SGN March 16, 2012 - Section 1

Issue 11 Volume 40

Celebrating 39 Years!

EX-PORN STAR p. 8

MINNESOTA WAR p. 9

DINA MARTINA p. 25

Seattle Gay News

FRIDAY March 16, 2012 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Gay murders in Iraq Court challenge condemned by U.S. State Department wins – Ref. 74 ballot

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The U.S. State Department has condemned a wave of brutal murders targeting Gay men in Iraq, and has contacted the Iraqi government about the situation.

At least 14 young men have

reportedly been killed, and the death toll may exceed 40. According to some reports, victims had their skulls crushed with cement blocks.

“We strongly condemn the recent violence and killings in Iraq see iraq page 20

courtesy the news tribune

Adam Ferguson / The New York Times

A group of Gay Iraqis in Baghdad, who feared being identified, said they faced daily harassment.

language changed

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Thurston County Superior Court Judge Thomas McPhee ruled March 13 that a proposed referendum seeking to overturn the new law legalizing same-sex marriage in Washington will not contain the phrase “redefine marriage.”

Judge McPhee finalized the language for the ballot title and summary of Referendum 74 after both sides of the debate challenged the original wording by Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna.

McPhee’s language is final and cannot be appealed.

The new Referendum 74 ballot title and ballot measure summary are as follows:

see ballot page 19

Judge Thomas McPhee

U.S. Senate overcomes Gay City’s Project Republican obstruction, BuildOUT hits $71,000 confirms 4th Gay judge Gay City (511 E. Pike St.) officials announced this week that funds raised for the organization’s Project BuildOUT have hit $71,000.

Gay City Health Project is a multicultural Gay men’s health organization and the leading provider of HIV and STI testing in King County, whose mission is to promote the health of Gay and Bisexual men and prevent HIV transmission by building community, fostering communication, and nurturing self-esteem.

Gay City officials have set a $100,000 goal for Project BuildOUT by asking members of the community to “be a part of the new Gay City” by donating to the project.

“Project BuildOUT funds are specifically earmarked to pay for the construction of our new space,” Gay City Executive Director Fred Swanson told Seattle Gay News.

“That means an expanded Wellness Center, an expanded Library

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Michael Fitzgerald, an openly Gay California lawyer, got overwhelming Senate approval on March 15 for his nomination as U.S. District Court Judge. He now becomes the fourth out LGBT federal judge in the country.

The 91-6 vote was a triumph for Fitzgerald, but perhaps even more so for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

Federal judges are nominated by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate before they can take up their life terms on the bench.

Fitzgerald was nominated for the position on July 20, 2011, had his Judiciary Committee hearing in October 2011, and was reported by the committee to the full Senate without opposition on November 3, 2011.

The Senate did not act on his see gay city page 21 nomination because Republicans

COURTESY SENATOR BARBARA BOXER’S OFFICE

courtesy gay city

Gay City’s new location under construction

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Michael Fitzgerald

refused to agree to an up-or-down vote on it.

On March 12, Reid announced that he would no longer accept Republican obstruction of 17 of President Obama’s federal court nominees. Unless Republican leaders agreed to up-or-down votes on the nominees, Reid said, he would see judge page 20

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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, Anthony Greer 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, Scott Wittet, Nevin Jefferson, Jason A. Miller, Liz Meyer, Rod Parke, Don Paulson, Scott Rice, Leslie Robinson, Richard Kennedy, 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.

Seattle Gay News welcomes unsolicited material, including letters to the editor, but reserves the right to edit or reject material. All rights revert to authors upon publication.

We assume no liability for loss or damage of materials, solicited or not. We invite feedback, please write.

And please play safe.

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.

VOTE LIKE A WOMAN

by Richard J. Rosendall Special to the SGN

When Rick Santorum talks of imposing his idea of God’s Plan on his fellow citizens; when Rush Limbaugh calls a law student a “slut” and a “prostitute” for advocating access to contraceptives; when Republican state legislators try to define embryos as persons and require women seeking abortions to undergo invasive and medically unnecessary procedures – when the right wing does these obnoxious things, they are doing us a favor.

We need to be jolted out of our complacency once in a while and reminded that the struggle to form a more perfect Union is never done – whether the discrimination in any given moment is based on race, gender, or sexual orientation. Caught up in our own struggles, we do not always see the connections between different forms of discrimination. Recognizing them is crucial in a year when opponents of equality are eager to divide and conquer us.

To cite one example: The intersection of sexism and homophobia was nicely cap- that homophobia is built on a foundation of tured by William Hurt’s line to Raul Julia misogyny.

Gay people, by not conforming to gender in the movie Kiss of the Spider Woman, “What’s wrong with being like a woman?” norms, are correctly perceived as a threat to

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

It is not that male homosexuality equals effeminacy; the wide spectrum of actual gender roles is increasingly hard to ignore. It is

male privilege. Let us not pretend that we seek to change nothing of importance. Social and professional standing, the role of women, marriage, and the raising of children are all hugely important. The point, as my late colleague Frank Kameny often put it, is that “We are right and they are wrong.”

In our diverse society, people of every gender, color, orientation, faith, and nationality deserve equal treatment under the law. This most American of goals is a threat to some self-professed patriots, and they are fighting back.

Those who oppose us can prevail if they are not sufficiently challenged.

Part of the task is about nuts and bolts like organizing and turnout.

A big part, though, is one-on-one conversations in which we not only explain ourselves but connect with people on a human level.

The truth will not win out by itself. We must make our case.

The religious right has controlled the debate so effectively that too many people don’t understand that using the civil law to impose one group’s religious prohibitions on everyone else would be the opposite of religious freedom.

Turnabout being fair play, women legislators in Virginia and Oklahoma have proposed the “Every Sperm Is Sacred” amendment, in which ejaculation of sperm anywhere but into a woman’s vagina is an act against an unborn child. (For biblical support, see Genesis 38:9-10.) Others would require men seeking Viagra to watch videos on the dire consequences of erections lasting more than four hours.

Activist Toni Broaddus recently posted on Facebook, “I have a vagina and I vote.” I replied, “I intend to vote as if I had a vagina.”

Each of us has characteristics that others can use to label us. I say to those of us who enjoy a measure of privilege because we share characteristics with the dominant group (white, male, Christian): Vote as if you were a woman. Vote as if you were a Muslim. Vote as if you were an immigrant who fits a police profile. Vote as if you were Deoni Jones, murdered 50 blocks east of the U.S. Capitol because she didn’t conform to someone else’s idea of acceptable gender presentation.

Share your privilege. Join the coalition.

Start a journey toward trust with people unlike yourself. If we do that, we can avoid waking up one morning in a country less free.

Copyright © 2012 by Richard J. Rosendall. All rights reserved. Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist. He can be reached at rrosendall@starpower.net.

March 16, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

Youth Suicide Prevention Program makes progress Victoria Wagner, executive director for the Youth Suicide Prevention Program (YSPP) based in Washington state, said the passage This week, mental health profession- of the Matt Adler bill is very important. als are celebrating the successful passage of the Matt Adler Suicide Assessment, Treatment, and Management Training Act of 2012 (ESHB 2366) by Washington state lawmakers.

The Matt Adler Act requires frontline mental health practitioners and occupational therapists to receive basic and continuing education in identifying and managing suicide risks without increasing the required number of continuing education credits they must have.

Jenn Stuber, a professor at the University of Washington who personally experienced this crisis one year ago when her husband took his own life, advocated this bill. An ac- “Currently, many health and mental health complished attorney and father to their two practitioners are inadequately trained – or young children, Matt Adler was under care not trained at all – in the detection, assessfor severe depression and an anxiety disor- ment, management, and treatment of suider. After weeks of independent research cidal persons,” she told Seattle Gay News. on suicidology and looking at his medical “Our state practitioners are required to rerecords, Jenn discovered that appropriate ceive specific education on HIV/AIDS and attention had not been paid to the obvious it is not even among the 20 leading causes risk he posed to himself. Since then, she has of death, while there is currently no requirebeen advocating for change. ment to address suicide, which causes sigby Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

nificantly more deaths.”

“Now, practitioners will have training that will help them recognize the suicide warning signs and refer a person struggling with these thoughts to the help they need,” Wagner said. “We have worked with Matt’s wife Jenn Stuber as she made this very difficult journey to bring this bill to a law. While we would like to see it have longer training requirements, we worked with the group to advocate for the passage and are delighted that it has received such favorable reception.”

Suicide prevention is very important – and can save lives, said Wagner. “On average, at least two youths in Washington state die by suicide every week, 17 more are hospitalized, and one in 10 have admitted to having thoughts of suicide,” she said. “Those who consider suicide don’t actually want to die. They want someone to see their pain and help them. By teaching people the suicide warning signs, and what to do and what to say when someone is considering suicide, a person is more likely to get the help they need.”

Having the Matt Adler Suicide Assessment, Treatment, and Management Training Act of 2012 signed into law will open the door for YSPP experts to do more trainings in communities across the state and teach more people what to do and what to say when a young person’s life is at risk.

“It is early to tell if YSPP will play a role in the implementation,” said Wagner. “It is, however, great to see the legislature finally acknowledge the health crisis of suicide, and require mental health professionals to

have the training necessary to detect, assess, manage, and treat suicidal behavior.”

YSPP is one of the lead agencies in the state of Washington, providing suicide prevention and, in targeted counties, intervention.

Still, funding remains a problem for YSPP’s OUTLoud program; the state’s only LGBTQ youth suicide prevention arm.

“Unfortunately the OUTLoud model, while recognized as a leader, struggles to find sustainable funding,” said Wagner.

“We have received small grants – the Pride Foundation and RealNetworks – but there are limited funds available. YSPP has recognized the critical needs that OUTLoud addresses and continues to try to fund the program through private funds.”

More than 30% of LGBTQ youth reported at least one suicide attempt within the last year. More than 50% of Transgender youth will have made at least one suicide attempt by their 20th birthday.

“OUTLoud program staff and YSPP field coordinators work in Seattle, Spokane, and other urban and rural areas across the state to facilitate educational presentations for teachers and community providers to enhance their recognition of the risk and protective factors for LGBTQ youth, and to recognize the warning signs for suicide and self-harm,” Wagner said. “OUTLoud staff also partner with LGBTQ youth to deliver educational presentations to teens and young adults in groups like Gay-Straight Alliances.”

The OUTLoud program addresses not only suicide prevention but also bias-based bullying.

“This is a critical program to make things better now in the lives of LGBTQ young people,” Wagner concluded.

For more information about YSPP or to make a donation to OUTLoud, visit www. yspp.org.

Come meet Tim and Matt and join the family.

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

206-838-6027 or 206-898-4306 Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 16, 2012

Seattle Gay News

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GLAAD launches QYS looks at space to Commentator house Three Wings Accountability Project

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor GLAAD, the nation’s LGBT media advocacy and anti-defamation organization, announced the launch of its Commentator Accountability Project (CAP) March 15.

According to officials, CAP “aims to educate the media about the extreme rhetoric of over three dozen activists who are often given a platform to speak in opposition to LGBT people and the issues that affect their lives.”

“Hate is not an expert opinion,” said GLAAD spokesperson Herndon Graddick.

“In most cases, news outlets invite reputable experts to speak on the subject at hand, but when talking about LGBT issues, open hostility and anti-LGBT bias seems to be all the credibility required. This project holds these so-called ‘pundits’ accountable for the extreme anti-LGBT rhetoric they continue to spread.”

The Commentator Accountability Project launches with a comprehensive set of online

resources detailing the anti-LGBT, racist, and anti-woman sentiments of nearly three dozen anti-LGBT commentators who have appeared in local and national news. As more commentators engage in anti-LGBT rhetoric, new profiles will be added.

“These activists have the right to recite their anti-LGBT talking points, but it is important to expose the questionable and often hostile rhetoric that passes as punditry when so-called ‘experts’ speak out against the lives of LGBT people on the air or in print,” explained Graddick. “If networks are going to continue to invite those with incendiary anti-LGBT views on their programs, show runners should know the full picture of who these individuals really are so that critical context can be relayed to the audience.”

GLAAD will utilize the resources of the Commentator Accountability Project in future meetings with editors, writers, network executives, producers, and guest bookers – providing the mainstream media with a tool by which to hold commentators accountable.

GLAAD encourages individuals to alert the organization when these virulently antiLGBT activists appear on local or national news. To report an incident visit www.glaad. org/cap.

GLAAD amplifies the voice of the LGBT community by empowering real people to share their stories, holding the media accountable for the words and images they present, and helping grassroots organizations communicate effectively. By ensuring that the stories of LGBT people are heard through the media, GLAAD promotes understanding, increases acceptance, and advances equality. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

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Queer Youth Space (QYS) officials spoke with Seattle Gay News this week to update our readers on the youth-led organization’s search for a physical space in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood.

“These past few months we have been busy touring a very promising space with the city of Seattle, the architect, and some amazing designers,” QYS officials said in a March 1 email statement to their supporters.

“We are very excited to open this community organization after all ya’ll have advocated for.”

Still, QYS officials Logan L. Thompson and Emma Petersky, two youth leaders serving on the organization’s Board of Directors, told Seattle Gay News they are not ready to announce the physical address yet.

“We are very excited to be moving on a space in the heart of Capitol Hill, and we want to share our excitement with the community,” Petersky and Thompson said in a written statement to SGN. “That being said, this is a delicate process with many moving parts. Until the lease is signed and final contracts are in place, we are not planning to release the address publicly.”

“As soon as a lease is signed we will announce the details,” they said.

So what would a Queer Youth Space look like? “In our original grant application, we wrote that the cultural arts center promises to be something very special and very Queer: a space that (by definition) cannot be measured, traced, or pinned down,” QYS officials told SGN. “Our current goals for the space come from the 2010 Mutiny and the Queer youth who attended: we want to provide space for young people to hang out, make media, share ideas, perform, and organize around issues they care about.

Moreover, to keep the space responsive to the community that created it, we want it to be planned and directed by and for young people.”

According to Petersky and Thompson, at the Mutiny, Queer youth asked for two things: community organizing that is youthpositive and youth-led, and a cultural gathering space created by and for Queer youth.

“As we get closer to moving in, we plan on holding more conversations with queer youth in the community around their vision for this space,” they said.

In addition, QYS leaders have asked volunteers to help them install a “very real and very Queer” gender-neutral bathroom.

“It is so important to us that our space is inclusive and comfortable for people across Queer identities,” said officials. “Gender identity is a complex spectrum that doesn’t always fit neatly into male and female restrooms. The last thing we want is to force a person in our space to define their identity by the bathroom they use.”

QYS are currently in the process of relaunching a “new and usable website” for Queer youth and adults who want more information about the non-profit.

If you would like to offer your time and energy with this process or have any questions for QYS, send email to info@queeryouthspace.com.

To answer their critics about the time it has taken for QYS to move into a physical space, QYS officials remind, “These things take time.”

“There is an amazing, natural momentum behind QYS that has kept it moving forward all these months. We thrive because of our highly motivated constituents, who are leading this movement as board members and volunteers,” conclude officials. “Though founding members have moved away and new members have come in, the need for Queer Youth Space in Seattle has remained strong. This process, though intricate and slow at times, has been intensely rewarding for all involved. We are proud of the accomplishments we have made since the Mutiny two years ago, and we are excited about the potential that physical space will offer us.”

GLSEN WA announces 2012 GSA Leadership Summit

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

GLSEN Washington State announced this week that the Puget Sound GSA Leadership Summit is scheduled for March 31 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Meadowbrook Community Center (10517 35th Ave.). The event is free ($10 for lunch) and is open to GSA leaders, students, teachers, advisors, and educators.

“Educate yourself on new and interesting ideas that can help you work with your school, community, or those you come in contact with. GLSEN provides curriculum ideas, sensitivity trainings, and resources for all educators, students, advisors, and interested adults,” said GLSEN officials.

“Regional conferences serve to help GSA groups network with each other, gain information, plan group activities, set goals, and encourage participation in activities that further our goal of safer school environments for all students.”

There will be advisor and student breakout sessions. Clock hours will be available for teachers and provided by Puget Sound ESD, said officials.

Educators and advisors are invited to come to a Safe Space Kit training: “Making

Safe Space/Schools for LGBT Students.”

“During this training, participants will learn to explore personal beliefs about LGBT issues, learn how to support students, discuss strategies to get support from other teachers, and share advocacy strategies including resources,” said officials. “We will have a student panel presentation. This is an interactive workshop. Please come with ideas and curriculum resources to share.”

Every school that attends will receive a free Safe Space Kit. (Note: if multiple people from the same school come, only one kit will be given for that school.)

Students will receive training on, and hear lectures about, youth suicide prevention, LGBTQ youth activism, GLSEN events/ Days of Action (Including Day of Silence Training), PFLAG, Queers in hip-hop, recognizing the gender binary, self-defense essentials, and GSA legal rights.

There will also be a panel of LGBT athletes that includes the Rat City Roller Girls, Seattle Volleyball Club, Emerald City Softball Association, Seattle Sockeyes, Tilted Thunder, and martial artists.

For more information email mail@glsenwa.org or visit www.glsenwa.org.

Rich Full-Bodied Cafes Savory Homestyle Soups & Sandwiches 6

Seattle Gay News

March 16, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

SEATTLE LGBT COMMISSION – AN EVENING WITH ISRAELI LGBTQ COMMUNITY LEADERS On Friday, March 16, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., at City Hall (600 4th Ave., Room 370), join Seattle LGBT Commissioners for an evening with leaders of Israel’s three leading LGBTQ organizations, the Alliance of Israeli LGBTQ Educational Organizations.

The three leaders are joining forces in an historic partnership to work on education, youth, and families. They are on a two week tour of the West Coast to share the innovative work they are doing in Israel, learn from their counterparts in the U.S., and build relationships for future collaboration. The Commission is delighted to have this opportunity to meet with them and to share information and ideas.

On Wednesday, March 21, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m., at The Space Needle (5th Ave. N. & Broad St.) the GSBA (Greater Seattle Business Association) hosts their monthly business luncheon. This month’s focus will be on the Port of Seattle.

The Port of Seattle plans to create 100,000 new jobs and increase contracting dollars available to small businesses by 25% over the next 25 years. the Port’s small business initiative encourages its supply chain to include businesses owned by minorities, women and members of the LGBT community. Whether your business deals with trade, import/export, tourism or anything in between, chances are you’ll be affected by the policies of the Port. As a local small business owner, your knowledge of how to apply for a job or compete for a contract is essential for helping our region remain competitive and economically vibrant. Learn how you can take advantage of these lucrative opportunities.

Cost: $34 members, $38 nonmembers, $34 students, To register, 206-363-9188 or www.thegsba.org. The GSBA is Seattle’s LGBT (and allies) chamber of commerce.

includes more than 100 works by masters including Thomas Eakins, John Singer Sargent, Georgia O’Keefe, Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and more. The exhibit was co-curated by noted Gay historian, Jonathan Katz, and Smithsonian curator, David Ward.

The exhibit will include special events and guest lectures, including talks by the curators, and a talk by Seattle art dealer and art historian, David Martin, on March 24, at 1 p.m., on Gay Northwest Artists in the Early 20th Century. For more information on the exhibit and special events, call 253-2724258 or visit www.tacomaartmuseum.org.

The museum is open Wednesday-Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. (closed Monday and Tuesday). On the third Thursday of each month, the museum is open until 8 p.m., with free admission from 5-8 p.m. Admission: $10-adults, $8-students, military, seniors SEATTLE JEWISH FILM FESTIVAL 65+, $25-family rate (2 adults and up to SEATTLE GAY & LESBIAN THRU MARCH 25 BOOK CLUB – JACK HOLMES four children under 18), children 5 & under www.seattlejewishfilmfestival.org AND HIS FRIEND free. For bus riders, the museum is accessiThe Seattle Gay & Lesbian Book Club ble from Seattle by Sound Transit bus lines MOISTURE FESTIVAL meets every Wednesday, at 6 p.m., at Seattle #594 and #586.

THRU APRIL 8 Area Support Groups Community Center Comedy/Variete/Burlesque.

(303 17th Ave. E. at E. Thomas St.).

SEATTLE CENTER FESTAL – www.moisturefestival.org March selection is Edmund White’s new IRISH FESTIVAL novel, Jack Holmes and His Friend, about MARCH 17-18 “DINA MARTINA: Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., and Sunday, a Gay/straight friendship that lasts a lifeAMPLE WATTAGE!” noon-6 p.m., at the Seattle Center Exhibi- time. One half of the book is told by the Gay In springtime, a young man’s fancy turns tion Hall (Mercer St. at 2nd Ave.), www. character. One half of the book is told by to Dina Martina. OK, maybe not, but it does irishclub.org; www.irishreels.org. the straight character. The reader is plunged turn to things exciting and new – like the into the characters’ sex lives, their crises, ALL NEW show, “Dina Martina: Ample their affairs, their quarrels, their lies. For JAPANESE CULTURAL & Wattage,” now playing at Re-bar (1114 discount on book, email Nick.

COMMUNITY CENTER OF WA Howell St.) brimming with new songs, new COMING UP: April selection will be Why OPEN HOUSE & 100TH stories, new costumes, new audience gifts, Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? by ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION and brand new video! Like all of Miss MarJeanette Winterson (author of Oranges Are MARCH 17-18 tina’s shows, this new show will also be On Saturday, March 17, and Sunday, Not the Only Fruit) and May selection will brimming with (as The Village Voice says) March 18, from 12 noon-4 p.m., the Japa- be Are You My Mother? by Alison Bechdel “comedy that’ll make you piss your pants!” nese Cultural & Community Center of (author of Fun Home) - both new memoirs Get your tickets now and see why, over the Washington (1414 S. Weller St., just south by two great women writers. For discount years, Dina Martina has been the recipient of S. Jackson St. off Rainier Ave. S.) hosts a on books, email Nick. of countless awards and suggestions!

All GLBTQ folks are welcome to particispecial Open House and 100th Anniversary Show dates: Fridays/Saturdays at 8 p.m.: Celebration. pate in this FREE book club. For more in3/16-17, (no shows 3/23-3/24), 3/30-3/31, The Issei legacy site has been a valuable formation, email nickdimartin@earthlink.

4/6-4/7, 4/13-4/14. Bloody Mary/Mimosa home providing cultural education and com- net, visit http://faculty.washington.edu/ Matinee Sundays at 2 p.m.: (no show 3/18), munity support for what will be 100 years switter/SGLBookClub/ or contact SASG at 3/25, 4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22. Tickets are $20 this March. Through the Japanese Cultural 206-322-2437; www.sasgcc.org. advance ($25 at the door) through www. & Community Center of Washington (JCbrownpapertickets.com/event/218811.

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICE – CCW) and the Seattle Japanese Language STRENGTHENING School, the site has a history of educating 20TH ANNUAL LESBIAN RELATIONSHIPS and touching the lives of thousands of stuWASHINGTON STATE On Wednesday, March 21, 6:30-8:30 p.m., dents, in addition to serving as a temporary LEATHER PRIDE WEEK home for the Japanese American commu- at Jewish Family Service (1601 16th Ave.), MARCH 16-25 nity. From 1945 through 1957, desks at the explore how to build a healthier, stronger For details on Washington State Leather school’s Issei legacy site were replaced by relationship with a woman you love. FaciliPride week, visit www.wsmlo.org. beds to accommodate individuals and fami- tated by G. Dorsey Green, Ph.D., Lesbian lies returning from World War II relocation psychologist and co-author of Lesbian CouSEATTLE GIRLS OF LEATHER ples: A Guide to Creating Healthy Relationcenters.

LEATHER LEPRECHAUN EVENT On March 17 and 18, a few of these former ships. To register, call 206-861-8784.

On Saturday, March 17, from 7:30 p.m.- residents will be brought together by the JC2 a.m., Seattle girls of Leather brings their CCW and the Japanese Language School at TACOMA ART MUSEUM – shenanigans to The Garage (1130 Broad- the Issei legacy site as part of a celebration “THE LAVENDER PALETTE: way). SgoL hopes you’ll join them for this and open house marking its 100th anniverGAY NORTHWEST ARTISTS very special holiday invasion event. SgoL sary, as well as the completion of Phase 1 IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY” hosts monthly “invasions” at area business- renovations made to the site this past fall.

On Saturday, March 24, at 1 p.m., at the es, bringing their special brand of fun with The $1.3 million project aims to preserve Tacoma Art Museum (1701 Pacific Ave., them. St. Patrick’s Day has SgoL breaking the historical integrity and heritage of the Tacoma), David Martin, art historian and away from their traditional black and pink buildings while modernizing the structures, co-owner of Martin-Zambito Fine Art, presto interject a little green into the atmosphere. in order to provide a community center not ents, in conjunction with Tacoma Art MuCan you dig it? Leather Leprechaun is going only for Japanese and Japanese Americans, seum’s “Hide/Seek” exhibition, a lecture: to rock! Whether you’re a member, a sup- but for the entire Pacific NW region for “The Lavender Palette: Gay Northwest Artporter, or just an admirer, SgoL hopes to see years to come. ists in the Early 20th Century.” you on St. Patrick’s Day for a hot shamrockThe reputations of many Gay artists have The public is invited to attend the free in’ time!.www.sgol.org. two-day event to take part in the celebration. suffered due to the lack of extant material, The Open House will include live taiko and which is often destroyed by embarrassed TACOMA ART MUSEUM – karate performances, the opening of the NW family members or friends after their deaths.

“HIDE/SEEK: DIFFERENCE Nikkei Museum’s new exhibit showcas- Lecturer David Martin has done extensive AND DESIRE IN ing arts and crafts created in incarceration investigation into this subject over the past AMERICAN PORTRAITURE” camps during World War II entitled “Art 20 years and, in this lecture, he shines a MARCH 17-JUNE 10 Behind Barbed Wire,” and many cultural lens on Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual artists The Tacoma Art Museum (1701 Pacific activities throughout the site. who were active in Washington state before Ave., Tacoma) presents the groundbreaking In addition, a dedication ceremony will 1960. Although these artists achieved local exhibit, “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire take place on Sunday, March 18, from noon- and even national recognition during their in American Portraiture,” that debuted at 1 p.m., to honor those who contributed to lifetime, their personal lives have rarely, if the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery the renovation project. ever, been discussed, and most of the Gayin 2010 and is the first major exhibition to For more information, call 206-568-7114 oriented works by these artists that Martin address the question of how gender iden- or visit www.jcccw.org. will reveal have never before been seen by tity and sexual orientation have shaped the the public. creation of modern American portraiture.

Cost for the lecture is $15 general, $10 GSBA BUSINESS LUNCHEON – “Hide/Seek” offers an unprecedented surmembers, $5 students and includes museum “PORT OF SEATTLE & ITS vey of nearly 150 years of American art and admission. For more info, call 253-272IMPACT ON SMALL BUSINESS”

Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 16, 2012

4258 or visit www.TacomaArtMuseum.org.

WASHINGTON STATE MR. & MS. LEATHER CONTEST On Friday, March 23, from 8:30-10 p.m., Doghouse Leathers (1312 E. Pike St.) hosts the contest’s annual Meet & Greet. On Saturday, March 24, at 7 p.m., The Cuff Complex (13th Ave. & E. Pine St.), hosts the Mr. & Ms. Leather Contest 2012 in the downstairs dance bar. On Sunday, March 25, at 11:30 a.m., C.C. Attle’s (1701 E. Olive Way) hosts the Emerald Awards and Victory Brunch. www.wsmlo.org.

MUSIC OF REMEMBRANCE: SPARKS OF GLORY – “NOT MARTYRS, NOT SAINTS” On Saturday, March 24, at 2 p.m., at Wallingford’s Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.), Music of Remembrance presents their next Sparks of Glory concertwith-commentary, titled “Not Martyrs, Not Saints,” spotlighting contemporary chamber music related to the Holocaust.

The concert features three works, two by contemporary composers, Simon Sargon and Osvaldo Golijov, and one by the audacious and innovative Erwin Schulhoff, who died in the Wulzberg concentration camp.

MOR’s Sparks of Glory concerts are FREE and open to the public. For complete details on this exciting concert, visit www. musicofremembrance.org.

SEATTLE RAINBOW CONTRA DANCE On Sunday, March 25, free lesson at 3 p.m., dance from 3:30-6 p.m., at Dance Underground (340 15th Ave. E.), join Seattle Rainbow Contra Dance for an afternoon of live music and gender-free dancing for LGBTQ folks and friends and all who want to dance. March 25 features the music of Wild Hair from Oregon, with Mariah Pepper calling. Cost is $10 general admission.

EMERALD CITY PRIDE BINGO + WIZARD OF OZ NEW MUSICAL TO BENEFIT CAPITOL HILL PRIDE FESTIVAL On Sunday, March 25, and the last Sunday of the month in April and May, from 7-9 p.m., at Julia’s (300 Broadway E.), enjoy an evening of bingo and drag entertainment to benefit Capitol Hill Pride Festival 2012, with a special half-time half-hour presentation of the Wizard of Oz New Musical which follows the original Frank Baum stories of the Wizard of Oz with songs and dance.

Must be 18+ years of age.

IN THE LIFE TV – “REVISITING HIDDEN HISTORIES” On Sunday, March 25, at midnight, KCTS-TV, Channel 9, broadcasts In the Life, the longest running television show documenting the LGBT experience. This month’s episode “Revisiting Hidden Histories,” spotlights the Hide/Seek exhibit, now on view at the Tacoma Art Museum, when it first opened in Washington, DC, and the controversy that it sparked. In the second segment of the program In the Life revisits the fascinating life of professor, tattoo artist and sexual renegade, Sam Steward.

This episode can also be viewed online at In The Life TV, www.itlmedia.com.

NORTHWEST NETWORK SPRING 2012 RELATIONSHIP SKILLS CLASS On Mondays, April 2-May 14, from 6-8;30 p.m., at Church of Hope (3818 S. Angeline St.), Northwest Network presents their 7 week course exploring the skills we need to build the relationships we want.

Topics include: identifying cultural norms and personal values; accountability; naming and setting boundaries; strengthening support networks; more. This class is open to Bisexual people and their friends and loved ones, Trans people and their friends and loved ones, and other LGBTQ people, and is open to all regardless of relationship status or history. Suggested donation: $90. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Scholarships and trades are available. For more information, accessibility questions or to register, contact deann at 206-568-7777 or email deann@nwnetwork.org. Pre-registration by Monday, March 26 requested.

Seattle Gay News

7

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Shawn Loftis, who starred in Gay porn films under the name Collin O’Neal, has been reinstated as a substitute teacher by the Miami-Dade school district.

His past career was not a reason to prevent him from teaching, the Florida Education Practices Commission ruled on March 9.

Loftis studied international relations with a focus on the Middle East at Florida International University and earned his master’s degree in public administration at the University of Miami.

As a porn actor, Loftis combined his background in international relations with his acting skills to produce a porn travel series.

He visited exotic parts of the world, filmed himself having sex with local men, and interspersed the sex scenes with travel commentary.

In spring 2010, Loftis decided to leave the porn industry to pursue his passion for teaching. That March, he sold his “World of Men” website to a Canadian company.

In April 2010, he began substitute teaching in Florida middle and high schools.

He had been teaching at Nautilus Middle School when another school employee told the principal that Loftis had been a porn ac-

tor. When school officials Googled “Collin O’Neal,” they found the “World of Men” website showing “sexually explicit pictures” of Loftis with other men.

Loftis was dismissed by the Miami-Dade school district in January 2011 and his teaching credential was revoked the following April.

The school district cited their Rule 6Gx13-4A-1.21, which demands that school faculty “conduct themselves, both in their employment and in the community, in a manner that will reflect credit upon themselves and the school system.”

Loftis, on the other hand, pointed out that his porn career was perfectly legal. He would have been treated differently, he said, if he had appeared in straight films.

Loftis went to the ACLU for help with his complaint, but a representative there turned him down, writing, “Your case would be stronger if your job did not involve supervising children.”

The Educational Practices Commission, however, agreed that his past career was not illegal and the school did not have the authority to dismiss him on that basis.

Loftis said he hopes to use his role as a teacher to help guide students away from making the same career choices he had made.

courtesy Project Q Atlanta

Ex-porn star gets teaching job back

Loftis was dismissed by the Miami-Dade school district in January 2011 and his teaching credential was revoked the following April.

Shawn Loftis

Same-sex relationship ban fails in Pennsylvania

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A proposed amendment to Pennsylvania’s constitution banning recognition of any same-sex relationships was abruptly withdrawn just prior to a scheduled committee hearing on March 13.

The Pennsylvania House State Government Committee announced it would postpone a vote on HB 1434, the so-called “Marriage Protection Amendment.”

The measure was introduced by Republican committee chair Rep. Daryl Metcalfe after the Obama administration announced it would no longer defend the federal DOMA in court.

“The institution of traditional marriage has never been under greater attack,” Metcalfe stated at the time.

“This not only includes the special interests who want to permanently redefine marriage, but unfortunately the executive branch and the federal Department of Justice who have blatantly and recklessly re-

8

Seattle Gay News

March 16, 2012

fused to uphold and defend its constitutionality.”

The measure drew sharp criticism from former committee chair Rep. Babette Josephs, a Democrat. On March 11, she demanded that Metcalfe remove the bill from the committee’s agenda.

“I call on the gentleman from Butler County to withdraw this discriminatory backward legislation,” Josephs said.

“Instead of finding ways to create jobs and promote a healthier, more prosperous commonwealth, Harrisburg Republicans have started a war on women’s health and now they’re attacking committed LGBT couples and families all over the country.”

Josephs, who has been described by the PoliticsPA website as “the anti-Metcalfe,” has introduced legislation to recognize same-sex marriages in Pennsylvania.

Even if it is reintroduced at some point in the future, Metcalfe’s amendment is considered a long shot. An amendment to Pennsylvania’s constitution must pass both chambers of the General Assembly during two consecutive sessions, and then pass a public referendum.

EqualityPA’s Ted Martin has suggested that Metcalfe’s real motive for introducing the bill was presidential politics.

“People know this kind of stuff incites a certain base of people. But I think there are people who are really true believers, who see Pennsylvania slowly being surrounded by states with marriage equality,” which alarms them.

Martin said that the amendment is “more restrictive” than it seems.

“It would outlaw any discussion of domestic partnership benefits and civil unions in Pennsylvania,” he said.

Celebrating 39 Years!

courtesy Rx StrangeLove

Picket line – Catholic civil war in Minnesota: Bishops give money to anti-marriage campaign, activists picket cathedral

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer More than 100 Catholic activists picketed St. Paul Cathedral on March 11 to protest their archbishop’s support for a proposed amendment to Minnesota’s constitution that would define marriage as the union of a man and a woman.

They have promised to come back every Sunday through Lent.

“It’s an attempt by Catholic people to stand up and say no to the priority the archbishop has set in spending last fiscal year, 2011, $650,000 of the diocese’s money to promote passage in November of the marriage amendment,” Ed Flahavan, a former priest, told the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

“It comes at a time when social agencies, including Catholic charities, are hurting for adequate resources to feed the hungry and give shelter to the homeless.”

The Roman Catholic archbishop of St. Paul, John C. Nienstedt, has strongly supported the move to ban same-sex marriages in the state.

In January, Nienstedt gave priests in his state a “put up or shut up” ultimatum – support the amendment or keep silent.

“It is my expectation that all the priests and deacons in this Archdiocese will support this venture and cooperate with us in the important efforts that lie ahead,” he said at the time.

“The gravity of this struggle, and the radical consequences of inaction, propels me to place a solemn charge upon you all – on

your ordination day, you made a promise to promote and defend all that the church teaches. I call upon that promise in this effort to defend marriage. There ought not be open dissension on this issue. If any have personal reservations, I do not wish that they be shared publicly.”

The Minnesota Catholic Conference, the archdiocese’s lobbying wing, is a member of the Minnesota for Marriage Coalition, the largest group working to pass the amendment. The conference has already contributed some $750,000 to the amendment campaign.

The archdiocese has also denounced Catholics for Marriage Equality Minnesota, a Catholic pro-equality group, and told Catholics not to associate with them.

The group “seeks to confuse Catholics and the public about authentic church teaching related to matters of marriage and sexuality,” the Minnesota Catholic Conference and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis said in a public statement.

“The Archdiocese asks that Catholics avoid associating themselves with this group, and not be deceived by its messages, which are in conflict with the fundamental teachings of the church,” the statement said.

According to the Catholic News Agency, the group “does not speak for the Catholic Church” and has “no authority” to determine The Cathedral of St. Paul, St. Paul, Minnesota what does and does not constitute Christian doctrine and morality.” at the Minneapolis Review Theater in re- U.S. bishops’ delegation to the Vatican, Catholics for Marriage Equality Minne- sponse to an anti-equality DVD circulated where they were treated to a speech by Pope sota launched a series of video presentations by the archdiocese.

Benedict XVI reiterating his stand against of Catholics supporting marriage equality Archbishop Nienstedt recently led the same-sex marriage.

Matthew McDermott

“We got burned” on marriage bill passage, New York cardinal says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York

Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York says the Catholic Church failed to stop his state’s marriage equality bill because Republican leaders assured him there was no chance it would pass.

“We got burned last year when we were told the redefinition of marriage didn’t have much of a chance – and of course it did,” Dolan told the New York Daily News on March 12.

“Our Senate leaders, we highly appreciated them being with us all along,” he explained. “When they kind of assured us it didn’t have much of a chance – not that we let up, but we probably would have been much more vigorous and even more physically present if we knew there was a chance.”

In the week leading up to the vote, activists on both sides filled the state capital, but Catholic leaders were nowhere to be seen.

Dolan was across the country at a conference.

After passing the Democratic-majority Assembly, the Marriage Equality Act passed the Republican-controlled New York Senate on June 24 last year, by a margin of 33 to 29, with four Republicans voting Yes. It took effect on July 24.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said at the time that although he personally opposed same-sex marriage, he was letting his

members vote their consciences.

While Dolan expressed disappointment in the information he got from Republican leaders, he stopped short of blaming them for the defeat.

“We got a little stung, and it could be as much our fault as anyone else’s,” he said.

Dolan told the Daily News that while he and Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo were on different sides of the issue, Cuomo was always upfront about his position. Observers have credited Cuomo with putting together the bipartisan coalition that passed the bill.

“These past six months, we didn’t work like we were Democrats and Republicans, we realized we were New Yorkers first,” Cuomo said at the June 24, 2011, signing ceremony in Albany.

“Democracy works when the people speak,” Cuomo added, “and the people spoke in volumes.”

Dolan told the Daily News he had no hard feelings over the marriage bill, and hoped he and the New York legislature could work together on the church’s legislative priorities.

This year, the cardinal said, his first priority is blocking Democratic efforts to strengthen reproductive choice in New York.

A bill to do so is expected to fail in the New York Senate. It was a question about this measure that prompted Dolan to complain about being misled on the marriage bill.

Come meet Tim and Matt and join the family.

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

206-838-6027 or 206-898-4306 Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 16, 2012

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Celebrating 39 Years!

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March 16, 2012

Seattle Gay News 11

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Celebrating 39 Years!

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Seattle Gay News 15

INTERNATIONAL courtesy koreanmovie.com

NEWS

by Scott Wittet SGN Contributing Writer

tion was swift and brutal: Within 24 hours, the network summarily fired him from his jobs as a regular guest on several talk shows and slapstick host of the children’s show Po Po Po. No one would take his calls. Hong says he received so many death threats he shut himself up at home and began drinking heavily and contemplating suicide. Previously a nonsmoker, he began going through three packs a day.

“I knew my career was over,” he said.

“It was like somebody suddenly dropped a bomb on everything I had worked so hard for. One day it was there, and the next it was gone.”

Looking back, Hong says he should have seen the reaction coming. South Korea’s conservative combination of Confucianism – which puts a premium on marriage and childbirth – and a strong Protestant ethic makes tolerance for Gays and Lesbians rare, he says.

But the internet is slowly changing things.

Some young Koreans are cautiously rebelling against their parents’ views and a society not given to acceptance of dissonant sexual orientation.

Quietly, Gay bars are appearing. Still, even if a few rainbow flags have begun to fly, many participants at Gay and Lesbian pride rallies wear masks to avoid identification.

While on the nation’s entertainment blacklist, Hong opened the first of several

per, Senekal was tied up and murdered after inviting two men into his apartment Saturday evening.

The report, by journalist Shain Germaner, who has been following the cases of the murdered Gay men, said management and security in the apartment building said two men had signed the guestbook “most likely under aliases, to visit Senekal around 5 p.m.”

According to the report, the two walked out just 30 minutes later, taking a full plastic bag and Senekal’s laptop.

According to the Star, police were called in after a friend and neighbor of Senekal’s informed security that he wasn’t answering his door.

Senekal is the eighth Gay man found murdered in his home in the Joburg and Pretoria areas over the past two years. The murder scenes have largely been similar, with no signs of forced entry and very little taken from each crime scene.

Gay rights groups have been pressuring the police to conduct more in-depth investigations and commentators have spoken about a serial killer, but police have dismissed such speculation.

It appears as if all the murdered men had met their killers online or through cell phone chat rooms. However by the time of the latest report being filed, it had not been confirmed whether Senekal had used any online dating services.

Dawie Nel, Director of OUT, a Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) courtesy facebook

Hong Seok-cheon

GAY PERFORMERS TOO LEWD FOR PHILIPPINES RESORT Puerto Galera, on the Philippines island of Oriental Mindoro, is a popular tourist destination known for its beaches and diving spots. At night the entertainers come out, maybe too far out, and that’s got the mayor in a tizzy, according to the International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA).

Local bar owners have been complaining that Puerto Galera officials aren’t allowing Gay performers on stage, allegedly because their acts are too racy. But a spokesman for the town’s mayor clarified, “There is no ban on Gay or Transexual performers. All we ask is [for them] to tone down the kind of acts they do, and definitely no lewd performances.”

The Ladlad Partylist, a political party that fights for LGBT Filipinos, said that instead of banning Gay talent, the municipal government should enact an ordinance that would prohibit children from entering comedy bars to watch such shows, or set age limits for watching Gay acts. A Ladlad candidate noted that “you cannot control the performers or what they say and do on stage.”

The mayor’s office countered that if Ladlad was referring to an area called White Beach, no such restrictions would work because the bars are open-air, on the beach.

planned to appeal.

The ruling underscores a pattern of persistent persecution of homosexuals in Malaysia, said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director at Human Rights Watch.

“We are concerned over the discrimination and the intimidation of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender community. The rights of this entire community are under threat. [Malaysia] is using national security as a catch-all phrase to justify any human rights abuse, and that is unacceptable.”

The ban on the Gay festival followed Prime Minister Najib Razak’s pledge in September that he would grant greater civil liberties and break with the country’s authoritarian past.

MALAYSIANS RETAIN BAN ON GAY FESTIVAL A Malaysian court last week refused to reverse a police ban on a Gay-themed festival in the socially conservative, Muslimmajority nation.

As reported by ILGA, last November police banned the fourth annual “Seksualiti Merdeka” (Sexuality Freedom) festival featuring Gay-oriented films, concerts, and forums just days before it was to open.

Police said at the time the move was taken to avoid angering conservative Muslims.

Recently a court in the capital Kuala Lumpur sided with government prosecutors who said police acted within their powers in a bid to prevent unrest, and that those powers could not be challenged in court, festival organizer Pang Khee Teik told AFP. Pang said he was “stunned” by the court’s endorsement of that argument and that he

SOUTH KOREAN ACTOR THROWS OPEN CLOSET DOOR Veteran actor Hong Seok-cheon is instantly recognizable in his country, where he became famous as the host of South Korea’s version of Sesame Street and costarred in a popular 1990s sitcom.

But according to ILGA, on a recent Saturday afternoon, the slender 41-year-old with his signature shaved head was playing himself, an out-of-the-closet Gay man talking about what it’s like to be a pariah in a conservative society where 77% of Koreans in one poll said they believed “homosexuality should be rejected.”

Hong is the featured guest on a cable TV show called the Star Lecture Series. He is making history, he says, as the first Gay man to discuss sex and sexual orientation on-air in South Korea.

The room is edgily silent as he paces the stage, microphone in hand, before an under-25 audience, many of whose members still live at home with their parents.

“In South Korea, we’re led to believe that Gay sex is dangerous, alien, and dirty. For so many years, I’ve been treated as an outcast in my own country. I’m just so happy to be here today, talking openly about who I really am.”

The audience applauds and Hong is near tears, grateful for the acceptance that for years he thought would never come.

When Hong came out in 2000, the reac-

16 Seattle Gay News

March 16, 2012

Rulov Senekal was killed during a series of Gay murders in South Africa

now-popular restaurants in an attempt to start anew. But people didn’t make it easy.

For a while, he said, many came in not to eat, but to shout insults at him.

“They’d walk into my restaurant and see me and loudly announce, ‘I didn’t know this was a Gay restaurant,’” he said. “Or groups of men would get drunk and start yelling, ‘Homosexual!’”

But then, as younger South Koreans slowly began to accept Gay culture, opportunities arose. Although no celebrity has yet followed Hong out of the closet and most other Gays and Lesbians prefer to remain under the social radar, Gay characters are appearing on TV and in film.

SOUTH AFRICA: COPYCAT MURDER BRINGS GAY DEATH TOLL TO EIGHT The body of a murdered South African Gay man was found last week, bound and suffocated in a copycat manner to seven previous cases.

The body of Rulov Senekal, a manager of the Joburg Theatre and one-time artistic director of the Johannesburg Youth Ballet in the 1990s, was discovered by one of his neighbors on Sunday.

According to a report in the Star newspa-

health and well-being group in Pretoria, expressed concern at the limited success of the police in investigating the murders. He said that OUT is in discussion with pro-bono lawyers on a bid to pressure authorities to take action.

“There is a perception that there is a lack of interest in the cases, in part due to the sexual orientation of the victims. Added to this, the investigating officers may have limited knowledge or awareness of the LGBT community and online dating,” said Nel. “We fear that someone is preying on gay men and the authorities appear unwilling to acknowledge this.”

OUT has launched a campaign to alert men who have sex with men (MSM) about the dangers of casual sex dates with strangers. The campaign consists of articles that will be published in Gay media, web banners, venue posters, and other communication aimed at the LGBT community.

Tips include meeting a date in a public place, making sure someone knows when you go out to meet a date, being wary of inviting strangers to your home, avoiding people who are deceitful or who ask for financial support, and, if you meet someone at a club, introducing him to a friend before leaving.

Celebrating 39 Years!

Russian judge bans Olympics Pride House

Gay couples have a right to family life, Italian Supreme Court says

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Russian judge has banned a Gay Pride House at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

Plans for the Pride House were developed

by Russian Gay rights activists following the 2010 Games in Vancouver, which featured a very successful Pride House.

Russia’s Ministry of Justice refused to register the NGO set up to organize and run the Sochi Pride House, however. Judge Svetlana Mordovina backed the ministry in her ruling.

“The aims of the organization contradict the basics of public morality and the policy of the state in the area of family, motherhood, and childhood protection,” she wrote.

“The activities of the [Pride House] movement leads to propaganda of non-traditional sexual orientation which can undermine the security of the Russian society and the state, provoke social-religious hatred, which is the feature of the extremist character of the activity.

“Moreover it can undermine the sovereignty and the territorial integrity of the Russian Federation due to the decrease of Russia’s population.

“Such aims as creating an understanding of the necessity to fight against homophobia and the creation of positive attitudes towards LGBT sportsmen contradicts with the basics of public morality because they are directed towards the increase of the number of citizens of sexual minorities which breaches the understanding of good and evil, good and bad, vice and virtue,” Mordovina concluded.

Russian Gay rights activist Nikolai Alek-

In a ruling that may open the way for recognition of same-sex relationships in Italy, the country’s Supreme Court said on March 15 that Gay couples have a “right to a family life.”

The court’s ruling came in the case of a Gay Italian couple who married legally outside Italy, and then sued to have their marriage recognized under Italian law in the same way that opposite-sex marriages performed outside the country would be recognized.

The court rejected their suit, saying current law made it illegal to recognize samesex marriages in Italy, but adding that the “social context in Europe has changed significantly.”

The court did not make clear how far they mean the concept of “family life” to extend.

Under current Italian law, same-sex couples have no right to share property, social security benefits, or pensions. Some provincial governments led by leftist parties have passed local civil union laws, but the rightwing coalition that controls the national government opposes recognition of sameseev mocked Mordovina’s ruling. sex couples.

“The judge forgot to add that Pride House In the wake of the court ruling, Gay rights in Sochi will lead to the melting of Arctic activists challenged the national governice, global warming, and the end of mankind,” he joked.

As a representative of GayRussia, one of the groups hoping to organize Pride House in Sochi, Alekseev promised to continue to pursue the issue.

“We still aim to host a series of actions during the Olympics, and we are in contact with the International Olympic Committee.

Hopefully, a solution can be reached,” he said.

“Our movement has been extremely active in the last years in Russia and this rendezvous [in Sochi] is a good occasion to share with others.

“What is still unclear for me following the ruling from the court is whether openly LGBT athletes will be allowed to compete in Sochi and if they are, if their safety will be guaranteed.”

This year’s Summer Olympics in London definitely will feature a Pride House.

“What is happening in Russia today makes it that much more important for everyone to get behind the Pride House London project now,” Pride House London executive director Chad Molleken said.

“As one of the most diverse and tolerant cities in the world, London has the opportunity to permanently establish Pride House as a part of the Olympic movement and line up of national houses.

“Through the Pride House Foundation we hope to raise enough funds to support LGBT athletes and organizations like Pride House Russia to promote diversity and inclusion on a global scale.”

Visit us online www.sgn.org

March 16, 2012

ment to pass legislation on same-sex relationships.

“Today’s Supreme Court judgment is important,” said Fabrizio Marrazzo, spokesperson for the activist group Gay Center.

“The ruling says that Gay couples must also enjoy the same legal rights as any heterosexual couple. The words are clear and sharp. Parliament and the government must give an answer.”

Although Rome is the center of the Catholic Church, Italy’s civil government has been largely anti-clerical since the country was unified in 1860. It was not until the post-World War II period that pro-Catholic parties came to control Italian politics.

Consequently, same-sex sexual relations have always been legal in Naples and Sicily, and were legalized in the country as a whole in 1887.

Gay people have always been able to serve openly in the Italian army.

In 2003 Italy banned discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation in conformity with E.U. directives.

Sexual reassignment surgery is legal, but unlike sexual orientation, gender identity and expression are not protected.

To the horror of Catholic authorities, Italy legalized divorce in 1971 and abortion in 1978.

Seattle Gay News 17

Syrian newspaper says Gays “infest” society

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Gay Syrians are “social germs” who “have infested our society and took the opportunity to strike once the first signs of weakness appeared,” Baladna newspaper said. They are “prospering” because of the mass uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, the newspaper added.

Baladna is an independent, privately owned paper based in Damascus.

In an article published in Arabic on February 21, the newspaper said the uprising “gave homosexuals a freedom they would’ve never dreamt of.”

While the Assad regime’s feared Mukhabarat secret police would have arrested Gays at popular cruising locations, coping with the uprising is now taking up all their time, the article says. As a result, Gays are “proliferating” unchecked.

According to Baladna, Gay refugees fleeing areas affected by fighting – Homs, Hamah, and Idlib, for example – have flooded the metropolitan cities of Damascus and Aleppo.

Since March 2011, the number of Syrian members in a popular online Gay dating site has increased from 20,000 to 100,000 members, Baladna claimed.

While the website is not identified by name, it is presumed to be ManJam, which claims to be based in Syria. According to PinkNews reporter Radwan Bassam, who translated the Baladna article into English,

the number of members on ManJam does not exceed 10,000.

The three-page article also gives its readers hints on how to recognize Gay people.

“A loose wrist, a noticeable way of using the fingers, sitting and crossing the legs together in a feminine manner, and an interest in gossip and whispers are among homosexuals’ main distinctive features,” Baladna said.

The article also describes the slang used by members of the underground Gay community and includes an interview with two male prostitutes describing how their business has flourished since the beginning of the revolt last year.

One of the prostitutes, called “Dandan” in the article, reportedly agreed to speak with the newspaper for an undisclosed amount of money to get revenge on another sex worker who “betrayed” him.

The other, identified only by his initials, claimed that he recruits European male models to “perform” for rich Persian Gulf clients.

The article recounts the story of a Syrian dentist who claimed he turned Gay after he was raped while studying in Russia.

“One night, I was staying with a friend of mine and we got drunk,” the dentist is quoted as saying.

“He and his friends, five of them, locked the door and took turns raping me. At first, I was filled with a destructive, humiliating feeling but the pleasure was overwhelming

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and I suddenly recognized what I was missing. I then started sleeping with any guy I can get!”

Three Lesbians are also interviewed.

Their slang is different from that used by Gay men, according to Baladna.

The article says one of them is married, the second was raped, and the third turned Lesbian because she feared her father would kill her – in a so-called “honor killing” – if he found out she was having premarital sex with a man.

The article includes a survey claiming that 26 out of the 50 Gay men that the newspaper interviewed were raped as children,

while 10 lived in a household dominated by the mother or with an absent father, and 14 stated that they were born females in male bodies.

The survey included 23 women, 18 of whom reportedly “learned” Lesbianism at school, while five were raped as children and had been disgusted with men ever since.

The article concludes with a Syrian Justice Department official stating that marriage rates have fallen to one-third of the previous total over the past year. Besides perilous economic conditions, the increasing convenience of meeting Gays is the cause, the official concludes.

Ugandan Gay rights group sues American Evangelist

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer A Ugandan LGBT rights group filed a federal suit on March 14 against right-wing U.S. evangelist Scott Lively.

Sexual Minorities Uganda (SMUG), the group associated with murdered Gay activist David Kato, accused Lively of violating international law by inciting persecution of LGBT people in Uganda.

SMUG filed suit under the so-called “alien tort statute,” which allows foreigners to sue in U.S. courts in situations alleging the violation of international law.

The lawsuit alleges that beginning in 2002, Lively conspired with religious and political leaders in Uganda to whip up antiGay hysteria with warnings that homosexuals would sodomize African children and corrupt their culture.

SMUG’s suit claims that Lively’s actions resulted in the persecution, arrest, torture, and murder of LGBT people in Uganda, and the introduction of the notorious “Kill the Gays” bill.

In 2009, the Ugandan legislature considered a bill proposed by one of Lively’s Ugandan associates, David Bahati, that would have imposed the death sentence for “repeat offender” Gays.

That bill was at first withdrawn after an outcry from the United States and European nations that are major aid donors to Uganda, but a revised bill was reintroduced in February.

The lawsuit names Bahati and three other Ugandan co-conspirators: Stephen Langa and Martin Ssempa, evangelists active in the anti-Gay movement; and James Buturo, the former minister of ethics and a proponent of the legislation.

Lively is the founder and president of Abiding Truth Ministries, a former director of the American Family Association, and a co-founder of Watchmen on the Walls, all of which have been listed as “hate groups” by

the Southern Poverty Law Center.

He is also the author of The Pink Swastika: Homosexuality in the Nazi Party, which claims that Nazism was a movement inspired by Gays, and Seven Steps to RecruitProof Your Child, a guide for parents to prevent what he calls indoctrination by Gays.

Pamela C. Spees, the lawyer for SMUG, works with the Center for Constitutional Rights, a legal advocacy group based in New York City.

Spees said that since Uganda’s LGBT community has so little support, the lawsuit “brings the fight” to those in the U.S. who have fomented anti-Gay legislation in Uganda.

She says that the lawsuit targets Lively’s actions, not his religious speech or beliefs.

“This is not just based on his speech. It’s based on his conduct,” she said. “Belief is one thing, but actively trying to harm and deprive other people of their rights is the definition of persecution.”

Lively is one of many conservative American evangelicals who have been active in Uganda and have influenced Ugandan government figures. Spees said the lawsuit singles him out because “his role was critical.”

Frank Mugisha, a SMUG leader, said in a conference call with reporters that before Lively’s visit to Uganda in 2009, LGBT people were “looked at as different,” but that “no one bothered them.”

But after Lively’s meetings with Ugandan religious and political leaders, “People were being reported to the police as homosexuals, were thrown out by their families, or thrown out by the church,” Mugisha added.

Lively told reporters by phone said he had not been served and did not know about the lawsuit.

“That’s about as ridiculous as it gets,” he said. “I’ve never done anything in Uganda except preach the Gospel and speak my opinion about the homosexual issue. There’s actually no grounds for litigation on this.”

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March 16, 2012

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ballot

continued from cover Ballot Title The legislature passed Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6239 concerning marriage for same-sex couples, modified domesticpartnership law, and religious freedom, and voters have filed a sufficient referendum petition on this bill.

This bill would allow same-sex couples to marry, preserve domestic partnerships only for seniors, and preserve the right of clergy or religious organizations to refuse to perform, recognize, or accommodate any marriage ceremony.

Ballot Measure Summary This bill allows same-sex couples to marry, applies marriage laws without regard to gender, and specifies that laws using genderspecific terms like husband and wife include same-sex spouses. After 2014, existing domestic partnerships are converted to marriages, except for seniors. It preserves the right of clergy or religious organizations to refuse to perform or recognize any marriage or accommodate wedding ceremonies. The bill does not affect licensing of religious organizations providing adoption, foster-care, or child-placement.

Zach Silk, campaign manager for Washington United for Marriage – the pro-LGBT marriage equality coalition working to secure same-sex marriage for Washington in 2012 – said, “the fight to defend marriage equality is officially on.”

Immediately following the ruling, Silk told supporters, “One hour ago, Judge McPhee released the official language for Referendum 74, which we need to approve in November to ensure the marriage equality law signed by Governor Gregoire actually becomes the law of Washington. While it’s not perfect, we are pleased that the court provided a fair and accurate title for Referendum 74.”

“Marriage equality opponents have been gathering their strength for months,” said Silk. “They’ve already announced that they’ve raised a million dollars to repeal this historic law – and now that the language has been approved, they are starting to gather the signatures they’re going to need to get on the ballot.”

Preserve Marriage Washington, which filed R-74, can now start circulating petitions to collect signatures. If the backers of R-74 collect the more than 120,577 valid

voter signatures needed by June 6, the law allowing same-sex marriage will be put on hold pending the outcome of a November vote.

“We are excited to move on with the process,” Joseph Backholm, executive director of the Family Policy Institute of Washington, one of the groups supporting the referendum, told the Seattle P-I. “The public understands that this bill redefines marriage and they will ultimately decide if that’s what they want to do,” Backholm said.

The Washington, D.C.-based National Organization for Marriage, which was involved in ballot measures that overturned same-sex marriage in California and Maine, has promised to work with Preserve Marriage Washington to qualify the referendum to overturn the new law.

Silk says the campaign for marriage equality is on. “They’ve set a goal of getting 120,577 signatures to make sure they put marriage equality up for a vote in November. We’ve set a goal to match them. I know we can get 120,577 fair-minded Washingtonians to stand up publicly and say that they support marriage equality by June 6.”

Silk is asking supporters to go to their website www.washingtonunitedformarriage.org and sign the pledge for marriage equality.

“We’ve made amazing progress toward equality in Washington, and we can’t leave this up to chance,” he said. “Not now. Not when we’re so close to full marriage equality.”

In January, Everett attorney Stephen Pidgeon filed Initiative 1192, another effort seeking to overturn marriage equality in Washington state, which seeks to reaffirm marriage as “between one man and one woman.”

Pidgeon says he is carrying on with his initiative effort despite the referendum. To qualify for the November ballot, he must submit at least 241,153 valid signatures of

registered voters by July 6. He claims to have already collected “thousands” of signatures.

Gay marriage is legal in New York, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Washington, D.C. Maryland legalized same-sex marriage this year as well, though opponents there are promising to challenge it with a ballot measure.

In more than 30 states, opponents of

same-sex marriage have won at the ballot box since 1998. Washington is poised to be the first state to successfully win marriage equality by popular vote when voters from across the state vote on Referendum 74.

The nation is watching as opponents and advocates of marriage equality begin campaigns that over the course of the next seven months fight for their side of the argument in this potentially historic road to equality.

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Seattle Gay News 19

judge

continued from cover force a floor debate and require Republican senators to actually hold the floor indefinitely if they wished to delay a vote.

On March 14, Republicans agreed to vote in the coming weeks on 14 of the 17 nominees, including Fitzgerald.

No one spoke in opposition to his nomination. “No” votes came from the most conservative Republican Senators: Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), James Inhofe (R-Okla.), Mike Lee (R-UT), Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and David Vitter (R-La.).

Republican senators labeled Fitzgerald an “activist,” although his only controversial case was his representation of a Gay FBI agent in Buttino v. FBI (1992).

Frank Buttino was anonymously outed to his supervisor, who then pulled his security clearance, causing the bureau to fire Buttino. Buttino then filed a class action suit, with Fitzgerald representing the class. The case was settled when the FBI agreed to substantial policy changes.

In a statement, Sen. Barbara Boxer (DCalif.), who strongly backed the nomination, praised Fitzgerald.

“The federal bench in California will gain an extremely talented new judge as a result of today’s historic vote to confirm Michael Fitzgerald,” she said. “His sharp intellect and broad legal experience will make him a tremendous asset to the people of the Central District.”

Boxer did not praise the Senate’s confir-

mation process, however.

“While I am pleased by today’s overwhelming vote, it is shameful that he had to wait so long for a vote and I hope that Republicans will stop blocking the confirmation of highly qualified nominees,” she added.

Both of Washington’s Democratic senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, voted for Fitzgerald.

iraq

continued from cover by groups who appear to be targeting individuals based on their sexual orientation, gender identity, or personal expression,” a State Department spokesperson told SGN. “These acts of intolerance have no place in democratic societies.

“We are monitoring this situation closely on the ground and in Washington, and have expressed our concern to the Government of Iraq.

“At the State Department, we will continue to advance a comprehensive human rights agenda that includes the elimination of violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.”

The State Department declined to say how it has engaged with the Iraqi government, but Michael McClellan, a spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, told Gays Without Borders that the U.S. “is fully engaged at the highest levels to end these attacks, bring the perpetrators to justice, and ensure a se-

cure and free future for all Iraqis.”

According to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), it first received reports of “a wave of targeted killings of individuals who are perceived to be Gay or Lesbian” on March 5.

“According to Iraqi human rights activists, in early February 2012, an unidentified group posted death threats against ‘the adulterous individuals’ in the predominantly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad and Basra,” the IGLHRC said in a statement.

“Your fate will be death if you don’t quit doing this,” the New York Times quotes one flyer. “Punishment will be tougher and tougher, you Gays. Don’t be like the people of Lot.” “The people of Lot” refers to the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, which were destroyed – according to both the Bible and the Quran – for immorality.

CNN reporter Mohammed Tawfeeq says he was shown a copy of a flyer posted in Sadr City, a predominately Shia and working-class neighborhood of Baghdad.

“We strongly warn every male and female debauchee, if you do not stop this dirty act within four days, then the punishment of God will fall on you at the hands of Mujahedeen,” it read.

The word “mujahedeen” means “fighters in a jihad” and indicates the flyer was being circulated by an Iraqi militia organization.

CNN says the flyer identified 33 Iraqis, and the ILGHRC adds that the posted flyers identified potential targets by name and age. According to one Iraqi interviewed by CNN, and identified by them as “a Gay activist,” he received a personal warning from a neighborhood militia.

“Ten days ago, I received a letter from militiamen threatening me that if they found me then they will not kill me like other ‘perverts,’ but they will cut my body into pieces,” he said.

According to The New York Times, an Iraqi Interior Ministry officer said that in the past two weeks, police had found the bodies of six young men whose skulls had been crushed.

Reuters reported the toll to be 14 or more, citing hospital and security officials, while human rights groups say that more than 40 young men have been killed.

Ali Hili, a Gay Iraqi activist who lives in London, said as many as 750 Gay Iraqis have been killed in the past six years, and thousands have emigrated or are living in hiding.

“It’s a clear war on sexual minorities on Iraq,” he said. “They are refusing to admit it.”

Reuters reporter Peter Graff was shown a photo of one victim “lying sprawled in the back of a white pickup truck, his head disfigured by blunt trauma.”

According to a police report obtained by Hili’s associates in Iraq, the young man, Saif Asmar, was found bludgeoned to death in the afternoon of February 17.

“They laid him down on the pavement and smashed his head with a cement block,” the

victim’s friend, who identified himself by the pseudonym Roby Hurriya, told Graff.

Those being targeted for murder are young men believed to be Gay, or those identified as “emos” – which in Iraq means wearing longish hair, and dressing in skinny jeans and black T-shirts adorned with skull motifs.

On February 13, Iraq’s Interior Ministry released a statement denouncing the “phenomenon of emo” as Satanic. The ministry said its Social Police would be sent to investigate “the emo” and had the authority to go into all of Baghdad’s schools to ferret them out.

“They have official approval to eliminate them as soon as possible, because the dimensions of the community began to take another course, and is now threatening danger,” the statement said.

The State Department declined to comment on Iraqi government involvement in provoking the killings, but did note that a number of Iraqi officials have condemned the attacks.

“Iraq’s religious leaders and members of Parliament denounced these attacks and have taken steps to address this issue,” the department’s spokesperson told SGN. “A representative for Grand Ayatollah Sistani has condemned this violence and the Chairperson of the Human Rights Committee within Iraq’s Parliament has condemned these actions as well.”

Ayatollah Ali Sistani is the spiritual head of Iraq’s majority Shia community, and is currently the only grand ayatollah living in Iraq.

In 2005 Sistani posted a fatwa (religious decree) on his website calling for the execution of Gay people in the “worst, most severe way.” He took it down after it was condemned by the international community.

Muqtada al Sadr, the Shia cleric who heads up the Mahdi Army militia, also said that emos should be dealt with in a lawful way, although he reportedly called them “unnatural.” He denied responsibility for the violence.

Ibrahim al-Abadi, an Interior Ministry spokesman, said the ministry’s February 13 statement had been misinterpreted. He said emo youths were free to dress as they pleased, and said the government would protect them.

For those Iraqis who are already dead, this is obviously too little, too late. But even those who are alive say they still live in fear for their lives.

Reuters’ Peter Graff spoke to a 19-yearold Gay man he identified as Noor. Noor told him that he fled Baghdad for the city of Basra in the south, hoping he would be safer, after he heard about the murders.

“We are young men, and everywhere in Iraq we should be free to do whatever we want, to wear what we like, cut our hair how we like,” he told Graff.

“We have not hurt anyone. Why are they doing this to us?”

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March 16, 2012

Celebrating 39 Years!

gay city

continued from cover and Resource Center, meeting spaces, and new space for arts programming on-site.”

“This project could not happen without the investment of individuals and the partnership of community businesses,” he added.

The “new” Gay City doesn’t mean the organization will be moving off the Hill – or even down the street. In fact, the new space is right next door. The new facility will more than double Gay City’s physical space and allow the organization to significantly expand on-site programming and services, as well as provide drop-in space for the community.

Moving and construction, however, costs money and Gay City officials asked for the community’s help. “We need support to make this vision a reality,” said officials in an online ask for cash at the organization’s website, www.gaycity.org.

As an added incentive, all Project BuildOUT donors will also be acknowledged on the donor wall in the new space.

“We’re so grateful to have the opportunity to create a comfortable, welcoming, and beautiful space for our community to connect and grow together,” said Swanson.

“We are still on-target to move into our new office and Wellness Center space by the end of June, with some additional work happening into the fall on the arts space and library,” he said.

The new Wellness Center will have an increased range of screening, counseling, and other health support services. Officials also report that the increased space will allow Gay City to build new partnerships with other LGBT community organizations.

“Over the past five years, our programming has shifted to include more on-site activities,” continued Swanson. “The new space will allow us to live more fully into this new identity as a destination for people – it will be a much more comfortable place to go and hang out, meet friends, connect, learn something new, or find a resource.”

In addition to other services, Gay City officials have announced the addition of the BuildARTS under the umbrella of Project BuildOUT, which will include the addition of a 750-square-foot multipurpose assembly space with the potential for a variety

of uses, including theatrical productions, film screenings, spoken-word events, musical performances, visual arts installations, readings, writing workshops, seminars, and community and private meetings.

“The arts space will allow Gay City to hold more on-site events, and will be available for rental and use by the community,” said officials.

Gay City Deputy Director Peter Jabin says that the community should not be surprised that Gay City has a focus in the arts.

“From its inception, Gay City has engaged the arts in fulfillment of our mission of promoting health and building community,” he told SGN. “That initially involved creative and compelling media campaigns to get people talking about significant issues.”

Over the years, Gay City has used a wide range of arts through programs such as “Speed, Sex, & Sanity,” “Gay City TV,” and Gay City Anthologies. More recent projects have included spoken-word events, writing workshops, and the production of The Infection Monologues in 2010 and 2011.

“Partnering with Queer artists is an excellent way to draw people out into community and get them into conversation about issues that matter today,” said Jabin.

“Our successes in this arena have led us to create a whole new program area: Gay City Arts,” he announced. “Our new space will feature two distinct arts spaces – our library in support of literary arts and a black box space in support of performing arts – that will allow us to really up the ante with our artistic collaborations.”

“Gay City is currently hosting a series of arts advisory roundtables, gathering Queer artists and representatives from Queer arts organizations to help us figure out how best to utilize our new space to create a center for Queer arts in Seattle,” he said.

In anticipation of the new, larger Wellness Center, Gay City officials have expanded HVI/STI screening hours by adding Mondays. Free HIV/STI screening is now available for Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender men six days a week: Monday through Friday from 3 to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

To stay up-to-date on the progress of Project BuildOUT or to make a donations, visit www.gaycity.org/buildout.

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