be very open and say whatever was on my mind – above all, to be honest. Now I’ve discovered that there’s an art to speaking strategically. We have a press secretary in D.C. who insures I don’t say too much but I don’t say too little. That there’s a happy medium. … Part of me would love to have this interior life with a small group of friends. A part of me can’t help but long for that type of privacy. It’s different. There are advantages and disadvantages. I don’t think that I would trade it.
Rice: You are a pioneer. You will always be the first congressional spouse. Reis: Isn’t that crazy? And you know, it’s hard to describe to people why this is a first because people always say Barney Frank was doing it before anyone else. But when Barney was elected, he hadn’t come out yet [Ed. note: and he didn’t bring along his partner of 5 years like Jared did]. Jared was the first openly Gay man to run for and win a seat. I’ve inherited this interesting mantle, I guess. Rice: You’ve been there a year. Do you think you’re going to be able to change things? Reis: I haven’t really had to do anything except simply be there, to show up and be a challenge to the process. If I’m standing there, they can’t ignore me. They have to deal with me, and that is forcing people to deal with new situations. They’ll eventually have to change the policy. Rice: That’s awesome. Reis: In the next election cycle this November, we’re going to see a lot more openly LGBT candidates seeking office, and when they arrive in D.C., D.C. is going to have to be prepared for them. Rice: Yes, they will. On a lighter note, do you and Jared double-date with Barney Frank and Jim Ready? Reis: [Laughs.] That’s very funny. Actually, we haven’t done that yet. Rice: What was it like meeting Barak Obama? Reis: It was wonderful. I’m not sure he knows who I am, yet. He’s a great guy. He’s very polished and he knows how to talk to people. I really like him. He’s very calm; I like his energy. Rice: He comes across that way. Now that you have lived inside the beltway, who’s your favorite politician? Reis: Oh gosh. Well, Jared definitely. Rice: [Laughs.] That’s the correct answer. Now, just for kicks, I have some choices for you. Tell me which one you prefer. Hillary or Cher? Reis: I’m going to have to say Cher. I’ve actually seen Cher, but I’ve never met Hillary. Rice: That’s fair. Madeleine Albright or Barbra Streisand? Reis: Barbra Streisand. Rice: I originally had the choices [to be] between Hillary and Madeleine and Barbra and Cher, but I couldn’t ask you to choose between Barbra and Cher because I know you love them both. Reis: [Laughs.] Oh god, I am such a stereotype. Rice: Finally, life before Washington or life after Washington? Reis: That’s so good. I’m going to say life after Washington. It’s still an adventure. It’s always more fun contemplating the possibilities than contemplating the past.
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