Issue 8 Volume 42
Celebrating 41 Years!
FRIDAY February 21, 2014 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Musmari charged with first-degree arson kiro radio / Chris Sullivan
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Musab Masmari, the suspect in the Neighbours NYE arson case, has changed lawyers and, as of press time for Seattle Gay News, has only been charged with firstdegree arson. At a February 18 arraignment hearing in the case, Musmari dropped his public defender and hired Jeff Cohen as private counsel. Public defender Harold Palmer, Musmari’s former lawyer, told media that Mr. Cohen was hired by Musmari’s family. At this time, Cohen has declined to answer questions from the media stating that he hadn’t looked at the case yet. During Musmari’s arraignment, Palmer argued that Musmari can’t possibly stay away from all potential Neighbours customers. Judge Patrick Oishi ordered that Musmari is prohibited from contact with Neighbours, Therapy Lounge, and any employees of
either establishment, dropping the patron status from the court order. Palmer told The Stranger, “He is absolutely not guilty.” Musab Musmari is charged with arson in the first degree for his alleged role in the Neighbours arson, and he entered a plea of not guilty. A case setting date has been chosen, and Musmari will come back on March 5 to get his trial date. There are more than a few questions that have arisen over Musmari’s alleged role in the fire. One concern is about the fairness of his trial. Recently, court documents show unnamed people coming forward to accuse Musmari of terrorist plots and saying that he wanted to “exterminate homosexuals.” According to KIRO 7 and court documents connected to a warrant affidavit, Musmari first met the informant at Fatima’s Cafe near the Masjid at Taqwa Mosque on Seattle’s East Union Street, shortly after the fire at Neighbours. see ARSON page 5
So, am I married now, or what? Washington Senate considering ban on conversion therapy
As a preliminary matter, when I refer to same-sex couples in this article, I mean couples that have the same legal gender at the time they registered as domestic partners. If one person is Transgender, their legal gender (meaning the gender reported on their driver’s license, Social Security card, and other legal documents) at the time of the domestic partnership or marriage is what the state considers. None of these legal changes affect people who were married as an opposite-sex couple, but became a same-sex couple after their marriage because of one person’s legal gender change. Prior to the 2012 election, the laws governing same-sex relationships’ legal status changed several times. For many years, same-sex couples had no legal relationship status whatsoever. Then, a patchwork of city, county and state governments around the country began to allow couples to register Senator Marko Liias as domestic partners – but each city, county, and state defined that relationship a little differently, and by Mike Andrew straight. The Senate’s Committee on afforded different benefits and SGN Staff Writer Health Care will hold a hearing on responsibilities to those relationthe legislation February 20. ships. Then, in 2009, Washington The bill would make it an act The State Senate is now considerstate implemented the “Everything ing a bill to ban so-called “conver- of unprofessional conduct to try sion therapy,” a controversial pracsee married page 16 tice that claims to turn Gay youth see conversion page 16
Bill passes House 94-4
CarlB104
by Denise Diskin Special to the SGN It’s been a little more than a year since we all went through the whirlwind of Washington’s successful Referendum 74 campaign, which resulted in Washington’s same-sex GLBT couples being able to get happily, legally married on December 9, 2012. For many, it felt like the wave of positive change toward marriage equality was finally cresting here in Washington. With the passage of that law, hundreds of couples were able to get married, joining the thou-
sands of couples who had already registered with the state as domestic partners. Now, the final part of that law is taking effect: Starting June 30, 2014, most couples who are domestic partners but who have not yet married will have their partnership automatically converted to a marriage by the state. Couples (provided both are under the age of 62) who registered as domestic partners with the state of Washington’s Secretary of State’s office must now decide whether they want to become married or dissolve their domestic partnership.
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Seattle Gay News
February 21, 2014
Celebrating 41 Years!
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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.
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
Knocking on history’s closet by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer The LGBT community has been speculating about the sexual orientation or gender identity of great historical figures long before Noel I. Grade wrote Jonathan to Gide (1964), the first tell-all compilation of “great Gays in history.” To many of us, the fact that Leonardo or Tchaikovsky was “one of us” seemed to validate our existence in a world that only saw us as sinners, criminals or mental patients. On the other hand, historians continue to heterosexualize the greats. One time when a newspaper ran a piece about Michelangelo’s love for other men it drew an angry response from Irving Stone, author of The Agony and the Ecstasy, who insisted that the creator of “David” was straight. When Dr. C. A. Tripp’s posthumously published The Intimate World of Abraham Lincoln appeared in 2005, keepers of the Lincoln torch went crazy. Tripp, who at one time served as an assistant to the notorious Dr. Alfred Kinsey, placed Lincoln on the Kinsey Scale “as a classical 5 – predominantly homosexual, but incidentally heterosexual.” Lincoln, Tripp noted, had “passionate friendships” with other men, most notably Joshua Fry Speed, with whom Lincoln shared a bed for four years (1837-1841). This was enough to evoke a heated rebuttal from Michael Burlingame, author of The Inner World of Abraham Lincoln. Though Burlingame admitted that “Speed and Lincoln were close emotionally” he added that “their letters have no discernable romantic overtones. Besides, there is too much evidence that Lincoln was strongly attracted
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to women,” giving Lincoln’s spurious romance with Ann Rutledge as an example. Long before Mel Brooks, historians have tried to analyze Adolf Hitler’s sexuality. In 2001 the German historian Lothar Machtan shocked the world by claiming that Hitler was queer. “Adolf Hitler was fond of men. He had a homosexual nature,” said Machtan, who elaborated in his book Hitler’s Secret: The Double Life of a Dictator (published in English as The Hidden Hitler). “One must be very careful with the expression ‘homosexual activities’ because we do not know how Hitler lived them out. We can say that until the late 1920s Hitler had a range of homoerotic friendships. Many of them were characterized by contemporaries as homosexual.” During World War I, Corporal Hitler was attached to a fellow soldier, Ernst Schmidt, who was known as Hitler’s “male whore.” As a result of this liaison, Hitler was never promoted. In 1934 Hitler, now the Fuhrer, ordered the death of Ernst Rohm, the Gay leader of the Storm Troopers, because he feared that Rohm might reveal Hitler’s sexuality. “Hitler himself never condemned homosexuality, but he allowed the persecution of Gays in order to disguise his own true colors,” said Machtan. Hitler being Hitler, no scholars came forth to defend his heterosexuality, as they did in the case of Lincoln or Michelangelo. Last year the artistic world was rocked by the publication of American Mirror: The Life and Art of Norman Rockwell. Biographer Deborah Solomon went out on a limb when she speculated that the beloved artist, whose work is the epitome of Americana, was a closet Gay. Norman Rockwell, Solomon wrote, “demonstrated an intense need for emotional and physical closeness with
February 21, 2014
men. From the viewpoint of twenty-firstcentury gender studies, a man who yearns for the company of men is considered homosexual, whether or not he has sex with other men.” Rockwell’s family members had a collective fit. They issued a statement claiming that Solomon made 96 factual errors in her book, misused sources and made “highly selective” use of Rockwell’s autobiography. For her part Solomon said she did not believe Rockwell had any Gay sexual contacts, but that he preferred male company and that “enormous homoeroticism” was evident in his work. As if that was not enough, a few years ago Professor Stephen Knight wrote a piece claiming that the twelfth century folk hero Robin Hood was a poof. Knight, who until recently was Distinguished Research Professor at the University of Cardiff in Wales, claimed that Robin of Locksley was a victim of anti-Gay prejudice who was forced to live in Sherwood Forest with his band of “merry men.” After studying ballads of Robin Hood written in the fourteenth century, Knight concluded that “the ballads could not say outright that he was gay because of the prevailing moral climate, but they do contain a great deal of erotic imagery. The green wood itself is a symbol of virility and the references to arrows, quivers and swords make it clear, too.” Knight added that Maid Marian was a “beard” who was not part of the legend until the sixteenth century and that Robin’s real love was “Little John,” one of his “merry men.” Though Knight’s theories seem far-fetched, even to me, the very merry British group Outrage welcomed the “outing” of Robin Hood: “It is about time school history lessons acknowledged the contributions of famous homosexuals.”
Seattle Gay News
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Obituary
Earnestine Blue (1949-2014)
Earnestine was born on February 5, 1949 in Sarah Village, Utah. She was still in elementary school when her family moved to San Francisco, where she finished high school and gave birth to her two daughters, Tasha and Curtistine. She also became politically active in San Francisco, working in the Black Panthers’ breakfast program, which provided free meals for children in inner city housing projects. When Earnestine came out as a lesbian, her husband sued for custody of her children, and she took them back to Utah to protect them and retain custody. She talked about her experiences as a young lesbian mother in the 1970s in the 2006 film Mom’s Apple Pie: The Heart of the Lesbian Mothers’ Custody Movement. She and the girls stayed in Utah for ten years, and in 1985, after her daughters entered college, Earnestine moved to Seattle. She volunteered at the downtown Seattle YWCA, then became Director of Housing, developing one of the city’s first permanent housing programs for homeless women. Earnie always loved working with youth, and in 1988, she became a Corrections Supervisor at King County Juvenile Detention where she worked for almost twenty years, supporting the kids there with her down-to-earth kindness. Earnestine was an accomplished artist and craftswoman, turning pine needles into intricate baskets and transforming gourds into iconic figures of women’s power. She was a loved part of Seattle’s
lesbian community and a member of Sistah 2 Sistah, a group for lesbian, bisexual, and transgender women of African descent. She served on the Board of Directors for Lambert House, a support center for lgbt youth, The Dove House, which offers services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and other crimes, and the Education Committee of the Woman’s Law Board. In 2011 she proudly received the bachlors of arts degree she earned from Seattle’s Antioch College. One of her fondest memories was coordinating a yearlong youth panel for street kids and lgbt youth. Earnestine died January 8, 2014 after an illness. She is survived and mourned by her partner of twenty-eight years Jackie Moorey, her daughters Tasha and Curtistine, her grandchildren Sonobia and Everett, her great-grandchildren Quentin, Troy, and Ximaka, seven sisters and brothers, her loving extended birth family, and her chosen family in the lgbt community. We will all miss her.
Artwork by Earnestine Blue
War Dispatches by Richard J. Rosendall SGN Contributing Writer We laugh to avoid screaming. Or maybe we try therapeutic tweeting. There were no new media to distract us in 1989. Cartoonist Garry Trudeau did a series of Doonesbury strips in which the character Andy Lippincott is diagnosed with AIDS. Andy survives on morphine and dark humor. When his doctor tells him, “You know your jammies clash with your lesions, don’t you?” Andy replies, “So who are you, Ralph Lauren?” His friend Joanie Caucus asks, “Andy, how can you joke?” He replies, “How can you not?” I once watched a Gay Men’s Chorus member nicknamed Stella in the ICU at Washington Hospital Center telling an elaborate joke between puffs on his oxygen mask. Grace in the face of the abyss. Another time, another war – or wars. Activist Pam Spaulding tweeted on Sunday, “World gathers at anti-gay #Putin’s #Sochi2014 #Olympics as Nigerian govt foments #LGBT genocide. NYT: http://goo. gl/pmdqbs #CheerstoSochi” During the Friday broadcast of the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, the twitterverse flowed with snarky observations. When one giant snowflake failed to open into an Olympic ring, Broadway star Laura Benanti tweeted, “Leave off the last ring for homophobia.” Scott Gorenstein tweeted a pic of police beating Gay protesters and called it “a traditional Russian greeting.” John Swafford tweeted, “@CocaCola nothing says America the Beautiful like going to Russia paying for LGBT hunting and violence.” Charles Butler wrote, “When I design my anti-LGBT Olympics opening, I’m going to skip the dancing men in periwinkle tuxedos.” The Human Rights Campaign hung a large poster at its headquarters criticizing Putin, but then was slammed for serving Coke at its Sochi-related event (pity the caterer). The American right took no Olympics break. Austin Ruse of the Catholic Family and Human Rights Institute strongly defended Russia’s anti-Gay “propaganda” law, saying “there is no human right to tell the gay narrative to schoolchildren.” Peter 4
Seattle Gay News
LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality denounced Coca-Cola for including same-sex parents in its “America the Beautiful” Super Bowl ad; he missed the fact that the song’s author, Katherine Lee Bates, was Lesbian. On National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, February 7, Bryan Fischer of the Family Research Council said he opposes normalizing homosexual behavior “because I love black males.” Back slowly away. LGBT voices held their own. On February 4, a group of Ugandan exiles called the Kuchu Diaspora Alliance led a protest outside the Ugandan Embassy in Washington. Also present were representatives of the Unitarian Universalist Association, HRC Global Engagement, and D.C.’s Center Global. The Ugandans, led by Victor Mukasa, called out to the embassy staff, declaring their love for their country and decrying anti-Gay persecution. I stood on the sidewalk holding a large rainbow flag, and several passing drivers honked their support. Mukasa’s passion was quite affecting. On February 6, President Obama made Gay-inclusive remarks at the National Prayer Breakfast organized by the right-wing group The Family. David Bahati, who introduced the Anti-Homosexuality Bill in the Ugandan Parliament, first proposed executing Gays at The Family’s Uganda National Prayer Breakfast in 2008. If the President wants to attend an ecumenical prayer breakfast, can’t he find a sponsoring group that doesn’t export hatred? As I embraced my Ugandan friends after the embassy protest, I was glad at least that they could continue their efforts from the greater safety of Washington. Days later, President Obama confirmed that he included Gay Olympic delegation members to send a message, while Attorney General Holder told an HRC gala in New York about Justice Department efforts to protect LGBT families. The madness never stops, but we can pull back from it on occasion to count our blessings. That is a luxury our brothers and sisters in Sochi and Lagos and Kampala might like to taste.
February 21, 2014
Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist. He can be reached at rrosendall@starpower.net. Copyright © 2014 by Richard J. Rosendall. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission.
Related Links:
Doonesbury strip, April 4, 1989 [Dr. Klein: “You know your jammies clash with your lesions, don’t you?” Andy: “So who are you, Ralph Lauren?”] http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1989/04/04#.UvZ-cKXWRuY Doonesbury strip, April 8, 1989 [“Andy, how can you joke?” “How can you not?”] http://www.gocomics.com/doonesbury/1989/04/08#.UvaAN6XWRuY Tweet, Pam Spaulding, February 9, 2014, https://twitter.com/pamspaulding/status/432637844839215104 Tweet, Laura Benanti, February 7, 2014, https://twitter.com/LauraBenanti/status/431962075016204288 Tweet, Scott Gorenstein, February 7, 2014, https://twitter.com/ScottGorenstein/status/431865294668046336 Tweet, John Swafford, February 7, 2014, http://twitter.com/JohnSwafford13/status/431772381137629184 [Austin Ruse] “World Congress of Families: Criticism Of Putin Is Liberal Media Hysteria,” Peter Montgomery, Right Wing Watch, February 5, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/knnd4xp “Peter LaBarbera Furious That Gay Couple Is Featured In ‘America The Beautiful’ Song Authored By Gay Songwriter,” Brian Tashman, Right Wing Watch, February 6, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/lp38xg3 National Black HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, http://nationalblackaidsday.org “Fischer: I Want Homosexuality To Be Illegal ‘Because I Love Black Males’,” Kyle Mantyla, Right Wing Watch, February 7, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/ofqm6kr “Ugandan Exiles Protest Anti Gay Laws at D.C. Embassy,” Cathy Kristofferson, O-blogdee-o-blog-da, February 4, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/lp8t2vo Remarks by the President at National Prayer Breakfast, February 6, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/ow4bcl4 Wikipedia page on David Bahati, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Bahati “Obama highlights gay rights in Sochi delegation,” Yahoo! Sports, February 6, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/kkzoalr Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Attorney General Eric Holder at the Human Rights Campaign Greater New York Gala, February 8, 2014, http://tinyurl.com/holderhrc
Celebrating 41 Years!
Shortage of heartfelt greeting cards for same-sex couples
try with more than 5 billion cards sold in the U.S. annually, and a presence in drug stores and other retailers that goes far beyond its own 38,000 stores. “Back in 2008, when only Massachusetts and California had legal same-sex marriage, Hallmark made a big deal about rolling out what
they considered to be Gay wedding cards,” said Friess. “Even though the cards were carefully unspecific – artwork showed intertwined flowers and overlapping hearts and the nondescript message “Two hearts. One promise.” – they enjoyed praise for their foresight.” “That the company is basically doing roughly the same thing six years and 15 additional marriage-equality states later is strange,” he noted. “This is an age, after all, when allAmerican icons Chevy and Coca-Cola include same-sex families in their diversity montages during the most mainstream of TV events, the Super Bowl and Olympics.” “This year, Hallmark offers two cards in our in-store Valentine’s Day selection that are specifically created for same-sex relationships – titled ‘Love: Man to Man’ and ‘Love: Woman to Woman’ – and they are labeled that way in the display,” the company’s publicist, Kristi Ersting, wrote to Friess last week. “There are other relevant Valentine’s Day cards that would be appropriate for same-sex relationships as well as other romantic relationships. They would be found in the display under titles like ‘Love for Him/Her,’ ‘Man/Woman I Love’ and ‘For My Partner.’” Two cards, one for each same-gender pair. “Neither of which, it should be noted, the clerks at any of the Hallmark stores in and around Ann Arbor, Mich., seemed aware of or could locate,” said Friess. “And then, of course, some other cards that can, as they say, go both ways.” I found, just as Friess did, that there were other markets (other than the Gays) that Hallmark has got their eye on such as a “priest’s anniversary, a thank-you note from a pet or for a day-care provider, and congratulations on potty training, the loss of teeth, a new cat, or a gold award from the Girl Scouts.” “I did spot a Valentine’s card under the banner “Daughter & ‘Son’” – but it’s unclear whether this is a passive-aggressive way of questioning an in-law’s validity in the family or acknowledging his gender transition,” he said. “Gay people have won so many victories in such a short period of time that many figure it’s all over but the mopping-up,” Friess concludes. “But the mopping-up includes small things like this that illustrate inclusion and respect as well as acceptance.” Maybe next year? Well, here’s hoping. A belated Happy Valentine’s Day to all the lovers out there – I hope you had a better time at the whole Valentine’s gift-giving thing than I did.
which is a class A violent offense under the Washington State Sentencing Reform Act. The filing was based on the fact that the fire was manifestly dangerous to human life and the fact that people were within the nightEMAIL CORRESPONDENCE the building more than the hundreds of Gay club at the time of the fire. The filing was REGARDING ARSON FIRE lives that he was trying to murder. At the commensurate with our Filing and DisposiAT NEIGHBOURS very least even a first year law student can tion Standards and represents the extreme risk that Mr. Musmari allegedly created. see this is a hate crime, but no. We are continuing to investigate the case To: King County Prosecutor’s Office SHAME ON YOU! with the Seattle Police Department and will Sent: 2/15/2014 We will remember next election. consider additional charges based upon any From: Douglas Murray additional evidence the investigation yields. Subject: 700 plus counts of attempted From: Goodhew, Ian Sincerely, murder! [King County Prosecutor’s Office] Ian Goodhew Sent: 2/18/14 King County Prosecutor’s Office To: Douglas Murray I want to express how upset I am that your Subject: 700 plus counts of attempted office has only charged Musab Masmari with one count of arson. murder! Arson is the crime of intentionally and maliciously setting fire to buildings, etc. ArDear Mr. Murray, continued from cover son is a property crime. Thank you for contacting the King CounThe informant contacted the FBI soon I am flabbergasted that the REPUBLI- ty Prosecutor’s Office regarding the recent after meeting Musmari because he was CAN prosecuting attorney is more inter- charge filed in State v. Musab Musmari, “concerned” that Musmari “may be planested in prosecuting a crime against a build- aka Masmari for allegedly attempting to set a fire within Neighbours Nightclub ning some terrorist activity” because he ing than charging Musab Masmari with the on January 1st of this year. As you note in spoke of “something he’s planning.” The attempted murder of some 700 plus Gay your email we have charged the defendant informant told investigators that Musmari friendly people. with one count of Arson in the First Degree, told him “he had obtained a rifle.” Your office has made it clear you value
The unidentified informant also said that, in the numerous conversations after their first meeting, Musmari often expressed “distaste for homosexual people,” and that Musmari “opined that homosexuals should be exterminated.” Palmer said, “I’m concerned that there are so many unnamed witnesses allowed to present speculation as fact in the court documents.” He went on to say he would not offer any more comments about the rest of the case. Dan Donohue, from the prosecutor’s office, has said, “We are confident we have enough evidence to move forward.” The FBI also said its investigators were looking for evidence of a hate crime in the case. Musmari was arrested earlier this month while he was reportedly on the way to the airport with a one-way ticket to Turkey. According to police, someone poured gasoline on the stairs at Neighbours and set them on fire with approximately 750 people inside. The fire was quickly put out, and no one was hurt. The subsequent investigation, including surveillance video, led police to Musmari. He is being held on $1 million bail.
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Last Friday was Valentine’s Day. And I’m married. My husband and I tied-theknot last May and, while I find it easy to remember our anniversary, May 25, I often times find myself forgetting about Valentine’s Day. I don’t know about you but I don’t really need a “special” day to give my husband a gift. To me, the holiday stinks of assimilation; I always felt that Valentine’s Day was better left to the straight kids. My husband, however, sees it differently. And so I must, too. (If you are married you are probably smiling right now after reading that last comment!) Well, one of the easiest things you can do is buy something for Valentine’s Day – even if it is last minute. Let’s see: There’s candy; but he doesn’t like sweets. Oh … there are flowers; but it is Seattle and the middle of winter, so what’s the point really? I’m a writer so I could always get him a Hallmark card and I will rock his world by writing something awesome. Yeah! That’s it! To the gift card aisle I go. Do you know what I found when I got to the gift card aisle? Not a whole lot for samesex couples. In fact, at a major grocery store in Seattle, I only found one. That’s it – one card. And it was stupid. And so I left. I ended up at Target because I thought, well, surely this is a bigger store … and do you know what? They didn’t even have one card that was designed just for two men or two women. Now, before I go on, let me just acknowledge the fact that, yes, I could have gotten a generic “From me to you” card and that would’ve been good. But that is just it, isn’t it? We shouldn’t have to settle anymore. There are more than 15 states where same-sex marriage is legal and I say it’s high time Hallmark realizes that fact and starts printing some cards for the many millions of LGBT Americans. I’m not the only one who thinks so. TIME magazine’s Steve Friess found that things haven’t changed much since the 1990s when he first looked for a card for another man. And that, just for anyone keeping score, is piss poor. “This is how Gays browse for Valentine’s Day, birthday, wedding, or anniversary greetings. We walk into Walgreens or Target, ignore just about any card that shows pictures of actual humans or that declare love to a “husband” or “wife,” because inevitably the language, and probably the imagery too, will be posi-
tively hetero,” he said in a story that was published February 11 on the magazine’s website, TIME.com. “Instead, we find cards with mutually enamored, anthropomorphic animals and ascertain they aren’t drawn to imply gender. Or, alternatively, we go schlocky because a crude cliché about one’s age or a knowing joke about the banality of a long-term relationship really knows no sexual orientation.” Friess writes with the acknowledgment that
by providing products to satisfy a growing niche,” he said. “Back in 1992 when I sought out my first Valentine’s card for another man, I expected nothing more. More than two decades later, though, it’s surprising – and surprisingly bad business – that so little has changed.” The key player here, of course, is Hallmark. There are other card makers, but Hallmark dominates the $8 billion-a-year indus-
ILLUSTRATION BY J.C. LEYENDECKER
the Gays of Sochi and Uganda would kill for such mundane dilemmas, but he’s still baffled. Well, that makes two of us for sure. “If this is an ultimate first-world problem, it is because the marketplace in firstworld countries is supposed to resolve these inconveniences and awkward moments
ARSON
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February 21, 2014
Seattle Gay News
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northwest news
GAY CITY ARTS – “ON THE TRAIL OF TREES” FEBRUARY 10 - MARCH 10 Shawn Marie Johnson’s “On the Trail of Trees” vividly captures her naturalist outings in the great Northwest, with colorfully saturated watercolors, sumi-ink paintings, and bold metal sculptures. Her work is on display at Gay City (517 E. Pike St.) “On the Trail of Trees” is presented in conjunction with Gay City Arts, through which Gay City collaborates with local LGBT artists to galvanize an audience for Queer arts, foster the development of LGBT artists, and facilitate artistic excellence across a wide range of disciplines, including theatre, music, dance, film, spoken word, literary and visual arts. A portion of any sales will be donated to Gay City. www.gaycity.org.
GREATER SEATTLE BUSINESS ASSOCIATION (GSBA) – BUSINESS & HUMANITARIAN AWARDS BANQUET On Tuesday, February 25, at 5:30 p.m., at Seattle Marriott Waterfront, 2100 Alaskan Way. join the GSBA for their annual Business & Humanitarian Awards Banquet. With keynote speaker, Michael Guest, America’s first openly-Gay Senateconfirmed Ambassador (to Romania 20012004), and co-founder Council for Global Equality. Registration: $140-members, $160 non-members. www.thegsba.org; 206363-9188.
SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB – VAINGLORY The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday from 6-7:30 p.m., at Seattle Area Support Groups Community Center (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.). In February, the club will discuss Vainglory by Ronald Firbank. All GLBTQ folks are welcome to participate in this FREE book club. For more information, visit http://faculty.washington. edu/swittet/SGLBookClub/.
“REVEALING QUEER” – LGBT HISTORY AT MOHAI FEBRUARY 14-JULY 6 Seattle’s Museum of History and Industry (860 Terry Ave. N., in South Lake Union) presents “Revealing Queer,” a landmark exhibit on the history of the Puget Sound region’s LGBTQ community. The museum is open daily 10 a.m.-5 p.m., POZ SEATTLE – and on Thursdays until 8 p.m. Admission is 2ND MONTHLY SOCIAL FREE the first Thursday of each month. AdOn Wednesday, February 26, from 6-8 mission: $14-adults, $12-students, seniors, p.m., at C.C. Attle’s (1701 E. Olive Way), military, teachers. Youth 14 & under FREE. join POZ Seattle for drinks, tasty food prowww.mohai.org. vided by C.C.’s kitchen, socializing and a
compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer
whole lot of fun. This event is offered at no cost (except for drinks at the bar from C.C.’s hottest bartenders), and is for all HIV-Positive men and their friends, regardless of age, shape, size, color, or gender. To help with overhead costs a suggested $2.00 voluntary donation is requested, but no one is EVER turned away for lack of funds. POZSeattle is a social organization run for and by Seattlearea HIV-positive guys that are committed to planning and promoting fun, social activities. www.pozseattle.org.
GAY CITY ARTS – FANTASTIC.Z THEATRE COMPANY FEBRUARY 27-MARCH 2 This show at Gay City’s Calamus Auditorium (517 E. Pike St.) will feature several short plays and one acts by talented young writers from our community focused through Fantastic.Z Theatre Company’s Queer lens. Thurs-Sat 2/27-3/1 at 7:30 p.m., Sun 3/2 at 2 p.m. www.FantasticZ.org; www.gaycity.org
SOCIAL OUTREACH SEATTLE – “LESBIAN LIFE FORUM & BODY DIVERSITY PHOTO PROJECT” On Wednesday, February 26, from 6:308 p.m., at Seattle City Hall, Bertha Knight Landes Room (5th Ave. & Cherry St.), join SOSea for their “Lesbian Life Forum” with the Body Diversity Photo Project. Featuring panelists: Seattle City Councilmember Sally Clark, (Ret.) Judge Anne Levinson, Aretha Alexander (City of Seattle Parks Department), Angela Hughes (Sistah Sinema), Fran Dunaway (Co-Founder, Tomboy Exchange) and Sarah Toce (The Seattle Lesbian), the focus of this forum will be discussions about living life in work, social, and business as it pertains to Lesbians in the Seattle community. www.socialoutreachseattle.com
PURR & SEATTLE GAY NEWS – “A NIGHT AT THE OSCARS” On Sunday, March 2, starting at 4 p.m., join Purr (1518 11th Ave.) and the SGN for “A Night at the Oscars.” Enjoy drink specials, prizes and watch the Oscars on Purr’s many large flat screen TVs. FREE. www. purrseattle.com GAY CITY HEALTH PROJECT & THREE DOLLAR BILL CINEMA – 9TH ANNUAL ACADEMY AWARDS PARTY On Sunday, March 2, from 4-9 p.m., at Fred Wildlife Refuge (127 Boylston Ave. E.), join guest host the vivacious Robbie Turner and friends of Gay City and Three Dollar Bill Cinema for this Academy Awards Party benefit for Gay City Health Project and Three Dollar Bill Cinema. Tickets: $35 general admission; $100 VIP. www. gaycity.org.
Ed Murray lays out ambitious agenda in State of the City speech by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Mayor Ed Murray laid out an ambitious political agenda in his first State of the City speech February 18, in front of a standing room only crowd in City Hall’s Council Chambers. Returning to themes he first touched on in his inaugural address on January 6, Murray talked about “our city’s great progressive legacy, and its emphasis not just on debating problems but on tackling and solving them.” Government is not the problem, he added, but “a collaborative partner in solving the problems we face.” Those problems, the Mayor said, boil down to two “pressing, central issues of our time: in social and economic justice, and creating an affordable Seattle, and in climate change.” “Our challenge is also to ensure that our City is a functional City,” Murray continued, “a City that is up to the task of meeting its basic obligations to: create safe and livable communities, nurture a vibrant economy, and provide for efficient, effective government.” Murray said that increases in the cost of living in Seattle had reached crisis proportions, and said he would convene a stakeholder group to recommend plans for more affordable housing that he would present to the City Council in the fall. He also reiterated his support for a $15 an hour minimum wage, an issue he first raised during his campaign. Since 2000, Murray explained, the top 20% of income earners in Seattle have brought home more money than the bottom 80%. “We can increase the income and purchasing power of low-wage workers while protecting small businesses, retaining jobs and fostering economic development throughout the region,” Murray said.
Murray also announced a citywide Neighborhood Summit on April 5 for residents to talk about growth and development, and how those could occur while still maintaining the special character of Seattle’s neighborhoods. Murray noted that the city’s big infrastructure projects – the new seawall, viaduct replacement tunnel, and the new Highway 520 bridge – are made more critical by climate change and its impact on the city including higher tides and more severe storms. Murray also advocated for a permanent parks levy, citing the $270 million maintenance backlog facing the parks system. And he said that he was already thinking about a new “Bridging the Gap” levy in 2015 to address the poor condition of the city’s residential streets. Trying to draw a contrast between himself and his predecessor Mike McGinn, whose relations with the City Council were notoriously frosty, Murray praised each Council member in turn for their leadership in some aspect of City government. After the speech, Council members gave Murray good, if restrained, reviews. “Murray has seen a mayor and a council at odds and he’s seen a mayor and council getting things done. I think he realizes the importance of working cooperatively and collaboratively,” Tom Rasmussen told reporters. “It wasn’t what I would call an inspirational speech,” Nick Licata said. “He was really giving a report on the challenges the city faces and how he intends to meet them.” Council member Kshama Sawant, who made a $15 minimum wage a cornerstone of her campaign, said she was pleased to hear Murray reaffirm support for the idea, but urged him to renounce possible compromises. “It’s time for elected officials to say that there will be no carve-outs, no loopholes, no exceptions to the $15 minimum wage,” she said after the speech.
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national news Couples ask judge to expand ruling on Kentucky marriages by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
State Flag of Kentucky
Two Kentucky couples have asked a federal judge to expand on his recent ruling that the state must recognize Gay and Lesbian marriages performed elsewhere. The couples filed suit on February 14 asking Federal District Judge John G. Heyburn II to strike down the Kentucky law barring same-sex marriage. Timothy Love and Lawrence Ysunza, who have been together for 33 years, and Maurice Blanchard and Dominique James, who have been together for a decade, want Judge Heyburn to order Kentucky to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. “To have that acknowledged, we would be elated. Obviously, there’s a lot to it,” James told The Associated Press. “We just want to be treated equal to our heterosexual brothers and sisters. If we can get that, we will be satisfied.” Heyburn had ruled on February 12 that Kentucky could not refuse recognition of same-sex marriages performed elsewhere. In his ruling, he indicated he would also be inclined to throw out the law barring samesex couples from marrying in the state. In his February 12 ruling, Heyburn wrote that while the state government could define marriage and attach benefits to it, it cannot “impose a traditional or faith-based limitation” without “a sufficient justification for it.” “Assigning a religious or traditional rationale for a law does not make it constitu-
tional when that law discriminates against a class of people without other reasons,” Heyburn continued. Consequently, he found that Kentucky law treats “gay and lesbian persons differently in a way that demeans them,” in respect to recognition of out-of-state marriages. The same arguments could apply to the right of Gay and Lesbian couples to marry in Kentucky. In their complaint, Love, Ysunza, Blanchard, and James say “the commonwealth’s law deprives them of numerous legal protections that are available to opposite-sex couples” because they are not allowed to marry in the state. Blanchard said the plaintiffs in the February 12 case were “coming at it from the outside,” seeking to force the state to recognize a marriage held elsewhere. “Now, Dominique and myself are coming at it from the inside. We have a right to be recognized as well. We want that to happen.” Blanchard said. “It would be inspiring to other same sex couples who are continuously berated and discriminated against.” Attorney Shannon Fauver, who represents the two couples, said Heyburn’s prior decision served as the groundwork for the filing on Friday. “I expect some type of opinion within the next 30 days,” Fauver said. “We’ve already laid the framework.” Kentucky Attorney General’s office spokesperson Allison Martin said her office is reviewing the motion and won’t comment on whether the state will oppose it. The Attorney General has also not decided whether to appeal Heyburn’s ruling that Kentucky must recognize out-of-state marriages, and will not decide until the judge holds hearings on how to implement his prior ruling. No date has yet been set for that hearing.
Michigan governor goes to court to uphold anti-Gay discrimination Michigan’s Republican Governor Rick Snyder filed a motion February 17, asking a federal judge to uphold a law depriving Gay and Lesbian partners of public employees any access to domestic partner benefits. In June 2013, U.S. District Judge David Lawson issued a preliminary injunction in a suit challenging Public Act 297, preventing state agencies from implementing it. Lawson wrote at the time that the plaintiffs – several Michigan public employees and their partners – had a good chance of proving that the law violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution. “The plaintiffs fortify their position with statements from the sponsors of the legislation suggesting that Public Act 297 targets same-sex partners and was motivated by animus,” Lawson wrote in his order granting the injunction, which did not require public employers to offer benefits if they were not doing so previously. In the February 17 motion, filed by the Attorney General’s office on behalf of Snyder, the state argues that the law is necessary to reduce the cost of government. “Public Act 297 is a logical and cohesive
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part of the effort to reduce costs and to address the fiscal insecurity of local governments that has increased exponentially over the past five years,” the state’s attorneys wrote in the motion. “It is not singular and does not target same-sex couples.” Lawson’s 2013 injunction order seems to dismiss the financial argument as a nonstarter, however. “The only policy issue that the defendant has identified is the desire to save money. But a desire to save money cannot possibly be sufficiently important to require the court to abstain from deciding the constitutional issues raised by the plaintiffs. If it were, states could effectively insulate themselves from constitutional review by the federal courts of virtually any law by citing budgetary concerns,” Lawson wrote. Public Act 297 was passed in 2011, after Republicans won control of both houses of Michigan’s legislature and the Governor’s office in their 2010 election sweep. The suit challenging Public Act 297 is only one of two major suits over the rights of same-sex couples in Michigan. In another case, a Detroit couple is challenging the state’s limits on second-parent adoption rights. Jayne Rouse and April DeBoer say that state law violates the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.
Governor Rick Snyder
February 21, 2014
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Protestors return to Idaho capitol; demand protection from discrimination Several hundred protestors occupied the Idaho Capitol Building on February 17, to demand that lawmakers act on legislation to prohibit discrimination against LGBT people. They were part of the “Add the Words” movement – the words in question being “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” The Idaho Human Rights Act currently forbids discrimination based on race, religion, disability, and other factors, but does not protect LGBT people. Idaho is one of 29 states where it remains perfectly legal to fire LGBT employees, refuse to hire or promote them, or decline to rent to LGBT people. Washington’s LGBT civil rights law was passed in 2006, under the leadership of then-State Representative and current Seattle Mayor Ed Murray. “This is the eighth year we’ve been working on this, the eighth consecutive session that they told us they won’t even give us a public hearing,” said Mistie Tolman, co-chair and spokeswoman for Add the Words, the group pushing for the change. “If we need to, there will be a ninth year and there will be a tenth year. We’ll keep coming back. We’re not going away until we right this wrong.”
Most of the demonstrators held signs or wore T-shirts emblazoned with the “Add the Words” slogan, but some also held signs opposing House Bill 427, the religious freedom expansion bill from Republican Rep. Lynn Luker, that’s pending in the Idaho House. That measure would protect those who deny service to LGBT customers on religious grounds. More than 500 people attended a recent public hearing to oppose that measure, and it was sent to the House’s amending order, where any member may offer amendments. A stack of amendments a quarter-inch thick was offered by House members. No action has been taken on HB 427 to date, and House Speaker Scott Bedke said it was “not ready to advance at this point.” Tolman, however, cautioned that the fact “it could be called up at any time makes us uneasy, and we wanted to send a big message to House members to let them know that a large number of us don’t believe that you should be able to use religion as a reason to discriminate.” The February 17 demonstration was the third “Add the Words” protest at Idaho’s capitol this year. In the first protest on February 3, 44 people were arrested after blocking all entrances to the Idaho Senate chamber, including
courtesy of Devin Ferrell / The Arbiter
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Senate President Brent Hill is blocked from the Senate chambers by demonstrators at the Idaho Statehouse
clergy members, senior citizens and high school students. On February 13, more than 60 activists marched in silence around the Statehouse and then filed through the rotunda, wearing matching “Add the 4 Words, Idaho” T-shirts. Idaho Governor Butch Otter offered a
cryptic comment on the protest. “That’s what this constitutional republic is all about. That’s what the first 10 amendments are all about,” he said. He then added, “I don’t perceive Idaho as anti-gay. I perceive it as pro-marriage in the traditional sense.”
Oregon AG won’t defend Lambda Legal files suit to defend insurance coverage Gay marriage ban Benjamin Brink/The Oregonian
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum will not defend her state’s law banning same-sex marriages, she said in a February 20 court filing. The law “cannot withstand a federal constitutional challenge under any standard of review,” she wrote. Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto recently withdrew her brief defending Nevada’s ban on Gay and Lesbian marriage after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals – which has jurisdiction over four western states including Nevada and Oregon – ruled that laws discriminating against LGBT people must be examined with “heightened scrutiny.” Rosenblum’s filing goes even further, implying that laws against same-sex marriage could not withstand even “rational basis review” – the lowest standard of judicial review, which requires only that the law be based on some rational basis and not on outand-out prejudice or animus. Rosenblum’s announcement affects two 8
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lawsuits brought against the state of Oregon in federal court, Geiger v. Kitzhaber, and Rummell v. Kitzhaber. Both suits were filed last year, and name Nevada Governor John Kitzhaber as the defendant. “State defendants admit that performing same-sex marriages in Oregon would have no adverse effect on existing marriages, and that sexual orientation does not determine an individual’s capacity to establish a loving and enduring relationship,” Rosenblum wrote in her filing. In addition to Rosenblum and Masto, Attorneys General Kamala Harris of California, Mark Herring of Virginia, Lisa Madigan of Illinois, and Kathleen Kane of Pennsylvania have said they will not uphold the constitutionality of their states’ same-sex marriage bans. All are Democrats. Litigation challenging state bans on Gay and Lesbian marriage has spiked since the U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2013 decision invalidating DOMA. Since then, four courts have overturned state bans on same-sex unions. Three of those decisions are on hold pending appeal.
February 21, 2014
for HIV+ patients by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Lambda Legal filed a federal class action suit February 20 against Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS) of Louisiana, the largest insurance provider in the state. BCBS has announced it will no longer accept Ryan White premium subsidies, federally-funded payments that enable low-income people with HIV to purchase health insurance. Two other insurance companies, Louisiana Health Cooperative and Vantage Health Plan followed BCBS and are also named as defendants. Lambda Legal is seeking an emergency injunction to force all three defendants to accept the premium payments and to provide health insurance to former clients until the lawsuit is heard. “The situation is urgent,” Scott Schoettes, HIV Project Director at Lambda Legal, said. “Refusing federal funds that provide lifesaving care to people living with HIV could potentially affect thousands of low-income Louisiana residents. This discriminatory policy keeps low-income people living with HIV off of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s insurance rolls, perpetuating the deliberate insurance industry practice of denying coverage to those living with HIV that the Affordable Care Act was designed to reverse. Continuous coverage is critical for people living with HIV. The health care crisis these insurers have created must be stopped.” Lambda Legal is suing on behalf of John East, a part-time worker in the hospitality industry, and other low-income Louisianans living with HIV. East, a 59-year-old New Orleans man insured by BCBS for nearly 30 years, learned in mid-January that BCBS would no longer accept the federal subsidies he used to pay
his insurance premiums. Without the subsidies, East says, he cannot afford his medical care and HIV medications. “I couldn’t believe it when I was told BCBS would no longer accept my Ryan White insurance subsidies,” East said. “What am I supposed to do now? I’ve been with BCBS for 29 years. I paid my premiums that whole time, and now they are finding a way to dump me just because I’m living with HIV. I need these medications to stay healthy, so that I can continue to work and contribute to my community.” The Louisiana Ryan White Health Insurance Program is a federally-funded program that functions as the payer of last resort, helping low-income individuals living with HIV purchase health insurance they could not otherwise afford. Beginning this month, BCBS of Louisiana abruptly stopped accepting Ryan White premium subsidies, from current policy-holders and new enrollees alike. Lambda Legal sent a letter to BCBS of Louisiana on January 27, asking that the insurance provider reverse its policy and resume accepting Ryan White premium subsidies or explain the rationale for its abrupt and harmful policy shift. Lambda Legal attorneys requested a response by January 30, but BCBS of Louisiana has yet to reply. Lambda Legal’s lawsuit follows earlier efforts, including complaints filed with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Civil Rights, to persuade the insurers to continue accepting federal Ryan White premium subsidies. The New Orleans AIDS Task Force is also assisting in this project, Lambda Legal said.
Celebrating 41 Years!
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932 12th ave. Seattle, Wa 98122 (206).325--.3992 www.mossalley.com Seattle’s most progressive auto shop!
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Celebrating 41 Years!
Married
continued from cover But Marriage” law, which allowed samesex couples to register as domestic partners. By filling out a short form, a couple could be placed on a state registry, and their relationship then was treated as legally identical to a marriage, complete with Washington’s definition of shared or “community” property and shared debts. What many couples did not realize when they registered was that in order to legally end that relationship and the sharing of property that came with it, they are required to complete a legal divorce proceeding, or “dissolution.” In the meantime, many other states and countries had taken similar actions, and couples from all over the country traveled to those places to celebrate and have their relationships legally recognized. As a result, for example, a couple could have a marriage issued by the Canadian government, California, and New York, a civil union issued by Massachusetts, and a domestic partnership issued by Washington state. Washington has legally recognized same-sex relationships from other states and countries in some form for many years. Depending on the type of legal recognition, some of those couples are now considered married or domestic partners in Washington state, though they will not be affected by the June 30 auto-conversion. Any domestic partnership registered with Washington state’s Secretary of State’s office, however, will automatically convert to a marriage on June 30, 2014 (unless one partner is 62 or older). For many couples, that will be a welcome development, and will afford them many, if not all, of the federal benefits traditionally afforded to opposite-sex married couples. Couples who do not want to have their partnership converted to a marriage will need to start the legal process of dissolving their domestic partnership prior to June 30, 2014. Since the Supreme Court ruling in June 2013 striking down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), the federal government has moved forward in recognizing the marriages of same-sex couples in areas such as federal taxes, immigration, and eligibility for housing and social welfare programs. And those programs are expanding
Conversion continued from cover
to change the sexual orientation of a patient under 18, and would include efforts to change behaviors or gender expressions or to reduce sexual or romantic attractions toward people of the same sex. The State House passed the ban, known as House Bill 2451, on February 14, by a lopsided 94 to 4 margin. Only Republican Reps. Mark Hargrove, Brad Klippert, Jason Overstreet, and Elizabeth Scott voted against the measure. The House added an amendment exempting non-licensed religious counselors, and protecting the speech rights of licensed counselors not practicing conversion therapy. Conversion therapy is geared toward changing children from Gay to straight and can range from intense shaming sessions to physical pain like electric shock and ice water baths. Critics have likened it to torture, and mainstream psychiatric experts have condemned the practice. Bill sponsor, former Representative and now Senator Marko Liias, noted that “sexual orientation change efforts are ineffective and dangerous and we should make them an
more and more – on February 10, Attorney General Eric Holder instructed the Department of Justice to recognize marriage equality in programs administered by the Department of Justice (DOJ), such as the September 11 Victim Compensation Fund and Public Safety Officers’ Benefits Programs, the rules governing bankruptcy proceedings, federal prison policies with respect to areas like visitation and next-of-kin notifications, and rules regarding the possession or sale of licensed firearms and explosives. What does it mean to be married? For many couples, marriage is a public commitment linking one person to another in all aspects of their lives. Legally, married people share the benefits of each person’s income and assets as well as the responsibility for each person’s debts – in other words, they operate as a team, contributing to one household, the marital “community.” When couples remain married, the fact that they share community assets and debts does not have much effect on the couple’s everyday life. This is especially true now that married same-sex couples may now file joint tax returns. But when couples decide to end their relationship, the contributions made by each person to the shared household become very important. Community property means that throughout the marriage or domestic partnership, both people are entitled to a share of one another’s assets and income. It also means that both people are responsible for a share of one another’s debts. If, for example, one person earned significantly more than the other, both people may be entitled to the same amount of the couple’s savings, even if it was kept in separate accounts. Or, if one person accumulated a large amount of credit card debt, both people may be responsible for paying it off, even if only one person’s name is on the credit card. If your relationship is ending, you should consult with an attorney experienced in same-sex dissolutions to ensure your assets are divided fairly. Will a domestic partnership be converted to a marriage if it was administered by a city or county? No. While some cities and counties have historically allowed same-sex couples various kinds of relationship recognition, the
legal effect of that recognition is limited to that city or county and in some cases may simply be ceremonial. Also, historically the power to recognize marriage as a legal arrangement has been defined by state law. States get to make their own rules about who is allowed to get married – which is one reason that same-sex couples must fight state by state to have their relationships recognized. The federal government may choose to give benefits to married couples, but now that Section 3 of DOMA is no longer in effect, it must recognize any married couple. So same-sex couples who were married in a state that either permits same-sex couples to marry or recognizes same-sex marriages performed by another state now have a federally-recognized marriage. It’s not yet clear how the marriages of same-sex couples who live in states that do not recognize those marriages will be recognized federally – couples in those states should consult with an attorney in the state where they live. My partner and I got a domestic partnership instead of a marriage because I have spousal benefits from a previous relationship. Do we have to get a dissolution so that I can keep my benefits? Only if both you and your partner are under the age of 62. The state will not automatically convert state-registered domestic partnerships to marriages where at least one partner is 62 or older. Starting June 30, 2014, state-registered domestic partnerships will only be available for couples in which at least one partner is 62 or older; all other couples must get married if they want legal recognition of their relationship. I am no longer in a relationship with my registered domestic partner? What do I do? You must file a petition for dissolution in a county court – this is what people mean when they say they are “filing for divorce” in Washington. It is a good idea to file that petition before your registered domestic partnership is converted to a marriage on June 30, 2014, because once your domestic partnership is a marriage, it will be recognized by the federal government, and it will impact your obligations for how you file your taxes and the federal benefits you may be entitled to.
In your petition for dissolution, you should explain your situation to the court and ask the court to divide up your assets and debts. If you and your registered domestic partner have not been in a relationship for a long time and do not live together, you can tell the court that you do not believe your former partner should be entitled to share your assets or debts for the time you were not living together. You will have to let your former partner know you filed the petition, which can be complicated if you and your former partner are no longer in contact. However, it is important that you dissolve the registered domestic partnership, because even if you are no longer in contact, you can in some cases be held liable for your former partner’s debts. Also, you cannot become registered domestic partners or get married to anyone else until your existing partnership is resolved. This is a lot of information! How do I get more help? There are several great resources here in King County to help people figure out their individual needs in this changing legal landscape. The QLaw Foundation GLBT Legal Clinic (www.q-law.org/legalclinic) provides free half-hour consultations with a volunteer attorney who can advise you on your individual legal situation and refer you to an attorney for ongoing representation if you need it. The QLaw Association (www.q-law.org) and the Greater Seattle Business Association (www.thegsba.com) have directories of LGBTQ-friendly attorneys. And Washington Law Help (www. washingtonlawhelp.org) has a collection of several do-it-yourself packets of the legal forms you need if you want to dissolve your registered domestic partnership, divide up your income, or determine child custody. While all the recent legal changes are full of joy and new challenges, legal help is available and can be affordable, too.
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Denise Diskin is an attorney practicing employment discrimination, civil rights, and family law at Teller & Associates, PLLC, and is the former committee chair of the QLaw Foundation GLBT Legal Clinic.
unprofessional practice.” Liias’s statement was bolstered by testimony from the Rev. Manny Santiago, a pastor at University Baptist Church. Santiago was subjected to conversion therapy as a child, he said. “What this did to me as a kid was so deep, was to deepen my sense of shame and unworthiness,” Santiago said. “Knowing that I could not change who I was, many times I thought of ending my life, while I was being submitted to the pain of these methods of reparative therapy. These methods left in me deep wounds that are still healing.” Most Republican representatives voted for the ban. Republican Rep. Larry Haler said that some conversion therapies employ “cruel and unusual” methods. “That is reminiscent of a country different than America,” he said. “There are other ways to approach that kind of conversion therapy.” Haler added that his vote for the ban was influenced by fellow-Republican Rep. Richard DeBolt, who gave compelling arguments for banning the therapy. Similar laws are in effect in California and New Jersey.
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Alan Turing and the medical abuse of Gay men The hidden homophobic shame of the NHS February is LGBT History Month in the UK: The posthumous royal pardon granted to war-time code breaker and computer pioneer Alan Turing was a long overdue attempt to put right a grave injustice. Turing had been convicted of homosexuality in 1952, under the same nineteenth century “gross indecency” law that sent Oscar Wilde to prison in 1895. Given the option of jail or chemical castration, he chose the latter. The hormonal treatment – similar to the “cure” devised by the Nazi doctor, SS Carl Vaernet – caused Turing horrendous physical and mental distress; including impotency, breast development and depression. He committed suicide two years later, at the age of 41. Turing was not alone. An estimated 50,000 men were convicted under the same law during the twentieth century, and a further 50,000 were convicted under other antiGay laws – making a total of 100,000 convictions. Many were jailed. Some were also subjected to chemical castration or to so-called “aversion therapy” – the infliction of electric shocks or drug-induced nausea while they were shown naked male images. Based on Pavlov’s experiments giving electric shocks to dogs to change their behaviour, the rationale was to create a mental association between homosexuality and pain or sickness – to make samesex attraction repellent – and thereby turn Gay men heterosexual. These bids to cure homosexuality – often paid for by the taxpayer and conducted by state-funded National Health Service (NHS) hospitals and doctors – echoed the inhuman experimental treatments inflicted on Gay men by Nazi doctors in Buchenwald concentration camp during World War Two. Like the Nazi’s supposed medical solution to the “homosexual problem,” neither
electric shocks nor nausea achieved the desired result. The men subjected to this barbaric medical abuse lost their sex drive and became emotionless and reclusive; suffering severe anxiety and depression. Some killed themselves. DJ Peter Price recalls that in 1965, aged 19, doctors forced him to lie in a bed filled with his own excrement, urine and vomit for three days while they showed him pin-up pictures of naked men, injected him with nausea-creating drugs and played audio tapes that insulted and abused him as a “dirty queer. At least one man died as a consequence of this medical abuse – 29 year old Billy Clegg-Hill in 1962. The cause of his death was covered up by doctors and the inquest coroner. It was listed as due to “natural causes” – which it was not. These cruel, bogus treatments were still being defended by some top NHS professionals at least until 1972; including by doctors at the internationally famous Maudsley psychiatric hospital. Indeed, in that year, the world’s then leading psychologist, Prof. Hans Eysenck, publicly defended the use of aversion therapy in a lecture hosted by St. Thomas’s hospital in London. When I challenged him, I was violently ejected from the audience. Most people think homosexuality was legalised in the UK in 1967. It wasn’t. The Sexual Offences Acts that year was a very limited, partial decriminalisation (non-enforcement of the law) that only applied to England and Wales. It was not extended to Scotland until 1980 and to Northern Ireland until 1982. Most aspects of Gay behaviour remained criminal; including inviting, facilitating or arranging a homosexual act – even a decriminalised one. The age of consent was set at 21; compared to 16 for heterosexuals. Two men dancing together in a club or chatting up each other in public could still be arrested and jailed. The anti-Gay laws remained on the statute book under the heading “Unnatural Offences.” As with the “gross indecency” law, the ban on “buggery” (anal sex), which was leg-
Let’s not bully the bullies EXABYZNESS.com
by Sugie SGN Contributing Writer “I never met a man I didn’t like,” opined Will Rogers, one of the more famous homespun American philosophers. I bet he would change his mind, if he were persecuted by a bully, as many of us have been. Bullying
is caused by “imbalance of power” so says some of the experts. There is more evidence being made public about how coming in contact with a bully can cause some to have years of therapy to overcome the bully’s influences. There are different types of bullying. One is emotional bullying. That’s when the bullying done to the victim causes
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by Peter Tatchell Special to the SGN
Alan Turing
islated in 1533 during the reign of King Henry VIII, was not repealed until 2003. This was the year the criminalisation of homosexuality finally ended in England and Wales. In the era of criminalisation, public attitudes were strongly homophobic and hate crime was rife. It was lawful until the last decade to discriminate against Gay people in employment, housing, education, advertising and provision of goods and services. Most Gay and Bisexual men hid their sexuality, fearing arrest, hostility, ostracism, discrimination and violence – all of which were common. These multiple threats, and the stress of hiding one’s sexuality, caused huge mental and physical strain. The result? Much higher than average rates of family estrangement, relationship break up, isolation, alcohol and drug abuse, illness, depression and suicide. After the advent of legal equality and more accepting public attitudes, men who lived much of their lives in secrecy – as criminals
and victims of prejudice – often found it hard to adjust. Over the decades they’d internalised homophobia and got into a self-defence routine of hiding their Gay life. A 2009 survey of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual people found that 28-40% suffered from depression, 20-25% had self-harmed and 2040% had attempted to kill themselves (compared to 2-6% of the general population). Justice for Alan Turing is a wonderful thing. But what about all the other men who were also victims of unjust anti-Gay laws – about 15,000 of whom are still alive? Don’t they deserve an apology and pardon too? An edited version of this article appeared in Nursing Standard (UK) on 5 February 2014, under the title: “A chance to apologise.” Courtesy of the Peter Tatchell Foundation: Speaking Out for Human Rights. www. petertatchellfoundation.org
damage to the victim’s peace of mind. The other kind of bullying has to do with physical abuse. This is when the bully uses his strength against his victim in a negative, punishing manner.
longest time, I was afraid to catch my bus at the bus stop where the bullying against me originated. My mother would drive me to the bus stop and then I could wait in the car so I wouldn’t have to cope with the bullies. I think she had my best interests at heart. WHAT MAKES A BULLY? Her motivation was fueled by love and I can Myself, I seemed to be a target for bul- even see that today when I look back. lies in grade school and sometimes in high school. There was this girl, kind of ugly CLOSURE FOR ALL for her 11 years. She used to try to turn What causes a bully to be a bully? all those who were waiting at the bus stop My theory is that they are abused at against me. She would tell them, “I want home by ignorant parents. That is why you all to stare at Susan.” What was my they strike back at their innocent vicreaction? I was very uncomfortable and tims outside the home. Do I have any vowed to get even with that girl. This is advice for adults who feel they are bewhat I did! I brought my Ouija board to ing bullied or anyone, including kids? the bus stop to keep the heat off me, and I would say try this age old remedy, it worked! The kids were more interested “Sticks and stones may break my bones, in my Ouija board than they were in fol- yet words can never hurt me.” And if lowing the bully’s commands! My love- that doesn’t work, one can always walk ly mother used to give me comebacks I away in the opposite direction. It is a could use with even the worst bullies. For rare person who can have compassion instance, a boy child and I were jockey- for the bully. If you can do this, you can ing for position at the pencil sharpener in exemplify an old football truism, “The fourth grade. A lot of the kids thought we best defense is a good offense.” were “hugging!” My mother said to tell the taunting classmate, “He’s the kind of I must go now because my watch is “bulguy I have nightmares about”! lying” me to stop writing this article, and to go out to enjoy a bully free life. So, “I’m SUSAN FIGHTS THE BULLIES gonna wash those bullies right out of my How did bullying affect me? For the hair!” Can you dig it, my friend?
February 21, 2014
Seattle Gay News 15
health and medicine
Kiki with D I had no idea it was coming
Dear Kiki with D, I was in a year-long relationship with a wonderful man – up until a month ago, when he decided to tell me (the day before our one-year anniversary) that he “found someone else.” I had no idea it was coming. We never really fought and he never expressed any concerns about our relationship. Everything was grand in my eyes. Needless to say I was shocked and speechless and left very quickly, so I never got a chance to respond in any intelligent way, or hear any further explanation on his part. I do not want this person back. I don’t really hold a grudge against him; he didn’t love me and I know that I can’t force him to feel something that’s not there. It stinks but I am dealing with it as best I can. Fast forward a month and I am still not over it. The problem is that he sent me a message that he wants to “talk things over” sometime soon. I’m assuming that he wants to explain his side of what happened. We were pretty close friends for a few years before we started a relationship. I’m just not sure that I see the point in hearing his side of the story. It would be nice to get a better understanding so I stop feeling responsible or silly for not having picked up the signs, but at this point does it really matter? Do you think it is worth it to try and hear out what he has to say? Or should I put the past in the past and just accept it as it is – over. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks! –Left
Dear Left, I hope you know that a month is nothing. A month is a blip. Even if you’re not holding a grudge against this guy, you’re allowed to feel bummed out and disappointed for a while. As for meeting up with him, there’s no right answer (sorry). If you do see him, it’s possible that you’ll wind up confused – or hear an answer you don’t like. And if you don’t see him, you’ll have to wonder what he might have disclosed. My advice is to tell him that you’re not ready to meet up right now, but that you might be in the future. Take your time with this decision. Also tell him that if he needs to get something off his chest right now, he can email you. You don’t have to make any plans on his timeline. Wait until you are in a better space to make decisions like this one. Understand that you have to take time to heal from what just occurred. You have to take this time for you. You’re in charge now. Hope this helps. Remember be true to you, love yourself, encourage yourself and others. –D
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