SGN March 11, 2011 - Section 1

Celebrating 38 Years!

Issue 10 Volume 39

PRIDE REGISTRATION p. 3

THE JULIETTES p. 21

NUBIAN PRIDE p. 32

Seattle Gay News

FRIDAY March 11, 2011 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Republicans drag Key LGBT-friendly bills pass Wisconsin back state House, go to Senate to 19th century Sixty LGBT organizations pledge solidarity with workers

Michael P. King / Associated Press

Protesters fill the state Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin.

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

stripped state workers of their right to collective bargaining on March 9.

Collective bargaining is the proIn a move former Labor Secretary Robert Reich called a “coup d’etat,” Wisconsin Republicans see wisconsin page 16

Three bills offered by openly Gay or Lesbian legislators have passed the Washington State House of Representatives, and will now go to the state Senate for consideration.

If passed by the Senate and signed by the governor, all will expand protections for LGBT residents of the state.

HB 1163, sponsored by Marko Liias (D-21), builds on the work Liias did in the last legislative session to pass new anti-bullying legislation.

Liias’ latest measure would create a work group on preventing bullying, intimidation, and harassment, and establish new educational standards on mental health and youth suicide.

The bill charges the state’s education ombudsman and the superintendent of public instruction with convening the group.

In addition, the state Community and Technical Colleges Board and the Higher Education Coordinating Board would be required to

official photo

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

State Representative Marko Liias

compile and evaluate anti-bullying policies and procedures for schools under their jurisdiction.

The measure also adds mental health and suicide prevention education to the state’s essential academic learning requirements.

The bill was co-sponsored by openly Lesbian and Gay Reps.

Laurie Jinkins (D-27), Jim Moeller (D-49), Jamie Pedersen (D-43), Dave Upthegrove (D-33), and 41 other House members.

It passed by a hefty 76-21 margin.

Seattle’s Jamie Pedersen also insee bills page 17

Dennis Weymouth and the Brutal attack in Seattle United Soccer League Saint Lucia Dennis Weymouth has been very busy with soccer in recent months.

He’s working to get the new Seattle United Soccer League off the ground and kicking.

“Our mission is to give back to the community spiritually, financially and socially. We express ourselves through the diversity we have on and off the field. To each equal individual player, fan, or contributor we are one wholly United League.”

A HISTORY OF SOCCER “I have been in soccer myself since I was 6,” says Dennis Weymouth, one of the people behind the new Seattle United Soccer League. “I grew up playing in junior high and high school. Then I became a soccer referee and was refereeing college athletes when I was still in high school. There was something about it that I loved.

I loved the excitement of a great match with lots of fans in the stadium and roaring crowds. I liked making good money for doing something I enjoy. At that age, it Members of Seattle United Soccer League

courtesy Project Q

courtesy Seattle United Soccer League

Courtesy of Seattle United Soccer League

Nick Smith and Michael Baker

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Looking for some fun in the sun on your next vacation? Allow us to suggest a Hawaiian alternative to your Caribbean dream.

Seriously, Gay travelers, the U.S. State Department has not been releasing warnings about Gay travel in the Caribbean for their own health. On the contrary – it is for your health.

Jamaica may be at the top of the list as the worst offender, but see soccer page 18 Gay travelers should be aware that

much of the rest of the Caribbean also has a long history of intense homophobia. Islands like Barbados still criminalize homosexuality, and some seem to be following Jamaica’s more violent example.

The Bahamas and St. Martin have had bad press, and now Saint Lucia is following suit.

The latest example of why Gays should take their vacations elsewhere (and demand that Gay cruise ships stop visiting countries see st. lucia page 17

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Seattle Gay News

March 11, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Sen. Patty Murray issues statement on House Republicans’ DOMA defense

Sen. Ed Murray does the right thing for injured workers official photo

file photo

Senator Ed Murray

Courtesy of Pride At Work AFL-CIO

Senator Patty Murray

On March 10, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) released the following statement after Republicans in the House of Representatives initiated action to defend the Defense of Marriage Act in court: “I am extremely disappointed that House Republicans are attempting to once again shift the focus from jobs and the economy and are planning to waste taxpayer money

dustry Association of Washington, and the National Federation of Independent Business. Nevertheless, it lost by wide margins in every county in the state.

These same powerful business lobbyists have now convinced a majority of the state senate to pass a bill that would allow employers to limit the amounts paid to their employees who are injured on the job.

Sen. Murray should be congratulated for doing the right thing and voting against this measure.

He was joined by Sens. Maralyn Chase, Steve Conway, Tracey Eide, Karen Fraser, Nick Harper, Karen Keiser, Adam Kline, Jeanne KohlWelles, Rosemary McAuliffe, Sharon Nelson, Margarita Prentice, Kevin Ranker, Debbie Regala, and Scott White.

On the other side were all the senate Republicans and 12 Democrats: Sens.

Lisa Brown, James Hargrove, Brian Hatfield, Mary Margaret Haugen, Steve Hobbs, Jim Kastama, Derek Kilmer, Craig Pridemore, Phil Rockefeller, Tim Sheldon, Paull Shin, and Rodney Tom. “For 100 years, workers and employers have worked within this ‘no fault’ system where there was a premium placed on workers and their families receiving ‘sure and certain relief’ of their wage and medical loss and where there was a high degree of predictability and consistency,” said Washington State Labor Council (WSLC) President Jeff Johnson.

“Those who either knowingly or naively voted to pass SB 5566 introducing ‘compromise and release’ into the system have chosen to replace ‘sure and certain relief’ with variability and chance. SB 5566 posits that everything in a claim is now open to compromise and as a consequence everything now becomes a dispute.”

The WSLC is the state branch of the AFLCIO. Pride At Work is an LGBT labor organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO, but including members of Change To Win and independent unions, and non-union allies.

Pride At Work’s Martin Luther King County chapter can be reached at OutFront.

PrideAtWork@gmail.com or 206-2618110.

defending a 14-year-old policy that needs to end.

“I strongly support President Obama’s decision to ask the Department of Justice to stop defending DOMA in court. It’s the right thing to do, and I am going to stand with my colleagues in Congress to make sure this decision stands.”

SO&P to launch new Seattle Pride website

Sen. Ed Murray (D-43) joined 14 other Democratic state senators in voting to protect workers’ compensation insurance from the latest attempt to cut benefits to injured workers.

Unfortunately, 12 Democratic senators joined all 34 Republicans to pass SB 5566, and allow employers to negotiate so-called “compromise and release” agreements that would have injured workers accept one-time lump-sum settlements of injury claims.

The measure now goes to the state House of Representatives.

Until now, state law has required that injured workers receive “sure and certain relief” of lost wages and medical expenses.

In 1911, Washington became the first state in the country to establish a no-fault system that allowed injured workers to collect compensation for their injuries and lost wages without having to wage an unequal legal fight against wealthy employers and their lawyers.

Last November, voters overwhelmingly rejected I-1082, to privatize the workers’ compensation system.

I-1082 was supported by the Association of Washington Business, the Building In-

Ron Dupre 1941-2011

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

will have one of their board members conduct a guided tour of some of the pieces on Seattle Out and Proud (SO&P), the orga- display. nization responsible for the annual Seattle “BE YOU. BE PROUD. EXPRESS Pride Parade, announced the launch of their YOURSELF!” is the parade theme for 2011 new website and parade registration system and is a celebration of the cultural diversity this week. According to SO&P officials, the that the LGBT and allied communities exnew website, www.seattlepride.org, set to go press every day, said SO&P officials. This live March 15, is designed to be more user year, the organization wants you to stand up friendly and have an even smoother integra- and declare, “I am! We are!” tion with the parade registration system.

“This year’s theme is a celebration of our “2011 is a year that will bring many firsts ability to create, innovate, influence, and exfor SO&P,” the organization said in a state- press ourselves,” said SO&P officials. “We ment to local media. “In addition to our new invite you to find new, exciting, and creative website and registration system, we’re hap- ways to express who you are. Declare your py to announce that our Pride Idol singing message loud and proud along 4th Avenue competition will be hosted by Neighbours this June 26 as we kick off another great Nightclub and emceed by your favorite diva, parade that draws over 450,000 spectators, Gaysha Starr.” participants and volunteers. BE YOU. BE In addition, SO&P announced that on PROUD. EXPRESS YOURSELF!” March 11, they will partner with SAM REFor more information about SO&P and MIX for the new Nick Cave exhibit “Meet the events they have scheduled, visit www.

Me at the Center of the Earth” where they seattlepride.org.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Ron Dupre, 69, of Rancho Mirage, CA, died from liver failure on February 13, 2011.

Ron was born July 27, 1941, in Putnam, CT, graduated from Putnam High School in 1959, received a BA from Johnson & Wales University in Providence, RI, in 1963, and worked in Hartford from 1963 to 1967. He then moved to Los Angeles,

March 11, 2011

was general sales manager for Norfolk Southern Railroad for 25 years, and then transferred to Seattle. He worked for the railroad until retiring in 1996 and then was a living skills assistant for the developmentally disabled in Seattle before moving to Palm Springs in 2004.

Ron was outgoing, charismatic, had a great sense of humor, and traveled the world. He was an avid reader, loved movies, the gym, and Barbra Streisand. He will be deeply missed by family and friends, especially former partner Joel Vander Woude of Palm Springs, and longtime friends Walker Novak and Jim Jackson of Rancho Mirage, Bo Tobin of Pasadena, and Dennis Hopkins, Drew Murphy, Bob Millage, and Ron Hull of Seattle.

Ron was preceded in death by his parents Albina (Roy) and Armand Dupre, and by his partner, Angelo Lucca. He is survived by his sister Jean and brotherin-law Art Sirois of Cumberland, RI, and by nieces Kristen Kern of Cumberland and Meredith Morris of Dedham, MA. Celebrations of his life will be held in Rancho Mirage on March 12 and in Los Angeles in June.

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2011

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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

Editor In Chief George Bakan Associate Editor Shaun Knittel Editorial Assistant Nick Ardizzone Production William Creswell Calender Editors Mike Andrew and Rick McKinnon Travel Editor George Bakan Advertising Manager Marty Weisbrod Advertising Department Maggie Bloodstone Executive Assistant Mike Andrew Staff Writers George Bakan, Albert S. Rodriguez, Nick Ardizzone, Shaun Knittel, Miryam Gordon, Tim Peter Contributing Writers

Rev. Barbara Allen, Mike Andrew, Eric Andrews-Katz, Madelyn Arnold, Maggie Bloodstone, Beau Burriola, Jessica Davis, Ron Anders, Jessica Price, Milton W. Hamlin, Nevin Jefferson, Keen News Service, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, Romeo San Vicente, Rex Wockner

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Publication of names, photographs or likenesses of any person, organization, event or business in this publication cannot be taken as any indication of the sexual orientation of the person, organization, event or business.

Opinions expressed in bylined articles, columns, and letters are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the staff or management of this paper.

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It is our policy that no money shall be refunded if you choose to cancel your subscription or ad. However, credit towards any size ad will be given for the balance owed. No exceptions.

The sandwichgeneration Lesbian

by Leslie Robinson SGN Contributing Writer

more than tits and ass. Now to see Lesbians encourage the ogling of women, to watch them match men drool-for-drool, well, that Ever heard of the Lingerie Football feels like a step backwards.

However, as I’m 47 and not dead, I’m League? It’s a women’s football league where the women wear helmets, shoul- mindful of the sentiments of a younger Lesder pads, bras, panties and garters. Billed bian generation, which might be expressed as “true fantasy football,” the teams have like this: “Hate to tell you, grandma, but you names like the Los Angeles Temptation and older folks fought so that we could be whoever we want to be. We can revel in pure the Dallas Desire.

If this league catered any more to men, sexiness like guys do. We can be as shallow as guys. So thanks!” there would be cigars at halftime.

Um, you’re welcome?

But I didn’t learn about the Lingerie FootWhen I looked further down The Seball League from a guy; I learned about it while visiting a Lesbian website. The local attle Lesbian’s sports page, I found stories site, theseattlelesbian.com, provided Lin- about the WNBA’s Seattle Storm. As a huge gerie League information and videos on its Storm fan, I was pleased to see them. As a sports page. That in turn provided me with a reader teed off over the highlighting of the reminder of my age, a keen sense of where Undressed Football League, I assumed the I am on the spectrum of Lesbian thinking, site and I could now be friends again.

Not. The stories concerned three players, and a headache.

I don’t react well when Lesbians view and the site editor chose one action shot, women in the bootylicious way many men and two glamour shots. The two glamorized do. Maybe it’s because I’m 47 and remem- players had on more makeup than RuPaul. ber how women fought to be viewed as So far on this Lesbian site I’d seen sex and

glamour – and that was just the sports section.

The experience made me feel old and on the curmudgeonly end of the Lesbian spectrum. But another experience with media had me feeling youthful and wildly openminded.

I received in the snail mail the latest issue of a magazine called Lesbian Connection. I began getting the bimonthly publication last year, and it’s now clear to me what an asset it is for dykes everywhere. LC serves as a Lesbian forum, enabling readers, who provide most of the content, to tell their stories; it offers a worldwide list of Lesbians willing to share information about their regions; and subscriptions are on a sliding scale.

It’s also now clear to me that the average LC reader remembers Truman’s inauguration.

Okay, I exaggerate, but the magazine, founded in 1974, is something of a relic.

Birthed in the era of Lesbian separatism, LC reflects its origins. Readers have names like “Artemis Passionfire” and “Flash Silvermoon” and while I wish I made those up, I didn’t.

I’ve read a lot about “womyn’s land” and combed through oodles of irate letters when the cover art on LC wasn’t PC. The magazine says it defines Lesbians as “womenborn-women,” meaning Transgender women don’t count.

I wouldn’t say LC is stuck in time, but it’s moving arthritically through it.

I’ll continue reading and enjoying it, and I’ll go back to theseattlelesbian.com. Both will keep me honest.

Now I know middle age is more than just a number. It’s when you feel connected to the generation behind you and the generation ahead of you – and when both generations annoy the crap out of you.

Leslie Robinson suspects that 35 years ago she would’ve called herself “Cheddar Morning-Glory.” E-mail Cheddar at lesarobinson@gmail.com, and read other cheesy columns at www.generalgayety.com.

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

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Seattle Gay News

March 11, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

steve braithwaite

The Sheffield Eagles

British Rugby League club set to make LGBT history

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor The Sheffield Eagles Rugby League club will make history this Sunday by becoming the first sports team in U.K. history to wear a kit (uniform) openly displaying an antihomophobia message.

The Sheffield Eagles have joined forces with the Rugby Football League to show their support for the fight against homophobia. The Eagles are dedicating their home game against Widnes Vikings at Bramall Lane, Sheffield on March 13 to the RFL’s

“Homophobia: Tackle It!” campaign.

The Eagles will show their support by wearing a specially commissioned one-off playing shirt, which will be sponsored by LGBT History Month and Pride Sports, and will come emblazoned with the “Homophobia: Tackle It!” slogan.

The Sheffield Eagles are the first professional club in mainstream U.K. sport to display such a high level of support for the antihomophobia campaign.

England cricketer Steven Davies, who recently announced his homosexuality to

Culture war “truce,” or GOP civil war?

courtesy NSB

David Frum

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Former Bush speechwriter and neo-con guru David Frum came out for a “truce” in the ongoing culture wars in a panel discussion on MSNBC’s Daily Rundown on March 7.

In response to a question from host Chuck Todd, Frum backed away from the Republi-

can Party’s previous commitment to a hardline anti-choice agenda.

Republicans, Frum said, should “avoid talking about [family issues] in a way that is censorious, that is disdainful, that is disrespectful, that singles some people out for condemnation and others for praise, and above all what Republicans must avoid – as some of these very undisciplined state legislators have done – is using their pro-life

Visit us online www.sgn.org

the world, was among the first to show his support for the event. “Gareth Thomas was a real inspiration and made me believe it would be possible for me to do the same,” said Davies, “so anything that helps even one person should be applauded. There may be added pressures in sports as the number of people that have come out is so small, so it’s great that Rugby League is taking this step.”

One of the nation’s favorite broadcasters, Clare Balding, was also quick to show her support for the event. “I am delighted that Rugby League has taken the positive, progressive step of publicly embracing diversity and condemning prejudice,” said Balding.

“Rugby League has always been a sport that seeks to involve rather than exclude, and I applaud its stance against homophobia. I hope other sports will follow the outstanding example set by The RFL. Congratulations and, on a personal note, thank you.”

Lib Dem politician and Junior Home Office Minister Lynne Featherstone has also pledged her support to the event. “Homophobia and Transphobia have caused

too much harm and ruined too many lives,” said Featherstone. “That is why we all need to join together to tackle this problem. I am delighted to support this fantastic occasion with the RFL and Sheffield Eagles, who are sending an amazing message not only to sports fans but also to children, and society in general, that there is no room for homophobia or Transphobia in this country.

By highlighting LGBT History Month and the work of Pride Sports, you are all making a powerful statement that society is changing and together we can make a difference.”

The Sheffield Eagles’ decision to back LGBT History Month and Pride Sports’ anti-homophobia campaign follows a number of groundbreaking achievements by the sport of Rugby League.

The RFL was recently included in the Stonewall Top 100 Workplace Index, becoming the first sports organization ever to be named as a leading LGBT-friendly employer, an accolade that followed Super League player Gareth Thomas’ recognition as the 2010 Stonewall LGBT Hero of The Year.

convictions in any way that seems to suggest an approval of violence.”

“Those people need to be slapped down … and a bag put over their head, and told ‘just discipline yourself!’” Frum exclaimed.

Frum’s co-panelist, Concerned Women for America Executive Director Peggy Nance, looked on sourly.

Nance seemed even more dismayed when Frum segued into a discussion of Gay rights. “[Republicans] have to find a way to talk about improving the life chances of children by giving them more secure families without seeming to condemn homosexuals,” Frum said.

“That is a social change that has come to this country, it is accepted, it a fight that is not over, but within five minutes of being over. And Republicans have to recognize that.”

Frum and Nance had been asked to react to a new MSNBC poll of GOP voters that seemed to indicate they were far more interested in economic issues than in social, or “values” issues.

According to the MSNBC poll, 65% of Republican voters would be more likely to support candidates who focused more on the economy and less on social issues. Only 8% said they would be less likely to support candidates who failed to stress social issues.

Twenty-five percent said it would make no difference to them.

Nance challenged these figures.

A 2010 exit poll sponsored by her organization showed that although 75% of voters said they voted on economic issues, “63% said moral values and that number was even higher among women,” Nance claimed.

The exchange between Frum and Nance mirrors a larger debate going on – sometimes bitterly – within the Republican Party.

It began in June 2010, when Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels suggested “let’s call a truce on social issues while we focus on the

economy.”

Daniels was roundly criticized at the time by conservative GOP activists.

The American Family Association’s Bryan Fischer wrote last December that “The bare minimum conservatives need in a 2012 standard bearer is someone who holds a deep-seated allegiance to the Judeo-Christian values of the Founders and will fight to defend them, protect them, and advance them. The last thing we need is someone who has already run up the white flag.”

Daniels refused to back down, however, telling the Indianapolis Star that such issues are secondary to the economy and foreign policy.

At a recent Republican candidate forum in Iowa, sponsored by the Faith and Freedom Coalition, social issues were in the forefront.

Faith and Freedom head Ralph Reed, former leader of the Christian Coalition, openly threatened the GOP. “My message to the national Republican party tonight is real simple,” Reed said. “If you turn your backs on the pro-family, prolife constituents, and the values they stand for, you will be consigned to permanent minority status.”

Dr. Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention, agreed with Reed, saying “For Republicans to do anything that would de-energize this voting bloc would amount to political suicide.”

Republican presidential hopefuls Rick Santorum, Tim Pawlenty, Herman Cain, Buddy Roemer, and Newt Gingrich attended the event.

Absent from the forum were the potential candidates who top the national polls at this early stage – Mike Huckabee, Sarah Palin, and Mitt Romney.

Of the three, Romney is viewed as an allbut-certain contender, but he is not expected to compete as aggressively in Iowa as he did in 2008.

March 11, 2011

Seattle Gay News

5

INTERNATIONAL red mum

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

at-risk populations A new report charges that the biennial International AIDS Conference, the premier gathering for people working in the HIV field, shortchanges groups most likely to become infected with HIV, including Gay men, Transgender people, sex workers, and drug users.

An “audit” of conference programming, conducted by the Global Forum on MSM & HIV, analyzed last year’s gathering in Vienna and found that the percentage of sessions exclusively focused on such groups was 2.6 percent for men who have sex with men (MSM), 1.1 percent for Transgender people, 3 percent for sex workers, and 4.5 percent for drug users.

“While the International AIDS Society turns a blind eye, HIV rates among these populations continue to climb around the world,” said the forum’s executive officer, Dr. George Ayala. “The IAC is the world’s most important opportunity for international exchange and collaboration on HIV and AIDS. Such abysmal representation of most-at-risk groups only serves to reinforce the invisibility, discrimination and disregard that drive the epidemic among these communities.”

The report recommends that conference

organizers ensure a transparent process for reviewing abstracts and designing programming, increase their support of authors developing abstracts focused on key populations, and broaden representation on the committees that develop conference programming.

“It is incumbent upon the organizers to ensure that the IAC becomes a vehicle for change, shifting the global landscape so that funding, research and programs are directed to those who need them most. Right now it’s part of the problem,” Ayala said.

LGBT group forms in Montenegro An LGBT organization has formed and been officially registered in Podgorica, capital of the former Yugoslav republic of Montenegro. The group, LGBT Forum Progress, is pressing for a law granting Gay couples the rights of marriage.

Cuban TV airs Glee Cuba’s Cubavisión channel is airing the übergay U.S. television series Glee, each Saturday at 5:45 p.m. State TV also recently aired Six Feet Under.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

NATIONAL Michael S. Williamson-The Washington Post

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

Dominic Hannigan has been elected to Ireland’s lower house of Parliament.

Open Gays elected to Irish Dáil Two Gay men made history by being elected to Ireland’s lower house of Parliament, Dáil Éireann, on February 25.

Dominic Hannigan will represent Meath East, a parliamentary constituency in the northeast of the nation, for the Labour Party.

And John Lyons will represent the constituency of Dublin North West for Labour.

Hannigan currently is a member of the Seanad Éireann, or Senate. Members of that body are not directly elected, and its powers are weaker than those of the Dáil.

Hannigan will have to give up that seat, to which he was appointed in 2007 by fellow politicians.

Ireland’s only other openly Gay member of Parliament – current or past – also is a senator. Since 1987, David Norris has represented voters who are graduates of the University of Dublin.

Mozambique LGBT group still unregistered Mozambique’s only LGBT group, Lambda, said March 1 that it has been waiting three years for the government to complete its official registration.

The group, also known as the Mozambican Association for the Defense of Sexual Minorities, submitted its documents to the registry office in January 2008.

The registrar responded that the group’s existence “offends current morality,” and forwarded the forms to the Justice Ministry for review.

In early 2009, Justice Minister Benvinda Levi suggested a rewrite of one article of the group’s statutes, which the group agreed to.

In early 2010, Lambda met with the deputy justice minister. He said there was no legal impediment to registration and suggested the group submit a recounting of facts and law to the ministry, which it did.

Nothing has happened since then, which Lambda says amounts to a violation of its constitutional right to freedom of association.

Honduras special unit to investigate anti-LGBT hate crimes Honduras is creating an investigative unit and task force to tackle hate crimes against LGBTI people, women, youth and journalists.

The government ministers of human rights and public security will be directly involved in the undertaking, which will utilize 150 researchers.

Officials estimate that Honduras has seen 200 anti-LGBTI killings in the past five years.

In January, the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa urged the Honduran government to “vigorously investigate” five murders of LGBT people that took place since December 18.

The embassy expressed “great concern” about the killings and said “the protection of Honduran law extends to all citizens regardless of sexual orientation.”

The government must “take all necessary steps to protect LGBT persons, who are among the most vulnerable to violence and abuse in Honduras,” the U.S. officials said.

Belarus LGBTs hope to march in May Gay activists in Minsk, Belarus, applied to the city government March 4 for permission to hold a “March of Equality” on May 17, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia.

Last year, the city’s Executive Committee banned a Gay pride march and, when activists ignored the ban, several of them were aggressively arrested for taking part in an unsanctioned public action.

Moscow Pride founder Nikolai Alekseev, who joined that march, said police were “brutal and violent.”

This year, the organizers’ application expanded the scope of the proposed march to include several other minority groups in hopes of improving the odds of getting city approval and reducing hostility from antiGay protesters.

The march, if approved, will wrap up four days of “Festival of Equality” events that include a film screening, a photo exhibition and other activities.

Report: Int’l AIDS Conference shortchanges

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Seattle Gay News

March 11, 2011

Rev. Fred Phelps leads the controversial Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas.

Supreme Court OKs Phelps funeral pickets The U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on March 2 that Kansas’ Westboro Baptist Church has a constitutional right to picket military funerals carrying signs that say such things as “God hates fags.”

The court said the church’s “speech” is “certainly hurtful and its contribution to public discourse may be negligible,” but the pickets are nonetheless protected by the First Amendment.

“Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and – as it did here – inflict great pain,” the court said. “On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a nation we have chosen a different course – to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate. That choice requires that we shield Westboro from tort liability for its picketing in this case.”

The church had been sued by the family of a fallen soldier whose funeral its members picketed.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. disagreed with the court’s majority, saying, “Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case.”

Most national Gay organizations did not respond to the decision. Kate Kendell, executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights, was the exception.

“What is striking about today’s decision is not the court’s legal analysis, which does not break new ground, but the spotlight this case shines on the despicable character and

hatefulness of anti-Gay bigotry,” Kendell said. “Can you imagine fighting for the right to spew hatred at a funeral? What an appalling indictment of those who oppose our humanity and equality.”

Immigration Equality to sue federal government The LGBT group Immigration Equality is planning to sue the federal government over the Defense of Marriage Act because it prevents married U.S. citizens from bringing their foreign same-sex spouses to live with them in U.S. states that allow same-sex marriage or recognize same-sex marriages from elsewhere.

The planned lawsuit follows President Barack Obama’s recent instruction to the Justice Department that it stop defending in court the section of DOMA that bans the federal government from recognizing states’ same-sex marriages.

Immigration Equality said it believes there is a good chance the lawsuit will succeed, at least for legally married same-sex couples in states that allow or recognize same-sex marriages.

Same-sex marriage is legal in Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. In addition, same-sex marriages from anywhere in the world are recognized as marriages in Maryland, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, and California (if the marriage took place before Proposition 8 passed), even though those states do not let same-sex couples marry.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

Celebrating 38 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

SEATTLE CENTER FESTAL: IRISH FESTIVAL On Saturday, March 12, noon to 6 p.m., and Sunday, March 13, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., the Irish Festival at Seattle Center’s Center House offers entertainment, exploration and insights into the culture of Ireland. Shop for authentic Irish products, create Celtic arts and crafts and enjoy a weekend of non-stop Irish music, award-winning dance and children’s activities. Festival-goers may trace their roots in genealogy workshops, learn the Irish language and take in colorful cultural exhibits and contemporary Irish short films. For a full event schedule, visit wwwirishclub.org.

“NU” – A NUDE SOIREE FOR MEN On Saturday, March 12, from 8 p.m. to midnight, at Little Red Bistro’s Event Space, 400 Dexter Ave. N., “Nu,” an alternative nude gathering for men, will meet to honor male erotic energy through art, music and dance. It’s an immersive experience that relies upon the creative energy of volunteers from many communities. From the organizers of past “Romp Naked” events, “Nu” provides a space for men of all ages, colors, and shapes to express themselves freely. The space that participants generate builds and holds erotic energy. Join us as we venture beyond physicality and explore the depths of beauty and spirit. Celebrate being human! “Nu” is an event that ebbs and flows, full of erotic and sensual dance, movement and mingling. Come dance with us! “Nu” is definitely a sexy party, but not a sex party. Tickets: $15. Clothes check at the door. www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/162105.

SEATTLE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL MARCH 12-20 Now in it’s 16th year, the annual American Jewish Committee’s Seattle Jewish Film Festival is a 10-day international cinematic exploration and celebration of Jewish life, culture, identity and history that strives to build bridges of mutual understanding between diverse groups in our Puget Sound region. AJC-SJFF uses film to both entertain and educate the Jewish and general communities about the complex issues facing the Jewish people and world community alike, while challenging conventional perspectives. This year’s thematic programming is “Building Bridges” of mutual understanding through cinema, dialogue, interfaith dialogue and cultural crossings in community and globally. The new “AJC Bridge Series” features four vibrant films and speakers, panelists and chances for audiences to build bridges in dialogue. www.seattlejewishfilmfestival.org.

RADICAL WOMEN CELEBRATES INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY On Sunday, March 13, at 3 p.m., at New Freeway Hall (5018 Rainier Ave. S.), celebrate the 100th Anniversary of International Women’s Day, a tribute to female-led uprisings, strikes and protests from 1911 to 2011, with a lively overview of key events and personalities by activist and writer Tamara Turner, plus video clips, poetry and song. Door donation $2. Around-the-World Brunch served at 1:30 p.m. for $9 donation.

For more information, rides and childcare, call 206-722-6057 or email RWseattle@ mindspring.com. Everyone welcome.

Wheelchair accessible.

MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE SPARKS OF GLORY: THE SEED OF DREAM On Monday, March 14, at 6 p.m., at the Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.), Music of Remembrance presents a free 90 minute chamber music concertwith-commentary, and a post-concert chat with composer Lori Laitman. Learn about the Vilna ghetto in Nazi-occupied Lithuania, where Yiddish poet and resistance fighter Abraham Sutzkever, “the greatest

poet of the Holocaust,” was imprisoned, then hear five Sutzkever poems in Laitman’s song cycle, The Seed of Dream. Baritone Erich Parce will sing. Also on the program: Hungarian composer Laszlo Weiner’s Duo for violin and viola; Czech composer Pavel Haas’ String Quartet No. 3. www.musicofremembrance.org.

GSBA BUSINESS LUNCHEON On Wednesday, March 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at Courtyard Marriot Pioneer Square (612 2nd Ave.), join GSBA members and guests for an intriguing look at social media with special guest speaker, Hanson Hosein, Director of the Master of Communication in Digital Media at the University of Washington. Come hear what cutting edge technology your business may need to remain relevant and sustainable, what’s the latest and greatest technology and what are the pitfalls of social media.

Cost is $34-members; $39-nonmembers; $34-students. RSVP requested at 206-3639188 or www.thegsba.org. The GSBA (Greater Seattle Business Association) is Seattle’s LGBT Chamber of Commerce.

“THE BIG BAIL OUT” FUNDRAISING BENEFIT FOR RISE N’ SHINE On Wednesday, March 16, from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., at Broadway Grill (314 Broadway E.) stop by the “jail” and make a financial contribution to help volunteer “outlaws” make “bail” to benefit Rise n’ Shine’s programs in support of kids affected by HIV/ AIDS. Drop in on the fun! www.risenshine. org.

Advisory Council members are a vital link to legislators through their lobbying efforts and provide much needed input to The City of Seattle, United Way and King County.

Members donate 4-10 hours a month to participate in monthly council meetings, committees, and legislative advocacy. Mayoral appointees serve a term of two years and are required to live within Seattle.

Knowledge and interest in trends, issues and challenges facing older adults and people with disabilities through previous experience in community leadership roles is desired. Strong candidates bring good communication skills, a collaborative spirit, experience in planning or delivery of service systems and the ability to relate to people from diverse backgrounds. Members serve without pay.

To be considered, please send a resume and complete an on-line application by Friday, March 18 to Mayor Mike McGinn, c/o Gigi.Meinig@seattle.gov. Online application is available at http://bit.ly/BCApply.

To send a paper submittal, fax it to 206-6840689 or mail to Seattle Human Services, ATTN: Gigi Meinig, Aging and Disability Services, PO Box 34215, Seattle, WA 98124-4215.

WASHINGTON STATE LEATHER PRIDE WEEK MARCH 18-27 www.wsmlo.org DINA MARTINA: LIVE AT RE-BAR PLACE On Fridays and Saturdays, March 18 through April 30, at 8 p.m., at Re-bar (1114 Howell St.), join the talent-stuffed Dina Martina and ultra-gifted accompanist Chris Jeffries for their semi-awaited return to Rebar for a Spring show that’s oozing with razzle-dazzle – minus the dazzle! Dina Martina’s shows are brimming with unwittingly hilarious songs, point-free stories, astoundingly funny videos, bizarre audience gifts, costumes on their deathbeds and, as The Village Voice says, “comedy that’ll make you piss your pants!” Tickets are $20 and available online at www.brownpapertickets.com/ event/143300 and at the door. NOTE: There are two Sunday matinees on Sundays, April 17 and 24, at 2 p.m.

SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN BOOK CLUB AT DUNSHEE HOUSE The Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club meets every Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Dunshee House (303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.). All GLBTQ folks in the community are welcome to participate in this FREE book DUNSHEE HOUSE club.

PEER SUPPORT GROUP The book for March is Dry by Augusten FACILITATOR TRAINING Burroughs.

On Saturday, March 19, from 10 a.m.-4 For more information, e-mail nickdimartin@earthlink.net or contact Dunshee House p.m., and Sunday, March 20, from 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at Dunshee House, 303 17th Ave. E., at 206-322-2437.

Dunshee House (home of SASG) presents an in-depth look at the fundamentals of ALLYSHIP LGBTQ peer-led support groups through interactive CAMPAIGN KICK-OFF presentations, role-playing exercises, and AND CELEBRATION On Wednesday, March 16, from 6:30-8:30 peer mentoring. Topics include: structure p.m., at Rendezvous, Jewel Box Theater and framework of groups; group dynam(2322 2nd Ave), join us as we celebrate and ics; listening skills; group focus; creating a commence our social justice campaigns for safe space for openness and sharing. There 2011, with special performances by local will be an hour for lunch each day and lunch Queer burlesque and drag king performers will be provided. If you would like to parand silent auction by local Queer artists. ticipate in this enriching experience, please Suggested donation is sliding scale from $5 contact Josh Wallace, SASG Interim Executive Director, at 206-322-2584 or email to $10.

Allyship LGBTQ will continue to fight for josh@dunsheehouse.org for an application. accessible health care and economic justice. (A fee may apply for outside agencies.) ApWe will begin a new focus area and start plications may also be picked up in person. working with the homeless Queer youth Deadline to register is Monday, March movement. Come find out how you can get 14. Free parking is available in the Group involved and make a difference for LGBTQ Health lot across the street from Dunshee House on 17th Ave. E. people in the Seattle area.

For more information, email allyship@ SEATTLE MEN IN LEATHER yahoo.com.

PRESENTS “WAX A BEAR” – A BENEFIT FOR LAMBERT HOUSE MOISTURE FESTIVAL On Saturday, March 19, at 9 p.m., at MARCH 17-APRIL 10 Comedy/Varietè/Burlesque performance The Cuff Complex (1533 13th Ave., at E. featuring colorful, uncompromising local, Pine St.), join Seattle Leather Daddy and Daddy’s Boy 2011 with hostess Sylvia national and international artists.

O’Stayformore, for “Wax a Bear,” a benwww.moisturefestival.org. efit for Lambert House. www.seattlemeninleather.org; www.lamberthouse.org.

AGING & DISABILITY SERVICES ADVISORY COUNCIL HE’S MY GIRL SEEKS APPLICANTS AT SEATTLE Mayor Mike McGinn is looking for appliJEWISH FILM FESTIVAL cants to the Seattle-King County Advisory On Sunday, March 20, at 5:30 p.m., at Council on Aging and Disability Services, a 27-member citizen’s body that advises SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall (321 Merand guides Aging and Disability Services of cer St.), the Seattle Jewish Film Festival Seattle?King County in providing services presents He’s My Girl / La Folle Histoire for older people and people with disabilities D’Amour De Simon Eskenazy. Clarinetist Simon Eskenazy has so much going on that in King County.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 11, 2011

he can’t finish his Klezmer record. His ailing, hypochondriac mother wants to move in with him and his ex-wife Rosalie and their son suddenly resurfaces after 10 years.

He daydreams about conducting a great love affair with his current partner, Raphael, while a caring, young arab transvestite dazzles him. Based on the director’s own life, first seen in the 1998 film Man is Woman, He’s My Girl is a wry, intelligent “rom-com” about lost souls finding love.

KOLENU PRESENTS LGBTQ PURIM PARTY On Sunday, March 20, at 7 p.m., at The Lobby Bar (916 E. Pike St.), join Kolenu for their third annual Gay ‘Ol Purim Party!

Purim is often viewed as the Jewish coming out story, so to honor Esterh’s “coming out” as a Jew Kolenu is throwing the biggest LGBTQ Purim Party that Seattle has ever seen!

DJ Evalish will be on site mixing music, and the evening will feature a ton of live entertainment including incredible Queen Ester burlesque by Ms. Indog blue as well as the hilarious drag queen Lili Armani who was recently crowned La Femme magnifique 2010.

There will also be plenty of pink hamantaschen, drinks and dancing! $5 cover with 7 p.m. doors and 8:30 p.m. performances.

Don’t forget that Purim is a holiday to dress up on, so come in costume because Kolenu is giving out some fabulous prizes!

RSVP requested by emailing kolenu.seattle@gmail.com or visiting the Kolenu’s Facebook page.

EQUAL RIGHTS WASHINGTON EQUALITY DAY IN OLYMPIA On Tuesday, March 22, join Equality Washington in lobbying our state legislature in Olympia on LGBT equality, HIV/AIDS awareness and other issues of importance.

Equality Day 2011 will include a morning orientation and training session, noontime rally on the steps of the Capitol, and meetings with legislators in the afternoon. For more information and to register, call 206324-2570 or visit www.equalrightswashington.org.

CENTRAL DISTRICT FORUM FOR ARTS + IDEAS PRESENTS U PEOPLE On Thursday, March 24, at 7 p.m., at Northwest Film Forum (1515 12th Ave.), CD Forum presents U People, an incidental documentary that brings you behind the scenes of a not-so-typical music video shoot. Recently winning the Jury Award at the IMAGE+NATION LGBT Film Festival in Canada and making its national debut on LOGO in 2010, U People was made from the downtime footage of an entire cast and crew of 30 Lesbian and straight women, and Trans folks of color. The images the camera caught will introduce a hilarious, candid and very human voice into the discussion of gender, race and sexuality within the black community. A post-film discussion follows.

Ntozake Shange, author of For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow is Enuf, has said of filmmaker Hanifah Walidah, “She is a mischievous mix media millenium whip. Hanifah Walidah speaks about black people and the gay community with a passion we associate with Zora Neale Hurston and Amira Baraka.”

Cost is $5 in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/155512 or at the door.

THREE DOLLAR BILL CINEMA’S 4TH ANNUAL DINNER & AUCTION On Friday, March 25, at 6 p.m. (doors at 5:30 p.m.), at Sodo Park (3200 1st Ave. S.), join Three Dollar Bill Cinema for “Velvet Goldmine,” their 4th annual dinner and auction. Enjoy silent and live auctions, appetizers, sit down dinner, hosted wine, non-alcoholic beverages, and some cinematic surprises! All proceeds from the auction will help further Three Dollar Bill Cinema’s mission to enrich, strengthen, and connect diverse communities by supporting and exhibiting Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender film. Tickets: $125-regular; $100-members. www.threedollarbillcinema.org

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by Scott Rice SGN Contributing Writer You’ve got to love living in Seattle. The city itself is world-class, with a host of art, entertainment, and shopping choices. Added to this cultural bounty are three other fabulous cities within easy reach: Vancouver, Victoria, and Portland. The pièce de résistance of this multicultural matrix is the bevy of smaller towns and cities offering unique venues of their own to explore: Port Townsend, Leavenworth, and Yakima, among others. It’s an embarrassment of riches. That’s why a sweet college town like Bellingham can easily get lost in the mix.

That’s a shame because Bellingham has a lot to offer.

Bellingham is known as the home of Western Washington University and the southern terminus of the Alaska Marine Highway.

It’s also known to have a high percentage of baristas, waiters, and bartenders with college degrees. It seems students don’t want to leave after four years because the quality of life is just that good.

The Fairhaven Historic District takes up roughly four square blocks on the south side of Bellingham Bay. The city was founded in 1883 by “Dirty” Dan Harris and later incorporated into Bellingham proper. There are about 200 businesses in the area including art galleries, artisan co-ops, bookstores, bakeries, coffee shops, and the Fairhaven Village Inn, the district’s only hotel.

The Fairhaven Village Inn is a charming little locally owned hotel with a world-class feel. Many of the 22 spacious rooms have

views of the bay with large sliding glass doors opening onto breezy patios. The service is impeccable and the complimentary breakfast is actually worth stopping by for.

They will even make you a sweet waffle on the spot. You could easily spend an entire weekend at the Fairhaven Village Inn and never start your car.

Morning walks and the South Bay Trail were made for each other. After breakfast you can pick up the trail just outside the door of the Inn. Stroll north over the Taylor Dock (the views are stunning) about a half mile to Boulevard Park. There you’ll find the best coffee in town at local favorite The Woods Coffee. The wood and stone café and coffee shop offers gorgeous outdoor seating with a trick fireplace that does double duty for indoor and outdoor patrons.

If you must leave the quaint environs of Fairhaven you will definitely want to check out improv night at the Upfront Theatre.

The talented players of Bellingham’s premier improv troupe do shows Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. The all-ages venue serves beer and wine, and did I say these folks are funny?

‘Cause they are.

After the show, stop in Boundary Bay Brewery and Bistro for some of the Pacific Northwest’s best ale (the food is good, too).

I like their Scotch ale, which balances the traditional sweet malty richness with a just the right amount of hoppy zip. Try it with the beer beef stew (simmered in the Scotch ale) and you’ll swoon. Another must-eat from the BBB and B crew is the yam alechi-

Toronto: Rich in history, culture, and food

by Eric Andrews-Katz SGN Contributing Writer

Mt. Baker from Bellingham Bay

ladas. Yams, cheddar, and jack cheese, caramelized onions, and roasted garlic are wrapped up in corn tortillas and topped with a poblano molé. The place is always packed and raucous because the beer and food are good. Who wants a quiet brewpub anyway?

Happy hour: Saturday through Thursday from 4-6 p.m.

You’ll probably feel like dancing after tossing back a BBB and B brew, and as luck would have it, the ever so Gay Rumor’s Cabaret is right next door. Billed as Bellingham’s only “alternative” nightclub, Rumor’s is the hotspot for dancing seven nights a week from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m., with happy hour daily from 6-9 p.m.

Perhaps the best surprise of the weekend was the Whatcom Museum, a three-build-

ing campus in the heart of downtown Bellingham. The Old City Hall has been oozing Victorian charm since 1941 and currently houses historic artifacts of local significance (the antique dentist chair will give you bad dreams). A short walk down the street is The Lightcatcher, an uber-modern design by Jim Olson, where you will find an amazing art collection focused – but not exclusively – on Northwest artists such as Dale Chihuly, Diem Chau, Hilda Morris, Barbara Earl Thomas, George Tsutakawa, and Gerard Tsutakawa. Admission is $10 with discounts for students, military, seniors, and kids. One Hamilton gets you into both museums. See it all in about four hours and leave time for a leisurely spin over the lovely Chuckanut Drive.

the food presentation was impressive without being pretentious and our seating hostess was none other than Alasia, the current Miss Cultural Drag Bahamas. Menu items ranged from Romaine heart salads (beautifully done) to steak fillet of ostrich (delicious), but don’t worry if that doesn’t appeal, as the menu rotates often.

Despite its large size, Toronto is an easy city to navigate. A subway system easily gets a person across the sprawling city, and buses run for those wanting to stay aboveground. The best way to explore any city is by foot, and you can’t go wrong with a walking tour. Bruce Bell (www.brucebelltours. ca) offers just such a thing. Very charming and easygoing, Bruce is extremely proud and knowledgeable about his city and seems to get a genuine pleasure at sharing the information. With groups or individuals, his tour explores the city on foot with information about the history and exploration of two popular outdoor markets.

Toronto offers all the attractions that are associated with any major city. Opera and theater are abundant, and Toronto – like Seattle – often gets world premieres of musicals headed for Broadway. Museums range from natural history to modern art and contain impressive collections, and there is even a museum dedicated to the history of hockey.

And then there is the CN Tower. The Tower was built from 1973-’76 and stands at 1,815 feet. With dazzling views from its glass walls, it also has a section of glass

floor with incredible dizzying views for those without vertigo. The price to enter can be high for many people, but on a clear day, “forever” will be only the first of many incredible views.

Toronto is not only a beautiful city; its politics are liberal and are very welcoming to the Gay community. Bars and clubs of all sorts are found scattered throughout the city, not just in the Gay Village. While larger dance clubs are more known (thanks to Queer as Folk being filmed there), smaller bars and pubs are a great place to mix, mingle, and relax. Pegasus on Church Street (www.pegasusonchurch.com) is the kind of bar where a person of any gender or orientation can feel comfortable and enjoy a good drink. Music videos are played on several screens, and both pool tables and dartboards are accessible. It’s a great place to enjoy a cocktail either on the way home from or on the way out to an evening on the town.

Pride in late June draws a large crowd with many GLBT activities, but the city is welcoming all year round. With legalized marriage equality, the laws are written so that even using the word “fag” with malicious intent is an illegal action equivalent to any other racial or ethnic slur. Fox News is banned for being so inaccurate, and is only seen by those who subscribe to a cable or satellite network.

No matter what your tastes are, Toronto has something to offer, and has the friendliness of a city half its size. With its liberal policies and welcoming attitude, its plethora of activities, and just a natural comfort and beauty, it’s easy to see why 500 people move to this city every day.

To contact Eric Andrews-Katz, e-mail eric@sgn.org. phototravelpages.com

Toronto is the 5th largest city in North America, and yet it is a city most people don’t know anything about. Littered with activities ranging from museums, great restaurants, sports, and the CN Tower – their equivalent to the Space Needle – Toronto is a place everyone should visit. Nestled on the coast of Lake Ontario and with Buffalo just across the water, the capital of Ontario is a vibrant city with a rich history waiting to be explored.

Getting to the East Coast of Canada is an easy flight. Air Canada flies directly from Seattle and offers many flights from Vancouver, as well. The airline makes the flight comfortable with friendly service and more roominess than most American airlines when flying coach.

With only a direct 4.5-hour flight, the Toronto airport is one of the easiest airports to get around in. Getting downtown to your hotel, however, may be a bit of a trick if you’re not taking a cab directly. There is a shuttle offered, but it can take over an hour to get to your particular hotel – and even then, it may not drop you off without another block or two walk.

Choices of hotels are abundant. The Courtyard Marriot (www.marriott. com/hotels/hotel-rooms/yyzcy-courtyard-toronto-downtown/) – located

perfectly downtown and on the lip of what is called “The Gay Village” – is an excellent choice for a comfortable stay. Spacious rooms, comfortable beds, and even free laundry facilities are just a few amenities offered to their guests. The staff was friendly and the concierge(s) were generous and accurate with suggestions for food, activities, and directions.

Toronto is rich in many cultural backgrounds, and therefore has become a foodlover’s paradise. Restaurants abound with every type of ethnic culinary delight possible. For a neighborhood feel, try Hair of the Dog Neighborhood Pub (www.hairofthedogonchurch.ca). Very relaxing with indoor/ outdoor seating options, the atmosphere is pleasant and welcoming. Drink specials and the menu food choices are varied, with a good balance offered. Although the pasta was a touch undercooked for my personal taste, the sauce and blend of spice were excellently done.

If a see-and-be-seen scene is your choice, then you can do no better than dining at Byzantium (www.BYZ.ca). Setting the mood is instant and comfortable without any fuss or pompousness. This restaurant was unanimously recommended by everyone we asked, and for a good reason. An award-winning martini bar and unique menu items are only two reasons to visit the establishment; the quality of both would be two more. Even

C Kelly Nowicki

From Fairhaven to downtown, Bellingham full of suprises

Toronto, Canada

8

Seattle Gay News

March 11, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

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March 11, 2011

Seattle Gay News

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Celebrating 38 Years!

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Seattle Gay News 11

12 Seattle Gay News

March 11, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

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March 11, 2011

Seattle Gay News 13

Gay dating app Grindr now on Android

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

that he has never been able to freely express his sexuality because of the law.

“In order to do so I have to cross the border to South Africa where my sexuality is recognized and protected by law,” Youngman says.

He says he hates to cross the border constantly as he suffers financially and endures the inconvenience of constant travel.

“Sometimes I fear for my safety in South Africa, in fact I was nearly hijacked before, many times I feel like a criminal when I enjoy my sexuality and I suffer prejudice in the communities when I openly express my sexuality,” he adds.

Youngman also says the Botswana government is prejudiced against LGBT citizens.

He cites the government’s refusal to register the Lesbians, Gays, and Bisexuals of Botswana (LEGABIBO) organization, of which Youngman is a founding member.

Caine Youngman “Furthermore, prospects of registration in the future are slim because the

by Mike Andrew minister of labor and home affairs is on SGN Staff Writer record as saying his office would have difficulties in registering LEGABIBO and deCaine Youngman, an openly Gay Bo- criminalizing homosexuality,” Youngman tswana man, is suing his country over sec- says in his court filing. tion 164 of its penal code, outlawing sameYoungman says that section 164 of Bosex relations, which the law calls “carnal tswana’s penal code violates that country’s knowledge against the order of nature.” constitution.

In his suit, Youngman asks the Botswana “The constitution of Botswana under secHigh Court to declare section 164 uncon- tion 3(a) provides for the protection of evstitutional, null and void, and without legal eryone’s right to ‘life, liberty, and security effect. of the person and the protection of the law’ He also seeks a declaration that section whatever his/her ‘race, place of origin, polit164 violates the Botswana constitution by ical [affiliation], … creed, or sex,” he notes. preventing persons from freely associating Youngman says the law criminalizing with people of their own choice, and from same-sex relations is detrimental to public giving expression to their sexual orienta- health because it pushes HIV/AIDS patients tion. into hiding and makes interventions exAccording to the Botswana Gazette news- tremely difficult. paper, Youngman, 29, says in his court filing Ironically, Botswana’s Parliament recently passed legislation prohibiting workplace discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

“It will be preposterous to argue that our Constitution does not confer protection to a class that is protected by a [statute],” Youngman said.

Botswana residents convicted of same-sex relations may be fined and may be sentenced to seven years in prison.

Like many former British possessions in Africa, Botswana’s anti-Gay laws date from the colonial period and duplicate language found in British law of the time.

Courtesy The Voice

Grindr, the popular location-based app Gay men use to find other Gay males in their immediate area, is now available in an Android version.

Grindr, a Los Angelesbased company, has more than 1.65 million regular users in 180 countries worldwide, with London being the app’s most popular city.

Grindr for Android, compatible with devices running Android OS 2.1 and higher, offers a photo and location browsing experience, just as the other applications do. Users also can participate in mobile chat sessions with other nearby Grindr members and initiate cross-platform meetings.

The company has grown quickly in its

two years of existence. The service currently sees 3,000 new users join each day, and the average user spends 1.3 hours using the app on a daily basis.

Some have criticized Grindr for promoting sexual promiscuity as the service can be used to find sexual partners.

Others have warned about personal safety. “Programs like Grindr are the new ‘Gay bar’ of the millennium,” said Daniel Gomez, community engagement manager at The Lesbian & Gay Foundation. “But a word of caution … use common sense when meeting up with men from the internet. I think sometimes it’s easy to forget that not everyone has the same intentions you do when looking to meet men online.”

Grindr has already said it is planning to launch a version for Lesbians as well as straight men and women.

Gay activist sues Botswana over anti-Gay law

Religion & Spirituality Rev. David Strong Pastor

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March 11, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

Trump says no to Gay Gay sex still illegal marriage and civil benefits in Kansas file photos

Courtesy donald trump

So why does Trump’s point of view matter? Because on March 2, he talked about exploring a presidential run as a Republican candidate.

Thomas Beaumont, a writer for the Des Moines Register, asked Trump if he supports “allowing same-sex couples to marry.”

Trump said “No,” but didn’t stop there. When the reporter asked whether Gay couples should have access to “the same benefits as married couples,” Trump first implied that his opinion has not yet “fully formed,” but then, after thinking it over for a minute, said, “As of this moment, I would say no and no” to Gay marriages and civil benefits.

Strategically, one could see why a Republican would say such a thing in Iowa. The conservatives of the state overwhelmingly opposed the Iowa Supreme Court’s 2009 decision to overturn the state’s Gay marriage ban. However, in New York, home to one of the largest Gay and Lesbian communities in the country, Trump’s comments didn’t go over so well.

“He’s an extreme bigot,” said Roskoff, who was the first openly Gay appointed official in New York City. “Not only should Gays be furious, we should be boycotting the products of the advertisers on his TV show Celebrity Apprentice, and certainly boycotting his casinos and hotels and apartment buildings.”

Roskoff continued, “His game plan is to appeal to the extreme right. How he does business in New York, how he’s tolerated is beyond me. I think things are going to change for him.”

In a bizarre twist of Trump family drama, his daughter, Ivanka Trump, reportedly attended the New York City Reception in Support of Freedom to Marry, an organization that’s seeking marriage equality nationwide for same-sex couples.

Donald Trump

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Donald Trump is known as many things: a real estate mogul, reality TV star, and the wearer of an iconic haircut. For decades, The Donald has built an empire and reputation as a no-nonsense businessman. Now, according to Allen Roskoff, who co-authored the nation’s first Gay rights bill in the 1970s, there is another thing Trump can be known for: his anti-Gay stance on marriage equality.

Roskoff is calling for a boycott of Trump’s business interests due to his comments to the Des Moines Register about Gay marriage.

“He’s crossed the Rubicon,” says Roskoff, a founder of the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club. “It’s unconscionable that he could exist in New York City.”

Kansas Representatives Lance Kinzer and Jan Pauls

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Aren’t you glad you live in Washington state? We may not always be on the mark as far as full Gay rights go, but we fare pretty well compared to, let’s say, Kansas.

The ranking Republican and Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee say they intend to leave a law criminalizing Gay sex in Kansas law books – despite its being unconstitutional.

The law limits sex acts between Gay and Lesbian partners. A 2003 U.S. Supreme Court decision striking down a similar law in Texas indirectly nullified the Kansas law, but the Legislature must vote to repeal it.

The Topeka Capitol-Journal reported March 10 that Rep. Lance Kinzer, a Repub-

lican, and Rep. Jan Pauls, a Democrat, said it wasn’t necessary to remove the law.

Kinzer says the law is unenforceable and no one is being harmed by it. He also said that there was no evidence of homosexuals being threatened by police officers with arrest under the law.

“It’s tempest in a teapot,” Kinzer said. “I don’t think it would make any difference.”

Thomas Witt, state chairman of the Kansas Equity Coalition, says the law’s existence is an insult to Gays and Lesbians living in Kansas. Witt is calling for both lawmakers to be ousted from their leadership positions.

“Rep. Pauls’ endorsement of an unconstitutional statute that’s used to threaten and discriminate against law-abiding Kansas citizens is an outrage,” said Witt.

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Seattle Gay News 15

wisconsin continued from cover

cess of unions negotiating labor contracts with employers on behalf of their members.

The vote was 18-1 in the Wisconsin Senate, with only one Republican voting no and all the Senate Democrats still absent out of state.

“In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin,” Senate Democratic leader Matt Miller said from a location in Illinois.

The Wisconsin Assembly has already passed a similar bill, and it is expected to approve the Senate bill as SGN goes to press

on March 10.

In response, 60 LGBT organizations joined Pride At Work in a pledge of solidarity and common action with Wisconsin workers.

Pride At Work, an LGBT labor organization affiliated with the AFL-CIO, was joined

by Wisconsin’s leading LGBT rights organizations – Fair Wisconsin and Equality Wisconsin – and national organizations like the HRC, NGLTF, Lambda Legal, NCLR, the National Black Justice Coalition, National Minority AIDS Council, the Transgender Law Center, and the Stonewall Democrats.

In a joint statement sent out by Pride At Work on March 10, they said, “As national, state, and local organizations for LGBT equality, we stand in solidarity with the teachers, firefighters, nurses, and all work-

ers across this country fighting for their basic rights – for all of our rights. We are one.”

The 60 LGBT organizations promised to “mobilize LGBT community support for these unprecedented labor battles” by engaging their own members, affiliates, and local allies in “solidarity campaigns for workers’ rights.”

The LGBT groups also noted that “labor unions have been on the front lines of the fight for social and economic justice for all people. … Workers have negotiated and won union contract language to ensure safe work places, to prohibit employment discrimination, and to include vital provisions such as domestic partner benefits, equal access to FMLA, bereavement, and sick leave.”

While Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker continued to insist that he only wanted to balance the state budget, Senate Republican leaders removed all the fiscal provisions from Walker’s “budget repair bill” so they could get around constitutional quorum requirements and strip state workers’ collective bargaining rights.

Democrats had held up action on the bill for four weeks by leaving the state to deprive the Senate of the 20-member quorum necessary to pass Walker’s budget bill.

Labor leaders, who had organized daily rallies of upwards of 100,000 people to protest the bill, vowed to continue their struggle to defend the rights of workers to form unions and bargain contracts.

In a statement issued on March 9, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO said, “Scott Walker and the Republicans’ ideological war on the middle class and working families is now indisputable, and their willingness to shred 50 years of labor peace, bipartisanship, and Wisconsin’s democratic process to pass a bill that 74 percent of Wisconsinites oppose is beyond reprehensible.”

“Scott Walker did not win,” AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka told reporters on March 9. “This isn’t over ‘til we say it’s over.”

Trumka repeated his stand in a letter sent to local AFL-CIO affiliates on March 10.

“This assault on workers’ freedom will not stand,” he vowed.

“It’s time for politicians to pay attention to the people they represent. Workers in Wisconsin and in Ohio and across America have had enough. If these attacks continue in statehouses across America, we will be even stronger and bigger, with more of the public – ordinary Americans who are being attacked – joining us to balance out-of-control corporate greed,” Trumka promised.

Fair Wisconsin has already begun recall drives aimed at Republicans who supported Walker’s bill. Republicans have also initiated recalls against Democratic senators who left the state to stall the bill.

According to Wisconsin state law, an official may be recalled after he or she has served at least a year of his or her term. Of the 18 legislators who may be recalled this year, all 18 have had recall petitions filed

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March 11, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

age or rescind their own acknowledgement against them.

Walker was elected in the 2010 election, of parentage. This could affect both custody took office in January this year, and will be and child support claims.

HB 1267 also sets standards for surrogacy eligible for recall in 2012. contracts, including new requirements for the prospective parents as well as the woman acting as a surrogate. These changes aim at protecting all parties in a surrogacy contract, and also safeguarding the legal status continued from cover of the children born as a result of such contracts.

The measure was co-sponsored by Reps.

Jinkins, Liias, Moeller, and Upthegrove, as troduced his own bill, HB 1267, amending well as 48 other House members. the state law known as the Uniform ParentIt passed the House 57-41. age Act. Laurie Jinkins’ bill, HB 1649, amends Pedersen’s measure is intended to expand state law to recognize same-sex marriages the rights and obligations of registered do- concluded in other jurisdictions as valid domestic partners with respect to parenting. mestic partnerships in Washington.

HB 1267 would add specific references State law previously excluded same-sex to domestic partnerships to the existing marriages from recognition. language in the Uniform Parentage Act and The state’s DOMA (Defense of Marriage adopt some language recommended by the Act) prevents same-sex couples from marU.S. Uniform Law Commission (ULC). rying here, and prohibits state recognition The ULC is a non-partisan non-profit of same-sex marriages concluded in other body that determines what areas of state jurisdictions. law might usefully be uniform from state to HB 1649 stops short of recognizing outstate, and drafts recommended legislation. of-state same-sex marriages as marriages, Pedersen’s bill would also require that but it does accord same-sex couples all the gender-neutral terms be used in state laws privileges of opposite-sex spouses as progoverning parenting to better describe the vided for in this state’s domestic partnership situations of same-sex parents of children. laws.

In addition, the bill extends the time durJinkins’ bill also says explicitly that it aping which individuals can challenge parent- plies to any future legislation, so couples

bills

that fall under the provisions of the law would be entitled to any expansion of domestic partnership rights or benefits that might be passed in the future.

The bill was co-sponsored by Reps. Liias, Moeller, Pedersen, and Upthegrove, and 50 other Representatives.

It passed the House by a margin of 58-39.

St. Lucia

continued from cover

where homosexuality is criminalized) can be found with the brutal attack of American Gay couple, Michael Baker and Nick Smith from Atlanta, GA, while visiting St. Lucia.

Boyfriends Michael and Nick, along with their friend Todd Wiggins, were returning to their mountaintop cottage on March 2 after taking in the sunset that evening. While Nick and Todd were in the shower, they heard Wiggins scream, warning them to stay in the bathroom.

According to new reports, Nick looked into the cabin’s common area to see two men with knives and guns, wearing masks, beating his friend Todd.

Nick and his lover struggled to keep the violent intruders out of the bathroom, but

they broke through and assaulted the two men, reportedly telling them they “hated white people, Gay people, and Americans.”

The attackers tied the three men up, threw them in the shower, and ordered them to get off the island.

“They said they would check on us in five minutes, and if we had untied ourselves, they would kill us,” said Michael.

After the attackers left, the men freed themselves from the bindings and fled the cabin through a back exit, leaving their shoes behind. Shoeless and afraid, the three climbed down the mountain and then walked down an unpaved gravel road until eventually arriving at the home of Todd’s friends.

Michael and Nick returned to the U.S. the following day, and Todd followed one day after.

“I don’t know the full motivation that drove these five men, but I do know that I can feel pity for them,” wrote Michael on his Facebook account. “As Todd said, how horrible that this was the only option that they felt they had.”

According to Globalgayz.com, a Gayowned travel, news and culture website focused on LGBT life in countries around the world, “For years, homosexuality has been frowned upon in St. Lucian society. Homosexuals and those suspected of the practice have been called names, been laughed and jeered at, and at times even attacked.”

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Seattle Gay News 17

soccer

continued from cover

was pretty good fortune. I love the game itself. Watching a play develop and watching the intent of a player when a foul is made is spectacular sometimes. Soccer is an emotional game and there is a passion that people have when they are involved, whether it is a Seattle Sounders fan or a parent watching their child develop in a club program at an early age.”

It’s one thing to love the sport. It’s quite another to undertake the dramas of founding a new league in a region that already has several of them for adults. “The reason we established this league is because we have been involved in soccer most of our lives,” offers Weymouth. “I wanted to organize a fun and exciting league that has a spirit of competition. There are a few leagues around that offer to referee 10 matches for you and collect a paycheck. I just want to do something better and make it more social, and tie it in with the community.”

The Seattle United Soccer League is being born out of the Gay community, though it has an open door policy for all players.

“This is an adult league and we used the term ‘United’ as an icon which recognizes everyone. All orientations, any gender, and there will be a mixture of age levels,” Weymouth clarifies. “There will be some over30 and over-40 players playing with some

younger more youthful athletes just out of college. But teams will be equally divided based on skill level. Most players in recreational soccer are either novice, intermediate, or they have played premier and college soccer, which makes them advanced. Each team will be randomly formed through the lottery, creating the same number of premier players as it does novice and intermediate on each team. Teams will be equally balanced so no one team is stacked. This dynamic makes games more exciting, and allows for those who are new to be mentored by more advanced teammates when games are competitive. The spirit of the game is essential. It is a competition so teams will challenge each other for the cup at the end of the season.”

“John Bates has been wonderful at Seattle Parks and Recreation and he was helpful in us securing a great venue,” Weymouth continues. “Players will not have to travel to Shoreline on a Tuesday night at 9:30 and then down to Renton for a 6 p.m. game on another weeknight. With rush-hour traffic and late-night games during the week, it is difficult to fit sports into your schedule. So we have games scheduled every Saturday at Genesee Soccer Complex at 9:30 a.m., 11 a.m., and 12:30 p.m. We hope in future seasons to have them a little bit longer.”

With the place to play set, the league continued to tackle other obstacles. “After we secured fields, the other Lego pieces just started to connect. Sponsors felt this was a great idea. They took ownership and jumped behind it to support it. It is because of their THE JOURNEY BEGINS help the league is very inexpensive for playSo how did the Seattle United Soccer ers. We are offering a service for a fraction League movement begin? of the cost of what the other leagues are of“We began the journey nine months fering.” ago,” says Weymouth. “I became familiar with a local club. They have been around a NOT SO FAST long time, and have been pretty set in their Everything was going according to plan ways. They told me it takes a lot of time until the club helping the cause had second to accomplish anything. We worked on the thoughts. league together and had plans to introduce There was a political division within the it to the club. There were months of prelimi- club, and finally a few controlled the outnary work to secure fields. I found this the come for everybody else. “The website demost challenging task. It is very difficult to velopment was going on for months,” Weyget fields in the City of Seattle. There are mouth says, “and at the zero hour, the club not enough recreational facilities for every decided they weren’t ready to be connected activity during daylight hours, so it is com- to a league.” petitive to be able to secure a complex for a “After hearing the news, the next step was whole league.” to decide what to do. Do we just throw our arms up and quit? Do we hunker down and regroup like we are down 2-0 at halftime of the match, and then come back in the 78th minute and tie the match with a chance to win? I went back to the sponsors and advised them of the recent developments, and most were loyal to us and said keep going.

Way too much had gone into this, and to stop would damage future opportunities to do this again. Here we are with two minutes left, and we need a shot on goal.”

Weymouth takes a deep breath as he remembers the tense situation. “So here we go,” exhales Weymouth.

“Two weeks to go before the draft and kickoff party, and the Legos are still falling right into place. We just secured our venue for the draft night on March 25. The 88 Keys Dueling Piano Bar, which is across the street from Qwest stadium, is rolling out the carpet to make this a great event for everyone. Fields at Genesee Soccer Complex are being prepped for the Jamboree the following day on March 26.”

“Membership is growing, and that is the only thing that will determine the success of the league. The sponsors have already stamped victory on the league. Now the players just need to come and play. Because we are not doing the league for the club, that makes us independent, and we need to develop our own pool of players. We hope to ramp that up quickly. We are over halfway there. We need to spread the word through every network we can. We have to be di-

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versified. This is going to be fun to create and get people involved in the organization.

There are many passionate people that love soccer.”

WORKING TOGETHER Weymouth approached those who belong to the original local club and felt comfortable with going outside the barriers. “I am a huge advocate of the club – I love watching Stonewall, Hydro, Halo, Riot, Empros, and Thundercats play. The club has really grown rapidly over the last few years, and there has been an influx of players in our community.

I wanted to have a place for players to play until they had found a team, so we established the new league.”

“We organize the teams to keep the teams equally balanced. The teams are not playing against other teams that are much more skilled,” he continues. “I see the social aspect as being one of the main factors. Rather than going to play against lots of people you don’t know, people would like to compete against (and with) their friends and meet new people as the league grows.”

Weymouth has hopes that soccer will become an even greater part of Seattle culture through the SUSL, and encourages new players to get involved. “This league will also benefit new players into the program that do not have a team to play on. The league will support and help newer members and retain them.”

“If you have ever tried to manage a team, you know how difficult it is to organize 18 people and make sure they are enough suited up to play each week. Then the biggest concern is getting everyone to pay, or as a manager, you are covering a $1,500 check to the league. We help with the management aspect. Our website is real-time. We will have results immediately and will broadcast captured memories instantly from the field.

Only a few teams from the GLBT clubs have been able to successfully contend with the straight organizations. Many don’t see a value or enjoy those expensive options so they have joined our league.”

Weymouth doesn’t want labels, because the league he envisions is open and welcoming of everybody. “This is not a Gay league,” he states. “This is more a community organization that embraces all fans of the sport. The concept from the beginning was that the league was to be supplemental.

Players could play both in the recreational clubs and in the club’s league. The league schedule would be a funnel for new players and would help retain those who cannot play during the week because their scheduled game will get them home at 11:30 on a weeknight, or they work ‘til 7 p.m. and cannot make games before 8:30 p.m.”

“I have many friends in the club still and I hope I get to watch them play every week,” Weymouth says. “But some work weekends, and it doesn’t work for them. There are spectacular players in RCSC like Brandon Rust, Jared Aukland, Tommy Abrams, Evan Luckey, and Sammy – they are as good as they get. I would love to watch Seattle host an international competition and championships here for the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association and watch these guys play in Qwest Stadium. “ PHILOSOPHY OF DIVERSITY “Our mission is to give back to the community spiritually, financially and socially,” says Weymouth. “We express ourselves through the diversity we have on and off the field. Some players are more intense on the field than they are off. Others? Well, let’s just say they are gentlemanly on the pitch.”

“To each equal individual player, fan, or contributor, the Seattle United Soccer League is open to fun, friendly fans of the game. We want them to play in this league because when they step on the field, they know we are all equal, we are all just soccer players, and the only person who can make sure that things stay equal is the referee.”

“So,” says Weymouth, “as a referee, I cannot blow this call.”

For more information and to register for the spring league, visit www.seattleunitedsl. com. League lottery and draft March 25; Jamboree March 26.

18 Seattle Gay News

March 11, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

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Seattle Gay News 19

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