November 8, 2012 edition of the Bay Area Reporter

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Nude ban heads to supes

Deco Lounge closes

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Tommy Tune

The

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Serving the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities since 1971

Vol. 42 • No. 45 • November 8-14, 2012

Obama re-election thrills LGBTs

by Lisa Keen

P Rick Gerharter

District 5 Supervisor-elect London Breed shares her happiness with supporter Kim Travaeliane at an election night party.

Breed wins D5 supe race by Matthew S. Bajko

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he city’s first bisexual supervisor saw her tenure at City Hall come to an end Tuesday night, bringing to a close one of the most divisive election battles San Francisco has experienced. See page 11 >>

eople were dancing in the streets in San Francisco’s gay Castro district and partying on the sidewalks in Oakland Tuesday as President Barack Obama took the lead and won re-election after a hard-fought campaign against Republican Mitt Romney. Hundreds of people gathered in the Castro for an election night street party November 6 that turned into an exuberant celebration once Obama was declared the winner and marriage equality measures had passed in Maine and Maryland. “Our community said never again will you take away our rights,” said John Lewis, a longtime marriage equality supporter, from the stage set up at the corner of Castro and Market streets. His husband, Stuart Gaffney, added, “This is what history looks like: electing the first president who supports marriage equality.” Gay state Senator Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) told the crowd, “It is good to be queer in America tonight.” He marveled at the fact that the president, despite coming out in May in support of marriage equality and fighting to repeal the federal ban on same-sex marriage, could nonetheless win re-election with a majority of votes from Americans. “Yes, we can be first-class citizens in this

Rick Gerharter

The Castro district filled with people who danced in the street upon hearing that President Barack Obama won re-election.

country,” said Leno. Others were also happy with the outcome. “I am glad to see Romnesia gone,” transgender senior advocate Jazzie Collins said. Across the bay in Oakland, gays and lesbians

were equally upbeat at a party in the Uptown neighborhood. Brendalynn Goodall, president of the East Bay Stonewall Democratic Club, was thrilled See page 11 >>

Four historic wins for marriage equality by Chuck Colbert

M Rick Gerharter

College board member-elect Rafael Mandelman shares a smile with supporter Curt Robinson.

Mandelman wins City College seat by Seth Hemmelgarn

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n out gay man has won election to the board of the troubled City College of San Francisco, preliminary election results show. As of Tuesday night, November 6, attorney Rafael Mandelman had 13.76 percent See page 11 >>

aine made history on election night as voters approved a ballot measure granting gay and lesbian couples the right to marry. Unofficial results, with 87 percent of the vote tallied, showed Question 1 passing by a 53 percent to 47 percent margin. The measure asked voters, “Do you wish to allow the state to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples?” Adding to the historic night, voters in Maryland also approved a same-sex marriage law that the Legislature had passed earlier this year, while in Minnesota, a constitutional ban went down to defeat. A referendum in Washington state that would uphold that state’s marriage equality law also won, the campaign said Wednesday morning, meaning same-sex marriages will take place there, too. In Maine, supporters were overjoyed at the victory. “Supporters from Portland to Presque Isle thought that truth and love are more powerful than fear and deception,” Matt McTighe, campaign manager of Mainers United for Marriage, told hundreds of jubilant supporters who gathered in Portland at the Holiday Inn by the Bay.

Chuck Colbert

Mainers United for Marriage campaign manager Matt McTighe addressed supporters on election night.

McTighe, who is openly gay, thanked Maine voters who “put family over politics by voting ‘Yes’ on 1 tonight.” He added, Maine has “proved that voters can

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change their hearts and minds if we tell them our stories” and “give our fellow citizens a personal connection to people whose lives and families are touched by this issue.” The Associated Press projected the win about midnight, Eastern time, with opponents conceding the race shortly after 1:30 a.m. Meanwhile, in Maryland voters gave their approval to same-sex marriage by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent with nearly all precincts reporting. In Washington state, Washington United for Marriage Wednesday morning declared victory, stating that the referendum would pass. With 60 percent of the vote in, R74, as the ballot measure is called, was ahead with 65 percent of King County and is performing well in eastern parts of the state. “This is a clear win,” campaign manager Zach Silk said in a statement. “We have run the numbers every which way, and we can now confidently say that we have won.” Statewide the measure was leading 52 percent to 48 percent. In Minnesota, a constitutional amendment prohibiting same-sex marriage was defeated, 51.3 percent to 47.6 percent. See page 13 >>


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