SGN February 19, 2010 - Section 1

Issue 08 Volume 38

Celebrating 37 Years!

Spring Travel guide section 3

Seattle Gay News

FRIDAY February 19, 2010 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

“Two Gay dudes GSBA’s 2009 Business and Humanitarian Awards on a mission” Gay couple runs emergency supplies to Haiti queerty.com

and are now taking their mission online at CauseCommandos.com to rally support from the Gay community. The site allows supporters to watch video of the duo in action and contribute directly to buy emergency supplies.

When disaster struck the impoverished island nation of Haiti, it also struck close to the hearts of Luke and Nate. Luke had lived in Haiti for Luke Montgomery (l) and Nate Gudias nearly two years,

by Shaun Knittel where he founded an AIDS orphanage in the coastal town of JacSGN Staff Writer mel. Luke told SGN that 48 hours Luke Montgomery and Nate Gu- passed after the earthquake withdias are a Gay couple who have been running emergency medicine, see haiti page 16 food and tents into Haiti by boat,

The Greater Seattle Business Association (GSBA) honored 10 recipients at the 2009 Business and Humanitarian Awards Dinner on February 17 at the Grand Hyatt Seattle.

Success is not only measured in terms of wealth or extensive budgets, said GSBA officials. It is often a reflection of values and a commitment to give back to the community. For nearly 30 years, the organization’s Business and Humanitarian Awards has celebrated the nexus of equality and diversity in business along with the spirit of philanthropy and volunteerism. It is in that spirit that the GSBA proudly announced this year’s recipients of the Business and Humanitarian Awards.

This year’s honorees are as follows: Business of the Year, Wave Link Music, Brian Dale; Business Leader of the Year, Roger Nyhus, Nyhus Communications; New Business of the Year, Poppy, Jerry Traunfeld; Corporate Citizen of the Year, Glenn Johnson, chief fi-

COURTESY GSBA

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer

Senator Maria Cantwell (l) and GSBA Executive Director Louise Chernin

nancial officer and executive vice Program; Community Leadership president, Alaska Airlines; Com- of the Year, Representative Jamie munity Leadership of the Year, Joyful Freeman, American Friends see gsba page 18 Service Committee GLBT Youth

Success as New Hampshire BREAKING: AntiHouse kills anti-marriage bill Gay riots in Kenya J. Stephen Conn

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The New Hampshire House of Representatives has killed two measures to repeal marriage equality in the state.

On February 15, the House first rejected a constitutional amendment to define marriage as “one man and one woman” and then

voted down a bill to repeal the marriage equality law passed last year.

The votes technically came on motions to accept a House Judiciary Committee report that repeal was “Inexpedient to Legislate” – in other words, not recommended to pass.

The full House voted to accept

Human Rights Watch calls for action

gaykenya.com

New Hampshire House of Representatives

their report and kill both measures without even bringing them up for debate on the merits.

The final vote on CACR 28 – the constitutional amendment – was 201-135. The vote on the repeal bill HB 1590 was 210-109.

New Hampshire’s marriage equality bill was finally passed on June 3, 2009, after months of legislative drama, and signed by the governor on the same day. It took effect on January 1 this year.

The House vote to pass the original marriage equality legislation was 198-176, so the latest votes indicate that several legislators who originally voted against marriage now do not support repeal.

In a statement released shortly after the vote, Freedom to Marry Executive Director Evan Wolfson noted that the Iowa state legislature killed similar legislation last week.

“As same-sex couples continue to marry and the sky doesn’t fall in the nation’s two first presidentialprimary states, Americans will have more chances to think anew about the importance of treating others as we all would want to be treated, and to ask our elected officials whether they, too, support equal justice under the law,” he said.

Rowdy youths protesting at a proposed Gay marriage in Mombasa

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

pa and Mombassa.

Kenyan police reportedly arrested at least five Gay men, but The international watchdog or- released them February 18 after ganization Human Rights Watch several days in custody.

Meanwhile, anti-Gay religious called on the government of Kenya to protect its LGBT citizens and HIV/AIDS agencies as anti-Gay mobs rioted in the cities of Mtwasee kenya page 16

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Seattle Gay News

February 19, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

ACLU-NJ sues police for abuse of Transgender woman

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer On January 17, American Civil Liberties Union New Jersey (ACLU-NJ) filed a lawsuit against the Newark, New Jersey Police Department in the case of Diana Taylor, a Transgender Newark citizen allegedly tormented by officers who harassed her, falsely arrested her and threatened her safety.

The lawsuit marks the third time ACLUNJ has filed against the troubled department in as many years. The organization is calling for reforms of the department.

“The police did more than arrest me that day – they took away my rights, my dignity, and made me afraid to walk down the street,” said Taylor. “I’m fighting for something that’s easy to take for granted but impossible to live without: the freedom to be myself and to live my life in peace.”

Taylor says she always thought the police were here to protect her, but now feels “I need protection from them instead.”

According to ACLU-NJ, the harassment began nearly a year ago, when officers approached Taylor on March 23, 2009. They steered their cruiser in to her path, taunted her about her hair, and demanded she show them identification.

Taylor did not have ID on her, but provided the police with her legal name, Christopher Moore.

“You’re right; I owe you $10. It is a man,” one officer told the other, apparently settling a bet between them about Taylor’s gender.

From then on, the harassment increased.

The officers began to torment her, calling her a “chick with a dick,” “faggot” and other derogatory names and mocking her with questions about her sexuality as witnesses gathered. Though she had committed no crime, police took Taylor into custody in handcuffs to the precinct. Police searched crime databases hoping they could find grounds to justify arresting her, but her record was clean.

Taylor says that, throughout her arrest, officers continued to humiliate her, including frisking her in a “sexually intrusive manner.”

A lieutenant discovered the situation and instructed officers to let Taylor go. When she asked to file a complaint, the lieutenant

dismissed her concerns, explaining the officers didn’t mean her any harm.

Over her objections, the officers insisted on driving Taylor home. According to Taylor, during the two-block ride home, the officers threatened to unleash gang members living in her neighborhood to confront her if she reported the abuse.

Taylor refused to succumb to the intimidation, but says it took weeks of trying numerous phone calls to internal affairs to finally convince someone to take her complaint.

Weeks after filing a complaint, Taylor received a notice in the mail indicating that the police had cited her for “littering” and “disorderly conduct.” Both charges she successfully fought in municipal court.

“The police should serve as a safety net against discrimination and harassment, not engage in it,” said Neil Mullin, an attorney with the firm Smith Mullin representing Taylor on behalf of ACLU-NJ. “Diana Taylor deserves the dignity and the justice the law entitles her to, which is why the ACLU is fighting for her.”

The case, Diana Taylor v. Newark Police Department, alleges police violated the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination by stopping Taylor from using public accommodation and retaliating against her when she asserted her rights, infringed on her constitutional rights to be free from unlawful searches, and broke laws against harassment and false arrest. The lawsuit demands that Newark establish proper training, supervision and handling of complaints, and seeks damages for the unlawful actions taken by the police.

Seeking to reform the Newark Police Department, ACLU-NJ called for the department’s leadership to discipline problematic officers, train officers comprehensively regarding sexual orientation discrimination, improve the department’s shadowy internal affairs division, and perhaps most importantly, enlist an independent monitor with authority to truly scrutinize the department.

“This is yet another incident of police abuse to arise from Newark’s shortcomings in officer training and oversight,” said ACLU-NJ Executive Director Deborah Jacobs.

“When will Newark’s leaders give police misconduct the attention and resources it deserves, what will it take to get there?”

In Loving Memory of

Paul Malcolm Edwards

September 21, 1945 - February 9, 2010

Signature-gathering underway for I-1068

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer

prosecuting and jailing regular citizens for marijuana possession. That’s ridiculous.”

Sensible Washington needs to collect On February 17, Sensible Washington 241,153 valid signatures by July 2, 2010 announced that it has received final ballot to get I-1068 on the November ballot. The language from the offices of state Attorney campaign aims to deliver about 320,000 sigGeneral Rob McKenna and Secretary of natures to the Secretary of State’s office by State Sam Reed for its initiative measure the July deadline.

1068.

“That’s a huge mountain to climb, espeI-1068 is now certified for circulation of cially since we’re a grassroots, volunteer efpetitions for voter signatures and Sensible fort,” said Philip Dawdy, campaign director Washington has begun rolling out petitions and an initiative co-author. “But the enthuin both Western and Eastern Washington. siasm among the people for marijuana legal If approved by voters in November, reform is so great that we believe we truly I-1068 would remove all criminal penalties have a fighting chance to make history.” for adult use, possession and cultivation of I-1068 was authored by Hiatt, Dawdy, marijuana in Washington State.

Seattle Hempfest founder Vivian McPeak, Three separate bills affecting marijuana longtime medical marijuana patient Ric reform died in the State Legislature this ses- Smith, and Seattle attorney Jeffrey Steinsion. born. The initiative is a direct response to “It’s clear that the Legislature has failed to the Washington State Legislature’s inability deal with this issue once again,” said Doug- to offer appropriate legal reform on marilas Hiatt, co-author of I-1068 and a Seattle juana to the state’s citizens. attorney. “We’re in the middle of a severe For more information about I-1068 and budget crisis in Olympia and yet the Legisla- the signature gathering process, visit Senture can’t get it together to stop wasting tens sible Washington online at www.sensibleof millions of dollars a year on arresting, washington.org.

Anglicans vote equal pension rights for LGBT clergy

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The General Synod of the Church of England, its highest governing body, voted on February 11 to give equal pension benefits to same-sex partners of its clergy.

The author of the resolution, Rev. Mark Bratton of Coventry, told the synod that the existing rules were unfair, and that many Gay partners provided invaluable support in the life of their parish.

“The injustice of the current arrangement is obvious,” he said. “The benefit to the reputation of the Church of remedying this injustice will be great, and I believe, inversely proportional to the small cost.”

Previously, partners of Gay clergy were allowed pension benefits, but benefits were calculated based on service since 2005 when civil partnerships were first legalized in Great Britain.

Simon Baynes, a lay member from St. Albans, said he had been “struck” by the case of the Rev. Jeffrey John in particular.

“If Jeffrey died, his partner of over 30 years would receive £3,370 [$5,280] per annum,” he said. “But if, instead of being in a partnership for 30 years, Jeffrey had been married for just a few days before he died, his widow would receive £7,550 [$11,829] per annum.”

In many ways, John exemplifies the struggle over LGBT clergy that has racked the Anglican Church in recent years.

In 2003, he resigned his position as Bishop of Reading because he feared the “damage” his consecration – as an openly Gay man with a partner – might cause to the unity of

the Church.

Gay clergy are accepted in the Church of England on condition they are celibate.

While John insisted his relationship, while long-standing, was indeed celibate, he felt compelled to resign anyway.

Straight Anglican clergy are permitted to marry, and most do so.

The Episcopal Church in the US, while affiliated with the Church of England, has consecrated two openly Gay and partnered bishops – Gene Robinson of New Hampshire and Mary Glasspool of Los Angeles.

In his speech opening the synod, Archbishop of Canterbury Dr. Rowan Williams said he was “profoundly sorry” for seeming to devalue the contributions of LGBT Anglicans to the church.

Citing “many regular worshippers of Gay or Lesbian orientation and many sacrificial and exemplary priests who share this orientation,” Williams urged conservative Anglicans who object to LGBT clergy to recognize “the facts.”

The synod also postponed a decision recognizing the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) – the group of anti-Gay Episcopalians who left the US church in protest against the ordination of Robinson and Glasspool.

ACNA has affiliated with several African bishops who also oppose Gay clergy.

The most prominent advocate for Gay clergy is also African, however – retired Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.

Alone among African countries, South Africa affords explicit constitutional protections to its LGBT citizens and permits same-sex marriage.

“The benefit to the reputation of the Church of remedying this injustice will be great, and I believe, inversely proportional to the small cost.”

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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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Going through “The Program” – Week 7

by James Whitely SGN Staff Writer A few days into quitting smoking, I had a detailed dream in which I gave in and smoked a much-desired menthol cigarette.

I could feel the smoke roll into my lungs as it crept down through the twisted tubes inside me. I felt the smoke as I exhaled slowly through my nose and then my mouth. I awoke in the morning truly thinking I had given in, and it took a moment to gather my senses.

I’ve been smoke-free for 11 days now. I hesitate to say that I’ve “quit,” because I still don’t feel like I’ve beaten tobacco, but I am trying to own the identity of a non-smoker in my mind. Although I don’t feel like I’m out of the woods yet, I’ve come a long fucking way.

I was the one who asked if we got smoke breaks at the initial smoking cessation meeting at Gay City, the lover of cigarettes, the guy who thought about cigarettes as much

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

4

Seattle Gay News

February 19, 2010

as the average man thinks about sex, and I’ve been free of my leafy mistress for 11 days now.

This week’s meeting was pretty laidback. The staff of Gay City brought in two acupuncturists who offered their services to us for free. I had never done acupuncture before, and it didn’t seem all that effective for me, but it was nonetheless very much appreciated.

I was given needles in one ear and small gold balls in the other, which I could press on to activate pressure points. The needles were fine, whether they worked or not I don’t really know. But the pressure point balls were nothing but an uncomfortable nuisance. It just seemed like more trouble than it was worth for me, but that’s just my experience.

We all shared our stories of living as nonsmokers for a week. Some of us gave in and smoked, but for reasons that surprised even me. It seemed that a lot of people tried cigarettes just to see how they would feel again,

and weren’t impressed, resolving again to not smoke.

Whether it’s common for our attrition rate to be as low as it is at this point I don’t know, but I’m pleasantly surprised at the success of the group, and although my fear of letting the group down is not a huge deterrent for my smoking, it’s still a noticeable factor.

The week in general was full of fluctuation in regards to my desire for tobacco.

Some days were very difficult; others were a breeze. I’m finding that my family has really been my greatest asset; I’ve called my mother every day since I began the actual quitting process. I had an impromptu fortyminute conference call one night last week with my sister Lara, her husband Malcolm, and my two nieces Bess and Mae. Then my girlfriend Katie, whom I live with, has been offering me uncompromising support every day.

These are not only the people who have been helping me cease my tobacco use; these were the people I quit for, because quitting for myself simply wasn’t good enough.

Last week’s meeting was primarily about rewards and what we could do for ourselves to celebrate our new non-smoking identities, and we broke those rewards down into categories like financial, time, etc. Well, I’ve rewarded myself in an all-encompassing way.

My girlfriend and I adopted a stubby-tailed little kitten. We named him “Osito” this morning, which is Spanish for “little bear.”

With Osito, I not only have another reason to quit, but an ever-present representation of what I’ve gained from quitting.

All things considered, things have gotten a lot easier than they were two to three days into quitting, but it can still be very overwhelming. Staring at the cigarettes, which are almost always kept near the check outline of virtually any store, is worse than waterboarding.

My concept of what smoking really is has begun changing significantly, and much quicker than I expected. I am beginning to see how gross cigarettes actually are. Smokers I know really are beginning to reek, but these realizations don’t make my desire to smoke significantly less. I suppose it’s just a small step in the process of becoming a selfactualized non-smoker.

This week was our final meeting, and I feel more or less prepared to journey out into the world as a non-smoker, but I have to say I wish we could keep meeting. We’ve set up a Facebook page that we can use for as long as we’d like. It will certainly be helpful, but the shining and smiling faces of coordinators Lark, Dan, and Ryan, and everyone in the group will be missed.

Next week we’ll have our rewards dinner, where we’ll get together as a group to celebrate, and I’ll be doing a wrap-up for my column. Until then, the struggle continues.

Celebrating 37 Years!

Rosehedge hosts third annual Love Without Boundaries fundraiser courtesy rosehedge

nies, King County Executive Dow Constantine again took hold of the reins as the evening’s auctioneer. Items ranged from theater tickets, dinners at various restaurants around town, custom artwork, and in-house maid service, and went on up to a baseball signed by a Seattle Mariner. At the end of the auction, a three-course dinner was served in one of the hotel’s ballrooms. During dinner, another auction took place to raise money on a larger scale.

“The greatest challenge,” says Rebecca Lovell, former development intern and current volunteer, “is that the cost of living is going up. So is the cost of healthcare, but the funding keeps getting cut.” This fact was emphasized by almost every other speaker of the evening and expresses the reasons for private fundraising.

The costs of individual care at Rosehedge are broken down to include several resources. After assistant funds are granted from Medicaid, the Ryan White Foundation and funding from HOPWA (Housing OpportuniCarrie Cihak (l) and Rebecca Lovell ties for People With AIDS), there is still an

by Eric Andrews-Katz 175 people gathered at the Madison Renais- “Unfunded Care” amount of $30 per guest, sance Hotel to celebrate love between them- per day. This is where the private fundraisSGN Contributing Writer selves and a community. Rosehedge AIDS ing comes in.

Hospice, the Madison Renaissance, and “It’s not just financial aid that is needed,” Love Without Boundaries other organizations hosted the third annual Rosehedge Interim Director Sharon Lucas Valentine’s Day Fundraiser “Love Without Boundaries” Valentine’s said. “There are many household items that February 14 are in demand as well.” The main items deMadison Renaissance Hotel Day Fundraiser.

Hosted in the hotel’s second floor open sired are bed linens and towels, pillows, and Valentine’s Day is about many forms of love. Love between a couple, love between bar, the evening started with free-flowing especially men’s underwear in all sizes. Othfamilies and love between friends are just pink champagne and hors d’oeuvres. Guests er items include six-packs of soda, bags of a few of the expressive ways to show and were welcome to take part in a silent auc- candy, and small non-perishable food items share love. On February 14, approximately tion. Reprising his role as master of ceremo- as prizes for resident household games and activities. DVD movies and gift cards (Star-

SnoGLOBE offers LGBTQ support in Snohomish County

by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Scott Hattori: A star is born

by Don Paulson SGN Contributing Writer

nese import shop on Pine Street with fellow student Ruth Nomura in 1955.

Bill Maclane remembers: “I met Scott at Teenage Scott Hattori was one of the a party. He was so good-looking and unusu110,000 Japanese Amerial. I asked him if he was cans interned in relocaJapanese and [asked him] tion camps during WWII. things [about being] JapaThe fear was espionage nese, and he wouldn’t be and sabotage against able to answer. He’d say, America. Crowded into ‘I’ll ask my mother; she’s tar paper barracks with Japanese.’ I was a Far East no running water and inmajor at the University adequate heat, guarded and tried to get him interby barbed-wire fences, ested in Japanese arts. We patrolled by armed guards started having Japanese and watchdog, Scott and dinners together and went his family were interned to Japanese restaurants. in southern Idaho’s MiniI helped him, along with doka camp. Scott’s father friends Yoshi and Mary was Swedish and sent him and Ruth, to embrace his phonographs of popular Japanese heritage and he music that eased his being was so artistic anyway. picked on because he was He was just bursting to only half Japanese. Scott go anywhere but he didn’t was not traumatized by his know where.”

Scott Hattori experience, but he never Ruth Nomura rememwanted to talk about it. After Minidoka, bers: “He wanted to open a restaurant, but Scott became a student at the University of didn’t have enough money. He was fasciWashington’s School of Interior Design and nated by all things Japanese, and after a became an accomplished designer and artist trip to Japan we opened a Japanese import of ballet and costume designs. His painting shop called Haru, years before Trident Imof a nude is in the collection of Seattle Art ports. Haru quickly became the in place to Museum. shop for household accessories – fruit jars, Bill Parkin remembers: “Scott was very candlesticks, unusual ashtrays, vases, lots of much a mystery man. He’d walk into a room beautiful silk pillows, loose fabrics that you and the room would stop because he was so could do things with. We were equal parttall and handsome. He had a large follow- ners; I ran the store while Scott, the master ing; a lot of people were interested in him. of display and decoration, worked his magic.

He mixed well with everyone and knew all For a while we had gravel on the floor, but it kinds of people. He was extremely charis- became dangerous for women with Martha matic and as secretive as his relationship Mitchell heels. One brick wall Scott painted with movie actor Farley Granger.” Scotty gold, and a grand piano we used for a counwas very much a star himself, admired by ter. Scott was a perfectionist, worked long Gay Seattle and local businessmen when he hours, and changed windows every week. was a waiter at the chic Marine Room in the In Scott Hattori a star was born, but it was Olympic Hotel and when he opened a Japa- not to last as he died of leukemia at age 31. courtesy don paulson

The SnoGLOBE Equality Alliance, an LGBTQ advocacy, support, and resource organization in Snohomish County, is making a difference by working towards creating a safe, healthy and drug-free community that celebrates diversity and provides a positive environment for LGBTQ youth, adults and allies.

“One of the things that stirred creating the coalition is we have the GLOBE support group for 14- to 20-year-olds that put on events for the kids like a ‘Pink Prom’ and other safe-and-sober events,” Brenda Newell, SnoGLOBE treasurer and member of the organization’s steering committee, told SGN. “A group of us decided to look beyond just youth-oriented activities to see what is happening in Snohomish County to figure out what other needs we could address if we got a coalition together.”

As the people of Snohomish County embrace diversity and move towards acceptance of the LGBTQ community, SnoGLOBE officials say the youth are finding the support they need to make healthy decisions by enhancing their knowledge, self-esteem and pride. The members of SnoGLOBE are working to support this transformation by focusing on three areas: reducing phobias through education, supporting Gay-Straight Alliances (GSA), and developing resources and raising funds.

“Since 2007, we’ve had a lot of success.

Recently, we’ve facilitated three events for GSAs in Snohomish County and partnered with the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network [GLSEN] to implement a ‘Day of Silence’ in our schools,” Newell told SGN. “In addition, we’ve held training – offered to anyone – about cultural diversity and gender identity, which were two incredibly successful events for this county.”

According to the organization’s officials, SnoGLOBE volunteers come from “all walks of life representing the diversity of our community.”

Newell says that what’s been really amaz-

ing is the outreach from the other major LGBTQ organizations throughout Washington State. “We have partnerships with the faith community and PFLAG,” she said. “So many organizations have really stepped up to the plate to make the county well-represented within SnoGLOBE.” Newell says that it is exciting to see the organization’s growth over the past few years.

“We started just looking at the needs of the youth,” she said, “but now we are looking at stuff like early childhood development to senior citizen issues. The focus has been expanded through the age continuum for the LGBTQ community.”

One of SnoGLOBE’s current projects is to put together activities that would foster dialogue for youth and senior adults. “We believe that within the LGBTQ population there is a need for dialogue between the age groups,” Newell said. “This would bring the community together and provide positive mentorship.”

Though there is a lot of positive work going on in Snohomish County, Newell says it isn’t without challenge. “There are almost 700,000 people in our county,” she said. “So much of the county is rural and people tend to be isolated. We have a lot of people who are not ‘out’ because they don’t feel safe.

Overcoming these challenges is a big part of our work – to create awareness so those people feel safe and have resources.”

As far as Newell is concerned, SnoGLOBE is important because it’s brought allies to the LGBTQ community in Snohomish County. “We have amazing allies partnering with us,” she said, “because of that, so much positive change is occurring.”

SnoGLOBE Equality Alliance is creating an affirming, equal, just and unified community by promoting safety, acceptance, support and resources for LGBTQ youth, adults and allies. SnoGLOBE is sponsored by PFLAG of Everett and Snohomish County and is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. For more information or to make a donation to SnoGLOBE, visit the organization online at www.snoglobe.us.

bucks, QFC, Safeway, etc.) are all greatly appreciated.

The Love Without Boundaries goal for the evening was to raise at least $14,000 for Rosehedge. Through generous bids, more than $47,500 was raised, not including the silent auction at the evening’s start.

“I think my table raised the most money,” said Rosehedge director of strategic initiatives and table host, Carrie Cihak. “My table rocks!”

Established in 1988, Rosehedge AIDS Hospice provides three buildings around Seattle to house people living with HIV. Each of the buildings hosts six people and is staffed 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and is now the longest-running hospice in the state. What differentiates Rosehedge from other hospices is that most of their clientele also deal with some sort of mental illness, homelessness or chemical dependency. A nurse is always on hand during the day and is on call during evening hours.

The team takes great measures to make sure meals are cooked, fresh laundry is always available, and to see that each client gets the medical management they need. Sharon Lucas said, “It takes great care to make sure that the right medicine gets put into the right dosage and goes to the right person at the right time.”

“We have a 99% adherence rate at Rosehedge,” Lucas continued with great pride.

“That’s something to be proud of.”

Rosehedge has three homes in the Seattle area, two in the Northgate area, and one on Capitol Hill. Since 1988, more than 500 people have lived at Rosehedge and received medical/dental care and counseling.

Aside from daily care, Rosehedge assists in driving patients to and from all doctor appointments.

For more information or to make a donation, contact Rosehedge AIDS Hospice at 206-365-6806.

February 19, 2010

Seattle Gay News

5

INTERNATIONAL Jelena Postic/Zagreb Pride

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

The European Parliament has denounced Croatia for allowing homophobic attacks on last year’s Gay pride parade in Zagreb

First pride planned in St. Petersburg, Russia Despite the violence and official bans that have hit Moscow’s pride events over the past four years, Russia’s second city, St. Petersburg, will stage its first pride parade on June 26.

The plan has the support of the city’s ombudsman, Alexey Kozyrev, who said Russians enjoy freedom of assembly and that Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov’s war against that city’s pride is to the city’s “own detriment.”

The chair of the St. Petersburg Lesbian

and Gay Pride Festival, Maria Efremenkova, told GayRussia.ru, “Everyone has the right to freedom of assembly, and we intend to make use of this right for the LGBT community.”

She said if the city attempts to stop the parade, “we will still go in the streets to exercise our constitutional right.”

“We are very determined and any denial from the city authorities will be appealed though the Russian courts and up to the European Court of Human Rights,” Efremenkova said.

On January 25, Moscow’s Luzhkov vowed

to ban pride for the fifth year running.

“For several years, Moscow has experienced unprecedented pressure to conduct a Gay pride parade, which cannot be called anything but a Satanic act,” he said. “We have banned such parades and will ban them in future as well. Everyone must accept this not as a theorem but as an axiom. It is high time to crack down with all the power and justice of the law rather than messing around with talk of human rights.”

In each of the past four years, Luzhkov sent riot police to violently arrest small groups of activists who ignored his bans.

Moscow Pride organizers have sued over the hostilities in a series of cases that have been merged into one at the European Court of Human Rights. On January 19, the court approved a request from the Russian government to postpone the deadline for its response in the matter until February 20.

Moscow’s fifth pride events will take place in late May, and another march will be attempted on May 29. It is unlikely the Euro Court will rule before that time.

U.S. Gay activist Stuart Milk, Harvey Milk’s nephew, is expected to participate in this year’s events.

Costa Rica’s new female president opposes same-sex marriage Costa Rica’s first woman president, elected in a landslide February 7, supports Gay civil rights but doesn’t want Gays “to touch an institution like marriage.”

Speaking to media during the campaign, Laura Chinchilla said: “A society that aspires to show solidarity and protect everyone’s freedoms and defend human rights cannot discriminate in access to rights for reasons of religious beliefs, political beliefs or sexual preferences. In that sense, we defend the right of all Costa Ricans, independently of their sexual preferences, to have the protection of the state and of the institutions, and to have access to the different opportunities that Costa Rican society offers.”

“Nevertheless,” she said, “there are different ways other than marriage to guarantee

Seeking Summer Camp DireCtor for LgBtQa Camp!

Camp Ten Trees is a non-profit organization offering low cost summer camp sessions in Western Washington to children/youth (ages 8-17) from LGBTQ families and to youth (ages 13-17) who themselves identify as LGBTQA. Camp Ten Trees is currently seeking a seasonal Summer Camp Director for 2010.

The Summer Camp Director (SCD) upholds and implements Camp Ten Trees’ mission, values, and commitment to social justice. The SCD is ultimately responsible for the safety, support, and well-being of the summer camp program community. The successful candidate will have leadership experience at an organized camp or in a comparable setting; possess superior management skills, be able to work independently and also able to lead a diverse team of 65+ volunteers, and have a demonstrated understanding of the needs of LGBTQA youth and children/youth from LGBTA and/or non-traditional families. This is a seasonal position beginning April 1st and ending September 30th, 2010.

Full time residency is required August 6-8th and August 14th-28th.

Office is located in Seattle, Washington. See the full job description for remaining details.

homosexual couples the right to the patrimony of their partner, to patrimonial rights, to political rights, to civil rights. We are working on this and I hope that we certainly can get ourselves in agreement without needing to touch an institution like marriage, which also has been conceived by so many Costa Rican families within a different concept.”

A video of her comments is at tinyurl. com/ydvejwr.

Euro Parliament: EU nations must protect LGBT rights A plenary session of the European Parliament reaffirmed February 10 that nations hoping to join the European Union must modify national law to protect LGBT people from discrimination.

Adopting reports on the EU accession of applicants Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey, the parliament said such protections are a non-negotiable condition of membership.

The report on Croatia conveys the parliament’s “concern at the resentment against the LGBT minority in Croatia, evidenced most recently by homophobic attacks on participants in the Gay pride parade in Zagreb,” and calls on the government to implement and enforce protections against discrimination.

The report on Macedonia expresses the parliament’s regret that proposed antidiscrimination legislation does not include sexual orientation and gender identity as covered grounds and calls on the government to get in line with EU standards.

The progress report on Turkey’s accession points to shortcomings in the Turkish penal code that allow for systematic persecution of LGBT minorities and limitations on their freedom of assembly.

“We have reaffirmed that anti-discrimination standards must apply in candidate countries, and Stefan Füle, [EU] commissioner for enlargement, has assured us of his support on this issue,” said parliament member Ulrike Lunacek, co-president of the body’s Intergroup on LGBT Rights.

Added Intergroup Co-President Michael Cashman, “Accession criteria are crystal clear: Minorities must be protected from discrimination as laid out in Article 19 of the Treaty [on the Functioning of the European Union] – and that includes sexual orientation. This is not an à la carte menu: It is at the core of the European Union, and we will be rigorous in its application.”

At last year’s pride parade in Zagreb, according to the organizing committee, police officers “permitted an unconstitutional fascist gathering, permitted hate speech and, therefore, drastically decreased democratic standards of public assembly that have been established in the past years through work and cooperation with the police.”

The officers “illegally” allowed counterprotesters to chant “Kill, kill faggots” and “Faggots to concentration camps,” and took no action against people who spit on and threw things at the marchers, the pride organization said.

Between 700 and 800 people marched, making the parade “undoubtedly the largest pride march so far,” the committee said.

With assistance from Bill Kelley, Andrés Duque

for a full Job Description: Visit www.camptentrees.org or contact Airen at info@camptentrees.org or 206-288-9568. to apply: Submit cover letter, resume, and copies of any relevant certifications no later than March 8th, 2010 to Camp Ten Trees at info@camptentrees.org or Camp Ten Trees, 1122 E Pike ST, #1488, Seattle, WA 98122

6

Seattle Gay News

February 19, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

lette. All GLBTQ folks in the community are welcome to participate in this free book club. The reading list is chosen and the discussion facilitated by Nick DiMartino, published novelist and playwright, currently a compiled by Rick McKinnon book reviewer for ShelfAwareness.com, SGN Staff Writer and a 30-year employee of University Book Store. For more information, email nickdiSAFE SCHOOLS COALITION will be a summer break with pick-up games martin@earthlink.net or contact Dunshee LGBT SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES scheduled during the summer. League prac- House at 206-322-2437. www.safeschoolscoalition.org/RG-schol- tice and play will return in the fall. For more arships.html SISTERS ORGANIZE information, contact Manager Rich at atlasFOR SURVIVAL rich@hotmail.com or join the Seattle Gay FREE RÉSUMÉ AND Sisters Organize for Survival is working Flag Football League group on Facebook.

JOB SEARCH WORKSHOPS on a campaign to save the WA State Basic South Seattle Community College’s Health Plan. Upcoming meeting is schedGAY BINGO WorkSource Center is partnering with the uled for Thursday, February 25 at 7 p.m., TO BENEFIT Seattle Public Library to offer résumé and at New Freeway Hall, 5018 Rainier Ave. S. LIFELONG AIDS ALLIANCE job search workshops at the downtown Lifelong AIDS Alliance’s long-running Everyone welcome. Wheelchair accessible.

Central Library, 1000 Fourth Ave., Room Gay Bingo season continues on Saturday, For more information, call 206-722-6057 or 4 on Level 4. The one-hour workshops are February 20 with “Racy and Lacy Bingo” at email rwseattle@mindspring.com. conveniently scheduled on weekdays and Fremont Studios, 155 N. 35th St. – doors at Saturdays. No registration is required, but 6 p.m., game starts promptly at 7 p.m. The NORTHWEST NETWORK seating may be limited. For more informa- season continues on March 20 is “When in HOSTS Q&A INSTITUTE tion, contact the Seattle Public Library at Rome Gay Bingo,” April 17 is “Biker Babe FOR ADVOCATES 206-386-4636, www.spl.org, or South Se- Gay Bingo,” May 22 is “Blue Hair Gay The Northwest Network of Bi, Trans, attle Community College WorkSource at Bingo,” and June 19 is “Beach Blanket Gay Lesbian & Gay Survivors of Abuse presents 206-764-5304, www.southseattle.edu.

Bingo.” Tickets are $25 and a full bar will their annual Q&A Institute for Advocates be available. Due to Washington State Li- February 25-27 at the Downtown Seattle Q-SQUARED BOOK GROUP quor Control regulations, all guests must be Center Comfort Suites, 601 Roy St. Q&A On Saturday, February 20, at 1 p.m., the 21 years of age or older.

Institute for Advocates is a one-of-a-kind Q-Squared Book Group will meet at the Visit the Lifelong AIDS Alliance Gay training for advocates, therapists, activists, Capitol Hill Branch Library, 425 Harvard Bingo website at www.gaybingoseattle.com social workers, service providers and anyAve. E., to discuss Felice Picano’s novel, for more information and to buy your tick- one who works with Lesbian, Gay, BisexuLike People in History. Edmund White said ets. Or contact Gay Bingo at 206-323-0069 al, Trans and/or Queer survivors of domestic of the book, “This is the big novel we’ve or gaybingo@llaa.org abuse, building strategies for advocacy and been waiting for – the Gay Gone With the organizing in response to abuse in LGBT Wind. It’s the heroic and funny saga of the communities. For registration and programNUBIAN PRIDE PAGEANT last three decades by someone who saw evOn Saturday, February 20, Nubian Pride matic questions, please contact Shannon erything and forgot nothing.” Q-Squared Productions, a newly formed GLBT organi- Perez-Darby at 206-568-7777 or qanda@ Book Group is open to men who are inter- zation, presents the Nubian Pride Pageant, nwnetwork.org. www.nwnetwork.org. ested in Gay literature and always welcomes an ALL-AGES event, door at 6 p.m., show new members. For more information, visit at 7 p.m., at the Rainier Valley Cultural CenMULTIFAITH WORKS’ www.qsquared.org.

SHANTI & CARETEAM ter, 3515 S. Alaska St. Tickets are $15 and PROGRAMS SEEK VOLUNTEERS are available in advance at www.brownpa43RD DISTRICT LEGISLATORS Most of us have known people in our LGpertickets.com/event/91388. The event will HOST TOWN HALL MEETING be hosted by Regine Dynasty with a grand BTQ community who have been affected by On Saturday, February 20, from 1:30-3 prize of $800. A 21+ after party will be held either AIDS or addiction, or both. Many of p.m., the 43rd District legislative delega- starting around 9 p.m. For more informa- us have watched as acquaintances retreated tion – House Speaker Frank Chopp, Sen. Ed tion, email nubianpride@gmail.com. into isolation due to stigmatization of who Murray, and Rep. Jamie Pedersen – will host they are or who they are perceived to be. a local town hall meeting at the Seattle First Two local programs that continue to pro“DON’T BOX ME IN: Baptist Church, 1111 Harvard Ave. vide support to isolated members of our DIVERSITY IN GENDER & The three lawmakers will provide an upcommunity are the Shanti and CareTeam SEXUALITY” – date on the 2010 Legislative Session and programs at Multifaith Works, a non-profit THE 2010 PACIFIC NW take questions from constituents. The lawagency that welcomes people of any culturRECONCILING MINISTRIES makers expect a range of questions on isal, sexual or spiritual orientation.

NETWORK GATHERING sues before the Legislature, such as how to Shanti volunteers are matched in oneOn Sunday, February 21, from 1:15 p.m.resolve the state’s budget crisis and the re- 8 p.m., the Pacific Northwest Reconciling on-one relationships with someone whose placement of the SR 520 bridge.

Ministries Network will host their annual life has become difficult or isolating due to The event is free and open to all constitu- gathering at the Puyallup United Method- AIDS, addiction, or other life-limiting illents of the 43rd Legislative District, which ist Church, 1919 W. Pioneer Ave., Puyallup, nesses. They might meet to talk at the perincludes Capitol Hill, University District, WA. son’s home or take a walk together or visit Madison Valley, Washington Park, BroadIn past years PNW-RMN has held work- over coffee. Volunteers provide confidential, moor, Madison Park, Montlake, Walling- shops that dealt with people who are Gay, non-judgmental listening that allows their ford and parts of Fremont, Ravenna, Denny Lesbian or Transgender. These were impor- Shanti Partner to explore their feelings, find Regrade and downtown Seattle. tant moments to learn more about the people their own solutions, and feel less alone in the The 2010 Legislative Session began in who are family members, friends and neigh- process. The CareTeam Program matches a January and will continue through mid- bors. At this year’s gathering you can learn team of four to six caring volunteers with an March. more about sex and gender as it applies to individual or family affected by AIDS or in those who may consider themselves Bisexu- recovery from addiction. The team provides CALLING ALL QUEER support and assistance with daily activities al, “gender fluid” or Intersex.

AND TRANS YOUTH: If you have been curious about these is- such as shopping, transportation to medical QUEER YOUTH SPACE sues, here is a place to ask your questions appointments, or light household chores.

IN SEATTLE – Both programs are a mainstay for comabout gender, sexuality and how the wide HELP MAKE IT HAPPEN! diversity of gender and sexuality are en- panionship and support in the lives of many On Saturday, February 20, from 3-6 p.m, compassed within a Christian community. people within the LGBTQ community. Both come imagine and shape Queer Youth Bring yourselves, your loved ones and programs are in dire need of more volunSpace in Seattle at the “Queer Youth Mu- your questions. For more information, visit teers to serve a growing waitlist of individutiny” meeting at Seattle Central Commu- http://2010-pnwrmn-gathering.notlong.com als needing support. nity College, 1701 Broadway, Room BE- or call Jeff at 206-634-2444.

The next Shanti training takes place the 1110. Bring your voice, your politics, and weekends of February 27-28 and March your perspective and help create a space or 6-7.

YOUNG PROFESSIONALS spaces for Queer youth, led by youth. www.

The CareTeam training for new volunWITH PRIDE GATHERING queeryouthspace.com.

On Tuesday, February 23, the GSBA will teers is Saturday, March 20. For information host their monthly “Young Professionals on how to become involved, call 206-324SEATTLE GAY FLAG FOOTBALL With Pride” gathering at Meza Latin Fare, 1520. Shanti Program Coordinator, ext. 228.

LEAGUE SEEKING PLAYERS 1515 14th Ave., from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Cost CareTeam Program Coordinator, ext. 226.

Seattle Gay Flag Football League seeks is $10 for GSBA members and students; players of all skill levels for weekly Satur- $15 for nonmembers. 206-363-9188; www.

SEATTLE QUAKE RUGBY day practice and games. Upcoming prac- thegsba.org.

HOME GAMES tices are February 20, 3:30 p.m., at Miller The Seattle Quake Rugby hosts next Playfield, 19th & E. Thomas St.; February homes games this season on Saturdays, SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN 27, 4:30 p.m., at Bobby Morris Playfield, BOOK CLUB AT DUNSHEE HOUSE February 27 (vs. Orsu), and April 3 (vs. Cor11th Ave. & E. Pine St. (just south of Cal The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club vallis). All games are played at Magnuson Anderson Park); March 6, 1 p.m., at Miller meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Dun- Park, Field #5, 7400 Sand Point Way NE. Playfield. The complete game schedule will shee House, 303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas Kickoff at 1 p.m. www.quakerugby.org. be out soon. Games are currently scheduled St. The club is pleased to announce the folfor Saturdays March 13, 20, 27 and April 3 – lowing titles to be discussed in their ongoNIGHT FANTASIA RETURNS time and location to be determined. Practic- ing reading and discussion series: February On Saturday, February 27, Kwanchai es and games are open to spectators. There – A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood; presents “Night FantAsia 2010 – AnniverMarch – The Pure and the Impure by Co- sary 11,” a celebration of the GLBT Asian

NORTHWEST

NEWS

Visit us online www.sgn.org

February 19, 2010

community, at the Nijo Sushi Bar & Grill, 83 Spring St., from 9 p.m.-1 a.m. “Join us for great entertainment, with a live DJ and your host Aleksa Manila! Enjoy great food and drink amongst friends and guests.”

Raffle drawing. Happy Hour menu available throughout the event. All are welcome (21+). www.kwanchai.net.

GAY OL’ PURIM PARTY On Sunday, February 28, Kolenu hosts Seattle’s annual GLBTQ Purim Party at Pravda Studios, 1406 10th Ave. E. With DJ Mathematix, Purim Burlesque by Honeysuckle, singer-songwriter Moorea Malatt, costume contest with prizes, dancing, drinks and more. Doors at 7 p.m., admission is $5 at the door.

“Don’t miss the biggest GLBTQ Purim Party that Seattle has ever seen! Purim is often viewed as the Jewish coming out story and to honor Esther’s ‘coming out’ as a Jew we will be throwing a huge bash. There will be plenty of pink hamantaschen, drinks and dancing. Don’t forget that Purim is a holiday to dress up on, so come in costume ‘cause we’re giving out some fabulous prizes!”

“ENDA NOW” AN INTERACTIVE FORUM FOR EQUALITY! On Tuesday, March 2, Seattle OUT Protest hosts “ENDA Now - Fighting for LGBT Justice in the Workplace Nationally,” an interactive forum for equality, at Seattle Labor Temple, 2800 1st Ave., 7-9 p.m. The Employment Non-Discrimination Act would prohibit employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity across the U.S. In 29 states it is legal to be fired or not be hired for being Gay or Lesbian. In 38 states, it is legal to be fired or not be hired for being transgender. For more information, contact Seattle OUT Protest at seattleoutprotest@yahoo.com.

PUDDLETOWN SQUARES PRESENTS “RAIN FESTIVAL 2010 – FORBIDDEN ISLAND” On the weekend of March 5-7, Puddetown Squares, Seattle’s LGBT square dancing club, presents “Rain Festival 2010 – Forbidden Island,” their annual square dancing convention, hosting LGBT square dancers and LGBT square dancing clubs from around the U.S. and Canada for a weekend of festivities and square dancing in Seattle.

The event will be held at Miller Community Center, 330 19th Ave., just north of E. Thomas St. www.iagsdc.org/puddletown NORTHWEST SASH BASH 2010 Generic Leather Productions present “Northwest Sash Bash 2010” the weekend of March 5-7. On Friday, March 5, “Meet & Greet” from 9-11 p.m. at The Cuff Complex, 13th Ave. & E. Pike St. On Saturday, March 6, “Brunch” from 11 a.m.-noon at The Center for Sex Positive Culture (CSPC), 1602 15th Ave. W., “Workshops” from 12-3 p.m. at the CSPC, “Fantasies/Leather and Lace Auction” from 7-9 p.m. at The Cuff Complex, “Play Party” from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. at CSPC. On Sunday, March 7, “Farewell Brunch” from noon-2 p.m. at The Rosebud Restaurant & Bar, 719 E. Pike St. Cost for the entire weekend is $40 with all proceeds to benefit the Tony Deblase Scholarship.

Individual admission per event will also be available. For more information, email nwsashbash2010@gmail.com.

SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY MARCH On Saturday, March 6, join a broad coalition of Seattle area women’s organizations for Seattle’s International Women’s Day March and Rally focusing on poverty, militarization, and violence againist women and children. The March begins at noon at Powell Barnett Park, MLK Jr. Way & E. Alder St., and travels to Occidental Park, Occidental Ave. S. & S. Washington St. for a Rally at 2 p.m. Additional events will be held later in the day. On Monday, March 8, the Seattle International Women’s Day Celebration will be held from 7-9 p.m., at POCAAN, 1609 19th Ave. For more information, 206-7220729; inter.womensday2010@gmail.com; or visit Seattle International Women’s Day on facebook.com.

Seattle Gay News

7

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Gay rights activists in Latin America used the occasion of Valentine’s Day to stage demonstrations in several countries.

In Argentina, the Argentine LGBT Federation and ElMismoAmor.org invited the LGBT community and its allies to its second annual “Picnics for the Same Love.”

Last December, two Argentinean men became the first same-sex couple in Latin America to marry legally. However, other Argentine couples wishing to marry must wait for an expected Supreme Court ruling on the legality of same-sex marriages.

In Santiago, Chile, the United Movement of Sexual Minorities (MUMS) called a demonstration for marriage equality in central Army Plaza.

“Chile is a country in which not everyone is equal,” said MUMS director Fernando Muñoz, “it’s a country where the laws keep you out and put you on the margin specifically in the sense that there is no recognition of same-sex partners or of common-law partners in the law that recognizes partnerships, nor of those who might want to form one.”

Muñoz challenged current Chilean law that marriage is only allowed for procreation, saying it was hypocritical to prevent Gays from marrying, but allow straight couples who cannot procreate to marry.

In Guadalajara, Mexico, 350 students marched from the University of Guadalajara to the city’s main plaza and staged a kiss-in in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral.

La Jornada newspaper reported that

the march was organized by a coalition of LGBT student organizations from the Mexican states of Jalisco, Colima, and Guanjuato.

Milenio reported that 11 Gay and Lesbian couples participated in a symbolic wedding ceremony in front of the cathedral. Samesex marriage is now legal in Mexico City, but not in other parts of the country.

They also reported homophobic insults and obscenities being hurled at marchers.

March organizers expressed relief that there were no outbursts of violence. ”We received many threats from many people who said they were not going to allow us to march, including many who said they would be waiting here at the Cathedral to prevent us carrying on with the event, but at the end, none of that came to be,” said Karina Velasco Michel.

In Peru, members of the LGBTI Student Bloc of Lima staged their second annual “Kisses Against Homophobia” action, taking over the atrium of a popular Lima shopping mall.

According to Blog de Lima, Gay and Lesbian couples held hands and kissed as they made their way through the mall but ran into heavy security as they assembled inside the mall’s main gathering place.

Couples then hugged each other and kissed for the news cameras as they left the building.

Across town, members of the Peruvian TTLGB Network congregated at “Love Park” in Lima’s Miraflores district for a symbolic same-sex marriage ceremony. The Network, which had participated in previous kiss-in actions, said it wanted to high-

courtesy El mismo amour

Gay demonstrations mark Valentine’s Day across Latin America

Members of El Mismo Amor

light the lack of same-sex partnership rights in the country. ”Just as the laws have to change in Mexico and Argentina, making civil rights be available for everyone, that’s what our community demands,” Lesbian attorney Susel Paredes told EFE news service.

Malawi police arrest one Gay man, hunt for more

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Police in the African country of Malawi announced the arrest of a Gay man February 15 on charges of sodomy, and revealed they are hunting for a “network of homosexuals” throughout the country.

“Yes, we have arrested one Mr. Tony Chirwa after a complaint that he sodomized a young man,” police spokesman Dave Chingwalu told reporters on February 15.

“He asked the young man to undress and he sodomized him and the young man reported the incident to police,” said Chingwalu.

Chingwalu also claimed that a medical report submitted to the Chief Resident Magistrates Court in Malawi’s capital, Blantyre, indicated that traces of semen were found on the young man.

The suspect is a 60-year-old weaver living alone in the capital.

Chingwalu also told reporters that police had uncovered a network of high-profile people who are involved homosexual acts.

“Some are white expatriates, some are priests, while others are university lecturers,” he said.

Chingwalu declined to name members of this network or provide reporters any other details since “investigations are still underway,” but promised, “We will arrest them all.”

“We know many innocent poor Malawians are being sodomized but cannot come out because these people are taking advantage of their vulnerability because of poverty,” he said.

Meanwhile Dave Mpanda, a 29-year-old soccer coach, was sentenced to a 10-year jail term following his conviction on charges that he had sex with a 16-year-old boy.

8

Seattle Gay News

February 19, 2010

Paredes symbolically married her partner in the ceremony.

EFE reports that five couples participated in the ceremony, but Peruvian media say that there were four same-sex couples and one heterosexual couple who were there to support marriage equality.

Earlier this month 21-year-old Gay Malawian activist Peter Sawali was arrested for putting up Gay rights posters. At that time, police suggested he might be linked to an international Gay conspiracy.

Police are also known to be hunting for an underground group operating under the name Broad Coalition, which has been distributing Gay rights flyers.

Malawi’s LGBT community first hit the news in December 2009 when Steven Monjeza and his Transgender bride Tiwonge Chimbalanga were arrested after their wedding and charged with “gross indecency.” If convicted, they face up to 14 years in prison.

Human rights activists charged that police activity was part of a calculated anti-Gay campaign linked to fundamentalist groups in the United States.

“In Malawi it’s a complete witch-hunt that denies the people the right to self-determination,” said Phumi Mtetwa, executive director of the Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, based in South Africa. “We are deeply concerned about this spate of homophobia across the continent.”

“It’s very well calculated,” Mtetwa told The Guardian newspaper. “It’s exploding at the moment but it’s been happening for a year and a half.”

Mtetwa specifically pointed to “American evangelical churches driving the religious fundamentalism in Uganda,” charging that the anti-Gay campaign in Malawi is orchestrated from outside the country.

The secretive US evangelical group known as The Fellowship, The Family, or the C Street Group is known to have close ties to Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni. They reportedly want to cultivate similar relationships with other African leaders.

Celebrating 37 Years!

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February 19, 2010

Seattle Gay News

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Celebrating 37 Years!

Chinese contestant afraid to go home after pageant

Ng Han Guan/Associated Press

Xinjiang has recently seen ethnic violence between the native Uyghur people and Han Chinese settlers. A number of people were reportedly executed by the Chinese government for their part in the riots.

Xiao flew to Oslo on February 9 with the assistance of the Norwegian embassy to participate in the 2nd Annual Mr. Gay World pageant.

He had been one of eight contestants in the Mr. Gay China event scheduled for January 15. Chinese police shut the pageant down only an hour before it was scheduled to begin.

While pageant organizers told reporters they were canceling their participation in the international event in Oslo, they had, in fact, voted to send Xiao.

“We didn’t want any media to publicize this, as after Mr. Gay China was cancelled, we were really scared we would be stopped from going,” Xiao said.

“So we said we weren’t sending anyone, and it was only after I stepped on the plane that it was publicized.”

When the pageant concluded on February 14, Xiao had placed fourth out of 24 contestants.

Xiao told AFP that he hoped his participation would encourage other Gay people in China.

“I also hope that this will grab the attention of officials and will help change their views on homosexuality,” he said.

Xiao Dai

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Xiao Dai, the Chinese entry in the Mr. Gay World contest in Oslo, said on February 17 that he was afraid to go home.

“I’m scared to go back to Urumqi, not for myself, but I’m scared that it will impact my organization. If the organization can’t continue its work, that will be no good,” he told AFP news service by phone from Beijing, where he is currently staying.

“It’s very possible that will happen,” he added.

Xiao runs an AIDS prevention agency in Urumqi, the capital of China’s troubled Xinjiang province. He was due to return there on February 18.

Uganda pastor shows Gay porn in church

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Uganda’s president has backed off his previous support for the legislation under A well-connected Uganda pastor showed intense international pressure.

President Obama has condemned the bill Gay porn videos to his congregation in an attempt to revive support for Uganda’s infa- as “odious” and US officials have warned the Ugandan government not to enact it. mous “kill the Gays” legislation.

BBC News reports that Pastor Martin British Prime Minister Gordon Brown has expressed similar sentiments, Ssempa, a former protégé of Sadand other countries have dleback Church founder “It is ... rather Rick Warren, showed disappointing, that in Africa in threatened to cut off aid to Uganda if it hardcore Gay sex tapes to a congre- the 21st century ... discrimination becomes law.

Ssempa is influand prejudice is legitimized gation of about 300 ential in Ugandan people, including through religion.” political circles. He is children. reportedly close to the bill’s auSsempa is reported to have said, “We are in the process of legislation thor, Ugandan government minister David and we have to educate ourselves about Bahati.

He was also closely associated with Rick what homosexuals do.”

Noma Pakade, of the African Gay rights Warren, although their relationship has been group Behind the Mask, labeled Ssempa’s strained after Warren disassociated himself action “twisted” and accused him of inciting from the anti-Gay bill last November.

In 2005, Warren featured Ssempa as the anti-Gay violence.

“Showing pornography in church in the keynote speaker at his global AIDS initiapresence of minors is twisted homophobic tive kickoff.

As late as January 2009, Warren’s wife propaganda, where homosexuality is equated to pedophilia and pornography,” she told Kay was saying publicly “You are my brother, Martin, and I love you….”

BBC. In November 2009, however, under in“It is not surprising, but rather disappointing, that in Africa in the 21st century, yet tense pressure even from other conservative again discrimination and prejudice is legiti- evangelicals, Warren stated, “Martin Ssempa does not represent me, my wife Kay, mized through religion,” she continued.

The Anti-Homosexual Bill introduced Saddleback Church, nor the Global PEACE in Uganda’s parliament last fall stipulates Plan strategy.”

David Bahati and Yoweri Museveni are rethe death penalty for Gay “repeat offenders” and for HIV-positive people who have ported to be members of The Family – also sex. It also calls for prison terms for those know as The Fellowship or The C Street who fail to turn in Gay friends, relatives, or Group – a secretive evangelical organization based in the Washington, DC. neighbors to authorities.

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February 19, 2010

Seattle Gay News 13

TOUR DE LIFE: The upside of being pissed off

by Beau Burriola SGN European Correspondent

you go to the gym pissed off, you are sure to have a workout unlike any other, and these days my muscles were bigger than I could I counted along with the loud beat com- ever manage to get them to be before. Anger ing from my iPod, buoyed by rage. When was building.

I suppose I could have created an oasis.

With my marriage falling apart, I could have tried to create some inner peace and calm the seas inside my breaking heart, but I was just fine with the storm. It was a source of energy when I felt drained from all the fighting and the sharp words.

“You gonna do another set with those?” the bald guy asked me in French, presumably referring to the dumbbells I was holding.

Normally, I would step aside, hand the guy the weights and be a perfectly accommodating gentleman, but I wasn’t in the mood. I didn’t respond. I wanted to be alone in this place, going through the ritual without all the other people. There wasn’t enough room in my grief and anger for the niceties of everyone else. My entire world – the perfect Gay marriage – was at its edge, hovering over the abyss and waiting for the final nudge. I couldn’t spare a smile for a stranger when I felt like my world was being razed.

Where I normally did three sets of each exercise, I was doing five. Where I would normally try not to hurt myself, I was being deliberately reckless. I lifted until I found that familiar pain, a pain I could identify with, a pain I could bathe in and soak in, which somehow understood and identified with the pain I was feeling about the piled-

up train wreck of my life. I bonded with that pain and made it my banner, promising to do this every day until I felt like the other pain had subsided. There was comfort in that pain.

Each painful set represented a specific anger. Incline: I’m angry that after all these years of working through the obstacles and the impossible odds, our relationship became susceptible to the little tiny things.

Bench: As a Gay man, I’m angry that I couldn’t better prove to my family and everybody else how long two Gay people can stay together. Tricep Pull: I’m angry at him for not meeting me in the middle and I’m angry at myself for getting pushed to the edge. Decline: I’m angry that we couldn’t see any of these problems until we moved in together.

“You’re here at about this time every day, yeah?” It was the bald guy again. Small talk.

“No,” was all I could manage, not hiding my annoyed tone. I was angry at the bald guy for not getting it. I stared at a spot in the wall, through the wall, and kept my gaze there. He didn’t talk to me again.

When I leaned back for my last decline press, the world seemed fittingly upside down. The blood rushed to my head and my already-red face turned redder. Things seemed about right. With each press, my anger became less abstract and more concrete, and I felt like I could put it inside a box with all the other anger in my heart, count it, weight it, and stack it. I knew how much it was and where it was.

By the time I had showered and changed and headed out the door, I was exhausted and shaky. I began the slow trek home, back to the battlefield, back to the burning embers and back to the uncertainty of everything. Having taken stock of my anger, I hoped to be less absorbed by it. I was tired of fighting, tired of the yelling. But I wasn’t yet tired of being tired and really I preferred exhaustion to any more anger.

Walking back home to the charged silence, I was too exhausted to fight anymore and that’s exactly as I intended. When given the choice between silent exhaustion and endless rage, who wouldn’t prefer exhaustion?

“One should absorb the colour of life, but one should never remember its details. Details are always vulgar.”

–Oscar Wilde, Dorian Gray

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February 19, 2010

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Celebrating 37 Years!

Kenya – a joint crusade

by Leslie Robinson SGN Contributing Writer Online readers of Kenya’s Daily Nation newspaper spotted an apparent show of brotherhood: a photo of a Christian leader and a Muslim leader meeting together in the latter’s mosque.

The two men were indeed united in a common spiritual bond: joint hatred – not as uplifting as feeding the poor, but loads easier.

Bishop Lawrence Chai of Free Apostolic Churches of Kenya and Sheikh Ali Hussein were livid at the prospect of two Gay men holding a wedding in Mtwapa, a fast-growing coastal town known for its nightlife. After conferring together, the religious leaders pledged to stop Kenya’s first Gay wedding “at all costs.”

I’d like to believe they were furious just because they hadn’t been invited. I can dream.

Homosexuality is illegal in Kenya, but arrests are unusual. Four months ago, a Gay Kenyan couple married in London, which got a lot of coverage in Kenya. Perhaps that made the preachers heaven-bent on stomping out Gayness in their part of the country.

Bishop Chai, a representative of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, and Sheikh Hussein, with the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya, said they gave the government a week to shut down clubs they claim fuel homosexuality in Mtwapa. They ordered a person allegedly renting rooms to Gays to evict them, also in a week.

I guess they’re assuming if God could create the world in seven days, surely mortals can handle these smaller tasks in the same amount of time.

Chai and Hussein demanded that a clinic supposedly providing medical services to

Seems to me a mob gathered to abuse men sounds a lot like the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. Thanks, gentlemen, for recreating a low point in both your faiths.

What did Daily Nation readers think about Chai and Hussein? One called them “snake oil salesmen.” Another wrote, “Christian and Muslim leaders should preach love, not hatred.” But others echoed one commenter, who thanked the clerics “for doing practical

moral policing. Homosexuality is a sin. …

All Gays and Lesbians need to be hanged by the neck.”

Altogether, Gay Kenyans have reason to be as jumpy as an antelope stumbling on a lion family reunion.

Leslie Robinson is opposed to being hanged. E-mail her at LesARobinson@ gmail.com.

Gays be investigated. Wondered Hussein, “How can a state institution be involved in providing counseling services to these criminals?”

Well, the first requirement is a heart ... oh, never mind.

In a statement after their brotherly meeting, the spiritual leaders said, “Come night, come day, we shall not allow that marriage to be conducted in this town tomorrow. We shall stand firm to flush out Gays who throng this town every weekend from all corners of this country.”

The next day, readers of the Daily Nation learned that these fellas kept their word, honorable holy men that they are. This time the newspaper photos were of police handling a man whose face was blurred out. The story said police rescued three men believed to be Gay “from hundreds of angry youth baying for their blood.”

A subsequent version of the story said Christian and Muslim youth stormed the apartment where the Gay couple had been staying. The wedding, needless to say, was off. The town got cold feet.

Police arrested five suspected homosexuals, including the ones they’d saved from the mob. Remember, it’s the Gays who are the criminals.

The rampaging youth came together as part of Operation Gays Out. You’re familiar with the dynamic duo that led the operation, the two leaders of different faiths, those models of tolerance.

Chai and Hussein declared the Gay wedding successfully stopped. Chai said, “We thank God for saving this town from being turned to Sodom and Gomorrah of this era as we may have been on the verge of being doomed.”

Police arrested five suspected homosexuals, including the ones they’d saved from the mob. Remember, it’s the Gays who are the criminals.

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February 19, 2010

Seattle Gay News 15

haiti

continued from cover out any word of survivors from the orphanage. That’s when the couple sprang into action. The two men raised over $10,000 from family and friends in the Gay community and boarded a plane bound for the Dominican Republic, which borders Haiti.

“Haiti was a place that had urgent needs long before the earthquake put it on TV 24/7,” Luke told SGN in an interview from the Dominican Republic. “When a country as poor as Haiti is hit by a disaster, no amount of aid is really enough. Having lived there for the better part of two years, I’ve seen a lot.”

Luke said that even before the earthquake, he witnessed piles of dead children who died of starvation, and people with AIDS with no medical treatment or hope, living on the streets.

“But in Haiti, you also have some great examples of people helping each other in real ways that make a big difference,” he continued. “The people of Haiti need help now and that’s what were trying to do with CauseCommandos.com.”

Eventually, Luke says, news reached them that children from the AIDS orphanage were unhurt, but a Jacmel hospital had collapsed on its patients. According to Luke, that is when the couple was “turned into cause commandos with a mission to get medicine and medical supplies to survivors.”

“We are on a mission to help as many people as we can with medicine, food and tents for shelter. We’re buying the supplies across the border in the Dominican Republic and running them, by boat, into the parts of Haiti that aid has been slow to get to,” Luke told SGN. “So we are stepping up to the plate and hoping that the Gay community will join us.”

“We are not disaster aid professionals, but felt we had to take action,” said Nate.

“After landing in the Dominican Republic, we went to local medical supply stores and pharmacies and loaded up on antibiotics, prescription painkillers and other essentials, from bandages to baby formula, IV fluids to injection syringes. We crammed every inch of our rented SUV full with supplies. We then drove all through the night to the Haitian border.”

At the border, the two men hooked up with the Dominican Navy. “We loaded all of our supplies onto a relief ship and set sail for Haiti,” Nate continued, “and have been running back and forth ever since.”

Luke told SGN that working with the Dominican Navy “has been awesome.” He says the sailors have been super helpful and essential to getting aid into Haiti. “The crews of the ships we have been on really look out for us and the other aid workers,” said Luke.

“They live and work on these ships, so it’s like they’ve invited us into their home.”

Armed with a digital camera, two laptops and the hope that if they could get their message out on the internet others would join

their effort, the pair created the website, complete with videos made while at sea, on the decks of relief ships, and in the disaster zone itself.

“There are still families and handicapped people sleeping on the streets who need tents,” said Luke. “There are still thousands of hungry children who have no food. There are still injured people with no medicine.”

Luke says that the work he and Nate are doing could greatly be increased if the Gay community spreads the word about CauseCommandos.com and donates, if they can.

“Our costs are covered,” he said, “so 100% goes to supplies for survivors.”

The events that have unfolded over the past few weeks have changed the two men’s lives forever, Luke said. “The earthquake has changed me in that it really reminded me of why I came to this desperate country to start an AIDS orphanage. My boyfriend and I started CauseCommandos.com because we were moved to lend a hand when people needed it most. We know that others out there care and support our work. So, now we’ve come up with a way for them to directly do something to change people’s lives for the better. It’s a partnership between us, our donors, and our supporters.”

Working to better the lives of those in need has brought Luke and Nate closer together as a couple. “Being in tense situations where seconds count and being surrounded by devastation can be very stressful,” explained Luke. “We’ve had our share of little fights, for sure. But the best part of those tense times is when we kiss and make up. We know that what we are doing is important.”

The couple hopes to not only inspire support for their cause, but also show that ordinary people can make a difference – even in the face of extraordinary disaster.

“We are not some big aid organization,” Nate told SGN. “We’re just two Gay dudes on a mission, and love that we have the chance to help others at the same time.”

“We are going to be leading ‘mission’ trips to Haiti, taking groups of LGBT people to Haiti to build homes for people with AIDS,” said Luke. “We are not missionaries. We are going to make it so anybody can be a cause commando, roll up their sleeves, and change some lives for the better.”

For more information about the mission or to view videos, photos, and updates, visit Luke and Nate online at www.CauseCommandos.com. If you are interested in joining the cause, e-mail the couple at luke@ causecommandos.com.

Dipika Nath, researcher in the LGBT Rights Program at Human Rights Watch.

“Inaction is complicity, and silence can be lethal.”

On February 11, BBC News reported that local chiefs in the Kenyan port city of Mombassa had broken up a Gay wedding. Wedding participants reportedly escaped in three minibuses before police arrived.

The next day, Kenyan police announced they had arrested five Gay men – two of them “found with wedding rings” – in a raid in the nearby resort town of Kikambala.

“We are grateful to the public for alerting the police. They should continue co-operating with the police to arrest more,” District Police spokesperson George Matundura told Reuters news service.

“It is an offence, an unnatural offence, and also their behavior is repugnant to the morality of the people.”

Also on February 12, the Kenyan newspaper Daily Nation reported that police had rescued three Gay men from “hundreds of angry youth baying for their blood.”

While the Daily Nation reported that police intervened to save the three men from a mob, BBC and Reuters reported that all five had been arrested in connection with the planned wedding.

What is clear at this point is that senior Muslim and Christian religious authorities had united in opposition to the projected wedding and had incited violence against local LGBT residents.

“We cannot allow these young boys to ruin their future through homosexuality,” Sheikh Ali Hussein of the Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya told AFP news service. “We shall use all means to curb this vice.”

Bishop Lawrence Chai, member of the National Council of Churches of Kenya and leader of the organization Operation Gays Out, agreed.

“We thank God for saving this town from being turned into Sodom and Gomorra of this era, as we may be on the verge of being doomed had these criminals managed to conduct their evil exercise within our neighborhood,” Chai said.

Kikambala is a popular resort near the city of Mombassa, with many nightclubs serving a diverse clientele. Chai said Operation Gays Out had given the government seven days to close down nightclubs catering to Gay men.

“Come night, come day, we shall not allow that marriage to be conducted in this town. We shall stand firm to flush out Gays who throng this town every weekend from all corners of this country,’’ Hussein and Chai said in a joint statement issued February 11.

According to Human Rights Watch, Hussein and Chai also demanded that the Kenyan government shut down the Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), a government health center in Mtwapa that provides HIV/AIDS services.

The sequence of events reported by Human Rights Watch differs from the BBC report, and suggests that the supposed Gay wedding was used as a pretext to incite antiGay violence.

According to Human Rights Watch, an armed mob of 200 to 300 people surrounded the KEMRI building on February 12.

Kenyan police who were at the scene reportedly arrested two KEMRI staffers as they were being attacked by the mob.

A third man was also taken into custody after the mob beat him senseless and was preparing to burn him alive, Human Rights Watch said.

A man identified by Human Rights Watch as “‘Faridi,’ an organizer of the mob,” reportedly broke into a private home and announced that the two men found in the home were Gay. Police also arrested them.

A large crowd then gathered outside the police station where the five were being held.

Local religious leaders addressed the mob, telling them Gays should be driven out of Mtwapa.

One speaker encouraged the mob not to see kenya page 18

kenya

continued from cover leaders have threatened new disturbances.

“The government is sitting silent while mobs try to kill human rights defenders and assault people they suspect are Gay,” said

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February 19, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

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February 19, 2010

Seattle Gay News 17

kenya

continued from page 16 bother bringing Gays to the police but to punish them themselves, witnesses said.

Smaller groups reportedly went to the homes of other people suspected of being Gay and threatened them. Several people are said to be in hiding while others are preparing to flee their homes at a moment’s notice.

Local sources told Human Rights Watch that the mob attacks appeared planned rather than spontaneous. According to reports received by Human Rights Watch, none of

the attackers have been arrested.

Sheikh Ali Hussein said in a radio address on February 17 that Muslims would march in Mtwapa on February 19 to protest against homosexuality. Local human rights activists fear the demonstration may extend to mosques along the coast, including in Mombassa.

“The police need to arrest the attackers and put a halt to what appears to be a coordinated nationwide attack on people perceived to be homosexual,” Dipika Nath said.

“The disruption of lifesaving HIV/AIDS work could mean a public health catastrophe as well as a human rights disaster.”

Section 162 of the Kenyan Penal Code punishes Gay sex with up to 14 years in

prison.

“This law is a relic of Kenya’s colonial past,” Human Rights Watch stated. “British colonizers imposed laws to control social and sexual conduct, though some political and religious leaders now defend them as part of ‘authentic’ culture and tradition.”

gsba

continued from cover

Pedersen, Washington 43rd District, attorney at law, K&L Gates; Nonprofit of the Year, Legal Voice, Lisa Stone; President’s Award, Scott Aitken, Scott Aitken Photography; Special Recognition, Voice for Social Justice, Charlene Strong; and Special Recognition, Advocate for Social Justice, Perkins Coie LLP. “Each year, the GSBA honors those leaders who are role models and who inspire us all to do more for our communities,” Louise Chernin, executive director of the GSBA, told SGN. “I just loved the spectrum of this year’s awardees. They ranged from the smallest one-person business to a large company, from activists to a major corporation.”

Chernin told SGN that each recipient is worthy of our respect and support, and it is GSBA’s honor and pleasure to take one evening to put the spotlight on each of the outstanding 2009 GSBA Business and Humanitarian Award recipients.”

U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell made brief remarks at the dinner, while Judy Dlugacz, pioneer and president of Olivia Music and Olivia Cruises, provided the keynote address. Gary Tucker from the Pacific Northwest Ballet emceed the event.

“What’s most important is that the community works together and supports each other,” Dlugacz told the dinner’s attendees.

“Education and money are the great equalizers. Having economic power can change everything.”

There was a time, Chernin says, “many of us remember too well,” when it was not easy for the LGBT community to get attention (or the right kind of attention) from our elected officials. “Now, at the GSBA Business and Humanitarian Awards Dinner, elected officials proudly sat at nearly every table,” she said. “GSBA was delighted to have Senator Cantwell deliver opening remarks and we’re so pleased that U.S. Congressman Jim McDermott, Washington State Senator Joe McDermott, King County Councilmember Jan Drago and Seattle Councilmember Tom Rasmussen were on hand to present awards to honorees.”

Charlene Strong, one of this year’s awardees, said that events like the GSBA Business and Humanitarian Awards Dinner are helpful because “it is important to find a voice so that people understand our struggles and pain.”

“This is how things move forward,” she said.

“What I love is that we take the time to say ‘thank you’ to those members and community leaders who go the extra mile to give back,” Chernin told SGN. “From the early 1980s to now, GSBA continues to take notice and acknowledge the businesses that are successful, the nonprofits that continue to take care of us, the leaders who have the courage and vision to further equality and social justice, and the volunteers and philanthropists that somehow find a few more hours and precious dollars to invest back in the community.”

At the end of the day, Chernin told SGN, the GSBA is about the LGBT community as a whole. “It is no wonder that when we talk about each other, the word most often used – sometimes with a wink and a smile, but always with pride – is ‘family.’”

With over 1,000 members, GSBA is the largest business chamber of commerce of its kind in the U.S. More than just a chamber, GSBA is a vibrant community organization with a broad and diverse membership base. Since 1981, GSBA’s mission has been to combine business development, social action, and leadership to expand economic opportunities for the LGBT community and those who support equality for all. For more information about GSBA, visit www. thegsba.org.

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18 Seattle Gay News

February 19, 2010

Celebrating 37 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

February 19, 2010

Seattle Gay News 19