Issue 27 Volume 37
Celebrating 36 Years!
SOCCER GOLD p. 3
DYKE MARCH p. 20
OLYMPIC YACHT CLUB p. 23
Seattle Gay News
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SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Another Stonewall? Ft. Worth police raid Gay bar
COURTESY DALLAS VOICE
Victory in India!
Adnan Abidi/Reuters
Photo of Fort Worth raid in progress
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer As LGBT communities around the world celebrated the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall rebellion with Pride Parades, parties, and festivals, Fort Worth police and agents of the Texas Alcoholic Beverages Commission marked the occasion by raiding the Rainbow Lounge, a Gay bar in south Fort Worth, Texas. One bar patron, Chad Gibson,
remains hospitalized with a brain injury after reportedly being knocked unconscious by police during his arrest. Gibson and six others were arrested for “public intoxication.” Police allege that they arrived at the Rainbow Lounge for a routine and pre-scheduled bar inspection, intended to curb public intoxication and drunk driving. According to the police account, when they
Gay rights activists celebrated during a rally in New Delhi on Thursday after the city’s highest court decriminalized homosexuality.
Courtesy of 365gay.com
A court ruled Thursday, July 2, to decriminalize homosexuality in the Indian capital, a groundbreaking decision that could bring more freedom to Gays in this deeply conservative country. The Delhi High Court ruled that see fort worth page 18 treating consensual Gay sex as a
examiner.com
by Chuck Colbert Keen News Service In a yet another win for Gay civil rights advocates, a District of Columbia Superior Court judge Tuesday, June 30, denied a request for an injunction to delay the effective date of new same-sex marriage recognition law. This means DC
can start legally recognizing samesex marriages from other states and countries next week, becoming the first jurisdiction to do so in the South. A group of ministers led by Maryland minister Bishop Harry Jackson organized the effort to seek a referendum on the new law called the “Jury & Marriage
Amendment Act of 2009.” After the District’s Board of Elections and Ethics ruled June 15 that the referendum would be improper, the group took its fight to the court. But Superior Court Judge Judith Retchin upheld the elections board decision that said the referendum would violate a provision of the city’s human rights law that bans discrimination based on sexual orientation. “The harm about which petitioners complain is not based on a denial of the right to referendum,” Retchin wrote in her ruling. “Rather, they simply disagree with legislation enacted by our duly-elected [D.C. City] Council. A citizen’s disagreement with constitutionally sound legislation, whether based on political, religious or moral views, does not rise to the level of an actionable harm.” The judge added that the elections board correctly concluded that the proposed referendum would violate the District of Columbia Human Rights Act.
told reporters. “We’ve finally entered the 21st century.” But some religious leaders quickly criticized the ruling. “This Western culture cannot be permitted in our country,” said Maulana Khalid Rashid Farangi Mahali, a leading Muslim cleric in the northern city of Lucknow. see india page 8
Seattle to Iowa City
Marc and Matthew get married by Fred Ketteman Special to the SGN
courtesy of Marc Stiles and Matthew Haggerty
DC judge says no delay or ballot on Gay marriage
crime is a violation of fundamental rights protected by India’s constitution. The ruling, the first of its kind in India, applies only in New Delhi. “I’m so excited, and I haven’t been able to process the news yet,” Anjali Gopalan, the executive director of the Naz Foundation (India) Trust, a sexual health organization that had filed the petition,
On Friday, June 12, 2009, Seattleites Matthew Haggerty and Marc Stiles were legally wed on the steps of the Old Capitol in Iowa City, Iowa. Coincidentally, this building is where the Iowa Constitution was drafted – the document that ultimately led to the April 3, 2009 unanimous ruling of the Iowa Supreme Court that said marriage cannot be restricted to one man and one woman. This ruling upheld “the constitutional rights of all people, as expressed by Marc Stiles (l), and Matthew Haggerty the promise of equal protec- were married at the Old Capitol in Iowa City tion for all.” on June 12 Matthew and Marc were joined on their day of joy by cousins and friends from throughfriends and relatives from as near out the Midwest. as Iowa City and as far as Seattle. Matthew’s cousin’s son, Brady, Those in attendance were both of scattered flower petals up the main their moms, plus Matthew’s step- sidewalk to the Old Capitol and dad, Larry Anderson, who waved onto the ceremony site overlookthe rainbow flag, three of Matthew’s five siblings, both of Marc’s see gay marrIAge page 14 sisters, as well as aunts, an uncle, see WEDDING page 17
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Seattle Gay News
July 3, 2009
Celebrating 36 Years!
Jet City Strikers
Top row (l to r) Brian Coulthard, Mark Lacotta, Matt Perry, Jeffrey Grice (goalkeeper), Britt East, Mike Gerhardt, Tom Abrams, Sammuel Ajmi, Dale Wampler, Drew Dover. Bottom row (l to r) Tony Froehlich, Paul Cummins, Jamie Cross (manager), Chris Bresemann (captain), Neil Palmer, Brant Chase, Jared Auckland (captain)
Local Gay soccer team wins gold by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer The Jet City Strikers, a Gay men’s soccer team from Seattle, won Division 2 gold after defeating the West Hollywood Eclipse 3-1 at this year’s International Gay and Lesbian Football Association (IGLFA) World Cup, in Washington, D.C., June 20. The Jet City Strikers were the only Division 2 team with a perfect record of seven wins, defeating teams from Boston, West Hollywood, New York, and London in the group stage, and going on to defeat teams from D.C. and Sydney in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. The IGLFA World Cup draws athletes from as far away as Sweden, Argentina, and Australia. Getting everyone to Washington D.C. wasn’t easy, it took some budgeting by each team member in order to make the trip a reality. The Jet City Strikers team manager Jamie Cross said the team found ways to save money to get there as well as while they were there. “Most importantly, we had a team happy hour in our hotel rooms before going out at night, to forgo exorbitant bar tabs!” said Cross. “A lot of us had a sense that we could do well, but we weren’t sure how we’d fare when push came to shove,” said Cross. “At the end of the first round, with four matches under our belt, and being the only Division 2 team with a perfect record, I think we were in quiet disbelief.” According to Cross, the team didn’t rack up a single win in the 2008 tournament. This year, as the week wore on and the Jet City Strikers kept winning, he said they felt a bit like The Bad News Bears. Cross said the team relied on a crisp passing game, tight defense, and relentless offense to score a whopping 31 goals over seven games during the tournament – including 14 goals by forward Jared Auckland. The team’s strong defensive line and goalkeeper Jeffrey Grice allowed only 6 goals during those seven matches. “By the time we got to D.C. and were on a winning streak, we were able to sustain it by putting our heart into our performance when we walked onto the pitch [field], and that allowed us to walk away with the gold,” Cross said.
Co-captain Jared Auckland was able to keep the entire team’s head in the game, said Cross. “During half-time at one of our games, Auckland said, ‘We are leading 3-1. That’s one of the worst scores to have because the other team is going to be hungry in the second half just when we want to rest on that lead.’ He knew fatigue was setting in and that we were tempted to let our guard down,” Cross said. “He said exactly what was needed for us to pull through with a win.” Cross said the team is really about the whole being greater than the sum of its
parts. “The fraternal feeling on the team means that each guy gives it his all, leaves egos on the sideline, and is willing to work hard for the betterment of the team,” he said. “Because of this, the team perseveres during rough patches and shines brilliantly when things come together.” During the final, after five minutes of play, the game was interrupted by a thunderstorm. The Jet City Strikers and West Hollywood Eclipse returned to the soccer pitch an hour later playing in very un-Seattle-like conditions – 85-degree heat with the grass steaming in the sun. Although the tough conditions wore on the team, they still went on to beat the competition. “The team erupted with joy when the final whistle blew,” Cross said, adding, “Tears of joy were everywhere when it sunk in that we were the new world champions of Gay soccer.” Special Effect, another Seattle team competing in the IGLFA World Cup, cheered on
the Jet City Strikers the whole time. “When it got really hot and humid, that support helped carry us forward,” Cross said. “We are grateful to them and to our other sister team, Stonewall, who threw a great welcome party for us and Special Effect.” The Jet City Strikers formed in December 2007 and compete in the Greater Seattle Soccer League (GSSL). The team is one of more than 10 teams that form Seattle’s Rain City Soccer Club (RCSC), which is the world’s largest Gay and Lesbian soccer club. The team competes all year, except for six weeks starting in mid-July and around the year-end holidays. Cross said the Jet City Strikers are setting their sights on next year’s Gay Games in Cologne, Germany. For more information about the RCSC, go to www.raincitysoccer.org and www.iglfa. org for details about IGLFA. “The team trophy belongs to each player on the roster because each one of them made this team what it is today,” said Cross.
GLSEN fundraiser to benefit Washington GSAs ages the state’s GSA networks, which are youth-led organizations created to help connect public and private GSA-based clubs and other community groups throughout Washington State. Fundraiser organizers note that this is a 21 and older fundraising event. Bill Keating, GLSEN Washington State board member, said the money going to the different GSAs across the state would help the organizations work to end harassment and bullying incidents of LGBT youth in Washington State. by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer School’s Out For Summer fundraiser July 18, 7-9 PM C.C. Attle’s The Second Annual Washington State Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) “School’s Out For Summer” fundraiser is scheduled at C.C. Attle’s Bar and Restaurant July 18 from 7-9 p.m. The GLSEN Washington State chapter is
Visit us online www.sgn.org
based in Seattle, with a support staff covering the entire state. GLSEN is an education organization dedicated to creating safe schools for all LGBT people. They envision a future in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. The “School’s Out For Summer” fundraiser will consist of a raffle, where the money from ticket purchases and Jell-O shot purchases goes to support the Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) networks in Washington State. As of July 19, 2006, the organization man-
July 3, 2009
Seattle Gay News
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White House honors Stonewall anniversary by Lisa Keen Keen News Service On Monday, June 29, President Barack Obama urged the LGBT community to judge him “not by promises I’ve made, but by the promises that my administration keeps.” “I know that many in this room don’t believe that progress has come fast enough,” said Obama, speaking to a large gathering of LGBT people in the East Room of the White House Monday afternoon. “It’s not for me to tell you to be patient, any more than it was for others to counsel patience to African Americans who were petitioning for equal rights a half century ago. But I say this: We have made progress and we will make more. And I want you to know that I expect and hope to be judged not by words, not by promises I’ve made, but by the promises that my administration keeps.” To that he added: “I suspect that by the time this administration is over, I think you guys will have pretty good feelings about the Obama administration.” The 300 or so LGBT people gathered for the historic White House celebration of the 40th anniversary of Stonewall appeared to have “pretty good feelings” about the Obama administration already. The crowd
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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
cheered as the president and first lady were introduced and entered the room, taking about three minutes to reach the podium, as they shook hands with various invited guests. The enthusiastic reception stood in contrast to a battery of media reports examining the growing criticism of the Obama administration from the LGBT community. Although the president did not explicitly address one of the key criticisms – a brief from the Department of Justice in a Gay marriage case in California which many LGBT leaders found offensive – he did say, about the Defense of Marriage Act, “we have a duty to uphold existing law, but I believe we must do so in a way that does not exacerbate old divides.” “And fulfilling this duty in upholding the law in no way lessens my commitment to reversing this law,” said Obama. “I’ve made that clear.” Concerning his commitment to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” Obama said, “I do have a responsibility to see that this change is administered in a practical way and a way that takes over the long term. That’s why I’ve asked the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to develop a plan for how to thoroughly implement a repeal.” Jason Bartlett, an openly Gay state representative from Connecticut and a spokesperson for the National Black Justice Coalition, said he was “very happy” with the president’s remarks and saw them as “recommitting himself to and affirming the LGBT agenda.” “The more times he gives a speech such as that, the better it is for our constituency,” said Bartlett. “I think he’s asking us to be
patient, but I don’t think people should stop agitating or stop doing a variety of grassroots activities. But I do think I agree that, in four years, we’re all going to look back and be satisfied.’ Mitchell Gold, founder of Faith in America and a guest at the event, said he thinks the president’s remarks could go a long way to mitigate some of the anger in the community over the administration’s slow progress towards its LGBT campaign promises thus far. But he said he would expect that anger to re-emerge should the administration not be able to pass hate crimes or the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) “quickly.” “I think the community will be patient for about two months or so,” said Gold. Gold said he was able to speak with the president’s chief political strategist David Axelrod at the event and express to him “that the community has a legitimate beef in the administration not moving quickly, and over the DOJ brief,” said Gold. Gold said Axelrod told him, “they are determined to make progress” and that “you’re right to push— keep pushing.” Renee Rosenfield, 91, of New York City was one of the guests. She had just become involved with Senior Action in Gay Environment in June 1969 when the Stonewall Rebellion took place. She called the event “a wonderful thing” and said she never could imagine, 40 years ago, being at such an event today. Rosenfield was there with her partner of more than 20 years, Madelin Alk, 88. That sentiment was shared by Tommy Schmidt, 61, one of two “Stonewall participants” who were invited to the event. Schmidt said he and the second participant, Gerry Hoose, were able to meet privately with the president and first lady prior to the event and have their picture taken with them. “It was magnificent,” said Schmidt of the event. “Never have Gay people been received with such openness as with this president. … This is the culmination of people pushing” for LGBT equality, and we have to work to keep pushing for that.” The president spoke for more than 20 minutes and, according to guests at the event, he and the first lady shook hands with a number of people before exiting. (Reporters were ushered out of the room shortly after the president finished his remarks.) The ceremony at the White House marked the end of an unexpectedly difficult LGBT Pride Month for the Obama administration. Many in the community had already begun to openly express their impatience with the president on LGBT issues. President Obama had appointed a number of openly Gay peosee white house page 21
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Seattle Gay News
July 3, 2009
Celebrating 36 Years!
DIFFA/Seattle offers amazing night of fashion dropping the rock photography
DIFFA/Seattle's 2009 summer fashion show at the W Hotel
by Marcus James SGN Contributing Writer
summer 2009 show, raising money to benefit HIV/AIDS prevention and research, I immediately fell in love. Downstairs, the lobby When I found myself at the W Hotel on was filled with patrons and photographers Saturday, June 20 for DIFFA (Design Indus- dressed in their finest, sipping cocktails and tries Foundation Fighting AIDS) /Seattle’s sharing in the electricity that was in the air.
The theme, “Out of the Closet and into the Living Room,” was an amazing idea which made the traditionally uptight gathering more accessible. The V.I.P. lounge upstairs served such exotic drinks as the Rainbowtini and MC Sylvia O’Stayformore’s personal suggestion, the electric blue Equalitini. Three local boutiques were featured at the show: The Finerie (1215 1st Avenue) Veridis (1205 E. Pike St.) and Marqsmen (1083 Bellevue Square). The clothes were brilliant, and many were one-of-a-kind pieces, or from little-known designers from different parts of the world. The first to show was Veridis. Their collection featured a casual elegance, much in par with Socialistas with an emphasis on yellows and bangles. The jewelry was big, but in no way overpowered the clothing itself – if anything, it was an extension of what the models were wearing. Next up was Marqsmen, which featured suits and dresses you might find at the Russian Tea Room, or Bungalow Eight in New York. It seemed the theme was Manhattan night life, and there was a mix of utility and formal, and I absolutely fell in love with an amazing black Macintosh trench, and these boutiques are all definitely worth checking out. The shining star of the evening was the Finerie. The outfits were completely upperEast Side rooftop parties in late summer. The dresses featured casual drops, golds, and clutches used more as accessories than a place to stick your pack of Nat Sherman’s. It seemed the call for the evening were stilettos, which was very nice to see, as it has seemed that in the past year or so we’ve
seen nothing but flats, and it was nice to see woman giving in to a sense of elegance with their clothing. When the show began downstairs in the lobby, there were more clothes from each store than we had seen in the preview (and having very beautiful models circle us in the room was a total plus, and an added plus was the model who was a dead-ringer for Gossip Girl star Leighton Meester). Sylvia was a delight as MC and really brought a lightness to something that could have ended up taking itself way too seriously. At the end of the night, I spoke with Tanya and Michael of The Finerie. They spoke about affording yourself the sense of exclusivity, and really wanted to focus on “colorful cocktail.” Their show featured pieces by James Todd, Aiden Maddox, and Elijah, and they have a black-hooded Iris dress really worth checking out. We spoke about visibility of Gays through fashion by the kings of couture themselves and the rising stars that are coming up now. Print ads, once showering us with images of June Cleaver, have moved into a direction where complex sexuality is no longer complex. DIFFA is a national organization that has once again shown us that there is more to the world of fashion than just the superficial images that many seem to think it is. I am often surprised by what people don’t know about fashion, even though every single one of us live our lives in it every single day. I walked away that night dreaming of revolutions so subtle that you hardly notice them happening until, in the blink of an eye, they have helped to move the entire world toward equality.
Task force launches Dennis Moyers New Beginnings initiative cannabis patient and by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer
Visit us online www.sgn.org
advocate will be missed courtesy robert christian
The National Gay and Lesbian Task Force and a national collaboration of expert organizations announced last week the New Beginning Initiative, designed to push for concrete federal administration policy regulatory changes directly benefiting the lives of LGBT people and eliminating discrimination from federal policies. The initiative began more than a year ago in preparation for a more LGBT-favorable administration, according to the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. According to the Task Force, more than 80 initial policies have been identified and recommended for changes that span the authority of the White House and more than 30 federal agencies. The recommendations focus on pro-LGBT public policy changes the Obama administration can implement without legislative action. According to the Task Force, The New Beginning Initiative is the first time such a coalition of LGBT and allied organizations has come together in this way to affect administration policy. “We have an unprecedented opportunity to push the federal government for policy changes that will directly improve the quality of life for LGBT people and families. It is time for the government to step up and fulfill the promise of full equality,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “By leveraging the expertise and resources of so many and advocating for these changes, we can directly challenge long-standing government-supported discrimination and get federal dollars and attention flowing to vital community services and support for LGBT people across the country.” She said progress is already being made on a number of policies in the initiative, including the Census Bureau’s decision to reverse its previous policy and now count married same-sex couples in the 2010 census. The initiative is funded through the Open Society Institute and includes concrete policy changes written by the participating organizations. In the coming months and years, each organization will identify the strategies for accomplishing the respective
policy changes it is working on. Some examples of recommended policy changes are: amending the nondiscrimination guidelines for the federal civilian workforce to include gender identity and expression; funding to reduce violence in schools, including preventing bullying and harassment based on sexual orientation and gender identity; including sexual orientation and gender identity categories as a designated and mandated component for federally funded aging research and data collection; ensuring LGBT people are recognized as a population and marked by health disparities for appropriate inclusion in federally funded studies; requiring office of Housing and Urban Development to recognize unaccompanied homeless youth as a special-needs population requiring the development of targeted housing models; and encouraging U.S. diplomatic engagement on international LGBT issues as legitimate human rights concerns. Copies of the initial policies identified and recommended for changes have been provided to the Obama transition team as well as key White House staff. Participating organizations have already begun meeting with Obama administration officials to pursue some of the policy changes. As progress is made, more information will be disseminated to the LGBT community through the New Beginning Initiative’s web page. For more information about the New Beginning Initiative go to www.thetaskforce. org/newadmin/newbeginning_intro.html.
Dennis Moyers
by Robert Christian Special to the SGN May 11, 2009, Mr. Dennis Moyers who served along with Hempfest in Seattle, and served on the 11th Legislative District Democratic party has passed away. The Memorial Service for Dennis was June 6 at the Cross and Crown Lutheran Church. Dennis was known for many things in life, from his personal battle with HIV to the war that raged against him. He was always there to lend an ear, understand people, and he made a difference in many lives. During Dennis’ time on earth, He was known and served on Washington state’s Governor’s advisory counsel on medical cannabis, and had recently started an online petition to be sent to President Obama for
July 3, 2009
a medical cannabis liaison to serve on the federal and state level. Dennis worked with Seattle Green Cross as one of its core members, and in doing so he became more and more willing to stand up and do something for the community. While Dennis Moyers was involved in many groups, he always endeavored to do the right thing. “The state has lost a dear friend in Mr. Moyers,” stated James. “Today we mourn the tragic loss of Dennis. Tomorrow we fight, and keep fighting,” said Jim in Renton. Local media outlets refused to air the story or mention Dennis or his legacy he left behind. Many attempts were made, yet it was more newsworthy to talk about a bobblehead doll versus someone who was a true hero to many. This is sad, but the platform of which Dennis stood on is now in our hearts. Dennis meant so many things to many people, but one thing is for sure: he served the people he loved. The Office of the Governor sent a Washington State flag to Woody, Dennis’ partner, and a personal letter to Woody and Leona, Dennis’ mother. Along with other guests at the memorial were Dr. Bouwers from High Line Community College, Dr. Jeff Schouten, representatives from the 11th Legislative District, and the community he served.
Seattle Gay News
5
NATIONAL rex wockner
NEWS
by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer
Fifty-two years later, the U.S. government has apologized to groundbreaking gay activist Frank Kameny for firing him in 1957 solely because he was gay
Gay Portland mayor cleared in Breedlove affair There is no credible evidence that Sam Adams, the Gay mayor of Portland, Ore., had inappropriate sexual contact with Beau Breedlove before Breedlove turned 18, Or-
egon Attorney General John Kroger said June 22. Adams, 45, and Breedlove, 22, have acknowledged having sex in 2005 after Breedlove’s 18th birthday, but Breedlove also had claimed the pair passionately made out prior to his reaching the age of consent,
INTERNATIONAL
NEWS
British Gay newspaper shuts down The venerable British Gay newspaper Pink Paper ceased publication June 24 due to falling ad revenue. However, no one was laid off by the company, which also publishes the glossy monthly magazines Gay Times and Diva, and the Pink Paper will continue to publish at pinkpaper.com. “The publishers hope to start printing the newspaper again when the economy recovers and the advertising market improves,” said Editor Tris Reid-Smith. “This time last year it was a very successful business but since then organizations have slashed their spend on print advertising, meaning the paper has been unable to cover its costs.” Veteran British campaigner Peter Tatchell called the announcement “a big blow to the Lesbian and Gay community.” “Although the online version will remain, it is no substitute for the fortnightly paper, which reached many people who are either not online or who enjoyed the portability of the printed version,” Tatchell said. “Without the Pink Paper, the Lesbian and Gay community is likely to become more fragmented and isolated, with people in one part of the country being much less aware about what is happening in other parts of the country.” (Reporter Rex Wockner is a regular paid contributor to the Millivres Prowler Group publications mentioned in this report.)
by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer ter June 24. Mitterrand, 61, is the nephew of the late President François Mitterrand. Among other activities, Mitterrand writes a column for the Gay magazine Têtu. Netherlands Antilles won’t extend all benefits to married Gays The Common Court of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba has ruled that the Antillean government doesn’t have to give all the benefits of marriage to married same-sex couples. The six islands recognize same-sex marriages because they are part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The Netherlands was the first nation to legalize same-sex marriage, in 2001. The ruling came in the case of a government worker who sought health coverage for her wife. Antillean Education and Public Health Minister Omayra Leeflang called the decision a win for Antillean autonomy.
New group forms to help Gay refugees A new organization in San Francisco aims to help GLBT refugees who are fleeing sexual or gender-based violence in their native lands. “Only through raising consciousness of LGBT refugee issues to governments, refugee organizations, communities and the media, will help come to these individuals, who New French culture are among the most persecuted people in the minister is Gay French President Nicolas Sarkozy ap- world today,” the Organization for Refuge, pointed Gay filmmaker, writer and TV pre- Asylum & Migration said in a statement. The group provides free legal counsel senter Frédéric Mitterrand as culture minis6
Seattle Gay News
July 3, 2009
which Adams denied. “There are serious questions about the credibility of Breedlove’s account, due to his prior inconsistent statements, the lack of corroborating witnesses or evidence, his attempt to gain personally from matters related to his involvement with Adams and his prior criminal record,” Kroger concluded. “There is insufficient evidence to charge, let alone convict, Adams with illegal sexual contact with a minor.” The attorney general’s office interviewed 57 people and sifted through Adams’ and Breedlove’s e-mails and text messages in arriving at its conclusion. Breedlove later posed for the Gay porn magazine Unzipped. In 2006, he pleaded guilty to felony 2nd degree theft in a case that involved $750 worth of clothes from a Macy’s store in Hawaii. The revelation of the brief affair nearly ended Adams’ career earlier this year, in part because he had lied about it when asked about it during the mayoral campaign, stating that it never happened.
The White House said: “President Obama remains committed to a legislative repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which he believes will provide a durable and lasting solution to this issue. He welcomes the commitment of these members to seeing Congress take action.”
for GLBT refugees who have escaped their home countries, and it will conduct “wideranging international advocacy to advance the protection of all LGBT refugees and asylum seekers.” “LGBT refugees often fall through the cracks of the international refugee regime,” said Executive Director Neil Grungras. “They have escaped systematic hatred and violence at home, and their LGBT identity brings serious new threats to their safety and protection in countries of first asylum. Many live in a toxic mix of destitution and desperation. “The recent surge in homophobic violence in Iraq has shone a spotlight on the painful truths we’re dealing with first-hand in the Middle East. LGBTs are the most persecuted people in many regions of the world today. For every reported execution, there are likely tens of judicially or family-sanctioned murders.” In recent months, several Iraqi Gays have been shot to death by militias and anti-Gay family or tribe members, some have had their anuses glued shut by death squads, and there have been allegations of executions by the government. Reports in April said Gay men were being captured and their anuses superglued with something called “American gum,” after which they were being forced to ingest a diarrhea-causing substance and sometimes died. Scott Long, director of Human Rights Watch’s LGBT Rights Division, visited Iraq in April and “collected several accounts” of the practice, which reportedly can be seen in mobile-phone videos that have been passed around inside the country. “Massive abuses are taking place in Baghdad, and apparently in other cities in the center and south,” Long said. “We may never know the full sweep and scope of the killings so far, amid a pervasive insecurity that brutalizes innumerable people and devastates multiple communities, but we are doing everything we can to determine and
document accountability.”
Gay porn star Michael Lucas to appear on Ugly Betty Gay porn star Michael Lucas will appear in an episode of the hit TV series Ugly Betty, he reported on his blog. Lucas paid $18,000 for the opportunity at a June 17 charity auction for the Stonewall Community Foundation held in the Delegates’ Dining Room at the United Nations. “It felt great to give all that porn money to Stonewall,” Lucas said. “And it also felt great to put out a challenge to mainstream TV. How will ABC deal with a porn star on one of its prime time programs? I am curious to see how this will play out. Now, I am not suggesting that my little walk-on will change the world. But I hope it will be one 77 members of Congress ask step taking us out of the privacy of people’s Obama to suspend DADT bedrooms and onto a larger stage. And I As national Gay leaders continue to beat hope the American public will enjoy seeing up on President Barack Obama for moving a porn star as a real person, not just as a hot too slowly on his myriad campaign prom- body.” ises to the GLBT community, 77 members of Congress have written to the president Census Bureau will count asking him to immediately suspend enforcemarried Gay couples ment of the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell policy as married pending its repeal by Congress. The U.S Census Bureau said June 19 it “The letter outlines a new, two-step re- will count married Gay couples as married peal plan which begins with a request that in the 2010 census. the president ‘direct the Armed Services The prior plan had been to retabulate such not to initiate any investigation of service couples as “unmarried partners,” an existing personnel to determine their sexual orienta- census-form category, because of the federal tion, and that [he] instruct them to disregard ban on recognition of same-sex marriages. third-party accusations that do not allege Gay activists, as part of their recent broadviolations of the Uniform Code of Military side against President Barack Obama’s inJustice,’” said the Palm Center, a think tank action on Gay issues, had stepped up their at the University of California, Santa Bar- criticism of the plan to skew the data. bara, that has focused extensively on the Gay marriage is legal in three states and military’s ban on open Gays. will be legal in five, six or more by the time “The letter signals renewed efforts to stop of the census. Gay discharges immediately while repeal legislation moves through Congress at a slower pace,” the center said. see national news page 19 On June 23, Obama rejected the proposal.
Saudis arrest 67 cross-dressers Police arrested 67 mostly Filipino men for wearing women’s clothing June 13 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The roundup took place at a private residence during a Philippines Independence Day party. The men were charged with imitating women and possessing alcohol. Similar arrests in the past have led to imprisonment and floggings. “If the police in Saudi Arabia can arrest people simply because they don’t like their clothes, no one is safe,” said Human Rights Watch researcher Rasha Moumneh. “Arresting and charging people simply because the police decide that their appearance is unacceptable strikes at the heart of human freedom.” Fired Turkish Gay soccer referee fights back Turkey’s soccer federation didn’t expect Halil Ibrahim Dincdag to fight back when it fired him for being Gay after 13 years of service as a referee. But Dincdag, 33, is doing just that in an ongoing media splash – and he’s getting support from the public, and the federation now has egg on its face. The brouhaha is considered an important moment for Turkey’s beleaguered Gay movement. An influential newspaper columnist compared Dincdag to Harvey Milk. “They thought I was an ant that they could crush, they thought I would run away and hide in a corner,” Dincdag told London’s Independent newspaper. Dincdag has received support from threequarters of his fellow referees, 30,000 petition-signers, some members of Parliament, and his religious family. With assistance from Bill Kelley
Celebrating 36 Years!
NORTHWEST
NEWS
compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer
“EYE CONTACT: VISUAL DIALOGUES ON IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY” A PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT BLENDING ART AND WORDS BY QUEER YOUTH The American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) GLBTQ Youth Peace & Social Justice Program presents a photography exhibit by Queer youth blending art and words at Kaladi Bros. Coffee, 511 E. Pike St., through July 17. SEATTLE TENNIS ALLIANCE HOSTS SEATTLE CLASSIC TENNIS TOURNAMENT From July 3-5, the Seattle Tennis Alliance will host their annual regional LGBT tennis tournament. The venues will be the Amy Yee Tennis Center and the Nordstrom Tennis Center. For details, visit www.sta. clubexpress.com. POZ SEATTLE LAUNCHES POZ ADVENTURES WITH SUMMER KAYAKING OUTINGS This summer, POZSeattle is hosting Saturday morning POZAdventures kayaking outings on Seattle’s historic Lake Union. “Join us June through September for a series of kayaking adventures. Enjoy scenic postcard views of the Seattle skyline and the Space Needle, Lake Union’s houseboat communities, and Gas Works Park.” Kayaking dates (and trip themes) are July 4 & 18 – Lewis & Clark adventure month: checking out more distant locations; August 1, 15 & 29 – Where’s Waldo? – open to suggestions and ideas; September 12 – season final event – some kind of party? Meet at the Northwest Outdoor Center, 2100 Westlake Ave. N., Ste. 1, at 9 a.m. SHARP! 9-11 a.m., get kayak, get gear on, review tour plan suggestions, review safety rules, paddle around and have fun. 11-11:30 a.m., check in kayaks and make plans if anyone wants to get together to eat nearby. For complete details on cost and participation requirements, visit www.pozseattle. org. 7TH ANNUAL CAPITOL HILL INDEPENDENCE DAY COMMUNITY PICNIC AT CAL ANDERSON PARK On Saturday, July 4, from noon-5 p.m., join your friends and neighbors at Cal Anderson Park, 11th Ave. just north of E. Pine St., for an old-fashioned picnic. Bring your own picnic lunch and enjoy live music, outdoor fun and community. Bands will include kids-jammers Recess Monkey, the urban Latin beats of Picoso, the lo-fi pop of Katharine Hepburn’s Voice, and the funky soul sounds of Lady A and the Baby Blues Funk Band, not to mention buskers galore. Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream will make root beer floats, and delicious treats will be available from Via Tribunali as well as Wandering Wieners. Caffe Vita will be on-site with coffee; attendees will also be able to enjoy free cotton candy and the 11th Ave. Inn root beer tasting garden. This event is sponsored by the Cal Anderson Park Alliance. EMERALD CITY SOFTBALL ASSOCIATION HOSTS 2009 EMERALD CITY CLASSIC REGIONAL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT On July 4 & 5, the Emerald City Softball Association will host their annual Emerald City Classic regional baseball tournament in Seattle. For more details, visit www.emeraldcitysoftball.org. PRIDE IN VICTORIA, BC Victoria, BC Pride – Sunday, July 5. Pride Parade steps off from Government and Pandora at noon; Pride Festival at Fisherman’s Wharf Park begins at 1 p.m. www.
victoriapridesociety.org. KING COUNTY 4CULTURE AWARD-WINNING GAY POET & ARTIST JEFF CRANDALL TO HOST FIVE FREE POETRY READINGS IN SEATTLE As part of King County’s 4Culture 2008 Special Projects Awards to Individual Artists, Gay poet and artist Jeff Crandall will be presenting five free and open-to-the-public poetry readings in Seattle. The readings will be held on Monday, July 6, 7-7:30 p.m., at the Seattle Public Library Ballard Branch, 5614 22nd Ave. NW; Tuesday, July 7 with guest poet Ron Starr, 7-7:30 p.m., Beacon Hill Branch Library, 2821 Beacon Ave. S.; Wednesday, July 8, 7-7:30 p.m., Capitol Hill Branch Library, 425 Harvard Ave. E.; Thursday, July 9, 7-7:30 p.m., Greenlake Branch Library, 7364 E. Greenlake Dr. N.; Friday, July 10, 7-8 p.m., Edge of the Circle Books, 701 E. Pike St. Crandall will be reading from two complete 60-page poetry manuscripts titled Queer Gods & Demons and The Witch Lover which he is submitting to 40 national poetry competitions. The poems in these two collections explore the world through the perspective of a Gay, Pagan man. FREE PROSTATE SCREENINGS JULY 8 & 9 IN SEATTLE & ISSAQUAH More than 55 million American men are at risk for prostate cancer, and early detection is key. That’s why Virginia Mason Medical Center, in partnership with ZERO: The Project to End Prostate Cancer and KOMO4, will host a mobile FREE prostate cancer testing program on July 8 in Seattle and on July 9 in Issaquah, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The Drive Against Prostate Cancer screening is FREE, confidential and does not require an appointment or health insurance. Volunteers will be available to explain the screening process and answer any questions, and Virginia Mason providers will staff the screening. The screening consists of a simple blood test known as a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test and an optional physical exam. Patients will be seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Results are confidential and will be sent to patients in three to four weeks. Patients with high PSA scores will receive a follow-up call from Virginia Mason. The mobile unit will be located near the intersection of Ninth Ave. and Seneca St. in front of the Benaroya Research Institute at Virginia Mason in Seattle. In Issaquah, the unit will be located in the parking lot of the Virginia Mason Issaquah clinic at 100 NE Gilman Blvd. POZ SEATTLE HOSTS MONTHLY SOCIAL POZSeattle is pleased to host its monthly social on Wednesday, July 8, from 6-8 p.m., at The Cuff Complex, 13th Ave. & E. Pine St. Meet on the back patio for BBQ, socializing, to catch-up with old friends and make new ones, and a whole lot of fun. This event is free (except for the cost of beverages) and is for all HIV-Positive men and their friends, regardless of age, shape, size or color. SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB ANNOUNCES NEXT READING SERIES AT DUNSHEE HOUSE The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Dunshee House, 303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St. The club is pleased to announce the following titles to be discussed in their ongoing reading and discussion series: July – Queer by William S. Burroughs; August – A Fairly Honourable Defeat by Iris Murdoch; September – The Thief’s Journal by Jean Genet; October – Wild Dogs by Helen Humphreys; November – The Gifts of the Body by Rebecca Brown; December – Death in Venice by Thomas Mann. All GLBTQ folks in the community are welcome to participate in
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this free book club. The reading list is chosen and the discussion facilitated by Nick DiMartino, published novelist and playwright, currently a book reviewer for ShelfAwareness.com, and a 30-year employee of University Book Store. For more information, email nickdimartin@earthlink.net or contact Dunshee House at 206-322-2437. PRIDE AROUND WASHINGTON STATE Bellingham Pride Weekend – Friday, July 10. The Betty Pages (Bellingham’s alternative lifestyle tabloid) 6th anniversary party kicks off Pride weekend at 8 p.m. at Rumors cabaret, 1119 Railroad Ave. On Saturday, July 11 the Betty Pages Family Picnic will be held at Whatcom Falls Park, from noon-4 p.m. (Use entrance on Silver Beach Road off Lakeway Drive; or you can use the entrane on Electric Ave. that has more parking and walk down to the picnic area). On Saturday, from 6-10 p.m., The Royal, 208 E. Holly St., will host a community party sponsored by 4 Women Events. Also on Saturday, from 6-9 p.m. The Imperial Sovereign Court of the Evergreen Empire will host an “Absolutely Fabulous” drag show at Rumors. Following the drag show, Rumors will host the official pride party from 9 p.m. to closing. On Sunday, July 12, The Royal will host the official pride breakfast, from 8-10:30 a.m., cost of breakfast to be determined. At 11 a.m., the 3rd Annual Pride Parade steps off from Bellingham High School, 2020 Cornwall Ave. via Cornwall Ave. to Depot Market Square, 1200 Railroad Ave. (across from Rumors), Pride Festival follows at Depot Market Square from noon-6 p.m., party continues into the evening at Rumors.
com or register at www.emeraldcitysoftball. org. Registration will be held on Sunday, July 12, at 4 p.m., at Purr Cocktail Lounge, 1518 11th Ave. Registration by PayPal is also available. Requires a login to the ECSA website at http://www.seattlegaysoftball. com/fallball. Cost is $65/person, which includes T-shirt, insurance, and end of season party. THREE DOLLAR BILL PRESENTS “UNDER THE STARS, THE EIGHTIES STRIKE BACK!” OUTDOOR CINEMA IN CAL ANDERSON PARK This summer Three Dollar Bill Outdoor Cinema presents a slate of three fun and campy films from 1980, the premiere year of the decade that made sexual power plays, alien encounters and shameless success all the rage. The films are Friday, July 17 – Little Darlings; Friday, July 31 – Flash Gordon; Friday, August 21 – 9 to 5. The FREE screenings will be shown at sunset (around 8:30-9 p.m.) at the southeast corner of Cal Anderson Park, near the park’s shelter house off 11th Ave. & E. Olive St. Snacks and beverages will be available for purchase on-site with proceeds benefiting Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s non-profit efforts to produce and promote Queer-friendly film events in the Pacific Northwest. Three Dollar Bill Cinema produces the annual Seattle Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. www.threedollarbillcinema.org PRIDE AROUND WASHINGTON STATE Kitsap Pride (Bremerton) – Saturday, July 18. Watch for more details. http://kitsappride.org
Out in the Park (Tacoma) – Saturday, Mid-Columbia “Coming Home with July 11. Wright Park. Noon-7 p.m. 253-3832318; outintacoma@rainbowcntr.org; www. PRIDE” Parade and Festival (Pasco) – On Saturday, July 18, starting at 11 a.m., enrainbowcntr.org. joy the Women’s Softball Expo at Memorial Saturday in the Park (Vancouver, WA) Park, 1520 W. Shoshone. A Woman 4 Wom– Saturday, July 11. Esther Short Park. an Social will be held at Out & About, 327 Noon-6 p.m. www.myspace.com/sitp2008 W. Lewis St. starting at 4 p.m. From 9 p.m.2 a.m., Out & About will host the Miss Gay ANNUAL BI COMMUNITY PICNIC Columbia Basin Pageant 2009. On Sunday, On Saturday, July 11, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m., July 19, the parade steps off from Out & at Golden Gardens Park, 8498 Seaview Pl. About at 10 a.m., and travels via Clark St. NW, BiNet Seattle will host their 10th an- to Memorial Park. www.vistayouthcenter. nual picnic for the Bisexual community – org. The festival at Memorial Park follows rain or shine. Bring your significant others from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. The weekend celebraand family, and some food to share. BiNet tion continues with The Pink Party at Out & Seattle will provide burgers, sausages, and About from 6 p.m.-2 a.m. veggie burgers. www.BiNetSeattle.org. GLSEN WA HOSTS 2ND ANNUAL “SCHOOL’S OUT FOR SUMMER” SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARKS FUNDRAISER AT C.C. ATTLE’S On Saturday, July 11 at 2 p.m. see Seattle On Saturday, July 18, at C.C. Attle’s, 15th Shakespeare Company’s 2009 Wooden O outdoor production of Shakespeare’s Rich- Ave. E. & E. Madison St., from 7-9 p.m., the ard III at the Volunteer Park amphitheatre, Washington State Gay, Lesbian & Straight 1400 E. Prospect St. On Sunday, July 12 at Education Network (GLSEN WA) will host 2 p.m. see their production of Shakespeare’s their second annual “School’s Out for the Taming of the Shrew at the Volunteer Park Summer” fundraising event. The event will amphitheatre. FREE. Shakespeare in the feature a raffle with many prizes. Jello shots Parks will be presented at locations in Seat- will also be sold. “We hope to raise money tle, Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Lynnwood, in order to continue our work of supporting Edmonds, Redmond, Mercer Island, Sam- and encouraging Gay/Straight Student Almamish, SeaTac, Federal Way, and Bon- liances (GSAs) in state-wide high schools ney Lake from July 9 through August 2. For and work to end harassment and bullying complete information, visit www.seattle- incidents of GLBT youth in Washington shakespeare.org and select “Wooden O” State.” All members of the LGBTQ comfrom the menu at the top of the home page. munity and allies (who are at least 21 years of age) are welcome. EMERALD CITY SOFTBALL REEL GRRLS PRESENTS ASSOCIATION REEL QUEER FOR LGBTQ TEENS FALL BALL LEAGUE A video production and media literacy Emerald City Softball Association is sponsoring Fallball ’09, an ECSA Open Di- training course for LGBTQ teens (ages 13vision softball league for men and women 19) of all genders will be held starting July of all skill levels. Play dates will be August 20. Learn to use professional camera and 9 and 23, September 13, 20 and 27, and Oc- editing equipment to make your voice heard tober 4. Teams are typically a random draw in a safe environment for Queer and quesof available players with a few exceptions tioning youth and mentors. Make a video in to allow people to play with friends. Higher four days with Queer and questioning youth rated players from the A and B divisions are media makers. Explore issues of gender, spread evenly amongst the teams to pro- sexuality, and representation in the media, mote mentoring, as are those players that then learn the tools to make your own media have a special ability like pitching. This is a in response to these issues. Classes will be purely fun and social league so there will be held on July 20, 22, 27 and 29, from 10 a.m. no trophies or World Series berths. Informal to 4 p.m., at the Reel Grrls New Media Lab, post-game socials will be held at area busi- 1409 21st Ave., in Seattle. Cost is FREE nesses after the games. There will also be an thank to generous support from the Pride Foundation. For more information and to end-of-season party. Space is limited to 7 teams or 100 players. register, contact reid@reelgrrls.org or rq@ 53 players have already confirmed. To re- reelgrrls.org. serve your spot, please contact Josh the Fall Ball Coordinator at Joshua.wojcik@gmail.
July 3, 2009
Seattle Gay News
7
More leaders of organized labor are speaking out in favor of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), introduced by Rep Barney Frank (D-MA) last Wednesday. ENDA would correct a glaring omission in US civil rights law by prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity. SEIU Executive Vice President Mary Kay Henry and Association of Flight Attendants International President Patricia Friend have issued statements endorsing the legislation. SEIU is currently the largest US union, representing some 2 million workers in several industries, including healthcare, public service, and janitorial and security workers. It is affiliated with the Change To Win coalition, which left the AFL-CIO in 2005. The AFA represents 55,000 workers at 20 airlines. It is affiliated with Communication Workers of America (CWA) and the AFLCIO. Executive VP Mary Kay Henry of SEIU said: “Ensuring that all working Americans can be fairly considered for jobs and promotion in workplaces free from discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is another part of the change that Americans voted for last year. SEIU strongly supports the 2009 federal Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) that will fill a gaping hole in our nation’s basic protections of equal opportunity. It covers all people and has particular importance for millions of workers who live in towns and states where legal standards do not live up to the simple inclusion it will enact. In fact, the provisions of ENDA are so intrinsic to the American way that many people falsely believe it is already settled law, even as it remains for this Congress to achieve. Forty years ago this week, the Stonewall rebellion
was a signal that LGBT people would fight back in the face of harassment and discrimination. This overdue reform will demonstrate that we are a nation of conscience that can overcome the injustice of the past and increase prosperity for working families by welcoming and drawing on the talents of a diverse workforce.” International President Patricia Friend of the AFA said: “The Association of Flight Attendants – CWA, AFL-CIO, the largest flight attendant union in the United States representing over 55,000 members at 20 airlines strongly supports H.R. 2015, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA). This legislation would prohibit an employer from using an individual’s sexual orientation as the basis for adverse or different treatment in employment or employment opportunities. “Every year, Americans are denied employment opportunities due to their sexual orientation. This discrimination occurs in many forms as American workers are not hired, are fired, do not receive job promotions, or deal with verbal and physical abuse from co-workers and supervisors simply because of their sexual orientation. “Passage of ENDA would be an important step in recognizing that employment decisions should be made on the basis of an individual’s ability to perform a job. People that work hard and perform well should not be discriminated against because of their sexual orientation. ENDA is simple justice. “In 1996, ENDA reached a near victory in the U.S. Senate, coming within one vote of passage. Since then, support of ENDA’s goal of non-discrimination has been building across the nation, from the Halls of Congress to corporate boardrooms to religious communities and the American public. Poll after poll demonstrates that ENDA enjoys the support of over two-thirds of the American public. “It is time that we protect the rights that should belong to every American – the right to be free from job discrimination based on irrational fears. I urge you to take a stand for fairness and equal opportunity for all American workers regardless of their sexual orientation. Please support this important legislation.” Courtesy of Pride At Work AFL-CIO
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Seattle Gay News
July 3, 2009
SAATHII
More labor leaders endorse ENDA
Protesters during the 2008 Pride parades in Calcutta, India protest Section 377 of Indian law
india
continued from cover The court’s verdict came more than eight years after the New Delhi-based foundation filed its petition – not unusually long in India’s notoriously clogged court system. The verdict can be challenged in India’s Supreme Court. Sex between people of the same gender has been illegal in India since a British colonial era law that classified it as “against the order of nature.” According to the law, Gay sex is punishable by 10 years in prison. While actual criminal prosecutions are few, the law frequently has been used to harass people. The law itself can only be amended by India’s Parliament and Gay rights activists have long campaigned for it to be changed. The government has remained vague about its position on the law, and Law Minister M. Veerappa Moily said he would examine the high court’s order before commenting. The court’s verdict, however, should protect New Delhi’s Gay community from criminal charges and police harassment. “This legal remnant of British colonialism has been used to deprive people of their basic rights for too long,” Scott Long, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Rights Program at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. “This long-awaited decision testifies to the reach of democracy and rights in India.” While the ruling is not binding on courts
in India’s other states, Tripti Tandon, a lawyer for the Naz Foundation, said she hoped the ruling would have a “persuasive” affect. “This is just the first step in a longer battle,” Gopalan said. Rights activists say the law, also popularly known as 377, or section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, sanctions discrimination and marginalizes the Gay community. Health experts say the law discourages safe sex and has been a hurdle in fighting HIV and AIDS. Roughly 2.5 million Indians have HIV. Homosexuality is slowly gaining acceptance in some parts of India, especially in its big cities. Many bars have Gay nights, and some high-profile Bollywood films have dealt with Gay issues. Still, being Gay remains deeply taboo, and a large number of homosexuals hide their sexual orientation from their friends and families. Religious leaders in the capital and in other parts of India argued that Gay sex should remain illegal and that open homosexuality is out of step with India’s deeply held traditions. “We are totally against such a practice as it is not our tradition or culture,” said Puroshattam Narain Singh, an official of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, or World Hindu Council. In New Delhi, Rev. Babu Joseph, a spokesman of the Roman Catholic Church, told New Delhi Television that while homosexuals should not be treated as criminals, “at the same time we cannot afford to endorse homosexual behavior as normal and socially acceptable.”
Celebrating 36 Years!
Reflecting on growing up Gay by John Griffin SGN Contributing Writer
To paraphrase Quentin Crisp, after a very long youth I am becoming one of the stately homos of Seattle. Contrary to the testimony of some other men about themselves, sexuality was part of me from a very early age. It must have been about 1951 or 1952, because I was walking already. My parents were going to a movie. It dealt with adult subject matter, so my sister and brother had to stay behind, but I was considered too young to take notice of such things. The only thing I remember from it was a Williamsesque scene. The leading man and leading lady were swimming under water, in a vast pool, surrounded by nude statuary. Suddenly the statue of cupid shot his arrow and all of the statues came to life in an underwater ballet; and the males were of much more interest to me than the females, even at that tender age. It is still one of my most vivid and erotic memories. (If anyone can identify this film please contact me at the SGN.) From that moment until this, there has been a parade of images that reinforce my Gay identity. Whether it was my attraction to cute boys in movies or my attention riveted to the muscular male ballet dancers I saw on television (even my parents noticed that), every indicator put me near the extreme Gay end of the Kinsey scale. I don’t know if it was deliberate or by accident, but the day I came to the word “homosexual” in the dictionary I remember thinking, “That’s what I am.” I was about 8 or 9 by then. It was a long time before I was brave enough to tell anyone else. In school, my gaze was continually drawn to the school sissy. He was very good looking (he still is). None of the boys would play with him, whether through repulsion or paranoia, so he had to play with the girls; but I devoted hours of thought to how I might work up the courage to talk to him. Alas, I never did when we were young. All I could do was treat him decently when fate threw us together. It was something he never forgot. Decades later, he had trodden the long road to shed the effeminate tendencies that branded him as a boy. I met him quite by accident when he was tending bar. My money was no good that evening; and even now, more decades later, his friendly demeanor lets me know what simple decency meant to him then. Finally, in the early ‘60s, there was a television special that reported on the Gay underworld. My father nearly exploded when I wanted to watch it, but for some reason he let me. My Catholic upbringing was not the obstacle that outsiders may think. Despite the official teachings of the Church, the priest on the other side of the screen in the confessional always offered gentle understanding. I didn’t realize then that the Church is the biggest and the oldest Gayrun organization on the earth. The clues to Gay life were few and far between, but gradually there were enough of them to let me find my way. An article in Seattle magazine finally provided the key. On the surface it seemed to be about the wild nightlife available to everyone. It was predicated on the fact that Seattle had more establishments declared off-limits to military personnel than any other city on the West Coast; but it was soon revealed that most, if not all, of the places on the list were Gay bars and bathhouses. The key was turned, and the door swung open; never again was Gay life an obscure image inside the glass globe. Fate shone a warm and favorable light on me, for it was within a few weeks of this time that the Stonewall riots occurred. Gay people were stepping out of the shadows and basking in that light all over the country. However, all of that didn’t explain the unique niche occupied by the Gay subculture here, and I couldn’t even hope to explain its complexities, but one element can be explained. For many years, here, as ev-
erywhere, Gay businesses survived by making payoffs to the police. The Gay business owners struggled under the yoke, but found one way to mitigate the cost: they started recording the payoffs with their other payroll expenses, and naming the officers on the take as employees. That way they were deductible as legitimate business expenses. It went on for a long time. Eventually the city government sought a way to break the stranglehold that the police department had on so much of the city, but how? It was the Gay businesses that supplied the evidence. Stacks of yellowed ledgers were brought into court. There was no denying it; all of the top officials in the police department were incriminated. Many were dismissed, some were allowed to retire quietly. The city was left with a department whose infrastructure had been destroyed. Its usefulness might have been destroyed with it. It could have come back worse than before. Instead of bringing in outsiders to supply direction and leadership, an officer was found within the department who was not directly implicated. He had a long record and the respect of his fellow officers. The elected government was able to do their job, and they understood that the Gay community could be dealt with in a responsible way, and depended upon to support the needs of the community at large. Gay Liberation in Seattle followed on the heels of Stonewall. Within a week, a handsome young man wearing a GLF button walked into Photo ID, at the University of Washington, where I was working. Within another week I was attending meetings. At the first meeting I attended, the need for a Gay newsletter was brought up; by the next meeting it was being published under the direction of Eric Mitgang. The first controversy was over censorship, freedom of expression winning out, but at the expense of a few influential members of the Gay community walking out. Rallies and demonstrations were quickly organized. A bar in the U District had thrown two men out for kissing. Ironically, Merrilee Rush and the Turnabouts were scheduled to perform the following weekend. We were there in force, and not about to let the perfect opportunity go by. The many requests for “Different Strokes for Different Folks” couldn’t be ignored. As soon as Merrilee started to sing the refrain, we all started kissing and making out. We were asked to leave almost immediately. Of course we cooperated, because we had to go to the parking lot to get our protest signs out of the cars. At one meeting, people were asked what they wanted to be accomplished by Gay Liberation. One person said he wanted to be able to go to neighborhood Gay bars where he lived, on Capitol Hill. There was a wave of laughter and the idea of that happening very soon was scoffed at. In those days most of the bars were clustered around Pioneer Square, and all of them were downtown. The early Gay Pride parades were also down town, and not without incidents. I worked security at a few of them. At one, a pickup truck full of anti-Gay protesters broke through the barricades a short distance from me and plowed into the crowd. Luckily, there were no serious injuries. Another time there was a bomb scare at the rally following the parade. The police asked the organizers to disperse the crowd so that Westlake Square could be searched. Naturally, there was a lot of suspicion over the reasons for clearing the rally out of the area. The pro-
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tests became noisier. At last, the organizers could see that the bigger problem would be not to explain the real circumstances. The crowd dispersed quietly and returned after the search was completed, and no bomb was found. Getting the events into our neighborhood was the goal then. Our growing numbers were enough to get more coverage than we had thought possible at the beginning. An early Capitol Hill parade was one of the most memorable for me. Although there were many complaints that we were being pushed into the background, our march up 12th Avenue to Volunteer Park had a unique flavor never matched anywhere, any time. All along the route, people had seized the opportunity to have their yard sales that day. The shopping gene took over. It took hours of extra time for everyone to shop their way to the park. In the meantime, I faced the problem of my double life. I still had all of the friends I had met in college, and I hadn’t pushed my Gay identity on them. I decided that if they were going to continue to be my friends, and I didn’t expect them to, they had to accept me on that level. To my surprise, the feeling I got from most of them was, “what does this have to do with anything?” What I look upon as the definitive response, that made me proud of my choice of friends, came from my friend Steve. When I bared my soul to him, he gave me a look that told me he understood why I needed to tell him. “There’s a game on,” he said. “You want a beer?” So I wasn’t able to immerse myself in Gay life completely, you can’t ignore people like that. Gradually I did become more involved in Gay life, but my other interests still dominated my time. My first boyfriend dumped me because I wasn’t ready to make a total commitment. There wasn’t anybody else, but he wasn’t willing to wait. I was always looking for a relationship, but there was one big obstacle: I was serious. As if to deliberately fly in the face of convention, most Gay men seemed to spurn the idea of serious commitment as a primary goal. Work and travel were my main activities. It was in Barcelona in 1976 that the legend of the Beast became known to me. In a youth hostel there, I shared a room with Dr. Krabaje, a retired physician from India. He had received his medical degree from Oxford University and had retired to England when he gave up his practice. When he learned I was Gay, he became very concerned and told me about a new disease that had been discovered in Africa. He said that it hadn’t been isolated or identified at that time. What was known was that it could be easily transmitted long before any sign of it could be detected in the carrier. I asked myself how seriously I should take the story. Duh! He was an Oxford-educated physician! He may easily have saved my life. I told people, but they didn’t see the threat. If I’d dedicated my life to preaching it on a soapbox, there would have been little hope. I had no evidence, only a story which verged on the surreal. Then a new phase of my life, and Gay Pride, began: the Gay Choral Movement. I had always enjoyed singing, and I found
I don’t know if it was deliberate or by accident, but the day I came to the word “homosexual” in the dictionary I remember thinking, “That’s what I am.”
a new outlet for my love of music, and a completely new way to meet Gay men. Soon we were traveling around the country, triumphant in the new avenue to show our pride, and the new forum that allowed people to accept Gay culture in a different way, through the fine arts. Within a short time, the first international Gay choral festival, “Come Out And Sing Together,” was held in New York City. By the luck of the draw, the Seattle Men’s Chorus had the first slot on the program. We were performing in Alice Tully Hall at Lincoln Center. I had lived in New York briefly while I was doing construction for a friend there. Those stages had seemed as distant as the surface of the moon to me. We were split into two groups for our entrance, filing in from both sides of the stage. Large choral groups are always arranged by height, so it’s always the tallest or the shortest that go first. I was to be one of the first two men to go on stage the first night of the festival. I wish now I hadn’t had so much coffee to drink; I was too excited to use the bathroom. We lined up in the wings. It didn’t require much imagination to visualize the electricity arcing through the air as the seconds ticked down to our entrance. Finally, it was time. When the crowd saw me and my counterpart on the other side of the stage stride into view, they leapt to their feet and cheered. I almost wet my pants. They continued to cheer even after we had taken our places on the risers, and only quieted down when Dennis Coleman raised his baton. That didn’t quell the excitement, though. Three times during our set, the audience jumped to their feet and applauded and cheered – and not just at the end of a piece, once right in the middle of a song. I think we got a standing ovation for every song we sang, but they didn’t jump out of their seats every time. At the end of the set we got another, prolonged ovation. I must say we gave a good performance, but they were cheering for every Gay man alive who took pride in who he was. Every group got a similar response, but my own vanity still tells me that ours was a little louder, and a little longer than the others. It was a heady experience. There was more to be proud of when our Lesbian sisters took up the song in great numbers, and forged a bond like we had never had before. Even the highest chambers in the remotest Ivory Towers of the music world called it a Renaissance of choral music. Then the two-headed monster emerged from its lair. Now it had a name: AIDS. It made every proud Gay man a victim, and every proud Gay man and Lesbian a hero or a heroine. We watched helplessly as our many friends and acquaintances withered and died, but not for long. We reached out in every way we could, found every tool, wielded every weapon. We stood on the bridge we had built with the greater community and reached out again; and found that many were willing and proud to reach back and stand with us. What the bigots called the vengeance of God, we and our allies saw as a bug to understand and to conquer. The common enemy helped us form a wider, and a stronger bond. Now the regiments of allies used weapons of science, education, and finance; and our Lesbian sisters stood in the ranks of all of those, and were among the angels of mercy who gave the most to the cause. The roots of our pride run deep and strong. Let us not be afraid to face the struggle before us standing on the shoulders of the bravest and strongest who came before us. Our heritage is rich, we must not let the succeeding generations forget the struggle, nor ignore the challenges ahead, and we must recognize the true enemy, ignorance, and our truest ally, pride.
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Speaking with Jael Phelps, granddaughter of Fred Phelps henry waymack
heels from Jimmy Choo or Manolo? When we got to the final location, the beautiful and immense St. James Cathedral, the Westboro Baptists were there, along with the church choir and the little children in their cassocks and choral robes. The parishioners and children carried sticks with bright pastel ribbons on them. I was secretly showed a sleeping baby sandwiched be- overjoyed when one of the choir girls, no tween lettuce, onion, tomato, and two ses- more than 15 or 16 years of age, flipped the Wesboro Baptists off as she walked and ame seed buns. “The fornicators, adulterers, heathens, the sang without missing a beat. I left my group and went up to Jael, walkhomosexuals, they will all eat their babies and devour their feces, the Bible says so!” I ing behind enemy lines. I had to speak with her one more time. I had to know if what she suppressed a laugh. “I see. And this whole Jew thing, and Gay saw here touched her in any way. “Long time no see,” I said, my words trailthing, don’t you think you’re spreading yourselves a little thin? Isn’t it better to just ing off. She grinned at me – it was a happy be focused on one thing at one time?” I said grin, a grin that expressed a gratitude for this with a bit of humor, and she echoed it kindness given. “So long.” She responded with a laugh. back in her response. “So,” I began, looking at her, and the chil“No, honey. Listen, we’re here because we have to be here, to spread the word of the dren who marched beyond her. “How does Lord.” She called me “honey,” like she and this make you feel? This show of faith, this I were suddenly best friends, like she was alternate expression of God’s love?” She seemed appalled by this, offended my new fag-hag. Maybe, for her, this was the closest she would ever get to a Gay best down to her very core. “Faith? They have no faith! They send friend. “But all the same, didn’t Jesus say, ‘Let he their children to spend time with child mowho is without sin cast the first stone?’” I lesters, fornicators who take advantage of the young! Their faith is false, it is blind!” asked. “I mean, isn’t that what he said?” “These men were picking up stones, lit- Her conviction made me recoil. “These chileral stones, and throwing them at her,” she dren are already going to hell, their fate is already sealed, and they just can’t see it and grinned. “Yeah, but stones aren’t just rocks you they won’t! Not until it’s too late.” I had to walk away from her then; I pick up off the ground,” I said, shaking my head. “They’re words, the words that you couldn’t do it any more. Compassion has throw out with hate. Doesn’t that make you always been my downfall, and my open heart, which I wear so visibly on my sleeve, feel slightly hypocritical?” She seemed to think on this, for no longer was beginning to feel like a weight. I had to remember who I was and why I was here: than a second. “Sweetie, no.” Again, an endearing word, because I am sickened by her message and I not said with any hint of malice or a de- hate her grandfather, and I have wished for meaning tone. “It is our mission to do what his death almost every day of my life ever the Lord has asked of us.” I was going to since I was 14. henry waymack
Anti-Phelps protesters in Seattle, June 14
by Marcus James SGN Contributing Writer
cold, her petite body trying to balance two signs in each hand. The only thing keeping her warm was her bright orange hoodie with We’ve all had days that we don’t look for- “readthesigns.com” stenciled on it in white. ward to, those we approach with a sense of I was captivated. “Do you mind if I ask you some quesdread. Sunday, June 14, was definitely one of those days; Fred Phelps was coming to tions?” I asked. “Not at all. Not at all!” There was a joy town, or at least members of his reviled in her eyes, something that seemed to sparWestboro Baptist Church. As a young Gay man who can still vividly kle. One could have simply assumed that recall the morning after Matthew Shepard’s it was because she was going to be able to death and can still hear the hateful tone of run through her vulgar words yet again, Phelps’ voice as he stood outside of Matt’s but that wasn’t it. She needed to speak to funeral, I do my best to avoid the Westboro someone; she needed to communicate with Baptist Church. Out of morbid curiosity, another person her own age, someone who I occasionally do glance at their website. she didn’t know since they were both in the I’ve watched documentaries on them, sat same crib. “So, why Seattle? Why did you guys appalled while watching them spout hate on the Tyra Banks show, and each and ev- come here specifically? You guys always ery time I am unable to turn away. I think it seem to be coming to a location because of pulls me in because its repulsiveness is so some specific event occurring – you know, blatant and vulgar that you can’t help but usually the deaths of innocent people.” “No,” she began, calmly as ever. “There want to reach out and touch it, just to get an idea of what evil really feels like. If evil are no innocent people, no one, not even me, is something tangible, something that you none of us are innocent. But we’re here becan grasp firmly as a solid entity, then Fred cause any chance to come preach the word Phelps is it, our modern incarnation of evil, to a bunch of disgusting heathens is reason enough to come to Seattle!” I nodded. Hell, of the devil in human form. I had encountered the family once before, I even think I chuckled. It just seemed so riin El Paso, Texas. The Westboro gang was diculous. “So, it was simply a random decision?” into their recent fad of protesting the funerals of fallen soldiers. El Paso has a very I asked her. People were shouting, screamlarge military base, Fort Bliss, where the ing out all around us, and yet it suddenly first soldier to be killed in Iraq came from. seemed as if it was all so far away. “No, the truth is, I’ll tell you the truth of I was fascinated with the Phelps family, seeing them standing out there, across the why we’re really here: we’re looking for a street from the cemetery at Fort Bliss, with few good Jews!” I think I blinked, shook little children who held up signs bigger than my head, and blinked again. “A few good Jews?” I asked. She smiled. they were which read “SOLDIERS DIE “Yes, a few good Jews. You know, Jews FOR FAGS.” Three years later, it would seem that the who are willing to stand up and apologize for killing Jesus, for corrupting the world Phelps and I would again cross paths. with their blasphemy! That’s our new thing.” It was like a community service club HELLO, JAEL I saw her standing there, across East Mad- in school, just picking a new cause for the ison Street at the Mt. Zion Baptist Church, New Year. “So what’s up with the ‘bitch-burger’ her blonde/brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, her cheeks flushed pink from the sign?” I asked her, looking at a sign which 10 Seattle Gay News
July 3, 2009
Anti-Phelps protesters in Seattle, June 14
say more, but then the security liaison approached and told us that the cops were going to be clearing the space, which meant we had to move on to the next location.
FAITH AND FATE I returned to my camp on the other side of the battlefield. I couldn’t help but wonder what happened to Jael. Had I somehow gotten too close? Like me, had she suddenly THE WEIGHT OF COMPASSION As I rejoined with my organization, the been forced to regain herself, remember who Queer Ally Coalition, I felt compassion for she was, and why she was here? Were we, her. I felt, like in any other circumstance, if for one brief instant in that brief moment in you removed the crazy out of her head, she time, the closest thing she could get to feeland I could probably be friends. We even ing like a regular girl, without all of this fagsaid goodbye to one another when we parted hating bullshit that her psycho grandfather ways. I wondered if Jael ever wished to be has shoved down her throat? As they were leaving, I went around a corsomething more than a cult shill – a doctor, a lawyer, a singer? Or, like almost all little ner after them and caught sight of her. We girls at one point or another, a famous ac- looked at one another. I offered a grin and tress? Did she secretly watch Sex and the said goodbye. She offered me a hug, but I City re-runs in the Phelps compound late at refused, settling on a handshake. I still wonder about that girl. Will she denight and wish that she was like them, that she had a group of girlfriends that she could fect? Will she hope for something more? Or turn to and bitch about boys and shoes with? has her fate been sealed? God, I hope not. Did she wish that she had a great pair of
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The 2009 New York Gay Pride Parade Heritage of Pride March, New York City, June 28th, 2009
by E. Joyce Glasgow SGN A&E Writer I love the Gay Pride Parade in New York because so many organizations are involved and participants wear such wonderful, sumptuous and sometimes wacky costumes and everyone is smiling and having such a good time. In the past several years of seeing the parade, I’ve witnessed dykes on bikes and dykes on bicycles in huge numbers, bears, cross-dressers, well-toned men in their underwear dancing on floats, PFLAG, a marching 80-year-old Boy Scout leader from Connecticut (whom I met on the commuter train on the way to the parade last year) who was kicked out of the Boy Scouts for being Gay, university students
from all around the New York metropolitan area, same-sex couples who have been together for years – including one male couple who were celebrating over 50 years as partners – adoption groups, LGBT healthcare groups, children of Gays and Lesbians, LGBT teens, Google employees, a Peruvian float, a Stonewall float, church floats, gospel singers, outrageous drag queens, Macy’s employees, Jewish groups, foster parents, Buddhists, Quakers, Lambda Legal, the New York Police marching band, the New York Fire Department and numerous individuals, all bringing cheer and pride to the throngs of enthusiastic spectators lined up down Fifth Avenue and into Greenwich Village. The Governor of New York has showed his support by marching, as have other high profile elected officials.
This year was the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York. The anniversary theme was represented throughout the parade, as were musical tributes on floats to the late Michael Jackson, who died just three days before the parade. While in New York, I saw a play which illuminates some political and social Gay history-making taking place during a difficult and obscure era. Jon Marans’ The Temperamentals, code word among Gays in the 1950s for homosexuals, is about the founding of the Mattachine Society, the first Gay rights organization in the United States, pre-Stonewall, by the communist Harry Hay (who would go on later in life to be the founder of the Radical Fairies) and Viennese refugee Rudi Genreich, Hay’s lover
and soon-to-become an internationally lauded fashion designer. It takes place in 1950-53, during a time of extreme closetedness and entrapment of Gays by law enforcement agents. Even though that was long ago and the world has come a long way, shockingly, innocent Gays are still being entrapped into “false arrests” by the police in New York in 2009. For more information about The Temperamentals, visit: www.thetemperamentals.com. The play has been extended through August 23, with a fine cast, including Michael Urie of Ugly Betty as Rudi Genreich as designer. For more information about Gay Pride in New York visit: www.nycpride.org.
photos by E. Joyce Glasgow
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July 3, 2009
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14 Seattle Gay News
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Celebrating 36 Years!
all photos by Joseph p. herron
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at
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gay marriage continued from cover
The court decision means that same-sex couples with valid marriage licenses from states which treat straight and Gay couples equally will be recognized as legally married in D. C. as early as this month. The importance of the court’s decision was not lost on Bradley Reichard and Michael Shannon, Massachusetts residents currently residing in the Washington, D.C. area. “When we first moved to the District, we
understood that our civil marriage from Massachusetts would not be recognized,” said Reichard. “What we underestimated – especially after living as a married couple for four years – was the exposure we felt by not being protected by civil marriage’s full status.” “We’re grateful that the D.C. City Council, the elections board, and now the court acknowledged and respected our basic human and civil rights,” said Reichard. Under the District’s elections laws, a referendum cannot appear on the ballot if it violates the city’s 1977 Human Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation. In its decision, the elec-
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tions board said the proposed ballot measure would “authorize discrimination.” “It’s another great day for D.C.,” said Rick Rosendall, a spokesperson for the D.C. Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance, an advocacy group. The two decisions nudge marriage equality momentum forward, nationally. Currently, six states – Connecticut, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont – license or are set to begin licensing same-sex marriages. The District’s recognition of same-sex marriage is the first time same-sex marriages will be recognized in the nation’s capital and in the south. “The marriage movement is not just a local issue,” said David Crawford, executive director of D.C. for Marriage, a newly forming grassroots Gay civil rights advocacy group. Same-sex marriage recognition in the nation’s capital holds “symbolic” significance here and around the world, he said. Marriage momentum accelerated in the capital on May 5 when the District’s city council approved (by a vote of 12-1) a bill to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions. The next day, D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty signed the bill, sending it to Capitol Hill,
where its required 30-day congressional review began ticking May 11. Under the District’s home rule charter, all laws passed by city council are subject to approval or rejection by the House and Senate. The decisions by the elections board and the court suggest that now only Congress can derail same-sex marriage recognition. But the likelihood of that happening seems to have diminished. In Congress, there is, so far, no move in the Senate to undo the D.C. law, according to Anthony Coley, an aide to Senator Ted Kennedy (D-Mass.). In the House, Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) issued a statement last month after the Council vote, saying Congress “should not interfere” with the District’s governance. There are, however, two bills circulating in the House, according to the Human Rights Campaign, a national Gay political organization. One, introduced last month by U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) along with 33 co-sponsors, seeks to “define marriage for all legal purposes in the District of Columbia to consist of the union of one man and one woman.” The second bill is a resolution to formally “disapprove” of the D. C. Council and mayor’s decision to recognize same-sex marriages licensed elsewhere. In-
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Celebrating 36 Years!
WEDDING
continued from cover
ing the Iowa River Valley. All attendees wore the marriage equality white knot ribbon. Originally, Marc and Matthew had planned to wed in California this spring, but then a predominance of California voters – who apparently don’t want everyone to be as happy as they are in their model marriages – quashed that when they passed Prop. 8. So, why Iowa? Consider the nature of Iowa, a state that has always been ahead of the curve. In 1839, Iowa rejected slavery. In 1851, the state removed the ban on interracial marriage, more than 100 years before the United States did. Iowa gave women the
right to vote in 1920, struck down all sodomy laws in 1978, and adopted Gay civil rights in 2007. Iowa has always been a remarkably progressive state with a record of judicial and legislative firsts or near firsts, and was the state that successfully launched a certain senator from Illinois on the road to the White House. Plus, Iowa is Marc’s home state. He said, “When the state Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the ban on Gay marriage was unconstitutional, we knew right away that we would be going back to Iowa to get legally hitched. It took some planning, but with the assistance of the helpful Johnson County clerks, we were easily able to line up a magistrate to perform the ceremony: James Martinek.” With help from their families, they found a great B&B, the Golden Haug, and an excellent restaurant, Atlas, for the post-cere-
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mony party. A downpour conveniently held off until after the outdoor wedding was over and all were dryly tucked into the Atlas’ arms – this meteorological miracle was the doing of Matthew and Marc’s late fathers, according to Matthew’s mom, Sharon Gay canon frequently cites Dorothy’s little talk with Toto about not being in Kansas anymore, but current events might have
Dorothy referencing a new Oz: “I think we must be in Iowa!” Matthew is a longtime LMP who has massaged his trade in Seattle for the past 21 years. He is also a veteran member of Seattle Men’s Chorus and is a well-known hugger. Marc is currently covering architecture and engineering for the Seattle Daily Journal of Commerce.
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arrived at the bar they were subjected to sexual harassment, groped, and eventually assaulted by patrons resisting arrest. Witnesses tell a much different story. According to people at the scene, police showed up intending to make arrests, with paddy wagons and fists full of plastic zipcuffs. “They were hyped up. They were loaded for bear,” Todd Camp told the Dallas Morning News. “They were just randomly grabbing people, telling them they were drunk.”
Camp was at the bar with friends, celebrating his birthday. “They were shoving patrons,” Camp continued, “asking, ‘How much have you had to drink?’” Another witness, who identified herself to a Dallas Voice reporter as Alison, stated that “they only arrested men and seemed to be targeting effeminate men.” The Dallas Voice is a weekly newspaper for the DallasFort Worth LGBT community. A Fort Worth police spokesman told the mainstream daily Dallas Morning News that Gibson was injured outside the bar, when he fell and struck his head because he was too drunk to stand. “He was the one that groped the TABC agent,” Sgt. Pedro Criado told local report-
ers. “He was injured by falling and hitting his head.” As his source for this statement, Criado cited the report filed by officers on scene. However, cellphone photos shot by bar patrons and posted to blogs show a person thought to be Gibson being held facedown by officers inside the club, then show a dent in the wall where his head was reportedly banged by police. “He was taken down hard,” Camp told reporters, saying “four or five” officers wrestled Gibson to the floor inside the club. Bar owner J R Schrock emphatically denied police allegations that Gibson – or any bar patrons – groped police officers. “That is a lie, and I’m appalled by it,” he told the Dallas Voice. “We’re Gay, but we’re not dumb.” Within hours of the raid, some 200 people gathered in protest, first in front of the bar, and later on the steps of the Tarrant County Courthouse. Joel Burns, Fort Worth’s first and only openly Gay City Council member, was in Houston for Pride weekend, but rushed back to Fort Worth in time for the rally. “We want all citizens of Texas and Fort Worth to know and be assured that the laws and ordinances of our great state and city will be applied fairly, equally and without malice or selective enforcement,” Burns said at the rally, reading from a prepared statement. “We consider this to be part of ‘The Fort Worth Way’ here. As elected representatives of the city of Fort Worth, we are calling for an immediate and thorough investigation of the actions of the city of Fort Worth police and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission in relation to the incident at the Rainbow Lounge earlier this morning,” Burns said. Burns said he had talked with Fort Worth Police Chief Jeffrey Halstead who had promised an internal affairs investigation. Burns also said that Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks, who represents the district where the Rainbow Lounge is located, and City Manager Dale A. Fisseler were also monitoring the situation. Fort Worth Police Chief Halstead spoke with Dallas Voice reporters on Monday. Halstead denied that Gay people were unfairly targeted by his officers and asked the LGBT community to “take a deep breath.” Halstead also stated that the coincidence with the Stonewall anniversary was inadvertent. “There was never, ever anyone employed with the Fort Worth Police Department who would want to specifically target
a location because of the date,” he said. “That simply did not occur.” Fort Worth police spokesperson Sgt Criado spoke with SGN by phone on Tuesday. “It’s very unfortunate,” Criado said. “It’s upsetting that people have this image of us as being unprofessional. I’m Hispanic myself, so I always want police to treat people with respect.” Criado said he stood by the media release his department issued on Sunday, even though it is contradicted by many witnesses, but he acknowledged it may not be complete. “We were pressured to get something out,” he told SGN. “Normally we’d want to wait to get all the facts, but we had to put something out right away.” Criado declined to comment on what is “obviously an open investigation,” but he promised that “if any misconduct was witnessed, the chief will deal with it.” City Council member Burns was out of town on a previously planned trip, and was not able to comment. Reactions in the broader Dallas-Fort Worth community were skeptical of the police version of events. An editorial in Tuesday’s Dallas Morning News said, in part, “The Fort Worth Police Department still has some explaining to do about what happened early Sunday at a southside Gay bar called the Rainbow Lounge … or some clarifying or some illuminating or some supplementary detailing – anything to mitigate the apparently selfadministered public-relations shot-to-thefoot it suffered after what it keeps calling a routine ‘bar check.’” Michael Piazza, dean of the Dallas Cathedral of Hope, which claims to be the world’s largest LGBT congregation, issued a statement which said, in part, “After more than a generation of progress, this action shows that there is still much work to be done to ensure that all Americans enjoy ‘equal protection under the law.’ It is tragic that Lesbian and Gay taxpayers are still abused by the very people who are paid by our taxes.” The Stonewall rebellion, which launched the modern LGBT liberation movement, occurred 40 years to the day – almost to the minute – before the raid on the Rainbow Lounge. In the early morning of June 28, 1969, NYPD officers raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, but were forced to beat a hasty retreat after bar patrons and neighborhood people hurled debris at them in a 45-minute onslaught. Police did not regain control of the neighborhood for several days afterwards.
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Celebrating 36 Years!
troduced by U.S. Rep. Paul Broun (R-Ga.), the resolution is the first step toward having Congress overturn the District’s law. Nonetheless, HRC’s senior public policy advocate, David Stacy, said it would be difficult for same-sex marriage opponents to muster the 218-vote threshold for a “discharge petition” in order to force a vote on the resolution. “Conventional wisdom is there will not be enough time for a discharge petition,” said Drew Hammil, a spokesperson for Speaker Pelosi. He said opponents could also “try to target the District” later on this summer, through the D. C. “appropriations process,” a last-ditch effort to stymie full implementation of same-sex marriage recognition by cutting off any funds for its enforcement or implementation. Meanwhile, the deadline for Congress to act on the D.C. law – July 6 – is closing in fast, with same-sex marriage recognition expected to take effect in the District on the next day, July 7. © 2009 Keen News Service
national news continued from page 6
U.S. to Frank Kameny: “Our bad” Fifty-two years later, the U.S. government has apologized to groundbreaking Gay activist Frank Kameny for firing him in 1957 solely because he was Gay. The Office of Personnel Management gave Kameny an official letter and its highest award, the Theodore Roosevelt Award. OPM head John Berry wrote: “Dear Dr. Kameny: In what we know today was a shameful action, the United States Civil Service Commission in 1957 upheld your dismissal from your job solely on the basis of
your sexual orientation. In one letter to you, an agency official wrote that the Government ‘does not hire homosexuals and will not permit their employment...’ He went on to say that ‘the homosexual is automatically a security risk’ and that he ‘frequently becomes a disruptive personnel factor within any organization.’ “With the fervent passion of a true patriot, you did not resign yourself to your fate or quietly endure this wrong. With courage and strength, you fought back. And so today, I am writing to advise you that this policy, which was at odds with the bedrock principles underlying the merit-based civil service, has been repudiated by the United States Government, due in large part to your determination and life’s work, and to the thousands of Americans whose advocacy your words have inspired. “Thus, the civil service laws, rules and regulations now provide that it is illegal to discriminate against federal employees or applicants based on matters not related to their ability to perform their jobs, including their sexual orientation. Furthermore, I am happy to inform you that the Memorandum signed by President Obama on June 17, 2009, directs the Office of Personnel Management – the successor to the CSC – to issue guidance to all executive departments and agencies regarding their obligations to comply with these laws, rules, and regulations. “And by virtue of the authority vested in me as Director of the Office of Personnel Management, it is my duty and great pleasure to inform you that I am adding my support, along with that of many other past Directors, for the repudiation of the reasoning of the 1957 finding by the United States Civil Service Commission to dismiss you from your job solely on the basis of your sexual orientation. Please accept our apology for the consequences of the previous policy of the United States Government, and please accept the gratitude and appreciation of the United States Office of Per-
sonnel Management for the work you have done to fight discrimination and protect the merit-based civil service system.” Kameny’s house is a District of Columbia Historic Landmark because it was the epicenter of many early Gay rights efforts, some of Kameny’s activist paraphernalia are on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, and around 70,000 of his movement-related documents reside at the Library of Congress.
Among his long list of accomplishments, Kameny brought the first U.S. Gay employment rights case after being fired by the Army Map Service in 1957. He also fought against sodomy laws, helped end the American Psychiatric Association’s categorization of homosexuality as a mental illness, and was the first openly Gay person to run for Congress. With assistance from Bill Kelley
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by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid SGN A&E Writer After the color and flashiness of the newly-risen Pride Festival (called the Broadway Festival by its organizers, mostly members of the Museum of Mysteries, and Charlotte LeFrevre in particular), the crazy quilt gathering on the lawn of the Seattle Central Community College was a bit of a relief. Shielded from last Saturday’s bright sunlight and heat, women of every race and age and ability came and sat, or stood, or leaned on each other’s laps to hear speakers that ranged from one of the plaintiffs in the case to legalize Gay marriage, a woman suing the government with others to gain the benefits
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Celebration at this year’s Dyke March heterosexual people enjoy as a right of being born straight. She spoke with both candor and urgency on how she and her partner have since gotten legally married in Iowa under that state’s new laws, but how she still wanted to see the legislators who have been stumbling blocks voted out in this year’s election. Unfortunately, like many of those who spoke, her name was lost as she was introduced in the flurry of friends reuniting with friends they hadn’t seen for sometimes a whole year and the hectic buzz of traffic and other celebrations that were going on on the Hill last weekend After she spoke, more women joined the throng, already painting bras in rainbow
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colors on bare chests – probably because of the possibility of some new attention and renewed determination coming from City Hall to enforce laws regarding “public decency” in Seattle, and the huge police presence near SCCC before the march. Still, as last year, they brazenly defied the existing laws and the rule that nipples must be covered with duct tape or clothing and now shown openly in public places. This marked, as it did last year, a change in tone in the Dyke March, as in the whole LGBT movement to kowtow to authority and obey rules made before a lot of these women were born, and like last year, there were no arrests made, or even interference in the park, or as the march began, by SPD. After a demonstration of salsa dancing, in which a large number of nimble-footed women cheerfully came forward and danced together to music from a loudspeaker put on by the Century Ballroom (which sponsors several dance programs, but particularly an LGBT night), everyone was even more in the mood to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. This event that started today’s LGBT movement in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. But the highlight for many leather-wearing, mohawked dykes was the poignant speech given by Alena Gabosh, director of
the Center for Sex Positive Culture (given the familiar name The Wet Spot by those who are members and their friends), who spoke of being raised in a small town in Idaho, then moving across the country and eventually becoming the spokesperson for the sex-positive/poly/kinky community in Seattle. She also mentioned having a new local political position, something she is most thrilled about, but like other speakers, most of the particulars of that news were drowned out by ambient noise on The Hill, so if you see her, ask her about it, and I’m sure she’ll tell you. When the call to march sounded, women (and a few men, who stood respectfully behind the women, as the idea is the Dyke March remains the only one for primarily women-identified women) stepped off, some quietly drinking in the moment, some holding the hands of partners, some joyfully starting chants or using homemade instruments to make a happy, Queer noise as the march started, nearly on time this year. It must be noted, too, that like last year (and more this year, due to an even worse economy, but lower gas prices), the everpresent Dykes on Bikes did not lead the march, but the march did start with the roar of motorcycles. These were the big, burly Harleys of the Seattle Police Department, many of whom seemed happy to be in the front spot, leading off the march, almost daring any wrongdoers to accost this large group of proud dykes and their friends. An unofficial count puts the number this year at about 300, but as the march moved up E. Pine to 12th and back to SCCC, undoubtedly that number grew in size and in diversity as it always has. A fun kickoff and for many who stood on the sidelines and commented, a welcome return of Pride to The Hill, which for a number of opinionated people watching, has become eerily absent of GLBT life of late.
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Celebrating 36 Years!
white house continued from page 4
ple to high office, but none to the cabinet. Prior to June, he had taken no steps at all to improve conditions for LGBT people in the military, in the civil service, or in the country. And, though he had been the most vocally supportive major party presidential nominees in history on the campaign trail, in the White House, Obama had suddenly lost his voice completely on LGBT equality. But June was different. On June 1, the White House announced the president had signed an LGBT Pride Proclamation, as President Clinton had done during his administration. He signed a presidential memorandum that directed federal agencies to determine whether they could provide at least two benefits to employees with samesex domestic partners (and more for State Department employees). He expressed support for a new bill calling for fully equal benefits for federal employees with domestic partners.
Although there was no paper trail, he apparently directed the Census Bureau to count legally married same-sex couples as “husband and wife” in the 2010 census. And, during a small, evening ceremony on the Oval Office, to sign the civil service memorandum, he reiterated that he is committed to repealing the Defense of Marriage Act and the Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell laws and working for passage of the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and the hate crimes bill. But his relationship with the LGBT community still seems uneasy. On June 22, 77 members of the House signed a letter to President Obama asking him to sign an executive order to stop the military from any further discharges under “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Last Thursday, June 25, demonstrators picketed outside a pricey Gay Democratic fundraiser to send a message to the keynote speaker, Vice President Joe Biden. According to a White House pool reporter on the scene, about 50 protesters held up signs saying, “No Money for DOMA,” “No Money for DADT,” and “Gay Uncle Toms.” Video of the event showed that
Police Chief compromises investigation As SGN goes to press, new details coming from Fort Worth challenge police claims that there will be a fair internal investigation of the June 28 raid on the Rainbow Lounge, a Gay bar in south Fort Worth, Texas. Although Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead promised an internal affairs investigation of the incident, he has already endorsed the version of events reported by the arresting officers. “You’re touched and advanced in certain ways by people inside the bar, that’s offensive,” he told WFAA-TV reporters. “I’m happy with the restraint used when they were contacted like that.” Halstead’s statement compromises his promised internal investigation of the affair because he himself will make the final decision on disciplining the officers involved. According to Fort Worth police spokesperson Sgt. Pedro Criado, contacted by SGN on Tuesday, “it all ends up on the chief’s desk.” The statement calls into question the chief’s ability – or willingness – to make an objective disciplinary decision. Meanwhile, many reputable witnesses have come forward to challenge the police version of events. They include Todd Camp, communications director with American Airlines Credit Union; Chuck Potter, a local HIV counselor; and Kyle Trentham, owner of a computer consulting company
and event director for the local LGBT Film Festival. All were at the Rainbow Lounge at the time of the raid, and all have stated publicly that police behaved in a brutal and intimidating manner. Camp witnessed the arrest of Chad Gibson, who remains hospitalized with a serious brain injury. His account of Gibson’s arrest differs significantly from police accounts. Gibson is expected to remain hospitalized for at least the rest of the week. His longterm prognosis remains unclear, pending consultations with a neurosurgeon. Openly Gay City Council member Joel Burns, and Mayor Pro Tem Kathleen Hicks, who represents the district where Rainbow Lounge is located, have called for an independent City Council investigation.
made at that meeting. Meanwhile, on June 25, Attorney General Eric Holder told a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on the proposed hate crimes bill that the administration “strongly supports” the legislation. © Keen News Service 2009
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many demonstrators were holding signs with the number “265,” representing the number of servicemembers who have been discharged for being gay since President Obama took office. The Thursday dinner was sponsored by the Democratic National Committee’s LGBT Leadership Council, and according to several news reports, it raised about $1 million for the party. But the protests continued. On Saturday, a group organized by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network marched to the White House to underscore its upset that the president has not exercised any executive authority to stop discharges under the Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell policy. Roll Call, a newspaper that specializes in Congressional reporting, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the three openly Gay members of the House, and other top Democratic leaders met June 24 to take another look at what they could accomplish on LGBT issues this session. But the paper said they were “mum” on what decisions, if any, they
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