Issue 14 Volume 39
FRIDAY April 8, 2011 FREE! 25¢ in bookstores & news stands
Celebrating 38 Years!
GAY CAVEMAN p. 8 CALIFORNIA BALLOT p. 9 RU PAUL INTERVIEW p. 25
Seattle Gay News SEATTLE’S LGBT NEWS & ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
courtesy gaston Dissake
Military struggles From Cameroon to Seattle One Gay man’s harrowing struggle to be free with growing sexual assaults Why men in the military rape other men
shame and looks at why the sexual assault of males in the service is finally being confronted. In the staunchly traditional military culture, writes Ellison, male sexual assault is an ugly secret, kept hidden by layers of personal shame and official denial. According to the Newsweek article, last year nearly 50,000 male veterans screened positive for “military sexual trauma” at the Department of Veterans Affairs, up from just over 30,000 in 2003. For the by Shaun Knittel victims, the experience is a special kind of hell – a soldier can’t just SGN Associate Editor quit his job to get away from his When men in the military rape abusers. But now, as the Pentagon has beother men in the ranks, no one wants to talk about it. In this gun to acknowledge the rampant week’s Newsweek, writer Jesse Ellison proclaims that male-onmale rape is the Pentagon’s secret see military page 20
Gaston Dissake (in center, wearing cap) with his fellow teammates in Cameroon
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Gaston Dissake, 29, has never known life without soccer. For as long as he can remember, the soccer field has been where he found freedom. Unfortunately for Gaston, an openly Gay man in the oppres-
sive African nation of Cameroon, freedom stopped whenever he left the field. After years of police beatings, attacks from former teammates, and threats on his life, Gaston fled to seek asylum in the U.S., which eventually led him to Seattle and gave him a taste of the civil freedom that he only previously got on the field.
Gaston’s story is one of a man who risked all so that he could be free to be himself. He is ready to embrace a Gay community he only read about or saw on TV. Above all, he wants desperately to get back into soccer. see gaston page 18
Payback in Wisconsin Capitol Hill Chamber of Conservative justice trailing, Commerce Executive Wells Republican county executive courtesy capitol hill chamber of commerce
Michael Wells
AP
Keeping Capitol Hill vibrant a labor of love
candidate loses in landslide
by Shaun Knittel SGN Associate Editor Seattle is a city of neighborhoods with which its citizens strongly identify. Capitol Hill has an identity all its own and is, perhaps, the most recognized of all. More than a Gayborhood, “The Hill” (as it’s commonly referred to) is home to beautifully constructed parks, unique retail, a vast array of eateries, and much more. A little bit of everything that can be found on Capitol Hill. In 2006, a group of neighborhood stakeholders joined hands with the City of Seattle to create a framework for public and private investments to revitalize Broadway and Capitol Hill. Within a year, the group incorporated the new Capitol Hill Chamber of Commerce (CHCC) to spearhead economic, business, and community development. Now, with over 170 current Capitol Hill members
Protestors at the Wisconsin capitol
by Mike Andrew SGN Staff Writer
In a stunning reversal of political fortunes, conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser trails his opponent, Assistant State Attorney General Joanne Kloppenburg, by a slim 204 votes. At a press conference on April 6, Kloppenburg claimed victory, but see wells page 20 the election will almost certainly
be decided by a recount. While Wisconsin’s Supreme Court positions are officially nonpartisan, Prosser is well known as a Republican and an ally of Gov. Scott Walker. Kloppenburg was backed by many of the state’s labor unions. Nineteen Wisconsin counties that see wisconsin page 21