Issue 08 Volume 40
Celebrating 39 Years!
FRIDAY February 24, 2012 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
MARRIAGE IN MARYLAND p. 8 KATE CLINTON p. 25 edmund white p. 31
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Power = Pride YES, $6 million wedding Foundation’s new Advocacy Fund
see pride page 21
see wedding page 17
courtesy pride foundation
manns. “The way we are regarded and treated in this country has changed dramatically from 27 years ago,” she said. “Yet, we know that there
One could argue that full marriage equality is priceless. And while that may be true in the emotional sense of the word, one could also argue that the price for samesex couples to keep their right to marry in Washington state would start at a whopping $6 million – and we’ve only got eight months to raise it. Freedom is an expensive bride, and according to Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage – the coalition working to secure marriage equality in Washington state – our opponents “have committed to spending $6 million dollars to roll back marriage equality.” “We cannot let them overwhelm us financially, so our plan is to match them dollar for dollar,” he told Seattle Gay News when asked how much it will cost the LGBT and allied communities to win at the ballot box in November. “That means we need everyone who supports marriage equality to give what they can now.” Silk’s message of urgency
Pride Foundation Executive Director Kris Hermanns
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Kris Hermanns, executive director of the Pride Foundation, says there is no doubt that we’ll look back on 2012 as a significant turn-
ing point in the movement for full equality for the LGBT and Queer community. “But how did we get here?” she asks. Hermanns recently spoke with Seattle Gay News about the Pride Foundation’s Advocacy Fund to answer that question. The Pride Foundation was founded in 1985. Since then, the organization has funded the work done by dedicated LGBT people (and our allies) to help bring us to this moment, according to Her-
AP photo
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor
Opponents of marriage equality carry a sign following their opposition rally at the Capitol in Olympia, Washington in January.
courtesy avert
NEW PUBLIC POLICY POLL: AIDS drug Tenofovir Washington voters would linked to kidney support marriage equality damage, study says by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A new poll says that Washington voters would support the state’s new marriage law if it comes before them on the November ballot. Public Policy Polling released the poll on February 22. “Voters say if there were a referendum on the new law legalizing same-sex marriage, they would vote to uphold it rather than repeal it, 50%-46%,” PPP said. “Only 20% of voters say they feel there should be no legal recognition of same-sex couples at all, with 46% supporting legal Gay marriage and 32% supporting civil unions but not Gay marriage.” The poll surveyed 1,264 voters through automated telephone interviews between February 16 and February 19. The margin of error is 2.76%, so the four-point difference on marriage equality is statistically significant, but not as comfortable as
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
The antiretroviral drug tenofovir is associated with a significant risk of kidney damage and chronic kidney disease, according to a new study by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC) and the University of California San Francisco (UCSF). Tenofovir is currently the presee poll page 20
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We are conveniently located on-site at Lifelong AIDS Alliance below the Thrift Store.
ferred first-line treatment for HIV because of its potency, overall low toxicity, and convenience of dosing. It is sold under a variety of names, by itself and in combination with other medications. The medication may still prove beneficial for HIV patients who are otherwise healthy, and patients see tenofovir page 20
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