Issue 12 Volume 38
Celebrating 37 Years!
FRIDAY March 19, 2010 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
JET CITY HOOPS p. 16
dragon tattoo p. 29
JACKIE BEAT p. 25
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Father Robert Carter, “the Lt. Dan Choi and Capt. Jim Catholic Harvey Milk,” dies Co-founder of NGLTF and Dignity brendon Fay
Pietrangelo chain selves to White House
Pair arrested during “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” protest
Slon, spokesperson for the New York Province of the Jesuit religious order. He was described by long-time activist Brendan Fay as “the Catholic Harvey Milk.” Carter helped found DignityUSA, a support group for Gay
Army Lieutenant Dan Choi is fed up. He is tired of waiting for Congress and the Obama administration to follow the will of the American people by repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT), the U.S. Military’s discriminatory ban on Gays and Lesbians serving openly in the armed forces. In a moment of good, old-fashioned activism, Choi led a march of hundreds of people from a Kathy Griffin and Human Rights Campaign (HRC) DADT rally in Washington, D.C., down Pennsylvania Avenue to the White House. There, in an act of unscripted civil disobedience, he chained himself to the fence. Choi was arrested on the afternoon of March 18. The events played out live on
see carter page 17
see choi page 19
(l to r) Fathers Bernard Lynch, John McNeill, and Robert Carter lead Dignity in New York’s Gay pride march in the early 1980s.
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Father Robert Carter, openly Gay Roman Catholic priest and co-founder of the NGLTF and DignityUSA, died on February 22 in New York at the age of 82. His death was confirmed publicly on March 14 by Fr. Thomas
General Petraeus says DADT is unfair, outdated
Lt. Dan Choi (l) and Captain Jim Pietrangelo handcuffed to the White House fence
ENDA sit-ins target Speaker Pelosi
Alex Wong/Getty Images
repealing the Gay military ban “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” (DADT). DADT requires the Defense Department to separate from the armed services members who engage in or attempt to engage in homosexual acts, state they are homosexual or Bisexual, or marry or attempt to marry a person of the same biological sex. Nearly 14,000 otherwise qualified men and women have been discharged from the military under DADT, and many thousands more have chosen to not re-enlist because of the policy. Enforcing and implementing the policy has cost U.S. taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars. Petraeus appeared before a panel of senators at the March 16 meeting of the Senate Armed Services Committee prepared to deliver an “eight-minute statement” expressing his personal feelings about the repeal of the DADT policy. Unfortunately, Senator Carl Levin, who chaired the committee, stopped the General from giving a dissertation, citing time constraints. Still, Petraeus told the commitGeneral David Petraeus tee “the time has come” for repeal. by Shaun Knittel commanding officer of the U.S. The general endorsed the ongoing Central Command, which includes review of the matter under the diSGN Staff Writer Iraq and Afghanistan, made it see Petraeus page 19 General David Petraeus, the clear on March 16 that he supports
John Aravosis
by Shaun Knittel SGN Staff Writer
courtesy washington times
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer Less than three hours after Lt. Dan Choi, Capt. Jim Pietrangelo, and GetEqual founder Robin McGehee were arrested in front of the White House, GetEqual cofounder Kip Williams announced a sit-in at the offices of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in San Francisco. A simultaneous sit-in also occupied the Speaker’s office in D.C.
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GetEqual demonstrators hoped to pressure Pelosi to move ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act) to a floor vote. ENDA would expand Title VII of the federal Civil Rights Act to prohibit workplace discrimination against LGBT workers. The sit-ins began about 1:45 p.m. PDT. GetEqual demonstrators reported live on Twitter for the rest of the day. see sit-in page 20
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