Celebrating 43 Years! Issue 36 Volume 45
FRIDAY September 8, 2017 FREE!
25¢ in bookstores & newsstands
Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey whip out the hits SEC 2 PG 1
Against Me!’s Laura Jane Grace totally rocks SEC 2 PG 1
Seattle Gay News
GSBA stands with Dreamers Department of Justice files brief backing anti-Gay baker
Louise Chernan, GSBA President & CEO – Photo courtesy of GSBA
Dear GSBA Members & Friends, One irrational, thoughtless assault against our common humanity after another. Throughout the last few months we have watched our country unravel the principles and values that we strive to live by. I understand that we have deceived ourselves, since those values were never truly enjoyed by all, but we held on to hope as civil rights movement after civil rights movement fought to ensure equality under the law for all. Yesterday, hearing that over 800,000 people in the U.S. who are workers, stu-
dents, neighbors, friends and family, could be deported and forced to leave the country that they have known as home for most of their lives, has left us all feeling sick and ashamed. How does a country built on immigrant labor, a country whose only “true Americans” are those of us who are Native American, suddenly talk about rescinding the right to live, work and go to school in the home where they were raised? And, yet, the Trump administration’s overturning of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
see DREAMERS page 8
Charlie Craig and David Mullins filed the original complaint – Photo by Brennan Linsley/AP
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The US Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an amicus brief on September 7 backing a Colorado baker who refused to provide a wedding cake for a Gay couple. In 2012, Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakeshop, located in Lakewood, Colorado, refused service to David Mullins and Charlie Craig, saying that his religion disapproved of same-sex marriage and that he
was prohibited by his beliefs from assisting the couple’s marriage. Mullins and Craig resided in Colorado but were married in Massachusetts because same-sex marriage was not yet legal in their home state. They ordered a cake from Phillips to celebrate their wedding with friends after they returned home. Phillips told CBS News that he opposed same-sex marriage so strongly that
see BAKER page 16
Gender Odyssey conference a huge success in Seattle
NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series kicks off
The 16th annual Gender Odyssey conference, focused on the needs and interests of transgender and gender-diverse people, was packed with thought-provoking workshops, professional training opportunities, discussion groups, networking, and social events. For more coverage, see page 9 – Photo courtesy of Gender Odyssey
Elimination rounds for the NAGAAA Gay Softball World Series continued Thursday and Friday, with Championship games scheduled for this Saturday. As he was inducted into the National NAGAAA Hall of Fame, Dug Sharpe said, “This organization changes lives.” For more coverage, see page 10 – Photo by Robin Thompson
Dug Sharpe inducted into NAGAAA Hall of Fame; Seattle athletes take the field