SGN June 22, 2012 - Section 1

Celebrating 39 Years!

Issue 25 Volume 40

FRIDAY June 22, 2012 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & newsstands

Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Flag flap

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer

Space Needle says ‘No’ to Pride flag this year

The officials in charge of Seattle’s Space Needle announced this week that although they support LGBT rights, they will not fly the Rainbow Pride flag atop the Needle this year.

see white house page 23

courtesy rod hearne

see flag page 24

file photo

If you feel like we’ve been here before, it’s because we have.

Space Needle officials said the same thing last year, but then they met with local LGBT organizations and came up with a challenge. It was decided that if the

On the afternoon of June 15, President Obama hosted a reception in the East Room of the White House in observance of LGBT Pride Month. The President welcomed community leaders, students, politicians, and members of the armed forces from across the country for the annual cocktail reception, and paid tribute to the generations of LGBT Americans who devoted their lives to ensuring equality for all.

Rod Hearne, executive director of Equal Rights Washington, was among those invited.

“I believe I was invited because of the work ERW is doing for marriage equality. I was invited with a “plus one,” so I brought my fiancé, Roger Nyhus.”

Desi Bailey, board president of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association, also represented Washington state.

In all, about 400 people attended, including California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and actor Matt Bomer.

In one particularly poignant mo-

The Rainbow flag first flew atop the Space Needle in 2010.

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Obama hosts Seattle activists at Pride Month reception

Rod Hearne (l) and his fiancé Roger Nyhus holding President Obama’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month proclamation

e t o v o t R e t s i g e R

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Celebrating 39 Years!

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Celebrating 39 Years!

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SGN exclusive interview

11th District House candidate Rob Holland Seattle’s openly Gay port commissioner urges economic development focus

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the Legislature is the larger breadth of issues that I’d have an opportunity to work on – economic development, workforce development, early childhood education – that’s a huge investment in how society is going to operate.”

The 11th District sprawls along I-5 from Seattle’s Beacon Hill to Burien and Tukwila, and then east to take in parts of Renton and nearby suburbs.

“The 11th District is the most diverse in the state,” Holland explained. “It runs from Holgate Street to Maple Valley. We have a huge immigrant population, from East Europeans to Africans.

Many Gay couples too – I’ve run into so many while I’ve been out campaigning.”

It is also a workingclass district, where Holland’s economic message resonates with voters, many of whom are feeling the pinch of hard times.

“The 11th District is people who make things,” he said proudly, noting that “of the more than 300 suppliers who support the aerospace industry, many are concentrated in the 11th District.”

Holland says he is well aware that his constituents are hurting economically, and he hopes his experience at the port can help him craft policy to stimulate job growth.

“It’s been an anemic recovery – you can’t call it anything else,” he said, “and we have to try to pull ourselves out of that. If we continue at the rate we’re going, we won’t get back to our 2008 growth rate till 2020.

“People are not going to be able to wait it courtesy washington conservation voters

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

Rob Holland

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Rob Holland, currently a Seattle port commissioner, is running to represent the 11th District in the state House of Representatives. If elected he will become the first Gay person of color to serve in the House, just as he was the first Gay man and the first African American to sit on the Port Commission.

Holland is running for an open seat – a rarity in the 11th District – that became available when longtime Sen. Margarita Prentice retired and incumbent Rep. Bob Hasegawa decided to run for her seat.

“I love the Port Commission,” Holland told SGN recently, “but the attraction of

June 22, 2012

out. That’s why they should have someone there in Olympia who can focus on when and where jobs grow.”

Holland believes Washington has a real opportunity to rebound because of its unique position as a gateway to Asian trade and as a manufacturing center.

“One in four jobs is connected with trade, so how do we attract that?” Holland asked.

“Given we’re the closest air and seaport to China – how do we make stuff they want to buy?”

“We need to emphasize manufacturing,” he continued, “and we have an opportunity to rebound because fuel costs are high, the cost of shipping goods made overseas is high, the cost of labor in China is up – all of that means that manufacturing comes back to the U.S. “I mean, why not Washington?” he exclaimed. “We have an educated population, a great workforce, great schools.”

While many people who identify as progressive are advocating a state income tax to bring in more revenue for schools and other essential programs, Holland is skeptical of that approach.

“I don’t think an income tax should be the focus,” Holland insisted. “The question for me is, what can I do in my first two years to get more revenue without impacting working families. I want to focus on growing the economy.

“What I think can happen in a few years is, we can bring in more from the B&O tax [on business revenues] and more from the sales tax, due to a general increase in economic activity.”

Holland is running as a Democrat against four opponents – three other Democrats and a Republican. The 11th District is solidly Democratic, but Holland says he feels comfortable talking to constituents of any political affiliation.

“In the district, the majority vote Democratic, but there’s still a high proportion who vote Republican – and that includes union members! I was surprised to find that out knocking on doors,” he said.

“But I’m coming with a blue-collar message, and they’re comfortable with that, so it’s resonating even with people who identify as Republican.”

Noting that he’s drawn support from a number of influential LGBT backers, including Sen. Ed Murray and Rep. Jamie Pedersen, Holland says he is optimistic that he will win.

“Campaigning has been great,” he said.

“I’ve already knocked on more that 3,000 doors. We’ve had events to raise money in more than 30 small businesses out in the community.

“The thing I really like most about campaigning is being out talking with the voters, and now I have an opportunity to do it.”

Celebrating 39 Years!

Maine poll finds support New poll shows encouraging numbers for marriage equality on marriage

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

associated press

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A new PPP poll released June 19 shows encouraging numbers on marriage equality in Washington state. Fifty-one percent of those surveyed said same-sex marriage should be legal, while only 42% said it should be illegal.

“A majority of Washington voters now support Gay marriage,” according to PPP president Dean Debnam. “Equality advocates are now in position to go four-for-four this fall, winning Minnesota, Maryland, and Maine in addition to Washington.”

PPP surveyed 1,073 Washington voters between June 14 and June 17. The poll’s margin of error is 3 points, so the nine-point spread on marriage is statistically significant, if not as wide as marriage equality advocates might wish.

Calling the new polling numbers “encouraging,” Washington United for Marriage campaign manager Zach Silk sounded a note of caution.

“While we are optimistic,” he told SGN, “we know that no state has ever passed marriage at the ballot – and we know that our opponents have a very potent playbook. They have won 32 of 32 of these ballot fights, so we aren’t taking anything for granted.”

A previous PPP poll, released in February, showed marriage equality winning by a four-point margin (50%-46%), so equality advocates appear to be widening their lead.

PPP also asked respondents to elaborate their views on relationship recognition for same-sex couples by asking whether they supported marriage, civil unions, or no recognition whatsoever.

Forty-seven percent endorsed the idea of same-sex marriage, 30% favored civil unions, and only 21% said there should be no legal recognition of same-sex couples.

This is almost exactly the same breakdown as PPP’s February poll.

PPP also asked respondents to disclose their age, race, gender, party preference, ideology, and their votes in the 2008 presidential race.

The crosstabs show some variation from the February poll, but in general, younger

voters, women, Democrats, and self-identified liberals show far greater support for marriage equality than their opposites.

One astonishing shift between the February and June polls is the jump in support for marriage equality among nonwhite voters.

The latest PPP poll shows 64% of nonwhites favoring equality and only 28% opposed. In February, the split was about even, 46% for and 47% against.

Several national polls seem to show similar movement among nonwhite voters. It is tempting to speculate that this jump in support is attributable to President Obama’s historic endorsement of marriage equality, followed by a similar statement from the NAACP, but that cannot be verified from existing polling data.

Among white voters, 49% support legal same-sex marriage and 44% oppose it, a narrower margin than in February.

PPP’s findings are noticeably different from an S360 poll released May 30. That poll showed voters supporting same-sex marriage by a 21-point margin, 54% to 33%.

While the differences could be explained by actual swings in public opinion, they more likely result from differing methodologies, particularly in different analyses of who should be indentified as “likely voters.”

However, when the latest polls are each compared to prior polling by the same firm, both show fairly constant numbers. In other words, there has not been much shift in overall support for same-sex marriage between new polls and earlier ones.

S360 vice president Kevin Ingham told SGN in May that he believes “opinion is starting to settle out on this.” For the Approve Referendum 74 campaign, this would mean that persuading undecided voters is no longer the central task, and efforts should now turn to identifying equality voters and making sure they actually send in (or drop off) their ballots.

Still, Silk told SGN, he is taking nothing for granted.

“Other states have had strong poll numbers but later lost the election,” he explained. “We will continue to persuade voters and talk with them about how marriage is a basic freedom that should not be denied to anyone.”

A new poll shows that Maine voters are likely to approve a ballot initiative for marriage equality in November.

The survey, by MassINC Polling Group for Boston’s WBUR-TV, released June 18, found that 55% of Maine voters would vote to approve equal marriage rights for Gay and Lesbian couples, while only 36% would vote no.

If the poll numbers are confirmed by actual votes in November, it will be a stunning reversal of fortune for equality advocates.

In 2009, Maine voters repealed a marriageequality law passed by the state legislature.

The margin for repeal was 53% to 43%.

Like other polls, the new Maine poll indicates that younger voters are far more likely to support equality. Seventy-nine percent of voters under 30 favor equality, for example, while only 41% of those over 60 support it.

Maine women tend to favor marriage equality in greater numbers than men. Fifty-nine percent of women would support equality, but only 50% of men.

But when age is also factored into the

equation, younger men favor equality just as much as younger women do – 60% of men under 50 would vote for equality and 62% of women in that age group would. The “gender gap” only appears among voters over 50. In that age group, only 39% of men support marriage equality but 55% of women do.

Party affiliation is also a good predictor of support for equality. Sixty-eight percent of self-identified Democrats favor marriage equality, compared to only 36% of Republicans.

Equality enjoys a substantial edge among independent voters, with 59% supporting the measure.

Seventy-four percent of respondents who plan to vote for President Obama in November said they also will vote for the marriage equality measure, but only 32% of probable Romney voters say they will support equality.

Polls in Washington and Maryland – which also have same-sex marriage laws on the November ballot – are likewise encouraging for equality supporters. Polling in Minnesota shows a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage is losing support.

Polls in Washington and Maryland ... are likewise encouraging for equality supporters.

Randy Roberts 1950–2012 Leigh Roberts of Olympia, and Leigh’s wife, Pam; his aunt, Ida Haugen of Seattle; his cousin, Chris Barton of Burien; and his best friend of over 26 years, Lee Olsen of Seattle, and Lee’s husband, Stephen de Tasnady. Randy was born in Aberdeen and worked for many years at Boeing, the University of Washington Medical Center, and various Seattle law firms. He earned a BFA in film and video from Evergreen State College in 1990 and produced several films, including a full-length biography of his grandmother, Neva Roberts.

A memorial will be held in the near future. In the meantime, memories of Randy Randolph Earl Roberts passed away of can be shared in the Greenwood Memorial undetermined causes June 5 at his home Park Funeral Home electronic guestbook in Seattle. He is survived by his brother, at www.greenwoodmempark.com.

Bruce Mixan 1965–2012 research scientist for 23 years. Bruce is survived by his parents, Frank and Dorothy Mixan of Omaha, Nebraska; his sister, Joleen Misek of Omaha; his brother, Brian Mixan of Jefferson City, Montana, and Brian’s wife, Melissa; his nieces, Rebecca, Gabriella, and Savanna; and his nephew, Maverick. Friends remember him as someone who was always ready to help, who always had a smile and a laugh, and who loved a good time. A celebration of his life will be held at Changes Bar and Grill in Wallingford (2103 N. 45th St.) on Friday, June 29, starting at 6 p.m. Memorial donations may be made to the HuBruce Jon Mixan passed away last week mane Society, cancer research, or AIDS at his home in Seattle. He was a cancer research.

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June 22, 2012

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MCC celebrates four decades in Seattle

Church founder Troy Perry to visit, speak at Pride

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer The Rev. Elder Troy Perry, founder of Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), will be in Seattle for Pride Weekend 2012.

Perry will be keynote speaker at MCC Seattle’s 40th anniversary celebration. He will also speak at the Capitol Hill Pride street

Christian denominations even today with female leadership. Perry has long championed sexual equality, ordaining MCC’s first female pastor in 1972.

He also performed some of the earliest same-sex marriages in U.S. history. His first one, in December 1968, was for a young Hispanic couple.

“They came to me and asked, ‘Troy, would you marry us?’ They were in their early 20s. I talked to them a bit and said, ‘Sure.’ “[After] I married that couple, I wanted to get married,” Perry told SGN. Of his then-partner, he said, “We didn’t last but six months, but we tried to get someone to marry us … Finally I took out an ad in the L.A. Free Press personals that said, ‘This is to notify our friends that Troy and Larry are married.’”

Perry reminisced about a time in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, when police “swooped down” on him from out of the bushes while he was marrying a Lesbian couple.

“They got a call on their radio,” Perry told SGN. “[It] said, ‘You are not to arrest Reverend Perry. It will not stand up in court.’”

Perry will speak at the 40th anniversary celebratory banquet for MCC’s Seattle congregation, known as Emerald City MCC, on Friday, June 22, at University Congregational Church (4515 16th Ave. N.E.), at 7 p.m. At press time, tickets were still available at www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/251887.

“I’m so excited about being with the church this weekend,” said Perry. “I’m glad I’m there to celebrate. We’ve had some incredible clergy [in Seattle] over the years.”

Perry is also overjoyed to be here for all of Pride weekend.

“I’ve never gotten to see the Pride parade in Seattle and I’m thrilled to do it, thrilled to be here,” Perry told SGN. “In the early days of Gay liberation I used to get up [to Seattle], but when we grew I just couldn’t do it anymore.”

Perry says he will deliver a Pride message on love and marriage, and about the Gay liberation movement, at Seattle Center on Sunday.

“We have to fight back,” Perry told SGN. “For me, I chose to fight in this area [the church] as well as I could – not only in the marches and the movements, but by meeting with church elders around the world and politicians from around the world.”

“I thank God for all the welcoming and affirming churches, whether they’re Muslim, Buddhist, Jewish – all,” said Perry.

The Metropolitan Community Church is a Christian denomination with a special affirming ministry for the LGBT community. Many of its clergy are LGBT themselves. Learn more about MCC at www. mccchurch.org and about Seattle’s chapter at www.mccseattle.org.

fair on Saturday and at PrideFest on Sunday after the parade.

Perry started MCC on October 6, 1968, in his Los Angeles living room. The Stonewall uprising was nearly a year away and the church’s first service had only 12 attendees – nine of Perry’s friends and three others who responded to an ad in the local paper.

Rev. Elder Troy Perry

“When we got to communion there wasn’t a dry eye,” Perry told SGN. “I knew immediately after we held that service that something unbelievable was happening.”

He was right. Within six weeks, Perry and his expanding flock needed a bigger location. At that time, no churches in the area would rent space to “a bunch of faggots,” he said, and for a time MCC was hosted by a Los Angeles women’s club – until the club got wind of what MCC actually was.

“The more persecuted we became, the crowds kept getting larger,” Perry told SGN. No one wanted to miss a service, because if they did, they might not know where to go if they wanted to come back the following week.

Now, according to Perry, MCC has approximately 45,000 members in 400 congregations around the world.

“To see it today, it’s still going – it has been incredible,” said Perry. “We’ve just been growing churches like mad … We continue to fight the good fight and we continue to grow.”

MCC’s largest church in the United States is in Houston, and the largest church outside the country is in Toronto. In the past few years, MCC has been planting churches across Central and South America, with many in Mexico and Brazil.

“It’s unbelievable,” said Perry.

And so is his journey. Perry has faced death threats and arson against his churches. In the 1970s, he battled Anita Bryant, worked to defeat California’s anti-Gay Briggs initiative, co-founded the Los Angeles Pride Parade, and participated in 1979 March on Washington. He has been invited to the White House by three different presidents – Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Perry retired officially from the church in 2005, leaving the Rev. Elder Nancy Wilson in charge and making MCC one of the few

Come meet Tim and Matt and join the family.

Go 1605 12th Avenue at Pine, Seattle (In liquor store parking garage.) Seattle Storm!

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June 22, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Transgender pioneer and activist April Ashley has been named a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honors List for 2012.

The MBE was established in 1917 by Queen Elizabeth II’s grandfather, George V, to recognize people who have served the country in civilian roles. A list of honorees is released every year on the British monarch’s birthday.

“It’s unbelievable and wonderful and especially fantastic to receive [the award] in the year of Her Majesty’s Jubilee,” Ashley told the Independent newspaper at her London home.

Duncan Fallowell, Ashley’s biographer, told the newspaper, “It makes me proud to be British. Proud of an establishment that can make such an award, perhaps a rather eccentric award.”

Now 77, Ashley has lived what can only be described as a fairytale life: coming from a working-class family in Liverpool, becoming Britain’s first Trans person, marrying into the British aristocracy, and forcing changes to Britain’s gender identity laws.

The facts of Ashley’s life are not always easy to determine. The tabloid press loved to write about her, and she became the centerpiece of lurid gossip.

She was born George Jamieson in April 1935, the child of a Royal Navy cook and a factory worker. She later said that from the age of three, she knew there was something “different” about her.

Her childhood was not a happy one. Her father was an alcoholic, and her mother beat her for wetting the bed.

Small and effeminate, then-George was also bullied at school. At 15, in a vain attempt to butch up, she signed on as a merchant seaman but found herself a victim of

bullying and assaults at sea.

By the time she was 18, she had tried to kill herself three times. She had been dishonorably discharged from the merchant fleet, admitted to a mental hospital, and subjected to electric-shock therapy.

In 1955, George fled to Paris and reinvented herself as Toni, becoming a hostess at Cabaret Le Carrousel. Among her friends were Jean-Paul Sartre, Ernest Hemingway, and Nina Simone.

In May 1960, she used all her savings to go to a sex-reassignment clinic in Casablanca and became the ninth person in the world – and the first from Britain – to undergo Dr. Georges Burou’s pioneering surgery. The operation lasted seven hours.

Returning to Britain with the name April, after the month of her birth, Ashley found that her prettiness, which had been a liability when she was a boy, was now an asset.

She was photographed by David Bailey and featured in Vogue.

During this period, she lived in the same boarding house with a young union activist named John Prescott, who later became deputy prime minister under Tony Blair and is now a member of the House of Lords. The two remain friendly to this day.

Ashley thought her big break had come when landed a part in The Road to Hong Kong, a Bob Hope and Bing Crosby film.

But an acquaintance sold the story of her sex-reassignment to a tabloid, and she found herself treated as a “celebrity freak.”

“The greatest harm that did to me was that I have never been able to get work in Britain again,” she later told the Daily Mail. “I’ve been forced to live abroad to get work.”

The tabloids printed rumors of affairs with luminaries like Omar Sharif, Peter O’Toole, Salvador Dali, and Pablo Picasso, but those reports are impossible to verify.

In 1963 she married Arthur Corbett, the son and heir of Lord Rowallan. The mar-

Lambda Legal takes on HIV exposure case

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Lambda Legal has filed an appeal on behalf of an Iowa man sentenced to 25 years in prison for exposing a sex partner to HIV. In papers filed on June 14, Lambda Legal attorneys pointed out that the Iowa law was intended to protect HIV-negative people from criminally negligent acts. Their client, Nick Rhoades, had used a condom during his one sexual encounter with Adam Plendl,

they said, and Plendl did not contract HIV from the encounter.

“The law only applies to those who intend to expose others to HIV,” said Christopher Clark, senior staff attorney for Lambda Legal.

“This conviction cannot stand because someone who engages in safe sex is not guilty of criminal transmission of HIV. Nick’s use of a condom clearly indicates that he was protecting his sexual partner from exposure.”

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rex

Brits honor trailblazing Transgender activist

April Ashley

riage lasted until 1969, when Corbett filed for divorce, claiming that Ashley was still legally a man and therefore the marriage had never been valid.

The court agreed, setting a precedent which left Trans people in gender limbo.

Ashley never gave up her fight to be recognized as a woman, however. In 2004, Britain’s Labor government – which then included her old housemate, Prescott – passed the Gender Recognition Act, allowing Trans people to revise their legal docu-

ments to reflect their actual gender identity.

In 2005 she was granted a new birth certificate, affirming that she is female.

Ashley told the Independent she has sent thousands of letters over the years offering advice to other Trans people.

“I would always wish people three things: To be kind to yourself and to others. To be beautiful on the inside, which makes you beautiful on the outside. And most of all to be brave, because you will need that,” she said.

According to court documents, Rhoades had protected sex with Adam Plendl in June 2008. Several days later, Plendl was told by a friend that Rhoades might be HIV-positive, and Plendl contacted police.

The police arrested Rhoades in September 2008 and, on the advice of his attorney at the time, he entered a guilty plea.

Despite the fact that a condom was used and Plendl did not contract HIV, Rhoades was convicted of intentionally exposing Plendl to HIV. He received the maximum sentence – 25 years in prison. He was also required to register as a sex offender.

Several months later, the court suspended his prison sentence and placed him on supervised probation for five years.

On March 15, 2010, Rhoades filed an Application for Post-Conviction Relief, arguing that he had received ineffective representation from the lawyer who advised him to plead guilty.

In December 2011, the court denied the application. Lambda Legal is now representing Rhoades in his appeal to the Iowa Supreme Court.

“To think that for the rest of my life I’ll be branded as a felon and sex offender, all because of a one-time safe-sex encounter where no HIV was transmitted, is unimaginable,” Rhoades said in a statement issued

by Lambda Legal.

Lambda Legal attorneys said their client was treated unfairly because of his HIV status.

“Criminal laws, like the one in Iowa, unjustly target people living with HIV and subject them to unwarranted prosecution and punishment,” said Scott Schoettes, HIV project director for Lambda Legal.

“By representing people like Nick Rhoades, we are doing what we can to ensure these outdated and unnecessary laws are not abusively misused against people whose conduct is not actually prohibited under them.”

Thirty-nine states have similar criminal statutes related to HIV transmission or have brought HIV-related criminal charges, resulting in more than 80 prosecutions in the United States in the past two years, Lambda Legal said.

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PRIDE EVENTS CALENDAR See the SGN’s Pride Events Calendar starting on page 12 for a comprehensive listing of Pride Events in the Seattle area, around Washington state, and in Victoria and Vancouver, BC.

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer Tickets: $10-general, $5-teens. Saturday, June 23, Lifelong AIDS Alliance is sponsoring “Free Youth Night” and youth under 25 get in FREE. www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/254940.

BUTCH BLUM’S SUMMER SAVVY EVENT On Tuesday, June 26, from 5-7 p.m., Butch Blum (1408 5th Ave.), Seattle’s premier European clothing store, hosts their Summer Savvy Event. Enjoy signature cocktails while learning about the Caladora Skin Clinic and enjoying additional savings on Butch Blum’s summer sale. Door prizes include services from The Bronze Bar and Calidora with a grand prize drawing for tickets to KPLU’s Summer Jazz Cruise.

QUEER TEEN ENSEMBLE THEATRE – “BEYOND BOXES” JUNE 21-25 From Thursday, June 21-Monday, June 25, join the Queer Teen Ensemble Theatre for their new play, “Beyond Boxes.”

It’s the last week of school and big decisions loom large. Who am I taking to prom?

What do I perform in the talent show?

Where do I go to college? When will my family accept me? Why does the world shove me into boxes?!?

Find the answers to these life questions and more in this world premiere QTET production.

SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB – THE SWIMMING-POOL LIBRARY 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.).

June selection is The Swimming-Pool Library by Alan Hollinghurst. 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/SGLBookNATE GOWDY – Club/ or contact SASG at 206-322-2437; PHOTO EXHIBITS AROUND TOWN www.sasgcc.org. For discount on cost of Celebrated SGN photographer Nate books, email Nick.

Gowdy is displaying and selling his photographs around town at four locations this VOICES RISING – month and into July and August! His work “FIERCE PRIDE” can be seen at Poco Wine Room (1408 E. On Friday, June 29, doors 7 p.m., show Pine St.) thru mid-July, at Adobe’s Fremont 8-10 p.m., at Washington Hall (153 14th Campus (801 N. 34th St., near the Fremont Ave.), Voices Rising presents “Fierce Pride” Bridge) thru July, The Grill on Broadway with special guest Blackberri. Blackberri is (314 Broadway E.) thru August, and Frame a singer, song-maker, poet, writer, photogCentral (901 E. Pike St.) in the storefront rapher, health educator and community adwindow during June and the upstairs gallery vocate. Born in 1945 in Buffalo, NY, Blackin August. His work “Elderly Drag Queen” berri grew up in Baltimore. He has written was recently selected to be published in the and performed original music for films, inleading juried photography annual in North cluding Word is Out and Looking for LangsAmerica. For inquiries regarding his event ton, as well as recording the soundtrack and wedding photo services, Nate can be for the Haight-Ashbury radio history of reached at nate.gowdy@gmail.com or 206- San Francisco “Knocking at the Gateway 992-5857. of Gold.” He appeared in the first anthology of Gay Men’s music. His debut album Blackberri and Friends (1981) featured the classic song “Eat the Rich.” Blackberri has performed music and appeared in Marlon

10 Seattle Gay News

June 22, 2012

REEL QUEER YOUTH VIDEO PRODUCTION Reel Queer Youth is a media literacy and video production training program for LGBTQ-identified and allied youth ages 14-20. The program runs from July 16-20.

Use professional camera and editing equipment to express yourself in a safe, open, and fun environment with a team of professional filmmakers and mentors. Working in small groups, participants will complete a short film. Deadline to apply for the program is Saturday, June 30. For more information and application, visit: http:// threedollarbillcinema.org/programs/RQY/ application, http://reelqueeryouth.org; www.facebook.com/pages/Reel-QueerYouth/208139612538906

DAIPAN BUTOH – “30/30 CONCERT” On Friday, June 22 and Saturday, June 23, doors at 7:30 p.m., show at 8 p.m., at Velocity Dance Center (1612 12th Ave.), DAIPANbutoh Collective presents New Dance Works from some of Seattle’s most esteemed Butoh inspired choreographers.

Tickets: $20, $15-student/senior (ID required). www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/242242.

Rigg’s groundbreaking films, Tongues Untied, No Regrets, Anthems, Affirmation, and Black is Black Ain’t. He has become one of the most visible Black Queer artists in the country and lives in Oakland, CA. Joining Blackberri on the program will be Amber Flame, Crystal Ybarra, Imani Sims, and Okanomode. Last of the Red Hot Mamas is a collaborative band created by poet and singer Amber Flame. This ensemble weaves lyrical poetry and soul-based blues with instrumental and vocal grooves. Crystal Ybarra – Automatic. Iconoclastic. Psychosomatic. Enigmatic. Melodramatic. Erratic. Traumatic. Climactic. Whackytastic and smoothly charismatic. Imani Sims is a brilliant Queer poet who uses her poetry as a vehicle for community transformation. Okanomode (pronounced u--kahnuh-mah-day) is the grandson of a pastor & protege of afronauts, poets, sex therapists amd porn stars. A musical, literary and visual shape-shifter, he ceaselessly re-defines genre, gender, spiritual and sexual expression with irrefutable funk and grace. Tickets: $10-$25. www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/255606.

TRIANGLE RECREATION CAMP AT BENDER CREEK – BLACK FOREST LEATHER WEEKEND JUNE 29-JULY 2 Triangle Recreation Camp at Bender Creek hosts LGBTQ camping all summer long. TRC also hosts several special weekend theme parties during the summer, including Black Forest Leather Weekend June 29-July 2, Underwear/Foam Weekend, August 10-12, and Mardi Gras Weekend, August 31-September 3. www.camptrc.org.

EMERALD CITY CLASSIC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT JUNE 30-JULY 1 www.emeraldcitysoftball.org SEATTLE TENNIS ALLIANCE – SEATTLE CLASSIC 2012 JUNE 30-JULY 2 www.seattletennisalliance.org

Celebrating 39 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 22, 2012

Seattle Gay News 11

PRIDE EVENTS

CALENDAR

Chorus, the Esoterics, and Diverse Harmony. Curtain time is 8 p.m. at McCaw Hall (321 Mercer St.). Tickets at www.flyinghouse.org or (206) 388-1400. (Program repeats Saturday, June 23.)

saturday, june 23

PRIDE WEEK BREAKFAST time 7:30 p.m. Teens $5, general admisDignity/Seattle (an LGBT-positive Cathosion $10 (Saturday’s performance is Youth lic organization) hosts its 24th annual Pride Night, with free admission for those under SEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL Week Breakfast from 8 a.m. to noon at CenFremont Studios (155 N. 35th St.) hosts 25.) Tickets at www.brownpapertickets. tral Lutheran Church (1710 11th Ave.). Prothe 10th annual Seattle Erotic Art Festival, com/event/254940. ceeds benefit Rosehedge/Multifaith Works, through Sunday, June 24. The Grand Finale Bailey-Boushay House, and Dignity/Se‘HEY TRANNY, IT’S TRANNY!’ Weekend features the mainstage perforattle’s Convention Scholarship Fund. For Nark magazine presents its 3rd annual mance “Everything in Between”; a bondage more information, visit www.dignityseattle. suspension performance, “Le Petit Piege”; Pride weekend show at Neumos (916 E. org, or call (206) 659-5519. Dignity/Seattle Pine St.), beginning at 8 p.m.

Hosted by Ben a Gay art retrospective by artist Jim Wilkinson; Queer Pride: Best of the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival; “Sticky Situations,” a program of short films; a Pride after-party; and Pride art tours hosted by local LGBTQ artists and collectors. Each day’s event schedule begins at 11 a.m. More information at www.seattleerotic.org.

friday, june 22

GLSEN YOUTH PRIDE DANCE LGBT and allied youth age 20 and under are invited to celebrate Pride at GLSEN Washington’s annual Youth Pride Dance at Yesler Community Center (917 E. Yesler Way) from 8 to 11 p.m. with Guest DJ Alex!

Tickets are $5 in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/253313, or $10 at the door. For more information, visit www.glsenwa.org.

SEATTLE STORM PRIDE FOUNDATION NIGHT The WNBA Seattle Storm host the San Antonio Silver Stars at Key Arena, with special Section 125 tickets available to benefit the Pride Foundation. For information and tickets, go to www.pridefoundation.org or call (206) 323-3318. Volunteer opportunities are also available. Tip-off is at 7 p.m.

QUEER TEEN ENSEMBLE THEATRE QTET presents its 5th annual production, Beyond Boxes, through Monday, June 25.

QTET is a unique program giving voice and artistry to LGBTQ youth in the Seattle area, produced with the support of Washington Ensemble Theatre. The group performs at the Little Theatre, 608 19th Ave. E. Curtain

RAINBOW HEALTH FAIR YWCA Women’s Health Outreach presents its 14th annual Rainbow Health Fair at Seattle Central Community College (1701 Broadway), from noon to 5 p.m. Free health tests and services will be offered, including acupuncture, massage, energy healing, Zumba, HIV testing, cholesterol checks, naturopathic consultation, and mental health education. Mammogram and pap tests will be offered free to women 40 and over with limited income. To schedule a mammogram and pap test, call Marilyn Calbert at (206) 461-4489.

SEATTLE DYKE MARCH The 2012 Seattle Dyke March kicks off with a rally from 5 to 7 p.m. at Seattle Central Community College Plaza (Broadway and E. Pine St.). The march begins at 7 p.m. and makes a loop around Capitol Hill. More information at www.seattledykemarch.com or www.facebook.com/SeattleDykeMarch.

QUEER TEEN ENSEMBLE THEATRE (See Friday’s listing. Tonight is Youth DeLaCreme, the evening’s featured per- will march with the Catholics for Marriage formers include RuPaul’s Drag Race win- Equality contingent in the June 24 Pride Pa- Night, with free admission for those 25 and under.) ner Sharon Needles, SSION, Hi Fashion, rade. and JD Samson. Proceeds benefit Gay City CAPITOL HILL PRIDE FESTIVAL SING OUT! WITH Health Project, and tickets are available at Celebrate Pride in Seattle’s premier GaySEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS www.gaycity.org/pride/ or at Moe Bar. borhood at the 4th annual Capitol Hill Pride (See Friday’s listing.)

Festival on Broadway (between E. John St. and E. Roy St.) from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., THE CHOCOLATE REVOLUTION featuring food, live music, and other enterNubian Pride Productions presents “The tainment on three stages, with performers Chocolate Revolution” at Highline Bar (210 including Marcel, Bryn King, Devolution Broadway E.), from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Come Aries, and Bomo Cho. Returning this year is celebrate Seattle Pride with DJ T-Bone and the popular Doggie Drag Costume Contest some of the area’s best entertainers of color. from noon to 1 p.m., benefiting the Seattle $10 suggested donation. Open to all people Humane Society’s Pet Project, which helps of color and those who love us, 21 and over. people with AIDS care for their pets. The event website is http://www.seattlechatclub.

‘RED’ MEN’S PARTY AT NEUMOS org/CapitolHillPrideFestival.html.

Join DJs Brian Gorr of Seattle and Phil B of SF for Red, the annual men’s Pride FestiGAY CITY ARTISTS’ RECEPTION val party at Neumos (925 E. Pike St.) from Portraits of Pride 2012, an art show that 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. Pre-sale tickets are $25, or brings together the many faces of the LG- buy a VIP Pass for $45 that gets you VIP SING OUT! WITH BTQ community in celebration of local room access plus a backstage meet-andSEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS The Seattle Men’s Chorus presents “Sing Pride, opens today with an artists’ reception greet with Phil B at the DJ Stage during Out!” – a concert of songs chosen by SMC from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gay City (517 E. Sunday’s PrideFest. The promoter is donatsubscribers and ticket buyers in an online Pike St.). The exhibit runs through Sunday, ing 20% of all sales/cover charges to Washvote. The program also features a “Chorus July 22. A portion of each purchase will ington United for Marriage. For tickets, visit http://seattlepridefest.org/red/index.html.

Idol” talent show, featuring the winners of benefit Gay City’s Project BuildOUT. several Seattle-area singing competitions, and performances by the Seattle Women’s see pride calendar page 19

 Broadway 

Farmers Market 12 Seattle Gay News

PRIDE ASIA Join host Aleksa Manila for the first annual Pride ASIA, a celebration of the Seattle area’s LGBT Asian community, at Hing Hay Park (423 Maynard Ave. S.) in Seattle’s International District, from noon to 6 p.m.

Co-sponsored by the Northwest Museum of Legends and Lore, this event features music, theater, and other entertainment celebrating Asian/Pacific Islander diversity and culture. For more information visit http:// groups.google.com/group/PrideASIA.

INTERFAITH WORSHIP SERVICE All are welcome to attend the annual Pride Interfaith Community Worship Service at All Pilgrims Church (500 Broadway E.), beginning at 1 p.m. Giving this year’s sermon will be the Rev. Elder Troy Perry, founder of the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (MCC). Founded in 1968, MCC is the first denomination created specifically to minister to LGBT Christians rejected by other churches.

PRIDE SHABBAT Join the Seattle Jewish community for Pride Shabbat 2012. This annual event is open to the entire community and is a celebration of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and questioning Jews, friends, allies, and families. It takes place at Temple de Hirsch Sinai (1511 E. Pike St.), starting with pre-service appetizers at 5:30 p.m. A light dinner and desserts will be served after the service. This event is ASL-interpreted.

For more information, e-mail joshf@hilleluw.org.

EMERALD CITY MCC CELEBRATES 40 YEARS Help Emerald City MCC Seattle celebrate 40 years of ministry to the LGBT Christian community. An anniversary banquet will be held at University Congregational Church (4515 16th Ave. N.E.) beginning at 7 p.m. (doors open at 6:30). Metropolitan Community Church founder Elder Troy Perry will speak and greet attendees afterward. Tickets are available at www.brownpapertickets. com/event/251887 or at MCC Seattle (1415 N.E. 43rd St.).

SEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL (See Friday’s listing.)

June 22, 2012

Broadway & E. Pine at Seattle Central Community College Sundays, 11am - 3pm, April 22 - Dec 23.

Celebrating 39 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 22, 2012

Seattle Gay News 13

14 Seattle Gay News

June 22, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

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June 22, 2012

Seattle Gay News 15

16 Seattle Gay News

June 22, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

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Seattle Gay News 17

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June 22, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

pride calendar continued from page 12

‘RED’ WOMEN’S PARTY AT THE BALTIC ROOM Join DJs Tina T, Roy G. Biv, and Mr. Charming for Red, the annual women’s Pride Festival party at the Baltic Room (1207 Pine St.) from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m. Presale tickets are $20, or buy a VIP Pass for $40 that gets you VIP room access plus backstage access to the DJ Stage during Sunday’s PrideFest. The promoter is donating 20% of all sales/cover charges to Washington United for Marriage. For tickets, visit http://seattlepridefest.org/red/index.html.

sunday, june 24

PRE-PARADE BRUNCH Start Parade Day off right with a sumptuous breakfast/brunch at the downtown Seattle Hard Rock Café (116 Pike St.). Seating begins at 8 a.m. Tickets are $25 ($10 for children under 12) and must be purchased in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/250494. Proceeds benefit Seattle Out & Proud. More info at www.seattlepride. org.

noon to 8 p.m., immediately following the Pride Parade. As always, admission is free!

For more details, visit www.seattlepridefest.org.

KITSAP PRIDE IN BREMERTON On Sunday, July 22, Kitsap Pride holds its annual celebration at Evergreen Park in downtown Bremerton beginning at noon.

This year’s theme is “Pride Links Us Together.” Visit www.kitsappride.org for information as it becomes available.

QUEER TEEN ENSEMBLE THEATRE (See Friday’s listing.)

VANCOUVER, B.C., PRIDE PARADE AND FESTIVAL On Sunday, August 5, Canada’s largest Western city holds its annual Pride Parade and Festival. Information will be posted on the Vancouver Pride Society website, www. vancouverpride.ca.

monday, june 25 QUEER TEEN ENSEMBLE THEATRE (See Friday’s listing.)

friday, june 29 ‘FIERCE PRIDE’ WITH VOICES RISING On Friday, June 29, the Voices Rising collective presents “Fierce Pride,” featuring Blackberri, Amber Flame, Crystal Ybarra, Imami Sims, and Okanomode in a showcase of Queer performers of color at Washington Hall (153 14th Ave., Seattle), from 8 to 10 p.m. Tickets ($10–$25, sliding scale) at www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/255606.

around washington state & british columbia

SEATTLE EROTIC ART FESTIVAL (See Friday’s listing.)

2012 SEATTLE PRIDE PARADE: THE MANY FACES OF PRIDE There’s just no other place to be than downtown Seattle for the city’s annual Pride Parade, produced by Seattle Out & Proud.

This year’s parade theme is “The Many Faces of Pride,” celebrating the vast diversity of the Seattle area’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, and allied community. The parade begins at 11 a.m. at 4th Avenue and Union Street and proceeds north along 4th Avenue to Denny Way. Information is available at SO&P’s website, www.seattlepride. org/pride-parade.html.

Other events include three days of LGBT films at the Grand Cinema and a staged reading of Lanford Wilson’s Fifth of July at the Broadway Center for the Performing Arts. For more information visit www.rainbowctr.org.

VANCOUVER (WA) SATURDAY IN THE PARK Saturday, July 14, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., is Vancouver, Washington’s 18th annual LGBT Pride event, Saturday in the Park.

This year’s theme is “Gateway to Equality,” celebrating the passage of Washington’s marriage equality law. This family-friendly event takes place at Esther Short Park downtown and features music and cultural performances, community groups, games, and other activities for all ages. The day will begin with “Lyle’s Miles,” a 5K run/walk fundraiser for the Cascade AIDS Project.

Details at www.gayvancouverwa.org.

VICTORIA PRIDE On Sunday, July 8, Victoria’s annual Pride Parade steps off at noon downtown at Government Street and Pandora Avenue, marches past the Legislature, and finishes at MacDonald Park, where the Pride Festival begins at 1 p.m. featuring entertainment, food, a beer garden, and a children’s play zone. Both events are free. Information at www.victoriapridesociety.org.

SEATTLE PRIDEFEST 2012 Don’t miss the biggest and best LGBTQ party in the Northwest! This year’s Seattle PrideFest features more than 100 music acts (including headliners Cazwell, Debby Holiday, DJ Phil B, Peppermint, and Vockah Redu & The Cru), along with hundreds of community groups and vendors. Seattle PrideFest takes place at Seattle Center from

BELLINGHAM PRIDE From Wednesday, July 11, to Sunday, July 15, B Proud hosts a series of Pride events in Bellingham, including film screenings, parties, dances, a drag show, and more. The parade begins at noon on July 15 at Bellingham High School, ending at Depot Market Square. A Pride Festival will be held the same day until 5 p.m. at Bellingham Farmers Market. More information at www. bhampride.org.

TACOMA PRIDE FESTIVAL From Friday, July 13, to Saturday, July 21, celebrate nine whole days of Pride in Tacoma. The highlight is the annual Out in the Park event, Saturday, July 14, from noon to 6 p.m. on Broadway in the city’s historic downtown theater district.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

June 22, 2012

Seattle Gay News 19

by Michael Raitt SGN Contributing Writer

mantic, and friend-based. Our family joins other families and we are a part of the community.

I: Ineffability. This means “the inability to describe something in words.” There is an indescribable quality about us that has brought us forward many times over many years to stand up in the face of hatred for what is right. In recent history it was to not be identified as a mental disorder, to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS, to serve openly and honorably in our military, and now to win marriage equality. Over the years, we cally loving a man or a woman romanti- have made untold sacrifices yet we continue cally loving a woman. It is building family to come together as a community and stand

Celebrating PRIDE means different things to different people. This year, as I reflect, here are some things that make PRIDE meaningful for me.

P: Parents. Regardless of how old we are, most of us want and need our parents’ love and acceptance. Every year I hear so many touching stories about how parents work and grow through their own fears, guilt, and misperceptions about their Gay children and come forward to love and embrace them. Mom/Dad, never forget how important you are to us and how much it means that you love and accept us. Thank you for doing your own work to be there. It hasn’t always been easy yet my quality of my life is better because I know you love and accept me and the family I am forming.

R: Relationships. Being Gay isn’t about who we have sex with! Being Gay is an emotional orientation. It is a man romanti-

so our servicemen and women get the rights and recognition they deserve. At every echelon, in every organization, there are LGBT men and women, and our allies, working hard to make a positive difference in the world. They aren’t deterred in the face of obstacles and hatred.

E: Enlightenment. It is a certain kind of person who realizes that we can’t reduce anyone, anywhere, to their sexual orientation. Every human on this planet is multidimensional – living in a world of relationships (with family, friends, and romantic partners), work, spirituality, community, beliefs, and emotions. What our community, our families, and allies are working toward are not “special rights” or “Gay rights,” but human rights! The right to be recognized for who we really are and what we really do: sisters/brothers, mothers/fathers, teachers, doctors, soldiers, clergy, nurses, politicians, parents, laborers, artists – the list is endless and the contributions are immeasurable. All those with a broader mind and a deeper understanding get this!

As you are out and about celebrating, take a moment to reflect about how vast the meaning of PRIDE really is.

HAPPY PRIDE, EVERYONE!

and passing along familial legacies that will make the world a better place. It is about generations being together. The family bond is one of the strongest emotional ties, and we are forming families and working toward having our families accepted as all other families. Our family is biological, ro-

up for ourselves and ask to be recognized simply for who we are: human beings.

D: Determination. There are men and women – LGBT and straight – who work tirelessly throughout the year to save lives by preventing suicide. There are individuals at all levels who work for policy changes

Michael Raitt, M.A., L.M.H.C., is a therapist whose column appears bimonthly in SGN. If you would like to comment on this column, ask a question you’d like him to write about, or suggest another topic of interest, please contact him at askingmichael@comcast.net.

How do you spell PRIDE?

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The Vatican’s second-in-command is accusing the media of doing the work of Satan by spreading “pettiness and lies” about the Catholic Church and “intentionally ignoring” the good things the church does.

“The truth is that there is an attempt to sow division that comes from the Devil,” Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone said in a June 18 interview with the Italian Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana.

file photo

Media do the work of Satan, says No. 2 Catholic official

“Many journalists are playing the game of trying to imitate Dan Brown,” Bertone said, referring to the best-selling author of The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons.

“They [journalists] continue to invent fairytales and repeat legends,” Bertone added.

The latest scandal to envelope the Vatican involves the leak of secret documents, including letters written to Pope Benedict XVI by church officials discussing sensitive topics like financial corruption at the highest levels of the church.

The pope’s butler, Paolo Gabriele, was Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone

arrested last month after a large number of stolen documents were found in his home.

In a previous interview, Bertone said the leaks made the pope “sad,” but added that Benedict “isn’t intimidated by attacks of any type.”

In his June 18 interview, Bertone said no cardinals were suspected of involvement in

20 Seattle Gay News

June 22, 2012

the leaks scandal.

He also denied allegations by Ettore Gotti Tedeschi, the former head of the Vatican bank, that he was ousted because he wanted the bank, officially known as the Institute for Works of Religion (IOR), to be more transparent.

Bertone repeated the Vatican’s position that Gotti Tedeschi left after a no-confidence vote by the bank’s board because he was a divisive and inefficient manager.

Bertone was appointed to his position as Cardinal Secretary of State – officially in charge of the Vatican’s political and diplomatic affairs – in 2006. He is noted for his controversial defense of Catholic bishops who concealed child abuse by priests serving under them. “[I]f a priest cannot confide in his bishop for fear of being denounced, then it would mean that there is no more liberty of conscience,” Bertone said in 2010.

Celebrating 39 Years!

New elections put France on track for marriage equality

secularist France” and what they call Hollande’s “intrinsically anti-Christian, antifamily, and anti-national vision.”

France currently allows same-sex couples to register so-called “civil solidarity pacts” or PACs, a form of domestic partnership that offers significantly fewer protections for same-sex couples than marriage. Same-sex couples may not adopt children, for example.

A poll by the French opinion research Jean-Marc Ayrault

Uganda raids Gay rights meeting, bans 38 NGOs

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

French President Francois Hollande

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer When French voters gave newly elected President Francois Hollande a sweeping victory in parliamentary elections on June 17, they virtually guaranteed that France would pass marriage-equality legislation.

Hollande, a Socialist elected on May 6, had promised during the campaign to enact equal rights for Gay and Lesbian couples.

An official statement issued by his prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, to mark the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia last month reiterated the promise.

“On the occasion of the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment against violence and discrimination perpetrated as a result of sexual orientation or gender identity,” the statement said.

“The Government is determined to chal-

lenge prejudice and put an end to discrimination and violence. It will implement the commitment of the President of the Republic to the right to marriage and adoption to Gay couples.”

France’s parliamentary elections now give Hollande the votes to makes good on his promise. His Socialist Party won 314 of the 577 seats in parliament, and other leftwing parties supporting marriage equality won another 27. Conservative supporters of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy lost 111 seats.

During the presidential campaign, Sarkozy repeatedly stated his opposition to marriage equality.

“For me,” Sarkozy said, “a family is a father and a mother, not two fathers or two mothers.”

Conservative Catholic groups are also gearing up for a fight with the new government. The Catholic Civitas Institute has already organized protests against a “red and

company IFOP in June of last year found that 63% of French voters supported marriage equality and 58% favored equal adoption rights.

Prime Minister Ayrault has confirmed that new marriage legislation has already been drafted. Once passed, France would become the 12th country to approve marriage equality, behind Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Holland, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, and Sweden.

Less than a week after Ugandan authorities raided a Gay rights conference and interrogated its participants, they announced they are banning 38 NGOs – non-governmental organizations the Ugandan government accuses of promoting homosexuality.

Ugandan Ethics Minister Simon Lokodo announced the ban June 20.

“The NGOs are channels through which monies are channeled to [homosexuals] to recruit,” Lokodo, a former Catholic priest, told Reuters.

Lokodo would not name the groups, but said they would be “de-registered,” which would make them unable to operate legally in Uganda.

“I have got a record of meetings that they have held to empower, enhance, and recruit [homosexuals],” Lokodo said.

On June 18, Lokodo ordered a police raid on a Gay rights conference being held at a hotel just outside Uganda’s capital, Kampala. Police officers sealed off the hotel for several hours, detaining Gay activists from around the region.

East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project, the organization sponsoring the conference, said police interrupted the meeting and began questioning participants, including activists from Canada, Kenya, and Rwanda.

The police also forced their way into some of the activists’ hotel rooms, the group said.

According to AllAfrica website, some 15 activists out of 20 who attended the conference were questioned and later released without charge. Those questioned were said to be from Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, and Tanzania.

The conference was intended to train local Gay activists to report human rights abuses.

In February Lokoda personally led a similar police raid to shut down a Gay rights meeting in the town of Entebbe.

Activists said Lokodo was using strongarm tactics to intimidate them, and added that this seemed to be a pattern of government behavior.

“They claimed they [were] investigating a

security threat,” said Pepe Julian Onziema, an activist with Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), who attended the conference. “[Lokodo] is just trying to intimidate us.”

SMUG is the Gay rights organization cofounded by murdered activist David Kato.

“This ludicrous and senseless harassment of human rights activists has no basis in law whatsoever and has to stop,” Michelle Kagari, Amnesty International’s deputy director for Africa, said.

“We are seeing a worrying pattern emerging whereby the Ugandan authorities engage in arbitrary activities deliberately designed to intimidate and threaten legitimate human rights work.”

Ugandan police said they were simply investigating possible violations.

“They were questioned on what exactly they were up to and the assembly they were involved in,” Kampala Metropolitan police spokesman Idi Senkumbi said.

Mohammad Ndifuna, the director of Human Rights Network Uganda, reportedly one of the organizations to be banned, said Lokodo’s ban on NGOs was part of a larger attack on civil society in Uganda.

“We know that there have been all kinds of threats coming toward the [NGO] sector for different reasons,” said Ndifuna.

In May, officials threatened to de-register the British charity Oxfam because it had accused the Ugandan government of complicity in violent land grabs in the country.

Since 2009 a controversial “Kill the Gays” bill to impose the death penalty for “repeat offenders” has been pending parliament. This year a “Don’t Say Gay” measure was also proposed, to ban any pro-Gay “propaganda.”

The bills have the support of many religious leaders in Uganda and their evangelical allies in the United States.

“We are worried, since the bishops came out and supported the [“Kill the Gays”] bill to be passed, because its content is contrary to the constitution,” Onziema told UPI. “It’s really sad that, instead of the country having laws that protect its citizens, it’s actually creating laws that infringe on their rights as citizens of Uganda and make them live in fear.”

Religion & Spirituality Sojourner Truth Ministries Sunday Service 11:15 am Rainier City Bldg 1265 South Main St #106 (14th & Main) Seattle, WA 98144 Phone: Rev. Walden @ 206 380-1710

A Church for All God’s People – since 1972 www.mccseattle.org Sunday Worship 11:00 am 1415 NE 43rd St. on U-District (206) 325-2421

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June 22, 2012

Seattle Gay News 21

Puzzling out the Phelpsians

by Leslie Robinson SGN Contributing Writer Some people argue that the best way to handle the ever-present, ever-protesting members of the Westboro Baptist Church is simply to ignore them.

That sounds sensible. But I just can’t do it.

The truth is I find Fred Phelps and his

congregation fascinating. I get that they’re among the world’s biggest media whores – they could even give Donald Trump pointers – and will push any boundary for attention. Yet they still manage to surprise me.

Like just recently, when they journeyed to North Carolina. Since Westboro’s creed is “God Hates Fags,” and since North Carolina passed the anti-Gay Amendment One, a rea-

sonable person might assume the Phelpsians visited the Tar Heel State simply to sniff the heady air of Bigotus Victorious.

But no, that’s not the Westboro way. North Carolinians don’t want Gays to marry; Westboro members don’t want Gays to live.

So they went to North Carolina to do what they always do, stage a protest. Their target was obvious, a man famous for supporting Gay rights, a man who practically bleeds rainbow colors.

Billy Graham.

See, fascinating.

The elder statesman of evangelical Christianity a friend of Gays? Right. And Billy’s son and heir Franklin is a part-time imam.

While Graham has taken far fewer political stances in his career than, say, Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson, he jumped headlong into the Amendment One battle.

“At 93, I never thought we would have to debate the definition of marriage,” Graham wrote in an ad that ran in newspapers around North Carolina. “The Bible is clear – God’s definition of marriage is between a man and a woman. I want to urge my fellow North Carolinians to vote FOR the marriage amendment on Tuesday, May 8.”

Yup, he’s on our side, all right. Downright ready to head up a PFLAG chapter.

So why, if Westboro and Graham are antiGay bedfellows, did the Phelpsians protest Graham? Because the Reverend isn’t antiGay enough. Westboro, you see, has very high standards.

About a dozen church members picketed the Billy Graham Library in Charlotte and other Graham-centric locations. On Westboro’s website, according to WBTV, the church said Graham should use his influence to tell the world, “It’s not okay to be a fag, it’s not okay to divorce and remarry, it’s not okay to fornicate, it’s not okay to kill your babies.”

The man is 93. How can he be expected even to remember all that?

Protester Paulette Phelps told the Asheville Citizen-Times that Graham cares more for money and power than preaching God’s truth. “The true Gospel says if you don’t obey, you’re going to perish. There are consequences for not obeying. Homosexuality is all bad, all day.”

She makes it sound like a radio format.

Either Paulette or another Phelps – most if not all Westboro church members are related – held a sign reading “God H8s Billy’s Cow.” I was baffled as to why God would hate dairy products, unless He’s lactose-intolerant, but it turned out to refer to a “talking” cow that tells stories and sings songs to young Graham Library visitors.

All part of Graham’s money-grubbing, claimed the Phelpsians, who asked, “How many children can you lead to Satan through Bessie the talking cow?”

I guess that would depend on the quality of Bessie’s stories and songs.

Only after I’d ruminated over Westboro’s attack on Billy Graham did I remember that this isn’t the first time the cult has targeted a prominent evangelical. In 2007, these folks protested at Jerry Falwell’s funeral, in part because of Falwell’s warmth toward Gays.

Yeah, Falwell adored us.

How could I forget they protested him?

Because their reasoning is so bizarre I can barely wrap my mind around it. But I won’t forget again. When Pat Robertson dies, I’ll expect the Phelpsians to picket his funeral.

Robertson has always overflowed with love for Gay people.

Leslie Robinson wants to meet Bessie the talking cow. Email Leslie at lesarobinson@ gmail.com, and read more LGBT funnies at www.generalgayety.com.

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www.sgn.org 22 Seattle Gay News

June 22, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

A Noble endeavor

laws, as a matter of urgent public health and welfare.

Along the way, Noble adopted Trinity, a boxer greyhound from the San Antonio, Texas, fire department. They offered the dog to him at a McDonald’s when they heard about what he was doing and why. Instead of going to the pound, Trinity walked alongside him for 700 miles.

“I got her a Rainbow bandana to wear, so she’s the Equality Dog,” Noble told SGN. Noble was greeted with a huge welcome upon his arrival in Jacksonville. Representatives from LGBT groups across the region, the American Civil Liberties Union, and Parents, Families, & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) were there to honor him.

After the celebration, Noble sent Trinity home and walked the last 15 miles to the Atlantic Ocean by himself. The final stage of the walk was a chance for Noble to reflect on his entire journey and keep a promise he made to a group of Native elders, who had tied a sprig of sage to the staff of his Rainbow flag. They told him to release it “when you get to where you’re going.”

“I tended to it like a mother to a baby. I was able to finally let that go into the Atlantic waters yesterday with some prayers,” Noble said. “I did get the flag across America.

“I’ve managed to walk through all my fears. I’ve walked though KKK towns, passed hanging trees, been invited into redneck bars and had chili served to me, had Richard Noble plants the Rainbow on Jacksonville’s beach after his 2,700 mile walk. kids fight over who gets to hold the Pride flag first,” Noble told SGN. “There’s been

by James Whitely claimed the lives of Asher Brown and Tyler so many Prides I’ve missed out on. Happy Clementi, among others.

SGN Staff Writer Pride, Seattle.”

He put his possessions in storage and travGay activist Richard Noble completed eled to San Francisco, where he began his a solo walk across the United States this walk at the Golden Gate Bridge in March continued from cover month, arriving in Jacksonville, Florida, on 2011.

Noble’s 15-month journey took him from ment, a Transgender man got down on one June 9.

The 46-year-old spent 15 months on the the Northwest to the Southeast, through knee in Cross Hall, the White House’s main road, meeting hundreds of people, speaking the desert, across the Rockies, to Matthew first-floor hallway, and proposed to his partto Native American tribal leaders, and get- Shepard’s fence, and through Wounded ner as members of the Marine Band played. ting 11 mayoral proclamations calling for Knee. In all, Noble walked 2,700 miles “I believe [this reception has] happened federal LGBT civil rights. He carried the through 10 states, wore out eight pairs of every year of the Obama administration so Rainbow flag for the entire 2,700-mile trek, boots, met with five different Native Ameri- far,” Hearne told SGN. through every small town and down every can tribes, and collected LGBT full-equality “It was quite magical going to the White proclamations, from 11 mayors and three House. … We really kind of had the run of back road.

For his “Civil Rights Walk Across Amer- city councils representing a diverse array of the place,” he said. “We felt quite welcome ica” Noble also carried a bill seeking full cities, including Oakland, West Hollywood, there … Roger and I got to sit in the presifederal equality for LGBT Americans – the Salt Lake City, Austin, Houston, Baton dent’s and first lady’s chairs in the [White Rouge, New Orleans, Biloxi, Birmingham, House] theater – we got a picture.”

American Equality Bill.

Noble, who lives in Palm Springs, Cali- Mobile, and Tallahassee.

During the reception, Obama gave a stateThe proclamations demand that Congress ment. “Now, I’ve said before that I would fornia, said he was moved to action by the continued enforcement of “Don’t Ask add “sexual orientation and gender identity” never counsel patience – that it wasn’t right Don’t Tell” and a rash of teen suicides that to the 1964 Civil Rights Act and related to tell you to be patient any more than it was

Activist walks across America for LGBT rights

courtesy richard noble

white house

right for others to tell women to be patient a century ago, or African Americans to be patient a half-century ago. After decades of inaction and indifference, you have every reason and right to push, loudly and forcefully, for equality,” the president said.

“That was really resonating with the crowd because we were really the people rallying the activists within our respective states,” said Hearne.

“Americans may be still evolving when it comes to marriage equality, but as I’ve indicated personally, Michelle and I have made up our minds on this issue,” Obama went on. “So we still have a long way to go, but we will get there. We’ll get there because of all of you. We’ll get there because of all of the ordinary Americans who every day show extraordinary courage. We’ll get there because of every man and woman and activist and ally who is moving us forward by the force of their moral arguments, but more importantly, by the force of their example.”

Hearne noted, “This was the first Pride reception where Gay and Lesbian servicemembers were allowed to attend in uniform with their partners. One of the servicemembers [present] had actually been stationed in Seattle. [Roger and I] had previously met him at an HRC dinner in Seattle, and he is now an out Gay servicemember stationed in the White House.

“It was magical,” said Hearne of the experience. “We were, of course, very honored to be able to go to represent Washington and the work that people are doing in Washington.”

Obama concluded his remarks by saying, “As long as I have the privilege of being your President, I promise you, you won’t just have a friend in the White House – you will have a fellow advocate, for an America where no matter what you look like or where you come from or who you love, you can dream big dreams and dream as openly as you want.”

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June 22, 2012

Seattle Gay News 23

flag

continued from cover community could raise $50,000 for LGBT charities, the flag would be raised – and it was. But needless to say, this “compromise” didn’t go over well with some members of the LGBT community, who thought the whole idea was not only in bad taste, but bordered on blackmail.

This year, Space Needle management explained, “As we don’t raise any flag but the American flag on a regular basis, there are

no plans to raise the Rainbow Flag again this year. We will continue to support equal rights and actively foster these causes as we have in the past.”

I don’t think anyone was shocked about the Space Needle Corporation’s (SNC) announcement, given the aloof way it handled last year’s controversy. But this year is different, isn’t it? As we find ourselves having to defend ourselves against bigots in a campaign to Approve Referendum 74 in November, some in the community are asking why the SNC would fly the iconic Pride flag the past two years, but not this year – when, more than ever, we need to be visible.

Everyone from Gov. Gregoire to the Seattle City Council has thrown their support behind the campaign for marriage equality.

But not the SNC, which broke its own alleged rule when it hung a gigantic Angry Bird on the structure – and will do so again this fall, when it flies the “12th Man” flag in support of the Seahawks. In other words, the SNC’s rhetoric hardly matches its actions.

Much to the local LGBT community’s

credit, reaction to the SNC’s announcement has been met with little more than a collective groan.

“I respect the fact that [the Space Needle is] a private corporation,” said Stuart Wilber, a local LGBT rights activist who fought to have the Pride flag flown atop the Needle last year. “They have the right to fly anything they want to on the Space Needle.

I wish they were flying the Pride flag this weekend, but I hope they will use this as an opportunity to come up with something even more exciting than just flying the flag.”

It is important to note that the SNC is a member of the Greater Seattle Business Association. The fact that the Space Needle management belongs to one of the nation’s largest LGBT business chambers but will not willingly fly the Pride flag during Pride weekend has a lot of people wondering about the real relationship between the two organizations.

As of press time, Space Needle officials have shown no sign of changing their minds.

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Celebrating 39 Years!

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Seattle Gay News 25

26 Seattle Gay News

June 22, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

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June 22, 2012

Seattle Gay News 27