Issue 08 Volume 40
Celebrating 39 Years!
FRIDAY February 24, 2012 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
MARRIAGE IN MARYLAND p. 8 KATE CLINTON p. 25 edmund white p. 31
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Power = Pride YES, $6 million wedding Foundation’s new Advocacy Fund
see pride page 21
see wedding page 17
courtesy pride foundation
manns. “The way we are regarded and treated in this country has changed dramatically from 27 years ago,” she said. “Yet, we know that there
One could argue that full marriage equality is priceless. And while that may be true in the emotional sense of the word, one could also argue that the price for samesex couples to keep their right to marry in Washington state would start at a whopping $6 million – and we’ve only got eight months to raise it. Freedom is an expensive bride, and according to Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage – the coalition working to secure marriage equality in Washington state – our opponents “have committed to spending $6 million dollars to roll back marriage equality.” “We cannot let them overwhelm us financially, so our plan is to match them dollar for dollar,” he told Seattle Gay News when asked how much it will cost the LGBT and allied communities to win at the ballot box in November. “That means we need everyone who supports marriage equality to give what they can now.” Silk’s message of urgency
Pride Foundation Executive Director Kris Hermanns
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Kris Hermanns, executive director of the Pride Foundation, says there is no doubt that we’ll look back on 2012 as a significant turn-
ing point in the movement for full equality for the LGBT and Queer community. “But how did we get here?” she asks. Hermanns recently spoke with Seattle Gay News about the Pride Foundation’s Advocacy Fund to answer that question. The Pride Foundation was founded in 1985. Since then, the organization has funded the work done by dedicated LGBT people (and our allies) to help bring us to this moment, according to Her-
AP photo
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Opponents of marriage equality carry a sign following their opposition rally at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington in January.
courtesy avert
NEW PUBLIC POLICY POLL: AIDS drug Tenofovir Washington voters would linked to kidney support marriage equality damage, study says by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A new poll says that Washington voters would support the state’s new marriage law if it comes before them on the November ballot. Public Policy Polling released the poll on February 22. “Voters say if there were a referendum on the new law legalizing same-sex marriage, they would vote to uphold it rather than repeal it, 50%-46%,” PPP said. “Only 20% of voters say they feel there should be no legal recognition of same-sex couples at all, with 46% supporting legal Gay marriage and 32% supporting civil unions but not Gay marriage.” The poll surveyed 1,264 voters through automated telephone interviews between February 16 and February 19. The margin of error is 2.76%, so the four-point difference on marriage equality is statistically significant, but not as comfortable as
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
The antiretroviral drug tenofovir is associated with a significant risk of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease, according to a new study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Tenofovir is currently the presee poll page 20
proud to Be Different
We are conveniently located on-site at Lifelong AIDS Alliance below the Thrift Store.
ferred first-line treatment for HIV because of its potency, overall low toxicity, and convenience of dosing. It is sold under a variety of names, by itself and in combination with other medications. The medication may still prove beneficial for HIV patients who are otherwise healthy, and patients see tenofovir page 20
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February 24, 2012
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Editor In Chief George Bakan Associate Editor Shaun Knittel Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel, Miryam Gordon, 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.
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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Seattle Gay News
nate gowdy / seattle gay news
Rev. Barbara Allen, Mike Andrew, Eric Andrews-Katz, Madelyn Arnold, Maggie Bloodstone, Beau Burriola, Jessica Davis, Ron Anders, Jessica Price, Milton W. Hamlin, Scott Wittet, Nevin Jefferson, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, Rex Wockner
GSBA Business and Humanitarian Awards honor leadership, philanthropy
Business Leader of the Year; Cupcake Royale (Jody Hall), Business of the Year; John Payes (Microsoft), Corporate Citizen of the Year; Hearing, Speech & Deafness Center (Susie Burdick), Nonprofit of the Year; Heather Carter (Youth Suicide Prevention Program), Community Leader of the Year; Dennis Coleman (Seattle Men’s Chorus/ Seattle Women’s Chorus), Special Recognition – Voice for Social Justice; Heather Purser (Suquamish Tribe), Special Recognition – Voice for Social Justice; and George Pieper (OutSmart Office Solutions), President’s Award. The event, which took place from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m., was emceed by Gary Tucker from Pacific Northwest Ballet and featured Washington Governor Chris Gregoire as keynote speaker. Chernin told supporters the dinner was “historical and magical” and “will be a night to remember.” Certainly the small group of Gay men who founded the organization “could not have imagined that 31 years later we would be in a ballroom of over 500 members and guests and elected officials, with the governor presenting the keynote address just three days after she signed the same-sex civil marriage bill into law in Washington state,” she said. “As a testament to the power of the evening, our governor stayed until the end of the dinner to join us in honoring our awardees,” said Chernin. “She was gracious to each and every guest who just needed to come up to her to say thanks or even give her a hug. She seemed to understand the personal significance of the moment for so Jessamy Whitsitt (l) and Renee Steen of Pie receiving many of us and it felt that for her as well, the award for New Business of the Year it was also an achievement that represented her own personal journey.” by Shaun Knittel “Our history, and the number of people leaders recognized are role models who SGN Associate Editor stand out in their professions. She said each who dedicated their lives to LGBT civil On February 16, the Greater Seattle Busi- of them “understands that their success is an rights was never more apparent than during ness Association (GSBA) honored Seattle- opportunity for them to invest their time and the tribute we gave to one of our beloved area businesses and individual leaders, and resources to give back to their community.” members and the most gentle of leaders “These are visionary leaders with great who recently passed away, Don Moreland,” celebrated business performance and contributions to the community at the 31st annual integrity and an unwavering commitment to Chernin said in an email to GSBA supporters days after the event. “We took time to GSBA Business and Humanitarian Awards equality,” she said. The award recipients are: Pie (Jessamy think of our dear friend as we viewed photos Gala at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront. Louise Chernin, GSBA executive direc- Whitsitt and Renee Steen), New Business of given to GSBA by his partner, Tad Ishikator, said the businesses and community the Year; Stephen Sprenger (H&R Block), wa, who joined us for the evening. Don was a past recipient of the GSBA Leadership Award and he sat on our committee which planned the annual dinner.” Chernin asked supporters to “ensure marriage equality remains the law in Washington state.” “Last night we celebrated, today we must get active,” she said. “Please have your business endorse marriage equality by going to www.washingtonunitedformarriage. org/business.” For more information on the Greater Seattle Business Association, visit the group’s official website, www.thegsba.org.
February 24, 2012
Celebrating 39 Years!
We shall be free courtesy charlene strong
Charlene Strong
by Charlene Strong Special to the SGN Washington state is poised to become the seventh state in the nation to grant samesex marriage rights to its citizens. Now that Governor Gregoire has signed the bill into law, those supporting its passage are preparing for a contentious battle by those opposed to it. Those claiming to be on the right side of history seem to have very little regard for the damage their hateful and irresponsible words are inflicting upon thousands of families in Washington state, not to mention the millions of families watching us from around the world. I had the occasion to testify for the Washington House Judiciary Committee before the marriage equality bill was to then to go to the House for the final passage. The testimony of Pastor Ken Hutcherson of Antioch Bible Church in Redmond, Washington, was by far the most egregious testimony that anyone should have had to endure, not to mention the fact that he was completely out of order toward Representative Jamie Pedersen who chaired the committee. Had Pedersen gaveled him down for his misconduct and being out of order, there would’ve been a backlash that Pastor Hutcherson was being censored and, dare I say, he knew that as well. I grew up in New Orleans, hearing offensive words that I knew at a very young age would break people. I was ashamed of the struggle in our country some endured because of the color of their skin. I witnessed the damage of bigotry and hatred that many were guilty of as well, but not all. Civil rights history in America has left quite a scar on our country. Pastor Hutcherson spoke at the Washington House Judiciary Committee as if every single white person in America was guilty of discrimination against him. He literally said, “The reason I played football was so that I could hurt white people.” When asked in an interview recently about my “situation” when my wife died he said, “I know about her, and sin is sin.” This is a moment where I am trying to understand the content of his character. This is the pastor of a church – a man who says he is on the right side of God. This is a man
who shows no remorse for his bigotry and yet he sits and speaks with a self-important tone that only he knows what is right and wrong for others. Self-reflection and growth are very powerful – if not essential – parts of a man’s life. My own personal growth has come with my own reconciliation and re-evaluation of behaviors in my past and an understanding that sometimes we make decisions based on our surroundings and influences and not what we feel in our hearts. It is with soulsearching that we come to realize who we authentically are and this sometimes results in awakenings and changes in our lives. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke of peace, forgiveness, and equality. He said, “An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.” It was not just black men and women who walked hand-in-hand with him and fought for civil rights in this country; many white men and women sacrificed to work for the equality of black Americans. Why? Because they saw the damage of in-
equality and they knew they needed to stand shoulder-to-shoulder against those opposing change. They believed it was the right thing to do. They were on the right side of history. The laws in the United States of America must be reconsidered and altered when they no longer meet the needs of the citizens. This is a moment where Gay and Lesbian people need to be heard. It is ludicrous to think that our stories are not needed and are of no importance, as Pastor Hutcherson alludes. We humans need to hear of the harm, pain, and conflict placed on the lives of others for us to truly have an understanding and apply the necessary changes to laws that affect our brothers and sisters. When I chose to testify in 2006 regarding the death of my partner, I needed to be heard. I needed to be understood. I needed for someone to make sense of the insensible. I did it for no other reason – not to get my name in the paper or to have anyone tell me that I was a hero. I did it because I loved. I did it because I shared a commitment with my spouse who gave me a beautiful 10 years of life. I also knew that I was not alone and that many had suffered the indignities of the inequality I was facing. I chose to speak simply for my late wife and myself and, in doing so, it had an effect I could’ve never
AIDS QUILT’S 25TH ANNIVERSARY, STILL A LONG WAY TO GO The AIDS Quilt is having its 25th anniversary. There may not be many left who remember the early days of the AIDS crisis of the ’80s. I, however, do. It was like an unknown plague striking the Gay community. In my early days I did visitations to Swedish Hospital, which had the whole floor – the fifth, and later the 12th – dedicated to AIDS patients. It was pitiful seeing these young faces and knowing then what their ultimate destiny would be. At that time there was only one debilitating drug, AZT, that would slow the virus. As time went on, more successful drugs were introduced, and now, at great expense, people with AIDS can live a lengthy, healthful life. I still have my Names Project T-shirt, and
imagined. My story of pain and loss helped change laws in Washington State that have since affected all of us … but I was just telling my story. Being Gay is not the new black – but it is a civil rights issue. The federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) defends no one, and only serves to discriminate and create hardship for millions of Americans. It was originally put in place under pressure by the Republican right to yet again put a nail in the coffin of equality. Standing in opposition to another group’s human rights fight is a painful reminder that perhaps we as a country have a very short memory span. The destructive words and actions that deny another’s life, liberty and happiness is not the right side of history. As Malcolm X reflected, “Truth is on the side of the oppressed.” And it is that truth that will speak of equality for all. Charlene Strong is a public speaker and the subject of an award-winning documentary film. She serves as a human rights commissioner for Washington state and is the co-editor of The Seattle Lesbian (www.theseattlelesbian.com).
recall all the memorial quilt pieces being made, one at a time, until the quilt weighed hundreds of pounds and took up a huge amount of storage. It is a sad memorial, but heralding much success for AIDS treatments today. I feel the ongoing nonchalance about AIDS has made some people very careless. AIDS isn’t going away soon, contrary to the ongoing search for a cure. PS: These organizations wouldn’t be what they are today without dedicated people like Joe Eisenhauer and Josh Joshua, past directors like Carol Sterling and Susan Dunshee, and many volunteers and generous contributors who gave half a million dollars through my Jars in Bars and Businesses campaign to the Chicken Soup Brigade. On my birthday on the 19th, hitting 84 years young, I recall it all like it was yesterday. Activist Leonard “Lenny” Larson
Come meet Tim and Matt and join the family.
Go 1605 12th Avenue at Pine, Seattle (In liquor store parking garage.) Seattle Storm!
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February 24, 2012
Seattle Gay News
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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Hawaii governor Neil Abercrombie announced on February 12 that he will not defend his state’s ban on same-sex marriages in federal court because he believes the law is unconstitutional. “Under current law, a heterosexual couple can choose to enter into a marriage or a civil union. A same-sex couple, however, may only elect a civil union. My obligation as governor is to support equality under law. This is inequality, and I will not defend it,” Abercrombie said. Abercrombie, a Democrat elected in 2010, issued his announcement in response to a federal lawsuit filed in November. A Lesbian couple, Natasha Jackson and Janin Kleid, filed for a marriage license and were denied by the state’s Health Department. They sued the department, claiming they were denied their 14th Amendment due process and equal protection rights. Another plaintiff, Gary Bradley, said that he and his partner were the first couple to enter into a civil union in Hawaii but did so only because they believed it would be “futile” to apply for a marriage license. As governor, Abercrombie is named as a defendant in the suit, as is Hawaii’s Health Department director Loretta Fuddy. The history of marriage equality in Ha-
waii is complex. In 1996, Hawaii became the first state in the country to put marriage equality on the agenda when the state Supreme Court ruled in Baehr v. Miike that refusing to grant marriage licenses to Gay and Lesbian couples was discriminatory. In 1998, however, Hawaii voters passed Constitutional Amendment 2, empowering the legislature to limit marriage rights to opposite-sex couples. Since civil unions were not addressed by the amendment, bills to establish them were introduced several times, but it was 2009 before one passed the legislature. Then-governor Lisa Lingle, a Republican, vetoed the 2009 civil unions bill. Lambda Legal and the ACLU then sued the state, claiming that same-sex couples must be accorded the same rights as opposite-sex couples. In February 2011, a new civil unions bill passed the Hawaii legislature and Abercrombie, by then the governor, signed it into law. It took effect in January of this year. Although Abercrombie says he will not defend discriminatory treatment of Gay and Lesbian couples, Fuddy, the Health Department director, believes that she is required to do so. “The Department of Health is charged with implementing the law as passed by the Legislature,” she said.
courtesy hawaii reporter
“I will not defend samesex marriage ban,” says Hawaii governor
Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie
“Absent any ruling to the contrary by competent judicial authority regarding constitutionality, the law will be enforced. Because I am being sued for administering the law, I will also defend it.” Hawaii Attorney General David Louie said his office will represent both Abercrombie and Fuddy in the lawsuit, despite their divergent positions. Louie said his office would “erect appro-
priate firewalls” between the attorneys representing the governor and those representing Fuddy. “In this case, both the governor and the director are being represented by separate teams of attorneys general, and appropriate protections have been put in place to ensure that both clients are being vigorously, and separately, represented,” Louie’s office said.
why the justices should or should not hear the case. Four of the nine Supreme Court justices must agree to hear the appeal. Typically, the Supreme Court takes cases involving broad legal principles which need to be applied on a national scale, or cases where several circuit courts have issued contradictory rulings. Observers say neither situation applies in the Prop 8 case, since the Ninth Circuit
panel’s decision is limited to the specific circumstances of marriage in California. If the Supreme Court did accept the Prop 8 case, another round of briefs would be submitted, with the parties and outside organizations and individuals arguing the merits of the case to the justices. Oral arguments would then be set and held at the Supreme Court, with a decision handed down at some later date.
Prop 8 supporters appeal to full Ninth Circuit by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Supporters of California’s Prop 8 – which took away marriage equality in that state – announced on February 21 that they will appeal a February 7 decision that the measure is unconstitutional. A three-judge panel of the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Prop 8 violates the 14th Amendment rights of Gay and Lesbian couples to due process and equal protection of the laws. Charles Cooper, lead attorney for Prop 8 supporters, said that his clients would ask the full Ninth Circuit Court to review the panel’s decision. February 21 was the deadline to ask the full court to hear the case. Prop 8 supporters had the option of appealing directly to the U.S. Supreme Court, but many legal experts believe the Supreme Court has no interest in hearing the case. An appeal to the full Ninth Circuit Court almost guarantees that the case will not reach the Supreme Court before the November elections.
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In most federal appeals circuits, en banc review involves all of the active judges on the court, but the Ninth Circuit has adopted a special “limited en banc” process because of the large number of active judges on the circuit – 29. All active Ninth Circuit judges will vote whether to review the panel’s decision, but only 11 judges will actually hear the arguments. If a majority of the Ninth Circuit’s judges support en banc review, then the chief judge of the circuit, Judge Alex Kozinski, and 10 randomly selected appellate judges will hear the appeal, which can include briefs and oral arguments. After the 11 judges announce their ruling, a dissatisfied party can, in theory, ask all 29 Ninth Circuit judges to review the case, but the court has never agreed to do so since adopting the “limited en banc” procedure. An unsuccessful party could then petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case. At that point, the parties would submit written arguments explaining to the court
February 24, 2012
Celebrating 39 Years!
NORTHWEST
NEWS
compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer
“THE CAR THAT BROUGHT YOU HERE STILL RUNS: A PORTRAIT OF RICHARD HUGO” FEBRUARY 23-26 Turk Miller, veteran film and stage actor, performs a tribute to the great poet of the Pacific Northwest, Richard Hugo (1923-1982). The show runs Fri.-Sat., at 8 p.m. and Sun., at 2 p.m., at Richard Hugo House (1634 11th Ave.). Tickets: $16-general, $14-student/senior. www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/217937 “WINTERGRASS” – BLUE GRASS MUSIC FESTIVAL FEBRUARY 23-26 Hyatt Regency (900 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue). www.acousticsounds.org. JOHN CAGE’S “SONATAS AND INTERLUDES” On Saturday, February 25, at 8 p.m., at Chapel Performance Space (Good Shepherd Center, 4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.), the Wayward Music Series brings New York pianist Adam Tendler to town to play John Cage’s complete “Sonatas and Interludes” for prepared piano. The cycle, written 1946-48, is one of the last things Cage actually composed rather than created through chance procedures. Tickets: $5-$15 cash or check only at the door. NIGHT FANTASIA 2012 On Saturday, February 25, from 9 p.m.-1 a.m., at Nijo Sushi Bar & Grill (83 Spring St.), Night FantAsia returns for their 13th anniversary celebration of the Seattle LGBT Asian & Pacific Islander Community. DJ Ericket, Resident DJ of Changes, and your new and upcoming drag-artist host, Atasha Manila, will energize the night. Enjoy great food and drink amongst friends. Raffle
drawing and auction will benefit PAMILYA, in memory of Danny Vega. For more information, call 206-262-1022 or visit www.kwanchai.net. ACADEMY AWARDS PARTIES On Sunday, February 26, at 4 p.m., at Purr (1518 11th Ave.), Purr and the SGN host “A Night at the Oscars.” Watch the Academy Awards on Purr’s numerous flat screen TVs. Stop in early to fill our your ballots. Prizes awarded all night. No cover. On Sunday, February 26, Madison Pub (1315 E. Madison St.) hosts an Oscar Party with a “Cast Your Vote” contest with cash prizes of $150, $50 and $25 to participants with the most correct votes. No cover. On Sunday, February 26, 4pm VIP, 5pm general admission, at Cinerama Theatre (2100 4th Ave.), join Three Dollar Bill Cinema and Gay City Health Project for their 7th annual Academy Awards Party. See Hollywood’s biggest stars shine on the biggest screen in town. With special guest Jinkx Monsoon. Enjoy light bites and delicious drinks as you celebrate the Academy Awards while supporting Three Dollar Bill Cinema and Gay City Health Project. Must be 21+, ID required. Tickets start at $30. www.gaycity.org/oscars. FIRST HILL STREETCAR – OPEN HOUSE MEETINGS Construction will begin in April on the First Hill Streetcar. The Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT) is hosting two open house meetings for the public to learn about the project and what to expect during construction, and to meet the project team. The meetings will be held on Tuesday, February 28, from 5-8 p.m., at Union Station, Ruth Fisher Boardroom (401 S. Jackson St.), and on Wednesday, March 7, from
Visit us online www.sgn.org
4-7 p.m., at Silver Cloud Hotel, The Broad- for the third annual Nubian Pride King and way Room (1100 Broadway). To request an Queen Pageant. Tickets: $10 advance/$15 at the door. www.nubianprideproductions. interpreter, call 206-733-9990. webs.com SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN LIFELONG AIDS ALLIANCE – BOOK CLUB 3RD ANNUAL BENEFIT The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club BREAKFAST meets every Wednesday, at 6 p.m., at Seattle On Thursday, March 8, from 7:30-9:30 Area Support Groups Community Center a.m., at Red Lion Hotel (1415 5th Ave.), (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.) Annie Prouix’s short story, Brokeback join Lifelong AIDS Alliance and keynote Mountain, will be the focus of the last two speaker, Robert Greenwald, a member of the Presidential Advisory Committee on meetings in February. The book for March will be Edmund HIV/AIDS and one of the nation’s leading White’s new novel, Jack Holmes and His authorities on health care reform for people Friend, about a Gay/straight friendship that living with HIV/AIDS, for a breakfast in lasts a lifetime. One half of the book is told support of Lifelong AIDS Alliance’s viby the Gay character. One half of the book is tal programs. You will also learn about the told by the straight character. The reader is agency’s history as well as how healthcare plunged into the characters’ sex lives, their reform will affect people living with HIV/ crises, their affairs, their quarrels, their lies. AIDS. Suggested donation: $150. 206-328The writing is of the highest quality. For dis- 8979; www.lifelongaidsalliance.org. count on cost of book, email Nick. 3RD ANNUAL PALM SPRINGS All GLBTQ folks are welcome to particiSUMMER SPLASH pate in this FREE book club. For more inCOCKTAIL CHALLENGE formation, email nickdimartin@earthlink. On Thursday, March 8, at 8 p.m., the net, visit http://faculty.washington.edu/ switter/SGLBookClub/ or contact SASG at Lobby Bar (916 E. Pike St.) is the place to be to watch local bartenders compete 206-322-2437; www.sasgcc.org. and create signature drinks in the 3rd annual Palm Springs Summer Splash Cocktail SEATTLE PRIME TIMERS – Challenge. Bartenders will be evaluated on COFFEE REUNION On Friday, March 2, at 7 p.m., at Tully’s taste, presentation and name of drink. Bar(19th Ave. E. & E. Aloha St.) join Seattle tenders will also be judged on creativity and Prime Timers for an informal meet and greet attire, as well as presentation and audience – to socialize, chat, swap lies, find out what participation. Bartenders will receive boyour friends have been doing, let others nus points if “Palm” or “Springs” is in the know your latest theater recommendations, name of the signature drink. A winner will be selected and brought to Palm Springs to etc., etc. Seattle Prime Timers is a social organiza- compete against other national finalists in tion for Gay and Bisexual men over 40 and the Cocktail Challenge finale on May 31, their admirers. www.seattleprimetimers.org. 2012, which is also the official kick-off of “Summer Splash” presented by the Desert 3RD ANNUAL NUBIAN PRIDE Gay Tourism Guild. KING AND QUEEN PAGEANT – Patrons at the March 8 contest will receive “AN EVENING OF DECADENCE” Palm Springs swag, additional sponsor On Saturday, March 3, door at 6 p.m., giveaways, and enjoy Stoli drink specials. pageant at 7 p.m., at Highline Bar (210 And one lucky patron in attendance will win Broadway E.), join King Daquan and Queen a trip to Palm Springs, including a 2-night Marion with special guest Mariah Balen- hotel stay and roundtrip airfaire courtesy of ciaga from Rupaul’s Drag Race Season 3, Alaska Airlines. www.thelobbyseattle.com.
February 24, 2012
Seattle Gay News
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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Maryland Senate passed its marriage equality bill on February 23. The vote was 25-22. The state’s House of Delegates passed the measure on February 17 by a vote of 72 to 67. Governor Martin O’Malley, who made the bill his number one legislative priority, has already promised to sign it into law. When O’Malley signs the bill, Maryland will become the eighth state to allow Gay and Lesbian couples to marry. “I know today we are going to make history because we are going to take another important step towards embracing every family in the state of Maryland,” Sen. Richard Madaleno, who is openly Gay, said on the floor before the vote. Under the terms of an amendment introduced by Republicans, no same-sex marriages can take place until January 1, 2013. Now that the bill has passed, opponents of marriage equality can start gathering signatures to bring the new law to the ballot in November for an up-or-down vote. Some 55,736 signatures are needed, 3% of the total number cast in the last gubernatorial election. Church groups and conservatives have already said they plan to start the petition drive. Under Maryland law, one third of the signatures need to be submitted to the State
Board of Elections by May 31, and the rest by June 30. A marriage equality bill had passed the Maryland Senate last year, but it never came to the floor of the House for a vote. O’Malley said then that he would sign the bill, but this year he made it the centerpiece of his legislative agenda. The final vote confirmed the prediction of Senate Democrats who had said all along that they would keep their three-vote majority. “I believe the 25 votes that we had last year will hold,” Senator Jamie Raskin told AP reporters ahead of the vote. The vote in the House was touch-and-go, however. Of 98 Democrats in the House, as many as 30 were reportedly reluctant to support marriage equality, mostly more conservative Democrats known as Blue Dogs, and African-Americans from districts where churches have a huge influence in their communities. In the end, two Republicans, three Blue Dogs, and two African-American delegates, none of them initially supportive, voted for the measure. In interviews, several of those delegates said that a key change from last year that won their support was language protecting religious institutions from being forced to perform marriages. “People believe that it’s a sin for a homosexual to be married, but who are they to judge?” said Robert Costa, one of the Re-
courtesy wkys
Maryland passes marriage equality bill, governor will sign it
Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley
publicans who voted for the bill. “It’s up to God, not government.” John Olszewski, a Democrat initially opposed, said the religious exemptions made him feel comfortable enough to vote for the bill. “Denying basic rights to folks just isn’t the right thing for us to be doing,” he said. Some delegates said they were aware that their political careers were on the line.
“This is the civil rights issue of our generation,” Democrat Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr. said. “I’ve heard all types of threats, that in 2014 at the ballot box, there would be revenge. But when that day comes, I know that for the seven openly Gay colleagues, if they are able to have the same rights as my wife and I have, then I know that my green vote was the right vote.”
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Roland Martin, the CNN commentator who was suspended by the cable news outlet in early February for a series of homophobic tweets he sent out during the Super Bowl, is off the hot seat after the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) approved of his on-air February 19 apology.
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Just weeks ago, GLAAD called for Martin’s firing over the incident, which ultimately got Martin suspended from appearing on the network. During his Sunday “Perspectives” segment on his show Washington Watch, Martin spoke of his recent meeting with GLAAD’s Herndon Graddick over the tweets. Martin told viewers the meeting was “helpful” and said that he is sympathetic to many of GLAAD’s stances. Recalling what he told viewers were facts, he said, “I have historically supported many of the issues important to the GLAAD agenda, such as ending ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ policy, Gay adoption, and including Gays in hate crimes laws.” He went on to note that he believes all people have a right to be heard. “If you’re Gay or straight, your voice matters. If you are a pastor or activist, your voice matters,” said Martin. “I have no plan to abandon my goal as a truth-teller on a variety of issues; and yes, that includes those that may be on the LGBT agenda. I am confident that this table can serve as an example of Dr. King’s ‘table of brotherhood,’ and I and this excellent team will do all we can to advance dialogue so we all can learn, grow, and prosper together.” GLAAD applauded Martin’s comments as an “important step” in mending the hurt his tweets may have caused. “Martin today took another important step, acknowledging that his words had a negative impact, and making it clear that he understands how serious the issues of anti-LGBT bullying and violence are,” the
February 24, 2012
courtesy news92fm
GLAAD approves of Roland Martin’s on-air apology
Roland Martin
organization said on Sunday. “This incident, along with recent incidents of violence directed at LGBT people, sparked a national dialogue centered around why the issue of anti-LGBT violence needs to be taken seriously.” Martin caused an uproar with his Super Bowl Sunday tweets, which seemed to advocate violence against Gays. “If a dude at your Super Bowl party is hyped about David Beckham’s H&M underwear ad, smack the ish out of him!” Roland said in one of his tweets. Another of Martin’s tweets read, “Who the hell was that New England Patriot they just showed in a head to toe pink suit? Oh,
he needs a visit from #teamwhipdatass.” Seattle Gay News has learned that this wasn’t the first time Martin had earned GLAAD’s ire. Last year, Martin defended Tracy Morgan after the 30 Rock star said in a standup routine that he would “pull out a knife and stab” his son if he were to find out he was Gay. “Morgan is keenly aware of what society actually thinks, and he simply said it onstage. Isn’t that what comedians have always done?” Martin wrote of the controversy over Morgan’s statements. It should be noted that Morgan also met with GLAAD after being publicly chastised by the group over his comments.
Celebrating 39 Years!
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Paleoconservative pundit and former Nixon apparatchik Pat Buchanan was fired by MSNBC on February 16. He had not appeared on an MSNBC program since October 2011, when his latest book, Suicide of a Superpower, appeared. With chapters titled “The End of White America” and “The Death of Christian America,” the book was widely accused of repeating racist and anti-Semitic views. “We have decided to part ways with Pat Buchanan,” MSNBC said in a statement on February 16. “We wish him well.” Elaborating on the statement, MSNBC President Phil Griffin told reporters that he considered Buchanan’s views inappropriate. “I don’t think the ideas that [Buchanan] put forth [in his book] are appropriate for the national dialogue, much less on MSNBC.” Buchanan was unrepentant. He had been “blacklisted,” he claimed, appropriating a term from the McCarthy anti-Communist witch-hunts – which, by the way, he has always defended. In a subsequent column that blogger Charles Johnson characterized as “incredibly whiny,” Buchanan both defended his book and tacitly admitted all the charges against him. “That homosexual acts are unnatural and immoral has been doctrine in the Catholic Church for 2,000 years,” he wrote. “Is it now hate speech to restate traditional Catholic beliefs? “Documented in the 488 pages and 1,500 footnotes of Suicide of a Superpower is my thesis that America is Balkanizing, breaking down along the lines of religion, race, ethnicity, culture, and ideology and that West-
ern peoples are facing demographic death by century’s end. Are such subjects taboo? Are they unfit for national debate?” In a February 21 interview with Charlie Rose on CBS This Morning, Buchanan doubled down on his critique of multiculturalism. “What I want you to understand, Charlie, what I want the folks to read that book and understand, is that Western civilization is in its Indian summer. It is on, in my judgment, pretty much its last legs, and I’m not sure it will survive this century,” Buchanan said. “And what I’m warning about in our country is that the United States of America which is shifting to become a multi-cultural, multi-national, multi-ethic, multi-lingual country, there is nothing that’s going to hold us together if we lose our common language, our common Christian, Judeo-Christian faith, our common moral consensus, which we are losing.” Accusations of racism, anti-Semitism, homophobia, and an assortment of other irrational prejudices are nothing new for Buchanan. “White folks built this country,” Buchanan told an incredulous Rachel Maddow in 2009. “These are the folks whose jobs have been outsourced to China and Asia, who pay the price of affirmative action when their sons and daughters are pushed aside to make room for the [Supreme Court Justice] Sonia Sotomayors. These are the folks who want the borders secured and the illegals sent back.” Even some of Buchanan’s ideological allies declined to defend him. Fox News host Chris Wallace said Buchanan “has said some very incendiary things about Israel, about Jews, about blacks, about other minorities.” Wallace also rebutted Buchanan’s claim
One more time: DOMA is unconstitutional courtesy wkys
Karen Golinski (r) and Amy Cunninghis
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A federal district judge in San Francisco ruled on February 22 that DOMA is unconstitutional. In his ruling, Judge Jeffrey White, a George W. Bush appointee, also dismissed the claims of BLAG – the so-called Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group – that the U.S. government had a compelling interest in upholding DOMA. BLAG was assigned
by House Speaker John Boehner to defend DOMA in court after the U.S. Justice Department determined the law was unconstitutional and said it would no longer defend it. “In this matter, the Court finds that DOMA, as applied to Ms. Golinski, violates her right to equal protection of the law under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution by, without substantial justification or rational basis, refusing to recognize her lawful marriage to prevent provi-
Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images
Suicide of a pundit: MSNBC fires Pat Buchanan
Pat Buchanan
that he was “blacklisted.” “I’m not saying that I am particularly fond of these groups either,” Wallace said on The Mike Gallagher Show, “but, you know, you don’t have a right to be on MSNBC or Fox or any of these places … [it’s] the prerogative of the – of the management and a group that is offended by your comments has the right to complain about it.” “I don’t think they blacklisted him.” Buchanan first rose to fame in the Nixon White House, coining the term “silent majority” for his boss, and helping to craft Nixon’s notorious Southern Strategy, using the accumulated resentments of white workingclass Southerners to recapture a majority for
the Republican party. He also worked as White House communications director for Ronald Reagan from 1985 to 1987. In that capacity he organized Reagan’s visit to a Nazi cemetery in Bitburg, Germany. Buchanan ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1992 and 1996, and ran on the Reform Party ticket in the 2000 presidential election. Between his White House gigs, Buchanan worked as a media pundit, first for NBC, then CNN and MSNBC. He continues to appear on The McLaughlin Group talk show. Like Buchanan, John McLaughlin is a conservative Catholic.
sion of health insurance coverage to her spouse,” White wrote in his ruling. Karen Golinski and her partner Amy Cunninghis registered as domestic partners with the City of San Francisco in 1995 and with the State of California in 2003. They married in 2008 during the period when samesex marriages were legal in California, and they remain legally married. Golinski, who works for the federal Ninth Circuit Court, registered Cunninghis for spousal health care benefits, but the Office of Personnel Management decided that she was not entitled to benefits because DOMA forbids federal agencies from recognizing same-sex marriages. Golinski then sued, claiming discrimination. Ninth Circuit Court Chief Judge Alex Kozinski ordered OPM to process Golinski’s application in 2009, but OPM refused to comply. Golinski v. OPM has been winding its way through the court system since then. In his decision, Judge White supported Kozinski’s 2009 ruling, saying that “considerations of discrimination against people based on sexual orientation should be held to heightened scrutiny,” because of the history of discrimination faced by the LGBT community, its relative lack of political power relative to the straight community, and the immutability of sexual orientation. “Heightened scrutiny” means that a law may not treat different categories of people differently unless it passes a three-pronged legal test. According to the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v. Texas – which struck down sodomy laws – such a law “must advance an important governmental interest, the intrusion must significantly further that interest, and the intrusion must be necessary to further that interest.” In his 43-page ruling, White demolished
the arguments in favor of DOMA, saying it serves no rational purpose and does not advance any legitimate government interest. White also explicitly criticized Congress for failing to protect the rights of legally married same-sex couples. “Here, too, this Court finds that Congress cannot, like an ostrich, merely bury its head in the sand and wait for danger to pass, especially at the risk of permitting continued constitutional injury upon legally married couples,” he wrote. “The fact that the issue is socially divisive does nothing to relieve the judiciary of its obligation to examine the constitutionality of the discriminating classifications in the law.” “I am profoundly grateful for the thought and consideration that Judge White gave to my case,” Golinski said. “His decision acknowledges that DOMA violates the Constitution and that my marriage to Amy is equal to those marriages of my heterosexual colleagues. This decision is a huge step toward equality.” Tara Borelli, staff attorney for Lambda Legal, who helped represent the women, says the ruling “spells doom for DOMA.” “The Court recognized the clear fact that a law that denies one class of individuals the rights and benefits available to all others because of their sexual orientation violates the constitutional guarantee of equality embodied in the Fifth Amendment,” Borelli said in a statement. “The Court agreed with us that sexual-orientation discrimination by the government should receive heightened scrutiny under the Constitution. It then concluded that DOMA could not meet that standard, and that there was not even a rational justification to deny Karen Golinski the same spousal health care benefits that her heterosexual co-workers receive.”
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by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Homophobic remarks by Tunisia’s new Minister for Human Rights sparked an outburst of online protests in the North African country’s first public debate on LGBT rights. On February 4, minister Samir Dilou appeared on a popular TV talk show. The host, Samir el-Wafi, asked him about a January 28 demonstration for LGBT rights, the country’s first such event. “Freedom of expression has its limits,” Dilou announced. El-Wafi – long known for his homophobic sentiments – ended the segment by telling Dilou that Gays are mentally ill and require treatment. Sexual orientation should not be a protected right, the two agreed. Tunisia’s GayDay magazine then published a reply to the minister’s remarks titled “I’m Human Too, Minister of Human Rights.” “I say to his highness the minister for the sake of his memory, since perhaps he has forgotten or ignored, that the World Health Organization – since 1990 – announced that homosexuality has been removed from the list of mental illnesses, concluding a century in which it had been considered as a medical condition,” said Paloma Negra, a writer for the magazine. (English translation by All Africa website.) “It was both laughable and tragic to watch the live insult and mockery of one who claims to be the minister of human rights for a constituency that continues to suffer from
courtesy video2see
Tunisian official sparks Facebook war over Gay rights
various forms of exclusion, injustice, and marginalization,” continued Negra. “This is what has been achieved in the country of the revolution. The revolution that we thought was, or almost was, a revolution of dignity and freedom.” TV personality el Wafi responded with new anti-Gay slurs. “In the name of freedom and in a conservative country whose people are facing a struggle between modernity and tradition; a magazine for fags dares to come out and challenge all the circumstances, rules, morals, ethics, and customs,” he said in a Facebook post. (English translation by All Africa.) “Do we need further strife because a very small minority expresses its perversion … not caring about the feelings and the sacred beliefs of a majority?” According to Global Voices, a website dedicated to collecting and translating onSamir Dilou discussing Gay rights on a Tunisian talk show line political and cultural posts, Facebook then exploded with posts for and against Another Facebook user asked people who one Twitter user commented. Gay rights. “liked” the page to openly affirm their sexuOne poster warned that the controversy An individual identifying himself as Tarek ality. might enhance Dilou’s popularity among posted a poem on GayDay’s Facebook page “If you want to ask for rights,” it said, Tunisian conservatives. (translation by Global Voices): “you have to be there i.e. Tunisian queers “Criticizing Dilou (the minister) for his should come out to show society that they’re homophobic statements will only polish Yes. I am Gay. … I am Lesbian numerous and that there are many support- Dilou’s reputation among conservative TuI am the man who loves men…the female ers for such a cause.” nisians. They will support him even more who loves females. Twitter accounts reportedly retweeted arti- now,” it said. Yet, I’m the apple of my dad’s eye. I am the cles on LGBT rights several hundred times. According to Global Voices, a YouTube girl who finds a warm haven in her mother’s “@lebanesegringo: @abuhatem The Min- video, entitled “Open Your Heart to Gays,” lap. ister of Human Rights himself is the one has been viewed more than 60,000 times. I’m the student, the worker, the unem- making misguided statements. This debate The main Tunisian LGBT Facebook page, ployed, tall, short… I am Human.” is long overdue. #tunisia #lgbtme #lgbt,” Tunisia Gays, now has about 2,300 “likes.”
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has announced that she will not sign a proposed law to increase penalties for same-sex relations. Liberia’s senate is scheduled to consider the bill on February 23. Liberian law currently treats Gay relationships as a first-degree misdemeanor, which carries a punishment of up to a year in prison. The proposed law would prohibit same-
16 Seattle Gay News
sex marriage and make same-sex sexual relations a first-degree felony punishable by 10 years in prison. Among the backers of the law is Senator Jewel Taylor, the former wife of one of Sirleaf’s predecessors, Charles Taylor. He is currently on trial in The Hague for war crimes allegedly committed during Liberia’s civil war. Charles Taylor defeated Sirleaf in Liberia’s 1997 presidential election, during which he campaigned with the slogan “He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I’ll still vote for him.” He resigned in 2003 as part of a peace deal. Sirleaf was elected president in 2005 and reelected last year. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with another Liberian woman, Leymah Gbowee, and a Yemani woman, Tawakel Karman, “for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work.” Meanwhile, Senator Jewel Taylor denied reports that she wanted to execute Gay Liberians. “We are only strengthening the existing law,” she said. “Some media are reporting that I said anyone found guilty of involvement in same-sex should face the death penalty. I did not say so, I am calling for a law that will make it a first-degree felony.” “Liberia is a member of the global community and therefore cannot kick against the rights of others to do what they choose to do,” said Archie Ponpon, chairman of the newly-formed Gay rights organization Movement for the Defense of Gays and Lesbians in Liberia. Ponpon said he and his family have already faced hostility because of his fight for
February 24, 2012
courtesy the international reporting project
Liberia’s president won’t sign anti-Gay bill
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Gay rights in Liberia. Weeks ago, his mother’s house was set on fire, and he and another activist, Abraham Kamara, were mobbed by angry students while campaigning at the University of Liberia. “We will not relent,” he promised. “People will come to the realization that in this day and age, individuals should be free to
practice what they wish.” In January, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said African countries should stop treating their LGBT people as “second-class citizens, or even criminals.” Ban told African leaders that discrimination based on sexual orientation “has been ignored or even sanctioned by many states for far too long.”
Celebrating 39 Years!
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor It was the suicide that caught the attention of a nation. A young man who jumped to his death because of bullying he endured in college. Tyler Clementi, 19, didn’t know it at the time, but his death would serve as a call to action for anti-LGBT bullying to cease. And now, the criminal trial surrounding his death begins. Once again, the nation is watching. Opening statements could begin soon in the trial of a former Rutgers University student accused of spying on his Gay roommate, Tyler Clementi, who then committed suicide after learning he had been secretly filmed during an encounter with another man in his dorm room. According to the Los Angeles Times, 19-year-old Dharun Ravi’s trial began Tuesday in New Brunswick, N.J., where Ravi faces charges of bias intimidation, in addition to invasion of privacy. Because the two bias intimidation charges are considered hate crimes, each carries a potential prison term of 10 years. Clementi’s suicide in September 2010 unveiled what prosecutors say was a plot by
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continued from cover should not fall on deaf ears, said marriage equality director at Equal Rights Washington, Josh Friedes. “Money matters,” Friedes told SGN. “It takes money to get your message on the air, conduct research, and coordinate volunteers. Here is a simple reality, campaigns that don’t raise enough money to build out their infrastructure fail.” “Our side spent $40 million in California, but that money poured in late,” he said. “Don’t hold back – give generously now.” When pressed for an exact amount, Friedes advised, “There is never enough money to appropriately fund a marriage equality campaign.” In other words, that $6 million could be just the tip of the iceberg. “What I see the campaign doing very well is integrating the expertise of organizations and volunteers so that we can have a campaign whose footprint is far larger than its budget,” he said. “This of course will take time so we need to be patient as the campaign grows so it can accommodate all the wonderful offers of support it hopes to utilize.” And there have been offers. People are ready to get to work. It’s been over a week since Washington Governor Chris Gregoire signed marriage equality into law, and the energy surrounding that historic moment is palpable. But why $6 million? And why now? A good example, say officials, would be the legal battle Washington United for Marriage is already engaged in.
Pool, The Star Ledger
Trial begins in case of Rutgers student who filmed Gay roommate Ravi to use a webcam in the dorm room to capture images of Clementi in an intimate encounter with a man and to share them with other students. Initially, fellow Rutgers student Molly Wei, a friend of Ravi’s, also was charged in the case, but she agreed to testify in Ravi’s trial to avoid prosecution. Both Ravi and Wei have denied wrongdoing, and Ravi in December rejected a plea deal in favor of standing trial. “He’s innocent. He’s not guilty. That’s why he rejected the plea,” Ravi’s lawyer, Steven Altman, told the Newark, N.J., StarLedger after the December hearing. Wei has said that Ravi turned on the webcam because he was concerned that a man he did not know (Clementi’s date) would be in his room and he wanted to keep an eye on his belongings. “The case became public in dramatic fashion when Clementi, an 18-year-old from New Jersey who was a gifted violinist with plans to perform with the Rutgers Symphony Orchestra, jumped to his death from the George Washington Bridge linking Manhattan to New Jersey. His death sparked a national debate on cyber-bullying of teenagers and children,” reported the Times. BALLOT LANGUAGE On February 17, the attorney general’s office released its proposed ballot language for Referendum 74, the attempt to repeal the marriage equality bill in November. “It’s not good,” said Silk, who pointed out, “The AG’s language has some obvious flaws, including using the phrase ‘redefines marriage,’ which is nowhere in the marriage equality bill.” The language that appears on the ballot measure is important because, as it appears now, it is inaccurate. The Washington State Legislature– as well as Gregoire – did not seek to redefine marriage. Instead, they simply wrote a law that would allow same-sex couples in committed and loving relationships the same right to civil marriage as straight couples. It is important to note that the attorney general is Rob McKenna, a Republican running for governor in 2012, who has publicly
Dharun Ravi
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continued from page 17 stated he does not support marriage equality. “The language comes straight out of our opponent’s playbook,” said Silk. “If you go to the National Organization for Marriage’s (NOM) website, you’ll find it right there, at the top of the list of talking points they compiled to defeat marriage equality.” “It’s clear NOM and opponents of equality are influencing this ballot process, and we must do everything we can to fight them,” said a defiant Silk. “It is crucial that the ballot language is fair, balanced, and accurate, and not defined by the political influence of opponents of equality.” Washington United for Marriage is challenging this language in court. Once they file a challenge, the judge has just five days to rule on the final language. “We have a talented legal team working on this,” assured Silk. “But we can’t do this alone, and this process is moving quickly.” In other words, if you were thinking about when would be a good time to donate, “now” would be the answer. To make a donation – of any amount – to Washington United for Marriage, visit the advocacy group’s official website, www. washingtonunited.org. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED The campaign for marriage equality is going to grow in size, strength, and energy in the coming months. As this happens, the Washington United for Marriage staff will become stretched thin. With that in mind, the campaign has put out a call for volun-
teers. “Over the coming eight months, we will be talking to tens of thousands of voters telling stories of what marriage means to them,” Silk said. “We will need people’s help to make that happen; phoning, tabling, canvassing, and more.” “We also have lots of opportunities to help us get the little things done like envelopes stuffed, thank-you cards sent, and events staffed,” he said. “Anyone is welcome to volunteer. We have more things to do than we have people to do them.” “We will be working over the coming months to build a grassroots movement that stretches from Seattle to Spokane, from the San Juan Islands in the west to Asotin County in the east,” Silk continued. “We’ve had a talented field team of organizers on the ground since last November. We will be expanding that team to make sure that we can engage Seattle, Spokane, and everywhere in between.” While social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter can be useful for disseminating information, there is no better way to show your support than to get physically involved. In short, said Silk, “we will run a fullscale mobilization campaign that includes canvassing, postcarding, tabling, phoning, targeted advertising, and presence at events big and small.” Although marriage equality opponents have until June 6 to come up with the signatures needed to qualify Referendum 74 for the ballot, Silk said Washington United for Marriage is not about to sit back and wait. They are approaching this with the idea that our opponents will, in fact, get the correct amount of signatures – and then some. “They say they are going to get them, and we are going to take them at their word,” he said. With Referendum 74 on the ballot, Washingtonians will be asked in the November general election to approve (that is, keep) the marriage equality law, or reject it. That means everyone who is eligible to vote needs to do so if we are going to be the majority at the ballot box. The first step is voter registration – a very important step, according to Silk. “Whether we like it or not, this is going to be decided at the ballot box,” he warned. “That means that we need every eligible voter who supports our cause to register to vote, get engaged in the election, and cast their ballot
nate gowdy / seattle gay news
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Governor Christine Gregoire signing the Marriage Equality Bill into law on February 13.
this fall. If you are not registered, you won’t be able to vote for marriage equality.” To register to vote in Washington state, visit the Washington Secretary of State Elections and Voting website (http://wei. secstate.wa.gov/osos/en/voterinformation/ Pages/RegistertoVote.aspx) or myvote. wa.gov. The site contains instruction in a variety of languages (from Chinese to Russian) and includes voter eligibility information as well as dates and deadlines. SAY “I DO” TO MARRIAGE EQUALITY You support marriage equality. You volunteer your free time to help secure marriage equality. But you still might ask yourself (as many others do), “Can we win?” After all, historically, every time marriage equality has been put to a popular vote – over 30 times, as a matter of fact – we have lost. Why is this time different? Because we aren’t going to assume victory, said Friedes, we are going to work at it. “Only a fool will promise that we will keep the marriage equality law from being repealed,” Friedes told SGN when asked if
our victory was inevitable. “It takes skill, hard work, lots of money, and, yes, even a little luck to win a campaign when the electorate is fairly evenly divided as it is with the marriage issue in Washington state.” Friedes’ experience is a huge resource in this fight. He’s spent a vast amount of time and energy working toward marriage equality in and out of the Evergreen State. “I’ve had the pleasure to play a role in securing marriage equality in Massachusetts and a much smaller role in securing civil unions in Hawaii,” he said. Ultimately, Friedes says, this fight can only be won by enlisting the help of the community – and beyond. “ERW continues to urge people to take personal responsibility for protecting the marriage equality law and this means making the most of birthdays, anniversaries, Easter dinner, Passover Seders, and other gatherings of family and friends,” he said. “Don’t discount the importance of posting frequently about marriage equality on your Facebook page. Invite a speaker from Washington United for Marriage or Equal Rights Washington to speak at your house of wor-
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ship or civic group. Suggest to your volleyball team, softball team, or book club that they spend an evening phone banking with Washington United for Marriage. And put a bumper sticker on your car and laptop.” Anyone who knows Friedes will tell you that he advises everyone he meets to do one thing: tell their story. It’s his mantra, and it has worked. There now exists evidence – most recently with Gov. Gregoire – that everyone from elected politicians to members of your own family are more susceptive to changing their mind about marriage equality when they hear the personal story of a loved one. Gregoire publicly acknowledged that she began to come around when her daughters began to engage her in conversation surrounding the topic. Friedes was present during the governor’s speech before she signed the bill, when she relayed the personal stories that LGBT constituents had told her. “Three often unseen aspects of the work ERW does include our work with the media to put a human face on the issue throughout the state,” he told SGN. “Working with local partners, we have filled hundreds of requests from TV, radio, and newspapers to find couples willing to share their stories with reporters. ERW identifies people to testify at legislative hearings, and lastly ERW meets with executives and boards to encourage them to support marriage equality. The ERW PAC has spent well over $100,000 electing marriage equality candidates. Since 2006 ERW has sent over 3,000,000 emails to our advocates and like our public forums, Facebook page, and phone banks, the core message has been to share your stories with your social networks about why marriage matters.” “Nothing give us more joy than working in coalition and engaging others in LGBT civil rights work, and the ultimate expression of this is the leadership role ERW played in the formation of Washington United for Marriage, and we are delighted to now play a leadership role in the campaign itself.”
NOW WHAT? We’re motivated. Now what? Now, Washington United for Marriage Campaign Manager Zach Silk said, “We protect what we’ve gained.” “We need to prevent our opponents from rolling back marriage equality at the ballot box this fall,” he said. “Our opponents are organized, well-funded, and determined. As you know, they have filed a referendum and an initiative to end marriage equality and take backwards.” “We are not going to let this happen,” Silk assured. “The first thing we need to do is activate a grassroots movement. We need to match them name for name, dollar for dollar, and show them that we are strong, united, and ready to defend our rights.” Our opponents are committed to their fight and say they have two tools in which to use in defeating marriage equality: a referendum and an initiative. “We need to take them both seriously,” warned Silk. “It is more difficult to qualify an initiative for the ballot, but we don’t doubt their ability to get both on the ballot. We will be watching them closely. It doesn’t change what we have to do, though, which is build a grassroots movement and tell voters across the state our stories of love, commitment, and family.” Friedes says that, as a member of the coalition to secure and protect marriage equality in our state, he has confidence in the campaign. “Washington United for Marriage has the key ingredients to be a very successful campaign,” he told SGN. “We started early. We didn’t wait until Referendum 74 qualified for the ballot – LGBT and allied organizations came together to work as a campaign in 2011 to both pass the marriage equality bill and be prepared to win a referendum.” Both early planning and the willingness of diverse stakeholders to work together from the start are key indicators of future success. “Washington United for Marriage also understands the importance of engaging
diverse constituencies in our work from unions to business to the choice community to seniors and youth,” continued Friedes. “The campaign has demonstrated a keen understanding of the leadership role faith communities will play in preserving marriage equality in Washington state. Clergy and people of faith have always been wellrepresented in the work of Washington United, from the kickoff press conference to the clergy from diverse faith traditions who testified in support of the marriage bill to the Faith Leaders Statement the campaign is currently asking clergy and congregations to sign, Washington United for Marriage knows that faith will be an important voice in its work.” In addition, Friedes said the campaign has developed a large coordinating committee that includes representation from all across the state. “What we see is Washington United for Marriage adopting two key learnings,” he said. “First, we cannot wait to run a traditional campaign in August or September. The campaign has already begun and in addition to fundraising and coalition building, will encourage people to tell their stories about why marriage matters.” “In essence,” he said, “we need to lobby voters just as we lobbied legislators and we know that we do this by sharing our stories about why marriage matters.”
“The second thing I really appreciate about the Washington United for Marriage campaign is that it is very data-driven,” praised Friedes. “We all have our opinions about what works and what messages are best. The campaign is committed to testing assumptions and messages and this can really help avoid problems that have developed in previous campaigns.” “Campaigns are both an art and a science, and Washington United for Marriage’s senior staff understand this,” he said. Now is the moment. This is it. The big fight. While November might seem like a long way away, as the countdown to the general election begins, the nation will be watching. Will we be the first state to win marriage equality rights by popular vote? Washington United for Marriage says we’ve got a fighting chance. Don’t sit this one out. Donate. Volunteer. Educate. Vote. Seattle Gay News is committed to winning this fight. Continue to read SGN for updates directly from the campaign, community activists, and community leaders who wish to tell their story, educate our readers, and achieve victory at the ballot box. If you have a story to tell or want to tell us how you or your group, business, or club are helping to secure marriage equality, email SGN Associate Editor Shaun Knittel at shaunatsgn@ yahoo.com.
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tenofovir continued from cover
who currently use tenofovir should not necessarily stop using it, researchers said. The study casts some doubt on the safety of PrEP therapies using truvada, since tenofovir is one of the drugs used in that combination. The study examined the medical records of 10,841 HIV-positive veterans in the national VA health care system who used tenofovir from 1997 to 2007. It was published online in the journal AIDS on February 9. The study found that for each year of exposure to tenofovir several markers of kidney disease also increased. Risk of protein in urine – an indicator of kidney damage – rose 34 percent, risk of rapid decline in kidney function rose 11 percent, and risk of developing chronic kidney disease (CKD) rose 33 percent. The risks remained statistically significant even after researchers controlled for other kidney disease risk factors such as age, race, diabetes, hypertension, smoking, and HIVrelated factors. “However, these numbers are based on the average risks in our study population, and patients with more risk factors for kidney disease would be put at proportionately higher risk,” said principal investigator Michael G. Shlipak, M.D., MPH, chief of general internal medicine at SFVAMC and professor of medicine and epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF. The implications for patients already on
or just starting antiretroviral therapy are “mixed,” said Shlipak. Even with the increased risk, patients’ overall chance of long-term kidney damage was fairly low. For example, patients who took tenofovir had a two-percent risk of developing chronic kidney disease after one year on the drug, compared with one percent for those who did not use the drug. “Patients need to be aware of their kidney disease risks before they start therapy, and this should influence the medications that they choose in consultation with their doctor,” Shlipak said. “For an otherwise healthy patient, the benefits of tenofovir are likely to exceed the risks, but for a patient with a combination of risk factors for kidney disease, tenofovir may not be the right medication.” “The best strategy right now is to work with your health care provider to continually monitor for kidney damage. Early detection is the best way to determine when the risks of tenofovir begin to outweigh the benefit.” Shlipak added. “Does this mean that all patients on tenofovir need to be stopped? No,” Dr. Michael Horberg, director of HIV/AIDS at Kaiser Permanente, agreed. “What it does mean is you need to be monitoring these patients closely. You need to be checking kidney function, and if the signs are trending toward worsening function, consider alternatives.” For patients who develop kidney disease, stopping the medication may not result in quick improvement, the study showed. Patients were tracked for an average of
1.2 years after they stopped taking tenofovir. They remained at elevated risk for at least six months to one year compared with those who never took the drug, Shlipak said. “We do not know the long-term prognosis for these patients who stop tenofovir after developing kidney disease,” he cautioned. The latest study indicated a stronger association between tenofovir and kidney damage than previous studies had. Lead author Rebecca Scherzer, Ph.D., a researcher and statistician at SFVAMC and UCSF, said that the current study was the largest and most conclusive indication so far of tenofovir’s association with kidney damage. “There have been a number of previous, smaller studies suggesting that this drug might be associated with kidney disease, but the results were mixed,” she said. “Those studies may have missed this association because they were too small, lacked appropriate lab data, or excluded subjects with pre-existing renal impairment or risk factors for kidney disease.” Researchers who have been looking at tenofovir as a PrEP – or pre-exposure prophylaxis – medication note that studies so far have shown little increased risk of kidney damage in people who are not HIV-positive. The most recent PrEP study, involving 2,500 men who did not have HIV, was led by scientists at UCSF and the Gladstone Institutes. Only a handful of participants showed signs of kidney damage, and in all of their cases those signs went away once the drug was stopped. SFVAMC has the largest medical research program in the national VA system, with more than 200 research scientists, all of whom are faculty members at UCSF. UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. The study was supported by funds from the National Institutes of Health, the National Center for Research Resources, the American Heart Association and the Department of Veterans Affairs, some of which were administered by the Northern California Institute for Research and Education.
poll
continued from cover marriage equality supporters might wish. The breakdown between supporters of marriage equality (46%) and civil unions (32%) seems to indicate that while a large majority of voters want the state to give legal recognition to same-sex couples, those who support civil unions are tending to break against the marriage law. The new law picks up only four points when the civil unions choice is eliminated and voters are asked to vote up or down on marriage equality. The remaining civil union supporters apparently go over to the no-marriage side.
Respondents were also asked to disclose their age, race, gender, party preference, ideology, and how they voted in the 2008 presidential race. The cross tabs show that time is clearly on the side of equality. A whopping 63% of voters 29 or under would vote to keep the new marriage equality law. If civil unions become a possibility, 61% of voters in this age group still endorse the idea of marriage for same-sex couples, and another 16% support civil unions but not marriage. Twenty-one percent say there should be no legal recognition for same-sex couples. Among voters in the next two age groups, 30-45 and 46-64, 51% in each group would vote to keep the new marriage law. Only among voters in the oldest group, those 65 and over, does support for marriage equality drop below 50%. Only 39% of the voters in the 65-and-over group support the new marriage law. Fifty-six percent would vote it down. Nevertheless, 41% of voters in the oldest age group would be willing to accept civil unions but not marriage for Gay and Lesbian couples. Among white voters, the new marriage law would be approved by exactly the same margin as among all voters, 50%-46%. Among non-white voters, the split is about even, 46% for and 47% against marriage equality. Non-white voters tend to show greater support for the civil-union-but-not-marriage option than do whites. Among white voters, marriage outpolls civil unions by 15 points, 47% for marriage to 32% for civil unions. Among non-white voters the margin is much narrower, 40% for marriage to 34% for civil unions but not marriage. The poll also shows a significant gender gap among voters. Women would vote to uphold marriage equality by a 15-point margin, 55% to 40%. Men, on the other hand, would vote to repeal it, with only 44% voting for equality and 52% against it. Women are also far more favorable to the idea of marriage, as opposed to civil unions. Fifty-one percent of women favor recognition of marriage, as opposed to only 30% who support civil unions but not marriage. Among men, the margin is much closer, only 40% favoring marriage equality and 35% favoring recognition of civil unions but not marriage. Overall, party preference and ideology seem to be the best predictors of support for marriage equality. Eighty-one percent of Democrats say they would vote to uphold marriage equality. Eighty-two percent of Republicans say they would vote against it. Only 40% of Republicans say there should be no legal recognition of same-sex relationships, however, but Republicans favor the civil-union option over marriage as the legal form recognition should take. Fortysix percent of Republican voters said they would favor civil unions between same-sex couples. Among voters who describe themselves
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as “very liberal,” 88% would vote to uphold West Coast to recognize and maintain mar- crimination ordinance in Sandpoint, Idaho, the new marriage law. Among the “someriage equality,” he added. “This is a once- across the state. what liberal,” 80% would support it. Fifty- continued from cover in-a-lifetime opportunity to leverage the With work still to be done here in Washfive percent of moderates and 20% of conbest of our 27 years of history and expertise ington, some might wonder why Pride servative voters would do so as well. Only is much change to be made until equality to move the social barometer forward for Foundation uses money to support out-of8% of “very conservative” voters support reaches every corner.” LGBT people at a policy level.” state causes. Hermanns told SGN that this That is where Pride Foundation’s Advomarriage equality. “We also know that where states embrace is something Pride Foundation has always Even among the “very conservative” or cacy Fund fits in, she explained. marriage equality the economic and social done. The Advocacy Fund at Pride Foundation impacts serve to improve health indicators “somewhat conservative” voters, the idea “Pride Foundation was founded in 1985 that same-sex couples should have some supports critical policy efforts across the en- for LGBT people,” said Hermanns. “Also, as the Northwest LGBTQ community founlegal recognition has taken hold. Forty-six tire region. To be sure, Pride Foundation’s while marriage equality may not be a prior- dation serving Alaska, Idaho, Montana, percent of the “very” and 50% of the “some- funding of advocacy work to make systemic ity for everyone in the LGBT community, Oregon, and Washington,” she explained. what” conservative voters support civil legal and legislative change in the North- this campaign provides an opportunity to “It has always been our goal to support west is not new. “We’ve been doing that for highlight other LGBT rights and issues in a transformative philanthropy, programs, and unions. Among respondents who voted for Barack over 15 years,” reminded Hermanns. “In deep and personal way. For instance, access individuals that help people find joy and Obama in 2008, 79% would vote to uphold fact, our grant in 1997 to support the initia- to care for LGBT elders and Trans people, strength in who they are – and where they marriage equality, and only 17% would vote tive that would prohibit employment dis- safe schools for LGBT youth, and employ- are.” against it. For McCain voters, the situation crimination in Washington state based on ment protections for everyone in our com“With the expansion of our regional team is reversed, with only 14% saying they sup- sexual orientation was one of the first of this munity.” last year, we have full-time staff in each port the new law and 82% saying they op- kind of funding.” Since its inception, the Advocacy Fund state working closely with local donors, vol“Today,” she continued, “Pride Founda- has supported projects like research to iden- unteers, grantees, and scholars to strengthen pose it. Half of the former McCain supporters tion recognizes that this work being done tify LGBT-friendly voters for the Montana local communities,” she said. said that same-sex couples should be able to by our community is making a fundamental Human Rights Network; support of the Through scholarships, grants, advocacy, form civil unions but not to marry. Thirty- difference in the lives of LGBT people here. Faith in Action Marriage Equality Initiative and community leadership, Pride Foundaseven percent of McCain voters said there So we created the Advocacy Fund to give for Equal Rights Washington; shared legal tion donors and volunteers are helping to should be no legal recognition of same-sex investors a way to dedicate their giving to expertise to assist in drafting the marriage transform communities and culture. “Our help create change.” relationships whatsoever. equality legislation with Legal Voice; and work ripples through communities, inspirAccording to Pride Foundation officials, support of story-collecting and sharing proj- ing equality at every point along the way,” PPP also polled the race for governor and donations to the fund will impact legislative ects to build a strong and dependable block said Hermanns. attorney general. “Washington appears to be headed for a work across all five states in the Northwest – of equality-focused voters for Basic Rights For more information about the Advocacy close state election this fall,” according to including supporting organizations, efforts, Oregon. Fund, or to make a donation, visit the Pride PPP President Dean Dunham. The new poll and projects that could lead to full marriage Examples of what future donations could Foundation Advocacy Fund at www.prideshows gubernatorial candidates Jay Inslee equality in Washington state, such as the be used for are passing a voter initiative in foundation.org/advocacyfund. and Rob McKenna tied at 42% each. Candi- Washington United for Marriage coalition. Alaska, ensuring basic legal protections “Our donors know a gift to Pride Foun“Pride Foundation is proud to play a lead- to LGBTQ Anchoragites in employment, dation positively impacts our pursuit for dates for attorney general were also statistically tied, with 32% supporting Bob Fergu- ership role in the Washington United for financial, housing, and retail practices; ad- LGBT equality,” concluded Hermanns. Marriage coalition,” said Hermanns. “We vance efforts in Montana focused on bring- “Their support not only makes a difference son and 34% supporting Reagan Dunn. “PPP is a Democratic polling company,” know the issue of marriage equality is criti- ing a non-discrimination ordinance to the today, but also creates a philanthropic legtheir statement cautions, “but polling expert cal to many of our closest friends, family cities of Helena and Bozeman; support acy of change that will endure for generaNate Silver of the New York Times found members, and loved ones.” story-gathering to impact health policy for tions to come. The Advocacy Fund is just “It is incredible to be at the tipping point Transgender people in Oregon; and rep- one of the many ways people can impact that its surveys in 2010 actually exhibited a slight bias toward Republican candidates.” to make Washington the first state on the licate the successful passage of a non-dis- LGBT equality and see positive change in our lifetime.”
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