SGN April 1, 2011 - Section 1

Issue 13 Volume 39

FRIDAY April 1, 2011 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands

Celebrating 38 Years!

CHICKEN SOUP p. 5

...THE GODDESS p. 16

JEAN GENET FILMS p. 29

Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY

Rep. Jinkins’ bill passes

Family Acceptance Project explores acceptance in Always My Son

Governor Gregoire promises to sign relationship recognition bill. shaun knittel

Part two of a two-part series exploring the link between a healthy family acceptance of LGBT children and preventing homelessness and suicide. For part one, visit http://sgn.org/sgnnews39_12/.

Can a father accept his Gay son?

What does it take to change the heart and mind of a mother who would rather kick her Lesbian daughter out of the house than love her? Through a very ambitious video project by the Californiabased Family Acceptance Project (FAP), some of these questions are being answered. Intervention and education are key.

Helping diverse families understand how to support their LGBT children takes resources that touch the heart – like a sample video

courtesy Family Acceptance project

The bill, originally proposed by Rep. Laurie Jinkins (D-27), has already passed the state House of Representatives by a margin of 58-39. Jinkins is the state’s first – and so far only – openly Lesbian legislator.

“I’m very pleased,” Jinkins told SGN on March 31. “I’m a bit less ecstatic today than I was yesterday, but I’m still very pleased.”

Jinkins added she was “especially pleased to see the margins open up, to see Representative Laurie Jinkins us get a larger margin every

by Mike Andrew time our issues come up. It illusSGN Staff Writer trates that the public is moving on our issues, and the legislature is On March 30, the Washington moving.”

Senate passed a bill to recognize Gov. Christine Gregoire has said same-sex marriages concluded in she would sign the bill into law other jurisdictions as valid domestic partnerships in Washington.

The vote was 28-19. see jinkins page 20

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

see FAP page 20

The Plata family

InterPride holds conference Barney Frank to to help Pride in hostile areas reintroduce ENDA On March 26-27, 10 of the 26 known Pride organizations in the Pacific Northwest region converged on Seattle to commit to the fight for human rights while showcasing their community pride by becoming members of InterPride.

Founded in 1982, InterPride is the international association for organizations that produce Pride events around the world. InterPride promotes Pride internationally and increases networking and communication amongst Pride organizations.

InterPride’s member organizations are dedicated to producing Pride events such as parades, marches, rallies, festivals, arts festivals, and cultural activities organized for people identifying as LGBT and/or other emerging sexual identities.

The member organizations come from diverse cultures and countries around the world. Organizations of all sizes are InterPride members: developing or grassroots-focused, mid-sized and growing in size, and large, well-established Pride orga-

File photo

courtesy interpride

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Representative Barney Frank

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Rep. Barney Frank (D-N.Y.) announced at a D.C. news conference on March 30 that he will reintroduce ENDA (the Employment Non-Discrimination Act).

ENDA would amend federal civil rights laws governing employment to prohibit most employers see interpride page 20 from discriminating in hiring and

proud to Be Different

We are conveniently located on-site at Lifelong AIDS Alliance below the Thrift Store.

promotions on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Frank had originally intended to formally submit the bill to the House of Representatives on March 30, but said he was waiting to assemble more cosponsors.

“It was announced but not formally introduced – the bill has not see enda page 21

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Celebrating 38 Years!

Visit us online www.sgn.org

April 1, 2011

Seattle Gay News

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Deadlines

Classifieds - Thursday at noon Calendar - Tuesday 6pm Display Ads: Space Reservation - Monday 5pm Ad copy (non-camera ready) - Tues. 5pm Ad copy (camera ready) - Wed. 5pm Letters to the Editor - Tuesday 5pm Obituaries - Call the SGN office All others - Tuesday 5pm

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

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

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Nick Ardizzone, Nate Gowdy, Joseph P. Herron, Shaun Knittel National Advertising Rep. Rivendell Media (212) 242-6863 Website Designer Barry Thorsness/Digital Team Works Seattle Gay News is published weekly by Frogs and Ink, Inc. © 2011, Frogs and Ink, Inc., all rights reserved. Reprints by permission.

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.

The fabric of our lives

by Leslie Robinson SGN Contributing Writer We Americans like to express ourselves with our chests.

I’m not speaking of Jane Russell, or even Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I’m talking about our proclivity for wearing T-shirts with slogans on them. Americans have been human billboards for decades.

The slogans on T-shirts celebrate, advocate, advertise, unify, decry, and polarize.

Americans have lots to say – on shirts made in Honduras.

So it makes sense that one part of the Gay story in this country is being played out in cotton/polyester blends. Over the past years high school students and younger, kids on both sides of the Gay issue, have been wearing their hearts on their sleeves. And getting sent home for it.

The latest shirt-skirmish is still unfolding at a middle school in DeSoto Parish in Louisiana. Student Dawn Henderson wore a shirt reading “Some Kids are Gay. That’s OK.” Principal Keith Simmons ordered her to change her shirt or go home.

It occurs to me that any kid aiming to get out of a test at school doesn’t need to fake the flu – just don a controversial T-shirt and in minutes you’ll be back home watching Judge Judy.

According to the ACLU of Louisiana, DeSoto school officials claimed the shirt was “distracting.” The ACLU sent Simmons a letter arguing that Henderson has a First Amendment right to express her opinion across her chest, as long as the school allows clothing with slogans.

If the school decides to forbid clothing with slogans, it might be hearing from Nike.

In another T-shirt to-do, which actually began back in 2006, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled a month ago that students at Neuqua Valley High School in Naperville, Ill., could wear T-shirts saying “Be Happy, Not Gay.” The court maintained a “school that permits advocacy of the rights of homosexual students cannot be allowed to stifle criticism of homosexuality.”

May the judges’ T-shirts ride up with wear.

On November 2 last year, Election Day, senior Kate Cohn made a pro-Gay statement

at Falcon High School in Peyton, Colo., by wearing a shirt reading “Marriage is so Gay.” She said Principal Mark Carara told her the shirt was offensive and violated the dress code forbidding clothing potentially disruptive to the academic environment.

I’m guessing that means fishnets are out – at least for guys.

Cohn’s mom said Carara later likened the T-shirt to apparel promoting alcohol or drug use.

That increasingly well-known arbiter of fashion, the ACLU, sent a letter to school administrators demanding Cohn and others be allowed to wear the shirt, and the twoweek ban was lifted.

Perfect. Two weeks gave her enough time to wash her shirt and make it all pretty for its re-debut.

I can say with certainty that T-shirt tizzies haven’t been limited to the younger set or the recent past. Back in the mid-’90s I covered a protest by adults in Hampton Beach, N.H., outside a T-shirt store that peddled a couple of anti-Gay shirts. One read “Silly faggot, dicks are for chicks,” and the other said “AIDS kills fags” or something of that ilk.

What I remember best is a teenager pointedly buying one of those shirts during the protest, then sheepishly returning it afterwards because he needed the money to get home.

The other day I spotted a different T-shirt twist to the American LGBT story. Openly Gay veteran political consultant Fred Karger, in Washington, D.C., to file for the Republican presidential nomination, met with the Republican National Committee chairman.

Karger – completely unknown to the public and, to repeat, openly Gay – told Roll Call, “We had a great meeting. I gave him one of my T-shirts.”

I’d like to know what slogan is on that shirt. Maybe “Karger 2012: No, Really.”

Leslie Robinson still has a pro-ERA Tshirt that her mother gave her. Email Leslie at lesarobinson@gmail.com, and check out her blog at www.generalgayety.com.

In Loving Memory Of

Steve Foiles, Scott Roger Alpert, Cookie Andrews-Hunt, James Leland Moore, Randy Peters, Lee Richeson, Shaun Shelton, Jim Tully, James Arnold

4

Seattle Gay News

April 1, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

LATE BREAKING: Derek Morado not discharged

SYPHILIS ARTICLE SKIPPED A STEP

courtesy fresno bee

Petty Officer Second Class Derek Morado

On the evening of March 31, openly Gay Petty Officer Second Class Derek Morado – who faced military discharge even though the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” was authorized by Congress in December of 2010 – won his fight to continue in the military.

After a brief hearing, the three-person ad-

ministrative board voted against discharging him, which means Morado can continue striving for a decorated Navy career. Morado joined the Navy at 17.

Morado was outed to his superiors by someone who saw Gay references on his MySpace page.

United Way helps to keep Chicken Soup Brigade’s van rolling

fixed income, maybe they can even help pay for part of the ticket.

Your recent article on the increase in syphilis in Seattle called attention to an issue that rarely gets any attention in this country any more. However, you left out one piece, stage 4, which is Tertiary Syphilis. Stage 4 is when someone has had it in their system for years and years.

I personally was discovered to be in the tertiary stage a couple of years ago. The way it was discovered was that I had brain surgery to remove a tumor, which was benign, and the subsequent testing for the cause led to the discovery of tertiary syphilis. The three specialists, one a Seattle research neurologist, concurred that it was probably in my system for 25, 30, maybe 40 years (yes, I’m Gay and 60+ years old now).

Your article was right on, when people are getting tested for HIV (which I don’t have), they should be getting tested for syphilis as well. If it doesn’t get discovered early on, they could end up like I did, or even worse.

It progresses over the years and enters the classification of neurosyphilis. This is considered a life-threatening complication of syphilis. How well you do depends on how severe the neurosyphilis is before treatment.

The symptoms can get slowly worse.

Tertiary, stage 4 syphilis, can be treated and eliminated from your system, but it’s more than just a couple of shots of penicillin. Good article, keep calling attention to risky things, but I would suggest you research things a bit more to be all inclusive of extensive and important details.

Anonymous UPCOMING SEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS CONCERT NOT TO BE MISSED So how do you go about promoting a concert in which the second act is about the Nazi persecution of Gay men?

The spring concert by the Seattle Men’s Chorus is not going to be light and fun like Holiday Glee last December or the boy band concert coming up in June.

Still, it is a concert. I do recommend people attend.

The first act is entertaining, with the cabaret music expressing the sexual freedoms of the Weimar Republic of the 1920s. The second act, though disturbing, is beautifully written and presented by composer Jake Heggie.

It is a concert that describes a horrible period in GLBT history, and history can repeat itself. All it takes is an economic collapse and morality police targeting a select group to blame for society’s ills. So, please discuss it with friends and family members who are in the chorus.

If you want to see the concert but are on a

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor On March 29, the Lifelong AIDS Alliance Chicken Soup Brigade was announced as a United Way of King County recipient of the 2011 Hunger Relief Capacity Program.

“Over 1,000 sick and vulnerable people count on the Chicken Soup Brigade for meals and groceries each week – but the nonprofit’s old van keeps breaking down,” United Way of King County posted on their website www.uwkc.org. “Through our ‘Why the Fork?’ campaign – which is running through April 14 – we’re raising the funds this amazing nonprofit needs to purchase a reliable new van.”

Lifelong’s Chicken Soup Brigade is a leader in improving the nutritional status of people living with HIV/AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses in Seattle/King County.

Each week, the Chicken Soup Brigade feed hundreds of people with bags of groceries and individualized meals prepared in their fully equipped commercial kitchen.

The meals are an important part of maintaining the health of people living with HIV/ AIDS and other life-challenging illnesses.

According to Lifelong officials, clients also receive medical nutrition therapy from registered dietitians to help improve their nutritional health and minimize symptoms.

Dietary preferences, religious and cultural observations, and medical conditions are all considered when matching a person with the most beneficial services.

With funds raised through the “Why The Fork?” campaign, the new van will help volunteers: • Drive more than 80 routes throughout King County • Deliver up to 1,000 bags of nutritious groceries and 3,000 healthy meals • Serve over 1,000 people each week • Collect food given by shoppers at local grocery stores as part of Chicken Soup’s Care to Shop program Through April 14, every dollar you donate will be doubled by the “Why The Fork?” campaign. To donate, please visit www. uwkc.org.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

Bruce B. Ecord, upper bass ARE YOU CLEAN? It’s one thing to want someone to be disease free, it’s another things to say things like, “Are you Clean, DDF? I’m Clean UB2, you must be DDF and Clean.”

Sound familiar? Profiles online in the Gay social network sites are filled with such comments. As a Gay man I find it insulting if someone were to ask me those questions or makes those statements. And I find it even more appalling that this happens in our own community. Whether someone is negative or positive, what happened to being supportive of one another and being caring and sensitive and respecting who we are as individuals?

Not only that, but one wonders how many people are positive anyway, or are lying about their status because of the discrimination in our own community. We have enough to deal with without having our community doing the same thing that is experienced in the straight world. If we are practicing “safe sex” like we are supposed to be doing, why does it matter? If you are barebacking, you are taking a chance of being exposed whether you know it or not.

I have taught people to assume everyone is positive whether they are or not and to practice safe sex. Why in this day and age would we discriminate against one another and set ourselves up as being superior to those who may or may not be positive? I can understand not wanting to become exposed to the HIV virus and I would wonder how many of those who say they aren’t, really are.

It’s difficult enough to feel discriminated for being Gay, but being positive sets us up for even more discrimination. Add to being rejected by our own community and this compounds the situation. If we as Gay men go around making comments about being “Clean,” then maybe we better examine just who we are and what kind of a person we are. How hypocritical is that?

I ask you, what happened to the empathy that was there when this first became an epidemic in our community? What happened to caring for one another? What happened to loving one another regardless what our status is? Have we become so blind to things that we only care about ourselves and how many hookups we can have? I hope not. I care about those around me. I care whether someone is positive or not. But I will not in good conscience use the insulting term of asking my brother if he is “Clean.” If it’s that important to you, then why not just ask their HIV status? Not insult them by asking if they’re “Clean.”

Dennis

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Researchers need to engage LGBT population in health studies file photo

tute of Medicine.

According to the committee that wrote the report, the scarcity of research yields an incomplete picture of LGBT health status and needs, which is further fragmented by the tendency to treat sexual and gender minorities as a single homogeneous group.

The report provides a thorough compilation of what is known about the health of each of these groups at different stages of life and outlines an agenda for the research and data collection necessary to form a fuller understanding.

“It’s easy to assume that because we are all humans, gender, race, or other characteristics of study participants Wisconsin Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin shouldn’t matter in health research, but they certainly do,” said

by Shaun Knittel committee chair Robert Graham, who serves SGN Associate Editor as professor of family medicine and public Researchers need to proactively engage health sciences as well as Robert and MyLGBT people in health studies and collect fanwy Smith endowed chair of the departdata on these populations to identify and ment of family medicine at the University of better understand health conditions that af- Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati. fect them, says a new report from the Insti- “It was only when researchers made deliber-

Group Health LGBT & Allies group works for equality

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor

Group (LGBT & Allies) as a formal group.

Since that time, the organization’s membership has swelled to over 100 people.

“For several years, a small group of us In October of last year, Group Health formally recognized the Lesbian, Gay, Bisex- met behind the scenes, pushing issues forual, Transgender, and Allies Staff Resource ward that affected the LGBT community,” Tiffany Nelson, board president, told a group of more than 100 Group Health staff assembled at the kickoff meeting for LGBT & Allies. “It was really informal, and it felt like pushing uphill. With the help of H.R., we’re able to now be a legitimate group.

That’s really important. We can, as a body, affect the changes we want. I’ve always felt that Group Health was warm, inviting, and inclusive. What we’re trying to do is make what’s been kind of implicit to be explicit.”

According to LGBT & Allies officials, the goal of the group is to foster diversity and inclusion. “We promote Group Health’s best interests by recommending programs 6

Seattle Gay News

April 1, 2011

ate efforts to engage women and racial and ethnic minorities in studies that we discovered differences in how some diseases occur in and affect specific populations. Routine collection of information on race and ethnicity has expanded our understanding of conditions that are more prevalent among various groups or that affect them differently. We should strive for the same attention to and engagement of sexual and gender minorities in health research.”

According to the National Academy of Science, because LGBT individuals make up a minority of the population, researchers face challenges in recruiting sufficient numbers of these individuals in general population surveys to yield meaningful data.

“Stigma experienced by gender and sexual minorities can make them reluctant to disclose their orientation, worsening the problem,” said National Academy of Sciences officials in a March 31 press release. “Moreover, it is difficult to synthesize data about these groups when studies and surveys use a variety of ways to define them.”

Because demographic data provide the foundation for understanding any population’s status and needs, federally funded surveys should proactively collect data on sexual orientation and gender identity, just as they routinely gather information on race and ethnicity, the report says. Information on patients’ sexual orientation and gender identity also should be collected in electronic health records, provided that privacy concerns can be satisfactorily addressed, the committee said. The National Institutes of Health should support the development of standardized measures of sexual orientation and gender identity for use in federal surveys and other means of data collection.

In addition, NIH should provide training opportunities in conducting research with LGBT populations. Training should engage researchers who are not specifically studying LGBT health issues as well as those who are. The agency should also use its policy on the inclusion of women and racial and ethnic minorities in clinical research as a model to encourage grant applicants to address how their proposed studies will include or exclude sexual and gender minorities.

“In detailing just how little is known about the health issues confronting Lesbian, Gay,

Bisexual, and Transgender people, the Institute of Medicine report exposes the disturbing fact that our community has been largely ignored in most medical and health services research,” said Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. “We are pleased our survey was able to help inform the committee as it created the IOM report on gaps and opportunities in LGBT data and research, which shines a critical light on the health disparities facing LGBT people and provides recommendations to assist researchers in identifying and addressing these needs.”

Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (DWis.), a member of the House Health Subcommittee and co-chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, said, “For years in congressional hearings, briefings, and meetings, I have asked our national health policy officials and medical experts, ‘What do you know about LGBT health?’ Only to hear, ‘I have to get back to you.’ Today, we’ve gotten a well-researched and most welcome response. I am delighted that after years of advocating for more attention to LGBT health disparities, IOM’s report will bring us closer to the goal of promoting good health for all Americans.”

“We can’t overcome LGBT health disparities until we know what those disparities are and where they exist. Once we have solid data, the proper responses will follow. I look forward to working with my colleagues in Congress and at the Department of Health and Human Services to implement the recommendations of the IOM report,” Baldwin explained.”

Baldwin will soon reintroduce the Ending LGBT Health Disparities Act, building on the IOM report’s recommendations.

The study was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. Established in 1970 under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine provides independent, objective, evidence-based advice to policymakers, health professionals, the private sector, and the public. The National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council make up the National Academies. For more information, visit http://national-academies.org or http:// iom.edu.

for staff, patients, and purchasers who identify as being part of a sexual or gender minority,” states the group. “We believe, as Group Health believes, in workplace equality regardless of sexual orientation, gender expression, or identity.”

LGBT & Allies say they have three overriding goals that stem from a commitment to help make Group Health the community’s employer of choice and health care system of choice: • To serve as a major source of consultation to Group Health in its efforts to be the best place for LGBT patients to receive care and coverage in our communities.

• To create learning opportunities and activities that foster LGBT awareness so as to support and further an inclusive work environment at Group Health.

• To participate in and increase Group Health’s visibility in the community so as to attract new staff, leverage our community allies, and increase LGBT member share.

“Many other businesses across the country have found that making employee or staff resource groups available improves staff engagement, satisfaction and longevity with the company,” Nelson told Seattle Gay News. “For minority populations, this forum provides opportunity to network, change policy, provide a face to the community, and drive the business objectives in a non-linear

divisional format.”

Nelson said the group is working on developing an assessment to determine what Group Heath employees would like to see as activities. “We are currently working on the Human Rights Campaign Corporate Equality Index ratings, building a provider network, and a marketing/community involvement plan to expand Group Health’s presence in the LGBT community and Pride activities,” she said.

Currently the board has an open meeting every other month with subcommittees meeting during the in-between months to drive the work forward.

According to LGBT & Allies officials, any current member of Group Health Cooperative, Group Health Permanente, or a Group Health subsidiary or affiliate can join if they support and respect the goals of the group. You don’t have to be a member of a sexual minority, and there are no fees or dues.

“In many ways, Group Health is open and inclusive at a fundamental level. Yet we need to do better at making our core beliefs more transparent for the sake of our patients and employees,” Nelson told SGN. “It has been exciting and inspiring to see how many people are willing to join, work together on respective committees, and invest in the staff resource group.”

“Many other businesses across the country have found that making employee or staff resource groups available improves staff engagement, satisfaction and longevity with the company.”

Celebrating 38 Years!

Parents, students, and teachers ask Congress to support school bullying bills

by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor On March 29, parents, students, and educators concerned about school safety for LGBT students met with senators, representatives, and congressional staff as part of GLSEN’s third annual Safe Schools Advocacy Summit.

According to GLSEN officials, the threeday summit highlighted national support for the Safe Schools Improvement Act and the Student Non-Discrimination Act. Gerald Connolly (D-Va.) committed to sign on to the Safe Schools Improvement Act as a cosponsor for the first time after Tuesday’s meetings and many offices expressed strong support for both pieces of legislation said GLSEN. Forty participants from 29 states shared moving personal stories that highlight the need for federal leadership to address school harassment and create schools that are welcoming for all students. More than 90 meetings took place with Congressional representatives, including every member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Rep. Jared Polis (D-Colo.), sponsor of the Student Non-Discrimination Act in the House, provided encouragement to participants in a midday speech.

“Everyone deserves to feel safe at school, and these bills would make it so nobody would feel left behind or left out at all,” said Ben Noyes, a straight student from New Hampshire who was himself bullied and assaulted because he was perceived as Gay and has a brother who is openly Gay. “I feel good after telling congresspeople about the bullying I’ve

experienced since my brother came out, because they showed they care, were on board, and wanted to help out.”

The Safe Schools Improvement Act was introduced with bipartisan support on March 8, by Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.). It would require schools to implement comprehensive anti-bullying policies that include enumerated characteristics of students most often targeted, such as race, religion, sexual orientation, and gender identity. A House version will be introduced shortly by Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.).

The Student Non-Discrimination Act was introduced by Rep. Jared Polis (DColo.) in the House and Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) in the Senate on March 10. The Student Non-Discrimination Act would make discrimination in schools based on sexual orientation or gender identity against the law. It seeks to prevent the exclusion of students from full participation in school-sanctioned events, and includes an exemption for religious schools.

GLSEN – the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network – is the leading national education organization focused on ensuring safe schools for all students.

Established in 1990, GLSEN envisions a world in which every child learns to respect and accept all people, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. GLSEN seeks to develop school climates where difference is valued for the positive contribution it makes to creating a more vibrant and diverse community. For information on GLSEN’s research, educational resources, public policy advocacy, student organizing programs, and educator training initiatives, visit www.glsen.org.

Visit us online www.sgn.org

New EEOC regulations include HIV as a disability

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) – the federal agency responsible for enforcing laws against workplace discrimination – has announced that it will consider HIV infection to be a disability covered by the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).

The EEOC’s decision will entitle people living with HIV/AIDS to be protected against discrimination in hiring, advancement, job classification, training, workers’ compensation, and other terms and conditions of employment.

People with HIV/AIDS will now be able to make legal claims, and even to sue their employers to correct discrimination based on their HIV status.

The EEOC revisions were triggered by the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) of 2008, which went into effect on January 1, 2009.

The ADAAA overturned several U.S. Supreme Court decisions that Congress believed had interpreted the definition of “disability” too narrowly, resulting in a denial of protection for many individuals with impairments such as cancer, diabetes, or epilepsy.

The ADAAA states that the definition of disability should be interpreted in favor of broad coverage of individuals. The effect of this new definition is to make it easier for an individual seeking protection under the ADA to establish that he or she has a disability within the meaning of the ADA. In the ADAAA, Congress directed the EEOC to revise its regulations to conform to the new law.

The EEOC asked for public comment on proposed regulations and received well over 600 public comments in response. The final regulations reflect this response from stakeholders.

The ADAAA and the final EEOC regulations keep the ADA’s definition of the term “disability” as “a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a record (or past histo-

April 1, 2011

ry) of such an impairment, or being regarded as having a disability.”

The ADAAA makes significant changes in how those terms are interpreted, however, and the EEOC regulations implement those changes.

The regulations clarify that the term “major life activities” includes “major bodily functions,” such as functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, and brain, neurological, and endocrine functions.

The regulations include examples of impairments that should easily be concluded to be disabilities, such as HIV infection, diabetes, epilepsy, and bipolar disorder.

Following the ADAAA, the new EEOC regulations also make it easier for individuals to establish coverage under the “regarded as” part of the definition of “disability.”

Establishing such coverage used to pose significant difficulties, but under the new law, the focus is on how the person was treated rather than on what an employer may or may not believe about the nature of the individual’s impairment.

“The ADAAA is a very important civil rights law,” said EEOC Chair Jacqueline A. Berrien. “The regulations developed by the Commission to implement the ADAAA clarify the requirements of the law for all stakeholders, which is one of the Commission’s most important responsibilities.”

“Based on the hard work we did at the Commission over the past months, I am confident that these regulations will work well for both people with disabilities and employers,” said Commissioner Chai Feldblum, who was appointed to the EEOC by President Obama in April, 2010. “It was our job as an agency to carry out the intent of this landmark law and I believe we have done so successfully.”

Feldblum was one of the lead negotiators on the original ADA as well as on the Amendments Act, and is openly Lesbian.

The ADAAA regulations, accompanying question and answer documents, and a fact sheet are available on the EEOC website at www.eeoc.gov/laws/statutes/adaaa_info. cfm.

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INTERNATIONAL Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

NEWS

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer

church reportedly was empty at the time but for two girls, one woman, and the chaplain.

If convicted, the protesters could spend up to a year in jail.

Sixty professors at the university have signed a manifesto supporting the protesters and secularism at the university but not “the manner in which [the protest] developed.”

Madrid’s archbishop later staged a “healing mass” at the chapel that was attended by about 1,000 people.

Austrian Constitutional Court rejects Gay case Austria’s Constitutional Court has rejected a case aimed at including Gays and Lesbians under laws that protect against incitement to hatred and against discrimination in nonworkplace settings.

The court was asked to strike down Criminal Code Article 283, “Incitement to Hatred,” and sections of the Federal Equal Treatment Act because they exclude Gays and Lesbians.

According to the group Rechtskomitee Lambda, Austria’s government defended the status quo, arguing that incitement to hatred

against Gays and Lesbians differs from incitement targeting religious or racial groups because the former lacks “dangerous closerange and long-range effects.”

The court determined that because homosexuals are purportedly not directly affected by the lack of protection, the application for legal relief was inadmissible, the group said.

Kurt Krickler, secretary general of Homosexual Initiative Vienna, said he wasn’t surprised at the outcome because “these are political and not so much legal issues.”

He said measures to address the two problems had been introduced in Parliament, where one measure failed and the other may still see a vote.

Rechtskomitee Lambda said it hopes to take the case to the European Court of Human Rights.

“Hatemongers are still allowed to incite to hatred against Lesbians and Gays, and now even with the consent of the Constitutional Court,” said the group’s president, Helmut Graupner.

With assistance from Bill Kelley

NATIONAL

NEWS

U.S. President Barack Obama (l) and Brazilian President Dilma Vana Rousseff during a joint press conference at Palacio do Planalto in Brasilia on March 19.

Obama, Brazil champion OAS LGBT rapporteur During a visit to Brazil on March 19, President Barack Obama joined with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff to call for establishment of an LGBT rights “special rapporteur” at the Organization of American States.

In a statement issued three days later, the White House added: “President Obama believes that advancing the human rights of minorities and the marginalized is a fundamental American value. The president was pleased to announce during his trip to Brazil that he and President Rousseff agreed to promote respect for the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender individuals through the establishment of a special rapporteur on LGBT issues at the Organization of American States. This special rapporteur will be the first of its kind in the international system.”

The OAS, which dates to 1948, comprises the 35 independent states of the Americas and is the principal political, juridical and social governmental forum in the hemisphere, according to its website. The OAS charter says the organization promotes peace, justice, solidarity and collaboration as well as members’ sovereignty, territorial integrity, and independence.

Nations pledge movement on LGBT issues at U.N. Human Rights Council As the United Nations Human Rights

Council continued its periodic review sessions on various nations, several developments took place this month.

Mongolia’s representatives accepted recommendations that the nation address issues of violence against LGBT people.

Panama accepted a recommendation to synchronize its national laws with the norms of “The Yogyakarta Principles on the Application of International Human Rights Law in Relation to Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity,” which were drawn up at a 2006 meeting in Indonesia by human-rights experts from around the world.

Honduras agreed to review its national laws to ensure that LGBT human rights are not abridged.

And Jamaica agreed to provide enforcement officials with sensitivity training on matters of sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV. At the same time, representatives of four nations – Lebanon, Malawi, Maldives, and Mauritania – rejected recommendations that they decriminalize Gay sex.

In January at the Human Rights Council, São Tomé and Príncipe said it will legalize Gay sex by June, and Nauru said it also plans to decriminalize homosexuality.

The Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review officially analyzes the human-rights record of each of the 192 U.N. member nations on a rotating basis once every four years, and urges reviewed nations to protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Spanish students arrested over chapel protest Four students at Spain’s Madrid Complutense University were arrested March 18

by National Police on charges of desecrating a place of worship.

Displaying slogans on their bare torsos, the four students and others entered the university’s Somosaguas Chapel and read out a manifesto against recent homophobic and macho statements made by Roman Catholic bishops and the pope.

Local reports said at least one female couple allegedly made out near the altar. The

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Ninth Circuit refuses to lift stay of Prop 8 strikedown The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on March 23 refused a request from the American Foundation for Equal Rights and lawyers Ted Olson and David Boies that it lift its block on the August 2010 federal district court ruling that struck down Proposition 8.

U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker had issued an injunction barring further enforcement of Prop 8 after finding that it violates the U.S. Constitution. The 9th Circuit, however, quickly “stayed” Walker’s injunction, and his ruling has been tied up on appeal since.

Prop 8, passed by voters in November 2008, amended the California Constitution to halt same-sex marriage, which was legal in the state at the time.

Olson and Boies say the appeal process is taking too long, especially given a lengthy delay introduced into the case in February when the 9th Circuit punted to the California Supreme Court the question of whether the people who are appealing Walker’s ruling – the folks who put Prop 8 on the ballot – actually have any right, under California law, to appeal.

None of the people who are defendants in the case – including Gov. Jerry Brown and Attorney General Kamala Harris – have an interest in appealing Walker’s ruling or defending Prop 8. As a result, if the Prop 8 supporters are found to have no standing to appeal, then the 9th Circuit won’t hear the case, Walker’s ruling would take effect, and same-sex couples could marry again in California – although the question of standing also could be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

“The stay was originally ordered with the understanding that the 9th Circuit would rule swiftly on the case before it,” said Olson. “Now that the issue of the [Prop 8] proponents’ standing to appeal has been referred for analysis by the California Supreme Court, substantial additional, indefinite and unanticipated delays lie ahead. It’s unreasonable and decidedly unjust to expect California’s Gay and Lesbian couples to put their lives on hold and suffer daily discrimination as second-class citizens while their U.S. District Court victory is debated further.”

The 9th Circuit apparently was unswayed by that line of reasoning, though it did not explain why.

On March 23, the judges ordered: “Having considered all of the factors set forth in Nken v. Holder ... and all of the facts and circumstances surrounding Plaintiffs’ motion to vacate the stay pending appeal, as well as the standard for vacatur set forth in Southeast Alaska Conservation Council v.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ... we deny Plaintiffs’ motion at this time.”

by Rex Wockner SGN Contributing Writer It was unclear if the phrase “at this time” was an indication that the court might see the matter differently at some future time.

For now, LGB Californians will wait for the California Supreme Court’s answer to the 9th Circuit’s question, which will be taken into consideration by the 9th Circuit judges when they decide whether to give the Prop 8 supporters federal standing to appeal and serve as defendants. The California Supreme Court has said it won’t hear oral arguments on the matter until September at the earliest.

Equality California said it was “profoundly disappointed” by the 9th Circuit’s refusal to let Gays marry while the appeal moseys along.

“Today’s ruling is a major setback for same-sex couples and their families who must continue living every day in legal limbo without the basic freedoms and protections guaranteed to them by our nation’s Constitution,” said Executive Director Geoff Kors. “Every day same-sex couples are denied the freedom to marry, their families suffer significant harm.”

National Center for Lesbian Rights Legal Director Shannon Minter also was distressed by the development.

“We are deeply disappointed by the court’s failure to lift the stay,” Minter said.

“A federal court held that Prop 8 is unconstitutional and that its continued enforcement causes serious harm to same-sex couples and their children. Without explanation, the 9th Circuit’s ruling today allows that harm to continue. Every day that Prop 8 remains in effect, the state of California is harming families, sending a devastating message to LGBT youth, and perpetuating violence and discrimination against LGBT people.”

Stats: 42% of Americans live in states that recognize Gay couples Equality Matters reports that 42 percent of Americans now live in states that recognize same-sex couples’ relationships, and that 30 percent live in states where marriage, civil unions or domestic partnerships give samesex couples the same state-level rights as married people.

All Gay couples, however, still are denied the more than 1,100 federal rights and benefits of marriage, because of the Defense of Marriage Act. “[D]espite the best efforts of anti-Gay groups and politicians, the LGBT community has made rapid progress across the United States,” Equality Matters said. “As public support for marriage equality continues to rise, it’s only a matter of time before every American has the right to have their loving commitments recognized and respected by their state and federal governments.”

With assistance from Bill Kelley

Celebrating 38 Years!

NORTHWEST

NEWS

compiled by Rick McKinnon SGN Staff Writer

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

RAINBOW CITY BAND – “APRIL IN PARIS” SPRING CONCERT On Saturday, April 2, at 8 p.m., at Edmonds Center for the Arts (410 4th Ave. N., Edmonds), the Rainbow City Band presents “April in Paris,” their Spring concert featuring the majesty of Ravel’s “Bolero,” the eloquence and tranquility of Satie’s “Trois Gymnopedies,” the passion of Bezet’s “Carmen,” the sweet elegance of Count Basie’s “April in Paris,” and much, much more.

Also, joining the band will be celebrated Seattle pianist Matthew Goodrich, who will grace the hall with the rich, tonal lushness of Debussy’s masterpiece for piano, “L’isle joyeuse.” Tickets at 425-275-9595, www. rainbowcityband.com., or www.ec4arts. org.

SEATTLE CHERRY BLOSSOM & JAPANESE CULTURAL FESTIVAL APRIL 1-3 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Seattle Center’s Center House, Fisher Pavilion, Seattle Center Pavilion and Skatepark. www.seattlecenter. org., 206-684-7200.

SEATTLE MEN’S CHORUS – “FALLING IN LOVE AGAIN” On Saturday, April 2, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, April 3, at 2 p.m., at McCaw Hall, 321 Mercer St., the Seattle Men’s Chorus presents “Falling in Love Again,” a richly varied concert using music to powerfully highlight the lives of Gay men in Germany before and during the Nazi era.

Act I, titled “Life is a Cabaret,” recreates Berlin’s free-wheeling pre-WWII Weimar period that ended with Hitler’s ascendency in 1933. SMC’s assistant artistic director, Eric Lane Barnes, created and arranged this act which features beloved tunes like Mack the Knife, Love for Sale, and Falling in Love Again. Local performer Nick Garrison will join the Chorus for Wilkommen and Cabaret, among other songs. Spectrum Dance Theater, under the direction of Donald Byrd, will join the Chorus to interpret this riveting chapter of Gay history through dance.

In sharp contrast, Act II will feature a new commission of Jake Heggie’s For a Look or a Touch (originally commissioned by Seattle’s Music of Remembrance). This musical drama chronicles the relatively untouched and unknown subject of Gay persecution during the Holocaust. This is Gad Beck (actor David Pichette) and Manfred Lewin’s (operatic baritone Morgan Smith) tragic but true wartime love story. The commission is

by Seattle Men’s Chorus and Boston Gay Men’s Chorus. Intiman Theatre’s associate producer, Andrew Russell, will be staging the production.

Pre-show discussions (ticket to concert required) will be held on Saturday, April 2, at 7:15 p.m., and on Sunday, April 3, at 1:15 p.m. For complete details, visit www.flyinghouse.org.

A touring exhibition, “Nazi Persecution of Homosexuals, 1933-1945,” on loan from the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, will be on display in the McCaw Hall lobby, from Wednesday, March 30, to Saturday, April 2, from noon to 10 p.m., and on Sunday, April 3, from noon to 5 p.m. Docent tours on Saturday, April 2 at 1:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and on Sunday, April 3, at 12:30 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

For tickets to the concerts, call 206-3881400 or visit www.flyinghouse.org.

SEATTLE EDIBLE BOOK FESTIVAL On Saturday, April 2, from noon to 3 p.m., at The Good Shepherd Center (4649 Sunnyside Ave. N.), the Seattle Center for Book Arts presents the 6th Annual Seattle Edible Book Festival. Every type of book – children’s classics, detective novels, biographies, fiction and non, poetry, short stories – will be sculpted from a smorgasbord of foodstuffs. Imagine The Brothers Karamatzah, S’more and Peace, Alice in Wonderbread, The Bun Also Rises, Goodnight Moon Pie, Curd Vonnegut... and so many more brainy, beautiful, silly, clever and tasty transubstantiations of books we love into treats we eat! Over 150 entries are expected this year.

Event schedule: 11 a.m. to noon, edible entries accepted, installed and photographed; noon to 1:30 p.m., public viewing; 1:30 p.m., celebrity judges award prizes; 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., edible books will be eaten with tea, coffee and milk.

Admission is $10; FREE with an edible entry. www.seattlebookarts.org.

FREEDOM SOCIALIST PARTY HOSTS BIRTHDAY FIESTA FUNDRAISER On Saturday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. at the home of Chris Smith, Doug Barnes and Doreen McGrath, (5236 S. Fontanelle Place, in Seattle’s Seward Park neighborhood), you are warmly invited to a birthday Fiesta for Guerry Hoddersen and a benefit for the Freedom Socialist newspaper.

Guerry Hoddersen, as the first female driver for UPS in the Northwest, initiated and won a resolution from Teamsters 174 to oppose the anti-Gay initiative in the late ‘70s during fundamentalist Anita Bryant’s crusade against the post-Stonewall surge towards Gay rights. She and George Bakan of the Seattle Gay News also led the successful coalition effort by the United Front Against Fascism to expose and counter neoNazi bigots trying to enlarge their foothold in Washington and Idaho.

The party features a tapas buffet for a $7 donation, salsa dancing and great conversations. In lieu of gifts, Guerry prefers donations to the Freedom Socialist, an important voice for change. If you are unable to come to the event, but would like to make a donation to the paper in her honor, please mail a check payable to “FS,” 5018 Rainier Ave. S., Seattle, WA 98118, and put “Guerry’s birthday” in the memo line. For more information call 206-722-2453 or email FSPseattle@mindspring.com. Sponsored by the Freedom Socialist Party.

SEATTLE PRIDE IDOL On Sundays, through June 19, doors at 6 p.m., competition at 7 p.m., at Neighbours (1509 Broadway. entrance in alley off E. Pike St. between Broadway and Harvard), join Seattle Out and Proud (SO&P) for Seattle’s Pride Idol talent competition to see who will represent Seattle Out & Proud on the Pride Idol Float in the Seattle Pride Parade on Sunday, June 26. For complee details, visit www.seattlepride.com.

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

Visit us online www.sgn.org

club.

The book for April is We Think the World of You by J.R. Ackerley. The book was made into a movie in the ‘80s starring Alan Bates and a very young Gary Oldman.

For more information, e-mail nickdimartin@earthlink.net or contact Dunshee House at 206-322-2437.

NORTHWEST BEARS SPRING THAW APRIL 7-10 www.nwbears.com; www.springthaw.org.

2011 MR., MISS & MS. GAY WASHINGTON PAGEANT On Saturday, April 8, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m., at The Poodle Dog (1522 54th Ave. E., Fife), join current Gay Washingtons, Sir Awesum and Ifeelya Bottoms, for the 2011 Mr., Miss & Ms., Gay Washingon Pageant.

Host hotel is Days Inn – Fife, Washington (5601 Pacific Highway E., Fife). Mention “Court of Tacoma” for special $55/night rate – 253-926-2301.

CRIS WILLIAMSON & FRIENDS AT THE TRIPLE DOOR On Sunday, April 10, at 7:30 p.m., at The Triple Door, 216 Union St., join singer/ songwriter Cris Williamson for an evening of new songs and old favorites. Doors at 5:30 p.m. Tickets: $20-advance; $22.50 at the door. 206-838-4333; www.tripledoor. com.

NW NETWORK QUEER YOUTH SUPPORT GROUP On Wednesdays, April 13-May 18, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., at a Capitol Hill location, a new Seattle-based Queer Youth Support Group facilitated by Megan Kennedy (MA, LMHC) and Shannon Perez Darby (NW Network advocate) will be held. Themes of the group will include Individual Identity and Interests, Healthy Relationships, Family, Community, School, Stressors and Wellness. The group will meet for six weeks.

Young people between the ages of 13-20 years old who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans, Queer and/or questioning are encouraged to register by calling the Northwest Network, 206-568-7777. This group is not a drop-in support group. It will be closed to the first 15 participants who register. If the group is totally filled, there will be an opportunity to be placed on a waiting list and/ or invited to participate in the next group.

Please email Megan Kennedy at mkennedy37@gmail.com if you have any questions about the group and call the NW Network at 206-568-7777 to register.

PLU HARMONY PRESENTS DRAG BINGO IN TACOMA On Thursday, April 14, doors at 6:30 p.m., starts at 7 p.m., at Pacific Lutheran University’s, Chris Knutzen Hall (12180 Park St. S., Tacoma), PLU’s LGBT student organization, Harmony, presents an evening of drag bingo. Enjoy drag performances and bingo – $1 for a round of bingo.

WOMEN OF COLOR LIVING POSITIVE – HIV/AIDS CONFERENCE FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS On Friday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., African Americans Reach & Teach Health Ministry and Northwest AIDS Education and Training Center UW present this day-long health conference at the Holiday Inn Seattle/SeaTac International Airport, 17538 International Blvd. Sessions: Women and HIV, Strategies for Reducing HIV/ AIDS Stigma, Keynote Address: Emerging Issues in HIV; women and HIV: Concurrency and Domestic Violence; Women of Color & HIV in Correctional Settings. Cost is $40; registration at www.aarth.org; registration deadline is Monday, April 11.

EVELYN HARRIS TO HEADLINE VOICES RISING SHOW On Friday, April 15, doors at 7 p.m., show at 8 p.m., at Washington Hall (153 14th Ave.), Voices Rising presents Evelyn Harris.

Evelyn Harris has dedicated her voice to giving depth and meaning to an extensive array of musical styles. Her 18-year tenure

April 1, 2011

with the internationally acclaimed Black women’s acapella ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock guided her studies as an artist, performer, arranger and composer. The show will also feature: Rosco Kickingstone, Fabiola Romero, Christine Cruz Guiao and April Nishimura.

Tickets: $10-$25 sliding scale. www. brownpapertickets.com. www.voicesrisingseattle.org.

Q-SQUARED MEN Q-SPRING 2011 APRIL 15-17 A celebration of self and Spring for Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Men held at a retreat facility on Vashon Island. Q-Spring is a chance to gather with other men to reflect on, embrace, and celebrate who you are, where you have been, and where you are headed. Discover new parts of yourself and enjoy the company of other men in a nonjudgmental, attitude-free atmosphere. www. qsquared.org MUJERES DIVERSAS AND THE LGB LATINO COMMUNITY COMMUNITY FORUM – “WOMEN OPENING PATHS TOWARD CHANGE” On Saturday, April 16, from noon to 4:30 p.m., at Miller Community Center (303 19th Ave. E.), Mujeres Diversas invite you to a community forum to: discover the power of community involvement, improve services for the Latina Lesbian community, enhance communication networks in the pursuit of social justice, strengthen women’s presence in the community. All women who want to work for social change, regardless of sexual orientation, creed, race, etc. are invited. To RSVP, call 206-856-8267; 206-322-7700.

Free lunch and childcare. Co-sponsored by Entre Hermanos.

WAYNE BESEN OF TRUTH WINS OUT IN SEATTLE APRIL 16-17 Wayne Besen of Truth Wins Out (TWO) will be in Seattle on Saturday morning, April 16, to lead a seminar for pastors, churches, activists, and concerned and interested people, on the work of TWO and the antiGay fundamentalist agenda and actions that TWO works to bring the light of truth to to expose their false and hateful actions - details to be announced.

On Saturday evening, April 16, Emerald City MCC Seattle will host a fundraiser for Truth Wins Out – details to be announced.

On Sunday morning, April 17, at 11 a.m., Wayne Besen will speak at the Emerald City MCC Seattle (1415 NE 43rd St.), in the chapel at University Temple United Methodist Church.

206-325-2412; www.mccseattle.org.

ALIX DOBKIN IN CONCERT On Saturday, April 16, at 7 p.m., at Shoreline Unitarian Universalist Church (14724 1st Ave. NE, Shoreline), legendary Lesbian singer/songwriter Alix Dobkin will give a rare Seattle area concert.

Alix was out and in front of microphones three years before the first Michigan Womyn’s Festival. To hear a Lesbian sing of being out, proud and beautiful was a revolutionary act in the 1970s and ’80s. And she is still singing for us! To this day, Alix Dobkin’s music has the ability to move women to tears, fire them up, and most importantly, get them to sing along.

Tickets: $10-$20. For reservations, 206545-3521.

CAMP TEN TREES ANNUAL DINNER & AUCTION On Saturday, April 23, at 6 p.m., at Herban Feast’s SODO Park (3200 1st Ave. S.), join Camp Ten Trees staff and supporters for “BELIEVE: A magical evening in support of Camp Ten Trees.” Believe in the children and youth of LGBTQA comunities.

Believe in the possibilities created in their lives when they find support and connection at this loving, engaging summer camp.

This annual dinner and auction raises the vital funds necessary to ensure that every child and youth who needs this camp can attend, regardless of ability to pay. Tickets are $55-individual; $125-VIP individual. Register online at www.camptentrees.org or call 206-288-9568.

Seattle Gay News

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Celebrating 38 Years!

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by Richard J. Rosendall SGN Contributing Writer

courtesy gay.it

ONE FOR THE GODDESS Foundation.

Taylor was recognized with the Motion Picture Academy’s Jean Herscholt Humanitarian Award in 1992, a Presidential Citizens Medal in 2001, and was named a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2000. When she was honored by the Screen Actors Guild in 1997 and the Kennedy Center in 2002, her humanitarian work was cited in addition to her acting.

She was surprised and thrilled in December 2002 at the Kennedy Center Honors when the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington joined in the tribute to her, a producer’s inspiration that demonstrated the change she had helped nurture. Her memory lives on in Washington at Whitman-Walker Clinic’s Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center on 14th Street NW. Some people are dismissive of performers who use their celebrity to advocate for causes. It’s as if being an actor automatically makes you brainless and unfit to express an opinion, or your motives are considered suspect. In the case of Taylor in the mid-1980s, she confronted not only the usual dismissiveness toward celebrities but an environment of fear and stigma in which ignorance, irrationality, and homophobia mixed into a toxic brew. Seeing her nation’s government ignore a health crisis and watching her friends suffer, she felt compelled to act. As she put her fame and reputation on the line, the strength that had sustained her through many personal crises served her well.

True leadership is rare, as is clear from the spectacle of politicians leaping opportunistically from one position to its opposite.

Taylor became a leader and made a difference simply by standing her ground, speaking from her soul, and believing in her fellow citizens.

Her violet eyes mesmerized us, and her messy love life titillated us; but her compassion and dedication set a splendid example of civic virtue. Here’s to Dame Elizabeth Taylor.

The death of a screen goddess is bound to attract a circus-like atmosphere in addition to the normal obituaries and video tributes.

Following the news of Elizabeth Taylor’s death on March 23, 94-year-old Zsa Zsa Gabor’s blood pressure rose and she was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center, crying, “I’m next.” AIDS activist Suzanne Africa Engo in New York City got Taylor’s name tattooed on her arms. The Phelps family of Topeka’s Westboro Baptist Church threatened to picket Taylor’s funeral, but they were foiled by her quick burial.

As the initial noise dies down – including the chatter about her two Oscars and eight husbands, her many illnesses, her jewelry and perfume – her true legacy emerges.

Hers is a dual legacy. The great acting performances can be seen by visiting Movies Unlimited or checking the schedule at Turner Classic Movies. Possibly her larger legacy is the cause to which she lent time and energy as well as her fame: her early and outspoken advocacy of HIV/AIDS research, beginning in the 1980s when most others, including President Reagan, were silent.

Prior to Taylor’s AIDS activism, her friendships with Gay colleagues like Roddy McDowall, Rock Hudson, and Montgomery Clift were the stuff of gossip. She was the world’s leading “fag hag,” an ugly expression for what was in fact sincere and devoted friendship. She also starred in films of Tennessee Williams’ plays Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and Suddenly, Last Summer, whose Gay subtexts resisted producers’ efforts to soften them.

But when AIDS hit her industry and her friends with disproportionate force, her response showed strength and determination rivaling the fictional Velvet Brown who made her a child star. She organized a fundraiser for AIDS Project Los Angeles in 1984. After Hudson died in 1985, she Richard Rosendall is a writer and activco-founded the American Foundation for AIDS Research with Dr. Mathilde Krim. In ist based in Washington, D.C. He can be 1993 she created the Elizabeth Taylor AIDS reached at rrosendall@starpower.net.

Elizabeth Taylor

file photo

Bisexual actor Farley Granger dies at 85

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

Farley Granger in the 1950s

16 Seattle Gay News

April 1, 2011

in which he played a young pianist who commits a thrill murder with a school friend.

The role had a definite Gay subtext, but it Farley Granger, who made his profession- had to be kept very subtle because the film al reputation in the Alfred Hitchcock thrill- industry’s Hays Office regularly censored ers Rope (1948) and Strangers on a Train films deemed to be indecent.

Strangers on a Train also featured subtly (1951), died on March 28. portrayed Gay themes.

He was 85.

Granger was best known for playing lowGranger was never “out” in any sense of the word that a modern audience would rec- life film noir characters In They Live by Night (1949) he played an ognize, but he refused to put on a respectable heterosexual disguise and marry, like escaped convict. In the following years, he appeared as a petty thief who gets embroiled many of his contemporaries did.

Instead, he carried on a number of scan- with the mob in Side Street, a young man who kills a priest with a crucifix in Edge of dalous affairs with both men and women.

Granger endured a tumultuous on-again- Doom, and an adopted orphan in Our Very off-again affair with Shelley Winters. In Own. He then played against type, appearing his memoir, Include Me Out, he called her “the love of my life and the bane of my ex- with comic Danny Kaye in Hans Christian Anderson (1952). istence.”

Unhappy with the direction his career was During one of their off-again episodes, Granger had an affair with film sex goddess taking, Granger bought out his MGM conAva Gardner. He also had relationships with tract and traveled to Italy where he starred actress Patricia Neal, and playwright and in Luchino Visconti’s Senso (1954).

He made more movies after his return to director Arthur Laurents.

Granger also claimed to have had a brief the U.S., but he was never happy with the two-night fling with composer Leonard Hollywood studio system and its relentless pressure to conform to the supposed expecBernstein.

Granger met his long-term partner Robert tations of the audience, and he eventually Calhoun while working on a stage produc- moved to New York to act on stage.

Granger also appeared in the popular tion of Chekov’s The Seagull in 1963.

According to Granger’s memoir, the two soap operas As the World Turns and Edge of slept together for the first time on the night Night, which Calhoun produced.

In 2003 he made his last film appearance of JFK’s assassination. They remained together until Calhoun’s death in 2008. Cal- in Broadway: The Golden Age, by the Leghoun died of lung cancer on May 24, 2008, ends Who Were There. In 2007, he published Include Me Out, in which he documented at the age of 77.

Granger first attracted notice with Rope, his private life.

Celebrating 38 Years!

Mixed messages from feds on bi-national marriages

by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer

LGBT rights advocates briefly celebrated reports that two U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) district offices were reversing long-standing policy and accepting alien relative petitions and green card applications filed by married same-sex couples.

The reports were published

by Newsweek’s Daily Beast blog on March 18. By March 28, new information from federal authorities indicated that the celebrations were premature.

U.S. immigration policy has been to deny applications for residence in this country when they are filed by foreign citizens married to U.S. citizens of the same sex.

Under DOMA, the federal government is prevented from recognizing same-sex marriages, even if they are perfectly valid in jurisdictions where they are performed.

Same-sex partners are unrelated in the eyes of federal authorities, and therefore not entitled to the same consideration as opposite-sex spouses when it comes to living in the U.S. DOMA is being challenged by several federal court cases, however, and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said on February 23 that President Obama has concluded it is unconstitutional.

According to the Daily Beast, USCIS offices in D.C. and Baltimore had decided to accept applications from same-sex couples and hold them “in abeyance” until federal courts made a decision on the constitutionality of DOMA. “In abeyance” means that foreign citizens married to U.S. citizens of the same sex could enter the U.S. legally and reside here, at least until all legal questions about DOMA were settled by federal courts.

If U.S. policy had, in fact, changed, it would have affected an estimated 36,000 bi-national couples.

As SGN goes to press, federal authorities have issued decidedly mixed messages on whether policy has changed.

On March 28, Metro Weekly reported confirmation from Christopher Bentley, a spokesperson for USCIS, that green card applications from foreign partners of U.S. citizens are on hold because of questions about the constitutionality of DOMA. “USCIS has issued guidance to the field asking that related cases be held in abeyance while awaiting final guidance related to distinct legal issues,” Bentley said in a statement.

However, “USCIS has not implemented any change in policy and intends to follow the president’s directive to continue enforcing the law,” Bentley warned.

The next day, Bentley told Associated Press that “it’s business as usual” at USCIS. That means, Associated Press added, that “after a brief reprieve, immigration authorities are once again denying applications for immigration benefits for same-sex couples.”

According to The Advocate, Bentley said that some applications were being held up because of specific legal questions, but USCIS policy had definitely not changed.

“The cases were held while we were waiting for legal guidance,” Bentley said.

“There’s no need to hold the cases any longer.”

He added that legal guidance from the Department of Homeland Security indicated that district offices do not have the authority to hold all such cases in abeyance.

Bentley also declined to comment on specific cases or to release any documents related to the cases being held, saying it was privileged communication.

Noting the “policy of abeyance that was already in place in at least two USCIS district offices,” immigration attorney Lavi Solway said the new information from USCIS was “regrettable.”

“While DOMA remains the law of the land, the policy of holding applications by married Gay and Lesbian bi-national couples in abeyance is the ideal interim remedy to provide necessary protection to those binational couples and is consistent with enforcing DOMA,” he told The Advocate in a statement.

Under DOMA, the federal government is prevented from recognizing same-sex marriages, even if they are perfectly valid in jurisdictions where they are performed.

Labor calls for a Week of Action, April 2-8 Pride At Work AFL-CIO Responding to a call from the AFL-CIO for a Week of Action to defend collective bargaining rights and state budgets that put people before profits, local labor organizations have put together a program of actions for the first week in April.

SATURDAY, APRIL 2 2 p.m. at Peace Arch Park in Blaine This International Solidarity Event will bring together unionists, students, activists from Canada, Washington and Oregon to extend hands across the border in solidarity with all workers.

This event will be co-sponsored by the British Columbia Federation of Labour; the Washington State Labor Council, AFL-CIO; and the Oregon AFLCIO. Please email Lori Province from the WSLC about mobilization efforts.

Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Seattle. Stand with other civil and human rights activists, union members and supporters, Latinos, Asians and immigrants, religious supporters, environmental, student and women’s groups against a political agenda that is attacking working families, their human rights and their dignity.

This event is sponsored by the Communications Workers of America, A. Philip Randolph Institute, M.L. King County Labor Council, Washington State Labor Council, WFSE Local 304, the Labor Council for Advancement of Latin Americans and the AFL-CIO.

A major Labor Rally at the WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6 Capitol in Olympia.

Noon at the Capitol Washington’s working Wa s h i n g t o n Community Acfamilies are tired of being tion Network will bring hundreds of blamed and punished community activand students for the damage done by toistsOlympia in an attempt to find the Wall Street banks and sacrifices that the Legislature will make corporations.

SUNDAY, APRIL 3 6:30 p.m. at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle Join IATSE Local 15 for Solidarity Night at Billy Elliot: The Musical.

This is a Union production. Actors are members of Actors Equity; stagehands, IATSE Local 15; hair and makeup, IATSE Local 488; and wardrobe, IATSE Local 887; and musicians, AFM 76-493 and other locals.

Tickets range from $26.30 to $56.90. For tickets or information, contact IATSE Local 15 at 206-441-1515 ext. 225 or stagerep@ ia15.org. Tickets at these group rates are limited, so please get in touch now!

MONDAY, APRIL 4 5:30-7 p.m. at MLK Memorial Park in Seattle The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. in Memphis, Tenn., where he was standing with sanitation workers demanding their dream of a better life. Today, the right to bargain collectively for a voice at work and a middle-class life are under attack as never before.

Join in this Community Call to Action on April 4 at the MLK Memorial Park, 2200

the bankers and billionaires pay to get us out of the economic crisis.

For information visit www. washingtoncan.org

THURSDAY, APRIL 7 Health care unions, led by SEIU, will mobilize health care workers in Olympia to demand that the Legislature fix the deficit problems and to look into the faces of the victims.

For information visit www.seiu775nw. org FRIDAY, APRIL 8 Noon at the Capitol Steps THIS IS THE BIG ONE! A major Labor Rally at the Capitol in Olympia. Washington’s working families are tired of being blamed and punished for the damage done

by Wall Street banks and corporations. Join thousands of public- and private-sector workers from all trades as we stand together as one and demand that lawmakers PUT PEOPLE FIRST! We want good jobs, we want our rights, and we want them NOW! Many unions are organizing buses or ridesharing to get to this rally. Contact your local union to see if transportation is available.

For information, visit www.wslc.org.

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Seattle Gay News 17

rahul k. gairola

“Equality” beyond marriage An interview with activist Ryan Conrad

by Rahul K. Gairola SGN Contributing Writer Less than five years ago, in July 2006, Justice Barbara Madsen (now chief justice) of the WA Supreme Court wrote the infamous 5/4 decision to uphold the state’s ban on Gay marriage. At the time, Madsen followed the lead of the state of New York, thus making Washington state the second in the nation to strike down Gay marriage. In writing the amicus curiae brief, Madsen claimed: “DOMA is constitutional because the legislature was entitled to believe that limiting marriage to opposite-sex couples furthers procreation, essential to survival of the human race, and furthers the wellbeing of children by encouraging families where children are reared in homes headed by the children’s biological parents.”

At the time, Madsen’s brief suggested that marriage cannot be extended to Gay couples because, in a nutshell, same-sex couples cannot constitute valid families. She moreover gestured towards the fallacy that the key to raising children responsibly depends on the availability of both “biological parents.” While many Gay advocate groups rightly questioned the rationale that misguided Madsen’s assessment of raising children, many other activists have questioned what marriage has to do with families and children at all.

In fact, Queer activists like Ryan Conrad critically question what marriage has to do with intimate relationships between people

at. Conrad is the editor of Against Equality: Queer Critiques of Gay Marriage, a handbook of essays that challenges mainstream views that marriage offers equality to any person.

Conrad’s petite collection of essays features contributions by some of the most important Queer advocates of our time, and can be carried in one’s pocket like a weapon against liberal, Gay assumptions that stake claims at the cost of true social justice for all. Writers include the likes of Yasmin Nair, Kate Bornstein, Dean Spade, Kenyon Farrow, John D’Emilio, and others who are allied together as The Against Equality Collective.

“The Against Equality Collective is a very loose affiliation of radical Queer activist friends, lovers, and coconspirators,” says Conrad. “We are not an organization, we do not have an office, we do not have a budget, and we operate on an ad hoc volunteer basis. Against Equality is this extra thing that some of us do on the side because we think it is important in their communities, whether it be prison abolition, Queer youth work, anti-poverty work, etc.”

Given the non-profit and volunteer nature of The Against Equality Collective and its digital archive, one cannot help but be impressed by the breadth of contributers and critiques of so-called marriage equality.

Recognizable big-hitters are mixed with emerging voices of resistance, thus destabilizing the dominance of name-brand activists and/or topics. According to Conrad,

Ryan Conrad

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“We generally tried to select a handful of different perspectives from within our digital archive to put into book form. When we went about contacting contributors, we did not have to do any sort of serious solicitation since our network is based largely on established friendships and political affinities.”

Aside from laying down the historical foundations of resistance to Gay marriage, the collection pushes into interlinked topics of identity politics that have often been ignored by bourgeois, white, Gay culture.

These topics include race, class, gender, nationality, ability, age, ethnicity, etc.

“Critiques of marriage have come from many methods of theorizing,” says Conrad. “Feminist, anti-racist, and class-based critiques have been around for centuries and our work is built upon that framework – from the early work of Emma Goldman and Voltairine de Cleyre to present-day contributors like Kenyon Farrow and Yasmin Nair.” In a bid to also de-center literacy as the privileged site to resistance against “marriage equality,” the Against Equality Collective includes a set of postcards designed by Chris Vargas, Buzz Slutzky, and Liz Kinnamon in the book. “There is a huge lack of visual culture reflecting more radical Queer politics these days,” says Conrad. “So we thought we could help generate more through our digital archival project.

How many times have you seen those vapid, pro-Gay marriage logos proliferating online

and on social networking sites? We wanted to counter these.”

Perhaps the most pressing question on the minds of pro-marriage advocates is why this work is important. According to Conrad and many others, marriage is not about equality at all. In fact, in the misguided search for “equality,” new paradigms of inequity are institutionalized. “This work is important because poor, Queer, and Trans folks are being wholesale lied to by the pro-Gay marriage non-profits that run these ‘equality’ campaigns. They frame this as the last ‘step’ to ‘full equality,’ which cannot be further than the truth. Poor Queers without health insurance at either of their multiple jobs still won’t have health insurance to share when they marry. Non-status folks marrying other non-status folks will still be deprived of citizenship. These are but a few of many other reasons.”

The argument has also been made that such “equality” campaigns for Gay people are similar to the Civil Rights movement to end segregation in the U.S. Such a comparison couldn’t be based on more fallacious terms. On the most obvious level, the histories and visual registers of race and sexuality bigotry are infinitely different. According to contributor Kenyon Farrow, this “hijacking of Rosa Parks” to make the analogy between black and Gay civil rights tried to obscure the presence of Queer-phobia in Gay white communities at the same time it mystifies real class differences between the

haves and the have-nots. Farrow succinctly writes, “America is first built on the privilege of whiteness, and as long as you have white skin, you have a level of agency and access above and beyond people of color, period. White women and white non-heteros included.”

Despite death threats directed towards him and Nair, Conrad says the Against Equality Collective will be working on new literary and art projects in the future. “My personal hope is that this project will open up space for critically thinking about the direction the Gay rights mainstream is marching. … Some folks are working on our next anthology, which focuses on critiquing the ludicrous effort to repeal DADT, but the

work we are doing in our local communities has always taken precedence,” says Conrad.

Given this innovative political activism that seeks to spread equality in the most equitable manner possible, it may be just a matter of time before Chief Justice Madsen finds herself supporting “marriage equality” for the bigotry that is inherent in it.

Ryan Conrad speaks on “Against Equality: Queer Challenges to the Politics of Inclusion” on Friday, April 1, at the Notions Building Lecture Hall (1000 Lenora St.), Cornish College of the Arts, at 2 p.m., and will also co-host an event called “Radical Queer History + Arts” at Hollow Earth Radio (2018 E. Union St.) from 2-6 p.m. on Saturday, April 2.

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Seattle Gay News 19

interpride continued from cover

nizations. They produce Pride events ranging from large parades with over 1 million participants to smaller, developing marches and celebrations.

Seattle Out and Proud (SO&P), the organization responsible for Seattle’s annual Pride Parade, hosted the regional conference. The conference took place at a Lifelong AIDS Alliance meeting space.

“It was a truly amazing experience to see so many organizations represented from our region, and I cannot wait to see it by this time next year,” stated Frank Leonzal from Out In Tacoma, producer for the TacomaPierce County Washington Pride event.

Although a lot of focus was placed on regional Pride celebrations, InterPride officials told Seattle Gay News that human rights were also on the table.

“This was the first time a conference like this was held in the region. It is very exciting to be on the front end of a new movement,” said Caryl Dolinko, V.P. of operations and communications director for InterPride.

“There was a buzz in the room and a lot of energy. It was fantastic.”

The “new movement” Caryl is talking about is called the InterPride Solidarity Package.

“Pride events are being held in hostile areas, and we support them with the help of donations,” she told SGN. “Currently, injustice and inequality exists around the world for LGBT people. In seven countries, homosexuality is punishable by death, and in 73 other countries, severe penalties exist.

We can make a difference by standing up for those who can’t.”

According to Caryl, a majority of Pride boards are run by volunteers who want to do good for their community. She calls them “accidental activists,” because “Pride is a call to action.”

“We have a solidarity front,” Caryl explained. “Anyone from anywhere around the world can donate and the money will go to a Pride in conflict that is struggling. Our international organization has a voice on the international stage.”

“Pride is a party, but it is a movement that is representing our community around the world,” she said. “It’s a changed world, but

not in every corner of the world. We must work together for human rights and dignities for all people. You can’t have secondclass citizens in a world where we are all human beings.”

For more information about InterPride or to donate to the Solidarity Package, visit www.interpride.org/solidarity-package.

FAP

continued from cover found on the FAP website, www.familyproject.sfsu.edu. FAP is working to produce a series of eight short documentary videos that show the journey from struggle to support of ethnically and religiously diverse families with LGBT children.

The videos are based on years of research and relationships with diverse LGBT youth and their families.

The current video – and the others they plan to make – includes some of the family accepting and rejecting behaviors that FAP has studied.

“Our research shows for the first time how these family accepting and rejecting behaviors affect an LGBT young person’s health and mental health, including risk for suicide, substance abuse, HIV, self-esteem, etc.,” say FAP officials. “These attitudes and behaviors also affect the whole family.”

The 15-minute Always My Son video follows the lives of a family that resides in Modesto, California, and their struggle to understand and accept their Gay son. In the LGBT anti-bullying/suicide movement, the Plata family are about as much of a success story as you can find.

Ed Plata, a former Marine, realized that his son E.J. was Gay when he began to play with a Little Mermaid Barbie as a child.

While Elizabeth Plata was more accepting, she never spoke with her son about his sexuality. The silence made E.J. not accept himself and he began to fall in with the bad crowd and hate school. He became depressed and isolated from the eighth grade on. When E.J. finally came out as Gay to his family, Elizabeth and Ed knew they had to reach out and find out how to best deal with their son’s homosexuality in order to stop the downward spiral that E.J. was falling into. They thought they might lose their son to suicide.

That is when the Plata family met Caitlin Ryan and enrolled in the Family Acceptance Project. The family dynamic changed forever. The help and education the Platas received propelled them to start The PLACE: People Learning Acceptance Creating Equality in Modesto. The PLACE is a safe space for LGBT and questioning youth ages 14-20. The group holds a meeting every second and fourth Thursday where Gay kids and their families come together to support each other.

To watch Always My Son, go to www. familyproject.sfsu.edu/family-videos.

“We use these videos in our work to

educate and support diverse families with LGBT children,” say FAP officials. “We also use them to train health and mental health providers and to help providers understand the critical role of families in supporting their LGBT children.”

“These stories of transformation, hope, and love show how very diverse families integrate deeply held religious and personal values with love for their LGBT children,” said FAP leaders.

There are a number of ways the organization plans to distribute the videos: online distribution to reach families and LGBT youth to decrease isolation, give them hope, and briefly show the process that helps families grow and learn to support their LGBT children; DVDs for school counselors, social workers, nurses, pediatricians, clergy, and family service workers to use in education and counseling with LGBT youth and with families; training in medical schools, nursing, social work, psychology, and other professional training programs to help providers understand the journey to family acceptance and how specific family attitudes and behaviors affect their LGBT children’s health and mental health; and educating the general public to humanize the lives of ethnically and religiously diverse LGBT young people and their families.

To make an online contribution, go to www.applyweb.com/public/ contribute?s=sfudonat (Under “About Your Gift,” select “Family Acceptance Project” from the drop-down menu).

For more information on donating to the project, contact the organization at fap@ sfsu.edu or call (415) 522-5558.

jenkins

continued from cover When she does, Washington will be the fourth state to approve a law recognizing same-sex marriages concluded out of state, following Rhode Island, New York, and Maryland.

“This bill is about making sure that people who love one another – and that love and friendship respected and honored in another state or another country – when they come here they have the same opportunity,” Sen. Kevin Ranker (D-40) said during debate on the measure.

As in the House, most of the Senate Yes votes came from Democrats. Five Republican senators also voted Yes. Asked if she was surprised by Republican support for her bill, Jinkins said, “No, actually. There are a lot of reasons to support it.

There were freshman Republicans who voted in favor, who’d expressed support for domestic partnerships during their campaigns.

They did what they said they would do.”

The surprise of the session came during committee hearings on the bill, when the ranking Republican member of the Senate Government Operations, Tribal Relations and Elections Committee, which had juris-

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April 1, 2011

Celebrating 38 Years!

diction over the bill, voted to recommend passing it.

Veteran Senator Dan Swecker (R-20) has a long record of anti-Gay votes, but he voted to send the bill to the senate floor with a “Do Pass” recommendation. He also voted Yes on final passage.

During committee hearings on the legislation, Swecker pointed out an analogy with marriage between first cousins – which some states prohibit – but which nevertheless would be recognized by Washington if they were legal in the jurisdiction where they were concluded.

Once it is signed into law by the governor, Jinkins’ bill will amend state law to recognize same-sex marriages concluded in other jurisdictions as valid domestic partnerships in Washington.

State law previously excluded same-sex marriages from recognition.

The state’s DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) prevents same-sex couples from marrying here, and prohibits state recognition of same-sex marriages concluded in other jurisdictions.

The measure stops short of recognizing out-of-state same-sex marriages as marriages, but it does accord same-sex couples all the privileges of opposite-sex spouses as provided for in this state’s domestic partnership laws.

Jinkins’ bill also says explicitly that it applies to any future legislation, so couples that fall under the provisions of the law

would be entitled to any expansion of do- ers that was rumored to be added to the 2010 mestic partnership rights or benefits that version of ENDA. might be passed in the future.

A version of ENDA passed by the House of Representatives in 2007 did not include protection for Transgender workers. It was never taken up by the U.S. Senate because continued from cover then-President George W. Bush promised to veto any ENDA bill – Trans-inclusive or not been ‘dropped,’” Frank’s communications – that came to his desk.

A Trans-inclusive ENDA was introduced director, Harry Gural, said. “We have the bill text exactly as it will be [introduced] – in 2010, while Democrats had a solid majorwhich is exactly the same text as last year. ity in both houses of Congress, but it never But before it is formally introduced, we are came up for a vote. It is considered even less likely to pass now that Republicans control still collecting cosponsors.”

Frank was the prime sponsor of ENDA’s the House.

Nevertheless, Frank said he thought that previous incarnation in the 111th Congress.

The measure had 198 cosponsors – report- reintroducing the measure would give supedly the largest number who had ever signed porters of LGBT rights an additional opporon to proposed legislation – but short of the tunity to lobby legislators on the issue.

“This is a chance to continue – not begin, 218 votes needed for passage.

All of Washington’s Democratic repre- but continue – a lobbying effort that I am sentatives cosponsored the measure, as did convinced will be successful, frankly, next time the Democrats take back the House of our state’s two Democratic senators.

According to Gural, the new bill will be Representatives,” Frank said.

Frank appeared at the March 30 press conexactly the same as the one introduced in ference with Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), the 111th Congress.

In a pre-introduction media release, Mara formerly chair and now ranking member of Keisling of the National Center for Trans- the House Education and Workforce Comgender Equality said she had been assured mittee, the committee that will have juristhat the new ENDA bill will include both diction over ENDA. Both Frank and Miller said the Transgensexual orientation and gender identity; will include a very broad exemption for faith- der protections in ENDA add to the difficulbased employers; and will not include any ty in passing the legislation.

Miller said “great strides” were made on of the compromise amendment language limiting protections for Transgender work- ENDA in the 111th Congress, but added

enda

that more education is needed on the gender identity language.

“We went round and round on the issue of Transgender and discussing it with members of Congress,” Miller said. “I just think it’s very important that the Transgender community just insist – as the school lunch community does, or the Head Start community, or the community development block grant community, or the [National Rifle Association] or whatever it is – insist upon sitting down with members of Congress and getting them to understand and recognize what is happening.”

While Frank said he was waiting for more cosponsors before formally introducing the bill, he admitted he did not have a count of how many cosponsors he actually had.

He added that the legislation may have some Republican supporters based upon conversations he had in the 111th Congress.

“I personally talked to nine Republicans who were ready to vote for the bill with Transgender inclusion last year,” Frank said. “We lost [former Delaware Rep.] Mike Castle, but I believe we will have some cosponsors. But I worked very hard on Republicans. We did have nine Republican hard commitments to vote with us against any effort to knock out Transgender.”

“Without the Transgender piece, you have a dozen, but on the Transgender issue, we had, as I said, nine commitments and we’ll be approaching them to see how many of them will co-sponsor,” Frank added.

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