Issue 45 Volume 40
Celebrating 39 Years!
BOND IS BACK!
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Seattle Gay News
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SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Washington approves R-74, marriage equality for all On November 6, Washington state voters approved Referendum 74, joining Maine and Maryland as the first states to pass same-sex marriage by popular vote. Washingtonians went to bed election night not knowing when they would hear that the freedom to marry was definitely the law of the land. But the Approve R-74 vote maintained its narrow lead as the hours passed, and on November 7, Washington United for Marriage declared victory. Zach Silk, the group’s campaign director, called it “an historic day.” “We have always understood that there are good people on the other side of this issue,” he said magnanimously, in a statement issued Thursday. “Yet, we remain confident that once people see how much marriage matters to families,
they will realize that the love and commitment that marriage embodies only strengthens families, neighborhoods, and communities.” Opponents conceded the race November 8. “With added results showing that we have not closed the gap, it now appears clear that Referendum 74 will be narrowly approved,” said Joseph Backholm, director of Preserve Marriage Washington, which led the campaign to reject the measure. “We are disappointed in losing a tough election battle on marriage by a narrow margin. But while we are disappointed, we are not defeated.” As SGN goes to press, the most recent ballot count in Washington shows Referendum 74 winning approval, 52 percent to 48 percent. Not surprisingly, King County votsee victory page 4
nate gowdy / seattle gay news
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
R-74 supporters celebrate at the election night party at Seattle’s Westin Hotel
Another big winner: A night that Sen. Patty Murray made history
LGBT and allied candidates triumph As DSCC chair, she led Democrats to victory in Senate in WA and elsewhere While Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell was coasting to victory over her conservative Republican challenger, Michael Baumgartner, her Senate colleague Patty Murray also emerged as an Election Day winner. Murray was not up for reelection herself this year, but her task was arguably harder than Cantwell’s. As chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC), Murray was responsible for getting Democrats elected to the U.S. Senate in a year when all the early polling showed Republicans making gains. A MAJOR CHALLENGE With 33 seats up for grabs, Democrats had to defend 21, plus the seats of two independents who caucus with the Democrats. Republicans had to defend only 10 seats. In addition, six incumbent Democrats were retiring, most of Senator Patty Murray
Associated Press
associated Press
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
Senator Maria Cantwell
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
November 6 turned out to be a good night for LGBT and LGBTfriendly candidates, both in Washington state and throughout much of the country. President Obama, who endorsed Washington’s Referendum 74, see murray page 6 was re-elected, as was Sen. Maria
Cantwell, a consistent supporter of pro-LGBT legislation. LGBTfriendly congressmen Rick Larson (D-2), Jim McDermott (D-7), and Adam Smith (D-9) also won new terms. Democrat Denny Heck was elected to represent the state’s new 10th Congressional District, and see triumph page 18
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Are Gays to blame for Hurricane Sandy? Not surprisingly, some religious leaders think so file photo
Mike Andrew, Miryam Gordon, Anthony Greer, Shaun Knittel, Albert Rodriguez, James Whitely
op-ed
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Rev. Barbara Allen, Eric Andrews-Katz, Madelyn Arnold, Maggie Bloodstone, Beau Burriola, Jessica Davis, Ron Anders, Jessica Price, Milton W. Hamlin, Scott Wittet, Nevin Jefferson, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, Rex Wockner
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Publication of names, photographs or likenesses of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business. Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper. Seattle Gay News welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication. We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write. And please play safe. It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your subscription or ad. However, credit towards any size ad will be given for the balance owed. No exceptions.
In Loving Memory Of
Steve Foiles, Scott Roger Alpert, Cookie Andrews-Hunt, James Leland Moore, Randy Peters, Lee Richeson, Shaun Shelton, Jim Tully, James Arnold
The Rev. John McTernan
by D’Anne Witkowski Special to the SGN
Inevitably, the Westboro Baptist Church of Idiots praised God for the storm. No surprise there. Every time something terrible happens to the United States, whether it’s a storm or a soldier dying, these loons exult, “God made that happen to you for loving fags so much.” But I think the Westboro Klan gets too much attention. There are many other antiGay fanatics preaching the same kind of crazy shit under the guise of religion.
We Gays should have seen it coming, frankly. It was only a matter of time before it happened. I’m not talking about Hurricane Sandy itself, but the inevitable parade of idiots claiming that it never would have happened if it weren’t for all of those homos in New York and elsewhere, taunting God with their Gayness. It takes a certain kind of person to turn a natural disaster into an anti-Gay event, but NOT JUST CHRISTIANS my guess is that a lot of these folks need Take Rabbi Noson Leiter, of Torah Jews something to blame this kind of destruction on, since global warming isn’t real and cer- for Decency, who said on October 30, “We tainly God wouldn’t do shit like this for no believe the Great Flood in the time of Noah was triggered by the recognition of samereason at all, right?
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gender marriages.” He and other “leading” rabbis “believe that there are messages in this particular storm for us” such as that “the Lord will not bring another flood to destroy the entire world, but He could punish particular areas with a flood, and if we look at the same-gender marriage recognition movement that’s occurring, that certainly is a message for us to learn,” he said. “We, not just the bad people but the good people, we have to learn that the Lord does watch what we do and if we don’t shape up He will deliver divine justice.” And where else would the Lord deliver such justice than in Lower Manhattan, which Leiter dubs “one of the national centers of homosexuality”? He also – I shit you not – pointed to the fact that a double rainbow appeared in the sky after the storm as “evidence” of divine involvement. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called Leiter’s comments “as offensive as they are ignorant.” Then there’s Kevin Swanson, of the Colorado-based Generations with Vision Ministry, who said, “The two worst storms, material-wise, in the history of America have happened in just the last five years and here’s the interesting thing about this storm, it hit New York City,” which he describes, along with New Orleans and San Francisco, as “the top three most pro-homosexual, proliberal cities in America.” Waxing theological, Swanson continued, “There is a God in the heavens, and in the past sins like homosexuality … have really irritated Him.” APOCALYPSE SOON? Right-wing preacher John McTernan declared on his blog, “Hurricane Sandy hit New York six days after the state’s highest court sealed homosexual ‘marriage.’ The nation is paying an incredible price for making sin an ordinance. This is not the end but the beginning unless the church acts to repent and cry out for an outpouring of God’s Holy Spirit. There is not much time left. America has turned its back on God and is now offending His holiness.” And when God gets upset, He throws a hissy fit and destroys stuff, much like a toddler. Either someone should call Super Deity Nanny, or these so-called “believers” are full of hot air.
Seattle Gay News
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nate gowdy / seattle gay news
Local news
just two weeks ago, Obama asked voters in Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, and Washington to vote in favor of marriage equality. Both announcements marked the first time a sitting U.S. president spoke out in favor of the freedom to marry. ’74! 74! 74!’
Same-sex couples in Washington can start picking up their marriage certificates and licenses from county auditor offices December 6, the day after the election is due to be certified. It is important to note that because Washington has a three-day waiting period, the earliest a certificate could be signed making the marriage valid is December 9.
“Our volunteers were engaged, fired up and [they] delivered. There has never been a ballot campaign in Washington that had this kind of breadth and depth, from field to fundraising. We have much to celebrate and much to be proud of. With so much at stake, we challenged ourselves to do big things, and it made all the difference.” On the evening of November 6, many supporters took to the streets of Capitol Hill, cheering at election watch parties as early results showed the referendum taking a narrow lead. A large crowd gathered at Pike Street and 10th Avenue. USA Today took notice, reporting that “police closed off several blocks in Seattle’s Capitol Hill area as more than 1,000 people gathered for a late-night, impromptu election celebration, dancing and chanting, “74! 74! 74!”
Despite the lies that the bigoted antimarriage equality campaign spread, the law doesn’t require religious organizations or churches to perform marriages, and it doesn’t subject churches to penalties if they don’t want to marry same-sex couples. Gregoire, who announced her support of marriage equality at the start of the legislative session in January, said in a statement issued Thursday afternoon, “Voters stood up for what is right and what is just and said nate gowdy / seattle gay news
Zach Silk declares victory for marriage equality in Washington
victory
ers overwhelmingly favored the measure. “This is an historic day for Washington, an historic day for our country and, most of all, for families across the state who have dreamed of this day,” Silk said on Thursday.
of 70% and above were coming in from counties across Eastern Washington. By mid-Thursday, more than half of the expected ballots had been counted and additional results were expected to be posted in the evening. Because Washington is a voteby-mail state and only requires ballots to be postmarked by Election Day, votes continued to trickle in for several days.
FOUR FOR FOUR Same-sex marriage supporters also celebrated victories Wednesday in Maryland and Maine, where voters approved marriage equality, and in Minnesota, where a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage was defeated. A statutory ban remains in effect in Minnesota. Although Referendum 74 supporters enjoyed a narrow lead on Election Day, as many as one million ballots remained to be counted by day’s end. Both sides declared the race too close to call. But by mid-Wednesday, Washington United for Marriage held a news conference to announce their belief that the referendum would be approved. “We have run the numbers every which way, and we can now confidently say that we have won,” said Silk. Still, some members of the LGBT community remained skeptical, reluctant to claim victory until the official word was given, or Preserve Marriage Washington stepped out of the fight. As of Wednesday night, R-74 was being rejected in all but eight of the state’s 39 counties. According to The Seattle Times, the highest approval rate was being reported in San Juan County, where 70% of voters favored marriage equality. On the other hand, rejection rates
KING COUNTY DECISIVE But R-74 held its lead – 66% of the vote – in King County. Thanks to voter awareness campaigns by Social Outreach Seattle (SOSea), Why Marriage Matters Washington, and a coalition amassed by Washington United for Marriage, King County voters (a third of the state’s electorate) were responsible for delivering the narrow win. Backholm blamed several factors for Preserve Marriage Washington’s loss. “The election results reflect the political and funding advantages our opponents enjoyed in this very liberal and secular state,” he wrote in a statement Thursday afternoon. “The results show only that in a deep blue state, with a huge financial advantage, Gay marriage activists can win – barely.” Marriage equality supporters spent nearly $13.6 million on the campaign, outraising opponents by a whopping $12 million. Sixand seven-figure donations from Amazon. com CEO Jeff Bezos, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg made national headlines. Opponents raised just $2.7 million. Also giving the campaign to secure marriage equality in Washington a boost, President Barack Obama expressed his support for same-sex marriage in May, shortly after Vice President Joe Biden did so. Then,
continued from cover
Senator Ed Murray addresses the crowd at the election night party at Seattle’s Westin Hotel
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that all Washington families are equal under the law. This is a day that historians will look back on as a turning point for equality.” $25 MADE A DIFFERENCE Washington United for Marriage essentially started from scratch in June. The campaign built a $12.3 million war chest with more than 27,000 donors, 80% of whom hailed from the Evergreen State. The most common donation amount? Twenty-fivedollars, given over and over again. Volunteers logged 10,000 three-hour shifts in direct voter outreach, a total of 30,000 hours. In just the last week before the election, 100,000 doors were knocked on and nearly 200,000 phone calls were logged on Monday and Tuesday. “We made history in so many ways,” said Silk. “Our volunteers were engaged, fired up and [they] delivered. There has never been a ballot campaign in Washington that had this kind of breadth and depth, from field to fundraising. We have much to celebrate and much to be proud of. With so much at stake, we challenged ourselves to do big things, and it made all the difference.” State Sen. Ed Murray summed up what was at stake with the R-74 vote in late October, telling Seattle Weekly: “What is at stake is the future of the state of Washington. Are we going to be a place where all
Celebrations poured into the streets on Seattle’s Capitol Hill
citizens enjoy the same freedoms, a place where all families are treated the same? Losing would be a setback, but the generational change taking place ensures marriage equality will be a reality – if not this year, then in a few short years.” Murray’s fears were happily unfounded. Maryland, Maine, and Washington have now joined the growing number of states and other jurisdictions where same-sex couples can wed, a roster that also includes New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. But Maryland, Maine, and Washington are the first to enact marriage equality by public vote. The other states’ laws were enacted either by lawmakers or court rulings. Thus, Washington voters have truly made history.
Charles Outlaw
Empress XXII Morai St Charles December 17, 1954 - August 9, 2012
Charles was born in Clarksville, Tennessee. He moved to Seattle in 1980, where he was employed by Boeing as a Systems Analyst in Aviation for over 20 years. He became involved with the Imperial Court of Seattle and was elected Miss Gay Seattle XXIII in 1987 and Empress XXII Morai St Charles in 1992. He was a longtime groupie and supporter of The Knights
of Malta. Charles had a natural talent for fashion design and loved to cook for everyone! He was famous for his homemade Jam, Pickles, and BBQ sauce and loved having his friends over for dinner. He was a generous, artistic, and sincere person who had a zest for life. He had an ability to make new friends and his big heart was always reaching out to help others. He loved and supported his family, and his Seattle family and friends, unconditionally. He is survived by his mother (Rosa Gillespie), stepfather (Dorie Gillespie), five brothers, a sister, and numerous nieces and nephews, all of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Charles was preceded in death by his father (William Henry Outlaw), his grandmother (Rosie B. Batson), a brother, and his faithful dog, Magenta. At Charles’ request his ashes were returned to his beloved Grandmother’s grave in Clarksville, Tennessee. Please join us in celebrating his life on Sunday, November 18, from 2 to 4 p.m. at C.C. Attle’s, 1701 E. Olive Way. Any friends who would like to bring food or snacks are welcome to do so. Memorials in Charles’ name can be made to the Imperial Court of Seattle or The Knights of Malta.
Rich Full-Bodied Cafes Savory Homestyle Soups & Sandwiches Visit us online www.sgn.org
November 9, 2012
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ElizabethWarren.com
Senator-Elect Elizabeth Warren
murray
continued from cover them in red states where Republicans could expect to be helped by their presidential candidate’s coattails. Democrats were also burdened with a lagging national economy and a president who was widely believed to be in political trouble. Only one month ago, Republicans were confidently predicting they would win control of the Senate, and at the time, there was no apparent way to stop them. Nevertheless, Democrats picked up a net gain of
ponents. Baldwin, the first openly Lesbian U.S. Senator, beat former Wisconsin governor and Bush-era cabinet secretary Tommy Thompson, and Warren ousted incumbent Tea Party favorite Scott Brown. Hirono trounced former Hawaii Gov. Linda Lingle, who vetoed her state’s civil union law in 2010. Heitkamp’s win was the big surprise of the election, as she narrowly edged out her opponent in one of the reddest of red states. Democrats also successfully defended the Senate seat held by Claire McCaskill of Missouri, which was believed to be an almost certain Republican pick-up.
“When we started this campaign, no one, and I mean no one, gave us a chance, but we went out and built the best Senate campaigns in the history of the country.” two seats, winning three former Republican seats while losing only one they had previously held. It was a stunning triumph for Murray and her DSCC team. “When we started this campaign, no one, and I mean no one gave us a chance,” Murray said in a statement. “But we went out and built the best Senate campaigns in the history of the country. We recruited some of the highest quality candidates, including a record number of women. Democrats never let up and now we will retain our majority in the United States Senate.” MORE WOMEN THAN EVER Four new Democratic women were elected: Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin, Elizabeth Warren in Massachusetts, Mazie Hirono in Hawaii, and Heidi Heitkamp in North Dakota. With newly elected Republican Deb Fischer of Nebraska, they bring the number of female senators to an all-time high of 20. The victories of the Democratic women were especially sweet considering their op-
SAVING SEN. MCCASKILL Republicans sought to portray McCaskill as a rubber stamp for Obama, who is not popular in the state. Murray and the DSCC “localized” the campaign, allowing McCaskill to distance herself from the national election and capitalize on ignorant antichoice statements made by her Republican opponent, Todd Akin. She ultimately beat Akin by 16 points. Anti-choice rhetoric also played a role in Indiana, where Democrats picked up a Senate seat formerly held by six-term Republican Richard Lugar. One of the last Republican moderates in Congress, Lugar lost a primary challenge to Tea Party candidate Richard Mourdock. After Mourdock later asserted in a televised debate that “even if life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen,” his campaign sank. Joe Donnelly ultimately beat Mourdock by six points to capture a Senate seat that Democrats had not held since 1974.
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Making history
“People see our country and our states moving toward full equality in many respects,” Baldwin said. “When you have legislative bodies that look more like America, that happens.”
Tammy Baldwin becomes the first out Lesbian U.S. Senator
United States Congress
A VETERAN LAWMAKER Baldwin has represented Wisconsin’s Second Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives for the past 14 years. Her district is one of the nation’s most liberal and includes Madison, the state capital. She will be succeeded in the House by Mark Pocan, an openly Gay state representative. Although Baldwin has been out for her entire political career, her sexual orientation did not become an issue in the campaign. “This campaign has been run on who’s the most qualified candidate and who has the best vision for the state,” Griffin said. “We’re eager to have her move from one side of the Capitol to another and take a seat in the [Senate] chamber as the first openly Gay person.” “The electorate already knew what they needed to know about her, and they continued to elect her every step of the way,” Victory Fund CEO Chuck Wolfe said. “She is a force with very deep roots in Wisconsin. She has a backbone of steel, but she’s polite and compassionate, and people enjoy their interactions with her.”
County Council, and in the state legislature before running for Congress. Elected to the House in 1998, she co-founded the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus and currently leads the drive to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA), which would ban anti-LGBT discrimination at the federal level. She also led a successful effort to pass expanded hate-crimes legislation in 2009 and was the lead author of legislation to extend benefits to same-sex partners of federal employees. “Tammy has been a driving force because of her ability to tackle issues without having to use double-speak,” Wolfe said. “Having someone like her in the Senate changes the tone and tenor of this discussion.”
THOMPSON TIED TO BUSH Thompson was a popular four-term governor, but he damaged his brand while serving as Health and Human Services secretary under President George W. Bush. He was also captured on video bragging about having eliminated Wisconsin’s welfare program, an “achievement” that associated him with the Tea Party in the minds of some voters. “I wanted to so much help lead back America,” Thompson said in his concession speech Tuesday night. “To be the country of growth and opportunity. To build America for future generations. I certainly didn’t need the job. And I guess I’m not going to CHAMPION FOR ENDA Baldwin was born and raised in Madi- get it.” son, serving on the City Council, the Dane
Newly elected U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin
ute surge and high voter turnout supporting President Obama, who also won the state. Baldwin also out-fundraised Thompson by Tammy Baldwin became the first out almost $4 million. Lesbian elected to the U.S. Senate and the first woman senator from Wisconsin on NoSENATE MORE DIVERSE vember 6, defeating former Wisconsin Gov. In a post-election interview with CNN, Tommy Thompson. Baldwin said she ran “to make a difference” “For the LGBT person growing up in and not to make history. But she added that Wisconsin or anywhere across the country, she hoped the Senate would now be more seeing an openly Gay woman who is able representative of America and the “life exto rise up to become a senator in the U.S. perience” of women. Congress is an incredible role model,” said “Having a seat at the table matters and I HRC president Chad Griffin. think we will see a Senate that is more rePolling showed the race neck-and-neck flective of America. We’re certainly not for months, but Baldwin ultimately won by there yet, but this will be a change that more than five points, helped by a last-min- moves us forward,” she told CNN. by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
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It’s the demographics, stupid! How Obama played the odds and won re-election Matt Rourke / AP
that were superficially populist but were, in fact, isolating them, limiting the GOP’s political appeal to a shrinking demographic. A DIVERSE COALITION Based on that analysis, Obama’s team was able to target a fairly wide range of constituencies across a large number of states to win the election. This was a result that did not come as a surprise to more perceptive Republicans. Noting all the political advantages of running against a president in the midst of a recession, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said flatly, “If we lose this election there is only one explanation – demographics!” By the time Graham came to that conclusion it was far too late for the Republican Party to change course, however. For years Graham’s party has taken positions that alienate growing sections of the population, especially communities of color but also younger voters and women of all races.
showed. The vast majority of votes cast for Romney (nearly 90% according to one estimate) came from white voters. Latinos, now the fastest-growing demographic in the United States, voted for Obama by a margin of 70% to 28%, Reuters/Ipsos found, driven in large part by Republican opposition to the DREAM Act and Romney’s references to “self-deportation.” In 2004, George W. Bush, whose position on immigration was less extreme, won almost 40% of the Latino vote. The rising number of multiracial children is also likely to become more of a factor, according to Pew Research Center executive vice president Paul Taylor. President Obama himself is of mixed racial background. GOP LOSING ITS CORE Younger voters also overwhelmingly supported Obama. Some 63% of voters aged 18-34 voted for the president. This is also a danger signal for the Republican Party, as their core voters age and eventually “leave the electorate,” as Taylor delicately put it. Younger voters also tend to be more accepting of diversity, especially equality for LGBT Americans. They were, for example, a key part of the coalitions that voted for successful marriage equality measures
Obama’s team was able to target a fairly wide range of constituencies across a large number of states to win the election. Supporters cheer for President Barack Obama during an election night party
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer During the presidential campaign of 1992, Bill Clinton’s campaign team posted a sign on the wall of their headquarters that said “It’s the economy, stupid!” to remind them how they were going to beat George
H.W. Bush and make Clinton president. President Obama’s team might as well have had a sign that said, “It’s the demographics, stupid!” Faced with a challenging economic environment – high unemployment and slow growth – the Obama team realized that the Republicans were taking political positions
Data collected over several years shows that that the United States is poised to become a “majority minority” nation, in other words one where whites may remain the largest racial group, but are overall a minority within the country. Most analysts project that whites will become a minority of the U.S. population sometime between 2040 and 2050. In 2012, for the first time in U.S. history, white births were a minority of total births. While it will be 18 years – and five presidential election cycles – before children born this year will be able to vote, the proportion of white voters has been declining since 1992. THE RIGHT IS WHITE Meanwhile, the Republican Party remains an almost exclusively white party. According to a Washington Post poll, 89% of Republican voters are white, while only 54% of Democrats are. About 80% of African Americans, Latinos, and other nonwhite voters cast their ballots for Obama on November 6 compared with less than 17% for Romney, according to Reuters/Ipsos polling. Romney won nearly 57% of the white vote compared with 41% for Obama, the polling data
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November 9, 2012
in Washington, Maine, and Maryland, and helped defeat an anti-equality amendment in Minnesota. All those states were also carried by Obama. Because LGBT people tend to migrate to cosmopolitan cities with already large and visible LGBT communities, they are already part of the coalition that makes states like New York, California, and Washington solid “blue” territory. In a swing state like Florida, LGBT voters concentrated in Miami-Dade County and Palm Beach County helped carry the state – although narrowly – for Obama this year. SOME SEE THE SIGNS Republican opposition to immigration reform and same-sex marriage is “a recipe for extinction,” said Mike Murphy, former adviser to prominent Republicans including Arizona Sen. John McCain, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, and Mitt Romney when he was governor of Massachusetts. “The question is whether or not we’re going to have an adult conversation inside the [Republican] Party about our need to attract more people than grumpy old white guys,” Murphy told MSNBC. “Demographically, our time is running out.”
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Cops in the closet Greg Miraglia helps officers, firefighters, and EMTs come out at work by Jesse Monteagudo SGN Contributing Writer
greater awareness of the LGBT professionals working in law enforcement today. “One important part of our organization that was always part of my dream for the books is our scholarship program. In 2009, we started the Out To Protect Scholarship Fund, which provides the only national scholarship opportunity for out LGBT students currently attending a law enforcement training program. The goal is to reward role models for the LGBT community who are entering law enforcement and who will represent the LGBT community.” For more about Out To Protect, visit www.outtoprotect.org.
Coming Out From Behind the Badge is both an organization and a set of books by Greg Miraglia dealing with the process of coming out as an openly Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, or Transgender police officer, firefighter, or emergency medical professional. Miraglia himself has a lot of experience in this matter. “I started my law enforcement career as a Police Explorer at the Walnut Creek, California, Police Department in 1978,” he said. “At the time, being Gay was a reason to deny someone employment – and, of course, the Explorers are part of the Boy A CHANGING RELATIONSHIP Scouts of America, which continues toBack in the pre-Stonewall days, and even day to discriminate against Gay people. I post-Stonewall, the LGBT community had worked at Walnut Creek PD until 1988 and an antagonistic relationship with the police.
then moved to the Fairfield, California, Police Department until 1998. I started teaching at the police academy at Napa Valley College in 1986 and went full-time in 1999 as the academy director. During that time, I also served as the deputy chief of the Napa Valley Railroad Police Department until 2007. I’m now a dean at Napa Valley College and teach all of the diversity and human relations topics in the police academy as well as the LGBT studies program at the college.” Coming Out From Behind the Badge was Miraglia’s first book, published in 2007. “My partner, Tony, encouraged me to share my own coming-out story as a means of inspiring other closeted law enforcement officers to come out. Although I was living a largely double life for more than 25 years in law enforcement, I did not come out publicly until 2001 at the age of 41. There were no books available at the time showing positive stories of success, so I wanted to provide examples from around the country of out LGBT officers who were successful on the job.” Miraglia followed up with a second book in 2001, American Heroes Coming Out From Behind the Badge, which includes “stories from firefighters and EMS professionals in addition to more amazing stories from law enforcement.” PERSONALIZED SUPPORT As an organization, Coming Out From Behind the Badge helps sell Miraglia’s books of the same name. It also, according to Miraglia, “focuses on helping individual closeted officers come out by providing individual support and networking. We also are being calling upon to do training and to advise on training for law enforcement agencies seeking to create a more supportive environment for LGBT personnel. By simply being present, we hope to create a
Stonewall, after all, was our community’s response to a police bar raid. To LGBT people of my generation, police officers were often the men who raided our bars and clubs, and who arrested us for breaking antiGay laws. Happily, according to Miraglia, our community’s relationship with law enforcement has improved. “The relationship has improved dramatically in many places in the country. The key to this change, I believe, is the visibility of LGBT personnel within the ranks of law enforcement. Laws and policies only punish offenders after discrimination and harassment has occurred. It is the individual role models who come out on the job that can truly change the minds and hearts of those in law enforcement who continue to harbor homophobic attitudes. Today, you see LGBT law enforcement personnel and straight allies marching together in LGBT pride parades. Several progressive departments actually recruit personnel at LGBT events.” The process of coming out as an openly LGBT law enforcement officer, Miraglia notes, “was a gradual process that can be traced back the 1970s after the American Psychological Association (APA) removed homosexuality from its list of mental disorders. New York and San Francisco’s police departments led this movement. The change occurred one person and one experience at a time, and it continues to evolve ever so slowly. “I believe that the chief makes all the difference. Good examples of positive leadership that can create fast-moving change are the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Prior to 2000, these agencies were largely homophobic and openly discriminated against LGBT officers. Today, they actively recruit personnel from the LGBT community. The chief and sheriff in Los Angeles have both spoken out in support of LGBT personnel.
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comingoutfrombehindthebadge.com
“I started my law enforcement career ... at the Walnut Creek, California, Police Department in 1978. At the time, being Gay was a reason to deny someone employment.”
Author Greg Miraglia
And these are only two examples.” Another the difference from that point on.” Things strong supporter of LGBT officers is Sheriff are slightly different, Miraglia tells us, for Al Lamberti of Broward County, Florida. openly LGBT firefighters or EMS professionals. “I have worked a year in the fire HOMOPHOBIA PERSISTS service and that was part-time right out of “I believe homophobia is still pervasive in high school. From what I’ve gathered from law enforcement,” Miraglia admits. “Even talking to firefighters and EMS professionhere in California, where I live, there are als, because of the living situation, coming large agencies who deny having any LGBT out tends to have another level of complexpersonnel working within their ranks. In ity to it.” fact, in the county I now work, there never Readers interested in Coming Out From have been any out Gay male officers. How- Behind the Badge (the organization and/or ever, change can happen as soon as even the books) should visit the website, www. one officer within the department comes comingoutfrombehindthebadge.com. There out. The amount of awareness and attention you can order signed copies or link to the that just one person can create will make publisher for e-books.
November 9, 2012
Seattle Gay News 13
northwest news
JOHN CAGE FESTIVAL On Friday, November 9, at 7 p.m., at Chapel Performance Space at the Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N., 4th Fl.), the Seattle Modern Orchestra presents a one-night only immersive event in the world of sounds and ideas of American composer John Cage. In celebration of Cage’s centennial, this evening will feature a multimedia presentation and documentary of the life of the composer, and a concert in collaboration with Seattle Percussion Collective. Also, pianist and Cage specialist Stephen Drury will join SMO in a unique performance of “Concerto for Prepared Piano and Chamber Orchestra.” Tickets: $20-general; $10-seniors and students. www.seattlemodernorchestra.org. DOGHOUSE LEATHERS 3RD ANNIVERSARY SALE NOVEMBER 9-11 Enjoy 20% off Doghouse Leathers’ (1312 E. Pike St.) entire stock during their “Wicked Hot” 3rd Anniversary Sale. Friday and Saturday noon-1 a.m.; Sunday noon-11 p.m. www.doghouseleathers.com. LEATHER REIGN 2012 NOVEMBER 9-11 www.leatherreign.org
AFFORDABLE ART FAIR NOVEMBER 8-11 The first edition of Affordable Art Fair Seattle, hosting 50 galleries and a huge array of contemporary art, will take place November 8-11 at the Seattle Center’s Exhibition Hall (3rd Ave. N. & Mercer St.). Thousands of original paintings, prints, sculptures and photographs all under one roof, ranging in price from $100-$10,000, with more than half priced under $5,000. The art fair is open Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Tickets: $12-general; $10-student/senior; children under 12 free. www. affordableartfair.com/seattle.
positiveculture.org; www.theabbey.org.
SEATTLE MEN IN LEATHER – “BOOTS ‘N’ BUZZCUTS” On Saturday, November 10, from 8 p.m.12 midnight, at The Cuff Complex (13th Ave. & E. Pine St.) Seattle Men in Leather hosts their annual Veteran’s Day “Boots ‘n’ Buzzcuts” fundraiser. Barbers and bootblacks will be available to trim your hair to a regulation length and spit shine your boots, for a recommended donation of $10 per service, to benefit SML’s club charity for 2012. (Please donate more for flat tops, tall boots, and other large tasks.) www.seattlemeninleather.org. LGBTQ ALLYSHIP’S SOCIAL JUSTICE CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF PARTY On Sunday, November 11, from 4-6 p.m., at the Beacon Hill Garden Club Headquarters (2336 15th Ave. S.), join keynote speaker State Rep. Laurie Jinkins, the only out Lesbian legislator in Washington State, who will address “What is at stake for the most vulnerable in the LGBTQ community in this economic recession.” Representative Bob Hasegawa, a champion of civil rights and economic justice in the legislature and running for the Senate in the 11th District, will also attend. Tickets: $30. This is Allyship’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Your contribution will help Allyship fundraise to organize LGBTQ activists to have a voice in Olympia on social justice issues that matter. Aleksa Manila will host the event. Singer/ songwriter/musician Jacque Larrainzar and Ronnda Cadle, an acoustic instrumentalist/Spring Poet and local Queer artist will share their talents. Allyship will also present their Social Justice Legislative Agenda and the results of their Community Survey outlining the ways the LGBTQ community has been affected locally by the economic recession. Lastly, Allyship will be recognizing some of their community partners and superstar activists by presenting Allyship’s LGBTQ Social Justice Awards to: Casa Latina, Washington Community Action Network, Lois Thetford, Mauricio Ayon, and Peter Toliver. This event is wheelchair accessible and all ages are welcome.
RAIN CITY SOCCER OVER 30 / UNDER 30 MATCH & CALENDAR KICKOFF PARTY On Saturday, November 10, from 5-6:30 p.m., at Bobby Morris Playfield (11th Ave. & E. Olive Way) at Cal Anderson Park, join Rain City Soccer for their annual Over 30 vs Under 30 (-ish) years old soccer match.. SISTERS OF PERPETUAL After the match, starting at 8 p.m., join INDULGENCE – Rain City Soccer at C.C. Attle’s (1701 E. “BEER & BLASPHEMY” Olive Way) for their Rain City Soccer 2012 On Sunday, November 11, from 4-7 p.m., Calendar Kickoff Party. Purchase your 2012 at C.C. Attle’s (1701 E. Olive Way), join the calendar and get autographs from the club’s Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey sexy, soccer models. www.raincitysoccer.org. of St. Joan, for “Beer & Blasphemy.” $10 suggested donation at the door with $1 beers IMPERIAL COURT OF SEATTLE – at the bar. Enjoy spankings for the sacri“EMPEROR’S TURNABOUT” legious or the sacrilegious at heart. Spin On Saturday, November 10, at 6 p.m., at the Wheel of Blasphemy. You could win a R Place (Boylston Ave. & E. Pine St.) join prize! Plus live performances. Proceeds Emperor XXXVIII Rick Peters-Lake and benefit Ingersoll Gender Center, a mutual the Imperial Court of Seattle for “Emperor’s support organization for Transgender, GenTurnabout” – when the men of the Impe- der Variant and Gender Queer people and rial Court come out in drag. Hosted by Miss the people who support them. www.ingerAsia Beaute, Tokyo Drift, and Ruby Desire sollcenter.org; www.theabbey.org. Joshua D. Shape. The Court promises an amazing night and an opening number to reQLAW FOUNDATION – member! $7 suggested donation at the door. “FALLTACULAR!” www.imperialcourtofseattle.com. On Tuesday, November 13, from 5:308:30 p.m., at Portage Bay Café (391 Terry SISTERS OF PERPETUAL Ave. N.), join the QLaw Foundation for INDULGENCE – their annual fundraising social event, in sup“I AM BODY BEAUTIFUL” port of their programs, including the GLBT On Saturday, November 10, from 7 p.m.- Legal Clinic and Project OUTReach: com10 p.m., at Electric Tea Garden (1402 E. munity education programming. Tickets: Pike St., entrance on 14th Ave.), join the $40, includes appetizers from the café, a Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, the Abbey drink ticket, an evening of entertainment of St. Joan, for an erotic art show and char- and good company. www.q-law.org. ity auction. Enjoy live and silent auctions of erotic art, donated by talented local artPOZ SEATTLE – ists. Draw sketches of enticing models with ANNUAL THANKSGIVING SOCIAL sketch pads provided for a small donation. On Wednesday, November 14, from 6-8 Admire “food as art,” a presentation of ed- p.m., at The Cuff (13th Ave. & E. Pine St.), ible food on live models. And more! in the downstairs bar, POZSeattle hosts This event promotes body acceptance, their annual Thanksgiving social, featurcelebrating the body beautiful is all of us, ing a traditional Thanksgiving meal with and being body and sex positive. This event turkey, dressing, potatoes, gravy, veggies, will work to show that all body shapes and cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and all the sizes are beautiful. All proceeds from the fixin’s prepared by POZ Seattle volunteers event will benefit the Foundation for Sex and board members. Beverages are at cost Positive Culture. www.foundationforsex- from The Cuff’s hot bartenders. 14 Seattle Gay News
November 9, 2012
compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer
POZSeattle monthly socials are a great opportunity for socializing, to catch-up with old friends, to make new ones, and a whole lot of fun. This event is offered at no cost (no one turned away for lack of funds), but to help with overhead costs, a $3-$5 sliding scale donation is requested. This event is for all HIV-Positive men and their friends, regardless of age, shape, size, or color. POZSeattle is a social organization run for and by Seattle-area HIV-Positive guys that is committed to planning and promoting fun, social activities. For more information, to plan your own social event, or to be added to the POZSeattle event promotions email list, email contactpozseattle@ gmail.com or visit www.pozseattle.org. SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB – THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY & MR. FORTUNE’S MAGGOT The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday from 6-7:15 p.m., at Seattle Area Support Groups Community Center (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.). On November 7, the club will watch the over-the-top movie version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray and finish their discussion of the recently published uncensored version of Wilde’s novel, which they discussed in October. On November 14, the club will begin their conversation about Sylvia Townsend Warner’s novel, Mr. Fortune’s Maggot, the story of a Christian missionary who goes off to a remote South Seas island where he’s the only white man, and manages to make one convert, a beautiful young island boy. With breathtaking, elegant sentences that Oscar Wilde would approve of highly, Warner tells a deceptively simple story that’s actually about real love. It’s a story you’ve never read before, with a Robinson Crusoe and his boy Friday you’ll never forget. All GLBTQ folks are welcome to participate in this FREE book club. For more information email nickdimartin@earthlink. net, visit http://faculty.washington.edu/ swittet/SGLBookClub/ or contact SASG at 206-322-2437; www.sasgcc.org. For discount on cost of books, email Nick. PUDDLETOWN SQUARES – FREE TASTE OF GAY SQUARE DANCING On Thursday, November 15, from 7-9 p.m., at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church (N. 80th St. & 1st Ave. NE), Puddletown Squares invites LGBTQ community members – singles, couples, same gender partners, casual attire – to a FREE Taste of Gay Square Dancing introductory session in preparation for their next Beginner Lesson Series (Mainstream), a 20-week series running Thursdays, 7-9:30 p.m., from the first week of January to May 2013. www.puddletownsquares.org.
On Thursday, November 15 at 8:30 p.m., Empress Gerri co-hosts “X-Rated Bingo.” Cost: $5 to buy in gets you one card per game. On Friday, November 16, Gerri hosts a Thanksgiving Dinner from 6-8:30 p.m. prepared by the Imperial Court, following by dancing. Cost is $10. On Saturday, November 17, Gerri hosts the “Blankets of Love Fundraiser & Show,” doors at 6 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Cost: $5 and baby blanket. On Sunday, November 18, Gerri hosts “Movies in Our PJs: Old Time Movies to Relax To.” With hot dogs and popcorn. Cost: $5.00. 24TH ANNUAL BEST OF THE NORTHWEST FALL ART & FINE CRAFTS SHOW NOVEMBER 16-18 On Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17, from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, November 18, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at Smith Cove Cruise Terminal, Pier 91, next to the Magnolia Bridge (2001 W. Garfield St.), the Northwest Art Alliance presents the 24th Annual Best of the Northwest Fall Art & Fine Crafts Show, featuring 250 juried artists, designers and craftspeople. Enjoy continuous live music and strolling performers. 15 boutique wineries from Family Wineries of Washington State will be offering tastings throughout the event. The Indie fashion show on Saturday will spotlight 25 regional designers from classic styling to retro or the latest upcycled fashions. Tickets: $6 advance, $8 at the door. Ample parking available for $5 all day. www.nwartalliance.com. SEATTLE RED CEDAR CIRCLE – TWO-SPIRIT CIRCLE On Friday, November 16, from 7:30-9:30 p.m., at Mount Baker Park Presbyterian Church (3201 Hunter Blvd. S.), the Seattle Red Cedar Circle will be hosting a TwoSpirit Circle. Johnny Moses, a master storyteller, oral historian, traditional healer and respected spiritual leader of the Si.Si.Wiss Medicine Teachings, will bring out gender teachings of the Northwest Coast Salish tribes. The event is free, with donations accepted for the teachings and building use. The meeting is held in the church basement, accessible through the back entrance of the church.
MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE – THE EMPEROR OF ATLANTIS On Friday, November 16, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, November 18, at 6 p.m., at the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, Benaroya Hall (3rd Ave. & Union St.), Music of Remembrance presents Victor Ullmann’s opera, The Emperor of Atlantis. MOR’s fall concert will also explore the lives and music of two emigre composers, Swiss-born Ernest Bloch and Latvian-born Marc Lavry, who left Europe in the 1930s to escape the RADICAL WOMEN – Nazi threat. Both were deeply influenced PUBLIC SPEAKING SKILLS by their roots in Jewish musical traditions. FOR ACTIVISTS On Thursday, November 15, at 7:30pm, Tickets: $36. www.musicofremembrance. at New Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave org; 206-215-4747. S), conquer your fears and learn how to get IMPERIAL COURT OF SEATTLE’S your message across at a supportive, particiKING & QUEEN OF THE SEAS – patory workshop led by feminist debate and “THE BIG GAY SPELLING BEE!” speech coach Devin McDonnell. Workshop On Saturday, November 17, doors at 7 donation $5. Dinner served at 6:30pm for $8.50 donation. Hosted by Radical Women. p.m., show at 8 p.m., at The Grill on BroadInformation, rides or childcare: 206-722- way (314 Broadway E.), King of the Seas 6057, RWseattle@mindspring.com. Every- Adaam King and Queen of the Seas Olivia LaGarce host “The Big Gay Spelling Bee!”, one welcome. Wheelchair accessible. a fundraiser for Camp Ten Trees (providing summer camp opportunities for LGBT chilIMPERIAL COURT dren and children of LGBT parents) with DJ OF SNOHOMISH COUNTY – Tony Burns. No cover. Donations encourEMPRESS EXPRESS WEEKEND aged. www.imperialcourtofseattle.com. NOVEMBER 15-18 The Imperial Sovereign Court of SnoDENNIS MILAM BENSIE – homish County, Empire of Dreams, presBOOK READING ents Empress Express Weekend, hosted by AT DOGHOUSE LEATHERS Her Most Imperial Sovereign Majesty, The On Sunday, November 18, at 5 p.m., DogFire Crystal Rose, the First Triple Crowned Dream Empress XXIII, the Surreal Gerri house Leathers (1312 E. Pike St.) presents Dennis Milam Bensie reading from and Crystal Peters Lake. All events at Bar Myx (1212 California signing his new book One Gay American, and his book, Shorn: Toys to Men. St., Everett). www.doghouseleathers.com
Celebrating 39 Years!
international news Spanish court OKs marriage equality Seven-year-old law clears final legal hurdle
AP Photo / Paul White
tion over marriage under Spanish law – defied the law by refusing to marry same-sex couples, but others supported it, including Ruiz-Gallardón when he served as mayor of Madrid. By the end of 2011, more than 21,000 Gay and Lesbian couples had been married in Spain, including some 4,500 in the law’s first year of operation. Many political analysts thought the large number of same-sex families made it impossible for the PP government to reverse the law. CATHOLICS WANT REPEAL Opposition to the marriage law was led by Spain’s powerful Catholic Church and its political allies like Rajoy, but polls have shown a majority of Spaniards support equal marriage rights for same-sex couples. Conservative Catholic groups were pre-
dictably outraged by the court’s ruling. The Family Forum, which helped church officials organize protests against same-sex marriage, demanded that Rajoy’s government repeal the law. “If the PP hides behind this sentence to now accept the [Socialists’] law, it will be reneging on the public commitments it made in 2004 and 2005 and failing to defend the ideas of its core supporters in a politically cowardly way,” it said. Another conservative group, HazteOir. org, said, “Making marriage the same as other types of union is a direct attack on the Spanish family.” “This equal status, as well as the promotion of divorce, will cause damage to society in the short-term,” the group’s leader, Ignacio Arsuaga, said.
Spanish socialist party member Pedro Zerolo (r) and other marriage equality supporters celebrate a ruling on Gay marriage in Madrid November 6, 2012
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Spain’s Constitutional Court upheld the country’s marriage equality law in a ruling announced November 6. Eight of the court’s 11 judges voted in favor of the law. The court said in a statement that a full ruling will be published within a week. “We’re very, very pleased and particularly that the decision was 8-to-3 and not a close 6-to-5,” Jesus Generelo, general secretary of the Spanish Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transsexuals, and Bisexuals (FELGTB), said. “I think it is clear that Gay marriage is now a part of our society.” PASSED BY SOCIALISTS Marriage equality was passed by Spain’s newly elected Socialist government in
2005. The right-wing People’s Party (PP), now the country’s governing party, promptly challenged the law in court. PP leader Mariano Rajoy, now Spain’s prime minister, said he objected only to the use of the word “marriage” to describe same-sex unions, but not to legal protections for Gay and Lesbian couples, “which don’t matter to us,” Rajoy said. Although the Socialists lost power in the 2011 election, a majority of the Constitutional Court judges are Socialist appointees. All of those judges voted to uphold the law, and they were joined by one conservative judge. GOVernmenT WILL OBEY PP Justice Minister Alberto Ruiz-Gallardón said the government would respect the court’s decision and leave the law as it stands. Some PP mayors – who have jurisdic-
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www.sgn.org November 9, 2012
Seattle Gay News 15
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Goodbye, Dinesh Another anti-Gay hypocrite falls from his moralistic perch by D’Anne Witkowski Special to the SGN Are you sitting down? Because this may come as quite a shock: Another anti-Gay stalwart and “defender” of marriage has been caught in a marital mishap. Now, I’m not a marriage counselor, but I feel pretty confident dolling out this advice: if you’ve been married for 20 years, and are, in fact, still married, you should probably not go to a right-wing Christian conference with a woman who is not your wife – let alone share a hotel room with her and introduce her to your right-wing bros as your “fiancé.” That’s just, well, tacky. At best. At worst it’s totally hypocritical bullshit, though that is, as we’ve seen time and time again, par for the course.
Alas, this warning comes too late for Dinesh D’Souza, right-wing author and media darling, and his mistress, Denise Odie Joseph II, with whom he not only shares a philandering bed but also shares odious views about marriage equality. A match made in Heaven, obviously. Well, at least a Heaven that has nothing to do with the “thou shalt not commit adultery” thing. SHADES OF NEWT GINGRICH This sexy scandal came to light right after D’Souza accused President Obama of aggressively “attacking the traditional values agenda.” “Why is Obama on the social issues – and I’m thinking here of abortion, I’m thinking here of gay marriage – why is Obama so aggressive in attacking the traditional values
Dinesh D’Souza
agenda?” D’Souza asked. “I think this is the problem: Obama doesn’t like traditional Christianity because he identifies it with colonialism. Obama’s own Christianity is more of a Third World liberation theology, a very different kind of Jeremiah Wright-type philosophy, summarized in the idea that America is the rogue nation in the world.” Got it? Obama hates traditional marriage because he hates Christianity and he hates Christianity because he hates white people. The end. Amen. DRAGGING GOD INTO IT D’Souza, who cheated on his wife in a flagrant way at a conference about living according to Biblical principles (or whatever), also lamented the alleged state of this country’s morals and spirituality.
“I think that the deepest problems facing America and the West in the end are not political, they are spiritual,” he said. “This is why it makes sense even as we debate policy issues, even as we debate moral issues, to turn to the maker of the universe, this maker of the universe that isn’t just an absentee God like Obama’s dad, a kind of absentee father who got things going and then took off, but a God who cares about each one of us and certainly about our country.” Aw, snap! No, he didn’t! No, he didn’t just call Obama’s father a God-like deadbeat. Oh, but he did. Because he, Mr. D’Philanderer, is so much better, so much more moral than some guy who contributed chromosomes to create the President of the United States.
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November 9, 2012
Celebrating 39 Years!
health and medicine
That’s a wrap
L.A. voters approve measure requiring condoms in porn by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
for on-location shoots that seek city permits, but has yet to figure out how to enforce it.
A Los Angeles County initiative requiring porn performers to wear condoms while working has passed with almost 56% of the vote. The final count was announced just after noon on November 7. Titled Measure B, the law was proposed by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has tried for years to get the porn industry to
CONDOMS A TURN-OFF? Porn producers, and an industry trade group called the Free Speech Coalition, argued that consumers don’t want and won’t buy condom porn, and that enforcement would push the multi-billion-dollar business underground and out of Los Angeles’ “Porn Valley.”
“This is what democracy looks like – we took this to county government and they didn’t act, so we took it directly to the voters, and they spoke conclusively.” implement basic health and safety measures voluntarily to protect its employees. The initiative seeks to mandate condoms through a permitting process for porn production companies throughout most of the county. The cities of Pasadena, Long Beach, and Vernon, which have their own health departments, would be exempt. “This is what democracy looks like – we took this to county government and they didn’t act, so we took it directly to the voters, and they spoke conclusively,” AIDS Healthcare Foundation President Michael Weinstein said. The organization says California officials tell them privately that condoms are in fact required by state workplace safety regulations, but the state lacks the resources to enforce the rule. The City of Los Angeles has a similar rule
Diane Duke, chief executive for the Free Speech Coalition, told Los Angeles County supervisors in a letter on Wednesday that the law is unconstitutional and that the question of condoms falls under state jurisdiction, not local government. “Therefore, we will file suit and challenge this intolerable law in court,” Duke said in the letter. LEAVING L.A.? She also said adult filmmakers have been approached to move elsewhere. “In the upcoming weeks and months, we will provide a road map for adult production to move its over-a-billion-dollar industry and its accompanying 10,000 jobs to these welcoming communities,” she added. Industry spokespeople claim that porn producers already have an STD testing
protocol in place, but the AIDS Healthcare Foundation has cited a number of HIV cases dating back as far as 2004 and a recent syphilis case as evidence that the industry’s monthly testing protocol for performers
does not work. The porn industry also claimed that Measure B would empower bigger government without the means for enforcement.
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November 9, 2012
Seattle Gay News 17
continued from cover Democrat Derek Kilmer succeeded retiring Congressman Norm Dicks in the sixth. KOSTER DEFEATED In perhaps the most stunning news of the night, Democrat Suzan DelBene trounced anti-Gay, anti-choice Republican John Koster in the First Congressional District, which was widely considered the state’s most competitive. In fact, DelBene beat him twice – once to represent the older, more Democratic First District until January, and again for a full two-year term in the newly redrawn district. DelBene had lagged behind Koster in late polling, but ended up beating him by 20 points in the old First District and by seven points in the new district, for her first full term in the House. Like a number of other Republican candidates, Koster’s mouth got him into trouble when a video of him making off-hand remarks about “the rape thing” went viral.
Koster’s campaign manager was none other than Larry Stickney, who ran the 2009 campaign to repeal the state’s domestic partnership law.
socialistworld.net
triumph
SANDERS STOPPED In another happy result, defense attorney Sheryl Gordon McCloud won a state Supreme Court seat, defeating a comeback attempt by ex-Justice Richard Sanders. In his 15 years on the court (1995–2010), Sanders voted against marriage equality in the 2006 Andersen case, against inheritance rights for domestic partners, against domestic partner benefits for municipal employees, and against custody rights for non-birth parents. In the race for governor, Democrat Jay Inslee, who endorsed marriage equality, remains about two points ahead of Republican Rob McKenna, who did not. Likewise, longtime LGBT ally Bob Ferguson leads his Republican opponent, Reagan Dunn, by five points in the race for attorney general. Openly LGBT state legislators Marko Liias (D-21), Laurie Jinkins (D-27), Dave Upthegrove (D-33), and Jim Moeller (D-49) easily beat their Republican challengers. SAWANT SURPRISES Jamie Pedersen (D-43) was unopposed in the general election because his primary challenger, Trotskyist Kshama Sawant, withdrew from the race for his seat to run instead against House Speaker Frank Chopp (D-43). Sawant polled barely 8% of the vote against Pedersen in the primary, but she managed to get more than 27% against Chopp. State Sen. Ed Murray (D-43) was not up for election this year. Maureen Walsh (R-16), star of an Ap-
Kshama Sawant
prove R-74 TV spot, won re-election against a fellow Republican who challenged her because she voted for the Marriage Equality Act. Walsh picked up almost 57% of the vote. BALDWIN WINS In other states, LGBT candidates also scored victories. In Wisconsin, Tammy Baldwin became the first Lesbian elected to the U.S. Senate, and was succeeded in
her House seat by a Gay Democrat, Mark Pocan. In Rhode Island, openly Gay U.S. Rep. David Cicilline was re-elected, and in New York, Sean Patrick Maloney became that state’s first openly Gay person elected to Congress. While votes are still being counted in California’s 41st Congressional District, openly Gay Democrat Mark Takano has declared victory. He will be the first openly Gay person of color to serve in Congress.
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November 9, 2012
Seattle Gay News 19