Issue 43 Volume 38
Celebrating 37 Years!
FRIDAY October 22, 2010 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
SEAMEC RATINGS p. 8
RED DRESS p. 17
DR. J – ru2hot? p. 19
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Transgender issues – new NGLTF study just released file photo
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Does anyone else want off of this ride? The legal and social battle over the U.S. military’s outdated and just plain discriminatory policy “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), which bars Gays and Lesbians from serving openly, has taken on a whole new life during the past two weeks. The words “bizarre” and “limbo” immediately come to mind. The week started off promisingly enough, as those on both sides of the DADT repeal expected U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips to reject the government’s effort to halt her order, telling the military to stop enforcing the 17-year policy. On October 18, Phillips did just that, and 24 hours later, headlines across the nation shouted, “U.S Military Accepting Openly Gay Recruits!” … or so we thought. The Justice Department immediately asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to issue a temporary stay on Phillip’s rul-
Lakewood, WA Gay teen latest suicide victim
associated press
and the National Center for Transgender Equality. “From our experience working with Transgender people, we had prepared ourselves for high rates of suicide attempts, but we didn’t expect anything like this,” said Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. “Our study participants reported attempting suicide at a rate more than 25 Founder of the Ingersoll Gender Center times the national avMarsha Botzer erage.” by Shaun Knittel In truth, 41% of all respondents reported that they had attempted SGN Associate Editor suicide, compared with national More than half of Transgender estimates of 1.6%. “These shocking and disheartenand gender non-conforming people who were bullied, harassed, or ing numbers speak to the urgency assaulted in school because of their of ending bullying in our nation’s gender identity have attempted schools and ending discriminasuicide, according to just-released tion in our nation’s workplaces. findings from the National Trans- We know from the recent rash of gender Discrimination Survey, suicides among young people conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) see transgender page 18
DADT in flux, Gay troops left in limbo
DADT protester outside the United States Capitol building
ing. No big surprise there; from the obligation to defend any law curbeginning, President Obama and rently in place. the Justice Department have said As soon as I heard that former that, regardless of public opinion Army Lieutenant and DADT re(over half of all Americans are pro-repeal), they have the legal see dadt page 20
Uganda tabloid outs 100 Gay Ugandans
School in Lakewood. Terrel’s mother, Cheryl Williams, found her son in his bedroom closet. “My son meant the world to me, and high school bullies pushed him over the edge. I hope and pray that no other child ever has to go through what he did. Bullying isn’t worth it. Why can’t people just be nice?” Cheryl wrote in a statement she posted on Terrel’s Twitter page. Terrel’s suicide note read:
news photo
“I’m sorry to my immediate loved ones, but I feel suicide is the only way out. I felt coming out, and being happy with Daric, was the best thing I could’ve ever done. But I didn’t think it would lead to my death at an early age. “Today, was the record worst day of my life, some kids at school stole some of my stuff that I got from people I really cared about, Terrel Williams and that really pushed me over the by Shaun Knittel The latest teen to fall victim to top, next to being shoved into a SGN Associate Editor anti-LGBTQ bullying, Terrel Wil- wall, and my ribs being broken.” liams, 17, took his life on October Despite recent media attention 13 in Lakewood, Washington. TerTerrel’s boyfriend, Daric Rawr, and a number of video projects rel penned a suicide note and then told the online Gay new source encouraging LGBTQ teens to stay hung himself in the family’s home LGBTQ Nation that following the resilient in the face of opposition, just hours after being attacked by October 13 incident, Terrel had to teen suicides within the Gay com- five other high school students munity continue at an alarming who pushed and threw him into rate. a brick wall at Clover Park High see teen page 18
The cover of the Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Ugandan tabloid Rolling Stone – not related to the U.S. publication of the same name – has published a front-page story outing what it claims are 100 Gay Ugandans. Titled “100 Pictures of Uganda’s Top Homos Leak – Hang Them,” the story was published October 9, just five days before the one-year anniversary of Uganda’s notorious “Kill the Gays” legislation.
The tabloid not only published the names and photos of the men, but also what it said were their home addresses. Since the story was published, at least four Gay Ugandans on the list have been attacked and many others are in hiding, according to human rights activist Julian Onziema. One person named in the story had his home stoned by neighbors. More than 20 LGBT Ugandans see uganda page 21
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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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UW vigil for LGBT youth suicides All photos by Barry Thorsness
Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel Miryam Gordon, James Whitely, Tim Peter
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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
Classifieds Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Photographers Nick Ardizzone, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel, James Whitely National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published weekly by JT&A, Inc. © 2010, JT&A, 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.
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
UW students hold a vigil for 12 LGBT youths who have committed suicide in recent months.
by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer Students Organizing for LGBT Equality (SOLE), a University of Washington (UW) student group, organized a vigil on the evening of Wednesday, October 20, to commemorate the lives of 12 LGBT youths that committed suicide in recent months across the United States and Canada.
“Your presence was important to show that there is a community of loving, caring people – things get better, they do get better. But they don’t get better alone, without action, without wisdom, without direction,” said Mario Lemafa, a SOLE spokesman and student of the University of Washington. The vigil ran about 35 minutes long and drew out a little over 300 people, primarily UW students.
Students pledge allegiance to LGBT youth by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor This week, thousands of students from more than 1,000 middle and high schools across the country participated in the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network’s (GLSEN) Ally Week to identify, encourage, and support allies in addressing anti-LGBT bullying in schools. Ally Week, a student-led and student-created event, is a way to build upon the unifying work of Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA) student clubs by encouraging students to be allies against anti-LGBT name-calling, bullying, and homosexual harassment in schools. “Allies play a vital role in making schools safer for all students, regardless of sexual
October 22, 2010
orientation or gender identity/expression,” wrote GLSEN officials on the Ally Week website at www.allyweek.org. “In fact, the first Gay-Straight Alliance was the idea of a straight ally. Whether you belong to a GSA or not, Ally Week is the perfect time for you and your friends to sign the Ally Pledge.” According to GLSEN officials, the message is: Change attitudes. Change behaviors. Change directions. Change lives. Change policies. Change voices. Be an ally. Be the change. Participating students encourage their peers to take the Ally Pledge, which students and adults sign through pledge cards in school or online. The pledge reads:
The vigil honored 12 teens, including Jeanine Blanchette, 21; Chantal Dube, 17; Zach Harrington, 19; Tyler Clementi, 18; Asher Brown, 13; Seth Walsh, 13; and Billy Lucas, 15. Teary-eyed SOLE speakers pointed out that LGBT youth are four times as likely to attempt suicide than straight young people, and that it’s been happening for decades – it is only now that we’re hearing about it. One SOLE member said that if there was anything positive that could be taken from the deaths, it was that we could “use these tragedies to galvanize the community and vote for equal rights.” As the vigil drew to a close, SOLE offered a petition to the attendees that demands that UW administration create gender-neutral dorms, which the UW currently does not have. Everyone blew out their candles in unison and the vigil came to a close. “We encourage you to offer your time to think about what change you can [make] to make things better for young people, especially young Queer youth in our community,” said Lemafa. “The dialogue on this issue will continue and we hope you will participate in it.” SOLE is a group of students and supporters who see a great need and desire for activism on UW campus and advocates for solving LGBT issues. They hope to continue the vision of equality for all and to carry on the work that was done during the National Equality March on October 11, 2009. I believe all students, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression, deserve to feel safe and supported. That means I pledge to: • Not use anti-LGBT language or slurs • Intervene, if I safely can, in situations where students are being harassed • Support efforts to end bullying and harassment Nearly 9 out of 10 (84.6%) LGBT students experience harassment at school and 61.1% feel unsafe at school because of their sexual orientation, according to GLSEN’s 2009 National School Climate Survey of 7,261 LGBT students in middle and high school. “Recent tragedies have brought attention to the longstanding public health crisis of anti-LGBT bullying in our schools,” said GLSEN Executive Director Eliza Byard. “Allies can make a huge difference in creating safer schools for LGBT youth. GLSEN’s Ally Week offers students and adults an opportunity to show their support for creating a world in which all students are valued and respected, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.”
Celebrating 37 Years!
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you need some scary Queer in your life? Join us for the Holy, Harrowing, Hellacious, Homo Halloween show! This is also an event where we will honor the dead, let go of the past, let the dead things fall away compiled by Rick McKinnon from our life. There will be a public memoSGN Staff Writer rial/altar at the Re-bar where you can light a candle, bring a picture or something meanPRIDE FOUNDATION/ ingful and honor or let it go. We will provide LAST DANCE GSBA SCHOLARSHIP the candles! REMEMBERING OLYMPIA 18 APPLICATIONS Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com KRISTIN DIOR Pride Foundation/GSBA Scholarship ApOn Saturday, October 23 at 6 p.m. at $12 adv/$14 at door. plications are now available at www.Pride- Neighbours Nightclub (1509 Broadway), FoundationScholar.org. This year, $500,000 the 18th Annual Remembering Olympia BUMP FIRE + ICE is available in scholarships to support edu- 18 Kristin Dior Last Dance show and fundHALLOWEEN PARTY cation and leadership development for Les- raiser will be held. Performances by special On Friday, October 29 from 9 p.m. to 2 bian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender or Queer guests from throughout the Northwest. Si- a.m. at Showbox at the Market (1426 1st students of any age; students who have an lent auction, live auction, and raffle. Pro- Ave.), join the northwest’s hottest HallowLGBT parent; and students who are straight ceeds to benefit Bailey-Boushay House een party, Bump: Fire + Ice. Benefiting Gay allies and are committed to civil rights for Day Health Program. Presented by Pennies City and the Seattle Men’s and Women’s the LGBTQ community. Since 1990, more From Heaven and Sahara Dior D. Suggested Choruses. Featuring DJs Nastina, Michael than $3 million in scholarships have been donation $10. Holden, and Spaceotter. Hosted by Ben awarded. Pride Foundation and the GSBA DeLa Crème. Fire performances by FurtherScholarship Fund would like to encourage more Collective. Entertainment by Waxie EX-GAY NO WAY AUTHOR you to share this excellent opportunity for TO SPEAK AT WORSHIP SERVICE Moon, Inga Ingenue, Paris Original and students of any age or sexual orientation On Sunday, October 24 at 11 a.m. at Emer- more. Costume contest with $1,000 prize. from Alaska, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and ald City MCC Seattle in the Chapel of Uni- Grind afterparty in the Baltic Room. Washington who are pursuing any post- versity Temple United Methodist Church Regular tickets $35 in advance, four for secondary education (including community (1415 NE 43rd St.), Jallen Rix, author of Ex- $100. VIP tickets (discounted drinks, VIP college, public or private colleges and uni- Gay No Way will speak. As a young South- area with dedicated bar, VIP entrance, and versities, trade apprenticeships, or certifi- ern Baptist, Dr. Rix joined an ex-Gay minis- free photo) $60 in advance, four for $200. cate programs)! There are 50 different types try when he discovered his same-sex attrac- Platinum tickets (hosted bar, complimenof scholarships with awards up to $10,000, tions. Although the ministry did not make tary cocktails, hors d’ouevres, VIP area, gift but only one web-based application to com- him heterosexual, it did manage to destroy bags, free parking, access to Grind afterparplete! any sense of stability and self-esteem. Ex- ty) $125 in advance, two for $200. Applications can be completed online Gay No Way is Dr. Rix’s journey through the Tickets on sale at www.gaycity.org. at www.PrideFoundationScholar.org and ex-gay world and what he did in the afterare due by 5:00 p.m. PST on Friday, Jan- math to reintegrate positive sexuality with KINKY CARNIVAL uary 31, 2011. AT CENTER FOR healthy spirituality. Further, he demonstrates SEX-POSITIVE CULTURE that the tactics used in these oppressive enMARCH AND RALLY On Friday, October 29 from 7 p.m. to midvironments are many of the same damaging AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY schemes used everywhere in power-abusive night at the Center for Sex-Positive Culture On Friday, October 22, at 5 p.m. at Seattle religious organizations today. (1602 15th Ave. W.), celebrate Kinky CarCentral Community College (Broadway nival, a fun, safe place for adults to explore & Pine), the 15th Annual National Day of sensual expression and BDSM. The Kinky HUMAN RIGHTS Protest to Stop Police Brutality, Repression, Carnival invites adults (18+) to sample a IN THE LGBT COMMUNITY and the Criminalization of a Generation will variety of experiences at the approximately IN EL SALVADOR be held. Rally starts at 5:30 p.m., followed On Thursday, October 28 from 6-7:30 two-dozen booths. From “Kiss” and “Cudby a march downtown to sites of police bru- p.m. at the University of Washington, dle” to “Spank” and “Rope,” each booth protality and murder. Wear black to remember Thomson Hall 317, come to a talk with Wil- vides a specific experience in a safe, healthy the stolen lives from police brutality and to liam Hernandez. Hernandez is director and environment. Designed for those who are support families who have lost loved ones to president of the Asociacion Entre Amigos, new to sex-positivity and BDSM, the Kinky police brutality. Seattle area has had several which works to promote and defend the hu- Carnival offers a way to try out fantasies at high profile cases. Police brutality occurs man right of the LGBT population and peo- an easy pace and in a safe space. The Carnievery day across this country and hundreds ple living with HIV/AIDS in El Salvador. A val will also feature the “Ask” booth, where of people are killed by law enforcement courageous grassroots activist and leader, attendees are invited to ask questions. Other every year. Be there! Stand together to say Herdandez has faced death threats, office booths include “Zap,” “Pierce,” “Submit,” “Enough is enough!” raids, and other acts of intimidation aimed at “Sensation,” “Flog,” “Rub,” “Mmm,” and For more information, call (206) 264- silencing his advocacy for LGBT Rights. “Ground.” 5527 or e-mail oct22seattle@hotmail.com. Tickets ($25 advance/$30 door/$100 Gold This talk is free and open to the public. For more information, visit jsis.washington. VIP) are available at Ticket Leap http://fspc. PARENTING YOUR QUEER CHILD edu/humanrights/. ticketleap.com/kinky-carnival/. Costumes On Saturday, October 23 from 9:30 a.m. are welcomed, but not required. to 2 p.m. at University Temple United MethHAUNTED CAPITOL HILL odist Church (1415 NE 43rd St.), Pastors SEATTLE CENTER FESTÁL: On Thursday, October 28 from 6-10 p.m. Ray Neal and Michelle Carmody of Emer- at the Joule Apartments at (Broadway E. & DIA DE MUERTOS ald City Metropolitan Community Church E. Republican), watch as Capitol Hill gets On Saturday, October 30 from noon to 8 Seattle will present a workshop for parents haunted for Halloween. Zombies wielding p.m. and Sunday, October 31 from noon to 6 of LGBT youth entitled “Parenting Your chainsaws, ax murderers, house of horrors – p.m. at Seattle Center House (Seattle Center, Queer (LGBT) Child.” The program will some might not make it out alive. Come see 305 Harrison St.), join Seattle Center Festál: begin with a continental breakfast and the if you can. Suggested $5 donation will sup- Dia De Muertos. screening of the film Put This on the {Map} port local groups including the Capitol Hill In the Mexican culture, to remember the a locally produced compelling 34-minute Chamber of Commerce, The Vera Project, departed is to remember what has been its documentary about a new generation of and the Washington Bus. Recommended for history. It is to keep alive the very deepest young people re-teaching gender and sexual ages 13 and up. of the Mexican roots, where indigenous and identity. Fed up with a lack of visibility, 26 On Saturday, October 30, join The Pro- Spanish cultures intertwine in traditional young people in Seattle’s Eastside suburbs cession of Lost Souls Parade. Come wake community altars, sugar skulls, sand paintweave together a groundbreaking narra- the dead with us in a costume procession ing, special foods, candles, processions, tive of shifting identities and social change. up Broadway, and witness a parade of the music and dance. From getting beat up in a schoolyard to be- most creative, artistic, and scary (or silly) This year’s celebration features: Matoys, a ing picked up as a runaway, Queer youth costumes in Seattle. A costume contest will contemporary music ensemble that expressexercise courage daily. Professing expertise kick it off. Enter to win great prizes in five es Pre-Hispanic themes, from México City: over their own experiences, Queer youth categories including Quintessentially Capi- www.matoys.mx. The Seattle Fandango provide a candid evaluation of their schools, tol Hill and Best Group. Costume Contest 6 Project: music from the 400 year-old Fanfamilies, and communities moving the au- p.m., Parade begins at 7 p.m. Meet at Seattle dango Jarocho tradition of Veracruz, Mexidience from self-reflection to action. Youth Central Community College’s outdoor plaza co, involving music, dance, and poetry born from the film and the producers, Sid Peter- (Broadway & E. Pine). from encounters between European, Indigson and Megan Kennedy, will be present for On Sunday, October 31, join the Creepy enous, African, and Arab cultures: www. discussion. Crawl Parade – Halloween is the day for facebook.com/pages/Seattle-FandangoA panel discussion with parents of LGBT spooky sprites. Little ones in costume will Project/158069722064. Mixcoatl Anahuac: youth, representatives from PFLAG, coun- be showing off their garb around Cal An- a traditional Aztec dance group from San selors and clergy will be held to present derson Park, followed by trick-or-treating Francisco, California. Four art exhibits from ways to support, encourage and nurture at Broadway merchants. Molly Moon’s Ice México City: Independencia y Revolución / queer young persons in uplifting, affirming Cream Truck will be there with treats. Be- Independence & Revolution, engravings by ways. members of the Taller de Gráfica Popular; gins at 3 p.m. Pre-registration is suggested but not reFor more information, visit www.haunt- an engraving exhibit by Joel Rendón; Disquired by calling 425-350-7077 or 206-325- edbroadway.com. idencia Emocional / Emotional Dissidence, 2421. A $5 donation is suggested for the photography exhibit by Roberto Uribe; and luncheon. Identidades de México / Identities of MéxHOMOWEEN SHOW AT RE-BAR On Thursday, October 28 at 7:30 p.m. at ico, an exhibit of illustrators. A Tapete de Re-bar (1114 Howell St.), start your Hal- Arena Pintada (monumental sand painting) loween right with the Homoween show. Do will be created for the Celebration.
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Dia de Muertos also features lectures on Mexican art, history, culture and anthropology, short films and animations, and works by traditional craftspeople from Michoácan, México. Community members and organizations will create altars or “ofrendas” to remember the departed. There will be children’s art activities, authentic Mexican food, including a Pan de Muerto (Day of the Dead bread) and a traditional Mexican pantheon display. Each day concludes with a Procession to Remember Dearly Departed. For more information, visit www.seattlecenter.com. MACCT POTLUCK AND COSTUME PARTY On Saturday, October 30 at 7 p.m., Men of All Colors & Cultures Together (MACCT) will be hosting a Potluck Halloween Costume Party. Please contact us at 206-9238313 or macctseattle@yahoo.com for additional location information / directions. MACCT is a Gay/Bisexual multi-racial, multi-cultural organization committed to fostering supportive environments wherein racial and cultural barriers can be overcome and the goal of human equality realized. RADICAL WOMEN HALLOWEEN PARTY On Saturday, October 30 at 7:30 p.m. at New Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave. S.), come to a Halloween costume party for feminists and other seditious souls. The seditious spirit-raising soiree will weave spells to kibosh bloodsucking budget cuts and exorcise exploiters. Highlights include dancing, a costume contest, no-host bar, and a satirical floorshow. The door donation is $5. A frightfully flavorful feast will be served for $10. The party is a benefit for Radical Women. For more information, call 206-722-6057 or visit RadicalWomen.org/seattle.html. FREAK BOUTIQUE HALLOWEEN PARTY On Sunday, October 31 at 8 p.m. at Trinity Nightclub (111 Yesler Ave.), Scarlett Planet presents the 6th Annual Freak Boutique Halloween party. With a $5,000 costume contest. The Seattle Freak Boutique is a costume-mandatory event, meaning all guests are asked to dress as appropriately or inappropriately as they prefer. This event is ages 21 and older. Best costumes are judged in the categories of Most Original, Sexiest Couple, and Best Group. Winners divide a prize package worth more than $5,000 in cash and prizes. The costume contest is hosted by Emmy-nominated Sasha Scarlett. Burlesque Performers: Shanghai Pearl and Fuchsia Foxx. Halloween Hotties: Smoking hot female dancers from Lil Darlings. Six Fetish Stages where guests can experience fetish and fantasy. Tickets $35 advance, $40 at the door. For more information, visit www.seattlefreakboutique.com. BENT: 10TH ANNUAL MENTOR SHOWCASE On Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6, Regie Cabico will headline the Bent Mentor Showcase, doors at 7 p.m., show at 7:30 p.m., at the Museum of History and Industry’s McEachern Auditorium, 2700 24th Ave. E. The showcase, an annual event that has become a fixture in the Seattle Queer arts scene, will include performances by Cabico and Bent writing students. Cabico is described as an “out and proud Filipino American Gay man who has been called the Lady Gaga of spoken word poets.” He has won several high awards at various national slam poetry contests, has written several plays and regularly performs stand-up comedy, and has twice been featured on HBO’s Def Poetry Jam. A writing workshop with Cabico will be held on Saturday, November 6, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., at a location to be announced. For more information, please e-mail terrakitty@ gmail.com or visit us at www.bentwriting. com. Tickets for the Bent Mentor Showcase are $20-general admission; $15-students with ID; $30-general admission for both days and may be purchased in advance at www. brownpapertickets.com/event/128828 or at the door.
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Endorsements from SGN, SEAMEC, GSBA, ERW by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer You have your ballot in one hand and a pen in the other. You ask yourself, “Which circles do I mark?” There are any number of groups ready to give you advice. Some are shady far-right organizations financed by undisclosed millionaire donors. But others are community groups who base their recommendations on LGBT interests. SGN has endorsed six candidates in what look like close races – Patty Murray for U.S. Senate, Rick Larson for Congress in the 2nd District, Charlie Wiggins for Supreme Court judge, Marko Liias and Laurie Jinkins for the state legislature, and Donna Tucker for District Court judge. You can read the whole article in the SGN for October 15, www.sgn.org/sgnnews38_42/page13.cfm This week, SGN also has the 2010 SEAMEC ratings. SEAMEC has been interviewing, researching, and rating candidates on issues of interest to LGBT voters since 1977. Typically, SEAMEC evaluates candidates only. For recommendations on the long list of ballot measures, you have to look elsewhere. In contrast to SEAMEC, the GSBA, which represents 1000 LGBT-owned or LGBT-friendly businesses, does not endorse candidates but does take positions on ballot measures. This year, the GSBA has released recom-
mendations on five ballot measures. GSBA recommends you vote No on I-1053, the latest budget-busting Tim Eyman production; No on I-1082, the insurance industry’s bid to take over workers’ compensation insurance; and No on I-1107, which would repeal taxes on candy and soda. GSBA wants you to vote Yes on I-1098, to create a “high earner” income tax for individuals who make more than $250,000 and couples who make more than $400,000; and Yes on R-52, to finance environmental upgrades to the state’s schools. Their complete analysis is available at thegsba.blogspot.com. ERW (Equal Rights Washington) has joined with a broad coalition of groups to put out a “Progressive Voters Guide” compiled by FUSE Washington. The FUSE recommendations include candidates Patty Murray for U.S. Senate and Charlie Wiggins for Supreme Court judge, as well as nine ballot measures. The voters’ guide also reveals which organizations have endorsed which candidates and ballot measures. The full Progressive Voters Guide is online at ERW’s website, progressivevotersguide. com/2010/washington/general/?src=erw. Among the organizations participating with FUSE are unions UFCW 21, and three SEIU locals, 775NW, 925, and 1199NW. Unions affiliated with the AFL-CIO have put out their own recommendations, which are available on the Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) website www.wslc.org/ cope/index.htm.
Ex-Gay No Way author Dr. Jallen Rix speaks at MCC Seattle by Rev. Ray Neal, Emerald City MCC Seattle Special to the SGN With the September suicides of young Gay teens being so heavy on our hearts, the need for a different voice to be raised to counteract the hateful and wrong interpretation of the Bible being used against LGBT persons is even more important today than ever before. Dr. Jallen Rix, author of Ex Gay No Way: Survival and Recovery from Religious Abuse, will be speaking Sunday morning, October 24, at 11 a.m. at Emerald City Metropolitan Community Church Seattle (1415 NE 43rd St.). Emerald City MCC Seattle currently meets in the Chapel of University Temple United Methodist Church. Additionally, Dr. Rix will be speaking at Seattle First Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, October 20, at 7 p.m. Rev. Ray Neal, pastor of Emerald City MCC Seattle, asked Dr. Rix, “How can progressive Christian churches get out the mes-
sage about how damaging ex-Gay therapy is to LGBT persons?” Dr. Rix smiled and said, “Well ... besides encouraging people to buy my book, there are many different things that can be done. Something to consider is that many people operate from the belief that a minister or a pastor knows more than they actually do. This has a historical basis when the local church was really the only place in a small town where a person could get advice on life’s problems. That is not the case anymore. We now have doctors, therapists, trained counselors, sexuality educators, the internet, etc. … It is very important if someone comes to you or clergy that there is awareness and encouragement to go to the correct source for help and education. As the saying goes, you don’t go to your plumber to fix a broken leg. The great thing is that this approach frees the church up to be only what it is meant to be: the focal point of God’s unconditional love.”
William G. Wallace, Jr. William G. Wallace, Jr. died unexpectedly on 10/6/10. He was an awardwinning sales associate at the downtown Nordstrom Rack for the past 22 years. He is survived by life partner Philip D. Moore and 10 brothers and sisters. Bill and Philip traveled extensively from southeastern Alaska to the tip of Baja, all throughout western and central Mexico and the Yucatan Peninsula, Hawaii, Europe, Egypt, and Jordan. For 12 years, they traveled to Mexico twice a year, where they met many wonderful friends. A life celebration was held at Daybreak Star Center on October 11. Memorial page at Facebook at: William G. Wallace, Jr.
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You’ll Never
WalkAlone An all-ages Dance Party and Fundraiser to benefit Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP)
November 7, 2010 Doors at 6pm, Show 7-10pm Neighbours Nightclub A donation at the door gets you in!
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October 22, 2010
Seattle Gay News 15
16 Seattle Gay News
October 22, 2010
Celebrating 37 Years!
Red Dress party a firey success James whitely
Revelers at the Red Dress Party
by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer Seattle Red Dress Party October 16 Fremont Studios On Saturday, October 16, approximately 850 people in red dresses made their way to Seattle’s Fremont neighborhood for Seattle’s one and only annual Red Dress Party. DJ Brian Gorr, Rozalla, and Shokra lent their talent for the night’s entertainment, and the party was emceed by Seattle’s own Gaysha Starr. “It was an absolute honor to have been asked to host the Red Dress Party. What I love the most about this type of event is that it reinforces how all kinds of people can come together for one night and have a great time, all while raising money for an important cause,” said Gaysha Starr. “These type of big community events are important,” Starr continued. “And it sends a powerful message; seeing a room of over 800 people, all in red dresses, not taking themselves too seriously, to all-out have a great time!” “The Seattle Red Dress Party is a fundraiser for Seattle non-profits Rise N’ Shine, Gay City Health Project, Lifelong AIDS Alliance, and Mulitfaith Works,” Red Dress co-producer Sam Galano told SGN. “We
seek to increase awareness of HIV/AIDS and help raise money for these underfunded local organizations.” “Our event was not about bringing attention to the epidemic of Gay suicides,” Galano added. “But it was a beautiful example of a community at large that not only accepts but celebrates differences. Seattle is so blessed to have a strong LGBT and straight allied community, and the Seattle Red Dress Party brings out the best of Seattle for a fun and lighthearted event with a very special purpose.” A pre-party took place at the Lobby Bar (916 E. Pike St.), which featured Pandora Boxx, a nationally known drag queen based out of New York, who was recently featured on the camp television show RuPaul’s Drag Race. “The Red Dress pre-party was a huge success, and Pandora Boxx was just as witty, pleasant, and delightful as she is on TV,” said Paul Villa, co-owner of the Lobby Bar. “I had a feeling she was going to be a hit because earlier this year, when we were LOGO’s official viewing party location for RuPaul’s Drag Race, she was definitely the crowd favorite. When she was eliminated from the competition, the crowd was vocally upset,” Villa told SGN. The packed to near capacity afterparty at
Neighbours Nightclub (1509 Broadway) gave hundreds of patrons a chance to keep the party going early into the morning. “The afterparty at Neighbours was amazing. It capped off the night with a great performance from C89.5 track artist Melaki, and I think brought a lot more visibility
about the event [thanks to] the general public seeing the ‘red dressers’ come to Neighbours still dressed up,” said Gaysha Starr. Next year’s Red Dress Party is tentatively scheduled for November 12, 2011. It will take place at Fremont Studios (155 N. 35th St.), like it did this year.
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
our elected leaders to show leadership and courage, and we need them to fight for our rights. Passive attitudes and inaction allow homophobic attitudes to continue unconfronted. And it’s these homophobic attitudes and the unwelcoming environment created by such that ultimately takes the lives of our Queer youth.” Robin McGehee, co-founder and director of GetEQUAL, issued the following statement on Thursday’s temporary stay granted by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Against Temporary Injunction on DADT: “This temporary stay, sought by President Obama’s Department of Justice, brings the military’s discriminatory ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ law back from the dead. It is a travesty that after numerous attempts, President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder will go down in history as the administration that breathed life back into ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.’ The lives and careers of openly Gay and Lesbian servicemembers are now back in the crosshairs of our government, and a renewed commitment to discrimination falls squarely in the hands of this White House.”
GetEQUAL Washington confronts Obama
On October 21, GetEQUAL, a direct action LGBT civil rights organization partnered with local LGBT activists to protest the Seattle visit of President Obama and Senator Patty Murray over what they say is a lack of leadership and courage for full federal equality for LGBT Americans. Ben Crowther, local organizer with GetEQUAL and a group of protestors, stood with banners outside Hec Edmundson Pavilion on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, where Obama and Murray held a rally. “He promised to be a fierce advocate, he promised to repeal DADT,” said Crowther. “Yet his administration is appealing the injunctions. Yesterday DADT was dead, and now it’s back. He resuscitated it.” On October 12, U.S. District Judge Virginia Phillips issued a ruling finding the DADT policy unconstitutional, ordering all discharges stopped worldwide. One week later, President Obama instructed his Department of Justice to file an immediate injunction with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent the ruling from being implemented. At the October 21 Seattle rally, GetEQUAL and local activists held banners demanding the president show courage and leadership by immediately ending DADT. GetEQUAL officials said it would continue to hold the president accountable to his promises and will keep the president’s feet to the fire – as he requested – at every turn, until “we get equal.” Western Washington University student activist Ben Crowther said, “President Obama and Senator Patty Murray need to hear loud and clear that the Queer community needs fierce advocates, we need
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October 22, 2010
Seattle Gay News 17
transgender continued from cover
who have been bullied just how critical it is that we act now and act decisively to save lives,” said Rea Carey, executive director of NGLTF. The National Transgender Discrimination Survey is the most extensive survey of Transgender discrimination ever done. It includes responses from more than 6,400 people from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Among those who had been bullied, harassed, or assaulted while they were in school, half reported having attempted suicide. Most notably, suicide attempt rates rise dramatically when teachers were the reported perpetrators: 59% of those harassed or bullied by teachers, 76% of those who were physically assaulted by teachers, and 69% of those who were sexually assaulted attempted suicide. Of those who reported that they had to “leave school because the harassment was so bad,” 68% said they attempted suicide. Fully, 61% of respondents who expressed a Transgender identity or gender non-conformity while in school reported significant abuses in educational settings. From elementary through graduate school, the survey showed high levels of harassment and bullying (59%), physical assault (23%), sexual assault (8%), and expulsion from school (5%), all on the basis of gender identity or expression. Other findings include 35% of the participants who had been bullied, harassed, assaulted, or expelled because of their gender identity or expression while in school said that they used drugs or alcohol to cope with the effects of discrimination, compared to 21% of those who had not had similar experiences in school; 25% reported that they were currently or formerly homeless, compared to 14% of those who did not report mistreatment in schools; and those who reported they had to “leave school because the harassment was so bad” had an HIV infection rate of more than 5%, which is more than eight times the HIV infection rate for the general U.S. population. THE MISSION OF THE TASK FORCE “The Task Force’s Mission – to build the grassroots power of the LGBT community – is what first attracted me to the organization,” said Marsha Botzer, a Seattle-based Transgender icon and founder of the Ingersoll Gender Center. “This powerful survey of discrimination against Transgender and gender non-conforming people is a terrific example of how the Task Force really does use its talent and resources to make change in our world. I’ll be carrying copies of this into every legislative and policy meeting from now on!” Botzer, who served as co-chair of the Task
Force’s national board, says that the Task Force was the leading national organization to welcome Transgender people into full leadership. “I can report that this objective of service to all in our community is absolutely built into the daily work of the Task Force,” she said. “Over decades I’ve seen the destructive reality of transphobia and discrimination up close and in real lives,” said Botzer. “We know it happens, we see it, we fight against it, and yet without big-picture numbers and solid research, the struggle is 10 times harder. That’s why this Task Force and National Center for Transgender Equality report is so important; it truly will change lives for the better.” Botzer says that “Seattle is a great place for Transgender people to live, to grow, and to thrive.” According to Ingersoll Gender Center officials, the Transgender population in the Greater Seattle area is well in excess of 3,000 people. That puts Seattle as the second-highest concentration in the U.S. after San Francisco, California, and may be higher per-capita. “The size of the Trans community in Seattle is a function of the positive environment here,” said Breanna Anderson, co-president of Ingersoll Gender Center. “The positive environment here has multiple components. Seattle is generally progressive with a laidback culture. In addition, we have a strong and progressive Queer community.” “Very importantly, the Trans community has long been well integrated in the life, culture, and activism of the Lesbian and Gay communities. We were one of the first communities to officially integrate Bisexual and Transgender into the official titles and charters of many of our now-LGBT organizations and institutions,” she said. “I believe that this is a direct result of the investment and commitment of key leaders in the Trans community being invested and involved in larger LGBT activism and concerns. This common cause has ensured that Transfolk have generally been embraced and included in the progressive legal and social causes that have benefited our community in general.” The result has been a virtual cycle of improved conditions, social support systems, immigration, and further involvement and investment by Transgender people in the life of the community and the internal education and exposure that results, said Anderson. “The presence of consistent and highquality support organizations such as Ingersoll and the culture of service that has grown around it and folks who have come through that system are representative of this principle,” she said. “In large, otherwise progressive cities where the Trans population and leading organizations are not well integrated and embraced by the Lesbian and Gay power centers, I have not seen a positive or parallel progress. In many areas, there has grown up an entrenched antagonism between Lesbian, Gay, and Transgender organizations that has not served either well, but particularly Trans
groups and people.” From June 2006 to June 2007, Ingersoll conducted “Perspectives Northwest,” a needs assessment and community survey. Survey results include: • Economics: 39% of respondents have an income below $20,000 per year. • Employment: 41.5% report being denied employment, being fired, or discriminated against based on gender identity and expression. • Housing: 14.7% report being homeless or losing housing due to gender identity or expression. • Hate crime: 30% of respondents indicate being the victim of a hate crime, with 65% believing it was or was likely to be due to their gender identity or expression. HOW TO FURTHER IMPROVE “I would cautiously characterize the climate for Transgender persons living and working in Seattle as very good and progressively getting better, as a result of persistent and focused efforts to make it so,” said Anderson. “I want to be cautious in making that statement because the experience of Transfolk in Seattle, as anywhere, is extremely personal and highly varied. Depending on personal circumstances such as personal opportunity, race, ethnicity, and family environment, individuals may experience a wonderful acceptance support and low levels of personal discrimination, or tremendous personal, emotional and economic distress.” The big question, of course, is what to do about the continued discrimination, harassment, violence, and more subtle social suppression that continue in Seattle and region. Anderson said she believes that education and visibility, legal protections and good social policies, with solid enforcement and integration into support systems in schools, health, social services, and employment programs are key. “Visibility and personal familiarity have been critical factors in improving the social acceptance and personal experience of Gay and Lesbian people,” she said. “The matter of non-conventional gender identity and expression simply does not cross the mind of most people for whom it is not an issue or has not touched their lives. At first consideration, most would consider it to be lurid and bizarre until they are actually introduced to the ‘everyday Transsexual,’ after which it loses its power to shock and appall.” Anderson said that while legal protections don’t change minds, “they send important signals and provide tools for handling the most difficult cases of discrimination.” “Integration of Transgender issues and concerns specifically through involvement of Transfolk in education, social services, employment, and healthcare can have tremendous tangible benefits in making lives healthy and productive,” she said. Despite the work that still needs to be done, Anderson says the greater Seattle area, particularly urban Seattle, is an amazing place to live and thrive as a Transgender per-
son. “Seattle is a major magnet for Transfolk from across the country – and the world, for that matter. Our institutions are some of the strongest and our culture one of the most inclusive that I know.” “For all this progress, discrimination persists at the individual level at degrees somewhat less than in other areas of the U.S., but still to a degree that demands our constant attention and effort,” she said. “Transgender people continue to have great difficulty finding good jobs and gaining equitable promotion. Employment discrimination is pervasive and almost impossible to prove. Discrimination in insurance coverage and health care abounds. Families regularly disown Transgender people, most tragically when they come out young. Taunting gender non-conforming peers is still common in schools in urban, suburban, and rural areas alike. These fundamental and very personal levels of discrimination are both profound and difficult to make progress against.” Anderson concludes that success can be reached by adopting the successful strategies of visibility, community building, collaborating with like-minded communities, cultivating and supporting strong leaders, and integrating “ourselves into the life of the larger community we can continue to improve conditions. Though this is a major metropolitan area, our community is still generally best served by making existing institutions more inclusive and supportive of the needs of Transfolk rather than building Trans-specific standalone services and organizations.”
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be picked up and brought home from school. Daric says he was unaware of the attack and was on his way to Terrel’s home to attend a family dinner when Terrel’s mother called to tell him she found her son hanging in his closet. October 16 would’ve marked Terrel’s 18th birthday, and the seventh anniversary of Terrel and Daric’s relationship. According to Darric – who is now 16 – the boys met and became friends when they were 10 and 9 years old, respectively. “We began as play dates, like anybody else would, and as we got older into the teen years, his parents allowed us to give dating a shot,” he said. Daric described Terrel as “a compassionate, fun-loving, outgoing person who enjoyed life to the fullest. He loved life, but felt the need to take it, because [the bullying] didn’t stop … respectful, wholehearted people like Terrel, and the growing number of others, shouldn’t have to feel suicide is the answer, because bullies won’t stop.” To date, there has not been any formal action from the school district in regards to the bullying incident.
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18 Seattle Gay News
October 22, 2010
Celebrating 37 Years!
Dr. J: ru2hot?
by Dr. Joanne Stekler Special to the SGN Joanne Stekler, MD, MPH, is Deputy Director of Community Services for the HIV/ STD Program at Public Health - Seattle & King County. She is also an internal medicine and infectious disease physician at Harborview Medical Center, and assistant professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington. This is the second in a series of articles focusing on HIV and other STD prevention and care topics for Gay/Bisexual men and Transgender individuals in Seattle & King County. ru2hot? You may have seen a billboard sporting this question at Denny Way and Stewart last week. So what is ru2hot? It’s an education campaign designed to teach the symptoms of acute HIV infection to Gay and Bisexual men in Seattle. The campaign was developed by the University of Washington and Public Health with help from community organizations and lots of you. Maybe it’s not just a fever. “Acute HIV infection” is the two- to four-
symptoms, but only if you get an RNA test. I thought you should know about acute HIV for a few reasons: • So you can get an RNA test. • So you can take better care of your health. We don’t know for sure, but taking HIV meds during acute infection may slow the damage HIV causes to the body over time. • So you can protect yourself and your partners. Someone with acute HIV may be 10 times more likely to infect their sex partners because they could have more than 1,000,000 HIV copies in a tiny bit of blood or semen! So let’s say you meet a guy and decide for whatever reasons to have sex without a condom. Two weeks later, you get a fever and sore throat and feel pretty sick. You go to
the emergency room or your doctor. Maybe they do a test for the flu, but it’s not the flu. The doc says that you just have a viral illness, and you should go home and drink fluids. In your most pleasant voice, ask for an HIV test – and make sure it’s an RNA test. It probably isn’t HIV. But it’s better to know. HIV RNA testing has been available in Seattle since 2003. If you’re a guy who has sex with other guys, you can get RNA testing if you have symptoms of acute HIV or as part of your regular HIV testing at Public Health’s STD Clinic, Gay City, the baths, and some private health clinics around the city. For hours and locations, call 206-2964649 or go to www.kingcounty.gov/health/ hiv. For more information on acute HIV infection and RNA testing, check out the website: www.ru2hot.org.
week period right after someone gets HIV. About half of people who get HIV will have a flu-like illness during this period. Symptoms can include fever, feeling tired, rash, swollen tonsils or lymph nodes, sore throat, headache, joint or muscle aches, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, or night sweats. Some people get sicker than others. Some people have no symptoms at all. And it’s important to know that having these symptoms does not mean you have HIV. These same symptoms can be caused by other infections like mono, strep throat, or the flu. The only way to know for sure is to get an HIV test. RNA tests find HIV one to two weeks after infection. You may have heard of the “window period.” It takes our immune systems several weeks to make antibodies to any new infection, including HIV. Because most HIV tests look for these antibodies, you might get the wrong result if you tested right after getting infected. That’s the window period. And that’s why you’ve been told to wait six weeks to three months after an exposure before getting an HIV test. But HIV RNA tests look for the actual virus, not antibodies. You can test a couple of weeks after an exposure. You can test right away if you’re having
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October 22, 2010
Seattle Gay News 19
Salt Lake City: New center of LGBT activism? SGN interview with organizer Eric Ethington by Mike Andrew SGN Staff writer LGBT rights activists disrupted a televised debate between two Utah gubernatorial candidates on the evening of October 19. The debate between incumbent Republican Gov. Gary Herbert and Democratic challenger Peter Corroon, currently mayor of Salt Lake County, took place at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Midway through the debate, eight pro-
testers from the newly formed direct action group Justice Vanguard jumped up from their seats. One activist yelled out, “Governor Herbert, you have frequently pledged against a statewide non-discrimination policy, telling LGBT youth that they are second-class. Here are some that have heard your message, now what are you going to do about it?” Then, one by one, seven other members of the group held up photos of Gay youth who had taken their own lives and shouted out the names of each of the victims. Security reacted quickly to haul the protesters out of the room. Herbert succeeded former governor Jon Huntsman when President Obama appointed Huntsman ambassador to China. Huntsman favored a statewide anti-discrimination law, while Herbert is opposed. One of the Justice Vanguard activists, Eric Ethington, spoke to reporters after the protest. “For too long these politicians have sat back on their heels and said, ‘Oh, maybe in the future’ or, ‘no, we’re not going to do it
at all,’” Ethington said. “So, we’re going to stand up and tell them what the citizens of their state want them to do.” Ethington also organized the October 7 die-in in which some 4,000 people lay down on the pavement in Salt Lake City’s Temple Square to protest remarks made by a Mormon church official calling Gays immoral and claiming that sexual orientation is a choice. Ethington spoke recently with SGN about the Temple Square action and LGBT rights movement in Utah. The protest was called in response to a sermon by Mormon Elder Boyd Packer, the president of his church’s Quorum of Twelve Apostles, and the heir-apparent of Mormon leader Thomas Monson. Packer told a church conference that God intended all people to be straight and to enter one-man/one-woman marriages. The public outcry was so great that Packer subsequently reworded his statement on sexual orientation, and the church issued a statement explicitly denying it approved of anti-Gay discrimination or bullying. Asked if he saw this as a victory for activists, Ethington replied “Yes and no. The church is beautiful at shadow games.” Ethington told SGN it was significant that the church’s most senior apostle had to reword his statement, but he was skeptical of the church letter on Gay rights. “The church’s statement said everything and yet it said nothing,” he said. “It strongly condemned bullying. That was fantastic. I loved that part.” “The problem,” Ethington continued, “is that Packer’s sermon was broadcast all over the church – to every ward everywhere in the world. This letter – it’s much more positive – but it will only be heard by a fraction of that.” “We want it to be sent to every ward to be read from the pulpit,” he concluded. Ethington vowed to “keep the pressure going.” “You apply that much pressure, you get that much reaction,” he said. Asked what form the “pressure” would take – street actions, lobbying, private meetings with church elders – Ethington replied, “All of the above. We need to keep up the visible pressure plus having ongoing dialog with legislators and with church leaders.” While he wants to focus on direct action, Ethington says he is constantly in touch with other activists who have talks with church officials. “Those who have been involved [in those discussions] got a glimpse into what’s really on the church’s mind,” Ethington said. Asked what that might be, Ethington shot back “Their public image.” “It’s their top priority,” he explained. “That was the primary factor in getting them to support the Salt Lake City non-discrimination ordinance.” Ethington knows the Mormon church from personal experience. “I was married in the Temple at one point,” he tells SGN. “But there came a day I could
no longer continue lying to myself.” He became an activist three years ago in response to the Mormon church’s intervention in California’s Prop 8 campaign. “I was just out,” he tells SGN. “I was so furious at what the church was doing with Prop 8. So I wrote a letter to the editor and a friend asked me to read it at a rally. And I guess I just kept going….” Ethington says he is optimistic about the future of LGBT rights in Utah. “I see a lot of possibilities – non-discrimination ordinances, housing and workplace protections,” Ethington says. “I think we can get some things passed in the next year or two.” “We have a very strong coalition in the state legislature. Very strong allies in the senate,” he explains. “It tends to be mainly Democrats – but Sen. Howard Stevenson, he’s a very strong Republican ally.” Ethington warns that marriage equality will be much more of a challenge to Utah activists because of the special place of oneman/one-woman marriage in Mormon theology. “The exact language the church uses is they’re OK with anti-discrimination ‘as long as it does not do violence to the institution of marriage,’” Ethington explains. “The Mormon Church controls 98% of the legislators and they will do anything the church tells them to do, so we have to put on the pressure to support basic protections.”
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peal poster boy Dan Choi was headed to a New York City recruiter’s office to reenlist in the U.S. military, I decided to call around and find what the Pentagon was up to. First, I called a recruiting station in Seattle. I told the recruiter I was 18 years old, I was Gay, and I wanted to enlist. His reply? “Sure, but I have to warn you that DADT is up for appeal, so I can enlist you in the Delayed Entry Program.” I got an identical response from a recruiter in Jacksonville, Florida and another in Washington, D.C. The military’s Delayed Entry Program (DEP) is designed to put enlistees on a waiting list for boot camp so that their graduation day coincides with the specific job training they have been assigned. In other words, the Gays and Lesbians who proudly marched into recruiting stations this week were simply put on a list and told to wait until – if or when – the law is repealed. Bloggers (and some major newspapers) across the country jumped the gun and reported that Choi, and other openly Gay and Les-
Legal Services www.sgn.org www.sgn.org 20 Seattle Gay News
October 22, 2010
Celebrating 37 Years!
bian recruits, had been accepted back into the military. This is simply not true. Is anyone else beginning to feel like a yoyo? Opponents of Judge Phillip’s ruling said that the confusion that has come up is exactly what Pentagon officials feared and shows the need for her to immediately freeze her order while the government appeals and the military’s so-called comprehensive survey of the troops and their families is complete. The reasoning behind all this, so says Obama, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Mike Mullen, is that they will then have the proof they need to show Congress that not only do most Americans want the law gone, but so do the troops. The administration has said it wants Congress, not the courts, to end the ban. The House of Representatives voted to end the ban earlier this year, but the Senate refused after a filibuster by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). There is no indication that the Senate will change its mind when it returns to Washington for the lame-duck session following the November 2 elections, even though the DADT repeal measure is a part of the bill that funds the entire U.S. military. McCain’s filibuster also left the overall military funding measure unpassed. As it turned out, DADT opponents would get their way, after all. On October 21, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a tempo-
rary stay for Judge Phillip’s order halting all enforcement of the military’s DADT policy. As of now, anyone on the DEP lists who admitted to being Gay or Lesbian cannot enlist in the military and all investigations into active duty servicemembers accused of “homosexual acts” has resumed. In a brief order, Judges O’Scannlain, Trott and W. Fletcher wrote: “This court has received appellant’s emergency motion to stay the district court’s October 12, 2010 order pending appeal. The order is stayed temporarily in order to provide this court with an opportunity to consider full the issued presented. Appellee may file an opposition to the motion for a stay pending appeal by October 25, 2010. To expedite consideration of the motion, no reply shall be filed.” How the Ninth Circuit will rule is anybody’s guess at this point.
uganda
continued from cover have been attacked over the last year, and an additional 17 have been arrested and are in prison, according to Frank Mugisha, the chairman of Sexual Minorities Uganda. Those numbers are up from the same period two years ago, when about 10 were attacked, he said.
“Before the introduction of the bill in parliament most people did not mind about our activities. But since then, we are harassed by many people who hate homosexuality,” said Patrick Ndede, a Gay man. “The publicity the bill got made many people come to know about us and they started mistreating us.” “We are an endangered species within our country,” said Nelly Kabali, a Lesbian. “We are looked at as if we are outcasts. One time I was in a nightclub with a friend when someone who knew me pointed at me shouting ‘There is a Gay!’ People wanted to beat me up but I was saved by a bouncer who led me out.” According to AP reporters, Rolling Stone does not have a large following in Uganda. The newspaper published its first edition on August 23. It publishes about 2,000 copies, but a single newspaper in Uganda is often read by 10 or more people. The paper’s managing editor, Giles Muhame, said the article was “in the public interest.” “We felt there was a need for society to know that such characters exist amongst them. Some of them recruit young children into homosexuality, which is bad and need to be exposed,” he said. “They take advantage of poverty to recruit Ugandans. In brief we did so because homosexuality is illegal, unacceptable and insults our traditional lifestyle.” After the newspaper hit the streets, the
government Media Council ordered the newspaper to cease publishing – not because of the newspaper’s content, but because the newspaper had not registered with the government. After it completes the paperwork, Rolling Stone will be free to publish again, said Paul Mukasa, secretary of the Media Council. That decision has angered the LGBT community further. “Such kind of media should not be allowed in Uganda. It is creating violence and calling for genocide of sex minorities,” said Mugisha. “The law enforcers and government should come out and protect sex minorities from such media.” Onziema said a lawsuit against Rolling Stone is in the works. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, which provides for the death penalty for Gay “serial offenders,” is stalled in committee in Uganda’s parliament. It was introduced last year just after a conference attended by prominent U.S. evangelicals in Kampala, Uganda’s capital. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni at first supported the legislation, but – responding to international outrage – has said more recently that he does not want it to pass. Museveni is a protégé of The Family, a secretive group of right-wing U.S. evangelicals that includes several influential political leaders. Uganda has some 32 million people, about 85% of them Christian and 12% Muslim.
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October 22, 2010
Seattle Gay News 21
22 Seattle Gay News
October 22, 2010
Celebrating 37 Years!
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October 22, 2010
Seattle Gay News 23