Celebrating 38 Years!
Issue 12 Volume 39
FRIDAY March 25, 2011 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
EQUALITY PICS p. 10
IRON CURTAIN p. 29
holocaust EXHIBIT p. 25
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Capitol Hill Alano Family Acceptance Project Club hit by arson builds healthy futures for youth courtesy Family Acceptance project
Aaron Emde
The hand-lettered sign on the door of Capitol Hill Alano Club read, in big block letters, “CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO FIRE.” A police officer driving by the building at 1900 E. Madison at 2:40 a.m. on March 22 saw smoke pouring out of a second floor win-
Part one of a two-part series exploring the link between family acceptance of LGBT children and preventing homelessness and suicide.
dow. He called the fire department. “After the fire scene was stabilized by SFD, investigators informed officers that they had discovered burglary tools and signs of arson inside the building,” according to the SPD Blotter blog. According to Seattle’s Fire Department, firefighters put out the
Caitlin Ryan, director of the California-based Family Acceptance Project (FAP) believes that the best way to keep LGBT teens off the streets and away from thoughts of suicide lies within family. According to Caitlin, FAP is the only community research, intervention, education, and policy initiative that works to decrease major health and related risks for LGBT youth – such as suicide, substance abuse, HIV and homelessness – by focusing on the youth’s family. “We use a research-based, culturally grounded approach to help ethnically, socially, and religiously diverse families decrease rejection and increase support for their LGBT children,” FAP officials state on the organization’s website,
see chac page 21
see FAP page 20
The damaged offices of the Capitol Hill Alano Club
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
U.S. calls on U.N. to act on LGBT Gay soldier killed in Afghanistan rights, Vatican is outraged The Obama administration has issued a call for the U.N.’s Human Rights Council to address discrimination and violence against LGBT people. The U.S. declaration was made at the Human Rights Council’s headquarters in Geneva on March 22. Two days later, the U.S. statement was condemned by the Vatican. The U.S. declaration expresses “concern at continued evidence in every region of acts of violence and related human rights violations based on sexual orientation and gender identity” and calls on counties “to take steps to end acts of violence, criminal sanctions, and related human rights violations committed against individuals because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.” In addition to the U.S., 85 countries signed the statement. According to the U.S. State Department, Columbia and Slovenia also took a leading role in assembling this coalition.
file photo
file photo
United Nations
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Responsible journalists around the world will tell you that there is no place for glorifying death in print. Is one loss of life more important than another? The simple answer is no. But every now and then, a story comes along where a loss of life see U.N. page 19 helps to point out a fact. On these
rare occasions, the story must be told. The death of Army Corporal Andrew Wilfahrt is that story. On February 27, in the Kandahar province of Afghanistan, Cpl. Andrew Wilfahrt, 31, was killed during an attack on his unit by insurgents with an IED. He was a proud member of the 3rd Platoon see soldier page 20
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Celebrating 38 Years!
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March 25, 2011
Seattle Gay News
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REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski
Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff writer A new ABC News/Washington Post poll released March 18 says that a large majority of U.S. Catholics support civil marriage for same-sex couples. The poll, conducted by Laver Research Associates, indicates that 53% of Americans in general support same-sex marriage. For Roman Catholics, the number jumps to 63%. The new finding is an astounding increase from the last Laver poll on marriage equality, done in 2004. In the 2004 poll, 32% of Americans overall and 40% of Roman Catholics supported marriage equality. The poll also shows that Roman Catholics consistently support same-sex marriage more than either Evangelicals or other Protestants. Of respondents who identified as Evangelicals, only 23% said they supported same-sex marriage. Non-Evangelical Protestants polled higher than the national average, at 57% support, but they still fell six points shy of the 63% of Catholic support. The poll’s findings put U.S. Catholics at odds with Pope Benedict XVI and their own bishops. Newly elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Archbishop Timothy Dolan of New York has been an outspoken opponent of marriage equality and LGBT rights in general.
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Catholics for Equality, a group supporting LGBT rights, was pleased by the poll, however. “The findings of today’s poll are heartening, but not surprising,” said Catholics for Equality Executive Director Phil Attey. “American Catholics consistently poll higher on progressive social justice issues – including the freedom to marry for all. Our Catholic faith tradition is strongly based on social justice and our duty to take care of those who are unjustly oppressed and marginalized.” “Our families have already dealt with this issue at a personal level and Catholics largely base their moral understanding of the world through their personal relationships, not by the dictates of institutional forces; be they from our church hierarchy in Rome or conservative political groups. We see healthy, happy Gay and Lesbian families within our families, parishes and communities and we know love and commitment when we see it. On the issue of civil marriage equality, we Catholics support the freedom for Gay and Lesbian couples to marry. Period.” “This is very consistent with a lot of other polling data we’ve seen and the general momentum we’ve seen over the past year and a half,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. “As people have come to understand, this is about loving, committed families dealing, like everyone, with tough times; they understand how unfair it is to treat them differently.”
March 25, 2011
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Possible Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee says he would support legislation reinstating “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” He made the statement in a OneNewsNow interview on March 22. “I would [reinstate DADT] because that’s really what the military wants,” Huckabee said. “There’s been some talk that the military is fine with having same-sex orientation people. But if you really surveyed the combat troops, that is not at all the case.” OneNewsNow is “a division of the American Family News Network,” operated by the American Family Association. “The American Family Association exists to motivate and equip individuals to restore American culture to its moral foundations,” the AFA’s mission statement says. The group is based in Tupelo, Mississippi. Huckabee is the second Republican presidential hopeful to endorse a return to DADT. In January former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty said that he would work to reinstate DADT if elected president. In spite of his own public statement, Huckabee says that politicians should stay out of issues of military discipline.
“I don’t think that these are decisions that politicians should make. These are decisions that soldiers should make,” he said. “And when the soldiers in the foxholes make the decisions, they choose something different – and we should listen to them.” In November 2010, the Defense Department published a comprehensive report on the effects of repeal, including results of a survey of 400,000 service members and 150,000 military spouses stationed in the U.S. and abroad. Overall, 70% of the respondents thought that integrating Gays and Lesbians into the military would be positive, mixed, or of no consequence. However, conservative opponents of DADT repeal seized on the finding that 4060% of respondents in the Marine Corps and combat specialties thought that repealing DADT would be negative. Huckabee currently works as a commentator for Rupert Murdoch’s Fox News Network. He has been touring the country promoting his latest book, A Simple Government: Twelve Things We Really Need from Washington (and a Trillion That We Don’t). Huckabee has said he will decide this summer whether he will be a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012.
Gay man “stoned to death” in Pennsylvania Delcotimes.com/ABC
U.S. Catholics support marriage equality, new poll says
I’d reinstate DADT, Huckabee says
John Joe Thomas, 28 (l) has been charged with the murder of Murray Seidman, 70.
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Thomas is a very disturbed individual. Police said the 70-year-old Seidman, a laundry worker at the local hospital, was hit Grim news came out of Pennsylvain the head 10 times. nia this week as a young man Seidman was dead for at least who claims a Gay senior five days before the police citizen made unwanted found him, according to sexual advances tonews reports. Thomward him said the as left the victim Old Testament in his apartment instructed him to and then returned beat the victim days later, trying to death with to make it appear a sock full of as if he had just rocks. found the body According in a phone call to to news reports, police. John Joe Thomas When the police told police he beat arrived, they found Murray Seidman usThomas crying in the ing a sock that was stuffed hallway and saying, “I’m with rocks because he read in not going down there again, the Old Testament that homosexuals there is too much blood,” according to should be stoned to death. court documents. Obviously, there is nowhere in the Old Thomas, 28, was the sole beneficiary of Testament that instructs anyone to stuff the victim’s will, although the relationship rocks into a sock and kill anyone. Clearly, between the men is unknown.
John Joe Thomas told police he beat Murray Seidman using a sock that was stuffed with rocks because he read in the Old Testament that homosexuals should be stoned to death.
Celebrating 38 Years!
Visit us online www.sgn.org
March 25, 2011
Seattle Gay News
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Seattle Gay News FOUNDED 1973
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2011
Deadlines
Classifieds - Thursday at noon Calendar - Tuesday 6pm Display Ads: Space Reservation - Monday 5pm Ad copy (non-camera ready) - Tues. 5pm Ad copy (camera ready) - Wed. 5pm Letters to the Editor - Tuesday 5pm Obituaries - Call the SGN office All others - Tuesday 5pm
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Protecting LGBT youth
George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel, Miryam Gordon, Tim Peter Contributing Writers
Rev. Barbara Allen, Mike Andrew, Eric Andrews-Katz, Madelyn Arnold, Maggie Bloodstone, Beau Burriola, Jessica Davis, Ron Anders, Jessica Price, Milton W. Hamlin, Nevin Jefferson, Keen News Service, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, Romeo San Vicente, Rex Wockner
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Nick Ardizzone, Nate Gowdy, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published weekly by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2011, Frogs and Ink, Inc., all rights reserved. Reprints by permission. Publication of names, photographs or likenesses of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business. Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper. Seattle Gay News welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication. We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write. And please play safe. It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your subscription or ad. However, credit towards any size ad will be given for the balance owed. No exceptions.
Mark Segal
by Mark Segal Courtesy of the Philadelphia Gay News It’s great when LGBT media from around the country gets a chance to meet with each other and share their experience and knowledge. After all, we are the communications platform of this community, and the more accurate information we have on any given subject, the better.
In Loving Memory Of
Steve Foiles, Scott Roger Alpert, Cookie Andrews-Hunt, James Leland Moore, Randy Peters, Lee Richeson, Shaun Shelton, Jim Tully, James Arnold
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Seattle Gay News
To this point, real statistical information is only beginning to come to light, since our existence as a community has only taken shape over the last few decades and accurate surveys are hard to accomplish; many in our community do not self-identify as LGBT. The Walter & Elise Haas Fund (www.haasjr.org) in San Francisco really gets it, and completely underwrote the conference. Last year, they convened a conference at the Desmond Tutu Center in New York City for LGBT print media and bloggers on the issue of immigration. Many of us learned for the first time how important it was in our community, and why it’s an LGBT issue. With the help of Bill Browning, editor-inchief for the Bilerico project, the Haas Foundation expanded the program last weekend. It was an ambitious program. They brought in experts who gave LGBT media an update and real material on LGBT youth issues, including suicide prevention, homelessness, file photo
Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers
bullying and how family life affects growth, the tangled legal web of marriage-equality law – from California’s Proposition 8 to Massachusetts attorney general lawsuits, as well as the Obama administration’s decision not to defend the Defense of Marriage Act and trying to understand how this will end up at the Supreme Court. Among the organizations that presented was the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, whose representatives spoke about what little information they had since the U.S. government does not recognize the LGBT community in its studies; Ali Forney Center, the LGBT youth organization in New York City whose goal is to take LGBT homeless youth off the streets, and whose staffers explained there are less than 1,000 beds at homeless shelters for endangered and homeless LGBT youth in the country; and the Suicide Prevention Resource Center. Many participants blogged about the sessions, covering topics such as how rejection from family and friends in the coming-out process can lead to mental health and substance-abuse issues, how most shelter programs for LGBT youth are run by the same religious organizations who oppress them, and how, in suicide studies thus far, only 1.7 percent self-identify as LGBT, demonstrating that the closet extends to suicide studies. Additionally, medical and government resistance of inclusion contributes to most suicides never being recorded as LGBT, with youth being two to three times more likely, and this is a lowball figure due to the lack of research. The material presented made a strong argument that we as a community must do more for our endangered youth. They make it clear that a support system must be put into place lest these drastic figures continue. It is our duty to increase our efforts beyond legislation, to push for funds to save our most cherished asset: our future, our youth.
The Walter & Elise Haas Fund in San Francisco really gets it. Last year, they convened a conference at the Desmond Tutu Center in New York City for LGBT print media and bloggers on the issue of immigration.
Mark Segal is PGN publisher. He is the nation’s most-award-winning commentator in LGBT media, having received the 2010 Columnist of the Year Award from the 2,000-member Suburban Newspapers of America. He can be reached atmark@epgn. com.
March 25, 2011
Celebrating 38 Years!
Openly Gay Republican Fred Karger announces 2012 presidential run
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY Editor’s note: The following letter to the editor was originally scheduled to print in the March 18 edition of the Seattle Gay News. It was the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, and in Seattle, there was a splendid turnout for the special commemoration for the people who died in the Triangle Factory Fire that became the force behind the celebration. There were people present from all cultures, ages, abilities, economic backgrounds – you name it – who have been doing grassroots political work for eons, as well as the people who will be carrying the concerns and battles into the next generation. The intensities ranged and raged through honoring women who have done (and continue doing) frontline work, as women have always done – not only globally but also locally, one neighbor(hood) at a time. There was glorious food, great music, powerful words, and opportunities for people to come together and discuss what they have been battling. To bear witness to strong
womyn and share, see, and hear individuals’ passions in one room, together, was an extraordinary feeling. It would be something if we didn’t need to have this special day to acknowledge our continual work. Obviously, the world would need to be in a different realm, a different way of thinking, a different paradigm. As we continue…. Marla S. Nonken GAY COMMUNITY LOST A GOOD FRIEND We have lost a good friend of the Gay community with the passing of Elizabeth Taylor. She was one of the first Hollywood actor/actresses to call attention to AIDS and organize fundraising for people with AIDS. AMFAR was one of the most notable. We won’t see her like again, but we are all the better for it. Kindest regards, Lenny, founder of Chicken Soup Brigade
Rob Hight 1966-2011 file photo
Openly Gay GOP member Fred Karger
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Openly Gay GOP member Fred Karger told CBS News that he has filed to run for president of the United States. This is the first time Karger has run for political office, but he has been a behindthe-scenes player for 35 years – serving as an advisor to Presidents Ford, Reagan and George H.W. Bush. Karger is the first openly Gay presidential candidate. “Being a Gay Republican is kind of an oxymoron,” he told CBS News. “I have been a fighter in my party, I have always been on the more moderate side but I’m also a pro-
tégé of Lee Atwater. We need to open up this party, and that’s one of my reasons for running. The party should not be dominated by one faction or another. It should be open to all.” Karger also added, “I want to be a different kind of Republican. The kind of Republican I grew up with. I consider myself to be progressive. The last progressive Republican president was over 100 years ago: Theodore Roosevelt.” Karger called Newt Gingrich, a leading GOP member and possible presidential candidate, “yesterday’s news.” Karger would be considered a long shot for president by most politcal observers.
Patrick Young 1963-2011
Patrick Young, 48, died March 10 at his home in Seattle, Washington. Patrick was born on March 1, 1963, in Washington, D.C., to Marion Young Perkins and Elwood Young, Jr. Patrick moved to Seattle in 1988 after honorably serving in the U.S. Army. He fell in love with the beauty of Washington state and the vitality of its people. Patrick was a man who could light up
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any room when he entered it. People were drawn to him because of his engaging and lively personality. He was loved by many. His best times, though, were spending quality time with the people he loved. Patrick truly thought that a walk through the Arboretum, road trip around Washington state, or even a cup of coffee with a close friend were some of his best times. Patrick was a best friend to many and he will truly be missed. Patrick was an active supporter of Lifelong AIDS Alliance and an active member of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church. Both of these organizations were a very important part of Patrick’s life. A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. on April 2 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church (15 Roy Street in Lower Queen Anne). Patrick is survived by his mother Marion Young Perkins, sister Valarie Nichols, brothers Wesley and Francis Young, devoted friends Buck Osmer and Steve Andaloro, and many others. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Lifelong AIDS Alliance or St. Paul’s Church.
After a courageous five-month battle with cancer, Rob passed away peacefully at his home in Orlando, Florida. Rob was born and raised in Kokomo, Indiana, where he graduated from Eastern High School and Indiana University. Rob went on to work for American Trans Air and Alaska Airline. He then made a career working with AT&T wireless as a regional quality manager. Rob was the son of Judith MacLean (Punta Gorda, Florida) and Dale Hight, (Kokomo, Indiana). Rob moved from Seattle, Washington, to Orlando, Florida, in 2009, where he lived with his long-time partner, Jon Parsons. Rob touched the lives of many people with his generosity, kindness, and incredibly contagious laugh. He maintained his trademark positive attitude all the way to the end. He will be dearly missed by his closest friend, Steve Froling, along with countless other friends from around the world
March 25, 2011
who were blessed to know him. Rob loved to travel and was a dedicated community volunteer with a passion for raising funds and awareness for grassroots charities in his Seattle and Orlando communities. Rob will always be remembered by his devoted family, including his mother, Judith (Duncan) MacLean; father, Dale (Sue) Hight; partner, Jon Parsons; grandmothers, Carole Bore and Dorane Burlison; his Aunt Jackie, and numerous family members. In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial donations be made to the Cutaneous Oncology Program of Moffitt Cancer Institute of Tampa, Florida. Donations can be made either at the memorial service or by visiting www.moffitt. org/donations. Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial celebration on Saturday, April 2 between 5-7 p.m. For details, email sfroling@comcast.net.
Seattle Gay News
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INTERNATIONAL courtesy Project Q
NEWS
by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer
group Egale, the sentence says, “Canada’s diversity includes Gay and Lesbian Canadians, who enjoy the full protection of and equal treatment under the law, including access to civil marriage.” Egale criticized the guide for making no mention of Transgender people, and urged Parliament to pass pending Bill C-389, which adds “gender identity” and “gender expression” as prohibited grounds of discrimination in the Canadian Human Rights Act and adds Transphobic crimes to the Criminal Code’s hate-crimes list. Isle of Man passes civil-partnership law A same-sex civil-partnership law has passed the parliament of the Isle of Man, a self-governing British crown dependency in the Irish Sea between Great Britain and Ireland. The law, which takes effect April 6, includes all the rights and obligations of marriage, the same as the United Kingdom’s civil-partnership law. British Gay activist George Broadhead commented: “As a Manxman myself who was born on the IOM in 1933 and realized I
was Gay at school in the 1940s, I know only too well what a frightful, homophobic place it was – much of it stemming, as elsewhere, from religious bigotry. Activists on the island itself and the rest of the U.K. launched a campaign to get the law changed and I am proud to have played a part in this.” Frontrunner for Peruvian president supports civil unions The frontrunner in Peru’s presidential campaign, Alejandro Toledo, has expressed support for giving Gay couples the rights of marriage via civil unions. The election is April 10. Gaga censored in Malaysia Malaysia’s largest chain of non-government-owned radio stations has removed Gay lyrics from Lady Gaga’s “Born This Way” for fear of being fined by government censors. The words “No matter Gay, straight, or Bi, Lesbian, Transgendered life, I’m on the right track, baby, I was born to survive” have been garbled so as to be unintelligible. With assistance from Bill Kelley
NATIONAL Nick Smith and Michael Baker were victims of a homophobic attack while vacationing in St. Lucia.
er, posted a graphic account of the nightmarish incident on his Facebook page – tinyurl. com/luc-attac. Tourism Minister Allen Chastanet said: “Whether or not this crime was motivated by anti-Gay sentiment, or during the course of a robbery, it is nonetheless unacceptable behavior and Saint Lucia as a destination will not tolerate it. ... Saint Lucia has always been a safe destination, respectful of people’s own choices for religion, beliefs and perspectives on life.” In his lengthy Facebook recounting of the attack, Baker writes: “He pointed the gun at my head and said, ‘Get the fuck down!’ As I sat down on the ground the door crashed open, and I put my head between my knees. I wondered if it was going to hurt to die by being shot in the head. I felt so trapped. I wanted to run away with Nick, get him out of there, but there was nowhere to escape. This was going to be it. ... They began to kick me in the back and the side. I was on my side, looking at Nick’s face. I could feel warm water running down my back, and realized it was not water, it was blood. I saw the blood flowing out of my forearm. They began to tell us that they hated white people. They hated faggots. They asked where we were from. We told them the United States. They told us again how much they hated us. They asked if we were Gay. Why had we showered together? Todd and I both said it was because the water heater was so small. They said if we were faggots they would kill us.” According to the U.S. State Department’s latest human-rights report on St. Lucia: “The law criminalizes homosexual relations, and there was widespread social discrimination against Lesbians, Gays, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) persons in St. Lucia apologizes the deeply conservative society. There were to Gay Americans The Caribbean island of St. Lucia on few openly LGBT persons in the country.” March 11 apologized to three American Guyana keeps Gay sex ban, Gay men who were violently attacked and opposes discrimination robbed inside a vacation villa by assailants The government of the South American who called them “faggots.” The apology from the tourism minister nation of Guyana said March 10 that it opcame after one of the victims, Michael Bak- poses both anti-Gay discrimination and advocacy of Gay “lifestyles.” Gay activists called the statement inadequate and said that if the government wanted to lessen anti-Gay discrimination, it should repeal laws that ban Gay sex and cross-dressing. The ban on cross-dressing is being challenged at present in the Supreme Court on constitutional grounds.
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Seattle Gay News
NEWS
Board President of the American Foundation for Equal Rights Chad Griffin
Majority of Americans support same-sex marriage Another national poll has found that a majority of Americans now support same-sex marriage. The Washington Post-ABC News poll, released March 18, found that when asked, “Do you think it should be illegal or legal for Gay and Lesbian couples to get married?” 53 percent of adults said “legal” and 44 percent said “illegal.” The random telephone poll quizzed 1,005 people and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Recent CNN and AP polls also found majority support for same-sex marriage. “Americans have been on a journey of understanding, living up to the American value of treating others as we would all want to be treated, and staying true to our nation’s history of upholding the American promise of equality under the law,” said Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry. “When the so-called Defense of Marriage Act was stampeded through in 1996, only 26 perCanada inserts Gays cent of Americans supported the freedom to into citizenship guide marry. In the 15 years since, that support has Canada has added a Gay sentence to “Dis- more than doubled.” cover Canada,” the nation’s official citizenChad Griffin, board president of the ship study guide. American Foundation for Equal Rights, According to the national LGBT lobby said: “The trend captured by today’s Wash-
March 25, 2011
Bill Wilson
Moldovan anti-discrimination bill under attack A government-supported bill to ban antiGay and other discrimination has come under attack in Moldova’s Parliament, where it is being debated. According to ILGA-Europe, a number of MPs have called for the deletion of “sexual orientation” from the draft law after being encouraged to do so by “right wing American evangelicals.” On March 17, about 150 anti-Gay activists staged a protest outside Parliament dubbed “Homosexuals stay at home.” Said ILGA: “Aggressive homophobic rhetoric by religious organizations and a number of parliamentarians already resulted in threats being made to the members of GenderDoc-M, the leading Moldovan LGBTI rights organization. Alexei Marcicov, president of the organization, was verbally abused and had stones thrown at him near his home. Other human rights defenders supporting the anti-discrimination law have been threatened on the streets and near their homes.” ILGA-Europe’s board co-chair, Martin K.I. Christensen, said Moldova has little choice but to pass the bill with Gays included. “Moldova committed to passing an antidiscrimination law protecting all minorities under its visa-liberalization agreement with the European Union,” he said. “We call on the EU to assert its position with the Moldovan authorities and hold them accountable under their obligations.” ILGA-Europe is the European Region of ILGA, the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association.
by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer
ington Post-ABC News poll – and a variety of other surveys – is indisputable. The more Americans talk about this issue with one another, the more they come to embrace the idea that all citizens deserve equal rights, including the freedom to marry. As AFER has witnessed in its case to overturn Prop 8, people from all political persuasions and walks of life believe that adults in committed, loving relationships should be able to live their lives free from the government’s interference.” Update On March 16, the San Diego Democratic Club corrected a public statement it issued on March 10 that was reported here. The original statement said that openly Lesbian San Diego mayoral candidate and District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis had, in last year’s California elections, supported Republican candidates for governor and attorney general who vowed to end the state’s policy of refusing to defend Proposition 8 in court. The corrected statement says that Dumanis supported the Republican gubernatorial candidate but remained neutral in the attorney general race. With assistance from Bill Kelley
Celebrating 38 Years!
NORTHWEST
NEWS
compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer
ARTISTS FOR JAPAN ART SALE TO BENEFIT RELIEF EFFORTS IN JAPAN On Saturday, March 26, from noon to 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 27, from noon to 5 p.m., at KOBO Gallery at Higo (604 S. Jackson St.), a number of artists with connections to Japan will be donating work – paintings, drawings, calligraphy, sumi-e, ceramics, jewelry, sculpture, prints, and more – to be exchanged for donations that will go directly to relief efforts helping those affected by the Japan earthquake and tsunami. 100% of the proceeds will go to the Japanese Red Cross or the International Red Cross. No commissions will be paid and all the hard costs for the event have been donated. The Wing Luke Museum is a community sponsor and supporter of this event. The Murukami Family (Higo Variety Store, where the gallery is located) will also match up to $10,000 in donations raised. SISTER GLO’S 40TH BIRTHDAY BENEFIT FOR CAMP TEN TREES On Saturday, March 26, starting at 6 p.m., at Stuart Hall (509 10th Ave. E.), celebrate Sister Glo Euro N’Wei’s “40 is a Drag” birthday celebration to raise money for Camp Ten Trees with your best interpretation of drag! $5 suggested donation. Drag workshop from 6-8:30 p.m. will feature local drag kings, drag queens, burlesque/boylesque performers, makeup artists and more sharing their best tips. Youth Dance from 8:30-11 p.m., will feature a drag runway, photo booth, performances, music, food, and more! Youthfocused (15-ish to 21-ish). 21+ Drag Bucket Run from 8:30-11 p.m. – The 21+ crowd will head throughout Capitol Hill to collect donations for Camp Ten Trees. Drag attire strongly encouraged! Meet at Stuart Hall at 8:30 p.m. 21+ After Party from 11:30 p.m.-??? – Join Sister Glo at Chapel (1600 Melrose Ave.) to toast a successful evening with a drink special provided by the bar! Camp Ten Trees provides a summer camp experience for GLBTQ youth and for youth with GLBTQ parents. www.camptentrees. org. A BENEFIT CABARET FOR THE JAPAN EARTHQUAKE AND TSUNAMI On Saturday, March 26, cocktails at 6:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m., at Neighbours (1509 Broadway, entrance in alley between Broadway and Harvard off E. Pike St.), the Asian Pacific Islander Council of Seattle presents “A Benefit Cabaret for the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami.” Join hosts Gaysha Starr and Aleksa Manila for an evening of fine cabaret with raffle and auction and the entertainers donating their tips. Open donation at the door. 100% proceeds will benefit the Rainbow World Fund. www.rainbowfund.org. 21+ with ID. WASHINGTON STATE MR. & MS. LEATHER CONTEST On Saturday, March 26, door at 6 p.m., contest at 7 p.m., at The Cuff Complex (1533 13th Ave. at E. Pine St.), join members of Seattle’s and the statewide Leather community for the Washington State Mr. & Ms. Leather Contest – $10 donation at the door. Contestants will be judged based on their Private Interview with the judges, Social Interactions at the free and open-to-the-public Meet & Greet on Friday, March 25, 8:30-10 p.m., at Doghouse Leathers (1312 E. Pine St.) and throughout the next day. Contestants will also be judged on their Cruise-Bar Wear, a Pop Question, Physique (Mr. Only), Fantasy (Ms. Only), Leather Image, and a 2-minute Speech at the contest. Winners will represent the Washington State Leather Community in the coming year, working to promote safer sex and breast cancer awareness and to unify the community. Winners will also organize two
community fundraisers. The Victory Brunch and Leather Emerald Awards presentation will be held on Sunday, March 27, at 11:30 a.m., at The Cuff Complex. Brunch at 11:30 a.m., awards presentation at noon. The National Leather Emerald Award goes to a person or organization who has either assisted the Seattle leather community in the past or has provided positive leadership to the Leather community in general. The Washington Leather Emerald Award goes to a person or group who has had a positive impact on behalf of the Washington State Leather Community. This award is Leather community specific. The Community Service Award goes to a person or group who has given both heart and soul to the greater Washington State Leather Community or the general Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, BDSM community. The Washington State Mr. & Ms. Leather Contest is sponsored by the Washington State Mr. & Ms. Leather Organization. For more information, visit www.wsmlo.org. SEATTLE PRIDE IDOL On Sundays, March 27 to June 19, doors at 6 p.m., competition at 7 p.m., at Neighbours (1509 Broadway. entrance in alley off E. Pike St. between Broadway and Harvard), join Seattle Out and Proud (SO&P) for Seattle’s Pride Idol talent competition to see who will represent Seattle Out & Proud on the Pride Idol Float in the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday, June 26. For complee details, visit www.seattlepride.com. IN THE LIFE TV – “OUR BODIES, OUR RIGHTS” ON KCTS-TV On Sunday, March 27, at midnight, KCTS-TV, Channel 9, broadcasts In the Life’s March program: “Our Bodies, Our Rights.” The program can also be viewed online at your convenience at www.ITLMedia.org. LGBT youth who go through the juvenile justice system are likely to encounter discrimination and abuse. In the lead segment, “Juvenile Injustice,” In the Life features the stories of youth in ill equipped correctional institutions and the advocates who are fighting for change. Next, young people are trancending the boundaries of gender-normative behavior more than any previous generation, but our schools continue to enforce traditional gender roles and dress codes. “Policing Gender” looks at the consequences young people face for not conforming to gender “appropriate” dress and behavior in school and at home.
Recognize the warning signs for suicide. Demonstrate the suicide intervention strategies of showing you care, asking the question and getting help. Understand what schools, families, and community partners can do to prevent and intervene in bullying incidents. Identify resources for help at school and in the community. This training is open to everyone and is specifically geared toward: school staff, community organizations, and families. The fee for this training is $25. To register, contact Heather Carter at 206-297-5922 ext 116 or heather@yspp.org. SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB 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.). All GLBTQ folks in the community are welcome to participate in this FREE book club. On March 30 the book club will be showing the controversial documentary, The Origin of AIDS. The book for April is We Think the World of You by J.R. Ackerley. The book was made into a movie in the ‘80s starring Alan Bates and a very young Gary Oldman. For more information, e-mail nickdimartin@earthlink.net or contact Dunshee House at 206-322-2437. ROCK IT IN RED BENEFIT FOR LIFELONG AIDS ALLIANCE On Thursday, March 31, door at 9:30 p.m., at Neighbours Underground (1509 Broadway, entrance in alley between Broadway and Harvard off E. Pike St.) join Gaysha Starr and friends for an evening of fine drag entertainment to benefit Lifelong AIDS Alliance. Cover is a suggested cash donation and canned food – bring cash for silent auction and raffle. All proceeds donated to Lifelong AIDS Alliance. SEATTLE CHERRY BLOSSOM & JAPANESE CULTURAL FESTIVAL APRIL 1-3 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Seattle Center’s Center House, Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center Pavilion and Skatepark. www.seattlecenter. org., 206-684-7200.
SEATTLE RAINBOW CONTRA DANCE On Saturdays, 4/2, 4/16, 5/7, 5/21, 6/4, 6/18, no dance 7/2, resumes 7/16, at Ballard Odd Fellows Hall (1706 NW Market St.), join LGBTQ folks and friends (and all who want to dance) for this fun, easy-to-learn, easy-to-dance, gender-neutral contra dance, with live calling and live bluegrass music. No experience or partner necessary. All dances taught. Free lesson at 7 p.m. Dance from 7:30-10 p.m. Cost is $8. Organizers suggest bringing water to drink. A bin for non-perishable food donations is available at the hall. Please come fragrance free in consideration of those with “SAFE FROM BULLIES – allergies. Bring a dry shirt to change into if SAVING LIVES” you sweat a lot. No drunkenness, rude or A COMMUNITY TRAINING abusive behavior will be tolerated. ON BULLYING AND NEGATIVE http://seattledance.org/contra/rainbow; MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES On Wednesday, March 30, from 4-6 p.m., YouTube: Seattle Rainbow Contra Dance. at the 2100 Building, 2100 24th Ave. S., join FREEDOM SOCIALIST PARTY Heather Carter, OUTLoud Project Manager, HOSTS BIRTHDAY FIESTA Youth Suicide Prevention Program, for an FUNDRAISER open, community-wide training on bullyOn Saturday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the ing and bias-based harassment and the links these experiences have to long-term, nega- home of Chris Smith, Doug Barnes and Dotive mental health outcomes. Youth suicide reen McGrath, (5236 S. Fontanelle Place, intervention will also be discussed as these in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood), you are warmly invited to a birthday Fiesta two issues are linked as well. The desired outcomes for this training for Guerry Hoddersen and a benefit for the Freedom Socialist newspaper. are: Guerry Hoddersen, as the first female Be able to define bullying and bias based harassment (as it pertains to LGBTQ youth) driver for UPS in the Northwest, initiated and won a resolution from Teamsters 174 and who’s involved in the behaviors. Identify the relationship between bully- to oppose the anti-Gay initiative in the late ing and bias-based harassment and negative ‘70s during fundamentalist Anita Bryant’s mental health outcomes such as depression crusade against the post-Stonewall surge towards Gay rights. She and George Bakan and thoughts of suicide. Identify negative emotions associated of the Seattle Gay News also led the sucwith these experiences – for the bully, the cessful coalition effort by the United Front Against Fascism to expose and counter neotarget, and the bystander. Understand the risks and experiences that Nazi bigots trying to enlarge their foothold in Washington and Idaho. LGBTQ youth face. Recognize protective factors against bullying and bias-based harassment.
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March 25, 2011
The party features a tapas buffet for a $7 donation, salsa dancing and great conversations. In lieu of gifts, Guerry prefers donations to the Freedom Socialist, an important voice for change. If you are unable to come to the event, but would like to make a donation to the paper in her honor, please mail a check payable to “FS,” 5018 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98118, and put “Guerry’s birthday” in the memo line. For more information call 206-722-2453 or email FSPseattle@mindspring.com. Sponsored by the Freedom Socialist Party. RAINBOW CITY BAND – “APRIL IN PARIS” SPRING CONCERT On Saturday, April 2, at 8 p.m., at Edmonds Center for the Arts (410 4th Ave. N., Edmonds), the Rainbow City Band presents “April in Paris,” their Spring concert featuring the majesty of Ravel’s “Bolero,” the eloquence and tranquility of Satie’s “Trois Gymnopedies,” the passion of Bezet’s “Carmen,” the sweet elegance of Count Basie’s “April in Paris,” and much, much more. Also, joining the band will be celebrated Seattle pianist Matthew Goodrich, who will grace the hall with the rich, tonal lushness of Debussy’s masterpiece for piano, “L’isle joyeuse.” Tickets at 425-275-9595, www. rainbowcityband.com., or www.ec4arts. org. SEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS – “FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN” & HOLOCAUST MUSEUM EXHIBIT On Saturday, April 2, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 3, at 2 p.m., at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., the Seattle Men’s Chorus presents “Falling in Love Again,” a richly varied concert using music to powerfully highlight the lives of Gay men in Germany before and during the Nazi era. Act I, titled “Life is a Cabaret,” recreates Berlin’s free-wheeling pre-WWII Weimar period that ended with Hitler’s ascendency in 1933. SMC’s assistant artistic director, Eric Lane Barnes, created and arranged this act which features beloved tunes like Mack the Knife, Love for Sale, and Falling in Love Again. Local performer Nick Garrison will join the Chorus for Wilkommen and Cabaret, among other songs. Spectrum Dance Theater, under the direction of Donald Byrd, will join the Chorus to interpret this riveting chapter of Gay history through dance. In sharp contrast, Act II will feature a new commission of Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch (originally commissioned by Seattle’s Music of Remembrance). This musical drama chronicles the relatively untouched and unknown subject of Gay persecution during the Holocaust. This is Gad Beck (actor David Pichette) and Manfred Lewin’s (operatic baritone Morgan Smith) tragic but true wartime love story. The commission is by Seattle Men’s Chorus and Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. Intiman Theatre’s associate producer, Andrew Russell, will be staging the production. Pre-show discussions (ticket to concert required) will be held on Saturday, April 2, at 7:15 p.m., and on Sunday, April 3, at 1:15 p.m. For complete details, visit www.flyinghouse.org. A touring exhibition, “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals, 1933-1945,” on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will be on display in the McCaw Hall lobby, from Wednesday, March 30, to Saturday, April 2, from noon to 10 p.m., and on Sunday, April 3, from noon to 5 p.m. Docent tours on Saturday, April 2 at 1:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and on Sunday, April 3, at 12:30 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public. For tickets to the concerts, call 206-3881400 or visit www.flyinghouse.org. SEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL RED HOT LAUNCH PARTY On Saturday, April 2, from 9 p.m to 2 a.m., at Cirque Event Center (121 Taylor Ave.), get a sneak peak into the Seattle Erotic Art Festival’s 2011 Theme: “Red Light District,” with non-stop Seattle DJ’s and handpicked performances. Tickets: $10 – advance purchase recommended as this event sold out last year. www.seattleerotic.org.
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shaun knittel
10 Seattle Gay News
March 25, 2011
Celebrating 38 Years!
Equality Day 2011
On March 22, hundreds of Washingtonians gathered on the steps of the Capitol Building in Olympia, Washington, for Equality Day 2011 to educate their legislators about the lives of LGBT persons. Washington State Senator Ed Murray, Reps. Jamie Pedersen, Marko Liias, Dave Upthegrove, and Equal Rights Washington Executive Director Josh Friedes were among the guest speakers at the rally.
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Seattle Gay News 11
Japan Rising
The Asian Pacific Islander Council of Seattle Presents: A Benefit Cabaret For The Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Saturday, March 26 Cocktails: 6:30PM/ Show 8:00PM Open Donation At The Door 100% Proceeds Benefiting The Rainbow World Fund www.rainbowfund.org Neighbours Nightclub 1509 Broadway Ave E Seattle, WA 98109 Entrance in Alley 21+ W/ ID
Hosted by Aleksa Manila & Gaysha Starr
SGN Seattle Gay News
12 Seattle Gay News
March 25, 2011
Celebrating 38 Years!
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March 25, 2011
Seattle Gay News 13
14 Seattle Gay News
March 25, 2011
Celebrating 38 Years!
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March 25, 2011
Seattle Gay News 15
Courtesy the Des Moines Registry
Reverend Keith Ratliff, Sr.
Rev. slams civil rights, Gay rights link by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The struggle for LGBT equality is often linked to the historic 1960s Civil Rights Movement. However, there are some, like Reverend Keith Ratliff, Sr., who disagree completely with that comparison and have begun to publicly disavow the link between the two movements. Rev. Ratliff was speaking at a rally last week in Iowa for allowing a referendum vote on marriage equality – which has been legal in Iowa for nearly two years – when he broke away from several state and nationallevel leaders of the NAACP by saying that he was sick of Gays and Lesbians “hijacking the Civil Rights Movement.” The NAACP Iowa-Nebraska chapter, which Rev. Ratliff is president of, is one of the country’s oldest chapters. Rev. Ratliff’s comments come at a time when the NAACPs Gay leadership is growing, putting him in direct contrast with the organization he serves. According to the Associated Press, more Gay leaders and people of diverse racial
backgrounds are being selected to lead the NAACP as the venerable civil rights organization seeks to increase its membership and broaden its anti-discrimination agenda. The AP says the new faces are the result of “an aggressive effort over the past four or five years” started under former chairman Julian Bond and accelerated under president Benjamin Todd Jealous, who has pushed for the organization to support Gay rights. Paid membership has increased to 525,000 from a low of just below 300,000 within the past decade, and people under 25 are now the fastest-growing membership group. “NAACP branches have been recruiting Gays, immigrants, and young people who grew up in a world far removed from the landmark 1954 Brown vs. Board of Education ruling that outlawed school segregation,” reports the AP. “Now, leadership positions that were once held only by blacks are being filled by members of other racial or ethnic groups.” Still, Rev. Ratliff is joined by others who worry that the push for inclusion could distract from the NAACP’s focus on AfricanAmerican issues.
Courtesy of Pride At Work AFL-CIO The Martin Luther King County Labor Council (MLKCLC) “supports inclusive contract language prohibiting discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity and expression, and urges its affiliates to adopt such language,” according to a resolution passed unanimously at its March 16 Delegates Meeting. The resolution was proposed by Pride At Work. The MLKCLC is the local branch of the AFL-CIO, the country’s largest union federation. With some 150 affiliated union locals and other labor organizations, it represents 75,000 workers. Pride At Work is an LGBT labor organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO, but including members of Change To Win and independent unions, and non-union allies. Pride At Work proposed the resolution as “ENDA Plan B,” according to Pride At Work member Mike Andrew. The resolution notes that “the failure of the 111th Congress to pass ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) leaves LGBT workers unprotected under federal law.” “Because of the commitments of the Republican leadership in the House, we won’t see action on LGBT legislation like ENDA till 2013 at the earliest,” Andrew said in a brief speech to the MLKCLC delegates.
“We won’t be able to protect everybody, but at least we can protect the people we can protect: workers covered by a union contract.” Pride At Work and the MLKCLC have built a close working relationship over the years, and many contracts already contain language protecting sexual orientation. There are still relatively few contracts that are really exemplary and protect for both sexual orientation and gender identity and expression. Pride At Work offered the resolution in the wake of the release of a new NGLTF study – “Injustice at Every Turn” – documenting persistent and pervasive discrimination against Transgender workers. The MLKCLC has previously passed a resolution supporting passage of an inclusive ENDA bill. It also endorsed the Approve Referendum 71 campaign to protect domestic partnership rights in this state. In 2006, some 25 local labor organizations, including the MLKCLC, signed on to amicus briefs supporting marriage equality in the Andersen case. Pride At Work was chartered as an AFLCIO affiliate in 1997, but for several years before that, the group Out Front Labor Coalition built support for LGBT issues in the local labor movement. Examples of inclusive anti-discrimination language can be found at Pride At Work’s website, www.prideatwork.org.
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Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer
Labor Council reaffirms Fort Worth settles suit support for inclusive in Gay bar raid anti-discrimination language
The Rainbow Lounge in Fort Worth, Texas
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The City of Fort Worth, Texas, will pay $400,000 to a man injured in a raid on the Rainbow Lounge Gay bar in 2009. The Fort Worth City Council approved the payment to Chad Gibson on March 22. Gibson suffered head injuries in the raid, which took place 40 years almost to the minute after the famous Stonewall Inn raid in Greenwich Village, which sparked the modern Gay liberation movement. He was hospitalized for more than a week. Fort Worth police and Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents said they entered the bar to investigate incidents of public intoxication. A TABC agent alleged that Gibson groped him. Gibson was arrested and subsequently charged with assault on the agent. He charged that he was the victim of excessive
force by law enforcement officers. Two TABC agents and their supervisor were later fired, and three Fort Worth police officers were suspended for improper conduct in the raid. Both agencies conducted internal investigations but decided that no excessive force was used. Nevertheless, Fort Worth’s mayor, police chief, and the head of the TABC apologized to the public – although not to Gibson or any of the bar patrons arrested by their officers. By the end of 2009, the Fort Worth Police Department had appointed a Lesbian officer to act as community liaison with the LGBT community. The City of Fort Worth said the settlement with Gibson is not an admission of liability but will avoid costly and time-consuming litigation. The TABC said it too is considering settling with Gibson in the separate claims he filed against that agency.
Celebrating 38 Years!
Barcelona dedicates LGBT Memorial courtesy gay.it
The newly unveiled LGBT memorial in Barcelona, Spain.
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Mayor Jordi Hereu of Barcelona dedicated a memorial to LGBT victims of persecution in central Ciutadella Park on Sunday morning, March 20, The pink marble triangle slants slightly upward toward the observer, with an inscription in Catalan that reads, “In memory of the Gays, Lesbians and Transexual persons who have suffered persecution and repression throughout history, Barcelona 2011.” The dedication ceremony featured show tunes in several European languages, performed by Barcelona’s Gay men’s chorus. Mayor Hereu spoke of the history of Barcelona as a haven for persecuted groups and individuals, and of the city’s respect for LGBT people. After the festivities, local LGBT groups placed bunches of flowers around the monument. The location was a compromise after the Roman Catholic Church objected to the proposed installation of the memorial in front of Antoní Gaudi’s Sagrada Familia Basilica. The square in front of Sagrada Familia was the site of a Gay and Lesbian kiss-in when Pope Benedict XVI dedicated Sagrada Familia as a basilica in November 2010. The Barcelona city government had originally suggested that the square would be a suitable site for its projected LGBT monument. In response, Spanish church leaders
staged a series of mammoth protest rallies, including one in January featuring Pope Benedict speaking via satellite feed. Barcelona is now one of five European cities with LGBT monuments. Berlin has a stone monument to LGBT victims of the Holocaust next to the main Holocaust memorial. Frankfurt and Cologne also have LGBT monuments. Rome and the Hague have set up LGBT memorials, but one planned for Vienna was later cancelled. Barcelona is Spain’s second-largest city and is the capital of the autonomous region of Cataluña. The Catalan language is distinct from the Castilian Spanish spoken in most of the country. Barcelona was also a stronghold of Spanish anarchism and socialism during the Spanish Civil War period of the 1930s. Like Spain’s national government, Barcelona’s city government is controlled by socialists. Barcelona’s Mayor Jordi Hereu i Boher represents the Socialist Party of Cataluña, which is affiliated with the Prime Minister Zapatero’s Spanish Socialist Workers Party. Zapatero has been prime minister since April 2004. He introduced and passed Spain’s marriage equality and abortion laws, and has become the main nemesis of Spanish Catholic leaders. While 73% of Spaniards still identify as Roman Catholics according to the Spanish Center of Sociological Research, most do not attend church regularly. Some 22% of Spaniards say they have no religion.
LGBT homeless youth in NYC outraged by possible budget cuts by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor According to an analysis by the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development, the proposed budget cuts by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo would drastically reduce support from New York State for homeless youth, with 37 shelter beds for youth facing closure. Currently, New York State and New York City combine funds to support 108 youth shelter beds, even though a recent census indicated that over 3,000 youth are without shelter every night. The governor’s budget proposal of a new Primary Prevention Incentive Program (PPIP) would consolidate a variety of child welfare, juvenile justice, and youth development programs into a competitive block grant. This proposal eliminates $85 million in existing youth and family services to create the new PPIP block grant, to be funded at $35 million. The grant will be allocated to local social services districts on a competitive basis forcing different localities to compete for vastly reduced funds for the protection of disadvantaged youth. State funds previously dedicated to homeless youth would be eliminated. LGBT youth suffering homelessness would be disproportionately harmed by these cuts. LGBT youth comprise 40% of the homeless youth population of New York City, and according to a 2007 census commissioned by the New York City Council; over 1,000 LGBT youth are without shelter every night. Homeless LGBT youth without shelter often are forced to resort to prostitution in order to survive, and approximately 20% become HIV infected. Homeless LGBT youth are at extraordinary risk of suicide, with 62% admitting to having considered or attempted suicide. “I can only hope that the Cuomo administration, in proposing these cuts, did not understand their impact on homeless youth,” said Carl Siciliano, executive director of the Ali Forney Center. “It is unimaginable to me that the governor would find it acceptable to throw homeless kids out of shelter beds, abandoning them to the streets to resolve a budget crisis. With so many youth’s lives at risk as they suffer on the streets waiting for shelter, we cannot give up even one bed. I
am confident that the LGBT community will join us in letting the governor know that we cannot tolerate such inhumane mistreatment of our most vulnerable youth.” The Ali Forney Center (AFC), the nation’s largest LGBT youth homeless services center, is gathering support from the New York LGBT community and its allies. Change.org, an online petition site that works to promote progressive laws and corporate policies, as well as to make communities healthier, safer, and more equitable, recently posted a petition protesting the proposed cuts, which has garnered nearly 13,000 signatures. The petition can be viewed here: h t t p : / / w w w. c h a n g e . org/#search/ali%20forney%20 center AFC will continue to actively engage all those who care about homeless LGBT youth in a variety of ways, including through online organizing and in-person advocacy in Albany. Last week, AFC sent a busload of youth and advocates to speak with their representatives about the impending crisis if these budget cuts are implemented. The Ali Forney Center’s mission is to help homeless LGBT youth be safe and become independent as they move from adolescence to adulthood. Too many of these youth are rejected by their families and the broader community, and are thus forced to survive on the streets, facing the dangers of violence, HIV infection, and homophobia. AFC is committed to providing homeless LGBT youth with the services they need to thrive, including shelter, HIV prevention, and vocational training. For more information, go to www.aliforneycenter.org.
LGBT youth suffering homelessness would be disproportionately harmed by these cuts.
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Seattle Gay News 17
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor In an effort to make K-12 sports and physical education safer and more inclusive for all regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression, GLSEN (the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network) and a diverse coalition of athletes, journalists, and sports figures launched “Changing the Game: The GLSEN Sports Project” on March 17. “I am really excited to be working with GLSEN to create a sports project that will help to make sports and physical education a great experience for every student, no matter what their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression,” said GLSEN Sports Project Director Pat Griffin, former director of It Takes a Team Education Campaign for LGBT Issues in Sport at the Women’s Sports Foundation. According to GLSEN officials, the list of Advisory Group and All-Star supporters includes Hall of Fame, Olympic and National Champion athletes, award-winning journalists, former college athletic directors, and current professional, college, and high school coaches. Among them: Hall of Fame tennis players Billie Jean King and Martina Navratilova; ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com columnist LZ Granderson; Olympic softball
jeff sheng
GLSEN launches new program to address LGBT issues in K-12 sports
medalists Jessica Mendoza and Lauren Lappin; current NFL player Scott Fujita and former NFL player Wade Davis; WNBA player Candice Wiggins; Toronto Maple Leafs President and General Manager Brian Burke; National Center for Lesbian Rights Sports Project Director Helen Carroll; threetime All-American wrestler Hudson Taylor; Outsports.com co-founder Cyd Zeigler; WNBA coach Lin Dunn; Rugby player Ben Cohen; former MLB player Billy Bean; and former NBA player John Amaechi. With few existing resources or programs designed to address homophobia and Transphobia in K-12 sports, Changing the Game fills a critical gap and adds a vital new dimension to GLSEN’s work to create a world in which every child learns to accept and respect all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. Nearly nine out of 10 LGBT youth (84.6%) said they’d experienced harassment in school in the past year because of their sexual orientation, and nearly two-thirds (63.7%) were harassed because of their gender expression, according to GLSEN’s 2009 National School Climate Survey. Additionally, 61.1% said they felt unsafe at school Matt, from Jeff Sheng’s “Fearless” series of portraits of “out” LGBT athletes because of their sexual orientation. on high school and college sports teams. When asked if there were particular spaces at school they avoided because they felt student said locker rooms – the highest per- doing across the country to promote a simunsafe or uncomfortable, 35.7% of LGBT centage of any place at school. ple theme that is at the heart of Changing “GLSEN is committed to the principle the Game said officials. that all students should have equal access to “The sporting world is a place where many the services, supports and opportunities of a children and teens grow into the person they K-12 education,” GLSEN Executive Direc- will become,” said Brad Usselman, a cross tor Eliza Byard said. “Changing the Game is country athlete at Skyview High School designed to help schools, coaches, athletes, in Vancouver, Washington, and a blogger and families create a healthy atmosphere of along with two other high school LGBT respect in PE classes and competitive athlet- athletes at http://bradrobertben.wordpress. ics. Sports and PE were a central part of my com. “Acceptance needs to be promoted so life growing up, and are critical for student that we can foster a generation that does not health and wellbeing. Every child today care if someone is LGBT. They look past should have the opportunity to participate the fact of someone’s sexuality and instead fully and safely in every aspect of school try to see who the person truly is.” life.” GLSEN is the leading national educaGLSEN’s Changing the Game website tion organization focused on ensuring safe (http://sports.glsen.org) features a collec- schools for all students. Established in tion of “Game Plan” resources for athletes, 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which athletic administrators, coaches, and par- every child learns to respect and accept all ents; a Game Changer video project (you- people, regardless of sexual orientation or tube.com/GLSENsports) to raise awareness gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks about people making a difference in the to develop school climates where differsports world every day; and the Team Re- ence is valued for the positive contribuspect Challenge pledge for teams to commit tion it makes to creating a more vibrant and to treat all teammates with respect. diverse community. For information on Additional Changing the Game programs GLSEN’s research, educational resources, will be introduced in the coming months. public policy advocacy, student organizing The program also will highlight the im- programs, and educator training initiatives, portant work student-athletes are already visit www.glsen.org.
Religion & Spirituality Rev. David Strong Pastor
SOJOURNER TRUTH MINISTRIES Sunday Worship 11:00am P.O. Box 19734 Seattle, WA 98109 Phone: 206.621.8960
Come worship with us!
2524 16th Ave. South A209 Seattle, Washington 98144 Phone 206-478-6718 www.sojournertruthministries.org
A Church for All God’s People – since 1972 www.mccseattle.org Sunday Worship 11:00 am 1415 NE 43rd St. on U-District (206) 325-2421
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Celebrating 38 Years!
U.N.
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“We are very concerned that individuals continue to be killed, arrested, and harassed around the world because of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” said Suzanne Nossel, deputy assistant secretary of state for international organizations. “This statement sends a strong message from across the globe that such abuses should not be tolerated.” Nossel added that the U.S. was proud to be taking a leading role in promoting the idea that “Gay rights are human rights,” echoing previous statements by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. On March 24, Archbishop Silvano M. Tomasi, the Vatican’s representative to the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, condemned the U.S. declaration. “People are being attacked for taking positions that do not support sexual behavior between people of the same sex,” Tomasi said in his statement. “When they express their moral beliefs or beliefs about human nature, which may also be expressions of religious convictions, or state opinions about scientific claims, they are stigmatized – and worse, they are vilified, and prosecuted.”
The Vatican also opposed a 2008 United Nations General Assembly resolution calling for the universal decriminalization of same-sex relations, claiming it would lead to the legalization of same-sex marriage. In his March 24 statement, Tomasi reaffirmed the Vatican’s “deeply held belief that human sexuality is a gift that is genuinely expressed in the complete and lifelong mutual devotion of a man and a woman in marriage.” Protecting the rights of LGBT people has often been a controversial issue at the U.N., as Tomasi’s statement indicates. With its condemnation of the U.S. declaration, the Vatican put itself on the same side as Uganda, Zimbabwe, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and other countries that actively persecute their LGBT residents. Russia and China also failed to sign the document, although they did not express open opposition to it. Same-sex relations are legal in both countries, but both governments shy away from broad statements about human rights because of international criticism of their own alleged human rights abuses. The White House issued a statement on March 22 noting that “President Obama believes that advancing the human rights of minorities and the marginalized is a fundamental American value.” The White House statement went on to say that the U.N. declaration was the result of “frank, and at times difficult, conversations
about the human rights of LGBT persons with governments from around world.” “The president is proud of the work we have done to build international consensus on this critical issue and is committed to continuing our determined efforts to advance the human rights of all people, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity,” the White House concluded. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also issued a comment on the declaration, saying it was “a historic moment” that highlighted U.S. commitment to LGBT rights. “This statement is an example of America’s commitment to human rights through
dialogue, open discussion, and frank conversation with countries we don’t always agree with on every issue,” Clinton said in her statement. “In Geneva, our conversations about the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals with countries where sexual orientation is not only stigmatized, but criminalized, are helping to advance a broader and deeper global dialogue about these issues.” Clinton promised that “we will not rest until every man, woman, and child is able to live up to his or her potential free from persecution or discrimination of any kind.”
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FAP
continued from cover www.familyproject.sfsu.edu. “Our team is putting research into practice by developing the first evidence-based family model of wellness, prevention, and care to strengthen families and promote positive development and healthy futures for LGBT children and
youth. Once developed, we will disseminate our model across the U.S. and to groups we work with in other countries.” FAP is directed by Caitlin Ryan at the Marian Wright Edelman Institute at San Francisco State University, and was developed by Caitlin Ryan and Rafael Dìaz in 2002. The project is designed to: • Study the reactions of parents, families, and caregivers to an adolescent’s comingout and LGBT identity. • Develop training and assessment materials for health, mental health, and schoolbased providers, child welfare, juvenile justice, family service workers, and community service providers on working with LGBT youth and families. • Develop resources to strengthen families to support LGBT children and adolescents. • Develop a new model of family-related care to improve health and mental health outcomes for LGBT adolescents. Findings will be used to inform policy and practice and to change the way that systems of care address the needs of LGBT adolescents. “Although there is an increasing amount of information about the risks and challenges facing LGB youth (with very little information about Transgender youth), we know little about their strengths and resiliency, including the strengths of families in supporting their children’s health and wellbeing,” say FAP officials. “Even though the family is the primary support for children and youth, and family involvement helps reduce adolescent risk, there have been no
previous studies of how families affect their LGBT children’s risk and resiliency. Prior to this study, little information was available to show how families respond to an adolescent’s coming-out and how family and caregiver reactions affect adolescent health, mental health, and development for LGBT young people.” Attention to family reactions is critical since increasingly, youth are coming out at younger ages, which significantly increases risk for victimization and abuse in family, school, and community settings, and provides opportunities for helping to support and strengthen families. Victimization has long-term consequences for health and development, and impacts families as well as the targeted individuals. Early intervention can help families and caregivers build on strengths and use evidence-based materials to understand the impact of acceptance and rejection on their child’s well-being, said FAP officials.
develop research-based resources and interventions to educate families and increase family support for their LGBT children. “We are using our findings to develop family-education materials in several languages, working with diverse families with LGBT children, adolescents and young adults,” FAP reports. The organization is developing provider risk-resiliency assessment materials and resources to increase providers’ cultural competency and are collaborating with community agencies to help us develop a new research-based family approach to help support LGBT children and youth in a wide range of settings. COLLABORATION WITH KEY COMMUNITY GROUPS The project is being carried out in collaboration with key community groups and representatives from community organizations that work with youth in schools, health care settings and families, including PFLAG, the GSA Network, and the Adolescent Health Working Group. FAP is funded by a growing family of individual donors, agencies, and visionary foundations including The California Endowment, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and by a matching grant by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “We’re very resourceful in finding volunteers and donated services to make the best use of our limited resources,” say officials. “However, your individual or organizational contribution can make a significant difference in helping us carry out the project.” To make an online contribution go to www.applyweb.com/public/ contribute?s=sfudonat (Note: Under “About Your Gift,” select Family Acceptance Project from the dropdown menu). For more information on donating to the project, contact the organization at fap@ sfsu.edu or call (415) 522-5558.
IN-DEPTH FAMILY INTERVIEWS, CASE STUDIES, AND SURVEYS FAP uses a range of research methods including in-depth individual interviews with LGBT adolescents and their families, case studies, and surveys to understand how family reactions to an LGBT young person affect their health, mental health, and wellbeing. “The first part of our project includes indepth individual interviews with LGBT adolescents and their families throughout California. We reached out to youth from a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and geographic areas,” said officials. This included youth from accepting, ambivalent, and rejecting families; youth living in gated, middle-class, low income, farming, and rural communities; youth in immigrant families, youth in foster care, and adjudicated and homeless youth and their families. FAP also reached youth and their families through schools, mainstream and LGBT youth service organizations, youth and family service agencies, peer outreach workers, foster care, and residential programs. “Our interviews focused on family history and child development, sexual orien- continued from cover tation and gender identity, religious beliefs and values, sexual orientation, culture and ethnicity, coming out, family response and adaptation over time, school-based experiences and victimization, resiliency and 552nd MP Battalion U.S. Army, serving on strength, sources of support, as well as fu- patrol at the time of his death. Upon hearing ture goals and aspirations,” said FAP offi- the news of the brave young man’s death, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton (Wilcials. They found that families have a range of fahrt was from Rosemount) ordered that all reactions to their children’s LGBT iden- flags be lowered to half-staff in honor of the tity and express their reactions through state’s fallen son. So, nearly 10 years into the Afghanistan behaviors that affect their children’s health and mental health outcomes. The research war campaign, why does Wilfahrt’s death linked family responses with risk and pro- stand out? He was an out and proud Gay man. Up untective factors for key concerns including sexual health, HIV infection, substance til he joined the service two years ago, he use, depression, suicide, and wellbeing. In wrestled with the ethical question of going addition, they assessed the availability of back into the closest to serve his nation. Two services for families of LGBT youth to help years ago, DADT was alive and well. The
soldier
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consequences for being outed as a Gay man were real, and Wilfahrts knew it. Like many before him (and many currently), he served to protect the Constitution, the nation that holds him as a second-class citizen, and the military that was ready to kick him out. Poignantly, Wilfahrt may be the first Gay soldier killed since the legislative removal of the DADT ban. In his obituary, his parents described him as “compassionate, smart, and witty … an admirer, composer, and player of music who believed deeply in art and humanity.” His father, Jeff Wilfahrt, said, “He didn’t have a child and a wife. In a way, he went over [to war] so that somebody with a young family wouldn’t die.” The grieving father added, “He was a Gay soldier.” One of his comrades posted on his Facebook wall, “He joined the fight so that guys like me didn’t have to. He is my hero, my friend, and I miss him. Sleep well, buddy. You earned it.” Nobody cared that Wilfahrt was Gay, said his mother, Lori. “He knew he would have to go back into the closet,” she explained, “that he would have to keep that to himself. And he did, for at least part of his stay in the Army. But when I talked to him when he was in Afghanistan, he said nobody cares. He said, ‘Everybody knows, nobody cares.’ He said, ‘Even the really conservative, religious types, they didn’t care either.’”
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fire in less than 15 minutes. Total damages were estimated at $75,000. “I guess they came in the side door,” Alano Club’s David Coburn told SGN at the scene. “It looks like the front door hasn’t been breached.” Just inside the front door, the sliding glass window of a small snack shop was shattered. Inside, the snack shop safe had been forced open. “They took all the money,” Coburn said, “but it wasn’t very much. They did all this for $20 or $30.” Newspapers sitting on a table were soaked with water. The carpet was also wet and blackened by soot. As Coburn was showing the damage, a loud crash came from an adjoining room. “What the hell was that?” he exclaimed. “Look,” he said as he walked into the room, “the ceiling just collapsed.” A rough triangle of sheet rock hung down from the ceiling. In the upstairs office, files and other flam-
mable materials were scattered on the floor, and had been set on fire. According to the incident commander at the scene, the fire was limited to this office. “The sprinklers worked. The safe hasn’t been opened. They broke the mechanism but they couldn’t get into the safe. This filing cabinet is OK. I haven’t opened it yet, but it doesn’t look like it’s been opened. This computer is still on. I think the data might be salvageable,” Coburn said, surveying the damage. “And there’s a broken window,” he added. A hole had been punched in the office wall surrounding a money drop slot. In the office itself, the perpetrator had tried to force open a small safe. According to Coburn, the Alano Club keeps very little cash on the premises. “We pass the basket at meetings,” he told SGN. “People drop in maybe $2. You might get $15 or $20 at a small meeting, and maybe $30 to $50 at a big meeting. It goes into that slot and then our treasurer picks it up.” Coburn would not speculate about the perpetrator’s identity or motives. “I’m not a detective,” he said. Coburn said that Alano Club board members would be meeting soon with the building owner to discuss insurance questions. Asked if he expected the Alano Club to be out any money, Coburn replied, “Oh, we’ll be out money. Even if it’s just the deductible, we’ll be out money.”
“How much?” he continued, “I don’t know yet. We don’t have any money. Meetings don’t cover our expenses. They cover half, maybe a little more. That’s why we have fundraisers throughout the year.” The immediate problem, Coburn says, is finding space for Alano Club’s recovery meetings. “We have 60 meetings per week,” Coburn said. “We have 1,500 or 1,600 people per week going through here.” Besides Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, Alano Club serves a wide range of addictions, including narcotics, crystal meth, sex, overeating, and hoarding. “We’re asking neighbors, the community, other nonprofits or charities [to] help us with a place to relocate our meetings,” Coburn said. As Coburn prepared to leave the Alano Club office, a man approached. “I came by this morning and I saw the sign,” the man said, pointing at the sign on the front door. “I was so upset. That shouldn’t happen.” The man promised Coburn to come back and help clean up once the police had completed their investigation. “You see?” Coburn said after the man left. “You see what this means? Especially for new people in recovery. There’s something about the Gay and Lesbian community that the straight world just doesn’t understand. That’s why this is here. It’s safe. It’s a safety net for people.”
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