Issue 52 Volume 39
Celebrating 38 Years!
FRIDAY December 30, 2011 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
LAWRENCE V. TEXAS p. 4
same-sex divorce p. 6
NEW YEAR’S p. 25
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
A monumental year for LGBT equality
Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy
President Barack Obama signs the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010 during a ceremony in Washington, D.C., December 22, 2010.
courtesy 365Gay
Winning our A great year fight in 2011 for LGBT Seattle by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Any way you look at it, 2011 was a good year for LGBT Seattle. We saw equality advance in ways previously unimagined. We were victorious in our fight for visibility during Pride as the rainbow flag waved proudly atop the Space Needle. Although the news in our community wasn’t exclusively good, this was still a stellar year for LGBT people living in the Pacific Northwest’s largest city. Let’s take a look at some of the events that shaped our lives in 2011.
AN ALL-INCLUSIVE CITY The Seattle LGBT Commission by Shaun Knittel nity’s struggle for equality in the – which advises the mayor, counU.S. – and in many cases, around cil, and departments about sexual SGN Associate Editor the world. This was not a year of minority issues, recommends We are winning the fight. Slowly baby steps and begging; on the policies and legislation, and brings contrary, 2011 was a year for leaps but surely, we’ll get there. That is what we can take away from 2011 and the LGBT commusee 2011 national page 16 see 2011 seattle page 20
DADT repeal one year later SGN Exclusive Interview Nathaniel Frank on understanding the politics of paranoia Jim Cole / AP Photo
Nathaniel Frank
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Last week marked a full year since Congress passed and President Obama signed the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act of 2010.” It also marks three months since the new policy of open Gay service went into effect in the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. So far, so good – not one major incident has been reported. “For years, defenders of antiGay exclusion in the military have claimed that equal treatment was incompatible with a strong military,” wrote Nathaniel Frank, author of Unfriendly Fire: How the Gay Ban Undermines the Military and Weakens America, for the Huffington Post this week. “For nearly as many years, researchers pointed out that there was no evidence to support this claim that letting Gays serve openly would harm cohesion, recruitment, or readiness, and that all the data actually showed the opposite: discrimination and dishonesty were what undermined the military; equal treatment strengthened respect for military law, helped expand the pool of qualified recruits,
Freedom to Marry’s Thalia Zepatos
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
There was talk – lots of talk, actually – about when marriage equality would come to Washington state and when, if ever, an organized campaign effort would begin. In November we got those see dadt page 17 answers: 2012.
proud to Be Different
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This year, Washington United for Marriage was formed, and Equal Rights Washington and a number of other coalition partners came forward to pledge that we are all going to “go for it” in 2012. Sen. Ed Murray and Rep. Jamie Pedersen said they would do their best to secure the votes in the House and Senate and asked LGBT Washingtonians and our allies to lobby legislatures about the importance of marriage equality in Washington state. Then, in early December, at the Equal Rights Washington “Toast Equality” fundraiser breakfast, panelist Thalia Zepatos of Freedom to Marry spoke about her experiences in the state-by-state fight see zepatos page 18
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Classifieds - Thursday at noon Calendar - Tuesday 6pm Display Ads: Space Reservation - Monday 5pm Ad copy (non-camera ready) - Tues. 5pm Ad copy (camera ready) - Wed. 5pm Letters to the Editor - Tuesday 5pm Obituaries - Call the SGN office All others - Tuesday 5pm
Editor In Chief George Bakan Associate Editor Shaun Knittel
Couragous Lawrence v. Texas plaintiff dies
George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel, Miryam Gordon, Anthony Greer Contributing Writers
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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.
John Lawrence
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer John Geddes Lawrence, Jr., the lead plaintiff in the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, died November 20, according to an obituary posted online by a funeral home in Texas. He was 68 years old. Why the death was announced more than a month after the fact was not explained, but it was, perhaps, typical for Lawrence. People who knew him remembered him as a quiet,
In Loving Memory Of
Steve Foiles, Scott Roger Alpert, Cookie Andrews-Hunt, James Leland Moore, Randy Peters, Lee Richeson, Shaun Shelton, Jim Tully, James Arnold
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retiring person – an unlikely activist. “He really was the most unassuming person that I could imagine, and yet, he was a hero,” Lambda Legal executive director Kevin Cathcart told Metro Weekly when Lawrence’s death was announced. “Most people try to plead out and avoid publicity [with sodomy charges]. It’s tough to find people who want to attach their names to sodomy challenges. ... And yet, they did this amazing thing. And we all are the better for it.” According to his online obituary, Lawrence was born in Beaumont, Texas, on August 2, 1943, served in the U.S. Navy for four years, and worked as a medical technologist in Texas hospitals until his retirement in 2009. Lawrence and his then-partner, Tyron Garner, were arrested in 1998 under Texas’ “Homosexual Conduct Law” after police went to their home in response to a weapons disturbance call. Houston police entered the apartment and saw the couple engaged in a private, consensual sex act. The two were arrested and convicted of deviant sexual intercourse, in violation of the Texas law. In a 2004 interview with The Houston Chronicle, Lawrence recalled police shoving him down on the sofa, in the process shattering a set of porcelain birds that his mother had given him. He was humiliated, he said, and was driven to the police station wearing only handcuffs and his underwear. Lawrence, who was not out of the closet to all of his family and co-workers, also remembered the difficult call to his elderly father to explain what happened. “I was a little worried,” Lawrence told the Chronicle. “I didn’t know how I was going Photo by David J. Phllip/Associated Press
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
December 30, 2011
to handle this. So I called my dad, and my dad said, ‘You will find a good lawyer.’” Lambda Legal took an interest in the case, and helped Lawrence challenge the constitutionality of the Texas law. On March 26, 2003, the case was argued before the U.S. Supreme Court, and the court announced its ruling on June 26 of that year. By a six-to-three majority, the court struck down the Texas law and reversed its own previous decision in Bowers v. Hardwick (1986), in which it had upheld a Georgia sodomy law. “At the heart of liberty is the right to define one’s own concept of existence, of meaning, of the universe, and of the mystery of human life,” Justice Kennedy wrote for the court majority. “Persons in a homosexual relationship may seek autonomy for these purposes, just as heterosexual persons do.” “Had those who drew and ratified the Due Process Clauses of the Fifth Amendment or the Fourteenth Amendment known the components of liberty in its manifold possibilities, they might have been more specific. They did not presume to have this insight,” Kennedy held. “They knew times can blind us to certain truths and later generations can see that laws once thought necessary and proper in fact serve only to oppress. As the Constitution endures, persons in every generation can invoke its principles in their own search for greater freedom.” The Lawrence decision struck down antiGay laws in 14 states, and established the principle that the consensual sexual conduct of adults is protected by the substantive due process guarantees of the constitution. It was a stunning victory. “The impact of Lawrence v. Texas is felt every time a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender person steps into a courtroom,” Lambda Legal’s Cathcart said. “We honor John for his courage and willingness to represent the community in a watershed moment that has forever changed our march to equality.” “It’s hard to believe that less than 10 years ago, Gay and Lesbian people could be marked as criminals just for being themselves, but because of people like John Lawrence, those days are no more in this country,” HRC spokesman Michael ColeSchwartz told Metro Weekly. “To be the namesake of a legal case that continues to underpin advances for LGBT equality is a fitting tribute to John Lawrence, whose courage to stand up improved the lives of millions.” Garner died in 2006. At the time of his death, Lawrence was being cared for by his current partner, Jose Garcia.
Celebrating 38 Years!
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer “You win some and you lose some,” Marko Liias chuckled, “and then there’s the third possibility: you get redistricted out.” In a letter to supporters, Liias announced on December 29 that he was giving up his bid to succeed Jay Inslee as U.S. congressman from the 1st District. Liias, who has represented the 21st Legislative District in the State House since 2007, was considered one of the stronger candidates for the seat Inslee was vacating to run for governor. Unfortunately for Liias, Washington will gain one seat in the new Congress, and when the congressional district lines were redrawn, he ended up in the 7th Congressional District, now represented by Seattle’s Jim McDermott. Liias told SGN that he would run for reelection to his House seat and “focus on being a really good state legislator.” There will be no shortage of work to do when the legislature reconvenes in 2012, Liias noted. “We have to get marriage equality passed,” he said. “And I want to be sure our anti-bullying task force has the resources it needs. Then there’s the issue I’ve been campaigning on – getting our people back to work.” Asked about rumors that he might run to succeed McDermott when and if the veteran congressman retires, Liias replied that at this point he didn’t think the 7th District would be a good fit for him. “I love Seattle,” he told SGN, “but it’s not the community where I’ve spent my life. Maybe some other opportunity will come along, and then we’ll think about it.” The text of Liias’ letter follows: I have some tough news to share with you. I will not be continuing my campaign for
Courtesy Marko Liias
Marko Liias gives up run for Congress Congress. My home, and the communities that I have represented in the State Legislature, were moved into existing congressional districts that already have strong representatives in Congress. The district where I’ve lived most of my life and hoped to represent in Congress, the First Congressional District, will now move east and become a large, more rural district that stretches from east of Lake Washington to the Canadian Border. Some have suggested that I move to this new district and run anyway, but that is not who I am. I started this campaign because I believe that the middle class needs strong, principled voices in Congress. And while 2012 will not be the year that I take our fight to Washington DC, that does not mean our fight is over. After taking some time to consider our options, Mike and I have decided that I should seek reelection to the State Legislature where I can continue the fight for a budget that preserves the safety net, funding for education, realistic transportation solutions, and full marriage equality. I am proud of all that we accomplished together in this campaign. In less than six months, we attracted support from over 3,000 individual donors, held over a dozen house parties, and we have earned endorsements from amazing community leaders and committed citizens. I could not be more grateful for your support and encouragement. As I look forward to the upcoming legislative session, I know that there will be teachers and home care workers and small business owners that need a voice in Olympia, and that will be my task. I may ask for your help again in the weeks ahead, and I know that you will be there with me. Thanks for everything. All my best, Marko
State Rep. Marko Liias (D-21)
bertrand gaudillere
Gay activist nominated for Nobel Peace Prize by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
French human rights activist Louis-Georges Tin
French human rights activists have launched a campaign to award the Nobel Peace Prize to international LGBT rights advocate Louis-Georges Tin. Tin, a native of Martinique, is black and also campaigns against racism. His first experience in activism came in 1997, when he founded Homonormalite, an LGBT student organization. In 2003, he edited the Dictionary of Homophobia, a collection of more than 75 essays analyzing homophobia from a variety of perspectives. In 2004, Tin founded An Nou Alle, a group for Gay black men. He was instrumental in establishing the International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO), which has been observed in more than 70 countries every May 17 since 2005. In 2008, Tin urged the U.N. to call for decriminalization of same-sex relations in all countries, and the following year he launched a campaign against Transphobia, backed by 300 NGOs from more than 75 countries. Also in 2008, he published The Invention of Heterosexual Culture, another collection of essays examining the social construction
of hetero-normative culture. He has supported Moscow Pride for a number of years despite constant threats from Russian neo-Fascists who physically attacked the march this year. If he is awarded the prize, Tin will be the first winner recognized for fighting for LGBT rights, and, at 37, will be the youngest since Martin Luther King in 1964. King was 35 at the time. According to supporters, Tin is aware his name is being put forward for the Peace Prize, but is not involved in the effort to nominate him. “Georges is really involved in everything he does on behalf of diversity, especially when it comes to Gay people,” French activist Ricardo Vita told GSN News. “He has created many things that we all benefit from, such as IDAHO. “He is a very humble man. He knows what we are doing but he is not involved in the campaign.” For a nomination to be formally considered by the Nobel Committee, supporters must collect names of people who endorse the nomination and submit them by the end of February. The Nobel Prize winners for 2012 will be announced at a ceremony in Oslo next December.
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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer An 18-year-old Gay activist was detained and questioned by the Belarus KGB in December, according to reports published by the British Gay Star News. Like its Soviet-era namesake, the Belarus KGB is a special security service detailed to deal with supposed threats to the Belarus government and public order. The young man, who reportedly asked not to be identified by name, subsequently declined an “invitation” from the KGB for further “discussions,” Gay Star News said. He said he was summoned to the KGB office in Hrodna, a city close to the border with Poland and Lithuania, on December 19. “They asked me about the management of [the GayBelarus organization] and some of its members,” he said, referring to the first grilling, in a statement released in Minsk on December 23. “In particular, they asked me about the address of the organization’s leader Siarhei Androsenka. They also offered cooperation with them to report on what is going on inside the organization.” Another GayBelarus activist, Maksim Haikou, was interrogated in Vitsebsk by
KGB agents who inquired about the group’s plans to hold a Pride event in the city, close to the border with Russia. One of the co-founders of GayBelarus who is studying at a university in Vitsebsk, was been accused of “undermining the moral basics of the state” and promoting an “unhealthy lifestyle” following an interview with school officials. Several GayBelarus members reported they received phone calls from the Belarus Ministry of Justice. Officials quizzed the activists on whether they had attended the GayBelarus founding congress on October 15. “This is a situation I have foreseen – the active stand of our organization could not but attract attention from the state,” said GayBelarus leader Siarhei Androsenka. “We all know in what state we are living. I am calling on the activists not to fear such situations and report on them to the organization’s leaders.” Belarus, formerly the Belorussian SSR, is one of several countries that became independent when the Soviet Union imploded in 1991. Its president, Aleksandr Lukashenko, has been accused of egregious human rights violations. In 2004, Lukashenko publicly accused the
Nikolai Alekseev
Belarus KGB security harassing LGBT activists
A protest organized in Geneva, Switzerland, on February 16, 2009, in front of the United Nations
E.U. and the United States of using LGBT rights as a pretext to undermine his country. “We have to show our society in the near future, what they [the E.U. and U.S.] are doing here,” he said, “how they are trying to turn our girls into prostitutes, how they are feeding our citizens with illicit drugs, how
they are spreading sexual perversion here, which methods they are employing.” Same-sex relations were legalized in Belarus in 1994, but there are no anti-discrimination laws that protect sexual orientation or gender identity, and no hate crimes laws that apply to the LGBT community.
D.C. considers same-sex divorce bill
bill in early 2012. Moore said no one at the December 8 hearing on the bill spoke in opposition to it. Under D.C.’s current marriage law, samesex couples who are city residents have the same rights to a divorce as opposite-sex couples. But if a same-sex couple married in D.C. no longer resides there, one or both parties to the marriage would have to become a city resident for six months before the city would grant the couple a divorce. Because all states recognize opposite-sex marriages, a male-female couple could get divorced anywhere, regardless of where they were married. “The legislation addresses a problem with uneven laws across the country regarding marriage rights,” Gay activist Bob Summersgill said in his testimony at the December 8 hearing. “Only a handful of states are up to the District’s standard of human rights. In states with laws promoting anti-Gay discrimination, divorce of legally married same-sex couples is not an option.” “In order to maintain basic dignity for couples married in the District, and unable to divorce in their home state, this bill is necessary,” Summersgill continued. “If we offer civil marriage, we must offer civil divorce.” Rick Rosendall, vice president of the Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, told Mendelson at the hearing that GLAA endorses the legislation. “This bill fills a gap in the law created by our being ahead of the historical curve,” Rosendall said in his testimony. “None of us celebrates the dissolution of a marriage, but equality under the law must extend to every contingency. The lack of a clear legal mechanism for divorce can make an unhappy situation much worse for all involved.” Eight of the Council’s 13 members signed on to Mendelson’s bill as co-sponsors, including Gay council members David Catania and Jim Graham. The two council members who voted against the city’s same-sex marriage law at the time the council passed it in 2009 – Yvette Alexander and Marion Barry – did not sign on as co-sponsors to Mendelson’s divorce bill. Both are up for re-election in 2012.
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A District of Columbia Council member has introduced a bill to allow same-sex couples who marry in D.C. but live in states that do not recognize their marriages to return to
D.C. to get divorced. The D.C. Council legalized same-sex marriages in December 2009. Democratic Council member Phil Mendelson says he introduced the Civil Marriage Dissolution Equality Amendment because states that do not recognize same-sex mar-
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riage have no legal mechanism that would allow Gay or Lesbian couples to dissolve their D.C. marriages. Mendelson’s bill states that: “An action for divorce by persons of the same gender, even if one or neither party to the marriage is a bona fide resident of the District of Columbia … would be eligible for a divorce in the city if the following circumstance apply: “The marriage was performed in the District of Columbia; and neither party to the marriage resides in a jurisdiction that will maintain an action for divorce, provided that it shall be a rebuttable presumption that a jurisdiction will not maintain an action for divorce if the jurisdiction does not recognize the marriage.” Brian Moore, an aide to Mendelson, said the full council is expected to vote on the
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December 30, 2011
Celebrating 38 Years!
Dates: January 21, February 11, March 10, April 14, May 12, June 9. The group will be led by a counselor, social worker and teacher. Additionally, a family therapist will host a Q & A discussion for compiled by Rick McKinnon parents. SGN Staff Writer To register, please email: 1014@lamberthouse.org. There is a $50 registration fee. BORN THIS WAY KAFE On Wednesday, January 11, at 6:30 p.m., Waivers available for those who qualify. FOR URBAN QUEER TEENS at Gay City Health Project (511 E. Pike AT CAL ANDERSON PARK St.), join Gay City for the Seattle launch of “BETWEEN TWO WORLDS” – On Fridays, 5-9 p.m., at Cal Anderson Collective Brightness: LGBTIQ Poets on MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE’S Shelterhouse (1635 11th Ave., one block Faith, Religion & Spirituality, the first-ever SPARKS OF GLORY SERIES north of E. Pine St.), Seattle Parks & Rec- anthology featuring LGBTIQ poets from On Saturday, January 28, at 2 p.m., at reation hosts Born This Way Kafe, a wel- around the world writing about and from Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside coming place where LGBTQ youth, friends various faith, religion and spiritual tradi- Ave. N.), Music of Remembrance presents and allies (ages 13-19) can gather, be them- tions, including Judaism, Islam, Two-Spirit, a FREE concert showcasing the avant garde selves, and have fun. Meets every Friday. Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity and oth- art music of early-20th-century Russian For more information and to help make it ers. Hear from editor Kevin Simmonds, and composer Joel Engel. Artistic Director Mina happen, contact Randy at Seattle Parks, 206- local contributors Jeremy Halinen and Crys- Miller discusses how Engel’s Dybbuk Suite 883-6110 txt/phone, email randy.wiger@se- tal Ibarra. FREE. www.gaycity.org/meet- was influenced by folk legends and meloattle.gov or google “SeattleParksCOD.” the-author. dies, transmitted across generations by Hassidic Jews from the Pale of Settlement. Plus: WA WOMEN IN THE TRADES – “OCCUPYING TRIDENT” – Shostakovich’s controversial song cycle “STORIES & SNAPSHOTS” GROUND ZERO CENTER “From Jewish Folk Poetry.” Guest vocalists: 2012 ROSIE THE RIVETER FOR NONVIOLENT ACTION soprano Megan Chenovick, mezzo soprano CALENDAR “OCCUPY TRIDENT: The billions spent Kathryn Weld, tenor Ross Hauck. www.wawomenintrades.com on nuclear weapons are needed to house, feed, and care for each other – not threaten 2012 GSBA & PRIDE FOUNDATION “OUR FAMILIES, OUR CHILDREN” – the world with annihilation” is the theme SCHOLARSHIPS BEAUTIFUL 2012 CALENDAR as Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent AcGSBA and Pride Foundation would like FEATURES tion honors Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy to encourage students of any age or sexual LGBTQ PARENTED FAMILIES with a vigil and nonviolent direct action on orientation from Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, FROM THE SEATTLE AREA Saturday, January 14, at Bangor, WA. Montana, and Washington, who are persuThe Lesbian and Gay Child Care Task The day begins at 9 a.m. with a discus- ing any post-secondary education (includForce is excited to offer once again its beau- sion on the connection between the struggle ing community college, public or private tiful calendar of LGBTQ parented families against Trident and the Occupy Movement, colleges and universities, trade apprenticefrom the Seattle area. The task force has nonviolence training and action planning. ships, or certificate programs) to consider been producing the calendar for ten years A vigil and nonviolent direct action will applying for their scholarships. Deadline with the mission of providing the visual begin at 2 p.m. at the gates of the Naval Base for application is January 31. For more reminder to children, teachers and families Kitsap-Bangor, home of the U.S. Navy’s information, visit www.pridefoundation. that families look different and that all fami- West Coast Trident nuclear submarine fleet org/pride-foundation-scholarships-applylies are welcome. Additionally, the calendar as well as its nuclear weapons storage de- online-today/ has been displayed in diverse work places pot, the Strategic Weapons Facility, Pacific and in colleges and universities with teacher (SWFPAC). SAFE SCHOOLS COALITION – preparation programs. Participants should bring warm, waterLOCAL AND NATIONAL The upcoming year is the tenth anniver- proof clothing, a sack lunch or food to share, SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMS sary of the calendar. The task force revisited and a strong, nonviolent spirit. FOR LGBTQ STUDENTS families from the “early years” and invited On Monday, January 16, people are welwww.safeschoolscoalition.org twelve (plus two more!) families to come come to join members of Ground Zero back for another picture shoot. Each family Center who will occupy the streets with an WINTER PRIDE picture has a small inset picture from the first inflatable, full scale Trident D-5 missile in WHISTLER, BC time the family was in the calender. Many Seattle’s Martin Luther King Jr. Day March. FEBRUARY 5-12 families have grown; others have changed If you will be attending and can help carry www.gaywhistler.com their make-up, and the tragic loss of one dad the missile, please send an email to rodney. illustrates that our families and our children brunelle@gmail.com or call 425-485-7830. THE IMPERIAL SOVEREIGN experience life, death, and change just like Join us as we honor Martin Luther King, COURT OF SEATTLE – other families. Jr.’s legacy by Occupying Trident and workSEATTLE CORONATION 2012 An order form is online at www.safe- ing for the abolition of nuclear weapons. THE PRESIDENT’S BALL – schoolscoalition.org/ocof/OFOC_CalenFor over 34 years, Ground Zero Center for “CHANNEL 41: darOrderForm2012.pdf or you can call Bill Nonviolent Action has engaged in educaA YEAR TO REMEMBER” Sanders at 206-226-3352. Suggested dona- tion, training in nonviolence, communityFEBRUARY 18 tion is $15, includes shipping and handling. building, resistance against Trident and acOn Saturday late afternoon/early evening, tion toward a world without nuclear weap- February 18, at Seattle Renaissance Hotel NORDIC HERITAGE MUSEUM – ons. (515 Madison St.), the Imperial Sovereign “NORDIC LIGHTS For more information on the January 14 Court of Seattle and the Olympic and RainiFILM FESTIVAL” event, visit www.gzcenter.org, or contact er Empire presents Seattle Coronation 2012, JANUARY 6-8 Alice Zillah at 360-357-7705. the President’s Ball: “Channel 41: A Year to The Nordic Heritage Museum announces Remember.” the third annual Nordic Lights Film FestiMLK DAY – Join Their Most Imperial Majesties Rainval on January 6-8, at the new SIFF Cin30TH ANNIVERSARY – ier XXXVII Mark Surreal and Olympia XL ema Center in Seattle Center’s Northwest “RECAPTURING MLK JR.’S Precious Cargo along with local and out-ofRooms, located north of Key Arena on the REVOLUTIONARY SPIRIT!” town dignitaries for an evening of pagentry Seattle Center grounds. This cutting edge On Monday, January 16, workshops 9:30- and fine drag entertainment paying tribute cinematic festival offers an immersion 11 a.m., rally 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., march to the Imperial Sovereign Court of Seattle into the world of hot Nordic films during 12:30 p.m., at Garfield High School (23rd and its reigning monarchs, honoring past the chilly winter film season, focusing on Ave. & E. Jefferson St.), join the MLK Cel- and present monarchs and visiting Courts, contemporary, award-winning films from ebration Committee for a day of action in and culminating in the crowning of the ImDenmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and memory and celebration of the life and work perial Court of Seattle’s 2012 Emperor and Sweden. Tickets: $10-general; $5-noon of Martin Luther King, Jr. 206-786-2763, Empress. Tickets: $50. www.imperialcourmatinees; discounts for students and affiliate 206-296-1002, www.mlkseattle.org. tofseattle.com. members; $50-general weekend pass, $40PRE & POST-CORONATION EVENTS: for affiliate members. All ticketing will be LAMBERT HOUSE On Thursday, February 16, at 7 p.m., at R through SIFF. For more information about FORMING NEW SUPPORT GROUP Place (619 E. Pine St.), the Court of Seattle the films and to buy tickets, visit www.SIFF. FOR LGBT YOUTH AGES 10-14 presents the Denver/Salt Lake Show featurnet. Or call 206-633-7151 for show time Lambert House is forming a new group for ing performers and dignitaries from Denver and program information; 206-324-9996 for 10-14 year old LGBT youth. This group will and Salt Lake City. On Friday, February 17, tickets. For complete information about the focus on developing friendships, commu- at 7 p.m., at R Place, the Court presents the Nordic Lights Film Festival, visit www.nor- nity building, sense of self (and self-worth), Out-of-Town Show featuring performers dicmuseum.org. confidence and age-appropriate information from out-of-town near and far paying tribimportant for LGBT adolescents. ute to the reigning monarchs. On Sunday, GAY CITY HEALTH PROJECT – Youth will meet monthly to discuss gen- February 19, at 10:30 a.m., at Seattle ReCOLLECTIVE BRIGHTNESS: der and sexuality in a developmentally ap- naissance Hotel, the Court presents the VicLGBTIQ POETS ON propriate context for their age, play games, tory Brunch celebrating the newly crowned FAITH, RELIGION & SPIRITUALITY and get to know one another. Rainier XXXVIII and Olympia XLI.
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SEATTLE RED DRESS PARTY FEBRUARY 18 On Saturday, February 18, from 9 p.m.-2 a.m., at Fremont Studios (155 N. 35th St.), attend the Seattle Red Dress Party with special guest performer Deborah Cox in her Seattle debut. Hosted by the incomparable Gaysha Starr, the event will feature the DJ Brian Gorr and DJ Almond Brown. Proceeds from the evening will benefit Gay City Health Project, Lifelong AIDS Alliance, Multifaith Works, and Rise ‘n Shine. Tickets on sale now: $40-general admission advance ($60 at the door); $100-VIP advance (limited quantity) ($120 at the door, if available). Must be 21+ and MUST WEAR A RED DRESS to attend. www.seattlereddressparty.org. “THE ENDURING DESIGNS OF JOSEF FRANK” – NORDIC HERITAGE MUSEUM Austrian-born designer and architect Josef Frank (1885-1967) continues to be celebrated as a leading pioneer of Swedish Modern design. Unlike the severe approach to modernism taken by many of his contemporaries, Frank emphasized comfort and informality, producing whimsical designs inspired by nature. Frank’s lavish use of bright, bold colors and floral patterns quickly became popular with a host of Swedish designers and clientele. Many of Frank’s timeless textile designs and furnishing remain in production today. Frank made numerous trips to Sweden with his Swedish wife Anna, after they were married in 1912. He designed several houses there in addition to filling orders for Swedish clients who ordered textiles and furnishings from Haus & Garten. During the 1920s, in Stockholm, Estrid Ericson (18941981) established her interior design company Svenskt Tenn. Ericson was impressed by Frank’s work and asked him to design products for her store. The growing rise of Nazism in Vienna, coupled with the city’s economic depression, prompted Frank and his wife to accept Ericson’s offer, and the couple moved to Stockholm in 1933. Frank emerged as the principal designer at Svenskt Tenn, beginning a long and fruitful relationship with Estrid Ericson that would last more than three decades. Ericson helped inspire Frank to conceptualize and produce a distinctive body of work at Svenskt Tenn. The two complemented each other. Frank producing the textiles and furnishings, Ericson arranging the interiors and overseeing the company. Together, they formed a dynamic partnership, creating imaginative, comfortable, and harmonious interiors. This new, more accessible approach to interior design became know as “Swedish Modern” following the Paris Exposition of 1937 and the New York World’s Fair of 1939, both of which featured work by Frank and Ericson. “The Enduring Designs of Josef Frank” showcases many of the remarkable textiles and furnishings Frank created for Haus & Garten and Svenskt Tenn. This exhibition was produced by the San Francisco Airport Commission, and was made possible through a generous loan from Svenskt Tenn, Stockholm, Sweden. This exhibit runs through February 19 at the Nordic Heritage Museum (3014 NW 67th St.). Tues-Sat 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun 12 noon-4 p.m. Admission: $4-$6. 206-7895707; www.nordic museum.com. “THE AESTHETICS OF FUNK” – NORTHWEST AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM The Northwest African American Museum presents Seattle-born, New York-based fiber artist Xenobia Bailey’s whimsical and funkadelic creations now through May 6. The museum is located at 2300 S. Massachusetts St. and is open Wed & Fri, 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m., Thurs 11 a.m.-7 p.m., Sat, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Sun noon-4 p.m. Admission: $4-$6. 206-518-6000; www.naamnw.org.
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CHINA: GAY-THEMED POSTERS STIR CONTROVERSY Beijinger Zhang Lei was surprised to see posters in her neighborhood showing two bare-chested men smiling at each other as they opened a condom. According to the China Daily, when she posted photos on her blog, she got people talking. Some residents can’t believe the government approved the posters. Others think it shows progress in China’s acceptance of Gay people. It turns out that the posters were produced by the Chinese CDC for AIDS prevention programs targeting Gay men. “The posters have been used for some time, but the public didn’t know that until recently, because the posters are mostly displayed in Gay bars and bathhouses,” Xu Jie, of the CDC’s National Center for AIDS/ STD Control and Prevention, said. “Conventional AIDS posters can’t capture the attention of special groups. It’s necessary to design different posters for them.” There are about 780,000 people living with HIV/AIDS in China. About 48,000 people were diagnosed as HIV-positive in 2011. Among them, 29.4 percent are men
courtesy China Daily
INTERNATIONAL by Scott Wittet SGN Contributing Writer test, and lovers hugging to comfort someone living with HIV. Lin sent samples to dozens of Gay bars and bathhouses as a trial run and found that the owners were willing to use them. One of the biggest Gay bars in Chengdu even put a poster in a lamp box advertisement in front of its gate. But Lin is surprised to hear the places where the posters are popping up. “They’re supposed to be put up in places frequented by homosexuals. I never thought they would appear in residential districts.” THAILAND AIRLINE CELEBRATES CROSS-DRESSING FLIGHT ATTENDANTS Thai airline PC Air launched its newest route with a new hiring policy. PC Air president Peter Chan said the airline originally set out to hire only male and female flight attendants but they had a change of heart when they received more than 100 applications from Transgendered people, loosely called kathoey in Thai and thought of as a third sex. The carrier ended up recruiting four kathoey, along with 19 women and seven men, courtesy mandalay gazette
Thaiwanese Transgender flight attendents
who have sex with men (MSM). “It’s the first time we’ve used AIDS posters with themes relating to homosexuality,” Xu said. The style is “very bold,” says Lin Shu, who helped design the posters. “The Gay bars like them because they want something that touches one’s heart rather than something that shows how horrible AIDS is,” the 36-year-old says. The images are intended to be attractive and sweet. They include portrayals of Gay lovers going hand-in-hand to take an HIV
as a cabin crew. PC Air said the qualifications were the same as for female flight attendants, and include femininity and attractiveness. Name tags will be designed in three different colors, one for each sex. Kathoey are sometimes called “ladyboys” in Thailand. While most Thai fathers would not want their sons to become kathoey, in general cross-dressing men are more accepted in Thailand than in the U.S. or Europe. For years some restaurants have featured kathoey waitresses and kathoey are accepted as teachers and other professionals, but
One of China’s controversial posters that promotes condom use to prevent HIV/AIDS among Gay people.
this is a first for an airline.
MALE SEX SLAVES TRAFFICKED FROM KENYA TO MIDDLE EAST Kenyan Gay magazine Identity interviewed local university students who claimed to have been lured from their schools to Gulf states with the promise of good jobs, but found that the reality was very different. Many young people are desperate to leave Kenya due to high unemployment. The students said they had been offered clerical work, jobs with airlines, or the possibility of earning thousands of dollars as “high-class escorts.” But once they arrived in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, they said, they were forced into humiliating and sadistic abuse. One young Kenyan said that he was promised a job with Qatar Airways, but fell into the hands of traffickers. “I was beaten, urinated on, and even one time someone defecated on me. All this time I was being abused sexually and some even inserted hands and objects into my anus.” He said that five other men traveled with him, but they were separated at the airport and he fears for their safety. The magazine claims there is a complex network of traffickers working with Kenyan immigration officials to get these men into the Middle East. Qatar is on the U.S. Department of State watch list for showing no evidence of progress in addressing human trafficking. Kenya introduced trafficking legislation last year, but because homosexuality is illegal in the Arab states, Kenyan victims are afraid to report abuse. JAMAICAN OPPOSITION CANDIDATE BACKS GAY RIGHTS When asked on national TV whether she would accept Gays or Lesbians in her cabinet should she become the next prime minister, candidate Portia Simpson-Miller came out in favor of LGBT rights and supported review of Jamaican anti-sodomy laws. Gay Star News reports that SimpsonMiller is leader of the opposition People’s National Party (PNP) of Jamaica. Her party
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is trailing in the polls. Her opponent, current Prime Minister Andrew Holness, took a different stance. “In the modern world, there are minimum standards of human rights which we must meet and Jamaica has done so on all occasions. However, as a society we have to determine what our civil rights are which are slightly different.” He went on to again imply that he would not support Gay rights. Jamaicans go to the polls on 29 December to decide between the candidates. Simpson-Miller said no one should be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. “I think we should have a look at the buggery law and members of parliament should be given the right to vote with their conscience, in consultation with their constituents.” The PNP has selected a non-gender conforming candidate who has been the subject of a barely veiled homophobic campaign by the ruling Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and has selected another candidate who is rumored to be Gay for the traditionally safe seat of the tourist resort city of Montego Bay. Leading independent newspaper The Gleaner commended Simpson-Miller for her statement. “By contrast, Prime Minister Andrew Holness waffled,” they wrote, “arguing that his ‘sentiment must be the sentiment of Jamaica.’ That, essentially, is homophobic.” “But the responsibility of leaders is to lead, not merely to reflect popular sentiment.” Caribbean Christian groups attack Gay law repeal Caribbean activists have condemned antiGay ads in newspapers in Trinidad and Jamaica, according to Gay Star News. Trinidad’s Sunday Express accepted an ad titled “What you should know about homosexuality” while a Jamaican paper published a similar piece on World AIDS Day. The Trinidad ad said “homosexuality is a manifestation of sexual brokenness” and argued this was caused by childhood trauma. The anti-Gay Jamaican ad was followed by a seven-hour symposium organized by
Celebrating 38 Years!
Though the second charge was later overturned and he was freed in 2004, Ibrahim was arrested for a second time in 2008 after a 23-year-old aide claimed he had been sexually assaulted by the politician. Ibrahim was charged under the country’s consensual sodomy laws as officials believed he could not have physically forced the aide into the alleged act due to his bad back. The trial began in February 2010. Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, stated: “Whether or not Anwar Ibrahim engaged in consensual ‘sodomy’ is irrelevant. It’s time to reject this law and end the farcical political theater that promotes discrimination based on sexual orientation and destroys people’s lives.” Malaysian media also are in uproar with news of a Malaysian medical student on a scholarship in Ireland, who had not contacted his family for three years. Recently photos of his Gay civil union ceremony – with the student in traditional Malaysian costume – caused headlines. A religious group in the
courtesy san francisco examiner
the Lawyers’ Christian Fellowship aimed at fighting activists’ moves to decriminalize homosexuality in the region. The event was attended by two judges from Jamaica’s Supreme Court, the attorney general, many leading Jamaicans, and American and British Christian speakers. Jamaican Gay activist Maurice Tomlinson stated, “During the nearly seven-hour symposium, the presenters extolled the virtues of Dominionism – the belief that countries must be governed by a conservative Christian understanding of biblical law – and cautioned (actually, more like threatened) Jamaican Christians that if they don’t organize a counter-offensive against the militant Gay agenda sweeping the world, their beloved country will be overrun by aberrant ideas “hell bent” on destroying marriage, children, and, of course, Christianity.” But Jamaica’s anti-Gay movement has suffered a blow by the head of Jamaica’s Anglican Church calling for the repeal of colonial-era anti-sodomy laws.
courtesy asia Inc.
Jamaican opposition candidate Portia Simpson-Miller
is 16 for oral and vaginal sex, but anal intercourse involving any person (male or female) aged under 18 is a criminal offence punishable by up to 14 years imprisonment. Queensland remains the only state or territory in Australia which does not have an equal age of consent. Queensland Association for Healthy Communities (QAHC) general manager Paul
Martin said. “That sends a destructive message to young Gay men, particularly at a time when they’re coming to terms with their sexual orientation.” “Young people are unclear about whether they can access sexual health services and be open about their sexual behavior for fear of being reported, and people who work
Martin said the laws contribute to the poor mental health and increased rates of suicide in young Gay men. “Symbolically, the Government and the state of Queensland believe anal sex is so heinous that young people have to be thrown in jail for 14 years for doing it,”
with young people such as teachers and youth workers can be unclear about whether they’re allowed to talk to young people about anal sex,” he said. “They’re also unclear as to whether they should report that a young person has admitted they have done something illegal.”
Former Malaysian deputy prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim
In Trinidad, veteran activist Colin Robinson noted: “The region is in the cross-hairs of religious groups in the North who think their battles for Christian dominion ought to be waged on the bodies of Caribbean Gay and Lesbian men and women, just like they have done on the corpses of our Ugandan brothers and sisters.” Human Rights Watch says anti-Gay law used to “slander” Anwar Ibrahim Pink News reports that the Malaysian government has been urged to revoke laws criminalizing homosexuality and abandon the criminal trial of its former deputy prime minister. The trial is believed to be nearing a verdict. Human Rights Watch made the call during the trial of Anwar Ibrahim, who it claims the state is trying to “slander” with the antiGay laws. Ibrahim was first imprisoned on corruption and sodomy charges in 1999.
broadly Islamic country has called on police to intervene in the case. Norizan Ali, chairman of the Kepong Islamic Youth Organization, said: “We are making the police report in the name of the Malays against a Malay youth who disgraced the name of our country, religion, and race.” He added, “Malaysian Muslims must adhere to the Islamic laws and our country’s laws even when they are abroad.” Push to equalize age-of-consent laws in Australia The Star Observer reports that there is a new effort to convince Australia’s state of Queensland to amend age-of-consent laws that discriminate against young Gay men. A Change.org petition has been set up, appealing to the state to take action in early 2012 while the more liberal Labour government still commands a majority. Currently Queensland’s age of consent
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Celebrating 38 Years!
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Celebrating 38 Years!
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Celebrating 38 Years!
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Sebastien Feval/AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton addresses the assembly during a speech entitled “Free and Equal in Dignity and Rights” at the United Nations in Geneva on December 6, 2011, ahead of the International Human Rights Day. Clinton urged an end to discrimination worldwide against Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, and Transgender individuals.
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GAY RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS In what is being hailed as the speech of her career, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said what needed so desperately to be said as she addressed a packed auditorium of human rights activists who gathered in Geneva for International Human Rights Day, December 10. “I want to talk about the work we have left to do to protect one group of people whose human rights are still denied in too many parts of the world today,” said Clinton. “I am talking about Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender people, human beings born free and given bestowed equality and dignity, who have a right to claim that which is now one of the remaining human rights challenges of our time.” The best line of her speech? “Gay rights are human rights.” On the same day as Clinton’s speech, President Obama issued a directive to all federal agencies ordering them to work to promote and protect LGBT rights in foreign countries. The presidential memorandum directed “all agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons.” Among the steps required by the memorandum are active efforts to fight criminalization of LGBT status or conduct, as well as to support the protection of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers. The president’s directive also promised “swift and meaningful response to serious incidents that threaten the human rights of LGBT persons abroad.” Also this year, the United Nations endorsed the rights of LGBT people for the first time ever by passing a historic resolution. Activists called it an important shift on an issue that has divided the global body for decades. “This represents a historic moment to
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DADT IS OVER In a monumental and historic moment for the LGBT community, Obama signed the DADT Repeal Act of 2010 during a ceremony at the Interior Department in Washington, D.C., December 22, 2010. Less than one year later, on September 20, the U.S. military’s ban on openly Gay service known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT) officially ended. The nation’s estimated 65,000 active duty and reserve LGB troops are no longer asked to live a lie, or look over their shoulders, in order to serve the country. After 18 years and nearly 15,000 ruined military careers, it’s finally over. DADT is dead. “I have spoken to every one of the service chiefs and they are all committed to implementing this change swiftly and efficiently,” Obama assured the hundreds of attendees at the ceremony. “We are not going to be dragging our feet to get this done.” And they didn’t. From the time the DADT Repeal Act was signed until September 20, only a handful of service members were discharged DADT (three of them, including one officer, asked to leave) and the Pentagon set about implementing the repeal under the direct orders of Obama, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the defense secretary. Official anti-Gay discrimination within the ranks of the U.S. armed forces is no more. We won. TRANSGENDER RIGHTS STATE AND LOCAL LAWS PASS While we Ls, Gs, and Bs still have work to do, we can all agree that the Ts in our community still face the biggest uphill battle. But in keeping with the rest of the community’s successes in 2011, Transgender rights and protections got a boost this year.
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moral disapproval of Gays and Lesbians and their intimate and family relationships – precisely the kind of stereotype-based thinking and animus the [Constitution’s] Equal Protection Clause is designed to guard against.” The Justice Department had defended the act in court until now. SOCIAL MEDIA The global force known as social media got onboard this year as its leader, Facebook, added two relationship status options users can include in their online profiles: “in a civil union” and “in a domestic partnership.” Previously, the set options included “single,” “in a relationship,” “married,” “engaged,” “it’s complicated,” “in an open relationship,” “widowed,” “separated,” and “divorced.” The new relationship status updates debuted in the U.S. and several other countries on February 17. SCHOOL BULLYING ATTACKED Seemingly fed up with reports of students committing suicide due to anti-LGBT bullying – or bullying in general – a number of states passed anti-bullying laws to make schools safer for all students.
HOSPITAL VISITATION RIGHTS In January, under federal rules, nearly all hospitals began to extend visitation rights to the partners of same-sex couples. The change in policy is due to the Obama adGAY MARRIAGE ADVANCES While the courts continued mulling over ministration’s continuing efforts to expand the constitutionality of California’s Prop the rights of LGBT Americans. The federal regulations, however, only 8 law, advances were made in the fight for apply to hospitals that receive Medicaid same-sex marriage. courtesy columbus dispatch
and screams of “Victory!” Yes, we still have work to do. No, we don’t have all that we need. But let’s take a moment to reflect and, dare I say, celebrate some impressive achievements in the year 2011.
highlight the human rights abuses and violations that Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people face around the world based solely on who they are and whom they love,” Clinton said in a statement. Following tense negotiations, members of the Geneva-based U.N. Human Rights Council narrowly voted in favor of the declaration put forward by South Africa, with 23 votes in favor and 19 against. Backers included the U.S., the European Union, Brazil, and other Latin American countries. Those against included Russia, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Pakistan. China, Burkina Faso, and Zambia abstained, Kyrgyzstan didn’t vote, and Libya was under suspension from the rights body.
Four states (Hawaii, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Nevada) passed Transgender antidiscrimination laws – the most new laws ever in one year. Vermont and California passed new birth certificate laws making it easier for Transgender people to update their name and gender. By a vote of 61-81, the Maine legislature killed an anti-Trans bill, and 13 local jurisdictions passed laws protecting Trans people in the workplace. Trans health policy improved a bit, as well. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services began a process to develop methods to include Trans people in future federal health surveys, paving the way for a better understanding of health disparities Transgender people face. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development issued new guidelines saying that discrimination against Trans people in renting or selling housing financed in any way with federal funds should be considered discrimination on the basis of sex, and is therefore illegal under existing civil rights laws. The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force published the groundbreaking National Transgender Discrimination Survey. With nearly 6,500 respondents, Trans people reported discrimination in every area of life. The report showed both disparate and desperate health outcomes. The study has become the go-to resource for understanding the breadth of barriers facing Trans people.
Seth Walsh’s suicide brought on by Gay-based bullying was one of several high-profile cases of Gay teen suicide in 2011.
In June, New York legalized Gay marriage, making it the largest state where Gay and Lesbian couples are able to wed. The Suquamish tribe in Washington state legalized same-sex marriage in August. In a major policy reversal, this year the Obama administration said it will no longer defend the constitutionality of DOMA, a federal law banning recognition of samesex marriage. Attorney General Eric Holder said Obama has concluded that the administration cannot defend the federal law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. He noted that the congressional debate during passage of the Defense of Marriage Act “contains numerous expressions reflecting
or Medicare funding. The rules state that such institutions may not prohibit visitation rights based on sexual orientation. This is a major shift in policy for LGBT couples. In the past, hospital officials often barred visitors not related to an incapacitated patient by blood or marriage. In addition, many hospitals would not allow same-sex partners to designate each other as someone eligible to make major medical decisions for them if they are injured or seriously ill. All that changed in January when the new regulations went into effect. Now any hospital found to be violating the new rules risks losing federal funding.
Celebrating 38 Years!
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continued from cover and removed an impetus for harassment and denigration that are anathema to good order and discipline.” Now, one year after DADT repeal, Frank asks, “So how do we assess the change, and equally important, now that it’s behind us, does it even matter anymore?” Frank says that during the years he spent researching and writing about “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” he frequently pointed out that when other countries lifted their bans, nothing bad happened. But people weren’t convinced that the same would hold true here. “As my colleague Aaron Belkin has theorized, in the U.S., fear and anxiety about change had swelled into full-blown paranoia,” he said. “And this sentiment was being exploited and inflamed by political opportunists. There is even firsthand evidence that military and cultural leaders exaggerated the threat to unit cohesion throughout the debate over ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ in an effort to give credibility to what was, at bottom, simple prejudice.” This is why assessing the ultimate impact of ending “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” matters enormously. “Throughout our history, opponents of equal treatment have insisted that it would wreak havoc on society, indeed that it would cause such grave disruptions that equality was an unacceptable threat to civilization,” said Frank. “This ‘disruption’ theory was wielded against African Americans, immigrants, women, Gays and Lesbians, and Transgender people, to name a few. It is perhaps the sharpest tool in the arsenal of people who refuse to rise above passions and prejudice, but who know that they can’t win their argument using religious and moral dogma alone. So they deploy arguments that sound secular and pragmatic – equality will somehow harm kids, undermine the family, destroy civilization – to mask what
really amounts to feelings of discomfort, resentment, or simple opposition to sharing first-class citizenship.” According to Frank, the “disruption” theory was exactly what was applied – and finally defeated – in the effort to keep Gay people from serving openly in uniform. “For years, we heard that lifting the ban would undermine cohesion, spur a mass exodus of troops from service, hurt military families, and actually cost lives, that it would disrupt our defenses, weaken our country, and threaten civilization,” he points out. “Yet the ban ended three months ago, with little fanfare. Were all the naysayers wrong? Have any of them been held accountable? And will opponents of equality going forward get away with using the same ‘disruption’ theory to convince policymakers to oppose full equality for LGBT and other Americans?” “Because that’s what they’re trying,” he continued. “We hear that letting Gay couples marry will disrupt the social fabric of American life, undermine marriage, kill a ‘culture of life,’ dry up the Western population, and threaten our civilization. If this is what was said about Gay people serving openly (which it was), and if none of it happened, then the lesson is monumental: a culture of anxiety has become a politics of paranoia, which has pulled the wool over our collective eyes in service to maintaining an unjust status quo. Will we let it happen again and again and again? Will anyone be held accountable for steering us so terribly wrong?” Next spring, Frank says, he will co-author a study for the Palm Center to assess the question of how DADT repeal has affected the military, and the Pentagon will be doing its own version of the same. In the meantime, Frank has released a provisional framework for evaluating the change. The report, “Accountability and DADT,” documents 60 of the main predictions of disruption that would allegedly result from openly Gay service, and the names of the people who made them.
“Prejudice is not illegal. Neither is paranoia or its political exploitation,” concludes Frank. “But accountability is essential to justice – past, present, and future.” “The next time you have a discussion about the costs and benefits of equal treatment, remember (whatever your position) what history shows: opponents of equality always claim it will disrupt society; almost always, it doesn’t,” he said. “If this holds true for ending DADT, will the naysayers have the courage to say, ‘I was wrong?’” The following are some notable predictions from Frank’s report: “[Lifting the ban] may even prove decisive to the viability of the all-volunteer force. That viability may, in turn, determine our ability to avoid in the years ahead – as we have for the past four decades – a return to conscription to meet our requirements for warriors in those conflicts.” –Frank Gaffney, Jr., Center for Security Policy, 2011.
“When your life hangs on the line, you don’t want anything distracting. ... Mistakes and inattention or distractions cost Marines lives. ... Assimilating openly homosexual Marines into the tightly woven fabric of our combat units has strong potential for disruption at the small unit level.” –General James Amos, Commandant of the Marine Corps, 2010, discussing his reasons for opposing openly Gay service. “The core values of the military profession would be seen by many to have changed fundamentally if homosexuals were allowed to serve. This would undermine institutional loyalty and the moral basis for service, sacrifice, and commitment.” –Military Working Group on homosexuality in the military, 1993 (the military’s official 1993 report on ending LGB exclusion).
“[Openly Gay service would be] prejudicial to good order and discipline.” “I hope that when we pass this legislation –General Colin Powell, former Chairman that we will understand that we are doing of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1992. great damage, and we could possibly and probably – as the commandant of the Marine Corps said and I’ve been told by literally thousands of members of the military – harm the battle effectiveness, which is so vital to the support, to the survival of our young men and women in the military.” –Sen. John McCain, 2010. “[Surveys suggest that if the ban is lifted, a minimum of] 24,000 current members of the armed forces might be lost over and above normal discharge attrition in a oneto-three year period... Because these personnel would be completing one or more terms of service, they would, in fact, represent a hemorrhage of mature, skilled losses from the professional ranks. This is an enormous risk to the viability of our armed forces.” –General Carl Mundy, former commandant of the Marine Corps, 2010, in a letter addressing Congress.
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Priests behaving badly: Christmas brawl in Bethlehem associated press
Palestinian police officers intervene in a fight that erupted between Greek Orthodox deacons and Armenian priests during the cleaning of the church.
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Palestinian riot police armed with batons and plexiglass shields had to break up a brawl between Greek and Armenian priests in Bethlehem on December 29. About 100 priests were involved in the fight, which broke out as the two factions were sweeping the Church of the Nativity – the traditional birthplace of Jesus – in preparation for Orthodox Christmas services on January 7. Like other Christian sites in Palestine, the Church of the Nativity is divided into several zones, with each one controlled by a different church. The brawl apparently broke out after a priest of one church – either Greek Orthodox or Armenian Apostolic, it’s not clear which – accidentally pushed his broom into space controlled by the other group. Video posted on the Al Jazeera website shows rival priests swinging brooms at each other as pilgrims try to get out of the way and police try to restore order. The division of the church into rival zones has led to similar clashes in the past. “It was a trivial problem that … occurs every year,” Bethlehem police Lt. Col. Khaled al-Tamimi told Reuters reporters. Al-Tamimi said that no one was seriously injured in the incident and no arrests had been made.
“Everything is all right and things have returned to normal,” he told reporters. “No one was arrested because all those involved were men of God.” The 1,700-year-old Church of the Nativity, which ranks as one of the holiest sites in Christianity, is reportedly in a state of disrepair because priests of the rival churches can’t agree on who should maintain it. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem – the traditional site of Jesus’ tomb – is also divided among several churches and has experienced similar problems.
zepatos
continued from cover to secure marriage equality. She mentioned, over and over again, the word “commitment.” She also said the word “love.” Zepatos is straight. And guess what, folks! Those are words that heterosexual Americans associate with marriage: love and commitment. Not the word “benefit.” I was struck at how moved I was when she spoke of commitment and love and how the beating of the benefits drum has not worked for our movement in regard to marriage for quite some time now. It does work when referring to domestic partnerships and civil unions. After all, it was the collective LGBT
and straight ally community that told everyone we wanted “everything but marriage” because of the important “rights and protections” domestic partnerships would afford registered same-sex couples in Washington. Well, we got it. Now what? Are we going to drive everyone crazy by talking about how unequal we are and that we have our eye on some of those benefits we’ve yet to obtain? Or are we going to tell our stories and talk about love? Freedom to Marry is the campaign to win marriage nationwide. Zepatos currently serves as the organization’s director of public engagement. Seattle Gay News spoke with Zepatos about Freedom to Marry and the importance of communicating our stories to heterosexual people – allied or not – in regard to marriage equality. “We work on three fronts: to win the freedom to marry in more states, to grow the national majority for marriage, and to end federal marriage discrimination,” she told SGN. “We partner with individuals and organizations across the country to end the exclusion of same-sex couples from marriage and the protections, responsibilities, and commitment that marriage brings.” Zepatos said Washington United has “put together an impressive coalition and hired an outstanding campaign manager.” “As they look toward drafting and introducing a marriage bill for consideration by the Washington Legislature, coalition leaders are well aware that they key factor in securing marriage in Washington will be adequately preparing to win a high-stakes, high-dollar campaign for voter support once the Legislature takes action,” she continued. “National opposition groups have demonstrated in state after state that they are prepared to spend millions of dollars to prevent Washington from being the seventh state to allow same sex couples to marry.” Which brings Zepatos and my conversation to a blunt truth: money. On top of our personal stories, it will take money (and lots of it) to secure marriage equality. “For so many LGBT people and their closest friends and relatives, the denial of benefits has been a strong message that has helped build support for domestic partnership, as well as marriage,” Zepatos pointed out. But other Americans have deeply held beliefs about what marriage means and why it matters to them. “For many of those well-intentioned people, talking about marriage as a collection of legal rights has two outcomes: First, it shores up the case for domestic partnership or civil unions. Second, it reinforces their concern that samesex couples really don’t ‘understand,’ or share, their values around marriage,” she said. “For that reason, it’s important for us to share our own values, and get to the heart of why marriage for same-sex couples is so important.” “In order to address people’s concerns about marriage for Gay couples, we must keep in mind the potential internal conflicts they will face and that such conflicts
can take time and engagement to resolve,” Zepatos recommends. “When asked what marriage means, most people immediately mention ‘commitment.’ The best way to connect around the freedom to marry is to show the commitment of Gay couples who are already doing the work of marriage in everyday life,” she said. “We can demonstrate the power of commitment by telling the stories of long-term couples, by highlighting acts that show such couples taking responsibility for each other, taking care of each other, putting their partner first, taking care of their children, their elderly parents, and their community.” “Luckily,” said Zepatos, “there are so many stories in the community that make these very points.” Because Gay and Lesbians are sharing their stories around the nation, and doing so by talking about love and commitment, we’ve made enormous progress toward changing the conversations about marriage at the federal level. “Currently, the Respect for Marriage Act – the landmark bill that would repeal the socalled Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) – has a record number of supporters in both the House, where the bill has 134 sponsors, and in the Senate, now with 32 sponsors, including every Democratic member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which voted in November to advance the Respect for Marriage Act to the full Senate,” said Zepatos. The Obama administration is no longer defending DOMA in court, and with the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the disparate treatment of Gay and straight members of the military will continue to raise awareness about federal relationship recognition. “Ultimately, we must either pass the Respect for Marriage Act through Congress, or secure a positive opinion on a legal case before the Supreme Court,” Zepatos said. “And to set the stage for either of those, we’ve got to demonstrate a growing climate of acceptance, by winning marriage in more states and continuing to build our majority support in public opinion nationwide.” Zepatos maintains that the most effective engine for changing hearts and minds is when “people, especially Gay people, engage with the people in their lives in a conversation about why marriage matters to them, personally.” “Many Gay people assume that being out at work, at home, and in social situations is enough to convince the people they know to support LGBT issues,” she said “But on marriage, straight people can interpret a lack of talking about an issue as a lack of urgency – or even a lack of caring. It turns out that our friends, relatives, and neighbors are waiting for the Gay and Lesbian people in their lives to bring up the subject of marriage. These kinds of conversations can be the toughest ones to have, but they are the most needed.” To get tools for these conversations and view the messages that are winning support for marriage among conflicted voters, visit www.whymarriagematters.org.
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Catholic cardinal doubles down on anti-Gay stand Repeats KKK remarks, cancels charity contracts courtesy brigham young university
the people of Illinois, and that he will speak out for all the people of Illinois and not just the Catholic position when it comes to the issues of abortion, civil unions, and Gay adoption.” Cardinal George first compared Chicago’s Pride Parade to the Klan in a Fox News interview aired before Christmas. Pride organizers had complied with a request from the city government to move the start time of the parade from noon to 10:00 a.m. The priest in charge of Our Lady of Carmel church, on the parade route, complained that the new start time would interfere with his morning Mass. Cardinal George got into the act, telling Fox, “You don’t want the Gay liberation movement to morph into something like the Ku Klux Klan, demonstrating in the streets against Catholicism.” Pride organizers said they would move the parade start time back to noon, and the controversy seemed to be dying down when George made his latest remarks. The controversy surrounding Illinois Catholic Charities goes back more than a year. In November 2010, the Illinois legislature passed a same-sex civil union bill that included the right for Gay and Lesbian couples to adopt and foster children. The law went into effect in June 2011. The civil union law was opposed by the Catholic Church, which threatened that Catholic Charities would drop their adoption and foster care services rather than place children with same-sex couples. Catholic Charities is one of the most extensive social service networks in the U.S., serving more than 10 million poor adults and children. It claims to be nondenominational. Catholic Charities affiliates answer to
their local bishops and dioceses, but most of their money comes from contracts with government agencies. Catholic Charities affiliates received some $2.9 billion a year from government sources in 2010. This amounts to about 62% of its annual revenue of $4.67 billion. Only 3% of Catholic Charities’ revenue came from churches in individual dioceses. In Illinois, Catholic Charities in five of the six state dioceses was entirely dependent on foster care contracts, receiving 60% to 92% of their revenues from the state, according to affidavits by the charities’ directors. Catholic Charities in George’s Archdiocese of Chicago pulled out of foster care services in 2007 because of problems with its insurance provider. When the contracts came up for renewal in June, the Illinois attorney general, along with the legal staff in the governor’s office and the Department of Children and Family Services, decided that the religious providers on state contracts would no longer be able to reject same-sex couples. The Catholic providers offered to refer same-sex couples to other agencies, as they had been doing for unmarried couples, but that was not acceptable to the state, “Separate but equal was not a sufficient solution on other civil rights issues in the past either,” Department of Children and family Services spokesperson Kendall Marlowe said. Courts at both the circuit and appellate level upheld the state’s right to require equal treatment of same-sex couples. Catholic bishops in Peoria and Springfield said bitterly that the state of Illinois was “basically at war with the Catholic community and seem to be destroying their institutions.”
Cardinal Francis George
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Roman Catholic Cardinal Francis George, Archbishop of Chicago, is not retreating from his comparison of Chicago’s Pride Parade to the Ku Klux Klan. In a statement to reporters on December 27, George said that “[Pride] organizers invited an obvious comparison to other groups who have historically attempted to stifle the religious freedom of the Catholic Church. One such organization is the Ku Klux Klan.” The Catholic hierarchy in Illinois has gone well beyond a mere war of words, however, Illinois’ Roman Catholic bishops have shut down most Catholic Charities affiliates in the state rather than comply with a new law that requires them to consider same-sex couples as potential foster-care and adoptive parents if they want to receive state money. The Illinois bishops followed their colleagues in Washington, D.C., and Massachusetts who jettisoned their adoption services rather than comply with nondiscrimi-
nation laws. Illinois Catholic Charities had sued the state to prevent the law from applying to them, but their attorneys dropped the suit on November 14 after losing preliminary rulings. “The actions of the State have prevented the charities from being able to obtain relief from the Illinois court system,” they said. Illinois Governor Pat Quinn, himself a Catholic, reportedly met with George and 12 other Catholic bishops to explain his proGay, pro-choice policies. According to a report on the LezGetReal blog, sources connected with the Rainbow Sash Movement – an organization of LGBT Catholics – characterized the meeting as “full of tension.” “Cardinal George calmly told the governor that it was his hope that the governor would no longer speak out as a public Catholic unless he is in agreement with the bishops on controversial issues,” the sources reported. “The governor sat quietly and respectfully listened to the cardinal, but then told the cardinal that he was the governor of all
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SNAPSHOT SEATTLE In May, The Seattle LGBT Commission released a report outlining the results from a six-week online survey that assessed the needs of Seattle’s LGBT community on issues including housing, education, health, public safety, and community involvement. Nearly 1,600 people participated in the survey from June 18 through July 31, 2010. Choosing from a multiple-choice list of answers, participants’ top three needs were marriage equality (55.5%), hate crime violence/harassment (39.0%), and healthcare (32.0%). The survey also asked respondents about the biggest issues impacting them personally. Healthcare (51.6%), marriage equality (49.0%), and lack of jobs in this THE PUSH FOR GAY MARRIAGE economy (43.4%) were the most popular IN WASHINGTON responses. restaurant workers in western Washington We’ve dreamt about it for some time now. While the survey reflected a diverse cross– announced that they’d reached a tenta- We’ve all talked about it for years. But it section of the LGBT community, the comtive agreement on a new contract with the would seem that, in 2012, we, the LGBT mission acknowledged that it was imposWestin Hotel. Among other provisions was enhanced nondiscrimination language that protects LGBT hotel employees. In 2007, Local 8 won a landmark agreement from the Westin explicitly protecting Transgender workers – the first such contract in the country. The new contract expands on that agreement. In March, the Martin Luther King County Labor Council, which represents some 150 unions and 75,000 workers, reaffirmed support for inclusive nondiscrimination language that protects both sexual orientation and gender identity, and urged all its affiliated unions to adopt such language in their contracts. The action was taken at the urging of Pride At Work, the AFL-CIO’s LGBT constituency organization. The City of Seattle Office of Economic Development launched a website in November of 2010 to help celebrate the different neighborhoods by educating the public on the things that made each neighborhood unique, fun, and why they should bring their business there. The Capitol Hill neighborhood – home to the cultural center of LGBT history and business in Seattle – was initially ignored, but after applied pressure from the local community, the OED changed the verbiage of the neighborhood description to include the proud history of the LGBT people who live, work, and shop there.
2011 Seattle continued from cover
nate gowdy/seattle gay news
sexual minority communities and the larger Seattle community together – successfully advocated for the inclusion of health care plans offered to Seattle Transgender employees. In May, the commission asked the city to remove the exclusions, and to provide coverage of gender-affirming surgical, hormonal, psychological, and medical care for its valued Transgender employees. The city of Seattle agreed and, for the first time in the city’s history, provided Transgender employees with full health care benefits. On November 22, UNITE HERE Local 8 – the union that represents hotel and
Fred Swanson speaking at the unveiling of the HIV30 art installation
citizens of Washington state and our straight allies, would attempt to secure same-sex marriage in the coming year. Washington United for Marriage, a broad coalition of Washington state organizations coming together in support of the freedom to marry for all, officially announced their formation and the new effort to make civil marriage for all Washingtonians a priority in 2012 at a November 14 press conference in Bellevue, Washington, at the Highland Community Center. In October, UFCW 21, the state’s largest private sector union, endorsed marriage equality. UFCW 21 represents some 35,000 grocery and food workers. On November 2, the Martin Luther King County Labor Council reaffirmed its longstanding support for marriage equality and committed to lobby legislators when the bill is introduced in the coming year.
sible to accurately capture every segment of the population. While homeless, the Transgendered, seniors, and youth were represented in the survey, the commission felt their percentages under-represented them. As a result, they are now reaching out to these communities to get their input before they submit a final report (and suggestions) to Mayor McGinn and the City Council. EDUCATION Throughout 2011, Pride Foundation, in partnership with the Greater Seattle Business Association’s Scholarship Fund, awarded more than $400,000 to LGBT and straight-ally students from or studying in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The scholarship program is one of the largest of its kind in the world.
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www.sgn.org 20 Seattle Gay News
December 30, 2011
Celebrating 38 Years!
TRAVEL AND TOURISM There are many different reasons why someone would want to visit Seattle. It’s a beautiful place filled with wonderful people. The Greater Seattle Business Asso-
stone in our community and world,” Gay City Health Project Executive Director Fred Swanson told Seattle Gay News in August. “The original idea of a multi-phased project blending art and history came from a disnate gowdy/seattle gay news
tunity for donors, corporations, and political leaders to join together and make a charitable difference in the lives of those affected by and living with HIV and AIDS. In December, Paul Kawata, executive director of the National Minority AIDS Council, received the World AIDS Day 2011 AIDS Service Award. Kawata’s speech was a highlight of the annual World AIDS Day breakfast as he recognized how far we’ve come in the fight against HIV/AIDS in 30 years and asked everyone to pledge 25 or more years to ridding the world of the disease. BRUTAL ATTACKS RESULT IN DEATH Seattle’s LGBT community was rocked by two horrific crimes – both of which are still unsolved – in 2011. In July, Louis Chen, a First Hill physician, allegedly killed his partner Eric Cooper and their 2-year-old son Cooper Chen in their Seattle apartment. The crime sent shockwaves through the community, particularly because the murder involved a child. Chen has been charged with two counts of aggravated murder in the first degree and, according to the King County’s Prosecutor’s Office, will not face the death penalty.
old man was assaulted and robbed by three black teens. Days later, Danny Vega died at the hospital. On November 30, three days after the famed hairdresser died, Seattle police released a video and photo images of three “people of interest” and publicly declared they will do everything within their power to catch the man’s killers. As of press time, no arrests have been made in connection with the unsolved murder of Vega. PRIDE AND OUR FLAG Don’t mess with our flag! That is the message the ownership and management at Seattle’s Space Needle heard – loud and clear – as they conceded to community pressure to fly the rainbow flag above the iconic Seattle landmark on Seattle Gay Pride Day. The community was filled with jubilation. It was an affirmation; a symbol that Seattle and the LGBT community that inhabits it (the second-largest in the nation) are in sync. Seattle Pride 2011 was the biggest in city history, with more people than ever participating in weeklong events that culminated with the annual Pride Parade and PrideFest at Seattle Center. The parade boasted 180 contingents, nearly 4,500 people marching courtesy glaad
Olympic diver Greg Louganis speaking at the Lifelong AIDS Alliance benefit breakfast in Seattle on February 25, 2011
ciation has invested many hours and dollars into ensuring that some of those tourists are LGBT. This year, the GSBA was host to the first-ever West Coast LGBT Tourism Summit. The summit focused on providing tools for attendees to attract LGBT tourism to their city and was attended by LGBT chamber of commerce members, convention and visitor bureaus, travel planners and chamber businesses. HIV/AIDS Thirty years later, HIV/AIDS is still with us. Seattle has a plethora of organizations that aid those living with the disease. To honor those that we’ve lost to the pandemic, a group calling themselves HIV 30 sprang into action to create a timeline of the disease’s impact in our city, as well as present community art pieces that were displayed throughout the city. “Trying to capture 30 years of HIV is overwhelming, but it’s an important mile-
cussion initiated by Ro Yoon from the HIV Vaccine Trials Network. We wanted to remember and honor, to both celebrate progress and to reflect on those we have lost.” “We gathered a collective of community members including artists, volunteers, and staff at local agencies, people living with and affected by HIV, and just began mapping out what it might look like,” he said. The collective was highly successful and visible, as two community art pieces remain on display in Capitol Hill, Seattle’s LGBT cultural neighborhood, which depict a 30year timeline of pictures and statistics about HIV/AIDS, and a collection of 15 painting, photos, and stories submitted by Seattle-are artists and individuals who spoke of how HIV/AIDS impacted their lives. In February, Greg Louganis, an out Gay Olympic gold medal recipient and icon, was guest speaker at the annual Lifelong AIDS Alliance benefit breakfast. The breakfast is a community event that provides an oppor-
Tributes to Danny Vega in front of his salon in Rainier Valley
The trial is scheduled for early 2012. On November 15, at around 8 p.m., Rainier Valley resident and out Gay man Danny Vega was walking in the 4200 block of South Othello Street in Seattle. The 58-year-
and 134 floats and vehicles. The Seattle Police Department estimated that over 250,000 spectators lined the streets in downtown Seattle to watch the parade.
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